Recognizing the extraordinary good chance we had this season of redeeming Belmont’s baseball record of the past two years, we bent every nerve to securing a successful issue, and were regular and assiduous in practice. As the baseball grounds were situated close to the lake and beyond the college, we were unable to reach it conveniently except by a short cut through the college grounds. Since this was forbidden us, Tony Larcom devised the plan of meeting us down by the dock with his boat and rowing us across a portion of the lake to the ball ground. In this romantic and picturesque way we were conducted each day back and forth from practice. And so the days passed by while we were busily engaged in our exercises and studies. We had as yet heard nothing from either Professor Fuller or Dr. Drayton, but as we found that we were able, with the assistance of our copied notes and Mr. Dikes’ instruction, to keep well up with our classes, our anxieties had somewhat subsided. We were content to wait patiently, for the present at least. The day of our first baseball game approached. We had finished our last hour of practice, and were to go over to Dean College the next morning. Ray had given final instructions to the members of the nine to retire early and report at our quarters at eleven o’clock the following day. We were sitting in our room about half past eight in the evening, discussing our chances in the series of games that was about to begin, when we heard a terrific roar in the hall down stairs. The street door was slammed with a noise like a pistol shot, then came the sounds of footsteps clattering up the stairs three steps at a time; our door was flung wide open, and Tony Larcom stood before us, his face flushed, his eyes glistening, waving a letter triumphantly over his head. We gazed at him in silent astonishment. “Good news! Good news!” he shouted at the top of his lungs, although we were scarcely ten feet away. A premonition of the truth seized us both at once, and we sprang forward eagerly. Tony tossed the envelope to Ray. “There, read that!” he exclaimed, throwing himself on our bed and kicking his heels in the air. CHAPTER XVII AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR While Tony lay on the bed in convulsions of joy, Ray hastily tore open the large, thick envelope, and drew out two smaller envelopes, both sealed, one of which was addressed to himself, and the other to me. Then for several moments there was a silence, broken only by Tony’s chuckling, while Ray and I eagerly scanned the contents of our notes. They were both alike, except for the name, and they ran as follows: You are hereby notified, in pursuance of the order of the faculty at their meeting last evening, that your term of suspension has been reduced to two weeks, and you will be permitted therefore to resume your college duties on Monday morning next, May 11th.