Page:Boys of Columbia High on the Gridiron.djvu/59

Rh "But the day of weight in football is gone," cried another, quickly.

"Yes, for the game as played to-day calls for agility and pertinacity more than heft. And we've got the boys who can do stunts, believe me, fellows!" remarked a third deeply-interested student.

"They practice for the last time this afternoon, don't they?"

"Yes, but mostly on signals, I understand. Now the team has been selected, they want to work in harmony," remarked the fellow who seemed to know, because he had a big brother on the eleven, and that was a great honor for the entire family.

"There's one weak spot," grumbled another prophet of evil.

"Name it, Sandy."

"Yes, tell us where it is. I've gone over the whole bunch ever so many times, and with the new men I think it couldn't possibly be improved."

"That's just it; you've put your finger on the sore the first thing. Now, don't all jump on me at once, and say I'm knocking, for I'm not. I think a heap both of Ralph West's playing and that of Bones' Shadduck. They're crackerjacks, and far superior to the fellows they displaced."

"Then what are you kicking about, Sandy?" demanded Molly Manners, the dudish student, who, while no athlete himself, always felt a decided