s
shoulder to shoulder with them in the first College rush. The subsequent
pullings and haulings, the poundings and jammings of this experience are
happily compensated for if Chase takes him when all is over, binds up
his bruises and tells him about fights of other days when there were
giants upon the campus. After this, the College is never the immense,
far-away thing it has seemed. He has seen his own class-men together, he
has measured his strength with the dread Sophs, he is a University man.

Long before this the fraternities have spotted him.

* * * * *

"What are you going to do next hour?"

Haviland had just come out from his nine-thirty recitation and found
"Cap" Smith waiting for him. Smith was a Beta Rho, and he had waited
there in the same way for the same Freshman more than once in the month
since the opening. It was Pellams who had discovered the boy, one night
in Mason's room, where the Junior loafed half his time. Pellams had a
big heart surely, for he had at once interested himself in Haviland,
asking him over to dinner to meet the fellows. The Freshman knew it was
the Juniors' duty to look after the infant class. This particular Junior
was a College favorite,--Walt had seen that--and the boy from far-away
New England went across the campus to the Row feeling that he was
getting into good hands. The Rho house seemed about right. Dinner was a
boisterous affair where the men took hands around the table and sang a
rollicking accompaniment to Pellams' coon songs, strange table-manners
that did not appear much to disturb Perkins' mother, who poured coffee
at the end. Afterward they all sat out on the porch steps in the summer
evening with their pipes, watching three of the men play catch. One of
the fellows danced a shuffle while the rest stood around and clapped
time and shouted, "Come on you _Nigger_!" They were very happy; it was a
bully way to live; the homelike look of things appealed to the Freshman.
Two of the fellows walked back to the Hall with him, and when they said
good-night they shook his hand strongly and hoped they would see more of
him.

This was the beginning. The college had become aware of his presence
now. So far he had taken just nine meals that he had paid for, and had
been away from the Hall one night out of four.

At the reception to the Freshmen he had been introduced to the same
Faculty people six times over by members of as many fraternities, e