"Oh, you let me alone!" exclaimed the exasperated one. With that he jumped, and then, with a measuring tape, he carefully noted the distance he had covered. "Any gain?" asked Sid. "No; I went back an inch then," was the reply. "Like the frog in the well," went on Phil. "He jumped up three feet every day, and fell back four feet every night." "Aw, quit!" begged Grasshopper, who was sensitive, in spite of his enormous bulk. "You go high enough, but you don't go far enough," commented Sid. "Now, if they allow hurdling in football, you'd be right in it for jumping over the line to make a touch-down." "Maybe they'll change the rules so as to allow it," spoke Grasshopper hopefully. "Get out, you old Stoic!" cried Phil. "Come and take a walk with us. Tom is going to blow us to ginger ale." "No; I'm going to keep at it until I beat my best mark," and the jumper again got on the line. "Curious chap," commented Phil, as the three chums walked on. "But as good as they make 'em," added Tom. "That's what!" spoke Sid fervently. Snail Looper soon recovered from the effects of the hard Boxer Hall game, and practice was resumed with the 'varsity bucking against the scrub. There was a big improvement shown in the first team, for the players had demonstrated that they could meet with an eleven counted among the best, and win from it. "Well, fellows, are you all ready for the trip Saturday?" asked the Coach at the conclusion of the practice. "None of you are falling behind in studies, I hope?" Captain Cross assured Mr. Lighton that every man on the team was A1 when it came to scholarship. "Now, a word of advice," went on the coach. "Don't get nervous over this out-of-town trip. We're going up against a hard team, and on strange grounds, but just think of it as if you were going to play Fairview, or Boxer Hall, or Dodville Prep right here. The worst feature of out-of-town games is that they throw the men off their stride. Don't let that happen to you." They all promised that it should not, and then the players separated. The coach had arranged for a game with a distant college--Wescott University--which boasted of a superb eleven. It meant a long trip on the train, two days spent away from Randall, and a day to come back in. The journey to Wescott University was much enjoyed by the eleven and the substitutes. They reached the city at dusk, and were at once taken to the hotel, where quarters had been secured for them. A big crowd of students had planned to come from Randall to see the game, a special excursion train having been arranged for. "Now, fellows, early to bed to-night," stipulated the coach after supper was over. "No skylarking, and don't go to eating a lot of trash. I want you all to be on edge. We'll devote to-morrow to practice, and the next day to wiping up the gridiron with Wescott."