tation period, he cornered him in a
secluded corner of the campus.

"I guess you know what I want to say to you, don't you, Mart?" he
inquired gravely.

"Oh, yes, I guess I know, all right," the other replied sullenly, "but
there's no use your preaching to me about the evils of drink, or
anything like that. I've tried to cut out the stuff, and I can't, that's
all. I'm going to Reddy to-night and resign from the team."

"You're not going to do anything of the kind," said Bert gravely,
"you're going to keep right on being the best halfback the college ever
had, but I'm going to ask a personal favor of you on behalf of myself,
and also Trent and Henderson."

"I think I know what you mean," said Martin suspiciously, "but fire away
and ask it."

"We want you to go to Reddy and make a clean breast of it, ending up by
promising to do your best to cut out the 'stuff,'" said Bert. "Will you
do it? Don't say no now," as the other started to shake his head, "don't
give me an answer now, if you don't want to. Think it over. I'm mighty
sure if you think hard enough you'll do what we want you to."

"I'll do it!" exclaimed Martin, suddenly thrusting out his hand, "and
I'll let the booze alone in the future if it takes a leg. You and the
others have done me a bigger service than you'll ever realize,
probably."

"Well, you know the way you can best repay it," said Bert, with a hearty
smile, and after another strong handclasp they parted.

Bert went straight to Dick and Tom, and told them what he had
accomplished. "I think he'll keep his word, too," he finished. And as it
proved, he, was right. From that day forward Martin reported regularly
for practice, and kept strictly to training table regulations. In less
than a week he was back to his old time form, and became as he had been
before, one of the mainstays of the team.

CHAPTER V

TACKLING THE ARMY

"THIS looks like a case of bearding the lion in his den," remarked Dick,
as the stately steamer on which they had embarked at New York that
morning swept up to the landing at West Point, and the boys were
gathering up their traps to go ashore.

"It's certainly a stiff contract to tackle the future leaders of the
United States Army," replied Tom. "But we're the boys to do it, and to
lick them, too. If that be treason, make the most of it."

"Don't you be too sure of that," admonished Bert. "From all I hear,
they're a husky set of brutes, and we're likely to have ou