Page:Boys of Columbia High on the Gridiron.djvu/19

Rh ? Is he going to make it, and knock me off the earth?"

Asa Barnes was nothing, if not a sneak. Throughout his entire career at school he had been looked upon as a species of snake, and had few friends. Even those who did go with him, on account of his having unlimited spending money, always kept a cautious eye out for treachery.

"Oh, you're going to get it where the chicken did—in the neck!" he replied cheerfully, with a grin that told of secret pleasure, for he liked to see others suffer.

"No kidding now, but tell me the truth for once. Is Ralph West the wonder they make out? Can he play half-back better than I do? I'm not from Missouri, but, all the same, I want to know; for it's going to settle a question I've had in my mind a long time. Cut in, now!" exclaimed Tony, wrathfully.

"He's all to the good," replied the other, grimly, "and when I say that, disliking the fellow as I do, you can understand it means something. I never saw a quicker half-back in my life; and when it comes to making a tackle, the fellow doesn't really know what fear is! If they put him on the regulars, there's going to be something doing among those long-legged chaps from Clifford."

Tony growled like a bear with a sore head; he also cast a side look at his companion, as though