Almost unconsciously Tom found himself defending the lad for whom he had felt such a dislike, not long since. Perhaps the little talk with Madge Tyler had made a change in our hero.
“Well, I won’t say anything about it,” decided the tall pitcher. “But I’ll keep my eyes and ears open.”
The session of the joint committee was almost over when Sid, who had been strolling about, met Tom.
“I say,” began Sid, “I just had a sort of funny experience.”
“What kind?” asked Tom, wondering if Sid’s was anything like his own.
“Why some of these Exter fellows have been asking me questions about one of our lads, such as where he came from, what sort of a record he had, and all that.”
“They have?” cried Tom. “Was it about Shambler? Because if it was----”
“No, it wasn’t Shambler,” replied Sid. “Why, have you----”
“Frank Simpson,” was the unexpected reply. “Our own Frank.”
“What?” cried Tom, as if unwilling to believe it. “They wanted to know about Frank?”
“Yes, all about how long he’d been at Randall, where he came from, what his record was, and whether he was going to take part in the games.”
“I said I didn’t know much about him, except that he came from Stanford University, where he was a crackerjack on the gridiron. I said he was going to pull down some points for us on the track, too.”
“Nothing, except that they thanked me, and I heard one of ’em say to the other that they were going to ‘look it up,’ whatever that meant.”
“Say!” cried Tom, “there’s something in the wind, Sid. I had almost the same experience, only it was about Shambler. I wonder what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, of course. I guess these Exter lads are so high-toned that they want to know a fellow’s pedigree before they’ll compete with him. Maybe he has to have ancestors that came over in the Mayflower, or else are D. A. R. or F. F. V. members.”
“Oh, get out!” cried Tom in protest. “What would the Daughters of the American Revolution, or the First Families of Virginia have to do with whether or not Exter lads would compete with us?”
“Well, I only mentioned it,” said Sid. “There’s something up, that’s sure. But it can’t be much. Frank is as straight as a string, and, while I think Shambler is a bit of a sport, no one can say anything about his abilities as an athlete. He’s one of the best in Randall.”