six
o'clock
No official announcement is made of the fact that this formal and queer manner of announcing elections to the senior societies is enacted . No announcement of the coming event is given to the public . The members of the junior class are not notified by any one that they are expected to appear on that spot by the fence at a certain time to be ready to be `` slapped , '' if they have been lucky enough to be chosen for membership in the great senior societies . Nevertheless , the entire junior class , with half the college , and hundreds of spectators from the city , gather there on the third Thursday afternoon in May , between the hours of four and six o'clock , and witness or participate in the spectacle . `` Slates '' had been made up weeks before , and shrewd guesses given as to who would be chosen to this society and to that , though it was all mere guesswork . Nearly every one had agreed , however , that Merriwell would go to `` Bones , '' as the leading society is called , and that `` Bones '' would be glad to get him , and would be receiving an honor as well as conferring one . Buck Badger , restless as a wolf , stood back and gloomily watched this gathering , and heard the buzz of talk and conjecture without really comprehending a word .