The next morning the returned football squad were all out on the athletic field, and everybody was busy with preliminary practice in passing, kicking, tackling the dummy and running with the ball. At eleven o'clock the entire fourth class were assembled on the field. Each one of these three hundred young men was looked at and questioned as to previous football experience, and about forty of them were advised to come out for practice. Of these forty, ten appeared to be likely candidates and were told to find football uniforms, and to practice for the time being with the squad. The most promising of these ten was Bligh, and this promise did not suffer from excessive modesty on the part of Mr. Bligh. "Oh, yes, I can play football--a little," he said, with a smile that intended to convey the idea that "the little" was in reality a great deal. "Where have you played?" asked Stonewell. "Oh, two years on the University of Minnesota's team, and before that at St. Paul High School," drawled Mr. Bligh. "What have you played?" "Quarter, half and end. Look up the 'St. Paul Pioneer Press's' All Northwestern team for last year; I guess you'll find they know who I am out there, mister." "We'll give you a chance to show what you can do, Mr. Henry Bligh. Now take a ball and punt for a while." It wasn't long before Stonewell said: "That fellow knows football; he's a find. We need a good quarter and will try him for it. You can see by the way he handles the ball that he's an old hand at it. But I don't like his manners, though we'll forget that if he plays good football. He's a good deal of a brag." "Good-morning, Mr. Drake," said a pleasant voice behind Robert. The latter turned around and then enthusiastically cried: "Hello, Sexton, I'm glad to see you back. I hope you'll make it a go this time. Why have you those togs on?" "I'm going to try for the squad," replied Sexton. "Look here, Sexton, take my advice and don't go into football; math comes hard to you, and football takes up a lot of time on one hand and tires you out; makes it hard to study, on the other. Now you don't want to bilge again, and you don't want to take up anything that will interfere with your studies." Sexton had failed in his studies and had been dropped from the Academy in consequence the previous year. "I want to play," replied Sexton, "and if I get low in my studies and it is known I play football the instructors will help me out; will give me easy subjects and high marks." "Not unless you're a star player. You'd better give it up, Sexton. Hello, Blunt," Robert continued to another young man who just came up, "so you're out for football, too, are you?" "You bet, and I'm going to make quarter on the first team, too. Last year's quarter graduated in June, and I'm the boy to take his place." "Do you see that plebe over there, kicking the ball?" interrupted Stonewell, who, while watching different players, had half listened to the talk going on about him.