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The Gold Bat, a novel by P G Wodehouse |
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CHAPTER XV - A SPRAIN AND A VACANT PLACE |
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_ CHAPTER XV - A SPRAIN AND A VACANT PLACE
Barry was engaged in making various attempts at standing on the injured "Shall I get a stretcher or anything? Can you walk?" "If you'd help me over to the house, I could manage all right. What a Drummond came up, carrying Barry's blazer and sweater. "Hullo, Barry," he said, "what's up? You aren't crocked?" "Something gone wrong with my ankle. That my blazer? Thanks. Coming Clowes asked a Donaldson's junior, who was lurking near at hand, to Dr Oakes was a big man with a breezy manner, the sort of doctor who "Did that hurt?" he inquired anxiously. Barry turned white, and replied that it did. Dr Oakes nodded wisely. "Ah! H'm! Just so. 'Myes. Ah." "Is it bad?" asked Drummond, awed by these mystic utterances. "My dear boy," replied the doctor, breezily, "it is always bad when one "How long will it do me out of footer?" asked Barry. "How long? How long? How long? Why, fortnight. Fortnight," said the "Then I shan't be able to play next Saturday?" "Next Saturday? Next Saturday? My dear boy, if you can put your foot to It was not altogether his fault that he treated the matter with such "I don't see where the joke comes in," said Clowes, when he had gone. "He's a beast," said Drummond. "I can't understand why they let a tout Barry said nothing. He was too sore for words. What Dr Oakes said to his wife that evening was: "Over at the school, "I'm sure you did, dear," said Mrs Oakes. Which shows how differently Trevor had left the field without noticing Barry's accident, and he was "Good man," he said, when Clowes came in, "you saved the match." "And lost the Ripton match probably," said Clowes, gloomily. "What do you mean?" "That last time I brought down Barry I crocked him. He's in his study "Great Scott!" said Trevor, blankly. "What on earth shall we do?" "Why not move Strachan up to the wing, and put somebody else back Trevor shook his head. "No. There's nobody good enough to play back for the first. We mustn't "Then I suppose it must be Rand-Brown?" "I suppose so." "He may do better than we think. He played quite a decent game today. "He'd be all right if he didn't funk. But perhaps he wouldn't funk "I shouldn't go to Milton today," said Clowes. "I fancy he'll want a He went out, but came back almost immediately. "I say," he said, "there's one thing that's just occurred to me. The same idea had struck Trevor. It was certainly a respite. But he Next day, having given him time to get over the bitterness of defeat "He's the next best man," he added, in defence of the proposal. "I suppose so," said Milton. "He'd better play, I suppose. There's no "Clowes thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to shove Strachan on the "Who is there to put?" "Jervis?" "Not good enough. No, it's better to be weakish on the wing than at "Yes," said Trevor. "Study looks a bit better now," he added, as he was Milton sighed. "It will never be what it was." "Forty-three theatrical photographs want some replacing, of course," "How's yours?" "Oh, mine's all right, except for the absence of photographs." "I say, Trevor." "Yes?" said Trevor, stopping at the door. Milton's voice had taken on "Would you like to know what I think?" "What?" "Why, I'm pretty nearly sure who it was that ragged my study?" "By Jove! What have you done to him?" "Nothing as yet. I'm not quite sure of my man." "Who is the man?" "Rand-Brown." "By Jove! Clowes once said he thought Rand-Brown must be the President "Why, the League, of course. You don't suppose he's the only man in it? "But what makes you think it was Rand-Brown?" Milton told him the story of Shoeblossom, as Barry had told it to him. "I shouldn't wonder if you're right," he said, "but of course one can't "Ten." Trevor knocked at the door of study Ten. Rand-Brown was sitting over "What do you want?" said Rand-Brown. It was not the politest way of welcoming a visitor. It increased "I believe you wrote that," he said. Trevor was always direct. Rand-Brown seemed to turn a little pale, but his voice when he replied "That's a lie," he said. "Then, perhaps," said Trevor, "you wouldn't object to proving it." "How?" "By letting me search your study?" "You don't believe my word?" "Why should I? You don't believe mine." Rand-Brown made no comment on this remark. "Was that what you came here for?" he asked. "No," said Trevor; "as a matter of fact, I came to tell you to turn out Rand-Brown's attitude underwent a complete transformation at the news. "All right," he said. "I say, I'm sorry I said what I did about lying. "Not a bit. Do you mind my searching your study?" For a moment Rand-Brown looked vicious. Then he sat down with a laugh. "Go on," he said; "I see you don't believe me. Here are the keys if you Trevor thanked him, and took the keys. He opened every drawer and "Like to take up the carpet?" inquired Rand-Brown. "No, thanks." "Search me if you like. Shall I turn out my pockets?" "Yes, please," said Trevor, to his surprise. He had not expected to be Rand-Brown emptied them, but the bat was not there. Trevor turned to "You've not looked inside the legs of the chairs yet," said Rand-Brown. "It doesn't matter, thanks," said Trevor. "Sorry for troubling you. And he went, with the very unpleasant feeling that he had been badly Content of CHAPTER XV - A SPRAIN AND A VACANT PLACE [P G Wodehouse's novel: The Gold Bat] _ |