odge.
In the past Pepper and his chums had done the Ford sisters several
valuable services, for which Laura and Flossie were profoundly grateful.

"Oh, how do you do, Pepper?" called out Laura, on catching sight of him.

"Aren't you playing?" questioned Flossie.

"No, I'm merely an onlooker to-day," answered Pepper, and he raised his
cap and shook hands. "How have you been since I saw you last?"

"Very well, thank you," answered Laura.

"We hope Putnam Hall will win," came from her sister.

"You can't hope it any more than I do," answered Pepper, and then he
introduced several cadets to the young ladies, and all sat down to enjoy
the game.

Pepper has his eyes open for the appearance of the students from
Pornell. At first a few came in and took a stand in a corner, out of the
way. They did not belong to the Bock crowd and seemed to be content to
behave themselves.

"Maybe Roy Bock got cold feet and stayed away," said a cadet named
Melmore.

"No, here he comes!" cried Bob Grenwood. "And Sedley and four others are
with him."

Pepper looked in the direction pointed out and saw Roy Bock and his
cronies approaching. All had big tin horns and immense wooden rattles,
and their pockets bulged with apples and peanuts.

"Whoop her up, Dauntless!" yelled Roy Bock, as soon as he reached the
grandstand. "Whoop her up, and wipe up the ground with Putnam Hall!" And
then he swung his big rattle, and his cronies did likewise. Then the
Pornellites crowded into the grandstand and took seats near Pepper and
his fellow cadets and the girls. They talked in loud voices and said a
number of things that caused the faces of the girls to burn, and made
the cadets thoroughly angry.

"They ought to be put off the stand!" cried Bob, indignantly.

"And they will be put off if they keep this up," answered Pepper. "They
can cheer all they please for the Dauntless eleven, but they have got to
act like gentlemen."

As soon as the two elevens appeared, the practice commenced, and then
there was a toss-up for goals, which Dauntless won. They took the south
goal and Putnam Hall took the ball. Then came the kick-off, and the game
was on.

CHAPTER IX

THE FOOTBALL GAME

At first the playing was rather tame, but inside of a few minutes both
elevens warmed up, and from that moment the work became fast and
furious.

The Dauntless team had the advantage of weight, but the eleven had not
played together as much as had the majority