“Why don’t you write him a note?” suggested Leon.
“Guess I will. Find me a piece of paper and a pen, will you? Isn’t there some on the table? Thanks.” Monty propped himself higher and set to work. It took some time to compose the four lines that were finally evolved, and when he folded the sheet and put it in an envelope he heaved a sigh of relief. “There,” he said, “that ought to fetch him. Will you post it for me, Leon? I haven’t a stamp, but there’s some money somewhere if you can find it.”
“I’ll do better than post it,” said Leon. “I’ll hand it to him at supper. Now stop talking and rest up. Better try to sleep about twelve hours tonight, old chap.”
“I’m all right. You won’t forget the note, will you? Manson oughtn’t to play Saturday, you know.”
“But Monty Crail ought?” laughed Leon. “All right. Don’t worry. I’ll see that the precious note gets to Bonner by six o’clock.”
And Leon must have kept his promise, for at a little before seven the coach was talking to Monty across a devastated supper tray.
CHAPTER XXVII
HITTING THE LINE
The big game took place at Greenbank that year, and at a quarter to four two days later the first half of the contest came to an end with the score 7 to 6 in Mount Morris’s favor. Perhaps one who held the fortunes of neither team at heart would have voted that first half uninteresting and none too well played, but to the five hundred boys who cheered and sang and flaunted banners from opposite sides of the field the contest had been exciting from end to end, and if there had been some poor playing, at least it had been pretty equally shared by the contesting elevens. An amazing deal of fumbling and poor judgment had featured the first ten minutes, and both teams had been guilty. Stage-fright had affected everyone, it had seemed, and it was not until a misjudged punt had gone over Nick Blake’s head and been captured by a Mount Morris end on Grafton’s twelve yards and then been worked across the line for the first touchdown that either side pulled itself together. Mount Morris had converted the resulting six points into seven by a well-aimed kick. Against this handicap the Scarlet-and-Gray had fought unavailingly until within six minutes of the end of the second period. Then Fortune had, in turn, smiled on the visitors.