We didn’t stay at the table after Mrs. Perrin went because we weren’t smoking, and Mr. Perrin pretended he didn’t want to. So we went back to the library, and the first thing I knew Pete was over at the piano with Mrs. Perrin pulling the music about for him. Pete’s a wonder at the ivories, and he played and we all sang; Mr. Perrin, too, when he knew the song; and had a regular merry-merry for about an hour. Then we had to mosey back to Cambridge, and Mr. Perrin sent out and had Pete’s car brought around from the stable. They made us take sweaters and coats, for we hadn’t brought any, and it was getting chilly. We were to leave them with Bob. We said good-night to Mrs. Perrin in the library, and she made us all promise to come again, which wasn’t hard to do, for we were dead eager to. Mr. Perrin went out to the car with us and stood around while we lighted up and packed ourselves in. Pete started the engine the first time and tried not to look surprised, and we all shook hands and Mr. Perrin said we mustn’t forget our promise to come again, and we said he wasn’t to worry about that! But then he didn’t move away, and we saw he had something to say and Pete throttled down his engine.
“There’s one thing I’d like to know,” he said earnestly, “and it’s this. I want Harvard to win this year, boys, perhaps every bit as much as you do. I’m afraid I haven’t appeared very sympathetic this evening, but I do sympathize with you in your trouble. I’ve been through with something of the same sort myself, and I haven’t forgotten. And I’m not going to tell you that whether we win or lose the world’s going to keep on whirling. I know it didn’t seem so to me in the old days, and it doesn’t seem so to you. I don’t believe there’s an old player who follows the fortunes of the Team any more closely than I do, boys. I’ve ridden eighty miles at night to learn the result of a Yale game. I’m telling you this because I don’t want you to think that I’ve outgrown my devotion to the college, my loyalty to the Team.”
He paused and Pete pretended to tinker with the switch.
“And now one thing more,” said Mr. Perrin. “Two things, rather; for I want to tell you that I appreciate the fine way in which you have refrained from showing impatience or criticism of my attitude in regard to Bob. It may be that you secretly look on me as a selfish, pig-headed old codger——”
Billy started to say something, but Mr. Perrin continued:
“And perhaps I am. But partly because you have acted like three of God’s gentlemen and partly because—well, because an old player can never quite forget, I’m going to leave it in your hands. If you think the Team needs Bob more than I do, you tell him that he is to go in there and play his level best! Good-night, boys!”
Mearsville was ten miles behind before anyone said anything. Then it was Billy, and, since we had a hard road and the engine purred no louder than a kitten, we heard him even though he only muttered. “Fellows do get hurt,” he growled. “You can’t deny that. Look at the list of them just in our own time: Choate and Riley and ‘Fan’ Tanner and a whole bunch, to say nothing of this year’s list.”
A mile further on, I said: “I suppose a fellow with a busted leg wouldn’t be much use out there on that job.”