us was only a little sputter to what followed. For
a moment we had hopes that old Scroggs would explode. I think if he had
had us there alone he would have tried to hang us. But every tyrant has
his master, so before long we began to see the halter on old Scroggs.
And his daughter held the leading rope. She let him rave about so long
and then she retired into her pocket-handkerchief and turned on a
regular equinoctial. Scroggs looked more uncomfortable than we felt. He
took her in his arms and there was a family reconciliation. Every little
while Martha would look over his shoulder at us four hopefuls sitting up
against the wall as lively as wooden Indians, and then she would bury
her face in her handkerchief again and shake her shoulders and writhe
with grief--or maybe it was something else. Martha always did have a
pretty keen sense of humor.

[Illustration: My, but that girl was a wonder!
_Page 74_]

Suddenly Scroggs remembered us and we went out of the house like
projectiles fired from a very loud gun. We cussed each other all the
way home--we three athletes. We would have cussed Driggs, but he sneaked
the other way and we lost him.

The next morning we went up to police court in our old clothes. Judge
Scroggs looked at us sourly when our turn came.

"Young men," he said, "my daughter has admitted that she has been
foolish enough to engage herself provisionally to all of you, with the
idea of choosing the hero in this afternoon's games. I do not admire her
taste. I think she is indeed reckless to fall in love with collegians
when there are so many honest cab drivers and grocery boys to choose
from. But I have, in the interests of peace, consented to allow you to
compete this afternoon. You are discharged. I do this the more willingly
because I have seen you here before and shall again. You may go."

We did go, and when we got through that afternoon the knobby-legged
athletes from our rival schools looked like quarter horses plowing home
just ahead of the next race. Siwash won by an enormous lead and we three
were the stars of the meet. Why shouldn't we be when our fiancee sat in
a box in the grandstand and cheered us impartially? More than that, old
Scroggs sat with her and I have an idea that he got excited, too, in the
breath-catching parts.

I think that engagement business must have broken the old man's spirit,
or else so much association with college people began to waken dormant
brai