“But—but some one’s coaching you, aren’t they?”
“Who, me? No, sir, I haven’t had an hour’s coaching since I came here. Mr. Farrel’s been mighty good to me, and he’s helped me a lot with Latin, but I haven’t had any coaching.”
“Oh, I understood you had,” answered Hansel.
“Well, I haven’t. It’s been mighty tough work sometimes, but now it isn’t so hard. I’ve learned more here last year and this than I did all the four years I was at Bursley. As for football, I like to play it, but if the fellows are going to make a fuss about it, I guess I can get along without it.”
“If you could only get along without the money from the football fund,” said Hansel eagerly, “you could play all you wanted to and no one would say a word.”
“Well, if I can get a hundred-dollar scholarship I’ll pay for myself, you bet! Of course, if I don’t get it, and the fellows don’t want to pay the rest of my tuition, I’ll just have to leave. But I don’t want to, Dana; I like this old school; the fellows are decent to me, and so are the instructors; they don’t make me feel that I’m no good because I haven’t any money, like they did at Bursley. Mind, I don’t hold it against you fellows for what you’re doing. Maybe you’ve got the right end of it. I don’t pretend to understand it; at Bursley we got fellows wherever we could find ’em, and we paid them to play for us. Maybe it ain’t right; I don’t know. But I don’t want any fellow to say I haven’t earned what they’ve given me here; I may not be so—so particular as you chaps, but I never cheated anyone out of a cent or took a cent I hadn’t earned.”
“I’m sorry,” answered Hansel. “I suppose I started the row, and I think the way we look at the matter is the right one, but it seems hard on you, Cameron. All I hope is, you’ll get your scholarship, pay your own way and stay here to play for us another year.”
“That’s fair talk,” said the other heartily. “I was afraid you had it in for me—er—personally, as you say. And I didn’t like that because—well, you play a fine game of football and—and seem white; I like white fellows like you and Bert and Harry and Larry Royle. This where you live? Well, I’m glad I had a talk with you. Whenever you hear any fellow say that Billy Cameron isn’t playing fair you tell me about it, will you?”
“Yes,” answered Hansel gravely. “Good night. Come up and see us some time.”
“All right, I’ll try to. But I’m pretty busy just now; that Ovid chap has me lashed to the mast. Do you have him?”