From across the street sounded a warning cry, followed by footsteps.
"Now, I"ve got you!" cried Phin exultantly. He struck, and landed, on d.i.c.k"s cheek.
"Stop that, Phin!" shouted his father, without letting go of d.i.c.k"s collar, however. Phin, however, instead of obeying, aimed another blow, and would have landed, had not another figure bounded in and taken the blow, next hurling Phin back against a brick wall.
It was Len Spencer, "star" reporter of "The Blade," who had thus interfered. And now Dave Darrin was dancing in front of Heathcote Drayne, ordering:
"Let go of Prescott! What sort of fair play is this?"
"Mind your own business!" ordered Mr. Drayne. "I"m stopping a fight."
Not an instant did impulsive Darrin waste in arguing the matter.
He landed his fist just under Heathcote Drayne"s left eye, causing that Heathcote to let go of d.i.c.k in a hurry.
"You young scoundrel!" glared Mr. Drayne, glaring at Dave.
"Opinions may differ as to who the scoundrel is," retorted Dave unconcernedly. "My own notions of fair play are against holding one of the parties in a fight so that the other may hammer him."
"I"ll have you arrested for this a.s.sault," stormed Mr. Drayne, applying a handkerchief to the bruised spot under his eye. "Both you and Prescott---your ruffian friend for a.s.saulting my son.
"Go ahead and do it," retorted Dave. "As it happens, your son did all the a.s.saulting, and Prescott, who didn"t care about fighting with such a thing, only defended himself. We saw it all from across the street, but we didn"t come across to interfere until we had to."
"I"ll take some of your impudence out of you in the police court,"
insisted Mr. Drayne.
"Yes, I would, if I were you," broke in Len Spencer coolly. "I saw this whole business, too, and I"ll take pleasure in testifying against you both. Mr. Drayne, you didn"t see the start of this thing, and I did. But you, at least, know that your son is a moral leper kicked out of the High School because he was not decent enough to a.s.sociate with the other students. I wouldn"t be surprised if he gets some of his bad qualities from you, sir"
"You"ll sing a different tune in court," a.s.serted Heathcote Drayne heatedly.
"So will you," laughed Len Spencer. "By the way, I see a policeman down the street. If you want to prefer a charge, Mr. Drayne, I"ll blow my police whistle and bring the officer here."
Spencer took a whistle from his pocket, moving it toward his lips.
"Do you want the officer!" challenged the reporter.
But Mr. Drayne began to see the matter in a somewhat different light. He knew much about the nature of his son, and here were two witnesses against him. Besides, one was a trusted staff writer for the local paper, and the whole affair was likely to result in a disagreeable publicity.
"I"ll think this all over before I act," returned Mr. Drayne stiffly, as he took his son by one arm. "Come along, Phin."
As the Draynes moved away each held a handkerchief to his face.
"I don"t think much of fighting, and I don"t like to do it,"
muttered Darrin, who was beginning to cool down. "But if Heathcote Drayne had had to do more fighting when he was younger he might have known how to train that cub of his to be more of a man."
CHAPTER VIII
d.i.c.k Puts "A Better Man" in His Place
Of course d.i.c.k heard no more from the Draynes. He didn"t expect that he would.
Phin, however, was noticed no more on the streets of the little city. Then, in some way, it leaked out that his father had sent him to a military boarding school where the discipline was credited with being very rigid.
"I guess papa has found that his little boy was none too much of an angel," laughed Dave Darrin when discussing the news with his chums.
The first four games of the season went off successfully for Gridley, though all were hard battles in which only fine leadership and splendid team work by all saved the day.
Two of these games had been played on the home grounds, two away from home. The fifth game of the season was scheduled to be played on the home grounds. The opponent for this game was to be Hallam Heights High School. The Hallam boys were a somewhat aristocratic lot, but not sn.o.bbish, and the Gridley young men looked forward to an exciting and pleasant game. It was the first game ever played between Gridley and Hallam Heights. Coach Morton talked about the strangers one rainy afternoon in the gymnasium.
"I believe you"re going to find yourselves up against a hard proposition," declared coach slowly "These young men attend a High School where no expense is spared. Some of the wealthy men of the town engage the physical director, who is one of the best men in his cla.s.s. Speight, who was at college with me, is engaged in addition as the football coach. I remember Speight as one of the cleverest and most dangerous men we had at college. He could think up a whole lot of new field tricks overnight. Then again, most of the Hallam Heights boys are young fellows who go away for athletic summers. That is, they are young fellows who do a lot of boating, yachting, riding, tennis, track work, and all the rest of it.
They are young fellows who glory in being in training all the year around. Speight writes me that he thinks he has the finest, strongest and most alert boys in the United States."
"We"ll whip them, just the same," announced d.i.c.k coolly.
"Gridley will, if anyone can---I know that," agreed Mr. Morton.
"You"ve won all four games that you"ve played this season. Hallam Heights has played five games and won them all. The Hallam youngsters are out to capture the record that Gridley has held for some time that of capturing all the games of the season."
"Bring "em on!" begged Darrin. "I wish we had "em here to play just as soon as the rain lets up."
"Don"t make the mistake of thinking that, because the Hallam boys have rich fathers, they"re dudes, who can"t play on wet ground,"
laughed Mr. Morton.
"If Hallam sends forth such terrors," grinned d.i.c.k, rising from the bench on which he had been sitting, "then we must get in trim for "em. Come on, fellows; some of the light speedy exercises.
I"ll work you up to all the speed you can take care of, this afternoon."
For the next ten minutes d.i.c.k was as good as his word. Then, after a brief breathing spell, Prescott ordered his men to the running track in the gallery.
"Three laps at full speed, with a two-minute jog between each speed burst, and a minute of breathing between each kind of running,"
called out d.i.c.k.
Then, after he had seen the fellows started, he turned to the coach.
"If I never learned anything else from you, Mr. Morton, I think I"ve wholly absorbed the idea that no man is in condition unless he can run well; and that nothing will make for condition like judicious running."
"As to what you"ve learned from me, Captain Prescott," replied the coach, "I fully believe that you"ve learned all that I have to teach. I wouldn"t be afraid to go away on a vacation and leave the team in your hands."
"Him!" smiled d.i.c.k. "Without you to back me up, Mr. Morton, I"m afraid some of the fellows might kick over the traces."
"They wouldn"t kick over but once," laughed the coach. "The first time any fellow did that you"d drop him from the team. And the fellows know it. I haven"t noticed the young men attempting to frisk you any."
"One did."
"I know whom you mean," replied the submaster, his brow clouding.
"But he got out of the team, didn"t he?"