Page:Boys of Columbia High on the Gridiron.djvu/231

Rh that the vast majority of the audience really believed he carried the ball with him.

So a great whoop went up when he was dragged down by one of the Columbia tacklers.

"But look at Smith, Sr., running! He's got the ball, fellows! He's after a touchdown, and he won't be happy till he gets it! Wow! that's going some!"

"He'll never make it! There's West in the way, and Allen bearing down on him like a pirate ship under full sail! What did I tell you? That Ralph West is the best tackler in the county! They made no mistake when they booted Tony Gilpin out and made room for West. Where is the ball now, fellows?"

"Under Smith, Sr., and on Columbia's twenty-five yard line!" admitted Buster Billings, unwillingly.

"And Bellport has still another chance to carry it over! If the wind was favorable Lee could boot the pigskin across your goal, and not half try. But I guess they'd rather depend on breaking through, or getting around the ends. Keep your eyes on those boys, for they're as full of schemes as an egg is of meat."

"That sounds encouraging. I was afraid our fellows might have too easy a snap, and disappoint their friends by not half trying. Just wait yourself, Bellport. It was the same thing in baseball last