Part 13 (1/2)

Once more came the kick-off, and then, when Columbia had the ball, and had lined up, she went at her opponents with such smash-bang tactics, such hammer-and-tongs work, that she tore big gaps in the wall of defense, and shoved player after player through. Frank was sent over for a seven-yard gain, then came a fine run on the part of Ralph, netting eighteen yards, while the crowd went wild. There was grim silence on the part of the Clifford adherents as the line-up came on the ten-yard mark, and then, amid a great silence, Comfort smashed through for another touchdown.

”Oh, wow! How's that? Going some, I guess, yes!” howled the big man, who had been a player in his youth. ”Oh, pretty work!”

The goal was missed, for the ball had been touched down at a bad angle, but the score was now eleven to five in favor of Columbia, and there were still several minutes of play left in the first half.

There was only a chance for an exchange of kicks however, ere the referee's whistle blew, signifying that time was up, and the players, who were just ready for a scrimmage, with the ball in Clifford's possession on her opponent's fifteen-yard line, dissolved, and raced for their dressing rooms.

CHAPTER X

A SCENE NOT DOWN ON THE BILLS

Columbia enthusiasm broke out louder than ever when the intermission between the two halves was called. Their boys had thus far not only held their own, but scored more than twice as heavily as the enemy.

Still, the Clifford enthusiasts did not appear to be downcast.

”Wait,” they kept saying mysteriously on all sides, while shouts of encouragement went out to Hastings and his doughty warriors.

”What do they mean by that?” asked Mr. Allen, of the man from above, who sat near him on the bench of the grandstand.

”Well, Clifford is a slow team to get started. They always do better in the second half of a game. That with Bellport was a fake, because their signals had been given away. They learned this when the first half had been played. It made them savage. The result was Bellport didn't score again, and Clifford made a few points before the end came. They'll wake up presently!” was the confident reply.

Among the most enthusiastic of the vast crowd was Minnie Cuthbert.

She waved her little banner and joined her voice in the general clamor, for the mad excitement had seized girls as well as boys and men.

And yet all the while she seemed to have eyes for no one but the agile captain of the Columbia team. Wherever he happened to be, her gaze was either openly or covertly upon him.

Again she saw Frank wave his hand cheerily, and looking in the direction where his attention seemed to be directed, she discovered that Helen and Flo Dempsey were flouris.h.i.+ng bouquets of flowers made up of purple and gold, to ill.u.s.trate the school emblem.

And, moreover, Minnie understood full well that these had undoubtedly come from the conservatory of the Allens. Somehow, it pained her to know it. From that time on she resolutely set her eyes toward anyone on the field, so long as it was not Frank.

There was much consultation during the rest spell. Coaches and captains had their heads together, trying to ascertain if it were possible to strengthen their teams by bringing in a fresh man as subst.i.tute.

Several had been more or less injured in the fierce ma.s.s plays, and were showing it, despite their efforts to appear natural. Not for worlds would anyone of them express a desire to be taken out of the game. If the captain decided against their continuing, well and good, for he was the sole judge of a man's fitness; but each fellow believed he could still carry himself to the end.

The general excitement was such that a man might be seriously hurt and not be aware of it, buoyed up, as he was, with the wild desire to accomplish glorious things for the school he loved.

”How are you feeling, Bones? Any bad result from your immersion in the cool drink last night,” asked Lanky, as he and the right guard came together.

”Not an atom, glad to say. You fellows saved me by your prompt action, and the general rubbing down I had after the rescue. True, my left wing feels sore to the touch after that slamming I got when I went down with the ball over their fifteen-yard line, and a dozen fellows piled on top; but I don't think it's broken, and I haven't said anything to Frank, because I'm afraid he'd yank me out.”

Lanky carefully ma.s.saged the arm in question, eliciting a few grunts from the stoical player under the process.

”Only bruised, old fellow. By the way, have you noticed any limpers around this morning--among the spectators, I mean?” he remarked, whimsically.

”Sure, two of them, Jay Tweedle and Bill Klemm,” laughed the other immediately. ”They hustled away when they saw me looking, and it was all they could do to keep the agony off their faces. But it would have to be more than a mere dog bite to keep any fellow with red blood in his veins away from a sc.r.a.p on the gridiron like this, though I reckon both of them are hoping to see Clifford win, hands down.”

”Well, there's another poor chap limping somewhere around the grounds--Asa Barnes. Good old Kaiser must have put his teeth in his calf pretty sound, for you can see the tear in his trousers'

leg. That was a great time, and I envy you the privilege of having seen it. What a scattering of the boasters, and all on account of one dog!”

”Yes, Lanky, but _such_ a dog! He thinks the world of me.