“Poor Dodge has his own troubles today,” murmured Hudson.

“Yes; I know—–­poor fellow,” nodded Bayliss.  “I wish we fellows could help him, but we can’t.”

“I was talking with Dodge yesterday, before his own troubles broke loose,” went on Hudson.  “Dodge’s idea is that we ought all to keep away when the football squad is called.  Then Coach Morton may get an idea of how things are going, and he may see just what he ought to do.”

“But suppose the muckers all answer the call in force?” inquired Trenholm.  “What are we to do then?”

“We’re to keep out of the squad this year,” responded Bayliss promptly.  “See here, either we fellows organize the Gridley High School eleven ourselves, and decide who shall play in it, or else we stay out and let the muckers go ahead and pile up a record of lost games this year.”

“That’s hard on good old Gridley High School,” murmured Hudson.

“True,” agreed Fremont.  “But it’ll teach the town, the school authorities, the coach and after this year, that only the prominent fellows in the school should have any voice in athletics.  Let the muckers be content with standing behind the side lines and rooting for the real High School crowd.”

“Shall we put it to a vote?” asked Bayliss, looking about him.

“Yes!” answered several promptly.

“Then, as I understand it,” continued Bayliss, “when the football call goes up, we’re all to ignore it.  We’re to continue to ignore the call, and keep out of the school football squad this year, unless the coach and the Athletics Committee agree that we shall have the naming of the candidates.  Is that the general agreement among ourselves?”

“Yes!” came the chorus.

“Any contrary votes?”

Momentary silence reigned in this conclave of “soreheads.”

“Yet,” continued Bayliss, “we’ve started training among ourselves.  This morning’s cross-country is part of our daily training.  If we have to refuse the football call, and stay out of the squad, are we to drop our present training?”

“Hardly, I should say,” responded Fremont.  “I have something to suggest in that line.  If we can’t go into what is really a gentleman’s eleven under the High School colors, I propose that we organize an eleven of our own, and call ourselves simply the Gridley Football Club.  We can bring out an eleven that would put things all over any school team that the muckers could organize without our help.”

“We wouldn’t play the muckers, would we?” demanded Trenholm.

“Certainly not!” retorted Bayliss, with contemptuous emphasis.

“We won’t even know that a mucker High School team is on earth,” laughed Porter.

“I think we understand the plan well enough, now, don’t we?” inquired Blaisdell, rising.

“We do,” nodded Porter.  “And we’ll all do our full share toward bringing control of High School affairs back to the aristocratic leadership that it once had.”