FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101  
102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   >>   >|  
it was Lake Forest's ball. "What do you think of that for luck?" growled Slim disgustedly. "They're sure getting all the breaks," agreed Billy. "Never mind, fellows!" sang out Melvin. "Buck up. We'll beat them yet." But the gloom of the Rally Hall rooters became still deeper a few minutes later, when a beautiful drop kick of Fred's that was going straight for the goal was blown by a puff of wind just enough to graze the post on the wrong side. There was no more scoring in that period, and the quarter ended with Lake Forest still in the lead. "Now, fellows," said Melvin, as they came out to do or die in the last quarter, "it's our last chance. Go at them and rip up their line. Go through them like a prairie fire. We won't try drop kicking. Even if we got a goal from the field, they'd still be ahead, and the time's too short to make two of them. The only thing that'll do us any good is a touchdown. We _must_ win! Hammer the heart out of them! Tear them to pieces!" And the boys responded nobly. They charged hard and played fast. They plunged into the lines of their opponents like so many wild men. Every member of the team played as though the victory depended on him alone. Down the field they went, in one desperate raging charge that carried all before it. Only once did they fail to make their distance, and even then they got the ball back promptly. But time was on the enemy's side. They fought back savagely and contested every inch. Six, eight, ten minutes went by, while the ball was traveling down the field, and when the teams faced each other, pale, panting, covered with dust and sweat, on Lake Forest's ten-yard line, only three minutes of playing time remained. All the spectators now were on their feet, yelling wildly, and the tumult was fearful. "Brace, fellows, brace!" screamed Eggleston, the Lake Forest captain. "Throw 'em back! Don't give an inch!" Melvin selected Fred for the final plunge. "Go to it, old scout," he said. "This is the third down. For heaven's sake, make it." Fred's eyes were blazing. "Watch me," he said. Billy made a perfect snap to Melvin, who passed the ball to Fred like a flash. Haley and Ames made a hole between left guard and tackle, and Fred, with lowered head, plunged in like a battering ram. The whole team piled in after him, and when at last he was downed, he had gained six yards of the coveted space. Dizzy and bruised, he rose to his feet. "We've go
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101  
102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Forest
 

Melvin

 

minutes

 

fellows

 

quarter

 
played
 
plunged
 

spectators

 
contested
 

yelling


wildly

 

tumult

 
carried
 

savagely

 
covered
 

fought

 
traveling
 
panting
 

fearful

 

distance


promptly

 

playing

 

remained

 

lowered

 

battering

 

tackle

 

downed

 

bruised

 

gained

 

coveted


passed

 
selected
 

plunge

 

screamed

 

Eggleston

 
captain
 

charge

 
perfect
 

blazing

 
heaven

beautiful
 

straight

 
scoring
 
period
 

disgustedly

 

breaks

 
growled
 

agreed

 
rooters
 

deeper