Quarter-Back Bates

by Ralph Henry Barbour

  CHAPTER XVII

  IN CONFERENCE

  "I wish," said Blash one evening, "that someone would invent a newsport."

  "What for?" asked Sid. "Thinking of taking a little exercise? Ever trycheckers, Blash? That's about your style of a game."

  "Cease your idle chatter," answered his room-mate with dignity. "I'mnot thinking of myself. I'm thinking of Sandy Halden. Sandy is out ofa job again. They let him go from the Track Team today. Billy Goodethinks the school can worry along through the year without him asa jumper or half-miler or shot-putter. Of course, Billy's probablymistaken, but there it is."

  "Just what was Sandy? A shot-putter or one of the other things youmentioned?" Sid laid down his pencil and tipped back squeakingly inhis chair. It was study hour in Number 27 Goss, but Blash wasn't in astudious mood.

  "George Keene says he was broad-jumping the last thing. He'd triedrunning, and maybe everything else for all I know, and had got Billyto let him try jumping. This afternoon, Keene says, Sandy manageda perfectly marvellous jump of eighteen feet or something and thenclaimed that Hollaway, who had the tape, didn't measure it right.Claimed he'd done twenty-one even and pointed to his foot-prints--onlythey happened to be someone else's--and was very nasty until Hollawayoffered to beat him to a pulp and Billy gave him his time. So now Sandyis nursing a new grouch and looking for new worlds to conquer." Blashyawned widely. "That's why I want a new sport. You see, Sid, Sandy hastried everything now."

  "He might try canoeing and tip over," suggested Sid.

  "Don't be heartless. Besides, he can probably swim!" Blash drummed hisfingers on the edge of the table until Sid, who had returned to work,exclaimed protestingly. "Look here, what am I going to do about DickBates?" asked Blash, thrusting his hands into his pockets to make thembehave.

  Sid pushed his book away and sighed in resignation. "All right, hangyou," he said. "Go ahead and talk yourself out, and when you're quitethrough I'll finish this math. What about Dick?"

  "Why," laughed Blash, "I owe him something. You haven't forgotten thathoax he worked on me in the movie house, have you?"

  "Not by a long shot!" Sid grinned. "That was corking, Blash."

  "Hm. Well, yes, I acknowledge that it was. And being corking, itdemands a corking come-back. But I can't seem to see one. My powersof--of invention----"

  "You never had any. Why not forget it and call quits? You put one overon Dick the day you came up in the carriage with him, didn't you?"

  "Oh, that was nothing. Purely impromptu, Sid. What I want now issomething--something grand and magnificent, something worth while! Canyou think of anything?"

  "No, and if I could I wouldn't. You let Dick alone until he's throughfootball. Your old tricks will only get his mind off his work."

  "Think so? I wouldn't want to worry him, Sid. My idea is only to amusehim, to provide diversion." Blash was silent a moment and Sid, eyeinghim doubtfully, stretched a tentative hand toward his book. But Blashwasn't talked out yet. He chuckled. "Stan told me something funnyabout Dick yesterday," he announced. "It seems that he's a bit of ahero back home and his high school paper has been copying everythingabout him it could find in _The Leader_ and playing it up hard. Now hisfather is writing to ask him if he doesn't do anything here besidesplay football and is threatening to take him out of school!"

  "Get out!" Sid looked incredulous. "That's just one of Stan's yarns."

  "Honest to coconuts, Sid! And Dick's terribly worried and is afraid theold man will learn that he's been taken into the Banjo and MandolinClub. Say if his father hears that, he'll disown him!"

  Sid laughed. "Must be a cranky old codger! Most fathers would be ratherproud, I guess. I recall that mine slipped me a twenty-dollar checkwhen I wrote home that I'd been elected baseball captain!"

  "Well, that's different," said Blash gently. "You see, he'd neverexpected much from you, Sid, and the surprise momentarily unnerved him.And I suppose that by the time he'd pulled himself together again andtried to stop payment on that check you had it cashed."

  "I sure did," laughed Sid. "And spent, too, most of it!"

  "I think I remember the occasion. Well, I've been sort of dallying withthe notion that there might be a chance to get a rise out of Dickin connection with his father's--er--attitude. I don't just see myway clear yet, but--there's an idea floating around at the back of mybrain----"

  "It will probably die of loneliness," said Sid comfortingly, "so don'ttrouble about it. Just you take my advice and let Dick alone. I'll tellyou right now that I shan't help you in any of your nefarious plots,Blash."

  "That's all right. I think I'll be able to work this alone." Blashstared thoughtfully at the light and a slow smile overspread his leancountenance. "Yes, I think I shall," he added with conviction.

  Sid looked across suspiciously. "I've a good mind to warn him againstyou," he said; "tell him to look out for plots."

  "Piffle! You mind my own business. I'm not going to hurt Dick. Besides,I--I haven't got it quite. It--it eludes muh!"

  "I hope it'll continue to elude you. Now, for the love of Pete, shut upand let me study, will you?"

  "Sure! I didn't ask you to stop studying. Think your conversation isinteresting to me? Go on and study. I'm going to Sohmer."

  "Stan's?"

  "I might drop in there. Come over when you're through with that rot.What you want to bother with it for is more than I know, anyway. You'rejust making it harder for the rest of us!"

  When, a half-hour later, Sid joined his room-mate in Number 14 Sohmer,he found to his relief three boys amicably and unemotionally discussingthe prospects of the college football teams. Blash, however, lookedhorribly pleased and innocent, and Sid's suspicions returned. He alwayssuspected Blash when he looked innocent.

  The St. Luke's Academy game on the following Saturday proved one of thebest contests of the season. The visitors usually gave an excellentaccount of themselves, but the closeness of the score on this occasionwas a big surprise to Parkinson. The best the home team could do in thefirst half was to drop a single field-goal over the cross-bar, and eventhat modest performance was delayed until the second quarter was almostover.

  It was Newhall, the big right guard, who made the tally possible bybreaking through on St. Luke's thirty-two yards and spoiling a punt.The pigskin bounded away from Newhall's body as he leaped into itspath, and went trickling across the sod. A dozen players pursued itbut it was Bob Peters who won, and when the pile-up was disentangledit was found snuggled under his chest. From the enemy's twenty-eightto her eighteen Gaines and Kirkendall alternated, the latter finallymaking the last of the distance with only inches to spare. Wardenfailed to gain and a quarter-back run netted but three yards. WithKirkendall back, on a fake kick, Gaines got through right guard forthree more. With four to go on fourth down Kirkendall dropped the ballbetween the uprights for the only score of the half.

  St. Luke's presented a heavy team and a most aggressive one. From endto end, her line outweighed Parkinson's by many pounds, but weightdidn't mean slowness in her case, and time and again the visitors madegains by getting the jump on their opponent. In the back-field she waslighter but quite as fast as the Brown-and-White. St. Luke's suffered,however, as was generally agreed, from a lack of good scoring plays.She relied on weight and speed to break through the enemy line andher reliance was not misplaced. But she had not counted evidently onthe excellent defence put up by Parkinson's back-field. Her lighterbacks, once through the line, were almost invariably stopped shortof conclusive gains. She had almost nothing to offer in the way ofvariety and her runs outside tackles were weak. The overhead game shelet severely alone during the first half of the contest and tried butfour times later. At punting, however, she excelled Kirkendall by fiveyards and, in the last quarter, when K went out, bested Gaines by fullyeight.

  The third period opened up with Parkinson kicking off and St. Luke'srunning the ball back from her goal-line to her thirty-eight, Furnissmissing a tackle and Harris finally bringing the runner down. St.Luke's bat
tered the Brown-and-White for her distance, smashing throughCupp on the left of centre for five yards and again for two andcompleting her job by an unexpected slide off Wendell. Once over thefifty-yard-line, however, she failed to gain in four and punted toWarden on his fifteen. Warden gained five. Kirkendall threw Peters onhis thirty-three and Bob was downed. Off-side on the next play setParkinson back and three downs gained but six yards. Kirkendall punted.St. Luke's fumbled but recovered and ran in twelve yards across thefield. Parkinson's line failed to give and St. Luke's tried her firstforward-pass. Although she managed to bunch three men for the catch,the pass grounded. She punted on the next down and Stone misjudged theball and followed it across the line for a touchback. A few minuteslater Warden got away around the enemy's left and zigzagged nearlytwenty yards before he was run out at his forty. A fake-kick, withKirkendall carrying the ball on a wide run around the enemy's right,added seven more and Gaines made the distance on the fifty. With Peterscoming around from right end, Stone made two through centre, and thesame play, with Peters carrying, gained four outside St. Luke's leftend. A subsequent attempt by Gaines failed and Parkinson punted. Thekick went short and cross the boundary at the enemy's thirty-two yards.

  St. Luke's made four around Furniss and failed at the centre. She thentried her second forward-pass and made it good, taking the ball justpast midfield. Scoville took Furniss' place for Parkinson. St. Luke'stried out the new end and was stopped for a two-yard loss. A cross-buckon right tackle gave her four and her full-back romped through a widehole in Parkinson's centre for eight. St. Luke's now concentrated onNewhall and Wendell and made short gains, Newhall finally giving upand going out in favour of Bartlett. The Parkinson right side wasweakening and the enemy battered it hard and inched along to theBrown-and-White's twenty-nine. There a fumble cost her a seven-yardloss. Faking a place-kick, her right half took the ball through Wendellfor six and it was second down on Parkinson's thirty. A plunge atcentre was stopped and again St. Luke's prepared to kick. This time theball went to quarter and that nimble youth romped ahead for the neededdistance and was downed on the twenty-five.

  Two attempts at the right side gave the visitors five yards andnecessitated the substitution of Cairns for Wendell. Cairns stoppeda plunge at his position and, on fourth down, with a tackle back inkicking position, St. Luke's made her distance on a skin-tackle playthat shot her left half off Harris to Parkinson's fourteen.

  St. Luke's ran on a fresh right tackle and a substitute left half, and,for Parkinson, Long went in for Gaines. With a tackle back and everyindication of a forward-pass, St. Luke's smashed at the Parkinson rightside for three and repeated the play for two more. From the nine yardsthe enemy reached the three in two attacks at centre and then hurlingher whole back-field at Bartlett, she sent her right tackle tricklingaround the Parkinson left end. Warden nailed the runner just short ofthe line, but couldn't prevent a score. It was a touchdown by less thana hand's breadth, but a touchdown nevertheless. St. Luke's failed onthe punt-out and the score stood 6-3.

  The period ended with the next play and Parkinson made four changes.Gleason went in for Cupp, Dean for Upton, Trask for Kirkendall andBates for Stone. St. Luke's made two substitutions, sending in a newcentre and a new full-back.

  Dick carried instructions from Mr. Driscoll to open up the play, andTrask, standing on his twenty-four yards, sent off a forward-pass toPeters well up the field. Peters touched the pigskin but couldn't holdit. The same play to the other side of the field, Trask to Long, nettedeighteen yards. Dick sent a plunge at the St. Luke's right side butTrask made only a yard. Warden ripped off four outside left tackle. Aforward-pass, Trask to Scoville, added twelve, Scoville being downedwhere he caught. Three line plunges left Parkinson three yards short ofher distance and Trask punted short to the enemy's seventeen.

  St. Luke's tried the Parkinson ends and gained five in two downs andpunted to midfield, the ball going out. Dick was getting more speedinto the team than it had shown before and St. Luke's was finding theattacks at her line harder to stop. A weak spot developed at the St.Luke's right tackle and thrice Warden and Trask plunged through forgains. In eight downs Parkinson advanced to the enemy's twenty-eightyards. There, with Trask back in kicking position, Dick scurried aroundthe St. Luke's left end and found a free field to her twelve, wherehe was tackled by the quarter just inside the boundary. The ball wasoutside on the next play and was paced in on the eleven yards. Wardenslid off right tackle for three and put the pigskin down in front ofthe right-hand goal-post. With Cairns back as though to kick, Dicktossed the ball to Long and Long shot it across the line to Peters fora touchdown. Parkinson arose in the stand and howled approval.

  And that ended the scoring. Coach Driscoll ran on numerous second- andthird-string players in the final four minutes and the game becamehectic and uncertain, with several penalties and two costly fumbles,shared by the two teams, and Dick having heart-failure every time hecalled his signals. But, although St. Luke's worked her way back toParkinson's thirty-five yards and looked formidable, the defenderstook the ball away before she could try a field-goal and punted out ofdanger. And before the enemy could start another advance the whistleblew.

  On the whole, both teams played good football, and there were plentywho maintained that, given a half-dozen tricky plays, St. Luke's wouldhave scored a victory. Of course Parkinson had shown plenty of weakspots. For three periods she had been slow in the line and not muchfaster behind it. Newhall had made a poor showing against St. Luke'sleft guard and Furniss, at left end, had had an off-day. Stone hadsometimes chosen the wrong plays. But everything considered Parkinsonhad proved herself a powerful team and shown considerable improvementover her performance of a week ago.

  Parkinson's best-beloved rival Kenwood, had had a season of ups anddowns and, as Coach Driscoll said at the first conference following theSt. Luke's game, there was no telling what sort of a team she wouldpresent against Parkinson on the twenty-third of November. She had beendecisively beaten in mid-season by Bonright School, had turned arounda week later and slammed Wainstow to the tune of 26-0, had been tiedby Musket Hill and now, on Saturday last, had just nosed out a victoryover Chancellor.

  "She's got good material," said Mr. Driscoll, "but it isn't runningtrue to form. And she's had some hard luck, too. Losing her best back,Shotwell, early in the season was against her. But the chief trouble,as I see it, is that she doesn't seem to have settled on a definiteplaying policy, unless she's done it within the week. She started outwith light backs and a lot of fast, clever trick plays that workedall right until she ran up against Bonright. Bonright seems to havebeaten her at her own game. After that she laid off heavy Browne andthat other half, whatever his name was, and took on two heavy men andstarted in playing a line game, smashing tandems between tackles andusing a very good forward-pass with two men receiving. But she hasn'tdeveloped a dependable goal-kicker yet, unless she's got someone inhiding. Nutting missed two tries, both easy, on Saturday. So, as I say,there's no such thing as sizing her up. Of course, we may get a sort ofa line on her after we've met Chancellor this week, but I don't expectmuch that will help us."

  "It never seems to make much difference how Kenwood plays during theseason," observed Stearns Whipple. "She's always top-of-form when shegets to us!"

  "We'll have one advantage, anyhow," said Bob Peters. "We've come alongpretty steady and what we know we've learned. Kenwood has sort of goneone step forward and two back, and she doesn't know just where she'sat, I guess. What about her condition, Billy?"

  "Oh, she's got a first-class trainer in Connell and he will do his partall right. You mustn't look for any advantage there, Cap. Her men willbe in condition all right. As good as ours, I guess."

  "We'll outpunt her, Coach," said Stone.

  "With Kirkendall in, yes. But that man of hers, Brighouse, has a cleverfoot. And he puts his punts where he wants them to go, I hear. We mayoutdistance him a few yards, but a lot depends on the wind. I have asort of a hunch, fellows, that Kenwood is keeping som
ething up hersleeve. I can't tell you why I think that, or what the something is,but that's my hunch."

  "And your hunches are generally right," mused Peters. "Any second-stringfellow that looks as if he was being held back? A clever back-field man,for instance?"

  "I haven't found any. No, I think it's a goal-kicker, or maybe they'vegot a new scoring play that they haven't shown. Well, I'm onlyguessing. We'll know better a week from Saturday. Now let's do someplanning on the week from now to Thursday. We've got to buckle downand find a way of getting some punch into those split-plays. Or elsedrop them. What's your idea, Cap?"

  Whereupon the meeting became very technical and abstruse.