“Tackle.”
“Well, for the love of lemons, don’t you know your position at kick-off?” asked Appel impatiently. “Get in there between Squibbs and Gurley.”
As, however, Lawrence beat him to that location, Leonard disobeyed orders and sandwiched himself in at the left side of the line. Then Garrick kicked off and the scrimmage started. Truth compels me to say that Leonard did not cover himself with glory during the ten minute period allowed him. He tried hard enough, but there is a difference between playing guard and playing tackle, and Leonard was much too unfamiliar with the subtleties of a tackle’s duties to put up much of a game. Besides, he was faced by two veterans in the persons of Captain Emerson at end and Billy Wells at tackle on the first. Raleigh, who played guard beside him, gave him hurried cues more than once when the play was headed his way, but that didn’t always prevent him from being turned in by the truculent Wells while a first team back galloped past for a gain. On offense Leonard did better, but he couldn’t think of much to console himself with when the period was over. First had scored twice, once by a touchdown and once by a field-goal, and the subs had never got inside the other’s thirty. To add to Leonard’s discomfiture, he had plainly heard Appel inquire on one occasion, seemingly of the blue empyrean, and in pained tones, what he had done to be inflicted with a tackle who couldn’t stop a toy balloon! About the only thing that Leonard could think of to be thankful for was the fact that Carpenter had selected the right of the sub’s line for the attack that had brought the touchdown. It wasn’t much, but it was something!
With half a dozen others he was sent off to the showers after the first period, and so he couldn’t see that Cash, who took his place in the succeeding period, did scarcely any better. Since Cash, though a newcomer, was a professed tackle, Leonard might have been cheered a trifle by witnessing that youth’s performance. As it was, however, it remained for Slim to dispel the gloom to some slight extent. “Why, you poor prune,” scoffed Slim later on in Number 12, “you don’t need to get hipped about what happened to you. Why, say, if you think you played punk you ought to see some of ’em! Bless your dear soul, sonnie, you were head and shoulders above a lot that get in. I was rather too busy myself to watch how you were getting on very much, but as I didn’t hear Appel saying much to you I judge that you did fairly well.”
Leonard repeated the quarter’s remark about a tackle who couldn’t stop a toy balloon, but Slim only chuckled. “If that’s all ‘Bee’ said you must have done mighty well,” he answered. “That little hornet has a sting when he wants to use it, believe me, General! And if he’d been really out of patience with you he’d have been all over you!”
“Well, I can’t play tackle,” said Leonard sadly. “That’s one sure thing.”
“Oh, piffle! Snap out of it, General. To-morrow, or whenever you get another chance, you’ll do a heap better. Anyway, you were on the hard side there, with Billy and Rus against you. Those two tough guys could make any one look sick!”
“I don’t believe I’ll get another chance,” said Leonard.
“Sure, you will. I dare say Johnny’ll have you back there to-morrow. Just you forget about being on earth for the sole purpose of playing guard and watch how the tackles handle their jobs. Then you go in and bust things wide open. If Billy gets too gay with you and passes out compliments, tell him where to get off and poke your elbow in his face. Don’t let him think you’re soft and easy, whatever you do. But, if you’ll take my advice, you’ll play right tackle next time!”