n
Indian warrior on the war path. The Harwell ends were a little in
advance but off to the sides, and Joel sprinted hard and easily passed
them both. Kingdon, the right half, gave him a good run, but he too was
passed, and Joel reached the Amherst full-back just as that gentleman
turned for the ball, which had passed unexpectedly over his head. The
goal line was but thirty yards distant. Joel saw only the full-back, the
ball, and the goal line. He forgot everything else. A small cyclone
struck the full, and when he picked himself up it was to see a
crimson-legged player depositing the pigskin back of goal and to hear a
roar of laughter from the seats!

Then he yelled "Off side!" at the top of his lungs and tore down on
Joel, and, much to that young gentleman's surprise, strove to wrest the
ball from him. It was quite uncalled for, and Joel naturally resented it
to the extent of pushing violently, palms open, against the Amherst
man's jacket, with the result that the Amherst gentleman sat down
backward forcibly upon the turf at some distance. And again the stands
laughed. But Joel gravely lifted the ball and walked back to the
thirty-yard line with it. The center took it with a grin, and, as the
five yards of penalty for off side was paced, Joel was rewarded for his
play with the muttered query from the captain:

"What were you doing, you idiot?"

But too great zeal is far more excusable than too small, and Joel was
quickly forgiven, and all the more readily, perhaps, since Amherst was
held for downs, and the ball went over on the second next play. But Joel
called himself a great many unpleasant names during the rest of the
game, and for a long while after could not think of his first touch-down
without feeling his cheeks redden. Nevertheless, his manner of getting
down the field under kicks undoubtedly impressed the coaches favorably,
for when the scrub was further pruned to allow it to go to training
table Joel was retained.

One bright October day Joel and Outfield went into town to meet the
former's parents at the station; for Mr. and Mrs. March had long before
made up their minds to the visit, and the two boys had been looking
forward to it for some time. It was worth going a long way to see the
pleasure with which the old farmer and his wife greeted the great
long-legged youth who towered so far above them there on the station
platform. Joel kissed his mother fondly, patted his father patronizingly
but affecti