Hugo’s throat was dry. “Natural?”
“That’s the best word, I guess. You were never like my other boys, in any case. So I thought I’d find out what I could. I must admit that my efforts with your father were a failure. Aside from the fact that he is an able biology teacher and that he had a number of queer theories years ago, I learned nothing. But I did find out what those theories were. Do you want me to stop?”
A peculiar, almost hopeful expression was on Hugo’s face. “No,” he answered.
“Well, they had to do with the biochemistry of cellular structure, didn’t they? And with the production of energy in cells? And then—I talked to lots of people. I heard about Samson.”
“Samson!” Hugo echoed, as if the dead had spoken.
“Samson—the cat.”
Hugo was as pale as chalk. His eyes burned darkly. He felt that his universe was slipping from beneath him. “You know, then,” he said.
“I don’t know, Hugo. I merely guessed. I was going to ask. Now I shall not. Perhaps I do know. But I had another question, son—”
“Yes?” Hugo looked at Woodman and felt then the reason for his success as a coach, as a leader and master of youth. He understood it.
“Well, I wondered if you thought it was worth while to talk to your father and discover—”
“What he did?” Hugo suggested hoarsely.
Woodman put his hand on Hugo’s knee. “What he did, son. You ought to know by this time what it means. I’ve been watching you. I don’t want your head to swell, but you’re a great boy, Hugo. Not only in beef. You have a brain and an imagination and a sense of moral responsibility. You’ll come out better than the rest—you would even without your—your particular talent. And I thought you might think that the rest of humanity would profit—”
Hugo jumped to his feet. “No. A thousand times no. For the love of Christ—no! You don’t know or understand, you can’t conceive, Woodie, what it means to have it. You don’t have the faintest idea of its amount—what it tempts you with—what they did to me and I did to myself to beat it—if I have beaten it.” He laughed. “Listen, Woodie. Anything I want is mine. Anything I desire I can take. No one can hinder. And sometimes I sweat all night for fear some day I shall lose my temper. There’s a desire in me to break and destroy and wreck that—oh, hell—”
Woodman waited. Then he spoke quietly. “You’re sure, Hugo, that the desire to be the only one—like that—has nothing to do with it?”
Hugo’s sole response was to look into Woodman’s eyes, a look so pregnant with meaning, so tortured, so humble, that the coach swore softly. Then he held out his hand. “Well, Hugo, that’s all. You’ve been damn swell about it. The way I hoped you would be. And I think my answer is plain. One thing. As long as I live, I promise on my oath I’ll never give you away or support any rumor that hurts your secret.”
Even Hugo was stirred to a consciousness of the strength of the other man’s grip.
Saturday. A shrill whistle. The thump of leather against leather. The roar of the stadium.
Hugo leaned forward. He watched his fellows from the bench. They rushed across the field. Lefty caught the ball. Eddie Carter interfered with the first man, Bimbo Gaines with the second. The third slammed Lefty against the earth. Three downs. Eight yards. A kick. New Haven brought the ball to its twenty-one-yard line. The men in helmets formed again. A coughing voice. Pandemonium. Again in line. The voice. The riot of figures suddenly still. Again. A kick. Lefty with the ball, and Bimbo Gaines leading him, his big body a shield. Down. A break and a run for twenty-eight yards. Must have been Chuck. Good old Chuck. He’d be playing the game of his life. Graduation next spring. Four, seven, eleven, thirty-two, fifty-five. Hugo anticipated the spreading of the players. He looked where the ball would be thrown. He watched Minton, the end, spring forward, saw him falter, saw the opposing quarterback run in, saw Lefty thrown, saw the ball received by the enemy and moved up, saw the opposing back spilled nastily. His heart beat faster.
No score at the end of the first half. The third quarter witnessed the crossing of Webster’s goal. Struggling grimly, gamely, against a team that was their superior without Hugo, against a team heartened by the knowledge that Hugo was not facing it, Webster’s players were being beaten. The goal was not kicked. It made the score six to nothing against Webster. Hugo saw the captain rip off his headgear and throw it angrily on the ground. He understood all that was going on in the minds of his team in a clear, although remote, way. They went out to show that they could play the game without Hugo Danner. And they were not showing what they had hoped to show. A few minutes later their opponents made a second touchdown.
Thirteen to nothing. Mr. Woodman moved beside Hugo. “They can’t do it—and I don’t altogether blame them. They’ve depended on you too much. It’s too bad. We all have.”
Hugo nodded. “Shall I go in?”
The coach watched the next play. “I guess you better.”
When Hugo entered the line, Jerry Painter and Lefty spoke to him in strained tones. “You’ve got to take it over, Hugo—all the way.”
“All right.”
The men lined up. A tense silence had fallen on the Yale line. They knew what was going to happen. The signals were called, the ball shot back to Lefty, Hugo began to run, the men in front rushed together, and Lefty stuffed the ball into Hugo’s arms. “Go on,” he shouted. The touchdown was made in one play. Hugo saw a narrow hole and scooted into it. A man met his outstretched arm on the other side. Another. Hugo
