“All right. And I mustn’t forget to call on Harry this afternoon. I dare say he’s wild about it.”
But Phin found when he made his visit that he hadn’t done justice to the manager’s sense of humor. Harry seemed to think that it was a pretty good joke, and wasn’t satisfied until Phin had told his story of the mass meeting.
“Bert was up here this forenoon,” said Harry with a chuckle. “He’s red-headed, frothing at the mouth. Says it was all my fault; that I shouldn’t have given you the statement, that I had no business being sick, and a lot more poppycock. But, thunder! how was I to know you were going to read that statement? I thought you just wanted to have it in case somebody began asking questions. I wish I could have been there—in the back of the hall, I mean—and heard it all. Billy Cutler says Field looked just as though he was sitting on a hot stove!”
“I’m sorry if I’ve got you into trouble, Harry, but the chance was too good a one to let go by. And Hansel Dana——”
“Hansel Dana!” interrupted Harry with a grin. “There it is! He’s at the bottom of the whole shindy. Say, that fellow’s playing hob, isn’t he? He’ll have the whole school topsy-turvy if he keeps on! He’s woozy on the subject of ‘clean athletics,’ ‘school honor,’ and all the rest of it. He’s a perfect idiot, but you can’t help liking him.”
“You don’t think that, Harry,” said Phin gravely. “You know well enough that he’s right.”
“Right? Well, maybe he is right, but, great Scott! what’s the use of raising Cain about it? Why can’t he be satisfied with being right? What is it about virtue being its own reward? Besides, it’s all perfectly useless; Billy Cameron’s tuition is all paid for the term, and nothing on earth can stop him from playing football now!”
“We’re working for next year, Harry.”
“That’s all right then,” said the other heartily. “Go ahead; you have my blessing. I shan’t be here next year. But just at present I’m manager of the old team and I don’t want it beaten.”
“Neither do we,” said Phin quietly; “but we want it to win honestly.”