igh, clear treble: "Ladies and gentlemen, the
noble sophomores!"

The door swung wide and a band of lithe blue figures, bearing a huge
letter "S" done in scarlet on the fronts of their blouses, pattered into
the gymnasium, amid loud applause.

"The valiant freshmen!" piped the purple-clad youngster.

There was a rush of black-clad girls, with resplendent violet "F's"
ornamenting their breasts, another volley of cheers from the audience,
then a shrill blast from the referee's whistle rent the air, the teams
dropped into their places, the umpire, time-keeper and scorer took
their stations, and a tense silence settled over the audience.

The referee balanced the ball. Ellen Seymour and Mignon La Salle
gathered themselves for the toss. Up it went. The two players leaped for
it. The referee's whistle sounded again. The struggle for basketball
honors began.

A jubilant shout swelled from the throats of the watching freshmen and
their fans. Mignon had caught the ball. She sent it speeding toward
Helen Thornton, who fumbled it, and losing her head, threw it away
from, instead of to the basket. An audible sigh of disapproval came from
the freshman contingent as they beheld the ball pass into the hands of
the sophomores, who scored shortly afterward.

Now that the ball was in their hands the sophomores proceeded to show
their friends and opponents a few things about playing. They had the
advantage and they kept it. Try as the freshmen might, they could not
score. The first unlucky error on the part of Helen Thornton had seemed
to turn the tide against them. Toward the close of the first half they
managed to score, but all too soon the whistle blew, with the score 8 to
2 in favor of the sophomores.

Their fans went wild with delight and their chorus sang or rather
shouted gleefully their pet song, beginning,

"Hail the sophomores, gallant band!
See how bold they take their stand!"

to the tune of "Hail Columbia," coming out noisily on the concluding
lines,

"Firm and steadfast shall they be,
Marching on to victory;
As a band of players, they
Shall be conquerors to-day."

The freshmen answered with their song, "The Freshmen's Brave Banner,"
but they did not sing as spiritedly as they had before the beginning of
the game.

"I wonder what Jerry and Irma think," commented Marjorie. Their two
chums had been detailed to sing in the freshman chorus, which accounted
for their absence from the Dean