During all this period his father followed his career with that same
care and insight which had characterized his own business success. He
was proud of the position which the boy took--proud of his ability to
mix well with his fellows; proud of his splendid run against Yale at New
Haven which placed the ball within striking-distance of the blue goal;
proud of his seat in the victorious eight at New London, and equally
certain that the other seven had not done their full duty when the shell
was nosed out by Yale at the finish on the succeeding year. If the boy
had missed getting his degree Stephen Sanford would have considered his
son a failure, but with the prized parchment actually secured--the first
in the history of the Sanford family--he cared little how narrow the
margin.

Yet Allen had passed through all these years without a suspicion of his
father's real feelings toward him. He was rebuked for his extravagances
each time he asked for money, yet a substantial check always accompanied
each rebuke. He was criticised for not making a better record in his
studies, and his success in other lines, it seemed to him, was always
accepted as a matter of course. He felt convinced that his father looked
upon him as a colossal failure, and he was too good-natured to quarrel
with this estimate of his abilities; yet with characteristic optimism,
he saw no reason to let this fact interfere with his every-day life and
the pleasures it offered him.

So Allen went to Europe soon after graduation and acquired further
experience in running a motor-car in England and on the Continent,
together with an increased familiarity with foreign scenery and the most
expensive hotels. On his return, he announced his desire to begin his
business career, more because that was what his classmates were doing
than because he was anxious to exchange the freedom of his present life