fifteen had gone by when Erskine took up her journey toward Woodby's
goal again. Mason, the full-back, and Neil were sent plunging, bucking,
hurdling at the enemy's breastworks, and time after time just managed to
gain their distance in the three downs. Fortune was favoring Erskine,
and Woodby's lighter men were slower and slower in finding their
positions after each pile-up. Then, with the pigskin on Woodby's
twenty-eight yards, Neil was given the ball for a try outside of right
tackle, and by brilliantly leaving his interference, which had become
badly tangled up, got safely away and staggered over the line just at
the corner. The punt-out was a success and Devoe kicked goal, making the
score 12 to 11 in Erskine's favor. For the rest of the half the home
team was satisfied to keep Woodby away from its goal, and made no effort
to score. Woodby left the field after the fashion of victors, which,
practically, they were, while the Erskine players trotted subduedly back
to the locker-house with unpleasant anticipations of what was before
them--anticipations fully justified by subsequent events. For Mills tore
them up very eloquently, and promised them that if they were scored on
by the second eleven before the game with Harvard he'd send every man
of them to the benches and take the second to Cambridge.

Neil walked back to college beside Sydney Burr, insisting that that
youth should take his hands from the levers and be pushed. Paul had got
into the habit of always accompanying Cowan on his return from the
field, and as Neil liked the big sophomore less and less the more he saw
of him, he usually fell back on either Ted Foster or Sydney Burr for
company. To-day it was Sydney. On the way that youth surprised Neil by
his intelligent discussion and criticism of the game he had
just watched.

"How on earth did you get to know so much about football?" asked Neil.