ed to the scrub at the next
practice.

"I hate to do it, old man," said the coach, "but you seem to have gone
a bit stale. You aren't overtrained; are you?"

"I don't think so," said Tom bitterly.

"Well, maybe a change will do you good. I'll give you a game later on,
if you pick up."

And, deeply regretting what he felt he had to do, the coach went off to
talk to the captain about some other changes.

"Say, this is sure tough!" complained Jack to Bert, that night in their
room. "Tom off the team!"

"And with this cloud hanging over him," added his chum. "Where is Tom
now, anyhow?"

"Give it up. He said he was going for a walk."

"He feels bad I guess. I don't blame him. Say, what do you think of
this thing, anyhow, Jack?"

"I don't know, Bert, it--well, hang it all, it looks mighty queer. I
might as well say it as think it."

"What! You don't believe Tom guilty; do you?"

"Of course not, and yet he's so plagued stiff he won't say anything, or
let us help him. Who do you suppose he's shielding, anyhow?"

"Give it up. If he would only tell a fellow," and Bert stalked about
the room in something of a rage against his absent chum.

"While I don't for a second believe Tom had anything to do with this
business," went on Jack, "it's up to us, as his friends, to look the
thing squarely in the face."

"Yes, I suppose so. But what do you mean?"

"I mean we ought to consider the evidence against him as well as in his
favor."

"I suppose so. Well, what's the worst?"

"There are some things we know, that other people don't know," said
Jack slowly. "For instance, we know he was out on the night the hay
stacks burned."

"Yes, that's right," admitted Bert.

"And he came in, smelling horribly of smoke."

"So he did, but the hay wasn't ablaze until long after he was in, Jack."

"Hay would smoulder a long time. Mind!" Jack added quickly, "I'm not
for a minute hinting that Tom did it. I'm only considering what his
enemies would say."

"That's right. Well, what else?"

"Well, he was out on the night the horses were poisoned, and he wore
that horribly-colored sweater. I don't see what possessed him to buy
such a scream of a thing."

"Me either."

"He went out with it," went on Jack slowly, "and he came in without it."

"By Jove! So he did!" cried Bert. "I'd forgotten about that. It
begins to look bad."

"Not at all!" cried Jack quickly. "I'm only considering a possible
case, mind y