“Was it that Minnie Sanderson?” went on Tom.

“If it was, it wasn’t my fault,” answered Dick.

“But what did you do?” insisted Tom.  He was bound to get at the bottom of the affair.

Thereupon Dick was compelled to relate all that had happened, which, in truth, was not much.

“And is that all?” asked Sam.

“Yes.”

“I don’t see why she should be put out over that,” said Tom slowly.  “But then girls are queer.  The more you know them the less you understand them.”

“Grace and Nellie take Dora’s part,” said Sam with a deep sigh.  “It has put us all somewhat on the outs.”

“I am sorry to hear that,” answered Dick, and his tone of voice showed that he was sincere.  “But I don’t know what I can do,” he added helplessly.  “I don’t want to be on the outs with anybody, but if Dora is bound to turn the cold shoulder to me—­” He did not finish.

Following the game with Roxley, Brill played two other games with a college from Delton and another from Speer.  The game with the latter college resulted in a tie, but Delton was beaten by Brill by a score of 16 to 10.  Tom and Dick played in both games, and won considerable credit for their work.

During these days the boys did not see the girls, nor did they hear from them.  Thanksgiving was passed at Brill, only a few of the students going home.  Among the number to leave were Dudd Flockley and Jerry Koswell, and they did not return until a week later.

The dude and his crony, as well as Larkspur, were still down upon the Rovers, but for the present they kept quiet, the reason being that they were behind in their lessons and had to work hard to make up.  But all were watching their chances to do the Rover boys some injury on the quiet.

Dick, Tom and Sam got along well in their studies.  The only trouble they had in the classroom was with Professor Sharp, who made them “toe the mark” upon every occasion.  But they took good care to obey the rules, so the irascible teacher got no chance to lecture or punish them.

The boys got a number of letters from home, and these brought news that the law case Tad Sobber had instituted against the Stanhopes and the Lanings was being pushed vigorously.  Mr. Rover wrote that he felt certain the shyster lawyer Sobber had on the case was going to present a great mass of “evidence,” no doubt manufactured for the occasion.

“It’s a shame!” cried Tom after hearing this.  “Such a lawyer ought to be in prison!”

“The thing of it is to prove he is doing something wrong,” answered Dick.  “It is one thing to know the truth and quite another to prove it in court.”

“If the case should be lost the Lanings will be poorer than ever,” said Sam.

“That is true, Sam.  I wish we could do something, but I am afraid we can’t.”

Fate seemed bound to make matters worse for the Rover boys.  On a clear, cold Saturday afternoon in December the three brothers and Songbird went out to look for nuts in the woods near Ashton.  They had heard that the seminary girls occasionally visited the woods for that purpose, and each was secretly hoping to run across Dora and the Lanings.