He lost ambition in that line, and he soon became so overburdened with flesh that nothing save a question of life or death could have induced him to go into training. It was not so very long before Bruce was known as the champion lazy man at Yale. All that he seemed to care about was to eat, drink, smoke and loaf. He seldom was known to "grind," and his attempts at "skinning" were pitiable failures. Then he was dropped a class, and, as he still stuck to Yale, he found himself arrayed with Merriwell and the fellows whom he at one time had regarded as enemies. In that class Merriwell was regarded as a leader in athletic matters, and Bruce seldom mentioned anything of the kind. Now, however, to Merriwell's surprise, he displayed sudden interest in the great intercollegiate tournament to be held in Madison Square Garden, New York, directly at the close of the spring terms. In the various contests Yale was to be represented by her best men. There had been some uncertainty concerning the one who would wear Yale's colors in the mile run, but the belief grew that Duncan Yates, a junior, would be the one finally settled on by the committee in charge of the matter. "Why don't you go into that race, Browning, old sylph?" grinned Danny Griswold. "You would astonish the public." "Some time I'll sit on you, runtie," growled Bruce. Stubbs remarked: "That will settle it, as the sugar observed when the egg dropped into the coffee." Rattleton threw a slipper at Bink, who grunted as it struck him in the ribs, but serenely continued to smoke, his mottled face wrinkled into a quaint grimace. "What is it that you want to say about the mile race, Browning?" asked Frank, his curiosity aroused. "I want to say that I do not believe Yates is the proper man to represent Old Eli." "He is fast, and he has a record." "It's no use to talk about his record." "Why not?" "Orton, of U. P., lays over him, and this will be a case of Yale against the field. Better men than Orton may show up." "Yates may break his own record." "That word 'may' is all right, but it can be applied both ways. He may not." "There's Van Tassle," said Diamond. "He claims to be a record-breaker." "A record-breaker!" sniffed Griswold. "Why, that fellow couldn't break an egg!" "That's right," nodded Rattleton. "He breaks records with his mouth. Don't talk about him." "Well, there are others," laughed Frank. "Name a few of them," invited Browning, with more animation than he had displayed for some time. "There's Hickson." "He's stiff in the joints, as you know." "Walter Gordan." "He's no stayer. That fellow can run, but he has not the sand to make himself a winner." "He thinks himself the biggest thing on ice," said Rattleton. "By the way," broke in Griswold, "what is the biggest thing on ice?" "The profit," promptly answered Stubbs, and then he made a scramble to get out of Griswold's way.