noon
and I've been doing a quarter to a half on the track."

"Hm. Well, you've got a little flesh that will have to come off, but it
won't take long to lose it this weather. Sit down a minute." They were
in front of the stand and Mr. Boutelle seated himself on the lower tier
and Don followed his example. "Let me see, Gilbert. Last year you played
left guard, didn't you?"

"Yes, sir."

"And if I remember aright your chief difficulty was in the matter of
weight."

"I'm twelve pounds heavier this fall, air."

"Yes, but some of that'll come off, I guess. However, that doesn't
matter. You were getting along pretty well at the last of the season, I
remember. Who's ahead of you on the first?"

"Well, Gafferty's got the first choice, I guess. And then there's Harry
Walton."

"You can beat Walton," said Boots decisively. "Walton lacks head. He
can't think things out for himself. You can. What you'll have to do this
year, my boy, is speed up a little. It took you until about the middle
of the season to find your pace. Remember?"

"Yes, sir, I know."

"Well, you won't stay with us long, as I've said, and so I'm not going
to build you into the line, Gilbert. I've got some good-looking guard
material and I can't afford to work over you and get dependent on you
and then have Robey snatch you away about the middle of the fall. That
won't do. But I'll tell you what we will do, Gilbert. We'll use you
enough to bring you around in form slowly. You'll play left guard for
awhile every day. But what I want you to really do is to help with the
others. You've been at it two years now and you know how the position
ought to be played and you've got hard common-sense. I'll put the guard
candidates in your hands. See what you can do with them. There's a
couple of likely chaps in Kirkwell and Merton, and there are two or
three more after positions. You take them in charge, Gilbert, and show
me what you know about coaching. What do you say?"

"Why, Mr. Boutelle, I--I don't know that I can show anyone else what to
do. I can play the position myself after a fashion, but--well, I guess
it's another thing to teach, isn't it?"

"Oh, I don't know. It is if you go into it with the idea that it is, but
don't do that. Play the position as it ought to be played, tell the
others why, call them down when they make mistakes, pat them on the back
when they do right. Just forget that you're trying to teach. If a fellow
came to you and said: 'Gilber