Page:Lynch Williams--The girl and the game.djvu/55

 They had now quieted down for the great man to begin. He looked about the room; some of them were still smiling admiringly. "You won't cheer me when you hear what I've got to say. [A voice, jocularly: "Oh, I don't know; you'll do."] I started the rumpus last year. [A voice: "How did you guess it!" This made them all laugh again. Stehman did not laugh. He looked very solemn.] And now, I wish—I wish I hadn't. I wish I had minded my own business." He paused and wiped his brow.

"What are you giving us, Jack?" cried a voice, and Stehman noted the affectionate familiarity in the tone. They were still loving him, still admiring him; he saw it in their faces. He felt awkward and futile, and their jocularity only made him feel ridiculous. "Say, Jackie," called out another voice, "what are you trying to do—pull our legs?"

"No," said Stehman in a conscious tone; "I mean every word of it. This is no time for joking. If you fellows make trouble to-morrow you'll be doing the worst thing that