College-Cut Kill

The next to the last was a washout, the same as Toberly. The last was a kid named Harley Reyont. I found him at his room in the dormitory and I took him down the street to a beer joint. I knew he had seen me around the campus so I had to use a different approach with him.

I said, “I’m a transfer and I’ve been thinking of whether or not to hook up with the local chapter of my fraternity. But I don’t like some of the things I’ve seen around there. I thought the smart thing to do would be to find somebody they gave the dirty end of the stick to.”

I saw his hand shake as he reached for his stein. He was a pale, thin, pleasant-looking boy. “What makes you think I got the dirty end of any stick, Arlin?”

“I saw the rush list. They didn’t pledge you and neither did any other group.”

“They did me a favor, that bunch.”

“Just how do you mean that?”

His mouth curled bitterly. “I was just as wide-eyed and eager as any of the rest of them. Hell, I thought I’d die when I wasn’t tapped on pledge night. I thought something was wrong with me, that maybe I was a second-class citizen. I’ve smartened up since that night, believe me. My clothes weren’t right during rush week and my conversation wasn’t smooth enough to suit those snobs. They could see I wasn’t going to be an athlete. So I got passed over in the rush.”

“Was that good?”

“Take a good look at them, Arlin. A good look. Then come back and tell me what you think of their set of values. It’s a damn superficial life, fraternity life. If they’d take me in I’d be like the rest of them now. Cut out of the same pattern.”

“But you resented them at the time. Maybe you still do.”

He frowned down at his stein. “No, I don’t think I still resent them. I feel a little bit sorry for them.”

“Didn’t you want to get even?”

He looked up quickly. “I see what you mean. I suppose so. I sublimated it. I hated them and I had to show them. I turned in straight A’s for the freshman and sophomore years. I’ll do it again this year. But not because I still resent them — because in the process of acquiring the high grades, I learned that I’m actually pretty bright. I enjoy the work.” Again the bitter smile.

“You could say the brothers helped me find myself.” He sighed. “Hell, Arlin, I guess I still resent it. I’ll resent it all my life. Sour grapes, I suppose. Only I went for a walk along fraternity row during one of the big weekends. I could see them through the windows, dancing with their tall cool women, all wearing that same satisfied smirk. I wanted to bust the windows with rocks. I wanted to be inside there, one of them.

“I wanted to be Brother Reyont, the Big Man on the Campus. I walked back to the dorm and read Kant. He always puts me to sleep in short order. It took twenty pages that night. But I don’t blame Gamma U. Any other house would have done the same thing. I was a pretty dim little freshman, that I can assure you.”

“Thanks for being so frank with me.”

“You’re buying the beer, aren’t you?...”

When I drove in I saw that my lights were on, and I knew that Tilly had used the key I had given her. I parked quietly and stopped and looked through the window. She was in the big chair wearing that green dress I liked. Her legs were tucked up under her and she was reading a news magazine. The lamplight brought out the very fine line of her cheek and throat.

She looked good to me. Having her waiting there for me made me play too many mental games. It wasn’t healthy. On a crap table the wise man plays the field. Anybody who bets all night on the same number loses his shirt.

I went in and she came up eagerly out of the chair.

“Aha!” I said. “So you are here about the mortgage! Heh, heh, heh.”

“Please, sire! The night is cold. You will not throw me and my piteous child out into yon snow.”

“Mind your tongue, girl, or I shall feed you both to the wolves.”

We laughed together. Silly people. She stopped suddenly and said, “Oh, Joe, it seems so long since I could laugh like this.”

“Easy, easy,” I said warningly. “Go weepy on me and I’ll turn you over to the dean of women. They’ll hang you for — damn! I’m sorry, Till. Foot in the mouth disease.”

“That’s okay. How did you do?”

“Reyont is off the list. And he’s the last one, that is if you covered your boy. Did you?”

“That’s why I came, Joe. I saw him. He... he’s very odd. He frightens me a little. His name is Luther Keyes.”

“Do you think he’s capable of — what happened?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t know. You’d better talk to him tomorrow. He’s in my nine o’clock class, room fourteen in the Arts Building. I’ll arrange to walk out with him. We’ll come out the west door.”

“Done. What did you tell him? What sort of a story did you give him?”

“I played the gossip. I asked him if he thought one of the Gamma U men had been killing his fraternity brothers. You know, dumb innocent questions. Baby stare. I won’t tell you how he reacted. You be the judge of that.” She looked at her watch. “Gosh, it’s late.”