He drew a carefully folded slip of paper from his pocket and handed it across to Mills.  The diagram, just as the head coach received it, is reproduced here.

[Illustration]

Mills studied it for a minute in silence; once he grunted; once he looked wonderingly up at Sydney.  In the end he laid it beside him on the desk.

“I think you’ve got it, Burr,” he said quietly, “I think you’ve got it, my boy.  If this works out the way it should, your nightmare will be the luckiest thing that’s happened at Erskine for several years.  Draw your chair up here—­I beg your pardon; I forgot.  I’ll do the moving myself.”  He placed his own chair beside Sydney’s and handed the diagram to him.  “Now just go over this, will you; tell me just what your idea is.”

[Illustration]

Sydney, still excited over the night’s happenings, drew a ready pencil from his pocket, and began rather breathlessly: 

“I’ve placed the Robinson players in the positions that our second team occupies for the tackle-tandem.  Full-back, left tackle, and right half, one behind the other, back of their guard-tackle hole.  Now, as the ball goes into play their tandem starts.  Quarter passes the ball to tackle, or maybe right half, and they plunge through our line.  That’s what they would do if we couldn’t stop them, isn’t it?”

“They would, indeed,” answered Mills grimly.  “About ten yards through our line!”

“Well, now we place our left half in our line between our guard and tackle, and put our full-back behind him, making a tandem of our own.  Quarter stands almost back of guard, and the other half over here.  When the ball is put in play our tandem starts at a jump and hits the opposing tandem just at the moment their quarter passes the ball to their runner.  In other words, we get through on to them before they can get under way.  Our quarter and right half follow up, and, unless I’m away off on my calculations, that tackle-tandem is going to stop on its own side of the line.”

Sydney paused and awaited Mills’s opinion.  The latter was silent a moment.  Then—­

“Of course,” he said, “you’ve thought of what’s going to happen to that left half?”

“Yes,” answered Sydney, “I have.  He’s going to get most horribly banged up.  But he’s going to stop the play.”

“Yes, I think he is—­if he lives,” said Mills with a grim smile.  “The only objection that occurs to me this moment is this:  Have we the right to place any player in a position like this where the punishment is certain to be terrific, if not absolutely dangerous?”

“I’ve thought of that, too,” answered Sydney readily.  “And I don’t believe we—­er—­you have.”

“Well, then I think our play’s dished at the start.”

“Why, not a bit, sir.  Call the players up, explain the thing to them, and tell them you want a man for that position.”

“Ah, ask for volunteers, eh?”