I have enough
to do without wasting time on lazy youngsters who haven't sense enough
to develop their gifts. If you continue to turn in themes like these,
I'll give you C's or D's on them and let you dig your own shallow grave
by yourself. But If you want to try to write as well as you can, I'll
give you all the help in my power. Not one minute can you have so long
as you don't try, but you can have hours if you do try. Furthermore, you
will find writing a pleasure if you write as well as you can, but you
won't get any sport just scribbling off themes because you have to."

He paused to toss the three themes across the desk to Hugh, who was
watching him with astonishment. No instructor had ever talked to him
that way before.

"You can rewrite these themes if you want to," Henley went on. "I
haven't graded them, and I'll reserve the grades for the rewritten
themes; and if I find that you have made a real effort, I'll discuss
them in detail with you. What do you say?"

"I'd like to rewrite them," Hugh said softly. "I know they are rotten."

"No, they aren't rotten. I've got dozens that are worse. That isn't the
point. They aren't nearly so good as you can make them, and only your
best work is acceptable to me. Now show me what you can do with them,
and then we'll tear them to shreds in regular fashion." He turned to his
desk and smiled at Hugh, who, understanding that the conference was
over, stood up and reached for the themes. "I'll be interested in
seeing what you can do with those," Henley concluded. "Every one of them
has a good idea. Go to it--and get them back in a week."

"Yes, sir. Thanks very much."

"Right-o. Good-by."

"Good-by, sir," and Hugh left the office determined to rewrite those
themes so that "they'd knock Jimmie Henley's eye out." They didn't do
exactly that, but they did interest him, and he spent an hour and a half
discussing them with Hugh.

That was merely the first of a series of long conferences. Sometimes
Henley and Hugh discussed writing, but often they talked about other
subjects, not as instructor and student but as two men who respected
each other's mind. Before the term was out Henley had invited Hugh to
his home for dinner and to meet Mrs. Henley. Hugh was enormously
flattered and, for some reason, stimulated to do better work. He found
his talks with Henley really exciting, and he expressed his opinions to
him as freely and almost as positively as he did to his classmates. He