they had witnessed that afternoon went far to dampen
the Sans' ardor to try for the junior team. That evening they held a
consultation in Joan's room on the subject. In the end, however, they
could not resist the desire to make themselves prominent. They agreed to
play their best, and, if chosen, to hire a coach and practice
assiduously. Leslie was present at the discussion and brimming with
derision. "You had better keep off the floor," was her rough advice.
"You'll make a worse showing than Lola did and she was hopeless."

Spurred by Leslie's jibes the Sans resolved to put forth every effort at
their try-out to make a decent showing. Other than themselves there were
not more than half a dozen aspirants. Thus their chances were good.
Having closely watched the director's methods at two try-outs they knew
what would be expected of them. They had also learned a number of things
about basket ball that they had not known before. Whether they could
apply this knowledge to their own playing on such short notice was a
question.

When the fateful junior try-out was over, Professor Leonard was of the
private opinion that he had made a mistake in attempting to carry basket
ball beyond the sophomore year. Nevertheless he selected a team from
junior material, such as it was, and proceeded to tersely address them.
Joan Myers, Natalie Weyman and Harriet Stephens represented the Sans.
The other two players chosen were a Miss Hale and a small sprightly
junior, Nina Merrill.

"You young women are all sadly out of practice. You can play a fair game
if you go to work and spend some time on the floor. You are away behind
the freshmen and sophomores. You would be white-washed by either team if
you met them now. Your playing is too slow. Learn to move fast. That is
essential in basket ball. On a man's team, the moment a player begins to
show a slowing down he is dropped. Quick work; that is the beauty of
this game. Come here regularly for practice and I will help you."

The frank opinion of the director, delivered in impersonal kindness,
the Sans found hard to swallow. Self-willed and self-centered, they bore
honest criticism very badly. Neither were they appreciative of his offer
to aid them in their practice.

"I think it is fine in Professor Leonard to offer to help us," ventured
Nina Merrill to Joan Myers as the director walked away. The team had
been standing in a group during the short address.

"Really, I hadn't thought about i