September noon
Hilltonians ! Hilltonians ! we stand to do or die , Beneath the flag , the crimson flag , that waves for victory ! ' '' And , seizing Joel by the arm , West dragged him out of the corridor and down the steps into the warm sunlight of a September noon , chanting the school song at the top of his voice . A group of boys on the Green shouted lustily back , and the occupant of a neighboring window threw a cushion with unerring precision at West 's head . Stopping to deposit this safely amid the branches halfway up an elm tree , the two youths sped across the yard toward Warren Hall and the dinner table . `` You sit at our table , March , '' announced West .