The tall rover was off with it in charge like a lightning express train, and the entire bunch, as it seemed, trailing behind. Straight at the goal he swung, made a feint that had the agile McQuirk on pins and needles, and before the defender of the Clifford goal could recover from his surprise, Lanky, with a cracking shot, sent the rubber disc spinning into the net.
Then pandemonium seemed to break loose! Certainly never before since the red Indians roved the heavily-wooded banks of the picturesque Harrapin, had such a confusion of whoops and shouts sounded in that shallow valley.
Herman Hooker was of course the worst offender. He paraded up and down before his cheer corps, waving his arms like a crazy being, and leading the volume of sound that rolled up and down the river like a mighty battle cry of old.
And yet when the confusion that followed the making of the first goal had once more given way to another alignment of forces on the ice, these sounds immediately ceased as if by magic. Every eye was glued on the crouching figures of those fourteen young athletes. Columbia hearts beat faster than ever with new hopes; while the Clifford enthusiasts simply bit their lips and smiled.
"That's just to coax 'em on a little. It encourages the boys some. Our fellows are a bit stale walking over everything, so they want to make it look interesting," said Buster's up-river friend in his ear.
The fat boy simply turned and grinned in his face; but all he said was just the one suggestive word:
"So!"
Again play was resumed. This time Coots was on his mettle. He had had one taste of Frank's clever tactics, and realized that unless he wished to step down from his high pedestal he would have to brace up, and be doing something to redeem that first fizzle.
Consequently he played like a demon to get possession of the puck, with the result that he managed to work one of his old tricks that gave him the desired opportunity to run away with the prize. But "once bit, twice shy," with Frank; and Coots would not be apt to spring that same little surprise again on Columbia's center.
Down the river surged the tide of battle, back and forth as the minutes passed. The movements were oftimes so surprisingly rapid that many of those who looked on were in a maze, and unable to decide just where the flying puck might be. Indeed, they quickly learned that the easiest method of determining this was by watching the rush of the players, whose eyes were especially trained to keep tab on the little elusive disc of hard rubber.