minutes doors in the corridor opened and shut and
footfalls sounded as the fellows hurried off to Wendell. But I doubt if
Don heard the sounds, for he was sunk very low in the chair and his eyes
were fixed intently on space. Presently he drew in his legs, sat up and
pulled his watch from his pocket. A moment of speculation followed. Then
he jumped from the chair as one whose mind is at last made up and went
to his closet. From the recesses he dragged forth his bag and laid it
open on his bed. From the closet hooks he took down a few garments and
tossed them beside the bag and then crossed to his dresser and pulled
open the drawers. Don had decided to accept Coach Robey's title. He was
going to quit!

There was a train at six-thirty-four and another at seven-one for New
York. With luck, he could get the first. If he missed that he was
certain of the second. The dormitory was empty, it was quite dark
outside by now and there was scarcely a chance of anyone's seeing him.
If he hurried he could be at the station before Tim could return from
supper. Or, even if he didn't get away until the seven-one train, he
would be clear of the hall before Tim could discover his absence and
surmise the reason for it. To elude Tim was the all-important thing, for
Tim would never approve and would put all sorts of obstacles in his way.
In fact, it would be a lot like Tim to hold him back by main force!
Don's heart sank for a moment. It was going to be frightfully hard to
leave old Timmy. Perhaps they might meet again at college in a couple of
years, but they would not be likely to see each other before that time,
and even that depended on so many things that it couldn't be confidently
counted on.

Don paused in his hurried selection of articles from the dresser drawers
and dropped into a chair at the table. But, with the pad before him and
pen in hand, he shook his head. A note would put Tim wise to what was
happening and perhaps allow him to get to the station in time to make a
fuss. No, it would be better to write to him later; perhaps from New
York tonight, for Don was pretty sure that he wouldn't be able to get a
through train before morning. So, with another glance at his watch, he
began to pack again, throwing things in every which-way in his feverish
desire to complete the task and leave the building before Tim got back.
He came across a scarf that Tim had admired and laid it back in the top
drawer. It had never been worn and Tim sh