“Why, it couldn’t have been there ever since I lost it,” he said. “Somebody would have found it before this.”
“It seems that way,” said Dick; and he did not explain to Brad that the knife had fallen first from Chester’s pocket as he pulled out his handkerchief.
Why Dick chose to keep silent on this point he hardly knew. He was mystified over the knife incident. Chester Arlington did not seem like a fellow who would resort to petty robbery. Surely he would not steal an ordinary pearl-handled knife, worth perhaps three dollars, when he spent money lavishly? And yet Dick had heard it hinted within a day or two that Chester was hard up, and that his parents had declined to advance more money for him to squander until a certain time had passed.
Strange thoughts were flitting through Dick’s head. Placed in a desperate situation, would Chester be tempted to pilfer? The “spook,” the missing trinkets and articles of value, these things Dick thought about. Then he wondered if there was not some way for him to solve the mystery and clear up the whole affair. But, in the meantime, the football-game with New Era took his attention.
CHAPTER XXVIII—A SLIPPERY TRICK
In the following manner the two teams faced each other on that dark, wet, dreary Saturday afternoon:
| FARDALE | SPRINGVALE | |
|---|---|---|
| Shannock | Right end | Porter |
| Jolliby | Right tackle | Kinter |
| Bradley | Right guard | Sheehan |
| Tubbs | Center | Rouke |
| Dare | Left guard | Mahoney |
| Gardner | Left tackle | Reed |
| Buckhart | Left end | Huckley |
| Smart | Quarter-back | Eyster |
| Merriwell | Right half-back | Sampson |
| Darrell | Left half-back | Nelson |
| Singleton | Full-back | Austin |
A snow-storm had been threatening, but had turned to a rain-storm, the weather becoming milder. It was not a downpour—just a weak, unpleasant drizzle.
But a drizzle could not keep the cadets from turning out to witness the game. They packed the seats reserved for them. There was not the usual large gathering of spectators from the village and surrounding country, although the attendance was not light.
The visitors were the first to come trotting out on the field. They wore some sort of leathery-looking suits, and in the rain those suits glistened strangely. They did not resort to the practise of falling on the ball in warming up, but passed the ball from hand to hand and did a little kicking.