"I’m afraid they can’t," said Hal Darrell, who was very pale. "It’s beginning to look bad for us."
Quimby tried Fardale’s left end, but Merriwell was ready to meet him, and he went down without a gain. But then Young slammed into Sargent and crowded the ball to within two yards of the line before being held.
"Touch-down! touch-down!" roared the thirty loyal Viewland rooters.
The Fardale crowd suddenly drowned these cries with a great cheer, meant to encourage the home team. Perhaps that cheer did give the battered young heroes courage, for Viewland’s following two efforts were failures as ground-gainers, and the ball remained two yards from the goal.
Still, Viewland did not believe the cadets could hold her there, and a revolving-mass play was hurled against the right wing. Kane and Hovey showed their mettle by standing up well before this assault, backed by Shannock, Nunn, and Singleton, and the ball went down without a gain.
To the joy of the greater portion of the crowd, Fardale had secured the leather on downs at this point, where it seemed Viewland must score. Without delay, the ball was given to Merriwell to kick. Dick took the wind into account, and made a magnificent drive clean to the fifty-yard line.
The ball was run back about seven yards, when Burrows stopped it, and there the line-up was again made.
Surely, Fardale was fighting for her life, but all her efforts could not prevent a clean gain of six yards.
Then the cadets made a strong stand, and Viewland’s following efforts failed to give but four yards and a half in the required number of trials, which gave the home team the ball on downs.
Nunn made nearly five yards on the first effort.