THE _NEWS_ PREDICTS DEFEAT
Gerald sat on the lowest step in front of Oxford. It was Friday morning
and a chilly, depressing gray fog was driving in from the Sound.
Somewhere in the distance a whistle buoy was moaning and at intervals
a steamer, creeping along off shore, bellowed hoarsely. It was twenty
minutes before first recitation hour and Gerald had the entrance to
himself. A copy of the morning’s Greenburg _News_ was held in front of
him, getting damper and limper every minute, and Gerald was perusing
the football column. The _News_ chronicled each day the progress of the
Yardley and Broadwood teams, and as the game between the rival schools
approached the _News_ devoted more and more space to them. To-day
the football specialist of the paper came out flat-footed with the
prediction that Broadwood would win the contest. The _News_ had of late
years shown a strong partiality to Yardley and this prediction troubled
Gerald the more for that reason.
“It’s some time,” said the _News_, “since the Green has defeated the
Blue and lots of people around here have begun to wonder whether she is
ever going to repeat. Even the longest road has its turning, though,
and the luck has to change some time. And it looks very much now as
if the change would take place a week from to-morrow when Broadwood
and Yardley meet in their fourteenth annual contest. In fact those who
have seen both teams in action don’t hesitate to hand the victory to
the Green right now. This may sound rash, but they have plenty of good
argument to support their verdict with.
“On the season’s showing Broadwood is undoubtedly ahead. She has met
teams equal to those Yardley has played and has survived every battle
without a defeat, whereas Yardley fell an easy victim to Forest Hill
last week. In total of points made, Broadwood leads her ancient rival
by 88 to 67, not a wide margin certainly, but sufficient to prove
Broadwood’s greater scoring power. Broadwood has been scored against
twice for a total of 8, Yardley as many times for a total of 10. Taking
the work of the two teams last Saturday as a basis of comparison, the
Green is still in the lead. She piled up a score of 11 points against
a worthy opponent and was scored on herself by a goal-from-field.
In the last two quarters Broadwood played solely on the defensive.
Meanwhile Yardley had the utmost difficulty to keep from being shut
out ignominiously by Forest Hill, a much weaker team than Nordham.
Forest Hill found the Yardley defense easy, and, especially in the
third period, did about as she wanted with it. She should have had at
least one more touchdown on the showing made. Yardley secured her three
points when play was almost over, the infallible Burtis toeing a very
pretty field-goal from the forty-five yards. It will be interesting to
see how Yardley performs against Nordham to-morrow, by the way, for
there is a strong sentiment on the hill in favor of beating Nordham at
any cost, in view of the defeat which the latter institution handed to
the Blue last year.
“But comparative scores don’t always tell the truth. Nor does a team’s
showing up to the moment of her final game mean very much. Many a team
has gone through an unfortunate season and then turned in and taken the
measure of its rival in fine style. Yardley, therefore, may surprise
us by showing a reversal of form to-morrow and piling up a bigger
score against Nordham than did Broadwood, in which case those who are
predicting a Broadwood victory a week from to-morrow would have cause
for thought. But there are other things to be considered besides
the season’s showing of the two teams and their comparative scores.
Broadwood looks better on the field and in action as well as on paper.
She has a hard-playing, powerful team which will outweigh Yardley
three or four pounds to the man at least. Her back-field will average
five pounds heavier. And, unlike heavy teams of previous years, this
season’s Broadwood aggregation is fast, fully as fast as Yardley’s.
With a dry field and no favor Broadwood’s team should be worth at least
one score more than Yardley’s.
“In style of play the rivals are much alike. Both depend largely
on line plays to gain ground, although Yardley, with Burtis in the
line-up, will naturally do a good deal of kicking. That phenomenon,
by the way, although practically a new man this season, has come at a
fast clip, and those who consider him only as a brilliant punter and
drop-kicker are in for a surprise. As a dodging back he has no equal
on his own team and will suffer but little by comparison with Captain
Raynor of Broadwood. The Green is ahead at present in the matter of
team-play. She seems to have got together earlier in the season than
usual, and both defense and offense are running smoothly. On the
whole, the Green has a big, powerful team this year, one at least
twenty-five per cent. better than that which suffered defeat last year
by the narrowest of margins. On the other hand, it can’t be said that
Yardley is a whit better off than she was last November; rather, it is
doubtful if she is as well off. She has had to build almost a whole new
team, having suffered badly by graduation, and so far whatever there
is in the team hasn’t shown to be dangerous. It may be that in the few
practice days remaining before the big show Coach Payson, who is one
of the cleverest men handling a school eleven to-day, will manage to
work a miracle. If he doesn’t we can’t see but what there will be cause
for rejoicing in the Broadwood camp at sunset of the 17th――a rejoicing
likely to be worth seeing because so long delayed.”
Gerald lowered the paper thoughtfully. “If you believe that,” he
murmured, “we’re beaten this minute. I guess Broadwood is pretty good
this year; everybody is saying so. I’d hate to have the school get
beaten my last year, though.” He shook his head. “I wonder if Payson
has anything up his sleeve. Kendall says he’s developing end run
plays to beat the band. Maybe that’s the answer. Broadwood can’t be
so terribly fast if she’s as heavy as this fellow says, and perhaps
Payson expects to work the ends and try field goals. Seems to me that
would be his best plan. There’s no denying that our back-field is weak
on line-plunging. They showed that Saturday.” He took up the paper
again. “Let’s see what the games are to-morrow. Yale plays Brown.
That’ll be a cinch. Harvard plays Cornell――――”
“What are you muttering about?” asked a voice. Gerald looked up to find
Harry beside him. “What are you trying to do, Gerald? Get rheumatism
and pneumonia and a few other things?”
“No, I’m doing this for my complexion,” replied Gerald with a grin.
“They say fog is great for the complexion.”
“Brr! I’d rather go without the complexion. Come on inside, unless
you’re doing penance out here.”
“Seen the _News_ this morning?” asked Gerald, as he followed the other
up the steps.
“No, anything in it?”
“A column or so about the teams. We’re going to get licked. It says so.”
Harry smiled untroubledly. “You’ll have to show me,” he said. “Why,
what does the paper know about it?”
“You’d think it knew everything about it to read it,” answered Gerald
sadly. “Who _is_ going to win, anyhow?”
“Little old Yardley,” replied Harry unhesitatingly. “Cheer up! You’re
full of fog. Isn’t this a peach of a day?”
“Fine!” They laid their books on a radiator near the entrance and
backed up to the warmth. “What are your reasons for thinking so?”
“Thinking what? Oh, about the game? Why, we always do win, don’t we?
What’s to keep us from doing it again?”
“The luck has to change,” answered the other unconsciously quoting the
_News_. “They say Broadwood has a dandy team this year.”
“Of course; she always has. But what of it? So have we.”
“The _News_ says we haven’t.”
Harry seized the paper and dropped it behind the radiator. “If you
wouldn’t read such stuff you wouldn’t be worried. They have to fill
the paper up with something, and they might as well say one thing as
another. How’s Kendall?”
“Blooming. Have you noticed anything about him the last three or four
days?”
“No, what? I haven’t seen very much of him.”
“Well, he seems――different, somehow. Has more――more assurance. Why,
I came across him yesterday talking with Perry Whitehall, as thick
as two thieves. And Wednesday he actually got into a discussion with
Simms about something and threshed it right out with him and made
Simms back down. Something about some formation in football. And he
looks different, too.” Gerald frowned thoughtfully at the bust of
Pallas across the corridor. “Looks as though he kind of thought more of
himself.”
“Well,” laughed Harry, “there’s no harm in that. But what about the
campaign? Do we make progress?”
“We surely do; but a whole lot depends on what Kendall does in the
next two games. If he will do a star act or two he can’t help getting
the captaincy. I’ve been sort of sleuthing around, Harry. None of the
fellows seem to have picked a candidate yet. There’s talk of Crandall,
but it’s only talk. What I’m wondering is whether it wouldn’t be a good
idea to casually suggest Kendall’s name to one or two of the football
bunch; just offhand, you know.”
“I suppose it would. Only the fellows mustn’t think we want him for
captain. It ought to be done mighty carefully.”
“Yes, and I guess it would be a good idea to wait until after
to-morrow’s game and see what happens then. If Kendall kicks a couple
of field goals or distinguishes himself any other way perhaps we won’t
have to say a word.”
“He won’t, though,” answered Harry. “Just because we want him to, he
will get hurt at the beginning of the game and have to be laid off. You
see if he doesn’t! That’s the way things happen.”
“Who’s full of fog now?” laughed Gerald. “You’re as pessimistic as an
owl. And you’re all wrong, too. Something tells me that we are going
to win to-morrow and that Kendall is going to make a blooming hero of
himself. Still, if he doesn’t it will be up to us to start the ball
rolling. We might each drop a hint, you know. Who do you know best on
the team? Charlie Merriwell?”
“No, Pete or Bert, I suppose.”
“Well, you go for Bert, then. You could just say something about it’s
being pretty near time to think about a new captain, and wonder who he
will be. Then you could say that you think Kendall would make a pretty
good one. See?”
“Ye-es. But, say, Gerald, have you thought how we’d feel if they did
make Kendall captain and he didn’t turn out to be the right fellow,
after all?”
“No, because he will be the right fellow. What’s the use of considering
things that aren’t so? Dan picked Kendall for the place, and Dan
knows.” The corridor was filling with students, and Gerald dropped his
voice. “I had a letter from him the other day, and he particularly
asked about Kendall. Come on, it’s nine o’clock.”
Harry groaned. “What do you suppose we have recitations for?” he asked.
“Life would be so much nicer without them!”