"How do you think Conrad accounts for his defeat, Andy?" said Valentine the next day. "I can't tell." "He says he strained the muscles of his arm." Andy smiled. "If it will make him feel any better, I have no objection to that explanation." "His father has given him ten dollars, so he will not lose any money. But he won't get any of the boys to believe his story." "The money is very acceptable to me," said Andy. "If I had lost, my father couldn't have made it up to me." At five o'clock, on his way to the post office, Andy met Mr. Gale. Walter Gale was a young man about twenty-five. He had a pleasant face, and his manner was genial. He had a strong sympathy with boys, and he was a favorite with them. "Well, Andrew," he said; "have you recovered from your exertions in the boat race?" "Oh, yes; I am used to rowing, and felt very little fatigue." "I hear that Conrad is very much mortified by his defeat." "I believe he is. He felt sure of winning." "And he would have done so if you had remained out of the list." "He told Valentine Burns that he strained the muscles of his arm, and that this defeated him." "I should think better of him if he would acknowledge that he was fairly beaten. Are you at leisure this evening?" "Yes, sir." "Then call upon me at the hotel. I shall be glad to know you better." This invitation Andy was very glad to accept. He was drawn to the young man, and felt that he was likely to prove a sincere friend. At seven o'clock he left the farmhouse, and on arriving at the hotel found Mr. Gale sitting on the piazza. "I was looking for you," said the young man. "Come up to my room." He led the way to a front corner apartment on the second floor. It was the best room in the hotel, and he had furnished it in the most comfortable and attractive manner. Pictures hung on the walls, and there was a bookcase containing a goodly array of volumes. "What a pleasant room!" exclaimed Andy. "Yes; I have tried to make myself comfortable. What I lack most is society." "I wonder that you are content to live in the country. Are you not accustomed to the city?" "Yes; but I had a severe sickness in the spring, and the doctors recommended me to absent myself for a time from the excitement of the town and take up my residence in the country." "Didn't that interfere with your business?" Walter Gale smiled. "Fortunately, or unfortunately," he answered, "I have no business. Until two years since I was employed in an insurance office in the city. The death of an uncle has made me pecuniarily independent, so that I had leisure to be sick." "You look in good health now." "Yes; but I have a nervous temperament, and am obliged to be careful. Now tell me about yourself. You have been for some time at Penhurst Academy?" "Yes; for two years." "Do you go back there?" "No; my father has met with serious losses, and can no longer afford to send me. I must stay at home and help him." "And this is a disappointment to you?"