and vest and whose face was not a healthy-looking one. “Guess he has no reason. He's merely posing.”
The remark vexed Henning all the more that it came from his own cousin, to whom in a difficult situation he might have looked naturally for some form of support.
“Stop that, Garrett,” said Tom Shealey, hotly. “Do you wish to insult your own cousin? I'd rather believe him than you—there! If Roy says he has reasons for acting as he is doing and does not want to give them to us, I believe he has them anyway. I guess you don't know your own cousin as well as we do.”
“Well, why doesn't he give his reasons for not playing?” asked Garrett, sulkily.
“Because,” answered Henning, with no little natural dignity, “I do not feel at liberty to do so. If I did I would give them readily. Believe me, boys, it is not by my own choice that I resign my position on the baseball and football teams.”
“We believe you, Roy,” said Shealey. “Although we regret your action, we believe you have good reasons; don't we, Beecham?”
Jack Beecham nodded affirmatively. “Yes,” he replied, after a moment's silence, “I joked at first only because I thought Roy was joking. Sorry he wasn't. Garrett, you had better believe what your cousin says. He is not accustomed to lie into or out of a thing.”
This remark was received by Garrett in silence. With a look unpleasant enough to be considered a leer on his face he walked away, but Shealey's innuendo, as we shall see later, had more significance for the one to whom it was directed than the rest of the group realized. Were it not on account of the relationship with Roy, the boys in general would
have ignored Garrett. Winters and Hunter and Stapleton and Clavering were gone from St. Cuthbert's, having graduated the previous year. Henning and Ambrose Bracebridge, Rob Jones and Tom Shealey were taking their places, and among these Henning was most popular.
In a few minutes Henning walked away, and his friends began freely to discuss his decision, vaguely guessing at the motive which prompted it, and entirely unsuccessful in arriving at any solution of the difficulty.