[CHAPTER V]
HANSEL MEETS PHINEAS DORR
For a week life progressed quickly and busily for Hansel. His mornings were fully occupied in the class rooms, and at three o’clock each afternoon he was on the green dressed in football togs ready for the practice. He was at right end now, having displaced King of last year’s second, and there was little doubt in the minds of the other players and Mr. Ames that he would be able to hold the position against all comers. His playing was a revelation to many of the candidates. There was not a faster, harder runner on the team, and none could equal him at tackling. And with these physical abilities went a mental alertness, coolness, and judgment that enhanced and perfected them. Mr. Ames struck right end from the list of positions to be filled and turned his attention to other points in the line.
Back of Hansel played Cotton at quarter, Curtis at left half, Cameron at right half (the Three C’s they were called), and Bert Middleton at full back. At center was big Royle. But the rest of the positions, excepting right end, were still filled only tentatively, and every day the linemen were shifted or dropped out to make room for promising candidates from the second squad.
Naturally, Hansel soon made the speaking acquaintance of Billy Cameron; and he found himself at a loss to understand that youth. Hansel made the mistake of imagining that a fellow occupying such an equivocal position in the school must necessarily exhibit signs of depravity or meanness. And , better-natured [youth] than Cameron [it would have been hard to find]. He was popularly believed to be twenty years of age, and looked it. He was rather heavy of build, but wonderfully quick on his feet, and was an ideal plunging half back. He had tow-colored hair and twinkling blue eyes and was rather handsome. He was good-natured to a fault, had good manners, which seemed to have been acquired rather than inherited, and had never been known to indulge in dirty playing. And Hansel never heard a foul word pass his lips. The former, after a week’s acquaintance with Cameron, discovered that he would have to revise his preconceived ideas of that youth. He even found himself entertaining a mild liking for him, and, since his notions of right and wrong were pretty sharply defined, it worried him not a little. And he began to wonder what was to become of Cameron if he succeeded, as he had determined to, in setting school sentiment against that youth.
During that week Hansel realized that, in spite of his expressed confidence in his ability to bring about reform, he had a difficult task ahead of him. He had not spoken as yet to Mr. Ames on the subject—he was purposely putting that off until later—but the one or two fellows to whom he had mentioned the matter, had disappointed him. Folsom, for instance, of whom Hansel had expected sympathy at least, if not actual assistance, had only laughed good-naturedly.
“It isn’t quite right, of course,” said Harry, “but then it’s done all over the shop. Even the faculties wink at it, and in some schools they lend a hand. If you’re going to change things, Dana, you’ll have to begin at the bottom.”
“Where’s that?” asked Hansel.