The High School Captain of the Team | Page 7

fellows but known it, however, Drayne would have
borne close watching.

CHAPTER III
Putting the Tag on the Sneak
Anything that Dick Prescott had charge of went along at leaps and
bounds. Hence the football eleven was in good shape ten days earlier
than Coach Morton could remember to have happened before.
"Your eleven is all ready to line up in the field, now, Captain,"
announced coach, one afternoon not long after, as the squad came out
from dressing quarters for practice.
"I'm glad you think so, sir," replied Dick, a flush of pleasure mantling
his cheeks.
"You have every man in fine condition. Condition couldn't be better, in
fact, for those of the men who are likely to get on the actual battle line.
And all the work is well understood, too. In fact, Captain, you can all
but rest on your oars during the next fortnight, up to your first game."
"Hadn't we better go on training hard every day, sir?" inquired the
young captain.
"Not hard," replied coach, shaking his head. "If you do, you'll get your
men down too fine. Now, there's almost more danger in having your
men overtrained than in having them undertrained. Your men can be
trained too hard and go stale."
"I've heard of that," Dick nodded thoughtfully.
"Yes," continued coach, "and I've seen school teams that suffered from
training down too fine. Boys can't stand it. They haven't as much flesh
in training down hard, and they haven't as much endurance as college
men, who are older. Captain, you will train your men lightly, three
afternoons a week. For the rest, see to it that they stick to all training
orders, including diet and hygiene and no tobacco. But don't work any
of the men hard, with an idea of getting them in still better shape. You

can't do it."
"Then I'd like to make a suggestion, Coach."
"Go ahead, Captain."
"You never saw a school team, did you, sir, that understood its signal
work any too well?"
"Never," laughed Mr. Morton.
"Then I would suggest, sir, that most of our training time, from now
until the season opens, be spent on drilling in the signals. We ought to
keep at practicing the signals. We ought to get the signals down better
than ever a Gridley team had them before, sir."
"You've just the right idea, Captain!" cried Mr. Morton heartily, resting
one hand around Dick's shoulders. "I was going to order that, but I'm
glad you anticipated me."
"Hudson," called out Prescott, "you head a scrub team. Take the men
you want after I've chosen for the school team."
Dick rapidly made his choice for the school team. He played center
himself, putting Dave Darrin at quarter, Greg Holmes as left tackle and
Tom Reade as right end. Dalzell and Hazelton were left out, but they
understood, quite well, that this was to avoid showing favoritism by
taking all of Dick & Co. on the star team for practice.
"Let me play quarter, Hudson," whispered Drayne, going over to the
acting captain of the "scrub."
"Not this afternoon, anyway," smiled Hudson. "I want Dalzell."
Drayne fell back. He was not chosen at all for the scrub team. Yet, as
he had nearly a score of companions, out of the large football squad, he
had no special reason to feel hurt. Those who had not been picked for
either team lined up at the sides. There was a chance that some of them
might be called out as subs, though practice in signal work was hardly

likely to result in any of the players being injured.
Drayne did not appear to take his mild snub very seriously.
In fact, after his one outbreak before the team captain, and his
subsequent remarks to the girls, Drayne had appeared to fall in line,
satisfied even to be a member of the school's big squad.
The ball was placed for a snap-back, and Coach Morton sounded the
whistle.
"Twelve-nine-seventeen---twenty-eight---four!" called Dave Darrin.
Then the scrimmage was on in earnest. As soon as the play had
properly developed Mr. Morton blew his whistle, for this was practice
only in the signal part.
Then Hudson took the ball and Dalzell called off:
"Nine---eight---thirteen---two!"
Again the ball was put in play, to be stopped after ten seconds.
So it went on through the afternoon's work. The substitutes on the side
lines watched with deep interest, for they, too, had to learn all the
signal work.
Within three afternoons of practice Dick had nearly all of his players so
that they knew every signal, and were instantly ready to execute their
parts in whatever was called for.
But there was no danger of knowing the signals too well. Captain
Prescott still called out the squad and gave signal work unceasingly.
"The