"What position?"
"End, half-back, and full-back."
"You’ll play right end to-day. Billings has a bad knee, and we need somebody to fill his place. Dustan will put you onto the signals. Here, Dustan."
Dustan was the quarter-back of the scrub. He came over to Darrell at once and began to explain the code of signals.
Hal asked no questions on the point, but he was wondering how it happened that Cogswell had called him out to play. He was not yet willing to believe that Merriwell had suggested using him, although it looked very much that way.
Soon the teams were called out for practise, and the brush began with the regulars kicking off. There was some good timber in the scrub, and it started off to-day with snap and vim, running the ball back fifteen yards before being stopped.
Then came the first line-up, and Darrell found himself opposite Burrows, who was an energetic player, and he fell on Darrell at the first opportunity with a jump that sent the new player over in a twinkling, and the effort to advance the ball round that end was stopped. Hal rose chagrined by his failure to block Burrow’s, for the end-run might have been successful had he accomplished this.
The next attempt was through the center, but this time Darrell got in swiftly, and had the right end of the regulars out of the play in a twinkling. This provoked Burrows, who growled at Hal, receiving a smile in return.
The scrub was forced to kick, and Dick Merriwell got the ball. Through the field he darted, dodging tackler after tackler. Darrell fancied he saw his opportunity, and he cut through to down Dick. In another moment he would have had the runner, but just then another member of the scrub made a beautiful tackle, and Hal was robbed of the satisfaction.
Now the regulars began an assault on the scrub line, and the very first play tried was the "ends-around." It worked beautifully, fully twelve yards being made.