“Why not?”
“It would make a bad matter worse. You see, this is a part of my course, I guess. I’ve had to learn a lot of things——”
“You’re learning them all right,” broke in Ned. “You’re in the first division now, and can study in your room——”
“I don’t mean that.”
“What do you mean then?”
“Oh, some other things. I’ve had a lot to learn. I’ve lived on a farm all my life, and there, you know, they don’t always do things just as you fellows do who have been brought up in the city.”
“What of it?”
“A whole lot of it. You don’t understand because you’ve always had them. But I’ve had to keep my eyes open, and even then I find I’m doing something that makes my cheeks burn. The first night I was in the school Walter had to tell me to put my butter on my butter-plate, not on——”
“The chump!” broke in Ned.
“No; he meant it all right. I guess I deserved it and a good deal more. Perhaps if I learn these little things now I sha’n’t have to learn them later when it would be a good deal harder for me.”