“I don’t mean to be. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you’ve just said to me. But, Walter, there’s another side and you haven’t thought of that.” “There isn’t any other side!” declared Walter promptly. “Doesn’t everything have at least two sides?” asked Dan quizzically. “No, sir!” “What hasn’t, for example?” “This offer I’m making you. Why, Dan, it’s the chance of a lifetime. You’ve never been out of Rodman except to go over to Benson or to Simpson’s Corners to play ball. You don’t know anything of what the world is like.” Unaware of the dull flush that spread over Dan’s cheeks as he spoke, Walter continued eagerly: “Why, man alive, the Tait School is the greatest school in the United States! There isn’t another that can hold a candle to it! Why, our nine whipped the freshman nine of every one of the big colleges. We’ve had more men enter college without conditions in the last five years than any other prep school. We’ve got the best teachers, the finest buildings, the greatest crowd of fellows. Why, Dan, you simply don’t know what you’re talking about! You’re turning down a chance that hundreds of fellows would jump at. You can’t mean it! If you talk it over with Moulton, he’ll tell you that if you are fool enough to say no it’ll just show that you haven’t brains and aren’t fit to go to school anywhere, not even to the normal school that you seem to think is one of the big institutions of the land. I’m not going to say another word to you about it now. When you think it over and tell your mother and Tom and Moulton about it you won’t have a peg left to hang your hat on.” “It’s good of you anyway, Walter,” said Dan quietly. “Don’t forget that I appreciate all you say.” “No! You don’t half appreciate it or you wouldn’t pull off the way you’re doing. Honestly, Dan, is there a single real reason why you can’t say ‘yes’ right off the bat?” “Yes.” “What is it?” “I don’t know that I can make you see it, Walter, but it’s too much to take when I know it will be a long time before I can pay back the money.” “But you don’t have to pay it back! You don’t even have to think of that! My father will pay every cent of the term-bills!” “Walter, did you ever think of what it means for a fellow to be poor and have to take what some one else gives him?” “I don’t know that I have,” replied Walter more seriously. “Though when it comes to that,” he added lightly, “I haven’t very many shekels myself, except my allowance.” “That’s different.” “I suppose it is――after a fashion. I never thought very much about it anyway.” “If I should offer to give you my yearling colt would you take her?” “No.” “Of course you wouldn’t,” said Dan positively. “That’s different too. In the first place, you couldn’t afford to give Ban away. She’s too valuable――――”