Sid was not in the room when Phil and Tom entered. The latter took off his cherished blue tie, and placed it carefully away, probably in a place he would forget the next time he wanted it, while Phil made a point of sticking his garnet sleeve links in a box that contained everything from fish hooks to waxed ends for sewing ripped baseball covers. "Well, I'm glad to-day's over," remarked Tom, as he threw himself in the old armchair, with a sigh of relief, "but it was lots of fun while it lasted. Still I didn't exactly know what to do when that fellow showed up." "Same here, yet the girls got through all right. Trust them for a thing like that? Girls are queer creatures, anyhow." "You laughed at me when I said that last term," remarked Tom, as Phil stretched out on the ancient sofa, raising a cloud of dust. "Well, to-day is done. I wonder what will happen to-morrow?" "Same old grind. I've got to brush up a bit if I want to pass with honors. Guess I'll do some boning to-night." "Yes, and I've got to arrange for some more baseball practice," went on Tom. "I wonder where Sid is? I didn't like the looks of that chap. And did you hear what he said about playing poker?" "Yes, I'm afraid Sid's in bad, in spite of what he says." There was a moment of silence, broken only by the ticking of the alarm clock. Then Tom resumed: "I wish we could help him. If he's got in with a bad crowd we ought to help save him. Poor old Sid, I wish----" At that moment the door opened, and the chum whose troubles they were discussing walked in. He had heard what Tom had said, and a dull red flushed up under his brown skin. "Were you fellows talking about me?" he asked hotly. "We were just saying," began Phil, "that we couldn't----" "I wish you fellows would mind your own business!" blurted out Sid. "I guess I can look after myself!" and he crossed the room and gazed moodily out of a window, into the darkness of the night, while the tick of the fussy little alarm clock seemed to echo and re-echo through the apartment. CHAPTER XV AN UNEXPECTED DEFENSE There wasn't much said in the room of the chums after Sid had "gone off the handle," as Tom expressed it later. In fact there was not much that could be said. Phil shrugged his shoulders and glanced at Tom in a significant manner, and the captain of the nine shook his head discouragedly. Matters were getting worse, he thought, and he began to fear for the effect of Sid's trouble on the second baseman's ability as a player. But what could be done? Though he did not refer to the scene of the previous evening, when he greeted his chums next morning, Sid, by his manner showed that he realized it. There was a tender gruffness in his words and actions, and he seemed so contrite, and so anxious to make amends that Phil and Tom did not have it in their hearts to stand out against him. "A fine day for practice," observed Tom, as he sprang out of bed, at the first summons of the alarm clock.