check or a demerit, as it is usually called, for any form of bad conduct
that afternoon. Immediately at the close of school the almost solid
legion of boys of the seventh and eighth grades started on a run for the
big field in which they had been practising of late.

"Now, we'll have to wait a few minutes for the fellows from the other
schools," announced Dick when he had marshaled his forces in the field.
"It will take them longer to get here."

"Here come some of the North Grammar boys!" called a lookout, a few
minutes later. "Hi Martin is one of them."

"Welcome to the North Grammar," called Dick, as Hi Martin and two other
boys made their appearance on the field. A dozen more boys from the same
school could be seen straggling along in the rear by twos and threes.

"My, but you fellows have brought a mob," was Hi's greeting.

"We invited all of the fellows of the two top grades," Dick explained.

"A small, select committee would have been better," remarked Hi. "When
you have too big a crowd you can't hear each other, for everyone is
talking at once. So you fellows of the Central Grammar think you can
play football, do you?"

"We don't know," laughed Prescott. "We want to find out."

"Huh!"

"Here come a dozen fellows from the South Grammar," announced another
lookout.

"Huh! They're coming in a mob, too," uttered Martin in some disdain.
"There's at least thirty in their crowd."

"Well, you Norths have brought at least fifteen," observed Dave.

"But only three of us are a committee," retorted Hi Martin. "The other
fellows are just hangers on--camp followers, so to speak."

"Don't get too chesty, Hi," objected one of the outside dozen from the
North Grammar.

"Don't try to give me any orders, Ben Lollard," snapped Martin. "We got
all our orders from the school before we started."

"Who represents the South Grammar?" called Dick as the new comers
trooped on to the field.

"Well, aren't there enough of us here?" demanded Ted Teall.

"But Martin, of the North Grammar, thinks each school ought to be
represented by a committee," explained Dick.

"Committee of three," amended Hi Martin.

"Huh! That's a dude arrangement," rejoined Ted Teall.

"We have some sense of dignity at the North Grammar," snapped Hi Martin,
flushing.

"And you carry it around with you all the time," jeered young Teall.

Things began to look badly for the success of the league. Many of the
North Grammar boys came from rather