we had no place for quitters on the team. He had nothing to
say to that. If you think I can feel the pulse and look at the tongue of
every fellow----"

Doctor Proctor laughed. "And take his temperature too, eh? No, I don't
expect you to do that, George. But I'll tell you what I would do, and
I'd do it tomorrow too. I'd call around and see Gilbert. I'd tell him
that I wasn't satisfied with the explanation he'd made and I'd ask him
to make a clean breast of the trouble, for he must be in some trouble or
he wouldn't thank you for firing him. And then I'd stop cutting off my
nose to spite my face and I'd reinstate him tomorrow afternoon!"

"Hmph! The trouble with you doctors is that you're too romantic. You
imagine things, you----"

"We have to imagine, George. If we stuck to facts we'd never get
anywhere in our profession! You try a little imagination, old chap.
You're too matter-of-fact. What you can't see you won't believe in."

"I certainly won't! As the kids say, seeing's believing."

"Well, there's a very unattractive board fence across the road, George.
On the other side of it there are shrubs and grass. I can't see them,
but I know they're there."

"More likely tin-cans and ashes," grunted Mr. Robey.

"Pessimist!" laughed the other. "But never mind; ashes or grass,
something's there, and you can't see it and yet you've got to
acknowledge the existence of it. Now haven't you?"

"I suppose so, but"--Mr. Robey laughed--"I'd rather see it!"

"Climb the fence and have a look then! But you'll try my plan with the
boy, won't you?"

"Yes, I will. If only to satisfy my curiosity, Gus. Hang it, the chap
_can't_ be a quitter!"

"He isn't. I'll stake my reputation as--as a romanticist on that! I'd
like mighty well to stay and solve the mystery with you, but I'll have
to jump for that early train. I wish, though, that you'd drop me a line
and tell me the outcome. I'm interested--and puzzled."

"All right. I'm not much of a letter-writer, though. I'll see you before
you go back and tell you about it. You'll be in New York on Sunday,
won't you?"

"Until two o'clock. Have lunch with me and see me off. Come to the hotel
as early as you can and we'll hold post-mortems on the games. Let's hope
that Princeton and Brimfield both win next Saturday, George!"

CHAPTER XXIII

CROSS-EXAMINATION

DON found being a hero an embarrassing business the next day. The
masters bothered him by stopping and shaking hands an