CONTENTS

CHAPTERPAGE
I[The Departure of a Hero]1
II[“Washington P. Quiggle”]11
III[Room-Mates]27
IV[Blashington]38
V[“Rusty”]52
VI[Dick Makes an Enemy]69
VII[Paging Mr. Blashington]78
VIII[Halden Repeats]90
IX[Letters and Rhymes]102
X[Whitewashed!]118
XI[Warden Advises]130
XII[The Phillipsburg Game]142
XIII[The Last Quarter]154
XIV[Rusty Brings a Friend]166
XV[Captain Peters Entertains]177
XVI[Mr. Bates Protests]194
XVII[In Conference]209
XVIII[Publicity]225
XIX[On the Screen]237
XX[Blash Evens the Score]247
XXI[Two Scraps of Paper]256
XXII[Blash Confesses]270
XXIII[Kenwood Scores]277
XXIV[Quarter-Back Bates]287

ILLUSTRATIONS

[That second pass was fairly high and it seemed that Kirkendall would reach the receiver in time to spoil it] Frontispiece
FACING
PAGE
[“Good evening,” said Rusty amiably]62
[“How we love our Faculty!”]188
[The pursuit had closed in now and foremost friend and enemy were but a few yards behind]292

QUARTER-BACK BATES

[CHAPTER I]
THE DEPARTURE OF A HERO

It cannot be truthfully said that Dick Bates was overwhelmingly surprised when he reached the railroad station that September morning and found fully a score of his schoolmates assembled there. Wally Nourse had let the cat out of the bag the day before. Wally was one of those well-meaning but too talkative youths such as we have all met. But Dick played the game perfectly this morning, descending from the carriage—Mr. Bates was one of the very few persons left in Leonardville who could afford an automobile and still drove horses—with an expression of questioning surprise. He realized that too much surprise would suggest that he knew the assemblage was there to do him honour; and if, as some said, Dick was conceited, at least he was always careful not to seem so.