Page:St. Nicholas (serial) (IA stnicholasserial321dodg).pdf/47

1904 ] to win, boys, and I shall expect every man to play as he has never played before. I want every man to stick till the final whistle, with



the determination never to give up, but to keep playing to the very end. That ’s all.”

It was the first experience of this kind for Elton, He felt a strange sensation down where his heart was thumping madly. He looked at the other players curiously. Each one of the big, brawny fellows, padded and guarded to twice his natural size, was looking at the coach with big eyes that were good to see. There was no sentiment, no promises, no tears; hut there was determination on every face.

When the team trotted out on the field cut into squares and slices by white chalk-lines, the crowd broke into a thunder of applause.

Elton did not feel in the least nervous, and when the team lined up, and the captain said, low but distinctly, “7—2—7,” he fell back, caught the ball neatly, and dropped it over the white bar, squarely between the goal-posts,

After a bit the teams stopped the signal practice, flipped a coin high in the air. Elton grinned in delight as his captain won the toss. The other side was to kick off,

They lined up leisurely, Elton found his position before some of the others, with his heart throbbing queerly. He always felt frightened on the kick-off.

“Are you ready?” as official.

“Yes,” said a voice from the other side, and a minute later the same answer came from Elton’s captain.

Elton saw a heavy man in a soiled pair of moleskins run forward, and heard the thud as the kicker’s foot hit the ball, He expected to sce it soar far over his head, Instead, it came straight for him.

He crouched with open arms. Almost before the ball reached him, a half-dozen opponents were ready to pounce upon him.

The ball struck his arms and breast fairly, and he clasped it—a moment too late.

It bounded away from him, straight into the arms of an opponent, who was off down the field before Elton could move. Then the boy ran with all the power of his sturdy legs—ran blindly, hopelessly, after the man with the ball. He saw Rogers miss him, and Benny, who played back, clutch wildly at the moleskins.

A great shout from the crowd told him the fellow had scored. The din was terrific. Horns blew and megaphones roared, and college yells rent the air, But Elton heard only one sound, a long “Oh-h-h!” that had come from a thousand throats as he missed the kick-off.