orked combinations ever since
he had been in the University. It hurts a College politician to have it
known that he has been in politics. They pointed to his rather doubtful
record as a member of the _Daily Palo Alto_ board. The sins of his
Freshman days rose up against him when they touched on the fact that he
had been elected class-president on a barb ticket, and had immediately
gone over to the enemy in a fraternity house. Finally, to fill his cup,
a Freshman, who had withstood fraternity blandishments for a year,
glided through the hands of the Gamma Chi Taus, who fully believed they
had him, and appeared on the very Sunday preceding election in all the
glory of Higgins' frat pin. It was a bad slip; right there it cost
fifteen Gamma Chi votes with a large girl following.

"It isn't the swell girls that count for numbers, anyway," reflected the
Higgins' supporters, wisely, and they turned to the cultivation of the
dig girl who trails up the cinder paths mornings at eight, and who lives
in the library during football practice. But the girl cousin of Boggs
had been there to good purpose when they turned in that direction, and
Roble only showed Castleton still ahead. Then a not over-scrupulous
Junior in Higgins' trail started a story on Castleton, a tale calculated
to put him in the same category, so far as being "bad" was concerned.
Wednesday evening the anecdote reached Roble; a girl who had a brother
heard it spreading at dinner, and by noon next day half the girls in
Roble had their opinion of a crowd that would start such a malicious
libel on Mr. Castleton "just to get votes." The Encina politicians did
not know Roble girls for nothing.

So it happened on Thursday that Pellams clumped breathlessly into
Jimmy's room with a still wet copy of the _Daily_ and tragically pointed
to the notice: "_WithdrawalI: I hereby withdraw from my candidacy for
Student-Body presidency in favor of Lorenzo Boggs. Andrew Higgins."

"Ye gods," gasped the Sophomore, "he can't win, Pellams, he can't!
Castleton gets it sure. For heaven's sake, don't put the gang on to this
until after to-morrow, though. I wouldn't have the double-cross worked
on us for a cool ten credits."

Fair dawned the day that was to float or to wreck so many little hopes.
There are two periods of the year when the professor who has been young
forgets the roll-call, and the one who never has been, remembers it. The
first period comes in late November; the other is t