"You can if you've got enough of it," said Stover, all in a breath. "Please, sir, give me a chance. You can fire me if I'm no good. I only want to be useful. You've got to have a lot of fellows to stand the banging and you can bang me around all day. I do know something about it, sir; I've practiced tackling and falling on the ball all summer, and I'm hard as nails. Just give me a chance, will you? Just one chance, sir."
Cockrell looked at Mr. Ware, whose eye showed the battling spark as he nodded.
"Here, Dink," he said gruffly, "I can't be wasting any more time over you. I told you to go back to the House team, didn't I?"
Stover, with a lump in his throat, nodded the answer he could not utter.
"Well, I've changed my mind. Get over there in the squad."
The revulsion of feeling was so sudden that tears came into Stover's eyes.
"You're really going to let me stay?"
"Get over there, you little nuisance!"
Dink went a few steps, and then stopped and tightened his shoelaces a long minute.
"Too bad the little devil is so light," said Cockrell to Mr. Ware.