Page:The fighting scrub, (IA fightingscrub00barb).pdf/113

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from his line, took a long and rather ragged pass from "Babe" Ridgway, and toed it neatly over the bar. And the Scrub had scored on the First—the real, honest-to-goodness First, and not a mess of substitutes—and every one was happy. Every one, that is, except the First!

The period ended a minute later, and the Scrub went carousing away to the lee of the stand and pulled blankets about them, and talked it all over gleefully. Perhaps they made more of it than it was worth, both then and later, but, on the other hand, perhaps they didn't. It might, you see, be a long, long time before they had another chance to celebrate any such decisive victory as they had scored that day!

There was more to follow, but it wasn't likely that Mr. Otis would put the same line-up back. Nor did he. A few first string forwards faced the Scrub in the second scrimmage, but they melted away as time went on, giving place to substitutes until at last a whole new team fought for the honor of the First. And Mr. Babcock freshened his bunch, too. He didn't have enough men for a whole new team, but he did the best he could, and only Clem Henning and "Wink" Coles played to the end. Clif didn't see any work in that session, while Tom dropped out soon after the start to make way for Ike Patch. They crouched together, bundled under their own blankets and another, and watched intensely. To you or me that second scrimmage wouldn't have proved very interesting. In fact, I doubt if either of us would have stayed two