advent produced a change at once.
His first three overs were maidens, balls that were dead on to the
wicket, and so true and ticklish that the Inimitable champions did not
dare to play them. In the next, bang went one of the two stickers' leg-
stump at young Black's first ball; with the second he caught and bowled
the fresh man who came in, before he scored at all--four wickets for a
hundred and fifty runs, not one of which had been put on since he came
on to bowl. Things began to look up, or, at all events, did not appear
in so sombre a light as they had done previously.

"Bravo, Black!" resounded from every part of the field; but the little
fellow took no notice of the applause, beyond grinning more widely than
ever, "his mouth stretching from ear to ear," as Charley Bates said,
green with envy and jealousy of the other's performance.

The new bowler seemed to demoralise the batsmen even as they had
previously demoralised us, for I had a bit of luck a little further on,
taking one wicket by a low-pitched ball, and getting another man out
with a catch; and then Black, as if he had been only playing with the
Inimitables hitherto, braced himself up to the struggle, and began
laying the stumps low right and left.

It was a wonder that such a small chap could send in the balls at the
terrific speed he did, balls that set leg-guards and pads at defiance,
and splintered one of the batsmen's spring-handled bats as if it had
been match wood; but he did it.

His last over in that first innings of the Inimitables, however, was the
crowning point in his victorious career. With four consecutive balls he
took the four last wickets of our opponents, and sent them off the
ground without putting up a run--the whole eleven being out for one
hundred and fifty-six runs--or not quite the century beyond us; and the
principal feature of Black's triumph was, that from the moment he
handled the leather, the Inimitables only scored six to the good, but
one run of which was off his bowling.

I should like you to beat that analysis, if you can!

With the disposal of our antagonists so easily at the end, we began our
second innings with more sanguine expectations than could have been
imagined from our previous prostration.

"Black had better go in as first man along with you, Hardy, and see what
he can do," our captain said.

The two accordingly went to the wickets at the beginning of the innings;
and there they remained without givin