ay brought no results and Brimfield
trotted off victor by the narrow margin of one point, while her
adherents flowed across the field cheering and flaunting their banners
in triumph.

CHAPTER XIV

WALTON WRITES A NOTE

THE Southby game was played on the sixth of November, a fortnight before
the final contest with Claflin School, and practically marked the end of
the preparatory season. Brimfield would meet her blue-legged rival with
what plays she had already learned and the time for instruction was
passed. The remaining two weeks, which held but ten playing days, would
be devoted to perfecting plays already known, to polishing off the rough
angles of attack and defence and to learning a new set of signals as a
matter of precaution. Those ten days were expected to work a big
improvement in the team. Whether they would or not remained to be seen.

On the whole, Brimfield had passed through a successful season. She had
played seven games, of which she had lost one, won five and tied one.
Next week's adversary, Chambers, would in all likelihood supply a sixth
victory, in which case the Maroon-and-Grey would face Claflin with a
nearly clean slate. Claflin, on her part, had hung up a rather peculiar
record that Fall. She had played one more game than Brimfield, had won
four, lost one and tied three. She had started out strongly, had had a
slump in mid-season and was now, from all evidence at hand, recovering
finely. On comparative scores there was little to choose between the
rivals. If any perceptible advantage belonged to Brimfield it was only
because she had maintained a steadier pace.

There was a lay-off for most of the first-string players on Monday, a
fact which gave Harry Walton a chance to conduct himself very capably at
left guard during the four ten-minute periods of scrimmage with the
second. Don didn't go near the field that afternoon and so was saved any
of the uneasiness which the sight of Walton's performance might have
caused him. Rollins got back for a short workout and showed few signs of
his injury. The second team, profiting by some scouting done by Coach
Boutelle and Joe Gafferty on Saturday, tried out the Claflin formation
and such Claflin plays as had been fathomed against the first team and
made some good gains thereby until the second-string players solved
them. On Tuesday Harry Walton disgruntledly found himself again
relegated to the bench during most of the practice game and saw Don