Only one man had any adverse commend.  That man was turnback Haynes, and all he said was: 

“Humph!”

CHAPTER XIV

FOR AULD LANG SYNE

After that Dick and Greg turned out every day for practice with the team.

Both Lieutenant Carney and Team Captain Brayton speedily learned that they had made no mistake in getting Prescott and Holmes on to the line.

A number of smaller colleges were defeated, and with rattling good scores.

Dick and Greg seemed to improve with every game.

True, Yale walked off with the honors, though the score, ten to six, had been stubbornly contested throughout.

Harvard was played to a tie that year; Princeton was beaten by six to two, the two standing for a safety that Princeton forced the Army to make.

Lieutenant Carney was one of the happiest men on the station.  From having a team rather below the average, he had produced an Army eleven that was destined to go down as famous in American military life.

As Thanksgiving drew near all interest centered in what was, after all, to be the real game of the year—–­that between the Army and the Navy, which is always played the Saturday after that holiday.

Haynes, during the season’s good work, had not been able wholly to keep his tongue back of his teeth.  He had made several disparaging remarks.  For of these remarks Lewis, of the Army eleven, chose to take he turnback to account.

Hot words followed, ending in a fight.  Haynes, roundly beaten, withdrew altogether from the eleven.

“That fellow Prescott has wonderful luck, or he’d have had his neck broken long ago, considering all the hard packs that he has bumped into in the games,” growled the turnback disgustedly to himself.

In fact, Haynes was forced to do a large share of his talking with himself.  He hadn’t been “cut” by the other cadets, but he had succeeded in making himself generally unpopular through his too evident dislike of Prescott.

“Funny, but that’s the man who wanted me to resign the class presidency so that he could run for it,” laughed Dick to his chum.

Dick had told Greg of that laughable interview, but it had gone no further.  Greg could be trusted not to talk too much.

“Going over to Philadelphia to see the Navy anchored to a zero score, Haynes?” asked Carter, of the second class.

“Yes; I reckon I’m going over,” replied Haynes.  “But I’m not so sure that we’ll see the Navy sunk,” replied the turnback.

“I know you don’t care much for Prescott,” smiled Carter.  “Yet how can you be blind to the wonderful work that he and Holmes are doing?  Is it because Prescott is playing the position for which you were cast?”

“No, it isn’t,” retorted Haynes, his face red with passion “If our team wants Prescott, let it have him.  I don’t care.  But I’ve a notion Prescott won’t be strutting about with such lordly airs-----”