“We lost the game in the last ten minutes of play, and we did so simply because you and one or two other fellows got cold feet. We made our touchdown and goal easier than we had dreamed we could, and that swelled our heads. We thought we were really going to have a snap; but when Wyndham woke up, got wise to our style and held us even play, our confidence began to ooze away. Those fellows fought for every point, and never let up once. After they tied us we went to pieces. If every man on the team had continued to do his level best, the game would have ended in a draw.”
“Perhaps you would have been satisfied with that?” sneered Hunk.
“At least, it would have been better than losing. It’s no use to cry over spilt milk. Everything considered, we have been amazingly successful this season, and the fact that we came so near downing Wyndham should spur us on to get after that bunch just twice as hard next year.”
“You’ll never beat them,” Rollins once more asserted.
“We’ll never do it with fellows on the team who think we can’t.”
“That’s a knock at me.”
“It’s the plain truth, Rollins. Considering the material we had to build on, we turned out a corking team. We owe a lot of gratitude to the coach.”
“Perhaps you’d won if you’d been able to strengthen your team with the feller from Texas.”
“Bah! We couldn’t have won anyhow,” put in Barker. “I wonder we made as good showing as we did.”
Roger turned on him. “You were one who let up toward the last of it, Barker. You surprised me by your lack of spirit. You were given one splendid chance to get through for a big gain, possibly for a touchdown, and you shirked.”