Presently the young men were standing about in various parts of the field, for none came in until called.

“Ripley,” said Mr. Luce, turning to that young man, “you have the build and the lines of a good sprinter.”

“Thank you, sir,” nodded Fred.

“And yet your performance falls off.  Your lung capacity ought to be all right from your appearance.  What is the trouble?  Honestly, have you been smoking any cigarettes?”

“Not one,” Fred declared promptly.

Mr. Luce lifted the boy’s right hand, scanning it.

“If I were going to make such a denial,” remarked coach coolly, “I’d be sure to have a piece of pumice stone, and I’d use it often to take away those yellowish stains.”

The light-brownish stains were faint on Fred’s first and second fingers.  Yet, under careful scrutiny, they could be made out.

Ripley colored uncomfortably, jerking his hand away.

“Better cut out the paper pests,” advised coach quietly.

“Only one, once in a while,” murmured the boy.  “I won’t have even that many after this.”

“I should hope not,” replied Mr. Luce.  “You’re under training pledge, you know.”

All Fred meant by his promise was that he would use pumice stone painstakingly on his finger tips hereafter.

Within the next few days, Dick and Darrin made about the best showing as to sprinting form, though many of the others did remarkably well.

“Ripley isn’t cutting out the cigarettes,” decided Mr. Luce, watching the running of the lawyer’s son.  “He proves it by his lack of improvement.  His respiration is all to the bad.”

Mr. Luce was shrewd enough to know that, in Fred Ripley, he had a liar to deal with, and that neither repeated warnings nor renewed promises were worth much.  So he held his peace.

In a few days more, all the members of the Athletics Committee who could attend went to the field.  A practice match between the first and second teams had been ordered.  Ripley consented to pitch for second, while Dick pitched for the school nine.  The latter nine won by a score of eleven to two, but that had been expected.  It was for another purpose that the members of the Athletics Committee were present.

After the game, there was a brief conference between coach and the committee members.

“It is time, now, to announce the appointment of captain,” called coach, when he had again gathered the squad.  “Purcell, of the junior class, will be captain of the nine.  Prescott, of the sophomore class, will be second, or relief captain.”

Then the announcements were made for the second nine.

And now the first game was close at hand.  The opponent was to be Gardiner City High School.  Gardiner possessed one of the strongest school nines in the state.  Coach Luce would have preferred an easier opponent for the first regular game, but had to take the only match that he could get.