“You don’t have to look ahead, Will,” suggested Foster kindly.

“No, the look behind is bad enough.  If I had worked in the early part of the high-school course as I ought to I’d not be having all this bother now.”

“And if you work now you won’t have the trouble ahead,” laughed Foster.

“I suppose that’s the way of it.”

“Of course it is.  A fellow reaps what he sows.”

“I’d rather rip what I sewed,” said Will ruefully.  “Do you know, Foster, sometimes I think the game isn’t worth the candle.  I’d give it all up, even if I had to leave college, if it wasn’t for my father.”

“You wouldn’t do anything of the kind and you know it, Will Phelps!  You’re not the fellow to run when the pinch comes.”

“I’d like to, though,” said Will thoughtfully.  “My fit in Greek was so poor I’ll never get much of the good from studying it.”

“You’ll be all the stronger for not giving up, anyway.”

“That’s the only thing that keeps me at it.  I’m so busy I don’t even have time to be homesick.”

“Well, that’s one good thing.”

“Perhaps it is, but if I flunk out at the mid-year’s—­”

“You won’t if you only keep it up and keep at it.”

“I’d feel better if I thought I wouldn’t.”

“You’ll be all right,” said Foster soothingly, for he understood his friend so well that he knew he was in one of his periods of mental reaction, and that what he needed was encouragement more than anything else.

“And just think of it,” continued Will gloomily, “you’re about the only one of the fellows I ever see nowadays.  I don’t believe I’ve seen Hawley in three weeks, that is to have a word with him.”

“Who has?”

“I don’t know.  All the fellows, I suppose.”

“Not much!  Hawley is working like a Trojan on the football team.  You know that as well as I do.”

“I suppose that’s so.  Still I’d like to see the fellow once in a while.”

“He’s a good man all right and I’ve a notion that he’s saved Peter John from more than one scrape because he roomed with him.”

“I haven’t seen Peter John either for more than a week.”

“We ought to look him up and keep an eye on him.”

“‘Keep an eye on him’?  You want to keep both eyes and your hands and your feet too, for the matter of that.  He certainly is the freshest specimen I ever saw, and the worst of it all is that he doesn’t seem to know that he lacks anything.  He’s just as confident when he marches up to Wagner and gives him some points in running the track team as he is when he’s telling you and me how to work up our Greek.  And the fellow has flunked in Greek every time he’s been called up for the past ten days.”

“Yes, I know it.  That’s why I said we ought to look out for him.”

“He’s got to learn how to look out for himself.”

“He needs a tutor, though, Will—­”