"Say, don't ask me any more questions," begged Tom. "I can't answer
'em all, and I don't want to get tangled up. All I can say is that I
didn't have the first thing to do with those crimes, and I'm going to
work to prove that I didn't. It's harder than it seems, but I'll do
it."

"That's right!" exclaimed Jack. "You've got pluck enough Tom, old man."

"And I may need some luck, too," added our hero. "If I have that I
think I'll be all right."

"Not a bad combination," commented Bert. "Pluck and luck. With 'em
both you can do a heap."

"That's right," admitted Tom. "And now I'm going to do some boning,
and get ahead with my work so I'll have a little time to hunt for
clews."

"Clews?" murmured Jack.

"Yes, clews as to who poisoned these horses and set the hay on fire.
You see it's not enough to say that I _didn't_ do it. I've got to find
the person who _did_."

"Well, I wish you luck," murmured Jack.

"And if there's anything we can do, don't hesitate to let us know,"
added Bert, at which his chum nodded.

"Don't let this get on your nerves so you can't play football
Saturday," suggested Jack.

"I guess it won't," laughed Tom.

But whether it was the suspicion hanging over him, or because he was
nervous, certainly he did not play well in that first gridiron match of
the season. Nor was he the only one of the eleven who did poorly.

From the very first it was seen that Elmwood Hall had met her match.
Her opponents scored a touchdown in the first five minutes of play, and
this rather took the heart out of Tom and his chums.

True they braced, and prevented any more scoring for the next two
periods. Then came a chance fer them to rush the ball over the line.
Tom worked to his limit and managed to gain much ground. Then came a
fatal fumble, just when he might have been shoved over for the tieing
of the score.

In his own heart Tom felt that Sam had deliberately passed the ball to
him short. Tom had to lean forward to grab it, his foot slipped, and
the coveted pigskin was grabbed by an opposing player. It was run out
of danger before the man was downed, and then it was too late to make
good the loss. Tom groaned in anguish, and for one wild moment he felt
like accusing Sam openly.

"No, that would never do," he reasoned. "They would all say I did it
for spite, and because he gave that information against me. I've got
to grin and bear it."

Nor was Tom much surprised when he was shift