Page:Hugh Pendexter--Tiberius Smith.djvu/122

 "And with our seven players in line, with Tib and me at quarter and half back, we trailed around the corner and on to the Arctic gridiron and faced the would-be champions. They had expected the bears, and, being used to that kind of trouble, were loaded with an antidote in the shape of bone-tipped spears. And yet the shaggy, orderly array puzzled them and warned that we were there for no parlor pastime. Seeing us come to a halt, they foolishly assumed a massed formation, like a revolving wedge, and brusquely advanced to try us out.

"‘Minnie!' cried Tib, and that blithesome lass began to make a dêtour to the right, with the others ambling joyfully along behind. Well, sir, it simply swept the gang off its feet. It was all done so quickly and neatly that we'd flanked them before they saw a light. Then Minnie halted and waited for us to form the line.

"Then the chief took a sip from his flagon and coughed out a signal, and the beggars speedily presented a new front and again prepared to rush. You see, we had an elegant chance to cut for the beach after the first end-play, but our players had been trained in the corral, where they were forced to halt after making thirty feet. So the benighted romps had absorbed the impression that ten yards was their limit on any one play. And, of course, Tib and I did not care to wander about on the