Air pilots -- Fiction; World War, 1914-1918 -- Fiction
“Oh, boy! A substitution,” roared one of the noncommissioned officers,
hitting Panama a resounding blow upon the back, “Number Forty-one. Let’s
see. That’s Lefty Phelps, a newcomer, replacing the best man on the Yale
team. I’ll bet that coach’s got something up his sweater. Come on,
Yale!”
At this announcement, the taciturn Panama shifted idly in his seat, for
the first time showing some sign of interest.
“I hope that egg can do something,” Panama muttered, biting off a chew
of tobacco, just as the ball was shot to Lefty, who made a terrific
drive over the left tackle, gaining twenty yards, with the ball now on
the Harvard thirty-yard line.
At the conclusion of this perfect play, the roars of the Yale rooters
echoed and reechoed through the vast stadium, with every man, woman and
child on the New Haven side up and on their toes, tingling with
excitement and shouting themselves hoarse.
“What did I tell you?” shrieked the enthusiastic noncom, again whacking
Panama across the back. “He went through that line like a sieve!”
Yale then went into a huddle, with every mother’s son among them tense
with action and nerves on edge.
Lefty gave the signal for the next play. The ball was snapped at him as
he made a sweeping left end run.
Harvard was not to be taken by surprise again. As Lefty made for their
goal and victory, he was partly tackled, knocked to the ground, rolling
over in the tussle.
In a moment, he regained his feet, but the tackle and the excitement all
about him muffled his direction and he faced the Yale side, continuing
to run toward the wrong goal in his eagerness for victory.
As he shot out swiftly on his way in the opposite direction, he wondered
why there was a clear field ahead of him, but with less than a minute to
play, he felt that this was no time to stop and consider Harvard’s
inefficiency.
One of the Yale men was close upon Lefty’s heels, shouting to him for
dear life to either turn and run toward the right goal or pass him the
hall, but the nervous, overanxious boy was deaf to everything.
Back in the stands, both the Yale and Harvard rooters were wild with
excitement, with the New Haven side roaring instructions to Lefty and
offering a prayer for aid from a Divine Providence.
To the boy, running clear across the field, the cries of the Yale
rooters were received as shouts of victory, egging him on to finish the
game for the glory of Old Eli.
With grim determination, the boy put more effort behind his race for
victory, completely oblivious to the calls of his fellow players and the
pleas of those in the stands.
The words of the coach, “Touchdown, Touchdown,” still filled Lefty’s
ears, keeping his brain and feet active and his eyes blind to all else
but the goal line just ahead of him.
Just one yard from the goal line now, Lefty’s team mate, determined to
stop him at all costs, made a flying tackle at the nervous boy’s heels,
bringing Lefty down to the ground.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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