HARMON
RALPH HENRY BARBOUR
-\
LEFT HALF HABMON
"Go out and play full-back as it should
Left Half Harmon
BY
RALPH HENRY BARBOUR
AUTHOR OF
LEFT END EDWARDS,
QUARTER-BACK BATES,
FULL-BACK FOSTER, ETC.
ILLUSTRATED BY
LESLIE CRUMP
GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS NEW YORK
'Made in the United State* of America
COPYRIGHT, 1921
Br DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY, IHO.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I THE THREE GUARDSMEN ... 1
II KIDNAPPED! 17
III HELD BY THE ENEMY ... . . 29
IV HARMON COMES TO TERMS ... 37
V THE WRONG BOY 53
VI FIRST DAYS AT ALTON .... 65
VII IN THE COACH'S ROOM ... 76
VIII THE BOY IN THE GREEN SWEATER . 87
IX McNATT ON SCIENCE .... 101
X ALTON SQUEEZES THROUGH . . 116
XI THE FIRST DEFEAT .... 128
XII " Do YOUR BEST" .... 146
XIII A FORTY- YARD RUN . . . .157
XIV ONIONS! 167
XV MARTIN CALLS QUITS .... 180
XVI DIPLOMACY 193
XVII McNATT JOINS THE TEAM ... 213
XVIII REVENGE! 227
XIX BLACK PAINT . . . . .239
XX EVIDENCE 250
XXI BOB SAYS So 262
XXII ON PROBATION 274
XXIII MCNATT TRIES PHOTOGRAPHY . . 287
XXIV ALTON CELEBRATES 302
.
ILLUSTRATIONS
"Go out and play full-back as it should be
played" Frontispiece
1 ' You don 't come that, Harmon ! That 's off !
You hear me?" 54
One brief instant they tarried to admire . 242
It was Alton's day all through . ... . 310
LEFT HALF HARMON
CHAPTER I
THE THREE GUABDSMEF
AT a few minutes past three o'clock on a par-
ticularly warm afternoon in late September of
last year three boys removed themselves and
their luggage from the top of a Fifth Avenue
stage in New York City and set forth eastward
along Forty-second Street. Although decidedly
dissimilar in looks and slightly dissimilar in
build, they showed, nevertheless, a certain uni-
formity of carriage and action and, to a lesser
degree, of attire. There was nothing strange in
that, however, since, for the last two years, at
least, they had spent nine months of the twelve
in the same place, at the same pursuits and
under the same discipline. The likeness of attire
was less in material and color than in a certain
tasteful avoidance of the extremes. Joe Myers
and Martin Proctor wore blue serge and Bob
Newhall a brownish-gray tweed, and in no case
was the coat snugged in to the figure or adorned
1
2 LEFT HALF HARMON
with a belt in conformity to the dictums of the
Rochester school of sartorial art. Joe and Bob
wore gray-and-gold ribbons about their straw
hats, Martin a plain black. Each of the three
carried a brown leather suitcase, and, had you
looked closely, you would have discovered on
each bag, amongst numerous other labels, a gray
triangle bearing two A's in gold snuggled to-
gether in a pyramid-shaped monogram.
At Grand Central Station they crossed the
street, showing a superb indifference to the traf-
fic. The driver of a pumpkin-hued taxi-cab,
whose countenance and manner of driving sug-
gested that he had cut many notches in his steer-
ing-wheel, yielded to a momentary weakness and
jammed on his emergency brake, thereby allow-
ing the three boys to step calmly and unhur-
'riedly from his path. They seemed not to have
observed their danger, and yet, having gained
the sidewalk unharmed, one of them turned and
rewarded the taxi man with a grave wink which
threw the latter into a state of apoplectic anger.
1 'Guess," observed Bob with a chuckle, "we
spoiled his entire day!"
"Don't worry," responded Martin. "He'll
kill enough to make up for losing us!"
Inside the station, they turned their steps to-
THE THREE GUARDSMEN 3
ward the right and set their bags down near
one of the ticket windows. "You get them,"
Joe," said Bob. "Here's mine." He proffered
a five-dollar bill, but Joe waved it aside.
"I'll pay for them and you can settle on the
train. I'll get all mixed up if you give me the
money now." He took a rather fat wallet from
an inner pocket of his coat and stepped into the
line leading to the nearest wicket. The others
moved their own suitcases and Joe's out of the
way of the passers and settled themselves to
wait. Martin compared the watch on his wrist
with the station clock and yawned.
"Nearly twelve minutes yet," he observed.
Bob nodded. "What about parlor-car seats!"
he asked.
"There aren't any on this train."
"Why not?"
Martin concealed another yawn with the back
of a sunburned hand. "No parlor-car, dearie.
You'll have to wait until five-ten for that, and it
isn't worth it. I wouldn't wait in this Turkish
bath another hour if they promised me a special
train! Got anything to read in your bag?"
Bob was about to answer in the affirmative
when a sudden shout from the ticket window
interrupted and both boys looked across in time
4 LEFT HALF HARMON
to see Joe clutch unsuccessfully at the arm of a
man who, swinging away from the window, now
started to run fast toward the nearest exit. Per-
haps Bob or Martin, had he sensed instantly
what was happening, might have intercepted the
man, but he had a good start before either of
them realized that the black object he slipped
into a pocket as he ran was Joe's wallet, and
"so it was Joe himself who led the evidently futile
chase, Joe shouting "Stop him! Stop him!"
most lustily. Abandoning suitcases, Bob and
Martin dashed after.
The thief showed skill born of experience as
he dodged his way toward the door, avoiding a
stout lady with two small children in tow one
instant and side-stepping a bundle-laden mes-
senger boy the next and scarcely lessening his
speed. Joe had poorer luck, however, for, al-
though he got safely past the stout lady by a
miracle of dexterity, he came a cropper a
stride beyond and went down in a shower of
parcels !
By now the waiting-room was in wild con-
fusion. Cries of ' 'Thief! Thief!" filled the air;
those about the entrance were trying hard to
get out of the way and those at a distance were
striving madly to reach the scene. Station po-
THE THREE GUARDSMEN 9
lioemen hurriedly joined the pursuit, but their
quarry was already on the threshold of freedom
when a new actor made his appearance in the
drama. Just as the thief swung toward the
doors something shot through space, there wa;j
i crashing thud, a surprised grunt and the chaso
was over!
A boy of seventeen unwrapped his arms from
the legs of the motionless form on the floor,
arose to his feet, dusted his clothes and looted
somewhat embarrassedly into the faces of the
throng that had already surrounded him. A
gray-coated officer pushed his way into the
center of the circle, gave a quick, inquiring
glance at the boy and leaned over the figure on
the floor.
''He's all right. Hit his head when he went
down. Give a hand with him, Conlon, and we'll
get him to one side. You come along, sir, till
I get the rights of it." A brother policeman
aiding, the thief, now showing signs of conscious-
ness, was lifted to one side of the entrance. By
that time Joe and his companions had worked
their way to the front and Joe quickly told his
story. j
"Grabbed your pocketbook, did he?" asked
the first policeman. " Let's see has he got it.
Sure, he has! Is this it? Hold on now, not so
fast! What's your name?"
Martin whispered swiftly in Joe's ear, "Myer
Joseph," answered Joe after a brief hesitation.
"And where do you live?"
"Philadelphia."
"Philadelphia, eh? What about making a
charge against this feller?"
"I don't see how I can," answered Joe. "My
train leaves in five minutes."
"Never mind the charge," broke in a new
voice. "I know this duck and I'll look after
him. On your feet, Clancey!"
A clean-shaven, lean-jawed man had pushed
his way through the crowd, and now he gripped
the thief's coat lapels and fairly lifted him to
his feet.
"Detective," whispered a man behind Martin.
"This guy's wanted," continued the newcomer.
"Stand up, you're all right, 'Spike.' Put up
your hands." The captive, finding that playing
possum would not do, obeyed meekly and the de-
tective ran quick and practised fingers over him.
Then a pair of handcuffs were slipped onto the
man's wrists and he was being whisked through
the throng.
"Here's your pocketbook, young man," said
THE THREE GUARDSMEN 21
the policeman importantly. ''You'd not have it
saving this feller here." He indicated the boy
whose football tactics had ended the chase and
who, hemmed in by the crowd, was now striving
to get away. "Better see if the contents is
correct."
Joe had tried to express gratitude to the other
boy, examine his pocketbook and listen to the low-
voiced urging of Martin all at the same time, with
the result that he was decidedly incoherent and
confused. Martin was tugging at his arm and
telling him that they had but five minutes to get
the train. The policeman came to his rescue.
"Move on nowl Move on!" he commanded
sternly, pushing right and left. "Stop blocking
up this passage!"
The throng dissolved almost as quickly as it
had formed. Somehow, Joe and Martin, hurrying
back to where Bob had returned to guard the suit-
cases, found themselves close to the boy who had
made the capture. He had rescued his luggage,
a large kit-bag, from a bystander and, too, was
seeking the ticket window.
"I'm much obliged to you," said Joe. "I guess
he'd have got away if you hadn't stopped him."
The stranger nodded. "Yes, he was in quite
a hurry. I'd just come in when I saw him swing
6 LEFT HALF HARMON
around the corner and knew that something
was up. I wasn't sure he was the man they
were after, but I thought I'd better take a
chance. ' '
"I'm certainly glad you did," replied Joe em-
phatically. "It was mighty nice of you."
"Not at all." The boy smiled and stepped into
line at a window. Joe followed while Martin and
Bob, bags in hand, stood ready to run for the
gate. A moment later the stranger turned and
found Joe behind him.
"I can get a ticket for Lakeville here, can't I?"
he asked.
"Yes. Are you a Kenly fellow?"
"Not yet. I'm just entering. Are you going
there?"
"No, I'm Alton." The other looked slightly
puzzled and so Joe explained. "Alton Academy,
you know. That's twelve miles this side of Lake-
ville. We play you fellows at football and base-
ball and so on."
"Oh, I see. Maybe I'll see you again some time
then."
The purchaser in front hurried away and he
turned from Joe to the ticket seller. A minute
or so later, when the three were walking along
the platform, they again overtook the stranger^
THE THREE GUARDSMEN 9
and Joe said smilingly: "If you're looking for a
parlor car, there isn't one."
"Thanks, I thought maybe it was up ahead."
"Not on this train. Better come and sit with
us and we'll turn a seat over."
Fortunately for that project, the car they en-
tered was no more than half filled, and soon, hav-
ing stowed their suitcases in the rack overhead,
they settled down, Bob and Martin taking the
front seat and Joe and the stranger the other, the
latter placing his kit-bag, which was too large for
the rack, between his feet. As soon as they were
settled the train started.
"By the way," said Joe, "my name's Myers,
and this is Newhall and this is Proctor."
The other acknowledged the introductions with
a smile. * * Very glad to know you, ' ' he said. ' ' My
name's Harmon."
"Joe says you're going to Kenly," observed
Bob, trying hard to keep pity out of his
voice.
"Yes, I'm just entering." There was an em-
barrassed silence after that while the train rum-
bled its way through the tunnel. Then:
"Well, everyone to his taste," murmured Mar-
tin. Joe frowned rebukingly and Martin grinned
back.
10 LEFT HALF HARMON
"Guess you chaps don't think much of Kenly,"
said Harmon with a laugh.
"Oh, don't pay any attention to Mart," said
Bob. "Kenly's all right, I guess. She licked
us last year, 14 to 6. Beat us at hockey,
too."
"That's right," agreed Martin, though it evi-
dently hurt him. "Kenly's going to have a good
team this year, too, I hear."
"Is she?" Harmon didn't seem vastly inter-
ested.
"Guess you play football, don't you?" asked
Bob. "A fellow back there said you made a cork-
ing tackle of that thief!"
"I've played some."
Joe started. * * Did you say your name was Har-
mon?" he demanded almost brusquely. The other
nodded inquiringly. "Did you go to Schuyler
High last year?" pursued Joe. Harmon nodded
again. Joe shot a meaningful look at Bob and
Martin. Bob answered with a slow wink, but
Martin looked puzzled. Joe relapsed into thought-
ful silence, and conversation ceased for a minute
or two. When the train emerged from the tunnel,
however, Joe settled himself further into his cor-
ner, which enabled him to see his seat companion
without turning his head so far, and asked: "If
THE THREE GUARDSMEN 11
it isn't too personal, Harmon, how did you happen
to decide on Kenly Hall?"
Harmon looked the least bit surprised, but he
answered unhesitatingly. "My brother was go-
ing to Kenly," he explained. "Then he decided
he'd quit school and join the Navy. So I just
thought I might as well go where he'd started for.
Guess that was the way it happened. I don't
really know much about the place. Dare say, if
I'd heard of your school first I'd have gone
there."
"Gee, I wish you had!" said Joe in heartfelt
tones.
Harmon viewed him bewilderedly. Then he
laughed with a suggestion of embarrassment.
"Thanks," he murmured. "Guess your school
isn't missing much, though." He turned his gaze
and busied himself with getting his ticket ready
for the conductor. Bob, opposite, viewed him with
flattering attention. He saw a boy of apparently
seventeen years, well if not heavily built, with
clean-cut features, quiet gray-blue eyes and brown
hair. He was not particularly good-looking, but
his somewhat serious and self-confident expres-
sion would have brought a second glance from
anyone. Then, too, when he smiled he looked very
likable. Bob's thought was, as he turned his
12 LEFT HALF HAEMON
gaze away: "Thinks well of himself, but doesn't
put on any airs. Doesn't do much talking, but
thinks a lot. Looks like he'd be mighty shifty on
his feet and pretty hard to stop if he once got
started."
When the conductor had taken their tickets and
gone on, Bob said: "I suppose you'll be going out
for the Kenly team, Harmon."
"I think I'll have to try for it, but I guess I
won't stand much of a show." Harmon smiled
deprecatingly.
Bob frowned slightly. It was all right, he re-
flected, to be modest, but there was no sense in
being a humbug ! Joe laughed. ' ' Oh, I dare say
you'll get by," he said, faintly ironic. After a
moment he added lightly : * ' If they turn you down,
come over to us. I'll promise you a place!"
Harmon smiled politely, and Bob leaned across
to him. "Better take him up, Harmon," he said.
"Joe's our captain, you know."
Harmon looked with slightly more interest at
Joe. "Really?" he asked. "I'll have to remem-
ber your offer then." But the joking tone in
his voice indicated that he wasn't taking the sug-
gestion very seriously. While his head was
turned, Bob surreptitiously reversed the leather
tag that hung from the handle of the kit-bag at
13
his feet. Behind the little celluloid window the
named stared out distinctly:
Gordon Edward Harmon.
1 'Yes, we're both guards," Joe was saying when
Bob sank back in his seat again. "In fact, all
three of us are, for that's Proctor's position, too."
"Oh, I'm only a sub," disclaimed Martin, "one
of the 'also-rans.' "
" 'The Three Guardsmen,' >J laughed Harmon.
"I guess I read about you fellows once."
"Wasn't there a fourth one?" asked Bob. "I
never could see why that fellow Dumas called the
story 'The Three Guardsmen.' "
"That's right," said Martin. "D'Artagnan
made the fourth."
"Maybe D'Artagnan was a back," suggested
Joe, chuckling.
"Guess he was quarter-back," said Martin,
"for he usually ran the game!"
Bob shifted his feet and stretched. "Guess I'll
walk through and see if any of the fellows are
aboard," he said. "Want to come along, Joe!"
"Sure." Joe arose with alacrity and joined
Bob in the aisle, and they made their way for-
ward. Martin, left alone with the new acquain-
tance, gazed wistfully after his friends and then,
with a sigh, put his feet where Bob had sat and
14 LEFT HALF HARMON
prepared to make polite conversation. Martin
Proctor was seventeen, rather thick-set and had a
round face from which a pair of brown eyes
viewed the world with quizzical good humor. Just
now the good humor was slightly obscured, for
he wasn't keen on entertaining this strange youth
who preferred Kenly Hall to Alton Academy.
However, conversation progressed well enough,
once started, and presently Martin forgot his
hostility.
Meanwhile Joe and Bob had come to anchor in
a seat in the smoking car ahead. ''It's he, all
right," announced Bob triumphantly.
Joe nodded. "Yes, I guess it is."
"I don't guess; I know! Wasn't Harmon's
name Gordon Harmon ? ' '
"Yes."
"Well, that's the name on his bag. I looked
when he was talking to you. Gordon Edward Har-
mon's his name!"
Joe shrugged. "I wonder how they got him,
Bob," he said.
"You heard his yarn, didn't you?" replied Bob,
chuckling.
"Yes, and I believed it not! I'd just like to
know how Kenly gets all the good players every
year. They pretend they don't go after them, but
THE THREE GUARDSMEN 15
it's mighty funny ! There 's a heap more than luck
in it! Here we are needing a good full-back like
Harmon the worst way, and he has to select Kenly.
It makes you sick!"
" Reckon he's as good as the papers made him
out?"
"Of course he is! Great Scott, you can't get
away from his record, Bob ! Why, last year every
one of the New York papers that I saw made him
first-choice full-back on the All-Scholastic Team.
The man was a wonder, considering his age.
Funny thing is that he doesn't look it. I mean he
doesn't look as heavy as they said he was. He
does look pretty good, though."
"Y-yes, but I'd never take him for a plunger.
.Doesn't seem to be the right build. Looks more
like a fellow who'd be fast and shifty outside
tackles."
"Yes," Joe agreed, "but you can't always tell
by appearances. Anyway, I wish to goodness we
were getting him instead of Kenly!"
Bob nodded and there ensued a long silence dur-
ing which Joe looked frowningly from the window
and Bob gazed fixedly at his hands. It was Bob
who spoke first. "Say, Joe," he asked slowly,
"you don't suppose we could persuade him to
come to Alton instead, do you?"
16 LEFT HALF HARMON
Joe sniffed. "He looks like a fellow you could
persuade, doesn't he?" he asked sarcastically.
" Besides, what are you going to offer him! And
if we did make him an offer we'd get in wrong
with faculty. The Athletic Committee wouldn't
back us up, either."
"Reckon Kenly's making it easy for him?"
asked Bob doubtfully.
"I don't know. Looks like it, doesn't it? I
know they pretend to have clean hands and all
that, and they surely do enough blowing, but it's
mighty funny they're always getting star players
from the high schools and smaller prep schools.
Look at last year. If they hadn't had Greene and
Powers they'd never have licked us; and Greene
had just entered from that school up in Rhode
Island and Powers was fresh from Stamford
High. Oh, well, there's no use grouching. Let's
go back."
"Wait a moment." Bob still stared at his
hands and spoke thoughtfully. ' * Seems to me this
chap's too good to lose, Joe, without making an
effort."
"Sure he is," growled the captain. "What's
on your mind?"
Bob looked around guardedly. "I'll tell you,"
he said.
CHAPTER n
KIDNAPPED !
"WELL, our station's next," said Bob some forty
minutes later. "Better change your mind, Har-
mon, and get off with us."
Harmon answered his laugh and shook his head.
"I'd like to, but I'm booked up the line. Is Lake-
ville the next stop?"
"Second after Alton," answered Joe as he
lifted the suitcases from the rack and handed them
to Bob. "Look us up when you come over with
the team some time. You'll find Newhall and me
in Lykes and Proctor in Haylow." There was a
warning blast from the locomotive and the train
came slowly to a stop. The three Altonians shook
hands with Harmon, taking, as it seemed, much
time in the ceremony. Outside, on the station
platform, a score or more of boys were hurrying
toward the carriage stand. Bob had encumbered
himself with Joe's bag and his own and it was he
who led the way to the door at last, Martin fol-
lowing with his suitcase and Joe still making his
farewell to Harmon. Then the cry of "All
17.
18 LEFT HALF HARMON
aboard!" came and Joe gave Harmon's hand a
final clasp, picked up the kit-bag and fled down the
aisle.
For a brief instant Harmon thought his sight
had tricked him, but a swift glance showed that
his bag was missing and in another instant he was
on his feet and calling to Joe. "Hold on there!
that's my bag you've got!" he shouted. But Joe
evidently didn't hear, for he was through the door
and down the steps before Harmon started after
him. When Harmon reached the car platform Joe
and his two companions were fifty feet distant,
seeking a conveyance. The train was still mo-
tionless, although, further back, a trainman was
holding his hand aloft. There was but one thing
to do and Harmon did it. In an instant he was
pushing his way through the luggage-laden throng
about the carriages.
"You've got my bag, Myers," he announced
breathlessly as he laid hands on it.
Joe looked around in surprise, still holding tight
to the bag. "What did you say?" he asked
blankly.
Harmon tugged desperately. "My bag! Let
go, will you? I'll lose my train!"
Joe looked at the bag. "Well, what do you
know?" he gasped. "By Jove, I am sorry, Har-
KIDNAPPED ! 19
mon ! I thought it was mine ! Who's got my bag?
Here!" He thrust the bag at Harmon so ener-
getically that the latter failed to grasp it. ''Bet-
ter hurry, old man! Your train's going!"
"Thanks!" Harmon turned and started back.
He would doubtlessly have swung himself to the
platform of the rear car had it not been for Bob's
awkwardness. Bob was terribly sorry and apolo-
getic about it afterwards! Just as Harmon was
free of the group, a clear path across the station
platform before him, Bob stepped directly in front
of him ! Of course you know what happened then.
Harmon dodged to the right and at the same in-
stant Bob stepped to the left, which didn't better
the situation the least bit. Bob looked most em-
barrassed, and you could see that he felt just like
kicking himself. In fact, he assured them all
afterwards that he felt that way. But meanwhile
he made the mistake of stepping back to the right
just as Harmon made a final despairing effort to
get past him on that side, and again they collided!
Harmon set his bag down then, smiled rather
a sickly smile and watched the train become
smaller and smaller in the distance. Bob fairly
revelled in self-reproach and abjected himself to
such an extent that a heart of stone would have
been moved to forgiveness. And as Harmon's
20 LEFT HALF HARMON
heart wasn't made of any such material he gave
his attention to assuring Bob that it didn't really
matter. Joe and Martin were most regretful, and
Joe tried to take all the blame. But Bob wouldn't
allow that.
"No, if I hadn't got in the way, like a blamed
idiot, he'd have got it all right," he insisted.
"You see, I thought he was coming over here and
so I stepped over there like this and he came
the other way and I tried to side-step him and "
"It doesn't matter a bit," Harmon assured
them, smiling quite cheerfully now. "There'll be
another train pretty soon."
"That's so!" Evidently the idea hadn't oc-
curred to Bob before and he welcomed it with
enthusiasm. "Sure, there's a train about six
o'clock, fellows!"
"Well, that's nearly two hours," said Joe.
"Let's put our bags inside and find some seats.
No use standing up all that time."
"Oh, but you chaps needn't wait around," de-
clared Harmon. "I wouldn't think of having you
"do that!"
The three looked at each other inquiringly.
Then: "Can't let you wait around here all alone,"
said Joe decidedly; "not after making you lose
your train like that. Bob, you and Martin go on
KIDNAPPED! 21
up and take my bag with you, and I '11 stay here. ' '
''Why not all go up?" asked Martin. "Har-
mon's got nearly two hours to wait. He might
as well come along and be comfortable."
"That's the ticket!" exclaimed Bob. "Leave
your bag here and ride up to school with us, Har-
mon. We '11 show you around a bit and then we '11
go up to my room or Joe 's and rest until about a
quarter of an hour before your train goes. And
I'll ride back with you!"
Harmon hesitated. "That's very nice of you,"
he said warmly, "but I wouldn't want to miss
another one. Maybe I'd better just sit in the
station and "
"You'd die of the heat down here in this hole,"
said Joe. "Come on! We'll find out when the
train is due, leave your bag with the agent and
beat it."
Harmon allowed himself to be persuaded. After
all, it was decidedly warm there at the station,
and an hour and fifty-one minutes which was
what the agent made it would be a long time to
wait. And Joe insisted on waiting with him, too,
and that was the strongest argument presented,
for Joe and his friends had treated him mighty
nicely and Harmon felt that it would be a pretty
low piece of business to make any of them suffer.
22 LEFT HALF HARMON
So off they all went presently in one of the tumble-
down, creaky carriages that still competed with
the few taxi-cabs at Alton, and Harmon proved
himself a thoroughly good sport by appearing to
forget the regrettable incident and displaying
much interest in the town and, finally, the school.
The others pointed out all points of interest on
the way : the Congregational Church that had the
tallest steeple in New England none of them
could remember the exact figures, however the
Town Hall and Library, the rival motion picture
theaters, the Common with the statue of Nathan
Hale in the center at least Bob and Martin
thought it was Nathan Hale and Joe was stoutly
of the opinion that it was Lafayette the ornate
residence of Alton's richest and most influential
citizen, a brownstone monstrosity almost entirely
surrounded by conservatories from which a very
few sun-baked ferns and palms peered forth, and
so on to the school entrance on Academy Street.
"On the left," proclaimed Bob from the front
seat, forming a megaphone of his hands, "the
modest dwelling is the Principal's residence. Be-
hind it you can see it now is Haylow Hall. Next
on the right you see Lykes, especially interesting
as the home of Mr. Robert Newhall, one of Alton's
most prominent undergraduates. In the center of
KIDNAPPED! 23
the row is Academy Hall. Directly back of it, if
you look quick, you will discern Lawrence Hall.
Lawrence is the most popular of all the buildings.
It contains the dining hall. Further to the right
is Upton, and then Borden. Behind Borden is
the Carey Gymnasium. The building by itself at
the further end of the Green is Memorial Hall.
We are now entering the school grounds. Let
me draw your attention to the German howitzer
on the left, and, on the right, one of our own 25 *s
Both guns saw service in the World War and were
presented to the school "
"Oh, dry up, Bob!" protested Joe. "Harmon
will think you're an idiot."
"Reckon he thinks so already," responded Bob
sadly, "after the way I acted at the station*
Jimmy, you can dump us at Lykes."
The driver of the vehicle nodded silently and
turned to the left in front of Academy Hall, from
the steps of which a group of boys shouted greet-
ings, boisterous and even ribald, to the occupants
of the carriage. Harmon found himself wishing
that he had been included in that jovial and noisy
welcome. This was his first sight of a preparatory
school and he liked what he saw and hoped that
Kenly would prove as attractive. Alton Academy
occupied a tract of ground on the edge of the
24 LEFT HALF HARMON
town apparently two blocks square. From the
wide, well-shaded street the Green rose at a gentle
grade to the row of brick and limestone buildings
that fronted it, a smooth expanse of fine turf in-
tersected by gravel roads and paths and shaded
here and there by giant elms. There was no fence
nor wall and from a little distance the Green
seemed to run, right and left, into the flower-filled
yards of the houses across the side streets. There
was something very dignified, very lovely about
the place, and the visitor's heart warmed to it. He
wanted to ask if Kenly was like this, but incipient
loyalty to the school of his choice restrained him.
Then the carriage pulled up at a dormitory build-
ing and everyone piled out. There was a squabble
between Joe and Martin over who was to pay,
Martin harking back to a similar occasion last
spring when he had paid the bill and Joe's mem-
ory failing him utterly. Harmon made a motion
toward his pocket, but Bob edged him toward the
steps.
"Leave it to them," he chuckled. "Mart al-
ways pays in the end."
This statement was speedily proved true and
Joe and Bob conducted Harmon along the first
floor corridor to the end of the building and there
opened a door and ushered him into a cool, shad-
KIDNAPPED! 25
owy study. Martin had gone on to Haylow to dis-
pose of his bag, but, before Harmon had got well
settled in a comfortable chair where the faint
afternoon breeze reached him from one of the
windows, he was back.
They sat there awhile and talked. Once Joe
and Bob absented themselves on some casual ex-
cuse that took them out of the room, and once
Martin and Joe were gone for several minutes,
but always one of the number was left to enter-
tain the visitor. Harmon liked the study and the
small alcove-bedroom that led from it and was
much interested in the pictures and trophies that
adorned the walls and the tops of the chiffoniers.
Joe explained that his roommate, Don Harris, had
not arrived and would probably not get there until
the next morning. Harris came from Ohio and
faculty allowed those who lived at a distance a
day's grace.
"I suppose you have to be at Kenly tonight,
don't you, Harmon?" he asked.
"I believe so. I understand that school begins
in the morning. What time is it getting to be?
I don't want to miss that next train."
"Oh, there's an hour and twenty minutes yet,"
said Bob. * * How 'd you like to take a look around I
It doesn't seem quite so warm now."
26 LEFT HALF HAKMON
The visitor was agreeable to the suggestion and
the quartette set forth. They went first to Law-
rence Hall and saw the big dining-room that ac-
commodated four hundred. The forty-odd tables
were already draped in white and set for supper,
and, with the afternoon sunlight slanting through
the high windows, the silent hall looked very
pleasant. They climbed the stairs to the visitors'
gallery and then descended other stairs and
looked into the big kitchen through the oval win-
dows in the swinging doors. Then came the ath-
letic field, where several of the tennis courts were
already in use, and Harmon heard tales of hard-
fought battles on gridiron and diamond and track,
battles that were invariably won by Alton. He
wanted to ask if Kenly had never scored a victory
there, but he refrained.
They poked their heads into Upton and Bordec.
Halls, the latter dormitory reserved for the fresh-
man students, and then crossed to the gymnasium.
Harmon could honestly and unaffectedly praise
that, for it was just about the last cry in build-
ings of its kind. He looked longingly at the big
swimming pool with its clear green water showing
the white tiled floor below, and Bob regretted that
there wasn't time for a swim. Then came Me-
morial Hall, where the sunlight shone through the
KIDNAPPED! 27
many-hued windows and cast wonderful designs of
red and blue and gold and green on the marble
tablets across the silent nave. The library was
here, a book-lined, galleried hall whose arched
ceiling was upheld by dark oak beams. Two great
tables, each on a deep-crimson rug, stood at either
end, and many comfortable chairs surrounded
them. There was a stone fireplace with monstrous
andirons, and the school seal above it. Facing the
corridor door, a clock, set in the gallery railing,
ticked loudly in the silence. Upstairs was the
Auditorium on one side of the corridor, a large,
many-windowed hall with a platform at one end r
while, across from it, were four recitation rooms.
Outside again, they followed a path that took
them under the shade of the elms back to Academy
Hall. There was not much time left now, and
after viewing the school offices from a respectful
distance and peering into some of the classrooms
on the first and second floors, Joe decided that
their guest had better be thinking of getting back
to the station. "You mustn't go, though, without
seeing the view from the cupola," he added.
"There's plenty of time for that."
Harmon looked doubtfully at his watch, but Joe
was already leading the way toward a narrow
flight of stairs at the end of the second-floor cor-
28 LEFT HALF HAEMON
ridor and Bob had an urging grip on his shoulder.
"That's right," agreed Martin. "Everyone
ought to see the view from the cupola. It it's
one of the sights!" Perhaps he meant to
add further persuasion, but a fit of coughing over-
took him. Bob, over Harmon's head, scowled fe-
rociously back at him.
The stairway ended at a closed door and the
procession halted while Joe shot back a heavy
iron bolt and drew the portal outward. Then he
stepped politely aside and the visitor entered a
small apartment some eight feet square. It was
quite bare and lighted by four tiny panes set one
in each wall and just under the ceiling. Harmon's
gaze went questing for the stairs or ladder by
which he was to reach the cupola, but there was
nothing of that sort in sight. Indeed, there was
no egress save by the door through which he had
entered! He was on the point of calling polite
attention to the fact when a sound behind him
brought him quickly about. The sound had been
made by the door as it closed, and while he stared,
open-mouthed, a second sound reached him, and
this time it was made by the bolt sliding harshly
into place !
CHAPTER HI
HELD BY THE ENEMY
A LONG moment of deep silence followed.
Harmon stared bewilderedly at the closed door.
Of course, it was some sort of a silly joke, but it
seemed so peculiarly at variance with all that
had gone before that he couldn't understand.
Wondering, he waited for the door to reopen. In-
stead, however, came the voice of Joe Myers, sub-
dued by the intervening portal but recognizable
and distinct.
" Harmon, can you hear me?"
"Yes!"
" That's good. Now listen. It's too late to
make that train, old man, and there isn't another
until about nine o'clock. That would get you to
Lakeville pretty late and faculty wouldn't like it,
I guess. What's the use of starting the term with
a black eye, eh? No sense in getting in wrong
right at the start, is there? It's a sort of a han-
dicap to a fellow "
"There's plenty of time to get the train if you'll
open that door," replied Harmon impatiently.
30 LEFT HALF HAEMON
\
"What's the big idea, anyway! If it's a joke it's
a mighty poor one, Myers!"
"It isn't a joke," came the answer. "You see,
it's like this. We hate to see a nice, decent chap
like you spoiling his whole er his whole future
career by making a mistake, Harmon. And you
will make a mistake if you go to Kenly. Why,
you say yourself that you're not certain of mak-
ing the team over there! What sort of a school
is it, I ask you, where a fellow of your your cali-
ber has to get out and dig for a place on the
eleven? Now, here you're sure of it. All you'll
have to do will be just put your name down at the
office. Of course we don't know what arrange-
ment Kenly has agreed to make, and maybe we
can't promise all they have. You see, faculty
here's sort of sort of strait-laced. But I'll
promise you this much, anyhow, Harmon: Your
first quarter won't cost you a cent. We'll see to
that. All you need is to '
"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talk-
ing about!" protested the prisoner. "Open that
door and let me out, or or "
"Now don't get peevish, please!" begged Joe.
"Honest, we're doing this for your own good,
Harmon. Just think a minute and you'll see it.
We're offering you a quarter's tuition and the
HELD BY THE ENEMY 31
full-back position on the team. If Kenly can do
any better, why, all I've got to say is that they're
a lot of low-down cheats, after the way they talk
over there!"
"But I'm not going to Kenly to play football!"
exploded Harmon. * ' I don 't care if I never play !
I'm going to to learn!"
"Sure! Well, that's another reason why you
ought to stay here. Everyone knows that Alton's
a better school for learning things than Kenly.
You don't have to take my word for that, either.
It's universally accepted. Why, gosh-ding-it,
we've got a bigger faculty and a better one than
Kenly ever thought of having! And we've got
better buildings and a better plant generally!
Why, say, you can learn more here in a month
than you could learn at Kenly in a year!"
"Are you fellows crazy?" demanded Harmon.
"Let me out or I'll kick the door down!"
"You can't do that," replied Joe equably.
"It's two inches thick. And no one will hear you,
no matter how much row you make, for there
won't be anyone on the next floor until tomorrow
morning. So you might just as well get rid of
that idea, old man. We need you right here at
Alton, and we mean to have you. And you'll be
mighty glad some day that we did this. Of course,
32 LEFT HALF HARMON
right now you're feeling a bit peeved with us, but
you'll get over that when you calm down and think
things over. Maybe you'd like to consider awhile.
There's no hurry. How about it?"
There was no reply for a long moment. Then
Harmon said in quite a placid voice: "Will you
please tell me again what you're getting at?
Maybe I'm kind of dense, but it's all hodgepodge
to me!"
"Sure! Here it is in a nutshell. We need you
on the team "
"What team?" asked Harmon patiently.
"Why, the football team, man! We need you a
heap more than Kenly does, and we're willing to
do anything in reason to get you. Maybe you
won't mind telling us what Kenly has offered
you."
"For what?"
"Why, for well, for going there."
"Kenly hasn't offered me anything. Why
should she? I'm entering like anyone else."
There was a silence. Then Joe's voice came
again, somewhat more chilly. "All right. It's
your affair. If you don't want to tell, you needn't,
but we wouldn't ever speak of it. I suppose you
mean that we haven't offered enough. Well, I'll
have a talk with some of the fellows and see what
HELD BY THE ENEMY 33
they say. You understand, Harmon, that what-
ever we do we do without faculty getting wise.
And, of course, whatever money we managed to
raise would come out of a few pockets, because
lots of fellows wouldn't approve, and lots of 'em
haven't got the money. For that matter, I don't
altogether approve myself! If it was almost any-
one else I'd tell him to go to thunder! Still, if
Kenly can do this sort of thing and get away
with it"
"Would you very much mind listening to me
a minute?" begged the boy on the other side of
the door. " Kenly isn't paying me money for
going there. She hasn't offered to and I wouldn't
take it in any case. Is that plain?"
"Y-yes," replied Joe, "but"
"Then why not stay here instead?" asked Bob
eagerly. "You're sure of making the team and it
won't cost you a cent for tuition the first quarter!
We've got everything Kenly has and a lot she
hasn't. Besides, it's a heap nicer playing on a
winning team than on a losing one, and we're
going to lick Kenly this fall as sure as shooting!"
"That train's gone, hasn't it?" asked Harmon
quietly.
"Just leaving the station," answered Joe in
relieved tones.
34 LEFT HALF HARMON
"Then you might as well let me out of here."
"That means you've decided to stay?"
"No, it doesn't. I haven't any idea of staying.
But"
"You think it over," advised Joe. "We'll be
back in half an hour or so. What have you got
against Alton, anyway?"
"Nothing against the place," answered Har-
mon, "but a lot against the crazy idiots in it!
Open the door and stop acting the fool!"
There was a low-voiced conference outside and
then Joe announced: "We'll let you think it over
awhile, old man. There's no use getting mad
about it. We're doing this for your sake as much
as for our own, and you'd ought to see that. That
offer still holds good, remember. Maybe I'll be
able to better it when I come back. I'll see "
"Look here, you you crazy loon! Do you
mean that you're going around telling the fellows
that you've got me locked up here?"
"Well, I've got to tell them something, haven't
I? I can't say "
* * Don 't say anything ! I don 't want your money !
I wouldn't stay here if you paid me a thousand
dollars a week!"
"You mean that?" asked Joe dubiously.
"Of course I mean it ! Now let me out !"
HELD BY THE ENEMY 35
(
"Well, leaving money out of it altogether, Har-
mon, and all on the level : What 's the matter with
going to school here instead of over there?"
"Why should I!" asked Harmon exasperatedly.
"I started for Kenly and that's where I'm going.
You can keep me here all night and all tomorrow
and all"
"But that's not reasonable," protested Joe
mildly. "Here we're giving you a chance to "
"Seasonable! Ha! Do you call what you're
doing reasonable?"
"It may not look so, but it sure is! Hang it,
man, we 're trying to save you from making a per-
fectly rotten mistake ! Look here, have you paid
your first quarter over there?"
"I have not, but that's got nothing to do
with it."
"Of course it has!" returned Joe in triumph.
"You aren't a student there until you've regis-
tered and paid your first quarter bill ! All right !
Just pay your money here, old man: the tuition's
the same! What do you say?"
"Not"
"Well, I've said all I can think of," replied Joe
despondently. "You think it over awhile, Har-
mon. There's no hurry: you can register any
time this evening before nine and tomorrow morn-
36 LEFT HALF HARMON
ing before twelve. We '11 be back after a bit. Yon
sort of think it over, eh?"
"I don't need to think it over! I haven't the
least idea of doing anything so crazy! Come on
and open the door now, and let's have an end to
this this silly nonsense!"
But there was no reply. Instead, there came to
the captive the faint sounds of retreating foot-
steps. He listened suspiciously. Perhaps it was
only a hoax, perhaps Myers was still outside.
After a minute he called.
"That doesn'i; fool me!" he said. "I know
you're still there!"
But there was no answer, and when another
minute had gone by he realized that they had
actually gone and left him there alone!
CHAPTER IV
HAEMON COMES TO TERMS
THE prisoner thrust his hands in his pockets and
made a frowning survey of his cell. From the
point of view of his captors it appeared an ideal
apartment. There was but one door and that was
firmly locked and plainly invulnerable. The win-
dows were beyond reach and, in any case, too
small to crawl through, and what had once been
an opening admitting to the belfry above had been
long since boarded up. He kicked tentatively at
the door and might just as well have kicked at
any other place in the four surrounding walls so
far as results were concerned. There was no fur-
niture, not even a chair. Listening, he heard
nothing save, once, the distant shriek of a lo-
comotive.
After a few minutes of hopeless inspection of
the place, Harmon shrugged his shoulders and
seated himself on the floor with his back to the
wall and acted on Joe Myers' advice to think it
over. But thinking it over didn't enlighten him
much. That his captors really meant business was
37
38 LEFT HALF HAKMON
evident, but why they had gone to so much trouble
was a mystery. None of the reasons they had
given seemed sufficient. That they had pro-
ceeded to such lengths merely to save him from
the direful fate of becoming a Kenly fellow was
too improbable. That they seriously wanted his
services on the football team was just as unlikely :
or, at least, it was unlikely that they would value
those services highly enough to indulge in kid-
napping as a means of securing them ! No, there
was something else, something that didn't appear.
Perhaps Kenly had once enticed an Alton boy
away and Alton was trying to get even. Or
perhaps
There was a sound beyond the door and Har-
mon stopped conjecturing and listened. A voice
came to him that was not Joe Myers*.
"I say, Harmon!"
"Hello!" The prisoner tried to keep his tone
hostile, but he wasn't altogether successful, for he
was becoming tired of isolation and silence.
"Joe sent me up to read something out of the
school catalogue to you. Can you hear all right?"
"Yes, go ahead and read," answered Harmon
scornfully.
And Martin Proctor, sitting on the top step out-
side, read. He read at some length, too. He
HAEMON COMES TO TERMS 39
started in with a list of Alton Academy graduates
who had attained national prominence. The list
included a Secretary of State, two Chief Justices,
three United States Senators, numerous congress-
men and a wealth of smaller fry. When he had
finished Harmon inquired: "No Presidents or
Vice-Presidents?"
"I haven't graduated yet," replied Martin
cheerfully. "Now I'll read you something from
the report of the Board of Overseers."
"What for? What do I care about the Board
of Overseers?"
"Joe told me to."
When that was done Martin paused for com-
ment, got none and began a flattering description
of the Carey Gymnasium. Inside, Harmon leaned
against the wall and grinned. A brief summary
of scholarships and a statement to the effect that
the Academy roster of year before last repre-
sented thirty-nine states of the Union, two terri-
tories and three foreign countries completed the
programme.
"Joe said I was to ask you if you'd made up
your mind," announced Martin then.
"You tell him to give you an evening paper to
read the next time," replied Harmon.
"Say, why don't you?" asked Martin persua-
40 LEFT HALF HAKMON
sively. "Honest, Harmon, you'll like Alton a
heap better than Kenly."
"You go back and ask Myers what he's going
to say to the faculty when I get out of here and
tell my story!"
"Oh, we've got that fixed all right," chuckled
Martin. "Well, I've got to be getting down to
supper."
' ' Hold on there ! When do I eat ? "
"I don't know. You see, if we opened the door
to give you anything you might try to get out ! ' '
"You think so, do you?" asked Harmon grimly.
"Well, you've got more sense than I thought you
had! How long does supper run?"
"Until seven. It's ten minutes past six now."
"Listen, Porter "
"Proctor's my name, old chap."
"Proctor, then. Look here, now. If you'll
open that door and let me out I'll keep quiet about
this. You can tell the others that that I asked
to see that catalogue and that you went to hand it
in and I knocked you down."
"Yes, and they'd believe it, wouldn't they?"
asked Martin scornfully. "Think of something
better, please! Besides, I'm just as much inter-
ested in saving you from your career of crime as
they are, Harmon. Why, I'd never forgive my-
HARMON COMES TO TERMS 41
self if I left one turn unstoned ! We 're trying to
save you from yourself, old chap!"
" You'd much better be thinking about saving
yourselves," answered Harmon, laughing.
"Did you laugh then?" called Martin eagerly.
"Sure. It struck me as funny. You'll see the
joke later."
"I'll send Joe up. He said if you sounded like
you were in a good temper "
The lessening sounds of footsteps hurrying
down the stairs finished the sentence and Harmon
chuckled. After all, it was funny, the whole thing \
and he might as well laugh as frown. "When it
came right down to brass tacks there was no very
good reason why he shouldn't change his alle-
giance to Alton Academy. At the present moment
it meant just as much to him as Kenly did : more
in fact, for he had seen Alton and hadn't seen
Kenly. And he liked what he had seen. It might
very well be that Kenly wasn't nearly so good a
school, even discounting the biased boastings of
his captors. Of course his parents expected him
to go to Kenly, and so did his brother, but the
choice had been his and he saw no reason why he
hadn't a perfectly good right to choose over. It
wasn't too late, for he had not registered at Kenly
and the first quarter's tuition was still in his
42 LEFT HALF HAKMON
pocket. Possibly his brother would be slightly;
peeved
He paused just there in his cogitating and com-
prehension slowly illumined his face. He jumped
to his feet, thrust his hands into his pockets and
grinned broadly at space. " That's it!" he mur-
mured blissfully. ''I'll bet that's it!" He with-
drew his hands, snapped his fingers and turned
on a heel. After that he gave way to a spasm of
laughter that left him, with streaming eyes, cling-
ing weakly to the door frame. "Oh, gosh!" he
gurgled. "It's too good! Wait wait till they
find out about it!" That thought sent him off
again and he finally subsided on the floor, his
laughter dying away in chuckles and his eyes
fairly streaming.
Kecovering from his levity, he reviewed the
events of the afternoon from the time of his first
meeting with the "Three Guardsmen." He re-
called Joe Myers' surprising interest in his name
and the fact that he had attended Schuyler High
School, and how insistently the subject of football
had held the conversation. Everything coincided
with his theory. He understood now why the
three boys had connived at getting off the train,
and keeping him off, why they had gone to so much
trouble to show him about the school and, finally,
HARMON COMES TO TERMS 3
why they had made him a prisoner. And he
understood why he had been offered a quarter's
tuition and a place on the team! It was all very
simple and excruciatingly funny! And he was
about to give way to laughter again when foot-
steps once more broke the silence. He pulled his
face straight and waited. It was Joe this time.
* ' Hello, in there ! Harmon ! ' '
"Yes?"
"I've talked to four or five of the fellows and
I guess it's all right. We'll manage to dig up
enough so it won't cost you anything for tuition
the first half of the year. How does that
sound?"
"Rotten, Myers. I don't think I'd care to go to
a school where they do that sort of thing."
"What? But you were going to Kenly!" sput-
tered Joe.
"I told you Kenly hadn't offered me money."
"Yes, but Look here, Harmon, is that
straight, man to man?"
"Absolutely."
"Gosh!" There was a long silence beyond the
'door. Then: "Well, I don't understand," said
Joe helplessly. "How did you happen to decide
on Kenly?"
"I told you once."
44 LEFT HALF HARMON
"Yes, that's so, but I thought you were just
just talking. Well, I don't see why you shouldn't
be willing to stay here then, Harmon. If you
aren't getting anything from them, what's the big
idea! You're sure of a place on the team here
and and if you should change your mind you
could have a half-term free of cost. Mind, I'd a
heap rather you didn't change it, because I don't
like that sort of thing any better than you say
you do. We never have paid any fellow for play-
ing on an Alton team and I don't want to begin
now. Besides, if faculty ever found out about it
Zowie!"
"Well, I don't want any favors, thanks. But
suppose I did decide to stay here, Myers "
"Sure! That's the talk!"
"Wait a minute! First thing of all, do I get
any supper?"
"You bet you do! Five minutes after you say
the word I'll have you hitched up to a swell
meal!"
"Well, what about a room? I'd want to be de-
cently fixed that way, you know. Entering late
like this I suppose I'd have to take the leav-
ings, eh?"
"Listen! We've got a swell room waiting for
you. The fellow that was going in with Mart
45
isn't coming at all and I've asked the secretary
to hold it open until tomorrow morning. It's a
corking room; nice big study with three windows
and a fine view; on the front of Haylow; big al-
cove ; furniture nearly new and everything ! ' '
"Sounds pretty fair," commented Harmon.
"Maybe I wouldn't like this fellow Proctor,
though: or maybe he wouldn't like me."
"Kot! Everyone likes Mart, and he's bound to
like you. If he doesn't I'll knock him into the
middle of next Sunday! You'll get on together
great!"
"We-ell," said Harmon unenthusiastically,
"maybe. And it's certain that I'm to make the
team?"
"You bet it is!" laughed Joe. "Just as long
as you can stand on your feet and play football
you're sure of a job!"
"Suppose I'm not as good as you seem to think
lam?"
"I'll risk that," chuckled Joe.
"How about the coach, though?"
"Johnny? Don't worry about him. He will be
just as tickled as I am to get you ! What do you
say, old man? It's getting pretty close to seven
o 'clock. ' '
"All right, I'll agree! Open the door!"
46 LEFT HALF HAKMON
"No tricks? You're not meaning to get out and
then say I misunderstood you or something!"
"No tricks, Myers, I give you my word!"
The bolt shot back protestingly, the door swung
open and Joe's delighted countenance was re-
vealed. "Gee, I'm glad, Harmon!" he exclaimed.
"Shake!" Harmon shook. He, too, was smiling,
but his smile was not so guileless.
"You win, Myers," he said. "Now lead me to;
that supper ! ' '
"Come on! We'll feed first and then you can:
register. I haven't had anything myself yet."
They sped down the stairs and across empty, twi-
lighted corridors and finally to the cool outdoors.
"I didn't tell any of the fellows where you were,"
Joe explained as he guided Harmon around the
building toward Lawrence Hall. "I just said that
I was in touch with you. Here we are. It's sort
of late, but I guess there's plenty left. I'll take
you to my table tonight and tomorrow we'll see
if there's a place there you can have regularly."
Both boys were much too hungry to waste
breath on conversation, and the meal proceeded
almost in silence. There was plenty to eat and
Harmon did full justice to it. When they had
finished Joe took him in tow again and they went
back to Academy Hall and turned to the left PU
HAEMON COMES TO TERMS 47
the first floor and passed through a door whose
ground-glass pane bore the inscription: ''Office
[Walk In." What happened was very simple. At
a desk Harmon was introduced to a tall, lean gen-
tleman whose name was Mr. Wharton. The sec-
retary shook hands politely and scrutinized the
applicant through a pair of strong glasses. Then
he gave him a card and a pen and Harmon wrote
on the dotted lines, going to some pains to con-
ceal the writing from Joe. The latter, however,
had no thought of looking. Then a sum of money
changed hands, the secretary filled out a receipt
for it, Harmon produced a certificate from the
principal of the Schuyler High School and the in-
terview ended with a long sigh of relief from
3Toe.
"That's done," he said as they reached the cor-
ridor again. "Now I'll take you up to your
room."
Haylow Hall was the last building at the left
of the Green. Joe pushed his way through a
group of boys on the stone steps and Harmon
followed, conscious that he was being viewed with
a good deal of interest by the loungers. Joe, too,
noticed the fact, for he chuckled, as they started
up the stairs: "Guess some of those fellows rec-
ognized you, from the way they stared!" There,
48
however, Joe was wrong. The interest had been
only such as would have been accorded to any
fellow under such circumstances. For Joe was
unaware of the glow of triumph that shone from
his countenance as he guided his companion into
the dormitory!
In Number 16 Martin Proctor was unpacking a
trunk when Joe and Harmon entered. Martin
looked questioningly from the latter to Joe, a
doubtful grin on his face.
"It's all right," announced Joe gayly. "He's
registered, Mart! Where's Bob!"
"Over at the room, I guess. He brought the
bag and lit out. Say, Harmon, I'm mighty glad
about this. And and I hope you don't hold it
against us for what we did. It was sort of rough
stuff, but"
"Not at all," answered Harmon calmly. "It's
quite all right. Guess I ought to feel flattered
instead of sore, anyway. Myers says I'm to room
here with you."
"That's right. It's a pretty fair room, Har-
mon. Better than lots of 'em, anyway. You might
take your pick of the beds in there. It doesn't
matter to me which I have."
"Thanks." Harmon gravely inspected the cur-
tained alcove and decided on the left-hand bed.
HARMON COMES TO TEEMS 49
Perhaps the fact that Martin's pajamas lay there
had something to do with the decision. Martin
blinked but stood the blow heroically and tried to
forget that the right-hand bed had a weak spring.
At that moment Harmon caught sight of his
kit-bag on the floor and pointed at it in sur-
prise.
1 < Isn't that mineT' he asked. "How did if
get here?"
"Bob brought it up from the station a few min-
utes ago," explained Martin.
"You fellows must have been pretty certain of
having your way!" marveled the owner of the
bag.
Joe nodded soberly. "We had to be," he said
grimly. "Once we had started, we had to go
through with it, Harmon."
"But suppose I hadn't given in! Suppose I'd!
gone to the principal here and told him that you
fellows had kidnapped me and locked me up in a
room?"
Joe smiled gently. "No chance of that, old
man. If you hadn't decided to stay with us by
midnight we 'd have taken you back to the station
and put you on the twelve-twenty train."
"Hm! And I er I wouldn't have had any-
thing to say!"
SO LEFT HALF HARMON
"No." Joe shook his head. " There 'd have
been three of us anyway; maybe four; and we'd
have fixed you so you couldn't talk much."
Harmon smiled. "Still, afterwards I could
have talked. I could have come back, or written
a letter and spilled the beans."
"Yes, you could have done that, but we argued
that once away from here you'd get over your
grouch and forget it. Besides, a chap doesn't
want to look foolish."
"That's so," agreed Harmon, and he repeated
it more emphatically in the next breath. "It is
uncomfortable, isn't it?" The arrival of Bob
Newhall made a response by Joe unnecessary, al-
though the latter wondered just a little over Har-
mon's expression and the inflection of his voice.
Bob gave a shout of triumph and joy when he saw
Harmon.
"A brand from the burning!" he exclaimed.
"This is great! I just knew you'd see reason,
Harmon! Say, I'm tickled to death!"
"Well, don't upset the table," warned Martin.
"Let's sit down, fellows. This has been sort of
a strenuous day. Try the big chair, Harmon. By
the way, as we 're going to see a good deal of each
Other we might as well get used to real names.
[Mine's Martin, but I'm generally called Mart."
HARMON COMES TO TERMS 51
"But never Smart," interpolated Bob.
Harmon smiled at the pleasantry. "And
I'm usually called Will and never Way," he
said.
Martin looked puzzled. For that matter, so did
the others.
"You mean folks call you Will?" asked Martin,
doubtfully.
< < Yes. Short for Willard. ' '
"Oh! Willard 's your middle name. I see.
Well"
"Hold on!" exclaimed Bob. "I thought your
middle name was Edward!"
"No, my middle name is Kane. Willard is my
first name. ' ' Harmon explained politely and smil-
ingly. Joe's jaw began to drop slowly.
"What!" cried Bob. "Aren't you Gordon Har-
mon, the fellow who played full-back last year for
Schuyler High?"
Harmon shook his head gently. "Oh, no, that's
my brother," he said.
A deep silence fell. Bob stared at Joe and Joe
stared at Martin and all three stared at Harmon.
And the latter met their looks with an amused
smile. When the silence threatened to continue
forever Bob gave an audible gulp and blurted
wildly:
52 LEFT HALF HARMON
"But I saw the name on your bag! It's there
now! 'Gordon Edward Harmon!' "
"Oh," replied Harmon gently, "that isn't my
J>ag. I borrowed it from my brother."
CHAPTER V
THE WRONG BOY
ANOTHER silence ensued, broken at last by a groan
from Bob.
"Then you're not you don't "
"There's evidently been a mistake," said Wil-
lard regretfully. "Still, of course it doesn't
much matter whether my name's Willard or Gor-
don, does it? As Shakespeare says, 'What's in a
name?' "
"I never could stand that fellow Shakespeare,'*
muttered Bob. Joe was still staring across the
table at Willard in a strange fascination. Mar-
tin's countenance was gradually assuming a broad
grin. Willard went on brightly and cheerfully.
"What I couldn't understand was why you
chaps were so anxious to have me here. Just at
first, naturally, I was a bit peevish at being locked
up, but when I came to think it over, like you told
me to, I realized that your wanting me to stay
was a compliment. It wasn't as if I was of some
consequence, as if I was a football player or an
athlete or something like that. You fellows just
53
54 LEFT HALF HARMON
took a liking to me and conldn 't bear to see me go
anywhere else. When I realized that I didn't feel
as if I could disappoint you!"
"Oh, shut up," pleaded Joe miserably.
Willard evidently didn't hear him. "And then
promising me a position on the football team and
getting me a nice room and arranging to pay my
tuition "
"No, by gosh!" exploded Joe. "You don't
come that, Harmon ! That's off! You hear me?"
"What do you mean?" asked Willard ag-
grievedly. "Didn't you say you'd fix it so I
wouldn't have to pay any tuition for the first half
of the year!"
"No matter what I said," retorted Joe wildly.
"It's off!"
"But but you promised me a place on the
team, Myers! You can't go back on that!"
"Can't I?" asked Joe grimly. "You told me
you were Gordon Harmon "
"I beg your pardon," denied Willard firmly.
"I didn't toll you that. You you must have seen
that label on my bag!"
' ' Never mind ! I thought you were Gordon Har-
mon. We all did. That's why we wanted you
here. That's why we thought Kenly had made
promises and why we offered to see you through
THE WRONG BOY 55
the half-year. Now, by gosh, you aren't Harmon
at all!"
"But it wasn't my fault you made the mistake!
And awhile back when I said that maybe I wasn't
as much of a football player as you thought I was
you said you'd risk it. Why, my main reason for
agreeing to stay here was your promising me I
could play football!"
"That's right, Joe," said Martin. "You did
promise him that."
Joe turned scowlingly and found Martin's face
red with repressed laughter. "What's the mat-
ter with you?" he growled. "Hang it, it's no
laughing matter! If this chump thinks I'm going
to stick him on the team "
"Oh, take a tumble, Joe!" gurgled Martin,
"Can't you see Harmon's stringing you? Oh,
gee!" And Martin gave way to uncontrolled
laughter.
Joe looked at WillaiO searchingly, a somewhat
forced smile on his face. "That's right?" he
asked doubtfully.
Willard nodded, his gray-blue eyes twinkling
merrily.
"I hope you choke!" said Joe. But the wish
was followed by a deep sigh of relief.
"Doesn't it seem fair enough," laughed Wil-
56 LEFT HALF HARMON
lard, "for me to have my joke after youVe had
yours?"
"Sure!" agreed Martin. "He who laughs
last laughs best!"
"What I want to know," declared Bob earn-
estly, "is where that brother of yours is! Has
Kenly got him?"
"No, he's entered the Navy. I told you, didn't
I? He has always wanted to, but dad wouldn't
stand for it. And a couple of months ago Gordon
j'ust lit out. He meant to go to Kenly, if he went
anywhere, and that's why I decided on Kenly. I
thought one of us might as well go there!"
"Well," said Joe, "I guess the laugh's on us,
all right! I I suppose you mean to stay here?"
"Surely! I'm entered now, you know. Be-
sides, I like the place very well, probably quite as
well as I'd have liked Kenly. And then being sure
of a place on the football team here "
"Have a heart!" gror.aed Joe. "Look here,
have you ever played football at all?"
"A little. I got into a couple of games last
year. ' '
"Where did you play?" asked Joe.
"Left half."
Joe shook his head. "No good," he muttered.
"We've got more half-backs than we can use.
'You don't come that, Harmon! That's off! You
hear me?"
THE WRONG BOY 571
t
What we need is a corking good full-back; and a
couple of linemen. "He viewed Willard despondi
ently. "I thought you looked pretty light for a
full-back."
"Me, too," sighed Bob. "I couldn't quite pic-
ture you smashing through a line like Gordon Har-
mon did ! ' '
"No, Gordon's four inches bigger all around
than I am, and he weighs nearly thirty pounds
more."
"Too bad for a fellow like that to waste him-?
self in the Navy," mourned Joe. "Look here,
Harmon, I'll tell you what I'll do. I can't prom^
ise you a place, old man : you must see that your-?
self: but I'll see that you get every chance to
make good."
Willard laughed softly. "Well, I won't hold
you to the agreement, Myers, under the circum-
stances. In fact, I'd rather you didn't show me
any favor. I'll probably have a stab at the team,
but I shan't be heartbroken if I don't make it. In
any case, I'd rather stand on my own feet. MucH
obliged, just the same."
"Well, that's decent of you," muttered Joe re-;
lievedly. * ' But of course I want to do anything I
can to help. Guess we got you here under false
pretenses, sort of, and it's up to us to to ;" >
58 LEFT HALF HABMON
"Oh, no, yon didn't," Willard assured him. "I
saw what was up before I consented. At first I
thought you were all just crazy. Then I remem-
bered how you had asked my name and if I'd come
from Schuyler High and understood. You chaps
pulled a neat trick down there at the station. I'll
say that. I didn't even suspect that you meant
me to lose that train."
Joe nodded joylessly. "That was Bob's idea.
The poor simp saw the name on your bag and fell
for it!"
"So did you when I told you," retorted Bob
resentfully. "Any fellow would have been
fooled!"
"Seems to me," said Martin, "it's up to us to
apologize to Harmon. If anyone has a right to
be peeved it's he."
"Guess that's right, too," replied Joe. "I'm
sorry, Harmon. Hope you'll er overlook the
way we treated you and and everything."
"Same here," said Bob. "Of course, we didn't
know "
"I'll apologize, too, for my part in the affair,"
said Martin, "but I'm not going to pretend that
I'm sorry, for I'm not. It was a lot of fun while
it lasted, and even if we didn't capture a football
THE WRONG BOY 59
star we did Kenly out of a mighty decent sort of
a chap!"
"Hear! Hear!" laughed Joe. "Mart's right.
Harmon, we welcome you to our midst, and we
trust that you will never regret your decision to
er to "
"Join the gang," ended Martin, jumping up.
"Fellows, the occasion demands a celebration!"
He went to his partly unpacked trunk and dug out
a tin cracker box which he placed triumphantly
on the table. "And here's the wherewithal!" A
generous section of a chocolate layer-cake and 1
many doughnuts came to light and were hailed
with acclaim.
"Wait a sec!" said Bob. "We've got some
ginger-ale. I'll fetch it. Keep 'em off the cake
till I get back, Mart!"
"I'll do my best," Martin assured him, "but
you'd better hurry. I know that gleam in Joe's
eye of old!"
Bob made what was probably a record trip to
Lykes Hall and return, arriving anxious and
breathless and laden with four bottles of ginger-
ale. Then Martin cut the cake in four equal
wedges, doled out the doughnuts and bade them
"Go to it!" For a minute or two conversation
6Q LEFT HALF HARMON
was taboo, and then Bob held his bottle aloft and,
speaking somewhat thickly, offered a toast.
"Gentlemen, I give you Mr. Willard Harmon,
the brand plucked from the burning, the lamb
saved from the slaughter, the the "
"The innocent victim of a deep-dyed plot!"
supplied Martin.
"The full-back who was only a half!" cried Joe.
"The gold brick!" laughed Willard.
"Charge your glasses, gentlemen! To the the
Brand!" And Bob drank deeply, with mellow
gurgles.
"The Brand!" chanted Joe and Martin, and
followed the example.
Afterwards they reviewed the afternoon's
events in the utmost good humor and with fre-
quent laughter. Martin's account of sitting on
the step outside the door and reading choice bits
of the school catalogue to the prisoner was espe-
cially amusing, and Willard revived the laughter
when he supplemented gravely: "It was that bit
about the open plumbing in the gymnasium that
decided me! I couldn't resist that!"
When, finally, Bob and Joe had taken them-
selves off and the roommates were preparing for
bed, Martin said: "Look here, what about your
trunk?"
THE WRONG BOY 61
i
Willard shook his head ruefully. "It's at Lake-
ville by now, I suppose, and I'm likely to run short
of shirts before I get it. I've got only one in my
bag."
"You can wear mine, I guess," answered Mar-
tin. "Better telephone to the station the first
thing in the morning and get the agent to have
them send it back."
"Maybe the quickest way would be to go over
and get it myself," suggested the other.
1 ' No you don 't ! You stay right here ! We went
to too much trouble to get you to let you go over
there and forget to come back!"
"No fear," laughed Willard. "I've paid my
money here and I'll have to stick now!
Honest, Proctor, is Alton a better school than
Kenly?"
Martin paused in the act of disrobing and looked
gravely judicial. "Well, we like to say it is," he
answered cautiously.
"Is it bigger?"
"Not much. They usually have a few lesa
students."
"But the faculty here is better?"
"Hm: well, I wouldn't go so far as to claim!
that. Maybe it used to be, but Kenly enlarged
hers a couple of years ago."
62 LEFT HALF HARMON
I see. How about athletics : football and base-
ball and so on? Do we usually beat Kenly?"
"Oh, I reckon it's about a stand-off. One year
,we win at football and she wins at baseball. Or
we win at both and she gets the track champion-
ship and the hockey series. Call it fifty-fifty."
"Well, then, what about the the buildings and
location and all that?"
"No comparison as to location."
"Oh, Alton's got the best of it there, eh?"
"Alton?" said Martin contemptuously. "I
should say not! Why, this place is stuck right
down in the village, you might say. Kenly 's got
about thirty acres of land on the side of a hill:
trees and brooks and fields why, say, she's got
four gridirons and four diamonds and a quarter-
mile running track and a regular flock of tennis
courts!"
"Sounds good," commented Willard. "What
about the buildings over there?"
"They're all right, too. Guess they're as good
as ours, anyway. There are more of them. She's
got a corking gymnasium. It would make two of
ours ! ' '
Willard sighed discouragedly. "But you fel-
lows kept telling me how much better Alton was
than Kenly!"
THE WRONG BOY 63
Martin grinned slowly. "Sure! Why not?
That's patriotism. Every fellow's got to think
his school better than the other school!"
"Oh! Then Alton isn't really any better than
Kenly?"
"Of course it is!"
"In what way?" urged Willard hopefully.
"Well," began the other reflectively, holding
his pajama jacket together with one hand and
rubbing a touseled head with the other. "Well "
"Better class of fellows'?" suggested Willard.
"N-no, they're about the same. Some pretty
decent chaps gc to Kenly. It isn't that. It it
well, Alton's just better, if you see what I mean!"
"I'm afraid I don't," laughed Willard.
Martin grinned. "You will when you've been
here awhile, ' ' he said encouragingly. * ' The switch
is at the left of the door when you're ready."
"All right. I say, though, I've changed my,
mind about the beds. I'd rather have the other."
"Honest? Well" Martin hesitated. "You'd
better stick to the one you picked out, old man.
That one 's got curvature of the spine. The spring
lets you down in the middle."
"I don't mind," laughed Willard. "I only
chose the other because I saw it was yours."
".Oh. that was it! Well, say, if you make a
M LEFT HALF HARMON
kick at the Office they'll put a new spring on for
you. Logan was always threatening to do it, but
he never did. He was in here with me last year."
Willard turned the switch and felt his way to
the bed. "I don't call this very bad," he declared
when he had experimented. " Anyway, it won't
keep me awake tonight!"
"That's good. I hope it won't. Good night
Brand!"
"Goodnight, Marti"
CHAPTER VI
FIRST DAYS AT ALTON
WILLARD 's trunk arrived two days later, as though,
by its delay, protesting against the change of
plan, and by that time its owner was going about
in one of Martin's shirts. Those two days wit-
nessed the shaking down of Willard into the man-
ners and customs of Alton Academy. It wasn't
hard, for Martin was there to serve as a very
willing counselor and guide. Willard became a
member of the Junior Class on the strength of
his high school certificate, and, since that was
also Martin's class, the latter was able to render
assistance during the first difficult days. Fortu-
nately the two boys took to each other at once
and life in Number 16 Haylow promised to move
pleasantly.
The term began on Thursday, and on Friday the
football candidates gathered for the first practice.
Alton Academy's registration was well over four
hundred, as the catalogue later announced, and of
that number nearly one-fourth reported on the
gridiron as candidates for the school team.
H
66 LEFT HALF HAKMON
lard, viewing the throng, thought little of his
chances of securing a place.
Coach Cade made much the same sort of a
speech as coaches generally make on such occa-
sions, and promised a successful season in return
for cheerful obedience and hard work ; and looked
unutterably relieved when the more or less at-
tentive audience dispersed. Mr. Cade was a short,
thick-set man of twenty-seven or twenty-eight
years, with black hair that stood up on his head
much like the bristles of a blacking brush, a square
face that looked at least one size too large for the
rest of him, small features which included two
very piercing dark eyes, a button nose and a broad
mouth and, to cap the climax, a very gentle voice.
Not a handsome chap, Willard thought, but cer-
tainly a very capable looking one. Later, he
learned from Martin that John Cade had played
with Alton Academy for three years and then for
as many more on the Lafayette teams, making a
remarkable reputation, first as a school quarter-
back and then as a college guard. Willard found
it difficult to imagine Coach Cade as a quarter.
Probably, he concluded, in those days the coach
lacked the breadth and heaviness he showed now,
a conclusion proved to be correct when Willard
came across an old photograph of an Alton eleven
FIRST DAYS AT ALTON 67
in the gymnasium some weeks later. In the pic-
ture John Cade was a short, not over-heavy and
very alert boy of seventeen, his dark eyes darting
defiance and his black hair bristling a challenge.
He was familiarly known among the fellows of
present-day Alton as Johnny, but none had ever
been heard to address him so!
Practice this first afternoon wasn't a serious
ordeal, for much time was given to verbal instruc-
tion, and at half-past four the squads were dis-
missed. Willard, walking back to the gymnasium
with Martin and Bob, said that it ought to be easy
to get a good team with such a raft of candidates
to choose from, and Bob snorted derisively.
" You 're wrong, Brand," he said. "If we had
half as many we'd get on better. It takes three
weeks, nearly, to find out who's good and to weed
out the others, and that's just so much time lost.
Johnny's dippy on the subject of having every
fellow who ever heard of football come out, and
it's a sad mess for the first fortnight. Of course
it sometimes happens that he finds a player that
way who mightn't show up if he wasn't urged to,
but, gee, I think it's piffle! Give me last year's
first and second teams, or what's left of 'em, and
a dozen chaps who have made names where they
come from and I'll turn out as good a team as any.
68 LEFT HALF HAEMON
Must have been a hundred fellows out there this
afternoon, and I'll bet you fifty of them never
played a game of football in their lives!"
"Sure,'* agreed Martin, "but some of them are
capable of playing, you poor fish, and it's just
those that Johnny wants to find. If they don't
make good this year, he's got them started for
next. Your plan might work all right this year,
Bob, but you'd run short of material next year.
You've got to plan ahead, old son, and that's what
Johnny does."
"Are there many of last season's fellows left?'*
asked Willard.
"Six first-string chaps," answered Bob. "Joe,
Stacey Ross, Jack Macon, Gil Tarver, Arn Lake
and myself. There is quite a bunch of good last
year subs and second team fellows, though. And
then there's Mart!"
"Yes, and Mart's going to try for something
besides guard position this year," remarked that
youth. "With you and Joe holding down each
side of center there's no hope for me. Last season
I lived in hope that Joe would get killed or that
you'd be fired, but nothing happened. This thing
of waiting around for dead men's shoes is dull
work ! ' '
"What are you going after!" laughed Bob.
FIRST DAYS AT ALTON 69
"I don't know," replied Martin discouragedly.
"How'd I do as a full-back?"
' * Great ! Say, Mart, do something for me, will
you! Go and tell Johnny to let you play fuIU
back!"
' 'Oh, dry up, you big ape! I could play full-
back as well as Steve Browne can."
" Steve hasn't a chance!"
"Who, then?"
1 'Search me! We've got to find someone.
Steve's a good chap, but he hasn't the weight,
speed, or fight for full-back. If we could buy
Brand's brother out of the Navy, now "
"Well, you did your best," laughed Martin.
"You got the right bag, but the wrong boy! Look
here, Brand "
"I refuse to answer to that name," said Wil-
lard haughtily.
"What's the matter with it? It's a perfectly
good name. What I was about to say when so
rudely interrupted "
"What I was about to say," interjected Bob,
' ' is that it would be a good plan to hurry up a bit
and get ahead of some of this mob. If we don't
we'll be waiting around until supper time for a
shower!"
* ' Come on, then : stir your stumps, slow poke 1
70 LEFT HALF HAKMON
I was going to say, Brand, that it's your duty to
either fill the full-back position yourself or find
someone to fill it. You were admitted to Alton
on your representation that you were a full-
back"
" 'Admitted' is good!" jeered Willard.
"And you aren't," Martin proceeded, unheed-
ing the interruption. "Fellows are asking Joe
where Gordon Harmon is and Joe's having an
awful time explaining how the deal fell through.
He's told four quite different stories so far and
is working on a fifth! You could save Joe a lot
of mental worry, Brand, if you turned yourself
into a star full-back."
"I'm afraid I'm a bit light," laughed Willard.
"Maybe I could find a full-back for you, though, if
the reward was big enough."
"You'll receive the undying gratitude of Joe
and the key of the city. ' '
"Huh, I've seen the city!" said Willard.
The "city," though, in spite of Willard 's sar-
casm, was really a very nice one. Not, of course,
that it was more than a town, and a small one at
that, but it was clean and well laid out, with plenty
of trees, lots of modestly attractive residences and
a sufficiency of wide-awake stores. When Willard
said he had seen it he was enlarging on the truth,
FIRST DAYS AT ALTON 71
for it was not until the day succeeding the remark
that he really had a thorough look at it. Then
Martin took him in tow and, since there were
few recitations on Saturdays, they spent an hour
or more roaming about it. There were two dis-
tinct shopping centers in Alton. One lay along
Main Street a good half-mile from the Academy,
and on the side streets adjacent, and one occu-
pied two blocks on West Street, scarcely more
than a long stone-throw from the school. The
latter catered almost exclusively to the students,
and the latter found few excuses for going further
afield to make their purchases. Martin told Wil-
lard which of the nearby ice cream parlors had
the best soda fountain, showed him which of the
stationery stores was most popular, where he
could buy haberdashery at fair prices, where to
get his shoes shined if such an extravagant pro-
ceeding appealed to him, where the best barber
shop was even cautioning him against "the
wop at the third chair who would shave your neck
if you didn't watch him" and, in short, thor-
oughly initiated him into the mysteries of West
Street buying. In school parlance, the locality
was "Bagdad," although the shops were never
referred to as "bazaars."
"You can get tick at any of them," Martin ex-
72 LEFT HALF HARMON
plained, "but they'll make it mighty uncomfort-
able for you if you don't pay up every half-year,
and faculty sort of frowns on running up bills.
It's better to pay cash if you can, Brand. Besides,
you can usually jew 'em down if you have the
money in your hand. Last spring Stacey Ross
bought a suit over there at Girtle 's and they
charged it to him at sixty dollars, and a fellow
called 'Poke' Little went and paid cash for one
just like it and got off for forty-seven-fifty. Stacey
had a fit and went back and read the riot act. But
the old geezer told him that 'time was money'!"
Martin chuckled. "In his case two months' time
was twelve dollars and a half! Stacey got even,
though."
"How?" asked Willard.
"Got a thin fellow named Patterson, a sopho-
more, to put the suit on and walk up and down
the block for an hour one Saturday afternoon.
The clothes hung all over Patterson and he looked
like a scarecrow, and he carried a placard around
his neck that said: 'This suit was bought at Gir-
tle's.' Old Girtle was furious and tried to get
Patterson to go away. Offered him ten dollars,
Patterson said, but it didn't sound like Girtle!
Anyhow, Patterson kept on walking up and down
and about two dozen kids went with him and a
FIRST DAYS AT ALTON 73
lot of the fellows stood around and cheered and
we had quite a fine moment! 'Mac' had Stacey
on the carpet about it, but when Stacey explained
Mac only smiled and let him go."
"Is 'Mac' what you call the Principal?" asked
Willard.
"Yes, it's short for 'Doctor Maitland McPher-
son.' Have you met him yet? He's a good sort,
Mac is. There's a story that some years back
there was a wild westerner here from Wyoming
or Arkansas or some of those places and he was
talking one day in the corridor in Academy and
Mac was in one of the classrooms right near, and
this fellow I forget his name; Smith, maybe
called him 'the old Prince,' and Mac overheard
him and came out. 'Were you referring to me,
Smith!' he asked. 'Yes, sir.' 'And what was the
name you gave me?' 'Prince, sir; that's short
for Principal.' 'Ah,' said Mac. 'Most ingenious!
You may go on Hall Restriction one week for
"int." ' 'Int' is short for interest."
Football affairs got straightened out that after-
noon and Willard found himself in C Squad with
some twenty or so other candidates whose knowl-
edge of football ranged from fair to middling.
Only the simpler exercises were indulged in and
the hour-and-a-half period stretched out intermin-
74 LEFT HALF HAEMON
ably. The day was unseasonably warm and the
bored youth who had C Squad in charge was
unable to work up much enthusiasm. Willard
was heartily glad when the session was over. He
presumed that a certain amount of catching and
passing was beneficial to him, but he mildly re-
sented spending an hour and a half at it. Joe
Myers showed every indication of acceding to Wil-
lard 's request that he be allowed to stand on his
own feet, for so far Joe had paid no attention
to the newcomer during practice. There were
times this afternoon when Willard rather wished
that he hadn't been so independent. He would
not have resented it a bit had Joe yanked him out
of that beginner's squad and put him where he
could have worked with something besides his
hands ! By five o 'clock, when the end came, Wil-
lard was sick of the sight and the feel of a foot-
ball!
That evening, however, when he accompanied
Joe and Martin and Bob to the Broadway Theater,
the moving picture house patronized by the school,
Joe inquired most solicitously about Willard 's
progress in practice. He did not, though, seem
much concerned when Willard hinted that he was
wasting his time learning how to pass a football
"It is dreary work, isn't it!" said Joe cheerfully.
FIEST DAYS AT ALTON 75
"Well, there won't be much more of it, Brand.
You'll get into formations next week. By the
way, you want to try for half-back, don't you?
Hm. That's so. Hm. Too bad you're so light.
Ever try playing end?"
Willard answered that he never had, whereupon
Joe remarked: " 'S 'at so?" in an absent way
and said he hoped there 'd be a good comedy at
the theater!
CHAPTER
IN THE COACH'S BOOM
WHETHER the comedy was good or not, it at least
evoked much laughter, and was followed by a
thrilling "big picture " that worked Willard to
a pitch of excitement that lasted until he was out
on State Street again. They ran into Mr. Cade
in front of the theater and he fell into step with
them as they walked back toward the Green. He
and Joe and Bob talked about the show, while
Martin and "Willard followed behind and listened.
At West Street Bob proposed drinks, and they
crossed to The Mirror and sat about a tiny table
and drank colorful concoctions through paper
straws. The coach rather surprised Willard by
displaying positive enthusiasm for his tipple,
which, as near as Willard could determine, con-
tained a little of everything that could come out
of the glistening taps! Willard was a little bit
too much in awe of the coach to feel quite at ease,
and his contributions to the conversation were
few and brief. Not that the talk was very erudite,
however, for Bob talked a good deal of nonsense
76
IN THE COACH'S BOOM 77
and Mr. Cade certainly didn't oppress them with
a flow of wisdom. On the contrary, he laughed at
Bob a good deal and said one or two funny things
himself, things at which Willard laughed a bit
constrainedly, not being certain that it was right
to greet anything a head football coach said with
levity. At Schuyler High School the coach had
been a most dignified and unapproachable marti-
net of whom everyone stood in admiring awe!
When they went out Bob leaned carelessly
across the counter and instructed the young lady
with the enormous puffs over her ears to "put
that down to me, please." Willard, following the
others out, reflected that, while trading on a cash
basis might be wiser, one missed many fine mo-
ments by not having a charge account! (This,
perhaps, is a good place to explain that the ex-
pression "fine moments" was widely current at
Alton that term. Like many other expressions, its
origin was a mystery, and, like them, its vogue
grew by leaps and bounds until even the freshmen
were having their "fine moments" and Mr. Fow-
ler, in English 7, prohibited its use in themes.)
Near the end of State Street, with the lights
on the Green gleaming through the trees ahead,
Mr. Cade proposed that the boys pay him a visit,
and Willard found himself turning in at a little
78 LEFT HALF HAEMON
white gate. The old green-shuttered Colonial
mansion on the corner was one of several houses
standing across from the Green that had at one
time or another, sometimes as a gift, sometimes
by purchase, become Academy property. This
particular mansion was occupied by three of the
married faculty members and, in turn, by the
football and baseball coaches. Mr. Cade's apart-
ment was on the lower floor, at the right, two
huge, high-ceilinged rooms separated by what had
once been a pantry but was now a dressing and
bathroom. The furnishings were comfortable
but plain, and in the front room a generous grate
eked out the efforts of a discouraged furnace. To-
night, however, the sight of the fireplace brought
no pleasurable thrill. Instead, it was the four
big, wide-open windows that attracted the vis-
itors. Those in front opened on a narrow veranda
set with tall white pillars, those on the side shed
the light of the room onto a maze of shrubbery
and trees beyond which the illumined windows of
the dormitories twinkled. There was a big table
in the center of the living-room littered with books
and writing materials, smoking paraphernalia,
gloves, a riding crop, a camera, a blue sweater
and many other things, a fine and interesting
hodgepodge that Willard, pausing beside it,
IN THE COACH'S ROOM 79
viewed curiously. The object that engaged his
closest attention, though, was a board about thirty
inches square. It was covered with green felt on
which at intervals of an inch white lines crossed.
On the margins were figures: "5," "10," "15,"
and so on up to " 50. ' ' Stuck at random into the
board were queer little colored thumb-tacks,
twenty-two in all. Half of them were gray and
half of them were red, and each held letters:
"L. H.," "R. G.," "L. E.," and so on. Willard
was still studying the board, its purpose slowly
dawning on him, when Mr. Cade spoke.
"Looking at my 'parlor gridiron,' Harmon?"
he asked. "Nice little plaything, isn't it?" He
came to Willard 's side and lifted the board from
the table. "I made it myself, and I'm sort of
proud of it, for I'm all thumbs when it comes to
doing anything with my hands. Each of the inch
lines represents five yards, do you see? And I use
these thumb-tacks for the players. It's rather a
help when it comes to studying out a play; al-
though I acknowledge that I can get on faster with
the back of an envelope and a pencil stub!"
"I think it's awfully clever," said Willard ad-
miringly. "It's just half a field, though, isn't it,
wr?"
"That's all; from the goal-line to the fifty-yard-
80 LEFT HALF HARMON
line. That's all that's needed, you see. Want to
play with it?" The coach laughed and wheeled
a deep-seated rep-covered armchair to the table.
"Sit down and be comfortable," he added. Wil-
lard subsided embarrassedly into the chair, still
holding the miniature gridiron. Joe and Bob were
seated by one of the side windows what breeze
there was came from the west this evening and
Martin and the coach shared an old-fashioned sofa
nearby. Willard, listening to the talk, began to
set the thumb-tacks in place along the thirty-yard-
line. Presently he had become so interested in
arranging a forward-pass defense for the gray
tacks that he had forgotten all about the others.
He wasn't quite certain that the Gray's ends
should play all the way up into the line, and he
set them back half the distance to the next white
mark. Then he concluded that the pass would be
made by that suspicious-looking red tack labeled
"L. H." and that it would go to one of the red
ends. Consequently, he advanced the gray ends
up to the line once more, but a trifle further out,
so that they might cut in quickly and spoil the
throw. After that he pulled the Gray's quarter-
back in another yard or two, chancing that the
ball would not go more than fifteen yards. Then
there was nothing to do but wait for the play,
IN THE COACH'S ROOM 81
and, since it didn't materialize, he set the board
back on the table and gave his attention again
to the others.
"Two years ago," Mr. Cade was saying,
' ' there were five of us in here for almost a week :
Levington and Sproule and Jack Tanner Who
was the chap helped coach the tackles that year,
Myers? Do you remember? Tall fellow who
wore spectacles and "
1 'Clarke, sir? No, I know! Salters!"
" That's right! Salters! He was a good hand
and I'd like to get him back again this fall. Well,
there were five of us, I remember, and we were
bunked all over the place ; three of us in the bed-
room and two of us in here. We had rather a
good time, but no one got much sleep. I remem-
ber the night before the Kenly game we sat up
until nearly three o'clock. Our left tackle, Gads-
den, had sprained his ankle that day; someone
pushed him coming out of Academy; and we had
to make over the whole plan of battle. Gadsden,
you'll remember, was our long punter and we'd
mapped out a kicking game. To make things
worse, it began to rain and sleet that evening,
and we'd looked for a dry field. We certainly
had our hands full that night. It was Levington
who suggested pulling the guards out and using
82 LEFT HALF HAEMON
them on end runs, and we won on those plays.
You see our backfield was pretty light and the
wet field slowed them up. You played awhile in
that game, didn't you, Myers, toward the end!"
"Yes, for three or four minutes. I was in
when we made our second score. We dumped
their end and Morgan shot around for four yards
and the touchdown."
" That's right. It looked like a tie game until
near the end. Kenly had a man who could boot a
wet ball forty yards every time and we had no
one to meet him with. But we certainly wore her
ends to a frazzle. She used three pairs before
she got through! It was nothing but fight and
determination that won that game, fellows. On
paper we figured about seventy per cent to their
one hundred before the start. They had us licked,
but they didn't know it, and we never told
them!"
1 1 What about this year, sir?" asked Martin.
''How many snowstorms are we going to have
in January?" asked the coach laughingly. "It's
rather too early for predictions, Proctor. But
for all I can see now we've got a better show
than we had two years ago, and we licked her
then. We're certainly going to be in better shape
than last year."
IN THE COACH'S ROOM 83
" We've got to find a full-back," said Joe du-
biously.
"Yes, and a new tackle and maybe an end. But
we'll do it. There's a lot of good material to
pick from this year."
"I suppose you've heard, sir, that Kenly's got
that fellow Timmons who played left end on Mill-
wood High last season," said Bob.
"No, is that so? Is he good?"
"They say so. Funny thing we don't seem to
catch any of the stars, Mr. Cade."
"We don't want them, Newhall. Stars are un-
certain things. They have a mean way of going
out unexpectedly! I'd rather have a bunch of
satellites to work with and turn out my own
stars!"
The others laughed, but Bob shook his head,
not altogether convinced. "That's all right, sir,
but you'd think we'd get more good players here.
It isn't as if Alton was a small school or a punk
one. Of course those fellows with big reputa-
tions don't always pan out when you get them,
but, just the same, I'd like to see some of them
head this way now and then!"
"I dare say it wouldn't hurt," agreed the
coach. "But, fellows, the longer I stick at this
coaching game the more convinced I am that
84 LEFT HALF HARMON
when it comes to the last analysis it isn't plays
or players that win games; it's spirit! Take
eleven corking men, each one a master of his po-
sition, and get them so that they play together
like a well-oiled machine, and then run them up
against a team of ordinary players without much
team-work or anything else except a great, big,
overwhelming desire to win, and what happens
three times out of four? Why, that inferior team
wins! She may make mistakes, she may play
ragged ball, but grim determination and fight and
spirit get her there! You see it happen all the
time. I can tell you of twenty games where the
best team was beaten just because, while she
wanted to win, she didn't want to win hard
enough ! ' '
''Yes, sir, I guess that's so," agreed Joe.
"And I guess it's a lot easier to teach a team to
play good football than it is to put the right spirit
in them."
"Of course it is! You've got to begin with the
School, Myers, and work down to the team. If the
School hasn't got the right spirit, the team won't
have it. And that's why I try to get as many
fellows out for football at the beginning of the
year as I can. Or, at least, it's one reason. In-
terest a fellow, no matter how little, in the team,
IN THE COACH'S KOOM 85
and he'll believe in it and work for it. Even if
a fellow comes out only to be dropped three or
four days later, he's 'smelled leather' and he
never quite forgets it. He thinks well of his more
successful companion who has made good, even
though he may be secretly envious of him, and the
team and its success means a lot more to him than
it does to the chap who has never had anything
to do with it. The team that feels the School
behind it works hard and loyally and, when the
big test comes, fights like the very dickens ! And
it's fight that wins football games, just as it's
fight that wins battles. And that's that!"
Mr. Cade ended with a little laugh that seemed
to apologize for his vehemence, but none of his
listeners joined in it. After a moment Martin
said: "There's a little school they call Upton
Academy near my home, Mr. Cade. It has only
about a hundred and twenty students, I suppose,
and more than half of 'em are girls. But they
meet teams from bigger schools and beat them
right along. One of the teachers coaches them
and the girls go with them and cheer like mad
and they wipe up the whole county!"
"I guess it's spirit in that case," said the
coach. "And maybe the girls have a lot to do
with it. Ever notice what a deal of fighting spirit
86
girls show? First thing we know or our chil-
dren know the girls will be playing real foot-
ball. And when they do, fellows, look out!" Mr.
Cade chuckled at his direful prediction.
A little later the boys arose to go and Mr.
Cade, moving to the table, took up the felt-covered
board and looked at it curiously. "Defense
for forward-pass, eh, Harmon?" he said. "Which
of these red fellows is making the toss?"
"I don't know, sir," answered Willard. "I
was playing the Gray's end of it. But I figured
that left half-back was throwing to an end."
The others gathered around to see and Mr.
Cade looked speculatively at Willard for a mo-
ment before he smiled and laid the board back
on the table. "I'd pull my ends in further in that
case," he said, "and bring them nearer the play,
What position are you after?"
"Half-back, sir."
"I see. Well, it's an interesting job, half-
back's. Lots of chance for initiative there. Quick
thinking, too. Well, good night, fellows. Drop
in again some evening. I'm generally home."
CHAPTER VHI
THE BOY IN THE GEEEN SWEATER
THE following Wednesday, Willard received pro-
motion of a sort. By that time the number of
candidates at practice had noticeably lessened and
the four squads had become three. Last year's
first team survivors and a goodly number of the
second team players formed Squad A, while some
twenty youths who showed particular promise
made up Squad B. Into the latter company Wil-
lard went. A third squad whose personnel
changed from day to day as new candidates ap-
peared or old ones fell out, was known officially
as C, but popularly as "The Goats."
Formation drill had begun and Willard ran
through signals at the left half-back position, al-
ternating with another youth named Kruger.
Only the simplest formations were used and the
pace never exceeded a trot. Preliminary to this,
there was tackling practice at the dummy each
day, and more or less passing and starting. After
formation drill Willard joined nearly a dozen
87
88 LEFT HALF HARMON
other backfield candidates and put in a half-hour
of punting and catching and running. Willard's
kicking education had been rather neglected, for
at high school, during the two years he had
played, the full-back and quarter had shared the
kicking duties. Here, however, it was held that
a back should be proficient in every department
of the game, and Willard showed up rather poorly
beside many of his rivals.
The second eleven came into existence the last
of that week and the first real scrimmage of the
season took place on Friday between it and the
first in preparation for the initial contest the
next day. Willard was glad he had not been
picked for the second, for he had not yet given
up hope of better things, and knew from experi-
ence how difficult it is to make one's way from
the second team to the first. Several fellows
from Squad C were selected, however, and among
them Kruger, which left Willard for awhile in
undisputed possession of the left half-back job.
It wasn't long, though, before a weedy, tempera-
mental boy named Longstreth took Kruger 's
place. Longstreth had been promoted from the
Goats and seemed to have an idea that his mis-
sion in life was to inject what he called "ta-
basco" into Squad B. One way of doing it was
THE BOY IN THE GREEN SWEATER 89
to aid in the coaching, and he simply oozed
advice to both Coach Cade and Richards, the
quarter-back. The coach stood it patiently, but
Ned Richards ultimately turned upon him and
wounded his sensibilities horribly, so horribly
that Longstreth became a changed boy and delib-
erately let the squad worry along without "ta-
basco." But most of this was later on and sub-
sequent to the Alton High School game, which
started the season for the Academy.
Willard watched that contest from the bench:
or, rather, from a seat on the ground near the
bench, since the capacity of the bench was lim-
ited. It wasn't much of a game, even for a first
one, and there was nothing approaching excite-
ment in it until, near the end of the third ten-
minute period, High School threw a scare into
her opponent by scoring a touchdown when Coch-
ran, at right half, dropped the ball and the High
School left end scooted away with it for sixty-odd
yards and brought joy to the visitors. Acad-
emy's quarter-back ought to have stopped him,
but Tarver made a miserable tackle and the run-
ner wrenched himself loose and went over the
line without further challenge.
High School missed an easy goal and the score
was tied at 6 6, for the Academy had been able
90 LEFT HALF HAEMON
to put over but one touchdown against a weaker
but plucky enemy and Cochran had missed the
goal as badly as the opponent had later. The
Academy rooters woke up from their lethargy
then, and there was some cheering during the
remainder of the period and throughout the last
quarter. It was not until the latter was well
along, however, that Academy pulled the game
out of the fire. Then, working to striking dis-
tance by means of two forward-passes that took
the ball from midfield to High School's thirty-
yard-line, the Gray-and-Gold hammered the op-
posing left side until it gave way and Macon, on
an end-around play, landed the pigskin over the
goal-line. This time, Cochran having given way
to a substitute, Tarver tried for a goal and made
it, and the game ended a few minutes later with
the Academy on the long end of a 13 6 score.
Coach Cade used many substitutes during the
final quarter, and Martin Proctor was one of
them, and Willard was delighted to see his chum
put up a fine game at right guard when Bob went
out. At left half, the position that Willard was
especially interested in, Arnold Lake played to
the end of the third period and then gave place
to Mawson. Both played well and Willard was
more certain than before that if he was to make
THE BOY IN THE GREEN SWEATER 91
the first team this year it would have to be in
some other capacity than that of left half!
When the game was done the Squad A players
who had not participated were lined up against
a Squad B eleven and there followed a short
scrimmage in which Willard played left half for
B and had a lot of fun. Squad A wasn't formid-
able and it was no great stunt to gain outside her
tackles, and once Willard got nicely away and
would have made the only score of the scrimmage
if an obnoxious youth named Hutchins, and bet-
ter known as "Hutch," hadn't pulled him down
on the six yards. From there, in spite of all
her efforts, B couldn't make much gain and the
fourth down found the ball a yard short of the
line. The scrimmage ended with a score and
the empty stand attested the amount of interest
the game provided the onlookers who had re-
mained after the big contest. But Willard had
enjoyed it and won a set of bruised fingers when
one of the enemy had set an ungentle foot
thereon, and he was quite contented the rest of
the evening. But he did a lot of thinking and
consulted Martin on the advisability of trying for
an end position, and showed no gratitude when
he was advised to fatten himself up and try for
center !
92 LEFT HALF HARMON
"You seem to be willing to stick on the bench
all season," he said aggrievedly, "but I don't see
any fun in that. If I "
"How do you mean, stick on the bench!" de-
manded Martin. "I'm not going to stick on any,
bench. Haven't you noticed how pale and wan
Bob is getting to look? He won't last much
longer. I think it's sleeping sickness or some-
thing else slow and certain. He won't acknowl-
edge he's sick, but I can tell! There's a wor-
ried look about his eyes and Gal Grainger says
he sleeps more than he used to."
' ' Oh, shut up ! " said Willard, grinning.
"Fact, though! You look at Bob some time
when he doesn't know he's ah under observa-
tion and you'll see what I mean. Sleeping sick-
ness is very insidious, Brand, but always fatal.
I'm sorry for Bob, of course, but I'm not hypo-
critical about it!"
"Bob will be playing guard and you'll be lug-
ging the water pail when we meet Kenly," re-
torted Willard. "I'm in earnest, though. Why
shouldn't I try for end instead?"
"Because you're a half-back, sonny. Playing
end is something else again, and you'd have to
learn a lot of new tricks, and the season might bo
over before you'd learn 'em."
THE BOY IN THE GREEN SWEATER 93
"Well, I'd be ready for next year," murmured
Willard.
"If that's all you're looking for, stay where
you are. They'll be using half-backs as well as
ends next year, unless the Rules Committee gets
gay again!"
"Well, of course I do want to make the team
this fall," acknowledged the other.
"Naturally. So do I. I wanted to last fall,
too, but a cruel fate willed otherwise."
"Oh, you don't care," scoffed Willard. "You
haven't any any ambition."
"Ambition? Get out! I'm full of ambish!
But I don't propose to be unhappy because I
can't have the whole pie. I like the fun of play-
ing, Brand, and I don't worry much because I
don't always get into the game. After all, I'm
doing my bit, you know. Someone's got to be
second-choice. Besides, think what a comfort it
is to Joe and Bob to know that if they have to
leave the game there I am ready to take their
places and carry on the good work! Don't you
suppose that thought helps 'em to weather many
a many a dark hour?"
"No, I don't," answered Willard disgustedly.
"But I guess it helps them to go on playing
94 LEFT HALF HAKMON
sometimes when they're all in! The idea of let-
ting you in "
" Don't say it!" warned Martin, laying a hand
significantly on a book. "Them's hard words!
Listen, Brand: are we going to the lecture or
aren't we not?"
"What's it all about!"
"The Cliff Dwellers of of Montana, or some
place."
"Arizona!"
"Maybe," replied Martin cautiously. "Any-
way, the fellow's good. He was here last year.
Let's go. I've always wished I'd been born a
cliff-dweller. There's something awfully fasci-
nating in the idea of shinning up a tree-trunk and
climbing through a window when you're ready
for bed! Think what fun there must have been
at a prep school in those days. When the fellow
who lived above you was climbing up all you had
to do was reach out and push the tree-trunk away.
Gee, you miss a lot of innocent amusement by
being born too late!"
Sunday dawned cloudy and dismal, with occa-
sional sprinkles of rain. Breakfast was a half-
hour later, and when that was over there was
nothing much to do but furbish up for church.
But shining one's shoes and brushing one's Sun-
THE BOY IN THE GREEN SWEATEE 95
day suit doesn't consume much time, no matter
how thorough and deliberate one may be, and
after Willard was ready there still remained the
best of an hour. The steam heat had not yet
been turned on and the dormitory was chill and
unsympathetic. He tried to write a letter to
the folks at home, but only got as far as:
"Dear Father and Mother." Martin's usu-
ally placid humor was perceptibly rumpled this
morning, and efforts to engage him in conversa-
tion resulted in grunts and growls. Willard was
heartily glad when it came time to start off for
church, even though he felt uncomfortable in a
derby and detested carrying an umbrella.
Dinner was at one, a heavy repast topped off
with ice cream and cake that left the diner feel-
ing like an anaconda who had just swallowed a
goat. Willard, who had failed to get placed at
Joe's table and was with an unusually uninter-
esting group at the far end of the hall, arose from
the board wishing he had not accepted young
Stanley's offer of his ice cream. Or perhaps it
was the cake that was to blame. In any case, he
felt horribly full and sluggish, and when, at the
door, Bob brightly suggested a nice long tramp
over to Banning to see the new railway bridge
that was under construction he shook his head
96 LEFT HALF HAKMON
and pleaded letters to write. Banning was three
miles away, and Willard wasn't sure he could
even get back to his room before going to sleep !
"Well, if you change your mind, come on over
to the room," said Bob. "We won't be starting
for half an hour, I guess."
Willard said he would, being quite certain that
his mind was incapable of any change. When he
reached Number 16, Martin, too, was disgustingly
active. "Come on, Brand," he cried. "We're
going over to see the new bridge at Banning. Get
an old pair of shoes on."
"I don't want to see any bridges," replied
Willard morosely. "I I saw one once."
"What if you did, you chump! You never saw
this one. Don't be a piker. Look, it's going to
clear up!"
Willard gazed through the window with lack-
luster eyes and shook his head feebly. "I've got
to write home," he murmured, subsiding into a
chair.
"You look more as if you were going to sleep,"
said Martin in disgust. "All right, sonny, see
you later."
Martin went out, slamming the door behind
him and whistling gayly down the corridor. Wil-
lard shook his head again. He had never noticed
THE BOY IN THE GREEN SWEATER 97
before how objectionably noisy Martin was ! Sev-
eral rooms away a graphophone was playing
loudly and boys were singing. Everyone, re-
flected Willard, seemed to be unnaturally ani-
mated today. He guessed they hadn't eaten two
plates of ice cream! After a long time, during
which he stared somnolently at his shoes, he
pulled himself out of the chair with a groan and
reseated himself at the table. Half an hour later
he signed the fourth page of his letter "Your aff*
son, Willard" and folded it quickly lest he yield
to the temptation to read it over. He knew that
if he did that he would never send it !
When it was ready for mailing he walked to
the window and looked out. It really was clear-
ing! Even as he looked, the sun broke through 1
for a moment and shone weakly on the damp field
and the running track beyond. He felt a good
deal Better now and he wished he had gone to
Banning with the others. Well, he hadn't, and
rather than moon around in that chilly room he
would slip on an old suit and take a walk. Pos-
sibly he would meet the crowd coming back later.
He changed from his Sunday attire to an old
pair of knickerbockers, a sweater, golf stockings,
old shoes and a cap and set forth, proceeding first
to the mail box in front of Academy Hall and
98 LEFT HALF HAKMON
getting rid of his letter. Stacey Ross hailed him
from a third-story window of Lykes as he made
his way past toward the athletic field, and he
stopped and exchanged badinage for a moment,
declining Stacey 's invitations, the first of which
was to "Come on up," and the second to "Go to
the dickens!"
He knew that the river lay somewhere to the
west and not more than a mile distant, and he set
out to find it. His way led him across the athletic
field and over the stone wall that bounded it and
so into a meadow that descended gradually to a
winding fringe of woods a quarter of a mile
away. Whether the woods hid the river he didn't
know. It didn't seem likely, however, for he had
a notion that the stream was quite a considerable
one : in fact, it must be if the railroad was build-
ing a large and expensive bridge across it some
two miles further inland!
Before he reached the woods he had thrice been
ankle-deep in water, but it was only marsh water
and the trees, he found, hid only a narrow and
shallow brook. By this time the sun was really
out, although not very brightly, and the woods
and the stream, with its mossy stones and bor-
dering ferns, looked very pretty. He wondered
if there were any trout there, and pursued it for
THE BOY IN THE GREEN SWEATEE 99
some little distance looking for likely holes. When
he had satisfied himself that no respectable trout
would deign to live in such a brook he made his
way across it by jumping from stone to stone,
only once missing, and went on through an alder
growth on the other side. When he emerged he
was at the foot of a second meadow interspersed
with outcropping ledges and clumps of white
birches and maples and wild cherry trees. Afar
at the left, near where the road presumably
wound, was a farm with a white dwelling and a
red barn and many comical haycocks that looked
golden in the sunlight. Ahead of him a stone
wall crossed the summit of the field, pricked out
at intervals with spindling cedars whose somber
foliage stood darkly against the clearing sky. The
September sun, freeing itself from the clouds,
shone warmly in Willard's face as he went on up
the rise. When he reached the wall he saw the
river below him, a broad, curving ribbon of blue.
But it was a good half-mile away yet, and he sat
himself on the wall to rest before going on.
The sun felt pleasant to him and, after he had
sat there a few minutes, he began to lose interest
in a nearer acquaintance with the river. Instead
of going on in that direction, he decided, he would
turn to the left and try to reach the road. Doubk
100 LEFT HALF HAKMON
less Bob and Martin and the others would be re-
turning before very long. Turning his gaze
southward, he became aware of the fact that he
was not alone. Some two hundred yards away a
figure was approaching, a figure which appeared
at first glance to be that of a man wearing a dark
green sweater and advancing up the slope at a
strangely deliberate pace. A second look, how-
ever, showed that the person was a boy of per-
haps eighteen years and that as he walked he held
the end of a forked stick in each hand and was
oblivious to all else. He was a tall and rather
heavy youth with extremely long legs that moved
with machine-like precision and regularity over
the grass. His slightly bent head prevented a
clear sight of his face, but Willard thought he
recognized the boy as one he had glimpsed once
or twice about school. Why he should be pacing
along here a mile from home, however, a Y-
shaped branch in his hand, was a mystery, and
Willard watched curiously as he came nearer and
nearer.
CHAPTER IX
M'NATT ON SCIENCE
THE boy in the green sweater, if left to his own
devices, would have passed Willard some fifteen
feet away, but curiosity got the better of the lat-
ter and when the other was opposite to him he
spoke.
1 'Hello," he said.
The fellow stopped, turned his head and viewed
the boy on the stone wall, quite without surprise,
for a long moment. Then he shifted his gaze to
the forked stick that he still held extended before
him and shook his head slowly.
"I suppose I haven't got the power," he re-
marked thoughtfully.
"What power?" asked Willard.
"Why, the power, or whatever you like to call
it, to make this thing work. Have you ever
tried it?"
"I don't know what you're doing," answered
Willard, getting down from the wall. "What's
the branch for?"
"Haven't you ever seen a water-finder!" Wil-
101
102 LEFT HALF HAEMON
lard shook his head, puzzled. "Well, you take
a piece of witch-hazel or willow some say alder
or ash will do and hold it like this by the top
branches and walk over the ground. When you
come to a place where there's water below, the
lower end there will tilt downwards. I've seen
it done twice."
"Oh, I've heard of that, but I never saw it
tried," answered Willard interestedly. "I sup-
posed it was just nonsense. Did you ever see it
succeed?"
The other nodded soberly. "Both times. Old
Man Hildreth, back home, did it twice one time
for my father, and when we dug where he told us
to we came to water. One time it was a regular
spring that we found and the other time it was
more like a well. I mean we had to dig pretty
far down before we came to the water. Old Man
Hildreth used witch-hazel, and that's what I've
got here. I had to hunt nearly an hour before
I found any."
"Let's see." Willard took the Y-shaped piece
and looked at it curiously. There was, however,
nothing about its appearance to indicate the
power attributed to it by the boy in the green
sweater. Willard shrugged. "I guess you've
got to go where you know there's water," he said.
McNATT ON SCIENCE 103
"It doesn't look to me as if there 'd be much water
on top of this hill."
"You mostly find springs on hillsides," replied
the other mildly, "and that's why I've been look-
ing around here. Maybe I'm too high up now,
though. ' '
Willard seized the branches as he had seen the
other hold them and experimentally walked a few
steps forward. Nothing happened. For that
matter, he hadn't expected anything would
happen.
"You must hold them tight," advised the other,
"so you'll feel the influence."
Willard gripped harder and circled about the
green sweater. Once, possibly because his mus-
cles were so tense, he thought he felt a tremor,
but, when he turned and went back over the spot,
the phenomenon was not repeated. "Look here,"
he asked, "what do you want to find water for,
anyway? There's a whole river just full of it
down there."
"I wanted to see if I could do it," answered
the other.
"Oh!" Willard looked at the witch-hazel wand
in his hands and down the gently sloping meadow.
"Let's go down there and try it," he suggested
finally.
104 LEFT HALF HARMON
"Very well." Side by side, Willard still hold-
ing the water-finder, the two went down the hill.
Willard 's countenance, although he didn't know
it, wore an expression of concentration and ex-
pectancy. At the foot of the hill his companion
seated himself on a rock and Willard began a
systematic exploration of the surrounding ter-
ritory. When ten minutes or so had passed it
dawned on him that he was extremely warm and
that, while there was bound to be water under-
ground, since the river was not far distant and
very little lower, the forked stick had absolutely
failed to register even a tremor of interest! He
joined the youth in the green sweater and handed
the stick to him in disgust.
"That's no good," he said. "Why, I could
find water two feet from here if I had a shovel!
That's just bunk!"
"I suppose you and I haven't the right powers
of divination," replied the other composedly.
"I'll try again some day with a piece of willow."
Willard said "Humph!" as he seated himself
on the rock, and a minute's silence ensued. Then:
"I've seen you at school, haven't I?" Willard
asked.
"I presume so. My name is McNatt, and I'm
in Upton. What is your class!"
McNATT ON SCIENCE 105
"Junior," replied Willard. "This is my first
year. I suppose you are in the senior class."
McNatt nodded. "I've been here four years.
This is my fifth. I was sick my sophomore year
and had to go home twice. Once I was away two
months and another time I was gone five weeks.
That put me behind and I had to take the year
over. I guess I could have made it up, but the
doctor wouldn't allow it. I don't mind at all,
though. I like it here. The only thing is that
the fellows I came along with have gone and I
don't know many now. But then I never was
much for making acquaintances."
Willard viewed him curiously. McNatt was
perhaps nearly nineteen, he thought. His head
was large and his features prominent: a very
beak-like nose extended well over a wide mouth,
his rather pale eyes, which might have been either
green or blue for all Willard could determine,
were deepset under heavy brows and his chin jut-
ted out almost aggressively. But in spite of his
features McNatt did not impress Willard as be-
ing a forceful youth, nor did his expression, voice
or manners suggest it. He had a pleasant, deep
voice and spoke slowly, almost hesitantly, and,
while he didn't smile frequently, his countenance
Bespoke good humor. He had very dark-browii
1CF6 LEFT HALF HAKMON
hair, and there was a good deal of it, and it was
perceptibly wavy under the rim of his straw hat.
The straw hat, like the rest of his attire, had seen
better days. In fact, McNatt's trousers, of blue
serge that had changed to plum-color on the
knees, would not have greatly interested an old
clothes man ! The garment that clothed the upper
part of his body was equally disreputable, a dark-
green coat-sweater with many darns and one
pocket that was trying hard to get away. The
shoes alone appeared to be of recent origin, but
as they were caked with mud along the soles the
fact would have escaped casual observation.
"What made you think of this stunt?" asked
Willard, nodding at the witch-hazel stick.
McNatt's countenance expressed faint surprise.
"Why, I've always been very interested in scien-
tific matters," he replied gravely.
"Oh," said Willard, "do you call that science?"
"I'm not sure," answered the other slowly.
"The diving-rod, as it is sometimes called, has
been in use a great many years both for the dis;
<jovery of water and metals. Taking science in
its broader sense of truth ascertained and sys-
tematized, almost anything not capable of classi-
fication as an art may well be termed a science.
While the affinity existing between the diving-rod
McNATT ON SCIENCE 107
and water or metals underground may be viewed
as a phenomenon, yet when we make use of that
affinity to produce systematic results we enter the
realm of science."
Willard blinked. "I I suppose so," he agreed
vaguely. "Can you find gold that way, too!"
"It has been done, I think," said McNatt. "I
haven't been able to find much data on that sub-
ject, though."
Willard looked more respectfully at the witch-
hazel switch. "I guess it wouldn't be much use
looking for gold around here, though," he said.
g 'How would you know whether you had found
gold or water if the thing dipped?"
McNatt considered in silence a moment. Then
he shook his head. "I can't say," he replied.
"Perhaps you couldn't tell. Though, as gold is
generally located away from water you would
hardly expect that the diving-rod was indicating
anything but gold."
"Isn't gold sometimes found in the beds of
rivers and streams?" asked Willard. "Seems to
me your diving-rod would get sort of mixed,
woulc^i't it? And how about silver? Can you
find silver that way, too?"
McNatt looked almost distressed. "As a mat-
ter of fact," he said, "I haven't devoted any.
108 LEFT HALF HARMON
study to the use of the diving-rod in the location
of metals. Your questions open up an interest-
ing field, though, and some time I'll go into the
subject thoroughly. And still, as I haven't yet
demonstrated the ah power of the instrument
in the finding of water, possibly it would be idle
to extend the experiments. There's one possible
explanation of failure that just occurs to me. Old
Man Hildreth said he used a hazel stick. He
didn't say whether it was the hazel of the nut
tribe"
"I think it must have been," said Willard em-
phatically.
"Or the witch-hazel. The ordinary hazel is a
member of the oak family, but does the witch--
hazel belong to the same family? There are cer-
tain similarities between the two, and yet they
may not be botanically related." McNatt pre-
sented a puzzled countenance to Willard. "What
would be your opinion?"
"Search me," said Willard cheerfully. "I
thought a hazel was a hazel."
"I'm afraid not. That may account for my;
lack of success. You see, I jumped to the conclu--
sion that the witch-hazel was the proper one,
probably because the word 'witch' suggested ah
divination. So I may have been wrong." Me-
McNATT ON SCIENCE 109
Natt's face cleared and he looked quite cheerful
again. "I'll have to try again. Only " He
paused and pursed his lips dubiously. "Do you
happen to know if the hazel grows about
here?"
"Haven't the slightest idea," said Willard.
"Nor I. I'll have to look that up when I get
back. It's strange that the encyclopedias give so
little information on the subject of the diving-rod
I wonder " McNatt fell silent, and after a mniv
ute Willard arose.
"Well, I guess I'll be getting back," he an-
nounced. It was, he concluded, too late to meet
.Martin and the others now.
"Back?" repeated McNatt, coming out of his
trance. "Yes, that's so. It must be " He
searched under the edge of his sweater for some-
thing evidently not there. "Have you a watch?
I seem to have forgotten mine."
"Twenty to five," said Willard.
"Then we'd better start." McNatt gazed
thoughtfully, almost sorrowfully at his witch-
hazel stick and laid it gently on the rock. "I may
try that again some time, but I rather think I was
mistaken; I rather think it should have been the
corylus americana."
, "Something nutty sounds more likely," said
110 LEFT HALF HAKMON
Willard gravely. To his surprise, the otheB
chuckled.
"That hadn't occurred to me," he replied*
"You see, some of the fellows call me McNutt*
By the way, what's your name?"
Willard told him and McNatt nodded. "Har-
mon: the name's familiar. I remember now.
There is a fellow of that name who plays
football. Quite a remarkable full-back, I
think."
"Gordon Harmon? Did you know him!"
"I read about him. He played on one of the
high school teams in New York City, I believe,
Is he a relation of yours ? ' '
"Brother."
"Keally?" McNatt turned and viewed Willard
with real interest. "Well! Think of that! I
dare say you're sort of proud of him."
"I suppose so," replied Willard doubtfully.
"I don't think I ever thought whether I am or
not," he added, laughing.
"You should be if what they say of him is
true," said McNatt earnestly. "I followed his
work last season with much interest. A natural^
born full-back, I'd call him. By the way, do you
play, too?"
"A little, I'm out for the team"
McNATT ON SCIENCE 111
"Full-back? But no, you'd be too light. End,
maybe!"
"Half," said Willard. "I've played there
some."
"Hm." McNatt looked him over critically.
"Yes, you might do well there. You look fast.
Ten pounds more wouldn't hurt you, though."
"You talk like a football chap yourself," said
[Willard. "Do you play?"
McNatt shook his head. "I used to, but I got
* ah out of sympathy with it. You see, Har-
mon, football is capable of being reduced to an
exact science, but played in the haphazard man-
ner that they play it here it lacks interest. I
haven't played recently."
"Well, I don't see how you can reduce it to any
exact science," Willard objected. "Of course, if
you knew beforehand what the other fellow was
going to do "
"You miss my meaning," interrupted the
older boy. "See here, Harmon. You start with
a playing space so many yards in length and so
many yards in width. You oppose a team of
eleven players with a team of a like number. You
may do a certain number of things legitimately.
Each situation developed in the course of a foot-
ball game calls for a certain move. But that's
112 LEFT HALF HAEMON
what coaches and quarter-backs don't realize.
They think that a situation is unprecedented and,
instead of making the move that is called for,
they confusedly try something they shouldn't, 3k
play never intended for the situation."
"But how the dickens are you going to know
what play the situation does call for?" demanded
Willard. "The situations make themselves, and
they're all different!"
"Not at all. There are only a certain number
of situations that can eventuate and they are
quite capable of tabulation. For the purpose of
argument, suppose we set the number at three
hundred. Very well, there are consequently three
hundred correct moves. Suppose it is A's ball
on B's twenty-yard-line on third down with five
to go, B has demonstrated that gains between her
tackles are practically impossible. A is weak at
kicking field-goals, but has proved capable of
gaining on runs outside B's right tackle. B has
a good defense against forward-passes and has
defeated A's attempts to gain that way. Now,
then, what is A's correct play?"
"Why, a skin-tackle play, of course, at the weak
end," replied Willard. "At least, theoretically.
But suppose the back who carries the ball slips 05
turns in too soon or "
McNATT ON SCIENCE 113
"No science, no matter how exact, is proof
against the fallibility of those engaged in its dem-
onstration," said McNatt gravely. ''The point'
I am trying to prove is that here is a situation
that is neither unprecedented nor novel and that,,
capable of being recognized, has its proper solu-;
tion which may be scientifically applied."
"Maybe," said Willard, "but, gee, how many,
situations would there be to recognize? About a
thousand, I'd say!"
"Many less, I think. I've never attempted to
tabulate them, but it would not be a difficult task*
Science has performed far more difficult feats."
"I dare say, but but look here, McNatt, if
each team played football like that, I mean if eacK
team had the right answer to every situation that
might happen, why, gee, neither one would win!"
"You're wrong, Harmon. You're forgetting
the element of human fallibility. Put two chess
players at the board, give them each a similar
knowledge of the game, and what happens? Do
they play to a tie? Very seldom. One wins and
the other loses. So it would be in football with
each team applying science. One team would ex-
cel because she applied it more exactly, perhaps
more instantly."
Willard shook his heed. "It sounds crazy tfli
114 LEFT HALF HAEMON
me," he said. ''And I don't think I'd want to
play if everything was cut-and-dried like that.
Hang it, McNatt, it's accident and chance that
makes the game interesting."
"I don't agree with you. I think those things
retard the development of it, Harmon. As it is
now, individual skill rules. Why, look here. Sup-
pose armies fought that way. Suppose a field
general said to his subordinates: 'I don't know
how to meet this situation. You fellows see what
you can do. Maybe we can push back his left
wing or maybe we can punch a hole in his center,
do something, but don't bother me!' "
Willard laughed. "That's not a fair compar-
ison, though, McNatt," he answered. "At least,
in football, the coach or the quarter-back has a
plan and carries it out, even if it isn't the right
one ! ' '
"A wrong plan is no better than no plan. Hap-
hazard football is just as silly as haphazard war
would be, Harmon. Fellows who teach football
talk about the science of it, but they don't study
it. Their science begins and ends with finding
out the other fellow's weak spot and attacking it."
"Sounds like pretty good science to me," said
[Willard.
"It is good as far as it goes, but it's only the
McNATT ON SCIENCE 115
t
beginning. Well, here's my way. I'm glad to
have met you, Harmon. I'd be glad to continue
the subject sometime if you care to visit me. I'm
in Number 49. I've got some things that might
interest you, too ; rather a good collection of min-
erals gathered around here, for one thing : nearly
two hundred specimens."
" Thanks, I'll look you up some time," said
Willard, "but I guess I've had enough of that
argument. It's too deep for me, McNatt! So
long. ' '
Willard turned toward Haylow and, when he
had gone a little way, looked back. McNatt had
stopped near Lawrence Hall and was staring up
into the sky. All Willard could see there was a
streaky white cloud. He shook his head as he
went on again. " 'McNutt' is right, I guess,"
he muttered.
CHAPTER X
ALTON SQUEEZES THROUGH
INSTEAD of going on to Haylow, Willard entered
Lykes and knocked at the door of Number 2. As
he had suspected, Martin was there. So were
Bob and Joe and Don Harris, Joe's roommate.
Don was only seventeen, although his size made
him look older, and, like Joe, was a senior. His
full name was Donald, but no one ever called him
that. He played first base on the school nine and
played it well.
Willard had to hear about the expedition to
the new railway bridge and how Stacey and Bob
had walked out to the end of the highest girder
and then had had to sit down before they -dared
turn around!
" That's all right," Don expostulated in
reply to the laughter. "That girder was only a
foot wide when I started out on it and by the time
I was at the end it had shrunk to about half an
inch! And when I looked down the river was so
far away I could just see it ! Gosh, I thought for
116
ALTON SQUEEZES THROUGH 117
i
a minute I'd have to stay there until they'd fin-
ished the bridge so I could keep on across it!"
"I wanted to come back on my hands and
knees," confessed Bob, "and I'd have done it if
I'd been alone! No more circus stunts for little
Robert!"
"What were you doing all the afternoon?"
asked Martin presently of Willard, and Willard
told of his meeting with McNatt. The incident of
the diving-rod amused them all hugely.
"That's McNutt all over," laughed Joe. "A
couple of years ago someone found him over on
that hill beyond Badger's farm digging a hole,
lie said he was looking for fossil remains. Said
the hill looked to him like a glacial glacial whafe
voucall it "
"Moraine," supplied Bob.
"Yes, moraine. He dug a place big enough for
a cellar, I heard, but he never found anything but
rocks. He's a wonder, is Felix McNatt!"
"Is his name really Felix t" asked Martin.
"Sure! And he's got a middle name that's
worse, only I've forgotten it."
"Felix Adelbert," said Don: "Felix Adelbert
McNutt I mean McNatt!"
" McNutt 's better," laughed Bob. "It suits
him perfectly. Remember the time last spring,
118 LEFT HALF HARMON
wasn't it? when he was raising toads and one o
them got into bed with the chap who rooms with
him"
" Rooms with the toad?" asked Martin incred-
ulously.
"No, with McNutt, you jay! What's his name,
! Joe?"
11 McNutt 's?" asked Joe, with a wink at Martin.
"Oh, you make me tired! Fuller, that's the
chap! Fuller crawled into bed one night and
found a toad there ahead of him and told the hall
master the next day. He said he didn't mind hav-
ing toads hopping around the room, but that hav-
ing to share his bed with them was almost too
much. And faculty agreed with him and McNutt
had to get rid of his toads."
"What the dickens did he want with the things,
anyway?" asked Don in disgust. "I wouldn't
touch one for anything!"
"Oh, toads are all right," answered Joe.
"Quite harmless and friendly. McNutt was rais-
ing them, it seemed. He'd read somewhere that
an able-bodied toad would eat seven million, three
hundred and eighty thousand, nine hundred and
thirty- three bugs a year. I'm not absolutely cer-
tain of the exact number, but it was something
like that. Anyway, McNutt figured that if he
ALTON SQUEEZES THROUGH 119
i
could raise a few hundred toads he could sell them
to farmers and get rich. He said he was trying
to develop an improved strain of toads that would
be particularly er insectivorous: I believe
that's the word."
"In justice to the gentleman," said Bob, "it
should be stated that it was the the scientific
interest of the thing rather than the pecuniary
reward that attracted him. Science is McNutt's
long suit!"
"I think Fuller, or whatever his name is, was
most unreasonable," laughed Don. "Why, the
world might be rid of insects by this time if he
hadn't been so cranky! Do toads eat mosquitoes,
Joe?"
"I guess so. I know they eat flies, anyway. I
saw one do it once. He stopped about a yard
away and the fly didn't even know he was about.
Then zip out went Mr. Toad's tongue, like you
uncoiled the mainspring of a watch, and the fly
was gone!"
'Flew away, probably," suggested Martin.
"He did not, son! He was in Mr. Toad's
tummy."
"You say the toad was a yard distant from the
fly when the when the shot was fired?" asked
Don.
120 LEFT HALF HARMON
"Well, maybe a couple of feet," Joe oompro.
mised. "It was a long way."
"Take off another eighteen inches," begged
Bob earnestly. "I want to believe you, Joseph
but two feet " He shook his head sadly.
"Go to the dickens! It was two feet if it was
an inch. Anyone will tell you that a toad's tongue
is remarkably long."
"Nobody has to tell me, after that yarn," re*
plied Bob gravely. "All I'm wondering now is
where the toad keeps his tongue when he's not
using it!"
"I told you he coils it up," laughed Joe, "like
a watch spring."
"It's a mighty good thing toads can't talk,"
observed Willard. "With a tongue like that,
they'd never stop ! McNatt asked me to come and
see him. He said he had a fine collection of min-
erals in his room."
"Minerals? Boy, he's got enough rocks there
to build a house ! And bird nests and butterflies
and beetles and and things in jars that make you
shudder to look at 'em!" Joe shuddered merely
at the memory. "He's always trying to hatch
out moths and things in cigar boxes. Once he had
some silk-worms, I remember. Mr. Screven got
him to bring them to class one day. Funny
ALTON SQUEEZES THROUGH 121
things, they were. They didn't live very long, be-
cause McNutt couldn't get the right sort of leaves
for them to eat. They should have had mulberry
leaves, I think, and he thought some other sort
ought to do just as well, and the worms got mad
and went on a hunger strike! Fuller told me
once that the room is so full of rubbish that he
can't turn around. Said he was forever finding
a family of white mice or striped lizards tucked
away in one of his bureau drawers and that he
always had to look before he sat down for fear
of sitting on something he shouldn't!"
When the laughter had subsided Willard told
of McNatt's theory regarding scientific football.
He found that, as he told it, it didn't sound as
plausible as it had when McNatt explained it, but
it certainly aroused amusement. Joe drew a pic-
ture of Gil Tarver pulling out a memorandum
book and looking- up the right play. "Because,
you see, not even Gil could ever remember two
hundred was it two hundred, Brand? three
hundred plays. Probably they'd make a rule that
a quarter-back must find his plays unassisted and
must not consume more than three minutes look-
ing them up ! Gil would have a pocket built on
his jacket to keep the book in, I suppose."
"Gosh, suppose it dropped out!" exclaimed
122 LEFT HALF HARMON
Don. "Would he be allowed time-out to look
for it!"
" Probably a center would be picked for his
light-finger ability," suggested Bob. "It would
be part of his stunt to reach through or around
the opposing center and steal the quarter-back's
memorandum book, thus placing the enemy hors
de combat!"
"Come on, Brand," begged Martin. "This is
getting wild."
"Did McNatt ever play football?" asked Don,
"I think so," Joe answered. "Yes, I know he
did. He was out for the team the first year I was
here. You remember him, Bob?"
Bob shook his head. "No, but I've heard that
he did play."
"Yes, and I think he played the year before
that. Something happened to him, though, my
freshman year. I guess he had an accident or
got sick. I know he wasn't around long. Seems
to me he was trying for half-back. He 's not a bad
old scout, Felix Adelbert. Only trouble is, I
guess, his brains are sort of scrambled."
"Addled, maybe," suggested Martin. "Addle-
bert MeNutt. Come on, Brand, I'm getting it
too!"
"I think I'll accept his invitation some day,"
ALTON SQUEEZES THROUGH 123
laid Willard, as they crossed to Haylow. "I'd
Uke to see that room of his!"
The occasion didn't present itself that week,
however, for Willard found that life on the foot-
ball gridiron had suddenly become both real and
earnest. Although Coach Cade had four good
half-backs at his command, Willard was not over-
looked. But Friday he was on an equal footing
with Mawson and Moncks, to all appearances, and
was certainly in line for first substitute. He
didn't want anything serious or painful to hap-
pen to either of those excellent chaps, but he
couldn't help reflecting sometimes that if one or
the other was to develop something mild, like
whooping cough or German measles, he could bear
it with equanimity! Failing the likelihood of
anything of the kind happening, however, he set
himself earnestly to outdo those rivals in prac-
tice. After all, while Mawson was rather a better
punter and Moncks was shiftier in a broken field,
neither was unbeatable, and Willard kept that
fact resolutely in mind and worked hard.
Banning High School came on Saturday and
put up a very pretty game against the Gray-and-
Gold. In fact, Banning sprang several surprises
on the home team, and for a time, during the first
of the contest, it looked as though Alton was in
124 LEFT HALF HARMON
for a defeat. Banning was light but fast, and in-
stead of relying on a forward-passing game as
she was expected to rely, she met Alton's own
tactics and, from a close, three-abreast forma-
tion, shot her backs through the opposing line
with discouraging ease. Any place outside guards
pleased her, and Alton saw her tackles and ends
completely outplayed during the first two periods.
Banning 's speed was the secret of her success,
and the Gray-and-Gold, heavier and slower, sel-
dom stopped the plays until they were well
through her line.
Banning scored first when, near the end of the
second quarter, she recovered a short kick on
Alton's forty-six and plunged and knifed her way
down to the thirty-one. Fast, snappy playing
took the ball there in just seven downs. Mr. Cade
ran in a substitute left end and a substitute left
tackle then, and Banning slowed up. But she
reached the twenty-five-yard line before she was
halted. There, it being fourth down, with four
to go, she made elaborate preparations for a
placement kick. Naturally enough, while guard-
ing against a fake, Alton expected a kick, and
team and spectators were alike surprised when,
the ball having flown back to quarter and the
kicker having swung his long leg, there followed
ALTON SQUEEZES THROUGH 125
a long side-pass from the quarter to an end, just
as Alton charged ! It looked to those on the side-
lines as if the pigskin went between the legs of
the Alton end and tackle as they swept around,
but probably it didn't. In any event, the wait-
ing Banning end caught it neatly and had covered
ten yards of the intervening thirty before he was
challenged. He shot around the Alton left half
and was only brought down when Gil Tarver
tackled on the eight yards.
The line-up was squarely on the five, and al-
though the Gray-and-Gold fought desperately
there, it took the enemy just three plays to put
the ball over. A plunge at the center, with the
whole Banning backfield behind the quarter, who
carried, yielded most of two yards. Then the
full-back ripped around left tackle for as much
more, and, on third down, with the other backs
running to the right, that troublesome Banning
quarter shot through between guard and tackle
on the left and put the pigskin just over the last
white streak!
The half ended with the score 6 in the vis-
itor's favor, and the home team came in for a
"panning" from the stands that, deserved or not,
was decidedly enthusiastic. However, the team
was not suffering for lack of criticism just then,
126 LEFT HALF HARMON
even if it couldn't hear what the spectators were
saying. Coach Cade, although mild-mannered,
had a fair command of language and could use it
when needs be, and the players listened to some
home truths during the half-time.
When the team came back to the field it was
noted that Moncks had replaced Cochran at right
half, Hutchins had taken Tarver's place at quar-
ter and a third-string fellow was playing left
tackle. Perhaps, though, it was the talk they had
listened to rather than the change in the line-up
that produced results, for certainly " Hutch"
played no better game behind center than Gil had,
and the new tackle was far too green to be of
much use. That as may be, Alton showed speed
from the start and Banning 's backs were stopped
at the line instead of beyond it. Also, the Gray-
and-Gold took the offensive when the third quar-
ter was a few minutes along and kept it through-
out the rest of the game, with the result that the
score was tied in the third period, when Moncks
got away for a thirty-yard run and a touchdown,
and untied at the beginning of the last quarter,
when Alton hammered her way from well within
her own territory to Banning 's eight yards and
then tossed the ball over to Macon between the
goal posts. Oddly enough, when Lake kicked an
ALTON SQUEEZES THROUGH 127
easy goal after the second touchdown, the score
became 13 6, which was the score of last week's
contest, and 136 it remained. Martin said he
guessed thirteen-six was a habit, but when Mt.
Millard School got through with Alton, seven
days later, he changed his mind!
CHAPTER XI
THE FIRST DEFEAT
October was a week old Willard had be-
come as much a part and parcel of Alton Academy
as if he had spent a year there instead of a scant
three weeks. For a time he had wondered whether
he had made a mistake in substituting it for Kenly
Hall, but as he became more and more at home
that speculation ceased to trouble him. Even if
he had made a mistake, and had known it, the
bewildered letter he had received from his mother
would have reconciled him to the fact. That let-
ter had amused him for days. For the joke of it,
he had carefully abstained from explanations and
had merely written: "Here I am at Alton Acad-
emy, everything unpacked and quite settled. I
think I am going to like it immensely." Of
course there had been much more, but he had
described the school in such a matter-of-fact way
that his mother and father, on reading the letter,
had almost doubted their memories.
"Your father," wrote Mrs. Harmon, "says
that we may have misunderstood, but I am very,
128
THE FIRST DEFEAT 129
very certain you meant to go to Kenly School.
You talked about it so frequently that I'm sure
I couldn't be mistaken. Kenly School is at Lake-
ville, for I've looked it up in a magazine, and
your letter was posted at Alton, and your father
says the two places are fully ten miles apart. I
do hope everything is all right, but I simply can't
understand why you didn't explain more fully in
your letter. Do let me hear from you right away,
dear, and tell me just what happened."
Of course Willard had answered the appeal
promptly and explained fully, emphasizing the
real or imaginary advantages of Alton over
Kenly, and had received a second letter from home
that was not nearly so sympathetic as it might
have been. It was his father who wrote this time,
and Mr. Harmon dwelt, at what "Willard thought
was undue length, on the latter 's Lamentable Lack
of Serious Purpose, pointing out that attaining
an education was not a pursuit to be governed by
levity. That epistle had the effect of making
Willard rather more devoted to his studies for
awhile at least and so was not written in vain.
His studies, though, promised to cause him
scant worry, for he had come well prepared for
the Alton junior year. Greek, which he had
elected to make up the required number of hours,
130 LEFT HALF HAEMON
was new to him and so presented some difficulties,
"but lie was consoled with the knowledge that by
taking the course this year he could, if he wished,
'drop it the last half of his senior year. Martin,
who had left Greek severely alone, his motto
being "Don't Look for Trouble," told Willard
that he was a chump and dwelt at length on the
merits of Science 4 as a * ' snap course. ' ' To which
^Willard virtuously replied that he was attending
the Academy to acquire an education and not to
spend his time in slothfulness. Whereupon Mar-
tin upset him onto the bed, placed a pillow over
his head and sat on it.
About this time Martin was making Bob New-
hall's life a burden to him by solicitous inquiries
regarding his health. Martin had a way of ob-
serving Bob anxiously and attempting to feel his
pulse that the latter found very trying. Of course
Bob could refuse to have his heart action inves-
tigated, and could and did decline to put out
Ms tongue for Martin to inspect, but he couldn't
prevent Martin from eyeing him narrowly on all
occasions and shaking his head sorrowfully over
what he pretended to believe were the ravages of
'disease. "I don't like those deep circles under
your eyes, Bob," Martin would say gravely.
"Sleep pretty well, do you?"
THE FIRST DEFEAT 131
"About nine hours, thanks," Bob would reply
shortly.
"I was afraid of that! That's one of the un-
mistakable symptoms. Feel tired in the morn-
ing? Sort of worried and oppressed without
knowing why?"
"Not until I run across you ! And then I know
why blamed well!"
"Irritable, too! Dear, dear! Bob, why don't
you drop in at the doctor's some day and just let
him look you over? Of course there may be noth-
ing serious, nothing that can't be remedied if
taken in time, but I'd feel a lot easier about you
if you saw someone, honest I would!"
"You'll feel easier if I hand you a wallop,"
growled Bob. ' ' Say, if you played guard half as
hard as you work that silly tongue of yours you
might amount to something!"
Martin spent a whole hour in the library one
morning and emerged with a fine fund of infor-
mation regarding the sleeping sickness and the
ravages of the tse-tse fly, and after that he be-
came doubly obnoxious to Bob. Martin may or
may not have been correct in connecting the bite
of the tse-tse with the sleeping sickness, but the
way in which he drove the flies away from Bob's
vicinity proved that he meant to take no chances.
132 LEFT HALF HAKMON
Strangely, the object of his solicitous care re-
sented this manifestation of it more than any
other, and Martin had only to fix a piercing gaze
on the tip of Bob's nose and begin a cautious
approach with uplifted hand to throw Bob into
a paroxysm of lamentable anger. Martin, re-
pulsed, would explain in hurt tones that never
having seen the tse-tse fly he couldn't be supposed
to know it from the common or house-fly, and that
he consequently was using only excusable caution.
Naturally enough, Willard and Joe enjoyed the
nonsense and egged Martin on, but when the latter
began flooding Bob's mail with patent medicine
circulars and stories of miraculous cures clipped
from the newspapers, Bob's patience became ex-
hausted and he vowed revenge.
"I'm going to get good and even with you,
Mart," he declared one afternoon when Martin
had drawn his attention to an advertisement ex-
tolling the merits of a net to be worn over the
head to the utter confusion of mosquitoes and
flies. "When I get through with you, my humor-
ous young friend, you won't know there's such a
word as 'fly' in the English language. And you'll
be good and sick yourself, believe me!"
Martin, however, professed to believe the
threat only the empty ravings of a mind affected
THE FIRST DEFEAT 133
by disease, and was quite interested by what he
declared was an unusual manifestation of the
malady. But Bob looked unusually grim and ex-
hibited such unaccustomed patience that Martin
confided to Willard later that he "guessed he had
got old Bob's goat at last."
"You'd better watch out that he doesn't get
yours," laughed Willard. "I believe he means
to try it."
"It's the last stage before the final break-
down," replied Martin gravely. "He won't last
much longer, I'm afraid!"
That pessimistic prophecy was made on Friday
night, and the next afternoon Alton traveled to
Warren and played Mt. Millard School. Some
eighty or ninety fellows accompanied the team
and were present at the Waterloo. Willard
watched the game from the bench, dressed for
play, and saw his chance of getting into it dwindle
into nothingness as Mt. Millard piled up her
score. It is the historian's privilege to avoid such
events as he may consider unworthy of inclusion
in his narrative, and the present historian gladly
avails himself of that privilege. Suffice it to say
that Mt. Millard out-rushed, out-punted and out-
generaled Alton and won a lopsided contest by a
score of 19 0. Joe Myers summed it all up on
134 LEFT HALF HARMON
the way home when he said briefly: "Funeral
from the late residence. No flowers."
Later that game was looked on as extremely
good medicine, for it proved one or two things
most conclusively; as, for instance, that a back-
field wanting the services of a good plunging full-
back was a far from complete institution, and
that the forward line of a football team, like a
chain, was as strong as its weakest unit, and no
stronger. At full-back in that Mt. Millard game,
Steve Brown had proved himself a failure. Nor
had Linthicum, who had taken his place at the be-
ginning of the third period, done any better. The
following week saw the search for a likely suc-
cessor to Browne take on new ardor. The sub-
stitute bench was combed carefully without sat-
isfactory results and Greenwood was brought over
from the second team and given a try-out. Green-
wood did his level best to please, but that he
failed was apparent from the fact that he was
back on the second three days later. Of course
Coach Cade tried the old game of switching, but
Bob Newhall, Leroy, who played left tackle none
too well, Lake and Mawson all fell down. Even
Martin was considered and passed over, and on
Thursday the full-back problem was no nearer a
solution than at any time that fall.
THE FIRST DEFEAT 13S
The left end of the line was causing trouble,
too. Leroy, at tackle, appeared to be miscast
badly, and Sanford, at end, was no match for his
opponents at any time. Putney and Rhame, the
most promising tackle and end substitutes, were
far from satisfactory. That week was a week of
experiments and confusion, and Coach Cade had
a worried look quite foreign to his countenance.
Three days of wretched weather added to the dif-
ficulties, for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
were each cold and rainy, and by the last day the
gridiron was not much better than a bog. Under
these circumstances the team would scarcely be
expected to make much progress, nor did it. Joe
Myers was extremely peevish most of the week
and Don Harris, visiting Number 16 Haylow one
evening, remarked feelingly that he would be
mighty glad when football was over for the
season.
It was the miserable weather on Thursday that
sent Willard over to Upton Hall. There had
been an hour of indoor practice in the gymna-
sium, but the slippery ground and relentless
downpour of rain had prohibited any use of the
field, and at half -past four Willard found himself
at a loose end. Martin had gone up to one of the
society rooms in Academy Hall to play pool, and,
136 LEFT HALF HARMON
although he had asked Willard to go with him,
the latter, not being a member, had thought it
best to decline. On the porch of the gymnasium
he watched the swishing rain and the inundated
paths and wondered what to do with himself.
The answer came when his disconsolate gaze,
roaming the cheerless world, lighted on Upton
Hall. Recollection of Felix McNatt and his invi-
tation came to him and, turning up his collar, he
plunged into the deluge. He didn't remember the
number of McNatt 's room, but he could find it,
he supposed. On the second floor, he knocked on
a nearby door and obtained the information from
a surprised occupant. Number 49 proved to be
on the third floor, and Willard 's knock elicited a
muffled "Come in!" As the door was locked,
however, Willard did not immediately accept the
invitation. "Wait a moment, please," came Mc-
Natt 's voice from within. Then a chair was over-
turned, footsteps approached and the door was
thrown open.
' l Oh, hello ! ' ' greeted McNatt cordially. * ' Come
in. Sorry to keep you waiting, but this thing's
out of order somewhere." He leaned down to
examine a bolt on the door frame, and then fol-
lowed with his eyes a wire that proceeded from
the bolt to the ceiling and across the latter,
THE FIKST DEFEAT 137
through a number of screw-eyes, to a point above
the study table in the middle of the room. From
there it descended to within convenient reach of a
person seated at the table, terminating in a
wooden knob. Willard viewed it with amused
interest.
"Quite a scheme," he said. "Your invention,
McNatt!"
"Yes, it saves time, you see. Trouble is,
though, it will get out of order. Ought to have
small wheels for it to run on instead of those
eyes. Let's see now." He pulled the knob down
and the bolt slipped obediently from its socket
with a business-like click. McNatt shrugged ex-
pressively. "All right now, you see. It binds
somewhere, I guess. Sit down, Harmon." He
indicated a Morris chair in need of repair and
Willard seated himself and looked around. The
rooms in Upton were slightly larger, it seemed,
than those in the newer dormitories, and Willard
considered it a most fortunate circumstance, since
a smaller room would never have accommodated
all the articles that met his gaze. Besides the
ordinary furnishings, there were two bookcases,
a set of book shelves that hung on a wall and sev-
eral boxes up-ended to serve as auxiliary tables.
McNatt was telling Willard of his failure to find
138 LEFT HALF HAEMON
information regarding the use of the diving-rod
in the location of metals and saying some bitter
things about the reference department of the
Academy library, but Willard was too much inter-
ested in the room to pay much heed.
The place looked like a compromise between a
museum and a laboratory. Stuffed birds and
small animals peered down with glassy eyes from
all sides, a badly mounted pickerel on a board
presented a hungry mouth, a snake skin depended
from the corner of a framed picture that showed,
in colors, what was probably a quiet Sunday after-!
noon in the Garden of Eden. It was an engaging
picture, and Willard studied it curiously before^
his gaze went past. All the animals of which he
had ever heard were depicted in it, and all were
grouped about in peace and friendliness, even the
lions in the foreground smiling on the beholder
with truly benevolent countenances.
Methods of saving time or labor were apparent
on every hand in the shape of mechanical appli-
ances. A complicated arrangement of cords al-
lowed of the lowering or raising of the window,
shades without approaching the windows; al-
though Willard could not see that it was any far-
ther from the table to the windows than it was to
the side of the room where the cords hung.! Q*
THE FIRST DEFEAT 139
the chair in which he sat a home-made book-
holder was attached to one arm, while, by reach-
ing underneath, one could pull forth an extension
that accommodated one's legs and feet, though
probably not very comfortably. Later he discov-
,ered that a switch attached to the wall beside the
head of McNatt's bed in the alcove allowed that
ingenious youth to put on or off the electric light
without arising.
The bookcases held all sorts of things except
books, although there were plenty of the latter
distributed about in such unusual places as the
window-seat and the tops of the two chiffoniers.
Indeed, a set of encyclopedias of ancient vintage
found lodgment along the baseboard on the floor.
,The bookcases had been consecrated to Science,
it appeared, for in the nearer one dozens and
dozens of birds' eggs peered forth from cotton-
batting nests and in the other McNatt's collec-
tion of minerals was installed. The study table
overflowed with a motley debris of books, papers,
a microscope, pieces of wire, bits of wood, a blow-
pipe, a specimen- jar half filled with a dark-brown
liquid that from its appearance and odor was
plainly " working," a mouse-trap empty, as
"Willard was relieved to discover and so many
other thiBgs that it would be useless to attempt
140 LEFT HALF HARMON
an enumeration of them. Willard was still
looking about when McNatt interrupted his in-
spection.
4 'Would you like to see my minerals!" he
asked.
Willard politely replied that he would and Mc-
Natt opened the doors of the case and thereupon
held forth for some ten minutes, during which
time Willard pretended interest in various speci-
mens and said " Really?", "Is that so?" and
"Indeed!" dozens of times. When it came to the
birds' eggs he had the courage to say that he
wasn't very much interested, and McNatt passed
them by. "I'm thinking of getting rid of them,"
he announced. "I need the space for other
things. If you hear of anyone who'd like a nice
collection I wish you'd let me know." Willard
agreed and was shown some choice things in co-
coons, an extensive collection of butterflies and
moths which occupied the two lower drawers of
McNatt 's chiffonier, several specimens of tree-
fungus, a cigar-box full of shells gathered along
the river, a pair of chameleons in a shoe-box, a
number of small phials filled with liquids of vari-
ous hues which McNatt assured him were vege-
table dyes, another phial of whitish powder that
its exhibitor called kaolin, and numerous other
THE FIRST DEFEAT 141
wonders. McNatt was quite impressive about the
kaolin.
1 'I guess I'm the only one who knows about it,*'
he said, lowering his voice and looking guardedly
toward the door. "It's immensely valuable, you
know."
"Is it?" asked Willard.
"Oh, yes. It's what they make porcelain from.
China clay they call it sometimes. There's a big
deposit of it where I found this, and maybe some
day I'll buy the land and develop it. Meanwhile,
of course, I'm keeping very quiet about it."
"Of course," murmured Willard.
"And here's another thing," continued Mc-
Natt. "Take these vegetable dyes. There isn't
one of those you couldn't make just as well as
I did, Harmon!"
"You don't say?"
"Yes, sir! And every one is matle of some-
thing that grows right beside your door, as you
might say. Now take this." He shook a phial
until the sediment at the bottom turned the liquid
to a muddy purple as seen against the light.
"Nothing but poke-berry! I don't mind letting
you in on that because lots of people know about
getting color from poke-berry. But here's one,
by ginger* you won't often see!" He held up a
142 LEFT HALF H ARMOft
second bottle and Willard gazed on a quite gor-j
geous crimson. "How's that for color?" askecj
McNatt. "You don't find anything finer than
that, I'll bet!"
"Mighty pretty," responded Willard. "What's
that made from?"
McNatt chuckled, winked portentously and
shook his head. "That's a secret. I'd tell you
only I might want to go into the business some
day, Harmon. Not as a life-work, you under-i
stand, but Know anything about mycology?"-
"No, what is it!"
1 ' The study of mushrooms and fungi. Awfully;
interesting. I'm just taking it up. Some of them
make wonderful dyes, and that's what started me.
I've found thirteen varieties of mushrooms al-
ready, and I've been out only four times." He
looked approvingly out at the rain. "There'll be
lots of them tomorrow, I guess. I found a giant
puff-ball over near where I met you that day,
only it was rotten. They're delicious eating.
Some day when I find one that's in good condi-
tion I'll let you know and we'll have a feast. I've
got a little alcohol stove in there that you can cook
almost anything on. I had a few the other night
and they were mighty good. Winfred Winfred
Fuller, you know; he rooms here with me Win*
THE FIEST DEFEAT 143
fred said they made him feel sort of sick, but I
guess it was more likely something he had for
dinner. ' '
''Still, some mushrooms are poisonous, aren't
they?" inquired Willard doubtfully.
"Lots of them, but it isn't difficult to tell them
from the others, you know. I've got a book that
tells all about it. Where is it?" McNatt looked
rather hopelessly about him. "I don't see it just
now. Winf red's mixed my things up again, I
dare say. He's a very decent fellow, but he
hasn't any idea of orderliness. Next time you
come it will probably be around."
Their travels had brought them back to the cor-
ridor end of the room and Willard 's attention
[was attracted by a small bottle hanging by a
string from a thumb-tack beneath the electric
light switch. " What's that for?" he asked.
"Eh? Oh, that?" McNatt removed it as he
spoke. "That's no good any more. I had a glow-
worm and a firefly in there, but the firefly ate the
glow-worm, or maybe it was the other way
around: I forget now; and then the one who'd
eaten the other one died, too. ' ' He took the stop-
per from the bottle and inverted it, allowing the
dried remains of some small occupant to fall out.
*' Besides," he added, "you can buy little dink-
144 LEFT HALF HAEMON
uses made of radium that'll do the same thing
now. ' '
''Well, but but what was it they did?" asked
Willard.
"Oh, they glowed, you know, in the dark, and
showed where the switch was." McNatt tossed
the empty bottle to the table. ' ' Trouble was they
didn't always glow when you wanted them to and
sometimes you had to stand around and wait
quite a while."
Seated again, McNatt tilted back in his chair
and observed Willard thoughtfully for a moment.
Then: "Returning to the subject we were dis-
cussing the other day, Harmon," he announced,
"I've been sort of outlining a system along the
lines we spoke of. I haven't gone into it thor-
oughly, of course, but I've estimated that the
number of possible situations in a football game
approximate one hundred and sixty. I may be
slightly in error, of course, for I haven't played
recently and there have been several alterations
in the rules, but I'm not far out of the way. That
number includes situations occurring both in at-
tack and defense. I've got a rough summary here
somewhere." He began to rummage over the
table. "It's a piece of yellow paper. Is it on
your side anywhere? Now I wonder what I did
THE FIRST DEFEAT 145
with it. Well, never mind, it'll show up again
some day. Anyway, my idea would be to ah *
catalogue them, as one might say, according to
their locations on the field of play. I'd divide
the gridiron into, say, ten zones longitudinally
and three zones laterally, giving thirty areas in
all. Numbering perhaps lettering would be bet-
ter, though: lettering such area Have you got
to go?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so," replied Willard. "I :
it's getting along toward six o'clock. I'd like to
hear about it some other time, though, McNatt.
I say, why don't you come over to my room some
evening and let Mart Proctor hear it? He'd be
awfully interested, I'm sure. Mart's on the team,
too, you know; plays guard. I wish you would."
"Why, I don't visit around much," answered
the other hesitantly, as he reached for the knob
that unbolted the door. "I don't have time, you
see, and just now I'm most interested in mycol-
ogy, Harmon. By the way, don't forget about
that mushroom supper we're going to have!"
CHAPTER XII
"DO YOUR BEST"
FRIDAY dawned fair and warm, and Willard, look-
ing forth from a window while dressing, smilingly
pictured McNatt, far afield, gathering mushrooms
from the sunlit meadows. One thing, however,
was certain, Willard reflected, and that was that
the enthusiastic McNatt would never induce him
to partake of that mushroom supper ! Yesterday
he might perhaps have taken a chance, but today
life was too well worth living.
In the afternoon, contrary to custom, there was
a hard and prolonged scrimmage between the first
and second teams. Ordinarily the day before a
contest was given over to formation drill, with
only a brief line-up, but today, with Lorimer
Academy looming dangerously ahead, Coach Cade
couldn't afford to be lenient. One radical change
in the first team line-up was apparent when the
two teams faced each other. Arnold Lake, the
regular left half-back, was at left end in place
of San ford, and Mawson was at left half. Doubt-
He
1 'DO YOUR BEST"
less it was only an experiment and might not
prove satisfactory, but Willard saw, with a
quickening of his pulse, that if the change became
permanent he would be one notch nearer the real-
ization of his hopes. With only Mawson and,
perhaps, Moncks ahead of him, the position of
first substitute was just over the horizon. And
events that day certainly fostered optimism, for
before the practice game was over Mawson was
relegated to the bench and Willard took his place.
For something like ten minutes life was very
strenuous for him. The first was thrice given the
ball on the second's twenty-yard-line and thrice
failed to take it over, although Coach Cade
stormed and Gil Tarver commanded and Captain
Bob Myers implored. The second fought desper-
ately and would not yield the final few feet. In
those assaults Willard played his part well, mak-
ing up in speed and aggressiveness what he lacked
in weight. If he didn't perform any outstanding
feat, at least he gained as certainly as Cochran,
beside him, and more surely than Steve Browne,
again restored to full-back position for lack of a
better man. The nearest thing to a mishap be-
falling Willard was his failure to hold a short
forward-pass over the left of the line that might
possibly have produced the desired score. But he
148 LEFT HALF HARMON
was sorely beset and, jostled and badgered by the
second team backs, he could not make the ball
secure after it reached him. That came in the last
attack, and afterwards, when Cochran's desperate
attempt at the left of center had failed to carry
him over by two feet, the ball was given to the
second and Greenwood, standing behind his goal,
kicked to safety. It is quite possible that Willard
looked for some slight expression of commenda-
tion from captain or coach when the whistle blew,
for he was under the impression that he had done
none so badly for a first appearance on the big
team, but the only mention of his part in the
fracas that he heard was made by the quarter-
back. Probably Tarver had no intention of being
unkind, but his regrets haunted Willard for the
rest of the day.
"Too bad you couldn't hold that forward, Har-
mon," Tarver said on the way back to the gym-
nasium. ' * Gee, we 'd have had a score sure if you
had!"
Seeking sympathy, Willard repeated the re-
mark to Martin that evening, expecting Martin to
tell him that it wasn't his fault and that Gil
Tarver was unreasonable. But Martin only
shook his head as he replied cheerfully: "Yes,
it was a shame, Brand. Still, I don't believe first
"DO YOUR BEST" 149
would have scored. Gil threw too short and you
were five yards from the line."
"We-ell," said Willard, "you think I ought to
have caught it!"
"What? Oh, I don't know about that. You've
got to be mighty quick to get your hands around
a forward or else you'll miss it. And it's a heap
easier than it looks, usually."
Willard went to sleep that night somewhat dis-
heartened by the conclusion that Fortune had
given him an opportunity to prove his ability and
he had failed. Doubtless, he thought, another
such opportunity would be long in coming. He
lived over that disastrous attempt to catch the
forward-pass and wondered whether, had he
leaped an instant sooner, he would have held it;
whether, in short, anything he could have done
and didn't would have insured success. He tried
to comfort himself with the reiterated assertion
that no one, not even Captain Myers, whose work
on the receiving end of forward-passes was phe-
nomenal, could have done any better, but he fell
asleep before reiteration produced conviction and
passed through a number of unpleasant dreams
before he awoke again to a bright and brisk Oc-
tober morning.
Lorimer was always an uncertain quantity
150 LEFT HALF HAEMON
when it came to the yearly gridiron contests with
Alton, and, since the red-legged invaders had
nosed out a victory over the Gray-and-Gold last
fall, it was held to be highly desirable that a con-
clusive defeat be handed them on the present oc-
casion. And there appeared to be no good reason
why Alton shouldn't win, for, while Lorimer was
well coached and knew plenty of football, she had
sustained two defeats so far this season and had
but one victory to her credit.
To Willard, observing proceedings from the
bench, sandwiched between Martin and Ned Rich-
ards, the playing of Lake at left end again brought
renewed encouragement. At least it was evident
that Mr. Cade believed well enough of the experi-
ment to give it a thorough trial, and all during the
game Willard rooted hard, if silently, for the
ex-half-back and prayed that he would make good
as an end ! Lorimer took the kick-off and at once
showed her running ability when a tow-headed
right half reeled off nearly thirty yards before
Cochran brought him down. The enemy showed
several novel variations of old plays and twice
made first down before she was finally forced to
kick on Alton's forty- two yards. She was master
of the shift and sent her plays at the long or short
side of the line with beautiful and confusing im-
"DO YOUR BEST" 151
partiality. Also, her backfield was composed of
slim, fast and elusive youths who had a remark-
able faculty of slipping out of the opponents'
clutches. In brief, it became apparent during the
first few minutes of play that the home team was
destined to have her hands full that afternoon
and would be supremely fortunate if she kept her
goal-line inviolate. The first quarter, however,
passed without either team reaching scoring dis-
tance. There was much punting, at which Alton
was slightly superior, and many attempts at end
running by Lorimer, some of which succeeded.
Only one forward-pass was tried, and that, by
the enemy, went wrong and landed the ball in
Alton's hands. The latter made her distance five
times and Lorimer four, and at the end of the
first twelve minutes an unbiased critic would have
said that on performance the opponents were
about equal. He might have added, however, that
the Red somehow gave the impression of having
more in reserve than the Gray-and-Gold, and if
he had said so he would have been proved correct
by future events.
Alton started a brave advance in the second
period and, with Cochran and Mawson alternate
ing on attacks between tackles and Gil Tarver
scampering around the ends, thrice made it first
152 LEFT HALF HABMON
down in enemy territory. But on Lorimer's
twenty-seven yards, Lake became too eager and
Alton was set back for off-side, and after a futile
attempt to make up the lost ground, Tarver fell
back and kicked to the three yards. Lorimer
punted on second down and the pigskin fell into
Tarver 's hands in midfield and that hustled back
seven yards before he consented to stop. Alton
took up the journey again, while some three hun-
dred brazen-throated adherents cheered encour-
agingly from the stand. Halted on the thirty-six,
Browne threw overhead to Joe Myers and Joe
caught brilliantly and was toppled for an eight-
yard gain. Lake, skirting around, took the ball
from Tarver and tried hard to make good on the
farther side, but was run back for a two-yard loss.
Another forward grounded, and Tarver, with
twelve to go on third down, faked a kick and car-
ried outside right tackle to Lorimer's sixteen for
the distance. The Gray-and-Gold shouted jubi-
lantly and chanted her desire for a touchdown.
But, although Mawson got three through Lori-
mer's left and followed it with two more off tackle
on the other side, again Fortune turned her thumb
down. Stacey Ross was caught holding and a
stern referee paced the pigskin back an intermin-
able fifteen yards. Tarver 's run from kick for-
"DO YOUR BEST" 153
mation failed to fool the enemy and he regained
but twelve of the fifteen. Perhaps a forward-pass
would have gained the distance, but Tarver chose
to try for a field-goal, and, standing near Lori-
mer's twenty-five-yard line, he held out his hands
while the stands grew still. The angle was not
severe and if Leroy, at left tackle, had held firm,
the quarter would probably have scored three
points that later in the day would have loomed
large. But Leroy gave before the desperate on-
slaught of the foe and Tarver was hurried. The
ball had height and distance, but not direction,
and passed a foot to the right of the nearest
upright.
The half ended a minute later with the pigskin
in Lorimer's possession near her forty.
Willard trotted back to the gymnasium with
the rest and hugged the knowledge that Arnold
Lake had shown himself a valuable man at the
end of the line. Willard could have told you al-
most every move that Lake had made during
those twenty-four minutes of playing time ! Coach
Cade was sparing of criticism today, for no glar-
ing faults had been apparent and the fighting
spirit had been evident. He did warn against in-
fractions of the rules, however, pointing out that
had it not been for Ross's holding Alton would
154 LEFT HALF HARMON
now be at least six points to the good. "We lost
thirty yards by penalties, and Lorimer lost only
ten. The twenty yards' difference may mean the
loss of the game. Guard against being off-side,
fellows, and against holding. Don't let's make
the opponent any gifts! You've got to fight
harder this half and run your plays off quicker.
You're up against a heady bunch of fellows and
you've got to outwit them as well as outplay them
if you're going to win. I want to see the backs
start a little quicker and hit the line with more
steam. That applies to you especially, Browne.
You have a rotten tendency to slow up at the line,
just when you should be going the hardest. You
miss two and three yards regularly on every play
by that sort of thing. See if you can't put more
slam into it!"
Five minutes later they were back again,
greeted by the longdrawn "A 1 t o n!
ALT0NH A L T-O-N!!!" from
hundreds of throats. And, when the Gray-and-
Gold-striped players had spread down the field for
the kick-off, there came the sharp, rifle-shot
cheer of
A-L-T-0-N! A-L-T-0-N!! A-L-T-0-NMI
Win ! Win ! Win ! Win ! Win ! Win ! Win ! Win !
It was nip-and-tuck for the first half of that
"DO YOUR BEST" 155
third period, with neither team making headway
and the ball in air half the time. Alton's forward-
passes failed whenever tried, for Lorimer had a
really brilliant defense against that play. From
one thirty-yard line to another the battle raged,
Lorimer making up for Alton 's slight superiority
at punting by a better end attack. Gains through
the line were not forthcoming to either team. Lor-
imer began to use her substitutes and Coach Cade
followed her example by sending in Martin Proc-
tor for Boss. Just before the period ended Gil
Tarver gave way to Hutchins at quarter-back.
There was no scoring and the whistle piped with
the ball in Alton's hands on her opponent's thirty-
eight.
While the referee carried the ball across the cen-
ter and the players gathered about the water pails
[Willard heard his name called and looked down
the bench to see Mr. Cade beckoning. His heart
turned a complete somersault or seemed to
while he traversed the eight yards and halted be-
fore the coach !
"Harmon, you've showed a pretty fair knack of
getting away outside tackles, ' ' said Mr. Cade. ' ' Do
you think you could manage to do it if you went
in there now?"
Willard was conscious of the players on either
156 LEFT HALF HARMON
side of the coach, could feel their slightly amused
glances on him and knew they were waiting in-
tently for his answer. He felt supremely awkward
and embarrassed at that moment. But he had to
say something, for Mr. Cade, although he was
watching the players assembling again, was await-
ing a reply.
"I'll try, sir," he managed.
Mr. Cade nodded. " Won't promise, eh?" He
looked up then into Willard's face, and the boy was
vastly relieved to see that his eyes were twinkling.
U A11 right, go ahead," said the coach. "Your
right end looms the easiest, Harmon. If you can
get that left end of theirs to play wide for a for-
ward-pass you ought to be able to get started. Do
your best, boy," Mr. Cade nodded again, smilingly.
"Left half, sir?" asked Willard, through the
folds of his sweater, which simply wouldn't come
off.
"Left half," responded the coach.
CHAPTER XIII
A FORTY- YARD RUN
MAWSON yielded position and head-guard unwill-
ingly. He even sneered a little, but Willard was
far too excited to see it. He took his position two
yards away from Cochran, eyeing that youth's
dirt-streaked countenance with speculative inter-
est as he did so, and awaited Hutch's signals.
Slightly behind him, Browne was breathing ster-
torously, a cut at one corner of his mouth lending
him a particularly ferocious look.
"Third down!" chanted the referee. " About
six to gain!"
Then Willard was squirming in between Leroy
and Myers, while Browne, hugging the ball,
smashed past center on the other side. The play
went for three yards. Then Hutch punted miser-
ably, barely over the heads of the forwards, and
the ball plumped into the Lorimer quarter-back's
arms and that youth came dodging, dashing back
up the field to the thirty-one yards. On the first
play Macon was off-side and Alton lost five yards.
A complicated criss-cross sent a back plunging
158 LEFT HALF HARMON
between Newhall and Proctor, and Browne's
tackle missed and it was Hutch who laid him low;
twelve yards behind the line. The visitor's co-
horts cheered madly. Lorimer tried a forward to
an end far to the right, but Lake and Willard each
had the man marked and the pass grounded. A!
skin-tackle play off Proctor netted four yards,
and, on third down, faking a kick, the Lorimer;
full-back plunged straight through Nichols, at
center, for four more. Willard emerged from
that pile-up with a ringing head and was glad
when time was called, even though, as it proved,
the interlude was necessitated by an injury to
Browne. Willard sat down on the ground and
tried to look happy, but he was horribly dizzy
and the group around the recumbent full-back
wavered before his eyes. Eventually they took
Browne off and replaced him with Linthicum, and
the game went on.
Lorimer was on her mettle now and she made
it first down on Alton's forty-one with a smash-
ing attack at left tackle. Finding that spot weak,
she tried it again and, although Captain Myers
worked like a Trojan to stop up the gap, an enemy
back charged through for nearly five yards. Le-
roy was pretty well played out after that, and
Putney took his place. Lorimer made her dis-
A FORTY- YARD RUN 159
fanee in two more downs, using a shift to the left
followed by a quarter-back plunge through the
opponent's short side that netted the needed five
yards and placed the pigskin almost on the home
team's thirty. There, however, Alton stiffened
and, after two attempts at the line, Lorimer faked
a forward and sent a half straight through be-
tween Nichols and Newhall for seven yards. With
three to go on fourth down, and the ball on the
twenty-two, Lorimer walked back and talked it
over. Then the stage was set for a placement
kick and the cheering and shouting ceased.
Followed a still, tense moment, broken only by
Hutch's imploring "Break through, Alton! Block
'it!" and the quarter's precise, slow signals. Back
went the ball, too high but straight enough, and
the quarter, kneeling on the turf behind the Lor-
imer line, caught it deftly, lowered it quickly to
earth and pointed it. Cries, warnings, the rasp-
ing of canvas against canvas, smothered gasps,
and the scene, so orderly an instant before, broke
into confusion. Alton tore through desperately,
shouldering, plunging, reaching into the path of
the ball. But the Lorimer full-back, deliberate to
the point of danger, swung his foot and the ball
Bailed off, barely above the charging foe, rising
slowly and turning lazily over and over on in its
160 LEFT HALF HAKMON
flight. There was a moment of suspense and
then a white-sweatered timekeeper swung his
hands above his head and Lorimer cheered wildly,
triumphantly! On the score-board an important
young Alton sophomore placed a glaring white 3.
Willard followed his teammates back to midfield
in silence. There wasn't much chatting just then,
although Hutch called cheerfully enough for a
score. There was less than six minutes remain-
ing, but that, Willard assured himself, was enough
time to win in. On the stand Alton was cheering
heartily, undismayed. Coach Cade was sending
in three new men : Johnston for Proctor at right
tackle, McLeod for Macon and Moncks for Coch-
ran. For a moment, seeing Moncks trotting on,
Willard 's heart sank, but it was Cochran's head-
guard that the newcomer donned. Martin had
done none so badly at tackle, but the position
was a strange one to him and he had had his bad
moments.
Lorimer kicked off and the battle began again.
The ball went to Moncks and Willard swung in
ahead and was joined by Hutchins and the three
went sweeping diagonally across the field. Then
Willard met an enemy and both sprawled, and
Linthicum darted away from the interference and
ran straight into the arms of a big Lorimer guard
A FORTY-YARD RUN 161
The teams lined up in the twenty-four yards close
to the side-line. Hutch's heave to Joe Myers
went short, was tipped by a Lorimer end and fell
to the ground. On the next play, Willard, ball
hugged tight, swept around his own end behind
Hutch and Myers, dodged the opposing end,
turned in and dodged and twisted for eight yards
before he was dragged, still fighting hard, to
earth. Linthicum tried the right of the line and
lost a yard and Moncks made it first down past
tackle. A short forward over the line landed
safely in Joe Myers' hands for nine yards and
Willard added two through left guard.
Just short of the middle of the field, with the
minutes running fast, Hutch called for Forma-
tion C and the Alton line spread widely. Lorimer
edged out in answer. Willard, crouched behind
his left guard, looked straight ahead. Hutch
called his signals. Linthicum swung and ran
across the field to the left. Back shot the ball to
Hutch, five yards behind center. Lorimer charged,
coming through the wide gaps in the Alton line.
Hutch stepped back while Willard crossed in front
of him. Then came a short pass and the left half,
the ball snuggled in his right elbow, shot straight
into the line. Linthicum 's diversion had drawn
the Lorimer backfield from position, and Willard,
162 LEFT HAT,F HAEMON
having dodged one slow-moving Lorimer forward,
found an open field for several yards. Then, how-
ever, the enemy closed about him and his race
seemed run. There was no interference to aid
him, for Hatch was down, and Moncks, having run
the end out, was far behind. McLeod made a des-
perate effort to get into the running, but Willard
was fleeter. He side-stepped a Lorimer half and
was momentarily free, and swung toward the
middle of the field as he crossed the enemy's
forty. Behind him raced friend and foe. He had
slipped through the worst of the opposition, but
ahead of him a determined quarter awaited and
from the left speeded a hall The latter Willard
scarcely feared, for he had a fair lead, but the
quarter spelled disaster. Nearer and nearer he
came to the latter, a smallish, hard-fighting youth
who held his distance grimly, only moving slightly
to the right as though anticipating Wfllard's in-
tention. The Alton stand was shouting wildly.
confusedly, but Willard had no knowledge of it.
The thumping of his heart and the rasping of his
breath seemed to be the only sounds in the world!
Then the supreme instant came. Close to the
thirty-yard line the enemies met. Something had
told Willard that the opponent was too knowing,
too quick and agile to be fooled by aide-stepping,
A FOETY-YAKD RUN 163
and so, a few yards away, Willard shifted the
ball to his stomach, clasped both hands over it
and put his head down. Straight into the quarter
he charged, with every ounce of strength thrust-
ing his body forward. And as he charged he
twisted and spun.
Arms encompassed, his thighs and hands
clutched desperately, yet he found his stride again
and went forward. Something clung for a mo-
ment to one leg and he staggered, fell to a knee
and threw his body forward. The weight was
gone and he was on his feet again! He set his
straining eyes on the goal posts and struggled
forward. But now it seemed that his feet were
huge pieces of lead and his head swam dizzily.
Four strides, five, six, and again he felt the touch
of fingers that groped for a hold. Summoning
his remaining strength, he moved free, head back
and lungs bursting. He was past the fifteen-yard
line and the gray, padded posts wavered in the
sunlight, close at hand. But he was not to reach
them.
If Willard had run a good race, so, too, had the
Lorimer right half-back, and the latter had been
but a scant five yards away when Willard had
shaken himself free of the quarter's tackle. And
so, just short of the ten yards, the struggle ended.
164 LEFT HALF HAEMON
A last supreme effort and the pursuer 's arms
wrapped themselves around the quarry's legs.
One short stride followed and then pursued and
pursuer lay prone and unmoving across the lime
mark!
That ended Willard J s usefulness for that day,
just as it ended the usefulness of his captor, for
both boys were fairly run out. But the ball lay
well inside the ten yards, and Alton's cheers were
exultant and unceasing while the half-fainting
youths were administered to, Longstreth raced
out to replace Willard and Lorimer sent in a sub-
stitute right half. Willard saw the last three
minutes of the game from a pile of blankets at the
end of the bench, saw his teammates make three
gallant attempts to conquer those last stubborn
nine yards, saw, with a sinking heart, Moncks
stopped two yards from the line and hurled back,
saw Captain Myers walk determinedly back up
the field to kicking position.
Hopeless gloom shrouded the bench. Myers
was no goal kicker, and all knew it. Had there
been a single, solitary player out there who knew
the least thing about that art he would never have
attempted it. But substitution had deprived the
team of Cochran and Tarver and Macon, and none
of those who remained on the bench could be de-
A FORTY- YARD RUN 165
pended on. When all was said and done, perhaps
Hutch might have chosen more wisely had he
risked a forward-pass on that final down. Yet
Hutch knew that Lorimer would be looking for
that play and knew that if it failed Alton's last
opportunity to score would be lost. And he
didn't make the choice unaided, for Joe Myers
counseled it. Joe said afterwards that he had
no more idea of booting the ball over than he had
of flying. Yet a more effortless, more perfect
drop-kick than he made would have been hard to
imagine! Straight between the uprights and
well over the cross-bar it sailed, and no one needed
the corroboration of the official's upthrown hands
to tell him that Alton had tied the score !
And a tied score it remained when the final
whistle blew.
Alton showed as much delight over the drawn
battle as though she had won overwhelmingly,
and Lorimer, trying hard to smile, took what com-
fort she could. But if the School felt jubilant and
triumphant, it was plainly to be seen that Coach
Cade did not share its emotions. That game had
clearly demonstrated the fact, long suspected,
that the Gray-and-Gold backfield was far from the
scoring combination it should be. With Lake
playing left end, a position he had proved his fik
166 LEFT HALF HARMON
ness for that afternoon, the left half-back posi-
tion was left to Mawson or Harmon. Each, while
he showed much promise, was inexperienced.
Cochran, on the other side, was steady but far
from brilliant. The full-back position was the
weakest spot of all. Neither Browne nor Linthi-
cum had the hard-fighting spirit needed. That
Alton had not met defeat was due to a flash of
cleverness on the part of Harmon and not to any
'dependable team-work by the backs. The coach,
while he appeared to be listening attentively
enough to Joe Myers' short-breathed remarks as
they walked together to the gymnasium, was in
reality grimly determining on a backfield shake
up when Monday arrived.
"If there 'd been anyone around him to put that
Lorimer half-back out,'* said Joe, "he'd have
made it easily."
"Who!" Mr. Cade asked blankly.
"Why, Brand Harmon! He made a corking
try, anyway!"
"Harmon? Yes, that's so," agreed the coach
thoughtfully. "Think it was an accident? Sup-
pose he could do it again?"
"He's got it in him," answered Joe con-
vincedly. "Give him a try, sir. I would."
"I think I shall," mused the other. "He cer-
tainly deserves it."
CHAPTER XIV
ONIONS !
THEY went to the movies that evening, a jovial,
noisy "gang" of nearly a dozen that included the
"Three Guardsmen," Willard, Don Harris, Sta-
cey Ross, Cal Grainger and several more. Unfor-
tunately, the picture lacked action to a lamentable
degree, being largely concerned with the doings of
a few ladies and gentlemen who when at home,
which was infrequent, lived in large white marble
palaces in Westchester County, New York. At
least, the titles placed the scene of the story in
Westchester County, but Martin expressed incre-
dulity, asserting that he had never seen palmet-
toes and cocoanut palms growing in that locality
in such profusion. Jack Macon, however, was of
the opinion that "anyone as rich as those guys
could have their lawns trimmed with palms even
if they lived at the North Pole ! ' ' The hero was
a strapping gentleman with a broad, flat face,
large, limpid eyes and a very brief mustache. He
dressed immaculately on all occasions, which,
since he, like everyone else, was forever "week-
167
168 LEFT HALF HARMON
ending" somewhere, must have caused him a
great deal of thought and care. Of course, he had
a Japanese valet at his beck and call, and that
probably helped. Don Harris declared that when
he became wealthy he would have a valet just like
the one in the picture. "Why," he marveled,
"that fellow doesn't even have to go to the tele-
phone. The valet pulls the thing out by the roots
and brings it to him wherever he is ! That's what
I call service!"
Paul Nichols, who had played center all
through the afternoon's game and who, conse-
quently, was rather tired, went sound asleep
somewhere about the third reel and snored loudly
until the final "fade-out," to the amusement of
his companions and the audience in general.
Martin expressed the fear, loudly enough to be
heard by Bob, several seats distant, that Nichols
had contracted the sleeping sickness from "one
of our number." The comedy that followed the
big picture provided a few "fine moments," but,
on the whole, the party considered that they had
wasted the evening. Nichols was aroused with
difficulty and led, in a comatose condition, up the
aisle and into the street where the brisk October
breeze that was hurrying and scurrying through
the little town awakened him more thoroughly.
ONIONS! 169
Having missed most of the entertainment, Nichols
insisted on partaking of food and drink and, be-
ing in funds this evening, invited the party to
visit the lunch-cart. This vividly painted institu-
tion stood at night in the square at the other side
of town, a matter of twelve blocks in distance, but,
as Nichols pointed out, the night was still young.
So they set out, decorously joyous, along West
Street, "window shopping" as they went, and
turned down Meadow Street and finally reached
the Square and hailed the crimson and blue win-
dows of the "Owl Night Lunch" with shouts of
approval that won them the fleeting interest of
the single blue-coated guardian of the law on duty
there. Fortunately, since their numbers were
many, the lunch-cart held but a solitary patron, a
car conductor indulging in the delicacy referred
to on the wall as "Tonight's Special: Pork Chop
and Fried Onions, 30c." The viands had diffused
a perceptible fragrance through the establish-
ment, but no one voiced criticism save Martin.
M-Aiin halted at the doorway and registered sus-
picion followed by disgust.
"What's the matter?" asked Bob, behind him.
"Go on in!"
"Onions!" said Martin in pained tones.
"What of it?"
170 LEFT HALF HAKMON
"I can't stand 'em. Gee, the place is full of
? em!"
"Well, you don't have to eat them," replied
Bob comfortingly, while those behind him earn-
estly requested "gangway!" Martin allowed
himself to be shoved inside, but during the sub-
sequent proceedings he wore his nose in an ele-
vated position and looked most unhappy, a cir-
cumstance that interested Bob greatly for a
reason not then apparent. Sandwiches and coffee
constituted the menu served. Bob generously of-
fered to buy Martin a chopped onion sandwich if
he would eat it, which offer was thanklessly, al-
most rudely, declined. That banquet cost Paul
Nichols most of his cash in hand, but he settled
the bill in an almost regal manner ; quite, as Mar-
tin commented, as though he lived amongst the
palms of Westchester !
Going back, Willard walked with Joe and Jack
Macon, and the talk was mostly of the day's
game. Joe was rather cynical and predicted dis-
aster in the Kenly contest unless things goi uet-
ter soon. "We need beef on the team," said Joe
bitterly. "We've got plenty of fellows who know
football, but they're too lady-like, Jack. It
doesn't do to stop and apologize before you hit
the line or keel a chap over ! Kenly will bring a
ONIONS! 171
lot of hard-hitting * rough-necks ' that'll make us
look like a parcel of 'co-eds'!"
"Oh, we aren't that bad," said Jack soothingly.
-'It's early yet "
"Early nothing! The season's half over! Gee,
we've got to learn to fight, Jack, or we'll get lit-
erally walked on!"
"Seems to me the backfield's a hit light, Joe."
"Of course it is, and it's lighter than ever since
Lake's gone to left end. We've got to find a full-
back, and find him mighty quick, and that's no
dream!"
"Too bad you couldn't land that fellow Har-
mon you were talking about," said Jack. Then
he turned in a puzzled way to Willard. "Say,
your name's Harmon, too, isn't it!" he exclaimed.
"That's odd!"
"Not very," said Joe hurriedly. "The Har-
mon I was after was Brand's brother. If we'd
got him we'd been fixed."
"What happened!" asked Jack. "I under-
stood it was all fixed up."
"Oh, he changed his mind," replied Joe care-
lessly. "Went into the Navy, didn't he, Brand?"
"Yes," corroborated Willard gravely.
"Too bad," murmured Jack. "Too bad you
aren't your brother, Harmon!"
172 LEFT HALF HARMON
"Well, Brand's doing pretty well where we had
him today," said Joe.
" Rather!" agreed the other. "He surely had
one fine moment this afternoon. If it hadn't been
for that Lorimer end or half which was he?
Half? well, if it hadn't been for him Harmon
would have scored in a romp ! ' '
"That's the trouble with C Formation," replied
Joe. "If the runner does get away he has no
interference half the time. The end's supposed
to get free and go ahead, but he can't do it very
often. The more I think about today's game, fel-
lows, the more certain I am that we were mighty
lucky to break even ! Lorimer ought to have won
on the showing she made."
"Well, she didn't," answered Jack cheerfully.
"And results count."
Up ahead, Bob was questioning Martin regard-
ing the latter 's lack of enthusiasm for onions.
"What is it you don't like about them, Mart? The
taste or the smell or what?"
"I don't like either," said Martin. "Folks who
eat onions belong to a low order of humanity.
Criminals and idiots and such folks are always
fond of them, I've read."
"Where do you get that stuff?" asked Stacey
Ross. "Look at Garibaldi."
ONIONS! 173
"Where?" asked Martin flippantly.
"Wasn't he a patriot and a man of brains and
and blameless life?" pursued Stacey.
"I guess so," assented Martin doubtfully.
"All right! Garibaldi invented onions, didn't
he?"
Martin viewed him suspiciously. "Well, maybe
he did, but I'll bet he didn't eat them! Carbol
invented carbolic acid, but he didn't drink it,
did he!"
"Garibaldi," remarked Bob gravely, "made
onions his principal diet: ate them three times
a day and fed his army on them!"
"Oh, well, he was an Italian," said Martin.
"I'm talking about folks in this country."
"George Washington invariably began the day
with a raw sliced onion," said Bob. "History
tells you that."
"Sure," asserted Stacey. "Wasn't it Wash-
ington who said 'In onion there is strength'?"
"You fellows make me weary," retorted Mar-
tin. "I'll bet you eat them yourselves! As I re-
marked hitherto, the onion is the favorite fruit
of the mentally deficient! And you fellows talk
like you never ate anything else ! ' '
Stacey continued to expatiate on the merits of
the onion, but Bob relapsed into silence. He had
174 LEFT HALF HARMON!
been visited by an idea and he was busy develop^
ing it all the rest of the way back to school. When
he said good night to Martin later in front of
Lykes there was an expression on his face that
might have caused the other some uneasiness had
he noticed it.
"It's awfully funny," remarked Martin after;
dinner the next day, "but I can still taste those
onions, Brand."
"What onions?" asked Willard.
"In that lunch-cart last night. Taste the smell
of them, I mean. It's just as though I'd eaten
them myself. Gosh, I didn't enjoy my dinner a
bit, either. Everything seemed to smell of the
beastly things!"
"We didn't have onions at our table," said
Willard.
"Neither did we, but I'll swear I could almost
smell them! It's queer, but I simply can't stand
the smell of onions. It almost makes me sick. I
can go a little of it, of course, and I manage to
eat soups and things like that that are flavored
with onions, but I don't like them."
"Maybe there was onion in the gravy or some-
thing," Willard suggested. But Martin shook his
head.
Vlt isn't that. I guess I got my lungs full of
ONIONS! 175
the smell last night. Funny thing is, though, that
it seems almost as if I could taste them!"
4 * You '11 get over it, ' ' Willard consoled. ' * Let 's
go for a walk. Maybe the air will do you good."
Later Martin confessed that the imaginary
onions bothered him less, but after supper the
trouble recurred, and he was fairly miserable and
wore a pained look all the evening. "I guess it's
dyspepsia," he confided to them in Bob's room.
"No matter what I eat, seems as if it was flavored
with onion. I ought never to go near the beastly
things."
"You must have a very delicate stomach," ob-
served Bob sympathetically. "I knew a fellow
once who was like you. He couldn't stand the
sight of garlic. He'd go a mile out of his way
so as not to have to pass by a garlic er grove,
illsed to get sick at the mere mention of the
word!"
"Is that so?" asked Martin with almost a sneer.
"What was his name!"
N
"His name? Why er Smith, Jack Smith:
Did you know him?"
"No, but I knew an awful liar once," answered
Martin stiffly. "His name wasn't Jack, though, it
was Robert."
Afterwards, back in the room and preparing
176 LEFT HALF HARMON
for bed, Martin spoke earnestly of seeing a doctor
on the morrow if he didn't stop smelling onions
and even tasting them, and Willard said he;
thought it would be a very sensible thing to do^
and was careful to hide his smile behind the jacket'
of his pajamas. In the morning, though, Martin
was quite himself again and told Willard he
guessed he'd imagined those onions.
But two hours later, returning to Number 16
for a book, Willard discovered a very pale and
unhappy Martin stretched out on the window-seat
with his head on the ledge and a chilling October
wind ruffling his locks. "Onions," groaned Mar-
tin in response to Willard 's concerned inquiry.
"I I've got them again, something fierce!" He
closed his eyes and shuddered. "Do you smell
them, Brand?" he asked weakly.
Willard sniffed the air and truthfully replied
that he didn't. Martin sighed dolorously. "I
can't make it out," he said. "I was all right this
morning until breakfast. Then, just as soon as I
got to the table it came back. Everything seemed
to smell of onions, and taste of 'em, too. Why,
even the coffee did!"
"I suppose you imagined it," murmured
Willard.
"I suppose so. No one else noticed it. I guess
ONIONS! 177
I'll have to cut French. Tell Metcalfe I'm sick,
will you, Brand?"
"Yes, but why don't you take something?"
1 'What '11 I take?" groaned Martin.
"Soda-mint tablets are good, I think. Hot
water, too. Want me to get you some hot
water!"
Martin nodded weakly but gratefully, and Wik
lard went off to the lavatory and presently re-
turned with a tooth-mug filled with scalding-hot
water. As it was then time for a nine o'clock
recitation, he had to leave Martin sipping and
shuddering. When he next saw him, shortly be-
fore dinner, he was much better physically but in
poor mental condition. His disposition was ut-
terly vile. He put his tongue out and wagged it
accusingly at Willard.
"I burned my tongue," he said. "That water
was too blamed hot!"
"Too bad," replied Willard soothingly. "It
made you feel better, though, didn't it?"
"What if it did? What's the good of feeling
better if your tongue is all scalded?" Martin de-
manded huffily. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you what?" asked Willard indignantly.
"Not to burn your tongue, you simp?"
"Tell me it was so hot! HowM I know?"
178 LEFT HALF HARMON
"I thought maybe you could tell by the feel of
it," answered Willard dryly. "Most folks can!"
"Funny, aren't you?" Martin turned disgrunt-
edly to the window, and after a moment Willard
asked :
"Did you get to any classes?"
"Math," grunted the other. "I was too sick
for the rest of them. What time is it?"
"Nearly half -past. Coming along?"
"I don't believe I want any dinner. What's
the use? It'll just taste of of those things!"
"Onions?" asked Willard innocently.
"Shut up! Don't speak of 'em!" yelled Mar-
tin. "Now you've made me all squirmy again!"
He sank to the window-seat, placed anxious hands
on his waistcoat and glared at Willard accusingly.
"I was feeling all right, too!"
"Well, how did I know you didn't want me to
say "
"Cut it out, I tell you!"
"I wasn't going to say on "
"You're saying it!" shrieked Martin. "I hope
you get it, too! When you do, I'll say 'onions'
to you! You see if I don't!"
"You just said it yourself," said Willard, grin-
ning.
"That's different." Martin glared fero-
ONIONS! 179
ciously. " You 're just trying to make me sick
again ! ' *
"Oh, be good," answered the other humoringly.
"Tell you what I'll do, Mart. I'll go over to the
drug store and get you some soda-mints right
after dinner."
Martin looked slightly mollified for an instant.
Then he asked suspiciously: "Do they taste
awful?"
"N no, not very. Come along to dinner.
You'd better try to eat something, even if you
don't feel hungry."
"Well, all right, but I know I can't eat."
CHAPTER XV
MAKTIN CALLS QUITS
FROM his own table, by craning his neck, Willard
could see Martin's, and it was apparent that the
latter was not making much of a meal. Bob, who
sat at his left, was plainly sympathetic and solic-
itous : Willard could see Bob passing the spinach
and urging his neighbor to eat, and could see
Martin's dismal refusal. Perhaps it was because
Martin partook only of a little soup and a dish
of rice pudding that the malady returned to him
less severely after the noon meal. Willard kept
his promise and procured a small bottle of soda-
mint tablets, and all the rest of the day Martin's
expression was one of supreme disgust as he
continuously dissolved the tablets in his mouth.
The remedy at least allowed him to take an active
part in practice, which was fortunate since he
was given a try-out at left tackle. He was a bit
slow at first, but, with Mr. Cade constantly urg-
ing, he showed quite a lot of speed toward the
end of the practice. He confessed to Willard
180
MARTIN CALLS QUITS 181
later that he might have done better if the onion
smell hadn't bothered him. "It came on in the
locker room," he said. "I didn't notice it until
I was changing. Then I got it strong and it
stayed with me all the time. I I get it yet, but
it's not so bad."
"It must be your imagination," said Willard.
"Ever troubled like this before? I say, Mart,
there isn't isn't any"
"Any what?"
"Well, any er insanity in your family, is
there?"
"Don't be a silly fool!" begged Martin.
"I just thought that maybe"
"Listen here, Brand! There's no imagination
about it. I've been poisoned."
"Poisoned!" gasped Willard. Martin nodded
gravely.
"Yes, I've got it all doped out. I've been onion
poisoned."
"But onions aren't aren't poisonous," expos-
tulated Willard.
"Maybe not to some folks, but they are to me,"
Martin spoke with conviction. "What happened
is just this. That night we went to the lunch-
cart the place was full of onion odor. Remember ?.
Well, I breathed a lot of it into my system and it
182 LEFT HALF HARMON
poisoned me. It's in my blood probably. If I'm
not all right tomorrow I'm going to see a
doctor."
Willard considered the theory for a moment and
then gravely acknowledged that there might be
something in it.
''You bet there is," Martin assured him.
"Why, it stands to reason. Look what chloro-
form does. It gets into your blood when you in-
hale it, doesn't it? Well, it's the same way with
onions. Some folks aren't affected by it, but I'm
different. I guess a doctor would be mighty in-
terested in my case." Martin paused to consider
the idea and then went on proudly. "Yes, sir,
I'll bet he would! I'll bet he'd write about me to
the the medical association!"
U I dare say," assented Willard. "Maybe it
would get in the New York papers, too. 'Pois-
oned by Onions! Strange Case of Young Pre-
paratory School Student Puzzles the Medical
Fraternity!' Maybe they'd print your picture,
Mart."
"You can make a silly joke of it if you like,"
said Martin, "but I'll bet I'm right!"
Joe and Bob came up to the room that night
and Martin explained his theory again for their
benefit. He was undergoing another visitation of
MARTIN CALLS QUITS 183
the onion malady, but interest in his case and in
his solution of it gave him strength to bear up
better than usual. Joe and Bob Bob especially
were tremendously impressed with the theory
and Bob recalled having read of a similar case.
''Only," he said, "in that case the man had been
poisoned by eating watercress."
"Eating what?" asked Martin incredulously.
"Watercress," repeated Bob. "It doesn't af-
fect most people, but some fellows can't eat it at
all. You've heard that, haven't you, Joe?"
"Yes," Joe assented soberly. "I had a cousin
like that. Watercress and strawberries were like
poison to him."
Martin looked from Joe to Bob suspiciously,
but they were so evidently in earnest that he
asked: "What happened to this fellow?"
"Why, he ate watercress and was poisoned. It
got into his blood, you know, and the only way
they could save his life was by transfusion."
"What's that? You mean pumping someone
else's blood into him?"
"Sure! That's the only thing possible in ex-
treme cases."
Martin hurriedly produced his bottle and
popped a soda-mint into his mouth. "Well, I
guess onions wouldn't do that to a fellow," he
184 LEFT HALF HAEMON
said with a confidence that didn't quite ring true.
"Would you think so, Joe?"
" Search me," replied Joe comfortingly. "I
never heard of onion poisoning before."
"Nor I," said Bob troubledly. "I guess it's a
pretty rare disease, and maybe the doctors don't
understand it yet. Guess it's sort of like sleep-
ing sickness," he added blandly.
Martin shot a hostile and wary look at him, but
Bob only smiled sympathetically and reached out
his hand. "Let's see one of those tablets, Mart,"
he requested. "I've got a sort of a heavy feeling
myself tonight."
"You don't notice the taste of onions, do you?"
asked Martin hopefully as he tossed the bottle
across the table.
"N no, not exactly. More a sort of gone sen-
sation. I guess it was the baked potato I ate."
He took some time to get a tablet out, under
cover of the table; so long that Martin said im*
patiently: "Shake the bottle. They're probably
stuck. ' '
"I've got it, thanks." Bob popped a tablet
into his mouth, made a wry face, screwed the
cover on the bottle again and tossed it back.
"Nasty tasting things, aren't they?" he asked.
"You get used to them after awhile," replied
MARTIN CALLS QUITS 185
Martin consolingly. "I guess I've eaten twenty
of them today. When you have blood trans .
whatever it is, Bob, how do you do it? I mean,
where do you get the blood?"
"Advertise, I think. It isn't easy, of course,
because the other fellow, the one who gives the
new blood, has to be pretty healthy. Lots
of times you can't find anyone and it's no
use."
"What happens then?" inquired Martin un-
easily.
Bob shrugged. "The patient dies, of course.
You hear of it very often."
Martin gulped and almost swallowed his tablet.
"Gee! I guess I'd find someone if I had to," he
said. "Maybe, though, it'& more imagination
than anything with me. You know you can im-
agine all sorts of things, and I guess onions
wouldn't be very hard, eh?"
"N no," said Joe, "but I have a hunch that
you're theory is about right, Mart. It certainly
sounds mighty reasonable to me."
"I don't see how you make that out," replied
Martin shortly. "If it was really a case of of
being poisoned I guess I'd be a lot worse now than
I am. It's been going on two days, and anyone
knows that poison acts pretty quick."
186 LEFT HALF HARMON
"Some poisons," answered Bob significantly.
"But there are others that act er very slowly.
There's hemp, for instance."
" That's a rope," said Martin derisively.
"It's a very deadly poison," said Bob
sternly, "and it's very very what's the word,
Joe?"
"Lingering?" asked Joe.
"Insidious," suggested Willard.
"Insidious, that's it! Sometimes the patient
suffers for weeks."
"Well, I haven't eaten any hemp," said Martin
crossly. "I haven't eaten anything, confound it!
I'm mighty near starved! Maybe that's what the
trouble is. If it wasn't so late I'd go out and get
a sandwich or a piece of pie or something."
"What you need is hearty food," said Bob. "A
nice steak and onions, for instance."
"Shut up! I hope you choke!" Martin fairly
gibbered. "I wish you had it! I wish you
all had it, you gang of grinning apes! You
make me sick!" In proof of the latter
assertion he shuddered violently, hurriedly pro-
duced his bottle of soda-mint tablets and, keep-
ing his lips very tightly closed, agitatedly un-
screwed the top. The others watched with al-
most painful intensity. Martin inverted the bot-
MAETIN CALLS QUITS 187.
tie, seized a tablet and popped it into his mouth*
Instantly a strange, haunted look came over his
face. He swallowed once, his eyes round and
alarmed, and then the tablet came out of his mouth
even quicker than it had gone in and he laid hands
on his stomach and closed his eyes.
"What is it!" asked Bob anxiously. "Feeling
sick, Mart?'*
"Sick! I I'm dying! They-they're full of
it!"
"What are? Full of what?" asked Joe.
"The tablets." Martin opened his eyes slowly,
and gazed in horror at the questioner. "They're
full of of onion! Oh, gee!"
"Nonsense," said Bob cheerfully. "How could
they be? Let's see them." Martin weakly
brought them forth from his pocket and held them
out with averted head. Bob removed the lid and
held the bottle to his nose. "I don't smell any-
thing," he said. "Do you, Brand?"
"Not a thing," replied Willard gravely. "You
try, Joe."
"Well, there's a faint ah medicinal odor
apparent," said Joe judicially, "but as for
onions"
"Let me smell," demanded Martin. He took
the bottle and put it to his nostrils. Then it went
188 LEFT HALF HARMON
flying across the room and its contents rolled
merrily about the floor. "It is!" he yelled.
"They are! Can't you fellows smell it?"
"Look here, Martin," responded Joe sternly.
"You'd better pull yourself together, old man.
It won't do to let this this hallucination go too
far. Better get into bed and try to forget about
onions. Maybe a good night's rest is what you
need. In the morning I'd have a talk with the
doctor. Of course your trouble may not be seri-
ous, Mart. I dare say if you take it in time you
can be cured. But I'd feel a whole lot easier if
you saw a doctor, old man."
Martin's expression of glowering distaste
changed slightly. He stared in growing fascina-
tion at Bob.
"It might be," continued the latter kindly,
"that you've been bitten by the Diptera onion-
ensis, otherwise known as the onion-fly. Of
course, it isn't probable, but you never can tell,
Mart. There's the tse-tse fly, now. You wouldn't
expect to find that around here, but I've been
told that it is quite common. Then why not the
onion-fly?"
Martin's gaze was fixed on Bob and Martin's
mouth was slowly dropping open. He was like
pne who is seeing a Great Light and who is still
MARTIN CALLS QUITS 189
too dazed by its refulgence for speech. Bob
smiled gently and continued, keeping, however,
perhaps unintentionally, the table between him
and Martin.
4 'You've been so awfully sympathetic about my
sleeping sickness, Mart, that I just can't bear to
see you troubled like this. It would certainly be
a load off my mind if you'd just talk things over
with the doctor "
"You did it!" hissed Martin. "You you
played a trick on me!"
"Why, Mart," protested Bob in hurt tones.
"How can you sit there and say them cruel
words t"
Martin glared wildly about him. Joe was so
entirely overcome by some emotion that he had
his head in his hands and Willard was gasping,
perhaps with pain, his countenance hidden behind
a propped-up book. Martin swallowed hard once,
drew his feet beneath him and then was out of his
chair with a roar.
"I'll onion you!" he shouted. "Pll I'll "
Around the table they plunged, hurdling Joe's
legs, since that youth was too helpless to draw
them back, twirling Willard around in his chair
like a chip in a maelstrom as they passed, Bob a
half circuit to the good at the end of each lap.
190 LEFT HALF HARMON
Noise and confusion reigned supreme, but through
it came Bob's voice, made faint by laughter:
"For the love of Mike, Mart, use discretion!"
Martin's invariable reply was a savage howl
of wrath.
On the tenth circuit or perhaps it was the
eleventh! disaster overtook the pursued. Bob
slipped coming into the backstretch and went
down, and Martin hurled himself on him. Over
and over they went, grunting, gasping, gurgling.
^Willard rescued the lamp just before the table
went over on top of the battlers, showering them
with books and papers. Had Bob been in his
best form that contest would have been brief, for
he was bigger and stronger than his antagonist,
but laughter drugged him and before he could cry
for mercy Martin had thumped his head many
times on the rug and jounced merrily up and down
on his ribs. When, at last, Martin drew off and
Bob climbed weakly to his feet the room was a
wreck and over the scene hung, like a horrible
miasma, the sickening concentrated odor of
onions !
Martin sniffed and would have flung himself on
Bob again if the latter had not pointed beseech-
ingly to the floor. Martin looked and picked up
the stoppered remains of a broken bottle. To it
MAETIN CALLS QUITS 191
elung a paper label. "Onion Extract," he read.
When peace, if not complete order, had been
restored Bob confessed. "I gave you fair warn-
ing, Mart," he said. "I told you I'd get even.
Trouble with you is you think you invented jok-
ing and that no one else can get away with it. I
got the idea that night when you turned up your
nose at the onions in the lunch-cart. I paid the
cook a quarter for that bottle of onion extract
and the rest was easy. All I had to do was get
to table long enough ahead of you to drop a little
of the stuff around : on your napkin, in your por-
ridge, in your salt-cellar and so on. I was clever
enough not to be too generous with it, you know-
Once, when you were looking the other way, I
got some on your meat, and another time in your
coffee. Yesterday I sprinkled a good big lot on
your football togs. Maybe you noticed it?"
Martin said: "Hm!" grimly.
"I tried to get Brand to put some on your
toothbrush and your pillow, but he was too tender-
hearted," added Bob. Martin turned a sorrow-
fully accusing look on Willard. "And that's
that," Bob ended, smilingly.
"Huh," said Martin this time, scornfully. "I
knew all along it was just some silly joke!"
"Oh, no, you didn't, pettie! Anyhow, we'll
192 LEFT HALF HARMON
call it quits now if you like. I'm satisfied if you
are. Only, Mart, no more 'tse-tse flies' and
'sleeping sickness' stuff. My health is very good,
thank you, and if you want a place on the team,
son, you get out and earn it ! "
"Oh, that's all right, Bob," answered Martin,
grinning. "Johnny told me today I was to play
left tackle after this. So I don 't care whether you
have sleeping sickness or not!" Then, after a
perceptible pause, he added: "Much!"
CHAPTER XVI
DIPLOMACY
MARTIN'S statement that he had been assigned to
left tackle position was not believed very implic-
itly that night, although, in the press of other
matters demanding discussion, none expressed
doubt. But the next day proved that Martin had
spoken no more than the truth, for when the
scrimmage commenced he was in Leroy's place,
and there he stayed not only for the rest of the
day but for the rest of the season. At left half,
Willard and Mawson each served, the latter
yielding to Willard near the end of the practice.
The second team managed a field-goal that after-
noon, but the first scored three touchdowns and
for once showed plenty of punch.
With Lake at left end and Martin Proctor at
left tackle, that side of the line improved re-
markably. For a few days Martin fitted none too
perfectly into the new position, but he had had
much experience, wanted badly to be something
better than a second-choice player and worked
193
194 LEFT HALF HAEMON
hard, with the result that long before the Kenly
game he was looked on as a remarkably good
tackle. The weak spot in the team continued,
however, for no satisfactory alternative to Steve
Browne had been found. Browne tried pitifully
hard to fill the difficult requirements of the full-
back position, but he failed utterly and palpably.
Linthicum was tried, and so was Austen, a half-
back from the second, but none suited. Kenly
was developing a stiff line this year, as proved
by the last two games she had played, and more
weight and aggressiveness in the backfield was
sorely needed at Alton. Discounting his possible
ultimate failure to find a satisfactory full-back,
Coach Cade experimented with plays built on the
substituting of Bob Newhall or Stacey Ross for
a half or the full-back. The difficulty, however,
lay in the fact that the backfield man who played
up in the line found it hard to perform his tem-
porary duties satisfactorily. Placing Bob at full-
back for straight plunges between tackles worked
fairly well and was accountable for some good
gains against the second team, but Browne in
Bob's place was as ill-fitting as a square peg in a
round hole and would doubtless prove in Captain
Joe Myers' words, "easy meat" for Kenly.
Coach Cade had a strongly-imbedded dislike for
DIPLOMACY 195
unbalanced formations, anyhow, and, although he
used shifts sparingly and was responsible for the
play that put Captain Myers behind the line so
that he might receive a forward-pass, he wanted
no more "freaks" and frowned on these new in-
ventions even while he used them. And so mat-
ters stood on that Wednesday morning preced-
ing the Hillsport game when Willard, having a
whole fifty minutes between recitations, took a
Latin book over to the first base bleachers and
draped himself over three seats in the sunlight.
It was a genuine Indian summer day, with no
breeze, or only just enough to disturb the straight
column of smoke that came from the big chimney
behind Lawrence Hall, a very blue sky that melted
to a hazy, purplish gray toward the horizon and
a flood of mellow sunlight over all. By occasion-
ally changing his position when the edges of the
planks pressed too fervently against him, Willard
managed a whole page of his book, making many
marginal notes in his very small and extremely
neat writing. He was, though, getting somewhat
drowsy when the sound of footsteps came to him
and he looked up to find Felix McNatt approach-
ing. McNatt had soiled hands and wore a tri-
umphant expression, and both were explained
when, having climbed to Willard 's side and seated
196 LEFT HALF HARMON
himself there, he lifted the wooden lid of the
grape basket he carried.
"Agaricus pratensis," he announced impres-
sively.
"The same to you,'* answered Willard, "and
many, many of them."
McNatt smiled humoringly. "I found them
over near the farm. They are rather scarce about
here."
Willard eyed the contents of the basket un-
enthusiastically. The five mushrooms made very
little appeal to him and he hoped McNatt wasn't
going to ask him to help eat them. "Are they
edible?" he asked anxiously.
"Oh, yes, although my book says they're not
so tasty as many other sorts."
"They don't look awfully appetizing," mur-
mured Willard. "Do you cook them or
what?"
"They're excellent fried," replied McNatt,
gazing almost affectionately into the basket. "Or
you can stew them in milk."
"No, thanks." Willard shook his head. "I
don't like the smell of them. They they smell
as if they were dead!"
"Of course they're dead," said McNatt a trifle
impatiently. "Or I suppose they are. Possibly
DIPLOMACY 197
they continue to live for a certain time after they
are picked: I must find out about that: it would
be interesting to know."
"Very," agreed Willard politely. "Are you
going to eat them?"
To his great relief, McNatt shook his head.
"No, there aren't enough to make a mess."
"Aren't there? I should think those would
make a mess all right, a beastly mess!"
McNatt smiled, even chuckled. "I fancy you
aren't a mushroom lover," he said. "You wait,
though. Some time I'll get a fine lot of puff-balls
and we'll have a feast. You'll change your mind
then."
"Maybe I'll change more than that," said Wil-
lard sadly. "Maybe I'll change my habitation.
Lots of folks have gone to heaven after eating
mushrooms, haven't they?"
"No, not mushrooms," said McNatt, "toad-
stools. There's a difference." He covered the
basket again, set it carefully between his feet and
gazed in silence for a moment across the field.
Presently: "You are on the football team, aren't
you?"
"Yes," said Willard, "sort of. I'm a substi-
tute half."
"What sort of a team have we got this year?"
198 LEFT HALF HARMON
"Pretty fair, I think. Haven't you seen them
play?"
"I saw part of the first game, but you can't
tell much about a team so early. I haven't fol-
lowed it very closely since then."
"Well, we're sort of getting together, I guess,"
said Willard. "There have been a good many
changes made and so the team isn't playing to-
gether awfully smoothly yet. Mr. Cade's having
a lot of trouble finding a full-back."
"A full-back? Is that so?" McNatt seemed
rather more interested than previously. "What's
wrong there, Harmon?"
Willard explained as best he could and McNatt
nodded assent. "He's right," he declared. "To
my way of thinking the full-back is the most im-
portant man on the team. He's got to be strong
and clever and have enough weight to carry him
through the first defense. I don't bank much on
the very heavy sort, though. They generally lack
the proper mental attributes. Do you know, Har-
mon, it's strange to me that scientists have never
made a thorough study of the relation of mind
quality to body formation. Now take a type of
fellow who is big of torso and neck; large above
the waist, you understand; probably he will have
a large head, too ; most of them do. That f ellow;
DIPLOMACY 199
'will be a persistent, hard fighter when he's started
and he will have good sound judgment. But he
won't be resourceful and he won't be capable of
quick decision. See what I mean? I believe
that a thorough study of the subject would enable
anyone to tell a man's mental character off-hand
by observing his physical construction."
"You'd better come out this afternoon and look
over the substitutes," laughed Willard. " Maybe
you could pick out a full-back for Mr. Cade."
"Full-backs," answered McNatt solemnly, "are
very scarce. Good ones, I mean. I remember that
when I played here two or three years ago it was
difficult to find a satisfactory substitute."
"It isn't a substitute that's bothering this
year," said Willard ruefully, "it's the real thing.
Where did you play, McNatt f I mean what po-
sition. ' '
"Full-back," answered the other gravely.
"Full-back!"
"Yes, I played there my first year off and on,
although I was only fifteen. I was large for my
age, though. The next year I played the position
until I was taken sick. After that I sort of fell
out of the game. Well, I must get back." He
picked up his basket, nodded and went striding
toward Upton.
200 LEFT HALF HARMON
Willard watched him go thoughtfully. After
a minute, though, he tucked his pencil into a
pocket, seized his book and hurried across to
Lykes. Luck was with him when he knocked at
Number 2 and entered. Joe was propped up on
the window-seat, half hidden by a newspaper.
" Hello, Brand," he said. " What's on your
mind?"
"More than is on yours, I guess," answered
Willard meaningly.
Joe laughed. " Think so? Well, that's the first
paper I've seen in a week. I was looking over
the Saturday games. Yale's coming back all
right, isn't she? That fellow Loughlin who played
left tackle for awhile is an Alton fellow. Wasn't
considered much good here, though, as I re-
member."
"Say, Joe, suppose a fellow played football this
year and then didn't play for two years more.
Would he be any good?"
"Good for what?"
"Football. I mean, could he could he come
back?"
"Oh! I don't know, Brand. I guess it would
depend on the fellow. Aren't thinking of giving
up the game, are you?"
"No. Look here, Joe, suppose a fellow was a
DIPLOMACY 201
corking good full-back three years ago and then
didn't play any more. Suppose he was to go back
to the game tomorrow. How long would it take
him to to remember what he'd forgotten and
and find himself again?"
" Brand, it's too early in the day for hypothet-
ical questions," replied Joe, stretching and
yawning. "It would depend on so many things,
boy : on how well the chap had kept himself in con-
dition, principally. Got any fellow in mind, or
are you just doing this for exercise?"
"I've got someone in mind," .answered Wil-
lard earnestly. "There's a chap here who used
to play football three years ago, and from what
he says he must have been pretty good. Any-
way, he was regular full-back on the team. Then
he was taken sick and had to quit, and he never
went back."
"Who's that?" demanded Joe, sitting up.
"McNatt," answered Willard.
"McNatt! Oh, I thought you'd discovered
someone, Brand. I guess McNatt 's a joke."
"He did play, though, didn't he?" Willard
persisted.
Joe nodded. "Yes, he did, and that's a fact."
He paused and kicked thoughtfully at the paper
on the floor. "He played all one year, I think,
202 LEFT HALF HARMON
either on the second or on the first as substitute.
The first year I was here he played for awhile.
That was his second year. Seems to me he
stopped about the middle of the season. I don't
remember much about him, though. But, great
gosh, the fellow's no football man! Just just
look at him!"
"He's out of training, of course," agreed Wil-
lard, "but seems to me if he was good enough to
be regular full-back three years ago he might be
worth trying now."
"That's so, Brand! Look here, you tell him to
come on out and we'll give him a fair show, as
late as it is. It would be worth a dollar of any
fellow's money to see McNutt playing football!"
Willard shook his head. "I'm not sure he'd
do it, Joe."
"Why not? What's the idea!"
"Well, I don't believe he cares for it any more.
He's a funny duck, McNatt. I guess it would
take a lot of persuasion to get him back."
"But I thought from what you said that he
wanted to try it," said Joe, puzzled. "What does
he want?"
"To be let alone, I think," answered Willard,
smiling. "No, the idea was mine, Joe. McNatt
hasn't any more ambition to play football than
DIPLOMACY 203
I have to to collect mushrooms! But when he
told me about having played full-back I remem-
bered that we are hard up for a fellow for that
position, and so I came over here to speak to you
about it."
"Well, dog my cats," exploded Joe, "if the
fellow can play football it's his duty to do it!
Doesn't he know that? Where is he? I'll have
a talk with him. I don't suppose he's worth both-
ering with, but there's always a chance! And
we can't afford to miss it!"
"What are you going to say to him?" asked
Willard.
"Say to him? Why, that we need his services,
of course. I'll tell him that if he shows up de-
cently he will stand a good chance of playing
against Kenly. I guess that ought to fetch him."
"That might 'fetch some fellows, Joe, but I'm
afraid it wouldn't fetch McNatt." Willard shook
his head gently. "I may be wrong, but I guess
he's about as stubborn as they make them. You
know you can tell a lot about a fellow's er
character by his physical formation, Joe, and Mc-
Natt 's got long legs and and everything."
"I don't know what you're talking about," an-
swered the other impatiently, "but, stubborn or
not, he will play football if I get after him!"
204 LEFT HALF HARMON
"All right." Willard shrugged his shoulders.
"If I were you, though, I'd go at him sort of
easy."
"Oh, I'll be easy enough," said Joe untrou-
bledly. "He's in Upton, isn't he? What's the
number? Forty-nine!" Joe looked at his watch
and got to his feet. "I've got twenty minutes be-
fore French. I'll run over and see him. Of
course nothing will come of it, though. A fellow
who's been out of training as long as he has can't
come back in three or four weeks. Besides, I
dare say he's forgotten all the football he ever
knew."
Willard parted with Joe at the entrance. "Good
luck, ' ' he called as Joe went off. * ' Try diplomacy
first, Joe!"
Joe smiled back confidently and waved a care-
less hand.
It was not until he reached the gymnasium in
the afternoon that Willard learned the result of
Joe's visit to Number 49 Upton. Joe was still
angry. "The fellow's a perfect fool," he snapped
in reply to Willard 's polite inquiry. "And he's
as stubborn as a mule ! Sat there and talked for
ten minutes about how the full-back position
ought to be played and then calmly told me he
DIPLOMACY 205
wouldn't try for the team for a thousand
dollars!"
"And then you bullied him," laughed Willard.
"I told him what I thought of him," answered
Joe grimly. ''He made me so blamed mad I
could have punched his head. Just sat there and
blinked and shook his silly bean! And when I'd
flayed him alive he wanted to know if I wouldn't
like to see his mineral collection. Oh, the chap's
plain nutty!"
"He is sort of peculiar," agreed Willard
soberly.
"Peculiar!" Joe laughed mirthlessly. "He's
crazy in the head. Know what I think? Well, he
showed me a lot of mushrooms he had there;
nasty, smelly things they were, too; and I'll bet
he eats 'em and they've affected his mind. I
don't know what to do with him!"
"Guess you'll have to forget it and just let him
alone," said Willard soothingly.
"I can't afford to let him alone," protested Joe
impatiently. "Why, gosh, if that fellow can play
full-back the way he can talk it he 'd be a wonder !
Look here, Brand, you see what you can do. I
talked my head off and it didn't have any effect
on the poor fish. You you have a go at him,
will jou? And do it today. Honest, that fellow
206 LEFT HALF HARMON
ought to show whether he's any good or not. It's
his duty! Of course we can't make him play, but
you'd think he'd want to!"
"All right," agreed Willard, "I'll see what I
can do, Joe, but I haven't much hope. If your
diplomacy failed, why, I'm not likely to succeed."
Joe looked at Willard suspiciously. "Hang it,
I was diplomatic," he protested. "I was as sweet
as sugar to him until he shut his mouth tight and
said he wouldn't do it."
"If he had his mouth shut," said Willard, "I
don't see how he could say anything, Joe. Maybe
he hummed it, though?"
"Oh, go to the dickens!" growled the other.
There was an unusually hard and protracted
practice game that afternoon, and Willard played
at left half through fifteen strenuous minutes
during which the second, given the ball over and
over to test the first team's defense, hammered
and banged until she finally got across the line
for a score. Willard, like most of the others, got
some hard knocks and when he was released he
felt very little ambition for the task that Joe had
set him. But supper helped a lot, and at half-
past seven he set out for McNatt's room. Even
when he knocked at the door of Number 49 he
hadn't decided what he was to say.
DIPLOMACY 207
Not only McNatt was in this evening, but his
roommate, Winfred Fuller. Fuller was a sopho-
more, a smallish, anemic-appearing youth who, or
so Willard fancied, wore a harried, apprehensive
look, as though life with McNatt 's toads and
beetles and strange messes was gradually affect-
ing his mind. Fuller sat, straightly uncompro-
mising, on the edge of a chair and gazed at Wil-
lard with owlish fixity during the first ten min-
utes of the latter 's visit, and Willard was heart-
ily glad when, muttering some excuse, the boy took
himself off. McNatt was most hospitable and
offered to cook a few choice mushrooms that he
had picked that afternoon under someone 's stable
if Willard fancied them. But Willard explained
that, being on a diet, mushrooms were a forbid-
den luxury, and McNatt was not offended. After
that the talk turned to the subject of football
"situations" and McNatt was reminded that he
had found the memorandum of which he had
spoken on the occasion of Willard 's last visit, and
stretched a hand toward the littered table. But
unfortunately the paper had again disappeared,
and although McNatt searched long and deter-
minedly, making the confusion more confused, it
refused to be discovered. Finally, giving up the
quest, McNatt sat down again, stretching his long
208 LEFT HALF HAEMON
legs across the floor and thrusting a pair of large,
very chapped hands into his pockets.
* 'Myers came to see me this morning," he re-
marked placidly. "He's captain of the football
team this year. But you know him, of course. I
forgot you were on the team, Harmon. Queer fel-
low, Myers: awfully obstinate and opinionated,
don't you think?"
"Well, he's likely to have rather pronounced
views on any subject that he's very much inter-
ested in," replied Willard cautiously. "Football
for instance."
McNatt chuckled. "It was football he came to
see me about. He wanted me to play full-
back. It seems the fellow they've got isn't
very satisfactory. You told me that, too, I
think."
"Yes, I did," said Willard, "and I'm mighty
glad you're going to help us out, McNatt!"
McNatt frowned and shook his head. "Oh, but
I'm not. I told Myers I couldn't, you know. He
I don't think he liked it."
"You're not!" exclaimed Willard incredu-
lously. "But-but why?"
McNatt stared a moment as though a trifle sur-
prised. "Why, I'm out of football, Harmon! I
thought I told you that. I haven't played since
DIPLOMACY 209
my second year here. I've given it up completely.
You see, I hadn't any patience with the fuddling
way they taught it. Everything's so hit-or-miss.
No science at all. You acknowledged that your-
self, Harmon."
Willard nodded. "Yes, that's true. But, look
here, McNatt, it seems to me the game of football
needs fellows like you; fellows, I mean, who er
who realize what's wrong with it and have the
the courage and brains to remedy it."
McNatt tilted back and shook his head slowly.
"They won't listen, Harmon," he said. "I tried
Myers today. He couldn't see what I meant at
all. Just got very impatient and told me I was a
slacker. I'm afraid Myers has a one-track mind,
Harmon."
"Joe is awfully anxious to beat Kenly," replied
Willard, "and he takes it for granted that every
other fellow is just like he is. He loses sight of
the fact that there are fellows here in school like
you, McNatt, who don't give a whoop whether
Alton wins or doesn't."
McNatt shook his head almost violently. "You
mustn't say that," he protested. "Although not
actively participating in football any longer, Har-
mon, I am still vastly interested in it and follow
it very carefully. And, naturally, I want Alton to
210 LEFT HALF HARMON
defeat Kenly. Yes, indeed, decidedly! Yon
mustn't ah consider me unpatriotic."
"Oh," murmured Willard. "I didn't under-
stand. I thought "
"Yes?" encouraged McNatt.
"Why, only that, not being willing to help the
School out by going back to the team, you didn't
didn't care very much!"
McNatt smiled gently. "I'm afraid you're
rather like Myers," he chided. "You can only
see what's directly in front of your eyes. Myers
couldn't understand that I might find other things
more important than football. I explained that
my scientific pursuits meant more to me than
playing full-back on the eleven."
"Then I'm not like Joe," responded Willard,
smiling, "for I can understand it. I suppose
what does puzzle me, McNatt, is your not being
willing to apply your science to the bettering of
the game and the defeat of the enemy. Seems to
me you've got a big chance to demonstrate your
theories and to help the School at the same time.'*
McNatt looked surprised. "But I've explained
that they won't listen!" he said.
"Don't ask them to listen," replied Willard
smilingly, yet very earnestly. "Show them!"
"Show them? You mean"
DIPLOMACY 211
"Exactly! Go out and play fuH-back as it
should be played. Scientifically. According to
your ideas. Prove there's something in it, Mc-
Natt. Afterwards you can talk and they'll
listen."
McNatt drew his hands from his trousers pock-
ets and rubbed them thoughtfully together. "I
wonder if it could be done," he muttered. "You
see, Harmon, it isn't the playing of one position
that counts, but the conduct of the whole game,
the the modus operandi. And yet " He re-
lapsed into silence again.
"Being there, though, right on hand, would
help, wouldn't it!" Willard asked. "I mean,
you'd be in a better position to offer your advice
and aid. And maybe you might play full-back so
well that they'd realize that that science has its
place in football."
"Do you know," exclaimed McNatt quite ex-
citedly, "you almost persuade me to try it, Har-
mon ! By golly, you do ! This man that is coach-
ing this year I forget his name ; is he the sort
you can talk to f You know some of these coaches
are so so set! You can't get them to listen to
anything at all ! "
"I don't think Mr. Cade is that sort," replied
.Willard reassuringly. "I'd say he was quite open
212 LEFT HALF HARMON
to conviction, McNatt. In fact" and here Wil-
lard smiled to himself "in fact, I think I can
promise that he will listen to anything that prom-
ises success for the team. There's one thing,
though, that might bother you, old chap. You've
been out of training a good while and of course
condition's got a heap to do with playing foot-
ball well."
McNatt shook his head impatiently. "My con-
dition's all right," he answered. "I'll have to
read up on the new rules, though. They've made
several changes since I played before. I suppose
I ought to see Myers and tell him I've changed
my mind."
"I've got a rules book," said Willard, "and
I'll bring it over to you the first thing in the
morning. As for telling Myers, I wouldn't trou-
ble. I'm quite likely to run across him myself
this evening and I'll pass the good word to him
if you like."
"I'd be very much obliged," answered McNatt
gratefully, "but don't go out of your way, please.
Funny you should turn up here tonight, Harmon.
I'm glad you did, though, I really am. I wouldn't
have realized what an opportunity this thing af-
fords me if you hadn't I"
CHAPTER
M'NATT JOINS THE TEAM
A GREAT many years before the period of this
story Alton Academy manufactured its own illum-
inating gas from gasoline by means of a machine
in the basement of Academy Hall. The machine
was connected by pipe with a gasoline tank set
in a covered pit some sixty feet from the build-
ing. One fine day there was trouble with the gas-
oline supply and one of the faculty members
known as Old Grubby descended into the pit to
investigate matters. Just what occurred down
there was never known, but shortly after Old
Grubby disappeared from sight he reappeared
with vastly more celerity, and his reappearance
was accompanied by a violent concussion that
brought everyone rushing to the scene or to the
dormitory windows. A fortunate few gained
points of vantage in time to see the teacher's
ascent interrupted by the force of gravitation and
to watch his return to earth. This happened at
a point many feet distant from the crater that had
once been a brick-lined pit, and was quite spectae-
213
214 LEFT HALF HARMON
ular. Fortunately, aside from a severe shaking
up, some contusions and a nervous shock, Old
Grubby was uninjured, although just at first it
seemed to the horrified spectators that he had suf-
fered a direful fate, since he had gone into the pit
with a luxuriant growth of dark hair on his head
and had subsequently descended from his flight
with his scalp as bare and polished as a pale-pink
billiard ball ! None was more horror-stricken than
the unfortunate gentleman himself, however,
when he realized his plight. Clapping both hands
to his head, he broke loose from the solicitous res-
cuers and ran agitatedly around in circles. Such
extraordinary behavior on the part of an ordinar-
ily sane gentleman was naturally adjudged to be
the result of temporary dementia produced by the
accident, and so, of course, all those who had ar-
rived on the scene took up the chase. Old Grubby
dodged and eluded, giving vent to inarticulate
ejaculations of dismay, and the chase might have
continued for quite a while had he not finally, with
a cry of relief and triumph, snatched a brown
object from a lower branch of a tree, clapped it on
his shining head and dashed for his room.
The incident created a remarkable sensation;
not so much that portion concerned with the in-
teresting explosion of the gasoline tank as the re-
McNATT JOINS THE TEAM 215
sultant revelation. For many years Old Grubby
had managed to deceive the sharpest eyes in his
classes and never had there been the faintest of
doubts expressed as to the naturalness of his
beautiful dark brown locks. And then before the
eyes of the whole school he had been exposed!
After the first shock of incredulous surprise, Al-
ton Academy roared and rocked with laughter.
Students and faculty gasped and gurgled fra-
ternally, and you may well believe that the spec-
tacle of the Principal seated on the lower step
of Academy Hall, swaying rhythmically from
side to side and holding his head in his hands,
did nothing to quell the contagion. History has
it that at the end of that term Old Grubby re-
signed and took himself to distant fields where
his precious secret was not known.
Now this has no place in the present narrative
save as a prelude to the statement that not since
its occurrence had the School known such a sen-
sation as was caused by the appearance of Felix
Adelbert McNatt as a member of the football
squad !
McNatt reported on Friday afternoon, clad in
ancient regalia that included the disreputable
green sweater, and the news spread like wildfire.
Society rooms, studies, tennis courts were de-
216 LEFT HALF HARMON
serted, and the stands beside the gridiron were so
filled that you would have thought the Big Game
was in progress. Disbelief vanished as the un-
mistakable form of McNatt was descried on the
field and amused conviction took its place. "Hoo-
ray for McNutt!" shrilled an irrepressible fresh-
man, and the audience cheered loudly. "Regular
cheer, fellows!" bawled a junior, "with nine 'Mc-
Natts'!" The response was thrilling, even if the
"McNatts" became "McNutts" in the perform-
ance, and after that the new candidate had only
to move a hand or a long leg to be greeted by
uproarious applause!
"Whether McNatt realized the sensation he was
producing, or the nature of it, I can't say. At
least, he gave no sign. Perhaps he thought that
every practice witnessed a similar loyal attend-
ance and that the applause that fell to him was
no more than was generally accorded. McNatt,
fortunately, was not self-conscious nor sensitive.
If he had been he might have found it difficult to
perform the duties set him. As it was, he worked
hard and faithfully and with surprising ability,
proving at once that he had neither forgotten
what he had formerly known of football nor had
allowed his long absence from the game to put
.him out of condition. He tackled the dummy with
McNATT JOINS THE TEAM 217
the rest of the squad and showed how it should
be tackled, he swung a clever foot against the ball
and got thirty-five yards at a punt and he caught
the returning pigskin with ease and certainty. In
.short, McNatt that Friday afternoon caused
Coach Cade to stare and shake his head and al-
most rub his eyes and the audience along the side-
lines to change their laughter to enthusiastic, un-
grudging applause before the practice session was
ended.
A mere five minutes with a squad in formation
drill taught McNatt the signals sufficiently for his
purpose, and later, when the second team came
across, filled with ambition and an overwhelming
desire to see what all the laughing and cheering
was about, and McNatt was put in at full-back on
the first, why, he made good from the first mo-
ment. He clung doggedly to that green sweater,
though others were down to canvas, and it shone
resplendent in every play. Kruger, whose wont
it was to take the ball for the second and go rear-
ing through inside or outside of tackle, saw his
glory fade. The first time he tried it he ran
straight into a green sweater. Those nearest
heard an amazed "Whoof!" from Kruger, and
then he was borne back and placed expeditiously
on the turf, and a chuckling referee added another
218 LEFT HALF HARMON
yard to the distance to be gained. But the best
came when the first team, having wrested the ball
from a surprised second, sprang to the assault-
Cochran gained three past left guard and then
Tarver called on McNatt. Gil said afterwards
that the full-back got to him so quick that he al-
most missed the pass. Bob and Stacey did their
part, and then a green streak passed between
them, smashed into a luckless second team guardj
caromed off a tackle and proceeded down the
field, spurning the backs much as a cannon ball
might treat the attentions of so many toy terriers,
and, with an easy if ungraceful stride, ate up the
intervening sixty-seven yards and deposited the
pigskin squarely behind the goal. After whieK
McNatt seated himself on the ball and waited for
the others to come along.
Not for seasons of football on Alton Field had
there been such a wild paean of delight as arose
to the blue October sky just then! Reversing the
usual order, McNatt had arisen from the ridicu-
lous to the sublime, and Alton loved him for itl
Joy and laughter were mingled in that long-con-
tinued outburst, continued since the sight of the
elongated McNatt seated unconcernedly on the
football down there moved the onlookers to new;
merriment. Cochran kicked a goal and the game
McNATT JOINS THE TEAM 219
went on, and the audience breathlessly awaited
another enlivening spectacle. But another such*
incident would have been too much for the Law
of Probabilities. McNatt smashed and wormed
and twisted his way through the second team's
astonished line time after time for good gains,
but when eleven outraged and argus-eyed youths
are watching for the appearance of one green-
sweatered enemy that enemy hasn't much chance
of escaping detection and detention, and for that
reason McNatt didn't again get free that after-
noon. But he did gain every time he was given
the ball, which is glory enough, while the fact
that the opponents played for McNatt every time
the lines heaved afforded Cochran and Mawson
i or, later, Willard an absence of attention that
enabled them to do wonders.
Before the end of the game McNatt was taken
out, not, it appeared, because he was exhausted
or had lost any of his enthusiasm, but probably
because Jake, the trainer, willed it so. After that
he sat on the bench, surrounded by admirers, and
explained gravely his views on Science as a Foun-
dation for Football.
Yes, the advent of Felix Adelbert McNatt was
certainly a sensation, and as such it served as a
topic of conversation for not only the rest of that
220 LEFT HALF HAKMON
day but for many days following. After the first
flush of delight occasioned by the finding of such'
a wonder, captious ones asked why McNatt hadn't
been discovered before, dwelling on the fact that
he had been there right along and could have been
discovered as long ago as the season before last
if those in charge of football had known their
business ! But on the whole the School was much
too well pleased to indulge in criticism. The one
weak position on the team had been strengthened
and a victory over Kenly loomed large. Willard
received almost tearful thanks from Joe and
warm commendations from the coach. The lat-
ter 's evident gratitude gave Willard the courage
to offer advice. "You see, sir," he confided,
" McNatt 's got a lot of queer ideas about how
football ought to be played, and he really agreed
to join the team because he hopes to to sort of
reform things. He asked me if you were the sort
of man he could explain his theories to and I said
you were. So, if you don't mind, I guess it would
be a pretty good plan to sort of sort of humor
him, Mr. Cade, and let him tell you about
Science."
"He can tell me about Science and Art, too, if
he will play the way he played yesterday I" re-
plied the coach emphatically. "And if he can talk
McNATT JOINS THE TEAM 221
the way lie tackles I'll listen to him all night. And
you may tell him so ! "
But McNatt was biding his time. He didn't
mean to spoil his chances to put the game of foot-
ball on a proper scientific basis by introducing
his ideas too early. He meant to erect a firm
basis first, to show by the scientific playing of a
single position the plausibility of his theory that
all positions were capable of like treatment, both
individually and collectively in the form of the
team. Also, he wanted to establish cordial rela-
tions with the powers, the coach and captain, be-
fore beginning his proselytism. Meanwhile, as
Willard learned later, he devoted much time to
further study of the subject, collecting much data
and drawing interesting if not altogether con-
vincing conclusions from it. As it turned out,
McNatt was far too busy playing his position as
it should be played to do much more that season
than drive the entering wedge of reform into the
football situation. He spent all one evening in
Mr. Cade's rooms on one occasion and expounded
to his heart's content, referring at intervals to a
wealth of memoranda, and was listened to courte-
ously and patiently. And on numerous other oc-
casions he held forth to such as would listen, and,
while his audience was secretly amused, outwardly;
222 LEFT HALF HARMON
his remarks met sober and reverent attention.
Perhaps some day even when you are reading
this story for all I know McNatt will be hailed as
the Prophet of Scientific Football and the game
will be played according to his ideas. In which
case, all I can say is that I shan't care to see it!
The day after McNatt 's first appearance with
the team was the day of the Hillsport game.
Hillsport School was a much smaller institution
than Alton Academy, but it made up for lack of
numbers by self-esteem and aggressiveness. It
had held a place on Alton's football schedule for
four years, during which time it had met with one
defeat, had played one tie and had won one
victory.
The victory had come to it last year, on Alton
Field, and in the ecstasy of triumph the Hills-
port supporters had tarried in town long enough
to record that triumph for posterity. Loyal Al-
tonians on their way to church Sunday morning
found to their horror and indignant surprise that
the legend: "H. S. 14, A. A. 6," appeared in
large green characters on a dozen hitherto blank
walls and boardings! The worst of it was that
the insulting inscriptions were there to stay.
Perhaps the elements would, in the course of
years, subdue, perhaps obliterate, those vivid
McNATT JOINS THE TEAM 223
J>rush streaks, but today they looked as glaring
as they had on that first calm Sabbath morning.
Alton had viewed and exclaimed and muttered
yengefully for some days, but as time passed
familiarity bred indifference, and now it was only
when a visiting relative innocently asked the
meaning of the cryptic signs that indignation and
a thirst for revenge welled again in the Alton
breast.
Last year's defeat and those insulting green
painted symbols of disgrace combined to form a
mad desire for revenge this fall in the heart of
jevery Alton fellow. There were some whose out-
raged sensibilities even induced the opinion that
a victory over Hillsport was more to be desired
than a triumph over that arch-enemy, Kenly Hall.
,This, however, was an extreme view held by only
a few, although among the few were several rep-
resentative minds: as, for instance, Mr. Robert
[Wallace Newhall and Mr. Calvin Grainger. Mr.
Newhall stated distinctly and with much feeling,
in the presence of Mr. Grainger, Mr. Myers, Mr.
Proctor and Mr. Harmon, that if "we don't lick
the tar out of those fresh mutts tomorrow I won't
come back here!" Mr. Grainger, who had earn-
estly striven the preceding spring to wreak re-
yeage on Hillsport on the baseball diamond, and
224 LEFT HALF HARMON
had failed, applauded the sentiment, but other3,
frivolous-minded persons like Martin Proctor and
Joe Myers, expressed only derision.
"What would you do, Bob?" asked Martin.
"Stay over in Hillsport and blow up the school
buildings ?"
"He knows blamed well," laughed Joe, "that
he's safe. With old Felix McNutt tearing holes
in the line, Hillsport 's got about the same chance
to escape a walloping as Bob has to get to
heaven ! ' '
"I hope you're right," said Cal Grainger.
"I'd feel disgraced if those fresh guys licked U3
again."
"They won't," Joe assured him. "Not this
year. Boy, we 've got a team now ! With McNutt
in there, that's a mighty pretty backfield, and
Kenly's going to know it three weeks from to-
morrow!"
"Three weeks!" exclaimed Willard. "Not
really?"
"Why not?"
"But but that's so soon! Gee, I thought the
Kenly game was lots further off!"
"It isn't, though," answered Joe, shaking his
head. "And those three weeks will be gone be-
fore you know it, too. It's funny about that. One
McNATT JOINS THE TEAM 225
day you're in the middle of the season, and then,
seems like it was the next day, you wake up and
the Big Game's right on top of you! It it sort
of scares you, too!"
"Say, Joe, what's the real dope on Kenly this
year, anyway?" asked Bob thoughtfully.
Joe shrugged. "You know as much as I do.
She 's had about an average season, I guess. She's
played five games, one more than we have, and
has lost two, won two and tied the other. You
can't tell much about Kenly until along toward
the end of the season, any more than you can
about us. Last year she didn't look very good
until the Lorimer game. Then she walked all over
Lorimer to the tune of twenty-something to noth-
ing. That was the week before we played her,
you know, and it made us sit up and take notice.
But taking notice didn't do us much good, for she
walloped us when our turn came."
"The papers speak pretty well of her backs,"
observed Cal. "She has one fellow, I forget his
same "
"Puckhaber?" asked Joe.
"That's it, Puckhaber! Some name, I'll sayl
He's good, isn't he?"
"He's all right, but he wasn't anything re-
markable last fall. We stopped him as well as we
226 LEFT HALF HARMON
stopped any of her backs. She's got a good man
in Timmons, though, her left end. He'll bear
watching, fellows. Well, it's nine-thirty, Bob.
Time to turn in. This may be your last night in
the old school, son: better make the most of it!"
CHAPTER XVIII
REVENGE !
ALTON played the enemy at Hillsport this year, a
small town some twelve miles to the south. The
distance, however, didn't measure up to the time
it took for the journey, for team and supporters
had to take the train to Darlington, nine miles
away, and then cross to Hillsport by trolley, con-
suming all of an hour and ten minutes on the
way. Saturday was what Martin called a
"mushy" day. The sun came and went from be-
yond a haze of gray clouds and a light, damp
breeze blew inland from the sea. It was too warm
for an ideal football day, but those who were to
look on found no fault with it. Most of the School
accompanied the players and, since Manager
Ross when providing for the team's transporta-
tion had failed to make any arrangement for the
followers, a lamentable lack of conveyances de-
veloped at Darlington. There was a special car
waiting for the players, but the single regular
car which was due to make the trip to Hillsport
ten minutes later could not possibly be made to
227
228 LEFT HALF HARMON
hold more than eighty of the nearly three hundred
fellows who fought for places. A hurry call was
telephoned to Hillsport for extra cars, but before
they came several scores of good-natured but
impatient youths had set forth on foot to cover
the last two-and-a-half-mile leg of the journey.
Fortunately for these, the game was not started
until nearly fifteen minutes after the advertised
time and the last flushed and perspiring Altonian
had dragged himself to a seat before the Green
kicked off to the Gray-and-Gold.
There is no good reason for devoting much
space to the contest, for, although the final score
was not as one-sided as early evidences promised,
it was plainly to be seen from the first moment
that the visiting horde was certain of victory.
Save that McLeod was in Macon's place at right
end for Alton, the line-up was quite as expected.
McNatt was at full-back and Mawson at left half.
Gil Tarver held the helm. There were no substi-
tutes introduced by Coach Cade until the third
inning was well along. Then Jack Macon, who
had been suffering from a mild attack of tonsil-
litis, went back to his position, and Willard and
Moncks were sent in to replace Mawson and Coch-
ran. Still later, Hutchins ousted Gil Tarver and
Cravath replaced Nichols at center. Both teams
REVENGE! 229
found the weather uncomfortable and toward the
last the play slowed up until it fairly dragged.
There were no spectacular incidents. Alton
used few plays and made them go. There was
never at any time necessity for uncovering any-
thing new. Hillsport, encouraged by much excel-
lent support from the east side of the field, started
off very confidently to make gains through the
opposing line. After several failures she shifted
her attention to the ends, and still later attempted
a kicking advance. To the latter, to the surprise
and delight of the visiting spectators, McNatt re-
plied and replied eloquently. Substitutions had
deprived the Alton team of her usual punters and
the task of returning Hillsport 's kicks devolved on
the full-back, and the full-back accepted the task
untroubledly and, while he was too much out of
practice to quite equal the best efforts of the
rival punter, he performed some very satisfactory
feats in aerial warfare. McNatt was held back
today, being afforded few chances to shine lest
his fame reach Kenly too early in the season.
Whether there were any Kenly scouts on hand to
take notes was not known, but Coach Cade was
determined that if there were they should have
but little to report. McNatt on defense, though,
was not to be repressed, and many an ambitious
230 LEFT HALF HARMON
Hillsport back was nipped in the bnd, so to speak".
On the attack McNatt gained whenever he was
called on, but the work was very evenly distrib-
uted among the backs. Willard played a strong,
hard game which, if no better than Mawson had
put up, was equally as good. Alton made her first
score in the first period, smashing Cochran over
for a touchdown at the end of eight minutes of
playing. Cochran crowned his touchdown with a
goal. In the second period Alton worked to Hills-
port's eighteen yards and lost the ball on a fumble
by Tarver, and was on her way to a second touch-
down when the whistle blew, leaving her in pos-
session of the ball on the enemy's twenty- three
yards. In the third period, after Hillsport had
rallied and taken the pigskin to near Alton's
thirty, the Gray-and-Gold took the ball on downs
and began a fourth journey up the field that fi-
nally resulted in the second score, McNatt going
off left tackle for four yards and the touchdown.
Tarver kicked a neat goal. That ended the scor-
ing, and, while Hillsport opened up several long
passes after the next kick-off and occasioned a
moment of uneasiness once, neither side threat-
ened the opponent's goal, and the play became
utterly listless as the end approached.
Today's Hillsport eleven was not by any means
REVENGE! 231
the team that had worsted Alton last fall, and
Alton's victory was nothing to be very proud of.
It was, consequently, satisfaction from revenge
achieved rather than pride of performance that
caused the visiting crowd to cheer and sing with
such unction when the game was over. Alton
"rubbed it in" a little, I fear, and, since the Hills-
port fellows didn't take defeat any too gracefully,
it looked at one time as if there would be trouble
before the marching victors left the field. How-
ever, a clash was averted, and Alton, waving gray-
and-gold banners and still cheering, took herself
across the grounds to the car line. Better accom-?
modations were afforded for the return trip to
Darlington and no one had to walk.
The Alton team had dressed in the field-house,
a small wooden structure built under one of the
grandstands, and by the time they were once
more in street clothes the spectators had long
since vanished. Willard and Martin had shared
the same suitcase and when, having reached the
waiting trolley car, some three blocks distant from
the field, it was discovered the suitcase was miss*
ing each laid the blame on the other.
"I thought you had it," said Martin.
' * I thought you had it, ' ' replied Willard. * * You
were at it last."
232 LEFT HALF HAEMON
"I was! I'll bet you! I'll match you to see
which of us goes back for it."
"I don't mind going," said Willard, "but I'll
miss the car, I guess."
"We'll wait for you," said Bob, who, with Cal
Grainger, had been enjoying the joke. "There'll
be another car pretty quick. Get a move on,
Brand!"
Willard found the field-house locked when he
reached it again, and no one was in sight. There
was just one thing to be done, and he did it. Find-
ing a flat piece of iron amongst the litter behind
the little building, he forced a window and crawled
through. Rather to his surprise, the suitcase was
just where they had left it, and, leaving as he had
entered, he closed the window again and hurried
back across the school grounds. It was well after
five o'clock and lights were showing in some of
the dormitory windows. At the main entrance a
group of three awaited him; Martin, Bob and
Cal. The special car had gone, but Bob assured
him that there would be another one along pretty
soon, and so, their bags at their feet, they perched
themselves on the coping of the wall and waited.
At intervals Hillsport youths passed through the
gateway, eyeing them with a disfavor that brought
chuckles from Bob.
REVENGE! 233
"Gee, they're a sore bunch," he said. "We
could get up a scrap without half trying."
"Don't see what they've got to be sore
about," observed Cal Grainger belligerently.
"We haven't daubed green paint all over their
town ! ' '
Willard held his watch to the light and inquired
uneasily: "What time does that train go, fel-
lows!"
"Quarter to six," answered Martin. "What
time is it!"
"Nearly half-past five," replied Willard.
Bob whistled. "We'll never make it," he
laughed. "When's the next one! Anyone
Inow!"
No one did. Cal remarked that even if the car
came right then it wouldn't get them to Darling-
ton in time for the train that the others were
taking.
"What do we care!" asked Bob. "We don't
have to get back until ten if we don't want to.
Look here, let's get some supper here and go
home afterwards!"
"Might as well," agreed Martin. "We
couldn't possibly get to school before seven. Got
any money! I'm broke."
234 LEFT HALF HARMON
"A couple of dollars," answered Bob. "Howj
about you, Cal?"
Cal confessed to being the Croesus of the party,
having the magnificent sum of four dollars and
some cents on his person, and, unlike some
wealthy persons, he was quite willing to share his
riches. So, all being agreed, they set forth foi;
the center of town, following the car-track foi;
guidance. The long-awaited car overtook them
presently, but, although Bob was for taking it be-;
cause of his suitcase, he was overruled, Cal re-i
lieving him of his burden. Half a mile from the
school a quite pretentious restaurant rewarded
their search and they trooped in and took posses-
sion of a table for four. Having ordered rather
an elaborate repast, it was decided that Cal should
go out and gather information regarding the train
service, and Cal, hastily swallowing the rest oi;
the slice of bread that he was engaged on, went.
He returned five minutes later grinning broadly*
" What's the trouble?" asked Bob. " Spill it,
son. I know that grin of yours ! ' '
"There was a train two minutes ago," chuckled
Cal, "and the next one doesn't go until eight-
thirty-three!"
"What do we care?" asked Bob. "That'll get
us home long before ten."
REVENGE! 235
"Sure, but what '11 we do for two hours in this
benighted burg?" asked Martin.
" Maybe there's a movie house. There's bound
to be," said Bob.
''I didn't see any," Cal replied. "I guess they
don't allow 'em here."
"We'll ask someone." Bob hailed a waiter.
"Movies? No, sir, not in Hillsport. There's
two good ones over to Warner, though," replied
the waiter.
"How far's Warner?"
"Three miles by the trolley. It takes about
twenty minutes."
"Great green grasshoppers!" exclaimed Cal.
"What a place to live in! What do you do at
night here?"
"Well, there's a pool-room on the street above
and a bowling-alley across the square," chuckled
the waiter. "Mostly, though, we go to bed!"
"I don't blame you," muttered Martin. "Only
thing to do is eat as much as we can and take our
time about it. How long before those steaks '11 be
here?"
"Guess they're ready now, sir. I'll go see."
When the waiter had departed Cal took another
piece of bread, levied on Willard's butter and
spoke thickly. "Listen, fellows," he said. "Tell
236 LEFT HALF HARMON
you what we can do. We can get back at Hills-
port."
"Get back at it!" jeered Martin. "Get out of
it's what we want!"
"I mean we can do a little celebrating," con-
tinned Cal, lowering his voice, although the tables
were empty on each side of them. "Get me?"
"Not clearly," answered Bob. "Elucidate,
please. Also, kindly keep away from my butter,
you big hog!" Bob removed his modest pat to a
safer place, and Cal, foiled, ate the remainder of
the slice unbuttered.
"Have you forgotten what they did to us last
year?" he demanded indignantly.
"Hardly! They licked us. And then the
painted the score all over I get you! By jim-
iny, that's a corking scheme, Cal! We'll do it!
We'll make this old burg as pretty as a picture!
We'll"
"We'll get in a peck of trouble," interrupted
Martin. "Not for me, thanks!"
"Oh, don't be a piker," begged Cal. "They
did it to us and didn't get into any trouble.
What's sauce for the sauce I mean "
"Is sauce for the saucer," aided Bob. "Righto!
We get your meaning, son. I see no reason why
we shouldn't be allowed some slight ah evi-
EEVENGE! 237
5ence of our joy. Hillsport got away with it, so
why shouldn't we!"
The arrival of supper interrupted further dis-
cussion of the matter, and it was not until
the first intense pangs of hunger had been ap-
peased that Martin returned to the subject.
"We'd have to have paint and brushes," he said
discouragingly, "and we couldn't get them at this
time of night."
"We'd only need one bucket of paint and one
brush," replied Bob. "And how do you know we
can't get them? This is Saturday night, and
there's sure to be some place open."
"Well, we couldn't get gray and gold in one
bucket, you lobster," returned Martin impolitely.
"We don't need gray and gold, you shrimp.
They wouldn't show up well enough. We want
a nice quart can of black. That 's the ticket ! Nice,
black black! Who's going to have pie!"
It appeared that as many as four of their num-
ber were going to indulge in that delicacy, and
that Martin, having consumed one large glass of
milk, was in the market for a second. He had
the forethought, though, to count his money be-
fore giving his order, and, finding he was safe,
added: "How much does paint cost? I've only
carfare left."
238 LEFT HALF HARMON
"Cal's got a dollar yet, haven't you?" answered
Bob. "Paint isn't expensive. Maybe seventy-five
cents for a quart. A brush oughtn't to be more
than a quarter, had it!"
"You can buy a toothbrush for a quarter,"
said Cal, "but I guess a paint brush costs a heap
more. I've got a dollar and sixty cents left,
though, and I'll gladly devote it to the cause.
Finish your eats, fellows, and let's get started."
Willard followed doubtfully when the repast
was over. "I'll go along," he said, "but I'd
rather not have anything to do with the game. It
doesn't look healthy to me."
Martin laughed. "It's all right if we don't get
nabbed, Brand. I'd like mighty well to see the
expressions on the faces of some of these chaps
over here tomorrow!"
CHAPTER XIX
BLACK PAINT
As Bob had pointed out, it was Saturday night,
and even in Hillsport most of the merchants kept
their shops open. As it was considered unwise to
ask the location of a hardware store, the quartette
was some time finding one. But success rewarded
[their efforts presently and, lest numbers create
suspicion, Bob was delegated to do the purchas-
ing alone. Cal emptied his pocket of all it con-
gained except sufficient to pay his fare back to
lAlton and Bob pulled his cap down and entered
the store. In a very few minutes he emerged, a
paper-covered package under one arm, and
strolled casually along the street to a dimly
lighted corner where the others awaited him.
"Get it?" whispered Martin.
"Sure! Also and likewise a brush." Bob
pulled the latter article from a trousers pocket
and waved it triumphantly. * ' Here 's the change, ' '
lie added.
Cal held the few coins that dropped into his
239
240 LEFT HALF HARMON
palm to the uncertain light of a distant street
lamp. "Huh, there isn't much of it," he said.
"Paint's high, owing to to I forget what,"
answered Bob cheerfully. "But the brush was
only thirty cents. That was cheap, eh?"
"It must be a wonder!" commented Cal. "Bet
you the bristles all come out before we get through
with it."
"We ought to soak it in water first," said Bob,
"but I guess there isn't time."
"You're a swell little guesser," answered Mar-
tin. "Which way do we go?"
"Back the way we came," said Cal. "The
nearer the school, the better, I say."
"That's right. I wonder should we stir this
stuff up." Bob tore off the disguising paper and
revealed a quart can. "Guess we'll have to.
Let's get the cover off and find a stick or some-
thing."
Getting the cover off was not difficult, Cal pry-
ing it up with his locker key, but finding a piece
of wood with which to stir was more of a prob-
lem. They searched and poked around in the
gloom of the back street without success until
Martin found a broken fence picket and pulled off
a nice long splinter. Then, in the added dark-
ness of a tree, they put the can on the sidewalk
One brief instant they tarried to admire
BLACK PAINT 241
and proceeded to mix the ingredients thoroughly.
Once a passer on the other side caused them to
straighten up and assume casual attitudes, but for
the rest they were undisturbed. Even on the busi-
ness thoroughfares Hillsport was not a crowded
town tonight. Presently they set off, Bob bearing
the paint and Cal the brush, keeping to the darker
streets until the center of the town was left be-;
hind. Then they crossed to the residence avenue
by which they had returned from the school and
began to look for blank walls or fences appropri-
ate to their purpose.
After some five blocks had been traveled Bob
voiced disparagement. "This is a punk town for
decorating," he said. " Nothing but iron and
picket fences."
"What's that over there?" asked Martin,
pointing. It proved, when they had crossed the*
street, to be the clapboarded side of a stable or,
garage set some three feet back from the fence*
Bob gloated fiendishly and called for the brush.
But, although until that instant scarcely half a
dozen persons had been sighted, now the long
street suddenly became densely populated, or so it
seemed to the vandals. A man came out of a house
across the way, a boy and a dog appeared from a
cross thoroughfare and two ladies appeared from;
242 LEFT HALF HARMON
the direction of the shopping district. Bob depos-
ited the paint can against the fence and the boys
stood in front of it in negligent attitudes. Cal
^histled idly and unmusically. The boy passed
unsuspiciously, but the dog showed signs of curi-
osity until Martin lifted him swiftly but merci-
fully from the vicinity with a dexterous foot.
jThen the man, having lighted a cigar very delib-
erately, took himself off and the two ladies
passed, casting nervous glances at the quartette,
and the street was again quiet.
Bob dipped brush in paint and reached toward
the immaculate whiteness of the building. Wil-
lard looked on dubiously, but forebore to remon-
strate. It was a difficult reach and Bob was
grumbling before he had formed the big A that
started the inscription. But, although the black
paint ran down the handle of the brush and in-
commoded him vastly, he persevered and in a min-
ute the sign stood forth in the semi-darkness, huge
and startling:
A. A. 14
H.S.
One brief instant they tarried to admire, and
then they hurried away from the place. It seemed
to them that those big black letters and numerals
visible for blocks ! By common consent they
BLACK PAINT 2431
turned the next corner and dived into the com-
parative blackness of a side street. Presently
they stopped and exchanged felicitations.
" Swell!" chuckled Cal. "Gee, I wish I could
see the Hillsport fellows tomorrow when they
catch sight of it!"
"So do I," said Bob. "Didn't it show up
great? Who's got a handkerchief he's not partic-
ular about?"
"Wipe your hands on your trousers," advised
Martin coldly.
"What's the matter with your own handker-
chief?" inquired Cal. "You get too much paint
on your brush, anyway. ' '
"Well, you can't be very careful when you've
got to hurry," grumbled Bob. "You can do the
next one, seeing you know so blamed much about
it! Gosh, the silly stuff is running up my
sleeve!"
"I've got an old handkerchief you can have,"
said Willard.
"Thanks, Brand. You're the only gentleman
in the bunch. Excepting me," added Bob as Mar-
tin laughed.
"Where next?" asked Cal while Bob wiped his
hand.
"Let's paint a good one somewhere near the
244 LEFT HALF HAEMON
school," Martin suggested. "Seems to me there
^ras a brick wall across from where we were wait-
ing for the car that would be just the ticket."
"Lead me to it," begged Cal. "This is my
iturn."
They got back to the main street a block far-
ther on and a few minutes' walk brought them
in sight of the main entrance to the school. ' ' We
don't want to stay around too long," said WiL
lard. "It's nearly eight o'clock now."
"Guess we'll have to do one more and call it
a day," replied Bob. "I never saw such a punk
town for for decorative purposes!"
Three Hillsport fellows, returning to school,
overtook them as they neared the entrance and,
as it seemed, viewed them very, very suspiciously.
But the four kept their heads down, and Cal, now
carrying the pot of paint, was careful to keep it
hidden. The three entered the school grounds
and were lost to sight and the conspirators
breathed more freely. The wide street ended at
the campus. A cross street ran right and left and
for a block in each direction the high iron fence
of the school bore it company. From the right the
street car line came, turning in front of the gate.
As, however, they had seen but one car since they
had started forth on their expedition, interrup-
BLACK PAINT 245
tion from that source seemed unlikely. The brick
wall of which Martin had spoken could not have
been placed more advantageously. It surrounded
the small premises of a residence on the left-hand
corner, and, as Bob triumphantly pointed out, a
sign painted there would be the first thing seea
by anyone coming through the school gate.
"That's all right, " returned Cal dubiously,
"but it's awfully light here." And so it was, for
just inside the gate an electric arc lamp shed its
blue radiance afar.
"I'll stand at the gate," volunteered Bob, "and
Mart and Brand can watch the streets. If any-
one comes we'll whistle."
"What about the folks in the house?" Gal's
enthusiasm was rapidly waning. The residence
was brightly lighted and the strains of a pianoj
came forth.
"They can't see through the wall, you lunk-
head," answered Bob, "and if anyone comes out
we'll see 'em and let you know. All you need to.
do then is set the paint pot down and just walk
away, careless-like. "
"We-ell, but you fellows watch," said Cal re-
signedly. ,
Bob posted himself across the street at the en-
trance and Martin and Willard took up positions
246 LEFT HALF HAKMON
from where they could see anyone approaching on
either street. Then Cal set to work. Painting on
the rough surface of a brick wall is not so simple
as painting on wood, and Cal made slow progress.
Now and then the others heard disgusted mur-
murs from where, a darker form against the
shadows, he stooped at his task. Several min^
utes passed, and Willard, concerned with the fact
that train time was approaching, grew nervous;
which, perhaps, accounted for a momentary lapse
from watchfulness. At all events, the approach-
ing pedestrian, coming along on the school side
of the cross street, was scarcely a dozen yards
'distant when Willard saw him. The latter 's
warning might, it seemed, have been heard a mile
away.
"Beat it!" yelled Willard.
Afterwards he explained that shouting w^as
quicker than whistling, and that if he had taken
time to pucker his lips they would never have got
away without being seen.
They came together a block down the main
thoroughfare, breathless and hilarious. "He he
toent in the gate," panted Bob. "I saw him.
Looked like one of the faculty, too. Gee, it was
a lucky thing he didn't catch us! D-did you get
it done, Cal?"
BLACK PAINT 247
"Just! I was going over the naught a second
time when I heard Brand yell. I had the paint
can in one hand and the brush in the other and
I just heaved 'em both over the wall and ran!"
"I'll bet it looks great," chuckled Martin.
"I know it does," answered Cal proudly. "I
made the letters and figures as big as that." He
held his hands nearly a yard apart. "It took
most of the paint, too. Brick's awfully hard to
work on. What did you do with Brand's hand-
kerchief, Bob?"
"Gave it back," said Bob.
"No, you didn't," denied Willard.
"Didn't I? I thought I did. Meant to, any-
way. Must have dropped it somewhere, then.
Wipe your hands on your own hanky. That's
what you told me to do!"
"I will like fun," muttered Cal. "I'll bet the
stuff is all over me, hang it!"
"You can wash up at the station," said Martin.
"Who knows when the cars run over to Dar-
lington 1 ' '
An uneasy silence followed. Then Bob said:
"What about it, Cal? You asked, didn't you?"
"I asked when the trains went," replied Cal.
"I I suppose the cars go every ten minutes or
so, don't they?"
248 LEFT HALF HARMON
"What time is it now?" asked Martin bruskly,
"Five to eight," answered Willard.
With one accord the four broke into a trot. "If
we miss that train we're dished!" said Bob.
"Seems to me you'd find out something, Cal, while
you were at it! What time does the train go?"
< ' Eight-thirty-eight, ' ' replied Cal. ' * You didn 't
ask me to find out about the trolley. I thought you
knew about it. How was I to know "
"Save your breath for running," advised Bob
coldly. "If we can't get a trolley we'll have to
foot it."
"Gee, we'll never do it in thirty minutes!" ex-
claimed Martin.
"We'll have to," said Bob grimly, "if we can't
get a car. If we're not back at school by ten we'll
get fits. And then, if the faculty over here makes
a fuss about those signs, why, we'll be nabbed!"
"I told you it was too risky," mourned Martin.
"Well, you took a hand in it, didn't you?" asked
Bob shortly. "Shut up and get a move on! Isn't
that the square ahead there?"
It was, and when, very much out of breath, the
quartette reached it, a car obligingly swung
around a corner and paused in front of a waiting
station a block away. "Come on!" yelled CaL
"That's ours!"
BLACK PAINT 249
Of course, having reached it and staggered
breathlessly inside, they had to sit there for quite
ten minutes before the car resumed its journey.
But they were too grateful to mind that, and, al-
though Willard looked at his watch frequently and
anxiously, the conductor assured them that, if
'they didn't burn out a fuse or run off the track
or if the power didn't give out, they would reach
the Darlington station eight minutes before train
time. Bob advised Cal to keep his hands out of
sight and Cal hung them down between his knees
all the way. The conductor's prediction proved
correct, and, as there were no misadventures on
the journey, Cal was able to eradicate most of
the paint from his hands before the train arrived.
To his disgust, however, he discovered that his
coat and trousers were liberally specked with
black, and when Bob told him cheerfully that the
paint wouldn 't be very noticeable on mixed goods
he became quite angry. In the end they reached
the Academy well before ten o'clock and unob-
trusively sought their rooms, everyone very
weary and, if the truth must be told, rather short-
tempered by now.
CHAPTER XX
EVIDENCE
COACH CADE was pleased with Saturday's game,
and said so. So, too, was the school in general.
In fact, it seemed that the school found more en-
couragement than was warranted. One heard a
good deal on Sunday about what Alton was going
to do to Kenly when the time came. Doubtless
much of this optimism was due to the arrival of
Felix McNatt in the backfield, which, with the
placing of Proctor at left tackle, appeared tr
round out the team remarkably. Certainly there
was little in Saturday's victory over a palpably
weaker opponent to account for all the enthusi-
asm which spread over the school like a con-
tagion.
Sunday afternoon, walking across to Academy
Hall to post a letter, Willard encountered Mc-
Natt bent on a similar errand. McNatt showed
evidences of having played football recently, for
three strips of adhesive plaster formed a star
over one cheek-bone. Having dropped their let-
250
EVIDENCE 251
ters in the box beside the entrance, the two boys
stood for a few minutes and talked. McNatt was
evidently a trifle discouraged about his mission of
reforming football on a more scientific basis.
"Mr. Cade says there's a good deal in it, but
thinks the ah impetus should come from the
colleges. Now I don't agree with him there, Har-
mon By the way, is your name Harmon or
Brand? I heard some of the players calling you
[Brand yesterday."
"Harmon. Brand's just a nickname."
"I see. Well, as I was saying, I don't think
[Mr. Cade is right. I believe that if we fellows
at this school developed the game along the lines
jthat you and I have discussed so frequently, others
;would follow. There there 'd be a movement,
Harmon. If we look to the colleges to make the
start we'll have to wait a long time, I fear. In my
opinion colleges are extremely conservative in the
matter of football, especially the larger ones, the
s ah the leaders. Of course I realize that the
season is so far advanced that any extreme
changes now would possibly militate against the
team's success. Nevertheless, I am hoping that
OMr. Cade will decide to experiment in a small way.
I have spoken to quite a number of the players
and they all appeared most interested. In fact,
252 LEFT HALF HAEMON
I don't recall that any of them offered a serious
criticism."
"I guess it'll take time," murmured Willard.
"Great ideas generally have to to overcome a
good deal of opposition, don't you think? How
does it seem to be playing again, McNatt f ' '
The full-back's face lighted. "Splendid," he
replied. "Do you know, Harmon, I didn't sup-
pose I could find so much pleasure in the game
again. Of course I realize that I'm still rather
stale, but it's coming back to me, it's coming
back." McNatt nodded gravely. "I make mis-
takes and I'm frightfully slow, but with practice
I'll improve. At least, I hope to," he corrected
modestly. "It's possible, though, that I shan't do
as well as I should. The fact is, Harmon, I'm
conscious of the variance of thought that exists
between those in charge of the team and me. I
approach the problem confronting us scientific-
ally. They approach it in the old hit-or-miss
style. I strive not to let the lack of shall I say?
harmony trouble me, but I fear it does at times.
So often, when the quarter-back signals one play,
I know that the situation calls for another, and
I fear that the absence of a sympathetic approval
of the play demanded sometimes ah uncon-
sciously reduces my enthusiasm for it. And,
EVIDENCE 253
really, one must be thoroughly convinced of the
propriety of a play before one can go into it
wholeheartedly, just as one must be convinced
as to any other act. You see what I mean,
Harmon?"
1 'Oh, absolutely," answered Willard, "abso-
lutely! But, really, McNatt, I wouldn't trouble
much about that. Seems to me you've been play-
ing a mighty sweet game."
"You think so?" asked the other doubtfully.
"I don't know. If only it was possible to give
reasoning thought to the conduct of the game!
But it will come, I'm certain of that. Meanwhile
I shall do the best I can."
"I'm sure of that," said Willard earnestly.
"There's just one thing that might happen,"
resumed McNatt as they strolled away from
Academy, knitting his brows. "Some time that
quarter-back is his name Tarbox?"
"Tarver, Gilbert Tarver," replied Willard
gravely.
"I think I've called him Tarbox several times.
Well, as I was saying, there is a possibility that
some time he may call a play that I shall sub-
consciously rebel against and, under a certain
mental condition, it might be that I would ah
spill the beans."
254 LEFT HALF HAKMON
Willard went off into a gale of laughter. Me-
Natt viewed him in mild surprise. ''I'm afraid,"
he said, gently reproving, "the result would be
far from humorous. It is conceivable that it
migkt, happening at a crucial moment in
the contest, even prove disastrous to our for-
tunes!"
"I I wasn't laughing at that," moaned Wil-
lard, wiping his streaming eyes. "I was laugh-
ing at at your slang!"
"Slang? Oh!" McNatt smiled. "I dare say
it did sound queer. I pick up quite a good deal of
slang from Winfred. Well, I must get back. I'm
working on a plan that will, I think, produce more
certainty of result to the kick-off. You may have
noticed how seldom the team in possession of
the ball at the kick-off is able to concentrate de-
fensively in the locality of the catch. My idea, if
it proves practical and I think it will would en-
able the team to know where the ball would de-
scend and so concentrate on that point. Well,
I'll see you again, Harmon."
Willard reported the conversation to Martin,
who was doing his best today to convince himself
that what had every appearance of a cold in the
head was merely a touch of hay fever, and Mar-
tin mixed laughter with his sniffles. "The poor
EVIDENCE 255
nut," hie said. "He'd try to introduce science
into eating a fried egg if he thought of it ! How
the dickens can the team know where a kick-off
is going to land when the fellow who kicks the
ball doesn't know himself half the time? I sup-
pose his idea is to have the ball brought back if
it doesn't go where it's expected to! Say, Brand,
remind me to get a Darlington paper tomorrow,
will you? There ought to be something about last
night's job in it. I'll bet those fresh chumps over
at Hillsport are hopping mad today!"
< ' That 's a safe bet, ' ' laughed Willard. ' ' I only
hope they're not mad enough to raise a row about
it "
11. ,
"How could they?" asked Martin indignantly.
"Didn't they do the same thing to us last fall?
Much good it would do 'em if they did get sore !
I guess faculty would have a pretty good come-
back, son! Anyhow, you should worry. You
didn't have anything to do with it. Any more
than I did," added Martin after a moment.
Willard laughed. "It sounds fine the way you
say it, Mart," he answered, "but I guess faculty
would have a lot of trouble getting your point of
view. We were right there, old chap, and we
even kept watch while the the nefarious deed
was perpetrated."
256 LEFT HALF HARMON
"Where do you get that talk?" demanded Mar-
tin, punctuating the question with three mighty
sneezes. "You'd better keep away from McNatt,
son. You're catching it! Brand, just so long as
my conscience is at rest I care naught for what
faculty may say or do. And I've got what is
prohably the most restful conscience in cap-
tivity!"
"Well, I guess Hillsport's too good a sport to
make a howl," replied Willard. "Gal's clothes
are simply covered with paint, Bob says. And he
doesn't dare wear them for fear faculty might
notice and get a line on what happened. He's
going to smuggle them over to the tailor's and
have 'em cleaned."
"Well, he would have a hand in it," said Mar-
tin complacently. "You didn't see me begging to
be allowed to desecrate the walls of the dear old
town, did you? I knew better. Paint always
spatters, especially when you try to put it on
bricks. I could have told Cal that, but he's so
blamed knowing that he wouldn't have paid any
attention to me." Martin sneezed again and
shook his head. "It was coming over in that old
trolley that gave me this cold. I guess I got
worse than a spoiled suit out of the adventure.
If I don't manage to break this up tonight I'll
EVIDENCE 257
be out of football for days! I know these colds
of mine."
"I thought you said it was hay-fever," re-
marked Willard innocently.
Martin growled. "It's more than a month too
late for hay-fever, I guess." He seized his hand-
kerchief, opened his mouth and twitched his nose.
Nothing happened, however, and he relapsed
again, with a dismal shake of his head. "It's get-
ting worse all the time," he muttered. "Is there
a window open anywhere?"
"No, but I'll open one," answered Willard
obligingly.
"Don't be a silly ass," requested the other. "If
you had this grippe you wouldn't be so plaguey
comic!"
"It's growing fast," laughed Willard. "An
hour ago it was just hay-fever. Then it was a
cold. Now it's grippe. Better see a doctor, Mart,
before pneumonia sets in!"
"Oh, shut up! What time is it?"
"Almost time for supper. What shall I bring
you? Do you care for milk-toast!"
"I do not ! And I'll look after my own supper.
I guess maybe some food will do me good. If it
turned out to be influenza I'd be all the better for
having lots of strength. It's weakened constitu-
258 LEFT HALF HARMON
tions that cause so many fatalities. A fellow
wants power of resistance, I guess."
"Well, I don't know about that, but a clean
handkerchief wouldn't hurt!"
Monday introduced real November weather.
The sky was overcast when Willard piled out of
bed in the morning, and a cold breeze was blow-
ing from the east. Eadiators were sizzling and
the bath-robed, gossiping groups were noticeably
absent from the corridor when he set forth
for the lavatory. Winter was in the air,
and the coffee at breakfast never tasted so
good.
It was just before ten that Willard received the
disturbing message from the school office. Mr.
Wharton, the secretary, desired to see him im-
mediately after twelve. Oddly, perhaps, Willard
failed to connect the summons with the Hillsport
episode for some time. All during his ten o'clock
recitation he subconsciously tried to think of some
neglected study or duty that would account for
the secretary's desire for his company, and it
wasn't until he had disposed of that explanation
by the slow process of elimination that Saturday
night's affair obtruded itself.
He didn't allow that to alarm him, though.
After all, a mere prank of that sort, common
EVIDENCE 259
wherever there were boys* schools, couldn't be
taken very seriously. In any case, he would get
off with a reprimand. What bothered him more
was the question of how Mr. Wharton had man-
aged to associate him with the affair, and he won-
dered whether Martin and the others were wanted
at the office also. He hoped to run across one
or the other of them and compare notes, but luck
was against him, and as soon as he was released
from classroom at twelve he set forth a trifle
uneasily down the corridor to the office.
He had to wait several minutes while the sec-
retary heard and denied a freckle-faced fresh-
man's request for leave of absence over the next
Sunday and then he made his identity known and
received a distinct shock when Mr. Wharton
jerked a thumb over his shoulder and said: " Doc-
tor McPherson."
The thumb indicated a closed door across the
width of the outer office. Although Willard had
never passed through that portal, he knew that
it admitted to the Principal's sanctum. His con-
fidence waned as he opened the gate in the rail-
ing, heard it click behind him and hesitated before
the blank portal.
"You needn't knock," said the secretary, over
his shoulder. "The Doctor expects you."
260 LEFT HALF HARMON
Willard thought the latter sentence sounded
horribly grim!
The Principal's office, unlike the outer room,
was large and spacious, with a flood of pale light
entering by three big windows that overlooked the
Green. A half-dozen mahogany armchairs stood
about the room, a wide bookcase almost filled one
wall space and a huge table-desk, remarkably free
from books or papers occupied the geometrical
center of the soft green rug. At the desk, his
back toward the windows, sat Doctor Maitland
McPherson, a man of well under fifty years, thin-
visaged, clean-shaven, somewhat bald. He laid
aside the book he had been reading at Willard's
entrance, slipping an ivory marker between the
pages before he closed it, and nodded pleasantly.
"Harmon?" he asked.
"Yes, sir."
"Bring one of those chairs here, please, and be
seated."
Willard followed instructions and then looked
inquiringly across the few feet of shining ma-
hogany and green blotting pad to the countenance
of the Principal. This was his first close view
of Doctor McPherson, although he had seen him
at least once every day. Usually the length of
the assembly hall separated them, and just now
EVIDENCE 261
Willard wished mightily that it still separated
them. Not that the Doctor looked very formid-
able, for he didn't. He wasn't a large man, and
his strength and vigor were evidently that of the
mind rather than of the body. His brown eyes,
rather golden brown, were soft and kindly, and
two deep creases that led from the corners of his
short, straight nose to the ends of his rather wide
mouth suggested that he preferred smiling to
frowning. Even now there was a smile on the
Doctor's face, although it wasn't a smile that en-
couraged the caller to emulate it.
"I presume," said the Doctor, "that you know
why I sent for you, Harmon."
"No, sir," answered Willard, honestly enough,
"Keallylf" The Doctor's grizzled brows went
up in faint surprise. Leisurely, he swung his
chair a little and opened the upper left-hand draw;
beside him. Then he laid something midway be-
tween him and Willard, something that by its ap-
pearance seemed to desecrate the immaculateness
of the mahogany on which it rested. It was a
crumpled object, white in places, black in other
places, smeared and stiffened. In brief, it was a
white handkerchief befouled with black paint.
"Have you ever seen that before, Harmon!"
asked the Doctor.
CHAPTER XXI
BOB SAYS SO
WZLLARD'S heart sank. There was no need to pick
the thing up for closer examination. Its crum-
pled, distasteful folds showed one border miss-
ing, and, if evidence had still been lacking, closer
inspection would have elicited the fact that, half
obliterated by a paint smudge, the word " Har-
mon" was plainly printed on a corner. It was
the handkerchief that he had given to Bob New-
hall Saturday night to wipe his hands on.
"Yes, sir," replied Willard.
"When and where?" asked the Doctor quietly.
"Last Saturday night, sir, at Hillsport.
The Doctor picked the object up gingerly and
dropped it back in the drawer. Then he closed
the drawer slowly and gazed thoughtfully for a
short moment at the book he had laid aside.
"I have received a very indignant letter from
Doctor Handley, at Hillsport School," he said
presently. "He tells me that some time during
Saturday night the wall of his residence was de-
faced with black paint in urn in ill-advised
BOB SAYS SO 263
celebration of Alton's football victory over Hills-
port."
Willard gasped. "We I didn't know it was
his wall, sir!" he exclaimed.
"Is that true 1 ? You didn't know that Doctor
Handley's residence stood at the corner, across
from the school entrance?"
"No, sir," answered the boy earnestly. "I'd
never been there before, sir."
"But the others? They must have known."
"The others?" stammered Willard.
"Yes," replied the Doctor gently. "You said
'we' a moment ago."
Willard reddened. "I I corrected myself,"
he answered.
Doctor McPherson smiled whimsically and
shook his head. "I wouldn't call it a correction,
Harmon. You see, it's extremely unlikely that
you would have engaged in such a such an
amusement by yourself. Defacing property in
that manner is 'gang work': I've never known it
otherwise."
Willard gulped. "Yes, air- Well, none of us
knew that wall was Doctor Doctor "
"Handley's?" asked the Principal helpfully.
"Yes, sir. We wouldn't have done it for any-
thing if we had known. We we just wanted to
264 LEFT HALF HARMON
get even with those fellows for what they did
to us last year. They painted green signs all
around town here, sir, and we thought it was per-
fectly fair to get back at them. That's all there
was to it.*'
"A very silly proceeding, Harmon. Defacing
the property of others is a particularly mean and
contemptible form of mischief. And the fact that
the Hillsport boys indulged in it was no excuse.
Indeed, the appearance of your own town should
have shown you how atrocious such vandalism is.
I sympathize with the resentment that was felt
here last fall when it was found that Hillsport
had scrawled the score on our fences and walls,
but I do not sympathize in the least with the mo-
tive that led you and your companions to commit
the same indecency, Harmon. Another thing is
that Hillsport was careful not to deface school
property. Indeed, as I recall, she displayed some
care in the selection of old fences and such places
for her um decorations. In your case you seem
to have tried to do as much damage as possible."
"But we didn't know, sir!" protested Wiilard
again.
"And that I find hard to believe," replied the
Doctor, shaking his head. "How many times did
you paint the score up?"
BOB SAYS SO 265
"Only twice. The first time on a stable or
something. We looked for fences and things like
that, but there weren't any, sir. And we wanted
to put it where the Hillsport fellows would be
sure to see it, and finally we found that wall! It
was outside the school grounds and we didn't any
of us know it was the Principal's house. We
wouldn't have thought of doing it there if we'd
known. It was just just a joke, sir!"
"A frightfully poor one, Harmon! Who were
the others with you ? ' '
Willard dropped his gaze and a moment of si-
lence passed. When he raised his eyes again it
was to look rather miserably at the Doctor and
shake his head. "I guess I oughtn't to say, sir,"
he answered in low tones.
"I shan't insist," said the Doctor gently. "I
know how you fellows look at such things. I can't
help reflecting, however, Harmon, that your code
of honor as regards matters amongst yourselves
is somewhat finer than you display in other mat-
ters. You don't hesitate, it appears, to daub black
paint over a man's brick wall, although that man
has never offended you in the least, but you're
outraged at the mere thought of giving informa-
tion against companions who have aided you in
your offenses. Well, you shall suit yourself. I
266 LEFT HALF HARMON
think it my duty, though, to point out to you that,
in deciding on the proper punishment in your
case, the question of whether you knew or did not
know that you were defacing property belonging
to the school and occupied by the school Principal
is important. You tell me that you did now know
and that the others did not know. If, as you say,
you had not been in Hillsport before, I am in-
clined to believe what you tell me of yourself, but
I cannot take your word for the others, Harmon.
It seems to me extremely unlikely that one or
more of them did not know whose property it
was. If I knew their names I could question them
and find out. As I don't know their names I am
forced to give more credence to the probabilities
than to your testimony. You see, Harmon, the
affair looks very much like a deliberate insult to
Doctor Handley, and it certainly calls for an apol-
ogy. In apologizing I'd like greatly to be able to
assure him that the affair was merely a school-
boy prank and that the depredators were not
aware that it was his property they were defiling.
But I can't tell him that without more evidence
than your unsupported testimony affords me. Is
that clear to you?"
"Yes, sir," answered Willard unhappily.
"And you still prefer not to give me the names
BOB SAYS SO 267
of the others ! Remember that I shall make every
effort to find out and shall doubtless succeed."
"I I'd rather not, sir," answered Willard
steadily.
"In that case there is no more to be said. Pend-
ing a decision as to what disciplinary measures
shall be taken, Harmon, you will observe hall re-
strictions. I am very sorry this has happened,
iny boy, and I hope it will lead you to a um
greater respect for the rights and property of
others. Good morning, Harmon."
Willard stood up, rather pale but very straight.
"I'm sorry I can't tell you about the others, sir,"
he said earnestly, "but but I don't believe you'd
act any different yourself if you were in my place.
And I'll take the punishment without kicking,
Doctor McPherson. But, just the same, it doesn't
seem fair to me that those fellows should get
away with what they did and we I should get
punished for doing no more. We didn't know we
were painting up Doctor Handley's wall. You
needn't believe me unless you want to, but it's so!
What what's he want to live outside the school
for, anyway?" Willard ended in an indignant
wail and the Doctor's mouth trembled in a smile.
"If your idea is to shift the blame to Doctor
Handley," answered the Principal dryly, "I'm
268 LEFT HALF HARMON
afraid it won't work! You'll hear from me later,
Harmon. Good morning."
"Good morning, sir," murmured Willard.
He found Martin hidden behind a newspaper
when he got back to the room, and so absorbed
was the reader that not until the door had
slammed shut did he know of Willard 's entry.
Then he showed perturbed countenance above
the Darlington Daily Messenger. "Seen this,
Brand?" he asked ominously. Willard shook his
head and took the proffered paper. The Hills-
port correspondent had made quite a story of it.
VISITING VANDALS DEFACE PROPERTY
Saturday's Football Game at Hillsport Com-
memorated by Smears of Paint
"Hillsport, Nov. 4: This town awoke on Sunday
morning to find that some time during the preceding
night vandals had been at work with paint and brush.
In a number of conspicuous places the score of Satur-
day's football game between Hillsport and Alton
Academy was set forth in great black figures. To the
youthful perpetrators of the outrage no place was
sacred, for the ornamental brick wall about Principal
Handley's residence, adjoining the school campus, was
one of the sites selected for the derisive inscription.
On Parker Street, the stable belonging to Chief of
Police Starbuck likewise tells the story of Alton
Academy's football victory. Probably other instances of
property defacement will be found, but these so far are
the most glaring that have come to light. Indignation
is widespread and both town and school authorities
BOB SAYS SO 269
propose to use every effort to bring the guilty persons
to justice. While complete evidence is still lacking, it
is generally believed that certain of the visiting party
of Alton Academy students, over-excited by an unusual
and unlocked for triumph over the local school, re-
mained behind on Saturday evening and celebrated the
victory in this reprehensible fashion. Indeed, it has
been already established that four or five Alton youths
were seen about town as late as half-past six or seven
that evening. Unfortunately for them, the miscreants
left a clue which if followed will undoubtedly lead to
their apprehension. This is now in the hands of Chief
of Police Starbuck. We understand that Principal
Handley is already in correspondence with the authori-
ties at Alton Academy and that the wanton defacement
of school property will not be allowed to pass un-
punished. ' '
Willard handed the paper back in silence.
Martin grinned. "Have you anything to say be-
fore sentence is passed?" he asked sepulchrally.
"Sentence has been passed, so far as I'm con-
cerned," answered Willard. Martin stared.
Then:
"What do you mean?" he demanded anxiously.
"I mean that I've just come from a fine mo-
ment with Doctor McPherson. That Principal
over there, Handley or whatever his silly name is,
has written to the Doctor, and sent that clue
along, too."
"Wow!" muttered Martin awedly. "Wha
what was the clue?"
"My handkerchief."
270 LEFT HALF HARMON
"Good night!"
"And sweet dreams," added Willard iron-
ically.
"What did lie say?" asked Martin after a mo-
ment of painful thought. Willard shrugged.
"He said a lot! He wasn't so bad, though. I'll
have to say that for him. I'm on hall bounds until
the faculty gets together and decides whether I'm
to be boiled in oil or merely drawn and quar-
tered. You fellows may get by all right, though.
I'm the only one they're sure of so far. Why the
dickens didn't someone say that that brick wall
was the Principal's?"
"How were we to know?" demanded Martin.
"Why doesn't he live inside where he ought to I
Say, we managed to pick a couple of fine spots,
didn't we? It was a clever idea to paint up the
side of the Chief of Police's barn! Oh, we were
a grand little bunch of nuts!" And Martin
laughed mirthlessly.
"Yes," agreed Willard, "we surely managed
to do things up brown while we were doing!"
"Didn't you tell 'Mac' that you didn't have
anything to do with it?"
"That would have been a fine song-and-dance!"
jeered Willard. "What if I didn't do any of the
actual painting! I went along, didn't I? Be-
BOB SAYS SO 271
sides, there was my handkerchief, all stuck up
with black paint. He didn't waste any time ask-
ing me whether I'd done it. All he wanted to
know was who the others were."
"You might as well have told him," said Mar-
tin gloomily. "He'll find out quick enough."
"I don't think so," answered Willard. "No
one saw us come back, and short of taking the
whole school over there and letting the restaurant
folks pick you fellows out, I don't see how they're
going to tell."
Martin brightened. Then his face fell again.
"We'll have to fess up, Brand. It wouldn't be
fair to let you stand the whole racket."
"That's a swell idea," answered the other de-
risively. "You and Bob off the team would help
a lot, wouldn't it?"
"We-ell " Martin scowled in concentrated
study of the problem. Then: "Look here," he
said, "a fellow's got to eat, anyway. Let's go to
dinner. Afterwards we'll find Bob and "
His remark was interrupted by a knock at the
door followed by the entrance of Bob himself, a
somewhat troubled looking Bob who, without no-
ticing anything unusual in the looks of the room-
mates, plunged into speech. "Say, fellows," he
announced, lowering himself into a chair and
272 LEFT HALF HARMON
viewing them frowningly, "I'm not quite easy in
my mind about that business the other night."
"Really?" asked Martin. "How strange!"
The sarcasm was lost, however. Bob shook his
head and went on. "No, because I have a hor-
rible suspicion that I tied that handkerchief to
the handle of the paint can, Brand. And if I did
they'll find it, sure as shooting. I I suppose it
had your initials on it, eh?"
Willard shook his head. "No," he answered
gently.
"Honest?" Bob perked up. "Then it won't
matter if they do find it, will it? Gee, I was get-
ting sort of worried! You see, I thought first I'd
given it back to you, Brand, and then I thought
I'd thrown it away, but Cal said last night that he
sort of remembered feeling it around the handle
and I sort of half remember putting it there. But
if it didn't have any mark on it, we should
worry."
"I didn't say that," corrected Willard. "I
said it didn't have any initials, and it didn't. All
it had was 'Harmon', in nice big letters."
"Great Scott!" gasped Bob.
"By the way, you haven't cast your eye over
the Darlington paper by any chance, hare you?"
drawled Martin.
BOB SAYS SO 273
"No. Is there anything in it?" asked Bob anx-
iously.
"Why, yes, you might say so. Like to look at
it!"
Bob viewed the others with growing disquiet.
"What's the joke?" he demanded, scowling.
"What are you two fellows so blamed creepy
about? Let's see that paper!"
Willard and Martin said nothing until Bob had
finished the story. Then: "Looks like we might
have a bit o' weather," drawled Martin.
Bob laid the paper down softly and grinned in
sickly fashion.
"I'll say so," he answered.
CHAPTER XXH
ON PROBATION
BY mid-afternoon the news was all over school
and conjecture was rife. Alton took it as a fine
joke and laughed and chuckled enjoyably. Hills-
port had been paid back in her own coin, and
painting the football score on Principal Hand-
ley's sacred wall was considered a veritable
master-stroke of genius! Decorating the prem-
ises of Hillsport's chief of police was also looked
on approvingly, for, while it lacked the magnifi-
cence of the other effort, it nevertheless held a
touch of daring that kindled youthful enthusiasm,
Some of the seniors shook their heads and soberly
predicted trouble, but others, knowing themselves
innocent, were unconcerned with that feature of
the affair. They wouldn't have to suffer, so why
worry? Oddly enough, the identity of the heroes
remained a mystery, although many fellows
looked wise and pretended to be able to tell a
lot if they would. To Bob and Martin and the
others it seemed impossible that none should re-
call the fact that they had remained behind when
274
ON PROBATION 275
the car that bore the football players had left the
school. But things had been confused that after-
noon and excitement had reigned, and if anyone
did recall that significant fact none made mention
of it. You may be certain that none of the four
jogged the memories of any of the others!
Hall restrictions, or hall bounds in student
phraseology, was ordinarily not a very severe in-
fliction. You went to chapel, classes and meals
as usual, but for the rest you stayed in your dor-
mitory building and let the world wag along with-
out you. You were allowed the freedom of the
recreation room downstairs and you could, if the
hall master saw fit to allow, visit other fellows
in the building. So long as you were not engaged
in athletic activities you didn't suffer greatly, al-
though after a few days the regime began to seem
decidedly monotonous. In Willard's case hall
bounds was a real punishment since it meant no
more football, and he had very dreary thoughts
that Monday afternoon. As required, he had ac-
quainted Manager Boss of his forced absence
from the field, and Ross had scowled and scolded,
and even stormed a little, but had not, appar-
ently, connected the fact with the happening at
Hillsport on Saturday night.
Willard didn't dare prophesy to himself what
276 LEFT HALF HARMON
the outcome would be. He had a well-developed
notion that fellows had been expelled from Alton
School for misdemeanors no more heinous. In
any case, he was quite certain that there would be
no more football for him that fall, since even if,
by a miracle, his punishment should be ultimately
no worse than at present, a week or a fortnight
of absence from practice would end his usefulness
to the team. Coach Cade, he reflected grimly,
wasn't going to hold the left half-back position
open for him ! There were moments when he felt
somewhat aggrieved and when he told himself
bitterly that it wasn't fair that he should be made
the goat for the whole crowd. But second thought
did away with all that. If he could keep the
others out of it, he decided, he would do it un-
grudgingly, even if it cost his dismissal. After
all, the success of the football team was the big
thing, and, although he couldn't help any longer
with his playing, he could help a whole big lot by
keeping his tongue still.
If Willard couldn't visit outside Haylow, there
was nothing to prevent occupants of other dormi-
tories visiting him, and after practice that after-
noon four disturbed and perturbed youths sat in
Number 16 and faced a puzzling situation. Mar-
tin was strong for confessing and making a public
ON PROBATION 277
apology to Doctor Handley at Hillsport, in the
hope that the Alton faculty would be lenient. He
was decidedly obstinate in the matter, and it took
much persuasion from Willard and Cal to alter
his view. Bob was the least talkative of the four.
He said he was perfectly willing to do whatever
the others decided was best, but he offered no
opinions. Bob blamed himself for the whole af-
fair, from first to last, ignoring the fact that Cal
had originated the scheme, and insisted that if it
hadn't been for his carelessness it would never
have been connected with Willard. Mea culpa
was written large on Bob's countenance and Mar-
tin's repeated assertion that they were all tarred
with the same brush an allusion that made Cal
wince, in view of the fact that his gray suit was
costing him two and a half dollars for cleansing
had no effect on his melancholy.
In the end it was Willard whose words pro-
duced conviction. "You fellows make me tired,"
he declared impatiently. "What's the use of go-
ing all over it a dozen times? The whole thing's
just this: If you fellows squeal on yourselves it
isn't going to do me any good, so far as I can
see, and it'll just about bust up the team. With!
the best right guard and left tackle out for the
rest of the year, what's going to happen! You
your places in the little time that's left. "We'd get
licked good and hard, and that's all there is to
that. As for faculty being lenient, well, maybe
they might be, but you can bet being lenient won't
let any of us play football! If we'd done some-
thing perfectly mean and putrid I'd say fess up
and take the medicine, but we haven't. We didn't
any of us know that Doctor Thingumbob lived
in that house. We were just playing a practical
joke and the rest was simply tough luck. You
fellows just keep your silly mouths shut and go
on and play football and lick the hide off Kenly.
That's all you need to do. I'll take the punish-
ment, whatever it is, and keep right on smiling.
There's just one thing I won't stand for, though."
iWillard looked at Bob and Martin fiercely. "If
I get canned and you fellows don't beat Kenly
I'll come back here and I'll I'll mighty near kill
you!"
1 'Oh, dry up," muttered Bob. "You know
blamed well we'll claw the wool off those guys,
Brand! You don't have to talk that way."
"It isn't right, though," said Martin.
"It's as right as anything we can do," asserted
Cal. "We haven't done anything criminal, even
if faculty thinks we have. Brand's got the right
ON PKOBATION 279
dope, fellows. There's no use killing off the team
just to to salve our consciences. Look here, I
don't play football. I'll go in with Brand.
Maybe Mac will be easier if there's two of us."
"Oh, don't play the silly goat," begged Wil-
lard. "What good would it do? Where's the
sense of two getting canned, maybe, instead of
one ? Stop chewing the rag, for the love of mud !
And pull your face together, Bob, before it
freezes that way. Gosh, anyone would think you
were going to be hung! You fellows beat it out
of here before someone suspects, and stop looking
like the criminals you are!"
Willard carried the day.
During the next few days Doctor McPherson
summoned various students before him and ques-
tioned them, but learned nothing new. The
weekly faculty meeting was held Wednesday
evening, and Thursday morning Willard found a
buff envelope on the mail board in the lower cor-
ridor of Haylow. Inside was a request that he
call on the Principal that afternoon at half-past
four at his residence.
"Would you pack up now or wait until after-
wards?" asked Willard smilingly of Martin.
Martin, however, refused to treat the matter so
lightly, and growled and fumed at a great rate.
280 LEFT HALF HARMON
At four-thirty Willard pushed the button beside
Doctor McPherson's front door and was ushered
into a book-lined room on the right. The Doctor
arose to meet him and shook hands, a ceremony
dispensed with at the office. Then, when the vis-
itor was seated, the Doctor picked up a typewrit-
ten sheet from the desk and handed it across.
"Read that, please, Harmon, and tell me
whether you wish to sign it," he said.
It was a letter to Doctor Handley, at Hillsport
School, apologizing very humbly and, at the same
time, very gracefully for what had happened. It
stressed the fact that the writer had not known
that he was defacing school property and was of-
fered "on behalf of myself and my companions
who participated in the regrettable act." Wil-
lard read it through carefully and laid it back on
the edge of the desk.
"Yes, sir," he said, "I'll be very glad to sign
it."
"Very well. I am also writing to Doctor Hand-
ley and the two letters will go together." The
Doctor dipped a pen in ink and handed it to Wil-
lard and the latter placed his signature at the
bottom of the sheet.
"Thank you." The Doctor laid the sheet aside
and faced the boy again. "We gave some thought
ON PROBATION 281
and discussion to your case last night, Harmon,
and, I am glad to tell you, decided to accept your
version of the incident. That is, we reached the
conclusion that your statement to the effect that
you and your companions were not aware of the
fact that you were defacing Doctor Handley's
property was true. While you have been with us
but a short time, your hall master and your in-
structors spoke extremely well of you, and that
weighed in your favor. It was decided that you
are to go on probation for the balance of the term,
a penalty which you will, I think, realize is far
from extreme. Probation, as you doubtless know,
requires a certain standing in class and exemplary
conduct. It also denies you certain privileges,
amongst them participation in athletics. I may
add that as fast as your fellow culprits are dis-
covered a like penalty will be awarded to each. I
hope this will be a lesson to you, Harmon. There
is a very distinct line between harmless fun and
lawlessness, and I trust that hereafter you will
recognize it."
Willard returned to Haylow too relieved over
his escape from the extreme penalty to let the
matter of probation trouble him for the time.
Martin, returning from practice shortly after,
performed a dance of triumph and joy. ' 'That's
282 LEFT HALF HAKMON
great, Brand!" he declared. "I don't mind tell-
ing you now that I was fearing the worst. Of
course, I didn't let you see it What are you
laughing at?"
"Why, you crazy chump, I could see all along
that you thought I was going to get canned!
You've been about as jolly as an undertaker!"
"Honest 1 ? Well, I'll tell you one thing you
don't know, son, and that is that if they had
canned you I'd have gone along. I made up my,
mind to that!"
"What good would that have done?" jeered
Willard.
"Never mind, that's what would have hap-
pened," replied Martin doggedly.
"Well, don't be too care-free and light-
hearted," laughed the other. "Mac says that
as fast as you chaps are found out you'll get the
same medicine."
"He's got to find us first," chuckled Martin.
"If he was going to do it he'd have done it be-
fore this."
"Well, I hope you're right. How did practice
got"
"Fine! We scored three times on the second.
Son, we've got a real team this year!"
"Who was at left half ?"
ON PROBATION 283
"Mawson most of the time. Longstreth had a
whack at it, too. We're going to miss you there,
Brand. "
"Much obliged," answered Willard dryly. "I
guess you'll worry along, though. What's it like
to be on pro?"
Martin's face sobered as he shook his head.
"I've never been there yet, and I hope I never
shall, but I guess it's sort of fairly rotten!"
And so it proved to be. While Willard was no
longer confined to the dormitory, he was not al-
lowed to go on the field and was debarred from
being outside the school property after six in the
evening, and the latter restriction meant that the
movies, unless he chose to attend in the afternoon,
would know him no more until after Christmas
Recess. The hardest feature of his punishment,
however, was the required standing in all classes.
Marks under 85 drew frowns of disapproval, and
Willard reflected that the rule that kept him in-
side the grounds in the evenings was not such a
bad one, for only by spending the evenings in
diligent study could he hope to scrape through.
Being forbidden attendance at practice or
games did not, however, prevent him from wit-
nessing the game with New Falmouth High
School on Saturday. He saw it, although at a
284 LEFT HALF HARMON
distance and in a rather uncomfortable attitude,
from Felix McNatt's window in Upton. McNatt's
room, while not on the end of the building over-
looking the field, was near the corner and, by
opening a window and leaning well out Willard
could see all of the gridiron save the stretch of
it close to the nearer stand. Fortunately for his
comfort, the day was only mildly cold. New Fal-
mouth High was not a formidable antagonist and
Alton had no difficulty in running up 34 points
while the adversary was securing 7. Afterwards
it was stated throughout the school that McNatt
won that game single-handed, but that was an ex-
aggeration. True it is, though, that the full-back
carried the ball over for four of the five touch-
downs and was largely instrumental in securing
the fifth! Willard observed from his aery with
mingled emotions that Mawson was far from ef-
fectual on attack, although he played a consist-
ently good game on defense. Cochran, at right
half, had an off-day, and Moncks, who took his
place in the third quarter, was not much better.
it seemed to Willard that the Gray-and-Gold de-
served a larger score than she got, for she fol-
lowed the ball closely, played hard and showed
real end of the season form throughout. Two
penalties in the last period undoubtedly saved the
ON PROBATION 285
visitor from a worse drubbing. The visitor's
touchdown was honestly earned in the first few
minutes of play when Gil Tarver's forward-pass
to Lake fell into the hands of the enemy and
a blue-and-white-legged youth raced thirty-odd
yards and fell across the goal-line. A nimble-
footed quarter-back added another point.
The New Falmouth game passed into history
and Alton faced the next to the last contest with
confidence. Oak Grove Academy was always a
worthy competitor, and this year was to meet Al-
ton on Oak Grove ground, but the Gray-and-Gold
had reached her stride and the only question that
concerned her adherents was the size of the score
and whether Oak Grove would be represented in
it. Kenly had played a stiff game with Lorimer
Saturday and had won it in the last five minutes,
the final score being 16 to 13. Although the best
Alton had been able to do against Lorimer was to
play her to a 3 to 3 tie, the Gray-and-Gold never-
theless found encouragement in the Kenly-Lorimer
game, arguing that Alton's present playing was
fifty per cent better than it had been a fortnight
ago, granting which a meeting between Alton and
Kenly on Saturday would have found the former
easily superior. Whether this reasoning was cor-
rect or not, certain it is that neither players nor
286 LEFT HALF HARMON
adherents doubted Alton's ability to beat Oak
Grove Academy in most decisive fashion at the
end of the week. But this was before Mr. Kin-
caid, physics instructor, put two and two together
and beheld a great light.
CHAPTER XXIII
M'NATT TRIES PHOTOGRAPHY
MR. KINCAID was a dapper, well-groomed little
gentleman of middle age who wore a sandy mus-
tache and squinted engagingly through a pair of
gold-rimmed glasses because he was unusually
near-sighted. On one occasion, when the instruc-
tor had removed his glasses to polish them and
had subsequently mislaid them between the pages
of a book for something like two minutes, things
happened in Room G seldom witnessed! Being
extremely fastidious, the instructor was a good
customer of The Parisian Tailors, who occupied
a small building on "West Street. On the preced-
ing Saturday, the day of the New Falmouth game,
the instructor repaired himself to the tailoring
shop shortly after dinner with a pair of trousers
draped gracefully over one arm. He wanted those
trousers nicely pressed for the next day's wear-
ing, and he must have them no later than this
evening. Having enjoined Mr. Jacob Schacht to
that effect, he remained a moment and watched
287
288 LEFT HALF HARMON
that gentleman, who, by the way, looked most un-
Parisian in feature, proceed to the long-delayed
cleaning of a gray suit. It was a peculiar look-
ing suit, Mr. Kincaid decided, viewing it through
his strong lenses, and he made mention of his de-
cision to Mr. Schacht. "An odd mixture," he
remarked agreeably. "I don't think I ever saw
one just like it, Mr. Schacht."
"Them spots ain't in the goods," chuckled Mr.
Schacht in an un-Parisian voice. "They're paint,
Mr. Kincaid. One of the young gentlemen at the
school brought this here suit to me the first of the
week just like you see it. All over the front is
them spots, Mr. Kincaid, and I says 'A fine job
you bring me/ I says, 'because,' I says, 'paint
that's already got hard like this,' I says, 'you
can't do much with it, Mr. Grainger.' So much
I don't like it, I keep putting it off, sir, and here
now it's already Saturday, and nothing ain't done
to it yet, Mr. Kincaid. If there was two of me I'd
?till be working till it was midnight just like now,
Mr. Kincaid."
His interest in the suit having vanished on
learning that the peculiar appearance was due to
specks of paint, Mr. Kincaid sympathized with
Mr. Schacht in a few well-chosen words and with-
drew. The incident did not again occur to him
McNATT TRIES PHOTOGRAPHY 289
until Tuesday forenoon when his eyes again fell
on the gray suit, now quite commonplace in ap-
pearance, adorning the form of Calvin Grainger.
Just why at that moment Mr. Kincaid's thoughts
should have reverted to the last faculty meeting
it is hard to say, but they did, and he recalled the
case of a student, whose name he had now forgot-
ten, which had been before the meeting for con-
sideration. That student had used black paint
to adorn the brick wall surrounding the residence
of the Principal of Hillsport School, to the strain-
ing of the entente cordial existing between that
school and Alton Academy. Mr. Kincaid removed
his gold-rimmed glasses, closed his eyes, leaned
back, and, while Rowlandson proceeded to prove
how little attention he had given to today's les-
son, added two and two, with the result that later
on that day Calvin Grainger called at the office on
request and spent some twenty minutes with Doc-
tor McPherson. When he left he looked chas-
tened to a degree ; chastened and very disgusted ;
possibly more disgusted than chastened. For, as
he asked later of a very troubled roommate, what
was a fellow going to do when he was asked point-
blank like that!
4 'Of course," he explained moodily, "I didn't
welch on you or Mart, but he'll get you, Bob, be-
290 LEFT HALF HAKMON
cause he will be pretty sure we were together.
After that he'll get Mart."
"He'll get me," agreed Bob, with a sigh, "but
I don't see how he can connect Mart with the
business."
"You don't? Well, it's funny to me he hasn't
done it already. He knows that Brand and Mart
room together, for one thing. Fellows who room
together are generally in on things like that."
"Sure, if they happen around school, but I
guess it didn't occur to him that Mart would be
with Brand over at Hillsport. Maybe he won't
think of me, either." But there was very little
conviction in his tone.
"He will, though," answered Cal gloomily.
"You'll be on the carpet in the morning. It's a
shame, too. It doesn't matter much in my case,
for I'm not on the football team, and I'll be off
probation long before spring baseball practice
starts, but you " He shook his head dismally.
"Oh, well!" Bob shrugged. "What has to be,
has to be. Might as well face it." He walked to
the window and looked down on the darkening
Green. Cal groaned.
"It's my fault," he muttered. "You fellows
wouldn't have thought of it if I hadn't suggested
it."
McNATT TRIES PHOTOGRAPHY 291
"It isn't your fault that we went into it," an-
swered Bob, without turning. "Don't talk like
a fish."
At noon the next day it was known pretty well
all over school that Bob Newhall, Calvin Grainger
and Willard Harmon were on probation as a re-
sult of the black paint episode over at Hillsport.
Bob 's fate brought consternation to the team and
one of the worst quarter-hours Bob had ever put
in occurred when Joe Myers sought him out and
said what was on his mind. Joe took it badly.
Martin was all for hurrying to the office and
acknowledging his complicity, but the others per-
suaded him not to. As Bob said, the team had
suffered enough, and it was Martin's duty to stick
as long as faculty would let him. "Not that it'll
be long, though," added Bob pessimistically.
"They'll get you, too, in a day or so."
Bob was mistaken, however, for they didn't
"get him" until Friday. Even then they had no
proof against Martin, but, knowing that he and
Bob and Cal were much together, they shot at a
venture and, questioned, Martin could do no less
than confess. He acknowledged to Willard that it
was a relief to have it over with. "I've been feel-
ing like a thief ever since they got you, Brand,"
lie said, "and I'd have gone to Mac long ago if
292 LEFT HALF HARMON
you fellows hadn't kicked up such a row about
it."
The next day Alton journeyed to Hubbardston
and met Oak Grove. With Eowlandson in Bob's
position and Putney playing left tackle in place
of Martin, it wasn't the same team that had rolled
up those 34 points against New Falmouth. The
Gray-and-Gold, thanks to the spirit displayed by
every fellow on the team and to some wonderful
work by McNatt, managed to score a touchdown
in the third period, but against that Oak Grove
made two, and the score at the end of the game
was 14 to 6 in Oak Grove's favor.
The school felt very sore after that game and
Bob and Martin and Willard were far from pop-
ular. There was a distinct atmosphere of dis-
couragement over the Academy on Sunday, and
it didn't lift perceptibly until Monday evening,
when, at the third of the football mass meetings,
Coach Cade made an earnest appeal for support
that brought the audience to their feet, cheering
madly.
"We've been hit hard," he said. " There
wouldn't be any sense in my denying that. But
this is a fight that we're in, and one blow isn't
going to beat us. It's just going to get our blood
up, fellows, and we're going to fight harder than
McNATT TRIES PHOTOGRAPHY 293
we ever thought of fighting. We're going into
the Kenly game, maybe, beaten on paper, but
we're coming out of it victorious. It won't be the
first time that a supposedly weaker team has won.
It's spirit that counts, the spirit to fight and con-
quer, no matter the odds. And that's the spirit
Alton is going to have next Saturday. There
isn't a man on the team, from Captain Myers
down to the greenest substitute, that thinks we are
going to be beaten; there isn't one of them that
doesn't know that we can win and will win! And
I know it. And I want everyone of you fellows
to know it, too, and to let the team know that you
know it! We'll do our part, but you've got to do
yours. Will you?"
The answer was convincing.
The four on probation didn't attend that meet-
ing, nor were they able to see the efforts that
Coach Cade put forth to repair the team in the few
days remaining, but they heard of each, and each
was affected in his own fashion. Martin stormed
at his fate and got red in the face, Bob was very
silent and pathetic and Willard smiled to hide a
sore heart. Cal was frankly miserable, blaming
himself for the mischief and taking the misfor-
tune to the others perhaps a little harder than
they did. Willard dropped in on Felix
294 LEFT HALF HARMON
Tuesday afternoon before supper and got much
inside news of the football situation.
"Rowlandson will probably do very well," re-
ported McNatt, "but Putney isn't the right
sort for tackle, and I wish Mr. Cade would
see it. He hasn't the proper temperament,
Harmon."
"How about the backfield!" asked Willard.
"How how's Mawson getting on?"
"Mawson is a hard worker, but he's lighter
than he should be and he's not so clever at find-
ing the holes as you were, Harmon," answered
McNatt judicially. ' ' Cochran is remarkably good
when at his best, but he ah fluctuates."
"It doesn't sound hopeful," murmured "Wil-
lard.
"Oh, IVe no doubt that we will win from
Kenly," answered McNatt. "You see, since we
lost Proctor and Newhall we've come together a
lot better, and the morale of the team is much finer.
Kenly, as I figure it, will enter the game fairly
sure of winning. We '11 go in realizing that, while
we may win it, we've got to play powerful foot-
ball to do it. When you just have to do a thing,
you do it," concluded McNatt convincedly.
Willard considered that conclusion a moment
m ^ence, a silence broken at length by his host.
McNATT TRIES PHOTOGRAPHY 295
"I presume," he said, "that there's no hope of
Newhall and Proctor and you getting back on
before Saturday."
"Hardly," answered Willard, smiling wryly.
"We're on pro for the rest of the term."
"I didn't know," murmured McNatt sympa-
thetically. "Just ah just what was it that hap-
pened, Harmon? I don't think I ever heard the
rights of it."
So Willard told him, giving a very complete and
detailed account of the affair, and McNatt lis-
tened and nodded and blinked occasionally until
he had finished. Then, after a moment's consid-
eration, he said: "It seems, then, that you fellows
made your mistake in painting the score on the
Principal's wall. I mean, you did no worse than
Hillsport did otherwise."
"We didn't do as much as she did," answered
Willard resentfully. "Those fellows painted the
score all over the town here; more than a dozen
times, I guess; we only painted it twice."
"Yes, I recall seeing the signs," McNatt re-
flected. "Has it occurred to you as possible that
. a proper presentation of your case has not been
made to the Hillsport Principal ? ' '
"I don't know. Anyway, what he thinks
doesn't worry us. It's what faculty here thicks.
296 LEFT HALF HARMON
And they think we ought to be punished. And
we are."
"I see. I only thought that possibly" Mc-
Natt 's voice trailed into silence, and he remained
silent so long that "Willard finally got up and took
his departure. McNatt pulled the cord that oper-
ated the door bolt in a most absent-minded man-
ner and aroused himself from his abstraction only
long enough to murmur "Good afternoon." Out-
side, Willard smiled to himself and shook his
head.
"McNutt!" he muttered.
Usually the last hard practice preceding the big
game was held on Wednesday, but this year the
team was kept at it on Thursday as well. On
Wednesday the second team, fight as it might, was
snowed under, three touchdowns and a field-goal
to nothing, and on Thursday, although Coach
Cade gave the ball to the second time and again
inside the first's thirty-yard line, the latter 's goal
was not crossed. On the other hand, McNatt twice
broke away for long runs that led to as many
scores. The mass meeting on Thursday evening
was more enthusiastic than any that had gone
before, and the cheers had a grimly determined
sound usually lacking.
It was on Thursday that Martin returned to
McNATT TRIES PHOTOGRAPHY 297
Number 16 Haylow just before dinner time from
a hurried trip to West Street and, tossing his
purchase on his bed and warming numbed fingers
over the radiator, announced with a chuckle:
"McNutt's got a new line, Brand."
"What sort of a line?" asked Willard, push-
ing his book away and tilting perilously back in
his chair. "What do you mean, line?"
"Photography," replied Martin. "I met him
over in Bagdad a few minutes ago taking pictures
of the stores. It's colder than the dickens, but
all he had on was a muffler around his neck."
"What!"
"Don't play the goat. You know what I mean.
He looked awfully funny, standing there winding
up his little camera in the middle of the street,
with the wind blowing a gale ! ' '
"What's he photographing the stores fort"
asked Willard, puzzled.
"Search me ! Some new science, I guess. He's
a queer one. Coming to dinner?"
Friday was still cold and windy, with leaden
skies, and after the team had run through signals
for a quarter of an hour and the backs had punted
and caught a few times, the players were hustled
back to the gymnasium and straw was spread over
the gridiron in case of a freeze.
298 LEFT HALF HARMON
The excitement and suspense that held the
whole school that day affected Willard so that
studying was an impossibility. About five, as
Martin had gone over to Lykes to get Eustace
Eoss to help him with his algebra, Willard gave
up the attempt to study and, pulling on a sweater,
wandered across to Upton. Number 49 held only
young Fuller, however. "Felix went out early,"
he said in reply to Willard 's inquiry. "About two
o'clock I think it was. I guess he's photograph-
ing." The boy scowled. "That's his latest. He
develops the pictures himself, too." He nodded
at several trays and bottles that claimed a corner
of the table. "This is a rotten hole to live in
when he gets to messing with chemicals. Some
day I'll be blown through the roof, I dare say."
"I don't think photographing chemicals are ex-
plosive," responded Willard soothingly.
"Well, they're mighty nasty," grumbled the
other. "He stretched a string across the room
yesterday and hung his films on it and they
dripped all over my books ! ' '
Willard retraced his steps to Haylow, very
much at a loose end, and gloomed in the darkness
until Martin returned and switched the light on.
After supper that evening Bob and Calvin came
up and the four listened to the singing and cheer-
McNATT TRIES PHOTOGRAPHY 299
Ing that floated faintly across from Memorial
Hall where the final football mass meeting was
being held, and talked desultorily about the game
and Alton's prospects of victory. "They say,'*
remarked Cal, "that faculty's holding a special
meeting this evening and that Rowlandson may
not play tomorrow. ' '
"What's the matter with Rowly?" asked
Martin.
"Back in his studies, they say."
"I guess it's just a scare," said Martin. "Who
said that faculty was meeting?"
"Harry Johnson told me. I think it's so, too,
for I saw the windows of Mac's room all lighted
up."'
"What of it! That doesn't necessarily mean
that they're after Rowlandson," said Bob. "That
would be about the last straw ! ' '
"You hear a lot of silly yarns like that just
before the game," said Martin. "Fellows get so
excited they'll tell you anything."
"I wish I were excited," muttered Bob. "Gee,
it's funny to think of the game being played to-
morrow and not getting into it!"
"Not even seeing!" added Cal.
* ' That 's worse still, "said Martin. * * I don 't see
why faculty needs to be so blamed mean. It
300 LEFT HALF HARMON
wouldn't hurt them any to let us look at the old
game!"
"Think they would if we all went and asked?"
inquired Willard. "Doctor McPherson isn't a
bad sort."
"He's all right," answered Cal grudgingly,
"but some of the others are pills. I'd say "
"We might try it," interrupted Bob eagerly.
"I'll go if the rest of you will!"
"I'll go," said Martin promptly. "He can't
any more than turn us down. Gee, listen to that
cheer! They're certainly humping themselves
over there tonight!"
"We'll all go," said Bob. "I suppose it's too
late tonight. Let's do it right after breakfast. I
don't see why he shouldn't, fellows."
"Nor I," growled Cal, "but he won't!"
Long after midnight had rung out Willard
called cautiously across the darkness: "Mart, you
awake?"
"Yes, I can't seem to get to sleep."
"Same here," sighed Willard. He thumped his
pillow and dug his head into it again. "Gee,
you'd think I was going to play tomorrow from
the way I don't get sleepy!"
"Last year," said Mart, making the bed squeak
as he tossed himself into a new position, "I was
McNATT TRIES PHOTOGRAPHY 301
asleep before eleven. Let's light up and read
awhile, Brand."
"Let's try it again for awhile first," was the
answer. " Maybe if we stop thinking about the
game we'll make it."
"Yes, but how are you going to stop thinking
of it?" sighed Martin. "Well"
Silence fell. The half-hour struck. Presently
a gentle snore came from the left-hand bed, joined
a few minutes later by a second.
CHAPTER XXIV
ALTON CELEBRATES
CLOUD and sun were struggling for supremacy the
next morning when Willard looked out the win-
dow. The tips of the trees were swaying briskly
under a southwest breeze, but it was evident that,
whether fair or cloudy, the day was to be milder
than yesterday. Already there was a wild hubbub
from the corridor as boys raced for the lavatory,
and football songs sounded bravely. Willard
didn't have much appetite at breakfast; nor, for
that matter, did many of his table companions dis-
play any marvelous enthusiasm for food. They
were far too excited. A holiday air prevailed and
laughter was louder and conversation more inces-
sant than usual. At intervals the broad windows
across the crowded hall lighted up palely, making
a promise that was never quite fulfilled.
The four met in the corridor after breakfast and
discussed their mission beside one of the radia-
tors. "Who's going to do the talking?" asked
Calvin. "And what are we going to say!"
302
ALTON CELEBRATES 303
"Bob," answered Martin and Willard almost
in unison.
Bob shrugged. "I don't mind. Anyway, there
isn't anything to say. All we can do is ask to be
allowed to attend the game. I don't know of any
any effective argument that we can put up, do
you?"
It seemed that no one did, and presently they
started forth for Doctor McPherson's residence,
the Doctor seldom going across to Academy Hall
before nine o'clock. They gave their names to
the maid and stood in a cluster outside the library
door while she disappeared in the direction of the
dining-room. "Guess he hasn't finished break-
fast," whispered Martin. "Maybe we oughtn't
to have come so early."
"He ought to be through it if he isn't,"
muttered Bob sternly. "Anyhow, we can
wait. ' '
Then the maid appeared again. "The Doctor
says he will see you at the office at half -past ten,"
she reported. The four exchanged glances and
filed out. Outside, Bob gave a sigh of relief.
"I guess he'd have turned us down, anyway,"
he said.
"You don't know," replied Willard. "Aren't
you going to try again?"
304 LEFT HALF HARMON
"I don't believe," said Bob. "What's the
use ? ' '
* ' Lots of use, ' ' declared Martin stoutly. ' * Let 's
see it through now we've started. Come on
up to our room and wait. It's nearly two
hours."
In the corridor Willard stopped at the mail rack
while the others went on toward the stairs. When
he overtook them he held two buff envelopes in
his hand. "Here's a billet-doux for you, Mart,"
he said. "I've got one, too. Wonder what's up."
He pulled out the printed slip and ran his eyes
over it quickly. "That's funny! It's a date with
Mac at ten- thirty!"
"So's mine," announced Martin. "What do
you suppose "
"That's why he wouldn't see us over at the
house," said Bob. ' ' Say, I wonder if I've got one
of those, too! I'm going to see!"
' ' So am I ! " exclaimed Calvin.
Left alone, Willard and Martin went on up the
stairway alternately eyeing the slips and each
other. Martin shook his head troubledly as they
gained the second floor corridor. "I'll bet it's
that blamed algebra," he muttered. "Peghorn's
been mighty nasty the last two or three days."
"Well, I'm all right as far as I know,"
a
3
o
-
ALTON CELEBRATES 305
said Willard, frowning thoughtfully. " Maybe
Latin-"
Hurrying footsteps below interrupted, and then
Bob's head came into sight. Cal followed at his
heels. Both boys were plainly excited. "We've
got 'em, too!" called Bob. "Same hour! Say,
know what I think? I think faculty's going to
let us see the game!"
Martin exhaled a deep sigh of relief. "Gee, I
hope it is that!" he exclaimed. "I I was get-
ting scared!"
There was still an hour and a half to be lived
through, and they made themselves comfortable
in Number 16 and advanced numerous theories.
"Willard went so far as to suggest that perhaps
Mac was going to let them all off probation, but
that theory found no supporters. "You haven't
been here very long," said Bob, "and so you don't
know that faculty gang like I do. It's a sight
more likely that Mac wants us to tell us they've
changed their minds and that we're to be shot
at sunrise!"
Fully a quarter of an hour before the appointed
time they set forth for Academy Hall, arriving
there with thirteen and a half minutes to wait.
They joined the group on the steps and listened
half-heartedly to prognostications regarding the
306 LEFT HALF HARMON
outcome of the game until Calvin, having referred
to his watch for the sixth time, made a significant
motion of his head and the others followed him
inside and down the corridor to the fateful portal.
"The Doctor is all ready for you, gentlemen/*
said the secretary when they entered. "Go right
in, please."
They went in, Bob leading the way. Doctor
McPherson greeted them pleasantly and bade
them be seated, and when they were he took up
a paper whose folds showed it to be a letter and
fixed his glasses more firmly. Then he viewed
them one after another and spoke.
1 ' This is a communication that reached me yes-
terday by um by special messenger." Willard
thought a faint smile quivered about the corners
of the Doctor's mouth. "It is from Doctor Wil-
liam Handley, of Hillsport School. With your
permission, boys, I will read it."
The ensuing silence gave unanimous and en-
thusiastic consent. The only sound was from Bob
when he coughed nervously. The Doctor ran his
eyes over the address and began: "The young
gentleman who bears this, Mr. McNatt, has con-
vinced me that the incident of which I wrote to
you under date of the 5th instant has been
wrongly construed by our faculty and that it was
ALTON CELEBRATES 307
neither a deliberated discourtesy nor a mischiev-
ous attempt to cause property damage. In the
light of Mr. McNatt's information I can readily
believe that the proceeding was no more than a
prankish attempt to retaliate for acts of a sim-
ilar nature performed by the students of this
school in Alton a year ago, acts which, I wish to
assure you, were not known of by me until today.
While two wrongs do not make a right, I can sym-
pathize with the motives which actuated your stu-
dents, and it is the purpose of this letter to assure
you that so far as we of the Hillsport School Fac-
ulty are concerned the unfortunate incident is
fully condoned. As a personal favor will you not
exercise such leniency toward the offenders as
your conscience will permit? It would be a source
of deep regret if, because of our somewhat hasty
and, as we now conceive, too severe arraignment
of the young gentlemen, the Alton Football Team
should, lacking their services, meet with defeat
tomorrow. In closing may I offer an apology on
behalf of the Faculty of this school for the depre-
dations caused by our students in your town last
autumn? I assure you that such regrettable acts
will not recur. With the most cordial greetings
and assurances of my deep respect, I am, my dear
Doctor, very sincerely yours, William Handle/."
308 LEFT HALF HARMON
The Principal placed the letter back on the desk
before him and again viewed his audience, this
time with a frank smile.
"That document," he went on, "was presented
to me late yesterday afternoon by McNatt, of the
Senior Class. Last evening I called a meeting of
the faculty, young gentlemen, and it was decided
that, since the Hillsport faculty desired it, it
would be ungracious on our part to refuse clem-
ency. So it is my pleasant privilege to inform
you that you are removed from probation. I need
scarcely point out to you that you are chiefly
under obligations to Felix McNatt."
There was a long moment of silence. Then Bob
cleared his throat. "How how did he do it,
sir?" he asked rather huskily.
"I'm not very certain myself," replied the
Doctor, smiling, "but I gathered from his story
that his most potent argument was a collection of
a dozen or so photographs which he took around
town here and which showed that you boys didn't
exactly invent the painting of football scores on
walls and buildings ! ' '
I might devote several pages to the Alton-Kenly
game, but it really doesn't deserve it. Seen in
retrospect, it was not an uncommonly enthralling
ALTON CELEBRATES 309
battle, although at the time there was excitement
enough. You know without my telling it that
Alton won. I think she would have won even
without the assistance of Bob and Martin and
Willard, for she had made up her mind to con'
quer and I don't believe that anything Kenly could
have done that afternoon would have prevented
her from winning. As it was, Alton showed her
superiority from the first and the outcome was
never for an instant in doubt. Coach Cade had
pleaded for the first score, for, like many coaches,
he was a believer in the axiom which says: The
team that scores first wins the game. And Alton
gave him his wish when Cochran slid over the
Kenly goal-line at the end of seven minutes of
play for the initial touchdown.
Alton played good football that afternoon,
played better football than her most hopeful sup-
porter dared expect, and Kenly was fortunate to
get the six points that came to her in the second
period. Those six points constituted the only
dregs in Alton's cup of happiness, for, after Mc-
Natt had hurled himself across the last four yards
that separated the Gray-and-Gold from the Kenly
goal in the first few moments of the second quar-
ter and Macon had brought the total to 14 points,
it seemed to Alton that she would not only win.
310 LEFT HALF HARMON
but keep the adversary scoreless. That, however,
was not to be, for Kenly, although outplayed dur-
ing most of the game, enjoyed one flash of des-
perate, heroic and successful endeavor. Getting
possession of the ball on Alton's thirty-eight
yards, she made two forward-passes good and
landed on the twelve. From there, in spite of the
home team's savage defense, she smashed her way
to the seven in three attacks and then threw over
the line for a score.
Yet Alton avenged that insult in the third pe-
riod and again in the fourth, and might have done
so once again in the last few minutes had not the
substitutes, thrown in helter-skelter as the end
drew close, suffered three successive penalties for
over-eagerness. It was hard to pick the stars in
the Alton eleven, for not a man stopped short of
excellence. Possibly it was McNatt who shone
the brightest, for the full-back had all that the
others had of skill and spirit with, besides, a cer-
tain other quality which, for want of a better
name, and at the risk of ridicule, I must call
science. It was McNatt who stopped the much-
touted Puckhaber time and again and fairly stood
him on his head. It was McNatt who twice hurled
himself across the Kenly goal-line for a score.
And it was McNatt who, flaming himself with a
ALTON CELEBRATES 311
white-hot intensity of purpose, constantly encour-
aged the others to fairly superhuman efforts.
But to speak too much of McNatt would be un-
fair to the rest : to Captain Joe Myers, and to Gil
Tarver, who ran the team as never before, and
to Bob and Martin and, finally, Willard, who, al-
though he didn 't see service until the third period
started, played a wonderful game at left half.
That run that started on Alton's twenty-eight
yards and ended on Kenly's seventeen was made
by Willard, and Willard it was who, near the last
of the contest, took Tarver 's long heave down the
field and added another dozen yards to it, so pre-
paring the way for McNatt 's final touchdown. It
was Alton's day all through, and it is doubtful if
there was ever a more stunned and disappointed
team than Kenly when the last whistle blew and
the score of 26 to 6 stared down at her from the
board. That single touchdown afforded her scant
comfort, it seemed.
Alton made merry that night. There was a
parade that wound in and out of the town and
back across the Green several times, and much
singing and much cheering. It was while they
were perched side by side in the rickety wagon
that, serving as a chariot for the heroes, was
drawn at the head of the procession, that Willard
312 LEFT HALF HARMON
said to McNatt during a lull in the clamor : ' ' How
did you ever think of that scheme, McNatt?"
And McNatt, smiling, answered: "Well, Har-
mon, there's a scientific way of doing everything,
you know. And that was the scientific way of
doing that!"
THE END
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