No.760 NOV. 35,1910 IDEAL PUBLICATION FORTHE AMERICAN YOUTH DICK MERRIWELL. TUTOR s Swiftly, before their oppo- nents realized what was doing, Bob and Dick changed places; and the speedy End, tucking the ball securely under his arm, shot out into the open field. STREET & SMITH, PUBLISHERS, NEt ha! ce AL. SA EP MNT 7 , . Issued Weekly. By subscription $2.50 per year. Entered as Second-class Matter at the N. ¥. Post Office, by STREET & SMITH, 79-89 Seventh Ave., NV. Y. — Copyright, 1910, by STREET & SMITH. Wo. 760. DICK MERRIWELL, TUTOR; OR, ’ The Fellow Who Gave Up Football. CHAPTER I. A GATHERING IN DURFEE. The comfortable sitting room in Durfee Hall, oc- cupied by Dick Merriwell.and his Texas chum, Brad Buckhart, was filled to overflowing. Sprawling among the cushions of the divan was Rudolph Rose, hand- some, high spirited, and rather quick-tempered, but ~ happy in the latter failing and thereby won a place in Merri- the knowledge that he had at last conquered well’s friendship. Close beside him was Terry Baxter, quiet, almost too serious, but with a keen sense of humor which showed in the appreciative gleam in his brown eyes and the occasional terse, pithy remarks which he uttered in a solemn manner, but which invariably sent the others into an uproar. . Eric Fitzgerald, slim, slight, and” cise haired, dan- gled his legs from one end of the ‘table. He was so full of vim and life and go that he reminded one of a particle of quicksilver, forever on the moves and on _ the rare occasions when he did settle be for a mo- NEW YORK, November 5, 1910. By BURT L. STANDISH. ment, he usually perched himself somewhere in a tem- Price Five Cents. eee 2. mis eee ’ } porary manner, as if he were only pausing for an instant before making another flight. Samp Elwell, the Hoosier, whose dry wit was a source of never-ending delight to his friends, occupied | the piano stool. Across the room sat his chum, Lance Fair, who was not nearly so unsophisticated as his smooth, rosy cheeks and almost girlish manner would lead one to imagine. Buckhart was hunched down on the back of his neck in one of the big easy-chairs near the table, while Merriwell himself was tilted back against the wall in — the desk chair, his dark eyes sparkling with mirth and — a smile curving the corners of his sensitive mouth. “You fellows ought to have been in Pierson’s class- room this morning,” he remarked. “Aéter the lecture he started in to quiz us, and happened to spy Hollister — gazing dreamily out ofthe window. I suppose Bob — was thinking out some new football stunt. Anyway, — he was miles away from Roman history, and Pierson caught him. TIP 4 y “*Mr. Hollister,’ he said, in that short, snappy way he has, ‘ca you mention one memorable date in Roman History with a jump and shapped back without thinling, ‘Anthony’s with Cleo- patra, sir.’ “Bob éaime out of his traticé It brought down the house.”» There was a shoitit of delighted laugliter, and when it had died down Samp Elwell looked up, grinnitig. “He did, “Piercy Fitzgerald ‘from the table. [It isn’t the fitst time He's been awful he chuck- chimed in was mad as thunder. Bob's flunked by a long shot, either. “Td hike to have seen old Pierson’s face,” led. “TI reckon Bob drew a goose egg for that.” punky this term.”’ the Texan. “He ¢an’t get his mind off the game long enough to ‘Too ‘much football, [ opine,” growled feed his face, let alone keep track ‘of lectures. _ He’s plumb locoed about it. ~ Obs? SAay;". that new stunt of old Bill’s. Vhat forward The Texan straightened up, like a flash, and,’ grab- You hear me gently warble!” Elwell spoke up suddenly; “how about ”)9 bing a book from the table, shied it with swiftness and remarkable accuracy ,at the Hoosier’s head. Elwell ducked, and the book struck the piano, falling to the keyboard with a discordant crash. , ’ “What in time began the indignant sophomore, straightening up again. “You don’t seem to recollect what I ttied to drill into that solid ivory skull of yours a brief time back,” Buckhart drawled with perfect composure. © “Talking shop has got to be cut out around this bunk house. I'm plumb sick of hearing about football. For six weeks I’ve heard nothing else, and now that Tempest i is back on the job I’m going to take a rest.” “Great Scott, Brad!’ Rose ‘exclaimed “You're not going to leave the team!” aghast. “Thunderation, no!’ the Texan retorted. “I'll hold down my job till the cows come home; but’ off the fleld I’m going to forget it and take a whack at the books _ [have hardly got a squint at since the term began. ‘So, unless you gents want’to start a row. promiscuous like, _ kindly refrain from holding forth on the subject while I'm around? » ‘ “Say, felldws,-dsn’t it pretty: near time we organized bs a little fishing, parity tip,to the lake?’ asked Fitzgerald. Trout fishigg wasione of, his pet hobbies. “Any trout;there?’ inquired Fair quickly, - “Thousands of ’em,” returned Fitz. “Will they. bite easily?” asked Lance. “Will they?” exclaimed the slim chap. “Well, provid i! Se ous Why, they’re absolutely vi- 4 TOP - WEEKLY. cious. A man has to hide behind a tree to bait his hook,” xy “It wouldn't be a bag idea, haven't gone off on a trip Samp, why. dont yout You've been holding down that piano stool all even- ) holding d that | tool all ni “We that; this fall. Say, chair ? Dick remarked. like take a comfortable ing, and you know you can't play a note.’ ¢ The Hoosier winked significantly and cast _a mean- ing glance at Fitzgerald, one of whose many accom- plishments was the singing of popular ditties to im- provised- accompaniments consisting of a more or less skillful variation of two chords. | “T know that,” neither can any one else while I’m here.” Fitz instantly took up the gantlet. cer Elwell returned composedly, “but Talk about hogs!” he exclaimed, springing from his seat onthe table. a perfectly punk song I just learned this afternoon. Avaunt, creature!’’ “And here I am fairly bursting with He made a dive at Elwell, and, before the stalwart Hoosier realized what was happening, the piano: stool was: deftly upset and he sprawled on the floor.’ By tht.time he had scrambled to his feet, the slim chap was seated calmly at the keyboard and had struck an open- ing, chord. “Come into the garden, Maud,” he began dramati- cally. He got no farther. A, united yell of protest arose which effectually drowhed him out. “Oh, what a chestnut! , “Noah sang the at to the animals in the ark!” “Give us something that’s hot more than two thou- sand years old!” | Fitz turned slowly around, a look of pained surprise on his freckled face. “Peace, prithee—peace!” he chided. that the song is quite new, may be a little reminiscent. Kindly refrain from any * more rude, vulgar interruptions.”’ Before the others could recover their breath hese struck the chords and began to sing again, this time i rather hurriedly : “Come into the garden, Maud”; ’ But Maud was much too wise. ‘Oh, no,’ said she, ‘the corn has ears And the potatoes éyes.’” His voice, dwelling lingeringly and fondly on the last ie note, was drowned in a shout of laughter. “Great!” choked Buckhart. child, all right.” “Give us another verse, old fellow, well. , pore , “T assure you. sdve the first line, which*) Rist “Maud: was a wise — ” chuckled ae | eee Se tS eee ARPT. Ales Rican . nee ze TIP TOPs WEEKLY. 3 iv “I'm afraid I’m not in very good voice to-night,” 4,| __s simpered Fitz, looking coyly down at the keys. “Such c | a critical audience always makes me so nervous. How- 2 ever——” He lifted his voice again in the same serious chant. “The rain it falls upon the just, ; are And also on the unjust fellers; . as But chiefly on the just, because ‘The unjust have the justs’ umbrellfers.” ‘ This verse was received with equal applause, and Fitz was entreated to give them another. “Sing another song,’ urged Rose. “You must know a pile of them.” “Well, Pll give you a very short one,” the slim chap ae ‘returned with much apparent reluctance. “It’s a little ae old, but you mustn’t mind a thing like that.” a Striking a single chord, he began the first line. oe 5 “Mary had a littl——’ He paused, and, clearing his throat, glanced around at his audience, plainly surpriséd that there had been no interruption. Hav ing been caught once, however, the fellows were not going to repeat the performance, and remained expectantly. silent. Seeing that he could not get a rise out of them, _ Fitzgerald turned back to the piano and began the os: over again. “Mary had™ little skirt Tied tightly in a bow, And everywhere that Mary went She simply couldn’t go.” I he announced, springing up and skip- “Somebody else can do Pai hat 6 all,” _ ping over to the ae again. _ parlor tricks now. Before any one had a chance to reply, ‘the door was _ opened rather unceremoniously, and a tall, curly haired, sun-burned fellow, with an ‘attractive face and the figure ofan athlete, entered composedly, and closed the door behind him. ¢ 7 CHAPTER II. . THE FELLOW WITH ONE IDEA. , From the uproarious nature of the greeting gs re- “ ceived, it was quite evident that he was a general fa- _-vorite. / | hi aN “Hello, Bob!” ; : “Come in and rest your face and hands.” dropped down on a chair. that cute remark about Anthony’s date. “How about Anthony’s date with Cleopatra?” Bob Hollister grinned a little s aes ily. “Heard about that, ’ he inquired, « as he “T suppose that'll be rubbed into me for the next six months. What the deuce did I know about Roman history? I was doping out a new around-the-eyd combination.” “Sh! Careful!” cautioned Elwell, finger. tes Hollister looked bewtidered. “What’s the matter?” “No. football talk,” returned the Hoosier, with a grin.. “Our esteemed, ex-temporary captain objects to it in the sacred privacy of his apartment.” “Well, I'll be hanged!” gasped Hollister. about football! talk about?” Dick smiled. “You have got it bad; Bob,” he remarked. you ever think about anything else?” Hollister shook his head. “Hardly ever,” he confessed. “I couldn’t keep it out of my head if I tried, with the big game so close. Why, I even wake up in the middle of the night won- dering how to work certain combinations, or thinking up some new way of getting the ball through their line. I haven’t had time to open a book in weeks.” have you? with upraised | he asked quickly. “Not talk What in the mischief else is there to “Don’t He gave a sudden start, and, diving down into one pocket, drew out a rather crumpled envelope. “Just look at that,” he remarked, tossing it over to Dick. | Merriwell caught it and extracted a square, printed slip, which proved to be one of the warning notices sent out from the dean’s office when a student has fallen behind the required = in any ee study. © “A warning in Latin,” he said thoughtfully. “You must have been pretty rotten lately, Bob. Goodhue is one of the easiest profs in college.” “I have flunked a bunch of times,” Hollister con- fessed. “And that isn’t all, either. Got one in Ger- man day before yesterday. + I suppose Schlemmer got on his ear after the mess r made of Heine last week.” ” “You want to look out, Bobby,” Fitzgerald put in lightly. other. “After this morning, you're*due for still an- Dear old Piercy was pars when you made I'll bet he se footed to the’dean the minute the class was over.’ “And three warnings means a general one, mented Elwell. “By hocus, Bobby! u suppl: | . You'll have to do SS ee ee ‘ * Ieee LE AT TE SN TERE NE MC A ie atin ES ae TIP TOP WEEKLY. 4 a little cramming, or you'll have the ‘whole faculty’ down on your neck.” “They are now!” Hollister burst out petulantly. “I believe it’s a put-up job. special delight in getting me up every chance they can Every one of them takes a and making a monkey out of me, They ought to know I don’t have any chance to grind right in the middle of the football season. But what do they care about football! A lot of dried-up fossils! a rap whether we’re licked or not. biggest part of ’em even see one game a season.”’ “You're wrong there, Bob,’’ Dick put in quietly. “Some of the profs are daffy about the game. They don’t give I don’t believe the The dean wouldn’t miss one for any amount of money,” “Yes, and old Piercy is the worst of the lot,” chimed in Fitzgerald, ‘You ought to have seen him Satur- day—Standing up on the bench, his hat off, hair rum- pled, and eyes popping out of his head, waving his arms like a windmill, and yelling like a fiend. He’s a good old sport, even if he does like to catth a fellow napping in the classroom.,”’ The clock struck ten, and the sound had scarcely died away when Buckhart threw out his arms and yawned, loudly and ostentatiously, “Humph!” remarked Fitzgerald tartly. “Why don’t you tell us plainly that it’s time to go home?”’ “T was waiting to see if you wouldn’t wake up to the fact yourselves,” the Texan returned tranquilly. The slim chap eyed him mischievously. “I’ve a good mind to stay here just to spite you,” he said presently. | Buckhart yawned again. “Stay right along, if you like, little one,” he drawled. “That wouldn't bother me a whole lot. In about ten minutes I’m going to hit the pillow; but if you gents want to sit here for the rest - the night chinning, you've sure got my permission.” Most of the other fellows were about ity to turn in themselves, and there was a general movement to- ward the door. Hollister got up with the rest, and ‘ then glanced hesitatingly toward Merrivwell. “Got a couple of minutes to spare, Dick?’’ he asked, in a low tone. : . “Sure thing,” Merriwell returned quickly. down and I'll be wit you in a minute.” / / “Sit _ Hollister dropped back onto his chair, and Dick followed the others to the door. _ good nights, they trooped out in a body and clattered ‘downstairs, and resumed. his seat, w Rule Buckhart made tracks for pen bedroom. oY With a chorus of Then Merriwell came back Ato the room EEE eee Lie eae “You gents will-have to excuse me,” he mumbled. “Can't keep my blinkers propped open another min- ob ute. Good night.” Without waiting for their response, he disappeared, and the next moment the sound of shoes being thrown to the floor was heard, followed with amazing swift- aL: ness by the creak of springs as the Texan crawled into 5 , bed. } ; “Gee! I wish,I could do that,” Dick raised his eyebrows inquiringly. 4: “Go to sleep the minute I hit the pillow,” Hollister “T toss around for an hour or more, think- Hollister murmured. explained. ing about all kinds of things. think better at night when everything’s there’s noone to disturb me.” “Football, I suppose?’ Dick questioned, looking at him thoughtfully. Hollister nodded. eee pe “Yes, but that wasn’t what I wanted to talk to you about,” “Tt’s =o) ings. I never got one of them before this fall.’ 5 His tone was almost angry. “As I remember,” Dick remarked, “you never used to have any trouble keeping up in your studies, but still had plenty of time for almost anything in the line’ of athletics you wanted to do.” A frown corrugated Hollister’s forehead. “Exactly,” he returned. “It looks to me as if the ey profs did the thing on purpose jyst to worry me when | they ought to know I’ve got to give all my time to foot- ball. It’s a rotten shame!” Dick did not answer for a moment. “I hardly think that’s it, Bob,” he said presently. | “There wouldn’t be any object in their doing that. T _ don’t believe they like giving a fellow’s name to the — dean. I know’Goodhue doesn’t, for he’s told me so. He doesn’t have a man warned until it’s absolutely necessary. No, I’m afraid the trouble is altogether _ with you. ied don’t bone enough.” Nes Hollister smiled wryly. “I don’t grind at all,” he said jauickly: there doesn’t seem to be/any time.” — Dick smiled. pak cg “Shucks! You've got as much time’as the rest of us. sbtnehow we manage to make a ‘passable show- ing.” . eg ct! eae flushed a little, i, Seems as if I could quiet ‘and: he said quickly. these confounded warn- ~ ¥ “Somehow, I can’t seem to make use of it. T he minute I sit ‘tone with a book, my mind flies off to the field as regular ~ as clockwork, and before I know it it’s time to turn TIP FOP in, and I haven’t done an earthly thing with the Latin but very likely I’ve formation or trick t or math, or whatever it may be; thought out some corking new play.’ ob BER, hi AO? eT “Good!” exclaimed Hollister, in surprise. “Why, I Pe put the idea up to Tempest or Fullerton, and often they can make use of it.” ee a “Of course I know that,” Dick returned. | isn’t a fellow on the team who has a better, broader A conception of the strategy of the game; D&t you're a not in college just to play football and let everything Nb, else go to smash. That sounds sort of priggish, I *& . know, but it’s really the truth. WI do is to put it out of your mind the moment you leave ies the field. If you don’t, Bob, you'll be plucked as sure war, ag fete. ae “Brad has realized that, and you know there isn’t | ~~ a fellow in college who thinks more of the game. q But while he was taking Tempest’s place as captain, he just about dropped everything else and got fright- fully behind in his work, Since Don came back re ’ Dick said quietly; “but what good does it “There 1at you've got to week, Brad has been doing his best not to think « football except on the field, and he’s of hard grinding that he’s beginning to catch up.” ' That’s what I ought to do, of course,” Hollister agreed. “But I don’t see how I can, Dick. I start in, really ieee to study, but somehow, I never get -anyw here.” , | “That’s all nonsense,” Dick said emphatically. can do it if you really make up’your mind to. Great Scott, man! You don’t want to develop into a fel- low with just one idea, do you? If you keep on this way, you won't be able to think of another earthly thing but football. And if you don’t take a brace in done such a e “Vou Then where would you be?” Hollister’s face had grown very serious. He seemed to realize for the first,time the gravity of the situa- -! tion and the end toward which he was rapidly drifting. Somehow it had’never occurred to him that there was ‘a possibility of being dropped. If that should happen, what earthly good would his ability to play football _ be to him? It was not a pleasant thought. “T expect you're right, old man,” he said slowly, with a rather futile attempt at a smile, “Looks as if -T'd have to take a big brace before something drops. It’s going to be a hard pull, though.” 7 ae Bob,” “Of course, it will be hard, Dick said ear- nestly, “but you've got to do it. your real work, you’re more than likely to be dropped. . Just make-up your. ‘ WEEKLY. 5 mind that you pasitively won't give the game a thought off the field. take a fresh spurt with the books. come out all right.” Hollister arose slowly. “That's what I'll do,” that’s what I'll try to do.” “Doén’t say try,” Merriwell put in swiftly. “Don't let there be a doubt in your mind of your ability to Banish it entirely from your mind, and Then I think you'll he said quickly; “at least, succeed, and | think you'll make good.” ’ Hollister smiled. “I'll start in to- morrow morning. I’m awfully dbliged, Dick, for your advice. I didn’t seem to realize before how serious a fix I was fn, but I'll. pull up now, and I think things will come around in good shape.. i “Of course, they will,” ily. “See you to-morrow, “Right you are,” Merriwell answered heart- old fellow. Good night.” CHAPTER III, THE THIRD WARNING, Bob Hollister played right end on the varsity, and was one of the most valuable men on the team. He was remarkably speedy, quite equaling the Indian, Joe Crowfoot; absolutely tireless, with the added ad- vantage of having played the game ever since his prep, - school days, so he was familiar with every phase of it. No matter in what apparently direful straits the ‘team might be, Bob.never gave up hope. Not until the final whistle blew, announcing that the game was fin- ished, would he acknowledge that he was beaten, and his cheery optimism always had an inspiring effect on the discouraged members of the team, more than once being the means of pulling them out of the slough of despondency and changing defeat into jvictory. Perhaps more than anything else, the quality which made him valuable was the fact that he never lost his head. No matter what might be happening, Bob Hol- lister could always be depended on to use his brains. And not only did he use them to advantage during the progress of a game, but he was noted for the i ingenious — combinations and strategic plays which he worked out and submitted to Bill Fullerton, the head coach. : The latter had often remarked that Hollister had - either a perfectly phenomenal mind, or"else he spent _ his entire waking hours doping out these plays, so_ many of which had proved invaluable to the elev en. a His latter supposition had been the correct one, 8 6 TIP TOP Hollister’s brain did, indeed, work vefy quickly; and that, together with his perfect knowledge of football, enabled him to work out clever schemes in far less time than the ordinary mortal; but what had at first started as a more wr less interesting pastime now reached a point when it absorbed almost every con- scious moment. Dick Merriwell’s words opened his eyes to the truth, and, as he crossed the campus to his rooms in Vander- bilt, he gave them very serious thought and attention. He would start in the very next day with the neces- sary reform. He w ould do as Dick advised, and cut out thinking about football except when he was on the field. It was too bad the profs hadn't let him alone until after the end of the season, for then he could have turned his attention to his books with a much freer mind; but since they hadn’t, he mtst simply make the best of it. It would be a hard pull, but he did not doubt his ability to succeed. ye He went to sleep that night thinking over a new variation of the forward pass. eh: Before leaving his rooms next morning, the ex- pected warning from the dean, regarding his extremely poor showing in history, appeared. ‘ Hollister read it with an expression of ewhimsical annoyance on his pleasant face. x4 “Darn- his buttons!” he muttered. _. Piercy have passéd over that break of mine! He might have known I wasn’t paying attention. I sup- ‘pose he thought I was trying to be funny and cod him. Well, I'll have to make the best of it. I hope he doesn’t get after me again to-day, though. I haven’t the most remote idea what his lecture was about yes- terday. Nor had he a much clearer conception of any of the other recitations or lectures he was to attend that day, and his face was rather glum as he ran downstairs and out onto the campus. He was due at the chemical lab at ten o’clock, and, as he hurried across one of ‘the walks, head down and thoughts, sad to say, very ‘far away from chemistry, he suddenly heard some one calling his name. : “What's your hurry, Bob? Where you rushing tO? e ‘ Hollister looked up quickly, and when he saw who the speaker was, his face brightened. “Hello, Jarv,” she said quickly. ae due atythe lab at ten stetede. “ ‘5 “As it lacks just sixteen minutes of that hotr, and you can’t possibly use up more than five getting over “Why couldn’t. WEEKLY. there, I fail to see the reason for your hurry,”, com- mented Jarvis Blake, as he continued to advance slowly and leisurely. ‘I’m going there myself, but I don’t propose to run my legs off.” He was a big, blond fellow, with thick, straight, almost tow-colored hair, eyelashes and eyebrows so light as to be nearly invisible. He,/wore a neatly clipped yellow mustache, which was the exact color of corn silk, His eyes were dark blue and set wide apart, his fea- tures clean-cut and handsome, except that his mouth was large* and loosely set. He was one of the best subs on the varsity and played an exceedingly good, brainy game. Men about college said he had a pronounced case of swelled head. Certainly he was not likely to under- value himself, but for all that he was well liked among a certain class, and Hollister had always found him genial and entertaining, a good fellow in every: respect. “Didn’t know I had so much time,” the latter ex- plained, as they pursued their way along the walk to- gether. “How are things?” inquired Jarvis. “Strikes me you look a bit glum this morning.” Hollister hesitated for an instant. “Oh, it’s those warnings, I suppose,” he said, at length. “I got the third one right after breakfast.” Blake whistled. “Well, what have you been doing to get the profs - down on you?” he asked. ~ “It’s what I haven't done that’s got them going, I reckon,” Hollister returned. “I don’t know as I blame them much after the way I’ve flunked lately.” 7 “Rot!”’ exclaimed Blake emphatically. “You’re no worse than half the other fellows in the class “T don’t know about that,” Hollister said doubtfully. “I’d hate to count up the number of goose eggs I’ve accumulated this term. You heard the fool thing I said to Piercy yesterday ?” Blake grinned. “Say, that was sort of funny, wasn’t in?” he re-— marked. “But anybody could see you weren't paying attention. You heard from old Pierson, then?” Hollister nodded. “That’s the one I got this morning.’ “Well, I wouldn’t let a thing like that worry me,” Blake went on quickly. realize that a fellow can’t give much time to work during the Zootball season. They get down on a man, 1. “The profs don’t seem to - p Da too, and, once he flunks, they keep pounding hirn out of sheer spite. I haven’t got any warnings so far, but I'd be willing to bét that one or two will come along within the next two weeks.” “Hope you don’t, I’m sure,’ Hollister returned absently. ‘“There’s no doubt about it, though, I’ve got to take a brace and cut out thinking about football at all off the field, if I want to stay on with the class.”’ A look of dismay came into Blake’s sunburned face. “Why, what the mischief are you ‘thinking bf, Bob?” he asked quickly. “Stop thinking about foot- ball when you're the brains, practically, of the team! Why, only a couple of days ago I heard old Bill saying that three-quarters of the clever stunts he had made use of this fall were due to you.” ' Hollister’s face flushed a little and tits eyes gleamed with pleasure. “Is that straight?” he asked eagerly. “Did he really say all that?’ “He certainly did, and a lot more, which I won’t repeat for fear you'll have to buy a bigger-sized hat. You can’t stop now, Bob, when we're all counting on you for so much. The new rules have practically made a different game out of football, and you've been one of the few that have risen to the occasion and doped out a bunch of new tricks which will knock spets out of Harvard. All this warning business is tommyrot. _ They won't drop you, and after the season is over you can buckle down to work and make up for lost time.” Blake’s words made a deep impression on Hollister, _ especially since they coincided exactly with his own ideas. After all, what was the use in worrying him- self about the matter when there were only a few more weeks left before the season would bé over? He would haye no trouble then in recovering the ground he had lost, once his mind was freed from the constant And, according to Jarvis Blake, his help was really needed by the consideration of football problems. per ( rr efter reconsider,” Blake urged presently. “Don't % give up the ship just yet.” They were going into the laboratory as he spoke, ' and Hollister hesitated an instant in the doorway. _ “T will, Jarv,” he said slowly. “Much obliged for _all you told me about old Bill. That sort eF a is meaty encouraging, you know.” TIP TOP WEEKLY. legs. pretty bad. CHAPTER IV. A TALK WITH THE DEAN, Bob Hollister fully expected to find a general warn- when he returned at He had been surprised that it had not appeared in the morning, but supposed it to have been delayed in ing awaiting him in his rooms, noon. the mail. - he was not a little dismayed to find, instegd, a typewritten note signed by the dean him- Consequently, self, asking him kindly to call at the latter’s office at . half-past two. “What in calamity does he mean by that?” he’ mut- tered, crinkling his forehead into a dozen worried wrinkles. “I reckon I’m in for a good roast this time.” Outwardly calm, but with considerable itrward trepi- dation, he reached the degn’ s office five -ininutes before the appointed time, and, dn sending in his name, was at once summoned to thé inner office. The dean looked tip from his desk as the senior en- tered. “Sit down, Mr. Hollister,” he said, indicating a chair which stood near the desk. Hollister dropped down in the chair and crossed his There was silence for a moment while the older man reached out to take up several papers which had been pinned together, and glanced them over. he leaned back in his chair and surveyed Bob: medita- tively through his gold-rimmed glasses. “You are aware, of course, Mr. Hollister,’ marked ‘presently, “that an ‘undergraduate who ‘has been the recipient of three separate notices warning him that his rank in as many different studies is not ean has sent him what is called-a genera! warning? “Ye es, sit,” Bob returned quietly. “You know, I suppose, the meaning of this general i! warning?” “Yes, sit—er—well, not exactly that they were a pretty emphatic. hint for a brace up and attend to business,” The dean’s eyes ts | . “You have’ the right notion,” he remarked. deserve A general warning, a man,s Iam ory to say, that Yours is more than It is atrocious.” bad. Hollister’s face flushed and ‘he dropped his eyes. a “I’m sorry,” he niurmuted, The dean placed the tips of his fogers ighly 7 . Then | * he rTe-' ,” Bob said hastily. é “IT haven’t had one so far myself, but I alw ays thought — fellow to. “To : record must be. ¢ &- i -\ 8 TIP. TOP’) WEEKLY : 4 gether and surveyed the troubled face of the senior over the tops of them. “It is in such marked contrast to your record of the “that 1 decided find out what was the past three years,” he went on quietly, to have a talk with you and matter. Can you tell me, Mr. Hollister, why it is that you seem to have done absolutely nothing in any class this term?” “T’ve—been thinking—a lot about—football,” mered Bob. “Ah! Giving time to it away from the field, you mean?” the older man inquired. Hollister nodded. “Yes, sir.” ; stam- “Is that ‘necessary to a proper performance of the game?” the dean asked quietly. “T do not seem to recall any such complaints ‘as these about the work of other members of the eleven.” Fe tapped the papers on the desk in front of him lightly. Hollister glanced up quickly. “But “It isn’t absolutely necessary,’ he answered. ° the new rules have changed the game a lot and made, it necessary to devise a great many different tricks and combinations to make up for those which have been barred out. I’ve been awfully interested in it, and I’ve spent a good deal of time thinking these things gut, which should, no doubt, have been put to better The older. man nodded. “T understand,” he said slowly. “T have observed your excellent work on the field, and that is one of the reasons why I wished to find out what was the matter. Football, like many other athletic games, is extremely valuable, Mr. Hollister, as an aid to character develop- ment. ‘But, like almost every other good thing, it is _ liable to be’ done to death.» I’m sure you don’t wish to develop into a man with only one idea, one purpose in life. “Such a man gets into a rut—becomes narrow, in+ effective, and finally useless. It’s a common failing in ‘the business world, and has resulted in thousands upon thousands of the merest mac ‘atons. While you’re on the field play the game for es and human autom- that from this moment there has to be a very marked change for the better in your class records, or I shall be obliged to let things take their regular course. | hope you understand my meaning.” “Perfectly, sir,” Hollister answered gratefully, “and I mean to take it to heart as well. I hope that you won't have cause for any more complaints.” The dean smiled. “Good,” he said quickly. “If you persist in your determination, I am sure I shall not. I think that’s all. No doubt you are eager to get down to the field. Good afternoon.” “Good afternoon, sir,” arose and walked toward the door. Once outside, he dashed out of Lampson Hall, tore across to the car, and in a few minutes was on his way to the field. ‘ “He certainly is a good sort,” he said to himself as he vot a seat well forward in the car. be handed out a cold calldown, and it was a regular fatherly talk. He’s right, though, I really ought to brace up; but how the mischief can I until the sea- son’s over?” | Once on the gridiron, Hollister was in his element. He flung himself into the practice game with tremen- all that is in you, but don’t carry the thought of it always with you, to the exclusion of every other duty. I shall not, send you the general warning just » yet; Mr. Hollister, until I see whether you take this little talk to heart. earned you a Tittle latitude) but it must be understood Your playing on the eleven has dous enthusiasin, playing with all the vim and go and energy which he would have exhibited in a hot con- test with another college. He was not the sort that hold back and do just enough to make a fairly good showing. He must do his best or nothing, and for that reason he was very valuable in practice. He always kept his temper, dis- dained hard knocks—they were all part of the game; and he was never too tired to try “just one more for- mation.” . He had worked out his forward pass in detail and Fullerton approved of it so highly that he tried it out with complete success that afternoon, much to Hol- lister’s delight. “Great stunt of yours,” “T thought you'd realize that you couldn’t leave off helping the team out just yet a while.” Again Hollister felt that pleasant, satisfying glow of ability fitly recognized. F ullerton’s commendations had been especially emphatic, too, and they had a long. discussion about a new move which the coach had not been able to plan out in detail, and which he was. anxious to have Bob think @ver. Even Don Tempest, the captain, usually very y chary with his praise, had held him up as an example to one Hollister answered, as he “T expected to Jarvis Blake said, as they were trotting across the field toward the athletic house. _ | TIP TOP or two lagging members of the team; and, altogether, Hollister was feeling pretty good as he entered the a _ house. 4 He joined Dick Merriwell, who was hastily dressing 7 in front of his locker. ‘ “Did you-get that general warning you were expect- ing?” Dick asked. Bob grinned. . “No; but I got a talking to from the dean,” he re- 7, turned. : ; Dick whistled. ~ ae “Calldown?’ he asked. , we “Not so much of a one as I\thought it was going to . b: be,” Héllister confessed. ‘Told me I had to brace ‘up ; “th and cut out football off the field, I'd like to have told : him that it was just what you advised last night, but t I didn’t.” en ‘Dick laughed. ie “Glad to have my judgment confirmed from so emi- | nent a source,’ he.smiled. “TI hope you'll take some ; + -@ of this advice which is being thrown at you so plen- ee Aitully.” . a Hollister’s face fell. i “After to-night I will,” he said hastily. “I’ve got to think out that combination of Fullerton’s, you know ; but to-morrow I really ‘will begin to dig goed and hard. sf ” Merriwell’s face grew a little serious? “Think that’s wise, Bob?” he asked quietly. “I’ve noticed that the resolutions which we put-off until to- morrow never materialize. They always get shoved on to another to-morrow. It’s old fellow, but I should hate like the mischief to have _ anything happen so that you couldn't keep on with the class.” none of my business, - 99 “Oh, they won’t drop me,” Hollister said confi- dently. “Even the dean said he’d noticed my work; on the field and thought I ought to have a little lati- tude. I'll make it up after the season’s over, Dick. I'll turn into such a grind you won’t know me. . Gee! nc L'we got to get a hustle on or I won't get round to supper.” : He hurried off w ithout giving Dick a chance to re-. - ply. It almost seemed as if he were afraid of what his _ friend might say, bit there was no fear of Merriwell’s _ following him up with advice which was apparently not wanted. Win Ae he glanced after Hollister there was a took of / regret in Dick’s dark eyes. MMe knew just about how far Bob would go with his resolutions of turning over WEEKLY. a new leaf, and it worried him a littie to think of the chances his friend was taking. Then, with a shrug of his shoulders, he slipped into hi§ coat, slapped a cap on his head, and, gathering i in Buckhart, left the house. CHAPTER V. FROM BAD TO WORSE. For the next few days, Bob Hollister saw more of Jarvis” ‘Blake than he had in'as many weeks before that. The big, blond fellow took to dropping in at his rooms at all hours of the day or night, and, though he usually had some plausible reason for so doing, it might have been observed that he invariably turned the talk into the channel of football matters before he had been there five minutes. ‘ : This was not difficult to do. More often than not, he did not have, to introduce the matter at all, for Bob was always ready to meet him even more than halfway. But the result was that the occasional half- hearted attempts of Hollister to do a little studying were completely frustrated. Bob really meant, well. He fully intended to-take a brace and follow the advice which had been given him by Merriwell, and by the dean himself, and had it not been for these regular visits of Blake, he might possibly have succeeded in occasionally absorbing a few facts from his textbooks which would have staved off for a little while the inevitable smash ; for his room- mate, Jim Townsend, though a fellow who took an absorbing intérest in all branches of athletics, had long ago seen whither his ‘chum was drifting, and had resolutely refused to discuss anything pertaining to fogtball with him during the evenings. But Blake had no such compunctions. He seemed to take a particular delight in running in about eight: o'clock with some idea about the game which had occurred to him, and about which opinion. The natural result was that the entire even- ing was spent in discussion, and absolutely, mo Ney | ing was done? = Ogu As an equally natural consequence, Hollister con-— tinued to make a fearful showing’ in the clgssfpom, accumulating zero after zero with a regularity which was appalling... — Sl | | » Townsend tried perstiasion at first, urging his ae? | to take a brace before it was too late, and pointing he wanted Bob’s gp ns ticathatadtanm asia aser encaamnasesbstancetstiidyeetsn TIP TOP out what the extremely unpleasant result would be if he did not. good-naturéd way that he was in the wrong, and vow that he would turn over a new leaf and do some cram- ming that very night. Each time Bob would acknowledge in a But when the evening came and Blake appeared with his insidious questions and arguments on football mat- ters, books would be thrown quickly aside and Hollis- ter would enter joyfully into the discussion which gen- erally lasted until bedtime. ~ Once or twice Townsend tackled Blake ‘himself? showing him clearly how much harm his visits were doing Hollister; but the, big, blond chap laughed, down his arguments, treated the matter as something which Townsend’s fears had greatly exaggerated, and calmly went on his way. Very soon Jim began to have a more than sneaking suspicion that there was some method in Blake's be- havior. The thing occurred with entirely too much regularity for it to be merely accidental, especially as ‘the fellow had not been in the habit of coming into their rooms more than once or twice a week until very lately. Gradually this suspicion became a certainty, and, before very long, Townsend felt sure that he had hit upon the reason for it all._ The thought made his blood boil, and he lost no time in broaching the matter to his roommate. Bob was rather late coming in from the training table that night, but the instant he opened the door Townsend, who had been waiting impatiently for him, opened fire. . “Has it occurred to you, Bob,’’ he remarked, with apparent casualness, “that Blake’s been dropping in here an awful lot lately?” — Hollister threw his hat on a chair and plumped him- self down on another. . “Why, I don’t know,” he said carelessly; “perhaps he has. We've had a bunch of things to talk over though. He’s really got some very good ideas dad has helped me a lot.” Townsend sniffed. “Helped you! Humph!” he exclaimed sarcastically. Yes, I believe it!” | } : “Hollister glanced inquiringly at him. on _ iVhat’s the matter, Jim?” he asked. got against Jarv?” _ “What's he come in here every night for, I’d like to know?” Townsend demanded. “He gets you going “What you WEEKLY. \ liked as much as he did Jarvis Blake was not entirely could be brought to his senses. since you had that talk with the dean, and your flunks ie in the classrooms! are something fierce.” Hollister’s annoyance. face took on an expression of whimsical » “What 1 You know I’m going to settle down into a fierce grind the minute ‘the last game is over. I just can’t find time to do it now with so much else to think about.” ¢ “Rot!” “You talk nutty! You'd have time enough if that tow-headed'son of a gun didn’t come butting in every night and break you all up.” le “Thunder, Jim!’ he exclaimed petulantly. do you want to start preaching for? ‘Townsend. growled Hollister made no reply, but his héavy brows drew down into a scowl. Townsend, too full of his griev- ¥ ance to notice this, presently continued his argument. “Flasn’t it ever occurred to you, Bob,” he said sig- a nificantly, “how very nice it would be for Blake if you | ol | vere conditioned and had to leave the team? He's | one of the best subs for your position, and there’s ——‘} hardly a question but what he would step into your 654 shoes at once. I'll bet that’s the reason which brings him here so often, with his football talk and his sneers bs about there being no danger ° the dean doing any p thing radical. He’s keeping you from boning on putr- = | pose. : He’d be tickled to death to see you dropped 80-).< ia. he could ae “Stop!” interrupted Hollister, ‘in an angry voice. 4 “Just cut out that line of talk, Jim. You forget that Blake is my friend. You never liked him, I know, but that’ : no reason why you shotild blackguard him this way.” pose His face was dark, and there was an'angry flash in his usually merry brown eyes; for he was a fellow — who was loyal to the very coree Absolutely upright , ; and honorable himself, it never occurred to him that there was the most remote possibility that a fellow he am fair and square in every way. The idea to which his roommate had given voice was incredible. He refused — to tolerate the thought for a single instant, and at once proceeded to thrust it from his mind with the Eten expedition. | \ Townsend lapsed into a sullen silence. He oe decal 4 his best to warn his chum, but, if Bob was so thick- a headed as all that, he could go his own way without At hindrance. / This point of view lasted exactly ten minutes, how ever. By that time Jim had cooled down and W: thinking over some other way by which Hollister teh a Nhe au See roommate, he could not bear the ee of his being dropped. There must be some way of making | realize the gravity of the situation. him Not for an instant did Townsend waver in his fixed belief that Blake was deliberately working to bring about Bob’s downfall so that he could step into his place on the varsity; chap pres- ently appeared and the usual talk commenced Jim’s temper sdon reached a boiling point. He knew. that if he remained in the room much longer he would have and when the blond to blow off steam, and, in the present condition of af- fairs, that was not at all to be desired. \ Consequently, some twenty minutes slammed down his book, and, without a word of ex- planation, picked up his hat and went out. Blake glanced up with a curious smile. “Our friend seems to be somewhat pettish to-night,” he remarked, in a languid drawl. Hollister flushed a little. He knew quite well why Townsend had departed, and it irritated him to think that his roommate had such a small, narrow nature as to suspect this big, bluff, frank fellow of any sort of double dealing. “Oh, I suppose he thought of something he wanted to do,” he said, rather lamely. “But about that for- mation we were speaking of. I’ve doped it all out. Let me show you.” Reaching for a piece of paper, he drew a few swift lines on it. “See, it’s that way,” he said eagerly. Blake leaned over him, a swift gleam of triumph in his eyes. “Yes, that’s the idea,’ he returned quietly. CHAPTER VI. THE QUARREL. By the time Jim Townsend reached the campus he was at a white heat. “Hang him!” he snapped viciously. “I know that’s what he’s up to, but how in the mischief can I make Bob understand? He’s such a softy he simply won’t believe a thing against Blake, just because he likes him. The double-faced skunk!” The last remark was intended!for Blake, but Jim was too wrought up to talk coherently. He wandered around the campus for a few minutes and then decided to.take his troubles to Blair. Hildebrand, one of ‘his later, he onto a ~ Anything which Bob would listen to?” WEEKLY. II 7 particular chums, whose cool, level-headed advice had helped him out on more than one occasion. He found the big, blue-eyed senior alone, glancing over the latest issue of. the Lit, and evidently very tired of his own company. “Hello, old man,” he said cordially, as Townsend appeared. “‘You’re a perfect godsend. George has gone to New York, and I was just thinking of looking up some congenial spirit and painting the town red. How’s everything?” . “Rotten! returned Townsend shortly, as he dropped chair. “That dub, Jarvis Blake, is over at the rooms jabbering football and keeping Bob from doing an earthly thing with to-morrow’s work. And you know hdw the dean warned him the other day.” Hildebrand nodded. ° € “Yes, I heard about it,” he returned. “Isn’t that something new—Blake’s coming around, I mean?” “THe’s done it every night this week,” Jim. explained morosely. “I'll bet any money, Blair, that he’s doing it on purpose so Bob will be dropped’ and he'll get on the varsity. I told Bob as much to-night.” “How did he take it?” Hildebrand asked _ inter- estedly. “Wouldn’t listen to a word against the man,’ turned Townsend. “Thinks he’s all to the good. You know Bob never will hear anything against a fellow he likes.” “Yes, he’s a dandy chap that way,” Hildebrand an- swered absently. “That’s one of the reasons why every one likes him so well.” _ He was evidently thinking about something else. “That’s all very nice,” Jim retorted quickly; “but a fellow can carry it too far. He’s making a fool of himself going on the way he’s been all this term. He'll be dropped unless he wakes up mighty sudden. And I dort want him dropped. He’s too good a fellow for hat.” : Townsend’s voice was mournful and his face dane n- ’ aw a cast and dejected at the thought of what might hap- pen to his chum. : Presently Hildebrand looked up. “IT shouldn’t. wonder a bit if you, were right aboiit Blake, Jim,’ he said. showing with his frank, hearty manner, but I have every reason to think that he’s far from being above just such a trick as this.” Téwnsend sat up suddenly, his. face aglow with in- terest. (9 » “You have?” he exclaimed auickly, “What was it? “He makes\a mighty good — ne rk THis ARB i dh oe tyra ee fo 7 ep wah TOP “Just a little experience I had with him last year,” the stalwart guard returned quietly; “but it proved pretty conclusively that Blake was mighity poor stuff. Whether it would have any effect on Bob of not, is quite another question.” “Can't you tell eagerly. a fellow what it was?’ Jim asked Hildebrand shook his head slowly. “What's the use? ‘he said, with a quiet stnile. “TI don’t believe in ‘knocking a man unless it’s necessary, even if he isn straight. I haven't told _this; but if you really think that’s what Blake’s up to, | have no objection to putting Bob wise on the quiet some time.” “T’m sure it is,” a soul about “He fever used to come argund, but ever since Bob got that talking to from the dean, he’s been in every soli- tary night, and insists on jawing football from the time he sets foot in the toom until he leaves. I'll take my oath that he’s got a reason for it.” “If that’s the case,” Hildebrand returned, “T’ll brace Bob the first chance I get and tell him a thing or two which will open his eyes.” Townsend said decidedly. The opportunity came the very next afternoon. Both Hollister and Hildebrand were late getting away from the field, and it happened that, quite without pre- meditation on the part of the latter, they came out of the gate together. In the bustle and turmoil of prac- tice, the big guard had quite forgotten his promise to Townsend, but now it suddenly came back into his mind. | 4 “Say, Bob,” he said slowly, “do you mind walkirlg for a few minutes? I just remembered something I wanted to tell you.” ; Hollister looked a little surprised, “Why, no, not at all,’ thing about the team?” Hildebrand hesitated. He had suddenly discovered that what he had to*say was not going to be at all easy. we ‘he returned quickly. “‘Any- ' “Partly, yes,” he answeted. Wirewetitly “T hope you. _ won't think I’m a beastly butter-in, Bob, if I touch on something which is rather personal. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t think so much of you and hate to see you | PRMITe Oy 3 is Oe : Hollister frowned and a puzzled look came into his eyes. o “T dan’t see qitite what you're drfing at,’ io said, a ‘eieinde “but go Bren A WEEKLY. wished he hadn't promised Jim; but at length, he drew a long breath and took the ““Tt’s about. Blake,” he plunge. said quickly. ‘ “Jim tells me he’s been coming in every night and keeping you from your work, I think*you ought to know that he isn’t— well, he isn’t quite—a fellow to be trusted. cause I caught him cheating in a poker game last I know, be- spting—a game for money.” _ An ominous silence followed. In the light of a neat-by street lamp, Hildebrand saw his companion’s lithe figure stiffen and his pleasant face harden. “Well, is that all?” inquired Hollister at length, in a cold, Cutting Voice. “Why, yes,’ should’ think it was enough.” Hollister was evidently keeping his temper with an , effort. “Entirely too much!” he snapped. “I hope you're pleased with your attempt to blacken the character of one of my friends. Nice, pleasant occupation, isn’t it, running down a mar when he isn’t around to de- fend himself? However, you’ve had your trouble for your pains. I don’t believe a word of it.’ | Hildebrand caught his breath suddenly and his face turned scarlet. Stopping abruptly, he turned fiercely on Hollister, with blazing eyes and clenched fists. An- other moment and he would have landed a smiashing blow on the face of the man who had called hima liar, but, just in time, he got a grip on himself and realized the utter impossibility of two seniors indulg- ing in a fast fight in the street. “You'll be sorry for that, Hollister!” voice which quivered with suppressed anger. have known that this would be all the thanks Pd get for trying to do you a good turn. I'll send you written proof of the statement I just made. were two other men in the game.” Without another word, he walked quickly away, aehis sO ort de struggling with che anger which Hilde- brand’s him.., ' CHAPTER VIL ae HWOLLISTER’S EYES ARE OPENED, “T suppose : shouldn't have said that,” he murhnired regretfully. “But he made me mad with those. rotten insinuations igacn Jarv.” (fg ’ Hildebrand answered i iny on ae he said, ina “T might: Luckily there | accusation against his friend had aroused in! 7 es ae ee fan. ead $2 e Lif TOP + oo Then the thought came to hitn that Hildebrand had not contented hitnself with insinuations.- He had made } ° a downright, matter-of-fact statement, which he pro- But even then Bob that Blal . posed to back with written proof. could not bring himself to "believe ke would descetidl so low as to cheat at cards. Theré mtist have been a mistake madé somewhere— i must be some explanation of. the thing. Blake was + oné of his special frieftids whom he had known and 1 liked evet since they first enteréd college together, and # in all that tithe he had never known Jarvis to do any- Bs thing which was not quite square and honorable. Hollister «vas not at all a good judge of character. His likes and dislikes were véry strong, but they were If he once governed by his heatt and not by his head. | caine to cate for a fellow he was ready to stick to 4 » him through thick and thin, stand tip for him at all t 5 times and places, and reftised to listen to a’ word es agdinst*him. Once or twice during his college life he a. had been disappointed in a man who had been adimitted | to the iriner circle of his friendship. One notable in- ae stance was that of a perfectly charming fellow who iz » was possessed of almost every know#faccomplishment ede 4} arid talent, but in whom the sense of right and wrong was strangely, inexplicably lackiag. Hollister had taken to him tremendously from the very first, and the fellow’s charm of, manner and per- sonal magnetism had blinded him ie a realizing sense For months Bob stuck to him, of his sinister failings. refusing to listen to the advice of other friends who real character, and had only by coming in suddenly had discovered the man’s been brought to his senses one day and catching the felldw in the act of taking -money out of the*bill case he had left carelessly on the table. So he had been all through his college career ; hon- est, loyal, true-hearted, but strangely blinded by preju- dice, sometimes almost lacking in common sense when it came to judging the real character of a man, _~ Presently a car appeared, but Hollister let it go. Hildebrahd would probably, take it, and at the present a pe did not feel like riding back, to the campus face to face with the man he had just insulted, The more he thought over the matter the sorrier he "was that he had allowed his temper to get the best of “him. He liked Blair, and, now that he*had calmed own, he realized ¥ res the big oe must have gt 4 WEEKLY. {3 “He’s talks about football imagine,’ Bob muttered to himself. sa good fel- low, and we've had some dandy lately. It's all rot I can’t get down to boning, anyway.” about his keeping me from work. The next cat was a long titne coming, arid, as he stood on the curb waiting for it, he remembered his of the night be- There could not roommate's, somewhat heated talk fore. But that was perfectly absurd. Why, helping him out with some’ of the football problems, be anything in that. Blake had been actually giving him some really clever ideas, and he was not at all li place kely to do that if he were scheming for his on the varsity. ‘This is worse than trying to study!” he exclaimed presently, in a tone of exasperation. “I wish people wouldn’t take such an infernal interest in what I am Why can’t they let mie alone to do as I like?” though he would never have guessed it in a thousand yegs. He was too decent a fellow to be let alone to ruin himself by -his own blind folly so long as any of his friends could pre- vent it. Just then a car came along and Hollister took it. He did his best to forget his regtettable quarrel with Hildebrand, but all the way back to the campus. it kept doing! The atiswer was simple, recurring to his mind, bringing with it.curious, dis- turbing little doubts as to whether there might not be something after all in the statements the stalwart guard lrad made, and which fitted in so patly with Jim Town- serid’s petulant outburst. Consequently, by the time he reached the training table his condition of mind was not enviable. Hilde- brand was already in his place and seemed to have recovered completely from his fit of anger; but, though he was ple asant and genial to the others, he paid no attention td Bob, ignofing his existence quietly, but completely. ‘i In spite of the fact that he had brought it on him- : self, Hollister was hurt by this, and unconsciously his attitude toward Jarvis Blake underwent a change. As a restilt of all these wheels within wheels, a sort of damper was thrown over the whole table which was felt by every one, though few tunderstood the cause. They only. saw that the jokes fell flat, laughter was forced, or absent altogether, and the resulting silences long drawn out. 4 _ Dick Merriwell was quick to see that something th- tisual had happened, and long before the meal was over — he was sute that Hollister and Hildebrand had fallen _ Knowing that there was nothing — worse for the discipline of the team or more produc- out in some way. # 14 ) TE: Sage tive of poor work than internal dissensions, he resolved to find out what the trouble was; and, as they walked back to the campus through “Grub Alley,” he slipped his hand through Hollister’s arm. “Say, Bob, Blair?’ he asked, what’s the trouble between you and in a low tone. Hollister hesitated. “Oh, we had a run-in this afternoon about Blake,” he said, in a rather pettish tone. “He told me that Jarv had been caught cheating at poker, and I as much as said he was a liar. I reckon I shouldn’t have been so strong, but he made me mad. He had no “business to say such a thing about a friend of mine.’ “I see,” Merriwell returned thoughtfully. “Do you mind telling me what his object was in giving you that information?” “It’s all come about through Jim!” Hollister burst. “He needs,to have his head punched. He’s got the insane idea Mat Jarv wants to see me dropped so he can cinch my place in the line. He came out with that silly story last night. Said Blake comes around on purpose to keep me from boning so that I’ll flunk in the classes and be thrown out. Of course, I shut him up ie and.I suppose he went to Blair with-his fool stery.” out. “Blake been coming around much lately?” Dick asked casually. “Quite a little.” i “Almost every night, hasn’t he?” Dick meee. “Well—yes,” Hollister acknowledged. “This week, that is.” | | There was silence for a few moments, which was broken by Merriwell. “I’m not much on knocking a man, Bbb,” he said quietly ; “but if I were you I wouldn't trust Blake too far. I know of one or two things he’s done which weren’t quite Well, you wouldn’t have done them yourself, old fellow.” Without waiting for a reply, he droped Bob’ s arm | and walked quickly away, leaving Hollister more’ of a prey to doubt and suspicions:than he had been before. He knew that Merriwell was a man who almost never said anything against a fellow student. If he did not like a man, or disapproved of him for any reason, he had as little to do with him as possible, but his lips were generally sealed. If he could not say anything good of a fellow, he preferred keeping si- lent. ; | It Was only on very rare occasions when something ‘lence aes “f | Ee WEEKLY. f } important was at stake that he gave an adverse opif- ion of a man, and, consequently, the few wordg#he had just uttered concerning Blake were especially sig- They must have some foundation or Merri- nificant. well would never have’ given voice to them. Hollister’s mind was in a turmoil. Unwilling to be- aE at : “I know how hard it is, Bobby,” he said quietly. - “But after a little you'll come to see that it’s the only e . thing for you to do Football—any game, in fact— is a splendid thing when it keeps its proper proportions But the minute it begins to dominate a man, as it has done you as something incidental to the college course. to the exclusion of everything else, it’s time to cut it out. You didn’t come to Yale to play football, but to get your degree and the other benefits which a col- rs ea ¥ e'” _ lege course gives aman. Think how you'd feel if you were dropped at the very beginning of your senior year. _ with such a record as you have made this fall.” “I can’t even play in the Yale-Princeton game on Saturday?” Hollister questioned sadly. Dick shook ‘his head firmly., “No, sir,” he returned with emphasis. ‘“‘You give ‘me 3 your promise never to play football again while ‘through in your studies. * How about it fem, right,” Hollister said, in a low voice. ‘I prom- i ise.’ “Good, ”? Dick smiled. get down to business.” “That’ safe stuff. Now let’s Think of the humiliation of being thrown out you're in college, and I’ll do my very best to pull you | the hour, Professor Goodhue called Hollister’s WEEKLY. 47 “An ‘hour and a half before Latin,” ‘he murmured. “We've got to get busy.” Before Hollister knew what he was doing, Didg had him sitting at the table, the open book before him, and together they proceeded to go through the day’s allotment of Horace. Merriwell did his work--thoroughly, translating slowly and stopping to explain the derivation of every He had a natural gift of making things plain, and in an hour’s word about which Bob had the least doubt. time Hollister had aeffuired a-pretty good notion of ;what it was all about. Then, after a hurried review of the chemistry lesson, they sallied forth to the lecture room. “I think you'll do in the Horace, old fellow,” Dick . assured him. “Just keep your head and take it slowly, and you'll come out all right.” Such proved to be the case. About halfway through name in a rather weary tone of voice, fully expecting a repe- tition of the absolute failures for which the fellow had become noted. To his amazement, Hollister arose slowly and gave a very good rendering of the passage, even to con- struing acturately the few words the dazed professor asked him. “That will do, Mr. Hollister,” “Very good indeed. I the latter managed to say when Bob had finished. should—-er—like to congratulate you on the extraor- dinary improvement in your work.” 30b murmured, ‘his face a bit “Thank you, sir,” red. On_the campus outside, Dick slapped him on the back. “Well done!” sixty, all right. he exclaimed. “That was more than You'll do. - Now for the lab. That’s going to be harder, for we didn’t give any time to it.” As they mounted the steps to the chemical labora- tory, Bob happened to catch a glimpse of Blake’s face, and the look of ill-tempered angoyance he saw there J was an added incentive to renewed endeavor. The big, blond fellas twas evidently not at all pleased with the surprising turn things had taken. pO eae ‘By some fortunate tino Hollister was not called ree 5 tales its Se sta oh Sickest spcmninonp afaik: emebei os oan ; 18 Wie kOe \ had and ‘did not think upon at all in chemistry. Perhaps the professor grown weary of his constant failures it Worth while. At all events, it There were no other recitations that gave Bob a little respite. day, and by to-morrow, he hoped, with to have made up a little of the lost: time. Merriwell realized perfectly that what he had under- taken. was not going to be any easy task. There was no fun at all in coaching a fellow who had done ab- solutely no work for almost six weeks, and was, con- sequently, totally ignorant of*what had been gone 3ut this fact did not deter him in the least. that which Hollister could be saved, and, though it meant over so far that term. He knew it was the only way by that every spare moment must be devoted to tutoring Bob for a few weeks at least, he was fond enough of the, fellow to go to that extreme. Hollister’s he had to leave the team was one of the announcement at the training table that hardest things he had ever done. It had the effect of a bombshell on the assembled players. Instantly the room was in an uproar, all crowded around him, tnable to believe their ears. “You can't leave, Bobby!’ | “Cut it out, old man, and have another think.” “Stop your kidding!” “Thunderation! What’ll we do without you?” These and a dozen other incredulous exclamations were hurled at the wretched fellow, but Bob persisted in his resolve; and when the men saw that he was really in’ earnest, they were in despair. All, that is, save Jarvis Blake. Dick, his eye on the fellow, noticed the sudden expression Of amazed in- credulity which flashed into his face, to. be followed instantly by a look of joy and unmistakable triumph. le was none the less more than satisfied with it. Dick “All your ay scheming won t do d. 78 f “T’ll put a spoke in your wheel, my bucko, . muttered fiercely. you a bit of gooc He put in an toi? s work with Hollister after din- ner, and, laying out enough to keep the man busy that afternoon, he got out the car and vi down to the field. Dick’s assistance, The fellows | Evidently he had not expected this turn of affairs, but : Sh oleae clench WEEKLY. His first move was.to seek 6ut' Tempest and Bill Ful- lerton, and for ten minutes the three men remai ingfl in When they separated there was a look Dick’s close confab. of extreme satisfaction on face: He hurried into the athletic house to get into his togs. A little later, the field, Don Tempest held up his hand for silence. all that Hollister bliged to leave the team,’ when the men were all assembled on CCN e You. fellows know has. been he said. quietly. “You also know why. It’s something which can’t be helped, hut I’m sure you will agree with me that it hits us pretty hard and will make a big hole in the line. Tm sorry it couldn’t have been postponed until after the game on Saturday, but since that was impossible we ‘tl bs ist have to thal the best of it. In regard to filling " his place———” Fle hesitated and his-eyes wandered oyer the eager, expectant faces of the subs. Many*of them knew that ae there was no possible chance of their. being picked for: the important position, but theré were three or: four who evidently had hopes. Jarvis Blair had more than hopes, if one could judge — from the look of assurance on his face. There was — plainly small doubt in his mind that he would be the ~ lucky man, and Dick watched him with’a distinct — : ing of satisfaction. “Tn talking it over,’ Tempest continued, “we have — decided that Keran had better try out for end until Ts further notice.” Blake gave a gasp of dismay. The blow was so sud-. dén and so absolutely unexpected that, for an instant, “ he could not believe his ears. Then his face turned scarlet, his eves flashed, and he took a quick step forw ard. Dick was w atching, him ® quietly. eT think with evident difficulty. ” began the big, blond fellow, speaking Tempest eyed him coldly. “I said Keran,” he remarked significantly; “Ph Keran.” 2 Phere was an undercurrent of contempt in his which cut B mene ke 1k ae 2p of aw hip and made hi / TIP TOP |- formation, Keran, Suiliiag from ear to ear, in the ie coveted place at right end. ee Blake had never been so furious in his life. He d ; could not understand how it had all come about. For 1, a moment he was tempted to leave the field. ' He had n even turned-and was about to stride off without a word, when he realized that such a move ‘would be Hae folly. He would gain nothing by it, and his chances Ue for ever accomplishing his end would be totally ruined. be + With a sullen scowl on his face, he walked over to 8 X _ his place on the scrub. After all, Keran was only in a H . the varsity on sufferance. He might not make good, oa ‘ _ and then Blake’s chance would come. Loa a ililictieks CHAPTER X, i THE BEGINNING OF fe GAME. It must not be supposed that Bob- Hollister’s course was an easy one. It was, on the contrary, desperately hard. A dozen times a day bitter thoughts and .re- grets for what he had given up assailed him, but he managed to thrust these aside, and, with Dick’s help, he kept doggedl y at his work, encouraged by the very evident progress he made in his studies. The story of his renunciation of football and his steady application tg his books seemed to have become _ known to the faculty. Certain it was that, one and all, they realized what an effort he was making to stick with the class, and most of them did their best to help him along. . As for Merriwell, every minute he could spare was - devoted to coaching Bob. The latter almost lived in Dick’s rooms. Every evening they went over the work _ for the next day together, Dick patiently explaining every point, bolstering up Hollister’s failing courage, ae Pee hermit of himself for the sake of the | / s he was/out of it. with tingling blood and every sense alert, doing his” WEEKLY. 19 a book before him, knowing all the time that the others were out on the field where he longed to bé more than anywhere else in the world. At first he had to grit his teeth and exercise the utmost self-control to keep a little, easier, though he was never wholly resigned. his mind from wandering; but, after it came At last came the day of thé Yale-Princeton game. Hollister wondered lesperately whether he would have to stay It seemed In the away from the field that afternoon. as if that would be more than he could®bear. morning he broached the subject to Merriwell. Dick,” “Tt don’t seem as if I could study while “About the game this afternoon, he began hesitatingly. that’s going on. Couldn’t I go down and watch it, just this once?” “s Dick looked\at him thoughtfully “Do you think that’s a good idea, Bobby ?” slowly. he asked “Wouldn’t you feel worse on the field, not being able to play, than you’ would if you. stayed away?” “Gee, no!” exclaimed Hollister. “Even if I don’t play, there’d be some satisfaetion watching it.” “Come on, then,” Merriwell saidequickly. ‘You've certainly done well enough to take the afternoon off,” - Thus it was that Hollister sat in the tonneau of Dick’s car as the Wizard tore down to the field that afternoon. Tempest and Blair Hildebrand sat with fhim, Rudolph Rose crumpled his long legs in the body of the car/at their feet, while Teddy Baxter clung precariously to the running board. Hollister felt a, thrill of the old joyful enthusiasm Once more he seemed to be one of them, and, as he entered the as the car whirled through the streets. grounds and swept his eye over the already filling stands,-he sniffed the air like a war horse that scents combat from afar. f But once in the dressing room, the reaction came. He saw the others strip and hurriedly don their togs; listened to their eager, excited discussion of their chances for victory ; watched them troop out in a body and lope across to the gridiron; and, as he followed slowly, dispiritedly, he realized with a bitter pang that Instead of plunging into the contest TIP TOP best for his Alma Mater, straining every nerve to win for tl and just watch. a victory 1e blue, he must stand on the side lines The thrilling, deep-toned cheets of the excited thou- sands would ring in his ears as*before, but they would have a different sound. They would be imeatit for others, riot for hiti. Somehow, he felt that if he could only have played in this one gaine he coild be re- signed abotit never going on thé field again. If he could only show just ofice mote what he could do— play jtist one mofé game for all that was in him, and perhaps help to win a victory, it wotild content Him. But it was too late. He had given his word, and the team was finally made up. With downcast eyes walk- ing past the grand stands, dropped down on the side and bitter heart, he entered the inclosure-and, lines with the subs. frotn the field. He had never done that in all the time he had first come At least he would watch the game He couldn’t bear sitting in a stand. _ out for the team. The stands were filled to overflowing, a sea of eager, enthusiastic faces rising, tier upon tier, from the field. Flags fluttered by the hithdreds, blue, mostly, but with a liberal spritikling of the oratige and black. The hum of many voices sounded like the drone of a gigantic hive of bees.. The flash of matiy faces turned impa- tiently toward the closed gates as the hour approached. At last the gates were flung open and the teams ab- peared. across the field. Princeton came first, and cantered briskly They were greeted by a round of ap- plause ftom their adherents. | Then Yale appeared, and the stands tose to them with a yell which sent a thrill through Hollister’s heart a thrill followed swiftly by a stab of pain. Per- haps Dick had been right when he ‘said it would be’ ‘ harder here than if he had stayed away. Yale won the toss, and, there being a rather brisk wind blowitig, chose the protected goal and gave the! enemy the ball. The fellows swiftly took their places ‘to await the kick off. Presently the whistle sounded, and from that moment Bob Hollister was oblivious to time atid space, the shouting crowd, the excited subs —everything, i in short, except the pores of the con- Seat mete him: WEEKLY. / Almost at once lie saw that Princeton had af tth- i usually strong ede, He had expected something/of 4“ the sort, for all reports agreed in stating that it Avas eS, the best eleven the. New Jetsey college had turned ae out in several years; but Hollister had not thought it hoa | wotid be quite so good as it now appeared. : ie With knitted brows, he watched the progress of the ie ball down the field toward Yale’s goal. There was Rosai no doubt in his mind that the ofange-and-black fellows ae had mdde the most of some very efheient coaching. be N Their teamwork+was splendid, and every now and ih then they made use of some novel pl ay which caused , e Hollister to bestow upon them a sincere, if somewhat a ( erudging, admiration. | th f ; sut presently he ceased to watch their good points. ‘ 1 and bent an anxious, scrutinizing eye upon his former ~ comrades. Something seemed to be the matter with ; their playing. A ee impalpable something, hard J to define, but plainly evident to the quick mind of the — tan on the side line. There was a slight absence of snap, of unity, which-~ perhaps another might not have seen. Hollister was. entirely too modest to tealize that his absence from the team could make any difference. He did not see — that the lack of his swift, perfect brainwork, his cheer- Cyd Pe a ca : ' ° vi ing encouragerhent, would be felt to any appreciable extent. And yet, that was actually the case. Mertiwell was playing a perfect game, Buckhart was-at his best; but they could not carry the whole — team. Don Tempest, still not perfectly strong after his long illness, and’ fetling the lack of the practice which he had lost, did not make’a very good showing. While Phil Keran, though he was a good steady player and did ‘his best, could never take the, place of Hollister, s ofie of the best eds Yale had éver had. Nearer and neater Bob's heart leaped into his throat. and he could not swallow. They must not make a goal Slowly the ball was forced back. it came to the goal. —they must not! . te die TOP WEEKEY, ZI To Hollister, tense, breathless, it seemed as if it would | pass over the bar, and he groaned aloud as the orange- -and-black line surged forward in,its wake. , The groan changed to a gasp of joy as the pigskin a carromed from an upright and a tall, lithe figure leaped into the air, clutched it and dropped back. It was Merriwell. Bob could have: shouted aloud in his relief had he not been too intent on watching the outcome. For an instant the men were so involved in a tangle of flying figures and waving arms that he could not.see what had become of the ball. Then, all at once, a man darted around the end, closely followed by two others, and sped ovér the ground ,in an oblique course toward the farther side line. In an instant Bob recognized him as Crowfoot, and realized that Dick had in some way passed the ball swiftly to the Indian, who, assisted’ by Elwell and Kenny, the quarter back, was covering the ground like a streak of light. 3 Kenny was bowled over instantly; Elwell met his Waterloo a minute afterward; but by the time Crow- foot was tackled by one of the Princeton guards he had covered thirty yards and the ball was back out of Ff _ danger. Then the whistle sounded and Hollister realiger! that the first quarter was over. vt) SHAPTER XI. | * MERRIWELL TO THE FORE. ye ‘ : | After the brief eee iii interval, Yale started oe bf brilliant plays “which did full credit bofebar'y Back and forth » ged the lines of tattered, gasping, breathless men. ‘At one moment it would seem that Yale had the ad- vantage, and apparently nothing could prevent her from scoring. Then Princeton would rally and force the blue line slowly, but surely, back from the danger ZOTIE, To the man on the side line it was sheer agony. His trained eye saw the weak points of his team even more swiftly than did Tempest, the captain. His alert brain, feverishly active, took in lost opportunities which the men on the field did not even perceive, and he was con- stantly thinking of how he would have made a success- ful play if he had. only been out there with the rest. Then began a series of minor accidents which played havoc with the Yale line. First of all, Rose was knocked senseless and had to leave the field. Then Samp Elwell twisted his ankle so that he could not’ stand on it; and another sub threw off his enveloping blanket, jerked off his sweater, and raced into the atena in response to Tempest’s peremptory gesture. Last of all, Phil Keran gave out, and, after a mo- mentary hesitation, Tempest reluctantly summoned Jarvis Blake from the side line. He was the best man left, and, perhaps, had it not been for what he had heard from Dick about the fellow, Tempest might have put him in before; for Blake had always showed up well in practice. | As Hollister saw his enemy race out and take his own place at right end, he clenched his fists so tightly _ that the nails cut into the flesh of his palm. This was the worst of all. Blake was now just w here he had been scheming to get. / Then the teams lined up and Bob forgot even that. It became apparent at once that the change had not ‘been for the better. Princeton had been obliged to put. in only one substitute, and her adv antage showed very plainly. Strive as the Yale line did against them, the solid phalanx of the opposing team made its way inexorably down the field. There were occasional rallies, to be + sure, but neyer once did the orange and black fail to make their required gain; and at last, with a sob in his throat, Hollister saw the pigskin forced over the © line and heard the Princeton crowd thundering its | Di earache or thn wis lie adpamesitispe ie : ’ Se ae momteed TEP Oe The goal was kicked, and, before the second quarter was over, Princeton had scored again on a drop kick, _and was nine points to the good.“ Things looked very black for Yale. Hollister did not leave his place on the grass. He could not bring himself to go back to the house with the team. He had not the heart. And so he lay there viciously jabbing the blade of his knife into the ground, his brow drawn into.a scowl, his brown eyes full of a strange mixture of longing and pain. He had been watching Blake’s playing, and it had taken him only a few ynoments to see how much it fell short of his own. Hollister was. not in the least conceited, but he had a keen sense of sizing a fellow up on the field and*had always viewed his own goed points and shortcomings as dispassionately as he did those of any one else. Watching Jarvis Blake, he knew that he himself could have done better. Blake was a good player, but he was deficient in some important qualifications, prin- cipally initiative and speed in starting. Time and time again, Bob saw him fail to take ad- vantage of an opportunity which might have meant a gain of yards to his team. Once, in his excitement, he had shouted a warning to the substitute, only to realize what he was doing and choke himself into Si- lence. The third quarter started off with a fresh swihg. The rest had done all the men good, and evidently there had been some straight talk in the athletic house which heartened them and brought them to a realizing sense of the gravity of their position. The ball was forced down to within the thirty-yard line without a pause. Hollister, watching eagerly, soon . saw whose’ brain was dominating the work. Almost every time the pigskin was passed to Merriwell. And, with quite’as much regularity, the brilliant senior re- sponded nobly. He seemed to be everywhere at once, slippery as an eel, dodging hither and thither in a most bewildering fashion, sometimes passing the ball to Crowfoot, or another on whom he could depend, but always making gains, ever advanicing, until Bob found himself sitting erect, his cheeks burning and his eyes sparkling as he WEEKLY. watched this amazing exhibition of almost perfect foot- ball. Would he make it? Could he possibly hold out to reach, the line? Suddenly his question was answered. The quarter back ripped out a rapid signal which Bob could not hear perfectly; the ball was snapped back; there was a bewildering, lightninglike, intricate pass. - Hollister gasped. It was his improved crisscross play, the last thing he had worked out before he had left the team. The pigskin seemed to leap from one man to another | like a thing endowed with life. For/a minute he lost “9 ‘track of it, and then he caught his breath swiftly as Merriwell sprang out of the mélée, the pigskin tucked under his arm, and raced over the turf as if he were as ‘fresh as the moment he had first set foot on the field. The pass had been so cleverly made that most of them The Princeton crowd was taken by surprise. thought the ball was being sent around the other end, and there was a surging rush in that direction, which left a comparatively free field for Dick. Too late they saw their error and trailed after him. 3 There were but two men between him and the cov- eted goal. He could easily outdistance the first, who — was a little to one side, but the full back would have i to be dodged. ¥ As he ran, he watched.the man keenly, wondering just what trick he would have to bring into play to get away from him. The fellow stood alertly on his — ‘toes, watching, waiting, ready to spring to one side or the other, as the case might be. Dick came on without slackening his, speed, swerved f Sahay to the right, whirled, darted the other way, and all in such a brief mdment that to this day Prince- ton’s full back hasn’t the least notion of how he was foolkkd. He only knewthat by the time he Had turned Dick was a dozen feet away, speeding on toward the i * goal. "s The next instant the full back gave a grunt of “tri- umph-and stretched himself, for the Yale man sud-— denly staggered, tried wildly to recover, and then fell full length to the sod. \ A groan of horror went up from the stands, follow by deathlike stillness. TIP TOP Then, to the amazement of the onlookers, they saw that, instead of lying where he had fallen, Merriwell 1 Spun end over end, and the next instant he was on | his feet again. But he ran with an appreciable limp. _ It was a tense moment. The fullback was gaining. ~ Slowly, but surely, he crept up and the distance he- | tween the two lessened. Dick ran with more and as |} more apparent effort, and it was plain to all that he : | - must be suffering tortures. Now the full back’s fingers touched him, ‘but could | © find no hold on the smooth canvas. The next instant ¥ a fy te i ‘ _ they clutched his waist, and clung rF there with a firm, dragging grip. Five yards more! » Could he ever make it ?/ : Struggling, dragging, straining every nerve and ; ‘muscle, Merriwell flung himself over the line; and, as he did so, a great sigh arose from the spectators, merging into a crashing burst of sound, for they real- _ ized that the ball was over, CHAPTER XII. A BROKEN PROMISE AND A VICTORY. ‘Despite his sprained ankle, Merriwell kicked the op we Nat” ED = ot a — ~ > a “= - le — ~~ _— — cab) a _— a oO Oo bam © tots a © wn - O. Om Ww m Oo = o => @ © + on @ — _ ~~ 2 3 <> © _ They played despairingly, doggedly, disputing every inch on the part of the Princeton organization, but for fe, and their playing had become more or less ma- inelike. | ne | Bob Hollister realized this swiftly. He knew the ns only too well. i it, é Y : « , - “They can’t do it!’ he almost sobbed. “They can’t it them {that way!” | WEEKLY. 33 Just’ for that He must do it. He could-not sit there and see the fel- go into the game. If he could only g last quarter. Surely it could not do any harm. lows beaten, The third quarter was nearly over when he leaped to his feet, his face white and determined, and ran swiftly toward the house. Dashing/ inside, he en- face countered Keran, his a network of scowling lines, his fists clenched, and one- foot tied up in bandages, “Gimme your clothes!’ Hollister . exclaimed, ‘6 9999 Quick ! : “What ’ gasped Keran. “Blazes!” ripped out the excited fellow “Your clothes, I tell you! Get ’em off! Mine aren’t here!’ With an exclamation of joy, the other realized, what he meant to do. Snatching off. his jacket and jersey, he tossed them to Bob, who/was already half undressed, : “Glory be!” he cried, “You're going to play! You'll brace em up!” , Hollister made no answer. His eyes were gleam- ing. One thought only was in his mind. He must eel into those togs and back to the field before the beginning of the last quarter... He meant to play if he never did another thivg in all his lifex, His promise to Merriwell was forgotten. He thought of nothing but that line of gasping, tatfered’men out there, striv- ing vainly against black defeat. With eager, trembling fingers, Keran helped him lace his jacket. Rudolph Rose staggered up from where he lay full length on a bench, and, dropping down on the floor, laced up his shoes. Neither of them spoke a word, for words were unnecessary. They urider- stood. In a miraculously short time Bob was ready, and, snatching up a nose guard, he tore out of the house. Bill Fullerton, his face black as a thundercloud, was talking to Tempest on the side lines. The brief inter- mission was almost over as Bob dashed up to them. “T want to go in, Don!” he exclaimed. Both men looked at him in astonishment. “1 thought’ Tempest began. “Never mind that,”’ Hollister interrupted. % ‘ “Tve got 3 “ i ake, lec z oe Ce TR as ORG Re ae a TIP: FOP’ WEEKLY. to go in! That’s the only way. The fellows have gone all to pieces since Merriwell hurt himself!” Still the captain of the varsity hesitated. He knew quite well of the promise Hollister -had made Merri- well that he would not play football again during his college course. “I swear to you, Don, by all that’s holy,” Bob said earnestly, “that if you let me play out this game I'll never touch football again! It’s only fifteen minutes, Don! Just fifteen little minutes! If I sit here watch- ing it, I shall go mad. Let me play, Don.” His pleading voice quivered with the emotion which was tearing him. Tempest was in somewhat of a quandary. He wanted to put Hollister in, for he felt that it was barely possible that Bob might succeed in putting spirit into the jaded, discouraged men. He was fresh, too, and wrought up»to a white heat of enthusiasm. It would be strange if-he did not accomplish something. Don glanced at Fullerton questioningly. The coach nodded emphatically. “It’s the only thing that can possible save the day,” he said decidedly. “Better let him in.” aN ie | 4 “Blake, of cout se!” “He’s rotten!” os Fullerton said tersely. i Hollister’s face lit up joyfully as he listened to this brief conversation. Then the signal came, and there was a general movement to get out on thé field. Tempest walked rapidly to Blake's side and said a few words to him in a low tone. The big, blond fel- low flushed scarlet and darted a venomous glance at - Bob. Then, without a word, he turned on his heel and walked rapidly toward the athletic house, his face sullen, and the angry flush still in his cheeks. . Hollister followed the other men with a springy step and a heart fairly bursting with joy. At last he was back with the poys. It seemed: almost as if he had never left them. He did not worry over the fact that, after these brief, fleeting minutes were over, he could never play again. He only knew that the team was in-a bad way and needed him, and, he re- | solved that he would play as he had never played be- fore. One after the other the fellows recognized him and greeted him with short, hurried words, which were an odd blending of surprise, joy, and relief; but all had such a ring of sincerity and truth that Hollister was more touched than he would have thought pos- sible. | | ; He dared not meet Merriwell’s glance. He had broken his promise, and he was not sorry; he hated to think of what Dick’s opinion of him would be from this time forth. | Then, as he crouched in his place, he forgot Merri- — well, forgot,everything but the fact that he was back in the line again, “Are you all ready?” asked the referee. There was no reply. Only here and there a foot moved uneasily as weights were thrown forward, and there was a general, almost imperceptible, tightening of nerves and muscles. | Then the whistle shrilled. Those who watched the game that day said after- ward that, in all their experience, they had never seen such an amazing rallying on the part of any team as was shown by the Yale eleven during that last. quarter. a : Three minutes before ‘they had gone off the field. with dragging steps and gloomy, discouraged faces. ' The pe ers of the blue, who crowded the stands, | felt ¢ wave of despair sweep over them as they thought . of what might happen in that last fifteen minutes Many of them fully expected to see Princeton make another touchdown, if not two, and they waited with perfunctory, mechanical cheers, and swiftly ebbing spirit for the beginning of the end. | 3 But the sudden, totally unexpected appearance of i Hollister seemed to work almost a miracle. Bob responded nobly. Never had he put up sii a game before. Tireless, never failing, swift as light- ning, with his brain in splendid working order, hi Dodging slipping through holes in the line where one ‘Wwaul cu seemed to be all over the field’ at once. not have thought any advance possible, blocking, ' ) \ ting off opposing runners, and interfering for runne of his own team, if seemed as if all the pent-u thwarted energy of the last few days of deprivatic i : Sed e4P FOP. was being poured out now in this brief, brilliant ex- > | hibition. ‘His work thrilled the other men with a new hope, pe i and stirred them to fresh endeavor, so that they were . a with him heart and soul; and the pigskin was rushed down the field swiftly is ; yard line was reached. 1 _ Here the oran$e-and-black fellows seemed to re- 1 _ cover, and, rallying, presented such a solid line that " two downs brought barely six yards; and Yale had - ] © to resort to a drop kick, which sent the ball forward ko ‘thirty yards, but gave it to Princeton. 4 . Then the great struggle of the day began. Inspired x by the brilliant Hollister, Yale made a strenuous, t 4 ae dogged effort to score, while her opponents were d er equally determined that she should not. Back and forth surged the lines of men, never reaching within _ kicking distance of either goal, and using up the : Brécious minutes in fiercely contesting every inch of En " er Aye a> It was aybattle royal, and the spectators were so nr ae thrilled with interest and excitement that they almost sts ae forgot to cheer. ie At last, play, Kenny decided to make use.of one of the most when there were but six eiektities left to ntricate and most daring of the combinations of double plays and crisscrossing which the coaches had worked out from Hollister’s suggestion. It was only Oo pe used as a last resort, and Kenny decided that the time had come. | : “Sixty-seven—twenty-four—thirty-two _ Kenny paused. Merriwell sprang back a yard. uckhart crept a few feet in. Fifty-four—seventeen!” finished Kenny swiftly. ides, Kenny turned, and the pigskin flew back. The xt instant Merriwell had the ball, and sped toward E e right end of the line. f him; the tackle and guard thrust back their oppo- nits; the Princeton line surged forward with a rush. Hollister plunged forward, too, as if he were in- t only on interfering in Merriwell’s behalf; but had a mere important duty than that to perform. wiftly, before their opponents realized what was \ f aN and irresistibly, until the forty- , The ball was snapped, Brad ran forward three. The quarter crossed in front a WEEKLY. Merriwell changed places, being done, he and Dick was blocking with all his might, while Hollister, the ball clutched tightly to him, sped round, shot through and out onto the field, leaving a mass of waving legs and arms many yards behind. Joy was the supreme sensation in Boh’s breast. Only the Princeton full back threatened. The ball was safely clutched in his right arm, his breath came easily, his legs were strong, and the goal posts loomed down the This, he thought exult- ingly, was the best moment that life could give. field and beckoned him on. Behind, although he could not hear it for the din of shouting from the stands, he knew the pursuit to He edged farther out from the danger- The Princeton full back had been deceived by the play, and had gone farther up - be in full ery. ous touch line and sped on. the field for a kick, and now down he came at full speed. Hollister seemed to hesitate and falter. The full His broad back was bent far over, his sturdy legs squared themselves, and, when: back prepared to tackle. Bob was almost within his reach, he dove forward. There was a sudden gasp from the spectators, a breathless hush, and then a thunderous roar of joy, as Hollister leaped high in the air, cleared the hooking arms, stumbled, got his balance again, and ran on, free, the ball still cupped in the curve of his arm. The momentary pause had served to bring the fore- most of the other pursuers almost to Bob’s heels. And now the plucky end began to feel the effects of his strenuous work. His breath came irregularly, his throat was parching, his legs ached with every bound, but still he never wavered. Behind him sounded He dared not look back Every second he expected to feel the the thud of relentless feet. lest he stumble. clutch of the enemy. Presently he gave up ‘trying to breathe; it was too hard. His head was swimming and his lungs seemed. bursting. ~Then his wandering faculties rushed back at a bound as he fancied he felt a touch—just the lightest fingering—and, gathering all his remaining strength, he increased his pace for a few steps. The ten-yard line passed, slowly, reluctantly. >? “One more,” he thought. “Only one more! TIP: TOP The great stands were hoarse with shouting, for here ended the gaine. Nearer and nearer crept the five-yard line; nearer and nearer crept the pursuers. Once more Hollister called upon his strength, and tried to draw away, but And, the but yards distant, stout arins were clasped tightly around it was useless. with goal line four his waist. One—two—three strides he made: The goal line writhed before his dizzy sight. Relentlessly the clutch- ing grasp fastened tighter and tighter about him like ttled lower and lower until his De- spairingly he thrust the ball out at arm’s length, and barids of steel, and se legs were clasped and he could move no farther, tried to throw himself forward; the trampled turf rose to meet him, and then blackness came. Bob's first waking thought. was that he must be back on the rocky shores of Maine, where he had spent the past summer. Surely those were breakers which roated and thundered in his ears. Then he opened his eyes, and found that he was lying on the sod, < sweater undet his head, and several vaguely familiar faces swimming above him. A moment later he knew that it was not surf, but the wild yelling and cheering of excited, enthusiastic rolled the mighty tor- thousands. Back and forth rents of sound, breaking and crashing in reverbera- tions. , Suddenly there was a pause, jand then a fresh ont be this time. deliberate and controlled: “Rah, rah rah! Rah, Rah, Hollister! Hollister! Hollister !’’ No need to. tell him in so many words that the ball rah, tah! rah, rah! had gone over. This was enough, They were cheer- ing for him, and, as he opened his eyes again, some- thing like a mist came over them. Presently this cleared away, and he found.himself looking into Merri- well’s face. ‘How dare you feeling, old fellow?” the senior Hse anxiously. “Hurt anyplace? Or is it just wind you want?” 7 jes § Hollister smiled. | “That's all,” he said quay -minuite.” “Be all right in a WEEKLY. He hesitated for an instant. “Say, Dick.”’ Merriwell bent lower. GST. “I couldn't help e questioned. it, old man,” Bob said in a low . tone. broke my promise, and I reckon you must think me an awful rotter. I held out 2. long as i. Dick, and I Gouldn’t sit 3ut it’s the last could; but you needed me, there and see the fellows licked. time.” Merriwell asked “Do you really mean that, Bob?” slowly. ' “Don’t you think that the next gaine you see will tempt you just as you have been tempted to- day?” Hollister shook his head decidedly “NO, ‘sir!’ is the last. This I'll be content now to cut it out for good. a he said eniphatically. “I’m through. I’ve shown what I could do, and——” | Another thunderous burst of cheering came from ths the stands. ae “Hollister! Hollister! “Not even for that would I break my word to you” Hollister !”’ : again, Merriwell. You believe me, don’t you, old fel- low ?” a For an instant Dick gazed keenly into the anxidus eyes of his friend. Then his face cleared and a smile curved the corners of his mouth. “Sure,” he said simply. THE END. A tattling detectiv Something new next week! We're all accustomed to plots and counterplots in dark mazes of ht city, but here is something refresh- of the rabbit mech the siento leaves. ey is called “Dick Merriwell’s Quandary ; or, tery of the Deserted Farmhouse,’ and i¢ is No. of Tie Top, Out next week, November rath. ? TIP TOP WEEKLY. —_ =P Ap jdeal fublication fel for the AriéFican Youth en sca. AZ NEW YORK, November 5, 1910. ; TERMS TO TIP TOP WEEKLY MAIL SUBSCRIBERS. (Postage Free.) Single Copies or Back Numbers, 5c. Fach. NO VOOR. bss dsp ae aks ch atbah was $2.50 2 copies ONG YeaYr........ccecee 4.00 1 COPy TWO YEATB......eccccese 4.00 a Ch oe 65e. PAIS wichduectscenvcces avwoks 850. months seaeeecenceecereseeees $1.25 How to Send Money—By post-office .or express money order, gistered letter, bank check or draft, at our risk. At your own risk if sent by currency, coin, or postage stamps in ordinary letter. se Receipts—Receipt of your remittance is acknowledged by proper _ change of number on your label. If not correct you have not been-properly _ credited, and should let us know at once. STREET & SMITH, Publishers, 79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York City. Ormonp G. Syn, once C. Smirn, f Proprietors. TRANSPLANTING HUMAN HAIR, In China human hair is actually transplanted, and those who ngage in it find it a remunerative occupation. This hair-planting business owes its prosperity to a superstition, Chinese physiogno- mists say the eyebrows and whiskers of a man are just as es- sential in their relations to his success in life as his other quali- cations. If his eyebrows are thin, or his whiskers are sickly, his ck will be thin\and his health will be poor. Therefore, in order stop the train of bad luck which Nature has unfortunately dained for him, he orders his eyebrows changed or replanted a hair-planting professor. ° his is done by first carefully pulling out the rebellious or ; nlucky hairs in the eyebrows. The next operation is to select a spot of hair on the neck of the patient or behind his ears that would suit for a fine eyebrow) and reduce the hairs down to the ‘Tight length. A fine pair of sharp pincers is picked up with the ft hand, and selecting a suitable-sized hair, the operator jerks t out by the root, and with the right hand he quickly pierces a rted. But if the blood oozes out of it before the hair is planted, the will not be used on that day, for fear of inflammation, and sufficient nutriment for the hair to take proper root. This ation is repeated until every hair in the eyebrows is replanted enlarged. The patient usually experiences pain in the eye- ws for about twenty-four hours, after which he goes out and a he himself to his friends. .professor charges more for planting eyebrows than for anting whiskers, because of the many varied degrees of slanting ch hair in order to make the eyebrows look natural to the man, ‘to suit the ideas of the physiognomist. » 7 : [he disregard of the Chinaman for death is his most remark- ¢ characteristic, unless it be the small provocation for which ed one of them in my house to keep him from the High- . ets. I'was talking with my Chinese cook a few years ago ut their trouble with France, which was then in progress. . ince no hurt us,’ he said. ‘Send ships to fight us. Kill eleven and Chinamen, twenty thousand Chinangen. That no matter. nty more Chinamen. No hurt China’” «: : A Short Story by Your Favorite Author. THE SPANISH SPY. By BURT L. STANDISH. _ “Martin Gomez dies at sunrise!” ; The governor of Gibraltar uttered the words coldly, as he turned from the boy who was kneeling at his feet, pleading for the life of a beloved father. The dark-eyed lad choked back a sob of hopeless disappoint- ment, slowly arising to his feet. Then he heard the governor say to one of the officers gathered near him: “The man who discovers the enemies’ plans and just when the bombardment will begin can ask anything within my power to grant and will grant it. Dare any of you play the spy?” “How can.we?” asked one. “There is no means of getting into their lines.” “The contrabandistas go and come.” “True; but who can trust them? Although we give them pro- tection they are ready to stick a knife into our men, as this Martin Gomez did.” “TI have heard Gomez had great provocation, general,” ventured one young officer, more bold than the rest. “The man he stabbed was drunk and struck at the Spaniard.” “T do.not believe the story,” came sharply from the governor’s lips, as he turned away and lifted his glass to anxiously survey the low, sandy isthmus to the north, where lay the masked bat-° tery he so ech dreaded. “Oh, for a man with nerve to pene- trate their lifes!” ; The Spanish boy, Juan, waited to hear no more, but he hur- ried away with his heart pounding violently in his bosom. “He said the man who discovered their plans could ask any- thing of him,” muttered Juan, as he hurried down to the beach, where several boats lay close under the water wall of the great frowning rock that reared itself grimly into the air to a height that far overlooked the blue waters of the Mediterranean. It did not take the young Spaniard long to learn that one of the contrabandista boats was going out with the turning tide that very night, and he soon obtained permission to go in her. The master of'the boat told him they expected to return ere th break of morn. \ “Santa Marie aid me!” murmured the youth in earnest prayer. _ “Tf all goes well I will hold the English governor to his word. He can spare my father if he will.” Night crept silently down over the water and shrouded the - great rock ‘on which the English garrison had sweltered and starved through four years of siege. The French warships were hidden’ from view, but every one knew they lay silently in the heart of the black void.that covered the sea. With.the turn of the™tide, the\boat of the contrabandista left the town and ran stealthily out toward the warships, the swing of the sweeps making not the least noise. The daring Spanish smugglers intended to run through the very midst of the fleet. Juan Gomez was on the boat, and his heart beat high with excitem@ht and hope. No one save himself knew his daring plans, his companions thinking he was seeking excitement in order to forget the fate that was to befall his father with the rise of another sun. : Like a black ghost the boat stole down into the midst of the fleet. Once they nearly ran into the looming hulk of a ship, but they were fortunate enough to avoid such a catastrophe. Juan seemed to know the very spot to which he was destined. All at once, away in the darkness, not so very far, low voices were heard speaking. Then Juan slipped off his surpls clothing as swiftly as he ‘could, remembering the direction from whence ‘the sounds had seemed jto come. The master of the boat touched the boy’s arm. “What would you do?” he asked. Without making a reply, the lad quickly slipped over the side of the boat and vanished into the water with the silence of an eel. He was gone before one of his companions could realize his purpose. ; It was past midnight when the governor of the beleagured fortress sat smoking on the azotea, or flat roof, of one of the old Moorish houses which composed the greater part of the town” His daughter and One or two staff officers were with him. The darkness of early evening had lifted as the night advanced, ‘a strong, hot wind “from the south having swept away the last trace of fog, and the whole bay lay before the governor, with the lights of the blockaders a-twinkle far away. The lights of the Spanish fleet, moored at Algesiras, could also be seen, and TIP TOP the view was the most lovely and peaceful that could be imagined. No sign of war was there, yet the blockaders were watching the ‘great ‘Tock, where they fancied they had the English penned like a rat in a trap, and a few short hours more would witness the opening of the great bombardment. The governor was about to cast aside his cigarette and propose retiring, when one of the officers exclaimed: “Look away, there! See! At Algesiras!’ “What is) it?” a saw the flashes of guns, but we heard nu reports.” “No; it must have been small arms. I wonder what the firing can mean! They speculated over it for a long time, but had finally given it up, when, all at once, the general’s daughter called attention to two boats that were coming swiftly tow: itd the town. One boat seemed to be pursuing the other, but the boat in advance was too swift, and the first escaped, while the pursuer turrféd back. “Oh, it is nothing!” said the general, with a yawn. “A row -among the Spaniards, perhaps. | am going to bed.” “General,” spoke up one of the officers, “hadn’t I better go down and see what has happened? If it is anything of impor- tance that you should know at once, give me leave to communi- cate.” “Very well, Clayton. arouse me, as I will fifteen minutes.” The young officer lifted, his hat to the departed without delay. Fifteen minutes later he returned, and with him came a boy, Juan, the Spanish lad, dripping with water. “This boy swears he has something of the utmost importance to tell you, general;” said the officer. “He has come from Al- gesiras, where he was fired upon as a spy and wounded in the shoulder.” If you make haste you will not have to smoke another cigarette and wait here general’s daughter, and S The starlight showed Juan was pale as a corpse, and he swayed from weakness caused by the loss of blood. “Speak, boy!” cried the genéral. “What have you to sz ay?” Then the young Spanish lad told a story that stirred the blood ° of the men who listened, for he had entered the enemies’ line and obtained the very information most desired, At daybreak the bombardment was to begin, and Juan knew the most im- portant plans of the besiegers. “You have done well!” cried the governor, when he had heard all. “How can I reward you, my boy?” “I heard you say, sir, that you would grant anything within your power to the person who would enter the enemies’ lines and bring you such information.” “And I et keep my word. “Spare the life of my father, Martin Gomez! who asked mercy of you a few hours ago.’ Then the brave Juan fell fainting from weakness at the feet of the governor. \ % What do you wish?” IT am his son, Martin Gomez was spared, and, fortunately, the man he had stabbed recovered. The contrabandista may have been too ready in the use of his knife, but he certainly had a brave and ,devoted son, of whom he was justly proud. A STRANGE OCCUPATION. Among the Hindoos the feelings of the young man or the young girl are seldom consulted in matrimonial matters. The usual course is for the parents, when they judge that their son or daughter has arrived at a marriageable age, to engage the services of a professional matchmaker. The Ghatuck, or match- maker, is generally a Brahmin of high order—a man of learning, compliant manners, and invariably of great persuasive powers. His strength lies in the use of the partic ular kind\of tact and skill necessary For all intermediaries; and he is not much affected by scruples of conscience. Genealogy and pedigree are his specialties. He can repeat everybody's father’s, grandfather’s, great-grandfather’s names, and so on to the thirteenth generation; and he has at his fingers’ ends all about their caste, gotra, or tribe, their quality and posi- tion, and the hundred other details about which the Hindoos are very particular. His imagination is always ready to make up for any shortcomings of memory or knowledge. ‘He flinches at no exaggerations. The Ghatuck never finds any fault in his young man or girl, The lady may be as ugly as possible, but he will pass her off as a second Venus, There comes of a morning the Brahmin Ghatuck to the house — * his patron whose son’s marriage he is Bagchee Aatet the WEEKLY. usual exchange of salutations? the master of the house asks the Gratuck whether everything is all right, and how he finds the girl, upon which the latter answegs in this style: “Yes, sir, everything is af right. The girl is beautiful as the full moon ; even the*moon has spots, but she is spotless and peer- less. Her teeth are sparkling, like the seeds of a pomegranate; her arched bright eyes beat thosé-of Kama—the Hindoo Cupid— her voice is sweet like that of the cuckoo; her gait is dignified and graceful like that of an elephant; and, as to her figure, I know nothing to compare it with. She is intelligent, like the god- dess Sarasawati—the Hindoo goddess of wisdom—and talks like Lakshmi—the Hindoo goddess of fortune—and (will certainly bring fortune to any family she may be connected with.” , The conversatiog goes on until the hesitations of the parent are overcome. departs for the house of the lady. There-he represents the young man to be beautiful like Kartie—the god of beauty—his manners are those of a nobleman; he is free from all vices; he studies day and night. And then his parents are so rich, and have promised to give such a mass of priceless Ornaments and jew elry.” The Ghatuck is usually well paid for his services, though often — If a Ghatuck can) secure an educated and well-to-do young man for a poor com- lifelong imprecations form his chief reward. mon-looking girl, he is handsomely paid for his services by the — parents of that girl. On the contrary, if the bride or bridegroom turns out to be the reverse of what he or she was represented, — the Ghatuck has from the deceived partner only the few rupees he got before the marriage, with probably a shower of blows from the male members of the family thrown in. Of late years female match Makers are taking the place of male ones in some 7} of the large towns. THE WAY JOCKEYS TRAIN. It cannot be denied that a jockey’s calling is one of the best paying. When we read of a successful rider pecelen as much as $5,000 for riding in and winning one of the big races, and this not including many handsome presents from those who have made something over his mount, it can readily be understood — that-the life has an abundance of fascination for ambitious youths — of a light weight. i The training which jockeys have to subject themselves to s ofttimés a painful, not to say hazardous, procedure. Getting into condition is nothing fmore or less than wasting, and a man, to be stic cessful in the “pigskin” must of necessity do an amount of wasting and-training combined. There is a limit to all weights, and there may be a fev ‘wlio’ by dint of moderately abstemious living and a considerabl amount of daily exercise, can come approximately near the ‘re- quired scale. In the old days a jockey’s system of training was a very hrutab procedure. The diet was restricted to sma}! quantities of bread and a suspicion of butter, weak tea, and water little more than colored with wine, little or no vegetables and a small—very sma —portion of lean meat. The exercise consisted of long, tiring walks of from ten to fifteen miles loaded with two or three coats, waistcoats, and pai of trousers. This was tod produce what was termed. the “sw ing.” Purgative medicine would be taken in copious doses, and the misery suffered thereby would be terrible. sut the present mode of training is totally different. The walk- ing exercise is “vastly reduced, and a more adequate amount of nourishing food is taken. Seven or eight miles at the a constitute the present exercise. The overloading with clothing has also become a thing of | past, and the “sweatings” are accomplished by the aid of a good Turkish bi ath. ¢ teresting specimen ‘ofa Se ey s menu ‘during strict training: Breakfast: A small piece of bread and butter, and one cup tea. Dinner: Fish, of some light pudding and a little meat. Tea: Same as breakfast, with fresh meat, if fancied, Supper: Nothing. Bed at nine and rise at six. The beverage is wine and water in the proportion of parts. The lean of a mutton chop is sometimes tober sparc dry toast, but vegetables are strictly eschewed. It is a curious fact that.jockeys are all small men, and yet } never appear to be small enough. _ Though so light, thes many who are pas” he the medium height. The matchmaker, well satisfied with his performance, ~ wit dar A2OP The best jockeys are mere skeletons, every rib is clear and distinct, and he looks nothing but a bag of bones with the skin drawn tightly over them, when one saw him in his Turkish bath. But it wouldn’t have taken him long to have made weight, for, as a rule, jockeys put on fle ‘sh with remarkable rapidity. One of the most astonishing instances of reduction ‘was that of a celebrated jockey. In order to reduce his weight to the re- quired minimum, he abstained from food of every description, with the exceptign of an occasional apple. ‘This he continued for no less a period than eight days. Strange to say, he suffered no apparent ill effects, and reached the good age of sixty-two before he finished the race of life, TWENTY MINUTES UNDER WATER, The following incident is related hy an old Englishman, whose veraciousness we haye no reason to doubt, but from a long and intimate acquaintance have every reason to believe: “When I was about fifteen years of age,” he said,.“I was very fond of sport, and was alw ays. foremost among my companions and ringleader of every danger ous or hazardous enterprise. Boys are always more venturesome in proportion than those of more mature years, and then it is that so many heart-burnings are caused fond parents, whose minds and affections arégglways wandering unseen after their household jewels, which “causes their fond hearts to leap to their throats whenever the tidings of any accident to boys sound upon their ears. “Wandering along the banks of the Clyde one day with several of my young companions, we commencéd to talk about exploits in swimming and diving. Each one boasted, as boys always do, of how far he could swim; another of how deep he could dive and bring up bottom. So after we all had a hearing it was unani- mously resolved that we go into the river and prove our asser- tions. “I, though young, had acquired great proficiency in the art of swimming and diving, so that I was styled by my companions as the ‘water dog.’ My ability in these respects was never disputed, * and whenever disputes on these points occurred among my as- ~sociates I was called upon as judge’ to decide the. point. prea bad ice the art of keeping my eyes open under water, so that I could « lescry anything on the bottom, and when a particular stone was thrown into the river I could dive after it,and return with it to the shore. “We had all divested ourselves of our clothes, and gone into the tiver. After the disputants had settled their acquirements to their own satisfaction, I was called upon to display my abilities. ~ Accordingly a stone was thrown into the river to a depth of about ourteen feet, which I was requested to go and bring back. A\- though I had been a considerable length of time in the water, owing to the compliments bestowed upon me for my skill as a ‘diver, for boys feel very proud and courageous when lauded, I did not hesitate to dash in after the prize. “IT went down amid the cheers of my comrades, gained the bot- ae and secured the stone without the least difficulty, and re- urned to the shore. “My companions took the stone and examined it. All were atisfied that it was the same, but one, who was a vain boaster, doubted it. Therefore, in order to settle the doubt, a piece w as Dbrokeh off it, after which it was again thrown in. I followed it own and secured it, then proceeded to rise again to the surface, but had not lifted myself more than three feet from the bottom. I had presence of mind enough , when I was seized with a cramp, know that. I could not reach the shore by swimming, and also that the bank, of the river was very steep; I therefore dropped yself again to the bottom, and commenced crawling up the bank i he orell as my weak state would admit, hoping, in this manner, to ach close enough to the shore to get into shallow water, so that ‘I could get my head above to breathe. At every step I would ee my head up, upiking I had .gained shallow water. was finally compelled to-breathe—the supply of air which I ad taken, having become exhausted. Accordingly I made the empt, and the last thing I remember was the water rushing to my mouth. All this was the work of but a few minutes, but to me it ap- da very long time, almost an age, Thoughts of all kinds a hed through my mind like lightning, until the moment I at- mpted to breathe. Vhen: I became conscious again I found myself in the dead Se, confined in a sort of iron coffin, and covered with warm WEEKLY. 29 “My companions, seeing that I did not come to the surface in a reasonable time, became considerably alarmed for my safety, and feeling that something had befallen me, set up the cry, ‘A boy drowned,’, which brought a number of people to the shore. A boat was immediately “bro ught from the dead house, and grap- pling irons were put down in seatch of me. In the meantime my companions were not idly looking on, but were diving in vari- ous parts of the river in hopes of finding me. At length, after repeated dives, one of my companions found me, and brought me to the surface, a short distance from where the men in the boat were grappling. In a few seconds I was taken from my rescuer, and placed in the dead house, where the usual restoratives were put into practice to bring me to life again, It was for this pur- pose I was placed in the iron coffin, with the warm sand around me, in order to restore circylation. A tube was placed in my mouth and a weight on my chest, which produced an artificial breathing, thus, after a while, causing a natural breathing. “After a circulation of the blood had been caused, I suffered the most excruciating pain. My agony was so intense that [ wished they had let me die. “It was a long time before I fully recovered, and the lesson was taught me neyer to venture into deep water again. My diving and swimming exploits were ended, and some of my companions also relinquished theirs. “The dead-house keeper informed me that I had been upward of twenty minutes under water; that he had often restored per- sons who had been fiftéen minutes ‘below the surface, but never before saved one who had been under as long as twenty.” PITCHING A CURVED BALL, A ball thrown through the air is retarded in its forward motion by the resistance of the air, which not only exerts a pressure on the face of the ball, but also a resisting force on its sides by friction. If the ball is simply thrown forward without any special bias being given it, the friction of the air is equal on each side of it; but if one side be made to move faster than the other—that is, if the ball be made to rotate on its own axis from right to left, or left to right—so as to increase the lateral friction, the result is naturally a curve in the line of its delivery in the direction of the side on which its progress has been re- tarded. Hence what is known as a curved ball. * TELL THE DAY OF ANY DATE. In order to tell the day of the weekfof any date, take the last two figures of the year, add a quarter to this, disregarding the fraction; add the date of the month, and to this add the figure in the following list, one figure standing for each month: 2—6— 6—2—4—0—2—5—I 3 —6h—1. Divide ‘the sum by 7, and the re- maigder will give the number of the day of the week, and when there-is no remainder the day will be Saturday. As an example, take March 19, 1890. Take 90, add 22, add 18, add 6. This gives 137, which, divided by 7, leaves a remainder of 4 which is the number of the day, or Wednesday. HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THE BRAIN. The brain stands most abuse of any organ in the body. Its best tonic and stimulant is success. The worst and most depressing thing to it is failure. The most injurious effects come by using stimulants in early life. Young people should never use liquors, tea, or coffee. The latter two may not exactly do harm, but they are conducive of no good. They act mostly on the brain, and injure its growth very materially. Abundance of sleep is neces- sary. Eight hours is not more than enovgh. Sleep is the time of relatively lowered expenditure and increased repair. ~ QUEER VISITING CARDS. Many are the uses to which the cactus is put, but one a the queerest is that which prevails in Cape Town, South. Africa, where cactus leaves are made to serve the purpose of visiting cards, It might occur to the reader that a package of thick leaves tovered with prickly spines would not be easily aceommo- dated in a card case. The leaves of the special kind of cactus used for this purpose are not very prickly, however, and furthermore these unique’ cards are not carried about, but are left growing on the plant which stands by the front step. sf When a lady calls, she has only to take a pat pin from her — Sinton Ihnen icin cegeendeteteee ee ee peer Datta EIT Mae nak eget mate one, ee pec! ibte Gereeettagansaibveagenioetnane met ie ee Ne Pee EB pt SOS 30 Tie Seer bonnet and scratch her name on the glossy surface of one of the leaves, while a gentleman accomplishes the same end with his sharp penknife. The lines scratched turn silver white, and re- main clear and distinct on the leaf for years. On New Year’s Day these cactus cards are particularly- con- venient, and popular hostesses often appropriate a large branch of their cactus plant to the registry of visits received on that day. There is one ¢actus, which is not specially plentiful, which not only has smooth leaves, but has spines so large and stiff that they make excellent pens, and visitors are saved even the slight trouble of drawing out a hatpin or a penknife A TIGRESS TEACHING HER YOUNG. Have you ever’seen a cat catch a mouse and hand it over to her-kittens to-teach them how to kill? Well, a tigress is merely _ a big cat, arid she teaches her cubs almost in the same way, only not with mice. An East Indian officer witnessed a scene of this kind: An old bull bison had been the victim and the tigress had disabled him by breaking one of his right forelegs just below the knee. She never touched the throat, the usual place of seizing, but allowed the cubs to worry the disabled animal. ‘The eyewit- ness relates that the cubs acted exactly like kittens, advanced and retreated, and worried the victim, all the time mewing and snarl- ing, while the tigress sat near by watching their antics and oc- casionally giving the bison a blow with her paw when he showed undue activity. The officer shot the tigress and one of her cubs, when\his cur‘osity had been gratified, and he remarks that he could not help thinking, “Suppose it had been a human being on whom the cubs were practicing?” The supposition is an awful one, but it has doubtless been realized @many times. — eticnataiiciemcicinagagenaiaget ap Diahentisnacs Is A MAN THE OWNER OF HIS OWN TOOTH? This seemingly foolish question is shortly to be settled in the law courts at Gera, in Germany. A gentleman went to a dentist to have a tooth drawn, which proved a most difficult matter. When, at length, the dentist had succeeded in getting it out, he said it was of such an unusual shape that he would keep it as a curiosity. The patient, however, objected to letting him have it, as he wanted it himself. The dentist, declined to give it up, on the ground that a tooth when drawn with the free consent of the patient, is ownerless property as soon as it leaves the jaw. The patient has brought an-action against the der#ftist, the result of which is awaited with considerable curiosity. TRICKY LIONS, Some of the most dangerous tricks of animals are those simu- lating kindness. Hyenas often follow lions, and finish a carcass the moment the lions have left it. Sometimes, however, the hyenas are too eager, and steal bits of meat while the lions-are still eating. / I have been told that the lion rids himself of the nuisance in the following way: He throws a piece of meat aside. When the lion is looking the other way the hyena dodges in and rushes off with the meat. ‘Presently the lion throws another piece of meat, this time a little nearer. The hyena takes that also. At last the lion throws a piece very near indeed. The hyena, having become reckless, makes a dash at this also; but the lion wheels around and lays him low with a pat of his paw and a growl of annoy- ance, ' RUBBER CEMENT. Pieces of India-rubber may be readily united by means of the pasty mass obtained by acting upon pure rubber by its appropriate solvents. These are: Sulphuric ether, coal-tar naphtha, bisul- phide of carbon, caoutchoucin, and oil of turpentine. The cement may be bought ready-made at a cheap rate. Those who wish to try it will probably succeed best by cutting pure rubber—not that which has been vulcanized—into very thin slices, boiling it in water so as to soften and expand it, and then digesting it in hot coal-tar naphtha or oil of turpentine. Several days are required to effect the solution. When this cement is used for uniting pieces of rubber, the surfaces which are to be joined must be fresh. “They should therefore be either pared with a krfife or, tasped with a file. They may then be coated with the cement, pressed firmly together, and exposed to a gentle heat for a few days. 4 . _. If you want a great.many friends, make yourself useful to Others, but make no demands upon them. WEEKLY. APPLAUSE. A Marching Song for “Tip Top’? Boys. In the “Tip Top Weekly” Frank has lived: upon the plains, He has seen the forked lightning, felt the wind, and snow, and rains, He has killed the sneaking coyote, the lion, and the bear, Shouting the thrilling cry of victory. e Corus. Hurrah! Hurrah! our flag.is flying, too, Hurrah! Hurrah! our motto is “True Blue”; We're members of the order brave, the “Tip Top League,” Shouting a thrilling cry of vict’ry. Hurrah for our League, so full of boys and girls to-day, We mean to show the world around we're organized to stay; We're now a monster army, believing all we say, Shouting a thrilling cry of victory. (Chorus. ) i Come boys from every station, from city and from town, And jo the “Tip Top League,” and order of renown. We watt recruits, and every day, they’re coming from around, Shouting a thrilling cry of victory. (Chorus. ) Montreal, Canada. * w Stories in “Tip Top’? True and Lifelike. Kindly let me say what I like about the “Tip Top, Weekly.” It is because the characters and the stories are so true and lifelike and the stories so interesting. I like Dick, Brad, Frank, and Chester best, and of the girls I like Inza, Elsie, and Felicia. I used to smoke and chew, but after I had read “Tip Top” for a while, and saw what kind of a boy Dick was, I decided it was better to stop. I have got five boys to read “Tip Top,” and hope to get some more. LAwreENCE Harprtnc Laus. Cincinnati, O. a The Best Stories He Has Ever Read. fe I like “Tj Top” because it is an interesting publication 1 W. J. Burk. which there are some of the cleanest and best stories that I have ever read. I used to be the kind of boy that was called “a regular monkey for mischief,” but after I had commenced to read “Tip | Tops” my parents said that they believed that the stories in “Tip Tops” were curing me of mischief. are reading the king of weeklies every week. ee Tiffin, O Exper DISHER. “Tip Top’? Interested Him in Exercising. Bue > I have read “Tip Top” and Medal Library books for two — years, and like then’ mostly because they are so interesting that — you can see the characters very plainly in your mind. ave | induced several boys in the neighborhood to read them and the > Medal Library books. “Tip Top” has done me much good by interesting me to take a good deal of exercise, and I am very strong and healthy/ for my age. Husarp ALDHAM. | Moundsville, W. Va. / An Opinion on “Tip Top’? Characters. ; bo aks I think “Tip Top” is the best weekly published to-day. I think that Claudia is the girl for Dick, and June the girl for Spark. Also Mable Ditson for Brad, and Rose Sharon for young Joe Te Crowfoot. What has happened to Duncan Ditson? Somehow I always thought he would reform. Some of the readers of “Tip Top” seem to think Frank Merriwell’s South American stories fine. I didn’t like them, because Frank has got plenty of mone without hunting treasures.. I think the Bloomfield and T Bar stories are the best about Frank,” and the Loon Lodge and» — Smoketayy stories are the best about Dick. Hoping this will — miss theswastebasket, I remain a true “Tip Top” admirer. Siloam, Colo. ; OHN MarTIN. Three Chums for “Tip Top.’ tis i abe Having read your famous weekly for about a year, I think it is one of the best published. I have read all of the other weeklies, but none is as good as “Tip Top” for boys. Of the characters — I like Frank, Dick, Brad, and Bart Hedge best. I have got two of my, friends to read “Tip Top.” Three cheer§ for “Tip ‘ Burt £., and Street & Smith. Conrap RicHA Haverhill, Mass. in ae } I have told a good © sf ‘many of my friends about “Tip Top,” and now most of them TIP TOP WEEKLY. 31 very well, but you should reduce your waist to 28 inches and increase your chest expansion to 37 inches by systematic breath- = Talks with — chum ing exercises and practice with pulley weights and dumb-bells. a Re Use Dumb-bells and Exercise in the Open Air. (2 Fawnmners inne Pror. FourmMEN: Having read “Tip Top” for about four 4 years, I have noticed the letters in the back of each book re- B garding physical matters. I would like you to give your opinion i ef ‘$0 many inquiries reach us from: week to weelt concerning th of my measurements. Weight, 126 pounds; height, 5 feet 7% _ various manuals on athletic development, which we publish, aad se ee eee ae ee’ ee 36 inches ; ee 4 28 inches; calf, 13 inches. iat are my Weak or strong points: we have decided to keep a list of them standing here. Any number bs at ee verter, nearer ty Besatg be had | joined the Y. M. C. A. a year and a half ago, and have im- can be had by mail by remitting 10 cents, and 3 cents postage, for proved somewhat in my measurements. H. S. Powe tt. each copy, to the publishers. : ‘Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. _, Frank Merriwell’s Book of Physical Development. Your measutements are in fairly good proportion to your _ The Art of Boxing and Self-defense, by Prof. Donovan. height, though you should be some pounds heavier. Your weak | U. S. Army Physical Exercises, revised by Prof, Donovan, points are your weight and biceps. To acquir. weight, get foo Health Culture, by Prof. Fourmen, plenty of sleep, eat good, wholesome food, drink hot water — morning and evening, and exercise in the open aif as much as To Straighten the Shoulders. possible. To develop your biceps usé dtmb-bells and practice with the bar-bell weight. Pror. FourRMeN: My measurements are as follows: Age, 13 years 7 months; height, 5 feet 6 inchés; weight, 115 pounds; How to Become an Author. chest, normal, 29 inches; expanded, 31 inches; waist, 23 inches; S ‘ . ; biceps, relaxed, 8% inches; tense, 9% inches; wrists, 6% inches. Pror. Fourmen: Please tell me of some magazine that will ET coeur are. my measurements? What are my weak points? publish my stories. I have some which | think are good, al- © What size. dumb-bells and Indian clubs should I use? What though my brother puts cotton in his eats when I read them. ‘exercises should I take? Am I heavy enough for my height? He says some of them would be good with a little doctoring. I What exercise is good for round shoulders? What will cure: Would like to have some editor look them over. Do all ‘stories ‘catarrh ? Thanking you in advance for your advice. have to be typewritten? I am fourteen years old. Am I too Lebarion, Kansas! Ricttarp R. Cranrorp. young to start writing stories? Wii S. SILveRsTEIN. Vou are much too slight for your height, and should try to Any magazine will accept good stories and pay well for them. Typewritten mant&cript is preferred. You should not attempt to publish stories, however, until you have prepared yourself for the art of writing by a careful study of English grammar and by reading the works of the best authors. If you have a lively imagination and can write correctly and in good style, ‘you will, have no difficulty in finding a market for your work. _ The “‘Top-Notch’”’ Magazine. Get “Frank Merriwell’s Book of Athletic Develop- Pror. Fourmen: Seeing that you answer all kinds ot ques- nt” for further details. tions in your column, I would like you to tell me if Top-Notch n : ‘ is published any more. Thanking you in adv ance for this favor, Oe ; About the Fruit Business. I remain a true “Tip-Topper” and “Top-Notcher.” JPN © Pror, Fourmen: I am. 16 years of age, have had a public Newark, N. J. _ School education,.and reside in this city. At present I am in a The Top-Notch Magazine is now published semimonthly in a lerchandise broker's office, dealing in fruits, spices, etc, in pew and very attractive form, at the popular price of ten cents ch place I am now one year. I “would like to get into busi- Ty Laces ts two doll ; Tl néss for myself, and ask of you do you think I could establish’ ~P&? COPY: Ne PEORIA UCN, SAEe PF we ene pee ee S With the aid of my father—some business uptown; buy and first number of the new magazine was published under date of tholesale and retail.such as fruits, produce, spices, ete. ? October Ist. Ask your ne we agent for it, or send to this office. w York City. J. H. Miurr. oe cr SRT OR 00. 180; BEY PUSHES AUF: WOME SENN, Pror. FourmeN: Could you give me any advice on the mat-— hink you will be successful. It would pay you, however, to ter of finishing my education. I am now between the ages of in where you are for a year of so longer, and learn the 15 and 16. I managed to get as far as the fourth (4th) grade ness thoroughly. Then with the aid of your father or some in school when I had to leave on account of my health, I want to learn bookkeeping, spelling, grammar, and arithmetic. I ancial backer,"open a store on your own account. The prin- Rana : : ’ , j 1 d like to study by myself, without the aid of a teacher. 4 ranch ef the fruit business is to be a good buyer, know pjease advise me. In the matter xo business I am all right, as when, and where to buy fruit, and the way to handle and my father owns a paint store in New York. T. P. Caamp. ge it an attractive manner. Be honest in your dealing, Newark, N, J. : hard \for a good reputation, and you are bound to suc- ——- The only way to secure a good education Bto attend school. : a _ You might be able to learn the studies you write about without Exercise for Pole Vaulting. the aid of a teacher, but it would take so. long that you would - Fousmen My favorite exercise is pole vaulting, and get discouraged. It would be like leatning to sail a boat by d like to chi if there is any way of inate taking reading a book. To be a good scholar you must’ shave practical exercise. My measurements are as follows: Height, 5 instructions the same as you would in learning a trade or pro- - inches ; weight, 143 pounds; chest, normal, 33 inches; ; Z oy ia So Be 35 inches; waist, 3014 inches. What are my weak or fession. The fact of your father being in business ought not . points, and bow can 1 improve them? WaAtrTer seein -to make you careless about your education. On the contrary, elena, Cal. it should make you feel more like securing a good, sound edu-— be. successful in pole vaulting, ag well as in any other’ cation, so that you can step. in, take hold of the business, and ! d “specialty, one must take very general and systematic carry it on successfully. Brace up and take an interest in your and keep the body in good training by careful atten- studies; get .all the outdoor exercise you can, and I think your habits and mode of living. Your measurements averagé _ health will i and you will Be Bee ha nerease your weight by light systematic exercise, nourishing : food, ‘and plenty of sleep. Youf: chest expansion falls short everal inches. Try dumb-bell. exercises, with deep breathing. e careful not to overdo at first. Two-pound dumb-bells are bout the right weight for you. To straighten artd broaden Brace Up and Things Will Improve.