The immediate result was a rather different line-up on Tuesday when scrimmage began. Kruger had Tate’s place at left end, Nat Wick was at left guard in lieu of Meecham, Toby Shelfer played right end, and Fitz Savell had Storer’s job at half-back. As the game progressed other changes were made. Howard went in for Haines at right tackle, a practically unknown youth named Walsh sent Jim Galvin out and Bert relieved Pete Ness at right half. Nor was Mr. Cade through even then, for, when the scrimmage was almost over, he grabbed a tackle from the Scrubs and put him in Andy Dozier’s place. Results were not easy to judge, but at least the First showed more downright fight than it had exhibited for some time. It pushed the Scrub down the field for sixty yards in the last period and finally hurled Walsh through for a score. Since the Scrub had met with a stronger resistance than usual that touchdown represented the day’s scoring.
On Wednesday Mr. Cade used two teams against the Second, one for each ten-minute period, and each grabbed off a touchdown. Bert played right through on the second line-up—it was difficult to say whether it was Mr. Cade’s second choice or his first, regulars and substitutes were so mixed together—and got a nice thirty-yard romp on one occasion that might have resulted in a score if Don Riding, playing quarter, had not fumbled. Back in the locker room that afternoon the expressions of doubt and even consternation on some of the faces might have amused a disinterested bystander. Jake, the trainer, came nearest to that character, and Jake smiled more than once while he administered to contusions and strains and listened to the talk.
It became noised about on Thursday that Mr. Cade would pick the team to play Oak Grove according to the performances that afternoon, and not even Tommy Parish could—or did—complain of indifference or lassitude on the part of the candidates. Some of the regulars—or those who had been regulars—moved around with the nervous, anxious alacrity of new hands, trying to impress the coach with their energy and ambition against the time when the line-up for the scrimmage with the Scrub should be announced. Even Captain Jonas looked almost perturbed at moments. He had heartily agreed to Mr. Cade’s plan, but he sometimes wished he hadn’t. Jonas wasn’t used to trying to impress folks as being eager and full of pep! It came hard!
Mr. Cade drove the First hard that afternoon, and almost every fellow on the squad saw service before the end. Second was given the ball on the First’s thirty-yard line a number of times and told to rush it, field-goals being barred. Once the Scrub scored on a short pass over the line, but the other times she was forced to yield the ball short of the goal. She was on her mettle to-day and the First Team linemen underwent some hard knocks. For that matter, so did the backs, for there was a weak place on the left of the line that continued all during the scrimmage, and more than once it was the secondary defense that stopped the runner. Bert played for some six or eight minutes in the last period, and, although First was showing what she could do on attack during most of that time, he was used pretty roughly and finally emerged with a fine large welt under one eye. As an exhibition of playing Thursday’s performance was distinctly encouraging, but as an indication of what Saturday’s line-up was to be it was a failure. Even on Friday the coach used three or four men for every position, and surprised his charges by staging a fifteen-minute scrimmage against the Scrub. Certainly Oak Grove was not a fearsome opponent, but such hard work the day before a game was well-nigh unprecedented. It was on Friday that Bert flashed for an instant when, pulling down a twelve-yard forward-pass over the right of the line, he squirmed and fought onward for sixteen more before superior weight and numbers brought him down. In that run he showed a really remarkable ability for eluding tacklers and throwing off tackles, for he went through half a dozen of the enemy and squirmed away from others like a greased pig. And yet, some two minutes later, when the same play was repeated he failed badly at getting into position for the catch and the ball was plucked out of the air by the Scrub full-back. Fortune, it seemed, was a fickle goddess!
Chick was difficult to live with during the closing days of that week, for he had been spending much of his time on the bench and resented it bitterly. Bert’s reminder that a lot of the others were faring the same way and that, once Mr. Cade got through experimenting, they’d probably all be back in place again failed of the soothing effect it was designed to produce. Chick didn’t think well of experiments, and said so in unmistakable language. “What’s it getting him?” he demanded that Friday evening. “He’s tried Shelfer and Nast and Savell, and not one of them has played the position as well as I do. Oh, maybe Savell, yes, but he’s not such a wonder on defense. He got boxed finely a couple of times to-day. Johnny will put me back there finally, and he knows it plaguy well, so what’s the use of letting me miss practice? I haven’t been in once when that Number 14 play was tried. They’ll use it to-morrow and then wonder what’s wrong if I don’t get the right man!”
“I don’t believe he’s in earnest about Fitz Savell,” said Bert. “He wouldn’t spoil a corking good back.”
“Of course not! Then what’s the good of making believe? He’s just losing time. The whole truth of the matter is that Johnny’s up in the air and doesn’t know what to do about it. So he’s just fiddling around in the hope that he will light on something. If he would teach us about four good scoring plays and quit monkeying with his delayed passes and fake kicks we’d deliver the goods, I’ll bet!”
“That Number 14 looks pretty good, though, Chick. It fooled the Scrub all right yesterday and to-day.”
“The Scrub? Sure! But just let him try it against a wide-awake team like Mt. Millard a week from now. Why, they’ll eat it up, Bert! There’s nothing new about it. It’s old stuff to them, I’ll bet.”
“No, it isn’t new,” said Bert, “but I heard Ted say that it has new features.”