Bruce’s head was bandaged, and, though he felt so dizzy from the effect of the blow that he could hardly stand, he remained at his post.
Then Ready drove another goal, and Bill Higgins whooped.
“Them New London fellers’ll never git another!” he yelled.
But they did. The New London men rallied, and in less than two minutes made two goals, setting their sympathizers wild with excitement.
“I ought to have prevented that,” Bruce apologized. “If I do that again, Merry, take me off the team.”
But Frank knew that New London would not have made those goals if Bruce had been in his usual condition, and he kindly told the big fellow so. The pain seemed somehow to go out of Bruce’s head after that, so that, when the next time the ball came skipping toward him, he blocked it promptly with his padded shins, and sent it flying back to the other end of the room with his stick. Again the battle was forced out into the middle of the rink.
Two goals were made, one by Starbright and the other by Merriwell. The New London men, growing more and more furious, tried again and again to cage the ball; but Bruce Browning was seemingly himself again, and each time cleverly blocked it and kept the Yale cage empty.
“Beat ’em out of sight!” Higgins yelled from his seat in the balcony; and Merriwell seemed suddenly to resolve to do this, and show the spectators what real polo-playing looked like. He was angered, too, by the dastardly blow which had been given Bruce and by the attempt against Starbright.
There were not many minutes more of play, but in that time Merriwell proved his worthiness of the title of Polo King. Again and again the New London men came charging down the room with a clanking roar, for a struggle for the ball, but Merriwell’s men, seeming to be imbued with the resolution which had come to Frank, met them firmly, took the ball from them easily, and, shooting it from man to man in beautiful team play, caged it again and again. Ready caged a goal, being followed by Bart Hodge, and he by Dick Starbright. Each time, when these goals were made, it was Merriwell who sent the ball to the one who made the goal, sending it at just the right time and in just the right way to enable the player to do the work.
Then Merriwell himself took a hand at the work of goal-making, and caged the ball twice in less than two minutes of play.