THE NEW MANDOLIN
Wolcott’s acquaintance grew apace, though limited mainly to fellows of
his own class section or dormitory entry, or of his own table at the
dining hall. His section presented a wide range of Seaton personality.
Tompkins, who having failed his preliminaries had fallen into this
section in two subjects, declared that it had samples of everything the
place offered except Japanese, Cubans, and twins—and the privilege of
twins Wolcott enjoyed in another class.
There were the few greater athletes—members of the school teams; the
many minor athletes—members of the class teams; the natural students who
did nothing but study; the natural loafers who studied as little as
possible; the son of the multi-millionaire with resources unlimited; the
son of the laborer, with no resources except his own head and hands; the
religious boy with a strong purpose, who helped keep on a high level the
moral tone of the school; the rattlehead without purpose, always on the
verge of expulsion; the literary boy, the musical boy, the embryo
artist, the natural clown, the politician. With most of these Wolcott
was soon on speaking terms, aided in his knowledge of them by the
personal anecdotes with which any general conversation bristled.
Marchmont’s desire to be friendly was shown in an early recitation, when
in a very inconspicuous way he supplied Wolcott with a date for the
question in Greek history which the instructor had suddenly shot at him.
To tell the truth, Wolcott was not entirely satisfied with this method
of reciting. He meant to inform Marchmont that he preferred to answer
his own questions without assistance. After the recitation, however,
Laughlin presumed to take him aside and tell him in very plain language
that it wasn’t a good plan to let fellows prompt him in class; it was
against the rules and risky, and anyway didn’t pay in the long run.
Wolcott thanked the giver of this unasked advice with cool politeness
and head held high. And when, immediately after, Marchmont appeared at
his elbow and invited him to “come up to the room for a few minutes,” he
accepted with ostentatious alacrity, merely to show his disapproval of
the liberty which the football player had taken.
Marchmont’s very attractive quarters, on the second floor of a private
house, were fitted up in unusually good taste. The occupant was indeed a
very different fellow from Laughlin. It was evident that he had not
spent his summers at manual labor, and his winters in hard study and
close economy. Marchmont’s family belonged to the more pretentious
circles of New York society. He himself had already been in several
schools, had travelled more extensively than Wolcott, and spoke with an
air of worldly experience and wisdom with which the new boy could not
but be impressed. As Wolcott hurried home for the geometry lesson, for
which he had meant to save two good hours, he was dismayed to find that
his call had extended well into the second hour.
The next day Marchmont made a return visit. On Lindsay’s table lay the
mandolin which he had hardly touched since he entered school. Marchmont
took up the instrument and lightly fingered the strings.
“Has a good tone,” remarked the visitor. “Get it in Hamburg?”
“Yes. Do you play?”
“A little. I belong to the Mandolin Club. Play something.”
He held out the mandolin to its owner, who took it with reluctance and
with some clumsiness of touch, due rather to shyness than inability,
drummed through one of the modern banjo airs which all amateurs
inevitably learn.
Marchmont nodded approval. “That’s good. Do you play by note?”
“Yes, I think I can do better with the notes,” replied Lindsay, sinking
back in his chair with obvious relief. “I don’t remember things very
well.”
“You ought to be in the Mandolin Club,” said Marchmont. He took up the
mandolin and played over a few bars of the music that Lindsay had just
performed—carelessly and with his thoughts evidently upon some other
subject, yet with an ease and finish that called to Lindsay’s lips an
exclamation of admiration.
“It’s the proper club to belong to, if you’re musical,” went on
Marchmont; “has the nice fellows in it, you know—fellows like Poole and
Planter and Reynolds. The common crowd go into the Glee Club. Laughlin
is head bellower there.”
“Can he sing any?” asked Lindsay, smiling.
“About as you would expect from a big, rough bull like him. You know it
takes something more than a deep voice and a big chest to make a
singer.”
“I don’t suppose I could get into the Mandolin Club,” said Lindsay,
longingly.
Marchmont considered. “It’s pretty hard to get a fellow in at this time
of year. Of course, if you are a cracker-jack, the one and only great
player, the Club would probably stretch a little and let you in.”
“But I’m not,” said Lindsay.
Marchmont considered further. “I’ll tell you what,” he said at length,
“I have some influence in the Club, and I’ll try to persuade them that
you ought to come in. What can you play best?”
Lindsay enumerated the half-dozen tunes of his repertoire which he was
least likely to bungle.
“You take ‘Bluebell’ and practise it until you can do it asleep. Then
I’ll give Poole and Reynolds the notion that you’re a mandolin artist,
and bring them round to hear you. They’ll ask you what you can play, and
when you name several things, I’ll call for ‘Bluebell.’ You can have an
encore ready in case it’s demanded, and I’ll plan it so that the bell
will ring, or something happen to break off the trial at that point. I
think we can work it all right.”
Lindsay hesitated. “That doesn’t seem exactly a square deal.”
“Oh, it’s all right. You’ll do as well as most of ’em when you get in
and have some practice.”
For the next few days Lindsay toiled over “Bluebell,” until the occupant
of the room above began thumping on the floor whenever the familiar
strains sifted through to his ears. Then came the appointment of an hour
for the hearing, and the dreaded visitation of the critics. It was a
serious moment for the musician, when, after the little introductory
farce which Marchmont had arranged, he took his mandolin and boldly
launched forth on the hundredth presentation of “Bluebell.” What
mattered it if the last bars did receive a staccato accompaniment by
heels on the floor above? The committee were suitably impressed, heard
the encore with approval, and adjourned with the assurance that the
candidate should have their unanimous commendation—and the commendation
of the committee, Marchmont confided to him later in the day, was always
equivalent to an election. Lindsay shook his hand in a fervor of
gratitude.
That evening Poole walked up from the post office with Laughlin and
Durand.
“At last we’ve got another mandolin,” said Poole; “that new Lindsay. You
know we’ve been looking for one a long time.”
“Any good?” asked Durand.
“Not remarkable, but decidedly better than nothing. We’ve simply got to
have some one to make the balance. Marchmont has promised to help him,
too.”