"Head it is, and we go out in the Ajax."
"All right, but you'll have to go out in the Alice next time," cried the young major.
"By the way, did you hear about Tom Rollinson?" asked Pepper, as he walked into the boathouse to inspect his locker there.
"What of him?" asked Fred.
"The family were burnt out this summer and lost everything."
"Lost everything?" queried Jack. "That's tough luck. I shouldn't want to lose all I had."
"Well, it will happen sometimes," said Fred.
"Well, some lose by fire and some lose in other ways," went on the young major. "You have heard about Ritter. His father——"
"You shut your mouth about my father!" roared a voice from behind a dressing-room door. "My father is just as honest as anybody, and I won't have you or anybody else running him down!" And then Reff Ritter appeared, minus his coat, vest and collar, and his face distorted with rage.
"I didn't say your father was dishonest, Reff," returned Jack, as calmly as he could. "I was simply going to state——"