, in
fact, was the boy who trained us all."

"Well, don't let the Navy fellows get the idea that you're afraid of that
Army pair," begged Hepson. "It might get our men discouraged. Darry, we
simply must wipe up the field with the Army! There isn't--there can't be
any such word as 'defeat' for us."

As the time drew near for the greatest of all annual games the
instructors at the Naval Academy began to record lower marks for nearly
all of the men in the daily recitations. The midshipmen simply couldn't
keep their minds from wandering to the gridiron. It meant so much--to
beat the Army!

Then quickly enough the feverish day came. Early in the forenoon the
entire brigade of midshipmen, in uniform, was marched into town behind
the Naval Academy band. Scores of Navy officers, with their ladies, went
along. A lot of the townspeople followed in the big rush to Odenton and
Baltimore. From there two sections of a special train conveyed the
Annapolis host to Philadelphia.

Franklin Field was reached, and one of the most brilliant athletic and
social events of the year was on.

We shall not attempt to follow the course of the game here. The Navy
eleven hurled itself into the fray with undying heroism, but the Army
won the great game. It is all told in the third volume of "THE WEST
POINT SERIES," entitled "DICK PRESSCOTT'S THIRD YEAR AT WEST POINT." In
that volume, too, is described the meeting of the old-time High School
chums, their first meeting since the old-time days back in the tome town
of Gridley.

The game was over at last. The Navy was crestfallen, though not a sign of
sorrow or humiliation showed in the jaunty step of the men of the brigade
as they marched back to the railway station and took the train for the
first stage of the journey home--the run between Philadelphia and
Baltimore.

On the train Hepson hunted up Dave and Dan.

"You did your best, fellows, I know, that," murmured the defeated
football captain. "And you gave me, in advance, a fair estimate of that
Army pair, Prescott and Holmes. Say, but they're a pair of terrors! If we
had that pair on the Navy eleven, along with you two, no team that the
Army ever yet sent out could beat us. But we made a strong fight, at any
rate. All of our friends say that."

"I'm glad I didn't do any bragging in advance," Darrin smiled wistfully.
"We were fairly eaten up, Hep."

"Oh, well, we'll hope for better luck next year, with the Navy under
some other captain.