t, he decided to take matters into his
own hands--and what do you suppose he done? He got a six-shooter out of
a holster that one of the cowboys had left lyin' around an' come up
behind that dog while he was sunnin' himself beside the ranch house and
blowed out his brains! You see, he just made up his mind to settle with
that dog, and nothing that any of us could say made a bit of difference.
I always thought he was going to be a smart man, but I never could get
close to him, so to speak. It was just as if he belonged to some other
man, and now, of course, I can't help wishing that I had somehow got to
understand him better."

There was not much that Doctor Wells could say after that except to
extend his sympathy and to express the wish that it had been possible
for others as well as the father to understand and help the youth who
had come to his untimely end.

November, with each day crisper than the last, slipped into December and
one morning the school awoke to find a thin sifting of snow over the
brown grass of the campus and the bare branches of the maple trees. The
Christmas vacation suddenly became the subject of conversation, and to
Teeny-bits it seemed that every one had a plan that promised pleasure
and recreation. He felt a little lonely at the thought of seeing all
these friends of his depart for the holidays and leave him to spend the
vacation alone in the quiet little village of Hamilton; and then one
evening after the last mail, Neil Durant came into his room with two
opened letters in his hand.

"A couple of invitations," he said. "It's all fixed up, Teeny-bits.
You're going home for Christmas with me and we're going up to Norris'
place in the mountains for some winter sports. You remember he spoke
about getting together, after the game. I thought then that I'd like to
renew old times and now he writes that he wants us to come up to his
place, which is a wonder, way back in the hills where there's great
skiing and snowshoeing."

To Teeny-bits it seemed suddenly as if he had been dreaming and hoping
for a long time that this very thing would happen. It was a wonderful
chance for a good time--but it was to prove more than that for the new
captain of the Ridgley football team.

CHAPTER XIII

DAYS OF PLEASURE

The holiday migration from Ridgley School began six days before
Christmas. Within a few hours the dormitories on the hill, which for
months had resounded to the sound of voices, sudden