"Well, I would ask them to join us, only if I do that, Plum will say I am trying to steal his men from him."
The next morning came a surprise. Roger received a challenge from the Arrows to play a game of football the very next Saturday afternoon. Nat Poole delivered the paper, and his face had a superior smile on it as he did so.
"Why, Poole, we are not in trim to play yet," said Roger. "We need more practice."
"Afraid to play us, eh?" sneered the aristocratic youth. "I thought so."
"I am not afraid. Make it three weeks from now and I'll accept."
"No, you must play this week or not at all. If you won't play we'll challenge the Rockville fellows."
With this declaration Nat Poole hurried away, leaving the senator's son much worried. As Roger had said, his team needed practice. They were all good players individually, but team work is what counts in a modern game of football. He went to consult his friends.
"We can't do it," said Sam, shaking his head. "Why, some of us scarcely know the new rules yet, much less our signals."
"We need at least two weeks of good, snappy practice," put in another of the players. "None of us are hard enough yet."
"This is a plan to get us into a hole," declared Dave. "If we back out Plum will challenge the Rockville boys and make out that his eleven is the representative one from this school. It's just like one of his dirty tricks."