So, in the next dash, Prescott and Holmes had but little to do.  The Army lost the ball.

Immediately it looked as though Ennis, captain of Lehigh, had heard all about the new Army left end and left tackle, for Lehigh’s own sturdy right end came forward with the ball.  Dick and Greg both dashed furiously at him, but Greg was hurled aside by Lehigh’s interference.  Dick, however, held Lehigh’s right end dragged the Army man for a yard; then others joined in the melee, and the ball was down.

Lehigh advanced some twenty yards before being compelled to give up the ball.  It became more and more plain that the visitors intended forcing the fighting around the Army’s left end.  At last, however, the Army balked the game, and returned to the attack, trying to regain some of the lost Army territory.

“They’re going to pound us, Greg,” whispered Dick in one of the pauses of the game.  “We were all right in the High School days, but we’re playing with tremendously bigger men now.”

Even Brayton began to question his judgment having taken these two men so recently on the team.

“If I had been able to train them from the first, they’d have been all right,” muttered the captain of the Army Eleven.

To ease up on Prescott and Holmes, Brayton directed, as often as possible, charges through the center, or right-end rushes.  But almost half of the time Lehigh seemed bent on bearing down the Army’s left end.  The hard work was beginning to tell on both Dick and Greg.

Yet it was a long tine, after all, before Lehigh managed to score a touchdown.  When the time came, however, the visitors also made their kick for goal, and the score was Lehigh, 6; Army, 0.  “Humph!” remarked Cadet Haynes, for the dozenth time.  All his fellow subs. had moved away from him.  They were disappointed, but they realized that Prescott and Holmes had entered the game under brilliant promise, yet without training.

Dutifully the cadet cheer-master kept at his work, but now the responses came with less volume from the corps of cadets, who were truly sitting on anxious seats.

In the interval of rest, Lieutenant Carney talked anxiously with Brayton.

“Have we made a mistake in Prescott and Holmes?” asked the coach.

“What do you think, sir!” asked Brayton.

“If we had had that pair in training from the outset,” replied the Army officer, “I’m satisfied that they would have made a better showing.  Lehigh isn’t a particularly strong team, but they have one of the best right-end assaults that I’ve seen in some time.  It’s really too bad that Prescott and Holmes, in their first game, are put against such a strong, clever assault.”

“Well, we can’t put Haynes in now, unless Prescott should be injured,” replied Brayton.

“Haynes?” repeated the Army coach.  “I’m glad he’s not on your line today.  Training and all, Haynes isn’t the man to match Prescott, even without training.”