necessitated the fiercest of tackling, and many fellows failed at this.
To-day Neil was one of this number. Twice the dummy, bearing upon its
breast the brown R of Robinson, had sped away on its twenty-foot flight,
and twice Neil had thrown himself upon it without bringing it down. As
he arose after the second attempt and brushed the soil from his trousers
Mills "went for him."

"You're very ladylike, Fletcher, but as this isn't crewel-work or
crochet you'll oblige me by being so rude as to bring that dummy off.
Now, once more; put some snap into it! Get your hold, find your
purchase, and then throw! Just imagine it's a sophomore, please."

The roar of laughter that followed restored some of Neil's confidence,
and, whether he deceived himself into momentarily thinking the dummy a
sophomore, he tackled finely, brought the canvas figure from the hook,
and triumphantly sat on the letter R.

Signal practise followed work at the dummy that afternoon, and last of
all the varsity and second teams had their daily line-up. Neil, however,
did not get into this. Greatly to his surprise and disappointment
McCullough took his place at left half, and Neil sat on the bench and
aggrievedly watched the lucky ones peeling off their sweaters in
preparation for the fray. But idleness was not to be his portion, for a
moment later Mills called to him:

"Here, take this ball, go down there to the fifteen-yard line, and try
drop-kicking. Keep a strict count, and let me know how many tries you
had and how many times you put it over the goal."

Neil took the ball and trotted off to the scene of his labors, greatly