to him ... except through you.... It's our chance, Tim
... to make good!"

He smiled and patted her arm and the two of them went off, hand in
hand, through the dusk.

No one saw the sun rise the morning of the momentous day as Saturday
dawned behind a bank of dark, somber-looking clouds. Highways early
became choked with lines of automobiles and railway schedules slowed
under the running of football specials. The vicinity about Elliott
University soon resembled a vast ant hill, swarming with sport-crazed
humans. By noon the little college town was transformed into a huge
outdoor garage with every available space, even front lawns, taken up
by autos, many of which bore licenses from distant states. The throng
milled up and down the streets, impelled by a restless curiosity.
Delmar students, on hand six thousand strong, felt almost lost without
the tuneful services of their famous band. An uncanny absence of
boisterous sound prevailed as though everyone was impressed with the
peculiar nature of the occasion. And because of this strained sort of
reverent silence the atmosphere was gradually being made so tense as to
be almost unbearable.

Members of the Elliott team, confined to their rooms until noon by
order of Red Murdock, reflected--to a much more trying degree--the
feelings of the multitude. Outside they could hear the tramp and
shuffle of feet and occasionally an outcry, but their ears recorded no
blare of music or outburst of jostling gaiety. And, as minute crawled
after minute, their irritation grew so that they took to pacing up and
down--up and down--figuratively frothing at the mouths to be out and
clawing into Delmar ... anything to get the torture of waiting over!

By fifteen minutes before game time every possible nook and cranny of
Elliott field was jammed with heart-palpitating humanity. The great
stadium was packed, aisles and all, with the greatest crowd its
historic confines had ever held. And thousands more stormed the gates
outside, beseeching entrance.

In the clubhouse, eleven Elliott men--the choice of Red Murdock to
start against Delmar--sat in a rigid circle while their assistant coach
delivered his last admonitions.

"And one word more," said Red, as the shrill whistle of the referee
called impatiently for Elliott's appearance on the field. "It was just
last Monday that John Brown stood in this room, precisely as I am
standing now, and voiced his confidence in you. He declare