VICTORY
Though on the wrong side of the ledger, Garry still retained his
indomitable spirit.
"Are we down-hearted?" he cried to his mates as they trotted off to
their quarters for the rest between halves.
"No!" came in a roar from his comrades.
"You bet we're not!" returned Garry. "We've just begun to fight!"
The bruising battle had not been without its casualties. Knapp in
the last mix-up had twisted his leg and could barely more than limp.
Painter at right guard was badly winded. So Mr. Phillips picked Nick
Danter to take the place of Knapp and Rooster Long to fill the vacancy
at guard.
The Greenfield ball carriers were unchanged, though two changes had
been made in the line.
"Now, boys," was Mr. Phillips's last injunction after a short but
inspiring talk, "go out and eat those fellows up. They haven't a thing
you fellows haven't. I've watched their play, and I know. Get after
them and bring home the bacon."
Garry kicked off to Bush, who came back eighteen yards to Greenfield's
thirty-three yard line. Rogers broke through the right side of the
Lenox line and ran twenty-four yards to Lenox's forty-three yard line
before he was downed. Greenfield failed to gain through the line and
Wallace was stopped without an advance on an attempted end run. Bush
punted to the Lenox twenty-yard line.
Lenox made an ineffectual try on a line plunge by Dittler. Nick gained
a yard off tackle. Then he made a superb punt of forty-five yards, Bush
being thrown without a return. Rogers made a yard on a plunge, but a
pass from Wallace was intercepted by Garry on the Lenox forty-five yard
line.
Dittler threw a pass into the ground. Minter fumbled on a line plunge
and Bush recovered for Greenfield on the Lenox forty-yard line. Wallace
failed to gain through the line. Bush swung wide around the end for a
five-yard gain. A Greenfield pass was battered down by Rooster. Another
Greenfield pass was completed, but Garry threw Wallace for the loss of
a yard and Lenox took the ball on its own thirty-six yard line.
Two stabs at the line gained four yards for Lenox. Garry plowed through
the line for fifteen yards. An attempt by Dittler was stopped without
a gain and Lenox was penalized five yards for off-side play. Nick
gained three yards on a wide end run. While trying to get away a punt
Dittler slipped and Greenfield recovered the ball.
Rogers was thrown for a four-yard loss by Rooster. A Greenfield
pass was grounded. Garry intercepted the next toss and reached the
Greenfield fourteen-yard line before he was downed.
The visitors braced doggedly to defend their goal. Nick went through
center for two yards. Dittler made three more off tackle. A third
attempt by Minter resulted in no gain, and Garry dropped back for a
kick.
The ball sailed through the air in a beautiful spiral and came down on
the other side of the bar, while pandemonium broke out in the Lenox
stands.
Three points and the score was tied! Before the ball could be put again
in play the referee's whistle sounded the end of the quarter.
While the stands fairly rocked with applause, Lent Stewart and Chat
Johns sat glum and silent.
"If that fellow fell overboard, he'd come up with a fish in his mouth,"
grumbled Lent.
"The town won't hold him if he wins this game," growled Chat. "Gee, I
wish he'd break a leg," he added viciously.
Ella and Jane fairly hugged each other, radiant with delight. And the
other girls who lent a splash of color to the Lenox stands were quite
as jubilant as the male rooters.
"Now, fellows," adjured Garry, as his team again took the field, "on
your toes! That quarter we tied them. This quarter is where we lick
them."
Rooster kicked off, Rogers returning the ball to Greenfield's
forty-yard line. Bush threw a pass to Holcomb for a fifteen-yard gain
and first down on Lenox's forty-five yard line. Rogers battered his way
through the line for five yards. He gained two more off tackle, but
Wallace was halted without a gain. A long Greenfield pass was grounded
and Lenox took the ball on its own thirty-eight yard line.
Nick slid off tackle for two yards and then swung wide around the end
for two more. Dittler gained three off tackle and then Garry punted
the ball for twenty-six yards, the ball being downed on Greenfield's
thirty-five yard line.
Rogers was driven out of bounds after gaining seven yards on a wide end
run. Wallace failed to advance and Bush was thrown back for the loss of
a yard. Rooster broke through and blocked Bush's kick, regaining the
ball for Lenox on the Greenfield twenty-nine yard line.
Nick made four yards through tackle. Dittler was halted in his tracks.
A pass from Garry to Nick was completed for a five-yard gain. But
Nick's next attempt was thrown back for a loss of two yards.
Greenfield got the ball then and, fighting desperately, made their
distance twice on downs, advancing the ball to their own forty-five
yard line while their rooters cheered their encouragement and the band
broke out in tumultuous strains.
"Hold 'em, fellows!" panted Garry. "Hold 'em, for the love of Pete!
They mustn't get past! We've got to win for Lenox!"
But Greenfield was now frantic for victory and put up a bitter fight.
Rogers plunged through tackle and end for three yards. But Bush was
thrown back for the loss of a yard and on his next try made but two.
With fourth down and six yards to make the distance, Greenfield tried a
forward pass, Wallace to Rogers. But Garry leaped high in the air and
intercepted the ball. He tucked it under his arm and scurried down the
field, with Rooster, Nick and Dittler acting as his interference.
How he ran! His feet seemed to have wings. The wind fairly whistled in
his ears.
Rogers dived at him, but Garry straight-armed him and ran on. Nick
blocked off Wallace on the right while Rooster gave Bush a similar dose
on the left. And Garry kept on, on, his eyes fixed on the goal, while
the whole Greenfield team thundered behind him.
And now Holcomb was the only one who stood between him and that coveted
line. The husky fullback darted toward him on a slant with arms
outstretched. He dived for Garry, but the latter dodged, and with one
last summoning-up of all his speed and strength hurled himself over the
Greenfield line for a touchdown!
Then rose such yells as the Lenox field had never known. The home
rooters went mad. The boys shouted, the girls screamed with delight.
Caps were thrown in the air, some never to be recovered by their
frenzied owners. But that did not matter. Lenox had scored a touchdown!
A moment later Rooster kicked the goal and the yells were repeated.
With barely a minute left for play the game was cinched. The ball
passed back and forth a few times and the whistle blew.
The score was 10 to 3, and Lenox had won the championship of the High
School League!
The crowd swarmed over the field, and Garry was fairly smothered by his
admirers, all seeking an opportunity to touch and hug their idol.
Finally, in the safety of the gymnasium, his mates surrounded him, and
there was a scene of enthusiasm that had never been paralleled in the
history of Lenox High.
"What's the matter with Garry Grayson?"
"He's all right!" came back in thundering chorus.
Garry himself, though he bore his honors modestly, was elated beyond
words. Would he ever again find triumph so sweet? How that unspoken
question was answered will be told in the next book of this series,
entitled: "Garry Grayson's Football Rivals; or, The Secret of the
Stolen Signals."
If there was any fly in the ointment of that great victory to Garry's
mind it was that Bill Sherwood had not been present to see the game and
rejoice in the triumph. Bill, of course, had been at Frank's trial.
But that his chum was quite as happy as himself was evident to Garry
when Bill rushed to meet him as he was on his way home.
"He's free!" cried Bill. "He's free! We've won! Frank's acquitted!"
"Glory hallelujah!" shouted Garry, as he grasped Bill's hand so tightly
that the other winced. "That's bully, Bill! Bully! I knew Frank was
innocent. Tell me all about it."
"You ought to have been there," cried Bill. "Gee, Garry, your father
was splendid. The way he tied Gyp Mooney and Piker Anson up in knots!
Jerry told his story and the other side couldn't make a dent in it.
Then Sandy broke down under cross examination and gave the whole thing
away. The jury freed Frank without leaving their seats. The judge
held Mooney and Anson for theft and perjury, and Sandy is held as a
material witness. Gee, Garry, I'm so happy that I don't know whether
I'm standing on my head or my heels!"
"You're on your own big feet all right," laughed Garry. "Gee, this
news is all I needed to make it a perfect day! And now for the big
celebration to-night! The boys are going to have a blow-out that will
make Lenox howl!"
THE END
* * * * *
GARRY GRAYSON
FOOTBALL STORIES
By ELMER A. DAWSON
12mo. Cloth. Illustrated.
GARRY GRAYSON'S HILL STREET ELEVEN
OR THE FOOTBALL BOYS OF LENOX
GARRY GRAYSON AT LENOX HIGH
OR THE CHAMPIONS OF THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE
GARRY GRAYSON'S FOOTBALL RIVALS
OR THE SECRET OF THE STOLEN SIGNALS
GARRY GRAYSON SHOWING HIS SPEED
OR A DARING RUN ON THE GRIDIRON
GARRY GRAYSON AT STANLEY PREP
OR THE FOOTBALL RIVALS OF RIVERVIEW