The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1899-10-06


help remarking, you were somewhat
reckless in your undertakings"
so Lucy seemed TO think" he ad
mitted. "She limited that promise wa.
not quite the same thing as perform
ance, and - and - seemed doubtful
whether loved her as much as l said
/ did"
"You had told her you loved her
then?"
"Of course had. ! sandwiched that
in among the cricket. But / have not
repeated it to YOU" he said, with a
nervous laugh, because - because
the sort Of things one says when one is
proposing - don't you know - well,
they might sound bit OIL when re-
ported i'm cold blood"
VERY likely" l replied. "But when
she expressed herself doubtful Of the
reality Of your love, what did you say
then?"
Il implored her to put me TO the test
and see."
"And what did she say to that?"
"She said she would; but she would
be more lenient than to insist on so
tremendous a test as l myself had sug-
gested. She would not stand out for
my becoming a compound Raniitsinhii-
Palairet Abel Shrewsbury-Gunn-Mc-
Laren-Jackson. She would be quite
satisfied If made 80 against Cambridge
at Lords"
"Oh, she would?"
ayes. If make my 30 It will be the
same thing as If she had said yes to my
proposal"
THAT was very kind of her." re
marked.
"Ah, there you go laughing at me.
You think haven't a chance of making
80. But you may prove mistaken, my
dear girl"
What you think you are good
for the runs?"
81 don't say that. But Pm going TO
make a big effort. Such an effort as no
fellow ever made before. Ofcourse, it's
unlikely I shall succeed. But worse
buffers than I have scored 30 before
now. And, as l say, I'm going to have
a good try"
ut SENS TO me-" I could not help re-
marking, "that If Lucy really cares
about you, it was rather a strange con-
dition for her to impose"
| said no more. Jack was in too abb
surd a state TO argue with. But Of
course saw Lucy's game. 1t did not
suit her TO refuse him outright, and so
to drive him from her circle Of beaux;
nor yet TO accept him, and so commit
herself. She had, therefore, turned 10
of in the manner described. And
doubtless she had so managed it that
even If Jack did fulfill the condition
which she must have known TO be wild
ly improbable-she could make it out
that it had never been seriously meant.
in fact, Ii was a Observation-Disclosures
lose" sort of an agreement, by which
simple Jack alone was meant to be
bound.
Simplel All, that poor boys Grass,
infantine simplicity! lie took it quite
au grand serieux. He never saw that
he was being fooled; that his honest
love was being played with, made a
joke Of. 1t really seemed inconceivable
that anybody could be so blind. Yet so
II was. lie applied himself from that
day forward to the improvement of his
batting with all the earnestness Of one
whose life depended on il. l don't
know how much money he spent on
professionals at the nets; but - with
the regular fees. and a trife of five shil-
lings ION the wicket"-it must have
totted up to a handsome sum. His
friends none of whom were in the Sc
cret) could not make IT out
"What the dickens has come over the
Fanner2 (Such was their regulation
varsity version of Fanshawe's name)
Does he think he's going to make a
bloming bat Of himself?' "'Pon my
Sam, though, he's beginning to shape
lie did stop some teasers
from Attewell in the match yesterday.
eyes, in a style Of his own "Style be
hanged. lIe. stopped 'em. Ranjy or
Stoddart couldn't have done more"
"Well, I always say that a wicket-keep-
er ought to be able to bat II he gives his
mind TO it. He's bound to have a good
eye. And no one has so much practice
in watching the ball from the pitch"
etc.
These remarks | heard made at
luncheon in Common. week. OF
course, said nothing. was not
going to give Jack away. But il did
strike me as little short Of marvellous
that he should have taken that condi-
tion of Lucy Cleverly's in such deadly
earnest. That he was improving him
self as a batsman was beyond dispute
He made % not out that week against
Lancashire, playing Mold and Briggs
with considerable nerve. True, his
style. as one Of his critics had said was
q style of his own. But, after all. TO
succeed in your own style Is good
deal better than TO fail in some one
slse's. And that this %, not out, was
not a mere nuke, Jack showed by COM
piling useful 30 against the NJ. c. Cat
Lords helping to put on so for the last
wicket, and knocking off Mead and
Rawlin. So that, after an, his chance
Of making 80 against Cambridge was
hardly so extravagantly improbable as
had supposed. II was not likely, in-
deed But it was possible. Would he
succeed I'm ringing IL of? / confess