Monday found the school deep in examinations, with anxious countenances everywhere in evidence. Practice didn’t commence until four o’clock, and games with the second were canceled for the rest of the season. The second team played two games that week, one with Granleigh High School on Tuesday, which went to only five innings, and one with Waterside on Thursday. The latter spread over seven good, fast innings and was captured by the home team in the sixth. The Granleigh contest resulted in a 4 to 4 tie. On Wednesday the first played its second game with Freeburg and won it, 8 to 2. There was only time for six innings, but those six showed Wyndham’s superiority to the High School and brought back a glimmer of hope to the Dark Blue’s supporters. The Freeburg pitchers were not difficult, perhaps, but eleven hits in six frames, even against mediocre twirlers, was held to be encouraging. And with the first Wolcott contest but three days distant a little encouragement went a long way! Tom was not enjoying himself very much those days. He expressed the conviction, a rather faint conviction, that he would get good enough marks in his studies to pass, but since by Wednesday he had accumulated nothing better than _D’s_ his friends weren’t so sanguine. “Of course I’ll flop in English,” he explained resignedly, “but I ought to get a _B_ in Hygiene and a _C_ in History, and if I do I’ll pull through. Anyhow, if I don’t I should worry. Old Winslow says I can’t come back if I don’t pass, and I’m not letting that trouble me, either. I don’t believe he has any notion of letting me go to college, so why kill myself getting through here?” “But you’d rather come back next year than not, I fancy,” said Mr. Cooper. They were sitting in the stand while the rest of the team gathered for practice. “Oh, well, I don’t know,” replied Tom carelessly. “I guess I’d rather go into the Navy or something. I’d like to see the world, Mr. Cooper.” “Of course, but there’d be time enough after college. Or you could do a bit of travel in summer.” “Swell chance with old Winslow holding the purse strings!” “Really? But he wouldn’t object to your going across now and then, would he?” “He’d object if I wanted to cross the Hudson River,” said Tom. “Oh, I suppose there isn’t much money in the old sock. He never will tell me how much I’ve got. When I ask him he just hems and haws and shakes his head and looks like a dying fish. He seems to think I ought to earn a scholarship. Can’t you see me doing it?” Tom grinned at his companion. “His idea is that unless I get swell marks here there’s no use in my staying. He’s going to throw a fit when he sees what I get in finals!” “If you fail to pass I dare say you could do a bit of tutoring this summer and get back again, eh?”