“No,” said Gordon quietly, though his face flushed at the question.
“Oh, come, Gordon, you might as well out with it. Your face gives you away. What did he say?”
“Well,” said Gordon with a half laugh, “he drew himself up and looked at me as if I were a toad or a snake, and remarked that he had come here to study—not to fool away his time in clubs or any such nonsense, and that he would thank me to leave him alone.”
“Whew!” whistled Hamlin, “he’ll be pretty popular here, won’t he?” Then he added, indignantly, “Well, if he isn’t a cool customer! I reckon he’ll be let alone emphatically, hereafter.”
“Yes,” said Gordon, “but there’s one good thing. If he’s a fine scholar, and I fancy that he is, he’ll help the section that way, in spite of himself; and certainly, that sort of a fellow won’t be cutting up or getting others into mischief, so he won’t work against the L. A. O.”
“That’s so,” answered Hamlin; “but what a chump he is to take such a stand as that, and lose all the good times he might have here.”
“Yes,” assented Gordon, “but see here, Hamlin, let’s not tell the other fellows anything about this. It would turn them all against him, and I don’t think he’s likely to make many friends anyhow.”
“Evidently he does not care to make any,” said Hamlin.
“It seems not, but you know if the fellows get set against him, some of them will do their best to make it hot for him. You and I don’t want to have any hand in that sort of thing, so we’ll keep mum about this—shan’t we?”
“Oh, I suppose so,” grumbled Hamlin. “I feel as if I’d like to kick him myself, and I reckon most of the boys would feel the same way. We’ll let his royal highness severely alone, since that’s his pleasure. By the way, what is his name, anyhow?”