‘We have had a row at the Palmengarten,’ said Greif. ‘Rex and I—’
‘You have quarrelled with Rex?’ interrupted the second. He and all his companions detested the man because he took Greif away from them. There was a gleam of hope for the chief if he had quarrelled with his Philistine acquaintance, and all present exchanged significant glances.
‘No. That is not it. A fellow of the Rhine Korps has quarrelled with both of us. He says his name is Bauer. Rex called him a silly boy and told him to hold his tongue before I could speak.’
‘Rex!’ exclaimed all the students in chorus.
‘Ha, that is a good thing!’ laughed the second, blowing the foam from his ale. ‘Provided he will fight,’ he added before he drank.
‘Rex is my friend,’ said Greif quietly.
The murmurs subsided as though by magic, and the burly second set down his measure almost untasted.
‘I wanted to fight the man first,’ continued Greif, ‘but Rex objected and appealed to me as the head of a Korps to get the matter settled at once. He wants to fight to-morrow morning with the rest.’
‘Prosit!’ laughed the second. ‘We thought he was a Philistine! He must be forty years old! What a sight it will be!’ cried a dozen voices.
‘As he demands it, we must oblige him,’ observed Greif.