The Gold Bat | Page 4

for Wrykyn by two goals and a try
to a try. But the calculations of the school had been upset by the sudden
departure of Paget at the end of term, and also of Bryce, who had
hitherto been regarded as his understudy. And in the first Ripton match
the two goals had both been scored by Paget, and both had been
brilliant bits of individual play, which a lesser man could not have
carried through.
The conclusion, therefore, at which the school reluctantly arrived, was
that their chances of winning the second match could not be judged by
their previous success. They would have to approach the Easter term
fixture from another--a non-Paget--standpoint. In these circumstances it
became a serious problem: who was to get the fifteenth place? Whoever
played in Paget's stead against Ripton would be certain, if the match
were won, to receive his colours. Who, then, would fill the vacancy?

"Rand-Brown, of course," said the crowd.
But the experts, as we have shown, were of a different opinion.

II
THE GOLD BAT
Trevor did not take long to resume a garb of civilisation. He never
wasted much time over anything. He was gifted with a boundless
energy, which might possibly have made him unpopular had he not
justified it by results. The football of the school had never been in such
a flourishing condition as it had attained to on his succeeding to the
captaincy. It was not only that the first fifteen was good. The
excellence of a first fifteen does not always depend on the captain. But
the games, even down to the very humblest junior game, had woken up
one morning--at the beginning of the previous term--to find themselves,
much to their surprise, organised going concerns. Like the immortal
Captain Pott, Trevor was "a terror to the shirker and the lubber". And
the resemblance was further increased by the fact that he was "a
toughish lot", who was "little, but steel and india-rubber". At first sight
his appearance was not imposing. Paterfamilias, who had heard his
son's eulogies on Trevor's performances during the holidays, and came
down to watch the school play a match, was generally rather
disappointed on seeing five feet six where he had looked for at least six
foot one, and ten stone where he had expected thirteen. But then, what
there was of Trevor was, as previously remarked, steel and india-rubber,
and he certainly played football like a miniature Stoddart. It was
characteristic of him that, though this was the first match of the term,
his condition seemed to be as good as possible. He had done all his
own work on the field and most of Rand-Brown's, and apparently had
not turned a hair. He was one of those conscientious people who train
in the holidays.
When he had changed, he went down the passage to Clowes' study.
Clowes was in the position he frequently took up when the weather was

good--wedged into his window in a sitting position, one leg in the study,
the other hanging outside over space. The indoor leg lacked a boot, so
that it was evident that its owner had at least had the energy to begin to
change. That he had given the thing up after that, exhausted with the
effort, was what one naturally expected from Clowes. He would have
made a splendid actor: he was so good at resting.
"Hurry up and dress," said Trevor; "I want you to come over to the
baths."
"What on earth do you want over at the baths?"
"I want to see O'Hara."
"Oh, yes, I remember. Dexter's are camping out there, aren't they? I
heard they were. Why is it?"
"One of the Dexter kids got measles in the last week of the holidays, so
they shunted all the beds and things across, and the chaps went back
there instead of to the house."
In the winter term the baths were always boarded over and converted
into a sort of extra gymnasium where you could go and box or fence
when there was no room to do it in the real gymnasium. Socker and
stump-cricket were also largely played there, the floor being admirably
suited to such games, though the light was always rather tricky, and
prevented heavy scoring.
"I should think," said Clowes, "from what I've seen of Dexter's beauties,
that Dexter would like them to camp out at the bottom of the baths all
the year round. It would be a happy release for him if they were all
drowned. And I suppose if he had to choose any one of them for a
violent death, he'd pick O'Hara. O'Hara must be a boon to a
house-master. I've known chaps break rules when the spirit moved
them, but he's the only one