mind, and lashed out stoutly, and after him Robinson and the
rest, it looked as if Sedleigh had a chance again. The score was a
hundred and twenty when Mike, who had just reached his fifty, skied one
to Strachan at cover. The time was twenty-five past five.

As Mike reached the pavilion, Adair declared the innings closed.

Wrykyn started batting at twenty-five minutes to six, with sixty-nine to
make if they wished to make them, and an hour and ten minutes during
which to keep up their wickets if they preferred to take things easy and
go for a win on the first innings.

At first it looked as if they meant to knock off the runs, for Strachan
forced the game from the first ball, which was Psmith's, and which he
hit into the pavilion. But, at fifteen, Adair bowled him. And when, two
runs later, Psmith got the next man stumped, and finished up his over
with a c-and-b, Wrykyn decided that it was not good enough. Seventeen
for three, with an hour all but five minutes to go, was getting too
dangerous. So Drummond and Rigby, the next pair, proceeded to play with
caution, and the collapse ceased.

This was the state of the game at the point at which this chapter
opened. Seventeen for three had become twenty-four for three, and the
hands of the clock stood at ten minutes past six. Changes of bowling had
been tried, but there seemed no chance of getting past the batsmen's
defence. They were playing all the good balls, and refused to hit at
the bad.

A quarter past six struck, and then Psmith made a suggestion which
altered the game completely.

"Why don't you have a shot this end?" he said to Adair, as they were
crossing over. "There's a spot on the off which might help you a lot.
You can break like blazes if only you land on it. It doesn't help my leg
breaks a bit, because they won't hit at them."

Barnes was on the point of beginning to bowl when Adair took the ball
from him. The captain of Outwood's retired to short leg with an air that
suggested that he was glad to be relieved of his prominent post. The
next moment Drummond's off stump was lying at an angle of forty-five.
Adair was absolutely accurate as a bowler, and he had dropped his first
ball right on the worn patch.

Two minutes later Drummond's successor was retiring to the pavilion,
while the wicket keeper straightened the stumps again.

There is nothing like a couple of unexpected wickets for altering the
atmosphere of a game. Five minutes before, Sedleigh h