“I’ve got some new ones that are good enough. But don’t bother. I’ll be all right. Feeling quite cocky already.”
“Well, you don’t look it!” laughed Bert. “And, say, I got a glimpse of your friend Longley, Hugh, and if it’s any comfort to you, he’s a sight!”
“Word of honor?” asked Hugh eagerly. “What—what’s he like?”
“Well, he isn’t disfigured for life, as you are, of course, but he’s got a swollen nose that makes him look horribly silly and he’s got the skin off his cheek-bone. He’s no prize beauty, any way you look at him!”
“But, I say, you didn’t—didn’t have any words with him, eh?”
“Oh, we passed the time of day,” replied Bert carelessly. “I’ll get that witch-hazel.”
CHAPTER XX
“HOBO” WINS FAME
Hugh cut chapel the next morning, but there was French at ten and Greek at eleven and mathematics at one, and so it wasn’t possible to remain in retirement. Bert consoled him with the assurance that except for a badly discolored eye he would pass muster anywhere as an ardent pacifist. Hugh couldn’t quite credit that, but he had no course but to attend classes. His appearance created interest and aroused curiosity among his classmates, while Mr. Teschner observed him speculatively but asked no questions. Plenty of questions were asked, however, and Hugh’s ingenuity was sorely taxed in accounting for his contusions without involving Longley. By the afternoon, though, the facts were pretty widely known, probably due to the communicativeness of Peet, and Hugh was no longer required to invent.