“Hurrah!” piped up one boy from the Central Grammar School.”  The mucker bantam against the ‘sorehead’ lightweight!”

There was a laugh, but Bert Dodge didn’t join in it, for, after receiving two glancing, blows on the chest, he now had his right eye closed by Dick’s hard left.

The next instant the bewildered Dodge received a blow that sent him down to the sidewalk.

“I think I’ve paid you back, now,” Prescott remarked quietly.

At this moment Mr. Prescott, hearing the noise from the back of his bookstore, came to the door.

“What is the trouble, Richard?” inquired his parent.

Dick stepped over to his father, repeating, in a low voice, the insult that Dodge had hurled at him.

“You couldn’t have done anything else, then!” declared the elder Prescott, fervently; and this was a good deal for Dick’s father, quiet, scholarly and peace-loving, to say.

Bert and Bayliss walked sullenly away amid the jeers of the onlookers.  Once out of their sight, Bert, fairly grinding his teeth, said: 

“Bayliss, I’ll have my revenge yet on that mucker Prescott—–­” and then, as if struck by a sudden thought, he added savagely: 

“The Tottenville game’s tomorrow—–­you know?”

“Yes?” said Bayliss inquiringly.

“Well, wait till tomorrow afternoon, and I’ll take the conceit out of the miserable cur—–­just you wait.”

CHAPTER XIV

THE “STRATEGY” OF A SCHOOL TRAITOR

“Rah! rah! Gri-i-idley!”

Again and again the whole of the rousing, inspiring High School yell smote the air.

It was but a little after noon on Saturday.

It seemed as though two thirds of the school, including most of the girls, had come down to the railway station to see the High School eleven off on its way to Tottenville.  That city was some thirty miles away from Gridley, but there was a noon express train that went through in forty minutes.

Coach Morton and Captain Wadleigh had rounded up the whole of the school team.  All of the subs were there.  The coach and members of the team were at no expense in the matter, since their expenses were to be paid out of the gate receipts of the home eleven.

To many of the boys and girls of Gridley High School, however, the affair bore a different look.  The round trip by rail would cost each of these more than a dollar, with another fifty cents to pay for a seat on the grand stand at Tottenville.

Hence, despite the fine representation of High School young folks at the railway station, not all of them were so fortunate as to look forward to going to the game.

In addition to those of the young people who could go, there were more than three hundred grown-ups who had bought tickets.  The railroad company, having been notified by the local agent, had added a second section to the noon express.