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A COIL OF WIRE
95

"Don't!" exclaimed Tom quickly. "That's bad luck, and, what's worse, Sid, it's treason."

"Then give me liberty or buy me a seltzer lemonade, Patrick Henry!" declaimed Phil. "Honest now, Tom, weren't you just aching to get out and play?"

"I was," replied Tom so earnestly that the others looked curiously at him. "I never wanted so much in my life to get into a game. Why, I'd even been glad to act as backstop. But it's all right," he added quickly. "It was a great game, and maybe I'll have a chance to play next year if I live that long," and he laughed, but there was no mirth in it.

"Mighty pretty lot of girls at the game," observed Sid, as if to change the subject.

"That's what," agreed Tom, glad to get on a more congenial topic.

"Oh, wait until we play Fairview Institute," said Phil/

"Why?" from Tom.

"Why, that's co-ed, you know—girl students as well as boys. And, say, maybe there aren't some stunners among 'em! They take in all the games at home and some that aren't, and they have flags and a yell of their own. They know how to yell, too. I was over to a ball game there last year, before I thought of coming to Randall, and say, it was immense. There was one——"