“Hello, what are you chaps going to do?” yelled Bob.
“Follow us, and see,” answered Bill.
Crowds of students were now leaving the grounds, and the nine followed in the rear. As they walked along a wide, shady road, glimpses of the river and hills beyond were here and there seen.
The Ripley students continued to sing their lively songs, varying the performance by occasional yells and blasts from Andrews’ tin horn. And it was not long before other sounds, which they recognized as coming from the Thorntons, reached their ears.
When the boys arrived at the athletic field, a great crowd had assembled. In the center was a huge, leather-covered ball.
“Gee whiz!” said Jack. “A push ball.”
“And a Jim-dandy, too; must be six feet high,” put in Aleck Hunt. “Now I see the scheme. Great, isn’t it?”
“This must be something new,” laughed Redfern. “There goes a signal—probably the first. They are lining up now—listen to Lon Bates.”
“You could hear his voice a mile off,” said Bob. “Wonder where the goal lines are. Ought to be a nice, lively tussle. Wish to goodness we were in it, eh, Redfern?”
But the latter shook his head.