Page:The spirit of the leader (IA spiritofleader00heyl).pdf/20

 watches and rings, and sat loyally and dutifully through the halves come wind, or rain, or snow.

His heart gave a queer sort of flutter. Hunger for the associations the manager's place would give him caused him to feel a choking in the throat. After a time he tried to analyze his chances calmly. His record as a rooter was good. He could count on Praska because—because. He paused right there; the flutter in his heart suddenly turned to pain. Praska had laughed at him.

He tried to tell himself that the football guard had not understood. When Praska, really knew. He swallowed a lump in his throat. Nobody had taken him seriously when he had turned out as a football candidate. Nobody had taken him very seriously when he had answered the call for baseball and basketball candidates. It might be, he thought in fright, that nobody would take him seriously even now.

It did not dawn upon him that he himself had created this atmosphere of foolery so fatal to his own consideration. He had elected to play the uproarious joker; and the school had come to accept him at his own valuation. Now, all at once, he began to fear to tell members of the eleven of his candidacy. And the thing he feared was