“Then why do you cut practice?” asked Black severely

“Then why do you cut practice?” asked Black severely. “Don’t you know–”
It was then that Black recalled Clint’s face and remembered having met
him in Innes’s room a week before. “Hello,” he said in a milder tone. “I
didn’t recognise you. Er–you see, Thayer, when you fellows don’t show
up I have to find out what the reason is. Maybe you didn’t know it, but
it’s the customary thing to get permission to cut practice.”