"It is evident to me that you have money to burn in an open grate. That is great, as Griswold would say. And it was so kind of you to remember your old friends. The little hint accompanying each check that thus you divided the spoils of our great trip across the continent was not sufficient to deceive anyone into the belief that this was other than a generous act on your part and a free gift.
"There is not much news to write, save that everybody is in the dumps and everything has turned blue. I suppose some of the others will tell you all about things, so that will save me the task, which you know I would intensely enjoy, as I do love to work. It is the joy of my life to labor. I spend as much time as possible each day working on a comfortable couch in my room; but I will confess that I might not work quite so hard if it was not necessary to draw at the pipe in order to smoke up.
"When are you coming East? Aren't you getting tired of the West? Why can't you make a visit to Yale before vacation time? You would be received with great _éclat_. Excuse my French. I have to fling it around occasionally, when I can't think of any Latin or Greek. Why do you suppose Latin and Greek were invented? Why didn't those old duffers use English, and save us poor devils no end of grinding?
"Unfortunately, I have just upset the ink, and, having no more, I must quit.
"Well, it's simply marvelous that he stuck to it long enough to write all that!" laughed Frank. "And he, like the others, thinks the check a fake."
Hodge got up and stood looking sullenly out of the window.
"What's the matter, Bart?" asked Merry, detecting that there was something wrong.
"Nothing," muttered the dark-faced fellow.
"Oh, come! Was there anything in those letters you did not like?"
"No. It was something there was not in the letters."
"Not one of those fellows even mentioned me!" cried Hodge, fiercely whirling about. "I didn't care a rap about Diamond and Rattleton, but Browning would have showed a trace of decency if he had said a word about me. He made a bad blunder and was forced to confess it, but I'll bet he doesn't think a whit more of me now."
"Oh, you are too sensitive, old man. They did not even write anything in particular for news, and think how many of my friends at college they failed to mention."