Chapter 9

A few days ago, we all got back from Christmas break. A recruiter from the United States ski troops came in, and convinced Leper to join. All of us were completely shocked, because Leper was the last one to ever enlist in the war. "Nothing tainted these white warriors of winter as they swooped down their spotless mountainsides, and this cool, clean response to war glided straight into Leper's Vermont heart" (116). Leper was the first student at Devon to go to the war and I couldn't help feeling that if someone like Brinker, had gone, then it would have made a bigger impact on all of us. Whenever we would read in the newspaper about something happening in the war, we would joke that it was Leper that was making everything happen. I am honestly scared, but I cover it up with jokes, because everyone else seems to be doing the same thing. Weekends during the winter, are boring. Sunday is the worst however, and Phineas is the only one who can see that. Because of all of this boredom, Finny planned a winter carnival, "And because it was Finny's idea, it happened as he said, although not as easily as some of his earlier inspirations" (121). Also, after I told Brinker I was not enlisting, he changed his ways. He quit all of his clubs and stopped wearing his nice clothes. The carnival was a huge success and we played games, drank hard cider and had a decathalon. Towards the end of the day, Brownie Perkins brought me a telegram from Leper, telling me that he had escaped and needed his help.