asked, after breakfast. "Ten-thirty?"

"Yes; and I'm going to post a notice that every one is to be ready at
ten. Then I'll be sure of them," Polly said.

"I wish we could take Maud as a sub, instead of Caroline Webb," Lois
said, slowly. "She's worth more."

Polly shook her head. "It doesn't matter, really," she said. "Our
sub-team is so weak that we simply can't rely on it. We'll have to play
it all through ourselves, and we mustn't get hurt; that's all there is
to it. If one of us gets out of this game to-day, it will mean we lose,"
she concluded, decidedly.

"Oh, captain, how do you feel?" Betty inquired, coming in with her gym
suit over her arm. "I've been talking to some of the girls; they're just
sufficiently nervous--all except Eleanor--she's too cocksure. I don't
like it," she added, shaking her head doubtfully. No one knew better
than she how dangerous over-confidence was before a game; it was much
more liable to prove disastrous than a severe case of fear.

"I'll talk to her," Polly said. "Don't worry; she'll get over any extra
amount of confidence when she sees the other team--that is, if they're
the size they were last year."

"Which I hope and pray they are not," Lois added, fervently.

They started at ten-thirty, after a little delay caused by Fanny
forgetting her gym shoes, and Betty her favorite hair ribbon. The school
gave them a hearty send-off, cheering the carryall as far as the gate.

They arrived at Whitehead in time for luncheon.

"They don't seem awfully cheerful here," Polly said, when she and Lois
were alone for a minute. "I wonder what's the matter?"

"Doris Bates, you know, the girl who plays forward, told me she had a
terrible sore throat," Lois replied. "Perhaps she's given it to the
rest."

"I have an idea they'll use their subs," Polly said. "If they do--" She
let Lois finish the remainder of the sentence for herself.

The game began at two o'clock. The Whitehead gymnasium was a big, high
ceilinged room with small windows. It was really a converted barn. The
light was so poor that on winter afternoons they had always to use the
big arc lamps that were incased in wire, and hung at either end of the
room. There was no gallery for the spectators. They sat around in groups
wherever they could find a place. Some of them were so near the lines
that Polly felt sure she would run into them and, hardest drawback of
all, the floor was slippery. The school used the gym for all their
e