"This scheme is bound to work." There was confidence in Sandy's tone. "It's a pip. Now listen and I'll tell you how you can help--" Bill crept closer to the garage, intent on losing no detail of the plot. But just at that moment the door of the house to which the garage belonged opened and a woman stood on the threshold. "Lent!" she called. "Come here! I want you to do something for me." CHAPTER IX Hitting the Line Sandy Podder uttered an exclamation of disgust that was heartily echoed by Bill. Here, Bill was on the point of hearing something that would enable him to put Garry Grayson on his guard, and all his plans were spoiled by this untimely interruption. He stole silently from the shadow of the garage and went off whistling down the street as though he had just at that moment turned the corner. It would be unfortunate if Sandy were to suspect himself overheard just then. It might put him on his guard and make the discovery of his plot more difficult. Bill Sherwood was worried. He felt that Sandy would stop at nothing to get even with the boy he hated and longed to see humbled. "I won't say anything to Garry about it till after the Pawling game, anyway," he decided, as he absently bought and paid for the monkey wrench. He slipped the purchase into his pocket and forgot about his change until the grinning hardware man called him back for it. "I haven't anything definite anyway, and it might upset Garry a little and put him off his form," ran on the boy's thoughts when he was once more in the street. "Time enough later on when we've got the game safely bagged. Gee!" with a scowl, "it's a wonder the fellows don't get together and run that Sandy Podder and Lent Stewart out of town!" The next two days passed without any outbreak on the part of Sandy and his cronies, and Bill began to hope that Sandy's plot, like so many of that fellow's plans, had proved to be unworkable when it came up for further consideration. The day of the Pawling game was favored with beautiful football weather. The sun was shining, but there was a decided chill in the air that was welcome to the young athletes, who would soon be drenched in perspiration as they fought for the glory of their respective schools. "Rumors have been coming from time to time that the Pawling team has been going great guns in practice, so I hope it is with no expectation of a cinch that your Lenox team is going over to Pawling," remarked Garry's father to him the night before the first league game was to be played. "Not on your life, Dad! We'll have a fight on our hands." A large delegation of their rooters journeyed over to the Pawling grounds with the team on the day of the game. Garry's feeling that a hard contest awaited them was not diminished by the way Pawling showed up in practice.