Argosy All-Story Weekly, November 12, 1927 — page 118: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

592 he fought with all that was in him, but the taunts of: “‘ Look out, Apollo, we’ll ruin your face,” checked every movement. And Butcher Merrick, at end, leered every time he tumbled heavily, sneered at every runner he let slip through. The last whistle was merciful, but he knew another ordeal was in store for him. “Listen you, Apollo,” began Coach Flanagan in no gentle tones, “ are you so damned careless about your chances on the team that you throw away games? We had those bozos beat good to-day, and you pull a cork leg. Every time a man touched you, you dropped, and you went up to their runners like you wanted to play tag. Be- lieve me, you gotta do more’n tag them cutthroats to bring ’°em down, savvy? You gotta hit.’em. “You don’t savvy that, do you, Apollo? You don’t believe in the old battle cry of hittin’ ’em low, hard, and often. Scared of your priceless mug, eh? That’s what everybody told me, but I thought I’d give you a chance. This is my first year as coach here, and I’m aimin’ to make a rec- ord, see? I ain’t handled a losin’ team yet; and this is my first chance in the big leagues, and I’m not changing my record’ now. “Four games this year, and no defeats so far. Now we drop a 7 to 7 tie to those Lakeville yaps, when we should ’a’ ate ’em up. Drop it, that’s what we did, for we was picked and groomed to win. Now look you: Cap’n Habisch and a coupla others tell me you came here with a pretty good prep school record, and you didn’t do so bad on the freshman team. But your last two years you hung on the scrubs when you should ’a’ been on the varsity. They say they gave you a few chances, but you didn’t play up—not exactly yeller, under- stand—just scared of that mug 0’ yourn. “Now look, Apollo: I seen you wasn’t knockin’ ’em cold while you was on the scrubs. But I also seen you had somethin’ in you. You’re a fast bozo; you gotta good build, ’ll hand you that; and you know how to handle yourself. So when Bill Scraggin was out to-day I give you a chance in one of Holwood’s biggest games. And you muffed it, you did! ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. ‘“ Now if you want to as much as see a field from the inside these last four games —and they’re the last four games of your college career—you gotta forget that face. Forget it, Apollo, forget it!” Standing before the mirror that night, dressing for the dance of Holwood and Lakeville, Steve Ferris regarded the face which was the cause of his misfortune. He gritted his teeth and watched the deter- mined look appear on his priceless physiog- nomy. He smiled ruefully and murmured: “TI want to make the team, but—I almost be- lieve—the preservation of my looks is worth the sacrifice. After all, I’m out of college for the rest of my life when I grad- uate, and I don’t know if a football letter will sell the bonds that my face might. And I don’t believe Germaine would be so anx- ious to be Mrs. Stephen Barrister Ferris if I had a—broken nose, for instance.” With some return of complacency he went down to dinner. His fraternity brothers were none too cordial. Steve was their only representative on the football team. True, Conroy was doing fairly well on the scrubs, but nothing much was ex- pected of him. Ted Bronson was playing a good game at end on the freshman team, and he was bid up. But Steve was the only man they depended on this year for foot- ball. The Alpha Alpha Gammas had gone in rather heavily for literary and social men in the past few years; but last year had seen the graduation of a good flock. Mere- dith Cullingsby, their social lion, had trans- ferred to Yale. Jock Tolwell, the brilliant editor of the Holwood Rage, had been ex- pelled when that organ was barred from the mails and discontinued publication. Now the Alpha Alpha Gammas were in a fine plight for prominent men, and one Stephen Ferris was letting them down most dreadfully because of his dream-producing profile. Scowls met Steve’s pleasantries, and he felt that the boys were using him rather badly. Altogether he wasn’t feeling too happy at the dance. At last he was alone with Germaine Rivers. Now he turned the full potence of TA .OO com cS (G (E(@)