Frank Merriwell's Fun; Or, Fearless and True

by Burt L. Standish

Then he went out, for he was too angry to stay there longer.

Frank appeared on the field the following afternoon, and again he was placed on the first scrub, which confirmed the belief of his friends that he was not to be given a fair show. Practise began. Merriwell had charge of the scrub, and he seemed to fill the men with such ginger as they had never before shown. Every man of the scrub seemed to feel that Frank had not been treated square. It seemed that they fancied the test which was to settle the question of his restoration to the regulars was the manner in which the scrub showed up under his command.

It is certain that deep down in his heart Frank was hurt, but he kept it hidden. However, never before on the practise field had he done such work. Within two minutes after play began the scrub scored a touch-down through the masterly manner in which the men were handled, and Frank touched a goal.

This was pretty rough on the regulars, for the report would appear in the papers the next day, and it would be claimed that the work of the scrub had plainly demonstrated the weakness of the regulars, so, when the ball was put into play again, the regulars started to redeem themselves. To their astonishment, the scrub was like a stone wall. The play was fast and furious, but the scrub refused to be tricked or beaten down. Merriwell seemed to anticipate every play his opponents made, and he massed the strength of his team to check and defeat it.

Lorrimer looked on with a frown on his face.

“This kind of work is as bad as a regular game,” he said. “It is certain to break up the men, but the boys must get the best of the scrub, or it will take the courage out of them.”

So the regulars were hurled against the scrub again and again. They tried to break the line, they tried to turn the ends, they resorted to all sorts of stratagems, and then kicking was fallen back on. For some time there was a beautiful duel between Captain Birch and Merriwell, and Merriwell had the best of it in the end.

Frank had friends enough among those who were watching the contest, and they cheered. Of course, Lorrimer was displeased by the work of the regulars, and Birch was no less dissatisfied.

Then the scrub took the offensive again, and it seemed that they were going to add another touch-down to their record before the half closed. Merriwell seemed like a man of iron. He found opportunities to hurl himself against the regulars, and almost always with the result of gaining ground.

At the fifteen-yard line of the regulars there was a terrific struggle. Somebody was down, and then men piled up in a mass. When this knot untangled, Merriwell was lying on the field.