The letters of the alphabet were talking.
"It's been a wonderful season," said S. "I 'm very proud of it."
"Yes," said C; "I don't suppose so much interest was ever taken in cricket
before. The number of people able to spend time at a match has been the
greatest ever known."
L agreed. "Even on the middle days of the week," he said, "Lord's has been
packed."
"Lord's, forsooth!" O struck in. "Lord's has been empty compared with the
Oval. The Ovalites have lost no opportunity of watching their heroes."
"When you say 'their heroes' you mean also mine," said H. "But they are not
confined to the Oval. I have some at Lord's too; in fact, all over the
country. It has been, all the best critics say, an H year." He ticked them
off on his fingers. "For Surrey, HOBBS and HITCH; for Middlesex, HENDREN
and HEARNE; for Yorkshire, HIRST and HOLMES; for Notts, HARDSTAFF; for
Kent, HARDINGE and HUBBLE; for Worcestershire, HOWELL. And four of them,"
he added, "are going to play for England in Australia. It's a feather in my
cap, I can tell you," H went on. "And I needed the encouragement too. No
one is treated so badly as I am, especially in London, where I'm being
dropped all day long or forced into company which I don't care about. Isn't
that true?"
"Not 'arf!" said C, who is a good deal of a Cockney.
"There!" said H with a sigh, "I told you so."
"There's no doubt that our friend the aspirate has done it this year," said
T; "but some of us are not downhearted. Look at all my TYLDESLEYS."
"We're quite willing to look at them," said C, "but don't ask us to count
them. Meanwhile what about my COOK in the same county? And good old
hard-working COE and COX?"
"Yes," said L, "and what about Lancashire itself--almost at the top of the
tree? And LEE of Middlesex? H may have the greatest number of heroes, but
we're not to be sneezed at. And even his wonderful HOBBS couldn't win the
championship. It rested between M and me. I'm proud to be M's next-door
neighbour."
"It's been a great season for me," said M. "I admit to being nervous on the
second day of the last great match, but all's well now. What a game that
was! And it's not only of Middlesex that I'm proud; if you glance at the
batting averages you will notice MEAD not a great way removed from the top;
and MAKEPEACE not far below him, and I hold MURRELL in special esteem."
"Yes," said R, "and if you continue to look you will find RHODES at the
head of the bowling, and RUSHBY and RICHMOND in honourable places, and the
steady RUSSELL with over two thousand runs to his name. There are also two
brothers named RELF. Good heavens, the H's aren't everything!"
"He doesn't claim, I hope," B struck in, "that BROWN begins with H, or
BOWLEY, or Bat or Ball or Bails?"
"Nor," said S, "that SANDHAM and SUTCLIFFE and STEVENS and SEYMOUR and the
gallant little STRUDWICK (who, like all wicket-keepers, is so liable to be
overlooked) never existed? Not to mention my latest recruit, Mr. SKEET?
Some letters can be too haughty and--"
"Grasping," said G. "But all of you must be careful of me. I carry big
GUNNS."
[Illustration: THE HAPPY WARRIOR.