"Yes, I know he has," answered Mrs. Weldon; "but please tell Doctor Bostwick I don't know the reason for his absence, except that one day he came home and said he was too ill to stay at school, and the day before yesterday he borrowed some money from me and went to Buffalo, where his uncle lives. I hope Doctor Bostwick will be patient with him. His father is away, too, and won't return till over a week." "Well," cogitated Lewis, as he carried this information to the doctor, "that's very satisfactory, I must say. I wonder what Doctor Bostwick will think?" The principal of Whipford Hall looked puzzled as Archer related to him the account of Mackerly's whereabouts, but said nothing except, "I will communicate with Grant's father on his return," and thanked his schoolmate for the call he had made and bowed him out. When the examination took place, Grant Mackerly was still absent, and it was understood that no word had been received from either himself or his father. As a consequence he was dropped to the foot of the class, and a poor report was sent to his home. Alan was overjoyed to find that he was very near the head, and still more so when he saw the accounts of his progress in study which was to be sent to Beniah Evans. The principal complimented him on his good work, and hoped he would keep it up. Alan inwardly resolved to do so, and remit no exertion which would cause him to forge to the front at Whipford. It was now the first week of November, and he had been at the Hall for nearly two months and was getting along famously with both the pupils and teachers. As far as his intimacy with Cole, Taft and Kimball was concerned, it continued with unabated ardor and remained unbroken. The four of them conned their studies over to each other in their rooms, and Alan got many an idea from the older and more experienced genius of King Cole. As for football, they were the backbone of the team, and many a new trick in the game was invented by one of them as they sat together in the autumn nights over the sputtering lamp. By the boys of the school they came to be known as the "Big Four," and it was to them that every one looked to uphold the honor of the Hall, both in study and athletics. The team kept on practicing with persistent regularity, and the interest in the championship, which had somewhat abated after the Jamesville game, now began to arouse, for the Ripley Falls contest was at hand. For three weeks the eleven had had a holiday, and played no heavy games except on two occasions, when a delegation from the Whipford Athletic Club had given them a sample of hard playing, and, sad to say, beaten them on both meetings. It was no wonder, though, for their team was composed of full-grown young men, some of whom had been to college and all of whom were in business or lived in the neighborhood.