mayed to discover the low state of his finances.
Well, he argued, many a man at Tate was living on even less than he had. The lion-picture Senior, Parsons, for one. In a way, Harold congratulated himself; it was a blessing. If he had no money to spend, he would have to stay home and study. He would be able to withstand invitations such as the one for the automobile party to Lakeport.
He soon discovered that, even with money, he would have had little difficulty in declining invitations. For the invitations did not come. Dan Sheldon, deeply chagrined at the battering he had received at "Speedy's" hands, was using his tongue for backbiting. He had spread the report around that Harold Lamb was, after all, a pretty disagreeable character. What would you think of a chap who had sneaked up on his best friend and handed him a clout alongside the jaw just as the result of a little misunderstanding, eh? Of course he (Sheldon) had given Lamb a thorough licking after that first cowardly blow. That was why "Speedy" had disappeared so suddenly from the Frolic. But "Speedy" was a good fellow to stay away from. An ingrate. And, in addition to those unpleasant things, a boob. While Tatians as a whole did not bank upon the word of Dan Sheldon, still they decided that where there was so much smoke
