CHAPTER XIII IN THE HANDS OF A MASTER
The Englishman was out early the next morning. The girls found himhobbling about with a stick, he having cast his crutch aside. It wasplain that he was a very resolute young man, who intended to begin histask with a will.
The Tramp Boys came over shortly after Disbrow had finished his breakfastwith the Meadow-Brook Girls.
"Well, what's the first thing on the program, P. E.?" questioned George.
"The first thing is to make the court usable. At present it is hopeless.If you will have your boys get to work on it, we may be able to have atry-out some time this afternoon. Got anything to mark the lines with!"
"No, I forgot the chalk."
"Any flour in the camp?"
Miss Elting said there was. Disbrow said that when the court had beenleveled off he would mark out the side lines and base lines with theflour, after which the girls would play a game for him. All that forenoonthe boys worked at their task, and by luncheon time had done all thechampion had suggested. The court, he said, was still in almostimpossible shape, but that it was the best that could be had at thatmoment.
The hour following the luncheon was spent in conversation, after whichDisbrow told the young women to go on the court and play out a set. Atfirst they were nervous with the champion watching them, but after thefirst two games of the set their confidence returned, their nervousnessdisappeared and they went at their work with a vim. George chewed his hatbrim nervously as they floundered about the court, but the face of theEnglishman was impassive. He watched keenly, making no comment, butstoring up data in his mind to be used later on when he should havereally begun his instruction. Tommy and Harriet were playing togetheragainst Hazel and Jane, which arrangement the champion changed in thelast half of the set.
The set came to an end suddenly through a fault of Jane's, and the girls,flushed and excited, turned to their new instructor.
"Are we to play another game?" questioned Harriet.
"No."
"What do you think of them?" asked George in a hesitating voice.
"Too early to think, old chap. Better reserve the thinking for anothertime. There is work to be done now. I wonder if I should break my neck ifI were to play a game?"
"Better not try it," answered the captain.
"Yes, I will. I'll play against you and--who is your best player?"
"Charlie is."
"Then take your places. We won't toss for sides. There isn't any choiceso far as I can see. You will excuse me if I use my stick to assist me. Iwill permit your side to serve. That will give you the advantage at thebeginning. I probably shall make an exhibition of myself. What I want youyoung ladies to observe is my method of delivery. My position will benothing to be proud of, playing on one leg, as I shall have to."
"I fear it will not be prudent for you to try," said Miss Elting, with ashake of her head.
"I must get myself into shape in order to coach the Meadow-Brook teamproperly. Now that I have started, I shall go through with it. How couldI do otherwise after being made acquainted with the pluck of your youngcharges! Let it come, old chappie."
George served the ball. Disbrow hopped on one leg, making a leap half-wayacross the court, scooping up the ball after its first bound, as therules require. It slipped past George and Charlie really before theyrealized that it was on the way.
"Love, fifteen," sang out the Englishman. "You will have to do betterthan that, my lads, or it wouldn't do for you to try to play opposite theyoung ladies. Love, thirty. Why, what ails you, boys? You aren't playingtennis, you are merely watching your opponent play."
The Englishman was hopping from one side of the court to the other, inthe air, it seemed, fully as much as he was on the ground. Disbrow out ofa court and Disbrow in a court were two wholly different personalities.The Meadow-Brook Girls began to understand why he was a champion. Theyrevised their earlier opinions about his being delicate and slow. Hismovements when occasion required were lightning-like in their rapidity,then with a languid movement of his racquet he would drop the ball justover the net, many feet from where Charlie and Captain George werewaiting to receive it. Wherever they were not, there went the tennisball. The Englishman outplayed them at every point.
The girls became so excited over the game that they simply could not keepstill. They applauded till their hands stung and smarted, they shouteduntil their voices grew husky. They had never seen the like of this, andnow that they had begun to understand the game of tennis, they were ableto appreciate many of the fine plays. It was the grace and ease of theplayer at all times that aroused their wonder. He appeared to workwithout the slightest effort, even with the handicap of a foot that wouldnot bear his weight. The tennis ball, too, seemed endowed with reasoningpowers, it seemed to change its course after leaving the racquet of theserver when an opponent got in the way. This they could not understand,neither could the other spectators, for they had never seen anything likeit in all their experience.
"Game!" announced the Englishman. "Keep right on playing. We will gothrough the set. See to it that you don't loaf. Play tennis; don't standthere and watch me serve. Show the young ladies that you at least knowhow to play the game."
George flushed.
"Of course I know how. They know that without my showing them. But whatcan you expect a couple of amateurs to do against the champion of allEngland and half the United States of America? Charlie, watch yourself,"he added in a whisper. "We've got to win at least one game of the setfrom P. E. for the sake of our reputation with the girls."
"We'll be a heap better players than we are now before we win anythingfrom him. There's something about his serving that I can't understand,some magic that we don't know about."
"The magic of skill, that's all, Charlie. Play."
The ball came back as before. This set told nearly the same story as thefirst, Disbrow winning all the points up to the last game of the set. Thefirst game had been a _love game_, meaning that Disbrow had won all thepoints. On the fifth game of the second set, George made a point on hisopponent because Disbrow had missed his footing on the soft ground of thecourt.
The girls were delighted. Somehow they did not like the idea of seeingthe Tramp Boys wholly defeated, though they knew well that the pointwould not have been scored for the boys, had the champion been playing ona hard court.
That was the last and only point won by George and Charlie in that set.In the last game of the set, Disbrow, apparently having become warmed up,threw himself into the work with utter abandon, this time playing fasterthan he had at any time before that. His right arm, the sleeve rollednearly to the shoulder, grew rosy from the rapid exercise, his ordinarilypale face showed a delicate flush and his eyes sparkled with excitement,even though his opponents were not worthy of the name.
From that time on followed the most wonderful exhibition of tennisplaying that any person present had ever seen. And further, hopping onone foot was not the only remarkable thing about Disbrow's playing.
"He hopth jutht like a jack rabbit," cried Tommy. "I believe I could dothat, too. Harriet, that ith the trouble with our playing--we don't hop.I'll know what to do the next time we play tennith. Then I'll thurelywin."
"You will hop on your head if you try it," warned Sam.
The game came to a close, to the regret of all except the players opposedto the champion. As for them, they had had enough of it. They were notanxious to play another game.
Excitement ran high. The girls wanted to shout with all their lung power.Tommy did, giving unrestrained vent to her emotions. The camp of theMeadow-Brook Girls was vibrant with enthusiasm. They were eager to be ata game of their own.
"I can hardly hold myself, I am so eager to play," declared Harriet, eyesand cheeks glowing.
"Now, give heed to what I say," requested Disbrow, with a shake of thehead. "I will first teach you the strokes. There are five strokes onwhich are built the whole structure of modern tennis playing,
viz., theservice stroke, the horizontal ground stroke, the volley, the half-volleyand the lob. There are, of course, variations of these, such as thedrop-stroke, the side-stroke and the cut--or chop--all of which you willtake up in their regular order, learning one thoroughly, then going on tothe next. Two of you take your places in the court and practise theservice."
Harriet and Tommy did so, Jane and Hazel being told to listen and observeclosely, as their turn would follow.
"The service--that is, putting the ball into play--should be an overhanddelivery, almost straight, with a slight cut to the right to keep theball from sailing in the air," continued Disbrow. "Reach up high, risingon the left toe, bringing the ball sharply down into the opponent'scourt. Now we shall practise the service for a time until your wristsgrow tired. And right here let me suggest that when the racquet is not inaction it is a good idea to rest it across the left hand, which relievesthe right wrist wonderfully. Boys, please get into the other court andreturn the balls. We shan't have time to chase them."
Harriet and Tommy made their first service, but Harriet put so much forceinto the ball that it rolled out of the other court.
"Too much speed, Miss Burrell. Try that again. There, that is muchbetter. Now, Miss Thompson." She, too, did better this time.
Hazel and Jane were next given a chance. While they were learning thetricks and twists of the service, Harriet and Tommy were practising it bythemselves just beyond the court, Disbrow now and then offering acriticism or a suggestion.
Nearly two hours were spent on the service stroke alone. Then, after abrief rest, they took up the half-volley, which Disbrow explained was theart of trapping the ball with the racquet, blocking it--not strikingit--just as it rises from the ground. The girls worked faithfully allthat forenoon, declining to halt for any long period of rest until theirinstructor finally insisted upon it. How much progress they had made theycould only guess, for Mr. Disbrow did not commit himself. During theluncheon, of course, the talk was on tennis. The very air was chargedwith tennis. The Meadow-Brook Girls, the Tramp Club, the guardian and theEnglish champion breathed in the atmosphere of the game as they did thefragrant air of the pines that surrounded the clearing where the courthad been laid.
Now that he was not playing, Mr. Disbrow walked with a more noticeablelimp than before. He denied, however, that his two sets on the court hadhad anything to do with this. He said inactivity, sitting about and doingnothing, was responsible for the stiffness of the muscles of the injuredankle.
After luncheon the girls were eager to get at their practice again, butthe instructor said they must digest their food first. In the meantime hegave them some detailed instruction regarding the importance of holdingthe racquet correctly.
"One principal reason why you appear to play so awkwardly is that you donot know how to hold your racquets," he said. "Before coming to that I amgoing to give you three things to store away in your minds and think ofwhenever you are not thinking of anything else. That's an Irish bull,isn't it?" he smiled.
"An Englishman couldn't make one," retorted Jane quickly.
"The three things are _how_ to hit the ball, _where_ to hit the ball and_when_ to hit the ball. Just think that over, young ladies. To return tothe best way of holding the racquet; remember that the grasp on it shouldalways allow the greatest possible freedom for the muscles of the wrist.Always avoid a cramped position. The full length of the handle shouldalways be used, the end of the handle resting against the fleshy part ofthe palm. That isn't difficult to remember, is it?"
Each girl replied by adjusting her racquet to the right hand.
"For forehand play the grip of the hand should be along the handle withthe first finger separated from the others and extended an inch or twofarther along the racquet. The finger nails when at rest on the handleshould face the direction the ball is to go. In making the backhandstroke, which you will learn this afternoon, the fingers should be closertogether and the thumb extended out along the handle behind the racquet.The second or middle knuckles should face in the direction the ball is tobe driven. I think that will be enough lecture for the present. Do youall thoroughly understand?"
"I think we do," answered Harriet. "I would suggest that we go throughthe forehand and backhand strokes to make certain that we are right."
Disbrow nodded his approval. Most of the girls hit it the first time, allon the second trial.
"Now we will practise the various strokes, first going over what welearned this morning."
The practice for the rest of the day was real work. There was noinspiration in it, though the Meadow-Brook spirit was strong upon thefour girls, and not for a moment did they permit themselves to feel themonotony that the Tramp Boys long since had found. The girls devotedthemselves painstakingly to every stroke taught them. The new instructionmeant the undoing of much that they had already learned, but that was tobe expected. The girls were not to be disturbed by it.
Late in the afternoon they asked permission to play a game, but theEnglishman declined to allow it.
"You may not play a game even to-morrow," he added. "It will depend uponthe progress you make for the rest of the day and to-morrow forenoon."
He was so patient and gentle with them that the girls, knowing what atrial they must be, found themselves greatly drawn to their instructor.
There seemed to be little difference in the progress of the girls, exceptin the case of Tommy. Her companions were amazed at her work. One wouldnot have thought it of Tommy Thompson. She was as pleased over hersuccess and as enthusiastic as any of her companions. Added to this was afull measure of the Meadow-Brook "do or die" spirit that always hadcharacterized this little organization of wide-awake girls.
After supper they all sat and talked around the campfire, before whichthe Englishman comfortably stretched himself, after having askedpermission to do so. Later on in the evening the boys escorted him to histent. On the morrow they were to move him over to their own camp, hisankle now being strong enough to enable him to walk about with somedegree of comfort.
"Well, what do you think about them?" was Captain George's eager questionwhen they had entered the Englishman's tent that night.
"A fine lot of young women," answered Disbrow enthusiastically.
"I know all about that. But what about this tournament--what are theprospects, do you think?"
"Pretty early to answer that question, isn't it?"
"You have come to some conclusion about it, I know."
"Miss Burrell has the making of a great tennis player," answered thechampion.
"Just what I said," cried George enthusiastically. "I knew I'd picked awinner."
"She has a wise little head on her shoulders, George. She uses it, too.It is working all the time, which is a most necessary quality in a tennisplayer. I know of no sport that requires more of this quality."
"Then you think the girls have a chance to win out in the tournament! Ican't tell you how glad I am to have you say that. It repays me for a lotof stewing, old man."
"Not so fast, old chappie. I haven't said that at all. On the contrary, Ido not consider that they have the slightest chance of winning in thedoubles at your tournament if, as you say, there are several clever teamsentered. How could you expect it? They may stay in for a few sets justbecause of that wonderful pluck and spirit. But the finals"--theEnglishman shook his head. "Hopeless, George. You might as well make upyour mind to that."
George Baker groaned dismally. Then he gripped his friend's arm.
"You won't tell them that, P. E.? Please don't tell them that. It wouldso discourage them that they would quit instantly."
"You don't know your friends, I see," answered Disbrow with a shortlaugh. "They would laugh at me were I to make such an announcement, andtell me very quietly and confidently that they were going to enter thetournament and were going to win. What are you going to do with suchspirit as that? I take off my hat to it. Whatever P. Earlington Disbrowcan do for those plucky young women he is going to do, and don't forgetit
, Captain George Baker!"