Merriwell bent lower.
“Yes?” he questioned.
“I couldn’t help it, old man,” Bob said in a low tone. “I broke my promise, and I reckon you must think me an awful rotter. I held out as long as I could; but you needed me, Dick, and I couldn’t sit there and see the fellows licked. But it’s the last time.”
“Do you really mean that, Bob?” Merriwell asked slowly. “Don’t you think that the next game you see will tempt you just as you have been tempted to-day?”
Hollister shook his head decidedly.
“No, sir!” he said emphatically. “I’m through. This is the last. I’ll be content now to cut it out for good. I’ve shown what I could do, and——”
Another thunderous burst of cheering came from the stands.
“Hollister! Hollister! Hollister!”
“Not even for that would I break my word to you again, Merriwell. You believe me, don’t you, old fellow?”
For an instant Dick gazed keenly into the anxious eyes of his friend. Then his face cleared and a smile curved the corners of his mouth.