That evening the Independent Football Association held its last meeting and, amid great enthusiasm, voted to dissolve. Wellington and Rob and Pierce and several others made speeches and were cheered to the echo. And afterwards the meeting resolved itself into a parade that made the round of the buildings and sang foot-ball songs. On Tuesday there was a blackboard talk in the gymnasium before practice, and afterwards Duffield made the fellows a little speech. “Now you fellows realize, of course,” he said, “that foot-ball here this season is in a pretty ragged condition. I came up here largely as a favor to Langton to coach his team. Now, at the last moment, I find that I’m expected to take hold and put you fellows in trim to win from Adams. That’s a big order. If I had started in at the beginning of the season it would be different, but I didn’t. I’ve never even seen Adams play, and all I know about her team is what I’ve read in the papers. But here I am, and as I can’t get out of it I’ll do my best. But you fellows have got to do your best too. There’s no two ways to that, I can tell you! You’ve got to buckle down and do a lot of hard work between now and Thursday, and when Thursday comes you’ve got to go in and play like the very dickens if you expect to win. I’d like to give you a lay-off to-morrow, but we can’t afford it. Not only that, but there will be signal-drill here to-night and to-morrow night at seven o’clock. Don’t forget that, please. Every fellow must attend. [Illustration: “THE MEETING RESOLVED ITSELF INTO A PARADE THAT MADE THE ROUND OF THE BUILDINGS AND SANG FOOT-BALL SONGS.”] “As near as I can learn, Adams has a rattling good team. She’s met with only one defeat this season. She has five of last year’s team with her, she has a good coach and she has developed a coaching system that’s been working pretty well――as you fellows here at Riverport ought to know. Her line is slightly heavier than ours and it’s just as quick. Her back-field is extremely good and we’ve got nothing on her there. And she’s got a quarter who is as good a general as there is on a school team to-day. So team for team it looks like a pretty even thing, with the odds slightly in favor of Adams. Of course on team-play she must be far more advanced than we are, for her men have been playing together for a full month while our team, as it will line up to-day, has never played together. I’m not trying to discourage you. We’re pretty well handicapped, I own, but we’re not beaten. These plays we’ve just gone over ought to help. Most of them are either quite new or are new variations of old plays. If you get so you can put them through right I shouldn’t be surprised to find that they bothered Adams a whole lot. Now it all depends on how you fellows take hold during the next two days. You must work hard and use your brains. I think we can learn a lot of football in two days if we make up our minds to it. Now, then, all out on the run.”