quarter to five
The thickest scrummage parts asunder before his rush , like the waves before a clipper 's bows ; his cheery voice rings out over the field , and his eye is everywhere . And if these miss the ball , and it rolls dangerously in front of our goal , Crab Jones and his men have seized it and sent it away towards the sides with the unerring drop-kick . This is worth living for -- the whole sum of school-boy existence gathered up into one straining , struggling half-hour , a half-hour worth a year of common life . The quarter to five has struck , and the play slackens for a minute before goal ; but there is Crew , the artful dodger , driving the ball in behind our goal , on the island side , where our quarters are weakest . Is there no one to meet him ? Yes ; look at little East ! The ball is just at equal distances between the two , and they rush together , the young man of seventeen and the boy of twelve , and kick it at the same moment .