Ralph Henry Barbour

“ Hiltz’s voice dwindled uncertainly into silence.
“I don’t see what I could do about it,” said Gerald with spirit. “Tubby left school because he got into some sort of trouble. That left Dan alone and he asked me to come in with him. It doesn’t make much difference to me, Hiltz, whether you like me or don’t like me, only—I haven’t done anything to you and I’d rather not have anyone down on me if I can help it. You say I’m stuck-up, but I don’t believe I am. I know there are dozens and dozens of fellows here who are smarter and nicer than I am and who haven’t got wealthy fathers. ”

“ Little by little he reduced Loughan’s lead, delighted to find that he still had strength and breath in his tired, aching body. Quite clearly now the wild, imploring cheers of Yardley and Broadwood reached him and he no longer doubted that something, whether much or little he didn’t know, depended on his beating that boy ahead.
The finish was barely a hundred yards distant now and Gerald was almost up to Loughan, and the knowledge came to him that he was in better [112] shape than the other and could win if the distance was only great enough. ”

“ Gerald joined Arthur and they made their way across the Yard together. As they approached the back of Whitson Hall a boy at an open window in the second story hailed them.
“Hello, Gerald! Come on up. Say, Arthur, I want you to help me with this history stuff. Will you?”
“That’s what comes of having a kid for a roommate,” sighed Arthur. “He doesn’t try to learn anything. All he thinks of is his beastly stamp book. ”

“ It isn’t often that a school has two victories over her dearest rival in one day to celebrate, and Yardley realized the fact and made the most of the privilege. Supper was a noisy, riotous event, with Mr. Collins striving hard to maintain some degree of order without unnecessarily dampening the enthusiasm with which he was thoroughly in sympathy. Commons was cleared early in order that the team might hold its banquet. ”

“ Their appearance was the signal for an outburst of cheers that lasted for several moments. A minute or two later they took possession of the rink and began warming up. The ice was in fine shape, hard and smooth, and the skates rang merrily as they charged up and down. Sticks clashed and pucks flew back and forth, often whizzing into the crowd and causing heads to duck. Broadwood appeared soon and received her meed of acclaim. Then for some ten minutes the teams practiced. Yardley wore white running trunks over dark blue tights, white shirts and blue knitted caps. ”

“ Making the Cross-Country Team and winning the meet with Broadwood was going some for a youngster.”
“But they don’t give you your Y for that,” said Gerald.
“Oh, so that’s it?” said Alf. “Well, you mustn’t think about such things, kid. You must always play for the School with no thought of reward.” He looked gravely at Tom. Tom grinned.
“Didn’t you think about getting your Y when you began to play football?” asked Gerald suspiciously. Alf cleared his throat, and Tom and Dan laughed. ”

“ Beyond the boards is a retaining wall of earth some eighteen inches high from the top of which at the present moment some twenty or thirty spectators, well wrapped against the cold, are watching practice. Two benches, borrowed from the tennis courts, are piled with sweaters and extra paraphernalia.
At this end of the rink, his knees bent behind the big padded leg guards and his body unconsciously following, with his eyes, every move of the puck, stands Dan, one hand resting on the top of the goal and the other grasping his broad stick. In front of him Alf is poised at point. ”

“ From almost every window a green flag with its white B fluttered, while the front of the gymnasium, which was on the way to the field, was draped in a great green banner with the word Broadwood spelled along its length in startling white letters two feet high.
The automobile had eaten up the miles in quick time and Mr. Pennimore’s party was on the scene before the bulk of the audience had arrived. They found a place for the car at one corner of the field, but Gerald and the others voted to see the contest from the side line nearer the middle of the gridiron. ”

“ After that Harry knew nothing of Hiltz’s whereabouts. Gerald reported this to Dan and Alf and Tom after practice.
“I say let’s find Hiltz and put it up to him,” said Dan impatiently. “We could say that he was seen in the building yesterday afternoon.”
“That would be a lie, wouldn’t it?” asked Tom mildly.
“Well, isn’t a lie excusable in a case of this sort?” retorted Dan.
“I don’t think so. You don’t, either, Dan. A lie’s a lie, no matter when you tell it.” ”

“ HILTZ ENTERS A PROTEST
When they had crossed the bridge the four talked a while of the comet and then Dan and Alf turned to the right toward the little buff house wherein Payson, the football coach, had his lodgings, and Tom and Gerald kept on in the direction of the school. Ahead of them was a straggling line of fellows whose eager voices reached them crisply on the morning air.
“Aren’t you tired?” asked Tom with a solicitous glance at the younger boy. Gerald shook his head.
“Not a bit, Tom. You see, I’ve been at it ever since school opened. It’s wonderful the way practice brings you along. ”

“ Come on to dinner and stop worrying, Gerald. It’ll all come out in the wash. And Dan’s right, too. After you’ve been here a little longer you’ll find that a fellow’s got to put up with a lot of fool yarns. Just as long as you play fair you don’t have to worry about what fellows say. Come on now; this is roast-beef day, and I’m as hungry as a bear! ”

“ Maybe if we could tell some of Jake’s supporters that if they voted for you they’d be taken from their rooms to Oxford in an automobile, we could land the election for you!”
“I guess that’s the only way we can land it,” said Dan dubiously. “I’m going to talk things over with Alf. He was cut out for a politician. Want to come along?”
“Can’t; I have to study a bit. I’ll look in to-morrow. There goes Gerald. I wonder if he knows what a mint of trouble you’re taking to get him elected to Cambridge.”
“I fancy he suspects,” said Dan, with a smile. “He isn’t a fool, Gerald isn’t. ”

“ Alf said. “If you do you can’t play good hockey. You’ve got to keep cool all the time and know just what you’re doing. Let the other side lose their heads. If they do you’ve got the game cinched. Just as soon as you go up in the air you forget all about formation and begin to play the game all by your lonesome. And as soon as you do that you’ll find that the other chaps are eating you up, goal after goal. Remember that, kid. Next year you try again. You’ll be a good deal heavier then, I guess, and I don’t see why you shouldn’t make the team. ”

“ Are you going to play this afternoon, Tom?”
“Yes. Alf’s gone to see Payson about the length of halves. Payson wants two twenties and Alf thinks that’s too much.”
“I wish Bendix would let me play,” sighed Gerald. “Don’t you think it’s mean of him, Tom? He says I’m not strong enough, but I’ll wager I’m as strong as lots of the fellows on the Second.”
“No, you’re not, kid. You wait until next year. Muscles knows what he’s talking about. Football’s a tough game to play and a fellow needs to be pretty sturdy if he isn’t going to get banged up. ”

“ The hockey team defeated Greenburg easily, lost to Carrel’s school, 3 to 7, won from Warren Hall, 18 to 2, and finished the month with a well-played game in which the Yale Freshmen took its measure to the tune of 12 to 4. All the month the ice remained in perfect condition, although the team was kept pretty busy shoveling snow from the rink. Dan had settled down into his game at goal and, while he still pretended that Alf had persuaded him to join the team in the hope of having him killed, he enjoyed it all hugely and was fast developing into a strong and steady player. ”

“ Think of the race depending on him, Dan! Wouldn’t that jar you? Is he gaining?”
“I—I don’t believe so,” muttered Dan anxiously. “He cut down a lot, but he’s just about holding his place now. He runs well, too, and looks fresher than the other chap. Oh, gee, Alf, why doesn’t he try harder?”
A groan went up from the Yardley watchers, for the Broadwood runner had suddenly sprung away and now a good four or five yards separated him from Gerald, and the finish was almost at hand.
After that first attempt to leave Hiltz behind Gerald had subsided into a pace that kept him just at the other’s heels. ”

“ I’m sorry I can’t see some of your winter sports, Tom.”
“You ought to see us lick Broadwood at hockey,” said Gerald.
“Hockey? Let me see, we used to call that shinny or shinty when I was a boy, didn’t we?”
Alf explained the modern form of the game and they talked over the outlook for the season. “I’m going to get the team together in about a week,” he said. “Sometimes we have fairly good ice before Christmas, and when we don’t we can get a lot of practice at shooting in the gym. I’m going to try and make a goal out of Dan.”
“I’d like to play myself,” said Tom, “if Dan’s going to be the goal. ”

“ The Second Team consists to-day of Norcross at goal, Sommers at point, Coke at cover point, and Dick French, Arthur Thompson, Dickenson, and Longwell as forwards. Along the barrier are the substitutes of both teams, three of whom we know; Gerald Pennimore and Eisner and Ridge [201] of the football eleven. Dickenson is captain and under his leadership the Second is putting up a strong game these days. Along the side of the rink, following the play, skates Andy Ryan, his twinkling green eyes ever watching for off-side play and his whistle ever ready to signal a cessation of hostilities. ”

“ We’ll take a couple of canoes——”
“You’re always suggesting schemes that demand physical exertion,” protested his roommate. “Why don’t you ever think up something easy? Why not stay just where we are and have a good, sensible time? It’s warm here and I’m quite comfortable.”
“What do you say, Dan?” asked Alf, turning his back on Tom and his objections.
“I’m game,” said Dan. “I love these pleasure exertions. How about you, Gerald?”
“I’d love to go. It seems a shame to stay around school when we have a holiday. What time would we get back? You know we’re going for an automobile ride at four.” ”

“ They got more hard knocks than glory, and they deserve a whole lot of praise. So, next year I don’t see any reason why you can’t have another celebration like this. There are some of us up here who won’t be on hand to see it, but we all wish you success, and you may be pretty sure that when the day of the Broadwood game comes none of us will be very far from a bulletin board. Now, I know you want to hear who it is that is to lead next year’s football team to victory. We have chosen him, and we did it on the first ballot. ”

“ Dudley Hall, the senior dormitory, is more retiring and stands back from the other buildings, across the Yard. Southward the ground slopes abruptly to the railroad cut, through which the main-line trains dash and long freights crawl day and night. There is a rustic bridge here, and if you keep on the paths lead you through a dense, well-kept woods to the beach and the sound. Northward the land slopes more gradually to the river and the tennis courts, athletic field and boathouse. Eastward lies the golf links with its puzzling nine-hole course. ”

“ First Class men call themselves seniors, and, with the Second Class, constitute the Upper Classmen. There are some two hundred and seventy students in Yardley, their ages ranging from twelve to twenty. Yardley sends most of her product to Yale, while Broadwood Academy, her dearest foe, supplies each year a fair proportion of the entering class at Princeton. Broadwood is situated some three miles inland from Greenburg, and at Yardley they like to speak of it maliciously as a “fresh-water school.” ”

“ I guess we’ve got to get the next runner in, fellows.”
“Not necessarily,” began Tom. But just then a shout went up and the crowd moved forward again. Far up the road trotted a single runner and Yardley sighed her relief, for his shirt shone white in the sunlight. A moment later a second runner appeared, a dark-shirted youth who, in spite of the distance between him and the man in front, seemed determined to overtake him.
“But he can’t do it,” whispered Dan half aloud. “Our chap’s got too much lead. Why, that’s Thompson, Alf.” ”

“ At one time or another every student has the opportunity to join one or other of the societies, but to be invited to each is considered something of an honor. This had happened to Gerald Pennimore the preceding spring, when Alf and Dan had tried to get him into Cambridge, and Tom, supported by a handful of influential friends, had offered Gerald the hospitality of Oxford. ”

“ Scott tried his best to pull down the scant lead, but the Yardley man held it to the line, crossing a bare two feet to the good and securing for the Dark Blue the individual honors of the meet, no matter what might happen later. Yardley’s cheers filled the air, and, after the first moment of disappointment, Broadwood added a hearty cheer for her rival to the applause she accorded Scott.
“Yardley, 1; Broadwood, 2,” murmured Alf, setting the figures down. “So far so good. Any more in sight, Tom?”
“Don’t see any, but there’s a lot of chumps on the road. Some one ought to make ’em keep off.” ”