The ball drifted up in a high arc and landed with several
bounces, stopping five feet from the goal.
Suddenly Richards, McAvoy and Davison came alive and charged after Tom,
who was running for the ball as fast as his weary legs would carry him.
He saw Richards pull up alongside of him, then pass him. Then Davison
and McAvoy closed in on either side to block and give Richards a clear
shot back down the field and a certain score.
Richards reached the ball, stopped and carefully lined up his kick,
certain that his teammates could block out Tom. But the young cadet, in
a last desperate spurt, outraced both McAvoy and Davison. Then, as
Richards cocked his foot to kick, Tom jumped. With a mighty leaping
dive, he sent his body hurtling headlong toward Richards just as he
kicked. Tom's body crashed into the ball and Richards. The two boys went
down in a heap but the ball caromed off his chest and rolled over the
goal line.
The whistle blew ending the game.
In an instant, two thousand officers, cadets and enlisted men went wild
as the ball rolled across the goal line.
The _Polaris_ crew had won eight goals to seven!
From every corner of the field, the crowd cheered the cadets who had
finished the game, had won it in the final seconds with two of them
sprawled on the field unconscious and a third unable to stand on his
feet.
Up in the stands, Captain Strong turned to Commander Walters.
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