“We’ve already got one Second Team fellow,” laughed Malcolm as they climbed the stairs. “You saw that Jelly had joined our forces, I suppose?”
“Yes. He was in your squad, wasn’t he, Evan? How does he show up?”
“He’s frightfully willing, he knows some football and he’s got weight,” answered Evan. “But he’s as slow as an ice-wagon. If we can knock some speed into him I dare say he’d make a fair guard.”
“My idea exactly,” said Rob. “And that chap Brimmer is another good one. He ought to fit in at end. Then you’ll play quarter and I’ll have a try for half. There’s four positions filled. For center there’s Morse—or maybe Shaler. They both look fairly good. And we’ve got another good end in Powers. However, we’ll leave it all to Duffield. If we’re going to make this thing go we’ve got to give him full swing and do just as he says.”
“When is he coming over?” asked Malcolm.
“Monday. Come on in and let’s look over your list, Mal; there’s half an hour to supper yet. By the way, Evan, remind me to get Pierce up here this evening, will you? We’ve got to get the fellows to pay their money into the exchequer before we begin cutting down the candidates. There’s going to be a howl from some of them when they find they’re not going to get on the team, and they might want to keep their half-dollars. And that wouldn’t do, for we need the money, my friends. We’ll have to have that scrub gridiron marked out, Mal; we can’t play without the lines. We’ll talk about that later. By the way, have you written for any games yet?”
“I’m going to do that to-night,” answered Malcolm, “and I wanted to ask you where I’d better write.”
“We’ll go over that, then, after study. Now let’s see those names. Pull up a chair. Evan, turn on the juice like a good chap. It certainly is getting late early these days!”
On Saturday the School Team journeyed to Providence to play Bannard and the Independents used their gridiron while Malcolm and a dozen helpers marked off the scrub field with whitewash brushes and pails of lime. There was a little signal work that day for the more advanced candidates, Evan handling the first squad and a middle class youth named Rogers playing quarter for the second. The work was decidedly encouraging, although somewhat ragged. The Second Team, with nothing to do, watched from the side-lines and had their fun, but it was all good-natured. Gus Devens told Rob that he was doing wonders and declared that he wouldn’t have thought it possible to find eleven players as good as those in the first squad.