Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1895-04-20
THE FOOTBALL BOY.


Bartlett that Roger was apparently
quite devoid of any worthy ambition.
Their two older boys were SO utterly
different. Fred had been graduated
from Yale with highest honors, and
Horace was making remarkable progress
at the Scientific school. In fact, they
were both exceptionally fine students,
which made the contrast all the more
striking.
For Roger was sadly unlike his broth
ers. He seemed to labor under the i'm
preston that he had been sent to college
learning to play football. Apparently
nothing else had power to kindle the
slightest enthusiasm in his sluggish
breast, and his father and mother ar
gued and eXpostulated with him in vain.
You are frittering away your valua-
BILE time, they argued again and again,
land are letting slip golden opportu
mites, which, once gone, never will
come back to you, and what have you to
show for it all but broken nose and a
fractured collar bone?"
''Is there any prospective benefit to be
derived from these hours spent in scrab-
bling after football?" his father ques-
toned severely. to which Roger merely
responded in his usual offhand style,
"Who knows but may be elected cap
tain of the varsity team next year?"
''Is that the height of your ambi-
tion?' his parent returned bitterly. II
am terribly disappointed in you, sir.
Are you to go on playing football for
ever and ever, or what do you propose
to mako Of your life? Perhaps you think
that your reputation as q football player
will prove an open sesame to all de-
sirable positions. Do you suppose that
any one wants q fellow who has will
fully wasted his best opportunities?
had hoped to make professional man
Of you-not a professional athlete-and
had even aspired to seeing you some day
in our leading law office with my old
friend Wilkinson Smalley. but it's no
use. Smalley wants only young men Of
tho highest promise" and Mr.. Bartlett
sighed wearily.
''It does no good to talk to Roger, Z"
he confided to his wife afterward, "for
hardly ten minutes had elapsed after I
had been demonstrating with him about
the evils of football before he inquired
if wouldn't bring you down to see the
game on Saturday and informed me that
he had saved two tickets for US. "
Mrs. Bartlett regarded her husband
helplessly. "What did you say to him
them" she queried.
~ told him certainly not, " Mr..
Bartlett exclaimed warmly, land ex-
pressed my surprise at his daring to
suggest such thing Show me some
lasting benefit, or any abiding good,
that is to be derived from this ridicu-
lous game told him, and then come
to me to abet you in such folly, but not
till then. -
And SO Mr.. and Mrs. Bartlett failed
to witness that memorable game in
which their youngest son gained for
| himself such enviable laurels. Onco in
the field, Roger was like one trans
formed. Keen, alert, cool, rising splen-
| didly to every emergency, no one would
| have known him for the same slow, in
different, easy going specimen of hu-
manity who grieved the ambitious souls
of his parents by his small aptitude for
| Greek
Not that Roger was by any means q
Ounce, for his class standing was fairly
good, but what panied his father and
mother was the recognition of what he
might have accomplished had it not
been for that arch enemy, football.
The great game over, the victorious
team hastened back to their gymnasium
with all possible speed. They had some
little distance to CO. as the gymnasium
was not very near the ball grounds, SO
that in order to reach it they were
obliged to traverse the center of the
town and cross the railroad tracks.
Roger, who had been detained mo-
ment or so longer than the others,
reached the station short time after
they had crossed and found the plat.
forms crowded with people who were
returning from the game, mingled with
those who were alighting from incom-
ing trains. AS he stepped upon the plat
form he became conscious that some.
thing unusual was going ON, and he i'm
mediately perceived that the eyes Of the
multitude were riveted upon figure
half way across the tracks, figure paus,
ing there in bewilderment.
'There's train coming each way, "
somebody gasped. "Why doesn't he get
off of the track?"
The gtation agent and one or two