"Aren't they jolly!" exclaimed Miss Tyler. "Very, but they're crowing too soon. The game has only just begun. Boxer Hall will play strong." And Tom's prediction came true, for in spite of the auspicious opening by Langridge, not a man crossed home plate for the Randalls that inning, the pitcher dying on third. Then it came the turn of the home team to show what they could do in holding down the visitors. It looked as if they were going to do it, too, for Langridge struck out the first two men. But he gave the next one a pass to first and was batted for a two-bagger by the following player, the inning ending with one run for Boxer. The Randall College boys and their girl supporters began to look anxious and so did some of the "old grads." On the other side there was laughter, cheers and jollity, while some of the aged former students of Boxer began to chant oldtime college songs. "Oh, I do hope our fellows win," exclaimed Miss Tyler, and there was an anxious look on her pretty face, while she tapped her flag of colors impatiently against her little foot. "Have you a bet on the game?" asked Tom. "A box of candy or some gloves?" "No, but I want to see Randall win. Besides, Fred--I mean Mr. Langridge--he told me he was going to work hard for success, and I never like to see any one disappointed--do you?" "No," said Tom rather shortly. He really did not care to hear his rival's praises sung by this fair damsel. "Do you know," she went on, "I've been thinking of what you started to tell me about him the other day. Is it really true?" "Well," began Tom slowly, "if you will excuse the privilege of a friend who has known you for some time, I would say that I don't believe your people would like you to go with him." "Why, mamma knows his uncle, who is his guardian, and she says he is very nice--I mean the uncle," and she laughed a little. "I have no doubt of it. I only----" But Tom did not say what he was going to, for just then Pinky Davenport, captain of the Boxers, knocked what Holly Cross described later as a "lalapoolassa" fly, which went clear over the center fielder's head and netted a home run for the captain of the visitors. What yelling and shouting there was then! It seemed to put new life into the opponents of Randall, if such was needed, for they began piling up the score until they were six runs in the lead. Then Randall "took a brace," encouraged by the yells of the "old grads" and others, and by the eighth inning had cut it down even. In the close of the eighth they held their opponents down to one run, making it necessary to gather in two to win the game, but with that it meant holding the visitors hitless in the last half of the final inning.