Edgar Rice Burroughs

The Efficiency Expert Edgar Rice Burroughs

The gymnasium was packed as Jimmy Torrance stepped into the ring for the final eventof the evening that was to decide the boxing championship of the university. Drawing toa close were the nearly four years of his college career-profitable years, Jimmyconsidered them, and certainly successful up to this point. In the beginning of his senioryear he had captained the varsity eleven, and in the coming spring he would again sallyforth upon the diamond as the star initial sacker of collegedom. His football triumphs were in the past, his continued baseball successes a foregoneconclusion-if he won to-night his cup of happiness, and an unassailably dominantposition among his fellows, would be assured, leaving nothing more, in so far as Jimmyreasoned, to be desired from four years attendance at one of America's oldest and mostfamous universities. The youth who would dispute the right to championship honors with Jimmy was a darkhorse to the extent that he was a freshman, and, therefore, practically unknown. He hadworked hard, however, and given a good account of himself in his preparations for thebattle, and there were rumors, as there always are about every campus, of marvelousexploits prior to his college days. It was even darkly hinted that he was a professionalpugilist. As a matter of fact, he was the best exponent of the manly art of self-defensethat Jimmy Torrance had ever faced, and in addition thereto he outweighed the seniorand outreached him.