“Why, the middies seem to think that they’re going to take the Army’s scalp to-day.”

“Is that really your idea of the matter?” asked one of the gray-clad cadets.

“So Mr. Fields has said,” Dave answered.

“But what do you say?”

“About the most that I feel like saying,” Darrin answered as quietly as ever, “is that the Navy prefers to do its bragging afterwards.”

“An excellent practice,” nodded one of the cadets.  “You’ve acquired the habit through experience, I presume.  It has saved your having to swallow a lot of your words on many occasions.”

All laughed good-naturedly.  Though there was the most intense rivalry between the two government military schools, yet all were gentlemen, and the fun-making could not be permitted to go beyond the limits of ordinary teasing.

“What’s your line-up?” broke in Dan Dalzell.

“Haven’t you fellows gotten hold of the cards yet?” asked one of the West Point men.  “Then take a look over mine.”

Standing together Dave and Dan eagerly glanced down the printed line-up of the Military Academy.

“I know a few of these names,” ventured Darrin, “and they’re the names of good men.  Several of the other names I don’t know at all.  And you’ve left out the names of the two Army men that we’re most afraid of in a game of football.”

“It seems queer to think of an Army line-up without Prescott and Holmes,” Dan declared musingly.

Over the faces of the cadets there crept a queer look, but none of them spoke.

“So you’ve boycotted Prescott and Holmes?” pursued Dalzell.

“Yes,” replied one of the cadets.  “Or, rather, Prescott is in Coventry, and Holmes prefers to stand by his friend in everything.  Holmes, being Prescott’s roommate, doesn’t have to keep away from Mr. Prescott.”

“Humph!” laughed Dan.  “I think I can see Greg Holmes turning his back upon Dick Prescott.  Why, Greg wouldn’t do that even if he had to get out of the Army in consequence.”

“We did the only thing we could with the Prescott fellow,” spoke up another cadet.

Dave Darrin’s dark eyes flashed somewhat.

“Gentlemen,” he begged quietly, “will you do me the very great favor not to refer to Prescott slightingly as a ‘fellow.’  He’s one of the noblest youngsters I’ve ever known, and I’m his friend through thick and thin.  Of course, I don’t expect you to know it yet, but I feel positive that you’ve made a tremendous mistake in sending to Coventry one of nature’s noblemen.”

“Hm!” muttered some of the cadets, and slight frowns were visible.

“And when you lose the game to-day,” continued Dan Dalzell, “it may be a comfort to you to know that you might possibly have won it if you had had Prescott and Holmes in your battle front.”

“Prescott isn’t the only football player in the Army,” returned Cadet Fields.  “Nor are he and Holmes the only pair of ’em.”