Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1912-08-09

could practice without having the men
students ogIc and guy them. How
ever, they secured gridiron In Il
neighboring town. fenced in. and on
practice days went there in a hay
wagon.
Nevertheless it was not long before
the men students learned that. the
goods had organized football team
and were practic!ng. Then it leaked
out that they we're intending to chai'
lenge the men. Innumerabie were the
jokes perpptrated at the girls expense
which luckily they did not hear. Miss
Horton was working with some espe-
cial purpose in view, but since she
kept her own counsel no one kne"
what 1t was. she urged the team 10
learn the game and changed rev OF
the strongest. especially some VINO
were feet runners. TO prepare Tor some
real work on the last Saturday in No
vember
The university team and the WON
ans college team were in fine practice.
there being about TWO weeks remain
ing before the end Of November. Then
a formal chalcusp passed. Wh!ch was
accented by the university team cap
tain with great formaiity. but with the
belief that the affair was joke. Soon
after this il was noticed that il chan%e
had come over the women students.
Cp TO this time there had appeared no
disposition on their part to dirt. Dut
now II was observed that several or
the pretticSt had abandoned their
maidenly reserve and were showing d
DISPOSITION to he wo0ed. But what was
not especially noticed was that the at
traction for them seemed TO lie not III
the honor men. but in the, Stalwarts or
the football team.
The truth is that the joke attending
the proposed game with the girls was
overshadowed by Il more serious mat
ter. The annual game between west
more!and and pompton was to come
off on Thanksgiving day. As to the
game with the girls on the following
Saturday. no one believed il would
take place. or. If il did. it would be Il
sham game intended for II sort of So
cial function. y couple Of weeks be-
fore THANKSGIVING Captain Ashton Of
the Westmorp.Hnd university team be-
ran 10 have, trouble with his men.
Several OF those ne most relied on
became very lax in their training. ana
not a practice game WAS played but
one or more mon were absent. lie
captain StGrmed and threatened ana
vowed he would resign. but 70 no erect
The irregularities grew instead of de-
creasing until during the last week be-
fore the great game the condition or
the team approached decentralization.
Ashton questioned the big fellows
as to what was drawing them. but re-
ceived no satisfaction. His best man,
TomkinS. suddenly cast the captain
into the depths Of despair by acct
dentally shooting himself in the foot
while cleaning bis revolver and thus
rendering himself unfit to take his
part in the annual game. Wharton.
another good man. was called home
the day before Thanksgiving by tel
egram announcing that be was want
ed there Immediately. He did not re-
turn tiI the beginning OF the next
week.
| It was only two days before the
game that IN incident occurred which
| cast faint light on what was the
matter with the Westmoreland team
| Skulpins, who was relied on to do the
hunting, while his team was out for
practice was seen walking on Il by
lane with Beatrice Wheaton. one or
| the prettiest girls in the womans col
! lege. The fact was reported to Ash
| ton, who began to see through mill
| stone But it was TOO late. HIS
| team was obliged to go into the game
| with Pompton shorn of several or It's
| best men and with others whose non
| attendance upon practice had united
| them for their parts. 1t subsequently
| leaked out that no less than seven
| of them had the evening before been
sumptuously entertained by young Ia
| dies of the woman's college. The re-
suit was that al the match game the
score at the close stood: Pompton. "a;
| WeStmorelan y.
This defeat Of the Westmorelanders
seemed to he especially gratifying to
the goods. They were observed con-
graduating each other, and the defeat
was celebrated by spreads given In
several of the girls rooms. Four men
| who had been attentive to four diff
ferent girls left college on Thanksgiv-
ing night. and three out Of the four
never returned. II was rumored that
they had made propositions of mar
rage and been rejected.
On Friday. the day after Thanksgiv.
ing the captain of the woman's team
wrote note to the captain OF the
Westmorelands asking some question
pertaining to the game to come Off
on the morrow. The messenger, re-
turning, announced that the captains
room was locked and bolted. Messen-
gers sent to other members of the
team failed to find any one Of them.
Not a man Jack Of them was left in
town.
On Saturday evening notice was
posted on the college bulletin board.
signed by the captain of the woman's
team, claiming the game to have been
| PLAYED that afternoon. since the mems
! team had run away.
The girls scheme Of revenge was