The Washington times., 1911-05-15
CHAPTER XII.
Our First Winter.


just about as much interest
as it was possible for three
people to crowd into six or
seven months. And even then there
was so much left over which we
wanted to do that We fairly groaned
as We saw opportunity after opportunity
Slip by which we simply didn't have the
time to improve.
To begin with the boy, he went at his
studies with zeSt that placed him
among the first ten Of his class. Dick
wasn't a quick boy at his books and
so this stood for sheer hard plugging.
To me this made his success all the
more noteworthy.
Furthermore, it wasn't the result of
goading either from Ruth or myself |
kept after him about all the details of
his school life. and about the boys he
met, but l let him go his own gait
in his studies. | wanted to see Just
how the new point of view would work
out in him.
The result as I saw it was that every
night after supper he went at his prob
lens not as a mere school bov but
man-fashion. He sailed in to learn. He
had to.
There was no prestige in that school
coming from what the fathers did. No
one knew what the fathers did. II didn't
matter. With half a dozen nationali-
ties in the race the school was too cos
mopolitan to admit such local issues.
A few boys might chum together feel
ing they were better than the others,
but the school as a whole didn't recOg-
nize them: Each boy counted for what
he did-what he was.
OF the other nine boys in the first
ten, four We're of Jewish origin. three
were Irish, one was Italian, and the
other was American born, but of Irish
descent. Half Of them hoped to go
through college on scholarships, and the
others had equally ambitious plans for
business.
The Jews were easily the most bril-
liant students, but they didn't attempt
literary ability and wrote a little for
the school paper. The American born
Irish boy was made manager of the
freshman football team.
The other four were natural athletes
two of them played on the school
eleven and the others were just built
Dick tried for the eleven but he
wasn't heavy enough for one thing and
so didn't make anything but a sub |
stitute's position with the freshmen. l |
was just as well satisfied.
didn't mind the preliminary train |
ing, but / felt | would as soon be added |
couple more years to his age before |
in him to play. My point had been won |
when he went out and tried.
At the end of the first four months |
In the school l thought l saw general |
lmproN ement in him. He held hlmSelf |
better for one thing-with his head !
higher and his shoulders we'll back.
This wasn't due TO his physical train
ing either.
1t meant a changed mental attitude.
Ruth says she didn't notice any differ
ence and she thinks this is nothing
but my Imagination. But she's wrong.
1 was looking for something she couldn't
see that the boy lacked before.
Dick TO her was always all right. OF
course l knew myself that the boy
couldn't go far wrong whatever his
but l knew also that his form
er indifferent attitude was going to
make his path just SO much harder for
him.
Dick, when he read over his manu-
script, said he thought the whole busi-
ness was foolish and that even il l
wanted to tell the story of my own life,
the least / could do was to leave out
him. But his life was more largely my
life than he realizes even now.
And his case was in many ways a
better example of the true emigrant
spirit than my own.
He Joined the indoor track squad this
winter, too, but here again he didn't
distinguish himself. He fought his way
nto the finals at the interscholastic I
meet, but that was all. However this, | {
90, was good training for him.
] saw that race myself and l watched b
lis mouth instead OF his legs. / liked (
he way his jaws came together on the !
ast lap though it hurt to see the look in I
us eyes when he fell so far behind '