And so the Erskine players were plainly given to understand the next day that they had not acquired all the glory they thought they had.  The advance guard of the assistant coaches put in an appearance in the shape of Jones and Preston, both old Erskine football men, and took hold with a vim.  Jones, a former guard, a big man with bristling black hair, took the line men under his wing and made them jump.  Neil, Paul, and several others were taken in hand by Preston, and were daily put through a vigorous course of punting and kicking.  Neil was fast acquiring speed and certainty in the art of kicking goals from drop and placement, while Paul promised to turn out a fair second choice.

Jones, as every one soon learned, was far from satisfied with the line of material at his disposal.  He wanted more weight, especially in the center trio, and was soon pleading with Mills to have Cowan reinstated.  The head coach ultimately relented, and Devoe was given to understand that if Cowan expressed himself decently regretful and determined to do good work he could go back into the second.  The big sophomore, who, by his frequent avowals, was in college for no other purpose than to play football, had simply been lost since his dismissal, and, upon hearing Devoe’s message, eagerly came off his high horse and made a visit to Mills.  What he said and what Mills said is not known; but Cowan went back into the second team at right-guard, and on Saturday was given a try at that position in the game with Erstham.  He did so well that Jones was highly pleased, and Mills found it in his heart to forgive.  The results of the Erstham game were both unexpected and important.

Instead of the comparatively easy victory anticipated, Erskine barely managed to save herself from being played to a standstill, and the final figures were 6-0 in her favor.  The score was made in the last eight minutes of the second half by fierce line-bucking, but not before half of the purple line had given place to substitutes, and one of the back-field had been carried bodily off the gridiron.

With the ball on Erstham’s twenty-six yards, where it had been desperately carried by the relentless plunging and hurdling of Neil, Smith, and Mason, Erstham twice successfully repelled the onslaught, and it was Erskine’s third down with two yards to gain.  To lose the ball by kicking was the last thing to be thought of, and so, despite the fact that hitherto well-nigh every attempt at end running had met with failure, Foster gave the ball to Neil for a try around the Erstham left end.  It was a forlorn hope, and unfortunately Erstham was looking for it.  Neil found his outlet blocked by his own interference, and was forced to run far out into the field.  The play was a failure from the first.  Erstham’s big right half and an equally big line man tackled Neil simultaneously for a loss and threw him heavily.