Page 42 - The Adventures of a Freshman

ones, which is equally important.

"Lucky told me you were hard up this year," Powelton said, as if he were often equally hard up himself. "As I
was going on to ask, what would you say to managing the club--would you mind the bother? Then it wouldn't
cost you a cent. It wouldn't be much bother. Somebody's got to run it, and we want somebody that's congenial.
Come on, won't you?"

"Well, Minerva," said Young, finally, "I'll think about it and tell you."

"That's right. Think it over. You've got a week to make up your mind in. So long."

"Thank you for asking me. Good-by."

Young had no objections to managing a club; that was not the reason he hesitated. It was because he did not
agree with Powelton that the fellows named were the best crowd in the class. In fact, he did not approve of
most of them, and some of them seemed not to realize what they had been sent to college for.

He walked on to his room, debating the matter, and finally wrote a letter to his mother.

"DEAR MOTHER:

"... The sixteen fellows composing the proposed club are the most prominent men in the class. It is a great
compliment to be asked to join them, I suppose, and what is more important, I should be saving money by it.
But although they are all nice to me, I do not altogether like them--except that little fellow, Lee, I told you
about, and one or two others.

"To be sure, I do not know much about them, but I know enough to know they do not study much--or 'pole,' as
we call it--and more than that, some of them--well, I don't think you would like them. Now my friends at my
present eating-club all study hard and have a definite aim in life. They are helpful and congenial friends. I
should not like to leave them. They say they would hate to have me go, too. But they also say I would be
foolish, for financial reasons, not to accept the offer."

When Mrs. Young read this letter, she at first wanted to say, "keep out of fast company, whatever you do!"
But on second thoughts she saw that if Will did not embrace this opportunity he might not be able to stay in
college at all--and as for the new associates, she knew that her boy was no weakling. Finally she agreed with
Will's friends that he would be foolish to let the chance go by, and wrote immediately, saying so. "And your
own conduct will be a good example to the others," she wrote.

Will had already made up his mind that way before receiving this letter, and felt so glad and relieved about it
that he played very well at right guard that day; twice he broke through and stopped the opposing quarter-back
from passing the ball, and was duly applauded by those watching from the terrace behind Witherspoon Hall.
He was commended even by Nolan, the Junior who coached the team. "Now that you're learning to use your
weight," said Nolan, "you're improving a little. By next year you will know something about the game; by
Junior year you might run a chance of making the 'Varsity." And this was a good deal for a reserved man like
Nolan to say, and quite enough to make Young's heart beat faster, though it was going pretty fast already from
the hard exercise.

"Wait a minute, Young," said the Freshman captain, "we're going to let you stay at right guard. Come up to
my room to-night and get measured for your suit." This meant that he was no longer trying for the Freshman
eleven, but had earned his place upon it. So he dog-trotted back to his room, feeling exuberant and strong and
hopeful, and very glad that he had determined to run the new club. "Well, it's beginning to look now as if I
might get through the year," he said to himself as he jogged along. "Haven't any board to pay now, and if I get