Harry got upon his feet, shoved one hand into his trousers pocket, and stared in silence for some seconds at Merriwell.  That stare was most expressive.

“Well, may I be jotally tiggered—­I mean totally jiggered!” he finally exclaimed.

“You’ll be worse than that if you keep on with those things,” asserted Frank.  “You’ll be totally wrecked.”

“This is the first time you have had the crust to deliberately tell me that I must do anything,” growled Harry, resentfully.  “And I feel free to say that I don’t like it much.  It is carrying the thing altogether too far.  I have never told you that you must do this thing or you mustn’t do that.  I should have considered that I was beddling with something that was none of my misness—­er—­meddling with something that was none of my business.”

Frank perceived that his roommate was quite heated, so he dropped the paper and said: 

“Don’t fly off the handle so quick, old man.  I am speaking for your own good, and you should know it.”

“Thank you!” sarcastically.

“But I am in earnest.”

“Really?” and Rattleton elevated his eyebrows.

“Come now,” said Frank, “sit down and we will talk it over.”

“Talk it over, eh?  I don’t know why we should talk over a matter that concerns me alone.”

“Your dinner did not set well.  I never saw you so touchy in all my life.  You know I am your friend, old man, and there is no reason why you should show such a spirit toward me.”

“I don’t like to be told what I must do and what I mustn’t by anybody.  That’s all there is about it.”

Harry did sit down, but he lighted a fresh cigarette.

“Well, I suppose you will have your own way, but I want to explain why I said what I did.  You know we are out to beat the sophs in the boat race.”

“Sure.”

“Well, in order to do it every man of us must be in the pink of condition.  You are not drinking, and Old Put doesn’t know how much you are smoking.  If he did he would call you down or drop you.  It is pretty certain that Gordon would take your place.”

“Well, I suppose you are going to tell Old Put all about it?  Is that what you mean?”

“Not exactly.  But you know I have as much interest in the makeup of our crew as Old Put, although he is the man who really has charge of us.”

“Well?”

“If I were to say so, you would be taken out and some one else would fill your place.”

“And would you do that?”

“Not unless forced to do so.  You should know, Harry, that I am ready to stick by you in anything—­if I can.”

“If you can!  I don’t understand that—­hang me, if I do!  If I have a friend I am going to stick to him through anything, right or wrong!”

“That’s first rate and it is all right.  If you get into any trouble, I fancy you will not find anybody who will stand by you any longer.  But this matter is different.  You are in training, and you are not supposed to smoke at all, but you get here in this room and puff away by the hour.”