The Codfish frequently used the wire to play tricks. One night Jimmy was awakened by a desperate clatter on the instrument. The call of Jimmy's room was JC, and they were both hard letters for our friend, the Codfish. He was rattling away at this JC, JC, JC, as fast as he could go. Jimmy sprang up and answered. "It's very cold down here," clicked the instrument; "come on down and put another blanket on me." Jimmy was furious. "I'll come down," he wired back, "and put a club on you."
"Ha, ha, ha, ha!" laughed the Codfish on the wire.
But they got a lot of fun out of it and some profit, for they were learning something which they might some day be able to turn to account. Little did any of them realize that it would, at no very distant date, play a prominent part in an important incident in their school life.
CHAPTER XV. FRANK TAKEN TO WARWICK.
While the advent of the telegraph line occupied the attention of our friends in the evenings, it must not be thought that they were any the less intent on the football doings in the afternoons. The end of the season was drawing rapidly to a close and only one game—that with Porter School on the Queen's grounds—remained on the schedule to be played, with the exception of the final match with Warwick. This latter game was to be played at Warwick, which was considered a disadvantage, as the Queen's eleven seemed to fight better on home grounds. It will be remembered that the Warwick game was played at Queen's the previous year. These matches always alternated—one year at Warwick and the next at Queen's, and so on.
After Frank had won his place on the Second eleven, there was a general brace by the School eleven. Dixon, seeing his position in danger of being invaded by Frank, put forth his best efforts, and he was so clever a quarter that when he did his best he was hard to beat. Horton was delighted with the change and attributed it in a considerable degree to the dashing play of Frank Armstrong, who had been, as he expressed it, "a regular find."
Then came the Porter game. "This is our test," said Jimmy the Friday night before it was played. "If we get away with this one, there's a chance that we can pull off the Warwick game."