The daily morning Alaskan., 1903-02-03
Who Passed the
 Great Football Man ?
toriEinall

an go under fictitious names, Wen eaIl the colleges Kings and oueenS Kings was a large institution, and Queens was a small one But Queens had been lugged through a series of successful games for the championship by Spangler. a splendid. powerful fei low. whose only fault was that he was always in danger of failing on his e1- animation And now. when the final game of the series was coming on, he had to go and make a guy of himself by breaking down In analytical geom- etry. No student could play football tor the championship who had not passed In every subject The conse- quence was that Queens must lose aft. CT all her victories because the great bulk of a fellow couldn't learn math- ematieS
 "Blast mathematical said the team and the college generally. Whats mathematics compared with foOthallf
 Now. Professor Plum of the chair of mathematics had every reason to help Spangler through. He had himself been the best tackle when an under graduate the college had ever had and was still devoted to the game. More over. be was engaged to be married to Spangler's sister. He had agreed to give the athlete a fnal trial the day before the game was to be played and be as lenlent as possible with his pa pers, but the professor was a conscien- tious man. and Spangler must get the average required by college law.
 And SO lt was that the day before the game. when everybody said that Span gier should be spending bis time legit' mately practicing with the team in' stead of wasting it in useless figures he was sitting In Q classroom endeavor' Ing to answer the questions Plum bad written out for him.
 Tt was 8 o'clock before SpangleI handed in his papers. and Professor Plum, who did not relish spending an evening apart from his betrothed, took them to the little bOudolr where Alice usually received him aud. taking hls pencil. began to look them over, giving each answer a number denoung It's value. The rule was that the stu dent must get sixty out of a possible hundred in order to pass. Alice. who bad been graduated at the head of her class the year before at the woman's college attached to the university, ask cd the professor to read the questions and their answers aloud.
 There were ten questions. The first was a complete breakdown and was given a zero. The second was answer cd perfectly and received 100. the third SO and SO on Co the end. As the pro lessor put down the numbers Alice added them in her head, and when eight had been answered with only a total of 400, or an average Of 70, she knew that unless the next two ques- tons received 100 each the result would be a failure.
 "I think" she said, 'that you made slight mistake in giving only 60 to the sixth question. It was In two parts. The first part was not answered en- tirely wrong. and the second was al right"
 After a brief argument the professor was convinced and added 90 to the score. The eighth question was fairly answered and secured so. This gave a total of 51O. and the last question must receive 90 to make the required average. The professor. who had not kept tally. was about to mark CO for it. when Alice stopped him.
 ''The first four out of five suOdiyl- slons in this question are right" she said
 ''The third Is wrong"
 Figure it again"
 He did SO and found an error in his own work. He changed the marking to So.
 Before you take the average" said Alice. who knew that it was still short by 70 numbers, Hook over the fourth question again"
 The professor did SO. and Alice took Issue with hiIn on his Interpretation of the answer. claiming that the student meant one thing while the professor claimed he meant another. Plum was not thoroughly convinced, but, feeling that one on trial should have the ben eht of all doubts. yielded and added 10 Co the total
 T sincerely hope" said the profess or. ''that the average will be up to the mark. but fear not"
 Meanwhile several hundred students who had tracked the professor had congregated outside the house and now began to howl for the result
 'Tu make the addition before them. said Plum. 'Then neither they nor the faculty can accuse me. since don't know the result myself"
 Going out on the piazza, be faced the expcctant crowd.
 "Gentlemen. I have laid down a fair value for each question. ! do not know the result but win strike an average"
 'Tn do it for your cried the captain of the football team and seized tho paper.
 Alice had followed with a candle,