“He says he’s never had much success with high-school fellows,” said Warden thoughtfully. “I know what he means, too. Maybe you wouldn’t notice it, Bates, but it’s a fact that most chaps who show up here from high schools have mighty good opinions of themselves. Half the time they’ve been captains of their teams, you know, or crack half-backs or quarters, and they don’t take kindly to new ways and hate being told anything. I know two or three cases myself. By the way, you weren’t captain, were you?” “No.” Dick didn’t explain that he might have been had he remained in Leonardville! “I would say, though, that it depended on the fellow, Warden, and not on the fact that he’d been playing with some high-school team.” “Yes, maybe. Well, see you again, Bates. And, by the way, you did just right to drop that chap this afternoon. So long.” When he had gone Dick sat and nursed one bare foot for several minutes and wondered what Warden’s interest portended. He felt rather cheered-up when he finally went on with dressing himself. Warden’s remark about Coach Corliss and the first squad sounded good to him. CHAPTER VII PAGING MR. BLASHINGTON There were two more pennies awaiting him on the letter rack, each enclosed in a business envelope. One envelope bore the inscription, “After Five Days Return to The Warne Gas and Electric Company, Warne, Mass.,” and the other purported to have come from the “Stevens Machine Company.” But the handwriting was suspiciously the same on each envelope. Upstairs, Dick handed the two to Stanley and told about receiving the previous three pennies. For a moment Stanley seemed as puzzled as Dick. Then, however, a smile spread itself slowly over his face and he chuckled. “Anybody owe you any money?” he asked. “Not that I know----” began Dick. Then comprehension dawned. “By Jove! You mean Blashington?” “Of course. It’s just the crazy sort of thing he’d do. He owed you twelve and a half cents, didn’t he? Well, he’s paying his debt. But where he manages to get hold of all these bum pennies is beyond me. There isn’t one of the five, Dick, that you could pass on anyone but a blind man!” “Well, it’s putting him to a lot of trouble, I’ll bet,” said Dick grimly. “If he can stand it I can. Funny, though, I didn’t think of him. I thought yesterday it was Rusty Crozier. That’s why I showed them to you last night. Crazy ape!” “Hand me a scrap of paper and a pencil, Dick. Anything will do. Thanks.” Stanley wrote a few lines, folded the paper many times and handed it back. “Just for fun, Dick, when Blash has made his last payment, you read what I’ve written there,” he directed. “Gee, you’re as bad as he is for silly jokes,” grumbled Dick. But he opened the drawer in his desk and dropped the paper inside. “And that reminds me that I ran across another crazy idiot this afternoon. His name’s Halden. He wanted to punch me because I called him down for balling up a play in signal drill. Know him?”