Locke’s face was sober and unsmiling, betraying no elation. Satisfied that it was really over, he lifted his eyes, and found himself unexpectedly gazing into the wide blue eyes of a girl who was looking down at him from a carriage round which the crowd was wedged. For a moment they stared at each other, while the cheering continued, and slowly a flush of shame mounted into Tom Locke’s cheeks. He turned away. “Come, Bent,” said Janet in a husky voice, “can’t we get out of here now? I’m really faint. Please hurry.” CHAPTER XVI BENTON KING AWAKENS Janet was pale and silent as King drove into town. Glancing at her, he saw that her lips were pressed together, her smooth brow puckered a bit, and her eyes filled with a strange, thoughtful expression. Her hands tightly gripped the handle of her parasol. “I’m sorry it happened that way, Janet,” he said apologetically. “It was thoughtless of me to get caught in that mob, so that you were compelled to suffer the humiliation of witnessing such a brutal spectacle.” “You were not to blame,” she returned, in a low, queer voice. “I begged you to wait. I’m glad I did.” “You’re what――glad?” he exclaimed, astonished. “It was not a thing for a girl like you to see and hear.” “Still,” she declared, “I am glad I saw it. I know now that any man with an atom of manhood in his make-up may sometimes be compelled to fight.” “That’s right,” he agreed, “and he can’t always pick a gentleman, or a man of his own class, for an antagonist.” She looked at him quickly. “Do you think Tom Locke is a gentleman?” “Oh, I don’t know about that; it’s doubtful, considering the company he’s with.” “Do gentlemen never play baseball?” “Certainly――in college games.” “But they _never_ play professionally?” “I wouldn’t say that, you know,” was his slow answer. “Some college men go in for professional baseball after graduating. Almost always, they need the money to give them a start in some chosen profession or business. But not all college players are gentlemen, by any means; far from it. At Harvard, even though baseball and football players and members of the track team were decidedly popular in a general way, there were none of them in my set, and I didn’t see fit to associate with them much.” Even as he said it, he flushed a bit, knowing she, like many others in Kingsbridge, must be fully aware of the fact that his exasperated father had removed him from Harvard in his sophomore year to avoid the disgrace of his suspension, or possible expulsion, because of certain wild escapades in which he had been concerned, along with some others of his own particularly swift set. Nevertheless, he had his standards of deportment and qualifications essential to the gentleman, though, doubtless, it would be no easy matter to make them clear to some strait-laced, narrow-minded persons.