"Remember, gentlemen, until the Army game is over, it"s to be nothing this year but work, work, work!" warned Midshipman Hepson, with intense earnestness.
With nothing but football in the air, Dan soon caught the infection even more deeply than his chum.
"Hang it, I"m a dub," groaned Dan. "Lots of the fellows gave up their leave in order to be here and practise. Why in the mischief didn"t I?"
"For the same reason that perhaps I didn"t sacrifice leave," replied Dave. "I wasn"t asked to. And you weren"t, either, were you?"
"No; but I wish I had flung myself at Hepson"s head, and made him take me, instead of going off to Gridley like a deserter! It"s October now, and what earthly chance, Dave, have you and I to get in shape?"
"We"ll do our best, Danny boy, or stay off the line. There"s nothing to be gained by losing our heads. Regrets will be equally worthless."
"Hepson," called one midshipman, "has anyone invented the Navy yells for this year?"
"Yells?" repeated the football captain scornfully. "It"s more to the purpose to fit ourselves to do something worth yelling about!"
"Has Hepson got the blues?" asked another midshipman.
"Or only the rattles?"
Football was still in the air, dominating the minds of the midshipmen when a turn of the master switch shut off the lights at taps.
CHAPTER VI
THE HATE OF A RIVAL
The day following was one of intense, almost complicated routine.
There were books and supplies to be drawn for the new academic year.
There were uniforms and other articles of apparel to be drawn. The sections were detailed and section marchers to be appointed. There were details of military organization to be announced. Some of the young men had to go up for physical examination, even if only of the eyes.
At the afternoon recreation hour Hepson led the big football squad out to the field. Hundreds of midshsipmen went there to see how the Navy would show up in the vitally important tests. At the outset Hepson was everywhere, like a buzzing, excitable wasp. Nor did he prove to be minus a sting at times.
"I think, sir," suggested Hepson, going over to Lieutenant-Commander Havens, the head coach, "that it would be well for us to know something about the running speed of every candidate."
"Very good, Mr. Hepson; try out any man that you"re curious about,"
replied the officer.
"Darrin, Dalzell, Page, Farley, White, Bryant," called the captain of the Navy team. "Each of you pick up a ball. Line up at this goal-line, Joyce, will you take a stop-watch and go over to the other goal-line?
Adams, go along and a.s.sist Joyce. I want a record of the time it takes each man to cover the distance, running as fast as he can with the ball."
The men designated took their places.
"I"ll run you first, Darrin," announced the captain. "Go like a streak, if you can. If you fall down it counts zero. Start when I say "go." Are you ready?"
"Quite ready."
"Go!"
At the word Dave sped away like a shot, Hepson giving a hand signal as he uttered the starting word, that the time-keeper at the other end might know when to release the watch. Dave"s time was noted. Then Dan took a try, covering the distance in only two fifths of a second more time than Darrin had required. Farley was a second and three fifths behind Darrin"s time; Page, a full two seconds behind. White and Bryant then ran, but only succeeded in about tying Page"s work.
Then six more men were called to the line and tried out. After that a third squad. By this time Midshipman Hepson had his mind about made up as to the relative speeds of some of the most likely men for the final Navy team.
"Get out for some kicks, now!" called Hepson.
"When are you going to play football?" growled one man.
Midshipman Hepson turned on him like a flash.
"Jetson, there"s a subst.i.tute captain in the squad, but you"re not the man. Neither are you one of the coaches."
"Oh, you make me--" began Jetson, but Midshipman Hepson cut him short with:
"If you can"t keep silence when you"ve nothing to say, your absence from the field will be considered a favor to the whole squad."
Jetson scowled, but said nothing more. Neither did he offer to retire from the field.
"Jetson has always been a kicker and a trouble mosquito," whispered Dan Dalzell to his chum.
"Oh, in a lot of ways Jetson is a nice fellow," Darrin replied quietly.
"The greatest trouble that ails him is that he has just a trifle too large opinion of the importance of his own opinions. There are a lot of us troubled in that way."
The kicking practice was put through with dash and vim. Then Midshipman Hepson, after a brief conference with the head coach, called off the line-up for the provisional Navy team, following this with a roster of the second team, or "Rustlers," so called because they force the men of the Navy team to rustle to keep their places.
Dave Darrin was called off for left tackle, Dan for left end. Farley and Page held the corresponding positions on the right end of the line-up.
"Begin the game, the Rustlers to have the ball," called Lieutenant-Commander Havens.
"And mix it up lively, Navy," called Hepson, who, both on account of his size and other qualifications, played center.
At the whistle-blast the Rustlers kicked it off--a beautiful, long, arching curve. The ball came to quarter-back, who pa.s.sed it to Dave Darrin.
Then the fun began.
The Navy line hit the Rustlers hard and tried to b.u.mp through. Dan Dalzell devoted every ounce of his strength and every turn of his energy to boosting Darrin through--and Dave himself was not idle. There was an instant of sullen, hard resistance. Then, somehow, Dave was shot through the opposing line. Like a deer he sped, Dan hanging to his flanks. It was up to the Rustlers" halfback now, and that bulky young midshipman leaped to the fray, cleverly barring the way.
At least, the Rustlers" halfback thought he had Darrin blocked. It is never wise to take too much for granted.
As the halfback planted himself for the grapple, Dave suddenly dropped through that opponent"s grip and went to the ground.
As though he had been shot through, Dave Darrin went under and past, on one side, between the halfback"s legs. He was up again, with Dan at his back. Fullback came at them, but Dan b.u.mped that player aside. Dave dashed on across the line, scoring a touchdown.
Never had the gridiron been the scene of greater excitement than in that rousing moment.
"Darrin! Darrin! Darrin!" came hoa.r.s.ely; from hundreds of throats.