from the Listening Hills (Ss) (2004) by L'amour Louis

Author:L'amour, Louis [L'amour, Louis]
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2010-12-12T06:26:19.437000+00:00

Moran of the Tigers

FLASH MORAN TOOK the ball on the Rangers' thirty yard line, running with his head up, eyes alert. He was a money player, and a ground gainer who took the openings where he found them.

The play was called for off tackle. Murphy had the hole open for him, and Flash put his head down and went through, running like a madman. He hit a two-hundred-pound tackle in the midriff and set him back ten feet and plowed on for nine yards before he was downed.

Higgins called for a pass and Flash dropped back and took the ball. Swindler went around end fast and was cutting over when Flash rifled the ball to him with a pass that fairly smoked. He took it without slowing and started for the end zone. Weaving, a big Ranger lineman missed him, and he went on to be downed on the two yard line by a Ranger named Fenton, a wiry lad new in pro football.

"All right, Flash," Higgins said as they trotted back. "I'm sending you right through the middle for this one."

Flash nodded. The ball was snapped, and as Higgins wheeled and shoved it into his middle, he turned sharply and went through the line with a crash of leather that could be heard in the top rows. He went through and he was downed safely in the end zone. He got up as the whistle shrilled, and grinned at Higgins. "Well, there's another one for Pop. If we can keep this up, the Old Man will be in the money again."

"Right." Tom Higgins was limping a little, but grinning. "It's lucky for him he's got a loyal bunch. Not a man offered to back out when he laid his cards on the table."

"No," Flash agreed, "but I'm worried. Lon Cramp has been after some of the boys. He's got money, and he's willing to pay anything to get in there with a championship team. He's already got Johnny Hill from the Rangers, doubled his salary, and he got Kowalski from the Brewers. He hasn't started on us, but I'm expecting it."

"It'll be you he's after," Tom Higgins said, glancing at the big halfback. "You were the biggest ground gainer in the league last year, and a triple-threat man."

"Maybe. But there's others, too. Hagan, for instance. And he needs the money with all those operations for his wife. He's the best tackle in pro football."

POP DOLAN WAS standing in the dressing room grinning when they came in. "Thanks, boys," he said, "I can't tell you what this means to me. I don't mean the winning, so much as the loyalty."

Flash Moran sat down and began to unlace his shoes. Pop Dolan had started in pro football on a shoestring and a lot of goodwill. He had made it pay. His first two years had been successful beyond anybody's expectations, but Pop hadn't banked all the money, he had split a good third of the take with the team, over and above their salaries.

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