hereupon Steve frowned, punched his
pillow and flopped over.

"It isn't bothering him any," he thought. "If he wants me to speak to
him, he'll have to say so. Cranky chump!"

CHAPTER XXII

STEVE GETS A SURPRISE

Mr. Fernald was surprisingly complaisant on Monday when the committee
from the second team waited on him at the Cottage. He gave them
permission to hold their banquet in the village and even said several
nice things to them about their share in the development of the
'varsity. He warned them against rowdyism, told them they must be back
promptly at nine o'clock and said he hoped they'd have a good time!
After which, much surprised and not a little embarrassed, the committee
backed out of the room and returned joyfully to spread the tidings. A
second committee, headed by Saunders, had already been appointed to
arrange for the banquet in case permission was secured and by Tuesday
everything was complete. I may say here that the event duly came off on
Thursday evening and was a big success. But as neither Steve nor Tom was
present, our interest in the banquet is slight.

On Monday the _Review_ came out. The school paper was published on the
twentieth of the month, and the December issue contained, among other
features, a rather interesting resume of the football season by Mr.
Robey and a list of the games played to date. The coach's article was
too long to reproduce, but the summary of the season's contests was
brief enough to be set down here:

Sept. 30--Brimfield 10; Thacher 3

Oct. 4--Brimfield 10; Canterbury 7

Oct. 7--Brimfield 26; Miter Hill 0

Oct. 14--Brimfield 3; Larchville 17

Oct. 21--Brimfield 0; Benton 0

Oct. 28--Brimfield 27; Cherry Valley 6

Nov. 4--Brimfield 12; Phillips 0

Nov. 11--Brimfield 9; Chambers 30

Nov. 18--Brimfield 39; Southby 7

Brimfield had played nine games, of which she had won six, lost two and
tied one, not a bad record, as the _Review_ rather complacently pointed
out, for a school whose football history dated back but a few years. But
Brimfield didn't waste much time contemplating past performances. Had
the team won every game in its schedule by an overwhelming score, the
season would still be a dismal failure if it lost to Claflin, just as,
if it finally won its big game, the school would rise up and call it
blessed even had it lost every other contest of the sea