“Oh, it’s all straight, if that’s what you’re hinting at,” was the answer. “You know I don’t like ‘jumpers.’ They’re too plaguy hard to handle, generally. Besides, there’s the ethics of the thing. No, we’re getting Renneker honestly. Seems that he and Cravath are acquainted, and Cravath went after him. Landed him, too, it seems. Cravath wrote me in July that Renneker would be along this fall, and just to make sure I dropped a line to Wharton, and Wharton wrote back that Renneker had registered. So I guess it’s certain enough.” “Well, that’s great,” said Russell. “I remember reading about Gordon Renneker lots of times. If we have him on one side of Jim Newton and Smedley on the other, sir, we’ll have a pretty good center trio for a start.” “Newton? Well, yes, perhaps. There’s Garrick, too, you know, Cap.” “Of course, but I thought Jim--” “He looks good, but I never like to place them until I’ve seen them work, Emerson. Place them seriously I mean. Of course, you have to make up a team on paper just to amuse yourself. Here’s one I set down this morning. I’ll bet you, though, that there won’t be half of them where I’ve got them now when the season’s three weeks old!” Russell took the list and read it: “Gurley, Butler, Smedley, Garrick, Renneker, Wilde, Emerson, Carpenter, Goodwin, Kendall, Greenwood.” He smiled. “I see you’ve got me down, sir. You’re dead wrong in two places, though.” “Only two? Which two? Oh, yes, center. What other?” “Well, I like ‘Red’ Reilly instead of, say, Kendall. And I’ll bet you’ll see Slim playing one end or the other before long.” Mr. Cade accepted the paper and tucked it away in a pocket again. “Well, I said this was just for amusement,” he observed, untroubled. “There may be some good material coming in that we haven’t heard of, too. You never know where you’ll find a prize. Were any of last year’s freshmen promising?” “I don’t know, sir. I didn’t see much of the youngsters.” “Seen Tenney yet?” “Yes, he blew in this morning. He’s going to make a good manager, I think.” “Hope so. Did he say anything about the schedule?” “Yes, he said it was all fixed. Hillsport came around all right. I don’t see what their kick was, anyway.” “Wanted a later date because they held us to a tie last season,” said the coach, smiling. “Gee, any one could have tied us about the time we played Hillsport! That was during that grand and glorious slump.” “Grand and glorious indeed!” murmured the coach. “Let’s hope there’ll never be another half so grand! Well, I’ll get along, I guess. By the way--” Mr. Cade hesitated. Then: “I hope this store isn’t going to interfere too much with football, Emerson. Mustn’t let it, eh? Good captains are scarce, son, and I’d hate to see one spoiled by--er--outside interests, so to speak. Don’t mind my mentioning it, do you?”