The two captains were seen to walk aside from the others, together with the referee, who took a coin from his pocket and spun it in the air. The toss fell to Yale. Birch did not hesitate. He gave Harvard the ball and took advantage of the wind. Then the battle lines were formed in the center, and the substitutes came down along the ropes.
Frank Merriwell was with the substitutes. Hundreds of Yale men were puzzled by this. They had expected to see him go onto the field, and now, for the first time, they began to get an inkling of the real truth—they began to suspect that he was not in condition to play.
“What’s the matter with Merriwell?”
“Why doesn’t he go on?”
“What are they doing with him, anyhow?”
“If he can play, they ought to play him!”
“There is something wrong about this.”
Amid the uproar could be heard these remarks coming from Yale men.
“Hollender is going to kick off!”
There was a hush. The Harvard full-back stepped off from the ball lying on the turf and sized it up. He balanced himself carefully, while the rest of the twenty-one young panthers waited with every nerve and muscle taut. Then, with a rapid forward movement, Hollender swung his foot against the ball, and away it sailed over the Yale forwards like a flying bird.