"I wish I could."
"Oh, you can, after you've tried a few times. Well, then, it's settled. I'll propose you at the next meeting."
"How lucky I am to have fallen in with you, Oscar."
"I know what you mean. I'm your guide, philosopher, and friend, and all that sort of thing. I hope you'll have proper veneration for me. It's rather a new character for me. Would you believe it, Harry,—at home I am regarded as a rattle-brained chap, instead of the dignified Professor that you know me to be. Isn't it a shame?"
"Great men are seldom appreciated at home, Oscar."
"I know that. I shall have to get a certificate from you, certifying to my being a steady and erudite young man."
"I'll give it with the greatest pleasure."
"Holloa, there's a knock. Come in!" shouted Oscar.
The door opened, and Fitzgerald Fletcher entered the room.
"How are you, Fitz?" said Oscar. "Sit down and make yourself comfortable. You know my friend, Harry Walton, I believe?"