cs for this year went "miles ahead"
of anything that the former Gridley boys had encountered in High
School. Had they been able to pursue this branch of study in
the more leisurely and lenient way of the colleges, both young
men might have stood well.

As it was, after the first fortnight Greg went to the "goats,"
or the lowest section in mathematics, while Dick, not extremely
better off, hung only in the section above the goat line.

As the fall hops came on Greg went to about three out of every four.

"A fellow can bone until his brain is nothing but a mess of bone
dust," he complained. "Dick, old chum, you'd better go to hops,
too."

Dick went to only one, in October. He stagged it, whereas Greg
often dragged. But Prescott saw no girl there who looked enough
like Laura Bentley to interest him. His standing in class interested
him far more than hops at which a certain Gridley girl could not
be present.

Laura had written him that she and Belle might be at a hop early
in December.

"I'll wait and look forward to it," decided Dick. But he said
nothing, even to Greg. Holmes was showing an ability to be interested
in too many different girls, Prescott decided.

But it may be that Holmes, knowing that Griffin corresponded with
his pretty, black-eyed little sister, may have been intentionally
furnishing subjects for the news that was despatched to a Virginia
seminary.

"Come on, old ramrod," urged Greg one Saturday night, as he gave
great heed to his dressing. "You'll bone yourself dry, staying
here all the time with Smith's conic sections. Drop that dry
math. rot and stag it with me over at Cullum tonight. You can
take math. up again after chapel tomorrow."

"Thank you," replied Prescott, turning around from the study table
at which he was seated. "I don't care much for the social whirl
while there's any doubt about the January exams. It would be
no pleasure to go over to Cullum. There'll be real satisfaction
if I can look forward to better marking this coming week."

Dick spent his time until taps at the study table. But when he
closed the book it was with a sigh of satisfaction.

"If I can only go through a few more nights as easily as I have
tonight, I'll soon astound myself by maxing it" (making one of
the highest marks), he told himself. "I think I'm beginning to
see real light in conic sections, but I'll have the books out
again tomorrow afternoon."

* * * * * * *