Page 22 - The Adventures of a Freshman

"He is rather fresh. Do you think we'll secure him, Jim?"

"But you can hardly blame him for taking himself so seriously," Linton went on as they gained the street "You
see he has always lived at home, didn't go away to prep. school, was never guyed or anything of that sort in all
his innocent life, and he doesn't know how to take it. He was an important person at home--probably led his
class at the High School--has a lot of little brothers and sisters that bow down to him; and they've told him that
he is a great man so often that he thinks there must be something in it. His hands show he has worked on a
farm, but the palms are soft now-- I noticed that shaking hands--so he's probably clerked in a store or taught
school; yes, he's probably taught school."

Linton considered himself a student of human nature, and he did guess pretty well this time, though Young
had no sisters and had never taught school.

"Anyway," he concluded, and in this he was right, perhaps, "college will be a great thing for him. No one ever
made him realize his relative unimportance in the world."

"As we made big Bally realize it last year," interposed Nolan, smiling.

"Yes, and as we, too, were made to realize it the year before. My, what a big chump you'd have been, Billy, if
you hadn't been hazed."

"And, oh, what a supercilious ass you'd have made, Jim. Do you remember that time— "

And these two walked on toward the campus with arms thrown carelessly about each others' shoulders,
reminiscencing about days which, to hear them talk, you would have thought were half a generation ago; and
so they were--half a college generation.

Meanwhile Young was doing what Linton had told him to do, thinking over what had been said to him. Also
he thought over what he had observed when the Juniors and Sophomores were in the room together, and he
came to certain conclusions. Then he went to bed.