dred fellows to pick from, while we have
never had over fifty. That makes a difference."

"Two years ago, though," said Bacon, "they say our crew was thirty
seconds faster than theirs. And we were light, too. I don't believe the
size of the school has much to do with it."

"Well, it stands to reason that the school that has the most fellows
must have the better material," said Chub. "Look at the way it is in
baseball."

"That may be," said Bacon, "but a whole lot depends on the spirit of the
fellows and the coaching."

"Course it does, but no matter what the spirit is, or how good the
coaching may be, four poor oarsmen can't beat four good ones. That's
common sense."

"Well, but a good coach like Buckman--" began Bacon.

"Is Burlen a good rower?" interrupted Roy.

"Great," answered Chub.

"Dandy," said Bacon.

"Best we've got," supplemented Post.

"But I don't believe he makes a good captain," said Gallup. "Whitcomb
told me the other day that he gets mad as anything when Buckman calls
him down."

"It's like him," said Bacon. "He never could stand being told anything.
Jack's the only fellow that could ever make him do anything he didn't
want to."

"They say Hammond's four this year is the best they've ever had," said
Roy.

"They always say that," answered Chub sceptically.

"The first of the season," amended Gallup. "Later they begin to howl
about the fellows going stale, breaking their ankles or spraining their
wrists. Gee, you'd think to hear them talk a week before the race that
they didn't have a man in the boat who wasn't a corpse or a cripple for
life!"

"That's so," laughed Bacon, "but you don't want to forget that year
before last Williams did the same thing. He gave it out that two of our
men had malaria and wouldn't be able to row. They didn't have malaria
but they couldn't row much when the time came, so he didn't tell a very
big lie."

"That sort of thing makes me tired," said Roy disgustedly. "What's the
use in trying to make the other fellow think you're dying. He doesn't
believe it, anyway; and even if he does it isn't fair playing."

"That's so," said Chub heartily. "It's babyish."

"Oh, I don't know about that," said Post. "It's part of the game, and--"

"No, it isn't," interrupted Roy. "It has nothing to do with the game.
And it's just plain, every-day dishonesty!"

"I don't see how you make that out," objected Post. "Now, supposing--"

But the discussion of ethics was inter