"THE SOFT TALK."
The senior try-out did not take place on Friday. No aspirants appeared
at the gymnasium. The seniors were not ambitious to shine as basket-ball
stars. The freshmen went to work at once to perfect their playing under
the willing guidance of Professor Leonard. The soph team was not quite
so zealous, but put in at least two afternoons a week at practice. This
team was the pride of the active director's heart. He assured them more
than once that they could meet a team of professional men players and
acquit themselves with credit. If he wondered why the junior five did
not take advantage of his offer, he made no comment. While he took a
deep interest in basket ball, he left all the arrangements of the games
to the senior sports committee, preferring to allow them to do the
managing.
Owing to the delay in forming the teams, no games were scheduled to be
played until after Thanksgiving. Directly college routine was resumed
after that holiday the freshmen challenged the sophomores to meet them
on the eighth of December. The sophs graciously accepted the challenge
and beat the freshies after one of the hardest fought contests that had
ever taken place at Hamilton. The score stood 24-22 in favor of the
sophs when the game ended, and the tumult which ensued could be heard
half way across the campus. The freshmen had fought so gallantly they
came in for almost as much acclamation as the winners.
Ready to give the defeated team an opportunity to square itself, the
sophs challenged the freshmen to meet them on the following Saturday.
The unexpected illness of Phyllis Moore, who contracted a severe cold on
the eve of the game, resulted in a postponement. The freshmen team did
not wish to play without Phyllis, though they announced themselves ready
to do so by appointing a sub to her position. The sophs, however, would
not hear to this. Thus the postponement was satisfactory to all
concerned.
The junior team, in the meantime, were keeping strictly in the
background. Secretly the coach, Milton Ramsey, had been established in a
hotel in the town of Hamilton and was busily engaged with Leslie's team.
Never had Joan, Harriet and Natalie had to work so hard. Not only must
they practice in secret. Leslie decreed that they would have to
practice in the gymnasium with the other two chosen members of the team
in order to keep up appearances. She was a hard taskmaster, but she kept
her companions in good humor by expensive presents and treats. Further,
she assured them that once they had beaten the sophs they could drop
basket ball for the rest of the year.
The rest of the Sans were not blind to the fact that the four girls were
deep in some private scheme of their own. Coolly informed by Leslie to
mind their own affairs and they would live longer and wear better, they
gossiped about the situation among themselves and let it go at that. The
majority of them were not doing well in their subjects and they were
constrained to turn their attention for a time to the more serious side
of college.
Christmas came, with its dearly coveted home holidays, and the Lookouts
gladly laid down their books for the bliss of being re-united with their
home folks and beloved friends. This time Lucy Warner spent Christmas at
home, taking Katherine with her. A four weeks' illness of Miss
Humphrey's secretary had given Lucy the position of substitute. This
unexpected stretch of work had furnished her the means with which to
spend Christmas with her mother. The registrar privately remarked to
President Matthews that Lucy was the most able secretary she had ever
employed.
For a week following the Christmas vacation, spreads and jollifications
were the order in the campus houses. As Jerry pensively observed, after
a feast in Leila's room, the world seemed principally made of fruit
cakes, preserves and five-pound boxes of chocolates.
"I'm always crazy to go home at Christmas, yet it is pretty nice to be
back here again," she remarked to Marjorie one evening soon after their
return to Hamilton, as she sealed and addressed a long letter to her
mother.
"I am so homesick the first two or three days after I come back that
nothing seems right," Marjorie said rather soberly. "College soon
swallows that up, though. I think about General and Captain just as
often, but it doesn't hurt so much. Goodness knows we have enough to
busy us here. My subjects are so difficult this term. Then there's
basket ball. The freshmen are clamoring now for a game. Our team will
re-issue that challenge soon, I know."
"What do those junior basket-ball artists think they are going to do, I
wonder?" Jerry tilted her nose in disdain. "I hear they are practicing
quite regularly in the gym. They simply ignore Professor Leonard. I mean
the three Sans. Miss Hale and Miss Merrill are awfully cross about it.
They have to play with the team, and it seems Leslie Cairns is coaching
it, or trying to."
"I heard she was. I didn't know she could play. Funny the juniors don't
challenge either the freshies or us."
"They wouldn't win from either team." Jerry shook a prophetic head. "The
Sans seem to have settled down to minding their own affairs since Kathie
was hurt. I guess that subdued them a little. They slid out of that
scrape easily. Hope they practice minding their own business for the
rest of the year. Ronny says she is amazed that they can do so."
Three days later the sophomore team re-issued their challenge. Sent to
the freshmen on Monday, the game took place on the Saturday after.
Another battle was waged and the score at the close of the game was
28-26 in favor of the sophs. It seemed that the freshmen could not
surmount the fatal two points. Deeply disappointed, they bore the defeat
with the greatest good nature. They were too fond of the victors to show
spleen. Nothing daunted, they challenged the sophs to meet them again
two weeks from that Saturday.
The next Monday a surprise awaited them. They received a challenge from
the junior team to play them on the Saturday of that week. Though not
enthusiastic over the honor, they accepted. Nor could they be blamed for
being privately confident that they would win the game. It stood to
reason that if they could so nearly tie their score with the sophs, the
juniors would not be difficult to vanquish.
When Saturday rolled around and the game was called, they took the
floor, quietly confident of victory. It seemed as though the entire
student body had turned out to witness the game. There had been plenty
of comment on the campus at Leslie Cairns' sudden whim of acting as
coach. Curiosity as to what kind of showing the juniors would make as a
result of her efforts at coaching had brought many girls to the scene.
Before the game began the freshman team were somewhat puzzled at the
extreme affability of the three Sans' members of the opposing team. The
trio met them as they emerged from the dressing room and hailed them as
though they had been long lost friends. The impression of this
unexpected cordiality had not died out of the five freshmen's minds when
the toss-up was made. As the game proceeded they became dimly aware that
this fulsome show of affability was being continued. Pitted against the
junior team, as they were, it was most annoying. Nor did the three Sans
play the game in silence. Whenever they came into close contact with
one or more of the freshmen, they had something to say. It was not more
than a hasty sentence or two uttered in a peculiarly soft tone. The
effect, however, was disconcerting. Soon it became maddening.
Involuntarily the one addressed strained the ear to catch the import. A
sudden exclamation or ejaculation would have passed unnoticed. This
purposely continued flow of soft remark drew the attention of the hearer
just enough to interfere with both speed and initiative.
Not until the first half of the game had been played did it dawn fully
upon the freshmen that they were being subjected to an interference as
unfair as any bodily move to hamper would have been. Further, the three
girls were doing it very cleverly. It was not hampering their playing in
the least. Ruth Hale and Nina Merrill were playing with honest vim and
in silence. Their sturdy work was equal to that of any of the opposing
team save Phyllis. She was as brilliant a player as her cousin, Robin
Page. Being, however, of a nervous, high-strung temperament, the three
Sans' tactics had effected her most of all. As a consequence, she missed
the basket two different times. Besides that, she grew disheartened with
the thought that she was playing badly and missed opportunities at the
ball that would never have ordinarily slipped by her.
The end of the first half of the game found the score 12-8 in favor of
the juniors. The instant it was over Phyllis, who captured her team,
gathered them into one of the several small rooms off the gymnasium.
"Girls," she said, in low intense tones, her blue eyes flashing, "you
understand what those three Sans are trying hard to do. Miss Hale and
Miss Merrill are innocent. We can complain to the sports committee and
stop the game, but I'd rather not. Basket ball rules ban striking,
tripping and such malicious interferences. They don't ban talking. These
cheats know it. They annoyed me, because I wasn't expecting any such
trick. I never played worse. We are four points behind. It's principally
my fault, too. All we can do with dignity to ourselves is to try not to
notice their ragging during the second half."
"Queer kind of ragging," sputtered Janet Baird. "If they'd say mean
things we'd know better how to take them. Miss Weyman said right in my
ear, last half, 'You freshies certainly play a fast game. How do you do
it?' Her voice was as sweet as could be. It got on my nerves. Only for a
second or so, but long enough to take my attention from the ball. That
was her object."
The other members of the team had similar instances to relate. The ten
minutes' rest between halves was turned into an indignation meeting.
When the recall whistle blew, the incensed five took the floor in
anything but the collected, impersonal mood the game demanded.
The three Sans had spent their intermission talking to Leslie. She was
in high good humor over the success of her scheme. "You have them going.
Don't let up on them a minute. See that they don't make up those four
points. Hale and Merrill are playing finely."
"They don't suspect a thing, either," declared Natalie. "I am afraid
those freshies will set up a squeal to the sports committee if we win."
"If? You must win. No ifs about it," decreed Leslie. "What can they say?
You haven't broken the rules of the game. If they make a kick about it
they put themselves in the sorehead class."
Thus encouraged by their leader, the elated trio returned to the floor
primed for more mischief. Advised by Leslie, they kept quiet during the
first five minutes. Expecting to be again assailed by the irritating
murmurs, the freshmen met with a welcome silence on the part of their
tormentors. It lasted just long enough for the ragging to be doubly
irritating when it began afresh. Now on the defensive, the freshman five
steeled themselves to endure it with stoicism. Nevertheless, it was a
strain and put them at a subtle disadvantage. They managed to make up
two of the points they had lost. Fate then entered the lists against
them. Janet Baird made the serious mistake of throwing the ball into the
wrong basket. This elicited vociferous cheering from junior fans and
spurred their team on to the fastest playing they had done since the
beginning of the game. Needless to say they dropped their unfair tactics
at the last and fought with fierce energy to pile up their score. The
freshmen also picked up on the closing few minutes, but the game ended
24-20 in favor of the juniors.
The losing team made straight for their dressing room, there to relieve
their pent-up feelings. Very soon afterward they were visited by the
sophomore team. They had attended the game in a body and had not been
slow to see that things were all wrong.
"Don't feel down-hearted about it," sympathized Marjorie, as Janet Baird
began bewailing her unlucky mistake of baskets. "We know how things
were. So do lots of others. If the juniors should challenge you to
another game, don't accept the challenge. We sophs hope they will
challenge us. We think they will and try the same tactics with us. Then
we are going to teach them one good lesson. After that we shall ignore
them as a team."