The ball was passed back and the lines heaved together. The Brewer right half and full-back darted toward the left side of their line.
“Fake!” cried Dan. “Over here, fellows!”
The Brewer left half, who had been crouching to keep from sight, leaped forward, took the ball from quarter who had been hiding it and smashed against the Yardley left guard. The play was a [delayed cross-buck]. Dan’s warning had, however, helped to spoil it, for Yardley’s left side turned back and stiffened in time. A yard, perhaps two, and the advance stopped, the runner wavered and was thrust back.
“Down!” he groaned. “Down!”
The whistle shrilled and slowly the mass of swaying players was disentangled. As the ball came into sight shouts arose from both sides. The referee looked a moment and then, leaving the umpire to guard the ball, he trotted over to the side-line and trotted back again with the linesmen and the chain.
“First down!” shouted the spectators. “Don’t let him do you, Mulligan!” “Sure, it’s first down!” “Aw, we got it easy!” “Come back with that dog chain, youse!” “First down! First down!” “Put it over now, boys!”
But it wasn’t first down, not by half a foot. Brewer protested and argued and threatened to leave the field, grumbled, swore not a little and acted as ugly as they dared. But for once the referee was firm and even stern.
“All right, Brewer?” he asked after several minutes.