Harvey laughed at the solemn manner in which this nonsense was delivered. Nodding toward Wadsworth he asked:
“What do those letters mean?”
The other smiled.
“That reminds me of a day when I saw a scorer in the grandstand at the ball grounds ruling off and writing captions on his card. With much twisting of his mouth he scrawled the word ‘Ares.’ I asked him what it meant. With a look of pitying scorn he answered: ‘Why them’s errors.’ It is with something of the same emotion that I reply to your question: Those letters signify ‘Champions of the Adirondacks and the Whole Empire State.’”
“If your modesty strikes in,” said Harvey, catching the spirit of the moment, “it will be fatal.”
“That’s what we’re afraid of, but wait till you meet the Duke.”
“And who is the Duke?”
“I beg pardon for not explaining before. His full title is Duke de Sassy. He really is a poor Cracker from Florida, who has such a hard time getting through the University that several of us are paying his expenses on the dead quiet.”
“Has he much ability?”
It was the Southerner who took it upon himself to reply: