‘It’s got to be done, and I’ll do it,’ Edgar thought to himself when pondering over a difficult task, and he generally succeeded.
The Redbank lads took a defeat from their great opponents, the eleven of Fairfield College, with a very bad grace. Not that they allowed their successful opponents to see their chagrin4, they were too manly5 for that, but they felt the defeat keenly.
Edgar Foster determined6 to win the return match if possible. He had taken great care to select his eleven, and felt confident of success. He was the more eager to win because his father was coming to Redbank to watch the game. Dr. Hook too was anxious his boys should regain7 their lost laurels8, and he encouraged Edgar by his kindly9 advice.
It so happened that Raymond Rakes, despite his many bad qualities, was a very fair cricketer. He had not been chosen to play in the first match against Fairfield, and he put his being left out of the team down to Edgar’s animosity.
Edgar Foster, however, was not actuated by any such motive10. He thought Rakes hardly good enough, and therefore did not select him. Since this match Rakes had shown such good form that Edgar decided11 to include him in the eleven for the return match.
Bully Rakes was much surprised when Edgar asked him to play. He said he would think over the matter, and complained about not being chosen in the first match.
‘You had not shown good enough form then,’ said Edgar; ‘you have come on wonderfully since, and therefore I ask you to play. It is for the honour of the school we are playing this time, so you ought to have no hesitation12.’
‘Then I’ll play,’ said Rakes, in his usual surly manner.
‘And I hope you will make a good score,’ said Edgar.
As the captain of the Redbank eleven walked away, Rakes looked after him with no friendly eyes. He had never forgotten the humiliating defeat he sustained when Edgar first came to the school. No opportunity had yet occurred of paying off the grudge13 he owed Edgar on that account.
‘He’s set his heart on winning this match,’ muttered Rakes to himself; ‘he’d have left me out again if he could. I’ve a good mind to spoil his plans. What does it matter whether we win or lose the match? I don’t care much which way it goes, and I’d like to see Foster taken down a peg14 or two. I’ll wait and see how our side shapes. I may be able to carry out a plan of my own.’
Had Edgar Foster doubted Rakes, he would not have asked him to play; but he could not understand any lad throwing away a chance of victory merely to spite the captain of the team. Such conduct Edgar would not have suspected even in Raymond Rakes.
‘So you’ve asked Rakes to play?’ said Will Brown, who had become a stanch15 friend of Edgar’s ever since the fight with Bully Rakes.
‘Yes,’ said Edgar. ‘He’s not a bad bat at all; he’s a fair field, and will do to put on for a change bowler16. We must win the match. I’m awfully17 anxious about it. My father will be here, and there’s sure to be a big crowd of people. We[22] have a good team, and I’m pretty confident this time.’
‘All the same, I should not have played Rakes,’ said Will Brown.
‘Why?’ asked Edgar.
‘Because I don’t trust him. He’s never forgiven you for licking him, and if he gets half a chance he’ll throw us over in the match, just to spite you,’ said Will.
Edgar looked at his schoolmate in surprise. He could not believe in any lad doing such a thing.
‘He’ll never do that,’ said Edgar. ‘Even if it is as you say, and he still bears me a grudge, he would never be such a cad as to throw the school over in order to annoy me.’
‘I hope he won’t, for your sake,’ said Will; ‘but all the same, I have my doubts.’
Will Brown’s words made Edgar feel uneasy for a time, but he soon forgot them. It was universally agreed that a better eleven could not have been chosen to meet Fairfield College. Masters were not to play; it was to be purely18 a boys’ match.
Early and late Edgar was at the cricket nets watching the practice and debating how he should send his team in to bat. For such a young lad, he had keen powers of observation, and he made a pretty accurate calculation as to the pluck and nerve of each boy. Edgar’s father arrived the day before the match, and saw the final practice.
‘You have a real good team,’ he said to his son, ‘and ought to win. Remember, a good deal depends upon the captain.’
‘I’m not likely to forget that,’ said Edgar. ‘You have often told me a good captain wins many a game at cricket.’
Robert Foster was proud of his son, and naturally felt anxious to see him successful.
‘How’s my lad doing?’ he had said to the head-master.
‘Well—very well,’ said Dr. Hook. ‘He is not a brilliant scholar, but he will get on in the world. He is like his father in one respect. He is about the best cricketer and all-round athlete we have in the school.’
Robert Foster’s eyes brightened, and he said:
‘I’m glad of that. I’m not a rich man, and my lad will have to fight his own battles. He has a great inclination19 to go abroad, and I don’t know that it will not be a good thing for him. His sister will be able to keep me from feeling lonely.’
Dr. Hook looked at Robert Foster with his kindly eyes, and replied:
‘Travel expands the mind. If a lad has plenty of ballast, he will take no harm in any part of the world. Your son is a lad of mettle20, and you need have no fear about his future. If I am a judge of character, I should say Edgar Foster is a lad who will surmount21 difficulties and dangers, and he is bound to be a leader of men.’
Robert Foster was proud of the way in which the head-master spoke22 of his son. How little do thoughtless schoolboys know the pleasure a father feels in hearing praise bestowed23 upon his child, or of the pang24 he feels when the son he loves strays from the right path. Robert Foster loved his son devotedly25, although he made very little demonstration26 of his affection, and Edgar thoroughly27 understood and appreciated the manly qualities of his father.
The eventful day arrived, and a glorious day it was. The sun shone brightly, and there was a slight cool breeze. Redbank cricket ground was charmingly situated28. The pavilion was small, but there were several large trees growing at the back which afforded ample shade. The ground was level and well-kept, and the pitch had much care bestowed upon it. It was a great day at Redbank when this return match with Fairfield College was to be played. Flushed with the triumph of their previous victory, the Fairfield lads were eager for the fray29, and had invited many friends to come and witness their further triumph. The captain of the Fairfield eleven, Harold Simpson, was almost as popular at Fairfield as Edgar Foster was at Redbank. The two captains had a mutual30 liking31 for each other, although each one was determined to beat the other in the great game they were about to play.
Edgar Foster lost the toss, and, as the ground was in such good order, Harold Simpson elected to send his men in first.
‘They are a strong batting team,’ said Edgar to his father. ‘It will take us some time to get rid of them.’
‘It is a one-day match, so you must do your level best to get them out quickly,’ said his father.
As the boys filed on to the field they were cheered by their comrades and the Redbank supporters, who had mustered32 in strong force.
Edgar Foster came in for a special share of applause, and he felt his pulses tingle33 and his heart beat high with hope as he bounded over the springy turf towards the wickets.
The two Fairfield batsmen were wildly cheered by their mates, and Harold Simpson decided on this occasion to go in first.
Will Brown and Sayers junior were put on to bowl.
An anxious moment is that during which the first ball in a match is delivered. The bowler goes back from the wicket, measuring his men; for a second or two he hesitates and looks round, then he glances at the batsman, sees all is ready, and prepares for the delivery. As he takes his run to the wicket the spectators hold their breath. Will this first ball be fatal? A sigh of relief goes round as the batsman plays it well forward.
Harold Simpson failed to score in Brown’s first over. Sayers junior then took the ball, and his first delivery made the bails34 fly, much to the delight of the Redbank boys, who shouted and cheered vociferously35.
Edgar Foster felt they had commenced well, and was anxious for the good-fortune to continue. The Fairfield boys were determined bats, and a long stand took place before the second batsman was got rid of.
Harold Simpson still kept his wicket up, and runs came freely. At the fall of the fifth wicket Fairfield had put a hundred runs on, of which the captain had made forty.
Edgar Foster went on to bowl. He was not such a good bowler as Rakes, who thought he ought to have been tried before, and looked sullen36.
In his first over Harold Simpson skied a ball to Raymond Rakes. It was an easy catch, but Rakes missed it, and so clumsily that the boys jeered37 at him.
Will Brown, who had been watching him, thought:
‘He dropped that on purpose, because Edgar bowled it.’
Nothing daunted38 at this stroke of bad luck, Edgar sent another similar ball down. Harold Simpson hesitated for a moment as to what he should do with it; then he struck out, and, strange to say, the ball went to Rakes again.
It was not such an easy catch as the former one, but, still, there ought to have been very little difficulty in a good fielder securing it. Rakes fumbled39 it badly, and again missed the catch.
Edgar Foster could not help thinking of what Will Brown had said to him. He was very much annoyed, and at the conclusion of his over said to Rakes:
‘Those were two easy catches to miss; they may cost us the match.’
‘They were not as easy as they looked,’ said Rakes. ‘You don’t suppose I dropped them on purpose, do you?’
‘I should be very sorry to think that,’ said Edgar; ‘but be more careful next time.’
At last Will Brown secured Harold Simpson’s wicket, and the others followed rapidly, the innings closing for a hundred and thirty-four, a good score in a one-day school match.
‘What do you think of it, Edgar?’ asked his father. ‘Shall you be able to wipe that off?’
‘I think so,’ replied Edgar. ‘We should have had a much easier task had Rakes held those two catches off my bowling40.’
‘He made an awful mess of them,’ said Robert Foster. ‘How he dropped the first puzzles me; he had it fairly in his hands.’
‘Look here, Edgar!’ said Will Brown. ‘It’s no use mincing41 matters. I’m sure Rakes missed those catches purposely. When are you going to send him in?’
‘About seventh,’ said Edgar.
‘Put him in last,’ said Will.
‘That would only make matters worse,’ said Edgar; ‘he would know I doubted him, and act accordingly. He shall go in sixth wicket down. It will give him a chance of making up for missing those catches.’
‘As you wish,’ said Will. ‘Mind, if you are in with him, he does not run you out.’
‘No fear of that,’ said Edgar, laughing.
And he crossed over to speak to Raymond Rakes.
‘You go in sixth wicket down,’ he said.
‘All right,’ replied Rakes, ‘that will suit me.’
‘We’ve not been very good friends,’ said Edgar, ‘but you know it is not my fault. We want to win this match, and it may be that your batting will turn the scale in our favour at a critical point of the game. I shall rely upon you to do your best for the honour of the school. You missed two very easy catches; try and make up for it by playing your best when you go in to bat.’
‘I always do,’ said Rakes sulkily, and walked away.
Edgar Foster felt rather sorry he had included Raymond Rakes in the Redbank eleven.
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收听单词发音
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1
bully
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| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
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athletic
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| adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的 | |
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3
perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
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chagrin
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| n.懊恼；气愤；委屈 | |
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manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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laurels
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| n.桂冠，荣誉 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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grudge
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| n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做 | |
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peg
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| n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定 | |
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15
stanch
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| v.止住（血等）；adj.坚固的；坚定的 | |
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bowler
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| n.打保龄球的人，（板球的）投（球）手 | |
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awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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mettle
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| n.勇气，精神 | |
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surmount
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| vt.克服；置于…顶上 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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23
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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25
devotedly
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| 专心地； 恩爱地； 忠实地； 一心一意地 | |
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demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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fray
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| v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗 | |
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30
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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32
mustered
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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33
tingle
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| vi.感到刺痛，感到激动；n.刺痛，激动 | |
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34
bails
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| （法庭命令缴付的）保释金( bail的名词复数 )； 三柱门上的横木 | |
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35
vociferously
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| adv.喊叫地，吵闹地 | |
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36
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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37
jeered
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| v.嘲笑( jeer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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38
daunted
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| 使（某人）气馁，威吓( daunt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
fumbled
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| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
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40
bowling
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| n.保龄球运动 | |
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41
mincing
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| adj.矫饰的；v.切碎；切碎 | |
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