When they got home next morning before breakfast the whole student body was down to meet them. Tim Murnin hadn’t let any grass grow under his feet in getting the news back to college. His story had appeared in an extra issue of the Lowell Reporter, the college paper, and they all knew about Hal’s performance. They had plenty of cheers for the team in general, but for the moment at least Hal was the only Great One, and he took his honors as modestly as he could.
[CHAPTER XIII]
HANS TAKES A TRIP
One day in May Hans came into Hal’s room with a letter from his sister who had come to New York to be present at the wedding of a former schoolmate to take place in Brooklyn, the next week. She asked Hans to come down to New York the following Thursday and accompany her to the wedding. She was visiting some friends who lived in one of the New York suburbs and wrote that she would meet him at the Grand Central Station at two o’clock in the afternoon, and he could then take her over to Brooklyn to be present at the wedding, which was to be at four o’clock.
Hans had never been in New York before, and hesitated quite a little about making the trip alone, and wanted Hal to go along. Hal couldn’t afford to spend the time or money just then, and reminded Hans that his sister had been in New York before and probably knew how to get around the best way, and he needn’t be nervous. He thought all Hans’ sister wanted him for anyhow, was as escort.
So Hans wrote he would be there on time and made his preparations for the trip to the big city. While he was getting ready he got more and more excited. Like most boys he didn’t care anything about the wedding, in fact, he’d rather be going for most any other reason, but he thought he might stay over Sunday if he got along all right, and see some of the shows.
“Perhaps I’ll have time to see the Out Door Weekly and get a job for both of us canvassing for subscriptions in our spare time,” he said.
On Thursday morning, bright and early, he took the train for New York, which left at five o’clock, but he was not so early but that Hal was up also to bid him good-by.
“Look out for the confidence men,” said Hal, as Hans was leaving the house. “If any fellow walks up to you at the station down there and says, ‘Well! Well! if it isn’t my old friend Hagner’s son Hans! How are you, Hans?’ you’d better just walk by and not notice him.”