"Yes, Nu Delt or Kappa Zete or any other bunch. Promise me," he urged; "promise me."
Carl understood the magnitude of the sacrifice offered, and his eyes became dangerously soft. "God! you're white, Hugh," he whispered huskily, "white as hell. You go Nu Delt if they ask you—but I promise you that I won't go Alpha Sig even if they bid me without pay." He held out his hand, and Hugh gripped it hard. "I promise," he repeated, "on my word of honor."
At seven o'clock Saturday evening every freshman who had any reason at all to think that he would get a bid—and some that had no reason—collected in nervous groups in the living-room of the Union. At the stroke of seven they were permitted to move up to a long row of tables which were covered with large envelopes, one for every freshman. They were arranged in alphabetical order, and in an incredibly short time each man found the one addressed to him. Some of the envelopes were stuffed with cards, each containing the freshman's name and the name of the fraternity bidding him; some of them contained only one or two cards—and some of them were empty. The boys who drew empty envelopes instantly left the Union without a word to anybody; the others tried to find a free space where they could scan their cards unobserved. They were all wildly excited and nervous. One glance at the cards, and their faces either lighted with joy or went white with disappointment.
Hugh found ten cards in his envelope—and one of them had Nu Delta written on it. His heart leaped; for a moment he thought that he was going to cry. Then he rushed around the Union looking for Carl. He found him staring at a fan of cards, which he was holding like a hand of bridge.
"What luck?" Hugh cried.
Carl handed him the cards. "Lamp those," he said, "and then explain. They've got me stopped."
He had thirteen bids, one from every fraternity in good standing, including the so-called Big Three.
When Hugh saw the Nu Delta card he yelled with delight.
"I got a Nu Delt, too." His voice was trembling with excitement. "You'll go with me, won't you?"
"Of course, Hugh. But I don't understand."