A Separate Peace.pdf - Southwest High School

69me. He seemed older that morning, and leaning quietly against that great tree wrapped in hisheavy coat, he seemed smaller too. Or perhaps it was only that I, inside the same body, had feltmyself all at once grown bigger.We proceeded slowly back to the dormitory. On the steps going in we met Mr. Ludsburycoming out."I've been watching you from my window," he said in his hooting voice with a rare trace ofpersonal interest. "What are you up to, Forrester, training for the Commandos?" There was norule explicitly forbidding exercise at such an hour, but it was not expected; ordinarily thereforeMr. Ludsbury would have disapproved. But the war had modified even his standards; all formsof physical exercise had become conventional for the Duration.I mumbled some abashed answer, but it was Phineas who made the clear response."He's developing into a real athlete," he said matter-of-factly. "We're aiming for the '44Olympics."Mr. Ludsbury emitted a single chuckle from deep in his throat, then his face turned brick redmomentarily and he assumed his customary sententiousness. "Games are all right in theirplace," he said, "and I won't bore you with the Eton Playing Fields observation, but all exercisetoday is aimed of course at the approaching Waterloo. Keep that in your sights at all times,won't you."Finny's face set in determination, with the older look I had just detected in him. "No," hesaid.I don't believe any student had ever said "No" flatly to Mr. Ludsbury before. It flustered himuncontrollably. His face turned brick red again, and for a moment I thought he was going to runaway. Then he said something so rapid, throaty, and clipped that neither of us understood it,turned quickly and strode off across the quadrangle."He's really sincere, he thinks there's a war on," said Finny in simple wonder. "Now whywouldn't he know?" He pondered Mr. Ludsbury's exclusion from the plot of the fat old men aswe watched his figure, reedy even in his winter wraps, move away from us. Then the lightbroke. "Oh, of course!" he cried. "Too thin. Of course."I stood there pitying Mr. Ludsbury for his fatal thinness and reflecting that after all he hadalways had a gullible side.