"Don't let any one tell you anything different," replied Laurie, rea.s.suringly. Ned, evidently recovered from his peevishness, asked:

"What sort of football do they play here?"

"Corking!" answered Proudtree.

"I mean, Rugby or the other?"

"Rugby!" exclaimed Proudtree, scornfully. "I guess not! We play regular football. n.o.body plays Rugby around these parts. Are you fellows going out?"

"Not just yet," replied Ned.

"He means are we going to try for the football team," explained Laurie.

"Yes, we are, Proudtree; at least, one of us is."

"You?"

"We haven't decided yet. You see, we've never played your kind of football. Back home, at high school, we played American Rugby, and it's quite different. But we decided that one of us had better go in for football and the other for baseball, if only to do our duty by the school."

Proudtree looked puzzled. "How are you going to decide?" he asked.

"Oh, we'll toss up or draw lots or something, I suppose. Maybe, though, Ned had better play football, because I know more baseball than he does.

Still, I'm not particular."

"That's the limit!" chuckled the visitor. "Say, what are your names? I didn't see any cards on the door."

"Turner. His is Laurie and mine's Ned," answered the latter. "Do we put our names on the door?"

"It's the best way," answered Proudtree. "Well, I've got to be moving. I started to take a shower and got side-tracked. You chaps come on over and see me and I'll get some of the other fellows in. You want to meet the right sort, you know. What's your cla.s.s?"

"Lower middle, I reckon," said Ned. "That's what we expect."

"Too bad you can't make upper. That's mine. We've got a corking bunch of fellows this year. Well, see you later. Try for Mr. Barrett's table when you go down. That's the best. Maybe they'll put you there if you bluff it out. You understand. So long, fellows."

Proudtree withdrew with considerable dignity in view of his bulk, waving a benedictory hand ere the door closed behind him. Ned shook his head.

"Sort of a fresh hombre," he said.

"Oh, he only meant to be friendly, I reckon," said Laurie. "You understand."

Ned laughed. "I'll bet they've got a wonderful football team here if he plays on it! By the way, maybe we'd better settle which of us is to be the football star. I suppose they begin to practise pretty soon. I'll be the goat, if you like; though you had better luck with that book you bought in Chicago. I couldn't make head or tail of it. I never saw so many rules for playing one game in my life!"

"It _was_ sort of difficult," agreed Laurie. "I dare say, though, that you pick up the rules quick enough when you start to play. If you don't really mind, I think you'd better go in for football, and I'll do the baseball stunt. I've played it more than you have, you know, even if I'm no wonder."

"All right!" Ned sighed. "We'll get a bottle of arnica to-morrow.

Nothing like being prepared. How about going to see Mr. What's-his-name before supper about courses?"

"Might as well, and have it over with. I'd like to know whether we're going to make the lower middle."

"Don't see what else we can make. They can't stick us in the junior cla.s.s. Where's my coat? For the love of lemons, Laurie, can't you find anything else to sit on? Gosh, look at the wrinkles!"

"Those aren't wrinkles; they're just creases. Come on!"

Half an hour later they closed the door of Mr. Cornish's study on the floor below, in a chastened mood. Each carried a little buff card whereon the instructor had tabulated an amazing number and variety of study periods. Back in Number 16, Ned cast himself into a chair, thrust his legs forth, and gazed disconsolately at the card.

"I don't see where a fellow finds time for anything but work here," he complained. "Sixteen, eighteen, twenty-one hours a week! What do you know about that?"

"Well, don't be so proud of it. I've got the same, haven't I? I wonder how many hours he thinks there are in a day?"

"I tell you what I think," said Ned, after a moment's thought. "I think he got it into his head that we're very ambitious and want to graduate next spring!"

"Maybe that's it," agreed Laurie, gravely. "Shall we go back and tell him he's wrong?"

"N-no, let's not. He seemed a well-meaning old codger, and I wouldn't want to hurt his feelings-if he has any. Let's go down and see what they've got for supper."

Ned's blandishments failed with the waitress, and they were established at a table presided over by a tall and very thin gentleman, whose name, as they learned presently, was Mr. Brock. There were four tables in the room, each accommodating ten boys and a member of the faculty.

Diagonally across the dining-hall, the twins descried the ample Mr.

Proudtree. Another table was in charge of a pleasant-faced woman who proved to be the school matron, Mrs. Wyman. Mr. Cornish, the hall master, and Mr. Barrett sat at the heads of the remaining boards.

The room was very attractive, with a fine big stone fireplace at the farther end, and broad windows on two sides. The food proved plain, but it was served in generous quant.i.ties; and notwithstanding that the twins were a bit self-conscious, they managed a very satisfactory meal.

Their fellow-students seemed to be a very decent lot. Their ages appeared to average about sixteen, and they had the clean, healthy look of boys who spent much of their time outdoors. At the table at which the twins sat, four of the boys were evidently seniors, and one was as evidently a junior. The latter looked hardly more than thirteen, though he was in reality a year older than that, and had the features and expression of a cherub. The twins concluded that he was a new boy and felt a little sorry for him. He looked much too young and innocent to face the world alone.

No one made any special effort to engage either Ned or Laurie in conversation, perhaps because the returning youths had so much to talk about among themselves. Mr. Brock ate his supper in silence, save when one of the older boys addressed him, and had a far-away and abstracted air. Laurie saw him sweeten his tea three times, and then frown in annoyance when he finally tasted it.

The boy who had guessed their awful secret at luncheon sat at the next table, and more than once Ned caught him looking across with a half-bewildered, half-frightened expression that somehow managed to convey the intelligence that, in spite of temptation, he had kept the faith. Ned finally rewarded him with a significant wink, and the youth retired in confusion behind the milk-pitcher.

When the meal was over the twins went outside and, following the example set by others, made themselves comfortable on the gra.s.s beyond the walk.

Near by, two older boys were conversing earnestly, and Ned and Laurie, having exhausted their own subjects of conversation, found themselves listening.

"We've got to do it," the larger of the two was saying. "Dave's going to call a meeting of the school for Friday evening, and Mr. Wells is going to talk to them. I'll talk too. Maybe you'd better, Frank. You can tell them a funny story and get them feeling generous."

"Nothing doing, Joe. Leave me out of it. I never could talk from a platform. Anyway, it's the fellows' duty to provide money. If they don't, they won't have a team. They understand that-or they will when you tell them. There's another thing, though, Joe, that we've got to have besides money, and that's material. We've _got_ to get more fellows out."

"I know. I'll tell them that, too. I'm going to put a notice up in School Hall in the morning. Mr. c.u.mmins says there are eight new fellows entering the middle cla.s.ses this year. Maybe some of them are football-players."

"Bound to be. Did you see the twins?"

"No, but Billy Emerson was telling me about them. What do they look like?"

"Not bad. Rather light-weight, though, and sort of slow. They're from Arizona or somewhere out that way, I think. You can't tell them apart, Joe."

"Think they're football stuff?"

"Search me. Might be. They're light, though. Here comes Kewpie. Gosh, he's fatter than ever! Hi, Kewpie! Come over here!"

It was Proudtree who answered the hail, descended the steps, and approached. "h.e.l.lo, Joe! h.e.l.lo, Frank! Well, here we are again, eh?

Great to be back, isn't it? Have a good summer, Joe?"

"Fine! You?"