The Plastic Age - Percy Marks (classic literature books txt) 📗

Sigma Deltas Welcomed Him

Enthusiastically And Turned Him Over To Their President,  Malcolm Graham,

A Tall Serious Senior With Sandy Hair And Quiet Brown Eyes.

 

"Will You Come Up-Stairs With Me,  Carver? I Want To Have A Talk With

You," He Said Simply.

 

Hugh Hesitated. He Didn'T Mind Being Talked _To_,  But He Was Heartily

Sick Of Being Talked _At_.

 

Graham Noticed His Hesitation And Smiled. "Don'T Worry; I'M Not Going To

Shanghai You,  And I'M Not Going To Jaw You To Death,  Either."

 

Hugh Smiled In Response. "I'M Glad Of That," He Said Wearily. "I'Ve Been

Jawed Until I Don'T Know Anything."

 

"I Don'T Doubt It. Come On; Let'S Get Away From This Racket." He Took

Hugh By The Arm And Led Him Up-Stairs To His Own Room,  Which Was

Pleasantly Quiet And Restful After The Noise They Had Left.

 

When They Were Both Seated In comfortable Chairs,  Graham Began To Talk.

"I Know That You Are Being Tremendously Rushed,  Carver,  And I Know That

You Are Going To Get A Lot Of Bids,  Too. I'Ve Been Watching You All

Through This Week,  And You Seem Dazed And Confused To Me,  More Confused

Chapter 8 Pg 63

Even Than The Average Freshman. I Think I Know The Reason."

 

"What Is It?" Hugh Demanded Eagerly.

 

"I Understand That Your Father Is A Nu Delt."

 

Hugh Nodded.

 

"And You'Re Afraid That They Aren'T Going To Bid You."

 

Hugh Was Startled. "How Did You Know?" He Never Thought Of Denying The

Statement.

 

"I Guessed It. You Were Obviously Worried; You Visited Other

Fraternities; And You Didn'T Seem To Enjoy The Attention That You Were

Getting. I'Ll Tell You Right Now That You Are Worrying About Nothing;

The Nu Delts Will Bid You. They Are Just Taking You For Granted; That'S

All. You Are A Legacy,  And You Have Accepted All Their Invitations To

Come Around. If You Had Stayed Away One Night,  There Would Have Been A

Whole Delegation Rushing Around The Campus To Hunt You Up."

 

Hugh Relaxed. For The Time Being He Believed Graham Implicitly.

 

"Now," Graham Went On,  "It'S The Nu Delts That I Want To Talk About. Oh,

I'M Not Going To Knock Them," He Hastened To Add As Hugh Eyed Him

Suspiciously. "I Know That You Have Heard Plenty Of Fraternities

Knocking Each Other,  But I Am Sure That You Haven'T Heard Any Knocking

In This House."

 

"No I Haven'T," Hugh Admitted.

 

"Well,  You Aren'T Going To,  Either. The Nu Delts Are Much More Important

Than We Are. They Are Stronger Locally,  And They'Ve Got A Very Powerful

National Organization. But I Don'T Think That You Have A Very Clear

Notion About The Nu Delts Or Us Or Any Other Fraternity. I Heard You

Talking About Fraternities The Other Night,  And,  If You Will Forgive Me

For Being Awfully Frank,  You Were Talking A Lot Of Nonsense."

 

Hugh Leaned Forward Eagerly. He Wasn'T Offended,  And For The First Time

That Week He Didn'T Feel That He Was Being Rushed.

 

"Well,  You Have A Lot Of Sentimental Notions About Fraternities That Are

All Bull; That'S All. You Think That The Brothers Are Really Brothers,

That They Stick By Each Other And All That Sort Of Thing. You Seem To

Think,  Too,  That The Fraternities Are Democratic. They Aren'T,  Or There

Wouldn'T Be Any Fraternities. You Don'T Seem To Realize That

Fraternities Are Among Other Things Political Organizations,  Fighting

Each Other On The Campus For Dear Life. You'Ve Heard Fraternities This

Week Knocking Each Other. Well,  About Nine Tenths Of What'S Been Said Is

Either Lies Or True Of Every Fraternity On The Campus. These

Fraternities Aren'T Working Together For The Good Of Sanford; They'Re

Working Like Hell To Ruin Each Other. You Think That You Are Going To

Like Every Man In The Fraternity You Join. You Won'T. You'Ll Hate Some

Of Them."

 

Hugh Was Aroused And Indignant. "If You Feel That Way About It,  Why Do

Chapter 8 Pg 64

You Stay In a Fraternity?"

 

Graham Smiled Gravely. "Don'T Get Angry,  Please. I Stay Because The

Fraternity Has Its Virtues As Well As Its Faults. I Hated The Fraternity

The First Two Years,  And I'M Afraid That You'Re Going To,  Too. You See,

I Had The Same Sort Of Notions You Have--And It Hurt Like The Devil When

They Were Knocked Into A Cocked Hat. The Fraternity Is A Pleasant Club:

It Gets You Into Campus Activities; And It Gives You A Social Life In

College That You Can'T Get Without It. It Isn'T Very Important To Most

Men After They Graduate. Just Try To Raise Some Money From The Alumni

Some Time,  And You'Ll Find Out. Some Of Them Remain Undergraduates All

Their Lives,  And They Think That The Fraternity Is Important,  But Most

Of Them Hardly Think Of It Except When They Come Back To Reunions.

They'Re More Interested In Their Clubs Or The Masons Or Something Of

That Sort."

 

"My Father Hasn'T Remained An Undergraduate All His Life,  But He'S

Interested In The Nu Delts," Hugh Countered Vigorously.

 

"I Suppose He Is," Graham Tactfully Admitted,  "But You'Ll Find That Most

Men Aren'T. But That Doesn'T Matter. You Aren'T An Alumnus Yet; You'Re A

Freshman,  And A Fraternity Is A Darn Nice Thing To Have Around While You

Are In college.

 

"What I Am Going To Say Now," He Continued,  Hesitating,  "Is Pretty

Touchy,  And I Hope That You Won'T Be Offended. I Have Been Trying To

Impress On You That The Fraternity Is Most Important While You Are In

College,  And,  Believe Me,  It'S Damned Important. A Fellow Has A Hell Of

A Time If He Gets Into The Wrong Fraternity.... I Am Sure That You Are

Going To Get A Lot Of Bids. Don'T Choose Hastily. Spend To-Morrow

Thinking The Various Bunches Over--And Choose The One That Has The

Fellows That You Like Best,  No Matter What Its Standing On The Campus

Is. Be Sure That You Like The Fellows; That Is All-Important. We Want

You To Come To Us. I Think That You Would Fit In Here,  But I Am Not

Going To Urge You. Think Us Over. If You Like Us,  Accept Our Bid; If You

Don'T,  Go Some Fraternity Where You Do Like The Fellows. And That'S My

Warning About The Nu Delts. Be Sure That You Like The Fellows,  Or Most

Of Them,  Anyway,  Before You Accept Their Bid. Have You Thought Them

Over?"

 

"No," Hugh Admitted,  "I Haven'T."

 

He Didn'T Like Graham'S Talk; He Thought That It Was Merely Very Clever

Rushing. He Did Graham An Injustice. Graham Had Been Strongly Attracted

To Hugh And Felt Sure That He Would Be Making A Serious Mistake If He

Joined Nu Delta. Hugh'S Reaction,  However,  Was Natural. He Had Been

Rushed In dozens Of Ingenious Ways For A Week; He Had Little Reason,

Therefore,  To Trust Graham Or Anybody Else.

 

Graham Stood Up. "I Have A Feeling,  Carver," He Said Slowly,  "That I

Have Flubbed This Talk. I Am Sure That You'Ll Know Some Day That I Was

Really Disinterested And Wanted To Do My Best For You."

 

Hugh Was Softened--And Smiled Shyly As He Lifted Himself Out Of His

Chair. "I Know You Did," He Said With More Gratitude In His Voice Than

He Quite Felt,  "And I'M Very Grateful,  But I'M So Woozy Now That I

Don'T Know What To Think."

Chapter 8 Pg 65

 

"I Don'T Wonder. To Tell You The Truth,  I Am,  Too. I Haven'T Got To Bed

Earlier Than Three O'Clock Any Night This Week,  And Right Now I Hardly

Care If We Pledge Anybody To-Morrow Night." He Continued Talking As They

Walked Slowly Down The Stairs. "One More Bit Of Advice. Don'T Go

Anywhere Else To-Night. Go Home To Bed,  And To-Morrow Think Over What

I'Ve Told You. And," He Added,  Holding Out His Hand,  "Even If You Don'T

Come Our Way,  I Hope I See A Lot Of You Before The End Of The Term."

 

Hugh Clasped His Hand. "You Sure Will. Thanks A Lot. Good Night."

 

"Good Night."

 

Hugh Did Go Straight To His Room And Tried To Think,  But The Effort Met

With Little Success. He Wanted Desperately To Receive A Bid From Nu

Delta,  And If He Didn'T--Well,  Nothing Else Much Mattered. Graham'S

Assertion That Nu Delta Would Bid Him No Longer Brought Him Any Comfort.

Why Should Graham Know What Nu Delta Was Going To Do?

 

Shortly After Eleven Carl Came In and Threw Himself Wearily Into A

Chair. For A Few Minutes Neither Boy Said Anything; They Stared Into The

Fire And Frowned. Finally Carl Spoke.

 

"I Can Go Alpha Sig If I Want," He Said Softly.

 

Hugh Looked Up. "Good!" He Exclaimed,  Honestly Pleased. "But I Hope We

Can Both Go Nu Delt. Did They Come Right Out And Bid You?"

 

"Er--No. Not Exactly. It'S Kinda Funny." Carl Obviously Wanted To Tell

Something And Didn'T Know How To Go About It.

 

"What Do You Mean 'Funny'? What Happened?"

 

Carl Shifted Around In His Chair Nervously,  Filled His Pipe,  Lighted It,

And Then Forgot To Smoke.

 

"Well," He Began Slowly,  "Morton--You Know That Alpha Sig,  Clem Morton,

The Senior--Well,  He Got Me Off Into A Corner To-Night And Talked To Me

Quite A While,  Shot Me A Heavy Line Of Dope. At First I Didn'T Get Him

At All. He Was Talking About How They Needed New Living-Room Furniture

And That Sort Of Thing. Finally I Got Him. It'S Like This--Well,  It'S

This Way: They Need Money. Oh,  Hell! Hugh,  Don'T You See? They Want

Money--And They Know I'Ve Got It. All I'Ve Got To Do Is To Let Them Know

That I'Ll Make The Chapter A Present Of A Thousand Or Two After

Initiation--And I Can Be An Alpha Sig."

 

Hugh Was Sitting Tensely Erect And Staring At Carl Dazedly.

 

"You Mean," He Asked Slowly,  "That They Want You To Buy Your Way In?"

 

Carl Gave A Short,  Hard Laugh. "Well,  Nobody Said Anything Vulgar Like

That,  Hugh,  But You'Ve Got The Big Idea."

 

"The Dirty Pups! The Goddamn Stinkers! I Hope You Told Morton To Go

Straight To Hell." Hugh Jumped Up And Stood Over Carl Excitedly.