Captain of the Crew

(1901)

INTRODUCTION:

In this, as in the two preceding volumes of the series***

Half-Back and For the Honor of the School** attempt

is made to show that athletics rightly indulged in

is beneficial to the average boy and is an aid rather than a

detriment to study. In it, too, as in the previous books,

a plea is made for honesty and simplicity in sports. There

is a tendency in this country to-day to give too great an

importance to athletics** take it much too seriously***

it is this tendency that should be guarded against,

especially among school and college youths. When athletics

ceases to be a pleasure and becomes a pursuit it

should no longer have a place in school or college life.

Many inquiries have been received as to whether Hillton

Academy really exists. It doesn*. It is, instead, a

composite of several schools that the author knows of, and

is not unlike any one of a half dozen institutions which are

yearly turning out hundreds of honest, manly American

boys, stronger, sturdier, and more self-reliant for just such

trials and struggles as in the present volume fall to the

lot of d**k Hope.

To those readers who have followed the varying fortunes

of Joel March, Outfield West, Wayne Gordon, and

their companions, this book is gratefully dedicated by

The Author.

Philadelphia, June 19, 1901.