Edward Stratemeyer

“ The goal warmed the hearts of the Oak Hall seven wonderfully, and when the puck was again placed in position, they went for it like hungry cats after a mouse. The exchange of blows was rapid, and the disc was stolen and recovered half a dozen times in as many seconds. Then came a long drive by Ben, and another by Dave, and then a Rockville player sent it out of bounds. Bringing it back gave the lads time to recover their breath, and again they went at it with a determination that was terrific.
"Oh, somebody will be killed!" cried Vera, as several came together with a crash. ”

“ They had been well drilled into team work, and sent the puck from one player to another in a manner that brought forth many favorable comments.
"We sure have our work cut out for us!" whispered Ben to Dave. "They are the swiftest bunch I have yet seen on skates."
"And their captain is certainly a star," added Shadow. "I never saw a fellow turn quicker or send the puck with more force."
"We've got to fight and fight hard!" cried Dave. "I want every fellow on the job, first, last, and all the time!" ”

“ Heavy at heart the students left the granary and put away the lantern. They had exhausted their resources, and walked back to the school in a decidedly sober mood.
"Well, all I can offer is this:" said Shadow, at last. "Each of you buy new shoes and slippers, and turn the bills over to me—and I'll pay them as quickly as I can."
"Don't you bother about my shoes, Shadow," said Dave, kindly. "I can get others easily enough."
"So can I," added Roger and Phil.
"But I would like to really know whether you walked off with them in your sleep, or if this is some trick of our rivals," continued Dave. ”

“ As supper would not be ready for half an hour, the three lads excused themselves, and hurried across the street. They found Hooker Montgomery still alone, reading a sensational newspaper.
"Well, doctor, how are you?" said Dave, coolly, as he dropped in a chair beside the so-styled physician.
"Why—ah—who—ahem!—where did you come from?" stammered Hooker Montgomery. He was so taken back that he knew not what to say. He had not dreamed that Dave and his chums would visit Hopperville, which was somewhat out of the regular line of travel. ”

“ I know Elmwood has a strong eleven, so Rockville must be extra good this season."
"Exactly so; and that means, if our eleven is not greatly strengthened before we meet Rockville, we shall suffer another defeat," responded the master of Oak Hall, rubbing his chin reflectively.
"More than likely, sir."
"Too bad! In these days some folks think football and baseball quite as important—ahem!—as—er—some studies. It is a wrong idea, assuredly,—yet I—ahem!—I think it would be a very good thing if we could show the world that our students can play football as well as do other things." ”

“ At last the Reds managed to reach the top of the ridge, and from that point send down a fierce shower of snowballs. The Blues could not withstand this fire, and broke and ran.
"Hurrah! the victory is ours!" yelled several of the Reds.
"Let us clinch it, and make 'em cry for mercy!" shouted one of the victorious army, and forward he went, and nearly all of the others after him.
"Be careful!" cried Dave. "There are a lot of holes around here! Somebody may break a leg." ”

“ Now Plum has reformed completely, and Chip is as manly a little chap as any of 'em."
"It's a pity that Nat Poole can't take a leaf from Gus's notebook and reform, too," answered Dave.
"Maybe he will—after he sees the error of his ways. But, Dave, what of athletics this season? Are you going in for them?"
"I am—but not too strongly, Ben. I want to get all the education I can."
"Want to get through and leave Oak Hall?"
"I don't want to be a schoolboy all my life. I want to get out in the world and make something of myself." ”

“ All who had been seated were on their feet and cheering wildly for their favorites.
"Whatever you do, don't let them score again!" said Dave, to his players. "Keep the rubber away from our goal."
"We'll send it down to their goal," answered Shadow.
"So we will!" cried Ben.
"This is our game—we have got to have it," was Phil's response.
"It's win or bust," muttered Roger.
Once more the puck was placed in position. Rockville now played as they had never played before, and twice the disc came dangerously close to the Oak Hall goal. But each time Luke Watson drove it back. ”

“ Dave saw Nat Poole hurrying towards him, followed by Merwell and Jasniff. Pete Barnaby was nowhere in sight, and the marks on the narrow road told that his racing car had gone on ahead.
"What do you want, Nat?" asked Dave, as coolly as he could, having brought his machine to a standstill.
"Can't you read, Dave Porter?" fumed the son of the Crumville money-lender.
"Certainly I can read."
"Well, then, what are you doing on this road? You know it is closed. You haven't any right on it at all—you or anybody else. You turn around and go back, just as quick as you can." ”

“ He had been so severely criticised that he was growing tired of it.
"It's a shame that we can't run our club to suit ourselves," grumbled Nat Poole. "If the teachers are going to do it, maybe they had better do the playing too."
"Well, they'd play a heap sight better than you did, Nat," was the remark of another student.
Doctor Clay's announcement created such a stir that the students could think of little else during the day. All felt that from henceforth football, baseball, and track athletics would become a regular part of the institution. ”

“ So well had Nat Poole, Guy Frapley, and their cohorts laid their plans that John Rand was elected manager of the coming eleven by a majority of five votes.
"It is all up with our crowd!" murmured Roger to Dave, when the result was announced. "That crowd has got votes enough to ride over us rough-shod, and it is going to do it."
And the senator's son was right, as later events speedily proved. The new football team, made up of a regular eleven and five substitutes, counted but six old Oak Hall players. Dave, Roger, Phil, and their close chums were utterly ignored. ”

“ All the fellows who bet have lost their money."
"Then we'll have to hit somebody who didn't bet—some of the goody-goody fellows," and he laughed bitterly.
"Like Porter, eh?"
"Yes, Porter never bets, nor drinks, nor smokes. I can't understand how he makes himself popular, can you?"
"It's his smooth way. But some day he'll be found out and dropped," answered Merwell.
"He'll be dropped when we work our little game against him," returned Jasniff, with an evil look in his eyes.
Never had the carryall contained a happier crowd of students than those who rode back to Oak Hall after the game. ”

“ Then my strength gave out,—and I hardly know what I did after that."
"Dave pulled you out," answered Phil. "He saw one of your hands sticking out of the snow, and he got us fellows to form two lines, with him on the end."
"I am very thankful," said Tom Hally, and he gave Dave's hand a warm squeeze. "I shall never go near that hollow again!"
"It's a dangerous place in the winter time," said Roger. "We should have known better than to have retreated in that direction."
"Well, the Army of the Red won!" cried one of the students. "Say, wasn't it a dandy battle!" ”

“ Then the list of football players of past seasons was read. Dave was placed at the top of the list, with Phil, Plum, Roger, and Sam following in the order named. Nat Poole's name was sixteenth, much to his disgust.
"I suppose that means that I can't play on the eleven," he growled.
"You may become a substitute," answered Mr. Dodsworth.
"Not much! If I can't play on the eleven, I know what I'll do—I'll pack my trunk and go home!" ”

“ But even this did not help Oak Hall in the first half of the contest. Rockville went at it hammer and tongs again, and soon scored a legitimate third goal, amid a cheering that was tremendous. Then the whistle blew, and the first half of the game became a thing of the past.
"We are up against it and no mistake," remarked Roger, dolefully, as he and the other players sat down on a bench in the boathouse to rest.
"We are too slow," answered Dave. "We simply must put more ginger in our playing." ”

“ Here a carriage awaited them, and they were driven to the Morr mansion, where they received a warm greeting from the senator and his wife.
The girls had much to tell about themselves, and then asked about matters at the school. They were indignant to learn that Nat Poole had exposed the football signals.
"It is just like him—the sneak!" cried Jessie. "Oh, Dave, I hope you don't have anything more to do with him."
"I am willing to let him alone if he will let me alone."
"Do you hear anything from Link Merwell?" questioned Laura. ”

“ The play was fast and furious from the start, and in a very few minutes Dave and his chums understood that to gain a victory was going to be no easy thing. Rockville had the advantage in weight, and long practice had put every man in the pink of condition.
But the trick that Nat Poole had tried to play bore unexpected results. The kick-off was a good one, but the pigskin was caught by Phil and he brought it back almost to the center of the gridiron, being aided by clever interference on the part of Roger and Plum. Then the signal was given to carry the ball through the center. ”

“ Dave gave a yell of warning, and turned off the power and applied the brakes just in time, and, as before, Roger had to turn into the bushes, to avoid striking the turnout ahead.
"They thought they'd make us cut our tires," said Dave.
"Right you are," answered Phil. "Phew! If we had gone over that glass we might have had some nasty punctures or blow-outs."
"They ought to be arrested for this!" said Sam, wrathfully. "It's against the law to put glass on a public highway."
"We can't prove they did it," answered Ben. "If we accused them, of course they would deny it. But it shows their meanness." ”

“ The Lemington players were already on the field, and it was seen that they were rather light in weight, only the full-back being of good size.
"Our eleven has the advantage in weight," said Roger. "But I rather fancy those fellows are swift."
"Yes, and they may be tricky," added Ben.
As soon as Dave and his chums were seated, Dave gave the signal, and the Oak Hall cheer was given. Then followed another cheer for the school eleven, with a tooting of horns and a clacking of wooden rattles.
"Mercy! but those Oak Hall students can make a noise!" exclaimed one girl, sitting close by. ”

“ In the number were Gus Plum and Chip Macklin, but the former was no longer the bully as of old, and the latter had lost his toadying manner, and was quite manly, and the other students treated them as if all had always been the best of friends.
It did Dave's heart good to see the change in Plum, and he was likewise pleased over the different way in which Macklin acted.
"I never thought it was in Gus and Chip," he said, privately, to Roger. "It shows what a fellow can do if he sets his mind to it." ”

“ Of course Dave had to go over many of his Western adventures, and the others listened with keen interest to all he had to tell. When he mentioned the theft of the horses at the ranch, and how Link Merwell had been mixed up with the thieves, more than one shook his head.
"According to that, Link and Nick are a team," said Luke Watson. "Dave, you had better be on your guard. They won't hesitate to play you some foul trick."
Oakdale, a small but prosperous town, was reached at last, and the schoolboys piled out of the train, along with a few other passengers. ”

“ Dave, don't you dare!"
"Oh, Lazy is only fooling, Jessie," answered Dave. "He wouldn't want to ride at that rate of speed himself."
"Twenty miles an hour is fast enough," said Belle Endicott. "I want to view the scenery. It is lovely around Crumville—so different from around the ranch."
"Yes, the scenery is fine, even though we haven't such big mountains as you have out West," answered Dave.
"And Shady Glen Falls is an ideal spot for a picnic," said Jessie. "Papa took us there last summer."
"You've got to make the most of the Falls this summer," went on Dave. ”

“ Once three men——"
"The same old Shadow!" interrupted Dave, grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze that made the story-teller of the school wince. "Shadow, I believe you'd try to spin a yarn when you were proposing to your best girl."
"That sure would be a yarn," cried Ben, as he, too, shook hands.
"I haven't any best girl and you know it," retorted Shadow. "But I say," he continued, closing one eye tightly. "How is Miss Jessie Wadsworth, Dave?"
"Very well," was the answer, and Dave turned a bit red. "Let us have something," he added, hastily, to the clerk behind the soda fountain counter. ”

“ You people needn't think that you are going to have the best of me all the time," growled Nat.
"We are not doing this against any of the young ladies," said Link Merwell, with a smirk at Laura that made Dave's sister turn away in disdain. "We are only doing it to square accounts with Dave Porter and his cronies. We owe them a good deal,—and this is the first installment."
"With a good deal more to follow!" added Nick Jasniff, with a wicked chuckle. ”

“ In the past there had been many contests between the students of the two seats of learning, and the rivalry was very bitter.
"Rockville!" cried the senator's son. "I shouldn't think they'd want you there."
"Say, you take that back, or I'll—I'll——" blustered Merwell, and then stopped, not knowing how to proceed.
"Oh, say, come on, you fellows," broke in Nat Poole, who was growing scared, thinking there might be a fight. "You can talk this over some other time. Just remember what we started out to do. ”

“ All of the girls screamed in fright, and instinctively Dave and Roger ran their cars as close to the right side of the road as possible. Then, with a roar, the racing car shot past, sending up a cloud of dust, and a shower of small stones, one of which hit Laura Porter in the cheek, and another striking Phil in the ear.
"Fellows that run that way ought to be arrested," was Roger's comment. ”

“ And then they hurried down the street, around a corner, and out of sight.
"Fellows, we ought to lay for those chaps!" cried Roger, as soon as the chums were alone.
"Just what I was going to suggest," broke in Phil.
"What good will it do?" asked Dave. "We can't make anything out of Merwell and Jasniff by talking, and we don't want to start a fight."
"I'd like to duck 'em in a mud pond!" muttered the shipowner's son. "It is what they deserve."
"They deserve tar and feathers!" was Roger's comment. "Why, in some places they'd be run out of town. ”

“ To make things more lively, some boys from No. 10 were also asked to participate.
"Of course you are going to ask Nat Poole and Guy Frapley," said Roger, with a grin.
"Not on your collar-button!" replied Sam. "They can furnish their own spreads—they and the whole crowd with 'em."
"We want to look out that they don't get wise to what we are doing," said Plum. "It would be just like Nat to give us away, if he knew." ”