“Right-o! And now let’s stop chinning, if you don’t mind.”
Bert grumbled a bit and at last, with a good deal of noisy slamming of books, settled down to study. They didn’t speak again that evening. Later Bert took himself off to visit somewhere in the building and Hugh went to bed with a book. He didn’t read a great deal, though, for Bert’s remarks had stung. When you are making a hard try to be as American and democratic as you possibly can, it is discouraging to be accused of putting on side. In Hugh’s case it hurt. Looking back, he could see now that he had made a bad beginning by appearing on the scene with Bowles in attendance, but he had supposed that Bert and the others had forgotten that incident. As for the coat-of-arms—what Bert really meant was crest—that seemed a small matter. It was on his brushes and silver toilet things, and he had some writing paper that bore it. But he never used the paper and he certainly never paraded the toilet articles. After a while he got out of bed, pulled his bag from the closet and ruthlessly dumped brushes and comb and shoehorn and buttonhook and three or four other articles into it and shoved the bag back in the closet. The next morning he combed his hair with his fingers, not very successfully, and after English he hurried off to the village and outfitted anew at the drug store, becoming the owner of two military brushes with imitation mahogany backs, a black rubber comb, a five-cent buttonhook made of nickel, and a papier-mâché shoehorn. He didn’t know what more he could do unless he gave up wearing his watch, which had the crest above his monogram, or left off a small seal-ring which offended in the same way.
Bert had apparently forgotten his ill-humor of the night before and was the same as usual, except that he seemed rather quiet and depressed. Hugh, however, found it hard to forget so readily, for he was fond of his roommate and the latter’s remarks still rankled. But Hugh tried to hide the fact and Bert never suspected it. That afternoon Hugh believed that he had discovered the reason for his chum’s ill-humor, for Bert didn’t get into the scrimmage with the second team until it was almost over, Zanetti and Siedhof playing at left half by turns. Hugh was again left out of the second team line-up, but he was able to follow the scrimmaging fairly closely from where he and three other fellows were punting and catching beyond the west goal.
Later he walked back with Pop, and Pop, after a silence that lasted until they had crossed the green, asked: “What’s wrong with Bert, Duke? He’s as grouchy as a bear and is playing like a silly idiot. Bonner gave him an awful dressing-down after practice yesterday. And of course he had to go and lose his temper and sass Bonner back and there was the dickens to pay for a while. Bonner made him apologize. I was afraid at first that Bert wouldn’t do it. Did he tell you about it?”
“Not a word. He was beastly ugly last evening, though. I didn’t know what the dickens was up. We had a regular row.”
“He has a rotten temper. Gets over it quick, though. I thought at one time Bonner was going to fire him from the squad. He will have to brace up and get onto himself or he will find that Siedhof has his place. Bonner isn’t the sort you can fool with much.”
“I wish he wouldn’t flare up the way he does,” said Hugh. “He says perfectly rotten things when he’s waxy.”
Pop nodded. “He’s as mean as a little yellow pup when he gets started. Come on over a while, Duke, and tell me how you’re getting on. What’s Crowley going to do with you, by the way? The end positions are settled, aren’t they?”
“Yes, but Bert thinks I might beat out that chap Forbes. I dare say I’ll sit on the bench a good deal, though. What sort of a team has Rotan College, Pop?”
“‘Rotten’ College? Oh, good enough to lay us out, I guess. They’ll win about twelve to nothing. Still, it’ll be a good game. There’s a big mucker named Lambert who plays left guard for them. Lambert and I had quite a merry little party last year and I’m honest enough to own up that he got the best of it. I’m looking forward with much pleasure to meeting him again on Saturday.” Pop smiled grimly. “If he tries what he tried last year he won’t play more than a couple of periods, I guess.”