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Show - IFxrsiaaEs. M(M3smTllH The Original j Tej; ' 9 IHAl'liat I X Continue J 15 NmvoiuI down, twelve to go, with ; State cheer booming across the v Id now. What did that Fardale arterback think he was doing, miming his lighter players Into ite's impregnable defense? Futile d silly. The State men were jghing. , -iiother formation for a run. But , it was a fake. Springall took ""oi ball and kicked quickly. He got away and the wind helped carry along. .Vashburn. Fardale's left end, got v vugh this time between guard Ld tackle. The over-confident State jn had been caught almost flat- 'AYted, an Washburn did some ,ver side-stepping and a little fast wing. He downed the ball-catcher 11 over in State's territory. V bit disgusted, but still confl-'.ij confl-'.ij it. State settled down to show the ne boys some real football. Of Jrse Fardale knew what it was up S ttinsL Otherwise a long kick jj, ver would have been considered 5ky .second down. That early in the :ne, it was the trick of a team 1i king faith in its driving force. vhow, that was the way State ed it. !erriwell was trying to take it behind him and applauding Bart, and decided that Barney was right. Just a simple sap, that's what he was. The game went on with Hodge doing do-ing a real job at left end. Every time Unit same State runner came steaming round that end Bart was outside the opposing lineman and forcing the ball-carrier to make a wider swing. Thus he gave the Far-dale Far-dale backlleld time to charge In and stop the play repeatedly before more than small gains could be made. And once he broke clear and brought the runner down himself him-self for a slight loss. The whole team had stiffened. Seeing this. State went into smashing smash-ing tactics that soon had Kane sending send-ing In replacement after replacement replace-ment for players who had been knocked out of commission. The coach was using up his best reserves re-serves fast, but, between pluck and many lucky breaks, Fardale hung on through the first and second quarters without being scored against again. But the blue-and-white had fought more than three-fourths of the time in its own territory. Not once had it got within striking distance of the enemy's goal, and always the spectators spec-tators even the optimistic of the half carried him toward tho Far-dalo Far-dalo bench. Ho was completely out of the game. "Now, Merriwell," said Kane, "go In there." The coach had been holding Frank in reserve to (111 Davis' place when the time came and it had come. His heart pounding, Merry leaped up and hastened to report to the referee. At last! Ten seconds later ho was In the midst of another lino smash that stopped State again, with no gain. Then State went Into the air, but the first pass was Incompleted and a kick followed. Fardale's safety man got the ball and ran with it when Merry cut oil the State player who was charging to tackle. A 20-yard gain set the Fardale crowd roaring. This was like the Musketeers Muske-teers when they were right. State was both worried and angry now, and nothing does more damage dam-age than worry and anger. Before the Maroon players could pull themselves them-selves together Fardale had tricked them with a faked pass and an end run that netted another first down. Was Fardale going to town? Fast BCtion now, fast and sure. No waiting for State to settle down. A line-buck for two yards, and then an unexpected trick. Fardale came back with State's own double-spinner play. It surprised and disconcerted discon-certed State, threw the secondary defense into uncertainty and completely com-pletely off balance. The runner came through the hole and broke loose with the ball. He was Merriwell. Weaving, dodging, side-stepping, changing his pace, Frank was as elusive as an electrified electri-fied ghost. He straight-armed the last would-be tackier and was in the open. There was no stopping him then. With the goggling, gasping, roaring crowd standing to the last human who could stand, he sped away for a touchdown. And then, "Block that kick!" was the imploring cry of the State crowd as Fardale lined up to try for the point, with Springall holding and Frank in position to boot the leather. leath-er. Merry advanced and swung the good right leg that somebody had accused him of stealing from Char-he Char-he Brickley. The spheroid sailed over the exact center of the crossbar, cross-bar, putting the Musketeers one point ahead, and the north stand threaten, State knew she must gamble. gam-ble. The final quarter saw Stale throwing passes which got her nowhere no-where until the last minute of tho game. Then two completions carried car-ried tho Maroons to Furdale's 15-yard 15-yard line and had the Fardale spectators spec-tators shaking In their shoes. Then there was a fumble In a line-buck. Out of the melee came Merriwell with the ball. Again ho broke through. Again ho was oil for a run, with the crowd shrieking. Once more he ducked and weaved and went flying onward. But a maroon backfielder had him. He couldn't get past this timo. Not a chance. Frank had seen a lone Fardale runner coming up. It was Hodge. But Bart couldn't reach the man to block him. So Merry, veering to the left, threw a lateral to Hodge and threw himself, Instantly, into the clutches of the tackier, both going go-ing down. Bart took the ball on the dead run and ran still faster until he could put it down behind the goal-posts. There was riotous rejoicing In the dressing room. Fardale, with Merriwell again booting the ball for the extra point, had beaten the strong State Second team, 14 to 6. Kane himself was laughing like a boy. He had told them all what he thought of the fine job they had pulled off. and he had actually hugged both Merriwell and Bart Hodge. "Now let anybody tell me Fardale hasn't got a team!" he said. Bart took his shower and rub-down, rub-down, and dressed in a hurry. He was the first to leave. Merry saw him go and fancied he knew the cause of his haste. Of course he had a date to meet a certain person per-son after the game. Tad Jones was waiting when Frank left the gym. The boy was steaming with excitement "Gosh, Frank!" he chattered. "Gosh, you was just the real McCoy! Mc-Coy! You was right there with the old works. I'll tell the cockeyed world! But there's somethin' else I gotter tell you. Miss Inza's gone up to Mr. Snodd's 'nd wants you to come there right away. She told me to fetch ya, dead or alive." Merriwell hesitated. So that was where Hodge had hastened away to so soon. Well, there might as well be a show-down now as later. No use putting it ofT. "All right, let's go," he said. "But we gotter keep away from the campus. Hear that crowd roar-in', roar-in', Frank. They're celcbratin", 'nd Professor Scotch is leadin' 'em. He's hoarse as an old bullfrog, too. He won't have no voice to lecher with for a week." Merry found Inza in Snodd's big living room, alone. She was sitting at the piano, just as he had seen her the first time, and her fingers were dancing like pixies over the keys. The music that poured from the piano pi-ano was wild and gay. He came up and stood beside her. She felt him there, and the tune ended with a crash. She sprang up and caught hold of him with eyes a starry glow. "Oh, Frank!" she said. "I want to tell you, Frank, that you're just the greatest thing that ever blew into this neck of the woods." THE END Vn.v on the bench. He was trying keep from getting too tense. If .C" got into this game at all. he ,nted to be in the right condition, rcsr-ntally and otherwise. le watched the State steamroller Tjj-rt rolling, saw it steadily and ely grind forward into Fardale Titory. It was bumping the SX'ath out of the blue-and-white deciders. de-ciders. And it hadn't yet turned either of the two scoring plays (ne had so carefully drilled his .yers against Had the scout been (otaken about those plays? v.Io! There was the first one, a run v-und the strong end by the right St.fback, with State's end blocking rshburn, Fardale's left end, in to-V-Crd the line. VV-nd now, with a heavy but swift Srferer ahead of him, that back-fvl3 back-fvl3 man came booming round the iLjk and went romping over the ilk-marks for a touchdown. Washburn had failed. He had for-c for-c ten Kane's order not to worry "-ut leaving a hole in the line, but hO'-jet outside the opposing end man . fight him off, while striving WV i'self to get still further out, SAoossible, to force the runner to .ng wide. Had he remembered follow instructions the run might e gained, but it would not, in all V bability, have been good for a :hdown. fith the crowd in the south stand 'nting State's fighting song, folding fol-ding a stirring cheer, State lined , to attempt a place-kick for the 'a point. The angle was a little jcult, but State kickers seldom ?sed the posts. One of them Ved the leather now, and Far- failed to touch the ball. v. fit the wind took a hand. It J J jrved the ball just enough to jy it against one of the posts, caromed off outside. Six points fad of seven. -ate didn't mind that. Six points 0 s merely a starter. Those confi-: confi-: fellows were thinking they i ht make 60 or more before the yffl I whistle blew. became a madhouse. Merriwell didn't know they were cheering for him. He didn't hear the crowd roaring his name. So concentrated was he upon the business busi-ness in hand that he saw and heard nothing, not a part of it. Heart and soul, he was giving that business busi-ness all he had to give. Now it was up to Fardale to hold that one-point lead to hold it somehow some-how and to add to it if humanly possible. And now State, seeing at last that the expected' push-over was not going go-ing to come off, was growing panicky. pan-icky. The thought of being defeated by Fardale was very shocking to them. Over-confidence was gone, but something just as bad or worse had followed. When the third quarter passed with Fardale not only holding its one-point lead, but continuing to There Was No Stopping Him Then. Fardale fans had constantly looked for a blow-up that would let the maroon jerseys run as wild and handsome as they pleased. And when the whistle sounded the end of the half the shadows of their own goal-posts were on the backs of the Fardale players. There was a heavier shadow on the face cf Coach Kane. Tom Kane was too wise to carry a clouded face into the dressing room, but he was grim as he walked about amid the benches and tables on which many of the fellows were lying ly-ing while rubbers worked over them. He had a few words for each man, words of encouragement or instruction; in-struction; sometimes of warning against faults betrayed on the field. Now and then he gave one of them a nat nn the hack. At. timps a slipht pi me out now and a pause in ! A :h the school band played "Fair X dale." Kane was sending a man ' o take Washburn's place. 3dge! ank had forgotten that Bart had l transferred from the scrub the I t before. Now he saw him fling I his wraps and start out on to 1 field. The fellow who had 1 ght himself buried with the I 1 ones who were doomed never JL'ay for Fardale was ordered to Vhtto the game ahead of Merri- --ank was human, and in that lent he felt a twisting stab of commonest and meanest of hu-yi hu-yi emotions. Jealousy. That was R;2thing he had thought he'd 1 . e;'.ied to control and hold at bay, sm ' it got him now and stung him" i and hard. hapP4 i(J jjei! and Hodge were the Only two baD;imen to make the squad, and to ekUBrtain exlent he had helped 's reputation with the coach by oiling to Inza's wishes and say-.wa say-.wa good word for the fellow at fi, y opportunity. Now Hodge was iJy into this game to fight for - " ale and Frank was still glued to the bench. ri. f !rry had been too busy to see i for more than a moment or since Sunday, but only last ste Barney had toIti him that rs e had managed to see her . And the frank Irish boy had te tossed his conviction that she ,eaj tl'a two-timer who was playing ,y isr-i for a simple sap. He had dented at Barney then, but he b?t laughing now. His face was PUMI 'iy of deep dejection. thought of her, sitting with her er somewhere up in the stand smile played upon his otherwise hard-set face. At length the call came: "On the field in three minutes." Then the coach made his speech, quietly: "You did your work well out there in the first half. You put up a fine defense against a team that expected ex-pected to walk all over you. When they found they couldn't do that they tried to put fear into your souls. But you weren't afraid. You showed them you could take it and come right back for more. Now you're going out there and give it. Games are won by courage and quick thinking oftener than otherwise, other-wise, and you've got more of that stuff than State has. But look out for their air attack. They've scarcely used it yet, but they will when they find you are outsmarting them. "You broke up their right-end run after they worked it for that one touchdown, and now they'll probably prob-ably uncork their other big play from the same formation a double spin with two fake passes and a slash through a hole they'll try to open between tackle and guard. Be on your toes for that. Now go out there and feed it to 'eml" Still over-confident, State expected to see an opposing team that was all shot and nne-tenths licked come back to the field. What they did see was a team that apparently had just begun to fight. Within two minutes Fardale met the double-spin play and tore it to shreds for a small loss. But a Fardale backfielder, who had charged into the line of scrimmage, scrim-mage, was down. It was Elmer Davis. Da-vis. They got him up and two men |