It would seem only a trifle for the heedless Hicks
to give up his mystery, and tell Bannister all about
Thor; yet, had the Hercules reconsidered, and played
football, the torturesome youth would have bewildered
his colleagues as long as possible, or until they
made him divulge the truth. He dearly loved to
torment his comrades, and this had been such an opportunity
for him to promise nonchalantly to produce a Herculean
full-back, then, to return to the campus with the
Prodigious Prodigy in tow, and for him to perform
wonders on Bannister Field, naturally aroused the interest
of the youths, and he had enjoyed hugely their puzzlement,
but now—
“Say, fellows,” he interrupted an excited
conversation of a would-be Committee of Ways and Means
to make Thor play football, “I have an announcement
to make.”
“Don’t pester us, Hicks!” warned
Captain Butch Brewster, grimly. “We love
you like a brother, but we’ll crush you if you
start any foolishness, and—”
T. Haviland Hicks, Jr., with the study-table between
himself and his comrades, assumed the attitude of
a Chautauqua lecturer, one hand resting on the table
and the other thrust into the breast of his coat, and
dramatically announced:
“In the Auditorium—at the regular
mass-meeting tonight—T. Haviland Hicks,
Jr., will give the correct explanation of Thor, the
Prodigious Prodigy, and will solve the Billion-Dollar
Mystery!”
HICKS MAKES A SPEECH
The announcement of T. Haviland Hicks, Jr., had practically
the same effect on Head Coach Corridan and the cheery
Senior’s comrades as a German gas-bomb would
have on the inmates of an Allied trench. For several
seconds they stared at the blithesome youth, in a
manner scarcely to be called aimless, since their
looks were aimed with deadly accuracy at him, but in
general, with the exception of Hicks, those in the
room resembled vastly some of the celebrated Madame
Tussaud’s wax-works in London.
“Oh,” breathed Monty Merriweather, with
the appearance of dawning intelligence, “that’s
so, Coach, Hicks never has disclosed the details of
his achievement; we were about to extort a confession
from him, when Thor broke up the league with his announcement,
and since then, Bannister has been too worried over
Thorwald to trifle with Hicks!”
“That’s a good idea!” exclaimed
Coach Corridan, who had been remarkably silent, for
him, pondering the football crisis, “Hicks can
make his explanation at the regular mass-meeting tonight,
in the Auditorium. I’ll post an announcement
of his purpose, and you fellows spread the news among
the students, stating that Hicks will tell how he rounded
up Thor. Some have shirked these meetings since
Thorwald quit the game, and this will bring them out,
so maybe we can arouse the fighting spirit again!”
