in a fight, and we'll try to take our medicine
gracefully."

"Spoken like a sport, old man," cried Bert, clapping him on the
shoulder. "God loves a cheerful giver, but the whole world loves a
cheerful loser."

CHAPTER IV

BREAKING THE RULES

"YES," remarked Tom, following up a conversation he and his two comrades
had been engaged in for some time, "there's certainly something
radically wrong with Martin, and personally I believe he's hitting the
booze, or something just as bad. There's always some explanation when a
fellow goes all to pieces the way he has, and ninety-nine times out of a
hundred the answer is 'red-eye.'"

"I wouldn't be surprised if you were right, Tom," agreed Bert soberly,
"and it's too bad, too. Martin has always been such a good scout that I
hate to see him going back. What he needs is to have somebody give him a
heart-to-heart talk and point out the error of his ways to him. But
likely even that would do little good, anyway. When drink once gets a
hold on a man it usually takes more than talk to break him of the
habit."

"You can bet your hat it does," put in Dick. "I guess nobody who hasn't
actually fallen a victim of the liquor habit and then broken himself of
it can have any idea of the struggle necessary to do it. The only safe
way is to let the 'stuff' strictly alone."

"Right you are," said Bert earnestly. "Everybody thinks that liquor will
never get a grip on him. Oh, no! But what most people never take into
account is the fact that every drink of whiskey taken weakens the will
just a little, and makes it just so much harder to refuse the next
drink. So it goes on, in increasing ratio, until it becomes next to
impossible for the victim to break himself of the habit. My idea is,
don't monkey with a red-hot poker and you won't get hurt. If you do, no
matter how careful you may be, you're apt to get hold of the hot end,
and then it's too late to wish you hadn't."

"My, Bert, you could get a job as lecturer for the W. C. T. U.," laughed
Dick. "But just the same," he continued more seriously, "there's not a
doubt in the world but what you're dead right. But the question is, if
Martin, as we have reason to believe, has started drinking, what can we
do to help him? Not only for his sake, but for the sake of the college.
Without him on the team, we'd be so badly crippled that we wouldn't have
a chance in the world to win the championship."

"I don't know what we can do, I'm sure,