The plotting, crafty, wicked fellow may seem to succeed for a time. His plans may seem to go right, and his prosperity may cause those who know of his crookedness to wonder; but surely the day comes when he finds his plotting has brought about his undoing, when he realizes that at last his scheming has wrought disaster and disgrace for him. But Chester Arlington was young, and he had not learned this great lesson of life. He fancied that luck had brought about his present misfortune, not that it was the direct result of his own bad acts. Of course Brad Buckhart expected Dick to drive Miguel Bunol from the school, and he could not understand it at all when Dick decided to hold his hand and let the Spanish lad remain. For once Dick did not make the explanation full and complete. He did not confess to the Texan that the departure of Bunol from Fardale meant also the departure of Arlington, that Arlington’s departure meant that his sister would come to the village no more, for which reason Dick did his best to hush the matter up and let it drop quietly. “I allow I never reckoned he was quite that easy,” muttered the Westerner regretfully. “When I first knew him he had a temper like cold steel, and he was forced to hold on to it all the time. Somehow he has changed. Holding on to that temper has become easy for him, and he’s master of it now for sure. All the same, he’d be the devil let loose if it ever did break away so he couldn’t control it. I judge he’d be all the worse for having held it in check so long. If it ever does break away from him and he has real cause to kill somebody he’ll do it quicker than a flash of lightning.” Brad believed that he understood Dick better than any other fellow in the school did, and there was good reason why he should, being his roommate and seeing so much of him. He knew Dick had not gained the mastery over his quick temper and unreasoning disposition without a struggle, and he admired him for it. The agitation over Arlington’s fight to get on to the athletic committee and his sudden and amazing resignation from it had died out. No one save a certain few understood why Chester had resigned almost immediately after being elected. Sometimes the boys talked it over a little and wondered at it. But things were moving at Fardale. Football-game followed football-game. The hockey-team had been organized and was making ready for an active season. The basketball-team had been in practise some time. There was talk of an indoor baseball-team. Of course, athletics and sports were not the only things to take up the time at the school. The boys had their studies and drills. The members of the football-team had been excused from drilling during the season, but the others were put through their paces regularly. Of these drills, and inspections, and parades little need be said here, for those characters in whom we are most interested had made up the football-team and took no part in the exercises.