Patsy strolled up at this moment, and they told him what they had been at.
"You can never beat David Powers at dipping or pulling up on the horizontal bar. Did you ever see him climbing the rope? He's been down here in the mornings, learning how to do that."
"O-ho, Mr. Powers," said Frank, "is that where you sneak off to in the mornings, down to the gym, eh? Well, you are out after the records, aren't you?" But there was a note of pride in Frank's tone as he looked at the little chap.
"Come on, David, show them how a cat goes up a rope," said Patsy. He loosened the climbing rope from the side of the gallery, and let it swing to its position with a clear space of twenty-five feet to the rafters, where it was attached by an eye-bolt. David moved over to the rope by the aid of his cane, with which he could get around in the gymnasium, seized the rope and went up it hand over hand, like a sailor. It seemed hardly more than a half dozen breaths before he had reached the very top of the rope, touched the rafter, slid down the rope, and was with them again on the floor.
"There's only two fellows in this whole school who can beat that, and even now I think he'd give them a good tussle if it came to a contest. Before the winter is over we'll have the gym trials, and then you'll see some good contests. I'm backing this young fellow Freshman to win some points if he keeps up his improvement," said Patsy, laying his hand on David's shoulder. David smiled in a pleased manner and looked down.
"Well, I'll take good care I don't get into any rope-climbing contests with him; I'd come out at the little end of the horn," said Frank.
"And I'll dodge them, too," remarked Jimmy.
"And I'm thinking of entering the dip contests and the rope-climbing myself," said Lewis, which raised a laugh.
"Lewis, you could climb a rope if it was stretched along the ground, all right," said Jimmy, "or if you had a convenient elevator."