Center Rush Rowland

by Ralph Henry Barbour

  CHAPTER VIII

  IRA DECLINES AN INVITATION

  Goodloe roomed in Number 30, Williams Hall, the dormitory nest toParkinson on the left, and Ira wandered around for several minutesbefore he discovered that there were two entrances and that he hadselected the wrong one. Finally, a boy whom he encountered in thecorridor set him right and Number 30 was eventually located on thesecond floor at the west end of the building. The door was ajar andhis rap went unheard at first. Then someone called "Come in if you'regood-looking!" and Ira entered to find the big room seemingly full ofboys. As a matter of fact, though, there were only seven there, as Iradiscovered presently when, having been welcomed by Gene and introducedoff-handedly to the rest, he found a seat and an opportunity to lookaround. His entrance proved the signal for a general withdrawal, andall the visitors but one left, nodding carelessly to him from the dooron their way out. The fellow who remained was the tall, dark-hairedboy who had so kindly and readily interpreted the mystic "R & B" theday of Ira's arrival. He had, however, shown no sign of recollectionon being introduced, and Ira had concluded that he had failed torecognise him. But when Fred Lyons had closed the door on the heels ofthe final departing caller, White--his was one of the few names Ira hadremembered--turned to him with a smile and remarked:

  "How are you getting on with the rats, Rowland? Hope they're giving youyour money's worth at Maggy's."

  "What's the joke about rats?" inquired Fred Lyons before Ira couldreply.

  "Oh, we tried to put one over on Rowland the other day," replied GeneGoodloe. "He wanted to know what 'R & B' stood for on the list ofrooming houses they give you and Ray told him it stood for 'Rats andBugs.' We thought we'd got away with it at first, but now I'm not sureRowland fell for it at all. Did you?"

  "He did at first, didn't you?" asked Raymond White. "Say you did,Rowland, anyhow. Let us down easy."

  "Yes, I did--at first," answered Ira. "You all looked so sober and--andtruthful, you see."

  "Truthful! Gee!" exclaimed White. "I guess you didn't take a good lookat Gene!"

  "Oh, that was when Gene got the lovely knockout, was it?" asked thefootball captain. "I'd like to have seen that. It would do me a lot ofgood to see Gene get what's coming to him."

  "Why don't you try to give it to me, you big bluff?" demanded Gene,truculently. "Why depend on--on outside talent?" He doubled up hisfists and frowned formidably until his roommate stirred as though toget out of his chair. Then he put the table between them, and FredLyons grunted contemptuously.

  "You see what a coward he is, Rowland," he said. "Hit him any time youlike. He'll stand for it."

  "Not from you, I won't! Just one more crack like that, you old stiff,and I'll come around there and put you over my knee!" Even Ira hadto smile at the idea of Gene spanking his chum, who was a good threeinches taller and bigger all around, and White laughed amusedly andasked:

  "Why don't you flay him some time, Fred? It would do him good."

  "I'm going to. I'm saving it up for him," answered Lyons. Then heturned to Ira and asked: "How are you getting on, Rowland? Thingsbreaking all right for you?"

  "Oh, yes, thanks. It's sort of strange yet, but I'm learning."

  "That's good. Take my advice, though, and choose your companionscarefully. Avoid questionable company."

  Ira nodded politely, secretly a little surprised until he caught theamused look on White's countenance. Then he, too, smiled doubtfully asGene said:

  "Oh, Rowland's able to look after himself. If he wasn't I wouldn'thave asked him around here to meet you chaps. I might as well explain,Rowland, that you're quite at liberty to cut these fellows dead thenext time you see them. I only wanted to show them to you so you'd knowwhom to avoid."

  "Where are you hanging out?" asked Lyons.

  "Mrs. Magoon's, on Main Street."

  "Maggy's, eh? Not a bad place. She lets you do about as you like,anyway, so long as you pay your bills. They said last year that facultywas sort of frowning on Maggy's and weren't going to let the fellows gothere any more. Who's in the house with you?"

  "I don't know. I haven't met any of them yet. At least, not exactly.One of them gave me a scare last night, though." He told about the boywho had asked the date of the Peloponnesian War, and the rest laughed.

  "That was 'Old Earnest,'" said White. "He's been at Maggy's ever sincehe came here."

  "And he will be there awhile yet if he doesn't stick to his courses,"said Lyons. "He took up so many extras last year that he didn't havetime for the required studies and flunked in a couple of them. He's awonder! You'll find him amusing, Rowland, when you get to know him.He's our prize 'grind,' I guess."

  "Rather handy having him around," observed White. "If you ever want toknow anything all you've got to do is run down and ask Ernest Hicks."

  "Yes," agreed Gene, "it's like the signs you see: 'Ask Hicks: heknows!'"

  "He didn't know about the What-you-may-call-it War, though," said FredLyons. "I hope you were able to tell him, Rowland."

  "I wasn't, though," laughed Ira. "I told him it was about the time hesaid, but he seemed to think that was too indefinite."

  "I'll bet he did!" said Gene. "'Old Earnest' would have to know notonly the year but the day of the month, and whether it was in themorning or the afternoon."

  "Wonder why he didn't look it up," remarked White. "He has a library ofencyclopedias and reference books about a mile long."

  "Maybe he'd forgot how to spell the word," suggested Gene. "I have!"

  "Absolutely no criterion," said Lyons. "'Old Earnest' has forgottenmore than you ever knew or ever will know, you ignoramus."

  "Is that so? I'll bet you you don't know who the Peloponnesians were."

  "Don't I? They were inhabitants of Peloponnesia. Ask me a hard one."

  "Well, where was Peloponnesia, then?"

  "Oh, about half-way between Cumner and Springfield," replied Lyonswithout hesitation. "Anybody knows that! By the way, Rowland, I don'tremember seeing you out."

  "Out?" asked Ira.

  "Out for football, I mean. You're trying, of course."

  "No, I'm not. I've never played football. I'd be no good, I guess."

  "Great Jumping Jehosaphat, man!" ejaculated Lyons. "That'll never do!We've got to have you, Rowland. Why, if Driscoll knew there was achap of your build who hadn't showed up he'd be after you with a gun.Seriously, though, Rowland, I wish you'd come out and have a try. Wereally do need husky chaps like you. You're built for a guard if anyfellow ever was, isn't he, Ray?"

  "He certainly is," replied White. "What do you weigh, Rowland?"

  "I don't know. I haven't weighed for a long time. About a hundred andforty-one or -two, I guess."

  "A hundred and fifty-one or -two, more likely," said Lyons. "But you'lldrop some of that. You're a bit soft, I'd say. Haven't you ever triedfootball at all?"

  "No, and I've never seen it played but once. I never thought I'd carefor it."

  "Oh, but you will," replied Lyons confidently. "You're bound to,once you get a taste of it. I wish you'd promise to report tomorrow,Rowland. I'm not exaggerating a bit when I say that we need men theworst way. These chaps will tell you the same thing."

  "We never needed them more," said White. "I could easily be a pessimiston the football situation, Fred. We've never started off with a biggerhandicap."

  "Oh, the fellows will turn out when they know they're really needed,"said Gene comfortably. "You always have to coax them a bit."

  "I wasn't thinking so much of getting material," answered Whitegravely. "What's bothering me--or would bother me if I let it--is theindifference. No one, except a dozen or two of us who play, cares muchthis year whether we have a team or don't have one."

  "You'll see them begin to sit up when you get started," said Gene."I'll grant that football has rather soured at Parkinson, but any sortof a fairly decent team will find support."

  "We've got to find support," said Captain Lyons grimly. "We haven'tenough money to print tickets for next week's game. We nee
d at leasttwo hundred and fifty dollars to get to the Kenwood game. After thatwe'll be able to clear up our debts."

  "Can't you get tick for things until then?" asked Gene.

  "Yes, but if we do we end the season the way we did last year. Therewere only twelve hundred and odd admissions to the game last year andour share was a bit over five hundred after expenses were paid. Andwhen we had settled all our bills, most of which had run all season,we had ninety-something left. Spring expenses took about sixty andwe began this Fall with about thirty dollars in the treasury. We'vealready spent it and a few dollars more. Lowell is advancing money fromhis own pocket for next week's tickets. I've dug down once myself. Theworst of it was that everything had given out together. Usually westart the season with half a dozen good balls and head harnesses andso on, but this year we were short on every blessed thing. The ballswe're using now aren't fit to play with. I tried to get the AthleticAssociation to make us a donation, but Mr. Tasser said there wasalmost no money on hand, and what there was would be needed for othersports. I suppose he's right, but when you consider that until lastyear football has always paid for itself and everything else, exceptbaseball, it seems sort of tough."

  "Wouldn't the students stand a small assessment?" asked Ira.

  "They'd have to if they were assessed," replied Lyons, "but facultywon't allow it. The best we can do is ask for contributions, andthat's what we will have to do. Lowell wanted to do it last year, butSimpson--he was manager--was certain that the Kenwood game would gobig and we'd have enough to settle everything up and leave a startfor this year. You see, Rowland, the trouble is that we've had fourperfectly punk football years running. It's human nature, I suppose,to cheer for a winning team and turn your back on one that loses.Well, we've lost the Kenwood game three years out of four and tied itthe other time, which was three seasons ago. Last year we started outnicely and won five or six games without a hitch. After that we hadtrouble. Our captain couldn't get along with the coach and it came toa show-down and faculty supported the captain, which, to my thinking,it shouldn't have, and Emerson left us about the first of November.Fortunately, we got Mr. Driscoll right away, but the fat was in thefire then, and ten coaches couldn't have pulled things together intime for Kenwood. So we lost again. And now the school is soured onfootball. It's tired of seeing the team beaten, naturally. I don'tblame it altogether."

  "I do," said Gene warmly. "When a team's in trouble is when the schoolought to stand back of it."

  "Well, they stood back of us three years," said Lyons pessimistically,"and it didn't seem to do much good. There's a fine, healthy 'jinx'doing business around here, I guess."

  "When does the meeting come off?" asked Ray White.

  "It isn't decided. We thought we'd better wait until we'd won a gameor two--if we do. I'm glad we've got Mapleton and Country Day to startwith. They ought to be easy."

  "Another thing," remarked White, "is that we've got a punk schedulethis year. We've dropped two of our best opponents."

  "They dropped us, didn't they?" asked Gene. "You mean Harper's andPoly-Tech?"

  "They didn't exactly drop us," said Lyons. "They wanted a guaranteebigger than we could promise. We simply had to let them go. Lowellwants to put down the season ticket price to two dollars so as to getmore fellows to buy them, but I don't believe taking off a half dollarwould make much difference. What we've got to do some way or other isget the school warmed up again. Of course one way to do it is to turnout a winning team, but--well, sometimes I wish someone else had thejob. I can play football, after a fashion, but this thing of financingthe team and worrying about the money end of it is too much for me!"

  "It's hard luck, Fred," said Gene sympathetically. "But just you stickit out, old horse."

  "Oh, I'm not going to quit. Don't worry about that. I'll still beplaying football on the twenty-second of November if I'm playing it allalone. Only it does bother a fellow to have to wonder where the nextbatch of tickets is coming from and whether there'll be enough moneyat the end of the year to pay off the coach. Driscoll, by the way, hasbeen bully about the salary business. We're supposed to pay him fivehundred at the beginning of the season and five hundred at the end, youknow, but he says we can let it all go until November. That'll helpsome!"

  "What gets me," observed White, "is why Tod Driscoll wants to fuss witha job like this, anyway. He ought to get three thousand dollars anyday. He's good, Driscoll is!"

  "I don't believe he will be back here next Fall," said Lyons. "Not at athousand dollars, anyway; and it isn't likely we can pay more. I guessit will be a case of graduate coaching for us. Then--good night!"

  "Aren't graduate coaches satisfactory?" asked Ira.

  "They are if they know their business," replied Lyons, "but the onesthat do are either drawing down good salaries coaching somewhere else,like Tom Nutting and Howard Lane, or they're too busy to give morethan a fortnight to the team. You can't expect a man who is gettingstarted in business to throw it up for two months to coach a footballteam. And you can't expect a man who is getting twenty-five hundred orthree thousand coaching some other team to leave his job and come herefor a thousand. Unfortunately, Rowland, the fellows who would come fora thousand aren't worth it. Good football players are plentiful, butgood football coaches are as scarce as hens' teeth."

  "I wonder," mused Gene, "what would happen if every school coacheditself. I mean, suppose it was agreed that no graduate was to haveanything to do with the teams. What would it be like?"

  "We'd all play punk football," responded White, "but we'd have just asmuch sport. And a heap less trouble."

  "Schools wouldn't stick to the agreement," said Lyons. "They'd begin tosneak in fellows who weren't real students so they could take hold ofthe teams."

  "Oh, come, Fred! There are some honest folks in the world," protestedGene.

  "A heap of them, son, but when it comes to winning at games there'ssomething a bit yellow about us. Fellows who wouldn't crib at an exam,will do all sorts of shady tricks to put it over a rival team. I guessit's because we want to win too hard. Still I'd like to see it triedout, that 'no graduate need apply' idea."

  "So would I," said White, "but I'd rather some other school started it."

  "I'd certainly hate to see the scheme applied to track athletics," saidGene, shaking his head dubiously. "It wouldn't work there."

  "Wouldn't work anywhere," declared Lyons. "Not nowadays. Wait for themillennium. I guess we've bored Rowland stiff with all this seriousguff. We aren't always as dull as we are tonight, Rowland."

  "You haven't bored me," answered Ira, smiling. "I've been interested.Care to know what I've been thinking, Lyons?"

  "Why, yes."

  "Well, I've been thinking that you're pretty lucky."

  "Lucky! Who, me?"

  "Yes. You see, you've got a fine, big man's-size job, and if you manageto make--what do you say?--turn out a good team and get the school tosupport it you've really done something worth doing, haven't you?"

  "Gosh! Rowland's a regular Little Sunbeam," laughed Gene. "I'll bet younever thought of it in that way, Fred."

  "I never did." Lyons smiled and shook his head. "But there's somethingin it, Rowland. There's a lot in it, by Jove! Only thing is, you know,you've got to keep that in mind. If you don't you're likely to consideryourself in hard luck. I'll try to see the bright side of it, Rowland."

  "I suppose that sounded cheeky," said Ira. "I didn't mean it to."

  "Not a bit! And I wasn't sarcastic. I really do mean that I'll try tokeep in mind that it _is_ a big job and that it's worth doing. And,"he added warmly, "I'm mighty glad you said it. It's going to help. Butthere's another way you can help, Rowland, if you will."

  "How is that?"

  "Come out and try for the team tomorrow. Will you?"

  Ira hesitated. "I'd like awfully much to oblige you, Lyons, but Idon't want to do it. I'm quite certain that I'd never be any good atfootball. I guess it takes some quality I haven't got. I don't believea fellow ever makes much of
a success at a thing he hasn't any--anyinclination for. If you don't mind, Lyons, I'd much prefer not to."

  "If it's only not liking the game," said Lyons, "you can take my wordfor it that you will like it after you get to know it better, and----"

  "It isn't that altogether. I'm not a very brilliant fellow at studying,and, of course I did come here to learn. I don't expect to go tocollege and so I want to make the most of this school. And I'm afraidthat playing football would raise hob with studying. It does, doesn'tit?"

  "Not necessarily," answered White. "Fred manages to keep his end upwithout trouble, and so do a lot of others."

  "Don't lie to him," said Lyons. "Football does play hob with yourstudies, Rowland. The only thing is that it lasts but a short while andit leaves you in mighty good shape to buckle down and get caught up.But it's piffle to say that the two things mix well. They don't. I'vealways managed to keep up fairly well in my classes, but how it will bethis year I don't know. Luckily, I've got a fairly easy term ahead ofme. You do just as you think best about trying for the team, old man.We'd like mighty well to have you, and I think you'd make good, butif you think you'd better not, why, that's your affair. Only, if youchange your mind in the next fortnight and see your way to giving us achance to use you, come on out. We need men--I mean likely ones: we'vegot a raft of the other sort--and we can find a place for you somewhereor I miss my guess."

  "Seems to me," observed Ray White, "Rowland is rather losing sight ofthe question of duty."

  "I don't think so," answered Ira, before Gene could interpose. "Seemsto me my duty is toward my dad, who is paying for my schooling. Afterthat to myself. Then to the school."

  "Right," said Lyons heartily.

  "It's a good thing every fellow doesn't look at it that way, then,"grumbled White.

  "If I thought I could help on the football team and still keep up mystudies as I ought to I guess I'd join," said Ira. "I'd like to doanything I could to help. But I don't. Still, it's all pretty new to meyet and maybe after I've been here another week I'll have a better lineon what's going to happen. Maybe I can tell then how much work I'llhave to do." He got up, smiling apologetically at them. "I'm sorry if Iseem unpatriotic," he added.

  "Oh, don't mind Ray," said Gene. "He's a sorehead. And don't hurryoff. The night is still extremely young."

  "Thanks, but I ought to be going. I'm glad to have met you all. Goodnight."

  "Good night, Rowland," answered the football captain. "Don't letanything we've said bother you. Do as you think best. Only rememberthere's a trial awaiting you any time inside the next fortnight andhelp us out if you can."

  Ray White got up and followed Ira to the door. "Sorry if I waspeevish," he said, holding out his hand. "Forget it, Rowland. Get Geneto bring you up to my room some night, will you?"