Tony made no verbal reply, but his brow grew dark, as he once
again shot a look of hatred toward the player who had made that
brilliant flying tackle.

The big town of Columbia was situated on the Harrapin River, with
Clifford nearly four miles above, and the manufacturing town of
Bellport twice that distance down-stream.

Of course, as each of these bustling places boasted of a high
school, the consequent rivalries of the students had blossomed out
into a league. In various sports they were determined rivals, and
the summer just passed had witnessed a bitter fight between the
baseball clubs of the three towns, in which Columbia won out after
a fierce contest.

Among the Columbia students there were also strivings after
supremacy in many gymnastic feats, as well as between the several
classes, each of which was jealous of the others when it came to
giving spreads. Many of the deeply interesting happenings along
this line that marked the preceding Winter and Spring have been
chronicled in the first volume of this series, called: "The Boys
of Columbia High; or, The All-Around Rivals of the School."

With the coming of the season for outdoor sports, there was
baseball in the air from morning to night, in preparation for the
carnival of games mapped out for the schedule between the three
schools. What thrilling contests took place, and with what final
results, can be found in the second story of this series, bearing
the title, "The Boys of Columbia High on the Diamond; or, Winning
Out by Pluck."