In which he was wrong, for if Miss McCarty had not arrived Appleby, purveyor of Gents' Fancies, would never have sold him a dozen most becoming neckties. When the Tennessee Shad came in, he looked in surprise. "Hello, better news to-day?" he said sympathetically. "News?" said Dink in a moment of abstraction. "Why, your mother." "Oh, yes--yes, she's better," said Dink hastily, and to make it convincing he added in a reverent voice, "thank God!" The next day he informed McCarty that he had changed his mind. He was going to college; they would have four glorious years together. "What's happened?" said Tough mystified. "Better news from home?" "Yes," said Dink, "stocks have gone up." But the tragedy of his life had one result that came near wrecking his career and the school's hope for victory in the Andover game. During the early weeks of the term Dink had been too engrossed with his new responsibilities to study, and during the later weeks too overwhelmed by the real burden of life to think of such technicalities as lessons. Having studied the preferences and dislikes of his tyrants he succeeded, however, in bluffing through most of his recitations with the loyal support of Beekstein. But The Roman was not thus to be circumvented, and as Dink, in the Byronic period of grief, had no heart for florid improvisations of the applause of the multitude he contented himself, whenever annoyed by his implacable persecutor, The Roman, by rising and saying with great dignity: "Not prepared, sir." The blow fell one week before the Andover game, when such blows always fall. The Roman called him up after class and informed him that, owing to the paucity of evidence in his daily appearances, he would have to put him to a special examination to determine whether he had a passing knowledge. The school was in dismay. A failure, of course, meant disbarment from the Andover game--the loss of Stover, who was the strength of the whole left side. To Dink, of course, this extraordinary decree was the crowning evidence of the determined hatred of The Roman. And all because he had, years before, mistaken him for a commercial traveler and called him "Old Cocky-wax!" He would be flunked--of course he would be flunked if The Roman had made up his mind to do it. He might have waited another week--after the Andover game. But no, his plan was to keep him out the game, which of course, meant the loss of the captaincy, which every one accorded him. These opinions, needless to say, were shared by all well-wishers of the eleven. There was even talk, in the first moments of excitement, of arraigning The Roman before the Board of Trustees. The examination was to be held in The Roman's study that night. Beekstein and Gumbo hurried to Dink's assistance. But what could that avail with six weeks' work to cover!