“What will you tell? What do you know? You confessed to me that you did not see it.” Frank cut in rather sharply, giving Griswold a start. Danny looked rattled and flushed. “Oh, I didn’t see it, but Noon told me----” “That sort of evidence will not go, old man, and you should know it. Take my advice, and keep still. This business must be hushed up, and it will be the fellow who talks too much that will get us into trouble.” “What if you are pulled up and questioned? Are you going to swear to a lie?” It was Frank’s turn to flush, but the flush was one of indignation. “Did you ever know me to lie?” he asked, sharply. “No, but this is different, and----” “It will not be necessary for me to lie about this in order to shield Hodge. I did not see anything. I did not see the cop injured. I can swear to that, and it’s all they’ll ever get out of me.” After a moment of silence, Griswold said: “We may be able to protect Hodge by keeping silent, but I want to give you some advice, Merry. I am serious now. Don’t grin at me. This is one time in my life when I am not thinking of anything funny, as the fellow said when the surgeons were getting him ready to cut off his leg. If you are wise, you’ll let up on one thing you have been trying to do.” Frank could not help grinning when he thought of taking advice from Griswold, but he tried to look serious, and said: “Go on.” “You have been pushing Hodge for the nine. Is that right?” “Well,” admitted Frank, “I have been using my influence to get him on, for I know he is a corker.” “Drop it!” cried Danny, pulling out a package of cigarettes and extracting one. “It won’t go, and you are going to get the other candidates for the position of catcher down on you. Hodge is a very fresh freshman, and he does not stand a show of getting on the nine this year.” “I am not so sure of that,” said Frank, quietly. “I got on in my freshman year, if you will remember.” “I know, but circumstances brought that about. Yale was in a hole for pitchers. You did some clever twirling on the freshman nine, and you were tried as a desperate expedient. That is the secret of your getting on the ’varsity nine your first year in college.” “Well, Hodge did some clever backstop work last Saturday, when the scrub played the regular nine. He played on the scrub, and he made a better record than either Noon or Stone, who took turns on the regulars.” “Oh, that was a chance, and it didn’t show his mettle, for there was nothing at stake. He had better opportunities than the other fellows, that’s all.” “Come off!” cried Frank, dropping into slang. “He did better throwing, and he would have caught every man who tried to steal second if the pitcher had not been a little slow in his delivery. As it was, he caught four men, while Noon and Stone caught only one each. He did not have a passed ball, for all that the pitcher was wild as a hawk, and he got three fine hits.”