made no reply at once. After a thoughtful
silence, he said: "Well, it's something of a mystery, Wilson, but one
thing is certain--without Henderson the team would have been so crippled
that we wouldn't have had a chance in the world of winning, and I have
an idea that the bunch connected with Mike's place, where he was held
prisoner, have a pretty big interest in our winning or losing, in a
money way. And the two facts put together may come pretty near giving
the correct answer."

"I imagined it might be something of the kind," said Bert; "I wonder
what chance there is of bringing the scoundrels to justice."

"You'll bet we'll do everything possible," said Reddy grimly, "but now,
you'd better pack Henderson off to bed, and Trent had better put a bit
o' beefsteak on that damaged 'lamp' of his! This afternoon we start for
New York, and we want everybody fit."

CHAPTER XV

THE DASH FOR THE GOAL

"The day, the important day,
Big with the fate of Cato and of Rome,"

quoted Dick.

"It is the sun of Austerlitz," chimed in Tom, not to be outdone in
quotation, as he drew aside the curtains of the hotel window and saw the
bright rays streaming over the city roofs.

"As long as it isn't Waterloo, we'll have no kick coming," added Bert.
"I'm tickled to death to see that it's this kind of weather. I'd hate to
play on as muddy a field as we had with the 'Maroons.'"

"The paper predicted rain yesterday," said Tom, throwing up the window,
"but from the bite in the air, it seems cold enough for snow. How would
you like to play on a snowy field, fellows?"

"Not for mine," replied Dick emphatically, "although the Western teams
do it often. Only a few years ago Chicago and Michigan played in what
was almost a blizzard."

"I'll bet the teams kept warm enough," commented Bert; "but it must have
been tough on the spectators."

"O, those dyed-in-the-wool football fiends don't care for a little thing
like that," said Dick. "We'll never play to empty benches, no matter
what the weather. But hurry up now and come down to breakfast. We won't
dare to eat very much at lunch and we'd better fill up now."

It was Thanksgiving Day, and the Blues had come up to New York the night
before, so that they might have a good night's rest before the most
important game of the season. The game was to be played at the Polo
Grounds and public interest was so great that all the seats had been
sold out long in advance. I