"Look here, Bill Sherwood!" exclaimed Garry, as he threw an arm over his friend's shoulder. "If you ever say a thing like that again, I'll slug you, big as you are. You're the best old pal that ever lived, and we're with you till the cows come home. Aren't we, fellows?" "You bet we are!" came from the group in chorus. "Snap out of it, old boy," admonished Nick affectionately. "Everything will turn out all right." "We know that they're trying to frame Frank," put in Ted. "They might do that to any one of us." "It's all that sneaking Sandy Podder and his crowd!" declared Rooster. "I know what they are! They tried to cheat my father last fall, but they didn't get away with it. And they won't get away with this, either." "Not on your life they won't!" exclaimed Garry. "And now, Bill, forget all about it. We're not going to think of it or speak of it. Before this thing's over we'll get that Sandy Podder by the nape of the neck and shake the truth out of him. Trust my dad for that." Such a welcome as this was balm to poor Bill's wounded feelings and heartened him immensely. From that time on the subject was avoided, and the bunch settled down to their lessons and their football practice. Although they did well in the former, the latter was foremost in their thoughts, for the game with the Bass Lake high school was coming on apace and the Lenox boys were consumed with a frantic desire to win. The loss of the Wimbledon game rankled. It had been a blot on their escutcheon. It must be wiped out, and they had determined to do this by making Bass Lake their victims. But here hard luck intervened and threatened for a time to do all the victimizing. An epidemic both of measles and mumps broke out in Lenox. As a rule, these attacked the younger pupils in the schools, but they became so virulent in the Cherry Street school that the whole institution was closed for a couple of weeks. Most of the high school students were immune because they had already had these diseases in earlier years. Still, there was a comparatively large number there that suffered, and the classes were considerably reduced in size. Mumps and measles rarely have a serious result, and are regarded more as nuisances than as real afflictions. Garry and his especial chums viewed the matter lightly enough until the football teams were threatened. Then indeed their faces grew long and they were affected with something akin to panic. Bass Lake had no such visitation, and their boys were going along strongly in practice. But in Lenox Hick Dabney, right guard of the scrubs, was taken down with the mumps and Pete Maddern had an attack of measles. Tom Allison, too, had one or the other coming on and was compelled to stay at home. Substitutes were found for their places, but none so good as those they replaced, and the scrub line was seriously weakened. Still this would not have mattered greatly had the regulars remained intact.