ven a
possible catch, Riddell missed it, and two runs were made. "Look out
there!" cried Bloomfield severely. "Well tried, sir!" cried some one,
sarcastically. "Well missed, sir!" cried some one else, with painful
truthfulness. Riddell saw the crisis. Another miss like that, a few
more taunts like those, and he might as well retire from the field.

Not for the first time in his life he pulled himself together with a
vehement effort and shook off every thought but the one duty that
claimed him.

And only just in time.

The last ball of the over was played again into slip, this time very
smartly. The school shivered as they saw it whiz straight for the weak
point. But they might have spared themselves their agitation, for
Riddell had it--all but a catch--before the shiver was over, and had
returned it to Fairbairn at the wickets promptly enough to make the
Rockshire man feel he had had a narrow escape of a run-out.

"Fielded, sir!" said Bloomfield, as the players crossed over; and this
commendation was more encouraging than all the shouts of the schoolhouse
partisans.

Porter's next over disposed of the first Rockshire man, amid great
school rejoicing, which was only tempered by the reflection among the
Parretts that it was a wicket to the credit of the schoolhouse half of
the eleven.

Then followed a succession of short but smart innings, during which the
Rockshire score crawled up to seventy, despite of a further change of
bowlers and very careful all-round fielding by the school.

All this time the steady man hung on obstinately; nothing seemed to
puzzle him or tempt him out of his caution.

At length, in sheer desperation, Coates was put on to bowl; anything
seemed better than this hopeless deadlock. And so it turned out.
Coates's first ball came down temptingly towards the off stump. Any
enterprising player would have cut it for a safe four, but this cautious
hand, who seemed to smell a rat in everything, was evidently determined
not to be taken in by first appearances, and turned it off, half
contemptuously, to his favourite quarter among the slips, thinking
possibly he might punish the next rather more freely. But the next was
not to come for him. Coates's ball was rising a bit as the batsman
touched it, and though he did not hit it up, it yet spun a foot or so
above the ground, an easy catch, straight into Riddell's hand, who held
it fast, much to his own surprise, and greatly to the jubilatio