For this reason he was a good deal of help to Hal who had never had to hustle for himself, although, as he knew, his folks had pinched and saved in order to give him this first year at Lowell. His folks had been sending him the funds he absolutely needed every month, with a little pocket money besides, which Hal spent carefully. He was getting into the habit of being economical and Hagner’s self-reliance and confidence spurred him on. They would talk these things over among themselves often. Hal knew that if he was to be at Lowell the next year he would have to rely on his folks again or else win one of those scholarships. “Better work for the Scholarship,” said Hans. “It don’t pay to owe anybody, even if it is your own folks. From what I have learned it is pretty hard for them to send you this money every month, anyhow. I don’t think I would have worked nearly so hard at school if I had been spending some one else’s money. It hasn’t been easy work for me to sell books every summer, but I’ve done it. I don’t like the work very well, and now that this chance of a scholarship is in sight, I am going to work my toes off if necessary, to land one of them; I think I’ll get it, too, if I don’t break my leg or something.” “That’s a fine thing for you, of course,” responded Hal, “because you have a regular position on the team right now, and there’s no one to take it away from you, while I am only a substitute pitcher and general utility man, who probably won’t get a chance to play in any of the big games at all.” It was plain that Hal became discouraged from the talk. But he felt absolutely certain that he could jump in and take the laurels away from any pitcher they had, if he could only get in enough games to get accustomed to the big crowds and the surroundings. But the season was coming along and Black and Radams were doing the twirling and doing it well, too. Then, unexpectedly, one morning there came a letter from home that Hal’s father had been taken sick and they had to use a little of the money from Hal’s college fund to tide them over and Hal would have to get along with about half his allowance for a month, anyhow. This was a shock to Hal. Not so much the money part, but his father’s sickness. He hated to think of his father being sick and he not at home. Then he thought of the money, and his first idea was to get on a train for California. Yes! That’s what he would have to do. He couldn’t think of staying at Lowell any longer, spending his father’s hard-earned money. What he ought to be doing was what Hans had done. He should learn how to earn money and when he had done that, get his education.