“Ready?” asked the official.
“Ready!” answered both captains.
The whistle shrilled out its signal, and the toe of the big centre met the ball squarely. It was well kicked into the Holwell territory.
The full-back on the latter team caught it skillfully, and started to return with it, well protected by interference, but Jack Fitch worked his way through it, and tackled his man hard.
“Good! Good!” screamed the Elmwood enthusiasts, and then the first scrimmage was prepared for.
I am not going to describe for you that game in detail, for it formed but a small part in the life of Tom Fairfield. Sufficient to say that the gridiron battle was fairly even, and that at the end of the third quarter the score was a tie.
“But we’ve got to win!” declared the Elmwood captain, during the rest period. “We’ve got to.”
“And we will, if there’s a change made,” declared Jack Fitch boldly.
“What do you mean?”