CHAPTER V
NOBODY
"Who cheers me up when I feel sad? Nobody!"
sang S. S. softly, as the pupils trooped down the stairs from theassembly room and out the main door.
"Who gets me out when I'm in bad? Nobody!"
It was Roundy who carried on the refrain. "That song is pretty nearright; don't you think so, Bunny?"
"I've stopped thinking," said Bunny shortly. "It's about time to dosomething."
"Do what?"
"That's for us to find out."
Some twenty of the Lakeville High boys were reporting for footballpractice. Those with suits shifted to the basement, where a shower bathand lockers had been installed, while the others tramped directly tothe field back of the schoolhouse, to begin their work with punting anddrop-kicking.
The little basement was crowded with candidates in various stages ofundress. But because their two years of experience had accustomed themto slipping into their togs in a hurry, the seven Scouts were the firstto leave. By common consent, they moved to the shady plot under the bigoak.
"Something has happened," Bunny said briefly. "For some reason, thewhole school is against us. I don't know why; but whatever the reasonis, we'll have to prove that we're the right sort, and that we're nottrying to run the school or anybody else except ourselves. The questionis, how to do it."
"I know how I'd do it," said Specs. "I'd pull right out of thisbusiness, unless they want to treat us right. We've played scrubfootball for two years and made four trips; and I don't believe thereis anybody else in school who has been on a regular eleven. Just saythe word, Bunny, and we'll get up a team of our own."
Roundy growled assent.
"No, we don't want to do that." Bunny doubled his fists emphatically."You remember what Horace Hibbs said about working for the school.Fighting the school isn't the kind of thing Scouts ought to do. Wedon't even care who runs it; all we want is a fair chance to help."
"We won't get it. From now on, Bunny, any time we try something, itwill be Waterloo for us," Nap jerked an indignant nod.
"Why can't we take one of them into the patrol for our eighth member?"put in Bi. "Suppose Buck, for instance--"
Bunny shook his head. "A week or two ago, Buck might have joined theBlack Eagles, but now, if we asked him after this election, he'd thinkwe wanted him because we couldn't get along without him and because wecould run the school through him. And I guess that goes for the rest ofthem, too."
"I know they wouldn't be Scouts," added S. S. "I heard Buck and RoySheffield and Bob Kiproy talking together. What they are trying to dois to get up a secret society to buck our patrol."
"Then there is just one thing for us," Bunny said earnestly, "and thatis to go on being the right kind of Scouts just as hard as we can. Ifwe take care of our good turns, they'll take care of us. And if we areloyal and helpful and trustworthy, and live up to the rest of the Scoutlaw, they're going to take off their hats to us, whether they think sonow or not. What's more, I bet that before the end of the year theywill be asking us how they can form a patrol of their own."
"That's all right!" Specs interrupted suddenly. "Maybe they will--atthe end of the year. But right now four or five of us are going to makethe football team. You know more about the game and can play betterthan anybody else in school. Are they going to elect you captain oraren't they?"
"Can't find out till the votes are counted," Bunny returned cheerily."If anybody nominates me for captain, I'll run, of course."
"Then you'll run, all right," promised Specs. "And if you are notelected, then I'm through with football at this school. Ab-so-lute-ly!I'll take my suit home to-night. Come on; there's Professor Lelandwaving to us."
Gathering the squad about him, the principal explained that the schoolboard had detailed him as coach. "We may as well begin our practice,"he said, "by lining up on both sides of the playground and punting theball back and forth."
First kick at the oval fell to Buck Claxton. Perhaps he was a bitnervous. At any rate, his toe, instead of whirling the ball roof high,sent it tumbling and bounding along the ground, till a low bounce shotit into Bunny's arms.
"Now show 'em what you can do!" urged Specs in a hoarse whisper.
Carefully poising the ball, Bunny booted it up and across the field,till it spun down with a plop into Bi's arms.
"Nice work, Payton!" shouted the coach.
"That's showing him!" commented Specs. "He'll see that you didn't playin the back-field two years for nothing. Why, there isn't anybody elsein the squad who can punt like that."
The next ten minutes proved Specs' boast. Not only could Bunny puntfar and away better than the other candidates, but he could drop-kickalmost as well. And when the players formed in a great circle and fellupon the ball, the members of the Black Eagle Patrol distinguishedthemselves again. With the exception of Roundy, who dove so heavilythat the ball escaped through his arms, the Scouts downed the pigskinas surely as though it were a watermelon. With the others, thispractice did not go as well; even Buck Claxton missed as the ballbounded at an unexpected angle.
"We'll top off with a little running and tackling," announced thecoach, as he retrieved the ball from the last man. "Jones, you takeyour place forty yards down the field, to catch punts and run themback. Kiproy, you go with him to act as interference. And Claxton, whenthe ball is punted, you charge down the field and try to tackle Jonesbetween the knees and waist."
With Bi in position, Kiproy beside him, and Buck crouching on the line,the coach kicked. It was a high punt, and Buck was almost upon the pairbefore the ball plumped into Bi's arms. Kiproy ran toward the tackier,but Buck, swerving to one side, eluded him and drove squarely at Bi'slegs. Had the latter been under full speed, he would have toppledlike a falling tree; instead, checking himself, he jolted back outof the grasping arms, and while Buck floundered in the dust, joggedcomplacently down the field.
"All right, Payton; you act as tackler this time. Claxton catches theball. Jones is the interference."
Specs slapped Bunny on the back. "Show 'em what you can do. Grab thatfellow, if it takes a leg!"
Either Bunny was luckier than Buck, or a better tackler; opinion stooddivided. But whatever the truth of the matter, Bunny skillfully dodgedBi's forward defense (and Bi was playing hard, too) and managed to stopBuck and actually throw the heavier boy backward.
With the next shift, Bunny caught the punt. Buck, with his lack ofexperience, bungled the interference, but Bunny pushed off Sheffieldwith his open palm, and romped safely out of danger. Later, on the lastchange, Bunny shouldered hard-running Peter Barrett out of the way asinterference, thereby giving safe passage to Roundy, even after thelatter had fumbled the ball.
"You are running away with the game, Payton," smiled the coach kindly."If you keep this up, we shall have to put you in a team by yourself."
"What did I tell you!" chuckled Specs. "No matter whether they like theScouts or not, they have to elect you captain. There just isn't anybodyelse."
Bunny said nothing. However much of a glow he felt over ProfessorLeland's compliment, there remained the undeniable fact that the schoolwas at outs with the Black Eagle Patrol. It was unpleasant to be inthis position, but it was worse still to realize how this attitudehampered the Scouts at every turn, both in working for the good of theschool and in creating interest in the Scout movement.
Specs insisted, in a very audible whisper, that Rodman Cree was partand parcel of this conspiracy, and even hinted that he had purposelytried to lose the relay race, both while it was being run andafterward, and had later prevented a fitting nomination for presidencyof the student association.
"Look at that!" he growled, as Rodman failed in an easy tackle. "He'sno good at anything in the world; anybody can see that. But he makeshimself solid with the other crowd by hitting at us."
Meanwhile, could they have known it, Royal Sheffield was saying muchthe same thing about poor Rodman, except that it was Sheffield's ideathat the new boy was trying to
"get in" with the Scouts by workingagainst the balance of the school.
"Good enough!" commented the coach, as the last uniformed player wentdown the field for a tackle. "We have the material for a strong team.Now I want you to elect a good man captain, and we shall call it aday's work."
There was a moment's silence in the crowd gathered about ProfessorLeland, which was broken by Specs, his voice high-pitched and shrill.
"I nominate the best player in the squad--Bunny Payton!"
Without hesitation, Sheffield nominated Buck Claxton; and Jack Turner,whose farm adjoined the Barrett place, put forward Peter.
"If anybody has the nerve to vote for Buck after the showing he hasmade this afternoon," said Specs hoarsely, "I'll eat my hat."
The coach himself collected the bits of paper which had beendistributed as ballots, and counted the returns.
"The vote stands as follows," he said slowly. "Barrett has receivedtwo, Payton seven, and Claxton eleven. Claxton is therefore electedcaptain of the team. The practice to-morrow night will be at the sametime. All those who have no suits will see me before they go home."
The Scouts stood dumbfounded. Bunny was the first to recover, leavingthe group and walking over to congratulate Buck with a warm handshake.
"Well," observed Specs, "what about it? Do we quit this rottenbusiness, or don't we?"
"No," Bunny snapped, "we don't. We keep right on practicing everynight. If they won't put us on the first eleven, we'll play on thesecond."
"You can play on the third, if you feel like it." Specs had completelylost his temper. "As for me, I've eaten all the crow that's good forme. I'm through!" He turned his back and walked rapidly toward thebasement.
For a long moment, Bunny stood fast on the field, while the others ofthe squad drifted toward the dressing room. Rodman Cree he could seewaiting uneasily at one side, as if he wished to come up and speak tohim. But though Bunny had none of Specs' feeling toward Rodman, at thatparticular moment he did not wish to speak to anybody. He stared towardthe road, pretending to be unconscious of the other's presence.
From the basement floated the tenor voice of S. S., singing the finalrefrain of the "Nobody" song:
"Who cares for us an awful lot? Who always helps us on the dot? Who is the only friend we've got?"
And the final word, roared by all of the six Scouts, came out in athundering:
"NOBODY!"