This
downright fellow, in cutaway and silk hat, did not understand,--or at least
had no patience with a role carried too far. He brusquely cleared himself
of Lemoyne's arm with a good vigorous push. This effort not only propelled
Lemoyne against some scenery and left him, despite the voluminous blond
wig, with a bruise on his forehead; it immediately pushed him out of his
part, and it ended by pushing him out of the organization and even out of
the University.
"Keep off, will you!" said the young _elegant_ crudely.
Lemoyne's "atmosphere" dissipated suddenly. His art-structure collapsed. As
he looked about he saw plainly that the other man's act was approved. He
had carried things too far. Well, such are the risks run by the sincere,
self-revealing artist.
When all this reached Cope, he felt a personal chagrin. Truly, the art of
human intercourse was an art that called for some care. Lemoyne's slight
wound left no trace after forty-eight hours--perhaps his "notices" in "The
Index" and "The Campus" had acted as a salve; but certain sections of
opinion remained unfriendly, and there was arising a new atmosphere of
distaste and disapproval.
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