BREAKING THE RULES
"YES," remarked Tom, following up a conversation he and his two comrades
had been engaged in for some time, "there's certainly something
radically wrong with Martin, and personally I believe he's hitting the
booze, or something just as bad. There's always some explanation when a
fellow goes all to pieces the way he has, and ninety-nine times out of a
hundred the answer is 'red-eye.'"
"I wouldn't be surprised if you were right, Tom," agreed Bert soberly,
"and it's too bad, too. Martin has always been such a good scout that I
hate to see him going back. What he needs is to have somebody give him a
heart-to-heart talk and point out the error of his ways to him. But
likely even that would do little good, anyway. When drink once gets a
hold on a man it usually takes more than talk to break him of the
habit."
"You can bet your hat it does," put in Dick. "I guess nobody who hasn't
actually fallen a victim of the liquor habit and then broken himself of
it can have any idea of the struggle necessary to do it. The only safe
way is to let the 'stuff' strictly alone."
"Right you are," said Bert earnestly. "Everybody thinks that liquor will
never get a grip on him. Oh, no! But what most people never take into
account is the fact that every drink of whiskey taken weakens the will
just a little, and makes it just so much harder to refuse the next
drink. So it goes on, in increasing ratio, until it becomes next to
impossible for the victim to break himself of the habit. My idea is,
don't monkey with a red-hot poker and you won't get hurt. If you do, no
matter how careful you may be, you're apt to get hold of the hot end,
and then it's too late to wish you hadn't."
"My, Bert, you could get a job as lecturer for the W. C. T. U.," laughed
Dick. "But just the same," he continued more seriously, "there's not a
doubt in the world but what you're dead right. But the question is, if
Martin, as we have reason to believe, has started drinking, what can we
do to help him? Not only for his sake, but for the sake of the college.
Without him on the team, we'd be so badly crippled that we wouldn't have
a chance in the world to win the championship."
"I don't know what we can do, I'm sure," said Bert with a perplexed
frown; "about all we can do is sit tight, and hope he'll see the error
of his ways before he gets so bad that Reddy will have to fire him from
the squad."
The others had no suggestions to offer, and after a little further
discussion of the problem they gathered up their paraphernalia and went
to their respective rooms.
The foregoing conversation took place on a Monday evening, and all the
next day the three comrades saw comparatively little of each other, all
being "up to their eyes in work," as Tom expressed it. But on Wednesday
morning they happened to meet on the campus after the first lecture
period, and Tom proposed that that evening, after supper, they take a
ramble through the town after they had prepared their work for the
following day.
"I'm beginning to feel stale," he complained; "Reddy won't let us go to
a theater, of course, because that would keep us up too late. But I
guess he'd have no objection to our taking a walk like that, provided we
got back early."
"All right," said Bert. "I was just going to propose something of the
kind myself. You'll come, won't you, Dick?"
"Surest thing you know," agreed that personage promptly. "What time do
you want to go? About seven o'clock?"
The others were agreeable to this, and so the matter was settled. They
talked a few minutes more, and then hurried away to the classrooms.
In accordance with this plan, they met at the appointed time in Bert's
room, and sallied merrily forth. And indeed, it seemed as though these
three needed no other entertainment than they could give each other.
What with jokes, laughter, and "monkey-shines" the time passed very
quickly, and they soon found themselves on one of the main thoroughfares
of the town. They sauntered along, extracting amusement from everything
they saw, and were about to return to the college, when Bert's laughing
face suddenly grew grave.
They were approaching a brilliantly lighted saloon at the time, and Bert
halted his companions with a gesture.
"What's up, Bert?" inquired Tom and Dick in surprise.
"I may be mistaken," replied Bert, "but I'm sure I saw Martin go into
that place. And I should think, by the way he was walking, that he'd
absorbed a few drinks already. What do you think we ought to do about
it?"
"We might wait around until he comes out, and then give him a talking
to," suggested Dick.
"No, I think that the best thing we can do is to go in and catch him red
handed," said Bert. "It may make him so ashamed of himself that he'll
cut out such things in the future."
"Well, perhaps that would be best," said Dick, and as Tom seemed to
think so too, they decided to follow this course of action.
Accordingly, they made their way through the swinging doors, and found
themselves in the brilliantly lighted interior of the saloon. Rows of
glasses behind the polished mahogany bar sparkled in the light, and many
mirrors reflected it, so that at first their eyes were almost dazzled.
Nevertheless, they had little difficulty in locating Martin. He was
leaning up against the far end of the bar, a whiskey decanter in front
of him, and a glass a third full of the liquor in his hand.
Even as the boys watched him he raised the glass to his lips, and
emptied the contents at two gulps. He was starting to pour out another
portion when Bert walked swiftly up to him and laid his hand on his arm.
"Come on along out of this, Martin," he said; "we're all going back to
the college now, and you'd better come back with us."
Martin turned toward him, but hardly seemed to recognize him. He was
about to speak when the bartender, who saw a good customer being taken
away from him, interfered.
"Aw, let de gent alone, can't youse," he said, in a belligerent tone;
"he's got a right to take a drink or two if he wants to, ain't he? He
don't look like no kid to need a guardian."
"You keep out of this," said Bert, with a steely glint in his eyes,
"this is our business, not yours, and if you want to steer clear of
trouble don't try to mix in."
The bartender seamed inclined at first to try the efficacy of force, but
as Dick and Tom ranged up alongside Bert, he thought better of it.
"Awright," he grumbled, "awright. Take the guy along wid youse, an' I
wish you joy of him."
Martin at first refused to move, but at last, by dint of much
persuasion, the three comrades prevailed on him to go with them. Bert
and Tom supported him on either side, guiding his uncertain footsteps to
the best of their ability.
"I only hope we don't meet any one we know," said Dick fervently. "We'd
better take a roundabout course going back, so as to take as little
chance as possible of that happening."
"It wouldn't be a bad idea," said Tom, "and I think it would be a good
stunt for me to go on ahead and do a little scouting. I could meet you
at the east gate and let you know if the coast is clear. If possible, we
want to get Mart to his room without anybody getting on to the state of
affairs."
"All right, go ahead," acquiesced Bert, "we'll get there as soon as we
can."
Accordingly Tom set off at a round pace, and soon came within sight of
the college towers. Fortunately, there was a swimming contest going on
in the natatorium, and many students who ordinarily would have been apt
to be wandering about on the campus were indoors watching the swimmers.
There was hardly a soul to be seen, and Tom prayed that the favorable
conditions might last until Bert and Dick arrived with their unfortunate
charge.
He hurried to the appointed meeting place, and strained his eyes through
the darkness in search of the trio that he knew must be pretty near by
this time. Sure enough, in less than five minutes they emerged from a
neighboring street, and Tom walked swiftly up to them.
"We're in luck," he said, in a low tone. "Everybody's in the natatorium
watching the swimming meet, and we've got the campus practically to
ourselves. I'll walk in front of Martin, and the chances are we'll get
him to his room without anybody getting wise."
Bert and Dick accordingly hurried Martin forward as fast as possible,
and, as Tom had predicted, found everything favorable to them. They
hurried across the deserted campus, and entered the dormitory in which
Martin's room was located by a side door.
By the greatest good fortune they met no one in the corridors, and in a
very few moments had the "high life" exponent safely in his room.
"Well, that's about all we can do to-night," said Bert, as they were
leaving the room. "I think the best thing will be to let him sleep off
the effects of his carouse, and then give him a talking to to-morrow."
"I think we'd better leave that to you," said Dick, after exchanging
glances with Tom. "Probably if we all got at him at once, it would only
make him obstinate. You do the talking for all of us, Bert. Show Mart
what bad medicine he's been mixing, and maybe he'll come around to your
point of view."
"Well," agreed Bert, but with evident reluctance, "I suppose that would
be the best way to do it. I'll get hold of him some time to-morrow, and
talk to him like a Dutch uncle."
Accordingly, the next day he was on the lookout for the backslider.
Several times in the course of the day he saw him, but Martin always
managed to avoid him, more by design than accident, as Bert thought. At
last, however, after the last recitation period, he cornered him in a
secluded corner of the campus.
"I guess you know what I want to say to you, don't you, Mart?" he
inquired gravely.
"Oh, yes, I guess I know, all right," the other replied sullenly, "but
there's no use your preaching to me about the evils of drink, or
anything like that. I've tried to cut out the stuff, and I can't, that's
all. I'm going to Reddy to-night and resign from the team."
"You're not going to do anything of the kind," said Bert gravely,
"you're going to keep right on being the best halfback the college ever
had, but I'm going to ask a personal favor of you on behalf of myself,
and also Trent and Henderson."
"I think I know what you mean," said Martin suspiciously, "but fire away
and ask it."
"We want you to go to Reddy and make a clean breast of it, ending up by
promising to do your best to cut out the 'stuff,'" said Bert. "Will you
do it? Don't say no now," as the other started to shake his head, "don't
give me an answer now, if you don't want to. Think it over. I'm mighty
sure if you think hard enough you'll do what we want you to."
"I'll do it!" exclaimed Martin, suddenly thrusting out his hand, "and
I'll let the booze alone in the future if it takes a leg. You and the
others have done me a bigger service than you'll ever realize,
probably."
"Well, you know the way you can best repay it," said Bert, with a hearty
smile, and after another strong handclasp they parted.
Bert went straight to Dick and Tom, and told them what he had
accomplished. "I think he'll keep his word, too," he finished. And as it
proved, he, was right. From that day forward Martin reported regularly
for practice, and kept strictly to training table regulations. In less
than a week he was back to his old time form, and became as he had been
before, one of the mainstays of the team.