“Foul!” cried Tom.

“Don’t do that again!” called one of the seniors to Dudd.  “If you do you’ll be ruled out.”  Kicking and punching were prohibited by the rules.  All the boys could do was to wrestle and throw each other, and either try to pull the neckties away or hold on to them.

On and on the battle waged, each minute growing hotter.  Many of the students were almost winded, and felt that they could not endure the struggle much longer.  Dick, Tom and Sam managed to keep their neckties, although Sam’s was torn loose by two sophomores who held him as in a vise until Stanley came to his assistance.  When the time was half up eleven neckties had been captured—­two of them almost torn to shreds.

“At ’em!” yelled Frank Holden.  “We haven’t begun yet!”

“Hold ’em back!” was Dick’s rallying answer.  “Don’t let ’em get near the little fellows!”

Again the contest raged, and this time with increased bitterness.  In the melee some few blows were exchanged, but it must be admitted that one side was about as much to blame for this as the other.  Three additional neckties were captured, making fourteen in all.  As thirty-seven freshmen were in the contest, the sophomores and juniors had to capture five more neckties to win.

“Only three minutes more!” sang out one student, looking at his watch.  “At ’em!  Rip ’em apart!”

“Three minutes more!” yelled Dick.  “Hold ’em back and we’ll win!”

The enemy fought with increased fury, and one more necktie was taken—­the collar and collar band coming with it.  But then of a sudden the chapel bell tolled out the hour.

“Time’s up!” was the cry.

“And we win!” came from a score of freshmen in huge delight.

“Look out!  Look out!” cried several small youths in the center of the crowd.

Crack!  It was the flagstaff, and all looked in that direction.  The pole, old and decayed, was falling.  It looked as if it would crush all who stood in its path.

CHAPTER IX

TOM IN TROUBLE

“Look out, the flagpole is coming down!”

“Stand from under, or you’ll be killed!”

Crack! came from the pole, and now many saw that it was breaking off close to the ground.  Some of the students had clung to it during the contest, and the strain had been too much for the stick, which was much rotted just where it entered the ground.

Those on the outside of the crowd ran away with ease, but not so those who were hemmed in.  Two of the smallest of the freshmen, Billy Dean and Charley Atwood, could not move fast enough, and one fell over the other, and both went down.

“Save me!” gasped one of the lads.

“Don’t let the pole come down on me!” screamed the other.

The flagstaff was falling swiftly, and Dick and many others saw that it would fall directly across Dean and Atwood unless its progress was stayed.