Stanford Stories: Tales of a Young UniversityIrwin, Will
General
Stanford Stories: Tales of a Young University
Irwin, Will
College stories, American; Short stories; Stanford (Calif.) -- Fiction; Stanford University -- Fiction
"It isn't the swell girls that count for numbers, anyway," reflected the
Higgins' supporters, wisely, and they turned to the cultivation of the
dig girl who trails up the cinder paths mornings at eight, and who lives
in the library during football practice. But the girl cousin of Boggs
had been there to good purpose when they turned in that direction, and
Roble only showed Castleton still ahead. Then a not over-scrupulous
Junior in Higgins' trail started a story on Castleton, a tale calculated
to put him in the same category, so far as being "bad" was concerned.
Wednesday evening the anecdote reached Roble; a girl who had a brother
heard it spreading at dinner, and by noon next day half the girls in
Roble had their opinion of a crowd that would start such a malicious
libel on Mr. Castleton "just to get votes." The Encina politicians did
not know Roble girls for nothing.
So it happened on Thursday that Pellams clumped breathlessly into
Jimmy's room with a still wet copy of the _Daily_ and tragically pointed
to the notice: "_WithdrawalI: I hereby withdraw from my candidacy for
Student-Body presidency in favor of Lorenzo Boggs. Andrew Higgins."
"Ye gods," gasped the Sophomore, "he can't win, Pellams, he can't!
Castleton gets it sure. For heaven's sake, don't put the gang on to this
until after to-morrow, though. I wouldn't have the double-cross worked
on us for a cool ten credits."
Fair dawned the day that was to float or to wreck so many little hopes.
There are two periods of the year when the professor who has been young
forgets the roll-call, and the one who never has been, remembers it. The
first period comes in late November; the other is the morning of the
Student-Body election.
With consummate tact, Jimmy had come to an understanding with Boggs as
to the propriety of his leaving the campus during the election.
"You see, you stand a splendid show of getting it," he explained, "and
the appropriate thing for you is to keep out of sight. When Pellams
nominated you he made a point out of the fact that the office was
seeking you; that has been a leading feature of the campaign, and it has
won you lots of votes. You must not spoil the impression you have made
for yourself and which we have emphasized all along. See?"
Boggs saw, or thought he did, and went to town, ostensibly to carry out
a commission for Pellams, but not before he had rallied some of his
constituents and given them final instructions. It was wonderful to see
what a variety of tastes and interests were represented. An older
politician would have scented danger from the fact that so many of them
had never come out into the arena before; but Jimmy only looked with
smiling curiosity on the Ethics major or the Education "shark," dug up
somewhere from their abstruse speculations.
It was on their way to the station that Jimmy touched on the remaining
issue of the campaign which he was managing.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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