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diff --git a/old/63297-0.txt b/old/63297-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ea86b38..0000000 --- a/old/63297-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7037 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Brother of a Hero, by Ralph Henry Barbour - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Brother of a Hero - -Author: Ralph Henry Barbour - -Illustrator: Charles M. Relyea - -Release Date: September 26, 2020 [EBook #63297] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BROTHER OF A HERO *** - - - - -Produced by Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - THE BROTHER - OF A HERO - - - - -By Ralph Henry Barbour - - - The Brother of a Hero - Benton’s Venture - Around the End - The Junior Trophy - Change Signals! - Finkler’s Field - For Yardley - The New Boy at Hilltop - Winning His “Y” - Double Play - Forward Pass! - The Spirit of the School - Four Afloat - Weatherby’s Inning - The Half-Back - On Your Mark - Four in Camp - Four Afoot - For the Honor of the School - Captain of the Crew - Behind the Line - The Arrival of Jimpson - -D. APPLETON & COMPANY, NEW YORK - - - - -[Illustration: “Rodney, startled, whisked around”] - - - - - THE BROTHER - OF A HERO - - BY - - RALPH HENRY BARBOUR - - AUTHOR OF “BENTON’S VENTURE,” - “AROUND THE END,” ETC. - - - [Illustration] - - - ILLUSTRATED BY - CHARLES M. RELYEA - - - NEW YORK AND LONDON - D. APPLETON AND COMPANY - 1914 - - - - - Copyright, 1914, by - D. APPLETON AND COMPANY - - - Printed in the United States of America - - - - - To - ELIZABETH BRADLEE FORREST - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I.――Rodney Climbs a Hill 1 - II.――Rodney Meets the Twins 14 - III.――“Westcott’s” 31 - IV.――Phineas Kittson 40 - V.――Rodney Encounters Watson 48 - VI.――Rodney is Discovered 62 - VII.――Coach Cotting Exacts a Promise 79 - VIII.――Croquet and Confessions 91 - IX.――Reflected Glory 103 - X.――Rodney Joins the Squad 115 - XI.――Kitty Supplies a Sensation 125 - XII.――Cotting is Puzzled 136 - XIII.――The Final Cut 148 - XIV.――The Twins are Bored 164 - XV.――Finger Rock 182 - XVI.――Tad in Danger 199 - XVII.――Kitty Climbs to the Rescue 211 - XVIII.――Ludlow Scores a Safety 222 - XIX.――Nearing the Goal 233 - XX.――Rodney Hesitates 242 - XXI.――Cotting Tells a Story 253 - XXII.――The Eve of the Battle 263 - XXIII.――Bursley Arrives 271 - XXIV.――The Battle is On 285 - XXV.――Rodney Finds Himself 294 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - “Rodney, startled, whisked around” _Frontispiece_ - - FACING - PAGE - - “Finally Jack sent a swift ball across the court” 186 - - “Very slowly Tad turned his face over his shoulder” 212 - - “Hands seized him and arms lifted him aloft” 300 - - - - -THE BROTHER OF A HERO - - - - -CHAPTER I - -RODNEY CLIMBS A HILL - - -“Greenridge! Greenridge! Have your tickets ready, please!” - -There was a hoarse blast from the whistle and the steamer sidled in -toward the wharf. Rodney Merrill, his brand new suitcase tightly -clutched in his left hand and his ticket firmly held in his right, -followed the dozen or so passengers who were crowding toward where -three deck hands waited to push over the gangplank. As the _Henry -Hudson_ edged up to the landing the main street of the little town came -suddenly into view, leading straight up the hill at a discouraging -angle until lost to sight behind the overhanging branches of great -trees. Rodney thought he had never seen so many trees before. They were -everywhere――elms, maples, beeches and oaks――hiding the houses spread up -the side of the ridge so that only here and there was visible a gray -roof or a white wall or a red chimney top. Even here by the river edge -the trees seemed to be trying to dispute the margin with the wharves -and buildings. Where Rodney had come from folks first built houses and -then planted trees, afterwards tending them as carefully as though they -were rare flowers. Here, it seemed, folks had tucked their houses away -in a veritable forest. He mentally compared the leaf-roofed street -before him with Capitol Avenue, back in Orleans, Nebraska. Capitol -Avenue was lined with trees, too, but the trees were as yet barely -twelve feet high and cast about as much shade as would a lady’s parasol. - -At the left of the wharf was a ferry slip, with a little brown shed -beside it bearing the legend, GREENRIDGE AND MILON FERRY COMPANY. -A handful of people waited there under the shelter and watched the -arrival of the river steamer. The paddles thrashed, the steamer -shivered and bumped, the gangplank thudded to the wharf, and the -disembarking passengers moved forward. Rodney followed, gave up his -ticket, and found himself on land. He yielded his bag and trunk check -to a hackman, asked directions, and with a farewell glance at the -_Henry Hudson_ gained the shadiest side of the ascending street. - -It was still only a little after two o’clock and he had all the -afternoon before him. Somewhere at the top of the hill was Maple Hill -Academy, for which he was bound. But, as he would undoubtedly see quite -enough of that institution during the next nine months, he was in no -hurry to reach it. Rodney’s father had accompanied the boy to New York -and had fully intended coming to Greenridge-on-Hudson with him, but, -just as they had sat down to dinner in the hotel the evening before, -an imperative telegram had reached him, and this morning Rodney had -boarded a Hudson River steamboat and Mr. Merrill a Chicago train. -Naturally Rodney had been disappointed, but he was quite used to his -father’s erratic flights from home――it was the penalty of having -a father who was an important factor in a big railway system――and -he had made the best of it. There had been so much to see from the -moment the steamer had left its dock in the North River until it had -bumped against the big piles at Greenridge that Rodney had forgotten -to be lonesome. Besides, to a boy of fifteen, even though he has been -brought up to be self-reliant and is fairly accustomed to looking out -for himself, there is something inspiriting in journeying alone, in -being thrown on his own resources. He experienced a fine feeling of -independence as he loitered up the street, and perhaps was guilty of a -suggestion of swagger, for which I think he may be excused. - -The street――River Street was the name of it, as he soon discovered――was -lined with funny, half-asleep little shops. There was nothing smart -about them. Their windows looked as though they were seldom washed -and the goods displayed therein were often dusty and fly-specked. And -then the names over the doors amused him; as “Liverwell and Nagg, Fine -Groceries and Provisions,” “Huckens and Soper, Hardware,” “Jernigen’s -Pharmacy, New York Prices,” “Sauerwien’s Home Bakery” and “Fogg and -Frost, Stationery, Books, Periodicals, Post Cards, Lending Library and -Candy.” Hands in pockets, he looked in the windows, peered up shady -side streets at the half-hidden doorways and porches of comfortable, -old-fashioned houses and, in short, loafed enjoyably, finding all sorts -of things to interest him in this queer, hundred-year-old-town. - -Presently, when he had progressed three or four blocks up the hill, he -came to an uncovered bridge spanning the railroad. Below on one side, -reached by a flight of steps, was a small station. He paused there -above long enough to determine in which direction New York City lay, -and then, as no trains came along to offer entertainment, he went on -again, up and up under the wide trees. It was rather hard climbing and -the day was none too cool now that he had left the river behind. And -so at the next corner he entered a drug store and sank onto a stool in -front of the soda fountain. While he waited for someone to appear from -the dim mysteries behind the partition at the back, he amused himself -by deciphering the sign on the window. YCAMRAHP S’ELTTILOOD was about -the way it appeared from inside. When he had puzzled it out he glanced -around the empty store and chuckled. It was, he thought, well named. - -“Chocolate ice-cream soda, please,” he requested presently, when a -youth with sandy hair strolled into sight wiping his hands on a soiled -white apron. “Lots of chocolate, please,” he added. - -The clerk glanced doubtfully at the faucet inscribed “Choc.,” tried -it and shook his head. “All out of chocolate just now,” he announced, -looking dreamily across the street. “I’m going to make some more this -afternoon. Something else do?” - -“Strawberry,” said Rodney. - -This time the clerk had better luck. While Rodney consumed the -concoction, the clerk leaned wearily against the fountain and watched -the street. At last, “School?” he asked. - -“What?” - -“You an Academy boy?” - -“Not yet.” Rodney glanced at the round faced clock in the center of the -partition. “Not till five o’clock probably.” - -“Just come, eh?” continued the clerk with a slight show of interest. -“Well, it’s a pretty good school, I guess. ’Bout as good as any in New -York State, they say.” - -“Is it?” Rodney didn’t seem much impressed. “If I’d had my way I’d have -gone to a military academy back in Michigan. But my brother used to go -here and he made dad send me, too. I suppose it will do.” - -“Where’d you come from?” asked the other. - -“Orleans, Nebraska. Ever been out there?” - -“N-no. Nebraska’s quite a ways, ain’t it? Out――out near Illinois, ain’t -it? Or Texas?” - -“Out that way,” replied Rodney dryly. “Sort of between those places and -Oregon. It’s the finest state in the Union.” - -“That so?” The drug clerk grinned. “Guess you ain’t lived in the east -much, have you?” - -“No, not lived, but I’ve been in about every state except Maine and -Vermont and West Virginia. And Nebraska’s got them all thrown and -hog-tied.” - -“You must have travelled some! Ever been in Utah?” - -“Several times,” answered Rodney, scraping the last particle of ice -cream from his glass with a sigh of regret. - -“Is that so? I don’t suppose you ever ran across a fellow named -Stenstream out there, did you?” - -“I don’t think so. What town is he in?” - -“Town? I don’t know. One of those Mormon towns, I think. He’s a sort of -cousin of mine, Pringle is.” - -“Did he come from here?” asked Rodney as he drained the last drop in -his glass. - -“Yes, he used to work for Huckins, down the street. Always was a sort -of adventurous chap, though. Nobody wasn’t surprised much when he up -and lit out for Utah.” - -“Utah ought to be a fine place for a fellow with a name like that,” -said Rodney gravely. “What did you say it was?” - -“His name? Pringle Stenstream.” - -“My, this is sure one fine place for names, isn’t it?” laughed the boy. - -The clerk blinked as he washed the glass. “Names? How do you mean? -What’s the matter with the names?” - -“Oh, they’re all right, but sort of――of unusual.” - -“Stenstream ain’t unusual around here,” responded the clerk a trifle -resentfully. “There’s stacks of ’em in New York State. It’s as common -as――as my own name.” - -“What’s that?” asked Rodney. - -“Doolittle,” was the calm reply. - -“Oh, is this your store?” - -“Nope, it’s my uncle’s. I work for him. Gosh!” - -“What’s the matter?” asked Rodney, following the clerk’s gaze through -the window. - -“There’s that Watson feller coming, and he always wants chocolate and I -haven’t got any.” - -“Give him strawberry,” suggested Rodney, amused by the clerk’s -expression of alarm. “Are those Maple Hill fellows?” - -The clerk nodded gloomily. “Yes, and that Watson feller’s the worst of -the lot. The rest of ’em ain’t so bad.” - -“Cheer up,” said Rodney. “Maybe they won’t come in.” - -They did, though. There were four of them, their ages ranging -apparently from fourteen to seventeen. They came in laughing and made -directly for the soda fountain. As there were but three stools, Rodney -got up and moved to the corner of the confectionery case, curious to -see what manner of boys these Maple Hill students might be. It wasn’t -difficult to determine which was Watson. He was the biggest of the -four, good-looking in a heavy way, and evidently the leader of the -present expedition. It was Watson who sang out a greeting from the -doorway. - -“Hello, Doolie, Old Top! Poisoned anyone to-day?” - -Young Mr. Doolittle smiled uneasily. “You almost lost me my job that -time, Watson,” he said sadly. “That wasn’t a joke, that wasn’t!” - -“Wasn’t it?” laughed Watson. “It was a peach of a joke!” He had caught -sight of Rodney on entering, and now he inquired confidentially but -quite audibly, “Who’s your dressy friend, Doolie?” - -The clerk replied in low tones, leaning across the counter. Watson -grinned. - -“What ho, fellows! Luck’s with us! Here’s a new one!” He regarded -Rodney jovially. “Doolie says you’re a Maple Hiller.” - -“Yes,” replied Rodney pleasantly. - -“Fine! Welcome to our school!” - -“Thank you,” returned Rodney politely. - -“Well, fellows, what’ll you have to-day?” asked the clerk. - -“Hold your horses, Doolie. You see,” Watson went on, turning to the -newcomer again, “it’s a long-established custom here that new boys have -to stand treat. You’re lucky there aren’t any more of us, isn’t he, -Tommy?” - -“Rather!” agreed a light-haired, freckle-faced boy of about Rodney’s -age. “If he doesn’t hurry up there may be.” - -“You mean,” inquired Rodney interestedly, “that I’m supposed to buy -sodas for you chaps?” - -“Spoken like a gentleman! Right you are, Old Top! Line up, fellows. Ice -creams all around, Doolie.” - -The clerk looked hesitantly at Rodney. The latter smiled but shook his -head. “Suppose I haven’t enough coin, fellows?” he inquired. - -“That’s all right, Doolie will chalk it up, won’t you, Doolie? Doolie’s -a nice, obliging little poisoner.” - -“Very glad to charge ’em,” said the clerk. “What flavors?” - -“Hold on,” protested Rodney. “I’m not one of you fellows yet. I won’t -be until I reach school. I guess that lets me out. Still, I don’t want -to seem stingy, so I’ll tell you what I’ll do.” - -“What?” asked Watson, frowning darkly. - -“I’ll buy ice-cream sodas for the crowd if you’ll all take the same -flavor. You――” nodding at Watson――“choose it. You’ve only got one -guess, though.” - -“How do you mean, one guess?” - -“Why, if you call for a flavor he hasn’t got, you lose. That lets me -out. Savvy?” - -“Oh, that’s it? Don’t you worry, cutie. We know what we want, don’t we, -fellows?” - -“I want――” began a younger boy. - -“Cut it! You get what I order. Didn’t you hear him say so? Doolie, you -may prepare four of your finest chocolate ice-cream sodas.” - -Had Watson observed the clerk’s expression during the arrangement of -terms he might have hesitated about agreeing to them, but he had not. -It was only when young Mr. Doolittle began to stammer vaguely that -Watson scented trouble. - -“What’s the matter, Doolie?” he demanded peevishly. “Four chocolates. -Didn’t you hear the dressy party agree to pay for them?” - -“I――the fact is, Watson――the――the chocolate is――is――――” - -“The chocolate is what?” asked Watson, suspiciously calm. - -“Out!” - -“Out! Oh, run away and play, Doolie! Quit your joking! Of course you’ve -got chocolate! If you haven’t you’d better dig some up mighty quick, -Old Top! Get a move on now! Ginger up, Doolie, ginger up!” - -“I’m awfully sorry, Watson, but there ain’t any. You see, I was just -going to make some when that fellow came in and――――” - -“Asked for it, I’ll bet a doughnut!” exclaimed Watson. “Say, you, Mr. -Smart Aleck”――Watson’s jaw dropped. “Where is he?” he demanded. - -“The new fellow?” replied one of the younger boys. “Oh, he just went -out!” - - - - -CHAPTER II - -RODNEY MEETS THE TWINS - - -Rodney, smiling at his thoughts, was a block away. While he was by no -means running, he was at the same time proceeding decidedly faster -than before. The vicinity of Doolittle’s Pharmacy was not, he told -himself, a healthy locality for him just then. In fact, he was somewhat -relieved when the main street, as though despairing of being able to -climb any further in a straight line, broke in two like a letter Y. -Once around the turn to the left he would be no longer in sight from -the drug store. His instructions from the expressman had been to take -the left-hand road where River Street branched. What he was to do after -that he no longer recalled. Consequently when he came to a cross street -that appeared to curve back toward the other branch of the Y he let -it severely alone. But a few rods further on he doubted his wisdom. -The stores had stopped two blocks below――he was still climbing upward, -although at a more comfortable grade――and residences had taken their -place. About him now were large yards, with many trees and beds of -flowers; dahlias and asters and flaming scarlet sage and golden-yellow -marigolds; with quiet, peaceful old-fashioned white houses with green -window shutters tucked well away from the street. Ahead of him the road -seemed bent on losing itself in open country, and the dwelling houses -were growing scarcer. The Westcott house, whither his baggage had gone -and where he himself was leisurely bound, was opposite the Academy -campus; the letter from Mrs. Westcott had distinctly so stated; and -as yet there was nothing even dimly resembling a campus in sight. He -paused under the shade of a big elm, whose far-reaching branches had -already begun to carpet the street with their rusty-yellow leaves, and -looked about him. - -Across the road a narrow side street, scarcely wider than a lane, -according to Rodney’s notions, ran briskly downhill until it passed -from sight. Rodney at once eliminated that thoroughfare from his -calculations. Rather than strike downward and have to climb that -hill again he would stay just where he was and starve to death. Not, -however, that there was any immediate danger of that contingency, for -he had managed to eat a particularly hearty meal some three hours since -in the big dining saloon of the steamer. But three hours is three -hours, and any normal, healthy boy can look with favor on food after a -fast of that duration. So he produced a piece of sweet chocolate from -a pocket, removed the tin-foil with some difficulty, since the warmth -of the day had softened the delicacy to a condition of mushiness, -and looked about him for a place to rest and refresh himself. A few -feet farther along a big granite horseblock stood at the edge of the -sidewalk――with a narrow gate in the fence behind, but he didn’t notice -that――and so he sat himself comfortably down on it and proceeded to -nibble. It was perceptibly cooler up here on the hill, for he was -almost at the summit of the ridge that paralleled the river for many -miles, and a fresh breeze was blowing along the shady street. It was -still only――he looked at his watch――only ten minutes after three and -he had nearly two hours of freedom yet, if he wanted it. He sighed -contentedly. - -While he sits there let us have a look at him. Fairly tall for his -fifteen years――fifteen and a half, to be strictly accurate――splendidly -healthy and capable in appearance, Rodney Merrill was on the whole -distinctly attractive. Perhaps you would not have called him a handsome -boy. If not Rodney would have had no quarrel with you since, in a boy’s -language, handsome implies some quality of effeminacy most undesirable. -He had brown hair, brown eyes――very nice brown eyes they were, too――a -fairly large mouth and a full share of freckles in a face that was -well-tanned, clear-cut and wholesome. And there was a self-reliant air -about him that might have belonged to a much older lad. He was neatly -if not strikingly dressed. A plain gray suit of flannel, a straw hat, -brown shoes and black stockings, and a rather effective negligee shirt -of alternating rose and green stripes on a gray ground made up his -attire. Perhaps I ought to make mention of the black and white scarf -from which just at present he was flecking a crumb of sticky chocolate. - -Once as he sat there he thought he heard a rustling in the hedge behind -him or the branches above, and looked around. But nothing was in sight. -A locomotive whistled somewhere below as it passed. The trees, however, -cut off his view of the railroad. In fact, from where he sat not even -the river could be glimpsed, and he thought vaguely that he would -like it better later on when the leaves were off and a fellow could -see something. He was accustomed to wide views at home and the trees -and hedges and shrubs were beginning to pall on him. He felt so sort -of shut in. He finished the last of the chocolate and sighed again, -this time with repletion. Then he rolled the tin-foil into a small and -glittering ball, lifted his hand to toss it away―――― - -“Was it good?” asked a voice behind him. And, - -“Don’t throw it in the street,” warned another voice. - -Rodney, startled, whisked around. On either side of the narrow gate -was a square wooden post terminating in a flat top. On either post -sat a girl. Rodney’s surprise turned to bewilderment as his glance -swept from one side of the gate to the other. Each member of his -unsuspected audience wore a white middy suit trimmed with red, each had -yellow-brown hair, each sat with crossed feet, hands folded in lap, -looking calmly down upon him; in short one was so startlingly like the -other that for a moment Rodney thought he was seeing double. - -“It’s all right. There really are two of us,” announced the first -speaker reassuringly. “You see, we’re twins.” - -“Oh!” said Rodney. “I――I should think you were!” - -“Did we scare you?” - -“Not much. What are you doing up there?” - -“We were watching you,” replied the left-hand twin with a smile. - -“Watching you eat your chocolate,” added the right-hand twin. At least, -reflected Rodney, relieved, their voices were different; and, yes, when -you looked closer you saw that, whereas the left-hand twin had very -blue eyes, the right-hand twin’s eyes were almost black. And perhaps -the latter’s nose was a little bit straighter. But for the rest――Rodney -wondered how their mother told them apart. - -“You were mighty quiet about it,” he commented a trifle indignantly. -“It isn’t nice to sneak up and watch folks behind their backs.” - -He discovered that he was still holding the wad of tin-foil in his hand -and again started to toss it away. - -“Please don’t throw it in the street,” said the right-hand twin -earnestly. - -“Why not?” - -“It is untidy to throw paper and things in the streets.” - -“May’s a member of the Village Improvement Society,” explained the -left-hand twin. - -“Oh! What’ll I do with it, then?” - -“Couldn’t you put it in your pocket until you get to a rubbish barrel?” -asked the right-hand twin. “You’ll find one at the next corner, you -know.” - -“All right.” Rodney dropped the tin-foil in his pocket with a grin. -“You’re a funny pair, you two.” - -“So many people say that,” replied the left-hand twin with something -between satisfaction and wonder. “I don’t see why, though. What is it -that’s funny, please?” - -“Oh, I don’t know.” He hesitated. “I suppose it’s your being so much -alike and――and everything. Do you live in there?” He nodded toward a -white house that peeked out from over the overgrown lilac hedge. - -“Yes,” replied the left-hand twin. “Our name is Binner. My name is -Martha Binner and hers is Mary Binner. We’re thirteen. What’s your -name?” - -“Rodney Merrill.” - -“I think Rodney’s a very pretty name, don’t you, May?” - -“Yes. I don’t believe we have ever known a boy with that name, have we?” - -“You said her name was Mary,” charged Rodney. - -“It is, but she’s called May. I’m called Matty. What do they call you?” - -“Rod, usually.” - -“I don’t care for that,” said the right-hand twin judicially. “I think -we’ll call him Rodney, Matty.” - -The left-hand twin nodded agreement. “Are you an Academy boy?” she -asked. - -“I’m going to be before long. I’m on my way there now. Say, where’s -Mrs. Westcott’s house?” - -“Oh, are you going to be a Vest?” exclaimed Matty. - -“A what?” - -“Of course he doesn’t understand,” said May. “He wouldn’t, you know.” - -“I suppose not,” replied Matty. “You see,” turning to Rodney again, -“the boys at Mrs. Westcott’s are called Vests. It――it’s a pun.” - -“Oh, is it?” he asked. “I don’t see any pun there.” - -“You don’t? Why, Westcott――waistcoat――vest! Now do you see?” - -Rodney shook his head puzzledly. - -“Perhaps,” said May, “you’d better let me explain.” - -Matty nodded. “Yes, you always explain things more clearly than I do.” - -“Well, Rodney, you know a vest is called a waistcoat, and――――” - -“Oh, I savvy! I’d forgotten. We call them vests where I come from. So -I’m a Vest, am I? Hope I’m not a fancy one! Well, I guess I’d better -pull my freight.” - -“Do――do what?” asked Matty. - -“Pull my freight; hit the trail; move along. Which way did you say Mrs. -Westcott’s was?” - -“We didn’t say,” replied Matty, “but it’s the next house to ours, -around the corner on Bow Street. Must you go now?” - -“I suppose so, pretty soon anyway. Won’t take me long to get there, -though, I guess.” - -“Only a minute or two. If you like you can go through our garden. -There’s a place where you can get through the hedge. I suppose you came -on the boat, didn’t you?” - -Rodney nodded. - -“Most of the boys come on the train that gets here about four. Don’t -you think the Hudson River is perfectly beautiful?” - -He did, but pretended he didn’t. “Rather pretty in spots,” he answered -patronizingly. “We’ve got rivers out west――――” - -“O-oh!” exclaimed May from her post, with a protesting wriggle. “You -_know_ it’s beautiful! It――it’s wonderful!” - -“It’s called the American Rhine,” added Matty conclusively, “and I -guess that settles it! And you needn’t say you’ve got rivers in your -state that are finer, because you haven’t, and we don’t believe it!” - -“I didn’t say in my state,” denied Rodney. “I said out west. And we -have――stacks of them! They’re not so――so placid, maybe, but they’re -much grander and――and picturesquer.” - -“They’re not,” said Matty indignantly. - -“They are,” said Rodney firmly. - -“They couldn’t be! How could they? Why――why――――” - -“Still, Matty, we don’t _know_,” interposed May cautiously, “and so -perhaps we oughtn’t to contradict him. I don’t think it is very nice of -him to say our river isn’t beautiful, but maybe he doesn’t see beauty. -They say some folks don’t. It――it’s a deficiency, you know.” - -“Beauty!” scoffed Rodney. “Why――――” - -“Perhaps you’re right, May,” said the other twin thoughtfully. “And -so――we beg your pardon for contradicting you.” - -“Both of us,” added May earnestly. - -“Oh, that’s all right,” replied the boy, his good nature restored. “I -guess I contradicted you, too. Besides, I didn’t mean that your river -isn’t a very nice river, because it is. I――I guess you might call it -beautiful,” he added magnanimously. - -“And of course you do have perfectly wonderful rivers in the west,” -replied Matty. “We’ve read about some of them and seen pictures of -them, haven’t we, May?” - -“Yes, indeed. They are very fine.” - -Rodney in the heat of the discussion had forgotten his announced -intention to finish his journey to Mrs. Westcott’s, and had reseated -himself on the horseblock. After all, there was lots of time yet. And -the twins were amusing, and, as girls went, quite pretty. He had three -sisters of his own and pretended to be something of an authority on -girls, their ways and idiosyncrasies. - -“I suppose,” said Matty, after a moment, “you are going into the First -Form.” - -“Yes, but I don’t know why they call it a form. Isn’t class good enough -for them? Form sounds so silly. I suppose it’s terribly English. And -then they call the Principal the Head Master!” - -Matty giggled. “The boys call him ‘the Doc.’ And they have such lovely -names for the submasters, too. Mr. Howe is ‘Gussie,’ and Mr. Stanhope -is ‘P. N.’――――” - -“‘P. N.’?” questioned Rodney. “Why do they call him that?” - -“Because he’s always saying a thing is ‘perfect nonsense.’ They used to -call him that, ‘Perfect Nonsense,’ you know, but it was too long and so -they shortened it.” - -“I see. And there’s a teacher they call ‘the baron,’ isn’t there?” - -“Yes, that’s Mr. Steuben; he’s a dear old German; we adore him, don’t -we, May?” - -“We adore him,” agreed the other twin firmly and calmly. - -“And ‘Mike’ is awfully nice, too. That’s Mr. Kelly, the English -teacher. He has such beautiful coppery-red hair.” - -“Any more?” laughed Rodney. - -“Yes, there’s Mr. Cooper. The boys call him ‘Chawles’ because he talks -that way. We don’t like him, do we, May?” - -“No, we don’t.” - -“And that’s all,” continued Matty. “Except Mrs. Farron, the Doctor’s -wife. She’s called ‘the Missis.’ You’ll like her awfully. All the boys -do.” - -“What’s Mrs. Westcott like?” inquired Rodney. - -Matty pursed up her lips, shot a mischievous glance at May and replied -primly: “She’s very nice.” - -“Oh,” said Rodney, doubtfully. - -“She is just like a mother to her dear, _dear_ boys,” chanted May -gravely, her eyes fixed on space. “It’s such a happy little home!” - -Rodney started perplexedly until the twins turned to regard each other -seriously for an instant and then go off into a gale of laughter that -threatened to shake them from their seats. - -“Oh, that’s the sort,” muttered Rodney. “Well, she can’t be a mother to -me! Say, what sort of a chap is Watson? Know him?” - -“Guy Watson?” Matty recovered her composure and her equilibrium and -frowned. “You won’t like him, I guess. We don’t, do we, May? He’s――” -she paused, searching for a word――“he’s coarse!” - -“And ungentlemanly,” added May, nodding decisively. - -“But I suppose,” said Matty, “we should also say that he is a very good -football player. And he is on the track team, too. He’s a Third Form -boy. Do you know him?” - -“Not very well.” Rodney smiled. “I met him on the way up here. He and -three others.” Then he recounted the incident in the drug store and the -twins clapped their hands with delight. - -“How perfectly splendid!” cried Matty. “Think of anyone getting the -best of Guy Watson like that!” - -“He will be awfully angry, though,” said May. “I think you should look -out for him, Rodney. He won’t be satisfied until he gets even with you, -will he, Matty?” - -“No, I’m afraid he won’t.” She regarded Rodney gravely and shook her -head. “I’m afraid you’ll have trouble with him. But perhaps――Who do you -room with?” - -“Room with? I don’t room with anyone, I suppose!” - -“Oh, yes you do. You have to.” - -“I do?” asked Rodney gloomily. “If I’d known that I wouldn’t have come. -I didn’t want to, anyway!” - -“Oh, but you’ll like it after awhile, really!” assured May earnestly. -“And if they put you in with a nice boy――Matty!” May’s eyes grew round. -“It’ll be ‘Kitty’!” - -“Of course it will! Jack Leonard’s gone, hasn’t he?” Matty clasped her -hands in ecstacy, her blue eyes dancing. “You’ll room with ‘Kitty’!” - -“Who’s ‘Kitty’?” asked Rodney suspiciously. “A freak?” - -“‘Kitty’ is Phineas Kittson,” began May, “and he’s――――” - -“No, May, no!” cried Matty. “We mustn’t tell him! It would just spoil -it!” - -“So it would,” agreed May beamingly. “Oh, wouldn’t you love to be -there, Matty?” - -“You mean when――――” - -“Yes, when――――” - -“Oh, wouldn’t I?” She gasped. “If we only could!” She turned to Rodney -and clasped her hands ecstatically. “Oh, Rodney, it’s going to be such -fun!” - -Rodney arose and observed them disgustedly. - -“I’m going,” he said. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -“WESTCOTT’S” - - -“And this is Rodney Merrill!” exclaimed Mrs. Westcott, beaming upon -him as she swept into the parlor with rustling skirts. “I’m so glad to -see you! And how nice to get here early! Doctor Farron has told me all -about you, my dear, _dear_ boy, and we’re going to make you so happy -here at our wonderful school, so very happy!” - -And Mrs. Westcott, shaking hands, beamed harder than ever. She was a -tall, thin woman with prominent features and a dark blue silk gown that -rustled. It was in that order that Rodney noted those particulars. Her -face was kindly if not very attractive, and her voice quite pleasant. - -“You had a comfortable journey, I hope? Won’t you sit down a moment, -Rodney? This is our parlor. We meet here in the evenings and have such -pleasant, homelike times. One or two of my boys sing very nicely.” -Mrs. Westcott sank rustling into a chair, folded her thin hands in -her lap and beamed. “The Doctor said you were fifteen. That is right, -I presume? Yes. And you’re to be a First Form boy? Yes. Isn’t that -splendid? I hope you will like us all very much. I have such a fine -family this year, such dear, _dear_ boys! Perhaps you’d like to go -up and see your room? Your trunk and bag came and are awaiting you -upstairs. This way, if you please, Rodney.” - -And Rodney, who had just seated himself uncomfortably on the edge -of a chair, arose and followed. The room, he had to acknowledge to -himself, was really rather jolly. It was at the back of the house but -had windows on two sides, each of which looked out upon the campus. It -was very nearly square and of good size. The furnishings were neither -elaborate nor particularly new, but there was a generous study table -covered with green baize――interestingly adorned with cabalistic marks -and ink stains――a sufficiency of chairs, two single white-enamelled -beds, two tall and narrow chiffoniers, and a bench which, evidently -of home manufacture, stood under the side window and did duty as a -window-seat. The floor was uncarpeted, but rugs, the kind that are -woven of old carpets, lay about the floor. Everything was immaculately -neat and clean. There was something about Mrs. Westcott that forbade -the thought of dust or grime. - -The walls were painted a light tan, and the woodwork about the room was -of varnished pine. The effect, with the rugs, whose predominant color -was brick-red, was decidedly cheerful. There were no pictures――Rodney -learned that denizens of the Westcott Cottage were not allowed to hang -anything on the walls――but the back of one of the chiffoniers held a -number of photographs. - -“This will be your side of the room,” announced Mrs. Westcott. “When -you have unpacked your trunk I will show you where to put it in the -storeroom. In the closet”――Mrs. Westcott swung open the door――“you will -use the seven hooks to the left and half the shelf. Clothes that are -not in present demand should be kept in your trunk. You will be able to -get to it whenever you like. We have no washstands in the room as the -boys use the bathroom, which is just across the hall, you see. In the -coat-closet downstairs you will find blacking and brushes for shoes. I -hope you will keep your shoes looking nice. I am very particular about -that. We have a regular bathroom schedule in the morning. Each boy is -allowed ten minutes by the clock. Your time will be from seven-twenty -to seven-thirty. You will find the schedule on the door. That is all -for now.” - -Mrs. Westcott, who had delivered the foregoing in the manner of one -repeating a well-learned lesson, paused for breath. - -“Who’s the other chap in here?” asked Rodney, who, hands in pockets, -was still examining his quarters. - -“Your roommate,” said Mrs. Westcott, beaming again, “is Phineas -Kittson. Such a dear boy! You’ll like him, I know. He is a year older -than you, and in the Second Form. I hope you will be great friends. -Phineas is――” Mrs. Westcott paused and seemed searching for just the -right word. Finally, “so _interesting_!” she ended triumphantly. “Not -exactly like my other boys, you know, rather――rather exceptional. -We all expect great things from Phineas some day. He has such a――a -remarkable mind! Now perhaps you’d like to unpack and arrange your -things. The rest of my boys will be along very shortly. Two have come -already, but they’ve gone out. If you want anything, Rodney, you’ll -find me downstairs. Make yourself at home, my dear boy.” - -When Mrs. Westcott had gone Rodney subsided into a chair and grinned -at the empty chiffonier. “She’s going to make me happy if it kills -me, isn’t she?” he inquired of the chiffonier. Then, with a chuckle, -he arose and again made the circuit of the room, testing the bed by -punching it, pulling open the drawers of the chiffonier, and pausing at -each window to take in the view. - -The window at the rear, just at the foot of his bed, looked over the -back yard and across the intersection of two tree-lined streets. -Beyond that the foliage cut off his view, although he glimpsed the -copper-roofed turret of a building a block or so beyond. From the side -window the school buildings in the campus were in plain sight across -the street. There were four of them, all of red brick and limestone; -a large one in the center of the group with a tower at one end, two -others nearer at hand, and a fourth at the farther side of the campus. -The middle one Rodney rightly surmised to be the recitation hall -and the others dormitories. Maple Hill took care of one hundred and -fifteen pupils, of which number but ninety could be accommodated in -the dormitories. The newcomers usually had to go to one or other of -the half dozen private houses which, while run independently of the -Academy, were, as Rodney discovered later, very much under the Head -Master’s supervision. From the side window Rodney lounged across to -Phineas Kittson’s chiffonier and viewed the collection of photographs -there. Finding those but mildly interesting, and having by this time -returned to where his trunk and bag reposed upon a rug near the hall -door, he bethought him of unpacking. The bag was quickly emptied and -then he tackled the trunk. It wasn’t easy to decide which things should -remain in it and which should be stowed in his half of the much too -small closet. And he was still in the middle of his task when voices -and laughter and many footfalls below told him that the rest of the -household had arrived. He paused with a Norfolk jacket, which had twice -made the journey to the closet and return, in his hand to listen. - -“Hello, Mother Westcott! What’s the good word with you? Got anything to -eat?” - -“That’s so, Mother, we’re starving! Look at my poor thin form! Does it -not move you to tears of pity? Say, Mother, got any cake?” - -“Shut up, Tad, and get out of Pinkie’s way! That’s my trunk, Pinkie, -the one with the lock busted. You know my room. Say, Pete, lend me a -half till to-morrow, will you?” - -Now and then Mrs. Westcott’s voice was to be heard, but for the most -part the boys’ laughter and chatter filled the house. Presently heavy -steps on the stairs indicated the ascent of Pinkie with a trunk. Close -behind him other steps sounded and a voice called: - -“Jack, we’ve a new one! He’s in with Kitty!” - -“Shut up! He’ll hear you,” a low voice warned. - -“What of it? I haven’t said――――” But the rest was drowned in the -general noise. There were three other rooms on the floor and the new -arrivals distributed themselves therein, still, however, keeping up -their conversation. - -“We’ve got new curtains, Warren!” announced a triumphant voice. - -“Get out! They’ve just been washed. I’ve got a new spread, though. -Mother always did love me best!” - -“What do you think of that for favoritism! I’m going to kick! It isn’t -fair――――” - -“Tom!” - -“Hi?” - -“Got my bag in there? Pinkie says he――――” - -“Heads out, fellows! See who’s coming!” - -Rodney could hear the rush to the front windows, followed by applause -and cries of “Good old Kitty!” “Breathe deep, Kitty, breathe deep!” -“What’s your time, old man?” - -Presently the last arrival entered the house and Rodney heard Mrs. -Westcott exclaim: “Why, Phineas, how _well_ you look! You dear, _dear_ -boy, I’m so glad to see you back again.” - -A deeper voice answered, but as the uproar in the other rooms had begun -again Rodney heard no more. Desperately he doomed the Norfolk jacket -and the trousers that went with it to the trunk again, and began to -arrange his shirts in the second drawer of the chiffonier. Rodney was -rather proud of his collection of shirts. Most of them had been bought -in New York and were things of beauty, especially the negligees, which -ran to color combinations of lavender and blue, pink and green and old -rose and gray stripes. He was assorting them carefully and approvingly -and had for the moment forgotten everything else when footsteps at -the doorway caused him to turn his head. What he saw was sufficiently -interesting to put the shirts out of mind. Not Mrs. Westcott, who was -beaming from the threshold, but the boy who was with her. Rodney, -staring wonderingly, thought he had never seen a more remarkable person -in his life. And he went right on staring, most impolitely, but quite -excusably, until Mrs. Westcott’s voice broke his trance. - -“Rodney,” she announced, “this is Phineas Kittson. Phineas, dear, this -is Rodney Merrill, your new roommate. I just know you’re going to be -_such_ good friends!” - -“Great Scott!” thought Rodney. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -PHINEAS KITTSON - - -Phineas Kittson, or Kitty, as he was called, was sixteen years of age, -but looked a year older. He was large――perhaps bulky would be the -better word――very broad shouldered, very deep chested. His legs were -short and so were his arms, giving him the appearance of being all -body. He had a large, round face, somewhat sallow, but not unhealthy, -of which the principal features were his eyes and his mouth. The eyes -were of the palest green and unusually prominent and caused him to look -as though he had just made a most astounding, stupendous discovery and -was on the point of breaking into excited announcement of it. He wore a -pair of rubber-rimmed spectacles with big round lenses, which magnified -his eyes to an uncanny extent. His mouth was wide and very serious, -turning down at the corners as though in gentle disapproval of the -world. His nose was not remarkable, but appeared to belong on someone -else, being small and narrow and seemingly quite lost on such a broad -expanse. His hair was dark brown and stood in need of trimming. It also -appeared to stand in need of brushing, but later Rodney found that -brushing had little effect on Phineas Kittson’s hair. Its constantly -touseled appearance was due to the fact that it had never decided in -which direction to grow and so was trying them all. There was a tuft -over his left eye that grew straight, a tuft over his other eye that -grew down, a patch on the top of his head that curled to the right, -and a patch over one ear that shot straight out. And there were other -patches that were still experimenting. - -Phineas wore a suit of some indescribable shade of grayish green which -looked as though he had slept in it, and carried in one hand a much -worn suitcase and in the other a brown straw helmet with a green-lined -brim and a metal peak on top for ventilation. Afterward Rodney made the -discovery that his hands were very small, as were his feet, and that of -the latter the left one was encased in a dusty black Oxford and the -right one in a low-cut Blucher that had at one time been tan. - -“How are you,” said Phineas, advancing and shaking hands. “Glad to know -you.” He had a deep, pleasant voice and spoke slowly, pronouncing each -word very distinctly. When he had shaken hands he looked Rodney over -attentively with his startled eyes and asked, “Ever try inhaling?” - -“I don’t smoke,” replied Rodney disapprovingly. The green eyes blinked. - -“Not smoke, air. Fresh air. Try it. Fine for the lungs. Take long walks -and inhale. Expand. Nothing like it, Merriwell.” - -“Merrill,” corrected Rodney, amused. - -“Beg pardon. I don’t remember names.” He placed his hat on the table, -sat down, got up, saw that Mrs. Westcott had gone, and sat down again -with a sigh. “Twelve minutes, twenty-eight and two fifths,” he said. - -“Indeed?” asked Rodney politely. - -Kitty nodded gravely. “I’ve done better than that by nearly two -minutes. In the winter. Air’s better then. Lungs work better. It -follows, of course.” He seemed to demand an answer and Rodney nodded -gravely, too. - -“Naturally,” he agreed. “What the dickens are you talking about?” - -Kitty viewed him thoughtfully. “My fault,” he said after a moment. -“Thought you knew. Walking up the hill, you know. Station to house. -Twelve minutes, twenty-eight and two-fifths.” He pulled a stop-watch -from his pocket and studied it. Apparently satisfied, he clicked the -hands back into place again. “Warm to-day. Heat enervates the air. -There’s a difference. You’ve noticed it, I guess.” - -“I can’t say I ever have,” replied Rodney, turning again to his shirts. -“Must be quite a climb up that hill, though. Did you lug that bag with -you?” - -“Yes. Forgot I had it. That counted against me, of course.” He looked -for a moment at the suitcase. Then, “Funny about my trunk,” he -meditated aloud. - -“What’s wrong with it?” asked Rodney indifferently. - -“Left it in New York. Ferry station. Forgot to recheck it. Got any -collars?” - -“What size do you wear?” - -“Oh, thirteen or fourteen, I think. I’ll borrow a couple. Thanks, -Morrill.” - -“You’re welcome,” replied Rodney dryly. “It’s Merrill, though.” - -“Of course. Beg pardon. What time is it? I forgot to wind my watch -yesterday.” - -Before Rodney could oblige him with the desired information there was -a sound of approaching footsteps and voices in the hall, and in a -moment half a dozen boys whose ages varied from fourteen to seventeen -years flocked in. In deference to the stranger their entrance was quite -decorous. One boy, a youth of Rodney’s own age, was grinning broadly, -but the rest were politely serious. - -“Thought we’d come in and get acquainted,” announced the eldest of the -six, a tall, nice-looking chap of seventeen, who was evidently the -leader at Westcott’s. - -“Hello,” responded Kitty. “Funny about my trunk――――” - -“Never mind about your trunk,” laughed another visitor. “We’ve heard -all about it, Kitty. I wonder you didn’t forget to bring yourself!” - -The others chuckled, and Rodney, a trifle embarrassed, smiled. The boys -seated themselves here and there about the room and there was a painful -silence. Kitty, viewing them absently, was apparently deep in thought. -Finally, with a laugh: - -“Come on, Kitty,” said the eldest youth. “Introduce your friend.” - -“Eh?” Kitty looked vaguely around the room until his eyes encountered -Rodney, still standing at the chiffonier. “Oh, yes. Beg pardon. This -chap’s name is――er――” Kitty paused at a loss and turned inquiringly to -Rodney. “What is it, now?” - -“The same as it was a few minutes ago,” laughed Rodney. “It’s Merrill, -Rodney Merrill.” - -“Glad to know you,” replied the older boy. “My name’s Billings. This -grinning ape is Mudge. Mr. Greenough is the thoughtful gentleman at -your left. Over there are Hoyt, Trainor and Trowbridge. There’s no use -waiting for Kitty to introduce. He’d fall into a trance in the middle -of it.” - -Kitty smiled untroubledly. The others, having nodded, or, if near -enough, shaken hands, laughed. The irrepressible Mudge――Tad, for short; -Theodore Middlewich for long――removed the last vestige of restraint. - -“Welcome, Merrill, to our happy little home,” said Tad. “Hope you’ll -like us and our quaint ways. Pete, get up and give Merrill a seat, you -impolite loafer.” - -“Thanks, but I don’t want to sit down,” replied Rodney. “I was putting -my things away.” - -“Don’t let Kitty impose on you,” advised Tom Trainor, a slender, -light-complexioned chap. “If you don’t watch him he will have his -things all over the place. Sometimes he forgets which is his own bed -and goes to sleep in the other one. You got here early, Merrill.” - -“I came on the boat from New York. It was very nice.” - -“It’s nice enough once――or even a couple of times――” said Hoyt, a -short chap with a snub nose and a bored expression. “After that it’s -monotonous.” - -“I’d hate to be world weary as you are, Warren,” said Jack Billings, -dryly. “Well, we’re having early supper to-night, fellows, so -we’d better move along. Come in and see us, Merrill, when you get -straightened out. By the way, it’s Faculty Reception to-night; about -seven-thirty; better come along and meet the tyrants. We’re all -going――all except Kitty.” - -Kitty looked across in greater surprise than ever and blinked. “Thought -I’d go,” he said. - -“You think so, but you’ll forget it,” laughed Jack. - -After the visitors had dispersed to their own rooms, Phineas turned -to Rodney and said, “I haven’t a very good memory for some things. -Sometimes I forget. They like to joke about it. I don’t mind, of -course. It amuses them, Maynard.” - -“I see.” Rodney didn’t correct him this time. What was the use? - - - - -CHAPTER V - -RODNEY ENCOUNTERS WATSON - - -School began on Wednesday, and by Friday Rodney was pretty well settled -down in his groove. Finding his place at Westcott’s was easy enough. -As it happened he was the only First Form boy there, although Tad -Mudge, Warren Hoyt and Tom Trainor were of his age. Phineas Kittson and -Pete Greenough were sixteen; Eustace Trowbridge――called Stacey――and -Jack Billings were seventeen. On the whole they were a nice lot of -fellows, Rodney thought, although they were rather different from the -boys he knew at home. He liked Jack Billings immensely; everyone did, -he found; and he liked Tad Mudge and Pete Greenough and Tom Trainor. -Warren Hoyt he thought disagreeable. Warren put on airs and pretended -to be bored by everything. Stacey Trowbridge was a quiet fellow who -kept to himself a good deal and was hard to know. Rodney thought -that he would probably like Stacey if he ever got really acquainted -with him. As for Phineas――well, Rodney realized that he would have to -make the best of that strange roommate of his. Not that Kitty caused -any trouble. He didn’t. Let Kitty alone and Kitty let you alone. He -seemed to live in a different altitude from the others, on some higher -and finer plane. He studied a good deal, had a wonderful memory for -lessons, and stood well in class. When he was not poring over his -lessons he was either exercising or reading books on physiology, -hygiene and kindred subjects, of which he possessed a veritable -library. When Kitty exercised he hung a pedometer from his belt, took -a stop-watch in hand, and walked violently about the country for hours -at a time. Kitty’s theory, as Rodney soon learned, was that if a fellow -developed his lungs properly his other organs would look out for -themselves. He talked a good deal about something he called “glame,” -and inhalation and expansion and contraction, and Rodney got rather -tired after a while of those subjects. But, on the whole, Phineas was -a well-meaning, good-humored chap who bothered no one and who was quite -contented to be left to his own devices. - -The entering class that year numbered twenty-seven. Rodney had a chance -to look them over Thursday evening when the new First Form held a -meeting in the Assembly Hall and organized. A fellow named Sanderson -was elected president, and a youth named White was chosen for secretary -and treasurer. Rodney took small part in the proceedings, but met, -after the business meeting was over, quite a number of his classmates. -They seemed a decent lot, he thought. They ranged in age from twelve to -fifteen and hailed from seven States, most of them living within a half -day’s journey. Rodney was the only Nebraska representative and came -from farther away than any of them, except one boy whose home was in -Colorado. - -So far he had not again encountered Guy Watson, and was rather glad of -it. Not that he was physically afraid of Watson, but he anticipated -trouble sooner or later, and, being a sensible chap, preferred to avoid -it as long as possible. One thing that amused Rodney was the fact that -no one had as yet connected him with his brother, who had graduated -from Maple Hill four years previous. Sooner or later fellows would -discover that the famous Ginger Merrill and the unknown Rodney were -brothers. Until they did Rodney was satisfied to remain in obscurity, -having no desire to shine in reflected glory. He hadn’t been there -twenty-four hours before he heard Stanley’s name mentioned――they -didn’t call him Stanley, however; he was Ginger to fame. At Maple Hill -they compared every promising football player with Ginger Merrill, -and each year’s team to the team that Ginger had captained four years -before. Of course, Rodney knew that that remarkable brother of his had -been something unusual on the football field, but he didn’t realize -Stanley’s real greatness until he reached Maple Hill and heard fellows -hold forth. They spoke of Ginger almost with bated breath, at least -with a pride and reverence that warmed Rodney’s heart and made him -wonder if fellows would ever speak like that of him after he had been -gone four years. If they ever did, he reflected, it would not be -because of his prowess on the gridiron, for football had no place in -Rodney’s scheme. He liked to watch the game and could get as excited -and partisan as anyone over it, but as for playing――well, one football -hero was enough in a family, and Rodney had confined his athletic -interests to baseball and tennis. Of those he was fond, especially -tennis. He rather prided himself on his tennis. He had tried football, -had even played a whole season on a team composed of grammar school -youngsters in Orleans, but he had never become an enthusiast, nor ever -made a name for himself. If someone, ball in arm, ran the length of -the field and fell triumphant over the goal line, it was never Rodney. -Rodney played in the line, took his medicine unflinchingly, did his -best to give as good as he got, and was always somewhat relieved when -the final whistle sounded. No, it wouldn’t be for his football prowess -that posterity would remember him. - -Rodney had an interest in life, however. He liked to learn things, all -sorts of things; mathematics even. History had no terrors for him. He -could even find reasons to remember dates. Latin he liked immensely, -and Greek he found absolutely romantic, although, what Greek he knew -he had picked up almost unaided. Modern languages――well, a fellow had -to know French and German, of course, but Rodney was less enthusiastic -about them. Geography, physics, even botany――all was grist that came -to his mill. This love of learning he had inherited from his father. -Mr. Merrill had started in life as a farmer’s boy, and by sheer passion -for learning things had climbed up and up until to-day at forty-five -he was the actual if not yet the official head of one of the biggest -railroad systems of the country. Of Mr. Merrill’s five children, two -boys and three daughters, only Rodney had succeeded to his father’s -thirst for knowledge. Stanley was smart enough and had managed to do -fairly well at his studies both at school and at college, but, to use -his own expression, “he was no shark.” Stanley was far more contented -in the Omaha office of the railroad than he had been in the classrooms. -Perhaps Rodney’s youngest sister, Eleanor, was more like Mr. Merrill -than any of the children save Rodney; although aged thirteen, her -thirst for knowledge took the form of ceaseless questioning. - -At grammar school, back at home, Rodney’s friends and companions had -viewed his studiousness with surprise, and for awhile with disapproval. -Finding eventually, however, that aside from his strange love for -lessons he was very much the same as they were, they forgave him his -peculiarity. But at Maple Hill scholarship was not regarded askance. -In fact, Maple Hill rather went in for learning, and Rodney found -himself in congenial surroundings. Maple Hill had its own local idiom, -and in its language to study was to nose, and one who was of professed -studiousness was a noser. Doubtless the word was suggested by the -expression “with his nose in his book.” At all events, Rodney became a -noser, and settled down quite happily and contentedly. - -Of course, just at first there were some lonesome hours. In fact there -was one whole day of homesickness. That was Thursday. On Thursday -Orleans, Nebraska, seemed a terribly long way off and the trees sort -of smothered him, and the cool, crisp breeze that blew along Maple -Ridge brought an ache with it. But somehow on Friday morning it was -all different. He awoke to find Kitty lying on his back in the middle -of the floor, chastely attired in a suit of white and pink pajamas, -going through his first exercises. He had different ones for almost -every period of the day. Just now he was stretched at length, inflating -and deflating his lungs and making strange, hoarse noises in his -throat. Rodney looked on for a moment in amusement, and then suddenly -discovering that the sunlight streaming across the foot of his bed -was very bright, that the morning air held an invitation, and that he -was most terribly hungry, he made a bound that just cleared Kitty’s -prostrate form and was ready for anything that fate had in store. And -fate, as it happened, had quite a number of things up its sleeve. - -After breakfast――and, oh, how he did enjoy that meal――he had only to -cross the road, enter through a little revolving stile in the fence, -and follow a path for a short distance across the campus to reach the -classrooms in Main Hall. He went alone because none of the other Vests -were ready. It was the custom to wait on the porch of the cottage -until the morning bell began to ring and then make a wild dash for the -hall, arriving there just as the last clang sounded; you say ‘Good -morning, sir,’ and be quick about ten minutes before the hour, but they -were not deserted. Main Hall entrance was a sort of general meeting -place for the boys, a forum where all sorts of matters were discussed -before, between, and after recitations. This morning the wide stones -held some twenty youths when Rodney approached. Two First Formers, -sticking close together for companionship, nodded to Rodney eagerly. He -had met them last evening, and now he would have joined them if fate -hadn’t sprung its first trick just then. - -“Hello, little brighteyes!” greeted a voice. The appellation was novel -to Rodney, but the voice had a familiar sound and so he turned. The -speaker was Guy Watson. He was grinning, but Rodney didn’t like the -expression back of the grin. - -“Hello,” he answered quietly, and crossed over to join his classmates. - -“Not quite so airy, please,” continued Watson. “A little more respect, -sonny. Now, then, try it again.” - -He lolled over in front of Rodney, a frown replacing the grin. - -Rodney was puzzled. “What is it you want?” he asked. - -“I’ll tell you what I don’t want, you fresh young kid. I don’t want any -of your cheek. Get that?” - -“I haven’t cheeked anyone,” protested the other. “You said ‘Hello,’ and -I answered you.” - -The boy next him was nudging him meaningly, but Rodney was still at a -loss. Watson sneered. - -“Innocent, aren’t you?” he demanded. “Don’t they teach you manners -where you live? Where is that, anyway?” - -“I live in Nebraska,” answered Rodney. - -“Nebraska, eh! Out with the Indians. Well, of course you wouldn’t know -any better. So I’ll explain to you, Mr. Wild West, that here at Maple -Hill a First Former says ‘Sir’ to Third and Fourth Form fellows. Get -that?” - -“Yes, thanks. How was I to know you were a Fourth Former, though?” - -There was a ripple of amusement at that and Watson flushed. “You’re -supposed to know, kid. It’s your place to find out. Now, then, let’s -try it again.” - -“Try what again?” - -“You know what I’m talking about! Now you say ‘Good morning, sir,’ and -be quick about it.” - -“Oh! That’s it? Why, good morning, sir. How do you do?” - -“Cut the flip talk, now!” warned the older boy angrily. “You’re too -smart for this place, anyway. You need taking down, you do, and I -wouldn’t be surprised if you got what you need; I wouldn’t be at all -surprised.” - -“Oh, let him alone, Guy,” protested another boy. “He’s new yet.” - -“And he’s fresh, too,” answered Watson. “He can’t get off any of his -funny pranks with me, though.” - -“That’s just his breezy Western way,” laughed the boy who had spoken. -“He’ll get over it.” - -“You bet he will! And let me tell you something, kid, whatever your -name is. You owe Doolittle for four ice-cream sodas and you’d better -trot down and settle. First Formers aren’t allowed to have tick.” - -“I don’t owe Doolittle a cent,” replied Rodney firmly. “And if he waits -for me to pay him he will wait a powerful long time.” - -“Oh, you’ll pay all right,” laughed Watson. “You thought you’d played a -funny trick, didn’t you? Well, you got stung, kid.” - -Rodney shrugged his shoulders. Watson, he decided, was getting tiresome. - -“Don’t do that!” exclaimed the other sharply. - -“Do what?” - -“Don’t shrug your shoulders at me! You pay Doolittle what you owe or -I’ll pay you what _I_ owe. Understand?” - -“What’s the row, Guy?” asked a quiet voice. Jack Billings suddenly -appeared at Watson’s elbow. - -“Hello,” grumbled the latter. “It’s none of your affair, Jack. This -kid’s been getting fresh, that’s all.” - -“Merrill’s in my house,” responded Jack, gravely. “What’s wrong, -Merrill?” - -“You’d better ask him,” answered Rodney resentfully. “He’s been -nagging me for five minutes.” - -“Oh, drop it,” advised another youth. “Let up, Guy, and forget it.” - -“Don’t you get fresh, too, Billy,” warned Watson, turning to the -speaker. Billy laughed. - -“All right, Mister Grouch. Want me to say ‘Good morning, sir?’” - -“I want you to mind your own business.” Then, turning to Jack, “If -this kid’s in your house you’d better teach him a few things, such as -respect to upper form fellows, Jack. If he opens his mouth to me again -I’ll punch his fresh young head for him!” - -“Then I’ll punch yours,” said a deep voice. - -Watson swung around, looked, grunted, and grinned. Phineas Kittson, -blinking hard behind his goggles, viewed him calmly. - -“Merrill’s a friend of mine,” went on Kitty. “Good fellow. Roommate, -fellow Vest, and all that, Watson. Mustn’t thump him, you know. I’d -make trouble.” - -The assemblage, which had been increasing every moment, burst into a -shout of laughter. “Good old Kitty!” “Don’t hurt him, Kitty!” “How are -the lungs this morning, Kitty?” - -“I’ll punch you, too, if you get gay, Kittson,” Watson informed him. -Then he swept the laughing throng with his gaze. “And if any of you -other fellows are looking for trouble――――” - -But at that moment the bell in the tower overhead began to clang, and -Watson’s belligerent voice was drowned. The boys swarmed up the steps -and into the hall, still laughing and joking. Rodney, following, found -Jack Billings beside him in the press. Jack put an arm over the younger -boy’s shoulders. - -“Keep away from Watson, Merrill,” he said kindly. “He’s got a mean -temper. And don’t answer back. And never act fresh, Merrill.” - -“I didn’t! At least, I didn’t mean to. He came up and――――” - -“All right. You can tell me about it some time,” interrupted Jack. -“Scoot along now. If he tries to make more trouble for you, get away -from him and come to me.” - -And, with a smiling and reassuring nod, Jack pushed Rodney toward the -stairway. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -RODNEY IS DISCOVERED - - -“Thanks for――for what you said to Watson,” said Rodney when, after -morning school, he was once more in his room in the cottage. Kitty, -pulling a heavy sweater over his touseled head――he had a theory that -the sort of sweaters that buttoned up the front were not as good as -the old style――emitted an unintelligible reply from the woolen folds. -“It was mighty nice of you,” went on Rodney, watching with fascination -the gradual appearance of Kitty’s moonlike face above the neck of the -garment. - -“Nothing at all,” panted Kitty. “If he touches you come to me. -Overbearing fellow, Merrill.” - -“Y-yes. He doesn’t seem very popular either, Kittson.” - -Kitty considered. “Don’t know about that. Pretty well liked, I believe. -Fellows understand him. Plays good football, you know. Too bad, -though, about his lungs.” - -“What’s the matter with them? You don’t mean he――he’s consumptive?” - -“Worse,” said Kitty solemnly. “Undeveloped. Never exercises them. Too -bad. I’ve spoken to him often. Begged him. No good. Laughs at me. Show -him some time, though. Where’s pedometer?” And Kitty, armed for the -fray, strode out. - -Rodney saw him a moment later from the window. Head and shoulders -back, the faded brown turtle-neck sweater enveloping most of his -body, Phineas Kittson disappeared rapidly from sight down the street, -determination in every stride. Rodney smiled as he lounged back to the -table and searched for a book. - -“Queer old duffer,” he murmured. - -Later Jack Billings sought him out and heard his story of the trouble -before school. “I don’t see that you were much at fault,” he said -finally. “Still Watson had an excuse, Merrill. You see, First Form -fellows are supposed to be respectful to the upper form fellows; that -is, the Third and Fourth Formers. It isn’t necessary always to say -‘Sir’ to them, but it’s proper to be respectful. Of course, when you -get to know an upper form fellow it’s different. For instance, you -needn’t stand on ceremony with me. None of the fellows in the house do, -because we all know each other pretty well. But if I talk to a lower -form chap from one of the dormitories or another house, I expect him to -stick the ‘Sir’ on. I dare say it’s sort of a silly idea, but it’s the -custom.” - -“I didn’t know about it,” said Rodney. “I wouldn’t have minded saying -‘Sir’ to him if I’d known that was what he wanted. The trouble is, he’s -peeved with me about that――that drugstore affair. And he says I’ve got -to pay Doolittle for the sodas they drank. That isn’t fair, because I -stipulated――――” - -“Where do you get hold of such big words, Merrill?” laughed Jack. “Go -on. You ‘stipulated’?” - -“That if the fellow didn’t have what they called for the first time -I wasn’t to pay. And Watson said chocolate and he was out of that, -and――and so it’s got nothing to do with me!” - -“And you knew there was no more chocolate and knew that Watson always -asked for it,” commented Jack, smiling. “On the whole, Merrill, I don’t -think it would do you any harm to have to pay. It was――well, it was a -little bit too tricky. Don’t you think so?” - -Rodney considered. “Maybe it was,” he acknowledged at last. “But I -don’t think he had any right to ask me to stand treat, Billings.” - -“Yes, he had a perfect right. It’s a custom and customs are laws that -haven’t grown up. While you’re here at Maple Hill you’ll have to play -the game the way we play it, Merrill. Now, if I were you, I’d drop down -to Doolittle’s this afternoon and pay up that score. If you’re short of -cash I’ll let you have it.” - -“I’ve got plenty, thanks. It wasn’t that.” - -“And that reminds me of another thing you ought to know,” continued -Jack. “First Form fellows are not allowed to have credit at the stores. -It’s in the rules. Perhaps you didn’t notice it.” - -“I did, but I wasn’t trying to get credit. I didn’t intend to have them -charge those sodas to me. They hadn’t any right to, either.” - -“No, not according to the terms of the agreement. But you played a -pretty sharp trick on Watson and he got back at you with another. I -don’t think there’s much choice between you. Take my advice and settle. -Then keep away from Watson until he has forgotten all about it.” - -“Well,” said Rodney unwillingly. “All right. I’ll pay. And after I do -he’s got to let me alone.” - -“Watson? He probably will,” returned Jack soothingly. “Don’t let him -worry you.” - -“He doesn’t,” said Rodney stoutly. “I’m not going to. He’s a regular -bully, though.” - -“He isn’t so bad really, Merrill, after you get to know him a little -better. He’s hot tempered and he can be as mean as a pup when he -wants to be, but――well, I’ve known Guy to do some very decent things. -Besides, Merrill, it’s a mighty good idea not to start off disliking -anyone. You usually find out later that you are wrong, and then you’re -a bit sorry. And besides that, disliking folks hurts you more than it -does them.” - -First football practice was held that afternoon, and Rodney, nothing -loth, accepted Tad Mudge’s invitation to walk over with him. Tad -had taken a great liking, it appeared, to the new Vest. Tad was only -five months older than Rodney and seemed even younger. He was a -gay-spirited, happily irresponsible youth with a ready laugh and an -inexhaustible flow of conversation. Tad was in the Second Form and -roomed with Eustace Trowbridge, who was as quiet and reserved as Tad -was talkative and frank. - -“Leave your books here,” instructed Tad, piling his own on the marble -slab above the big radiator in the entry of Main Hall. There were many -other piles there already and Rodney added his. “No good going over -to the house,” continued Tad. “Just wastes time and wears out shoe -leather. Come on.” - -There was a winding driveway that encircled Main Hall and led on one -side to East Hall and on the other to West Hall. The third dormitory, -known as Beecher, stood nearer the front of the campus. Tad, however, -didn’t trouble to follow the curve of the gravel road, but struck off -straight for the gate. There were several small signs near at hand -bearing the words: “Keep Off The Grass.” Rodney nodded at one. - -“Don’t those mean anything, Mudge?” he inquired. - -Tad glanced at them contemptuously. “Oh, those!” he answered. “Those -are for the faculty.” - -A gate at the back of the campus opened into Maple Street. Tad led the -way across the leaf-strewn road and through another gate opposite. Here -a wide walk ran straight between hedges. On one side was a stone and -shingle cottage, which Tad explained was Doctor Farron’s residence. -Rodney couldn’t see much of it for the shrubbery, but what little was -visible looked very attractive. A little further along there was a -break in the hedge, and another path led across an expanse of turf to -a two story building with a copper-roofed turret in the center. This -Rodney recognized as the building he had seen above the trees from his -window. - -“That’s the gym,” said Tad. “It’s a peach, too. We’ll have a look at it -after practice.” - -“Are those tennis courts beyond there?” asked Rodney. - -“Yes. Do you play?” - -“Yes, do you?” - -“I taught McLoughlin all he knows,” laughed Tad. “We’ll have a game -some day. Take you on to-morrow morning if you like.” - -“I’d like to very much. I guess you’re better than I am, though.” - -Tad observed him thoughtfully and shook his head in doubt. “I don’t -know. You look dangerous, Merrill. Say, what’s your other name? -Roderick, isn’t it?” - -“Rodney.” - -“That so? That’s some name, isn’t it? How’d you like to go through life -with Theodore pinned to you?” - -“Seems to me I’ve heard of a Theodore who made quite a stir,” replied -Rodney. - -“You mean Teddy? Bet you they’d have given him a third term if his name -had been John or William. Theodore’s a beast of a name. I’m going to -call you Rod. It’s easier than Merrill.” - -They had come to another street and another gate and in front of them -spread a wide field of closely cropped turf that was just beginning to -lose its summer green. Two stands flanked a blue-gray running track, -within whose oval the white lines of a newly marked gridiron shone -brightly. Already the scene was a busy one. Practice had not actually -begun, but many candidates were on hand and a greater number of fellows -were grouped and strung about the edge of the field to look on. - -“That’s a dandy field!” exclaimed Rodney admiringly as his gaze went -off across to where a line of young willows marked the further side of -the enclosure. - -“Almost seven acres,” said Tad proudly. “Bet you there isn’t a better -field in the country. And look at the view!” - -Rodney obeyed. From where they stood near the entrance they could look -down over the dwindling houses of the end of the village, and follow -the course of the Hudson for many miles as like a broad blue ribbon it -wound slowly and majestically northward between sloping hills of forest -and meadow. - -“That’s Milon over there,” explained Tad. “And Wickerstaff further -along. If you look sharp you can see Bursley. See where the railroad -goes through a cut there? Then look above and just a little to the -right. That’s it. You can see three or four of the buildings.” - -“I do, but what is it? Bursley, I mean?” - -Tad stared. “Why, Bursley School!” - -“Oh!” But Rodney still looked mystified. “It is――is it a good one?” - -“A good one!” groaned Tad. “It’s fierce! It’s our hated enemy, Rod. We -loathe it! That is, we do theo――theo――what’s the word I want?” - -“Theoretically?” - -“Yep, theoretically. Between you and me and――and the grandstand, it’s -a pretty fine place. They’ve got us beaten all hollow on buildings and -such things, only we don’t acknowledge it. But they haven’t a field -that can touch this. They’ve got more fellows than we have, but at that -we manage to wallop them about as often as they wallop us. I think -they’ve done us up at football fourteen times to our twelve. Something -like that. They beat us last year and three years ago. There was once -though when we got ’em three years running. That was when Ginger -Merrill―― Say, your name’s Merrill, too, isn’t it?” Tad turned to -observe Rodney curiously. “Do you play, too?” - -“Football? Not much. I’ve tried it but never made it go very well. I -like baseball though.” - -“So do I! They can keep their old football; give me baseball every -time! I played substitute outfielder last year on the second nine. Not -that I don’t like to see a good game of football, though. This fellow, -Ginger Merrill, I was speaking of was a wonder! Of course I never saw -him; he was before my time; but I’ve heard fellows talk about him. They -made him captain in his Third Form year! We beat Bursley that year and -the year before and the year after. He was captain two years and I -guess that shows that he was pretty good, eh?” - -“I should think so,” replied Rodney as they moved on toward the -gridiron. “He must have been popular.” - -“He was. I guess he was the most popular fellow we’ve ever had here. -You want to speak soft and cast your eyes down when you mention him. -He’s a sort of Saint, Saint Ginger!” And Tad chuckled. “Funny your name -should be the same though,” he went on presently, when they had paused -at the inner edge of the running track and Tad had acknowledged the -salutations of numerous comrades. “He doesn’t happen to be a relation -of yours, does he?” - -“This Ginger chap? Why, do I look like him?” Rodney smiled. - -“I’ve only seen his pictures, but――but I kind of think you do――just -a little. Still I guess if you were related to him you’d know it. So -would we,” he added with a laugh. “You’d be likely to mention it!” - -“Who’s the tall fellow in the funny sweater?” asked Rodney. - -“That’s Doyle. He’s captain. What’s the matter with the sweater?” - -“Nothing except it’s a funny color.” - -“It’s just faded. It used to be light green. I suppose you know that -the school colors are green and gray? Green for the maple trees and -gray for the rocks.” - -Rodney nodded. “What’s Bursley’s color?” - -“Punk! Red and blue. There’s Cotting, our coach. They say he discovered -Ginger Merrill.” - -“Discovered him? How?” - -“Why, saw that he had the making of a good player and――and trained him. -Taught him all he knew, they say.” - -“Rot!” said Rodney. “Stanley knew football before he ever saw Maple -Hill!” - -“Well, I don’t know. That’s what I heard.” Tad swung around suddenly -and stared at his companion. “Look here, how the dickens do you know so -much about Ginger Merrill?” he demanded in surprise. - -“Why――you told me about him, didn’t you?” - -“I didn’t tell you his name was Stanley, I’d forgotten it, they always -call him Ginger; I didn’t tell you he knew football when he came here.” - -“Didn’t you? I suppose――I’ve heard lots of fellows speak of him. What’s -Cotton doing?” - -“His name is Cotting,” answered Tad, still eyeing Rodney speculatively. -Finally, when the other had refused to meet his glance, he turned to -look at the coach. “He’s taking the fellow’s names. A lot of them are -new boys. Why don’t you have a try, Rod?” - -“No good. Besides I’m a bit young yet for the team.” - -“Cotting likes to catch them young. Stacey began in his first year, and -now look at him.” - -“Where?” asked Rodney. - -“I mean look where he is on the team. Only a Third Form fellow and -first string quarterback!” - -“Do you mean Stacey Trowbridge?” asked Rodney in surprise. - -“Of course. The chap I room with. Why not?” - -“Why――why, no reason at all, except――why, somehow he seems so――so sort -of quiet and――――” - -“Oh, he doesn’t talk much, but he can _think_ like――like a judge! Jack -says we have a well balanced room; says all the talking’s done on one -side and all the thinking on the other!” Tad laughed. “But Stacey is a -wonder at football. You wait till you see him drive the team some day. -I guess it’s just because he doesn’t talk much that fellows listen when -he does.” Tad was silent a brief moment. Then, “Guess I’ll try that -myself,” he added thoughtfully. - -The candidates, who had gathered around the coach, were now dispersing -in squads to different parts of the field. In all there seemed fully -sixty of them, and Rodney expressed his surprise. - -“Oh, most of them don’t last long,” replied Tad carelessly. “After -three or four days Cotting will make a cut, and then a lot of them will -retire to private life. Finally he gets down to about thirty-two or -three. Then he divides that bunch into two teams, a first and a second. -Watch Tyson punt. He’s got the ball now. He’s a daisy at it. Look at -that! The chap running to catch it is Wynant. He didn’t get it though. -Gordon cut in on him.” - -“Does Billings play?” asked Rodney. - -“No, Jack’s baseball captain this year. He’s a dandy fellow. Don’t you -like him?” - -“Immensely. He gave me a lecture this noon.” - -“Jack did? What about?” - -“Oh, about not disliking fellows at first, till you get to know all -about them. Other things, too.” - -“Who is it you dislike? Me?” - -“No, that Watson chap.” - -“Oh, yes, Pete was telling me about Watson ragging you before morning -school. Watson’s like that. Still――” Tad thought a moment. “Jack’s -right though. Watson isn’t a bad sort after all. I’ll tell you -something――――” - -But Rodney didn’t hear it just then for Tad’s voice died away. A few -feet distant Cotting, Captain Doyle, and Guy Watson were standing just -inside the side line. “There he is now,” murmured Tad. - -“And he looks as though he wanted to jump on me again,” added Rodney. -“Come on. I promised Billings I’d keep away from him.” - -Rodney turned to stroll away, Tad following, when a voice called: - -“Tad Mudge!” - -The boys turned. Captain Doyle was coming toward them, followed by the -coach and Guy Watson. “Wait a minute, Tad,” said Doyle. - -“Want me to take your place to-day, Terry?” asked Tad. - -“Not to-day, Tad.” The football captain was a tall well built boy -of eighteen with coppery-red hair, gray eyes and a pleasant and -unmistakably Irish countenance. “Introduce your friend, Tad,” he added, -with a glance at Rodney. - -“This is Merrill, First Form. Rod, shake hands with Captain Doyle.” - -“Glad to know you,” said the captain. Then, turning to Coach Cotting, -who had joined them, “It’s Merrill, all right, Coach.” - -Cotting smiled. “Thought I wasn’t mistaken,” he said, studying Rodney -with frank interest. “Shake hands, boy. Your brother and I were pretty -good friends.” - -Rodney flushed. “Yes, sir. I――I’ve heard him speak of you.” - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -COACH COTTING EXACTS A PROMISE - - -Rodney felt rather than saw the look of hurt surprise and disgust on -Tad’s face, but the incredulous astonishment that sprang into Watson’s -countenance he viewed with secret satisfaction. Doyle’s surprise was -less but his interest greater, while the coach showed only pleasure in -the meeting. Mr. Cotting looked about thirty and was small and wiry, -with keen gray eyes in a thin and deeply tanned face. He had a pleasant -smile and a pleasant voice and spoke quickly and incisively. - -“And how is that brother of yours, Merrill? Doing well, I hope.” - -“Yes, sir, Stanley’s getting on finely. He’s in Omaha, in the railroad -office. He’s assistant to the Traffic Manager.” - -“I’d like to see him again. He’s never been back but once since he left -us. Then he came up one fall and helped with the coaching for three or -four days. You look like him in the face, but you’re built lighter.” - -“Look here,” interrupted Watson, “do you mean that this kid is Ginger -Merrill’s own brother?” - -“Certainly,” replied Mr. Cotting. “I knew it the moment I set eyes on -him. Why didn’t Ginger let us know you were coming, Merrill?” - -“He――he wanted to, sir, but――I asked him not to.” - -“I see.” The coach smiled. “Wanted to avoid publicity, eh? But how is -it you’re not out to-day? You play, of course.” - -“No, sir, that is, not well.” - -“How old are you?” - -“Fifteen, sir. I’ll be sixteen next January.” - -“You’ve got lots of time then. You’d better come out to-morrow and let -me see how bad you are.” He smiled encouragingly. - -“I’m pretty bad,” answered Rodney. “And I don’t care much for -football,” he added apologetically. - -“Nonsense!” This was Captain Doyle, and he spoke impatiently. “You -don’t expect us to believe that Ginger Merrill’s brother isn’t a born -football player. Where have you played?” - -“At home, Orleans, Nebraska.” - -“I mean what position, Merrill.” - -“Oh, guard and tackle. I’ve never played much. I’m――I’m no good at it, -sir.” - -“Well, you haven’t any objection to proving it to us, have you?” asked -the coach with a laugh. “You come out to-morrow, Merrill.” - -“I――I’d rather not, sir, if you please.” - -“Rather not!” The coach stared. Watson laughed. Captain Doyle exclaimed -impatiently. “Come, come, Merrill! That’s no way to act,” protested Mr. -Cotting. “The school needs good material. You may not be a wonderful -player now, my boy, but, for that matter, neither was your brother -when I first saw him. But he buckled down and learned. You can do the -same, I think. Anyhow, it’s up to you to try. Of course, if you really -find you can’t make a go at it, there’s no harm done and it’s nothing -against you. But you really ought to try, Merrill. You owe it to the -school――and to Ginger.” - -“He knows I’m a duffer, sir; he says so himself,” answered Rodney sadly. - -“He does?” Mr. Cotting seemed impressed by that and looked Rodney over -again doubtfully. “Well, you are fairly light, but――hang it, Merrill, -you look intelligent and you’re well put together and seem healthy. You -come out to-morrow and report to me. If you can’t show anything I’ll -let you go. That’s a bargain, eh?” - -“Very well, sir,” answered Rodney. - -“Look here,” said Doyle, “if you haven’t played football where’d you -get those muscles and that chest?” - -“Tennis, I guess. And I’ve played baseball a little, too.” - -“That settles it,” grunted Watson. “Never knew a tennis player that was -any good at football. I guess the kid knows what he’s talking about, -Coach.” - -“We’ll see. To-morrow, then, Merrill.” The coach nodded, smiled and -turned away. Doyle and Watson kept pace with him. Tad turned to Rodney -indignantly. - -“You’re an awful liar, Rod!” he exclaimed. - -“I didn’t lie,” replied Rodney calmly. “I didn’t say Ginger wasn’t my -brother. You asked if we were related, and I just asked if I looked -like him.” - -“Well, you let me think so,” grumbled Tad. - -“What if I did?” asked Rodney cheerfully. “That isn’t lying, is it? If -I didn’t care to own up to it, that’s my business, isn’t it?” - -“Well, I don’t see why you’re ashamed of it. Gee, if Ginger Merrill was -my brother I’d be strutting around and clapping my wings and crowing -all over the shop!” - -“Oh, no you wouldn’t,” laughed the other. “Besides, you see what’s -happened. I knew that would be the way of it if they found out.” - -“What has happened?” asked Tad. - -“Why they think I can play, and they’re making me try it. I can’t play, -and they’ll find it out, and then they won’t have any use for me at -all.” - -“How do you know you can’t play?” asked Tad. “Why Cotting can make a -football player out of――out of a piece of cheese!” - -“Thanks! I’m not a piece of cheese, though. It would take fifty -Cottings to make a football player out of me, Mudge. And besides that -I don’t _want_ to play football!” - -“Oh, that wouldn’t matter. If you can play you’ll have to. Maple Hill -expects every man to do his duty. You’ll learn all right, Rod. Bet -you’ll be on the second team before the season’s over!” - -“Don’t talk silly! And look here, Mudge, use your brain, can’t you? -Don’t you see that even if I did learn a little football the school -would expect a whole lot of me just because I’m Stanley Merrill’s -brother? And I couldn’t deliver the goods, and everyone would be -disappointed in me. That’s why I didn’t want to play at all.” - -“But if you’re Ginger’s brother,” replied Tad confidently, “you _must_ -know how to play. It stands to reason. Or, as Kitty says, ‘It follows.’ -Maybe you _think_ you can’t play football, but it’s in you somewhere, -Rodney, old boy, and Cotting will get it out! Don’t you worry!” - -“You make me tired,” sighed Rodney. “I wish I’d never come here. I -haven’t got time for football anyway. I want to study.” - -“You want――to――what!” exclaimed Tad incredulously. - -“Study. That’s what I came here for, isn’t it?” - -“My word!” Tad looked at him sorrowfully. “You’re a queer one, Rod. You -don’t want folks to know you’re Ginger Merrill’s brother; you don’t -want to be a football hero; and you want to study! Honest, old man, you -positively alarm me! I don’t know whether I ought to associate with -you. Suppose I caught it, too!” - -“I guess it wouldn’t do you any harm,” laughed Rodney. “Where are you -going?” - -“Over here. Come along.” - -Tad made straight for a group of boys near the center of the sideline, -a firm grip on Rodney’s arm impelling that youth to follow. What -followed was distasteful to Rodney, distasteful and embarrassing. Tad -hailed the biggest boy of the group when a few yards away. - -“Fielding! Want you to meet a friend of mine. This is Merrill, First -Form. He’s a brother of Ginger Merrill. Shake hands with Fielding, Rod. -And this is Sykes, and Canterbury, and Jones, and Kemp.” - -Between names Rodney’s hand was shaken by different members of the -group, who expressed surprised delight at meeting him and hurled -questions. Rodney, very red of face, muttered politely and, when it -was over, turned upon Tad in wrath. “What did you do that for?” he -demanded. “I felt like a perfect fool!” - -Tad grinned. “You needn’t, Rod. We’re none of us perfect!” - -“Well, I’ll thank you to mind your own business after this, Mudge,” -replied Rodney crossly. - -“Look here.” Tad turned upon him soberly. “You are Ginger Merrill’s -brother, aren’t you?” - -“Yes, but――――” - -“Then fellows have a right to know it. They want to know it.” - -“It’s none of their business――――” - -“You bet it is! We’re proud of Ginger Merrill here and if Ginger -Merrill’s black cat or his skye terrier came here we’d want to know it. -That’s why I introduced you to those chaps.” - -“I don’t thank you,” returned Rodney, ungraciously. “And I’ve had -enough of this. I’m going back.” - -Tad, hands in pockets, watched Rodney’s back for a while with a -puzzled frown on his face. Then he whistled expressively, shrugged his -shoulders and turned again to watch practice. - -Rodney, thoroughly angry at he didn’t quite know what, left the -athletic field behind him, and instead of entering the back campus, -as the ground containing the head master’s house and the gymnasium -was called, turned to the right on Larch Street and wandered down -it, kicking the dead leaves out of his path. He was heartily sick of -hearing the name of that tiresome brother of his. If, he told himself -savagely, anyone said ‘Ginger Merrill’ to him again to-day he’d――he’d -strike them! The last thing he wanted to do was to join the football -candidates, and here he was pledged to appear to-morrow afternoon for -practice. And he didn’t even possess a pair of football trousers. He -wished heartily he had kept away from the field. - -He passed one intersecting street which, he knew, would take him back -to Westcott’s, and kept on. He wasn’t ready for home yet. There would -probably be fellows about and he wasn’t in the humor to talk to them. -At the next corner progress ahead was closed to him, and having the -choice of turning to left or right, he turned to the left. A block -further on he realized that the street looked strangely familiar, a -fact explained when he sighted a granite horseblock set at the edge of -the sidewalk in front of a narrow gate in a lilac hedge. - -“I hope,” he muttered, “I don’t run into those silly twins.” And then -in the next instant he found himself hoping he would. Somehow he felt -a desire to unbosom himself to someone sympathetic, and girls, even if -they did hold strange views on a good many subjects, were sympathetic. -So when he reached the gate he looked through, and there on the croquet -lawn which he had traversed the other day were the objects of his -thoughts. They didn’t see him and he stood for a moment and looked and -listened. - -“I’m very sure, just as sure as I can be, that you haven’t been through -the middle wicket,” declared one of the twins――he hadn’t the faintest -idea at that distance which twin she was! - -“And I’m perfectly certain I have been,” declared the other with equal -firmness. “I came across there after I sent you into the geranium bed -and got in position for the side wicket――――” - -“And I came over here on my next shot. And then you went through the -side wicket and your next shot took you over there――――” - -“And I went through the next turn!” - -“You didn’t, because I hit you and took my two shots――――” - -“But you left me in position and I went through!” - -“Oh, I do wish there was someone here to settle it! I’m just as sure as -sure that I’m right!” - -“And so am I! I suppose we’ll just have to begin over again.” Rodney -could hear at the gate the sigh accompanying this. “This makes three -times that it’s happened. We never will get a game finished!” - -“Because you always forget what wicket you’re for.” - -“No, because _you_ forget.” - -“We-ell, come on, then. It’s your first again.” One of the twins sent -her ball toward the further stake. - -“Tell you what you do,” said Rodney. “Get a couple of clothespins, -tie different colored ribbons on them and then, when you go through -a wicket, stick your clothespin on it.” He was enjoying the looks of -surprise on the faces of the twins. “It’s a good scheme, really.” - -“It’s――now whatever did he say his name was?” exclaimed one of the -girls. - -“I forget. I remember we said it was an unusual name, though,” was the -reply. The two viewed each other doubtfully. - -“I think it was Reginald.” - -“No, Roderick!” - -“Anyway, it began with an R!” - -“It’s Rodney,” laughed that youth. “May I come in?” - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -CROQUET AND CONFESSIONS - - -“Of course. We are trying to remember your name. That’s why we didn’t -invite you in. How do you do?” - -“Fine.” Then he remembered his tribulations of a few minutes ago and -added, “That is, pretty fair.” He closed the gate behind him and joined -the twins, who had started down the path to meet him. “You must be hard -up for something to do,” he said with a superior air, “if you have to -play croquet!” - -“We’re very fond of it,” replied the blue-eyed twin. “Do you play?” - -“I used to sometimes,” answered Rodney carelessly. “It’s a girl’s game -though.” - -The blue-eyed one――he remembered now that she was Matty――smiled. “Would -you like to play a game?” - -“I don’t mind. I’ll stand you two.” - -“I think we’d better each play separately,” said Matty. “You see, May -and I play pretty well. We do, don’t we, May?” - -“We do,” replied the other gravely. - -“All right,” Rodney laughed. “Each for himself then. Have you another -mallet and ball?” - -May supplied them from a box on the floor of the tumble down, rustic -summer-house nearby. “I’ve brought you green,” she announced. “Somehow -you suggest green to me, Rodney. Does he to you, Matty?” - -“N-no, I think brown,” answered the other twin reflectively. “Perhaps a -greenish-brown, though.” - -“Oh, I’m not as green as I look. Who goes first?” - -“May does. She plays red. Then you come next. Then I play.” - -May took the first two wickets in one, got into position at the third -wicket with the next shot, went through it with the next and then -placed her ball in front of the middle arch. Rodney negotiated the -first two wickets cleanly but his next shot left him badly placed for -the third and his attempt to go through resulted disastrously. His -ball glanced off a wire and rolled into the path of the on-coming -Matty. When she arrived she hit the green ball, skillfully sent it to -the further side of the third wicket, went through herself, hit him -again, sent it into the path and herself to the middle wicket, played -off May’s ball for two wickets and finally landed within a yard of the -further stake. Rodney frowned as he recovered his ball. Evidently these -young ladies knew more about croquet than he had ever dreamed of. - -May cleverly got herself into position again and Rodney rolled short. -Matty hit the stake, took the next two wickets at one stroke and -crossed to the further side arch. May reached the first of the double -wickets on her next play. Rodney got into position for his third. He -was still at the middle wicket when Matty, closely pursued by May, -struck the home stake. - -“These wickets are awfully narrow,” murmured Rodney. “Want to try -again?” - -“We’d love to if you’re not tired,” replied Matty. “I’m sorry you had -such poor luck, Rodney. And then of course, you’re not used to the -grounds. There’s a lot in being used to the grounds, isn’t there, May?” - -“Lots,” agreed May. “It’s your first, Rodney.” - -The second game resulted as disastrously for Rodney as had the first, -and when it was over he had the grace to acknowledge that the twins -were “some players.” - -“I thought I knew a little about the game,” he said ruefully, “but I -guess I don’t. You girls play better than anyone I’ve seen play.” - -“We play a good deal,” replied May. “Almost every day in summer. -Practice makes perfect, you know.” - -Rodney wished she hadn’t used the word practice. It reminded him -unpleasantly of what awaited him on the morrow. His face clouded up -and he sighed. Matty, seeing his expression, imagined him tired and -suggested a rest. So they went into the summer-house, which was almost -enveloped in honeysuckle vines, and sat down on the curving seat. - -“How are you getting on at school?” asked Matty politely. - -“All right, I guess. The studies aren’t hard.” - -“Probably that’s because you are naturally smart,” responded the girl. -“You impress us as being clever. Doesn’t he, May?” - -“You do,” said May. “We both said so the other day.” - -“And, Oh, please tell us how you like your roommate!” And Matty clasped -her hands eagerly. May giggled. Rodney frowned at the levity. - -“He’s all right,” he replied. “Sort of a peculiar fellow, but I rather -like him.” - -“And how are his lungs?” asked May very, very solicitously. - -Rodney grinned. “All right, I guess. He wants me to take walks with -him. Says it would do me a lot of good.” - -“Perhaps it would,” said Matty, “although you don’t look very weak. -You’re not, are you? May and I decided that you looked rather athletic. -Do you go in for football or baseball? Anything besides croquet?” - -Rodney caught the little mocking gleam in the girl’s blue eyes and -flushed uncomfortably. - -“That’s all right about the croquet,” he said defensively. “If I -played half as much as you kids――――” - -“He’s quite right, Matty,” declared May. “I think you should not have -said that.” - -“I was just in fun,” replied the other twin contritely. “I’m sure you’d -play the game beautifully if you had more practice.” - -“I guess,” said Rodney, mollified, “I’d never get good enough to beat -you two. I’ve never played very much. Out home I used to play with my -sisters sometimes. They like it.” - -“Where do you live?” asked Matty. “We meant to ask you the other day.” - -“Orleans, Nebraska. Ever been in Nebraska?” - -Each shook her head. “We haven’t travelled much,” confessed May. “After -we finish High School, though, we’re going abroad with mother. Have you -ever been in Europe?” - -“No. Don’t want to. What’s the use?” - -“Oh, but think of seeing the pyramids!” exclaimed Matty. - -“And the tomb of Napoleon!” said May with calm rapture. - -“And Venice!” - -“And the Alps!” - -“Pompeii!” - -“The Nile!” - -“Piffle!” grunted Rodney. “What’s the Nile? Ever been down the Missouri -and Mississippi? They’ve got the Nile beaten to a thick froth! As for -the Alps, why, you could set them down in the Rockies and never be able -to find them again! Say, ever see the Grand Canyon, you girls?” - -They shook their heads in unison. They did almost everything in unison. - -“Well that’s something worth while! You come out in my part of the -world and I’ll show you things that’ll make your eyes pop out. You -won’t think about Europe after that, nor Africa either!” - -“But――but the antiquities!” said Matty. - -“All right. We’ve got antiquities in our own country, haven’t we?” -asked Rodney indignantly. “Look at the cliff dwellings!” - -“What are those?” asked May. - -“There it is!” he exclaimed triumphantly. “I knew it! Never heard of -the cliff dwellers! That’s always the way with folks who spout about -Europe. They don’t know what――what’s in their own country!” - -“We will read about them,” replied May untroubled. “We will find a book -in the library that tells about them. Please remind me, Matty.” - -“You’d better,” grumbled Rodney. “Learn about your own country first, -that’s what I say!” - -“Of course,” agreed Matty, “only――well, we might not have another -opportunity to go abroad for years and years, and so it wouldn’t do not -to go just because we hadn’t seen those places you spoke of, would it?” - -Rodney agreed that it wouldn’t. After that they talked of many things -out there in the summer-house, while the sun sank lower and lower over -the trees. And finally, just as Rodney had secretly hoped it would, -the story of his dilemma came out. He wanted sympathy, and he received -it, but he was a little bit annoyed at the manner in which the twins -clasped their hands and said “Oh!” quite breathlessly when he told them -that he was a brother of Ginger Merrill’s. - -“Think of that!” exclaimed Matty, who was the first to recover from her -surprise. “Aren’t you proud?” - -“No, I’m not,” returned Rodney, speaking in very bored tones. “I wish -Stanley had never been at school here.” - -“Why, Rodney!” This was May, scandalized. “How can you say such a -thing? Just think what it is to be the brother of a real hero like -Ginger Merrill! You can’t mean it!” - -“Do, though,” grunted Rodney doggedly. “I’m sick of hearing about him -and sick of seeing his pictures all over the shop. And look what a mess -I’m in on his account. Got to go out to-morrow and fall around on a -slippery old football and get bruised up. I can’t play and I told them -so, but it didn’t do any good.” He kicked exasperatedly at the mallet -he held. “I’ve a good mind not to go at all!” - -“Oh, Rodney!” cried Matty. “You must! Think what a splendid thing it -will be to get on the team and play against Bursley and maybe win the -game for us!” - -“Tell you I’m no good at it!” said Rodney impatiently. “I’ve tried it. -Besides, I don’t want to play football. I won’t have time.” - -“Why won’t you?” asked Matty. - -“Because I want to study. I’m going to try for a scholarship. I’m -willing to try for the baseball team and I like to play tennis, but I -don’t want anything to do with football.” - -“But――but――you ought to, Rodney! Your duty to the school――――” - -“Piffle!” - -Matty looked pained. “But you _did_ ought to――――” - -“_Had_ ought to, I think,” corrected May. - -“_Should_ ought to,” laughed Rodney. “Oh, well, I’ll have to see it -through, I guess. After I’ve been out a few days they’ll be glad to let -me alone. Only that’s going to get fellows sort of down on me. They’ll -say ‘Ginger Merrill’s brother is an awful duffer. He can’t even hold -the ball!’” - -“But I don’t believe you’re nearly as bad as you try to make out,” said -Matty, smiling. “How could you be? Ginger Merrill’s brother――――” - -“There you go! I wish they’d forget I’m Ginger Merrill’s brother. You, -too. I’m going home.” - -“Well, it was very nice of you to play croquet with us, wasn’t it, May?” - -“It was,” agreed May promptly and calmly. - -“And to-morrow, if mama will allow us to, we’ll go over to the field -and watch you practice.” And Matty smiled encouragingly. - -“Rather you didn’t,” replied Rodney gloomily. “So long.” - -He squirmed through a thin place in the hedge that separated the -Binner’s garden from Mrs. Westcott’s yard, and entered the cottage. -Mrs. Westcott, as luck would have it, was seated in her private parlor -at the left of the door, and at sight of Rodney hurried into the hall. - -“My dear, _dear_ boy!” she exclaimed rapturously. “I’ve just heard the -news!” - -“What news, ma’am?” asked Rodney unsuspiciously. - -“Why, that you are Stanley Merrill’s brother! Why didn’t you tell us?” -She had both his hands now and was beaming radiantly upon him. “Just to -think that we never suspected it! Why, I can’t tell you how proud I am, -Rodney! Your dear brother used to come very often to my house to see -my boys, and he and I were the best of friends! And to think that you -are his brother!” - -“Yes’m,” replied Rodney flatly. “It――it’s quite remarkable.” - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -REFLECTED GLORY - - -“Guess who we’ve got here in the house!” exclaimed Pete Greenough, -encountering Jack Billings in front of the cottage just before supper -time that evening. Jack, who had been playing baseball, carried a -favorite bat in one hand, and now he raised it threateningly. - -“Go ahead with your joke,” he said grimly. - -“It isn’t a joke at all,” Pete protested. “It’s something about this -chap Merrill. Tad just told me. Who do you suppose he is?” - -“Tad?” - -“No, Merrill, you silly goat!” - -“His name is Rodney Merrill,” replied Jack calmly. “He lives in -Orleans, Nebraska, and he is a younger brother of Ginger Merrill, of -blessed fame!” - -“Oh, somebody told you!” exclaimed Pete disappointedly. - -“No, I guessed it, two days ago. I heard Merrill say he was from the -west and I stopped in at the office and looked him up. Then I got an -old catalogue and found that Ginger came from the same town. After that -it was only necessary to compare their looks.” - -“Well, why didn’t you tell a fellow?” - -Jack shrugged his shoulders as he entered the gate. “He didn’t seem to -want to have it known, Pete, so I kept still.” - -“That’s what gets me,” said Pete. “Why the dickens did he keep so mum -about it? Anyone would think he was ashamed of it! Say, it’s a bit of -a feather in our hat, isn’t it? Having Ginger Merrill’s brother in our -house, I mean.” - -“Why, yes,” answered Jack, taking a seat on the top step and studying a -nick in his bat. “It’s going to be a little hard on Merrill though,” he -added soberly. - -“What is?” - -“This being Ginger’s brother. Fellows will expect a lot from him, won’t -they?” - -“I guess so,” acknowledged Pete thoughtfully. - -“Yes, and from what I see of young Merrill he’s just a decent, ordinary -sort of kid. That’s what I mean. If he doesn’t turn out a great -football player or a great something else, the fellows are going to be -disappointed in him. Besides that, Pete, he stands a pretty good show -of getting a swelled head on his brother’s account, eh?” - -“Oh, we’ll look after that,” returned Pete confidently. “If he shows -any of that sort of thing we’ll take it out of him. He doesn’t yet, -though, does he? His keeping quiet about Ginger looks as if he was sort -of a modest kid, eh?” - -“Yes, unless――――” - -“What?” - -“Unless he did it to get a better effect, if you see what I mean.” - -“Can’t say I do, Jack.” - -“We-ell, he must have known that it would come out sooner or later. -Maybe he thought if he kept quiet about it it would make more of a -sensation when it did become known.” - -“Oh!” - -“That’s only what might be, Pete. I’m not saying it’s so. From what -I’ve seen of Merrill I rather like him. Perhaps a little too――too -independent, but a decent sort for all that. What he’s got to be made -to understand, Pete, is that being Ginger Merrill’s brother butters no -parsnips; that if he’s going to make good he’s got to forget that and -dig out on his own account.” - -“Going to tell him so?” - -“Me?” Jack shook his head slowly. “No, at least not in so many words. -Perhaps a hint will do him good some time though. I don’t believe in -interfering much, Pete. Every fellow has his own row to hoe, and you -can’t help him very much. For my part, I shan’t say anything to him -about his brother. Better let him think we don’t care much about whose -brother he is. Who made the discovery, Pete?” - -“Cotting. Tad says Cotting knew him the moment he saw him, and came up -and shook hands with him.” - -“Oh, is Merrill out for the team?” - -“Not yet. He and Tad were looking on. He’s going out to-morrow though, -Tad says. Cotting wouldn’t take no. Merrill says he can’t play, but -Cotting wouldn’t believe him. Neither do I. Stands to reason that -Ginger Merrill’s brother can play football, doesn’t it?” - -“I don’t see why, Pete. Anyhow, I hope he makes good. It’ll save him a -lot of trouble if he does. Let’s go and wash up.” - -Rodney came down to supper looking self-conscious in spite of his -efforts not to. He suspected that all the other fellows in the house -had learned of his relationship with the redoubtable Ginger, for Kitty -had shaken him gravely by the hand ten minutes before and assured him -that he considered it an honor to have Ginger Merrill’s brother for a -roommate. Kitty also declared that the records showed Ginger to have -had one of the finest chest developments in the history of the school, -a fact which ennobled that youth more in Kitty’s estimation than all -his football prowess. Pete Greenough, reading Rodney’s expression -aright, recalled Jack’s theory and concluded that perhaps after all -young Merrill wasn’t such a modest kid as he had thought. At table, -however, not a word was said about Ginger Merrill until Mrs. Westcott -herself brought up the subject. Wasn’t it delightful, she asked, to -have dear Stanley’s brother with us? Whereupon Jack said: - -“Pass the bread, please, Tom,” and Warren Hoyt expressed the hope -languidly that Merrill could chase a pigskin half as well as his -brother had. That gave Rodney the opportunity he wanted. - -“I can’t though,” he said bluntly. “I’m no good at football and I don’t -want to play it. I told Mr. Cotting so but he insisted that I was to -come out to-morrow. I won’t stay long though.” - -“No, he will drop you quick enough if you can’t deliver the goods,” -said Tom Trainor. Tom spoke from sad experience. Stacey Trowbridge -looked across from the other end of the table. - -“You’ve played, have you, Merrill?” he asked quietly. - -“Yes, a little. Enough to find out I’m no good at it.” - -“You can’t tell,” said Pete. “Cotting has a way of making the most of -fellows, I guess.” - -“He makes mistakes sometimes though,” said Tad Mudge gravely. “He let -Tom get away.” - -There was a laugh at this sally, which Tom joined in good-naturedly, -and the conversation wandered to other subjects. After supper Rodney -and Tad made up their tiff. - -“Sorry I was so grouchy,” said Rodney. - -“That’s all right. I don’t blame you, Rod. I guess I was rather fresh -anyway. Want to take a walk?” - -By the next morning Rodney’s fame had spread throughout the school. -Fellows nudged each other at sight of him and whispered when they -thought he couldn’t see. But Rodney did see, or at least knew it -somehow, and was half pleased and half annoyed. He was glad that -fellows held his brother in the esteem they did and hoped that some -day they might like him half as well, but it was a little bit annoying -to be looked on as Ginger Merrill’s brother, as though he was of no -importance on his own account. One of the submasters, Mr. Steuben, who -was known as the Baron, shook hands with him and told him pleasant -things about Stanley, and inquired solicitously after that youth. - -“We vare friends, your great brother and I,” said the Baron, smiling -through his thick lenses. “Ven you write to him you must tell him I -still think of him. And tell him also, that I am so glad to have his -brother here to teach him the German and the physics.” - -Rodney and Tad went over to the gymnasium at three, Rodney lugging a -bundle of football togs donated by Tad. The new boy had never been -inside the gymnasium before and he was both surprised and impressed by -the elaborateness of it. Apparently it contained everything desirable. -Big windows threw light everywhere and even the darker corners under -the running gallery were walled with white glazed brick so that even -there one could see perfectly. The big floor of white oak shone -with cleanliness and even the chest weights and more complicated -apparatus that lined the walls were miraculously free from dust. In -the dressing and bath rooms the floors were of concrete, and wherever -possible concrete brick and steel took the place of wood. There was a -fine batting cage in the basement, a bowling alley and smaller rooms -for fencing and boxing. A staircase of steel and slate led from the -entrance hall to the second story where a low-ceilinged room held a -rowing tank and several rowing machines. Doors led from the upper hall -to the running track, and Tad pushed them open and the boys descended -the sloping curve at the turn and viewed the gymnasium from the gallery -railing. - -“Looks bigger from here, doesn’t it?” asked Tad. “Those little black -dots painted on the floor are to show you where to stand in gym class.” - -“What’s the circle in the middle?” asked Rodney. - -“For basket ball. We used to play it a lot, but faculty got down on it -and now it’s barred, except for scrub playing. We used to have some hot -old games with Bursley. Fellows got hurt a lot though. Bursley played -too rough,” Tad chuckled. - -“Meaning Maple Hill didn’t?” asked Rodney with a smile. - -“Oh well, when the other fellow starts something you’ve got to keep up -with him,” responded Tad with a grin. “I guess it was about an even -thing.” - -Back in the hall Tad drew Rodney’s attention to a cabinet against the -wall under the broad, high window. “Trophy case,” he explained. Inside, -behind the glass doors, were a dozen or more footballs, each inscribed -with the score of the game in which it had been used. “The winning team -keeps the ball, you know,” said Tad. “Look at this one over here. ‘M. -H. 28; B. 9.’ That was a peach of a game, I’ll bet. That was the second -year your brother was captain. And here’s the one the year before. -‘Maple Hill 12; Bursley S. C.’” - -There were baseballs there, as well, and a few hockey pucks, and -against the back of the case some faded silk banners whose gold -lettering was well nigh illegible. The latter, Tad explained, were old -track trophies and dated back to what he called the dark ages. On the -walls about the trophy case and all the way down the stairs were hung -dozens of group photographs――football teams, baseball teams, track -and field teams, rowing crews, hockey teams, basket-ball teams. Under -each photograph was set down the year and, in most cases, cabalistic -letters and figures, as, under one group of lightly-clad youths, the -inscription: “M. H. 64½; B. 31½.” - -“That’s the 1911 track team,” said Tad. “They slammed it into Bursley -good and hard, didn’t they?” - -“Yes,” murmured Rodney. His gaze had wandered to a group of football -players, eighteen sturdy looking youths in togs of whom the center -figure, holding a football on his knees, looked strangely familiar. It -took a second look to identify the youth as Ginger Merrill, for Ginger -in the picture looked years younger, and of course was without the -carefully cared for mustache that nowadays adorned his upper lip. - -“That,” said Tad at Rodney’s shoulder, “was the team that won 12 to -6. That was your brother’s first year as captain. He was only a Third -Former then. Here he is the year before that.” - -Rodney looked where Tad pointed, and finally distinguished his brother -peering over the shoulder of a comrade from the rear row of the group. -He looked in that picture scarcely older than Rodney himself at the -present moment. Tad exhibited him several more times――as captain of the -victorious eleven which had sent Bursley down to defeat by the 28 to 9 -score, as a substitute on a hockey seven, and as a member of a baseball -team which had met defeat. - -“Seems to be all over the shop,” grunted Rodney. “Wonder if he ever did -a lick of work when he was here.” - -“Who cares?” asked Tad flippantly. “He did a heap of things that -counted just as much.” - -“Better not let any of the faculty hear you say that,” laughed Rodney. -“They wouldn’t agree with you.” - -“Faculties never did agree with me,” responded Tad, leading the way -down stairs. “I can’t stand the things. I’m in favor of abolishing ’em, -Rod.” - - - - -CHAPTER X - -RODNEY JOINS THE SQUAD - - -“Well, Stanley used to tell wonderful yarns about this place,” said -Rodney as they reached the lower hall, “but I didn’t believe quite all -he said then. I do now. It’s certainly a fine building. Still――――” - -“Still what?” asked Tad jealously. - -“Well, I don’t see what the idea is in putting so much expense into a -gymnasium, Tad.” - -“Why not?” - -“We-ell, it seems to me that a building that is used so little――――” - -“Used so little! Say, you want to come over here some evening next week -and see the gymnastic class at work! And pretty soon they’ll begin -the regular gym work. I guess, Rod, this place is as much used as any -building here. Why, I’ve seen this dressing-room so full in spring that -you couldn’t move around without treading on some fellow’s toes!” - -Tad secured a locker for Rodney and the latter changed to his football -garb. The trousers were a bit too tight at the waist, but by lacing -them not quite close they answered very well. The jacket fitted better. -As for jersey and shoes, Rodney furnished those himself. Before he -was dressed the other candidates began pouring into the room, and the -place, which had been almost deserted when the two boys arrived, hummed -like a beehive. Guy Watson nodded to Rodney as he took a seat on a -neighboring bench, and to Rodney’s surprise the nod seemed to express -toleration rather than dislike. Captain Doyle came up and said a few -words, and Stacey Trowbridge smiled gravely across at him. A big chap -with a good-natured round face that broke into a dozen creases when he -laughed was Pounder, who played center. “‘Two Hundred Pounder,’ the -fellows used to call him,” explained Tad, “although he only weighs a -hundred and seventy or so. He’s a dandy center. The fellow with the -bandage on his head is Roger Tyson, left half. He’s a wonder. If we had -ten other fellows like old Roger we’d beat everything of our size in -the country.” - -“What’s the matter with his head?” asked Rodney. - -“Hurt it yesterday. Got an awful crack, they say. It was after you -went. He was down and out for five minutes. Are you all fixed? Let’s -start along, then.” - -“I’m going to put you with the kindergarteners to-day, Merrill,” -announced Mr. Cotting when Rodney reported. “I guess you won’t stay -there long. Don’t try to overdo it to-day. Save your muscles. Gordon, -will you take charge of Merrill, please? By the way, you might give me -your name and so on first.” And the coach drew out his memorandum book -and Rodney supplied answers to the questions he put. Then he trailed -off with Gordon, who was fullback on the first team, and joined a group -of tyros at the further side of the field. Most of them were Fourth -Form boys, although there were three or four older youths in the squad. -Gordon was extremely patient, but it wasn’t difficult to see that he -didn’t love his task. Teaching the rudiments to a group of beginners -is rather uninteresting work. Rodney passed the ball, caught it, fell -on it, practised starts, and went through the usual programme that -afternoon. In comparison with the performance of the others in the -squad his efforts were almost brilliant and Gordon viewed him with -hopeful interest. Once when the ball had eluded him and dribbled its -way to the sideline, Rodney, rescuing it, heard his name spoken, and -looked up to discover the twins standing nearby. - -“You’re doing beautifully!” called Matty with enthusiasm. “We’re -awfully proud of you, Rodney, aren’t we, May?” - -“Awfully,” agreed May, calmly emphatic. “And we were sure all the time -that you could play, Rodney!” - -“This isn’t playing,” scoffed Rodney. “Anyone can do this sort of -thing!” - -He was glad when it was finally over and he could retire to a bench -under one of the stands, draw a blanket around him, and watch the first -and second squads trot about the field in signal work. On the other -side the twins were still looking on, Tad Mudge and Warren Hoyt in -attendance. The twins were not the only representatives of their sex -present, for amongst the spectators from outside the school Rodney saw -quite a number of girls. Later Rodney joined the twins and Tad――Warren -Hoyt had taken himself off――and walked to the gymnasium steps with them. - -“How did it go?” asked Tad with a grin. - -Rodney shrugged. “All right. I’ve been through it before. I’m sort of -weak in the knees, though.” - -“We thought you played very nicely indeed,” said Matty. “We watched you -all the time. You did much better than those other boys.” - -“I should think I might,” laughed Rodney. “They were all beginners, I -guess.” - -“They want us to play croquet,” announced Tad. “I said I would if you -would. Want to?” - -“Why yes, if there’s time. Won’t it be pretty late?” - -“Not if you get a move on,” answered Tad. “We’ll go ahead. You hurry up -and come over. Matty and I will stand you and May. I’m a fierce player, -but it’s good fun.” - -It _was_ good fun, although there was only time before supper for two -hard-fought games, both of which were won by Tad and Matty. It was -Matty, however, who really won, for Tad was even weaker than Rodney -with a croquet mallet. Matty, playing rover, came back and nursed -Tad’s ball through the wickets, and while May later performed the same -service for Rodney, the luck was against them and they had to accept -defeat. On the way across to the cottage Tad observed: - -“I didn’t know you knew the Binner twins. Where’d you run across them?” -Rodney explained and Tad laughed at the picture of the girls seated -atop the fence posts. “They’re funny kids. They’re good-hearted, -though, and lots of fun. Rather pretty, too, eh?” - -“I suppose so,” Rodney replied indifferently. “Have they a father? I -never hear them speak of him.” - -“No, he died a long time ago I think. And Mrs. Binner is a sort of an -invalid, never goes out much, except to drive in a carriage. They say -she’s awfully nice, but I’ve never seen her. The kids go to high school -and are so smart that they jump a class every year, I guess.” - -“They ought to be through pretty soon, then,” laughed Rodney. “If -they’re as clever in school as they are at croquet I can understand it.” - -“Say, can’t they play?” asked Tad admiringly. “Of course, it’s only a -girl’s game, but――hang it, it makes a fellow sort of mad to have those -kids beat him every time! And they can play a pretty decent game of -tennis, too. There’s a neighborhood court over on Dunn Street. Some -time we’ll take the twins and have a four-handed set. By the way, we -didn’t get our game this morning. I forgot it, did you?” - -“Yes, until about noon. I’ll play you to-morrow, if you like.” - -“To-morrow’s Sunday, you idiot.” - -“Well, we’ll try it some other time. I hope we have something good for -supper. I’m starved!” - -Rodney’s first Sunday at school passed quietly and uneventfully. -There was church in the morning for everyone, the boys walking to and -from their chosen place of worship with one of the submasters. Tad -confided to Rodney that there were more Episcopalians than any other -denomination in school because the pews in the Episcopal church had -higher backs and you didn’t have to sit up all the time. In spite of -that attraction, however, Rodney joined the group of fellows who, in -charge of Mr. Cooper, attended service at the little white Methodist -church down by the river. It was a long way down there and a longer way -back, and when Rodney gained the cottage once more he was quite ready -for the Sunday dinner, which at Mrs. Westcott’s was a very elaborate -meal. Rodney topped off with two dishes of ice cream and two slices of -cocoanut layer cake and then went upstairs and tried to write a letter -home. But it was a wonderful, warm September day and the outdoors -called him. So, after a brief struggle, he took his tablet and fountain -pen downstairs and found a shady spot under a pear tree at the side -of the house. Before he had written more than “Dear Mother and Dad,” -however, he was joined by Tom Trainor and Pete Greenough. A few minutes -later Tad added himself to the group, and Rodney laid his letter -aside. For an hour and more they lay on their backs on the grass and -talked, discussing idly and lazily all the hundred and one subjects -of interest to boys, from the incidents of church going to the college -football situation, including the catching of black bass and the best -way to get money from parents. - -“I used to write that I wanted to get my hair cut,” confided Tad -reminiscently, staring up into the branches. “That did pretty well when -I was a youngster――――” - -“What are you now?” asked Pete Greenough slightingly. - -“Shut up! Finally, though, mother wrote me that she had been keeping a -record and that I’d had exactly fifteen haircuts in four months, and -she was afraid my hair might get discouraged and then I’d be bald. So I -had to think up something else.” - -“What?” asked Tom Trainor interestedly. - -“Subscriptions to school societies and things. At Christmas vacation -father asked me how many societies I belonged to, and I forgot and said -one. That spoiled that.” - -“You know you were lying,” said Pete severely. - -“Ye-es, I suppose I was, in a way. But I didn’t think of it then, -honest. I don’t do it any more. Now when I want extra money I write -and tell the truth.” - -“What do you say?” asked Rodney. - -“I tell them that Pete has borrowed all I had!” - -“What do you think of that?” asked Pete indignantly. “I only owe you -seventy-five cents. And I’ll pay you the first money I get, you fresh -kid!” - -“Please don’t Pete!” begged Tad. “If you do, I’ll have to think up -something else.” - -“Just lend it to me instead,” suggested Tom helpfully. “I don’t mind.” - -“That wouldn’t be lending,” replied Tad. “That would be giving it.” - -That letter of Rodney’s didn’t get written until evening. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -KITTY SUPPLIES A SENSATION - - -On Sunday Rodney had returned from church by way of River Street and -the sight of Doolittle’s Pharmacy had reminded him that he had not yet -kept his promise to Jack Billings. So on Monday he slipped down the -hill between Latin and English recitations to settle his indebtedness. -Young Mr. Doolittle didn’t remember him until Rodney recalled the -circumstances and informed him that he wanted to pay for the four -ice-cream sodas. - -“Oh, you were the fellow that played the trick on Watson, eh?” asked -the clerk with a chuckle. “Say, maybe he wasn’t peeved about it!” - -“Was he? Well, he got them anyway.” - -“Yes, he made believe he was going to pay for them himself, and then -when he and his friends had drank ’em he said I was to charge ’em to -you.” - -“That’s all right. Forty cents, wasn’t it?” - -“He’s all the time doing things like that,” continued the clerk -grievedly. “Did I tell you about the time he got a bottle of liniment -off the shelf and emptied it into the sarsaparilla tank when I wasn’t -looking? Well, he did. And Deacon Whittier and Si Moon――――” - -“What?” laughed Rodney. “Who’d you say?” - -“Si Moon; keeps the livery stable,” replied the other, puzzled by the -boy’s amusement. “Know him?” - -“No, but I’m going to start a list of names. You’ve got some corkers -around here! What do they call Mr. Moon for short? Sirocer?” - -“They call him Si,” replied the clerk with the hauteur of one who -discovers that he has made a humorous remark and doesn’t know what it -was. “Don’t know what you mean about Si Rocker.” - -“Never mind. What happened to old Si-moon?” - -“He was sick as a horse, he and the Deacon, too. And――――” - -“Perhaps it was horse liniment?” suggested Rodney gravely. - -“No, ’twa’n’t, it was Hipplepot’s Embrocation. I know because I found -the bottle behind the fountain there. ’Most half empty it was, too. -Might have killed ’em!” - -“How did you find out Watson did it?” - -“Why, he’d been in here a while before, and I just naturally suspected -him. And when I asked him he owned right up.” - -“Well that was honest anyway, wasn’t it? He might have told a lie about -it.” - -“Watson wouldn’t,” said the clerk grudgingly. “I’ll say that for him. -He’s a terror, all right, but he owns up to things. I nearly lost my -job that time, though.” - -“Too bad. Well, here’s the money. Just cross off that bill, will you?” -and Rodney laid a half dollar on the counter. The clerk looked at it -doubtfully. - -“What’s that for?” he asked. - -“Why, to pay for those sodas.” - -“Oh! They’re paid for. Thought you knew. Watson came down Saturday and -paid for ’em.” - -“He did!” Rodney stared and thoughtfully returned the money to his -pocket. “I wonder what he did that for?” - -“I don’t know. Said something about only being in fun the other time. I -just took the money and was glad to get it. There’s lots of fellows up -to school don’t pay up as well as he does.” - -Hurrying back up the hill Rodney wondered why Watson had changed his -mind, and debated whether to speak to him about it. He finally decided -to let the matter drop. Whatever Watson’s motive might have been, -Rodney had an idea that the older boy wouldn’t care to be thanked. - -It was two days after that that Phineas Kittson startled the school -and provided several days of amusement by announcing his candidacy -for a position on the football team. Rodney learned of it first. He -found Kitty frowning over a book of football rules that afternoon -after practice. Kitty looked up as Rodney came into the room, nodded, -and went back to his study. Rodney observed the blue covered book -curiously, until in a moment Kitty asked: - -“Merrill, what do you mean when you say a ball is ‘dead’?” - -“Why, that it isn’t――isn’t playable. Like when the fellow who has it is -tackled, you know, or when it goes over the goal line.” - -“Oh. Seems to me the person who wrote these rules tried to make them as -difficult as possible. All mixed up, I call them. Silly.” - -“Aren’t thinking of playing, are you?” asked Rodney smilingly. - -Kitty turned down the corner of a leaf and nodded slowly. “Yes, I’ve -decided that I’ll have to try,” he replied calmly. “Got more time this -year. Reading in a paper yesterday that football is great developer -of the lungs. Don’t see why it shouldn’t be, eh? Course, a fellow -couldn’t rely on football alone. Have to take regular exercises, -too. It follows. But in its way, don’t see why football wouldn’t -be――er――beneficial. Would it seem so to you, Merrill?” - -“Yes.” Rodney struggled to keep from laughing. “Yes, I’d say football -might develop the lungs beautifully.” - -“Shall try it. Been trying to get the sense of that.” He nodded at the -rule book. “Guess you have to play the game to learn what it’s all -about though. Complicated. Contradictory. Can’t make heads nor tails -of it. What do you wear?” - -“Oh, you wear canvas breeches and a canvas jacket thing that laces up -the front. And a jersey underneath. And long stockings and shoes with -cleats.” - -“Cost much?” - -“Mm, that depends. Twelve dollars will do it, I guess.” - -“Buy them in the village?” - -“I think so. Yes, Tad told me I could get most everything here. I -forget what the name of the shop was.” - -“Porgan’s, I guess.” - -“Or Humpernickle’s,” suggested Rodney with a grin. - -“Don’t know that. Think I’ve seen footballs and such things in -Porgan’s. Where’s Humpernickle’s?” - -“Search me,” laughed Rodney, “but I’ll bet there’s a place of that name -here somewhere. When you going to start, Kittson?” - -“Me? Oh, tomorrow, I guess. What do you do? Any――er――formalities?” - -“N-no, just――just go over to the field dressed for play and tell――” -Rodney’s grin wouldn’t be suppressed any longer――“tell Mr. Cotting you -want to try for the team.” - -“I see. All right. Much obliged. Mind going down to Porgan’s after -school and helping me buy things?” - -“Glad to,” replied Rodney gravely. “I say, do you mind if I tell the -fellows about it?” - -Kitty stared across in mild surprise. “About me? No.” The tone implied -that Kitty didn’t see why he should mind! “Tell ’em if you want to. Not -important though, is it?” - -“Oh, well, I only thought that――that they’d like to know.” - -“Suppose they would. What time is it? Half past five! I’m late this -evening!” And Kitty gravely threw aside his jacket, pulled his faded -brown sweater over his head, attached his pedometer to his belt, and -set forth on his final stunt of the day, which was a little jaunt down -to the river and back up the hill at top speed. - -Rodney left the room close on the heels of Kitty and burst into Jack -Billings’s room. Only Tom Trainor was there, Tom bending over a book -with both hands clutching desperately at his hair. - -“Busy,” grunted Tom, without looking around. - -“Don’t care if you are,” answered Rodney. “You aren’t too busy to hear -some news.” - -“Yes, I am. Don’t want to hear any news. Get out, Rod!” - -“It’s about Kitty.” - -“Nothing is news about Kitty,” scoffed Tom. But he stopped tearing his -hair and looked around. “What is it?” - -“He’s going out for the team!” - -“What team?” - -“Football!” - -“Never!” - -“He is! Honest injun, Tom!” - -“Not _Kitty_!” - -“Kitty!” - -“Whoops!” Tom’s chair went over with a crash and he flew to the hall. -“Fellows! Pete! Stacey! Everybody this way!” - -“Shut up!” came a wail from the closed door of Pete Greenough’s room. -But Stacey answered, and he and Tad tumbled into the hall. “What’s up? -Where’s the fire?” asked Tad. - -“News, fellows! Glorious news! Kitty――――” - -Pete, who had opened his door and stuck his head out, groaned and -started back. - -“Hold on, Pete! Wait till you hear it! Kitty’s going to play football!” - -There was a moment of intense silence. Then shrieks of delight broke -forth, and Tom and Tad clasped each other ecstatically and danced along -the hall. At that moment Jack Billings and Warren Hoyt appeared on the -stairs, and the news was broken to them very gently by five voices -shouting in unison. After that they piled into Jack’s room and laughed -and joked to their heart’s content. - -“I know where I’m going to be to-morrow afternoon at three-thirty,” -announced Tad. “Right on the sideline, fellows, where I can see it all!” - -“That’s where we’ll all be!” gurgled Tom. “And he’s going down to -Porgan’s after school to-morrow to buy an outfit. Let’s all go along -and help, fellows!” - -But Jack demurred. “That would be too strong,” he said. “It is funny, -but we don’t want to hurt old Kitty’s feelings. It’s going to be funny -enough anyway, without that.” - -“That’s so,” Stacey agreed. “Besides,” and he smiled in his quiet way, -“he might take offence and quit then and there.” - -Further discussion was halted by the sound of steps on the stairway. -The fellows grinned at each other and Warren Hoyt called: “Is that you, -Kitty? What’s this Merrill’s telling us?” - -Kitty appeared at the doorway, breathing deeply and perspiring freely, -and observed them anxiously through his spectacles. - -“About football?” he inquired. “Yes, I’m going to try it. I’ve read -that it is fine for the lungs. May be wrong though. What do you think, -Stacey?” - -“Nothing better,” replied Stacey gravely. - -“I think it’s fine of you,” said Tad earnestly. “Cotting will be so -pleased, Kitty!” - -“Think so?” Kitty looked modest. “Of course I don’t know much about it. -Learn, though, I guess. Understand strength and stamina are requisites -of football. Got ’em. You fellows know that.” - -“You bet we do, Kitty! I’d back you against Sandow any old day,” -declared Tom. “My word, but it’s a bully thing for the team!” - -“Don’t know about that. Afraid it’ll take me a while to learn -the――er――fine points, eh?” - -“Pshaw!” said Warren. “A fellow of your ability can learn the game in a -day, Kitty!” - -“Suppose you’re kidding me,” replied Kitty good-naturedly. “Don’t mind. -May be an ass, but I’ll have a try at it.” - -And Kitty, nodding with a final owl-like stare, took himself off. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -COTTING IS PUZZLED - - -News travels fast in school, and by ten o’clock the next morning it was -known from one end of the campus to the other that Kittson was going to -report that afternoon for football practice. The result was that every -fellow who could possibly get to the field was on hand long before the -fateful hour of three-thirty. Tad, who had the effrontery to walk to -a point of observation some ten feet away, declared later that it was -worth a thousand mile journey to see the expression on Coach Cotting’s -face when Kitty informed him that he would like to try for the team, -please. Kitty, in brand new football togs, with his trousers at least -six inches too long for his short legs――there had been no time to alter -them――and his knotty calves incased in green stockings, was a sight to -behold. And yet there was no suggestion of self-consciousness about -him. Had you attired Kitty in the uniform of a Scotch Highlander or a -Turkish _bashi bazouk_ he would have shown no awkwardness. Kitty had a -mind above clothes. - -Coach Cotting, maintaining his composure with the utmost difficulty, -entered Phineas Kittson in his red book and consigned him to -the awkward squad. Rodney, who had just been promoted from that -aggregation, mourned the fact. He wanted so much to be near when Kitty -fell on his first ball. - -The school at large cheered when Kitty followed his companions down the -gridiron, and after that, flocking closely along the side line, they -watched his every performance and offered him enthusiastic applause and -encouragement. Kitty knew well enough that he was being joshed, but he -didn’t mind. Fellows were always poking fun at him for one thing or -another. Let them! Kitty had his own ideals and pursued them, his own -views and held to them. No, Kitty didn’t mind much. Not nearly so much -as Gordon. The fullback stood the ribald shouts and laughter and cheers -as long as he could, and then walked over to the throng and informed -them that this was football practice and not a funny show, and that if -they didn’t shut up he’d have Cotting put them out and close the gates. -After that practice proceeded more decorously. - -Meanwhile Kitty was having his troubles. But the queer thing about -Kitty was that he had a funny notion that troubles were things you -could get the better of if you put your head down and worked hard. So -Kitty did as he was instructed to do to the best of his ability, using -up a good deal of unnecessary strength in the doing, and was perhaps -after all no more awkward than half a dozen others in the squad. And -Gordon, who had smiled for a while at first, soon came to admire the -fellow’s dogged courage and perseverance, and was extraordinarily -patient and gentle with him toward the last. By that time the novelty -had worn away for the spectators and the crowd had thinned out, -and Kitty’s return to the gymnasium in the wake of the others was -unattended by any demonstration. On the next day he was again the -cynosure of all eyes, as Tad so aptly put it, and again on the day -following. But after that the school decided that the fun had worn thin. - -On Friday Coach Cotting made the first cut, and some dozen youths -abandoned aspirations for that season. Strange to say, however, Kitty, -at the good-natured solicitation of Gordon, was retained and became a -fragment, a rather weighty fragment, of the third squad. Rodney, too, -was retained, and whether he was glad or sorry he couldn’t make up his -mind. He was confident that he would never survive the next cut, and -he begrudged the time that practice took from his studies, although -for that matter he couldn’t honestly say that his class standing was -suffering any. On the other hand, he had discovered to his surprise -that he was getting not a little interested in football. He rather -liked the camaraderie of it, and the feeling of well-being that -followed a hard afternoon out there on the yellow turf and――yes, and -he would have been less than human otherwise――he liked the knowledge -that less fortunate fellows observed him with respect as one who had -succeeded where they had failed, and as one chosen to uphold the -gridiron honor of Maple Hill. And all the time he was growing to like -it better he was telling himself that no matter how hard he tried or -how hard Coach Cotting tried he would never become anything more than -an indifferent player. But meanwhile he did as best he could, and -Cotting and Captain Doyle puzzled over him considerably. - -“He knows football,” said Doyle one day when he and the coach were -discussing Rodney, amongst other candidates, “but he doesn’t seem to -get beyond a certain point. He plays as well and not much better than -he did the first day, as far as I can see.” - -“I can’t make him out,” acknowledged the coach. “He seems willing -enough to learn, and he seems to try hard enough, but he gets no――no -‘forrader.’ Why?” - -Doyle shook his head. “Blessed if I know. Guess he lacks football -instinct.” - -“‘Football instinct,’” echoed the coach smilingly. “You’ve been reading -stories, Terry. ‘There ain’t no such critter’ as football instinct. -Instinct is a natural impulse. You may say that a boy has a natural -impulse toward athletics and, if he happened to come of athletic -parents, you’re probably right. But football hasn’t been played long -enough in this country to generate instinct, if you see what I mean. -Perhaps in another hundred or two hundred years boys may be born with -football instinct, but not now, Terry.” - -“Well, it’s something,” replied the other vaguely, “and Merrill doesn’t -seem to have it.” - -“Call it football sense,” said the coach. “He does as he is told and -as he has been taught, but he appears to have no initiative. In other -words, if he found himself during a game suddenly in a position where -he had to depend on his own resources, mental and physical, he’d likely -fail right there. Strange, too, that I was speaking to Mr. Howe about -Merrill yesterday. Howe has him in two classes, I think. He said he’d -never found a boy with a greater aptitude for learning nor one with -a more retentive memory. But then perhaps that proves my contention. -Merrill, I dare say, lacks imagination. Well, we’ll keep him along for -another week or so and see what happens.” - -Maple Hill went down the river a few miles on Saturday and played her -first game of the season. Her opponent was Phoenixville High School, an -aggregation not at all formidable. In fact the contest was looked upon -as nothing more than a slightly glorified practice, and for that reason -Coach Cotting took along two complete elevens and used every player at -some time during the game. Phoenixville managed to score a touchdown -as the result of a fumble by a Maple Hill substitute near the end of -the last period, but the Green-and-Gray ran up twenty-eight points -and was well enough satisfied. Neither Rodney nor Phineas was taken -along that day. How Kitty spent his afternoon I don’t know; probably, -however, in taking a little ten mile jaunt around the country; but -Rodney, after declining the invitation of Tom and Pete to follow the -team as a rooter, remained at home and joined Tad and the twins at -tennis. Rodney had Matty for a partner, and there were two hard fought -sets. For some reason Rodney’s strokes were less certain than usual -and, although he played perhaps as well as Tad, the opponents won each -set, the first 7–5 and the second 9–7. Matty was not up to her sister -on the tennis court, and May’s better playing accounted for the double -victory. They had a jolly time, however, and afterwards Tad played -host at Doolittle’s and they consumed ice-cream sodas and talked over -the contests. Tad insisted that playing football had injured Rodney’s -tennis. - -“It always does,” he said. “Your arm gets sort of stiff and set, you -see. A fellow has to keep his wrist pretty supple to do good backhand -work.” - -Rodney agreed that possibly football was to blame. “As soon as they let -me go, I’ll try you again,” he said. - -“Don’t worry. They won’t let you go, Rod. Why, you’re doing finely, -aren’t you?” - -“No, I’m not. I’m playing about as poorly as the rest of the duffers in -the second squad, I suppose. I guess another week will settle me.” - -At this there were lamentations from the twins. They had, it seemed, -made up their minds that Rodney was to be a football star like his -famous brother. “You oughtn’t to talk like that,” Matty protested -earnestly. “You――you must _think_ you’re going to do well, mustn’t he -May?” - -“Yes, indeed. What we think we are,” replied May gravely. - -“I _think_,” laughed Rodney, “that I’m full of soda.” He pushed his -glass away. - -“Don’t you like it?” asked Matty, viewing his unemptied glass. - -“Yes, but I’ve got to walk up that hill yet. I’m thinking about that.” - -“You don’t have to go back yet, do you? Let’s you and I play against -them at croquet. It’s only fair we should beat them at something!” - -So presently they toiled up the street to the little side gate in -the hedge, and after recovering from their exertion――for thirty -games of tennis leaves one rather disinclined for further effort for -awhile――they played three fairly hard games of croquet, of which Rodney -and Matty managed to win two. - -A week later autumn announced her arrival. Rodney awoke one morning -to find a brisk wind blowing and the trees nearly bare of foliage. -Yellow and red and russet-brown leaves frolicked along the roads and -there was a keen nip in the air that lent zest to living. After that -football practice was less like hard labor, and the players didn’t -come off the field bathed in perspiration and feeling as though they -had emerged from a particularly strenuous Turkish bath. That afternoon -Coach Cotting drove his charges hard. As soon as the candidates reached -the field they were put to work punting or catching, all, that is, save -Stacey Trowbridge and Roger Tyson, who put in the time trying goals -from the field. At last, when all the players were out, there was one -lap around the track at a fast jog, the pace being set by Mr. Cotting, -who, clad in a faded green jersey and an old pair of gray flannel -trousers, trotted at the head of the bunch. For several minutes one -heard only the fall of many feet on the cinders, the swish-swish of -rasping canvas, and the breathing of the runners. When the circuit was -complete the several squads assembled quickly and, under the direction -of shrill-voiced quarterbacks, went through twenty minutes of signal -work. Then: - -“All right!” called the coach. “Get your head guards!” - -That was the signal for scrimmage, and the fellows hurried to the -sidelines and donned the black leather helmets. Somehow, everything -to-day was done on the jump. The brisk weather was incentive enough, -and the coach’s perfunctory “Look alive, fellows!” was quite -unnecessary. Later, though, when the second squad backs appeared to -have lost some of their snap, the coach’s voice rang out harshly enough. - -“Stop loafing, you backs! If I catch you at it again out you come! _And -you don’t go back!_ Now get into it!” - -The warning had the desired effect, for Coach Cotting kept his word and -every fellow knew it. - -The third squad went over to the practice gridiron and played the Third -Form Team, and both Rodney and Kitty got into the game and enjoyed it -thoroughly. The Third Form Team had had only a few days of practice -under the direction of one of the submasters and so were not formidable -opponents. The third squad scored almost at will, and in some fifty -minutes of actual playing ran up forty-nine points against their -opponents, who, taking a long chance on a forward pass that ought not -to have worked but did, crossed the third squad’s goal line for a -solitary touchdown. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE FINAL CUT - - -Meanwhile, across on the main gridiron, Mr. Cotting was hammering speed -into his teams. The formation used this year for the backfield differed -somewhat from that of the previous season and the players were having -difficulty with it, simple though it was. The left half, fullback and -right half lined up behind quarter in a slanting tandem in the order -named, left half being to the left of quarter, the fullback behind -him and the right half at his right. From this formation the order -to shift――which became “Hep!” in the quarterback’s vernacular――was -followed by one or two quick jumps to the right or left as the signal -demanded. It was a good “shift formation,” since it allowed the backs -to get into position for the play very quickly, and at the same time -was capable of all sorts of combinations. A jump to the right by the -tandem changed what seemed like an attack on the right of the opposing -line to an attack on the left, and, since it was only necessary for the -backs to come to momentary pause before the ball was snapped, the enemy -had short time in which to change its defence to meet the play at the -threatened spot. Even when the shift had taken the backs to the right -of their quarter there was, however, no certainty that the play would -hit that side of the line. Often enough left half and fullback would -plunge around quarter for an attack on the opposing tackle, while the -right half caused a diversion by banging straight ahead. Or sometimes -it was the left half who faked an attack on the other side, leaving -fullback and right half to charge at the enemy’s center. And it lent -itself excellently well to end running besides. But it was new as yet -and Coach Cotting had much fault to find with the execution of the -plays. And he wasn’t over kind that afternoon to the forwards of either -team. - -“Where were you going that time?” he demanded sharply of Tyson after a -line plunge had been smothered by the second. - -“Through guard, sir.” - -“No, you weren’t! You were over here at tackle. Why didn’t you follow -your signal?” - -“There was no hole at guard, sir. That man was in the way, and so――――” - -“I don’t care who was in your way, Tyson! The signal told you to carry -that ball through guard. If the hole wasn’t there for you that’s -none of your business. That’s up to the linemen. You go where you’re -supposed to. Now, then, whose place was it to open up that hole? Yours, -Doyle? All right, then it’s up to you. Now try it again. And don’t try -to _push_ them back; get down and _lift ’em up_!” - -The play was tried again, and this time a second squad back plunged -through and upset the runner in the line. The coach jumped into the -mêlée. - -“Who got through then? Watson? That’s the way to do it, Watson!” He -thumped the second squad man on the back. “That was dandy! You keep -on playing like that and I’ll have you over on this side, by jingo! -Now, then, you first team, what have you got to say? Who let that man -through? That was you, Pounder. Look at him! Weighs half what you do! -Now you fellows quit this half hearted playing and get down and _work_! -I want to see that play go and _go right_! Same signals, Quarter! And -make it good!” - -“A formation! 34――45――87! _Hep!_” - -Back came the ball to Stacey, away plunged the fullback, the pigskin -went to Tyson at a hand pass and, following in the wake of the big -fullback, the right half tore through for three full yards, in spite -of the fact that the second knew where the attack was coming and had -concentrated its secondary defence there. The players scrambled or were -pulled to their feet, panting, and Mr. Cotting voiced approval. - -“That’s better, fellows! Put some punch into it! All right now! Fourth -down and six to go!” - -Then, with Gordon back and his arms outstretched for the ball for all -the world as though he meant to dropkick it over the crossbars, now -only twenty odd yards away, the pigskin went to Tyson again, and that -youth skirted the second team’s right end and, with the coach crying -“Cut! Cut!” finally found his opening and cut for a good twelve yards -and a first down. - -And so it went for thirty minutes or so of the hardest sort of work, -with no let-ups. When a player showed signs of exhaustion he was sent -off and a substitute summoned on from the waiting line at the edge of -the field. There was no loafing that afternoon. And all the time the -coach’s sharp voice barked criticism or censure or, less frequently, -commendation. “Clean up that line, Second! Get under ’em! Put ’em -back!” ... “Ball! Ball! Bring it back five yards here, First. Don’t -let me catch you doing that again, Watson! All right. Third down and -five to go!... Rotten! Rotten, Second! Look where your guards were -playing. Spread out your line! Try that again!” ... “Signals! What -are you giving ’em, Trowbridge? What? On their twenty yard line? Use -your brain, man!... Fuller! Fuller! Come in here and play left tackle! -Show these fellows how to hold that side of your line!... Low, low! -Play low, Second! That’s better!... Wynant, where were you then? Fall -asleep, did you? Start with the ball, man! You were all out of the -play!” - -And even when finally the scrimmage was ended, the first having earned -a touchdown and a field goal and held their opponents scoreless, -there was still work for the centers, backs, and ends. The other -players trotted breathlessly back to the gymnasium, but a dozen or so -unfortunates remained for punting practice, the centers to snap back -the ball to the punters, the backs to catch and run the pigskin back, -and the ends to get down under the kicks and head off the catchers. -It was almost dark when the last thump of boot against ball was heard -and Mr. Cotting let them go. In the locker room at the gymnasium -fellows grinned tiredly at each other, and shook their heads as if to -say, “Don’t ask me what got into him to-day! All I know is I got mine -aplenty!” - -But an hour or so later, refreshed by showers, trooping into supper, -the hard words and hard knocks were all forgotten, or, remembered, had -lost their sting. “That was _some_ practice, old man! Say, didn’t he -rub it into us for fair? Bet you, though, we learned more than we have -all season so far, eh? He’s a little wonder when he gets het up, what?” -And bruises were exhibited proudly, vaingloriously, while a wonderful -glow of wellbeing encompassed their wearied bodies as they satisfied -gigantic appetites, and already they were thinking of the morrow and -looking forward eagerly to the next practice, each fellow resolved in -his heart to “show him a few things next time!” - -It’s a wonderful game, this football; wonderful for what it will do for -flabby muscles and hollow chests, but more wonderful still for what -it can do for flabby characters. There’s young Jones, for instance, -who came to school with a quick and mighty ugly temper, an intolerance -of anything savoring of discipline, and no especial ambition beyond -doing as he pleased and being as selfish as fourteen years of spoiling -at home had taught him to be. And there’s young Smith, fat and flabby -and lazy when he came up, with only a sneering laugh for the form of -school patriotism that caused other boys to keep their bodies clean -and healthy and to toil on gridiron or diamond or cinder path for the -glory of the school. Don’t look the same to-day do they? They fought -and struggled and matched muscles and wits against each other this -afternoon for a solid hour or more, took hard knocks and gave them, -sweated and panted for breath, and rolled in the mud of a wet field, -lost their tempers perhaps now and then for a brief instant――they’re -only youngsters yet, after all. And now, side by side, they’re talking -it over, laughing at the mishaps, criticising the misplays, praising -each other’s good feats, each feeling for the other the respect――yes, -and the affection, too――that every brave warrior has felt for a worthy -opponent since the world began. Yes, it’s a wonderful game, this -football, a gentleman’s game. - - Who misses or who wins the prize, - Go lose or conquer as you can; - But if you fail or if you rise - Be each, pray God, a gentleman! - -Young Jones learned to accept criticism and submit to authority, to -govern his temper and consider the welfare of someone other than his -own selfish little self. I fancy it didn’t come very easily, just at -first; it was probably something of a shock to him to discover that on -the football field he was only one, and an inconsiderable one, of many, -and that no one cared a straw if he got a black eye. But he learned -and profited, and it did him a heap of good. And should you ask him -to-day about the young Jones that he used to be he’d probably tell -you frankly and succinctly that that boy was “a selfish little brat!” -And Smith worked the flabbiness out of his body and his mind, and got -rid of his fat and his laziness together. It didn’t take him long to -discover that his fellows had scant sympathy for his views, and that -his sneers met only disgust and dislike. Doubtless he would have found -himself ultimately without the aid of football, but football turned the -trick very expeditiously. Smith, they say, is in line for the captaincy -now. Success to him! - -The second game of the season was played with Mumford Preparatory -School, and in the fourth period, when Maple Hill was two scores to -the good, Rodney had his first experience on the firing line. He and -two other third string men went in for a few minutes, just before play -ended. Rodney was trying for halfback. He was given the ball but once, -since Maple Hill was on the defensive most of the time he played, and -then managed to get the two yards required for a first down. An instant -later the whistle sounded and Maple Hill was the victor by a 15 to 5 -score. But if that brief experience in the line up had not especially -advanced Rodney’s chance of being retained, although he could not be -certain of that, it had left him with a redoubled desire to make the -team. Figuratively, he had smelled the smoke of battle, and he wanted -to fight again. - -And so it was with not a little anxiety that he awaited the next cut in -the squad. This had been looked for on Friday but had not come, and it -was now whispered about that it would be made Monday. On Sunday Rodney -observed to Kitty: - -“Well, Kittson, I suppose you and I will get our walking papers -to-morrow. For my part it’ll be rather a relief――” There he stopped, -realizing that he had been about to say something very far from the -truth. Instead he ended: “A relief to know.” - -Kitty, engaged on a letter, looked up and blinked through his -spectacles. “How do you mean, Merrill?” he asked. - -“Why, Cotting’s going to make another cut to-morrow, they say.” - -“Cut? You mean he’s going to let some of the football players go?” - -“Yes, some of the second squad fellows. He’s got too many, you see.” - -“Really? Think he will keep you, don’t you?” - -“I don’t believe so. I don’t see why he should. He’s got five perfectly -good backs without me.” - -“Oh, I hope he will,” said Kitty earnestly. “I――I’d feel a bit lonesome -if you weren’t there, you know.” - -Rodney stared. Then he laughed. “Well, you seem pretty sure of your -place, Kittson! It might just be that we’d both get fired.” - -Kitty stared untroubledly and shook his head gently. “I don’t think -so. Team needs fellows like me. Too many weak chaps on it. Cotting’s -sensible, eh? You’ll see. Maybe I might say a good word for you, what?” - -“I don’t think you’d better,” replied Rodney soberly. “I hope he does -keep you, Kittson.” And, after a moment spent in reviewing the events -of the last week of practice, “I don’t see why he shouldn’t, either,” -added Rodney thoughtfully. “You’ve shown up pretty well, by Jove!” - -Kitty blinked agreement. “For a beginner, eh? Seems so to me. May be -mistaken, though. Hope not. Like the game. Fine for the chest. Fine for -the whole body. Surprised me, really, what a lot of exercise there was -in it!” Kitty took a long, deep breath that threatened to expand his -lungs beyond the capacity of his Sunday waistcoat, and patted his chest -approvingly. “Great for the lungs, Merrill!” - -Monday afternoon Rodney entered the gymnasium in a funk. He had watched -Tracey and two other Vests start along, and then, keeping behind -them, had followed. He wanted to be alone when he faced the little -black bulletin board in the entrance of the gymnasium. But in spite -of his scheming he wasn’t, for when he swung open the big outer door -and passed into the little lobby inside, two boys were in front of -the board. One was Guy Watson and the other Peterson, the right end. -There were so many notices of different kinds posted on the board that -Rodney couldn’t see, from where he stood a few feet away, whether the -announcement of the cut had been posted. He waited with his heart -thumping a little harder than usual, for the others to move away. And -then he heard Peterson say, with a laugh: - -“Kittson! Well, what do you know about that, Guy?” - -“That’s Gordon’s doings,” growled Watson, with a shrug of his broad -shoulders. He turned then and saw Rodney, and nodded. “Hello, Merrill. -Want to see the list?” he asked. “You’re down. Come on, Jim.” - -They went on through the swinging doors, leaving Rodney alone in the -lobby. So he and Kittson were both dropped! Well, now that he knew, -it wasn’t so bad. And it had been foolish of him to expect anything -else. Only――well, he _had_ expected, or at least hoped! There was no -especial reason now for reading the list, since Watson had told him, -but he felt a desire to see for himself. As he stepped to the board he -wondered why Watson had not taken the opportunity to sneer a little. He -didn’t read the heading, but began with the names, which were arranged -alphabetically. “Anson, Atwell, Browne, Burnham, Doyle――――” - -“_Doyle?_” Rodney read it again. How could they drop Doyle? Then his -eyes flashed to the top of the sheet and he read: - -“Football candidates. The following are retained. Cotting, Coach.” - -With a leap of his heart Rodney’s eyes swept down the list. “Johnson, -Kittson, Merrill――――” - -He wasn’t dropped! He still had a chance! - -For a full minute he stood there with his eyes on that one word, stood -there until the sudden turning of the big latch behind him warned -him that others were coming. Then he pushed on through the swinging -doors, turned to the stairway, and took the stairs at four bounds, -stopping, however, at the foot to pull his features into an expression -of becoming calm before he entered the dressing-room. The room was well -filled, for most of the thirty-two fellows who had been retained were -already there, but the first figure that Rodney’s gaze fell on was -Phineas Kittson, Phineas in his new togs, now somewhat soiled, with his -ridiculous trousers dropping half way to his feet. Kitty smiled and -blinked at his roommate, and as Rodney joined him he said: - -“Saw your name on the board up there, Merrill. Awfully glad. Cotting’s -sensible, though. Said so right along. Better hurry. Most half past.” - -Rodney got into football attire in record time, his heart beating a -very happy tune, and raced across to the field. Stacey Trowbridge saw -him and walked to meet him. - -“Glad you made it, Rodney,” he said kindly. “Good luck to you.” - -Then he smiled and walked away. It was the first time Stacey had called -him by his first name. Rodney felt happier than ever, and a little bit -proud. To-day practice went with a vim. Even tackling the dummy seemed -rather good sport, and usually most of them hated it. There was a full -twenty minutes of scrimmage later. Rodney and Kitty were on the second -team, Kitty as substitute guard and Rodney as substitute left half. -Both got into the play in the second ten minutes and both performed -acceptably if not brilliantly. The coach seemed to take a good deal -of notice of Phineas, and more than once instructed him. Slowness, -Rodney gathered, was Kitty’s failing. Had he but known it, lack of -initiativeness was his own trouble. More than once he was stopped with -the ball for the simple reason that, finding himself unable to gain -where the signals indicated, he slowed up, at a loss, and was brought -down. - -“Why don’t you fight, Merrill?” demanded the second team quarter once. -“Hang it, what do you stop for? This isn’t a game of tag!” - -And Rodney, returning to his position, would make up his mind to do -better the next time. And when the next time came he would fail in just -the same way. - -The first team ran away with the scrimmage game that afternoon, piling -up four touchdowns and kicking three goals after them, while the second -failed to get nearer to the other goal than the twelve yard line. Two -days later the tables were turned, for the second kept the first from -crossing their goal line, and then in the last two or three minutes of -play sent a neat kick from the field over the cross-bar. Rodney played -fifteen minutes that day, but I can’t honestly say that much of his -team’s success was due to his presence. Rodney had a whole lot to learn -yet. But “old Kitty” was making good. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -THE TWINS ARE BORED - - -Brother Stanley wasn’t a very good correspondent. Rodney had written -him a whole long, newsy letter a fortnight after he had arrived at -Maple Hill and had sent him weekly messages in his epistles to his -parents, but it was not until well toward the last of October, by -which time Rodney had been a Maple Hiller for over a month, that a -reply arrived from Ginger. And after he had read it Rodney didn’t know -whether to be most amused or most annoyed. - - DEAR KID [Stanley wrote], - - I meant to answer your letter long ago, but I’ve been awfully - busy at the office and outside it, too. Of course the mater and - dad have kept you posted on home news. Not much goes on there - anyway. Even Omaha’s pretty dull this fall. Well, I’m glad - you’ve got shaken down so well at school. It’s a great little - school, and I hope you appreciate the advantages you are - getting there. I tell you, Rod, if I had it to do over again - I’d make a lot better use of my time than I did both there and - at college. A fellow never knows until it’s too late what a - lot of chances he is wasting at school. But you are more of a - grind than I ever was――you call it noser at Maple Hill, don’t - you? And I guess you’ll do better in the study line. I see by - your letters home that you’ve gone out for football. More fool - you. You haven’t the making of a good player, as I’ve told you - lots of times and you’re just wasting your time. I tell you - football takes a lot of time away from study just when a fellow - needs it most. At the beginning of the year a fellow ought to - pay a lot of attention to study, or else he gets in wrong and - queers himself at the start. You take my advice, Kid, and let - football alone. You say Cotting made you come out. That’s like - old Cot, too. But if he hasn’t found out yet that he’s wasting - his time on you, you tell him I say he is and that he’s to let - you go. Wait until spring and try for baseball. You’re a pretty - good baseball player for a young fellow, and you might make - good there. But you stick to study this fall and winter. If you - don’t you’ll have to answer to me when I see you, Rod. I’m not - going to have you get through there and not learn anything. I’d - like to get back east for some of the big games next month, - especially our game with Yale and your game with Bursley. Hope - you fellows wipe the earth with them. Give my best to Cotting - and tell him he’s to come out here this winter and see me. Tell - him I’ll show him a good time all right. Best to the Baron, - too, and any of the others that may remember me. Now, Kid, you - do as I say and quit trying to play football. You’re not built - for it in the first place, and then besides you haven’t the - head for it. Cotting’s an ass to waste time on you, and I guess - he’s doing it as a sort of favor to me. I wish he wouldn’t - because it’s no good. You tell him I say so. Write and tell me - how things are shaping, and send me a school paper once in a - while. Here’s a fiver which may help out. Be good and work hard. - - Yours, - STAN. - -That letter sounded so much like Stanley that Rodney had only to close -his eyes to get a mental picture of that big brother of his frowning -over the paper as he set down all that virtuous advice. Rodney smiled -as he read it over again and noted the lack of punctuation and the -slovenly composition. The writing of English had never been one of -Ginger’s accomplishments, and Rodney had often wondered how the former -had managed to get through four years at school and a like term at -college without showing any improvement in that art. But his smile -disappeared as he finished the letter for the second time, and a frown -took its place. On the whole he thought Stanley had a good deal of -cheek to write him that he was no good at football, or at any rate to -be so cocksure of it. He guessed that Stanley had forgotten that he -wasn’t much of a player himself until Mr. Cotting had taken hold of -him. He thought that his big brother was a bit more conceited than he -had suspected. That remark to the effect that Mr. Cotting was probably -encouraging Rodney merely as a favor to Stanley indicated it. - -“I’d just like to make good to show him that he doesn’t know it all,” -muttered Rodney. “He seems to think he’s the only one in the family -that’s good for anything. Maybe if Mr. Cotting takes as much trouble -with me as they say he did with Stanley, I’ll do mighty nearly as well. -Anyway I don’t intend to quit just because he says so. And I’ll tell -him so, too!” - -But by the time Rodney got around to answering that letter his -annoyance had decreased to such an extent that he could write quite -good-naturedly. “I don’t think he took me on just on your account,” -he wrote. “They say here that he likes to get hold of fellows in the -first year, catch them while they’re young, you know, and nurse them -along. That’s about what he did with you, isn’t it? Of course I don’t -expect ever to be a wonder at football, but I like the game, and as -long as Cotting wants to keep me on I’ll stay. Maybe, though, I’ll get -fired before the season’s over. But they made the last cut the other -day and I survived it. Everyone here seems to think I ought to know how -to play just because I’m Ginger Merrill’s brother, and of course that -is nonsense. Still I may learn in time. Anyway I’m having a lot of fun -out of it so far. And a lot of work, too. Cotting’s a bear at making -the fellows work. We’ve got an average team here this year, they say. -Doyle is a dandy captain, and the fellows think a lot of him. So far we -haven’t developed our attack much. Cotting has been hammering defence -into us right along, and I think we’re pretty well developed that way. -He’s teaching us a shift formation that’s a peach. I wish you might -come on for the Bursley game, Stan. Can’t you do it? They’d make a -regular hero of you, I guess. I wouldn’t wonder if the town would hang -out flags and meet you with a brass band. Try to come, please. I saw -a lot of pictures of you in the gym awhile ago, groups, you know. Gee, -but you were a funny little tyke, weren’t you?” - -Rodney smiled maliciously as he wrote the latter sentence. He could -imagine Stanley’s gasp as he perused that bit of cheek from his kid -brother. You see Rodney’s awe of Stanley was fast disappearing. - -He confided the tenor of Stanley’s letter to Tad, reading a few choice -bits of it to that youth, and Tad was properly indignant and outraged. -“What’s he think you are, anyway?” he demanded. “A babe in arms? I’d -write back and tell him to chase himself around the block, I would! -That’s the trouble with older brothers though,” he continued feelingly. -“They’re all alike. I’ve got two and I know! They think a fellow can’t -do anything on his own hook, and want to fill you up to the chin with -their silly advice. You take it from me, Rod, it doesn’t do to humor -’em. You’ve got to sit on ’em hard just about so often. That’s the way -I do. And say, you go ahead with your football and show Ginger that he -isn’t the only fellow who can play the game. Why shucks, Rod, I’ll bet -you anything you’ll make his record look like a punctured tire by the -time you’ve been here three more years!” - -“No, I shan’t do that,” answered Rodney, “but I might make the team. -And that would be something, wouldn’t it?” - -“Open his eyes a bit, I guess,” replied Tad, with a chuckle. “Funny -how your older brothers don’t seem to think it’s possible you can be -any good at anything! You’d think they’d take it for granted that if -you were their brother you’d be bound to be a wonder, if you see what -I mean.” Tad paused to silently con his sentence. Rodney nodded his -comprehension and Tad went on, relieved. “But they don’t. They think -they’re all to the good themselves and that you’re a sort of idiot. -Not flattering to them, I say. But they’re all proper fools.” He -shrugged his shoulders hopelessly over the incomprehensibility of elder -brothers, slipped a hand into Rodney’s arm, and led him down the steps. -“Come on over and see what the twins are up to,” he suggested. - -The twins were up to nothing, as it proved. They were frankly bored. -As it was Sunday afternoon, croquet was naturally an impossibility -and they were seated on the porch, in a sunny angle, each with a book -turned face down on her knees. They hailed the appearance of the two -boys with all evidences of pleasure as the latter slipped through the -hedge, but warning gestures of fingers to mouths cautioned the visitors -to be quiet. Matty jumped off the porch and met them half way across -the grass. - -“Mama’s asleep in there,” she whispered hoarsely, pointing to a nearby -lower window of the house, “so we mustn’t make any noise. Let’s go over -to the summer-house.” - -“Let’s take a walk,” said Tad as May joined them. “The summer-house is -too near, and Rod’s such a noisy fellow he might wake your mother up.” - -Matty observed her sister doubtfully. “Do you think she’d mind?” she -asked. - -“I don’t believe so. Not if we told Norah we were going and didn’t stay -very long. I’d love to go. We’ve been just bored to death ever since -dinner, haven’t we, Matty?” - -“Bored stiff,” responded Matty inelegantly and emphatically. “You run -and tell Norah, May, please.” - -A few minutes later they made their escape through the narrow gate and -turned northward along Hill Street. - -“You see,” confided May, “it was the dumplings.” - -“What was the dumplings?” asked Rodney, perplexed. - -“That made us bored. They always do. We’re very fond of them, and Norah -gives them to us for Sunday dinner quite often. But she oughtn’t to, -because they make us feel very bored.” - -“Bored is a new name for it!” laughed Tad. “_I’d_ call it indigestion!” - -“Oh, but it really isn’t! At least, I don’t think it is. Do you, Matty?” - -The blue-eyed twin gazed doubtfully into the distance and laid an -inquiring hand on the front of her white gown. “I――I don’t know, May. -It might be. I think――I think I did feel sort of queer inside after the -third dumpling.” - -“After the third!” exclaimed Tad. “Great Scott, how many did you eat?” - -Matty turned surprised eyes to him. “Why, I ate four, and May ate――how -many did you eat, May?” - -“Only three to-day,” was the virtuous reply. “Sometimes I eat five. -They’re rather small dumplings, Tad. But to-day I――I began to feel -bored quite soon.” - -“I should think so! I’d be ‘bored’ after two of the things, I guess,” -said Tad with a grin. “I think a walk is just what you girls need.” - -“I suppose dumplings are a little indigestible,” acknowledged Matty. -“But they’re awfully good. Norah puts lots of cinnamon in with the -apple and we have just heaps of hard sauce. I think, May, that there -were several left over. They’d be nice cold for supper, wouldn’t they?” - -“Talk about a boy’s appetite!” said Tad despairingly. “Gee, we don’t -know anything about stuffing ourselves, do we, Rod?” - -“How would it do,” suggested Rodney, “if we――if we had those cold -dumplings when we get back?” - -Matty and May clapped their hands and laughed. Tad smiled and winked at -Rodney. “Not a bad idea, that,” he answered. “Just to keep the twins -from killing themselves, eh?” - -When they were a good two miles into the country, with the river lying -below them silver-blue in the afternoon sunlight, Matty announced that -she was no longer bored. May, too, thought she had recovered from her -affliction, and so they wheeled around and started homeward, those -cold dumplings seeming to beckon from the distance. When they got back -to the house Mrs. Binner had finished her nap and had retired to her -room upstairs and there was no longer any necessity for keeping quiet. -The twins left the two boys in the tumble-down summer-house and went -on to find Norah. When, a few minutes later, they returned, they bore -a tray on which were the cold dumplings, a generous portion of hard -sauce, saucers and spoons, a pitcher of water and four tumblers. You -just had to have water when you ate dumplings, May asserted. Cold apple -dumplings may not appeal to the reader, especially when eaten out -of doors on a late October afternoon with a westerly breeze sending -shivers up and down one’s spine in spite of a heavy sweater, but -they tasted awfully good to the boys, and even May and Matty managed, -without much apparent effort, to dispose of one apiece. Finally, -surfeited, they laid the remains of the feast aside and sank back in -comfort. - -“How do you feel, Tad?” asked Rodney with a sigh of repletion. - -“I feel――I feel just a tiny bit ‘bored,’” answered Tad. “I also feel -as if it will be quite unnecessary for Mother Westcott to prepare any -supper this evening for me.” - -Rodney agreed as to that, and for a few minutes the conversation dealt -desultorily with all sorts of subjects, from the chill in the air to -the outbreak of mumps in Beecher Hall, where several of the First Form -youngsters were confined to their rooms. Tad chuckled. - -“Yesterday Tommy Sands went over in front of Beecher and yelled ‘Heads -out!’ And when about eight or ten kids came to the windows with their -faces tied up, Tommy pulled a nice big lemon from his pocket and held -it for them to see. They say you could hear the groans ’way over at -East Hall!” - -“That was a mean trick,” laughed Rodney. “Mumps are――is――which should -you say? Mumps _are_ no fun, or mumps _is_ no fun?” - -“I think mumps are singular,” hazarded May. “I mean, _is_ singular.” - -“Plural,” said Tad. “Mumps is a disease of the parrot glands――――” - -“Of the _what_ glands?” demanded Rodney. - -“Parrot, I think. These glands here, anyway.” - -“Parotid, I think. Well, anyway, as I started to say, mumps is no fun, -and――――” - -“That doesn’t sound just right, does it, May?” said Matty. “‘Mumps is.’” - -“Ever have them?” asked Tad. - -The twins nodded gravely. “Yes, we had them together――” began Matty. - -“Oh, you had them together all right,” laughed Tad. “You do everything -together, you two!” - -“Yes, and we had whooping-cough together,” replied May, “and measles -and scarlet fever――――” - -“It was only scarlatina, though,” interrupted Matty apologetically. - -“――And――and――quinsy――――” - -“And mastoids!” added Matty triumphantly. - -“I don’t see but what you two kids have been pretty well through the -list,” laughed Tad. “Ever have charley-horse?” - -“What?” asked Matty. - -“Don’t mind him,” said Rodney. “You get it playing football, when you -bruise your hip. Hello, there goes Kitty! Let’s call him in. Do you -mind?” - -“Of course not,” said the twins in unison. - -So Rodney hurried to the gate and brought back Kitty, who, clad for -walking, with his faithful pedometer at his belt, was very red of face -and moist of brow. - -“Had a dandy stroll,” declared Kitty as he joined the others in the -summer-house. “Went all the way over to Finger Rock and back.” - -“Finger Rock!” exclaimed Tad. “Why, that must be five miles!” - -“Just about.” Kitty consulted his pedometer. “A little less, I think. -This thing says nine and about a half. Fine day for walking, though.” - -“Isn’t it?” agreed Matty. “And――and are your lungs pretty well, -Phineas?” - -Kitty nodded gravely. “Yes, thanks; can expand eight inches now. Never -felt better than I do this fall. Think football is good for me, too. -Think I can observe a slight――slight benefit.” - -“What is Finger Rock?” asked Rodney. - -“It’s wonderful!” declared Matty, and May nodded agreement. “It’s down -the river nearly to Thurling. Haven’t you ever seen it?” - -“I’ve never been further that way than we went this afternoon,” replied -Rodney. - -“Oh, but you can see it from the field,” said Tad. “They call it Finger -Rock because it stands up like――like a sore thumb! It’s ’most a hundred -feet high, isn’t it, Kitty?” - -“Eighty-six feet, they say. Quite sheer, though.” - -“Quite――what?” asked Rodney. - -“Straight up and down,” explained Tad. “I guess not many folks have -ever climbed to the top of it, although you can get up about half way -without much trouble.” - -“I’ve been on top,” said Kitty. “Twice.” - -“Oh, run away!” exclaimed Tad. - -Kitty nodded soberly. “Fact. Last year, and then about three weeks -ago. Hard work, though.” - -“I’d like to see it,” said Rodney. “Will you show it to me some day, -Kitty?” - -“Yes, any day you say.” - -“He will walk you to death,” warned Tad. “I say, fellows――and young -ladies――wouldn’t it be fun to take some lunch and go down there some -day? Have a sort of picnic, you know. What do you say?” - -“We’d love to!” cried Matty. “Wouldn’t we, May?” - -“Love to,” echoed May ecstatically. “But I don’t suppose mama would let -us do it,” she added doubtfully. - -“I wonder if she would,” mused her sister. “Anyway, we could ask her. -When would we go, Tad?” - -“Why, I don’t know. You fellows have practice in the afternoons, don’t -you? We might go some Saturday morning and get back about two. We could -hire a rig――――” - -“Oh, it would be so much more fun to walk,” said Matty. - -“Walk! All the way there and back?” Tad groaned. Then, with a shrug of -his shoulders, “All right. I’m game if you are. Will you come along, -Kitty?” - -“Thanks. Like it very much.” Kitty looked both surprised and gratified -at being included. - -“Let’s make it next Saturday morning,” suggested Rodney, “and get -a good early start so we can get back in time for the game in the -afternoon. You ask your mother, Matty, and see if you can go.” - -“We have our music Saturday mornings,” said Matty sadly. - -“Then I guess we’d better wait until spring,” responded Tad with a -somewhat relieved tone in his voice. - -“Perhaps, though,” said May thoughtfully, “we could get Miss Mapes to -let us have our lesson Friday after school. We could ask her, Matty.” - -So, in the end, it was agreed that the twins were to try to arrange -things so that they could get away next Saturday morning, and that, if -they were successful, the party was to start out for Finger Rock at -half-past eight, or as soon after as possible. Then, the twins having -volunteered to attend to the luncheon, and the boys having indicated -their preferences in the matter of viands, the assemblage broke up, -Kitty by this time being thoroughly chilled through, and the boys -retired to their own premises by way of the hedge. - -“We’ll let you know to-morrow noon,” called Matty from the porch. - -“All right,” answered Tad. “And I say, Matty! If we do go, keep away -from dumplings the day before, please!” - -They could hear the twin’s laughter as they gained their own side of -the hedge. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -FINGER ROCK - - -The fall tennis tournament began the day following. Both Tad and Rodney -had entered, Rodney at Tad’s earnest solicitation. “You see,” Tad had -explained, “I want to feel that there’s some one in the tournament I -can beat!” This was sheer bravado, however, since in the two or three -contests which the two had waged together Rodney had easily shown his -superiority, in spite of the fact that he seemed to have lost some -of his former dexterity. There were nearly a hundred entrants, and, -since it was a handicap affair, some very good matches were played the -first part of the week. Rodney met and defeated Sanderson, the First -Form president, on Tuesday, while Tad, who had drawn a bye, didn’t -meet his first antagonist until Wednesday. Then he barely scraped -through, losing one set, two games to six, pulling out of the next, -six to four, and finally winning the third, nine to seven. Owing to the -epidemic of mumps, which had ceased to be a joke, since by the middle -of the week fully twenty boys were down with the malady, the original -drawings for the tournament were sadly interfered with, and match after -match had to be postponed. Even the class football teams suffered, -the First Form team being shorn of five of its players and having to -give up practice for the time, and the Second Form team being scarcely -better off. In order to keep the disease from spreading any further the -faculty placed a ban on visiting. But in spite of that precaution new -cases cropped out day by day, and fellows were seen surreptitiously -feeling their necks and testing themselves with pickles and lemons. -Even the school team was not exempt, for Jim Peterson was missing from -practice on Thursday, and investigation showed that James was marooned -in his room in East Hall, his jaws tied up in cotton and gauze. -Westcott’s escaped the malady, although there was an anxious time when -Warren Hoyt had a sore throat, and Pete Greenough moved out of Number -2, bag and baggage, until the doctor allayed his fears. Tad declared -that for his part he’d rather like to have mumps so that he wouldn’t -have to attend recitations for a week or so, but it was noticed that -when Warren was under suspicion Tad gave him a very wide berth. - -The tennis tournament dragged along to the middle of the second week. -Tad met his Waterloo on Friday when he was opposed to a Fourth Form -youth named Wallace. Wallace played at scratch, and Tad’s one-half of -fifteen couldn’t save him from a severe drubbing. Rodney lasted until -Tuesday and the semi-final round, and put up a game fight against Jack -Billings. Rodney, like Tad, had a handicap of one-half of fifteen, and -Jack played at scratch. It was the latter’s service that finally won -for him. After getting the first set, 6–4, Jack let down, and Rodney -captured the first three games before Jack recovered. Then, on his -own service, Jack secured the fourth game and the sixth. Rodney got -away with the fifth and seventh, and then broke through Jack’s service -and won the eighth, winning the set 6–2, much to the surprise of the -gallery, which included Tad and the twins, and Jack as well. The third -set see-sawed, Jack winning on his service and Rodney on his, until -the games stood seven all. Then Jack’s age and experience told and he -literally wore his opponent out. Rodney lost the next game 15–40, and -then, on his own service, gave Jack an ace by double faulting, smashed -the next return out of court and was 0–30 before he knew what had -happened. But after that he managed to draw even by two fine serves -that Jack failed to handle, and the game stayed at deuce for fully ten -minutes. When finally Jack sent a swift ball across the court that -Rodney missed by a hair’s breadth and so ended the match, there was -a good round of applause for both players. Jack reached a brown hand -across the net and said, as Rodney shook it: - -[Illustration: “Finally, Jack sent a swift ball across the court”] - -“Sorry, Rod. You deserved to win. You gave me the hardest tussle I ever -had, I think.” - -“Thanks,” replied Rodney. “Glad you won though, Jack. Hope you keep -going, too. Only――――” - -“What?” asked Jack, with a smile, as he vaulted the net, towel in hand. - -“Only I’m sorry you won’t be here next year,” said Rodney. “I’d like to -try you then.” - -“Try me in the spring,” laughed Jack. “I wouldn’t wonder if you could -do it then, Rod!” - -Rodney was glad he had secured a cut from football practice that -afternoon, for he was pretty well worn out. However, a shower helped -matters a deal, and after they were dressed he and Jack strolled down -the hill to Doolittle’s and Jack treated to sodas. On Friday, Jack met -Hanford, the school champion. Rodney didn’t see that match, for it was -played during football practice, but most of the other Vests were on -hand to applaud and encourage their leader. In the finals the match was -three sets out of five, and Jack, who started off with a rush, played -Hanford off his feet for two sets and seemed, as Tad put it when he -related the details later to Rodney, to have the title holder “agitated -to an emulsion.” But Hanford wormed out of the third set 7–5, secured -the fourth 9–7, and then ran away with the deciding set, allowing -Jack but three games, and securing his right to the championship for -another year. - -On Monday, Matty had announced that Mrs. Binner had consented to the -proposed expedition to Finger Rock, and that Miss Mapes, the piano -teacher, had obligingly transferred the Saturday morning lesson -to Friday afternoon. Consultations between the twins and Tad had -followed at intervals during the week, and at a little before nine -on Saturday morning the five set off on the picnic. The luncheon had -been thoughtfully divided into separate packages and each of the party -carried one. Kitty, for once minus his beloved turtle-neck sweater, led -the way at a business-like pace which soon drew groans of protest from -Tad. - -“Look here, Kitty,” he said when they had traversed perhaps a mile of -the way, “this isn’t any cross country race, you know. We aren’t trying -to establish a new record. I love to walk, but I don’t want to overdo -it. I’ve been warned by the doctors not to overtax my strength. Let’s -pause here a minute and admire the beautiful view. Let’s pause several -minutes. I’m in no hurry. In fact I love to pause!” - -Rodney and the twins seemed as willing as Tad to seat themselves on a -rock beside the road. Kitty blinked in mild surprise. “I wasn’t walking -fast, was I?” he asked solicitously. - -“What do you call it?” panted Tad. - -“Why――er――I call that just an amble.” - -“An amble! Jumping Jehosophat! I’d like to see you when you were in a -hurry then!” - -Kitty smiled leniently. - -“You can see the Rock now,” said May to Rodney, and his four companions -obligingly pointed it out to him. As, however, he attempted to follow -each finger and attend to all directions at once, it was several -minutes before he actually discerned the object of their journey. -When he did it looked rather disappointing. From a distance of three -and a half miles Finger Rock was merely a point against the sky, its -base hidden by a belt of woods that intervened. Presently they went -on again, more leisurely now, Kitty looking around every little while -to make certain that the pace was not exhausting his companions. He -held forth for a quarter of a mile on the benefits of walking, and -instructed the others how to hold their bodies, how to move their legs, -and which part of the foot to walk on in order to derive the greatest -good from the exercise. Tad listened with suspiciously profound -attention, but the others soon wearied. When Kitty had concluded, Tad -undertook to walk according to instructions received and the result was -so mirth provoking that Matty had to sit down on a stump beside the -road and recover. Kitty, however, only smiled tolerantly. He was quite -accustomed to having his hobby made sport of. It didn’t hurt him any if -others played the fool. - -It had been quite nippy when they had started out, but as the sun -climbed higher the chill gave way to a genial warmth and the frozen -surface of the road began to thaw, making the walking rather slippery -in places. A beech grove was a mass of gold, across a field to the -left, and further inland the edge of the forest showed all shades of -vermillion and scarlet and russet yellow and green. On the river side -of the hill a rocky pasture had grown up in young oaks, and these -supplied a tone of brown-pink, as Matty, who dabbled in paints, called -it, that quite drove that young lady to despair. - -“Isn’t it wonderful, May?” she exclaimed. “Did you ever see such a -color? I――I wouldn’t know how to get it at all.” - -“I’ll pick a few leaves for you,” volunteered Tad, “and you can take -them home with you.” But the leaves on nearer acquaintance quite failed -to produce the effect of the trees at a distance, and Matty discarded -them and went on with many backward glances, murmuring to herself, -totally absorbed in the problem. At their left the Hudson was in sight -much of the way, winding and twisting, at times broadening out into -small inland seas across which ridiculous ferry boats plodded. Now and -then a white sail broke the intense blue of the surface and once a -river steamer passed down, brave in white and gold. There were several -raids on wayside orchards, and Tad, who constituted himself general -sampler for the expedition, was biting into and discarding apples all -the way along. Unfortunately, by the time he had tasted an apple and -found it satisfactory the tree it had come from had been left several -hundred yards behind them. But Tad, ever hopeful, set his eyes on -the next orchard and tried again. Except that he worked up a slight -stomach ache eventually, their raids were rather unproductive. May, who -looked on trespassing as a crime, held her eyes askance when the others -wandered from the road, and only accepted the fruits of transgression -under protest. She appeared to enjoy what fell to her share, however as -well as any of them. - -It was well into the middle of the forenoon when they finally tramped -over a crest of the road and saw Finger Rock rising into the air a -quarter of a mile ahead. A lane, which ran from the main road along -the back of a farmyard, wound uphill to a wooded plateau and from the -summit of the latter Finger Rock stood up for all the world like the -sore thumb of Tad’s description. It looked from that distance like one -huge lump of rusty pink granite set on end, but Kitty explained that -it was in reality a number of ledges heaped up together, and rattled -on quite knowingly about glaciers and moraines. The lower part of the -Rock was scantily clothed with scrub trees, bushes and grass, but the -upper half of it was bare of all vegetation save moss and lichen. - -“How big is it on top?” asked Rodney as they turned into the lane to -the excited barking of a dog in the farmer’s yard. - -“About twenty feet across,” answered Kitty. “It’s uneven though; lots -of loose rock up there.” - -“We couldn’t get up, could we?” - -Kitty shrugged. “You and I could; Tad, maybe; the girls couldn’t.” - -“I should think not!” said Matty. “I wouldn’t try it for anything. -Would you, May?” - -May replied vehemently that she certainly would not. Tad observed Kitty -indignantly. - -“You say you and he could, but I couldn’t? Why couldn’t I, I’d like to -know?” - -“Didn’t say you couldn’t,” replied Kitty, blinking. “Said you might. -Don’t believe you could though, Tad.” - -“Why not?” challenged Tad. - -“Takes strength and plenty of wind. You haven’t the lungs, Tad.” - -“What’s the matter with my lungs?” inquired Tad irritably. - -“Undeveloped,” responded Kitty calmly. - -“Undeveloped, your grandmother!” Tad struck himself sharply on the -chest and went into a fit of coughing. “There’s no――nothing the -mat――matter with my――my lungs! And just to prove it I’ll climb that old -Rock and show you!” - -“Better wait until after we’ve had lunch though,” Rodney laughed. “If -you fell off you’d miss the eats.” - -“Well, I guess that would be wiser. Might as well be sure of my lunch. -Where will we eat it? Ought to have some water, too.” - -“There’s a spring over there,” replied Kitty, with a nod toward the -edge of the woods a few hundred feet away. “And there’s a ledge about -fifteen feet up on the other side that we can get to easily. Good view -from there. Plenty of room, too.” - -So they followed a path that led around the base of the Rock through -sweetfern and small bushes until Kitty indicated a place where by -following the lower face of the Rock up and around it was not -difficult to climb. Kitty led the way up the well worn trail, Tad -followed, and Rodney went last to give a hand now and then to the -twins. A few minutes of climbing and scrambling brought them to a -jutting ledge about ten feet broad, carpeted with grass and Christmas -ferns, and somewhat littered with the remains of former repasts. A -blackened cranny against the overhanging face of the Rock showed where -a fire had been built at some time. - -“They had courage to lug wood up here for a fire,” said Tad. “Wish -they’d left some, though.” - -“We haven’t anything to cook,” objected Matty. - -“No matter. A fire is always good fun. We might boil water, anyway. Can -you go on up from here, Kitty?” - -“Yes. Climb around that corner and then up about twenty feet. After -that you work around to the left on some crumbly rock, and then go up -where there’s a sort of fissure. That brings you pretty nearly to the -top. There’s a bit of hard climbing after that though, about ten feet -or so.” - -Tad walked to the further side of the lunching place and cast a -speculative eye up the face of the cliff. Then he looked down at his -rubber soled shoes and nodded. - -“Looks easy,” he said carelessly. “I’ll try it after luncheon I guess.” - -“You may if you like,” said Rodney, who had followed him to the edge. -“I wouldn’t go up there for fifty dollars!” - -“It isn’t so awfully hard,” said Kitty. “Got to keep your head, though. -Mustn’t slip, either. Might have a bad fall.” - -Rodney looked down for some fifteen or twenty feet and shuddered. “You -might,” he agreed dryly, “even from here. If you fell further up I -guess you’d never know what struck you.” - -The twins were already undoing the parcels and arranging the luncheon, -and Kitty volunteered to go for water. As, however, they had brought -along nothing larger than tin cups it was decided that they should do -without water until they wanted it, and then each one should go for his -own. “We can bring up enough for Matty and May in a cup,” said Rodney. -But Tad instantly declared that if he didn’t have a drink at once he -wouldn’t be able to eat a mouthful, and so presently set off down the -path with four cups to fill. - -Kitty and Rodney helped set the viands around on paper napkins and box -covers. There were sandwiches and hard boiled eggs, doughnuts――Tad -had insisted on doughnuts――and cake, a jar of currant jelly, olives, -pickles, and bananas. They were observing the spread approvingly when -the sound of scrambling footsteps reminded them of Tad. He was toiling -up the path, two cups of water in each hand, pausing at intervals to -maintain his equilibrium, and grunting fearsomely. Now and then the -water from the cups splashed out into his shoes or on to his shirt. By -careful management he finally attained to within a few yards of the -ledge, and just as those on top were about to accord congratulations -something happened. - -I think Tad stumbled over a rock. At all events he waved his arms -wildly, distributing the contents of the tin cups in a shower about -him, strove heroically to recover his balance, failed, and toppled -against the side of the path, while the cups went bounding and -clattering down the rock. Tad’s descent to a sitting posture was -gradual and extraordinarily deliberate. Clutching wildly at the air, -an expression of bewildered surprise and dismay on his face, he sank -slowly down the face of the rock, his feet slipping from under him in -spite of all his efforts to find foothold. When he finally brought up -his feet hung over the edge of the path and he was seated quite cozily -and comfortably with his back to the rock for all the world as though -he had settled there purposely to observe the view. Up above three -faces struggled against the laughter that would not be denied. Only -Kitty remained grave. He blinked with mild surprise. It was Tad who -relieved the situation. Finding his progress down the rock at an end, -he looked about him and then at his bespattered clothes. Finally, with -a grin, he raised his gaze to the quivering faces above him. - -“‘Water, water everywhere,’” he quoted pathetically, “‘and not a drop -to drink!’” - -Whereupon Rodney and the twins laughed until the tears came, and -Kitty, after consideration, smiled as if in duty bound. Then he went -down and helped Tad to his feet, rescued the tin cups, and set off -himself for the water. Five minutes later, sitting up there in the -sunshine with a mild autumn breeze fluttering the paper napkins about, -they lunched hungrily, enjoyably, laughing and chattering and voting -the picnic a huge success. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -TAD IN DANGER - - -It was high noon before, satisfied to repletion, they leaned back -against the big Rock and viewed apathetically the scattered remains -of the feast. The remains weren’t many, however. A five mile walk on -a crisp October morning is calculated to produce a very gluttonish -appetite, and even the twins had surpassed themselves. Tad, watching -them alarmedly, had feared that they would become ‘bored!’ - -“Someone,” he murmured sleepily, “ought to clear up that mess. You’re -nearest to it, Rod.” - -“Lazy duffer!” murmured Rod, depositing with an effort a crumpled -wad of napkin and a banana peel in one of the cracker boxes and then -subsiding again. - -“Don’t overtax your strength,” warned Tad. The twins giggled. Kitty, -alone of the five, seemed unaffected by the general lassitude. He -sat erect and blinked solemnly at the autumn world as though planning -new feats of pedestrianism. Rodney, watching him lazily, expected any -moment to see him jump up and stride off toward the horizon. Presently -Tad, who had apparently gone to sleep, broke the silence. - - “There was a young fellow named Tad, - A worthy and excellent lad, - He went off with a bunch - And ate too much lunch, - And the fate of that Tad lad was sad.” - -Matty sat up and clapped her hands. “Let’s all do it! Let’s all make -limericks. You make the next one, Rod.” - -“Too full for utterance,” muttered Rodney. - -“Please try. Then Phineas will and――――” - -There was a choking gurgle from Tad. Matty observed him inquiringly. -“Nothing,” he murmured. “I――I was just laughing at something funny.” - -“Now,” continued Matty, wrinkling her forehead, “we’ll be very quiet -while everyone composes.” - -“I,” remarked Tad, “shall compose myself to slumber.” - -“Here’s mine,” announced Rodney. “There was――――” - -“Oh, wait a minute,” exclaimed May. “Let’s give a prize for the best -one! Shall we?” - -“What’s the prize?” asked Tad. May looked about in search of it. - -“Banana skin,” suggested Rodney. - -“No, a beautiful silver cup,” replied May, “engraved with the winner’s -name.” - -“Where do we get the cup?” - -“Right here.” May picked up one of the tin cups and flourished it. - -“How beautiful!” murmured Tad, seeking a more comfortable position for -his head. “I’ll take it now, please.” - -“Indeed you won’t!” said Matty. “You wait until we’ve said our verses. -Now go ahead, Rod, please.” - -“I guess I’ve forgotten it now,” replied Rodney, wrinkling his brow. -“No, I haven’t. Here it is: - - “There was a young fellow named Mudge - Who tried up a steep hill to trudge, - He fell on his back - With a horrible _crack_, - And was heard to exclaim, ‘Oh fudge!’” - -The twins clapped loudly, but Tad said it was a perfectly rotten -limerick. - -“Better than yours, though,” laughed Rodney. - -“Nothing of the sort! Mine was an exceptionally fine example of the -art of――ah――composition. Mine had――had poetic qualities. Hand over the -prize, _if_ you please!” - -“I’ve got one,” announced Kitty somberly. “It isn’t very good, though.” -He blinked about the circle, and Matty murmured that she was sure it -would be a very nice one indeed. - - “There was a boy named Merrill - Who climbed up a rock like a squirrel――――” - -Kitty paused there, whether to receive applause for the ingenuity of -the rhyme or to grope for the rest of the verse they didn’t know. The -twins, however, encouraged him with expressions of delight, and after a -moment he continued: - - “And when he was on top - Of the very big rock - He shouted aloud in his peril!” - -Kitty finished with a flourish and beamed self-approval. The applause -was deafening. Tad said it was magnificent. - -“Now it’s up to you girls,” said Rodney. - -“I’m ready,” replied May. “Are you, Matty?” - -“Yes, but you go ahead, May.” - -“Well.” May took a long breath, fixed her eyes on the edge of the -horizon and began: - - “There was a young lady named Matty - Who left home looking very natty――――” - -“May Binner!” interrupted the subject of her poetic effusion, “if you -use ‘fatty’ I――I’ll――――” - -“Not going to,” replied May triumphantly. - - “But when she got back - She had torn her new sack, - And her mother said, ‘My, you look ratty!’” - -“Clever but inelegant,” remarked Tad. - -“I don’t think ‘ratty’ is a very nice word to use,” objected Matty. -“Besides, I don’t wear a sack!” - -“That’s just a metaphor,” returned May serenely. “I couldn’t very well -make ‘dress’ rhyme with ‘back,’ could I?” - -“It’s a perfectly good limerick,” laughed Rodney. “And I think it’s the -best yet.” - -“Wait!” cried Matty. “I’ve got a new one. Listen: - - “There was a young lady named May, - Who didn’t know just what to say, - So the words of her verse - From bad grew to worse, - And her friends from her side turned away.” - -“Too pathetic,” decided Tad. “A limerick should be cheerful, I think. -That last line brought tears to my eyes, Matty.” But for some reason -Kitty approved enthusiastically of the latest attempt and clapped -loudly. - -“We’ll have to vote to see who gets the prize, I guess,” said Rodney. -“Who do you say, Tad?” - -“It isn’t over yet,” announced Tad, pulling himself to a sitting -posture. “I have another one.” - -“But you’ve had your turn,” protested Matty. - -“No, that was before the contest started. Shove the prize this way and -lend me your ears. All set? Go!” - - “There were two twins named Binner, - You couldn’t tell which was the thinner, - With one accord - They said, ‘We feel bored, - We had apple dumplings for dinner!’” - -“Here you are!” laughed Rodney as he tossed the tin cup across. “Catch! -You win!” - -Tad caught the prize deftly and bowed, hand on heart. “I thank you -all,” he said. “Words fail me with which to express my――my appreciation -of this honor you have done me. Perhaps the intrinsic value of this -beautiful prize is not great, but as a――a recognition of poetic genius, -as you might say――――” - -“Wouldn’t think of saying it,” interrupted Rodney. - -Tad cast a reproachful glance at him. “You have caused me to lose the -thread of my discourse. I think I’ll climb the Rock now.” He pulled -himself to his feet with a sigh and looked contemplatively at the crag -which towered above him. - -“Don’t be a chump,” advised Rodney. “You’re too full of food to climb -anything. Besides, we’d hate to have to carry you all the way home. -It’s a longish way, Tad.” - -“Please don’t try it,” begged Matty. “We’d so much rather you didn’t, -Tad.” - -“My ability as a mountain climber has been assailed,” responded Tad -firmly. “Old Leather Lungs over there thinks he’s the only one who can -pull off a little stunt like this. Now you fellows just watch your -Uncle Theodore!” - -Tad took a pull at his belt, groaning over the operation, and stepped -jauntily toward the place where an ill-defined track crept away over -the face of the Rock. Kitty watched him blinkingly. - -“Think you can do it?” he asked. - -“One more insult from you, Kitty, and I’ll hurl you into yon bottomless -depths! If I couldn’t climb to the top of this twopenny old Rock, I’d -resign my presidency of the Alpine Club. You fellows are evidently not -aware that I am the original monkey when it comes to climbing!” - -“We didn’t know just what _kind_ you were,” murmured Rodney, “but we -knew you were.” - -“Please don’t try it, Tad,” said Matty. “We’ll be just worried to -death, won’t we, May?” - -“Worried to death,” echoed May. - -“Shucks! Don’t be silly. This isn’t any kind of a trick. Anyone else -coming along? You, Kitty?” - -Kitty shook his head. “Guess not. I’ve done it twice. Don’t believe in -exercise too soon after eating. Be careful near the top, Tad. It’s hard -going. If you want help, sing out.” - -“What’ll you do? Come up and boost me?” Tad laughed as he laid aside -his coat. “Here goes, then!” - -He swung off from the ledge, found a footing on the narrow trail that -led steeply away around the corner of the Rock, and in a moment was out -of sight. - -“He’s a silly ass,” grumbled Rodney. “What did you let him do it for, -Kitty?” - -Kitty looked surprised. “Me? Didn’t tell him to do it, did I?” - -“No, but you could have stopped him. If he falls and hurts himself――――” - -“I just know he will!” sighed May. “I――I feel it.” - -“If he does, _he_ will feel it,” muttered Rodney, trying from the edge -of the jutting ledge to catch a glimpse of the climber. But Tad was -out of sight, and Rodney sat down again to wait his return. “We ought -to be starting back pretty soon, too,” he grumbled, studying his watch. -“It’s almost twenty to one.” - -“Won’t take him long――if he does it,” said Kitty. “Don’t believe he -will, though. He’s eaten too much lunch. It follows.” - -“If we went down on the ground we could see him,” suggested Rodney. But -Matty, who was clearing up the débris of the feast, demurred. - -“I couldn’t watch him, Rodney. I――I’d scream!” - -“I do wish he’d come back,” sighed May. - -“Ten minutes,” prophesied Kitty calmly. - -“Well, we’ll get ready to start along,” said Rodney, “so we won’t waste -time when he does get down. It would be a funny note though if he got -up there and couldn’t climb down again!” - -“I don’t think it would be funny at all,” responded Matty severely. “It -would be perfectly horrible.” - -“Anyway, it would sort of delay the game,” agreed Rodney. “Listen! Did -you hear anything?” - -The twins shook their heads. - -“Did you, Kitty?” - -“Not sure. Maybe he called to let us know he’s on top.” Kitty filled -his lungs and let out a bellow that might have been heard half way to -Greenridge. “_O Tad! Tad Mudge!_” Then they listened. A faint hail came -back to them around the elbow of the Rock. - -“Are you on top?” shouted Rodney. - -“No-o-o!” was the faint response. - -“Are you all right?” bellowed Kitty. - -There was no reply for a moment, and then, - -“No-o-o!” came the reply. - -The four on the ledge looked at each other apprehensively. - -“Perhaps he didn’t understand what we asked him,” said Rodney nervously. - -“Maybe――maybe,” whispered May, “he’s fallen! Maybe he’s lying down -there on the ground all broken to pieces.” - -“May!” said her sister sharply. “Don’t be silly! Ask him again, -Phineas.” - -“Tad, are you all right?” shouted Kitty. - -“No-o-o! Stuck!” - -Kitty pulled his cap on firmly, threw off his coat and kicked his feet -out of the heavy shoes he wore. “You go down and see where he is,” he -said to Rodney. “I’ll climb up.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -KITTY CLIMBS TO THE RESCUE - - -In a flash Kitty was off the ledge and worming his way with hands and -feet up the side of the Rock. Rodney, followed by the twins, hurried -down the path to the ground below and then around to the other side. -The first thing they saw was Kitty, scrambling fast about fifty feet -up the ledge, and then their gaze found Tad. He was flattened against -the face of the Rock at what looked a fearsome distance from the earth. -Both hands were clutched desperately at the stone, and one foot was -thrust into a crevice. But the other foot hung in the air. Evidently he -could find no support for it. The summit of the Rock seemed to be about -ten or twelve feet above his head. The twins gazed upward with white -and horrified faces. Rodney put his hands to his mouth and called: - -“Can you hold on, Tad? Kitty is coming up!” - -Very slowly Tad turned his face over his shoulder, but made no attempt -to look down at them. - -[Illustration: “Very slowly Tad turned his face over his shoulder”] - -“Guess I’ve got to!” he called rather faintly. “Tell Kitty to hurry up!” - -“He’s almost to you now,” shouted Rodney encouragingly. Then he moved -around and hailed Kitty. “He’s all right so far, but he wants you to -hurry, Kitty!” There was no response from Kitty, but the latter went -on steadily, his stockinged feet finding incredible footholds, and his -hands seeming to glue themselves to the sheer surface of the granite. -A jutting elbow of rock still hid Tad from his sight as, reaching -the shallow fissure, he used knees as well as feet and found himself -presently but a scant four yards from the summit. Then it was plain to -be seen why Tad had come to grief. After emerging from the fissure, -instead of keeping straight up he had worked to the left, taking -advantage of a crack into which he could thrust his toes, evidently -in the expectation of reaching a projecting point of rock some twelve -feet beyond. Had he gained the boulder he could easily have pulled -himself to the top and so gained the final summit. But, unfortunately, -the crack had narrowed speedily and at last, having set his right foot -on the last foothold, he could go no further. Nor, since his grip of -the rock above him was none too secure, did he dare remove the weight -of his body from that right foot to work back the way he had come. All -this Kitty saw, as, panting with the rapidity of his ascent, he paused -at the top of the fissure. Tad was about level with him, but separated -by some eight feet of rock. - -“Keep your head,” he said shortly. “Be there in a minute.” - -“Hello, Kitty!” Tad tried to speak lightly, but the strain of sticking -there like a limpet to the almost straight up and down face of the -ledge was beginning to tell, and his voice shook a little. “I’m in a -fix,” he added. “Can’t get one way or t’other. See any place I can -stick this left foot, old man?” - -“No. Stay where you are a minute. Can you hold on?” - -“Got to, haven’t I?” responded Tad grimly. “If you can do anything, -Kitty, do it quick, though. My fingers are numb, and this right foot -of mine is about all in.” - -“All right.” But Kitty, frowning and blinking, studying the situation -with sharp, quick glances, was stumped. To reach Tad from above seemed -the most feasible plan, but in that case he would have to lower a rope -or something to the other, and Kitty much doubted whether Tad would -be able to grasp it, or, having grasped it, be able to hold on to it -long enough to be pulled over the edge. Kitty knew from experience just -how a fellow’s muscles felt after clinging to one position for many -minutes. To reach Tad by following in his footsteps across the rock was -easy, but what help could Kitty lend him when he was there? Kitty’s -gaze fell finally to the ledge below Tad’s precarious perch, and at -that moment Tad spoke again. - -“You there, Kitty?” he asked. Evidently he was afraid to turn his head -to look for fear the movement would dislodge one of the straining hands. - -“Yes,” replied Kitty. - -“Can’t you――do anything?” panted Tad anxiously. - -“Yes. Hold on a minute more, Tad.” - -“I will――if I can,” answered Tad in a weak voice. - -“You’ve got to,” said Kitty. He was already scrambling back down -the fissure. Rodney, watching below with a thumping heart, groaned. -It looked as though Kitty had given up. But at the bottom of the -fissure Kitty paused, gripped the rock with both hands, and sent one -gray-stockinged foot searching to the left for a projection. At last he -found it, tested it, paused an instant, and then wormed his body from -the fissure and out against the blank wall of rock. The granite was -loose and crumbly thereabouts and a little shower of gravel trickled -down. Kitty studied the rock beyond. Here and there small inequalities -gave faint promise of affording hold for feet and hands, but from -where Rodney stood below the journey across that steep face of rock -looked hopeless and foolhardy. Matty and May had ceased watching. At a -little distance under the shadow of the Rock they stood white faced and -miserable. - -“Kitty’s trying to get across to him lower down,” announced Rodney -to them. “I don’t see how he can do it though. It doesn’t look as -if――” Rodney’s voice broke off short and a gasp escaped him. Kitty, -in taking his weight from one foot, had placed too much reliance on a -tiny projection above him and a nodule of granite had broken off in -his hand. For an instant he had swayed dangerously before, summoning -his strength, he had thrown his body against the rock. Then during a -heartbreaking moment he clung there while his disengaged hand travelled -here and there above him, the clutching fingers seeking a new hold. -They found it at last and Rodney’s fast beating heart leaped with -relief. How Kitty ever made the journey across that seemingly smooth -face of granite will always remain a mystery to the others. Afterwards -Kitty himself acknowledged that he didn’t believe he could do it again, -adding with conviction, “Sure I don’t want to try!” But across it he -went, at a snail’s pace to be sure, but steadily. And at last he was -directly under Tad, and by reaching one hand upward could touch that -youth’s heel. - -“I’m under you, Tad,” panted Kitty. - -“I know,” answered Tad. - -“Hold on a second longer while I get my breath,” instructed the -rescuer. There was no reply to this. Tad had no energy to waste in -talk. Kitty remained very still while one might have counted fifty. -Then, flattened against the wall of rock, his stockinged feet set on -tiny roughened angles and the fingers of his left hand clutching a -point of rock above his head, he reached his right hand upward until it -was under Tad’s hanging foot. - -“My hand is under your left foot, Tad,” he said quietly. “Find it.” - -Very gingerly Tad moved the dangling rubber soled “sneaker” to and fro, -until at last it settled into the palm of the upstretched hand. - -“All right,” instructed Kitty. “Put your weight on it slowly.” - -“Can you hold it?” asked Tad anxiously. - -“Yes. All ready? Now!” He braced himself as the weight of Tad’s body -came against him. His toes were cutting cruelly against the rough -granite, and his left hand strained about its precarious hold. - -“Now move your other foot further to your right and get a new grip -with it. Straight along, Tad.” - -There was a groan from above. “It’s numb,” said Tad. “I can’t feel -anything.” - -“Do as I say,” said Kitty gruffly. “Find the crevice with it. Got it?” - -“I――I think so.” - -“Put your weight on it carefully and see. I can’t look up.” - -There was an instant of silence. Then, - -“It’s all right,” sighed Tad. “I’m going to get a new hold with my -hands, Kitty.” - -“One at a time,” said Kitty. “Go slow. I can hold you for awhile.” - -“I’ve moved one,” said Tad presently. “It――it’s sort of weak though, I -guess――――” - -“Work the fingers and get the blood back. Better?” - -“Y-yes.” - -“Now get your other over.” - -The weight on Kitty’s hand increased for an instant. Then Tad announced -that he had moved his left hand over. “I guess I can get that foot into -the crack now,” he said nervously. - -“All right. Go easy though. Try your weight on the other first. How is -it?” - -“All right. Here goes, Kitty.” - -There was a moment of hesitation. Then the weight on Kitty’s hand was -gone, there was a gasp from Tad, and Kitty, finding a hold with the -released hand, dared to look up. Tad’s feet were both thrust into the -crevice, and Kitty gave a sigh of relief. Tad’s legs were trembling and -Kitty could hear his quick breathing above him. - -“Stay where you are now until I tell you to go on,” said Kitty. “You’re -perfectly safe, but you’d better rest a bit.” - -“I――know,” replied Tad faintly. - -There was a hail from the ground. “Are you all right, Kitty?” shouted -Rodney anxiously. - -“Yes! Be down in a minute or two. Get my shoes and the coats from the -ledge, Rod! Now then, Tad, start along to the big crack in the rock. -Make sure of your holds, though, before you put all your weight on -them. I’ll follow below, and if you want help, sing out.” - -Tad made slow work of it, but at that it was all Kitty could do to make -similar progress. Tad had easy going compared with Kitty, and it was -only the fact that his nerves were pretty well unstrung and his muscles -quivering that allowed his rescuer to reach the fissure at the same -moment. Once there Tad braced his knees against the sides of the cavity -and looked for a moment very much as though he was going to faint away. - -Kitty, seeing the danger, shouted a warning from below. - -“None of that, you idiot!” he called sharply. “Brace up or you’ll fall! -Here, put a foot on my shoulder for a minute. Now take a dozen good -long breaths.” - -“I――can’t!” muttered Tad. - -“You can! When I count now! One――two――three―― Doing it?” - -“Yes, but――it makes me dizzy.” - -“Stop, then, and close your eyes a minute. If you’d take decent care of -your lungs,” went on Kitty grumblingly, “they wouldn’t mind a little -pure air!” - -“Old――Leather Lungs!” murmured Tad with a very wan smile. Kitty grunted. - -“Come on down now. Feel pretty good?” - -“I guess so. Yes, I’m all right. Go ahead, Kitty.” - -Tad followed to the end of the slanting fissure and then began the -scramble down and around the corner. When they were near the ledge -Kitty called, “Don’t try getting to the ledge. Come straight down. -There’s good going. Watch me.” - -Tad watched and followed and in another minute the two boys dropped -into a bed of sweet fern, Kitty on his feet and Tad on his back. “Don’t -mind――me,” muttered Tad, closing his eyes. “I――I’m sort of done up, I -guess.” Then his white face suddenly went whiter still and Matty, who, -closely followed by May, had run up in Rodney’s wake, exclaimed, “Oh, -Rod, he’s fainted!” - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -LUDLOW SCORES A SAFETY - - -“Won’t hurt him,” said Kitty. “Get some water, someone.” May and Matty -dashed helter skelter in the direction of the spring before they -realized that they had nothing to bring water back in. Rodney, however, -who had brought the cups from the ledge when he had gone for the coats, -tumbled them out of a box and sped after the girls. When they got back -Tad’s eyelids were already fluttering, and when Matty had applied her -handkerchief, dipped in water from a cup, to Tad’s forehead the latter -heaved a deep sigh and looked about him. - -“Where the dickens――” he began. Then recollection returned and he -frowned. “Gee, I went and fainted, didn’t I?” he asked disgustedly. -“Ain’t I the fine little hero? Say, let’s go home!” - -“Don’t get up yet,” begged Matty. “You’d better rest awhile. Hadn’t he, -Phineas?” - -“Yes. Got a long walk ahead. Better have a good rest.” - -“Put your head in my lap, Tad,” said Matty, seating herself on the -ground. “You’ll be more comfortable.” - -“Oh, thunder!” said Tad, with a sheepish grin. But he allowed Rodney to -hitch his shoulders up, and Matty squirmed nearer, and Tad’s head went -back with a sigh. - -“I say, Kitty,” he said after a moment, during which the color began to -creep back into his cheeks. - -“What?” - -“Thanks.” - -“That’s all right,” answered Kitty gruffly. “It wasn’t anything.” - -“Oh, Kitty!” said May. - -“Yes, it’s all right now,” responded Tad gravely, “but there was a time -when I thought it wasn’t going to be. I――I’m sorry I made such an ass -of myself, fellows――and ladies. I hadn’t any business trying it. I’d -never done any climbing before.” - -“Yes, you certainly were an ass,” agreed Rodney severely. He as -onlooker had perhaps felt the nervous strain more than Kitty himself, -and was inclined to be a bit cross. “We told you not to do it.” - -Matty gazed at him reproachfully, and May murmured, “Don’t, Rod!” But -Tad smiled. “That’s so. I own up. You may kick me when I get up.” - -“I don’t want to kick you,” responded Rodney grudgingly, “but I do -think――” However Matty’s imploring gaze moved him to silence. Kitty, -blinking at Tad, said, - -“Foolish thing to try if you’ve never done it. Thought from what you -said you had. Otherwise I wouldn’t have let you try. It follows.” - -“You were certainly a brick, Kitty,” said Tad feelingly. “And I don’t -know how to thank you. I guess if you hadn’t got along about when you -did――” Tad paused, shuddered and then smiled. “I guess Stacey would -have had to find a new roommate, what?” - -“Oh, Tad!” murmured May. - -“Shut up!” growled Rodney. - -“All right. Say, you fellows, what time is it?” Tad sat up suddenly and -stared anxiously while Kitty pulled leisurely at his fob. “What? ’Most -one? Say, you fellows will be late for practice!” - -“Can’t be helped, I guess,” answered Kitty. “Besides, there isn’t any -practice today. We play Ludlow. Won’t need us anyhow.” - -“I tell you what,” said Tad. “The rest of you start along. I――I’m a -bit weak on my pins yet, but I’ll follow in a little while. Maybe I’ll -catch you up.” He winked at Rodney. Kitty shook his head. - -“Better keep together, I guess,” he said. “No hurry. Plenty of time. -Think so, Rod?” - -“Yes, Cotting won’t mind for once if we don’t report on time.” - -They rested there fully a half-hour. Then Kitty, who had taken command -of the situation the instant he had shed his shoes to begin his climb -to the rescue, gave permission to start homeward. By that time Tad -seemed quite himself again, and the first thing he did was to walk -around the Rock and follow with his eyes the course of his climb and -of Kitty’s. It looked pretty high up from down there, and the wall of -granite seemed even more perpendicular than it really was. Tad shook -his head. - -“I don’t see how I got as far as I did,” he said. - -“Neither do I,” returned Kitty. “You got off the track after you -left the fissure. Ought to have gone almost straight up. See that -three-cornered rock sticking out at the left? That’s the way. Instead -you went off across that face. Risky. Might have fallen. Next time――――” - -“Huh?” demanded Tad. - -“Next time,” repeated Kitty, blinking. - -“There isn’t going to be any next time,” replied Tad with emphasis. “I -don’t believe I was cut out for a mountain climber.” - -“Next time,” continued Kitty as though he had not heard, “pull yourself -until you get your knee over that three cornered rock. After that the -ledge slopes more and you can crawl up. Not very hard.” - -Tad observed the rock in question thoughtfully, darted a look at -Kitty and nodded. “All right. If I ever do try it again, Kitty, I’ll -remember.” - -“You will,” said Kitty. “Sooner or later. They always do.” - -“If you ever do, Tad,” said Matty severely, “I――I’ll never, never -forgive you!” - -Tad made no answer, but a few moments later when they were descending -the hill, he paused and looked back at Finger Rock. “It doesn’t look so -hard from here, does it?” he asked Rodney, who had stopped beside him. -“And I hate to be beaten, Rod. I wouldn’t wonder if Kitty is right.” - -“About what?” - -“He says they always try again sooner or later. Somehow, I think I’d -like to have another go at it some day.” - -“If you do you’re a silly ass,” replied Rodney. “Come on.” - -The journey back seemed twice the length of the morning trip, and all -save Kitty were thoroughly weary when the turret of the gymnasium -showed at last over the bare branches of the trees. Kitty seemed as -fresh as ever, and Tad, who had naturally felt the walk more than any -of the others, observed him disgustedly. - -“Kitty,” he said, “you make me tired. Anyone, to look at you, would -think you’d just walked around the block! Don’t you ever get enough?” - -Kitty blinked gravely. Then he nodded uncertainly. “Y-yes, sometimes. -When I do twelve miles at a good clip I――I get quite fatigued.” - -“Fatigued!” Tad groaned. “What do you know about that? If he walks -twelve miles he gets fatigued, Rod! Honest, Kitty, you ought to see a -doctor about it. You need building up!” - -Kitty actually smiled. The idea of his going to a doctor was really -funny. - -The game with Ludlow Academy had started when they reached the corner -of Larch Street; they could hear the piping of the whistle and the -cries of the players, and once a half-hearted cheer from the Maple -Hill supporters. The twins declined an invitation to see the contest, -declaring that they must hurry home for fear that Mrs. Binner was -worrying about them, and Tad volunteered to go along as escort. Kitty -and Rodney turned into Larch Street and hurried toward the field. They -had not gone far, however, when Tad shouted to Kitty and they stopped -and waited for him. - -“I don’t believe I half thanked you, Kitty,” he said earnestly and -embarrassedly. “I do though, awfully. What you did was terribly plucky, -and――and I certainly do appreciate it. I guess――I guess you saved my -life, old man.” - -Kitty, to his horror, found himself shaking hands. - -“You’re welcome,” he muttered. “Nothing at all, really. Glad I could -help. I――er――we’d better get along, Rod. Cotting will be mad. See you -later, Tad.” - -And Kitty hurried away with evident relief, leaving Rodney to smile at -Tad and then follow. Rodney caught Kitty at the gate. - -“Seems to me,” said Kitty, “we’d better not say anything about what -happened, eh? Might――might make a rumpus. Faculty might stop fellows -going to the Rock. Better keep mum, eh?” - -Rodney laughed as they entered the field. “Much you care about that, -Kitty. All you’re afraid of is that fellows might find out what a -blooming hero you are.” Then he added teasingly, “I’m going to tell -all about everything, Kitty.” - -“If you do,” said Kitty earnestly and convincingly, “I――I’ll lick you!” - -Their explanation to Mr. Cotting, which made no mention of the real -cause for tardiness, passed muster, although the coach didn’t hesitate -to assure them that if it occurred again they’d lose their places. -Today, as it happened, their services were not in demand until late in -the last period of the contest. They watched the game until the first -half ended and then followed the team to the gymnasium and got into -their togs. Maple Hill had piled up twenty-one points against Ludlow -in those first two ten-minute periods, while Ludlow, with a very weak -line, had proved even weaker on attack than defence and had failed to -score. But in the third period a miserable fumble by Fuller, who had -taken Wynant’s place at right half, gave Ludlow her chance. One of her -forwards fell on the ball on Maple Hill’s twenty-two yard line. Two -attacks on the ends of the Green-and-Gray line failed of results, and -a forward pass struck the ground. On the fourth down Ludlow sent back -her quarter to try a field goal. It was an easy task, but the quarter -was slow, and the ball was partly blocked and came to earth near the -five yard line. Stacey Trowbridge got it on the bound, but before he -could run it back he was tackled by a Ludlow end and thrown across the -goal line for a safety. Maple Hill was disgusted and Ludlow jubilant. -Her two or three dozen rooters on the further side of the field managed -to make a deal of noise in celebration of those two points. - -But that was the last of the visitors’ success. From then on Maple -Hill, peeved by the mischance that had allowed such a weak team -to score upon her, literally ripped the Ludlow line to pieces and -scored almost at will. Thirteen points in the third period and six -in the fourth――Cotting sent in seven substitutes in that last ten -minutes――piled up a grand total of forty, against which Ludlow’s two -looked less objectionable. Kitty and Rodney each had a few minutes of -work in the final period, but neither was in the lineup long enough -to distinguish himself. After the game was finished Stacey was very -glum over that safety, and refused to be comforted although Kitty and -Rodney on the way back to Westcott’s ventured consolation. - -“If you hadn’t grabbed the ball one of the Ludlow chaps would have got -it and scored a touchdown,” said Rodney. “Better to let them have a -safety than that.” - -“I ought to have seen how near the line I was,” replied Stacey -gloomily. “I ought never to have let him throw me over it.” - -“Shucks! What’s two points, Stacey?” - -“A whole lot when they shouldn’t have scored, Rod! It was a piece of -bonehead work, that’s what it was.” - -“Don’t think,” observed Kitty, “that I’d worry much about it; not if -I’d played the way you played today. Silly, I call it!” - -“Do, eh?” Stacey smiled for the first time since the occurrence. “What -do you know about football anyway, Kitty?” - -Kitty blinked several times before he answered. Then, “Not much, maybe. -Learning though. Still, fellow doesn’t have to know a heap of football -to know that it’s no use troubling over spilled milk. Doesn’t get you -anything. Waste of energy. Bad for you.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -NEARING THE GOAL - - -But life wasn’t all football, nor all play, nor all thrilling rescues -from danger. They believed in hard work at Maple Hill, and shirking -study was a thing severely frowned upon. Since the system followed -showed at the end of each week the class standing of every student, it -wasn’t possible to get very far in arrears with lessons. More than one -football aspirant was forced to retire from practice, temporarily at -least, during the season. Rodney was not one of these, however, for in -spite of the demands made on his time by gridiron work he managed to -keep well up with his studies. But it meant bending over his books lots -of times when the other Vests were at play, and it wasn’t long before -the word went around that Ginger Merrill’s brother was a good deal -more of a noser than a football player. Not, though, that the school -in general thought less of him for that reason, for Maple Hill fellows -held studiousness in respect and honored the student who stood high in -class. But I think they were a little bit disappointed, nevertheless. -Perhaps they reasoned that there were plenty of fellows to maintain the -school’s prestige for brains, while Ginger Merrills were few and far -between. - -But Rodney got on. He made new friends day by day and when, toward the -last of October, a boy named White, who had been elected secretary and -treasurer of the entering class, was forced to leave school because -of illness, Rodney was the unanimous choice of his classmates for the -vacant office. As the position was largely honorary and entailed very -little labor, Rodney accepted. More than one boy told him that had it -been known prior to the class election that he was Ginger Merrill’s -brother he would have been made president. Whereupon Rodney smilingly -declared that in that case he was glad it hadn’t been known. And meant -it, too. - -October sped quickly. Maple Hill met rival after rival on succeeding -Saturday afternoons, marked up three victories and one defeat, and -fixed her gaze on the final contest of the season, the game with -Bursley, now only a matter of three weeks away. Rodney found time to -play a little tennis, sometimes with Tad alone on the school courts -and sometimes with the twins, joined in several diversions of the -Vests, and so did not want for recreation. For, to be quite truthful, -being a member of the football team, even if only a substitute on the -second, is not by any means all recreation. There’s pleasure in it, but -the hard work outweighs the fun. There were discouraging moments when -even Rodney _almost_ wished he were out of it. _Almost_, but never, -I think, quite. At such times it was Matty who bolstered his failing -hopes and supplied encouragement. Both the twins were determined that -Rodney should win glory on the gridiron, and enjoyed in anticipation -the prestige to be theirs when, having snatched his team from defeat -by some brilliant run through a tangled field or some mighty plunge -through a close defense――you see the twins read their football -stories――they might proudly lay claim to his friendship. The twins -were properly romantic, in spite of a big leaven of practicality, and -hero worshippers of the most enthusiastic sort. - -Meanwhile Rodney tried very hard. There was no one on either team more -willing to learn, more anxious to listen to instruction and profit by -it. And there was no one who seemed to fail as sadly. Cotting still -had hopes of him, and gave him plenty of opportunities to show that he -had the making of a football player. Sometimes Rodney did things that -almost justified the coach’s belief in him. More often, however, he -stopped just short of fulfillment. - -“If he’d only think for himself!” grumbled Mr. Cotting. - -“If he’d only _fight_!” responded Terry Doyle. - -“It isn’t that. He can fight. But he doesn’t seem to know when it’s -time to.” Cotting shook his head for the twentieth time over Rodney’s -shortcomings, and then, as always, added leniently, “Well, we’ll give -him a little more time. He may find himself yet.” - -But if Rodney had his times of discouragement, not so Phineas Kittson. -Kitty went serenely ahead, overcoming all obstacles in much the same -way as a strong-headed bull might walk through a fence by the simple -expedient of putting his head down and not thinking of splinters. Kitty -put his head down and kept going. In the middle of the month he ousted -Farnham from his place at left guard on the second, and the school, -which had begun by laughing, now regarded him with awed delight. He -made a good guard. His weight, and there was lots of it, was set low, -and an opponent could no more put Kitty off his feet than he could -upset one of the pyramids. And Kitty developed what Cotting had called -football sense. He played his own position nicely, was as firm as a -rock on defense and as relentless as a freight engine on attack, and he -helped his center wonderfully. Slow he was, and the coach despaired of -his ever being otherwise, but it was the slowness of one who performs -thoroughly. Kitty as a football player was no longer a joke. - -And he took it all with a lack of either modesty or conceit that was -delightful. To Kitty it was a matter of course. To sum up the situation -in his own words, Cotting was sensible, what? The word serene best -describes Kitty’s course and Kitty’s attitude, and only two things -disturbed that serenity in the least. One was the fact that he could -not wear his spectacles when playing――he had tried it with disastrous -results――and the other that practice seriously interfered with his -walks. The fact that football was proving a very good lung developer, -though, partly reconciled him to the latter objection. But having to -go without his spectacles was a more serious matter, for Kitty was -lamentably near sighted and for a while felt quite helpless. Tad’s -suggestion that he wear automobile goggles that strapped around his -head was not accepted seriously. - -Maple Hill played Dudley Academy to a standstill the last Saturday in -October, and as Dudley had a strong team that had proved hitherto well -nigh impregnable the Green-and-Gray was well pleased. After battling -for three ten-minute periods and struggling through six minutes of the -final quarter, holding her opponent scoreless during that time, Maple -Hill at last worked her way down to Dudley’s eight yard line, and then -sent Gordon plunging through the much-boasted Dudley line for the only -touchdown of the game. The fact that Tyson, who was called on to kick -goal, failed miserably in the attempt, took away none of the glory of -the hardest fought contest of the season. So Maple Hill saw November -come in and the Bursley game approach with confidence. - -But Fortune is always playing tricks, and football teams are seldom -exempt from them. Four days after Dudley turned homeward with trailing -banners, Wynant, right halfback on the first team, developed a fine -case of water on the knee. That meant the substitution of Fuller and -the withdrawal of Anson from the second team to the first. It also -meant the promotion of Rodney from substitute to regular on the second. -As Fuller was almost as good a back as Wynant, save in the matter of -punting, the first team had not suffered a great deal by the latter’s -loss. But it would be idle to say that Rodney acceptably filled the -place left vacant by Anson. He had the weight and the strength, in -short all the physical attributes necessary for his position, and -he was fast on his feet, dodged cleverly, seldom fumbled a pass and -possessed about everything he should have possessed for the making of -a good halfback. But he lacked one thing, and even Cotting couldn’t put -a name to it. The second team quarterback railed and stormed, begged -and pleaded, and Rodney tried his level best. But his level best didn’t -carry him far enough, and soon it was a settled custom to give the ball -to the other half or to the fullback, or to draw one of the tackles -back, when it was a case of, “Fourth down, Second! You’ve got to do it!” - -But Fortune, presumably giggling to herself, wasn’t through even yet. -After the Meadowdale game, which was lost by Maple Hill, strictly -according to precedent and prophecy, Terry Doyle neglected his studies -just once too often――he had an excuse if any boy did――and Nemesis in -the shape of an outraged faculty reached out and seized upon him. Terry -was off the team pending faculty consideration of his case. - -The school received the news with consternation. Terry received it -with, or so some said at least, bitter tears. But he did the only -sensible thing. He handed over the temporary captaincy to Guy Watson, -retired from the scene, and tried his best to get square again -with his studies and the faculty. It was not believed that Terry’s -banishment would be for long, but meanwhile it took another player from -the second team and that player was Phineas Kittson. Kitty’s advance to -the position of first substitute on the school team had been predicted -weeks before. So there was nothing startling about it. But his -withdrawal left the second badly off for players, and after struggling -along for several days with six men in the line the team was dissolved -a whole week earlier than usual, to be exact, on the eve of the game -with St. Matthew’s, the next to the last contest of the season. Several -of the second team were retained by Coach Cotting for the first, and -among the several was Rodney. Perhaps Cotting still had hopes of the -boy, or perhaps he felt it best to be prepared for future whims of -Fortune by having plenty of backfield players. In any case, Rodney, who -had never dared hope to reach the first team that year, now suddenly -found himself a second substitute on it. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -RODNEY HESITATES - - -The St. Matthew’s game was played in a drizzle of rain on a field -already slippery and sodden. St. Matthew’s sent a husky bunch of some -twenty odd players, who, stripping off their blue and white sweaters, -romped on to the field for their warming up. Beside them Maple Hill’s -warriors looked frail and delicate. Tad, who with Pete Greenough had -good-naturedly escorted the twins to the game, confided to Matty that -for his part he didn’t see any use in playing the game, that it could -be settled on the gymnasium scales. - -“I think,” returned Matty loyally, “that our boys are very much nicer -looking. Don’t you, May?” - -“Ever so much,” replied her sister unhesitatingly. - -“Looks don’t count though,” said Pete. - -“No, if they did we’d have them licked to a finish right now. Why, -Kitty alone would settle ’em. We’d just march Kitty out into the middle -of the field and the enemy would fade away!” - -St. Matthew’s was a new opponent on the schedule, and Maple Hill knew -very little of her ability. But it wasn’t long before it became evident -that the Blue-and-White would take a lot of beating. Wet grounds -militated sorely against the home team, for quick starting was out of -the question, and by the time the Maple Hill attack reached the line it -was still going so slowly, had so little punch to it, that it usually -crumpled up against the St. Matthew’s defense like a paper kite against -a stone wall. On the other hand, the heavier and slower opponents -managed to keep their feet well, and crashed into the Green-and-Gray -for short gains. The first period ended without a score and without -either team having got near enough to its opponent’s goal to attempt -one. Each seemed to be trying the other out, and each stuck pretty -closely to line plunging, punting only when forced to. - -But in the second period Maple Hill altered her game. On attack the -wide formation was used, and for a time Tyson and Gordon were fortunate -in slicing off good gains. Stacey Trowbridge brought the spectators to -their feet once by getting away with the ball for a wide end run that -might have netted a touchdown had he been able to keep his feet, and -did gain nearly thirty yards. When he was picked out of a mud puddle -with the pigskin still firmly clasped to his breast the teams lined up -on the St. Matthew’s twenty-eight yards. A forward pass failed to work, -Gordon made four through center, Kitty, who had been put in a moment -before, opening a fine wide hole for him, and with six to go Tracey -tried a drop kick for goal on third down. But the ball went low, was -partly blocked and recovered by the visitors. After that it was all -St. Matthew’s until the middle of the field had been passed. Here the -Green-and-Gray braced, and St. Matthew’s kicked. Gordon returned the -punt immediately and gained ten yards on the exchange. St. Matthew’s -tried a forward pass and netted twelve yards, failed on two plunges -at the left of the line, made three through Pounder and from kick -formation sent her fullback on an end run. This ended disastrously, -however, for Peterson brought the big blue-stockinged warrior to earth -for a five yard loss, and the pigskin again changed hands. From then -until the end of the half the ball progressed back and forth in the -middle of the field with little advantage to either side. - -In the intermission Maple Hill, clad in raincoats and slickers, -got together and tried a few songs and did some cheering, the rain -drizzling down upon them steadily and depressingly. The twins, snuggled -under a huge umbrella, were much pleased when Rodney, trailing a wet -and bedraggled blanket behind him, climbed the stand to them. - -“It’s a perfectly grand game!” declared Matty. “I’ve been so excited I -couldn’t sit still! Isn’t Kitty lovely, Rodney?” - -“Old Kitty is playing a great little game,” Rodney agreed warmly. -“I heard Cotting say that he was putting it all over that big St. -Matthew’s guard.” - -“Are we going to win?” asked May. - -“I don’t know.” Rodney shook his head. “They’re a lot heavier than we -are. We can’t do much with their line. And it’s hard to make any trick -plays work, the ground’s so slippery. I guess we’ll be satisfied enough -to keep them from scoring.” - -“Are you going to play?” Matty asked. - -“Me? Oh, I don’t think so. Maybe I’ll get in for a few minutes at the -last. Cotting will probably try to save the first string fellows as -much as he can for next Saturday. Isn’t it a brute of a day?” - -“We like it,” said Matty. “Don’t we, May?” - -“We always like rain,” May agreed. “Mama says we make her think of a -pair of water spaniels. Just as soon as ever it begins to rain Matty -and I grab our raincoats and get out of doors. We like snow, too, don’t -we, Matty?” - -Matty nodded. “I wish you might have seen the snowman we made last -winter, Rodney. It was twice as high as I am, and we put a pipe in his -mouth and an old hat on his head and called him ‘Chawles,’ for Mr. -Cooper.” - -“And when we were laughing about it, Mrs. Westcott heard us from her -window and called up mama on the telephone and told her that we were -insulting Mr. Cooper!” - -“And then,” added Matty complacently, “we changed him to a woman and -called her Mrs. Westcott.” - -“The boys said it looked just like her,” murmured May reminiscently. - -Tad and Pete, who had gone to join the cheerers below, returned to -their seats, and presently Rodney returned to the substitutes’ bench -just as the teams trotted back on the field, the water spouting under -their feet. - -It was evident soon after the third period began that Coach Cotting had -decided to play a defensive game and take as few risks of injury to his -players as possible. Gordon punted as soon as the ball went into Maple -Hill’s possession, and after that Stacey invariably called for a kick -on second or third down. The punting game was not ill advised, either, -for with a wet ball and a slippery field fumbles by the opposing backs -might well be looked for. They came, too, but good luck attended St. -Matthew’s that day and her fumbles were always recovered before the -Maple Hill ends could get to the ball. Toward the last of the third -period the Green-and-Gray partisans were treated to an anxious -three minutes. Using a shift formation that was hard to meet, St. -Matthew’s took the ball from her own forty-five yard line by successive -rushes down to Maple Hill’s twenty-seven. There, with the stands -imploring Maple Hill to, “Hold them!” and Watson begging the team to -get together, a fumble by the St. Matthew’s quarter lost two yards, -although the ball was recovered by a back, and another try netted but -a fraction of a yard, Kitty and Pounder refusing to be budged and the -entire Green-and-Gray backfield, solving the play, piling in behind -them. There was a conference then by the St. Matthew’s quarter and the -captain, and after one or two false starts the right tackle was sent -back to try a place kick at goal. Maple Hill, however, broke through -desperately and the ball bounded away from some charging defender, and, -although a St. Matthew’s player fell upon it some ten yards up the -field, it went to Maple Hill a moment later when Peterson intercepted -a forward pass. A plunge at left tackle gained two yards, and Gordon -punted and Maple Hill’s goal was once more out of danger. The period -ended after the visitors had gained a first down with the ball near -the middle of the field in St. Matthew’s territory. - -It had been a gruelling game, and more than one of Coach Cotting’s -players showed the pace. With the big game only seven days distant -it would not do to overtax his best men, and so during the short -intermission the Maple Hill lineup was considerably changed. Of the -forwards only Pounder, Kittson, and Peterson remained when the fourth -period began, while, with the exception of Gordon, an entirely new -backfield was presented. St. Matthew’s went desperately to work for a -score, and her heavy charges at the Green-and-Gray line soon began to -tell. The right side of it was weak, and most of the gains were made -there. St. Matthew’s went down to her opponent’s thirty-four yards -without losing the ball. Then there was a slip up on signals, and Kitty -wormed through and fell on the pigskin. In Maple Hill’s first play, -a double pass behind the line, Anson, who had substituted Fuller, -wrenched his knee when tackled, and when, a moment later, he tried to -run up the field under Gordon’s long punt and had to subside in a pool -of water, Cotting called him out and sent in Rodney. There remained -only some six minutes of playing time. St. Matthew’s, who had made -several changes in her line already, now put in a new backfield entire, -perhaps concluding that her chance of winning had gone by and that the -best to be had was a no score tie. - -She started back with the ball, but much of her aggressiveness had -departed, and the new backfield was slow and uncertain. In spite of -that, however, she managed to keep the ball until she had gained two -first downs. Then she was set back for holding and presently punted. -The kick was poor, and Gordon, playing back, raced in with upraised -hand and made a fair catch on the forty-four yards. The Maple Hill -supporters arose and loudly demanded a touchdown and for a minute -or two it looked as though their demand might be satisfied, for two -gains outside of tackles brought a first down with the pigskin on the -thirty-two yard line. Gordon gained three straight through center, -Rodney made two on a skin tackle plunge at the left, and Gordon again -took the ball, but was stopped for no gain. It was then fourth down -with five to go, and after a conference Gordon fell back to kicking -position. But the signals told a different story and Rodney sprinted -across the field, Peterson close behind him. - -“Forward pass!” cried the opposing quarter. “Look out!” - -Peterson, slackening his pace, turned for the throw. Rodney met the -first of the enemy and sent him staggering aside. The ball came arching -across the field. But Gordon had thrown too far and Rodney saw that the -flying oval would pass over Peterson’s head. He stepped back, dodging a -blue stockinged enemy, heard Peterson’s warning cry as his upstretched -hands failed to grasp the ball, and got it himself, head high. In front -of him at the instant stretched an open path to the goal line. From the -stands came frenzied cries of delight, from the enemy hoarse shouts of -warning. Had Rodney started on the instant and made straight for the -goal line he would have scored, and Maple Hill would have won another -hard fought battle. But for just the instant that it took to turn the -opponent’s confusion into action Rodney hesitated. The ball should -have been Peterson’s, he realized, and by some chance it had come to -him. For an infinitesimal instant of time that thought crowded back -all others. Then he saw what was to be done and bounded off, throwing -aside a pair of clutching arms. But the hesitation cost him success. -The stretch of sod that had been empty a second before was now guarded, -and eager hands reached for him. Peterson did his best, but the enemy -was too many and Rodney was pulled to earth on the twelve yard line, -ignominiously defeated by his own inaction, by the lack of that one -factor that Terry Doyle called football instinct and Coach Cotting -termed football sense. - -The game ended 0 to 0 and the teams cheered each other dispiritedly, -each feeling, doubtless, that by rights the contest should have been -its own. Not a soul spoke to Rodney of his failure. In fact, it seemed -to him that every fellow looked more kindly upon him than usual. But -he knew what had happened, knew that by just a fraction of a moment he -had lost the game for his team, and between the sounding of the final -whistle and the reaching of the gymnasium door he came to a decision. -He would resign from the team. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -COTTING TELLS A STORY - - -“Stood there like a silly dummy and let St. Matthew’s jump on him, -that’s what he did!” - -“Lost his head completely, Teddy! Worst case of stage fright I ever saw -on a football field!” - -“Had a clear field ahead of him if he’d started on the jump. Gee, it’s -enough to sour your disposition!” - -“I always said he’d never make another Ginger. Anyone can see that by -looking at him. Don’t see what the dickens Cotting kept him on for!” - -“Well, he’s played a pretty fair game at times, Bill, you’ve got to say -that for him. I suppose every fellow is likely to make mistakes――――” - -“Mistakes! He didn’t make any mistake; he just didn’t do -anything――until it was too late. Of course, the St. Matthew’s game -doesn’t mean much to us, although they looked such a cocky lot I’d -liked to have seen them beaten, but, if he does things like that in an -unimportant game, he’s likely to do them when we’re playing Bursley, I -guess. Best thing Cotting can do is drop him.” - -This is the conversation Rodney overheard that evening in the corridor -of West Hall. He had hurried through his own supper in order to catch -Mr. Cotting before the latter left the school dining-hall, and arriving -there early, had perched himself on top of a radiator in a dim angle -of the corridor to wait. The three boys who had emerged from supper -a minute later either didn’t see him or failed to recognize him, and -their remarks lasted from the doorway to the entrance, a few yards -distant, where they stood a few moments before going their separate -ways. Rodney’s thoughts had not been pleasant before, but this -exposition of what Rodney believed to be the popular judgment left him -tingling and miserable. As little inclined as he was to be seen just -now, he left his corner and stood in the light for fear that others -might come out, and, not noticing him, give further expression of -public opinion. He was glad when Mr. Cotting emerged presently. A boy -who followed him out started toward the coach, but Rodney got ahead of -him. - -“Mr. Cotting, may I speak to you, please, sir?” - -The coach, slipping into his raincoat, turned. - -“Hello, Merrill! Why, yes, certainly.” He put his cap on and led the -way to the entrance. Rodney was relieved to find that the three critics -had taken their departure. “Will you walk along with me toward my -place, or shall we drop into the library?” - -“I’ll walk, sir. It isn’t much, what I want to say. I――――” - -“Stopped raining, I guess. How do you feel after your game, Merrill?” - -“All right, thanks.” - -The coach took the circling path that led around Main Hall and Rodney -ranged alongside. - -“I just wanted to say, sir, that――that I’ve decided to resign from the -team.” - -“Have, eh?” Mr. Cotting seemed neither surprised nor disturbed. -“Decided to give up football, have you?” - -“Yes, sir, for this year, anyway.” - -“Think you’d like to try again next fall?” - -“Yes, sir, I think so.” - -“It doesn’t occur to you, does it, that I might hesitate to take you -back and give you another trial if you had run away on the eve of -battle, so to speak?” - -Rodney glanced up in surprise and found the coach smiling. - -“Why, sir, I thought――it seemed the best way out of it!” - -“Best way out of what, Merrill?” - -“Out of――out of the mess I made to-day. I lost the game, you know, sir!” - -“Hardly that, Merrill. You failed to win it, but you can’t be said to -have lost it. Even if you had, though, what’s that got to do with it? -Seems to me if you made a mess of things you’d want to stick around and -see what you could do another time. Sort of weak, isn’t it, to cut and -run?” - -“But――I thought――” Rodney stopped, trying to get the coach’s surprising -point of view. - -“I know what you thought, Merrill.” Mr. Cotting laid a hand on the -boy’s shoulder. “You thought everyone had it in for you, that we -blamed you for the loss of the game, and that we wouldn’t want you any -longer, eh?” - -“Yes, sir, about that.” - -“Yes. Well, let me tell you something that happened to me, Merrill, -when I was here, and that’s a good many years ago now. I made the team -in my second year. Our game was a good deal different then from what -it is now, but we took it pretty nearly as seriously. I was rather a -clever end for a youngster, and so when we played Bursley I got in at -the beginning of the second half. In those days an end had less to do -than he has now, but he was supposed to get down under punts no matter -what else he did or didn’t do, and that was rather a specialty of mine. -I had a neat way of fooling my opponent and getting off quickly, and -once off I was hard to stop. Bursley had us six to four when the second -half began and we needed a touchdown to win. Half way through that half -we punted and I streaked down under the ball. I remember that Stallings -was our punter――he played with Princeton afterwards――and he was a -wonder. Used to get fifty yards often. This time he outdid himself, -and the Bursley quarter saw that the ball was going over his head and -started back toward his goal for it. I was after him hard and the ball -struck beyond both of us and bounded away at a funny angle toward the -side of the field. We each got to it at about the same instant. I stood -as good a chance of getting it as he did, better, I’ve always thought, -because I was rather a clever kid with a rolling ball; and if I had got -it I could have romped over the line for an easy score. Well, what do -you suppose I did, Merrill?” - -Rodney shook his head. - -“I tackled that quarter! I brought him down good and hard when we were -both a couple of yards from the ball, and I wound my arms around him -and held him tight. I can still remember the surprised grunt he gave -when I crashed into him. Don’t ask me why I did it! Heaven only knows, -Merrill! Call it mental aberration, that’s as good a name for it as I -know of. I did it, though. And I thought I knew football!” - -“And――and what happened to the ball, sir?” - -The coach shrugged his shoulders. “A Bursley man came along and picked -it up and romped back a few dozen yards with it before anyone got to -him. That ended our chance and we lost the game.” - -“That was too bad,” said Rodney sympathetically. - -“I thought so then. I didn’t dare look anyone in the face the rest of -that day. The coach called me all the kinds of a fool he could think -of. I didn’t mind that half as much as I minded what the fellows didn’t -say but thought! A week after I was surprised to discover that I was -holding my head up again, that the world was still turning around, and -that from a tragedy the thing had become a joke. It was a pretty sore -joke for me, but I took it many and many a time, and gritted my teeth -and smiled. Well, it took me two years to even up. The next season I -was so afraid I’d do some other fool trick that I didn’t play half the -game I could have. Every time we got into a tight place I was haunted -with the fear that I’d make another costly mistake. As a result I -played everything safe, and was probably one of the worst ends the -team ever had. I don’t know now why they kept me on. But the next year -I got together again and――I made good.” - -“How, sir?” - -“Oh, it’s ancient history now, Merrill. I had my chance in the Bursley -game and took it, that’s all. They said I won the game, but I didn’t -win it any more than you lost to-day’s. I’ve told you all this just -to show you, Merrill, that the world doesn’t bust up and blow away -because you make a mistake or let a chance slip in a game of football. -If it comes to that, every game that is lost can be traced to someone’s -failure at some moment in the contest, Merrill. If there were no -mistakes the game would be pretty uninteresting. We’re all human and -all likely to fall down at a critical moment some time or other. My -advice to you is, forget it, Merrill. Have you got time to come in for -a minute?” - -They had reached the steps of the house in which the coach had his -rooms. - -“Yes, sir, if you want me to,” replied Rodney. - -He followed the other into the house, and waited at the door of the -room while Mr. Cotting found the gas jet and lighted it. - -“Sit down, Merrill. Throw your coat off first. Put it anywhere. Now -then, let’s talk this thing over. Your brother and I were good friends, -my boy, and we’ve had some fine old chats in this room. You may have -wondered sometimes why I kept you on the squad when you weren’t showing -very much in the way of football, Merrill. I’m speaking quite frankly, -you see. I did it because, in spite of appearances, I had it in my head -that you could be taught the game, taught to play it――well, perhaps not -quite the way your brother did, but well enough to make it worth the -trouble. I still think so, Merrill. But there’s something wrong yet. -You haven’t found yourself. Perhaps you don’t put your whole soul into -it. Now tell me about to-day. You had the ball, the way was clear. What -went wrong?” - -“I hardly know, sir. I――I wasn’t supposed to take the pass, and when -it came I――somehow I didn’t seem to know what to do for a second. And -then――it was too late.” - -Mr. Cotting nodded. “I see. Mind didn’t work quick enough. Well, -that’s something that will remedy itself, I think. After all, the best -way to learn football is to play it. What you need is, I fancy, only -experience, after all. So, Merrill, I guess we won’t say anything more -about resigning.” - -“Then, sir, you think――――” - -“I think you’d much better stick it out. Watch the way other fellows -play the game, do the best you can when you get your chance and, above -all, don’t imagine that because your wits failed you to-day they’re -bound to do it again. I made that mistake, as I’ve told you, and wasted -a year. Perhaps you won’t get into the game next week, it’s likely your -turn won’t come; but keep on watching and learning, Merrill. We may -need you badly next year.” - -Rodney tramped back toward school through the dim, leaf strewn streets -comforted and encouraged. And he made up his mind that when the next -chance came, if ever it did come, he’d be ready for it. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -THE EVE OF BATTLE - - -It was surprising how nice the other Vests were to him the next few -days, Rodney thought. Old Kitty seemed to be trying, awkwardly enough, -to make him understand that nothing that had happened or that might -happen would make any difference. Jack Billings went out of the way -to be nice to him, and even Warren Hoyt, whom Rodney liked less than -any of the other Vests, showed unusual friendliness. Tad, of course, -was eagerly sympathetic and tried not to show it too much lest Rodney -resent it. Any of the fellows would have gladly discussed the incident -in Saturday’s game had Rodney introduced the subject, and would have -told him to “Forget it!” and “Buck up!” but Rodney kept silence. - -But the attitude of his friends was not the attitude of the school in -general. The consensus of opinion was that Ginger Merrill’s brother -was a failure at football. “He’s a wonder in class,” said one youth, -“but he’s no good on the gridiron. It all comes of jumping to the -conclusion that because you’ve got a brother who has done wonders you -can do them yourself. What the dickens did Cotting keep Merrill on the -team for? I could show as much football as he has!” - -The school did not feel unkindly toward Rodney, save perhaps for a -brief hour or two after the game was over, but it seemed to think that -Rodney had been trading on the reputation of his famous brother. Some -charged him with having worked a sort of confidence game on the usually -astute coach. And most all agreed that his usefulness to the team was -over. Consequently when they found him back at practice on Monday they -were surprised and somewhat inclined to criticism. - -“He’s got Cotting hypnotized, I guess,” grumbled one fellow. “Thought -he had more sense.” - -His companion shrugged his shoulders. “What’s the difference? I suppose -it’s so near the end of the season that Cotting thinks he might as -well let him stay. He can’t do any harm just practicing.” - -Coach Cotting felt the loss of the second team during the first three -days of that final week of preparation. And he also doubtless felt the -absence of Terry Doyle. Doyle’s fate was still undecided, although -it was generally believed that he would be reinstated in time for -Saturday’s game. Mr. Cotting had enough candidates on hand to make two -teams for scrimmage purposes, but as each team used the same signals, -and as the players on one side were continually being shifted to the -other, the scrimmages were not especially valuable. Rodney played in -various positions on the substitute teams; left half, right half and, -on one occasion, fullback. He had no chance to distinguish himself -but played a steady game and showed a lot more fight than at any time -previously. - -In the meantime disturbing accounts of Bursley’s prowess reached the -school. Bursley had played through a most successful season without a -serious upset, losing but one game of the seven, and at Maple Hill it -was conceded that she would bring over a stronger team than she had -presented for several years. The last hard work came on Wednesday. On -Thursday there was a long signal practice on the field, and on Friday -evening the fellows walked through the plays to be used against Bursley -on the morrow. This final preparation took place in the gymnasium and -after it was over Coach Cotting, according to custom, made a short -speech to the players. - -“My position to-night, fellows,” he said earnestly, “is that of a -general who has marched and manoeuvered his army to its position for -the battle. To-morrow I shall be on hand to watch the fray and to -direct it to some extent, but from a distance. After the first shot is -fired it is up to you. The outcome of the battle will show whether I -have done my part well or ill, and if a defeat awaits us I shall accept -my share of the blame. But from now on, fellows, it depends on you, -individually and collectively. I’ve watched my army pretty closely for -two months, and I think I know pretty well what it is capable of. It -is weak in some places, as all armies are, but it is strong in others, -and I am firmly convinced that its strength exceeds its weakness and -that as a whole it is mighty enough to command victory. But an army is -made up of fighting units and success depends on each unit doing his -level best, fighting hard from the first gun fire to the end of the -combat. I want you to remember that. - -“But, leaving out metaphors, fellows, we’ve got a hard game ahead of -us. Bursley has a good team and she’s coming across the river to-morrow -to win――that is, she’s coming to _try_ to win. Whether she does or does -not depends now on you. You may start handicapped by the absence of -your captain, although that is not certain. If you do, you’ll just have -to work all the harder. My experience has shown me that the competitor -who enters with a handicap against him is generally the one who wins. -Let’s have it that way to-morrow. Now, in spite of all my talk about -armies and battles, we both know that what we are going to do to-morrow -is play a game. There’s no harm in playing it earnestly, no harm in -doing all you can to win. Playing a game is like anything else. That -is, if it’s worth doing it’s worth doing well. But let’s remember that -it _is_ a game, fellows. Let’s play it cleanly and like gentlemen. And -if we lose, let’s lose like gentlemen. But, and I say this convincedly, -if you play as you _can_ play you won’t lose!” - -Then there were cheers, sturdy, confident cheers, for the coach, and -for the second team that wasn’t there to hear, and finally for the -school. And then, a little serious, as befits the warriors on the eve -of battle, they went out and sought their rooms just as nine o’clock -was striking. - -Stacey, Kitty, and Rodney walked home together through the starlighted -night. There was a sharp breath in the air that promised a brisk day -for the game. They went in silence until the lights of West Hall -greeted them through the branches of the leafless trees. Then it was -Stacey who spoke. - -“Funny,” he said thoughtfully, “the feeling you always have the night -before a big game. You don’t get it any other time. At least, I never -do.” - -“What sort of a feeling?” asked Kitty curiously. - -Stacey laughed. “I guess I can’t tell you if you haven’t got it, Kitty. -I suppose, though, it’s a case of nerves.” - -“Probably,” agreed Kitty. “That comes of poor circulation due to weak -respiration. If you developed your lungs――――” - -“Help!” laughed Stacey. “Stop him, Rodney!” - -“You can’t when he gets started,” replied Rodney. “I guess, though, -I know the sort of feeling you mean, even if old Leather Lungs here -doesn’t. It makes me kind of glad I’m not going to play. If I was I’d -be in a blue funk!” - -“Hm,” said Stacey. “You never can tell.” - -What it was you never could tell Rodney didn’t find out, for they -reached the cottage just then. Mrs. Westcott came out of her room to -inform them that she had made some cocoa for them. “You’ll find it on -the stove, Stacey. And the cups and everything are on the dining room -table. You know there’s nothing better than cocoa to give you a good -night’s sleep.” - -They thanked her a trifle doubtfully, since none felt inclined for the -beverage, and, rather than disappoint her, went out to the kitchen -and bore the steaming pot of cocoa back to the dining room. It didn’t -taste so bad, after all, nor did the crackers she had provided. Stacey -explained softly that once some ten years before one of Mrs. Westcott’s -boys who was a football player had asked for a cup of cocoa the night -before a game, and that ever since she had provided it religiously. -“And,” concluded Stacey, “if you don’t drink it she feels terribly -hurt.” - -“Tastes very good,” commented Kitty, “but it’s fattening. One shouldn’t -drink much of it. I’m sleepy. Good night.” - -Stacey watched Kitty depart with an envious smile. “Hasn’t a nerve in -his whole body,” he said to Rodney. “I suppose he will sleep eight -solid hours to-night!” - -“And snore all the time,” laughed Rodney. - -Stacey sighed. “Wish I could,” he said. “Good night, Rodney.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -BURSLEY ARRIVES - - -The Bursley game was to be started at two o’clock. At half past ten -that morning it became known that Terry Doyle, who had been missing -from his usual haunts for ten days, had caught up with his studies -and that the faculty had reinstated him. The tidings brought vast -relief and satisfaction to Maple Hill. Without Terry Doyle defeat was -possible; with him victory was assured. So argued the school. The twins -heard the news over the hedge from Tad, who, having nothing better to -do that morning, was trying to kill time by manufacturing a bow from a -section of barrel stave. - -“I’m so glad!” exclaimed Matty, clapping her hands and smiling -radiantly over the hedge. - -“So glad,” echoed May, equally delighted of countenance. - -“Now we’ll surely win, won’t we, Tad?” continued Matty. - -Tad chose to be pessimistic. “Can’t say. Maybe. They’ve got a corking -team over there at Bursley this year. You girls going?” - -“Yes.” This from Matty. After a pause, “I suppose you’ll be with the -cheerers, Tad,” she added. - -Tad nodded. “Have to. Sorry. I’ll take you over, though, if you’ll be -ready by one-thirty.” - -“Will you? Then we’ll be ready, won’t we, May?” - -“We’ll be ready,” agreed May with decision. - -“Will Rod play to-day?” asked Matty, after a moment of silence spent -in watching Tad’s manipulation of his knife. Tad looked cautiously at -Rodney’s window. Then, lowering his voice: - -“Not a chance,” he answered, “after what happened last Saturday. At -least, that’s what all the fellows say. Poor old Rod made an awful mess -of it, didn’t he?” - -“I don’t think they ought to hold that against him,” said Matty -stoutly. “Lots of other boys have done things just as bad. Besides, he -might――might redeem himself to-day if they’d let him play.” - -“Suppose he might. Then again he mightn’t. As far as I’m concerned I -wish they’d give him another show. Anyway, Cotting kept him on the -squad, and that was pretty fair.” - -“What are you going to do with that?” asked May, nodding at the -implement Tad was concerned with. - -“Shoot tigers,” replied the boy. “Saw a beauty last night near your -summer-house. Must have been twelve feet long from tip to tip.” - -“Twelve inches, you mean,” answered Matty scathingly. “That was the -Thurston’s black and yellow cat. He comes over here to catch birds, the -old rascal. We’ll be ready at half past one, Tad. Don’t forget.” - -“All right. See you later.” - -The twins’ faces disappeared from above the hedge and Tad, snapping his -knife shut, went off in search of a cord. - -Shortly after one o’clock Bursley came. As she had only to journey by -train or carriage down the river to Milon, a distance of something -under two miles from the school, and then cross in the ferry to -Greenridge, the trip was brief and inexpensive, and as a result -practically the entire enrollment of Bursley School, over two hundred -all told, invaded the stronghold of the enemy that morning. As the tiny -ferryboat was unable to accommodate them all on one voyage, it landed -its first contingent and then hurried back across the river, puffing -and panting importantly, and brought the rest, the first hundred or -so waiting at the landing and raiding the popcorn and peanut stands. -Finally, when they had formed into a long procession two abreast to -make more of a showing, they started off up the hill. Every boy was -armed with a small red megaphone adorned with a blue B, and through it -as he kept step, or tried to, for marching up the steep ascent of River -Street is no light task, he proclaimed over and over: - - “B, U, R, S, L, E, Y, Rah, rah, rah! - B, U, R, S, L, E, Y, Rah, rah, rah!” - -Chanting their refrain and keeping time with aching legs, they stormed -the hill. Greenridge, from the sidewalks, looked on smilingly and -occasionally waved a defiant Green-and-Gray banner in the face of the -invader. At the head of the procession two cheer leaders held a six -foot banner of red silk on which “Bursley” was blazoned in big blue -letters. Long before they reached the Y at the top of the hill their -deep, sonorous slogan had penetrated to the campus, and Maple Hill -emptied itself from dormitory and boarding-house and assembled along -the road. Bursley always turned into Academy Street and marched through -the campus on her way to the field, and always, where the driveway -separated in front of Main Hall, she paused and cheered her rival. And -to-day she made no exception. Still chanting, although with failing -voices, her “B, U, R, S, L, E, Y, Rah, rah, rah!” she followed the head -cheer leader as, waving his yard-long megaphone, he swung through the -big gate between rows of smilingly hostile faces. They were a good, -sturdy looking lot of fellows, those Bursleyans, and Jack Billings said -as much to Warren Hoyt as the two, having raced across from Westcott’s, -watched them file past. - -“Not so worse,” replied Warren in his rather affected manner. “Sort of -lack class, though, it seems to me.” - -Jack laughed. “You’re a beast of a snob, Warren,” he said; “or you want -fellows to think you are. You know perfectly well that those chaps are -every bit as good as we are. Now, don’t you?” - -Warren raised his eyebrows languidly. “Er――theoretically,” he said. - -“Theoretically! What the dickens do you mean by theoretically?” -demanded Jack. “Come on. They’re getting ready to cheer.” - -Over in front of Main Hall the procession had stopped and the cheer -leaders were hurrying to positions along the line. Then: - -“All ready, Bursley!” announced the chief marshal of the parade, his -big megaphone high in air. “Regular cheer for Maple Hill! One! Two! -Three!” - -“_Rah, rah, rah! Rah, rah, rah! Rah, rah, rah! Maple Hill!_” shouted -two hundred voices, and a responsive “A-a-ay!” swelled from the throats -of the enemy. Then Borden, Fourth Form President and Crew Captain, -sprang to the steps and waved his arms and Maple Hill returned the -compliment. More “A-a-ays!” from both contingents, and Bursley took -up her march again, and, having in a measure recovered her breath, -started once more her reiterative chorus as she went _tramp, tramp, -tramp_ along the gravel driveway and around the end of Main Hall on -her way to the field. Maple Hill watched with grudging admiration. -Bursley made a brave showing, there was no gainsaying that. There -was a fine nonchalance in the way in which the veriest junior at the -tag-end of the procession carried himself and a sturdy self-possession -and equanimity in the faces of all. They were proud to be Burslians, -and, incongruous as that might seem at first thought, Maple Hill on -reflection felt a thrill of sympathy and understanding. Certainly those -shouting Red-and-Blue partisans had made a frightful mistake in the -choice of a school, but, having committed themselves, they were right -to stand up for it, to be proud of it and to fight for it! Many Maple -Hill hearts warmed toward the paraders as they disappeared from sight, -still chanting their “B, U, R, S, L, E, Y, Rah, rah, rah!” around the -corner of the building. There had been a few jeers from youngsters who -knew no better, and some smiles of derision as Bursley had passed, but -on the whole Maple Hill had been polite, respectful, even friendly in -a distant way. Why not? They could well afford to let Bursley have -their fun now since in two hours they would send her home defeated and -disappointed. At least, so most of Maple Hill argued. - -Meanwhile Bursley went on her way, quite as convinced of a coming -victory as the enemy, and debouched onto the field and took possession -of the cheering section reserved for her on the further stand. There -many fellows, who had been unable or disinclined to attend the early -dinner at school, produced packets of sandwiches and fruit and, with -much skylarking and laughter, fortified the inner man. - -At one-thirty Maple Hill assembled in front of Main Hall. They were -far fewer in numbers than Bursley, but they had the Greenridge Silver -Cornet Band to lead them, and that more than equalized matters. The -band, more enthusiastic than skilled, more vociferous than tuneful, -numbered but eight, though you’d scarcely have guessed its quota as -less than twenty had you heard it blare out a Sousa march. While the -boys hurried from all directions to form in line the band played -“Everybody’s Doing It” so inspiritingly that dignified Fourth Form -fellows clasped each other and danced hilariously over gravel and lawn -to the astonishment of First Formers and the laughter of others. At -last they were in line, four abreast, arranged by forms, Borden, armed -with a big green megaphone bearing a gray “M. H.,” in command. In front -went the Silver Cornet Band, gay in blue and gold uniforms, almost as -excited as the students, struggling hard to find the step. Then the -bass-drum sounded “Attention!” and the strains of “See Who’s Marching” -burst forth as the procession passed through the gate and straightened -itself out on Academy Street. Feet tramp-tramped in unison, the drums -thumped, the wind instruments blared and four score voices took up the -refrain: - - “See who’s marching now this way! - You can hear the music play; - Maple Hill is out to-day; - See the colors flying! - Here they come, an hundred strong, - Cheering as they march along! - Ev’ry voice is raised in song, - Ev’ry voice is crying: - - “‘March, march on to victory! - We’re the men to do or die! - We’ve the courage and the will! - Rah! Rah! Rah! Maple Hill!’ - - “Hear the tramp of many feet - As they march along the street, - Keeping time to ev’ry beat - Of the music playing! - Hail the flag of Green-and-Gray! - Cheer the victor of the fray! - Maple Hill will win to-day! - You can hear them saying: - - “‘March, march on to victory! - We’re the men to do or die! - We’ve the courage and the will! - Rah! Rah! Rah! Maple Hill!’” - -Into Bow Street they swung, into Arrow and, finally, into Larch, -where, opposite the gymnasium, they stopped and cheered the team, -the coach, the trainer and everyone else they could think of. Then -the drum thumped and they went on, Borden swinging his big megaphone -like a giant baton, and turned into the field. Bursley welcomed them -with long-drawn “A-a-ays!” of approval as they came in singing and -found their seats. Already the stands were well-filled with spectators -from Greenridge and Milon and nearby towns, with Old Boys back for -the game and with parents and relatives and friends. All the morning -automobiles decorated with green and gray or red and blue, had chugged -into Greenridge, and now they were honking along the road outside, -seeking the parking space at the far end of the big field. The four -cheer leaders, each armed with a big green megaphone, took up their -stations along the foot of the sloping stand and the cheering began. -Maple Hill cheered Bursley and Bursley responded through its red and -blue megaphones that lent a fine dash of color to the opposite sections. - -Then the Bursley team dashed on like a lot of young colts and the -Bursley sections went wild. Blankets were thrown aside and the invading -warriors, brave in red jerseys and red and blue stockings jumped into -the field, formed into squads and tore up and down in signal practice. -A minute later the Maple Hill trainer appeared and the local partisans -cheered loudly. More cheers from the Green-and-Gray broke forth when -Tim, the rubber, appeared propelling a wheelbarrow containing a -carboy of water, a bag of footballs and a miscellaneous collection -of paraphernalia. Then there was a commotion at the gate, the cheer -leaders froze into attention with upraised hands and the Maple Hill -team burst through the crowd at the entrance. The big megaphones were -tossed aside and the four leaders, green-sweatered and bare-headed, -waved and leaped as the stand broke forth into a measured cheer that -might have been heard down at the river――and doubtless was! - -Soon the gridiron was busy with the trotting squads and alive with -flying pigskins. Gordon and Tyson evoked applause by their punting, as -did also the Bursley crack. Stacey tried a few goals from placement -and at one minute past two the teams trotted back to the side lines. A -small and immaculate referee and a large and imposing umpire appeared -and the rival captains walked into the middle of the field, shook -hands and conversed a moment with the officials. Then a coin glinted -as it was tossed in air and fell to the ground. A cheer from the -further side of the field proclaimed that Bursley had won the toss. The -captains retired and the cheers began again. The linesman with his two -assistants, a green-sweatered youth and a red-sweatered one, appeared -with the chain. Maple Hill started one of the songs in her repertoire, -with the band, at the foot of the cheering section, doing its best to -follow the tune. - - “As we go marching and the band begins to p, l, a, y, - You can hear the people shouting: ‘Maple Hill will win to-day!’ - Rah! Rah! Rah! Maple Hill!” - -Doctor and Mrs. Farron, accompanied by two submasters, came on the -field just as the opposing teams scattered to their positions. A burst -of hand-clapping welcomed them. It was a well-known fact that the Head -Master wasn’t able to tell the difference between a touchdown and a -fair catch, but he attended the games when it was possible, and the -fellows appreciated it. - -Bursley had chosen to receive the kick-off. As there was practically no -wind to render one goal more desirable than the other the winning of -the toss had not counted for much. The sky to-day was almost cloudless -and the thermometer in front of Main Hall had registered forty-seven at -noon. In short it was, from the point of view of player and spectator -alike, an ideal day for football. As the teams awaited the sound of -the whistle a hush fell over the stands. The Bursley players looked -fast and extremely well-conditioned, and were rangy rather than heavy. -Their center, who was to oppose the big Pounder, was a smallish youth -who looked as though he would tip the scales at not over a hundred and -forty. In spite of Tad’s disparaging criticism, the Bursley uniform -of red jerseys and red-and-blue-ringed stockings looked bright and -attractive, rather paling the quieter colors of Maple Hill. Borden, -whose green sweater held on its breast crossed oars under the gray “M. -H.,” summoned one last cheer, and as it died away on the Autumn air the -whistle shrilled and the Big Game was on! - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -THE BATTLE IS ON - - -It was just 2 to 6 as the Bursley left guard stepped forward and, -swinging a long leg, sent the yellow pigskin soaring high and far down -the field. For Maple Hill Terry Doyle was back at the left of Pounder, -and Guy Watson was on the other side of the center. In the backfield -Stacey Trowbridge, doubtless secretly resolved to allow no safeties to -be made through him on this all-important occasion, was at quarter, -Tyson at left half, Fuller at right half and Gordon at full. The other -players were the same that had played the positions all season. But -the first time the Green-and-Gray ranged themselves for the attack it -was seen that Cotting had sprung a new formation. Fuller went into -the line between left guard and tackle, leaving only three players in -the backfield. To meet this extension of the line Bursley was forced -to stretch her own line thinner, with the result that Tyson on the -first play got through center without hindrance for twelve yards and -brought the cheering section on the south stand to its feet in wild -joy. But after that Bursley watched the ball more closely and, while -the new formation worked well, it did not result in any more such gains -through the center. Bursley made end runs hazardous from the first by -playing her tackles well out on defense, with her ends close to her -tackles, and these two players, one man taking the interference and the -other the runner, upset many Maple Hill attempts to skirt the wings. -The first fifteen minutes went by without a score, each team playing -desperately but experimentally. Over-eagerness brought four penalties -to Bursley and two to Maple Hill. On punting Gordon so far had excelled -his opponent, but punts had been called for only in extremities. -Neither team had shown anything really new in attack, although the -Bursley offense looked as if it might have some deceptive plays up its -sleeve. - -In the second period Maple Hill tried its first forward pass, made -a twenty yard gain and immediately followed it up with another. The -second attempt went wrong, however, and Bursley got the ball. It was -from there that Bursley began to show its ability. Her attack suddenly -became fast and shifty and her backs made gain after gain through the -Green-and-Gray line, mostly on the right side. Losing the ball once on -downs, she quickly regained it on a fumble by Fuller, who had played -back, with Tyson in the line, and again began her advance. But once -beyond Maple Hill’s thirty yards it was all she could do to get her -distance in four downs and at last she was forced to try a placement -kick for goal. Luckily this went wide, and Maple Hill punted to her -adversary’s forty-five yard line. Gordon was hurt on the next play -and was taken out, Hunter replacing him for the rest of the period. -Bursley’s wide run from punt formation lost her five yards and she -was presently forced to kick. Stacey, who caught the ball on his -thirty-four yards, ran in twenty-odd before he was caught. Tyson and -Fuller taking the pigskin, Maple Hill worked her way to the center of -the field where she was held with half a yard to go on the fourth -down. Bursley began her advance once more but the whistle sounded when -the ball was near Maple Hill’s forty-five yards. - -It was still anybody’s game. Bursley and Maple Hill were each confident -of ultimate victory and so the cheering and singing that began anew -when the teams had trotted, blanketed, from sight of the spectators was -as loud and hearty as ever. Bursley, with her two hundred supporters -massed along the middle of the north stand, put the local cheering -section on its merits. Their cheerfully reiterated refrain of “Bursley! -Bursley! Hi! Hi! Hi!” sung over and over to an old tune, brought -laughter and applause from across the empty gridiron. Maple Hill came -back with: - - “Cheer for the Green-and-Gray! - Ours the victory to-day! - Fight hard and grin, boys, - At them and win, boys, - Win for the Green-and-Gray!” - -But the honors didn’t rest long on the south side of the field, for -Bursley had brought along a new song that captured the gathering at -once. It was a tuneful, rollicking effusion that set heels to tapping -time against the planks. - - “We’ve enjoyed our visit to you, Maple Hill; - We’ve enjoyed your little party to the fill; - We’ve listened to your singing - And heard your cheers aringing, - And we’ve liked it very much, Maple Hill. - - “You have entertained us finely, Maple Hill, - And, though we’d love to linger with you, still, - While we do not want to grieve you, - It is time for us to leave you - And to take the football home, Maple Hill!” - -Maple Hill greeted the song with laughter and derisive applause, -promptly bursting into song herself and proclaiming loudly that “No -matter what you do you can’t break through the line of Green-and-Gray!” -To this challenge Bursley responded flippantly as follows: “Who are we? -We’re the team that put the ‘ill’ in Maple Hill!” - -Tad and Tom Trainor went visiting during the intermission and wormed -their way up a neighboring section of the south stand to where the -twins were seated with sparkling eyes and flushed and excited faces. -Everyone talked at once without waiting for replies, criticising -the playing of the two teams, predicting victory for Maple Hill, -praising the efforts of the Westcott representatives on the eleven -and commenting on the size of the assemblage, which, according to -the twins, was easily the largest that had ever attended a Maple -Hill-Bursley contest. May wanted to know if Tad didn’t think that Jack -Billings led the cheering better than any of the other leaders and if -Tom didn’t think he looked awfully handsome. Neither youth paid the -slightest attention to the inquiries and May seemed not to expect any. -Besides, just at that instant Matty was tragically explaining what -she would do if by any unthought of, not-to-be-considered possibility -Maple Hill _didn’t_ win! And the fate she mapped out for herself was -so breath-taking that Tom found himself almost hoping for a Bursley -victory. Then the teams trotted back to the field and the boys -scampered. - -Gordon was back when the third period commenced and it was Gordon -who, five minutes later, got away around the Bursley left and reeled -off thirty-eight yards and planted the pigskin almost under the -Red-and-Blue’s goal. Cotting had improved his time between halves, -it seemed, for the Bursley tackle and end had been as nicely boxed -as you please, leaving a two-yard opening for the nimble Gordon. On -Bursley’s twenty-two yards Maple Hill tried the opposing line twice for -a total gain of four yards and then sent Tyson plunging at the right -end. But this time there was no gain and a try for goal was ordered. -Stacey fell back, the ball was passed nicely and the two lines crashed -together. The quarter back dropped the pigskin, met it with his toe as -it bounded from the turf and then, staggering aside under the impact of -a Red-and-Blue player, watched it arch slowly over the bar. - -Maple Hill went wild over that first score and cheered and shouted -crazily until the ball was again in flight. Bursley came back hard -and for the next ten minutes almost rushed Maple Hill off her feet. -When the whistle blew the ball was well down in Maple Hill territory, -between the thirty and thirty-five yard lines, in Bursley’s possession. - -Bursley made three changes in her line up then and Maple Hill two. -For the latter a new left end and a new left tackle were substituted -and Hunter again went in at full. Gordon was pretty well played out. -When the fourth period began it was very evident that Bursley meant -to score. Twice it was only Maple Hill’s secondary defense that kept -a Bursley runner from getting clean away, while once the Red-and-Blue -captain, with the ball clutched to his breast, made a nine yard gain -around Maple Hill’s right wing. - -Down near the twelve yard line, with two to go on fourth down, the -visitor’s chance of scoring looked slim, and her excited supporters -implored a field goal. But a field goal would only tie the score and -not win, and Bursley was out for everything or nothing. She didn’t even -fake a kick, but concentrated her entire attack on Watson, the fullback -carrying the ball. There was one frenzied, doubtful moment and then the -Green-and-Gray line yielded, the attack staggered and toppled ahead and -the whistle blew. It was necessary to use the tape then, but when the -measurement was made Bursley had won her distance and a first down by -several inches. The referee waved his hand to the linesmen and Bursley -broke into a cheer. Again the two teams faced each other, panting, -wearied, desperate. Again a back caught the ball to his stomach, put -down his head and plunged forward. Chaos for a moment, and then the -whistle and―――― - -“Second! Eight to go!” cried the referee. - -A half darted past left tackle but was brought down with only a yard of -gain. “Third down; seven to go!” Then Maple Hill blundered. The Bursley -quarter took the ball, stepped back and hurled it ten yards to the -left. An end caught it and tore straight ahead for the goal line. Tyson -tried a tackle, but the end squirmed free, and when Stacey locked his -arms desperately about the runner’s body and brought him to earth only -a short foot lay between the extended pigskin and that last white line. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -RODNEY FINDS HIMSELF - - -Over near the twenty-yard line, on the side of the field, Coach Cotting -squatted on one knee and watched with expressionless face. But a -pebble, picked from the turf, flew back and forth incessantly from one -hand to the other. Further along a line of blanket-draped substitutes -crouched low, their faces anxious and intent. One of these was Rodney -and one was Phineas Kittson. Kitty had twice expressed mild surprise -that his services had not been called for. I think he had almost begun -to doubt Cotting’s intelligence. But the coach redeemed himself then -and there. As the whistle shrilled he sprang alertly to his feet. - -“Kittson!” he cried. - -Kitty, dropping his blanket, hurried across. The coach clapped him on -the shoulder. - -“Go in for Captain Doyle,” he said quietly. “And stop them where they -are, Kittson!” - -Doyle, after an instant of bewildered rebellion, handed the captaincy -to Stacey Trowbridge, yielded his head-guard to Kitty and walked off, -none too steadily, to a loyal cheer from the south stand. Then a hush -fell on the field and the quarter-back’s signals sounded clearly and -ominously. - -“41――21――64!” A pause, and then: “41――21――――” - -There was a mad plunge, a confusion of striving bodies and then the -fateful sound of the whistle. Slowly the tangled players found their -feet. There was an instant of suspense for the watchers on the stands. -Then Bursley, jumping and waving, started back up the field and Maple -Hill ranged herself behind the posts. The ball lay squarely on the line -and the Red-and-Blue had scored a touchdown! - -Two minutes later another point had been added to Bursley’s score and -the game stood 7 to 3. There was six minutes remaining when the ball -was recovered after the goal had been kicked and the teams again ranged -themselves on the field. Captain Doyle, blanketed, white of face and -dismayed, paced slowly back toward the center of the field at the -coach’s side. The ball arched up and away and the players raced toward -it. Beyond the further end of the trampled field the sun was setting in -a blaze of golden glory. - -“There’s Merrill,” the coach was saying. - -Terry Doyle shook his head hopelessly. - -“They’ll play on the defense now,” went on Mr. Cotting. “It’s a time to -try everything we have, Terry. We can’t lose any more and we may win -something. We might put in Burnham, too.” - -“All right, sir. You know best. But Tyson still looks good.” - -“I know, but――Who’s got that ball? He’s down! Fumbled! Good work, -Hunter! He’s played a good game, Hunter. Well, we’ll try Merrill, I -guess. I’ll send him in after this play. Merrill!” - -Rodney ran up, trailing his blanket behind him. The coach took his arm -and led him along with them as they walked. “Merrill,” he said, never -taking his eyes from the play for more than a fleeting instant, and -speaking easily and untroubledly, “do you want to go in and have a try -at it?” - -“Yes, sir!” Rodney’s heart jumped into his throat. - -“Well, go ahead after this play. You know you slipped up the other day, -Merrill. Maybe this is a good time to get square. What do you think?” - -“Yes, sir! I’ll try, Mr. Cotting.” - -The coach nodded. “I would. Tell Trowbridge I said he was to use you -and that from now on everything goes. He will understand. Get it?” - -“He’s to use me and from now on everything goes,” repeated Rodney. - -“Right. There’s the whistle. Go in for Tyson.” - -Rodney dropped his blanket and raced on with upraised head. The teams -were on Maple Hill’s forty-five yards and already Stacey was taking his -position behind Pounder. - -“Substitute for left half, sir!” cried Rodney to the referee. - -Stacey rose and nodded. “You’re off, Roger,” he said. He drew back -with Rodney. “Any instructions?” - -“Cotting says you’re to use me and that from now on everything goes,” -whispered Rodney. - -“All right. Watch close! Got your signals pat, Rodney? Don’t miss ’em! -All right, fellows! Make this go now! Here’s where we start something!” - -Rodney, pulling his head guard on, jumped to his place between guard -and tackle. - -Then came the signals and he dropped back, the other half taking his -position on the opposite side. Then the ball was in play and Rodney was -snuggling it to his stomach and plunging straight ahead through a hole -that Kitty and Pounder had opened. But the Bursley backs smothered him -after a two-yard gain and he struggled to his feet again before the -whistle had ceased its shrill command. Once more he took the ball and -slid off at a tangent, by the left guard, and once more he was stopped -for a short gain. Then Hunter found a hole and went through and, with -three to go, Stacey called for kick formation and then himself took -the ball and made the distance straight through center. Maple Hill -cheered loudly. - -“Line up, fellows! Quick!” shouted Stacey. “Here we go!” - -And go they did. One white line after another passed under foot. -Bursley hurried in substitute after substitute, delaying the game -as much as they could. Two times out of every three the ball went -to Rodney and only once in that long advance did he fail to make a -gain. Past the enemy’s forty-five yards went the Green-and-Gray, -Stacey trying every trick in his budget and making most of them tell -against a team now largely made up of second-string players. Not that -Bursley gave way easily, for she didn’t. She fought hard, and, once -behind her forty yards, showed renewed resistance and on three plays -the Green-and-Gray made but five yards. A forward pass got the rest, -though, with an added yard for good measure and Maple Hill scented -victory. - -But time was going fast. On the thirty-one yards Fortune frowned. There -was a mix-up of signals and Rodney, carrying the ball, found himself -without interference. Before he could make headway he was pinned by -relentless arms and borne back, fighting, for a three-yard loss. With -seven to go on the third down Stacey again tried a forward pass and, -although the left end received it, he was downed in his tracks for no -gain. It seemed then to be a case of kick or nothing, but a try at -goal, even if it succeeded, would still leave Maple Hill defeated. -Stacey, hesitating a minute, called for kick formation, and Hunter, who -was only an indifferent kicker, dropped back up the field. Stacey fell -to one knee to take the pass and hold the ball for a placement. But -when the pass came it was not to Stacey but to Rodney, a yard away on -his left. - -“Fake! Fake!” shrieked Bursley. - -But Rodney, with the entire left wing of the Maple Hill team trailing -along between him and the enemy, was racing across the gridiron. His -chance came at last, some fifteen yards from the side of the field, -and he turned squarely and shot in. There was no hesitation this time. -For an instant it seemed that he was racing straight into the arms of -the enemy, but Kitty hurled himself forward, there was a confused -mass of falling bodies and Rodney sprang across and was free for the -instant. But the Bursley quarter was awaiting him and Bursley foemen -were in pursuit. His interference now had been outstripped and he was -alone. The quarter feinted to the right, Rodney countered to the left, -a hand grasped at his jacket and fell away as he spun the quarter, and -then, with two red-stockinged players groping for holds, he tore across -the last white line, stumbled, picked himself up and went on and, -finally with two Bursley men dragging him down, subsided behind the -nearer post! - -When they pulled him to his feet, a little limp, but quite unhurt and -quite ready to try it all over again, it was Guy Watson who threw his -arms about him and hugged him, Watson with a face one great grin and -eyes with tears in them! - -“Kid, you’re a wonder!” said Watson. “You――you’re _all right_!” - -After that it was all very confused. Rodney trotted back up the field -and someone, he never remembered who, tried for goal and missed it -badly. And then the teams lined up again and, after the first play, -the final whistle blew and he was trying to make his way through the -crowd that suddenly flooded the field. Hands seized him and arms lifted -him aloft and he went swaying uncertainly about on the shoulders of -three shrieking, happy youths whom he didn’t even know by sight. Once, -as they passed the almost deserted south stand he caught sight of the -twins, waving, laughing. One of them――he never knew whether it was -Matty or May――blew him a kiss. Then he lost sight of them again. Cheers -filled the air. Swaying unsteadily, following a line of other captured -players, Rodney smiled happily. At last, he told himself, he was -something more than just the Brother of a Hero! - -[Illustration: “Hands seized him and arms lifted him aloft”] - - -THE END - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes: - - ――Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_). - - ――Except for the frontispiece, illustrations have been moved to - follow the text that they illustrate. - - ――Printer’s, punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently - corrected. - - ――Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved. - - ――Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Brother of a Hero, by Ralph Henry Barbour - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BROTHER OF A HERO *** - -***** This file should be named 63297-0.txt or 63297-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/2/9/63297/ - -Produced by Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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