It was evident from their faces that these boys who had been deadly enemies on the gridiron, striving against each other with all that was in them, were the best of friends now that they were off the field, each admiring the good qualities of the others. The worth-while boys in the group about the bulletin board that day recognized good sportsmanship when they saw it, and the popularity of the three, already marked, grew in consequence. "Lenox has always stood well," Garry said, in answer to Tom's observation. "It's up to the boys this year to get the championship back again." Garry referred to the fact that the year before Lenox High had lost the championship in the league of six high schools which for the two years preceding that it had held against all comers. Naturally, all Lenoxites were eager to wipe out the loss of the year before by a smashing victory during the present season. So at Garry's words there was an eager murmur of assent from the boys and cries of: "That's the stuff!" "Lenox forever!" "We'll rip the league wide open this fall!" Then from the outside of the crowd came Sandy Podder's sneering voice: "Sounds fine. Grayson's got it all mapped out. Now that he's here, Lenox is all right." An angry murmur arose, and Pete Maddern swung on his heel and regarded the speaker coldly. "Say, you'd better sing small, Sandy Podder," he said. "What have you ever done for football, I'd like to know? When you've captained a champion team like Grayson here you can begin to talk." There was a laugh at Sandy's expense. As Garry walked off with Tom Allison, Pete Maddern and his other and older friends, eagerly discussing the prospects of the team, Podder turned with a scowl to Lent Stewart. "Let's get out of here," he growled. "That Garry Grayson's got a worse swelled head than ever. He makes me sick. The whole bunch of 'em make me sick. I don't see why they want to let freshmen on the team, anyhow. Colleges don't do it." "Don't worry," replied his companion. "Wait till Grayson tries to make the team--Allison and Maddern too, for that matter. They'll find they're up against a mighty tough undertaking. Kicking the pigskin on a high school gridiron is a different thing entirely from grammar school games. When they find that they can't make the team, maybe they'll be the ones to sing small." "Let's hope they will," muttered Sandy, and grinned maliciously at the thought. Meanwhile Garry and his friends had forgotten Sandy's outburst and his consequent discomfiture in their excitement over the call for gridiron recruits. Would they answer the call? Would a bee buzz? "See you this afternoon in the gym," Garry said, as Tom and Pete parted from him in the hall. "Gee, how are we going to stick it out till two-thirty?" exclaimed Ted Dillingham. "Anyway, we'll soon know the worst," remarked Nick. "Or the best," added Rooster, a little more optimistically.