It was quite as if Irving was the one who was conferring the favor; he liked Scarborough for the way in which the boy had made the suggestion. He always had liked him, for Scarborough had never given any trouble; he seemed more mature than most of the boys, more mature even than Louis Collingwood. He was not so popular, because he maintained a certain dignity and reserve; even Westby seemed to stand somewhat in awe of Scarborough. He was, as Irving understood, the best oarsman in the school, captain of the school crew, besides being the crack shot-putter and hammer-thrower; if he and Collingwood had together chosen to throw their influence against a new master, life would indeed have been hard. But Scarborough’s attitude had been one of entire indifference; he would stand by and smile sometimes when Westby was engaged in chaffing Irving, and then, as if tired of it, he would turn his back and walk away. Irving visited Barclay at his house during the noon recess, borrowed his revolver, and received the last simple instructions. “Make sure always that they’re all properly ‘set’ before you fire. If there’s any fouling at the start, you can call them back and penalize the fellow that fouled—a yard to five yards, according to your discretion. But there’s not likely to be any fouling; in most of the events the fellows are pretty well separated by their handicaps.” “I’ll be careful,” said Irving. He inspected the revolver. “It’s all loaded?” “Yes—and there are some blank cartridges. Now, you’re all equipped. If any questions come up—I’ll be down at the field; I’m to be one of the judges and you can call on me.” At luncheon Irving entered into the talk about the sports to come, without giving any intimation as to the part which he was to play. “They’ve given Heath only thirty yards over Lou Collingwood,” complained Westby. “I thought Lou wasn’t going to run, because of football; he hasn’t been practising,” said Carroll. “I know, but the Pythians have got hold of him, and Dennison’s persuaded him it’s his duty to run. And I guess he’s good enough without practice to win from scratch—giving that handicap!” “Is Dennison the captain of the Pythian track team?” asked Irving. “Yes.” “And who’s captain of yours—the Corinthians?” “Ned Morrill.” “Morrill’s going awfully fast in the quarter now,” said Blake. “I timed him yesterday.” “They’ve handicapped him pretty hard. And he’s apt to be just a shade late in starting—just as Dave Pratt is apt to be just a shade previous,” said Westby. “It ought to be a close race between those two.” “How much does Pratt get over Morrill?” “Five yards. And if he steals another yard on the start—” “Dave wouldn’t steal it,” exclaimed Blake indignantly. “You Corinthians would accuse a man of anything!”