“He was a silly ass,” said Harry, smoothing his hair and adjusting his cap. “Ned? Don’t you believe it, Harry. He was a dandy, Ned was. I’ll bet he has a better time than any other three fellows I know. That’s a punk kick-off. Fenwick’s got it. Go it, you slowpoke! They’ve got him. He ran the wrong way, the chump. Funny how easy it is to play the game from the grand stand, Harry.” “Yes, I guess you and I would do some brilliant little stunts if we had to go out there,” agreed Harry, nodding his head toward the field. “If I had the ball and one of those big chaps like Girard came at me I’d drop it like a hot potato and never stop running until I was in 20 Whitson with the door locked behind me! Oh, I’d be a brave little football player!” “Every man to his trade,” laughed Gerald. “Your trade――and mine――is running, Harry.” “That’s so. Then I guess I’d get to my room ahead of Girard, wouldn’t I? Hello, time’s up. Let’s get back. I’m getting goose-flesh all over me. It certainly gets cold when the sun quits business. Did you have a good time this summer?” “Dandy! Dad and I went across for two months; England, France, Switzerland, Holland, Germany and a little bit of Italy. It was great.” “It must have been,” sighed Harry. “Wish _my_ father owned all the steamship lines in the world! I spent the summer down on the Jersey coast with the mosquitoes. Had a good time, though. Used to get into my bathing suit at eleven and keep it on until ’most dinner time. You ought to see my back. It’s like――like mahogany.” “Your face is bad enough. I didn’t know you that day you yelled to me from the window. Thought you were a colored gentleman!” They made their way down the stand and on to the field. Ahead of them the players, their blankets flapping grotesquely behind them, were racing up the path toward the gymnasium. Two or three, however, still lingered where coach, manager and trainer were in consultation. As Gerald and Harry reached the end of the field, one of these passed them at a trot, turned to look and stopped. “Hello, Pennimore,” he said. “I guess you remember me, don’t you?” “Of course I do, Burtis. Glad to see you again. How are you?” They shook hands. “You know Merrow?” “I――think so. We met last year, didn’t we?” asked Kendall Burtis, as he shook hands again. Harry said yes, and Gerald asked: “Are you in Clarke again this year, Burtis?” “Yes, same place. I’m alone so far. My roommate, Towne, hasn’t shown up yet.” “That so? What’s the matter with him?” asked Gerald as they went on. “I don’t know. I asked at the Office the other day and the secretary there said they were expecting him.” “It would be a terrible loss to the school if he didn’t come back,” observed Gerald gravely. Kendall shot a glance at him and smiled. “Hope he stays away,” said Harry. “You played some football to-day, Burtis.” “Much obliged. I had pretty good luck.” “Luck didn’t kick that goal, did it?” laughed Gerald.