hat's the good of getting
down the field, no matter how fast you may be, if you can't stop the man
with the ball when you get there?"

"I can stop him! I've played for two years and----"

"What you've done before, Edwards, isn't any criterion with us. You may
have been a regular wonder in--what's the place? Tannerstown----"

"Tannersville. I don't say I was a wonder, but----"

"Just a minute! You may have been a star on your high school team and
yet not worth a copper cent to us, Edwards. I never saw your team play,
but it's pretty likely that their brand of football and ours are
different."

"I think we play as good football as you fellows played to-day," said
Steve.

"Maybe. I'm not especially proud of the game we put up this afternoon.
But that isn't the sort of football we play in mid-season, my friend.
I'm sorry you think you aren't getting a fair deal, Edwards, but you
mustn't expect me to interfere with Marvin. I couldn't do it. The most I
can do is give you a little piece of advice which you won't care for
probably. It's this: Do as you're told to do, Edwards, and do it as hard
as you know how! Just as soon as you show Marvin that you are ready to
go into the second squad, you'll get there. And don't get it into your
head that Marvin has it in for you or doesn't know what he is doing.
Marvin's a particularly bright young man. If he wasn't he wouldn't have
the third squad to weed out, for that's a job that requires a whole lot
more patience and brains than any other job I know of on a football
field."

Andy paused, and Steve, who was gloomily regarding a scarred knuckle,
made no reply.

"Use your head, man," continued the captain in a lighter tone. "You
don't suppose, do you, that we are letting anything good get by us as
long as we've got eyes to see with? Not much! You probably have an idea
that Marvin is keeping you off the second. He isn't. You're keeping
yourself off. Mull that over, Edwards. And don't--don't do this again."

Steve looked a question.

"I mean don't come to me or to Mr. Robey with any hard-luck stories. It
isn't done. If I didn't know you a little, Edwards, I'd think you were
pretty poor stuff. But I guess you didn't stop to consider how it would
look. As you have done it, I'm glad you came to me instead of Mr. Robey.
He wouldn't have liked it a bit." After a pause: "How's Hall getting
on?"

"Pretty well, I guess," replied Steve. He stood up and frowned at the
green globe of th