win.

But the "Blues" had of late been going at such a terrific pace that they
had a most excellent chance of winning the pennant. And when this was
accentuated by the splendid victory of the "Blues" over the "Maroons" it
threw the "sports" into a condition closely bordering on panic.

A week before the final game on Thanksgiving Day one of the most
unscrupulous of the gamblers decided that if he could not win as matters
then stood, he would have to resort to underhand methods to change them.
Accordingly, one evening he called a number of his henchmen about him,
and when they and other plungers of his own stamp had assembled at a
designated rendezvous, he broached his plan.

"Boys," he said, glancing from one to the other of the hard faces turned
toward him, "there's no use telling you of the hole we're in. You know
just as well as I do, I guess, that we stand in a fair way to lose about
all we've got on account of the 'Blue' team coming up the way it has
lately. And according to Donovan here, it's not just a flash in the pan,
either. It looks as though they had hit their stride and meant to keep
it up until the end of the season."

"You can lay a stack of blues on dat," here spoke up the individual
referred to as "Donovan." "Dose guys has got more pepper in dem dan a
Mexican stew. De way dey practice an' de way dey play sure has got me
scared stiff. I knows a snappy football team when I sees one, an' you
can take it from me dem guys has de goods, and plenty of dem."

"Well, you see how things stand," said their leader, when Donovan had
finished. "If we don't do something, and do it pretty quick, we'll be
cooked--hashed--done brown on both sides."

There were significant looks exchanged among his auditors, and at last
one of them said:

"Well, what's your plan? Do you think we could buy one of the 'Blue'
players? It would be worth our while to ante up something handsome, if
you think it could be done."

"No chanct in de world," spoke up Donovan disgustedly, "dey're all
straighter'n a string, an' I tink any guy what made a proposition like
dat to one o' them would need a ambulance mighty quick."

"That leaves us only one thing to do, then," spoke the leader; "if we
can't buy one of them, we'll have to steal one, that's all. We'll have
to pinch one of the players some way, and keep him until the big game is
over. Then we can let him go, and if we play our cards right nobody will
ever get on to who turned the tr