“Erskine College, November 4, 1901.

“Mr. Paul Gale.

“Dear Sir:  You are requested to call on the Dean, Tuesday, November 5th, during the regular office hours.

“Yours respectfully,

“Ephraim Levett, Dean.”

Paul obeyed the mandate with sinking heart.  When he left the office it was with a sensation of intense relief and with a resolve to apply himself so well to his studies as to keep himself and the Dean thereafter on the merest bowing acquaintance.  And he was, thus far, living up to his resolution; but as less than a week had gone by, perhaps his self-gratulation was a trifle early.  It may be that Cowan also was forced to confer with the Dean at about that time, for he too showed an unusual application to text-books, and as a result he and Paul saw each other less frequently.

On November 6th, one week after Neil’s accident and just two weeks prior to the Robinson game, Erskine played Arrowden, and defeated her 11-0.  Neil, however, did not witness that contest, for, at the invitation of and in company with Devoe, he journeyed to Collegetown and watched Robinson play Artmouth.  Devoe had rather a bad knee, and was nursing it against the game with Yale at New Haven the following Saturday.  Two of the coaches were also of the party, and all were eager to get an inkling of the plays that Robinson was going to spring on Erskine.  But Robinson was reticent.  Perhaps her coaches discovered the presence of the Erskine emissaries.  However that may have been, her team used ordinary formations instead of tackle-back, and displayed none of the tricks which rumor credited her with having up her sleeve.  But the Erskine party saw enough, nevertheless, to persuade them one and all that the Purple need only expect defeat, unless some way of breaking up the tackle-back play was speedily discovered.  Robinson’s line was heavy, and composed almost altogether of last year material.  Artmouth found it well-nigh impregnable, and Artmouth’s backs were reckoned good men.

“If we had three more men in our line as heavy and steady as Browning, Cowan, and Carey,” said Devoe, “we might hope to get our backs through; but, as it is, they’ll get the jump on us, I fear, and tear up our offense before it gets agoing.”

“The only course,” answered one of the coaches, “is to get to work and put starch into the line as well as we can, and to perfect the backs at kicking and running.  Luckily that close-formation has the merit of concealing the point of attack until it’s under way, and it’s just possible that we’ll manage to fool them.”

And so Jones and Mills went to work with renewed vigor the next day.  But the second team, playing tackle-back after the style of Robinson’s warriors, was too much for any defense that the varsity could put up, and got its distance time after time.  The coaches evolved and tried several plays designed to stop it, but none proved really successful.