"I _will_ think it over, Jack," said the old man, presently. "I already begin to find my eyes opened to the fact that I have sadly misjudged the Chester boys all these years. This almost tragic event may be what was needed to lift the scales from my distorted vision, and enable me to see clearly. Yes, I will think it over, and let you know the result very soon. If I can convince myself that it would be for that dear child's benefit there is nothing from which I would shrink." And after the boys had seen him depart, once more hurrying back to where Carl lay bundled up in blankets, every fellow insisted on shaking Jack's hand, and telling how his feat in saving the cripple was overshadowed in his victory over the crabbed old boy-hating miser. CHAPTER XVII THE AFTERMATH OF A GOOD DEED "Well, this is the last chance we'll have to practice our secret signal codes before we run foul of Harmony in the big game tomorrow!" said Joel Jackman, on Wednesday afternoon, as he and several other of the team arrived at the same isolated field, where we saw them working under the direction of old Joe Hooker on that previous occasion when Jack and Joel discovered the presence of spies, who later on turned out to be three little maids from school, deeply interested in the doings of the boys, and watching the play through a pair of opera glasses. "Yes, tomorrow morning is the grand and glorious occasion when we hope to more than duplicate our past performance with Marshall," laughed Fred Badger. Joel cast a quick glance across the field. Jack smiled when he saw that his attention was centered on the big oak, in the branches of which they had found Mollie Skinner and her two girl chums snugly ensconced. "Still thinking of that other time, eh, Joel?" he asked, as the other caught his eye and turned a little red. "Why, you see, it's this way, Jack," stammered Joel; "I honestly believe those girls were our mascots. They said they meant to wish, and hope, and pray that we'd win the game against Marshall, and sure enough we did that same thing. Now, why shouldn't history repeat itself, I'd like to know? Suppose we did discover 'em peeking again, wouldn't it make you believe we were bound to down Harmony tomorrow? I'm not given much to superstition, but I own up I could see something like a good sign about that sort of thing." "Well, I happen to know that Mollie, for one, is over at her grandmother's in Springfield today," spoke up Fred Badger, who of course had heard about the visit of the trio of high school girls to the big oak, and how Jack and Joel had to climb up and help them get back to earth again. "But she'll be on hand for the game tomorrow; in fact, she expects to be home tonight."