Duncan, too. Mrs. Duncan laughed at 'em--she isn't afraid of anything.
But they didn't say a word all through breakfast. I've never seen my
father so mad. He ought to have known better than to run up against
Uncle Jethro."

"How did they run up against Uncle Jethro?" asked Cynthia, now keenly
interested.

"Don't you know?" exclaimed Bob, in astonishment.

"No," said Cynthia, "or I shouldn't have asked."

"Didn't Uncle Jethro tell you about it?"

"He never tells me anything about his affairs," she answered.

Bob's astonishment did not wear off at once. Here was a new phase, and
he was very hard put. He had heard, casually, a good deal of abuse of
Jethro and his methods in the last two days.

"Well," he said, "I don't know anything about politics. I don't know
myself why father and Mr. Duncan were so eager for this post-mastership.
But they were. And I heard them say something about the President going
back on them when they had telegraphed from Chicago and come to see him
here. And maybe they didn't let Heth in for it. It seems Uncle Jethro
only had to walk up to the White House. They ought to have sense enough
to know that he runs the state. But what's the use of wasting time over
this business?" said Bob. "I told you I was going to Brampton before the
term begins just to see you, didn't I?"

"Yes, but I didn't believe you," said Cynthia.

"Why not?" he demanded.

"Because it's my nature, I suppose," she replied.

This was too much for Bob, exasperated though he was, and he burst into
laughter.

"You're the queerest girl I've ever known," he said.

Not a very original remark.

"That must be saying a great deal," she answered.

"Why?"

"You must have known many."

"I have," he admitted, "and none of 'em, no matter how much they'd
knocked about, were able to look out for themselves any better than
you."

"Not even Cassandra Hopkins?" Cynthia could not resist saying. She
saw that she had scored; his expressions registered his sensations so
accurately.

"What do you know about her?" he said.

"Oh," said Cynthia, mysteriously, "I heard that you were very fond of
her at Andover."

Bob could not help pluming himself a little. He thought the fact that
she had mentioned the matter a flaw in Cynthia's armor, as indeed it
was. And yet he was not proud of the Cassandra Hopkins episode in his
career.

"Cassandra is one of the institutions at Andover," said he; "most
fellows have to take a course in Ca