d her dog onto me, and I
kicked him in the jaw and---- Oh, it was one swell hike."

Milt was trying to ignore the voice that was raging, "And now he expects
to live on me, after throwing his own money away. The waster! The hobo!
He'll expect to meet Claire---- I'd kill him before I'd let him soil her
by looking at her. Him and his classy girls!" Milt tried to hear only
the other inner voice, which informed him, "He looks at you so
trustingly. He'd give you his shirt, if you needed it--and he wouldn't
make you ask for it!"

Milt tried to be hearty: "What're you going to do, old kid?"

"Well, the first thing I'm going to do is to borrow ten iron-men and a
pair of pants."

"You bet! Here she is. Haven't got any extra pants. Tell you: Here's
another five, and you can get the pants at the store in the next block,
this side of the street. Hustle along now and get 'em!" He chuckled at
Bill; he patted his arm; he sought to hurry him out.... He had to be
alone, to think.

But Bill kissed the fifteen dollars, carelessly rammed it into his
pocket, crawled back on the bed, yawned, "What's the rush? Gosh, I'm
sleepy. Say, Milt, whadyuh think of me and you starting a lunch-room
here together? You got enough money out of the garage----"

"Oh no, noooo, gee, I'd like to, Bill, but you see, well, I've got to
hold onto what little I've got so I can get through engineering school."

"Sure, but you could cash in on a restaurant--you could work evenings in
the dump, and there'd be a lot of city sports hanging around, and we'd
have the time of our lives."

"No, I---- I study, evenings. And I---- The fact is, Bill, I've met a
lot of nice fellows at the university and I kind of go around with
them."

"Aw, how d'you get that way? Rats, you don't want to go tagging after
them Willy-boys. Damn dirty snobs. And the girls are worse. I tell you,
Milt, these hoop-te-doodle society Janes may look all right to hicks
like us, but on the side they raise more hell than any milliner's
trimmer from Chi that ever vamped a rube burg."

"What do you know about them?"

"Now don't get sore. I'm telling you. I don't like to see any friend of
mine make a fool of himself hanging around with a bunch that despises
him because he ain't rich, that's all. Met any of the high-toned
skirts?"

"Yes--I--_have_!"

"Trot 'em up and lemme give 'em the once-over."

"We--we'll see about it. Now I got to go to a mathematics recitation,
Bill. You make yourself c