Hugh and Carl grinned at each other, linked
arms again, and continued their way across the
campus. When they entered the Nu Delta house
a shout went up. “Hi, Carl! Hi, Hugh! Glad
to see you back. Didya have a good summer?
Put it there, ol’ kid”—and they shook hands, grip¬
ping each other’s forearm at the same time.
Hugh tried hard to become a typical sophomore
and failed rather badly. He retained much of the
shyness and diffidence that gives the freshman his
charm, and he did not succeed very well in acquiring
the swagger, the cocky, patronizing manner, the
raucous self-assurance that characterize the true
sophomore.
He found, too, that he could n’t lord it over the freshmen very well, and at times he was nothing less than a renegade to his class. He was con¬ stantly giving freshmen correct information about their problems, and during the dormitory initiations he more than once publicly objected to some “stunt” that seemed to him needlessly insulting to the initiates. Because he was an athlete, his opin¬ ion was respected, and quite unintentionally he won several good friends among the freshmen. His objections had all been spontaneous, and he was rather sorry about them afterward. He felt that he must be soft, that he ought to be able to stand anything that anybody else could. Further, he felt
