ith an
old classmate, however, had resulted in a sudden decision to delay his
departure for another twenty-four hours in favor of a good time with
Billy Thorpe.

As if in punishment, things had seemed to go wrong with him all day.
In the afternoon the Rochester baseball team had knocked three Toronto
pitchers out of the box, a blow-up which had cost the loyal Mr.
Kendrick twenty-five dollars and a loss of reputation as an authority
on International League standings. Then in the evening, in the crowd
out at The Beach, somebody had taken hold of his silk ribbon fob and
gently removed the gold watch which his aunt had given him on his
birthday. Later still--!

It was the left eye, so swollen now that it was closed to a mere slit.
There was no optical delusion about its nomenclature and in diameter
and chromatic depth it was at the head of its class; in fact, it gave
promise of being by daylight in a class by itself. It was the sort of
decoration which could be relied upon implicitly to fire the
imagination of misguided acquaintances through several merry weeks of
green and yellow recuperation. And withal it cast a reflection upon
the fistic prowess of young Mr. Kendrick which was entirely unjust, it
being the product of what is known as a "lucky punch"--for the other
fellow.

No, it was not in the result of the fight that dissatisfaction lay, but
in the cause. McCorquodale's remarks about the Honorable Milton Waring
had been addressed to McCorquodale's two companions; there had been no
intent to insult the Honorable Milton Waring's nephew who sat at the
next table in the restaurant, none of the three worthies being aware
that they were within earshot of a hypersensitive member of the
honorable gentleman's family. That being so, it had been distinctly
foolish for the aforesaid nephew to walk over to the other table and
demand an apology. He should have finished his coffee and cigarette
and strolled out. Or, if he had deemed it imperative to participate in
the political discussion, why in the mischief hadn't he just stepped
across, proffered his cigarette-case and made a joke of the situation?

Of a truth the expression upon this fellow McCorquodale's homely,
good-humored face when Kendrick revealed his identity had been
sufficiently quizzical. He had grinned widely as he waved the
indignant young man to a seat at the table and even then the situation
would have adjusted itself had it been left to the principal