At that moment young Prescott had no idea how easily a few minutes could bring one from the best possible condition to the brink of physical despair.

CHAPTER XIX

LAURA AND BELLE HAVE A SECRET

“Only a team of fools would hope to stop Gridley High School this year.”

Thus stated the Elliston “Tribune” after Gridley had walked through Elliston High School, one of the strongest school teams of the state, by a score of eight to nothing.

That copy of “The Tribune” found its way over to Gridley, and fell into the hands of some of the High School boys.

“Be careful, young men,” warned Mr. Morton.  “Don’t get it too seriously into your heads that you can’t be beaten, or your downfall will date from that hour.  The true idea is not that on can’t be beaten, but that you won’t.  Stick to the latter idea as well as you do to your training, and it will be a good eleven, indeed, that can get a game away from you.”

“Only two more to play this year, anyway,” replied Hudson.  “We can’t lose much.”

“The team might lose two, and that would a worse record than any Gridley eleven has made in five years,” retorted Mr. Morton dryly.

“We won’t lose ’em, though,” rejoined Tom Reade.  “Every fellow in the squad is in a conspiracy to pull the eleven through the next two games—–­by its hair, if necessary.”

“That line of thought is better than conceit,” smiled the coach.

The game with Paunceboro High School came off, one of the most stubbornly fought battles that Gridley had ever entered.  It seemed impossible to score against this enemy.

Again and again Dick broke around the left end in a spirited dash, or Dan Dalzell made one of his swift sorties at right end.  Then, by the time that Paunceboro had grown used to end dashes, Gridley would make a smashing charge at center.

All these styles of attack, however, Paunceboro met smilingly.  In the first half there was no score.

Yet Paunceboro did not succeed any better in getting through or around Gridley’s line of flexible human steel.  Until within ten minutes before the close of the second half, it looked like a tie between giants of the school gridiron.

Then, by a series of feints in which Prescott, Darrin, Drayne and Hudson bore off the most brilliant honors, although all under Wadleigh’s planning, Paunceboro was sorely pressed down against its own goal line.

Just in the nick of time Paunceboro made a safety, and thus sent the ball back up the field.  But it cost Paunceboro two reluctantly-given points, and that was the score—–­two to nothing.

Gridley was still victor in every game so far played in the season.  November was now far along, and there remained only the great Thanksgiving Day game.  This contest, against Filmore High School, was to be fought out on the Gridley field.