Yale was brightening up. The spectators were wild. It was a struggle of giants, and the man who could pick the winner was a wonder. How those megaphones roared! But Harvard made a stand, and baffled Yale again till she could secure possession of the ball.
Hollender once more resorted to a punt, and this time Merriwell sent it back. A Harvard man had it like a flash and went at Yale’s right end, cutting through like a knife. How it happened no one seemed able to tell, but he escaped tackler after tackler and raced down the field to Yale’s twenty-five-yard line before he was stopped by Frank Merriwell, who threw him like a log.
Merry got up spitting blood himself, having cut his lips. He did not say a word, and nobody asked him questions. There was a line-up, and the battle went on in Yale’s territory. At times Harvard was driven back to center, and then she would sweep Yale into her territory again.
“It looks as if we might keep her from scoring!” breathed Jack Diamond, with intense satisfaction. “If we can do that, I’ll be happy.”
Indeed, it looked as if neither side could score. Was it to be a drawn game?
Harvard had the ball, and there was a scrimmage. In the midst of it somebody scrambled, and the ball came whirling out of the mass of human beings. Frank Merriwell had it in a twinkling, and he was off down the field before the Harvard men knew what had happened. Every breath Frank drew cut him like a keen knife, but he kept on at wonderful speed. The hounds were after him, and he knew it. He bowled one man over, dodged another, and then rushed onward.
All Yale rose and thundered. For the first time that day it seemed certain that Yale would make a goal. Bruce Browning shouted like a maniac, his face turning purple as the blood rushed to his head.
“Merriwell has done it!” he roared. “That wins this game!”
Jack Diamond’s face was pale, save where two spots of red glowed in his cheeks. His lips were pressed together, and he was shaking again. Frank felt a fearful pain running through him. It seemed to stop his wind, but it did not stop him.
“I must do it!” he thought.