The class roared its appreciation of these subtleties. And later, in an expectant pause, he would deepen his arched brows portentously, stare up mockingly under his bushy eyebrows at his expectant audience, and say, in a deep sardonic voice:
“And now, I am going to request Brother Gant to favor us with one of his polished and scholarly translations.”
These heavy jibes were hard to bear because, of all the class, two dozen or more, Brother Gant was the only one to prepare his work without the aid of a printed translation. He worked hard on Livy and Tacitus, going over the lesson several times until he had dug out a smooth and competent reading of his own. This he was stupid enough to deliver in downright fashion, without hesitation, or a skilfully affected doubt here and there. For his pains and honesty he was handsomely rewarded by the Amateur Diabolist. The lean smile would deepen as the boy read, the man would lift his eyes significantly to the grinning class, and when it was over, he would say:
“Bravo, Brother Gant! Excellent! Splendid! You are riding a good pony—but a little too smoothly, my boy. You ride a little too well.”
The class sniggered heavily.
When he could stand it no longer, he sought the man out one day after the class.
“See here, sir! See here!” he began in a voice choking with fury and exasperation. “Sir—I assure you—” he thought of all the grinning apes in the class, palming off profitably their stolen translations, and he could not go on.
The Devil’s Disciple was not a bad man; he was only, like most men who pride themselves on their astuteness, a foolish one.
“Nonsense, Mr. Gant,” said he kindly. “You don’t think you can fool me on a translation, do you? It’s all right with me, you know,” he continued, grinning. “If you’d rather ride a pony than do your own work, I’ll give you a passing grade—so long as you do it well.”
“But—” Eugene began explosively.
“But I think it’s a pity, Mr. Gant,” said the professor, gravely, “that you’re willing to slide along this way. See here, my boy, you’re capable of doing first-rate work. I can see that. Why
