But Darrin coolly tucked the ball under one arm.

"Dick Prescott has a few remarks to make first," Dave announced.

"Dick going to make a speech?"

"Cut it, and start the ball moving!"

"Won't you fellows interrupt your music lessons long enough to listen to
an idea that some of us have been talking over?" called Dick. "Now,
fellows, you know this is the time when the crack Gridley High School
football team is hard at work. We're all proud of the Gridley High
School eleven. A lot of you fellows expect to go to High School, and I
know you'd all like a chance to play on Gridley High's eleven."

"Set the ball moving!"

"Wait a minute," Dick insisted. "Now, fellows, no Grammar School in
Gridley has ever had an eleven."

"How could we," came a discontented wail, "if we have to stand here and
see Dave just do nothing but hold the ball?"

"Fellows," Dick went on impressively, "it's time to have Grammar School
football teams here in Gridley. Central Grammar ought to have one, North
Grammar one and South Grammar one. Then our three Grammar Schools could
play a championship series among themselves."

"Hooray! Give the ball a throw, Dave!"

"So, fellows," Dick continued, "a lot of us think we ought to organize a
football team at once. Then we can challenge North Grammar and South
Grammar. We can practise the rest of this month, and next month we can
play off our games. What do you say?"

"Hooray!"

"We'll have two teams," called Dave. "We'll call one team the Rangers
and the other the Rustlers. Now, let's make Dick captain of the
Rangers."

"All right!"

"And Tom Craig captain of the Rustlers."

"Good!"

"All right, then," nodded Dave. "Dick, you pick out the Rangers; Craig,
you go ahead with the Rustlers. After we've practised a few times we'll
pick the best men from both elevens, and make up the Central Grammar
eleven. Get busy, captains!"

Forthwith the choosing began. Dick chose all his chums for his own
eleven. And no boy lower than seventh grade was allowed on either team.

"Now, who'll be referee?" demanded Dick. "Captain Craig, have you any
choice?"

"Have we got any fellows, not on either team, who really know the
rules?" asked Tom Craig dubiously.

There was a hush, for this was surely a stumbling block. It seemed clear
that a referee ought to know the rules of the game.

"What's up, kids?" called a friendly voice.

The speaker was Len Spencer, a young man who had been graduated from the
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