During practice these days Clif was utterly deserted by his fellow members of the Triumvirate, for Tom had long since departed to the other diamond and now Loring, facetiously termed by Clif the Advisory Council, spent his afternoons hobnobbing with Coach Connover. Even Mr. Cooper’s lean brown face was no longer to be seen above the rail of the first base stand, for he, too, had found the attractions of the big team superior. Or perhaps it was his interest in Tom which caused him to desert his old friends, for there was no blinking the fact that he and Tom were getting to be as thick as thieves. Clif resented that a little. It really didn’t make a bit of difference in the relations between Tom and him, for the companionship Mr. Cooper offered was that of an older person and didn’t in the least endanger Tom’s regard for Clif, but the latter couldn’t help feeling a trifle jealous at times. Why, it had got so of late that Tom went over to the Inn three or four mornings a week! Clif didn’t like Mr. Cooper any the less, however; indeed, those pangs of resentment were neither frequent nor profound, and he did his best to discourage them. Bit by bit they were learning more of Mr. Cooper. They knew now that he had served in the English Army during the War, had been invalided twice, once for wounds and once for gassing, and had been discharged with the rank of lieutenant. This information came from Tom and was the result of his visits to the Inn. Tom declared, also, that he was plumb certain Mr. Cooper had all sorts of decorations, although he had neither heard of nor seen any of them. As an indication of how the gentleman stood with Loring and Clif, it may be mentioned that neither of them doubted for a moment that Tom was correct in his surmise. Mr. Cooper had made other friends and acquaintances beside the members of the Triumvirate and had become a familiar figure about the school. Mr. Clendennin, head of the Junior School, and “Lovey” McKnight, who was the chemistry instructor and, incidentally, Clif’s advisor, were among Mr. Cooper’s growing circle of intimates, while, to the surprise of the Triumvirate, he was discovered by them one evening at supper with Doctor Wyatt. That in itself was not so astounding, since “J. W.” frequently acted as host to school visitors, but the fact that Mr. Cooper had made no mention of the incident to them and went through with it so casually perplexed the boys. Later, apprised by Tom that he had been seen in dining hall, he merely said: “Oh, really? I thought the food remarkably good.”