The Adventures of a Freshman Part 20

Will paused a moment. "I think He has now."

"Then I think that is enough. In one sense it is certainly deceiving them not to tell them, but I think it is the lesser of two evils. It would do little or no good to tell your good old parents. It would only grieve them as much as it would amaze them. You can pay back what you owe your parents in love and kindness as well as in money. Don't you think so?"

Will thought so and he made up his mind to try.

It became a matter of comment among the neighbors the way Will Young, whom they were inclined to look at sceptically since "he went East to college," was pitching in and working harder than any hired man on his father's place and, what was more surprising, seeming to enjoy it; they did not know quite what to make of it. He was paying back the $200.

It surprised his father also and pleased him, and so did Will's respectful manner and his simple boyish endeavors to carry out all his wishes. He was trying to pay back the other debt also.

When the fall came again Mr. Young hated more than ever to have him leave, but this time, as he told Will's mother, he would fix it, he guessed, so Will wouldn't have to work himself to a skeleton.

CHAPTER XV

THE END OF IT

"h.e.l.lo, here comes Deacon Young with a brand new orange-and-black blazer on!"

"Yea-a-a," interrupted one fellow in a loud, shrill voice, and the others all joined in and yelled, "Yea-a, Deacon!" and ran at him and pounded him on the shoulders, jumped on his back and made other signs of pleasure at seeing a cla.s.smate once more, while they asked him what kind of a vacation he had had, and told him he looked as though he had been training for football all summer. Will laughed and told how he had trained.

"It must be great to work on a farm," said Lee, punching the Deacon's shoulders.

"Come on," one of them shouted, "we're taking a walk about the old place to see how everything looks. Let's gather a crowd--Ninety-blank this way!"

They shouted the old cry in concert and started off together.

"What are you going to do this year, Deacon?" It was Todd who happened to be marching next to Young.

"How do you mean?"

"Well, are you going to pole or loaf or be a dead-game or what?"

"Well," answered Young, "I'm going to do some of the first and combine some football with it if I have good luck; but I am not going to try any more of the last. I don't know as I need tell you that, Todd." He wanted to say more, but only frowned as he thought of how hard it would be to accomplish what he had resolved to accomplish with the club this year.

Todd said, "I'm glad you told me, though. I think the whole club made a fool of itself last year. It needs to take a big brace."

Young turned and looked at him. Todd had spoken in his usual quiet, careless manner, but Young thought his words implied something.

"Do you think--say, Todd, do you think there's much hope of its bracing?"

"Not unless they're made to," laughed Todd. "Perhaps," he said, looking the other way, "we can make 'em if we pull together. What do you say, Deacon?"

"Let's try," said Young. He held out his hand.

Todd took it in an embarra.s.sed manner, and then shouted: "Hi, there, you fellows in front! Let's go down to meet the 2.17. There'll be a lot of the cla.s.s in on that train. Start up a song, somebody."

They all marched off across the campus singing, with loud happy voices:

"Here's to Ninety-blank-- Drink her down--drink her down."

Arms were thrown carelessly over shoulders and perhaps they swaggered a little as they marched. But it feels very good to be a Soph.o.m.ore, especially the first day.

And all this fraternal joyousness, together with the superabundance of orange and black, greatly impressed one of the very green Freshmen who happened just then to be scurrying by with wonder in his eyes. And it happened to be at about the same spot in the walk that another Freshman had met another crowd of Soph.o.m.ores and was called "Deacon" for the first time in his life. But that was a whole year ago.

Young had learned a good deal in that year, he was thinking. "Not all of what you are taught at college," he said to himself, "comes out of the text-books--especially in Freshman year."