“Perhaps I shall,” said Anne brightening.

“Now smile Anne,” said Nora, “and forget your troubles.  There is no use in crossing bridges before you come to them.”

This homely old saying seemed to console Anne, and soon she was eagerly watching the work of the team, her brief anxiety forgotten.

That night she searched her room, and the next day gave her desk in school a thorough overhauling, but the list of signals remained missing.

The sophomore players with their substitute team met that afternoon in the gymnasium.  It was their last opportunity for practice.  Saturday they would rise to victory or go down in ignominious defeat.  The latter seemed to them impossible.  They had practised faithfully, and Grace had been so earnest in her efforts to perfect their playing that they were completely under her control and moved like clockwork.  There was no weak spot in the team.  Every point had been diligently worked over and mastered.  They had played several games with the freshmen and had won every time, so Grace was fairly confident of their success.

“Oh, girls,” she cried, wringing her hands in her earnestness, “don’t make any mistakes.  Keep your heads, all of you.  I am convinced we are better players than the juniors, even if they did get the pennant last year.  For one thing I don’t think they work together as well as we do, and that’s really the main thing.  Miriam, you missed practice yesterday.  You are going to stay to-day, aren’t you?”

Miriam nodded without replying.  She was busy with her own thoughts.  She wished she could hit upon some way to humiliate Grace Harlowe.  But what could she do?  That was the question.  The members of the team adored their gray-eyed, independent young captain, therefore she would have to be very careful.

She had been steadily losing ground with her class on account of her constant association with the juniors, and the slightest misstep on her part would jeopardize her place on the team.  She had a genuine love for the game, and since she couldn’t play on the junior team, she concluded it would be just as well not to lose her place with the sophomores.  In her heart she cared nothing for her class.  She had tried to be their leader, and Grace had supplanted her, but now Grace should pay for it.

All this passed through Miriam’s mind as she covertly watched Grace, who was reassuring Anne for the fiftieth time, not to worry over the lost signals.

“Don’t tell any one about it,” she whispered to Anne.  “You may find them yet.”

Anne shook her head sorrowfully.  She felt in some way that those signals were bound to make trouble for her.

“By the way, girls,” said Grace, addressing the team, “has any one any objection to Anne and Jessica staying to see the practice game?  They have seen all our work and are now anxious to see the practice game.  They know all the points, but they want to see how the new signal code works.”