“Well, I suppose Lorrimer will say I was talking too much. What I said was for the good of the eleven.”
“What did you say?”
“I said that the men were being overtrained, and it was making them heavy and slow, which is the absolute truth, but a fellow on the eleven is supposed to keep his mouth shut and play ball. That’s why I was jumped on.”
“There is something behind this. There was another reason for it.”
“I don’t think so.”
“I do!”
“Well,” said Merry, “if it will open the eyes of Lorrimer so that he’ll treat the men with more judgment, Yale will stand a better chance of winning, even though I am not on the team. It is ruin to put a lot of overworked men into a game like the one coming.”
“If Yale wins, there will be some chumps who will swear that it was because you were put off the team,” said Harry. “That will be a splendid thing, now, won’t it?”
“There always are men to say nasty things, no matter what happens,” observed Frank.
“Well,” said the Virginian, “if you are not on the team, I’m going to hedge my bets.”