The stranger looked at him keenly.
"Conditions, eh? Guess you don't need to have any, unless you want 'em."
"Found you at home there, Perce!" laughed Lane.
"I don't propose to have any more after this summer," averred Percy, stoutly.
"Stick to that!" encouraged Thorpe. "There's enough have 'em that can't help it."
Taking down the volume, he opened it at the beginning of the first book, and began reading aloud, dividing the lines into feet:
"Arma virumque cano, Trojae qui primus ab oris Italiam, fato profugus, Laviniaque venit.
"Wouldn't want to say how long it's been since I last set eyes on that. Probably you boys notice that I use the English pronunciation of Latin instead of the continental; it's what I had when I was in college."
"What was your college?" inquired Percy.
Melancholy darkened Thorpe's face again.