The Holiday Round | Page 9

long hops with his right."
In the next over nothing much happened, except that Miss Debenham missed a sitter. Subsequently Simpson caught her eye from another part of the field, and explained telegraphically to her how she should have drawn her hands in to receive the ball. The third over was entrusted to Sarah.
"So far," said Dahlia, half an hour later, "the Rabbits have not shone. Sarah is doing it all."
"Hang it, Dahlia, Thomas and I discovered the child. Give the credit where it is due."
"Well, why don't you put my Bobby on, then? Boys are allowed to play right-handed, you know."
So Bobby went on, and with Sarah's help finished off the innings.
"Jolly good rot," he said to Simpson, "you're having to bowl left-handed."
"My dear Robert," I said, "Mr Simpson is a natural base-ball pitcher, he has an acquired swerve at bandy, and he is a lepidopterist of considerable charm. But he can't bowl with either hand."
"Coo!" said Bobby.
The allies came out even more strongly when we went in to bat. I was the only Rabbit who made ten, and my whole innings was played in an atmosphere of suspicion very trying to a sensitive man. Mrs Oakley was in when I took guard, and I played out the over with great care, being morally bowled by every ball. At the end of it a horrible thought occurred to me: I had been batting right-handed! Naturally I changed round for my next ball. (Movements of surprise.)
"Hallo," said the wicket-keeper, "I thought you were left-handed; why aren't you playing right?"
"No, I'm really right-handed," I said. "I played that way by mistake just now. Sorry."
He grunted sceptically, and the bowler came up to have things explained to her. The next ball I hit left-handed for six. (LOUD MUTTERS.)
"Is he really right-handed?" the bowler asked Mrs Oakley.
"I don't know," she said, "I've never seen him before." (SENSATION.)
"I think, if you don't mind, we'd rather you played right-handed."
"Certainly." The next ball was a full pitch, and I took a right-handed six. There was an awful hush. I looked round at the field and prepared to run for it. I felt that they suspected me of all the undiscovered crimes of the year.
"Look here," I said, nearly crying, "I'll play any way you like--sideways, or upside down, or hanging on to the branch of a tree, or--"
The atmosphere was too much for me. I trod on my wickets, burst into tears, and bolted to the tent.
. . . . . . .
"Well," said Dahlia, "we won."
"Yes," we all agreed, "we won."
"Even if we didn't do much of it ourselves," Simpson pointed out, "we had jolly good fun."
"We always have THAT," said Myra.

THE HOUSE-WARMING
I.--WORK FOR ALL

"Well," said Dahlia, "what do you think of it?"
I knocked the ashes out of my after-breakfast pipe, arranged the cushions of my deck-chair, and let my eyes wander lazily over the house and its surroundings. After a year of hotels and other people's houses, Dahlia and Archie had come into their own.
"I've no complaints," I said happily.
A vision of white and gold appeared in the doorway and glided over the lawn toward us--Myra with a jug.
"None at all," said Simpson, sitting up eagerly.
"But Thomas isn't quite satisfied with one of the bathrooms, I'm afraid. I heard him saying something in the passage about it this morning when I was inside."
"I asked if you'd gone to sleep in the bath," explained Thomas.
"I hadn't. It is practically impossible, Thomas, to go to sleep in a cold bath."
"Except, perhaps, for a Civil Servant," said Blair.
"Exactly. Of the practice in the Admiralty Thomas can tell us later on. For myself I was at the window looking at the beautiful view."
"Why can't you look at it from your own window instead of keeping people out of the bathroom?" grunted Thomas.
"Because the view from my room is an entirely different one."
"There is no stint in this house," Dahlia pointed out.
"No," said Simpson, jumping up excitedly.
Myra put the jug of cider down in front of us.
"There!" she said. "Please count it, and see that I haven't drunk any on the way."
"This is awfully nice of you, Myra. And a complete surprise to all of us except Simpson. We shall probably be here again to-morrow about the same time."
There was a long silence, broken only by the extremely jolly sound of liquid falling from a height.
Just as it was coming to an end Archie appeared suddenly among us and dropped on the grass by the side of Dahlia. Simpson looked guiltily at the empty jug, and then leant down to his host.
"TO-MORROW!" he said in a stage whisper. "ABOUT THE SAME TIME."
"I doubt it," said Archie.
"I know it for a fact," protested Simpson.
"I'm afraid Myra and Samuel made an assignation for this morning," said Dahlia.
"There's nothing in it, really," said