d bronze plaques upon the tapestried walls, I met a
host of good-looking, well-dressed men. There was evidently a "rushing
committee" of upper classmen, who took me about and introduced me to all
the others. There were one or two freshmen, too, whom I recognized; and
these were wearing in their lapels a strange, gleaming little button. I
was to learn later than this was the "pledge button" which announced
that these men had been offered membership to the fraternity and had
accepted it.

When we went into luncheon the near-sighted junior sat me next to him.
He seemed tremendously embarrassed. Once or twice he leaned over to
whisper to other men; then he would steal a glance at me and blush a
brick red, his inefficient eyes puckering to squint closely.

The other men, for the most part, disregarded me. A classmate--one of
the pledged freshmen--spoke to me now and then, but loftily and as if it
were an effort of hospitality.

As I felt the coldness increase, I grew glum and silent. My new-found
confidence oozed out into bewilderment. What had I done? What had I said
to insult them all, to hurt my chances of election to their midst? I
could not figure it out.

They were courteous enough. They were what they claimed to be: a crowd
of young gentlemen. But I could sense, electric in the air, the
disapproval and amusement which they felt.

And after lunch was over, I did not join the others in the big,
leather-walled smoking room. I made a mumbled apology and went. They
accepted it blandly, smiling, smirking a little, and let me go.

I had just gone down the steps and towards the campus when the
near-sighted junior came after me, redder than ever of face, his eyes,
blinking very hard. He hurried up behind me and put his hand on my
shoulder.

"See here, 'fresh,'" he said thickly, "I owe you an explanation. I don't
want the other fellows to see me giving it to you. Come on, walk along
with me."

At the corner, out of range of the windows of his fraternity house, he
began his hurried, jumbling speech.

"I could see," he said, "how uncomfortable they made you. They tried to
be decent, honestly they did. But they--they've never had--never had to
entertain a--one of your sort before, don't you see? We--we don't ever
take--well, it's all my fault. I'm so darn near-sighted that I didn't
realize. I couldn't see--I didn't know--"

He could not go on, for his dull, honest face was fearfully distressed.

"What didn't you know