“Me?” Fudge grinned. “Oh, I’m out for a guard position, but I’ll play
anything they’ll let me. I’m versatile, I am, Dick! Say, honest, do
you suppose Lanny’ll give me a show?”
“If you show him,” laughed Dick. “Seems, though, you might be a bit
inexperienced for the First, Fudge.”
“I don’t expect to get on the First――this year. I want to make the
Scrub Team. They say you get a lot of fun on the Scrub. Experience,
too. They can’t say I’m too light, anyway!”
“No, you’re not that,” agreed Dick as, having stopped the engine, he
secured his crutches, placed the tips on the ground and swung himself
from the car in the wake of Fudge. “Hope you have luck, anyway.”
Once past the gate Fudge, with a startled “They’ve begun, Dick!”
scurried off, leaving Dick to make his way toward where a small
group of fellows were standing along the side line watching the
first practice of the season. Returning greetings, Dick paused and
looked around him. The gridiron had been freshly marked out and the
creamy-white lines shone brilliantly in the afternoon sunlight against
the green turf. Down near the west goal the First Squad was jogging
about in signal practice in charge of Chester Cottrell, last year’s
quarter. Dick noted that, as composed this afternoon, it was made
up entirely of last year’s first and second string players; Grover,
Horsford, Cable, Haley, Kent, Wayland, Toll, McCoy, Hansard, Cottrell
and Felker. Two of the regulars were absent from the squad; Lanny White
himself, whom Dick soon espied working with the green candidates,
and Morris Brent, who last year had played fullback in one or two of
the principal games and was this Fall the logical candidate for the
place. Doubtless, though, Dick reflected, Lanny was keeping Morris
out of the game on account of his injured leg. Morris’s folks had
strongly objected to the boy’s taking part in football this season and
had appealed to the doctor to support them. The latter, however, to
everyone’s surprise, especially Morris’s, had declared that he didn’t
believe kicking a football around would hurt that leg. It was evident,
though, that Lanny wasn’t going to take chances, for Dick saw Morris,
sweatered, hands in pockets, speedily following in the wake of the
Third Squad with Lanny. The Scrubs were having practice by themselves
at the east end of the gridiron, and Dick wondered who was in charge.
With the idea of finding out, he made his way leisurely along the
side line and, after traversing a few yards, was overtaken by George
Cotner, the manager, a squarely built and stocky youth of eighteen with
an alert countenance.
“Hello, Dick,” greeted Cotner. “Come out to see the Orphans play?”
“Is that what you call them?” asked Dick.
“That or the Coachless Wonders,” was the smiling response. “Isn’t it
the dickens about Farrell? Mean trick to play on us, I say.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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