“Saw Marcia just before I left the lake—took her out one night—and got all over the place with her—and then came down—she’s coming to the first prom with me—and Marj to the second—got to get some beer in—we’ll buzz out and see if old Snorenson has made any wine this summer. Hello, Eddie—glad to see you back—I’ve elected the dean’s physics, though, God knows, I’ll never get a first in them and I need it for a key. That damn Frosh we picked up sure must have been a porter—hey, freshmen! Want a rest?”

“No, thanks.”

“Went down to the field this afternoon—looks all right to me. The team, that is. Billings is going to quarter it now—and me after that—hope to Christ I make it—they’re going to have Scapper and Dwan back at Yale and we’ve got a lot of work to do. Frosh! You don’t need to drag that all the way in one yank. Put it down, will you?”

“I’m not tired. I don’t need a rest.”

“Well, you know best—but you ought to be tired. I would. Where do you come from?”

“Colorado.”

“Huh! People go to Colorado. Never heard of any one coming from there before. Whereabouts?”

“Indian Creek.”

“Oh.” There was a pause. “You aren’t an Indian, are you?” It was asked bluntly.

“Scotch Presbyterian for twenty generations.”

“Well, when you get through here, you’ll be full of Scotch and emptied of the Presbyterianism. Put the trunk down.”

Their talk of women, of classes, of football, excited Hugo. He was not quite as amazed to find that Lefty Foresman was one of the candidates for the football team as he might have been later when he knew how many students attended the university and how few, relatively, were athletes. He decided at once that he liked Lefty. The sophistication of his talk was unfamiliar to Hugo; much of it he could not understand and only guessed. He wanted Lefty to notice him. When he was told to put the trunk down, he did not obey. Instead, with precision and ease, he swung it up on his shoulder, held it with one hand and said in an unflustered tone: “I’m not tired, honestly. Where do we go from here?”

“Great howling Jesus!” Lefty said, “what have we here? Hey! Put that trunk down.” There was excitement in his voice. “Say, guy, do that again.”

Hugo did it. Lefty squeezed his biceps and grew pale. Those muscles in action lost their feel of flesh and became like stone. Lefty said: “Say, boy, can you play football?”

“Sure,” Hugo said.

“Well, you leave that trunk with Chuck, here, and come with me.”