, and I want you fellows to go to it.
There are just about enough of us to take a man apiece. Do what you like
with them. I'll stand for anything short of murder. Work them till their
tongues hang out. Knock it into them if you have to use an axe. Every
day counts now. Do you realize that the game with the 'Maroons' is only
three weeks off? If it were to-morrow they wouldn't leave anything of us
but a grease-spot. And the 'Greys' wouldn't leave even that."

"Leave it to us," answered Ames, grimly voicing the general sentiment.
"We'll give 'em medicine in allopathic doses, and it will be a case of
'kill or cure.'"

And promptly the next afternoon they proceeded to make good their
threat. They went at their men hammer and tongs from the start. And the
boys responded at once to this drastic treatment. There was a general
brace all along the line. A new factor had been injected into the
situation. The listlessness of a few days back gave place to animation,
and before half an hour had passed the coach was delighted at the way
his plan was working.

In order that the newcomers might get a line on their style of play, the
whole team was put through the fundamentals. The tackling dummy was
brought out, and the players in turn launched themselves against it to
the accompaniment of stimulating cries:

"Harder."

"You're too low."

"That was a love tap."

"Batter it."

"Above the knees."

"Slam the life out of it."

"Too ladylike."

"Once more."

"Murder it."

And there was no let up until the tackling was as savage as even the
most exacting of the visitors demanded.

Then followed practice in falling on the ball in such a way as to
shelter it with hands and knees, while avoiding having one's breath
knocked out by the fall; running with it tucked under the arm so
securely that no grab of the enemy can dislodge it; getting down under
kicks fast enough to take advantage of any fumble by the enemy in trying
for a "fair catch;" getting a quick start the moment the ball was
snapped back, and a dozen other elemental features that constitute the
alphabet of the game. The boys had practiced these things a hundred
times before, but they can never be done too often or too well; and
to-day under the new stimulus they outdid themselves. Each tried to
surpass his fellows and worked as he had never worked before.

After an hour of this, they were lined up for two ten-minute sessions
with the scrubs. The play was sharp and