He had
never, of course, explained this to any one in Cambridge. They wouldn't
be particularly interested and, in addition, his daily companions
seemed far too young for such serious confidences. In reality Harry
Kaperton was three years older than Elim; and Kaperton had been
pleasantly at college, racing horses, for seven years; many others were
Elim's age, but the maturity of the latter's responsibility separated
them.
In his room he took off his formal coat and nankeen waistcoat and hung
them on a pegged board. The room was bare, with two uncurtained windows
that afforded a glimpse of the shining river; it contained a small air-
tight stove, now cold and black, and a wood box, a narrow bed, a deal
table with a row of worn text-books and neatly folded papers, a stand
for water pitcher and basin, and two split-hickory Windsor chairs. Now
it was filled with an afternoon glow, like powdered gold, and the
querulously sweet piping of an early robin.
He dipped his face and hands in cooling water and, at the table, with
squared elbows, addressed himself to a set task.
II
Elim Meikeljohn laid before him a small docket of foolscap folded
lengthwise, each section separately indorsed in pale flowery ink, with
a feminine name, a class number and date. They were the weekly themes
of a polite Young Ladies' Academy in Richmond, sent regularly north for
the impressive opinion of a member of Elim's college faculty. The
professor of philosophy and letters had undertaken the task primarily;
but, with the multiplication of his duties, he had turned the essays
over to Elim, whose careful judgments had been sufficiently imposing to
secure for him a slight additional income.
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