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diff --git a/42725-0.txt b/42725-0.txt index 1e0e3b0..4320f31 100644 --- a/42725-0.txt +++ b/42725-0.txt @@ -1,39 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Meadow-Brook Girls on the Tennis Courts, by -Janet Aldridge - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Meadow-Brook Girls on the Tennis Courts - or, Winning Out in the Big Tournament - -Author: Janet Aldridge - -Release Date: May 16, 2013 [EBook #42725] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS ON TENNIS COURTS *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42725 *** The Meadow-Brook Girls on the Tennis @@ -6365,360 +6330,4 @@ tired but triumphant Meadow-Brook Girls. 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Snell</title> @@ -147,45 +147,7 @@ p.t15,div.t15,.t15 { margin-left:19em;text-indent:-3em; margin-top:0; margin-b </style> </head> <body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Meadow-Brook Girls on the Tennis Courts, by -Janet Aldridge - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Meadow-Brook Girls on the Tennis Courts - or, Winning Out in the Big Tournament - -Author: Janet Aldridge - -Release Date: May 16, 2013 [EBook #42725] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS ON TENNIS COURTS *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42725 ***</div> <div id="cover" class="img"> <img id="coverpage" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="The Meadow-Brook Girls on the Tennis Courts" width="500" height="799" /> @@ -7379,381 +7341,6 @@ down on the tired but triumphant Meadow-Brook Girls.</p> <ul><li>Copyright notice provided as in the original printed text—this e-text is public domain in the country of publication.</li> <li>Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard spellings and dialect unchanged.</li></ul> - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Meadow-Brook Girls on the Tennis -Courts, by Janet Aldridge - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS ON TENNIS COURTS *** - -***** This file should be named 42725-h.htm or 42725-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/7/2/42725/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - - -</pre> - +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42725 ***</div> </body> </html> diff --git a/42725.txt b/42725.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 35119bf..0000000 --- a/42725.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6724 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Meadow-Brook Girls on the Tennis Courts, by -Janet Aldridge - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Meadow-Brook Girls on the Tennis Courts - or, Winning Out in the Big Tournament - -Author: Janet Aldridge - -Release Date: May 16, 2013 [EBook #42725] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS ON TENNIS COURTS *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - The Meadow-Brook - Girls on the Tennis - Courts - - - OR - Winning Out in the Big Tournament - - By - JANET ALDRIDGE - - Author of the Meadow-Brook Girls Under Canvas, The Meadow-Brook - Girls Across Country, The Meadow-Brook Girls - Afloat, The Meadow-Brook Girls in The Hills, - The Meadow-Brook Girls by The Sea, - etc., etc. - - - THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY - Akron, Ohio New York - Made in U. S. A. - - Copyright MCMXIV - _By_ THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY - - - - - CONTENTS - - - Chapter. Page. - I. Smoke Rings From the Hills 7 - II. The Tramps Guard Their Secret 17 - III. Keeping the Girls in Suspense 24 - IV. An Unpleasant Surprise 33 - V. The Tramp Club Receives a Shock 40 - VI. A Discouraging Try-Out 48 - VII. The Meadow-Brook Girls Change Their Minds 60 - VIII. On the Service Line 69 - IX. A Cloud with a Silver Lining 81 - X. A Joy and a Disappointment 88 - XI. A Blow That Nearly Killed George 99 - XII. A Guest Who Was Welcome 114 - XIII. In the Hands of a Master 123 - XIV. A Steam Roller to the Rescue 137 - XV. Would-Be Cup Winners Break Camp 147 - XVI. In Camp on the Battle Field 156 - XVII. The Cup That Lured 170 - XVIII. What the Spy Learned 179 - XIX. On the Tournament Courts 190 - XX. A Welcome Disturbance 199 - XXI. A Disaster in Camp 208 - XXII. An Exciting Morning 216 - XXIII. A Memorable Battle 227 - XXIV. Conclusion 245 - - - - - The Meadow-Brook Girls on the Tennis Courts - - - - - CHAPTER I - SMOKE RINGS FROM THE HILLS - - -"I want thome exthitement," complained Grace Thompson petulantly. - -"Have patience, Tommy," answered Jane McCarthy. "Did you ever know the -Meadow-Brook Girls to go long without it?" - -"I don't know that we can look for anything exciting up here on this side -hill, surrounded by stumps, burned trees and blackened logs," returned -Margery Brown. "I shall just perish from doing nothing. We have been up -here nearly two days and nothing has happened. I should rather be down in -the meadows than up here in this dismal place." - -Miss Elting, the guardian of the party of girls encamped on the hillside, -smiled tolerantly. - -"Wait," she advised. - -"I'll tell you what," suggested the towheaded Tommy. "Buthter, you are -fat and round. We'll thcrape off a thmooth plathe all the way down the -thide of the hill, then you roll down to the bottom. That will give you -exthitement and make uth laugh, too." - -"But there is a jumping-off place at the bottom," objected Margery. "I -should fall down on the stones." - -"Yeth, I know. But that would be exthitement and make uth laugh. Why -thhould you be fat, if it ithn't to make other folkth laugh?" - -Margery elevated her nose disdainfully. - -"Do it yourself," she answered. - -"Yes, Tommy. You wish excitement. Suppose you run down and jump into the -creek at the bottom of the hill," called Harriet Burrell, raising a -flushed face from the fire over which she was cooking their supper. "Run -down and jump in. If the water is deep, you might pretend you are -drowning; then Margery will rush to your rescue and save you. Drowning is -exciting enough. I know, for I was nearly drowned once." - -"I fear a little trout stream at the foot of a hill would not prove very -exciting to a girl who has been lost at sea for hours on a dark night," -observed the guardian. "You will have to think of something else, -Harriet. Are you, too, suffering from inactivity?" - -"Not at all. Miss Elting," answered Harriet brightly. "I came out here -with you for the sake of the outing, for the fresh air and the birds and -the odors of----" - -"Burned stumps," finished Margery. "The whole place smells like a country -smoke-house, where the farmer smokes his hams for the winter. Ugh!" - -"As far as I am concerned," resumed Harriet Burrell, "I am not looking -for excitement. I am enjoying myself thoroughly. What is more, were I -looking for the unusual, I do not think it would be necessary to look far -for it." - -Tommy regarded her companion with narrowed eyes and wrinkled forehead. - -"Do you know thomething that we don't know, Harriet?" - -"Perhaps I do and perhaps not," was the evasive reply. "Why don't you use -your eyes and your ears and your nose, you and Margery?" - -"My nose?" sniffed Buster. "That's the trouble. This horrible, smoky, -burned smell makes me ill. When I shut my eyes I think the side of the -hill is on fire right this minute, instead of a year or so ago, or -whenever it was." - -She gazed first down the slope to the valley below, where a slender -stream was to be seen threading its way through the blackened landscape, -then up the hill to where the trees had begun to grow again after the -forest fire had seared their leaves and blackened their young trunks. The -trees were making a noble fight for life, the green at their tops showing -that some success had attended their unequal fight. Here and there -blackened slabs of granite protruded from the uninviting landscape -between the camp of the young women and the denser forest beyond, which -the fire had failed to reach. Still farther on the campers saw the road -that led back to their homes at Meadow-Brook. - -The small tent, that had been packed in sections, had already taken on -something of the dispiriting color of the landscape in which it had been -set. Within the tent the girls had leveled off the ground as well as -possible and dug deep trenches on the uphill side, so that they might not -be drowned out in case of a heavy rainstorm. They had chosen this -uninviting spot principally because it was different from any place in -which they had made camp during their summer vacations of the past two -years. They could easily shift to another location were they to tire of -this one. One advantage of the present site lay in the fact that it was -removed from human habitation by some miles. Their own homes lay about -twelve miles to the eastward. - -Hazel Holland, the fifth girl of the Meadow-Brook Girls' party, also saw -that Harriet had something in mind. She walked over near the fire and sat -down, regarding Harriet inquiringly. - -"What do you mean, Harriet?" she questioned. - -"I haven't said. Use your eyes. I am too busy getting supper now to make -any explanations. Haven't you girls seen anything unusual?" - -"Yes, I have," answered Margery. "Everything is unusual around here--too -much so to suit my cultivated tastes." - -"There ith thome mythtery here," observed Tommy Thompson wisely. - -Miss Elting asked no questions. She knew that Harriet would speak of what -was in her mind when she was ready to do so. The supper was soon cooked, -the dishes set on a blanket, which had been spread on a fairly level -place. Other blankets had been laid down on which the girls took their -places with their feet curled underneath them. The dishes were mostly tin -and paper, but the supper, smoking and steaming on the blanket, was -savory and appetizing. The girls forgot their dismal surroundings in the -pleasure of eating what Harriet Burrell had prepared for them, though -Margery did her best to look sour, in order to hide her satisfaction, -while Tommy now and then regarded her with a smile. - -"I don't believe Buthter intendth to thtop eating to-night," was the -little lisping girl's comment. - -"You stop making remarks about me," exploded Buster. "Didn't I tell you I -should go right back home if you did it again this summer?" - -"Buthter never liketh to hear the truth about herthelf," averred Tommy -with an impish grin. - -"The truth!" exclaimed the now angry Margery. "I'll never speak to you -again, Grace Thompson." - -"If you girls only knew how silly you are, you would reform," said -Harriet. - -"The only way for a fat perthon to reform ith to run all day in the hot -thun," answered Tommy. "Why don't you try it, Buthter?" - -Margery glared speechlessly at her tormentor, but before she could frame -a fitting reply Hazel suddenly asked Harriet a question that quickly -changed the current of thought in the minds of the two disputants. - -"Perhaps you will tell us what you meant when you made that remark a -short time ago, Harriet," she said. - -"What remark, Hazel?" - -"About not having to look far for excitement, about using our eyes, ears -and noses," replied Hazel. "What did you mean?" - -"Just what I said," repeated Harriet. - -"Be good enough to explain, pleathe?" urged Tommy. "I'm not clever at -guething riddleth." - -"Had you girls used your ears, you would have heard something; had you -used your eyes, you would have seen smoke; had you used your noses, you -would have smelled smoke. Now do you understand?" - -"Yeth, I underthtand," replied Tommy after a brief interval of silence. - -"What do you understand?" demanded Margery. - -"That Harriet ith lothing her mind. Maybe thhe'll find it under the -blanketth." - -"More likely to find a snake under there," suggested Hazel, whereat there -were screams from Tommy and Buster, who sprang to their feet, gazing at -the ground with a frightened expression in their eyes. "Sit down if you -wish any more supper," urged Hazel, laughing. - -"That wathn't funny in the leatht, Hathel," declared Grace severely. "Now -tell uth truthfully, Harriet, what you meant by hearing and theeing and -thmelling thingth?" - -"Here, I will draw you a map." Harriet traced a square in the ashes with -a stick, making a round dot in the lower left-hand corner. "This dot is -the camp of the Meadow-Brook Girls," she said. "At the extreme upper side -are the woods that you see over the brow of the hill, and these," making -a series of rings, "are smoke--smoke rings. Well, why doesn't some one -say something?" she chuckled. - -"Smoke rings?" questioned the guardian. - -"Yes, Miss Elting." - -"Where?" - -Harriet Burrell waved one hand toward the brow of the hill, giving the -guardian a meaning look. - -"What do you mean?" - -"That we have neighbors," replied Harriet calmly. - -"Neighbors!" screamed Margery. - -"Where? who? what?" asked the girls in chorus. - -"Thave me! I thhould die of fright if I were to thee a thtrange human -being again," cried Tommy. "Do--do you think it ith a man, a real live -man?" - -Harriet Burrell nodded. Tommy's eyes grew larger. - -"I think it is. Perhaps more than one. Listen. I heard some one shout -shortly before I began getting the supper. Then as I was getting the fire -going I saw smoke rings rising from the forest up yonder. They were well -done and they were signals." - -"Indianth!" breathed Grace. "Grathiouth! We'll all be thcalped. Oh, thave -uth!" - -"I answered them by making some smoke signals. There wasn't enough smoke -in my fire, though, to do it very well." - -"So that is what you were up to?" laughed Jane McCarthy. "I thought you -were fanning the fire with the blanket." - -"I made the answering sign, which they answered in turn; then there were -no more smoke signals from either side. That is all I know about it." - -"Smoke signals," reflected the guardian. "I know of no one in these parts -who would know how to make them. Do you?" - -"Well, no; no one whom we have reason to look for here at this time. But -I have my suspicions. If I am right, we shall know about it either -to-night or early to-morrow morning." - -"Oh! tell us," begged Margery eagerly. "Please do tell us what you -think." - -"Pleathe don't," commanded Tommy sharply. "If I know, then I won't be -curiouth any more. If I don't know, I'll lie awake all night thinking and -guething about it, and oh, I tell you I'll enjoy it! I do love a -mythtery, and thith ith a mythtery, ithn't it, Harriet?" - -"We will call it that. No, not a word, girls; not another word to-night. -I don't want to spoil Tommy's pleasant prospects. Think what a lot of -comfort she will get out of worrying for fear that sometime during the -night a party of Indians may swoop down on us, cut off the top of Tommy's -head and run away with her flaxen locks." - -"Can you beat it?" glowed Jane McCarthy. "I almost have the shivers -myself." - -"If you girls persist in working up a fright, I see a nice case of -nightmare for some of you before morning," warned Miss Elting. "I am -inclined to the belief that what you saw must be a camp of timber -cruisers or lumbermen. There are no Indians up here, nor would any tramps -come to this desolate place. Please don't be foolish. Go on with your -supper and put aside this nonsense." - -"I don't want to put it athide!" exclaimed Tommy. "I jutht want to be -thcared till I'm all fluthtered up; then I want to be thcared thome -more." Tommy leaped from the blanket and dived head first into their -little tent. - -At that moment a chorus of wild war-whoops rose from the bushes all about -them. Yell upon yell sounded, and a great threshing about in the bushes -sent the hearts of the Meadow-Brook Girls to their throats--so it seemed -to them. Margery Brown, frightened nearly out of her wits, sprang up and -started to run down the hill diagonally from the camp. She caught her -foot on the stub of a burned-off sapling, plunged headforemost and went -rolling down a sharp incline, her cries of alarm heard but faintly by her -companions. - - - - - CHAPTER II - THE TRAMPS GUARD THEIR SECRET - - -Tommy and Margery were the only girls to ran away. Harriet, Jane, Hazel -and Miss Elting stood their ground. Hazel for a few seconds was on the -point of running when she saw that Harriet seemed to understand the -meaning of the sudden uproar, which was still going on. - -There came a lull in the whooping and the shouting. Harriet spoke then. - -"Now that we are properly scared, you may come out, boys," she said. - -"Boys? My stars!" muttered Jane. "What boys are you looking for, -darlin'?" - -"Come out! We know you," commanded Harriet. - -Captain George Baker of the Tramp Club stepped out into the light of the -campfire, a little shamefaced and uncertain as to how his attempt to -frighten the Meadow-Brook Girls might be received. - -"Mr. Baker!" exclaimed the guardian. - -"Yes, ma'am," answered George, twisting his hat nervously in his hands. -"I--I hope we didn't frighten you too much. I--we--I thought you knew we -were here." - -"We certainly did not. We did know that some one was up yonder in the -woods, because Harriet saw and answered signals. Was it you who made the -smoke signals?" - -"I and the Pickle," he answered, referring to his friend, Dill Dodd. "How -do you do, Miss Brown? Why, what has happened? Been hit by a cyclone?" -Certainly Margery looked much the worse for her tumble. Her skirt was -torn, and her face and hands were scratched, but her chin was not too -much injured for her to be able to elevate it. - -"I haven't met a cyclone, nor is anything the matter with me, Mr. Baker," -replied Margery, rather haughtily. "When did you come in? Until just now -I didn't know that you were here." - -George smiled sheepishly. - -"But where are the boys, George?" asked Harriet. - -"Out yonder in the bushes," he replied, conscious that his face was -redder than usual. - -"That is too bad. I should have thought of them before this. Boys, come -into camp!" called Harriet. "We wish to see you." - -"It's all right, fellows. Hike along!" commanded Captain George. - -So one at a time the boys of the Tramp Club filed into the camp of the -Meadow-Brook Girls. They tried to look solemn-faced, yet their eyes were -full of merriment. Dill Dodd led the way; then came Fred Avery, Sam -Crocker, Charlie Mabie, Will Burgess and Davy Dockrill. The boys were -about the same age as the Meadow-Brook Girls, though taller and of -stronger build. - -As the reader of this series knows, this was not the first meeting of the -two clubs. Harriet and her friends were introduced in the first volume of -this series, "The Meadow-Brook Girls Under Canvas," which told of their -enjoyable adventures in the Pocono Woods. In that volume the reader -became acquainted with the grit, zeal and purpose of Harriet Burrell and -her chums, and with the fine influence that Miss Elting, their -teacher-guardian, exercised over them. - -In the second volume, "The Meadow-Brook Girls across Country," the five -girls and their guardian were shown on their long "hike" homeward, as -they had elected to go on foot rather than resort to comfortable travel -by train. Though at this time the Meadow-Brook Girls met with some -unexpected hardships, the pleasant experiences through which they passed -repaid them for their many troubles. In this volume, too, as our readers -will recall, the girls first made the acquaintance of the boys of the -Tramp Club, who were destined to prove valued friends in many a -difficulty. But the pranks of these mischievous lads forced the girls to -retaliate in kind, and not only did they pay their score, but proved -themselves the boys' equals in achievement and endurance on the homeward -hike. - -In "The Meadow-Brook Girls Afloat," as the third volume of the series is -entitled, the little company of girls encountered stirring adventures as -well as mirth-provoking incidents during their vacation spent under -decidedly trying circumstances on an old houseboat. With the help of the -Tramp Club a mysterious enemy, who had caused the Meadow-Brook Girls no -little annoyance, was captured, but not until he had succeeded in setting -fire to and burning their vacation home. - -After the destruction of the "Red Rover," their boat, they started at -once for the White Mountains on a long, muscle-trying experiment in -mountain-climbing. All that befell them of adventure, mystery and -rollicking good times is set forth in "The Meadow-Brook Girls in the -Hills." - -Not one of our readers has yet forgotten the great enjoyment furnished by -the fifth volume, "The Meadow-Brook Girls by the Sea." Here Harriet and -her friends were found setting forth on an expedition without knowing -whither it led, that secret being in the possession only of Miss Elting, -their high school teacher, who accompanied them on all their jaunts. -However, the trip proved the most exciting that they had yet had either -ashore or afloat. - -And now we return to the Meadow-Brook Girls in camp, to find them at the -outset of still another vacation hike. So far, however, this experience -had proved anything but exciting. So much adventure on previous trips -made the present life in the woods seem dull by comparison. So even the -coming of the boys was welcomed as a real event by the Meadow-Brook -Girls. - -As the boys came one by one into camp they were greeted with smiling -faces and cordial handshakes. There could be no doubting the pleasure of -the girls. Harriet had promptly suspected the presence of the boys when -she observed the smoke signals earlier in the evening. She knew of no -others who would understand this ancient method of signaling. - -"I should like to know how you found us?" said the guardian. - -"We found out at Meadow-Brook where you were. The girls' folks told us," -replied George. "We've a great surprise for you." - -"A surprise?" asked the girls in chorus. - -"Yes"--George looked wisely at his companions--"the greatest ever. Don't -try to guess it, for you can't." - -"Wath that why you thaw our folkth?" demanded Tommy shrewdly. - -Captain George flushed to the roots of his hair. Tommy had come nearer -the mark than she perhaps thought. Even Margery showed her curiosity. - -"We are ready to hear about this great surprise," said Miss Elting -smilingly. - -"All right, I'll tell you about it, and----" - -"Funny place to pitch a camp, this," observed Sam Crocker, interrupting -what Captain George was saying. - -"Yes, I was thinking about that," declared George. "Whatever induced you -to come up to this hole?" - -"Thith ithn't a hole, it ith a thide hill," corrected Tommy. - -"You didn't finish telling us about the surprise, George," reminded Jane. - -"That is so, I didn't, did I? Oh, you will be surprised and delighted," -chuckled George. "It's a dead secret, but I'll tell you about it. As I -was about to say, this is no sort of place for girls to camp. Now _we_ -have picked out a much better place." - -"Where?" asked the guardian. - -"Up yonder in the woods, or thereabouts. You must move up there." - -"We are very well satisfied where we are," replied Harriet Burrell, -smiling mischievously. "Of course, if you can give us any really good -reason why we should move our camp, we will carefully consider your -suggestion." - -"We have a nice place picked out for you. That's why we want you to -move," declared George bluntly. - -"Thay, are you trying to play trickth on uth?" demanded Tommy. - -"Not at all. Hope to die, we're not. You'll see that we are not when you -get to the camp we have chosen for you. Now, we'll be down here early in -the morning and move you right up to it. You won't have to lift a hand -toward making the new camp. But we must be going. It is getting late. -You'll surely be ready, won't you? We shall be on hand early," announced -the captain, rising. "Come along, fellows, we have stayed too long -already. The girls will begin telling us to go home if we don't move." - -"Wait! You haven't told us about the great secret," cried Margery, unable -to restrain her curiosity any longer. "Tell us now." - -"We'll tell you all about it in the morning," called back the captain. - -"I want to know now about the great thecret," shouted Tommy. - -The boys scrambled up the side of the hill, shouting their good-byes as -they hurried on toward their own camp, leaving the curiosity of the -Meadow-Brook Girls unsatisfied. - - - - - CHAPTER III - KEEPING THE GIRLS IN SUSPENSE - - -"Aren't they provoking?" pouted Margery. - -"They are queer boys," observed Jane, with a shake of her head. - -Harriet laughed gleefully. - -"It is my opinion that the Tramp Club is preparing to play a joke on the -Meadow-Brook Girls," she declared. "However, I think we are well able to -take care of ourselves. Miss Elting, what about this proposal to move the -camp?" - -"That is for you girls to decide. I see no objection to it. The boys no -doubt wish to have us nearer to their own camp." - -"Why don't they move down here, then?" questioned Jane. - -"I hadn't thought of that. What do you think?" - -"I will think it over," answered Harriet. "The morning will give us time -to decide. We'll sleep over it rather than decide hastily. I should like -to know what that surprise is that they have planned for us; that is the -kernel in the nut." - -"They just want to tease us," complained Margery. "I don't believe they -have any surprise at all." - -"I think you are wrong, Margery," replied Miss Elting. "Those boys surely -have something that is to be a great surprise to us. If we don't do as -they wish, they may not tell us." - -"They will tell us," nodded Harriet reflectively. "What do you girls say -about moving camp?" - -"We will leave that to you," answered Hazel. - -"Then let us turn in and decide the question to-morrow morning. I always -like to sleep over anything of this sort." - -"I don't. I like to know right away," declared Margery. - -They prepared for bed, having first banked the fire and consulted the -skies for weather indications. The girls did not lie awake long thinking -of the surprise that the Tramp Club had in store for them. They were far -too sleepy to be particularly curious concerning it. - -Breakfast, next morning, was finished by seven o'clock. The birds were -darting through the air, or pouring forth their songs from bush or tree. -The sun was shining brightly, and the skies were blue and smiling. - -The girls had not finished washing the dishes when a shout from the top -of the hill caused them to look up. Down the incline came the Tramp Club -boys, jumping from rock to rock, raising a cloud of dust as they plunged -recklessly down the side of the hill toward the camp. - -"We have come to move you," called Captain George, when still some -distance from the camp. "Hurry out of the way before we run into you and -your camp." - -"Not quite so fast! We haven't decided to move," answered Harriet -laughingly as the boys came tearing down to them, flushed and breathless. - -"We decided that yesterday. You haven't anything to say about it. Here, -Pickle, you drop that tent. Up with it!" - -Tent pegs were drawn and down came the tent about Margery's ears, she -having been at work setting the tent to rights. Margery uttered a wail. -Davy Dockrill ran to assist her. - -"Don't get in the way of the men," advised Billy Burgess. "They have a -big morning's work ahead of them, and any one who gets in their way is -likely to be run over and perhaps hurt." - -"I gueth they better not run over me," warned Tommy. "I'd jutht like to -thee them try to run over Tommy Thompthon." - -The camp already looked very much as though a tornado had passed over it. -The belongings of the Meadow-Brook Girls lay strewn about the camp, the -tent was flat on the ground, the fire had been kicked aside and the -cooking utensils dragged out to cool off preparatory to packing them. -Miss Elting gazed at the bold lads smilingly. Harriet had sat down and -was laughing heartily. Margery was too angry to speak for a time, after -having been assisted from the collapsed tent by Davy Dockrill. - -"Would it be proper to ask where we are going?" questioned Harriet, after -she had succeeded in controlling her merriment. - -"You are going to a new camp, Miss Burrell, and you're going to get the -surprise of your young life," answered Captain George. - -"I am beginning to think that surprise is a joke, Captain." - -"You'll find it isn't. Oh, you girls will be beside yourselves with joy -and sheer delight when you hear about it," chuckled Sam. - -"Provided we are not old ladies by that time and unable to walk without -crutches on account of our rheumatic joints," retorted Harriet -mischievously. - -"I think you should tell us before we shift our camp," suggested Miss -Elting almost severely. - -"You are not moving your camp, we're moving it for you, begging your -pardon for contradicting you," answered George, touching his hat to the -guardian. "I'll tell you before we go." - -In the meantime, that camp was disappearing with greater speed than had -ever before marked the striking of a Meadow-Brook Girls' camp. Thus far -the girls had had no part in the striking. They had made several -individual efforts, only to be thrust aside by the determined boys. Now -and then George would appeal to Miss Elting as to where this or that -article was to be packed. The girls were never asked. It was as though -they were merely guests. - -All was in readiness within half an hour after the boys had swooped down -upon the camp. Captain George distributed the packs among his fellows. -These were not very heavy loads, for the girls had taken light packs, -knowing they would have to climb more or less, provided they followed the -hills. - -"Now we are ready to move," announced the captain, himself shouldering -the largest of the packs and nodding to the boys. - -"But, my dear Captain, we have not yet decided to move camp," answered -Miss Elting, smiling good-naturedly. - -"Decided? Of course not. It wasn't for you to decide. We decided that -yesterday. You don't have to come along if you don't want to, but your -equipment is already on the way." - -"I won't go a step," declared Margery. - -"You may, of course, stay here if you wish," answered the captain -politely. "May I assist you up the hill, Miss Elting?" he questioned. - -"Oh, no, thank you, Captain, I am quite well able to climb this hill. -Come, girls. I suppose we might as well give in. It is either that or -lose our equipment. These young men are very determined." - -"Aren't you going to tell uth what the great thurprithe ith?" demanded -Tommy. - -George uttered a long-drawn whistle. - -"Say, girls, I forgot all about that. Honestly I did." - -"Then tell us now," suggested the guardian. - -"I'll tell you when we get to the camp." George began climbing the hill, -followed slowly by the girls and their guardian. - -"Isn't he provoking?" grumbled Margery petulantly. - -The boys led the way over the brow of the hill to the more level ground -and on into the forest that crowned the top of the hill. Reaching a -cleared spot from which the timber had been cut, the girls found the -advance guard of Tramps at work pitching the tent. There was a heavy -growth of bushes, but the stumps had been fairly well burned off. The -clearing, surrounded by great trees, was about an acre in extent and a -really attractive camp site. - -"Here we are," announced George jovially, throwing down his pack. "You -girls just make yourselves at home while we put the place to rights. How -do you like it?" - -"I like it," answered Harriet frankly. "You have done considerable work -here, I see--cut all the bushes and leveled off the ground for the camp. -It is very kind in you, Captain. Where is your camp?" - -"A quarter of a mile to the north," he replied with a wave of his hand. -"You will find a fine spring just the other side of those rocks yonder. -There is an old log road leading in from the highway. It is a much more -convenient place in every way than the one where you were camped, and yet -not a soul comes here. We were here for a time last fall. Have you plenty -of provisions?" - -"For the present," answered Harriet, nodding. "We shall have to go to -town within the week, however." - -"No need to do that. There is a farmhouse a mile from here where we can -get everything we need. We go there for milk every morning. We can just -as well bring your milk at the same time and anything else you may need." - -"You are very kind," said the guardian. "But now that we are here, -suppose you tell us about that very great surprise." - -George pointed out a pile of wood that they had gathered, showed Harriet -where the spring lay hidden behind the big rock and pointed out other -advantages of the camp they had chosen for their friends, the -Meadow-Brook Girls, all of which pleased the girls very much, though -Margery and Tommy would not have shown their satisfaction for the world. - -The camp was pitched in record time that morning, but the boys kept -working about, even going so far as to make an oven of flat stones. -George then drew from a bag a dozen squirrels that they had shot that -morning. These he proceeded to skin and dress, after which he spitted -them on sharp sticks ready for broiling over the fire when luncheon time -should have arrived. - -The hour for getting the noon meal was at hand almost before the young -people realized it. Time had passed very rapidly that morning. The boys -got the luncheon that day. By this time the Meadow-Brook Girls had begun -to enter into the spirit of the fun. They were chatting and laughing -gayly, teasing the Tramp Boys and criticising their methods of -house-keeping. Luncheon was the jolliest meal they had enjoyed that -season--so the girls unreservedly declared. After having finished and -before getting up from their blankets, Captain George coughed -significantly. - -"Now, I suppose, you would like to hear about it," he said teasingly. - -Harriet shrugged her shoulders. - -"Having waited this long, I don't think it would give us much pain to -wait longer," she replied. - -"No, no! Tell us," cried Buster. - -"I thought you weren't curious?" taunted Davy. - -"Don't keep us in suspense, Captain. Tell us now. You don't have to be -coaxed to tell, do you?" asked Miss Elting. - -"No, we are really anxious to tell you the whole story, and I know you'll -all shout with delight when you hear it," answered Captain George. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - AN UNPLEASANT SURPRISE - - -The captain of the Tramp Club leaned back and, clasping his hands about -his knees, gazed reflectively at the blue sky overhead. The eyes of the -Meadow-Brook Girls were fixed inquiringly on his brown face. Captain -George appeared to be in no hurry to tell them of the surprise that the -Tramps had in store for the girls. Tommy was the first to break the -silence. - -"Thith thuthpenthe ith killing," she observed. - -"Oh, don't hurry him," scoffed Crazy Jane. "He won't be half so -interesting after he has told it; and, what's more, he knows it. That's -why he's so long about telling. Suppose you wait until after supper, -George? The evening is so much better for telling fairy stories. Then we -can all go to bed and have nightmares!" - -"This isn't a joke," protested Sam Crocker a trifle impatiently. "This is -dead serious business, as you will realize before you have done with it." - -"Indeed?" commented Buster sarcastically. - -"Yes, indeed," returned Sam sharply. "Better tell them and have it out of -your system. I'm getting a little tired of their not believing us. They -will believe all right after they hear the glad and joyous tidings." - -"We believe motht anything," Tommy informed them solemnly. "And we -believe you folkth don't know what you are talking about. Do you!" - -"If you will give me half a chance, I will tell you," answered George. -"Did you ever hear of Newtown, on the coast?" - -"Oh, yes. That is a fashionable summer resort," said Harriet. - -"Just so. Ever hear of the Atlantic Coast Tennis Tournaments?" - -The girls shook their heads. - -"I have," said Miss Elting. "I have understood that they were a feature -of the summer at Newtown." - -"They are," agreed George. "They are the biggest and most important -affairs ever pulled off along the coast, and don't you lose sight of that -for a minute." - -"We won't. What next?" demanded Grace. - -"In this tournament," continued Captain Baker, "there are many classes -and many valuable prizes. No money prizes, of course, for this is purely -an amateur tournament, but it brings out some crack players, you may -depend upon that. The best players there are in New England come down to -Newtown to match their skill against their fellows. People journey many -miles to attend this tournament, which usually lasts several days, -sometimes a week. Most of the contests are bitterly fought. More national -tennis players have graduated from that tournament than from any other in -the United States. I know, because Jack Herrington, the manager of the -tournament, told me so. - -"It is a great honor even to be entered at Newtown," declared George. -"Believe me, not every one can get an entry there. Oh, it's very select -and one has to be well up in the lists to get an entry, but once having -entered there is no backing out. The entries are closed now." - -"When is this tournament to take place?" questioned Miss Elting, -interested, though she could not satisfactorily explain to herself why. - -"Five weeks from now." - -"Are you boys going?" - -"Are we going?" fairly shouted George. "You couldn't keep us away with a -team of elephants. I rather guess we are going, and we shall stay till -the last ball is batted over the net and the prizes awarded." - -"Then you are going to play?" - -He shook his head. - -"Wish we might, but there are no classes for boys. Herrington promises to -have a class for us next season. You will see the Tramp Club on hand with -the racquets then and you'll all come to see us cover the name of the -Tramp Club with glory." - -"You have done that already," said Harriet. - -"Thank you." The boys took off their hats and bowed gravely. - -"But," continued George, "I feel that I have scored a greater triumph -this year than I ever shall by playing." - -"How so?" asked the guardian politely. - -"Because I've entered a winning team, entered a team that all the -amateurs along the coast couldn't beat. Why? Because the team, my team, I -call them, wouldn't know it if they were beaten. They'd keep right on -playing till the Atlantic itself froze over, if somebody didn't cut in -and stop them. That's why. You watch our entry and see if they don't set -the State of New Hampshire howling like a parcel of mad Indians. Ever see -a mad Indian?" - -"I have seen what I thought was one," answered Jane significantly. - -"You haven't seen the real thing nor----" - -"We are still waiting for the great mystery to be solved," reminded Miss -Elting. - -"I'm solving it as rapidly as possible. Nor will you see the genuine -article till after the tournament at Newtown is finished." - -"We're all agreed on that point," interjected Charlie Mabie. "There isn't -another team in the State that can hold its own with our entries." - -"I sincerely hope you young gentlemen may not be disappointed. I should -like to see your team play and----" - -"See them play?" exploded Davy. "I should say you would. If you didn't, -we could never forgive you. Of course you will see them play. The idea of -your having any doubts on the subject!" - -"But, my dear boys, why should I be so interested, not knowing any of the -contestants, not even knowing who your team may be?" expostulated the -guardian. - -"Not--not--not know?" shouted Dill Dodd. "That's so, you don't," he added -in a lower voice. "I had forgotten that you didn't know them. But you -will--you will--and when you do you'll be just as enthusiastic as we are, -maybe more so." - -"That would be impossible," said Harriet, smiling and nodding. - -The boys themselves were becoming excited. They were fairly bursting with -impatience to blurt out the whole story. George Baker was not telling it -nearly fast enough to suit them. Tommy and Margery shared their -impatience. Tommy's face was working nervously and Margery was making a -desperate effort to be calm. They felt sure that there was more to the -story, more of interest to themselves than they could even guess. - -They were not wrong in their surmise. There was more to tell, as they -were speedily to learn. - -"Are the prizes worth while?" asked Harriet. - -"A silver cup for the winning team. It's worth more than a hundred -dollars, and will have the name of the winning club engraved on it. Then -there will be individual prizes. There are second and third prizes, too, -but I don't know what they are. I didn't ask Herrington, for the reason -that I wasn't interested. I was interested in the first prize. Our team -will get it, of course." - -Harriet was regarding him with narrowed eyes now, her forehead wrinkled -into lines of perplexity. The way George was looking at her set the girl -to wondering. - -"Who is your team, George?" she asked. - -"Who is my team? Don't you know?" he almost shouted. - -"Naturally not. You haven't told us." - -"They aren't mind readers, George," reminded Billy Burgess. "I'll confess -that you've almost got me guessing. You've so befuddled me that I'm -beginning to wonder if I know who they are myself." - -The boys burst out into a jolly laugh. - -"Oh, tell them and be done with it. For goodness' sake, quit -circumnavigating the globe," scoffed Davy. "I could walk to town and back -while you are saying 'No, thank you.' Speak up." - -"And you haven't guessed yet?" questioned George. - -"We are more in the dark than when you began," replied Harriet. "Who is -to play on your team?" - -"Why, _you_ are, of course. The Meadow-Brook Girls are our team. You are -the players who are going to win the tennis championship for the coast, -and you're going to put all the others so far back of the lines that they -won't be able to find themselves for the rest of the summer. Now, what do -you think of that?" - -"What?" Harriet sat up very straight, looking George Baker squarely in -the eyes. "Why, Mr. Baker, none of us has ever played a game of tennis in -her life." - - - - - CHAPTER V - THE TRAMP CLUB RECEIVES A SHOCK - - -"Quit joking. I mean what I say," commanded Captain Baker somewhat -testily. "Of course I know you girls play tennis as well as you do -everything else. Knowing this, I hadn't the least hesitancy in entering -you for the tournament. I told Jack Herrington all about you. He insisted -on my making the entry right there and then. You see, he had heard of the -Meadow-Brook Girls. He knew almost as much about their accomplishments as -I did myself. He said that was just the kind of entries they wished for -the Atlantic Coast Tennis Tournament. I was mighty glad he said that, for -I really wanted you girls to go in and win the cup, so I made the entry -in Miss Harriet's name per George Baker as representative. There are girl -teams entered from all along the coast and they are cracker-jacks, too, -but they aren't in the same class with you girls, either in tennis or -anything else. Now, isn't that great?" Captain George's face was flushed -and his eyes were sparkling. - -"Great?" answered Harriet slowly. "I told you none of us ever had played -a game of tennis in her life, and I meant it. Some of us have knocked the -ball about a little with the racquets, but not one of us ever has played -a game. Why, we know absolutely nothing about tennis." - -"What? You--you mean to say--you mean you are in earnest--you aren't -joking with me?" - -"I was never more serious in my life, George," replied Harriet gravely. - -Captain George Baker looked as he felt--thunderstruck--while his -companions' faces reflected his consternation. George groaned dismally. - -"But we've entered you. You must go through with it," he expostulated. - -Harriet shook her head. - -"It is out of the question, George. Miss Elting plays, I believe. Let her -take the entry for us." - -"She isn't eligible," objected George. "This entry is for girls not more -than eighteen years old. Of course you will play," he added with a more -hopeful note in his tone. "I know well enough that you play, and play -superbly. No girls who are such clever girls, out-of-doors as well as in, -could help playing tennis. Besides, you will have to do it now. I tell -you I've entered you." - -"No, George. I am sorry, but you will have to withdraw our entry, -explaining to Mr. Herrington that we don't play and that you were led -into the making of the entry by his urging." - -"The papers have printed the entries," shouted George. "And they've told -all about you," he added in a tone of misery. - -"Show them what the papers printed, George," urged Dill. - -Captain George drew a wrinkled piece of newspaper from his blouse pocket -and flattened it out on one knee with the palms of his hands. He regarded -the paper ruefully, then handed it to Dodd. - -"You read it, Dill. My voice is going back on me. I must have yelled -myself hoarse this morning. It's all about you, girls. You will see that -you've got to go through with this business, no matter what happens." - -"Ahem!" exclaimed Dodd. "Are you ready for the question? The question is -to play or not to play. This is an item in the 'Newtown Register' and, as -you will observe, was written with a complete knowledge of all the -facts." - -"Read it. Don't waste so much time talking," cried Sam. - -"The item is as follows," said Dill. "That is, I shall read only that -part relating to you girls and your entry. What it says about the other -entries, of course, will be of no interest to you just now. Later on it -may. I quote from the 'Register': 'Not the least interesting among the -entries for the Atlantic Coast Tennis Tournament is that of the -Meadow-Brook Girls of Meadow-Brook, New Hampshire. This is not, strictly -speaking, a tennis club. The young women who form this organization have -become known to the public by reason of numerous vacation tours which -they have made on foot and by automobile throughout the State. Their -thorough athletic training, coupled with their proficiency in outdoor -sports, will make them formidable contestants. We shall welcome them to -the Coast Tournament and hope to have them with us as long as they remain -eligible for the classes offered here.' Then follows the family history -of each of you girls," added Dill mischievously. - -"My grathiouth, you don't thay tho!" exclaimed Tommy. "Won't my father be -ath mad ath a hatter! He thayth young girlth thhould be theen but not -heard." - -"Here's another from the 'Gazette,'" announced George, passing a second -slip to his companion. - -"'Great interest is being manifested in the entry of the well known -organization who call themselves the Meadow-Brook Girls,'" read Dill. -"'Their coming is awaited with deep interest by the summer visitors as -well as the regular residents of Newtown, who are justly proud of old New -Hampshire's girls.'" - -"I fear you have involved yourself and us in a scrape, Captain George," -said Miss Elting. "I know something about tennis, and have played a few -games. I know, too, that long practice is necessary even to play an -ordinary game of it. But even in my case, I can't say that I know enough -about the game to instruct any one else. You must go to Mr. Herrington -and tell him frankly that the entry was made under a misapprehension, and -that it must be withdrawn." - -"What, after all thothe complimentth?" demanded Tommy. "Never! I'll play -the whole tournament mythelf firtht." - -"No, George," insisted the guardian, "it isn't possible. You must cancel -the entry. My girls do not play tennis, and that is all there is about -it. I am, of course, ineligible, much as I should like to keep up the -reputation of the Meadow-Brook Girls. We are very sorry to disappoint -you." - -"George will have to go to Newtown and tell Herrington all about it," -declared Dill. "We have made fools of ourselves, but through no fault of -the girls. We should have found out whether or not they played the game -before entering them in the tournament." - -"I didn't think for a minute that it could be possible they didn't play. -I didn't suppose there was anything they couldn't do, and I'm half -inclined to believe they are fooling us now," declared George. "I----" - -His voice trailed off into an unintelligible mumble as he observed the -troubled eyes of Harriet Burrell fixed upon him. "Oh, shoot the whole -business!" he exploded. - -Billy Burgess had in the meantime beckoned to Sam. The two boys slunk out -of camp and a few moments later were observed staggering back, bearing -some heavy burden between them. The girls could not imagine what the boys -were bringing into camp. George knew, however. He started up, his face -flushing angrily. - -"Take it away!" he yelled. "We don't want it. What are you fellows trying -to do, make a bigger fool of me than I am already?" he demanded. - -"That would be impossible," laughed Sam. - -"For mercy's sake, what have you there?" cried Miss Elting. - -"The makings," answered Dill. "And it was an unlucky day for us, when we -bought them, wasn't it, Captain George Baker?" - -"You'd better drag that thing out of here," roared George, now thoroughly -angry. "Am I the captain of this club or not?" - -"Don't take it away, boys. We want to know what it is. Is this bundle a -mystery, another of your great surprises?" demanded Jane McCarthy. - -"This is the treat that was to be," Dill informed them. "Of course, it -isn't a treat now, it's just a sad reminder of what might have been, but -we thought you might like to have a look. You'll see what you have missed -and we shall shed tears, George shedding crocodile tears. If you wish to -know how a crocodile weeps, just observe the eyes of our noble captain. -George, prepare to weep." - -"Oh, keep quiet!" growled George Baker. "I'll trounce you if you keep on. -Are you going to take that thing away?" - -"Not until our very good friends, the Meadow-Brook Girls, have had an -opportunity to see it and learn what a chance to distinguish themselves -they have missed." - -"You have aroused our curiosity," said the guardian laughingly. "You -simply must let us into this new secret. Such boys! I never saw your -like! I'll confess that I am as curious as any of my girls. What have you -there?" - -"The makings, I said," answered Dill Dodd--"the making of world champions -and championesses." - -"I don't understand," answered Miss Elting, glancing from one to another -of the boys. The latter were now smiling broadly, all save Captain Baker -himself, whose face was gloomy, his gaze fixed morosely on the ground. - -Sam Crocker drew a knife from his pocket, opened it and felt the edge of -the blade with aggravating deliberateness, then suddenly cut the heavy -twine that held the bundle together. - -The bundle sprang open. The two lads grabbed the contents and quickly -spread them out over the ground in front of the girls' tent. The -Meadow-Brooks were silent for a few seconds; then broke out into -exclamations of delight. - -"Just look!" cried Margery shrilly. - -"Oh, you boys, you boys!" exclaimed the guardian, her eyes glowing with -an excitement and pleasure that she made no effort to conceal. "How -really unkind we have been to you." - - - - - CHAPTER VI - A DISCOURAGING TRY-OUT - - -"And you have done all this for us?" asked Miss Elting, stepping over and -placing a hand on the shoulder of the disconsolate George, who, sitting -with his chin in his palms, never so much as glanced up at her. - -"No; just for the sake of showing you what fools fellows can make of -themselves," he answered sourly. - -"Oh, don't say that, Captain," begged Harriet, running to him. "We shall -never forget your goodness--never! It was splendid in you!" - -"A real tennis net!" cried Margery. "What a lot of fun we shall have with -it." - -"It is a splendid outfit, too," declared Miss Elting, examining the -contents of the bundle with critical eyes; "everything complete, even to -racquets, and the best to be had in the market, too. Oh, how can we thank -you? But isn't this outfit new?" she asked, a sudden thought occurring to -her. - -Sam nodded and smiled. - -"To whom does it belong?" she continued. - -He waved his hand as indicating that it was the property of the Tramp -Club. In the meantime George's face was taking on a deeper flush, the -heel of one boot was digging more and more savagely into the turf, and -his hair, through which he had run his fingers, was standing up wildly. - -"The property of the Tramp Club?" repeated the guardian. - -Sam nodded, but George did not. - -"When did you get it?" questioned Miss Elting. - -"It came the day before yesterday," Dill informed her. "We've been -looking for it for more than a week--we could hardly wait till it got -here. When it came, we hustled right over to Meadow-Brook, where we -learned that you were out here." - -"But--but you didn't carry it all the way from Meadow-Brook here, did -you?" demanded Jane. - -"No, we didn't tote it," answered Sam. "We got a farmer who was on his -way out here to carry it in his wagon. We carried it up from the road, -about a mile. That was far enough. We are very sorry we had all our -trouble for nothing." - -"We're _not_ sorry!" roared George. "We aren't sorry for anything we do -for the Meadow-Brook Girls. The fellow who says that isn't a Tramp by a -long shot." - -"I--I didn't mean it just that way," apologized Sam. "You know what I -meant." - -Harriet, who had been watching the faces of the boys and listening to -what was said, had already come to a certain conclusion regarding the -thoughtfulness of the boys. She put that conclusion into words a few -moments later. - -"You mean that you boys bought this outfit, net, balls, racquets and all? -Is that it?" - -"We certainly did," cried Sam. - -"Will you keep quiet?" demanded George angrily. "You ramble on and tell -everything you know almost before you are asked. We got that outfit, -ladies, because we wanted it and for no other reason. We thought, seeing -you were going to play in the tournament at Newtown, that you might like -to practise while you were out here. That's all there is to it. Don't pay -any attention to what Sam says; he isn't always responsible." - -Harriet was not deceived. Neither was Miss Elting. It was plain to both -that George Baker and his fellows had purchased this tennis outfit solely -in the interest of the Meadow-Brook Girls. The guardian, knowing -something of these matters, realized that the boys must have purchased -the outfit at a great personal sacrifice, thus increasing her wonder and -admiration for the unselfish Tramp Club. As a matter of fact, the boys -had sacrificed their pocket money in order to get the outfit, fully -expecting the girls to be overcome with joy. Instead of this the girls -had met them with the amazing news that they had never played a game of -tennis in their lives! - -"You bought it for us," reflected Harriet, with her chin in her hand, -regarding the disconsolate George with thoughtful eyes. - -"Suppose we purchase the outfit?" suggested Miss Elting. - -Captain George sprang up, his face reflecting his indignation. - -"Do you think we are that kind of fellows?" he demanded. "I beg your -pardon. I didn't mean to speak to you in that tone, Miss Elting," he -apologized. - -"You need not apologize. We accept your kind thoughtfulness and -appreciate the spirit behind it. But it is too bad that you have had to -be so disappointed. Let me think it over and see what can be done." - -"Nothing can be done," groaned George. "We're in up to our chins and -we're going in up to our eyes before we've done with it." - -Tommy and Margery had taken up racquets and balls and were batting the -balls about, shouting delightedly. They already had volleyed one ball off -into the bushes and lost it. Billy Burgess was down on his knees crawling -about in the bushes in search of it. Already a hopeful spirit was -apparent in the faces of nearly all the boys and most of the girls. -Harriet was thoughtful, while Miss Elting smiled her appreciation upon -the boys, of whom she was almost as fond as of her own young charges. - -"I would suggest that we put up the net. Even if we aren't able to play, -we shall be able to have a lot of enjoyment out of the tennis outfit," -said Harriet. "Do you object to our using it while we are here, boys?" - -"Object?" George Baker was on his feet instantly, the set lines of his -face relaxing somewhat. "Well, I should say not! Do you really mean that -you'll play over the net?" - -"I don't know about playing," answered Harriet laughingly. "We will agree -to volley the balls back and forth." - -"You're fooling me!" shouted George. "You said '_volley_.' No one but a -tennis player would know about that word. Hurrah! Put up the net, -fellows. We'll see about this." - -"Please do not deceive yourself," begged Harriet. "We have told you the -simple truth. We do not play. I knew the word and what it means, having -heard Miss Elting use it. But we will put up the net just the same and -have ever and ever so much fun. I'll tell you what, George. You teach us -how to play. Miss Elting will play with you. She can play." - -"Indifferently," answered the guardian. "I fear I should cut but a sorry -figure with such experts as the Tramp Club, especially such an expert as -Mr. Baker." - -"Expert! Ho-ho! Ha-ha!" chuckled Sam. "Wait till you see him play! Oh, -yes, he's the original and unconquerable champion of the Granite State. -Get busy, fellows. Don't stand about like a lot of wooden Indians waiting -to be placed on your pedestals. There aren't any pedestals here. If there -were, you wouldn't occupy them, not while there are ladies present." - -"Where shall we place the net?" asked Hazel. - -"Over yonder," answered George. "You must level off the ground first, -boys." He was full of new interest now. "Wait. I'll trim down the bushes, -then some of you get to work and dig them up--dig up the roots, I mean. -It's not exactly an ideal place for a court." - -The boys fell to with a will, the girls getting to work assisting them in -clearing the ground in preparation for a tennis court. Nearly an hour was -occupied with this work, with the result that a fairly level and smooth -court had been constructed, George having paced off the measurements so -that they were almost accurate. It would not do for the girls to learn on -a court that was either too large or too small, for this would have an -effect on their playing when they came to play on a real court. - -While the others were setting the net, George with a stick was busily -engaged in marking out the base line and other lines of the court. All -this was of interest to the Meadow-Brook Girls because they did not -understand the purpose of it. They had no idea what the lines were for -nor why they should be there at all. But Harriet early began asking -questions, and by the time the markings were down she had some inkling as -to their uses. - -"Chalk is used to mark the lines ordinarily," explained George. "Having -no chalk, we fall back on a sharp stick. The lines aren't very plain, but -plain enough, I guess, for all we shall require of them. I reckon we'll -have time to volley a few times before night," he added, consulting the -skies. "I know you girls are going to give us the surprise of our young -lives." - -"We are," agreed Harriet, balancing a racquet on the first finger of her -right hand. - -"Where'd you learn to do that?" demanded the captain sharply. - -"Why, I--I didn't know I was doing anything so remarkable," stammered -Harriet. - -"That's a trick of expert tennis players to learn whether a racquet is -properly balanced. You needn't tell me you don't know anything about the -game. Sam, bring a ball here. You fellows are going to get a surprise in -about a minute and a half. Harriet, you and Hazel take your places. No, -not in the middle of the court--diagonally in those squares. There. Now -play!" - -Harriet tossed up the ball and made a swing at it with the racquet. She -did not even hit the ball. Her companions laughed merrily at her -awkwardness. - -"Try again. That was no stroke," said George. - -Harriet tried again, sending the ball toward Hazel. Hazel struck at it -with so much force that she spun her body completely about, but she did -not hit it. - -"Where is it?" cried Hazel. - -"Gone where the poison ivy twineth," announced Sam solemnly. "I reckon -that ball is going yet. Woof! What a stroke!" - -"Don't you know that after a service in the beginning of the game the -ball must first touch the ground and be taken on the first rebound?" -asked Dill. - -"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit it so hard," apologized Harriet. "Better -luck next time." - -"She didn't _mean_ to hit it so hard," mocked Sam. - -Billy recovered the ball after considerable hunting about in the bushes. -In the meantime another ball had been pressed into service. This time -Harriet succeeded in serving it into the court of her opponent, but Hazel -did not see it coming. The ball rolled out of bounds and lay waiting to -be picked up. - -"Tell me the truth, are you girls playing off?" demanded George. - -"No, indeed," answered Harriet laughingly. "Is there still a lurking idea -in your mind that we really do know how to play?" - -"There was, up to a few moments ago. I know she doesn't," pointing to -Hazel. "There couldn't be any mistake about that. Nobody could -make-believe play-off like that." - -"Let me thhow them how to play," piped Tommy. - -"Yes. You and Margery have a try-out," suggested Miss Elting. - -Harriet and Hazel willingly gave way to their two companions. Margery -started in by grasping the racquet firmly in both hands. George shook his -head sorrowfully. - -"What do you think you are playing--baseball?" demanded Sam jeeringly. -"We don't bat in tennis. We hold the racquet artistically in one hand, -then, when the ball meanders over into our court, we give it a genteel -swat in the northeast corner; next, biff! bump! bang! Back she comes -again, just starving to death for more. Do you see?" - -Miss Elting laughed merrily. - -"Your description is graphic, indeed," she said. "I think Margery will -have no difficulty in returning her opponent's service after that." - -"Buthter ith too fat to play anything but football," averred Tommy. "Thhe -would be a thuctheth in football becauthe thhe could fall on the ball and -hold it down tho nobody elthe could get it. Do I hit the ball firtht?" - -"Does she hit it first?" groaned Bill. "You 'serve' it. That's the polite -way to express what Sam would call the opening swat." - -"Then what do I do?" questioned Margery. - -Miss Elting here took a hand in the instruction. - -"When your opponent serves the ball into your court, you let the ball -strike the ground, bound up into the air, then you volley it back into -your opponent's court. Then, the ball being in play, you do not have to -let it strike the ground again unless you wish to do so." - -"But how can I help its striking the ground if it wants to?" cried -Buster. - -George groaned dismally at this question. - -"By hitting it!" he shouted. "Keep the ball going as long as there is any -'go' left in it. Play!" - -"Look out!" shouted Tommy, and without waiting for her opponent to -prepare herself, she served the ball with a fairly well directed stroke, -so accurate, in fact, that the ball sped true to its mark, hitting Buster -squarely on the nose. The hurt of it was not so great as was the -surprise. Margery staggered and fell over on her back, to the -accompaniment of shouts of laughter from both boys and girls. - -"I gueth I can play," declared Tommy proudly, "but Buthter ith too fat." - -"You did it on purpose," cried Margery, getting to her feet and touching -her nose gingerly with the tips of her fingers. "Is it bleeding?" - -"No, it isn't bleeding," assured George sympathetically. - -"If it isn't bleeding it's broken. Oh, my poor nose!" - -Tommy was regarding her quizzically, her shrewd little face wrinkled into -sharp lines. Tommy was very proud of her accomplishment, for did it not -prove that she was very skilful and Margery not? - -"I think myself that Margery is not a success at tennis," answered Miss -Elting. "I believe you had better give it up and let Harriet and Jane -have an opportunity. Jane hasn't held a racquet yet." - -"No! I'll play if it kills me," declared Margery. - -"That's the talk!" cried Sam. "That's the spirit that wins games and -everything else! But," he continued, addressing Tommy Thompson, "don't -you be so violent this time, Grace. Take it more slowly to begin with. -Just drop it over into the other court; send it over so slowly that -Margery cannot fail to see it. Easy as falling off a log." - -"Play!" commanded George. - -This time Tommy made three passes before she succeeded in hitting the -ball. She gave a gentle lift on the third stroke, serving it over the -net, barely missing the net itself. Margery, following Sam Crocker's -advice, ran toward the ball making wild swings with her racquet. Luckily, -ball and racquet met. Margery gave the ball a toss, but it was more the -force of her forward lunge than the stroke that sent the ball over the -net. The girl herself kept right on going. From sheer force of her -momentum she could not stop. - -In the meantime Tommy had darted forward to meet the ball and volley it -back into the opposite court. Just before reaching the net she stubbed -her toe on a root that had been overlooked, sprawled head first into the -net, and became hopelessly entangled in its meshes. - -"Thave me!" moaned Tommy. - -Buster, who was still lunging forward, tripped also and plunged forward -head first, her own head bumping Tommy's with great force. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS CHANGE THEIR MINDS - - -For a full minute the two camps were so convulsed with laughter that they -were unable to go to the rescue of the two unfortunate tennis players, -now so thoroughly wound up in the net as to be quite helpless. The more -they tried to extricate themselves the more entangled did they become. - -Then something else was discovered. Sam Crocker was seen groveling on the -ground, both bands clapped tightly against his face. - -"What's the matter with you?" demanded Dill Dodd after the two -unfortunates, bruised and sore, had been assisted out of the net. - -"If you had eyes you could see without asking so many questions. She let -the racquet go when she struck at the ball and it got me. The end of the -handle hit me on the nose. It's harder than iron, too. It's broken, as -sure as you're alive. Oh, why did I ever permit myself to get into this -scrape?" - -"That is too bad," replied Dill sympathetically. "Here we go and buy the -best racquets to be had, then you have to break one the first thing." - -"What!" yelled Sam. "It wasn't the racquet that was broken, it was my -nose!" - -Tommy and Margery, after having escaped from the net, had sat down -heavily. Sam still sat where Tommy's racquet had laid him low, nursing -his injured nose and rocking his body to and fro. - -The campers screamed with laughter. He presented such a ludicrous figure -that they could not help laughing. Even Miss Elting could not hide her -amusement. - -"That's right. Laugh if you want to. I'd laugh myself if I weren't afraid -of ruining my nose forever. They deserve to be laughed at," he declared -angrily. - -"We aren't laughing at Tommy and Margery, we are laughing at you," cried -Crazy Jane. - -Harriet, in the meantime, had brought a basin of water and, kneeling -down, was washing the blood from Sam's damaged nasal organ. As she wiped -away the blood she observed that his nose was leaning slightly to one -side. Dill, who had been an interested spectator, had observed the same -thing. - -"Out of plumb, isn't it?" he questioned quizzically. - -"It's broken. Didn't I tell you it was?" groaned Sam. "I may not know -everything, but I know my own nose and I know when it's broken." - -The guardian stepped over to where Sam and Harriet were sitting. She -examined Sam's nose carefully. - -"If you twitht it a little you can tell whether it ith broken or not," -suggested Tommy. - -Sam yelled in anguish at the thought. - -"Don't you dare try it!" - -"Never mind Tommy. She is just a little savage," chuckled Harriet. -"Neither Miss Elting nor I would give you the slightest unnecessary -pain." - -"That sounds very well, Harriet. I fear, however, that I shall have to -give Sam quite a little pain," said the guardian. - -"What are you going to do?" cried Sam. - -"First straighten your nose, then bolster it so it will stay straight." - -"Shall I get the tent pole?" asked Dill eagerly. - -"Don't wear out my patience, fellows," warned Sam. "I'm a wounded man, -I'm a desperate man and I'm not wholly responsible for what I say or do. -Are--are you going to twist it, Miss Elting?" - -"I shouldn't call it that. I am going to shape it, to mould it, restore -it to its natural shape as nearly as I can, then secure it there with -adhesive plaster." - -"Yeth, that ith the way," agreed Tommy, nodding eagerly. "Let me help -you, Mith Elting." - -"You will please keep away from me. Haven't you done enough damage as it -is?" demanded Sam. - -"That ith what I get for trying to be helpful," answered Tommy in an -aggrieved tone. "Any one would think I had broken your nothe on purpothe. -I didn't break it at all; the racquet broke it." - -"Never mind him. He doesn't know what he is talking about," soothed -George. "Shall I hold his hands while you are making temporary repairs, -Miss Elting?" - -"If you boys will go way back somewhere and sit down, we'll have the job -done in a few minutes," suggested Jane. - -"Yes, please do not interfere," urged the guardian. "Now, don't jerk, -Sam. I am going to straighten your nose." - -Sam winced as she pressed his nose back to its normal position, and his -hands gripped a handful of dirt from the tennis court, but he uttered no -sound. While the guardian held the nose in place she instructed Harriet -Burrell how to place the adhesive plaster, which Harriet did with -delicate, skilful fingers. - -"Does it hurt much?" asked the girl sympathetically. - -"Hurt? Oh, no. It is the pleasantest sensation I ever enjoyed. That's -what I'm trying to make myself believe," he added, speaking thickly, so -as not to strain the muscles of his face. "But how am I going to -breathe?" - -"You have your mouth left," laughed Harriet. - -"There," announced the guardian finally, "I don't believe a surgeon could -have done better. How do you think he looks, boys?" - -The boys gathered about Sam, hands thrust into their trousers pockets, -and regarded him solemnly. - -"I gueth," smiled Tommy, "if you would thtand him up in a cornfield he -would thcare all the crowth away. He lookth jutht like a thcare crow, -doethn't he?" - -"Just what I was going to suggest," added Dill. "He'd scare the crows all -right and the owner of the corn patch, too." - -"Is that all?" asked Sam, dolefully. - -"I think so." The guardian smiled down into the boyish face. - -"I wish I could see how I look." - -Tommy ran into the tent, returning quickly with a hand mirror, which she -handed to the boy she had unwittingly wounded. - -"Look out that your face doesn't break it," warned Dill. - -"If my face doesn't, your head may," retorted Sam sharply. - -"Well, what do you think of it?" asked Dill Dodd with a grin. - -"Think? Why, I think I should rather have my face than yours right this -minute." - -This thrust restored Sam to good humor once more. His companions and the -girls joined in the laugh at Dodd's expense. The boys had replaced the -net, but the hour was too late to think of having further practice. -Harriet said they must begin to prepare their supper. The boys decided -that it was time they were getting back to camp and starting their own -evening meal. They declined an invitation to remain and take supper with -the Meadow-Brook party. Harriet begged them to sit down a little while -until the fire was fairly started. Instead, they placed the wood and -started the fire for her, after which Hazel, whose turn it was to get -supper that night, promptly set about her task. - -Captain Baker relapsed into his gloomy state again. The recollection of -the miserable failure of all his carefully laid plans rankled in his -mind. He knew now that the girls were not deceiving him when they said -they knew nothing about tennis playing. He had never seen a more pitiful -exhibition than that of the afternoon; he hoped never to see another like -it. - -"Well, I'll have to tell Herrington, I suppose," he said, after remaining -silent for several minutes. "But I'll tell you truly, I'd rather be -kicked all the way down to Newtown and back than to do it." - -"If you prefer I will write to Mr. Herrington myself and explain why it -is impossible for the girls to enter the tournament," suggested Miss -Elting demurely. - -"Never!" exclaimed George with strong emphasis. "I'm not quite such a -namby-pamby as to hide behind a woman's skirts. I'll face the music, I'll -swallow my medicine and make a maple syrup face while I'm swallowing the -bitter stuff. I'm going right down to-morrow and have the disagreeable -job over." - -His companions had also relapsed into their former attitude of dejection. -The full weight of their disappointment came back with overwhelming -force. - -"I wish I could talk without danger of cracking my face. I'd like to make -a few remarks just at this time," said Sam, talking as if he had a hot -potato in his mouth. - -"Try the sign language," suggested Dill teasingly. - -"All right, I will," mumbled Sam Crocker, snatching up a pail of water -and hurling it at Dill, who succeeded in eluding all except a few drops -that rained over his head and down his neck. - -"That's a sign of my displeasure. Want any further signs? There are -plenty of them left over yonder in the spring, if the ladies will kindly -lend us the water pail." - -"No, no more signs," replied Dill, backing away, laughing. "I would much -prefer that you remain quiet. Be as silent as a clam, if you like. I'll -not criticise you." - -"I thought you wouldn't like the sign language after you'd felt it," -snarled Sam. - -"When did you say the tournament is to be held?" questioned Harriet -mysteriously. - -"Five weeks from to-day," answered George Baker. "Why?" He was eyeing her -almost suspiciously. - -"We have been wanting something to do, something to occupy our time and -keep us out of mischief, ever since we came up here to camp. I have been -thinking it over, thinking of your thoughtfulness and kindness, and for -your sakes, boys, I for one propose that we girls set to work and learn -the game. We surely ought to be able to accomplish something in five -weeks. Don't you believe we can?" - -"You--you--you mean that you _will_ play in the tournament?" - -Harriet nodded. - -"Yeow!" howled Captain George Baker, at which his companions came running -toward him. "They're going to play, they're going to play!" he shouted. -"Hi-diddie-um-dum, hi-diddie-um-dum!" he sang, dancing about as though he -had taken sudden leave of his senses. - -"What do you say, girls?" questioned Harriet, glancing about at her -companions. - -"We say whatever you do. You are the captain of the Meadow-Brook Girls -just as Captain Baker is captain of the Tramp Club," answered Jane. - -"Then we will play." Harriet nodded with an emphasis that left no doubt -as to her earnestness. "You shall teach us to play and we will do the -rest." - -"Of course we expect to be beaten badly," sighed Hazel. "But we shall -make good your entry for us, so that you boys will not be open to any -accusation except that of bad tennis judgment and too great faith in the -powers of the Meadow-Brook Girls," she added with a bright little laugh. - -Harriet Burrell sprang to her feet, eyes snapping. - -"Wrong!" she flashed. - -"What?" groaned George. - -"Oh, we'll enter the tournament, but not to lose. We'll enter to win, -boys!" - -__A few seconds of impressive silence followed Harriet Burrell's bold -declaration, then such a shout rose from the throats of the boys of the -Tramp Club as perhaps never had been heard in those woods before. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - ON THE SERVICE LINE - - -Clasping hands, the Tramp Boys formed a ring about Harriet, Sam among the -number, and danced and sang as they swung about her, to all of which she -protested laughingly. - -"Save your congratulations until after we have practised for a few weeks. -We shall be better able to judge then what the prospects are." - -"But you said you were going to win," cried Dill, excitedly. "You know -you did." - -"I still say so," returned Harriet Burrell. - -"Then don't give us shivers up and down our backs by such statements as -'save your congratulations,'" advised Billy. "We'll congratulate now and -cry later if we have to. Let's start in practising at once." - -"Not to-night. The girls are getting supper. Besides, it is too late in -the day; they couldn't see the ball," answered George. "To-morrow, too, -Sam's nose will be better. He wouldn't enjoy seeing a game now, anyway." - -"I'd enjoy seeing them play any old time, but you'll excuse me if I get -behind a tree somewhere when the serving and the volleying are going on. -Once is enough for me, especially when Sister Tommy is on the line. Come, -fellows, come home and get my supper." - -"Yes, please do, boys," urged Harriet. "I want to think. You will agree -that we have several things to think over between now and to-morrow, and -a number of things to talk over together, too." - -Captain Baker shook hands with her. - -"I won't try to tell you how much we appreciate what you've done," he -said with feeling. "I knew all along that you could do it if you would, -but I had almost given up all hope that you'd try. I might have known you -would. Meadow-Brook Girls always come to the line when the time arrives. -You will in this instance, too." - -Harriet smiled, but made no reply to this confident remark. - -"I thank you, too, for fixing my nose," said Sam, shaking hands with Miss -Elting. "It's a pretty poor nose at its best, I know, but it's the only -one I have and I couldn't get along very well without it. Good night, -ladies. I'll say more when I can do so without danger of damaging my -countenance." - -The boys trooped away singing. They were far happier than they had been -since George Baker first broached the subject of the tennis tournament. -After the sound of their voices had died away, Harriet sat down by the -fire, and, clasping her hands about her knees, gazed into it without -saying a word to her companions. She remained in that position until the -supper call was sounded. - -"Well, my dear, have you planned it all out?" questioned Miss Elting. - -"Far from it, Miss Elting. I am beginning to realize that it is a pretty -big thing I have promised to do, and I shall need the help and -encouragement of every one of you girls even to keep my spirits up to -concert pitch." - -"Oh, fiddlethtickth!" scoffed Tommy. - -"I think we have forgotten one important factor," reminded Miss Elting; -"that is, the consent of your parents." - -"No, I have not overlooked that. I shall get the consent of each girl's -parents as soon as I find there is any necessity for it." - -The guardian nodded. - -"I can't see how you can hope even to get a place in the tournament. -Tennis is a game of skill requiring years to make one proficient, and how -you can expect to get into shape to play in a tournament five weeks hence -is beyond me." - -Harriet laughed lightly. - -"I am glad to hear you offer objections. That is exactly what I need to -stir me up. That no one else could hope to accomplish this thing is the -very reason why I have decided to attempt it. And I, for one, am going to -win," she added reflectively. - -"I actually believe you think you will," exclaimed the guardian. - -"Of course I do. Otherwise I should not try." - -Miss Elting regarded Harriet thoughtfully for some time, then sighed and -gave it up. Of course, the subject was discussed among the girls all the -rest of the evening, Harriet most of the time remaining in the background -and listening to the remarks of the guardian and her own companions. The -general trend of the conversation was that the Meadow-Brook Girls stood -not even a ghost of a chance to win anything in the tournament. They -would be fortunate if, after the first set, they were not barred from -further participation. Harriet had already expressed her opinion and from -that time on her whole thought would be to play to win. If she failed, it -would be through no lack of belief in herself, no lack of effort on her -part to perfect herself. She determined to turn her face to the front and -never once look back. That was what she did on the following morning. - -The boys came trooping in at an early hour, but early as they were, the -girls were ready for them, with the morning work all cleared away and -Harriet and Hazel at work at the net industriously tossing the ball back -and forth. - -"That's the idea," declared George glowingly. "I told the boys we should -find you at work." - -"Oh, good morning, boys," greeted Harriet. "How is your poor nose this -morning, Sam!" - -"It is all there still, but I can't smell with it yet. Why, do you know -my breakfast was spoiled for me because I couldn't get the odor of the -bacon and coffee. I wish some one would tell me how to smell through my -mouth." - -"I'll think about it to-night," answered Harriet mischievously. "I was -going to suggest that you boys play a game of tennis while we look on. I -am sure we shall get some pointers from your playing." - -"Miss Elting, will you play a set with me?" asked George. - -"With pleasure, though I am but an indifferent player." - -"I guess you can handle a racquet as well as I can." - -"Then let us get at it. We have no time to lose. Every minute is precious -from now on for the coming five weeks." - -George chose a racquet. They began to play a few minutes later. It was -plain that they were evenly matched, though George appeared to be a -little more skilful than his opponent. The girls were enthusiastic, the -boys sitting on the side lines offering suggestions to both players from -time to time. Harriet Burrell never spoke a word throughout the game. -Instead, she watched every play with keen eyes, gaining no little -knowledge of the principles of the game from such observation. - -George won the first set by a narrow margin. Miss Elting had made him -work for it, fighting him every inch of the way. While her playing was -good, it was not what might be called skilful. She played such a game as -might be expected of a country player. - -"Want to try another with me? No? Who else wishes to put himself up as an -easy mark for me?" - -"That's it--easy mark," chuckled Sam. "Any other kind would win the game -before you really got started." - -"Lucky for us that George isn't going to try to defend the Meadow-Brook -title," scoffed Dill. - -"Harriet, suppose you try a set with me this morning?" proposed George. - -Harriet stepped forward. George, standing beside her, gave her such -advice as he was able, regarding serving, volleying and position in the -court. - -The game started, the boys and girls pressing close about the court, not -very much interested in George Baker's playing, but watching eagerly -every stroke Harriet made. Was not she going to play in the tournament? -Harriet worked hard, worked until the beads of perspiration stood out on -her forehead, but she was awkward, she was uncertain in placing the ball, -sending it out of bounds fully as often as she dropped it within reach of -her opponent. George won easily. - -"You are the worst I ever saw," declared Sam very frankly. "You couldn't -win a game in a thousand years." - -"Keep quiet," commanded George. "We can't all be champions the first day -we stand before a net. Give her a chance, can't you?" - -"Oh, I don't mind Sam's criticism," answered Harriet brightly. "Instead -of discouraging me, it makes me all the more determined to learn to -play." - -"And only five weeks to learn in," groaned Billy. - -"And a wooden man to teach her," mumbled Sam. - -"Any fellow who is so slow that he can't dodge a racquet shouldn't -criticise his betters," retorted George cuttingly. "Before we go any -further I shall deliver a lecture. The ladies will please give their -attention while I explain a few of the terms. A 'volley,' as you know, is -hitting the ball before it touches the ground. The 'server' is the one -who hits the ball from behind his base line and at one side of the center -diagonally over the net into his opponent's service court. Understand?" - -The girls nodded, but did not interrupt by speaking. - -"The one who serves the ball is called 'the server,' his opponent 'the -striker-out.' In the first play, as I think I have already told you, the -ball must hit the ground before being returned. The latter stroke is -called a 'ground stroke.' There are some other fancy strokes that I have -seen, but can't explain to you. I'll have some one who knows more about -the game than I do tell you about these later on." - -"I don't believe we quite understand how the scoring is done," said -Harriet. - -"That is easily explained. In the first place, four points make a game -unless the score is tied at three points each, when two points in -succession must be secured to win the game." - -"But how are they scored?" interjected Jane. - -"I'm trying to tell you," answered George. "They are scored as follows: -'love,' or no points; fifteen, or one point; thirty, or two points; -forty, or three points; game, or four points. Love-all, fifteen-all, -thirty-all are called when the score is even, each side having nothing or -one or two points, as the case may be. At forty-all the score is called -'deuce,' each side having three points, and as either side secures the -next point it becomes 'vantage-in' or 'vantage-out' according to whether -server or striker has the advantage." - -"My grathiouth! you make my head thwim," murmured Tommy. - -"Then the score hovers between vantage and deuce until one side secures -two points in succession," explained Miss Elting. - -"Yes," agreed George, nodding. "And six games won by either side -constitute a set unless the score is tied at five-all, when -deuce-and-advantage games are generally played, the score going on up to -six, seven, eight-all and so forth until one side gets two successive -games." - -"Isn't it awful?" wailed Margery. "I never, never can get all of that -into my head." - -"That ith becauthe you are fat," retorted Tommy. "You know a lot, don't -you, George?" - -"If he could play half as well as he can talk about it, he'd be the -champion player of the United States," declared Dill. - -They began another game, Jane taking Harriet's place this time. Jane was -fully as awkward as Harriet had been, but she made a somewhat better -showing, playing to better advantage. Hazel and Tommy played the same -awkward game that had marked Harriet Burrell's exhibition. One after -another took her place on the service line, over and over again, this -continuing all through the forenoon until half-past eleven, when George -announced that they must go back to camp and get their noon meal. They -declined to stay to luncheon with the girls. Besides, George said Fred -Avery had gone to town to bring some supplies that were needed and they -were to meet him at the camp. - -George was gloomy all the way back to camp. He did not speak a word to -his companions, but tramped along looking deeply dejected. - -"Well, what do you think of it?" demanded Dill quizzically. - -"What do I think of it? Hopeless--utterly hopeless!" groaned Captain -George. "Did you ever see such work in all your life?" - -"I never did," agreed Dill. "It was bad." - -"Then you don't think they stand any show to win any of the prizes in the -tournament?" questioned Dodd. - -"None at all. The way they play they couldn't win a game from a team of -six-year-old boys. And what is worse, they don't realize what a spectacle -they are making of themselves trying to play. But they're plucky. We all -knew they were. They will keep on fighting, and in the end we shall have -to tell them there isn't the least show. I'll have to go to Herrington, -after all, and tell him that they can't enter the tournament." - -"If we had some one who knew something to teach them how to play, things -might be different," declared Sam Crocker maliciously. "Maybe a miracle -will happen." - -"Miracles don't happen in these woods. And what's more, I want you to -understand that I know how to play tennis fully as well as you do. It's -hopeless, though. I wonder why Fred hasn't got back yet? Go on and get -your luncheon ready. I don't want anything to eat." - -George walked off into the woods and sat down on a log, holding his head -in his hands, now and then uttering a deep sigh. It was he who had -proposed this surprise, he who had urged upon the boys the purchase of -the tennis outfit, so he received no sympathy from them. But to their -credit be it said, the boys of the Tramp Club felt as much concerned over -the failure of their well-laid plans as did Captain George Baker himself. - -George stuck to his determination not to eat anything. He remained in the -woods until long after the boys had finished their luncheon and had come -to look for him. - -"Are you going back for practice?" asked Billy. - -"Of course. What do you think I am?" retorted George savagely. But the -afternoon was destined to bring with it a surprise that set their pulses -throbbing, that filled them with new hope and courage. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - A CLOUD WITH A SILVER LINING - - -As had been the case that morning, Harriet, Jane, Hazel and Tommy were -found at work, the former two at the net, the latter two some little -distance away, tossing balls back and forth with their racquets. The -Meadow-Brook Girls had made up their minds to learn the game, and, still -further, to learn to play an expert game. Once having made up their minds -to a certain course of action they would forge ahead, undaunted by any -obstacles that might be placed in their way. Bright eyes and glowing -faces encouraged even the morose Captain Baker. He went so far as to -smile his approval. - -"We will get down to business again," he said. "Harriet and Jane will -please take their places, Harriet to serve, Jane to be the striker-out. -Play!" - -Jane began by losing her racquet, which fell near the serving line in -Harriet's court. That was the beginning of the match, drawing suppressed -groans from the boys and laughter from the girls. - -Margery watched the practice indifferently. She declined even to -practice. Tommy declared that Buster was too fat to play tennis anyway, -and that it was fortunate for her companions that she knew it. The game -was resumed and played out, Jane winning. There had not been a moment of -encouragement in it to the observers on the boys' side. Even Miss Elting -had frequently shaken her head, evidencing her hopelessness of the girls -ever accomplishing anything at the game. - -Hazel and Tommy played next. The little lisping girl took a keener -interest in her tennis practice than they had ever known her to do in -anything else. - -"Tommy is going to be an expert player one of these days," declared -Harriet. "Which, however, is more than can be said of some of her -companions. How do you think we are getting along, George?" - -"I couldn't say so soon," answered George evasively. - -"Now, now, George. You know you told the boys to-day that we were -hopeless," returned Harriet laughingly. - -George flushed to the roots of his hair. - -"Somebody told you," flared Captain George. - -"Yes," she answered nodding, her eyes snapping mischievously. - -"I know. Sam told you. I'll whale you for that when we get back to camp, -Sam," threatened George. - -"No, Sam did not tell me. You told me yourself, Captain," chuckled -Harriet. "You told me first by coloring when I accused you of it, then -you admitted it by word of mouth. You see, I know you." Harriet laughed -merrily, George's companions joining in the laugh good-naturedly. - -"She's too sharp for you, Captain," shouted Dill. - -"Even if I can't play tennis," answered Harriet. "But I'm going to play -tennis and I'm going to play it well. One of these days I shall beat you, -George, but I shall not forget that it was you who taught me. Don't you -think I shall make a player? Answer me frankly. No evasion, sir." - -"Well, I--I--I can't say just----" - -"Tell the truth." - -"No, I don't. There, I've said it. You made me do it, so don't blame me -for saying so. I don't believe there is the least little bit of use in -our going on with this. You might learn to play the game, but you never, -never will be expert enough to go into a match game," he declared with -emphasis. - -"Aren't you an encouraging boy, though?" jeered Jane. "So glad you told -us." - -"Am I to understand that you are no longer our instructor, George? If so, -we had better get some one else. I am quite certain that Sam would be -glad to teach us the game. Wouldn't you, Sam?" asked Harriet -mischievously. - -"Well, seeing that my nose is out of commission, I guess I'd have to wear -a mask. If I had a mask and a coat of armor, I might be willing to take a -chance at teaching you. I guess the Pickle had better do it, though. We -can take turns at it and as fast as one gets knocked out another can take -his place and go on with the game." - -"Oh, you fellows make me weary," cried George, springing up. "I'll teach -you, Harriet. I said I would, and I will. I guess, if you have the pluck -to stand up and keep batting away at the balls without losing your nerve, -I ought to be willing to do my part, even if the tournament is out of the -question. We will go on with the practice." - -Tommy smiled wisely at Jane, and the latter chuckled under her breath. -The practice was resumed, this time with renewed vigor. Some slight -improvement was noted, though the great difficulty seemed to be in -getting the girls to place the ball accurately. They seemed to be unable -to hit the ball so that it would fall in any certain designated spot. -Their strokes, too, were uneven. The ball was just as likely to fall -spinning on the volleyer's side of the net as into the court of her -opponent. - -The technical name for this is "a fault," and means a score for the -faulter's opponent. There were many such, the faults being about even, -however, with little or no advantage for either side. It was discouraging -work, discouraging for George Baker and discouraging for the girls, -though they did not show by their expression that they were other than -happy and contented with their work. George found himself wondering again -if they really knew how badly they played. He decided that they could not -know, or, with all their pluck, they would give it up. - -"The gloom on our side of the camp is so thick you can cut it with a -bread-knife," thought Sam after watching the game for the better part of -an hour. "What spectacles they are making of themselves, and--hooray! -Good play. What's the matter, Harriet? Did you forget yourself?" - -She had made a really brilliant play. To their amazement, others equally -as brilliant followed it. Then all at once there came a slump. Harriet -Burrell played worse than ever. It had come to the point where she could -not even hit a ball, much less deliver it properly. - -"If there were a lake handy, I'd jump into it and drown myself," George -confided to Billy. - -"Go jump in the spring. A good ducking will do you good. Your face is as -red as a lobster. You couldn't be any hotter if you had been playing a -championship game yourself." - -"A championship game!" groaned Baker. "Don't mention it!" - -"Do you know anything?" demanded Sam, coming up at that juncture. - -George shook his head. - -"No, I'm a driveling idiot. I always knew something was wrong with me, -but until this thing came up I never knew exactly what that something -was. Now I do." - -"Glad you've got a clear understanding of yourself," answered Sam. "It -will be the best thing ever for what ails you. But you were mighty slow -in getting wise to yourself. Even Tommy could tell you. She could tell -you what you have done in this matter, too." - -"Eh? What I have done?" - -"Yes." - -"Well, what have I done, that you haven't done?" demanded George. - -"You've bitten off more than you can chew," answered Sam, with a series -of cautious nods, being wary of the bandages across his injured nose. -"That's what you've done." - -"I have," agreed George. "So have you, so have all the fellows. We are -all in it up to our chins. What have you in the back of your head besides -what you've just said?" - -"That we ought to have a crack player to teach those girls." - -"Sam," said Baker gravely, and with great impressiveness, "the champion -player of the world couldn't put any ginger or skill into the playing of -those young women, all of which isn't saying a word against them, for I -admire them more than any lot of girls I ever knew, and so do we all. -Besides, there isn't any champion on tap, so we must grub along with -Captain George Baker. Hello, there comes Fred Avery." - -The latter put down his bundles, wiped the perspiration from his -forehead, then, walking over, tossed the morning paper to George. Baker, -hot and perspiring, sat down with his back against a granite boulder and -glanced idly through the pages of the newspaper. All at once he sprang to -his feet and, waving the newspaper frantically above his head, began to -dance about and yell as if he had suddenly gone crazy. - -"Catch him! Catch him!" howled Sam. "Somebody catch him! He has -hydrophobia!" - -"I've got it, I've got it!" yelled George. "I've _got it_! Saved, saved! -Whoop! Yeow! Oh, I was never so glad in my life. Yell, you Indians, -yell!" - - - - - CHAPTER X - A JOY AND A DISAPPOINTMENT - - -"I don't know what it's all about, but I'll yell," shouted Dill Dodd. He -did. His companions set up a perfect bedlam of yells and howls. - -The girls regarded them with puzzled looks. - -"Have they gone crathy?" questioned Tommy apprehensively, ready to run -the instant she was thoroughly satisfied that the Tramp Boys really had -lost their minds. They had for the moment lost their heads, but not their -minds. They were howling in sympathy with George Baker, who appeared to -have good reason for all the noise he was making. - -Miss Elting sat down and laughed heartily. Then, bethinking herself of -the fact that George had been reading the paper at the time of his -outburst, she reached for the paper, which he had by this time tossed -aside, and began reading the headlines. - -"It's there, it's there!" howled George. "I tell you it's there. We're -saved. The thing is as good as done. Oh, who would have thought it! I -said there were no miracles that could happen up in these woods. One has -come to pass. Do you hear me? A miracle, and nothing less!" - -"What's the row about, if I might pause long enough to inquire?" asked -Sam Crocker. - -"Give me a piece of paper--quick!" commanded the captain. Harriet got a -sheet of writing paper from the tent, but not before Tommy had handed him -the newspaper. "Yes, it's writing paper I want. You've a head on your -shoulders, Harriet." - -"I thought you considered me a hopeless case," laughed Harriet. - -"I'll tell you what I think of you after I've got this off my mind. Oh, -this is great!" George began scribbling on the sheet of writing paper. - -"It is," agreed Sam. "I'm taking your word for it, you see, not having -been let into the mystery." - -"Who is the fastest runner in the outfit?" demanded Baker, standing up -and glaring about him. - -"I gueth I am," answered Tommy. - -"I don't want a girl, I want a boy. Here, Charlie Mabie, come here--on -the jump. You are the swiftest runner at hare and hounds, especially when -there's a square meal at the other end. I want you to take this to -Meadow-Brook at top speed. If you fall down, don't stop to get up, just -keep right on running. Run for your life," commanded the captain -breathlessly. - -"Wha--at shall I do with it when I get to Meadow-Brook?" questioned -Charlie. - -"Send it!" exploded George. - -"By mail?" - -"No, by freight," drawled Sam. - -"By telegraph, of course." - -"What is it all about?" demanded Dill. - -"Read it. They won't understand anything until you do read it. No, give -it to me. You'll stumble over it and waste time. Listen, you people, to -the telegram that is going to produce the real thing. Listen, I tell you: -'You said you would do anything on earth for me. If you mean it, wire me -that you are coming here on the next train ready to serve me to the limit -for the next four weeks. It's a case of life and death!' Now, run, you -Indian! Burn up the road, and WAIT for an answer even if you have to -sleep on a baggage truck on the station platform. _Go!_" - -Charlie Mabie started away at a long, loping run, quickly crossing the -open space and disappearing in the forest beyond. Captain Baker sat down -heavily, wiping the perspiration from his forehead with a sleeve. - -"Whew! Never got such a shock in my life. Think that will bring him? -Well, I guess yes." - -"Bring whom?" asked Bill. - -"Disbrow. Must I draw a diagram of the whole thing?" retorted the captain -irritably. - -"Disbrow," reflected Sam. "That's all right, but who is Disbrow?" - -"Who is Disbrow?" groaned George. "Never hear of P. Earlington Disbrow? -You mean to say you never heard?" - -Sam shook his head. "I'm not a walking edition of 'Who's Who,'" he -reminded. - -"We are all equally in the dark," interjected Harriet. "Why not explain -to us?" - -"Yeth, thith thuthpenthe ith terrible," agreed Tommy with emphasis. "I -can't thtand much more of thith." - -George Baker made a helpless gesture. - -"P. Earlington Disbrow," he began, with slow, measured words, "is an -Englishman--an Englishman from England. Get that, Sam?" - -Sam grinned and nodded. - -"P. Earlington Disbrow is one of the greatest tennis players in the -world, champion of all England and half of the United States. _Now_ do -you get me?" - -"I do," answered Sam, nodding understandingly. "This Disbrow fellow is an -Englishman--from England--and you've sent for him to come all the way -over the ocean to----" - -"Will you be quiet? No! He already is over the ocean. He is in New York, -and I've wired him to come along a-whooping." - -"Is he going to whoop for us at the tournament?" questioned Jane. - -"He may, though he isn't of the whooping kind," replied the captain in a -slightly modified tone. "I have sent for him to come here to teach you -girls to play tennis. If he can't do it, no other person on earth can. -Listen, and I'll read the item from the newspaper: 'P. Earlington -Disbrow, the well-known tennis champion, arrived in New York on the -"Caledonian" yesterday. When interviewed as to the purpose of his visit -to America, he denied that he had come here for the purpose of arranging -any matches. Mr. Disbrow announces his intention of visiting old friends, -but wishes to witness the mid-season tournaments, for most of which he is -ineligible.' That is the whole story," finished George. "Are there any -other questions you wish to ask?" - -"Yes; I'd like to ask how you happen to have such a pull with this -fellow?" questioned Sam. "Is it a real drag or are you doing it on your -nerve?" - -"I have an idea that Captain George knew what he was doing when he sent -that telegram," spoke up Miss Elting. - -"Thank you, Miss Elting. I am pleased that some one takes me seriously. -It is what Sam calls 'a real drag.' I didn't wish to say anything about -it. Two years ago I had the good luck to be at Newport and to drag P. E. -ashore unconscious. A floating spar had hit him on the head while he was -swimming in the surf. But I wasn't far away, so I just swam over and -dragged him ashore. That's the kind of a drag it is, Samuel. P. E. -naturally was grateful. This is what he said: 'George, if you ever need -me, your Uncle Disbrow is at your command no matter where he may be at -the time. You send for me and I'll be there as fast as steam and -lightning will take me.' Not much of a drag, eh?" chuckled George. - -"I didn't think it was so strong as that," muttered Sam. - -"And he may come here to coach us?" wondered Harriet. "Wouldn't that be -perfectly splendid?" - -"You don't know whether he will or not," answered Dill. "P. E. may pay no -attention to George's telegram, then you will be up against it just as -hard as before." - -"He may not get the message, of course," agreed George. "But if it does -reach him, you mark what I say, we are sure to hear from him. P. E. is a -real man. Certain persons who were opposed to him in matches didn't know -this fact till they faced him across the nets; then they found out in -short order. Oh, he is the right sort and you'll like him after you get -to know him as well as I do. Curious none of you folks over heard of -him." - -"I have," answered the guardian. - -"And so have I," added Harriet. "I have read of his matches, both on this -and the other side of the Atlantic. What a glorious thing to think that -he may be here to instruct us! He could show us how to win a match. By -the way, Captain Baker, how many will there be in our class at the -tournament?" - -"They are all in your class--that is, eligible for the same events. Of -course, you girls will play in doubles. For instance, you and Jane will -play together on a side with two other girls opposed to you, while Hazel -and Grace are playing together on another court against another pair of -girls. If either of you win a certain number of sets, whatever may be -agreed upon by the committee, then the winners play each other. Doesn't -sound so very formidable, does it?" he smiled. - -"Enough so," answered Harriet Burrell thoughtfully. - -"We might as well go on with our practice. Can't afford to waste any -time, you know," reminded George. They took up their work with new -courage, and all during that afternoon the girls worked steadily and to -better purpose than at any time before. - -They had just stopped playing for the day when Charlie Mabie came -trotting into camp. He was waving a yellow sheet over his head. He had -been fortunate enough to get a ride in an automobile both going and -coming and so had returned early. - -"He's got it!" yelled George. The captain sprang forward and snatched the -telegram from the hands of his messenger. "Whoop! I told you so. Listen -to this, ladies of the Meadow-Brook organization and gentlemen of the -Tramp Club, listen to what the champion of England says in reply to -George Baker's telegram: 'Coming, you bet! Meet me seven-thirty to-morrow -morning. (Signed) Earlington Disbrow.'" - -"Am I the original provider?" demanded the captain triumphantly. - -The boys of the Tramp Club tossed their hats in the air, uttering a -series of wild whoops, to which was added the yell of the Meadow-Brook -Girls. - -The entire party was wild with delight over the good news and Captain -Baker was more a hero than ever before. While Harriet and Hazel were -getting the supper, to which the boys had been invited, the others passed -the time in song and general congratulation. It was a merry camp. - -George and one of his companions were to go to Meadow-Brook early in the -morning to meet the champion tennis player at half-past seven o'clock. -Jane suggested that she, too, go in and bring the visitor back in her -car. This Miss Elting did not approve. George said it would be -unnecessary, that he could get some one to drive out with them. It was, -therefore, arranged that way, and the boys left their friends shortly -before ten o'clock that evening, filled with anticipation for the morrow. - -A start was made next morning before daylight, George and Charlie setting -out on foot for the village, more than ten miles away. However, they did -not in the least mind the long walk. They were too well used to tramping -over the country. - -The girls fairly counted the hours next morning. They calculated that -George and his friend should reach the camp in the woods no later than -half-past nine o'clock. The camp had been put in perfect order for the -guest, and the Tramp Boys in their own camp had set aside a small tent -for Disbrow, making the interior of the tent as comfortable as possible. -If he thought best after reaching the camp to transfer operations to the -village, this could be very easily accomplished. They did not know how -well pleased he might be with the discomforts of life in camp there in -the woods. - -Half-past nine passed, then ten. At noon there was still no sign of -George and his friend. The girls sat down to their noon meal, which they -had hoped to share with Disbrow. The boys refused to eat with them. The -former were becoming gloomy. They felt that something must have occurred -to detain the party at Meadow-Brook, but what that something might be -they were unable to imagine. - -"There comes some one," shouted Sam suddenly, while the girls were still -at their meal. - -Everybody sprang up. Just emerging from the log road that led into their -camp clearing they saw Captain George Baker. The captain had lost his -former springiness of step, his alert manner. He was dragging himself -along as though worn out with fatigue. Charlie Mabie was not with him. -Neither was the expected guest, P. Earlington Disbrow, the tennis -champion of all England and part of the United States. - -The boys ran forward to meet George, the girls following more slowly. -Harriet knew from George Baker's attitude that something was wrong. His -dejection was apparent. - -"Where is he? What's the matter?" shouted Billy. - -George waved the boys aside, and stumbling into camp leaned heavily -against a sapling. The Tramp Boys and the Meadow-Brook Girls gathered -about him, gazing at Captain George with eyes heavy with anxiety. - -"It's all over," groaned George. "It's ended, like the Englishman's -sparrow, gone up the blooming spout. Don't ever speak to me of it again; -don't ever mention tennis nor tournament nor Disbrow nor anything else." - -"Perhaps if you were to tell us what it is all about we might offer some -suggestions," said Miss Elting. - -"Too late, Miss Elting. I tell you it's finished. Read that!" - -He thrust a yellow sheet toward her, the girls recognizing it to be a -telegraphic message. The guardian read it hurriedly, then she, too, sat -down heavily. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - A BLOW THAT NEARLY KILLED GEORGE - - -"I don't blame you for feeling disturbed, George," comforted the -guardian, "but there is still a ray of hope left here." - -"Begging your pardon, there isn't even a glimmer," returned George. "I -might have known something would be sure to happen." - -"May I see it?" asked Harriet. Miss Elting handed the message to her. - -"Read it aloud," cried Dill. "George doesn't seem to think any one is -interested except himself. What's the matter with Disbrow? When is he -coming?" - -"Isn't coming at all," answered George weakly. "Please read it." - -"'George Baker, Meadow-Brook, N. H.' It is dated at New London," -explained Harriet, then continued to read the message, which was as -follows: "'Unfortunate accident. Pullman step porter set down tilted -under foot when I was stepping from train. Landed on back with sprained -ankle. Laid up perhaps two weeks. Awfully sorry. See what I can do if -come here. Let know any change. (Signed) Disbrow.'" - -"Must have thought he was writing a letter instead of sending a -telegram," jeered Crazy Jane. - -The boys glanced at each other and breathed deeply. Words failed them -just at that moment. - -"Sprained his ankle and is laid up," reflected Jane. "He asks you to come -to see him. Are you going?" - -"You must not go on our account," said Harriet Burrell. "You must not -worry him with our troubles. He has plenty of his own at present. We -shall get along somehow." - -"Yes, don't take it so to heart, George," urged the guardian. "We are -fortunate in having you to coach us. I know you will turn us out finished -players at the expiration of five weeks from the time we started." - -"Where is Mr. Mabie?" asked Hazel. - -"I left him in town, in case there should happen to be anything more from -Disbrow. But there won't be. I know what a sprained ankle is. I had one -once, and I don't want another. What a mess I have made of it!" - -"Indeed, you have not," returned Harriet quickly. "You have done a great -deal for us. That you have failed in this one instance is no fault of -your own. Circumstances have been too much for you, that is all. We shall -never forget what you have done for us. We are the ones who have not -measured up to the mark, but you will remember I told you we were going -to play in the tournament and going to win. I say it again. We are going -to WIN!" - -"You will have to play a better game than you have done so far," George -blurted, then, realizing what he had said, made an humble apology for his -apparent rudeness. - -"You are right," Harriet laughed merrily. "We shall have to play a much -better game, and that is what we are going to do. But we are wasting -time. Girls, get ready for practice. Captain, you sit on the boulder -yonder from where you can watch us. Don't be afraid to criticise. We need -your severest criticism." - -The girls ran for their racquets, Sam got the tennis balls, George pulled -himself together and stumbled over to the boulder, on which he took his -seat, but instead of watching the girls, he sunk his head in his hands -and relapsed into his former gloomy mood. - -"Say," said Sam, giving the captain a poke in the ribs with a thumb, -"look at those girls. We aren't going to be quitters, are we?" - -George hesitated a moment, then raised his head, threw back his shoulders -and slid from the rock to his feet. - -"You're right, Sam. For once in your life you are talking sense. Of -course we'll go on. I was so bitterly disappointed about Disbrow that I -lost my courage. I've found it again. If we fail now, it won't be because -we didn't try. Prepare for the first set. No fooling now. Harriet and -Tommy will play together this time, opposing Jane and Hazel. We shall see -what you can do in team work. This will be the regular set provided you -can stand it to play that long without a rest. It is time we did some -grilling." George was himself again. Harriet smiled and nodded -approvingly. - -"Please do not hesitate to say what you think," she urged. "We are not so -sensitive that we cannot stand listening to the truth." - -"Play!" - -Nearly every play for the first half of the set was a fault. George -groaned within himself, but was careful not to show how hopeless he felt -inwardly. He worked with them until the perspiration was trickling down -his cheeks, until he was well-nigh exhausted from the nervous strain. - -Along in the fourth game, however, matters began to brighten a little. -Harriet and Tommy made some very good strokes. Tommy showed herself to be -very quick on her feet, though there was no certainty as to where she was -going to place a ball when she struck it. It was just as likely to soar -off among the bushes and be lost as it was to drop in the court of her -opponents. Jane developed no little power in her strokes, but her -footwork was poor, yet a keen judge would have discovered good tennis -material in each of the girls at the net. George, of course, was not an -expert, and these little surface indications of possibilities were lost -on him. He saw only faults or scores. Anything less than the latter sent -his heart down into his boots, figuratively speaking. - -Harriet and Tommy won the set handily, though the last game of the set -was worse played than any game since they had been practising. If -anything, George was more discouraged than at any previous time. Tommy, -however, was delighted with her own playing. The little lisping girl -considered that she and Harriet had played a wonderful game, merely -because they had defeated Jane and Hazel. - -They were given no time in which to discuss the game. Their instructor -changed sides, placing Hazel and Harriet together, Jane and Tommy opposed -to them. Harriet and Hazel won the set, the former's fast playing, though -full of faults, being responsible for her side getting the game. - -"You are showing speed, at any rate," was George's compliment. "If I were -a better coach, I might be able to push you along faster, but this is the -first time I ever tried to teach any one to play tennis. I wish Disbrow -were here." - -"Oh, forget Disbrow!" answered Sam. "We are going to win out in this -tournament. I believe with Harriet that there isn't another team on the -coast that can defeat this one. They are only amateurs, girls. Probably -many of them are beginners, too." - -"Don't you fool yourself about that," returned Baker. "Herrington told me -they had a lot of likely entries, almost professional players, though, of -course, they are not that in fact. One thing I wish to call the attention -of the players to, is that Jane and Tommy played too far apart. Tommy -took a position down near the net while Jane was back near the serving -line. You saw how Harriet and Hazel played, both back some distance from -the net. They won the game. Remember, it is easier to run forward and -pick up a ball than it is to run backward. Play closer together and you -will put up a much better defence and run less risk of the ball passing -you. Try it this time, playing closer together." - -They did, with the result that the game was much closer than the one -before, though Harriet Burrell's side won as usual. Just why her side -always won George Baker was at a loss to understand, for it was plain -that Harriet played a wretched game, worse, if anything, than did her -companions. - -"Will you please tell me how you did it?" questioned George after -Harriet's side had won again. - -"I did not do it. Tommy and I did it together," was the naive reply. But -Harriet, awkward and unscientific as she was, had used some little trick -that got the better of her opponents. They did not appear to realize -this, but Harriet did. She knew full well, and that trick was a phase of -the game that she proposed to cultivate and work to the limit. She was -very sorry that they were not to be coached by Mr. Disbrow, knowing that -he could be of great assistance to her in developing this very trick. -Disbrow would have understood instantly the value of it. - -The play was continued with more or less discouraging results, so far as -Baker was concerned, all the afternoon, with only an occasional halt for -rest and such instruction as the coach was able to give them. At sundown -he threw himself down on the ground, his face red and perspiring, his -throat hoarse from yelling at his pupils, his body weary. It was the -hardest day's work that George Baker had ever done, but the nervous -strain was the cause of his great fatigue rather than the physical -effort. - -"Come, fellows, we must be getting to our own wigwam," he said, starting -up suddenly. - -"You are going to remain here and have supper," replied Miss Elting. "You -were quite willing to be with us last evening when the skies were bright. -Now that they are not bright it is all the more reason why you should -stay this time. You are all fagged out and, what is worse, discouraged. -We shall have a nice supper this evening, then afterward some songs and -games if you wish." - -"No more games for me to-day," interrupted George, "begging your pardon." - -"I did not mean tennis games. I, too, have seen enough of those for one -day. I meant other games that will relax you all. Songs are a good thing. -Our players will 'go stale' with too much work. It is not a good plan, I -have heard, to keep too steadily at it when one is preparing for a -contest. Am I not right?" - -George nodded. Sam smiled broadly. - -"Yes, we must take care of our principals," declared the latter. "They -are very delicate and very precious." This raised the first laugh of that -long, trying afternoon. The boys checked their own laughter suddenly, as -if they had caught themselves doing something wrong. Harriet started the -Meadow-Brook yell, in which the boys joined with a shout. From that -moment on the gloom of the day was less marked, conversation more natural -and easy. - -When the supper was served on a table that the boys had made for them, -they all sat down on rustic seats put together by the same skilful hands. - -"Now, isn't this better than for you boys to go back to camp to mope all -the evening while we girls are doing the same here?" demanded the -guardian. - -"Yes; this has the other backed off the court, over the side lines into -the bushes," declared Sam. - -"Otherwise, nothing but slang would quite fit the occasion, eh, Mr. -Crocker?" chuckled Miss Elting. "I am not rebuking you. I have never had -and never expect to have occasion to do that to a Tramp Boy. How long is -Mr. Mabie to remain in town?" - -"I told him to stay there until P. E. either telegraphed or wrote." - -"You think there is some prospect of his coming, then, do you?" - -"Not one chance in a million," answered George with emphasis. "Would you, -if you had a sprained ankle? I reckon he will make the Pullman Company -pay very dearly for this, though. The ankle of a tennis player is worth -something, I should say." - -"What do you think of the girls' playing now?" - -"In some ways it is an improvement, but----" - -"But! There is just the trouble," cried Harriet. "When we do our best you -say, 'It is very good, but----'" - -"Well, isn't it?" he demanded a little sourly. - -"I have not permitted myself to think of the matter in that way," replied -Harriet. - -"Then you have given up hope so far as the tournament is concerned?" -questioned the guardian, fixing a steady look on the face of the captain. - -"I--I should hardly care to say that," stammered George, avoiding her -eyes. - -"But deep down in your heart you do not believe the Meadow-Brook Girls -stand the slightest chance of winning even a place in the tennis -tournament at Newtown?" persisted the guardian. - -"Do you?" returned George. - -"I am asking you, Captain Baker." - -"No, I don't. There, you made me say it again. Now will you tell me what -you think?" - -"I don't know that I should put it quite so strongly as you have, but -from what we have seen I should say the chances were not particularly -brilliant," she admitted. - -"You are tho encouraging!" lisped Tommy. "Anybody who can play thuch a -game ath I can to be talked about in that way! It maketh me thad, tho -thad and tho tired!" - -"One person cannot play for the whole team, you know," said Dill, with a -grin. - -"Yeth, I thuppothe that ith tho. However, I will do jutht ath the otherth -withh." - -"What do you say to giving it up, girls?" - -Miss Elting was not smiling now, though, had they been more observant, -they would have seen a suggestion of laughter in her eyes. She knew her -girls well, and perhaps was asking the question with a deeper purpose in -mind than appeared on the surface. - -"I say just what I have said before," answered Harriet slowly and with -emphasis. "I have gone into this not for the sake of giving up, but with -the purpose to go through with it. We owe it to the boys who have done so -much for us to keep going until the end. That is what I propose to do -unless I am forbidden by Miss Elting or by my parents." - -"But you can't win," cried George. "You know you can't." - -"What will you do if I win?" - -"I'll take off my hat to you, even though I get a sunstroke doing it," -returned George, his face relaxing into a broad smile. - -"You shall have the chance, for I am going to play and I am going to win. -The team is going to win. That is what I mean when I say I am going to do -it. Of course, I do not expect to do it alone. I know we are going to win -a place. I feel it. I can't tell you just why, but I do, so you had -better prepare to protect yourself from sunstroke. If there are any trees -where the tournament is to be held, by all means engage a place under -one." - -"They don't have trees near tennis courts. Trees throw shadows that -sometimes make the players nervous or cause them to misjudge their -distances. No, I'll have to take my medicine and I will." - -"Hark!" Jane held up a hand for silence. - -"What is it?" asked Sam, with a half startled look in his eyes. - -"I heard some one speak. It may have been out in the road, though." - -"One couldn't hear as far as that. Besides, I am sure I heard a call," -declared Harriet. - -"Some one surely is coming. I hear two voices," agreed Miss Elting. -"Perhaps it is Charlie Mabie returning from the village with good news." - -"It may be Charlie Mabie all right, but there is nothing doing on the -good news," replied George. - -"Hi, there! Hello the camp!" called the familiar voice of Charlie. - -"Hello yourself," answered George. - -"Come out and help me, some of you strong-armed boys. I have picked up a -fellow who has hurt his foot. Can't you give a poor suffering chap a -hand?" - -The boys sprang up, George with them. In the dim light they could faintly -make out two figures approaching them. One was Mabie, the other no one -recognized. The latter was leaning on Charlie's arm. - -"'Owdy, Georgie, old chap?" called a second voice. - -"What-a-at?" gasped Captain Baker. "Who is it?" - -"Don't you know, old chap? Have you forgotten an old friend so soon?" - -"It's P. E.! It's P. E. himself! Whoop!" Captain Baker uttered a wild -yell and rushing forward threw his arms about the neck of the newcomer. -"Oh, P. E., P. E., you did come after all; you didn't go back on your old -salt water friend! Girls, he's here, he's here, I tell you! Yell, you -Tramps! Yell, I tell you!" - - - - - __CHAPTER XII - A GUEST WHO WAS WELCOME - - -"It is Mr. Disbrow!" gasped Hazel. - -"And he didn't sprain his ankle at all," added Jane. - -"He must have injured it, for he is walking with a crutch," replied Miss -Elting. - -"Not a word, Disbrow. Come over here and sit down and fix your foot so it -will be comfortable. You may tell us all about it later on. Sam, fix a -seat there for P. E. Somebody put down his coat for P. E. to sit on." - -The newcomer was laughing. - -"George, I'm not quite in swaddling clothes," he said, "nor am I wholly -an invalid. Please introduce me to your friends." - -George Baker flushed, for, in his joy at seeing Disbrow, he had neglected -the formalities. He introduced the guest first to Miss Elting, then to -the Meadow-Brook Girls and afterward to the boys of the Tramp Club. -Harriet had already begun making coffee and was preparing a luncheon for -the unexpected guest, who had had no supper as they afterward learned. He -was given a place at the end of the table where he might stretch his -injured foot. With all the girls and boys gathered about him watching -each mouthful that the champion ate, Disbrow did full justice to the -supper, for he was hungry. During the meal he explained that the doctors -who had examined his ankle at the hospital had first pronounced it a -serious sprain, after which they had revised their opinion, finding it -merely a slight strain which, within a few days, would entirely -disappear. - -"I lost no time in hot-crutching it out to Meadow-Brook," added the -Englishman. "I knew that you wouldn't have said what you did in your -message unless you needed me. Mr. Mabie spotted me the instant I got down -from the car. But, George, old chap, I don't think much of your -conveyances up this neck of America." - -"We rode out on a lumber wagon," explained Charlie. - -"Yes, and every joint in my body was properly shaken loose." - -Miss Elting at this juncture called George aside and suggested that -arrangements be made for Mr. Disbrow to remain at the Meadow-Brook camp -that night on account of his lame ankle. George assented and sent two of -his fellows to the Tramp camp to fetch the tent they had set aside for -Disbrow. - -The girls had hung upon the champion's every word and gesture since his -arrival at the camp. But they had difficulty in making themselves believe -that this man was the much-heralded champion. Disbrow was thin, pale and -delicate looking. His movements were slow and deliberate and he was what -Jane characterized as "fussy." But he was Disbrow, the champion tennis -player. There could be no doubt as to that. George knew. Yet it did seem -almost impossible. - -Having finished his supper, Disbrow, with the aid of his crutch, hobbled -about pluckily, testing the strength of the strained ankle. They -suggested that he stop. He said the ankle would be lame just so long as -it was babied, that he proposed to throw away his crutch on the following -day. - -"Now, old chap, tell me what it is all about?" urged the champion after -having resumed his seat at the end of the table. "Charlie told me -something of what you wanted of me, but he was too excited to be clear -about it. It is some sort of a match game of tennis that you young ladies -are wanting to take part in, I understand." - -"The coast championship," George informed him. - -"And the young ladies, they are good players?" questioned the tennis -champion. - -"We practically never touched a racquet until within a few days ago," -said Harriet. - -"Hm-m-m-m! How are they playing, George?" - -"As badly as possible!" answered the captain with emphasis, whereat there -was a shout of laughter from the girls. - -"Mr. Baker has described it correctly," added Harriet. "Please let me -explain the situation. Our young friends, the Tramp Club, as they call -themselves, entered the Meadow-Brook Girls in the Atlantic Coast Tennis -Tournament, supposing, of course, that we played, and played well. None -of us play tennis, but for the sake of showing them that we appreciated -their efforts, we promised to go in and do the best we could. Understand, -Mr. Disbrow, they had bought a net, a complete outfit and carried it up -here in order that we might have opportunity to practice. We have been -doing so under Captain Baker's instruction, but I fear we have not played -in a manner to encourage him very much. The captain said you could whip -us into shape if any one could do so. He was overjoyed when he saw in a -newspaper a notice of your arrival in this country. I think you know the -rest. We were very unhappy when we learned of your accident. I think that -is all." - -"Except to express our appreciation of your kindness in coming here, -crippled as you are," added the guardian. - -"It is nothing, Miss Elting. I would do a lot more for George, and now -that I have met you and your young ladies, I thank him for sending for -me. How many of you are there, Miss Elting?" - -"There are five young women and myself." - -"And how many will play?" - -"Four, I believe. Miss Brown doesn't care to play." - -"No, Buthter ith--" began Tommy, casting a tantalizing look at Margery. - -Harriet nudged Tommy to be silent. The girls were trying their best to -keep from laughing at the little lisping girl's attempted fling at -Margery, whose face had grown very red. - -"And when is this tournament to take place?" questioned the Englishman. - -"A little less than five weeks from now," answered George. - -Disbrow uttered a low whistle under his breath. - -"You--you expect to win something?" - -"Of course we do," replied Harriet Burrell promptly. "Otherwise we should -not have decided to play." - -Disbrow regarded her shrewdly. - -"You at least have the proper spirit. Other things being equal, you ought -to win. But you must remember that tennis is not a game to be learned in -a day. Years ordinarily are required to make the expert player. I am not -going to say that I think you have no chance. I can not say until I have -seen you play. To-morrow we shall see what you can do. For my part, I -shall do my best for you. It follows that I am able to coach to the best -advantage, but first of all you must be tennis players by instinct. Even -were you fair players, you would have a task before you to prepare -yourself for a tournament within the short time left. George, will this -tournament call out any high-class material?" - -"Herrington says it will, especially the Scott Sisters from Portsmouth, -who are said to be near the professional class. I don't know of my own -knowledge how well they play." - -"Hm-m-m. Not a very encouraging outlook, is it, young ladies?" - -"I haven't had any reason to change my mind as to the result," remarked -Harriet. - -"You mean you expect to win?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"That state of mind should go a long way toward the success of your club. -All of you feel the same way?" - -"We always agree with Harriet," answered Hazel, with an emphatic nod. - -"A jolly good idea," muttered the Englishman, regarding each girl with a -steady gaze of keen inquiry. He was noting their movements, their poise, -with the eyes of an expert. This brief study encouraged P. Earlington -Disbrow. He decided that the Meadow-Brook Girls were at least good -material, but as for fitting themselves to play in a tournament at such -short notice, he was doubtful, and they saw that he was. This did not -change the point of view of the Meadow-Brook Girls in the least, but it -added to the gloom of Captain Baker. - -"Another matter that I wish to mention," said Miss Elting. "We cannot -give you any comforts up here in the woods. Perhaps you would prefer to -have us move into town, and----" - -"By no means," replied the guest. "We should have a crowd at our heels -all the time. I don't mind saying that I purpose showing you some things -about tennis that I would be chary of other persons knowing. These things -are what a merchant would characterize as his stock in trade. I'd be a -proper idiot to give them away to others, wouldn't I, now?" - -They agreed that he would. - -"You may depend upon our discretion," the guardian assured him. - -"I know that. It is unnecessary to tell me. Do I have far to go to get to -your camp, George?" - -"You are to remain here to-night, Mr. Disbrow," replied the guardian. -"Two of the boys have gone to their camp to bring a tent for you. We -shall make you as comfortable as possible, but it will not be exactly -home comforts, you know." - -"I am used to roughing it. I've played tennis pretty much all over the -world and have had to put up with some pretty rough quarters. I'm jolly -well satisfied with a tent and a pair of clean blankets. This supper, let -me tell you, I enjoyed more than anything I've had since I left England. -I shall have to be careful or I'll put on too much flesh in the two or -three weeks I am up here. By the way, what is the physical condition of -the young ladies, Miss Elting!" - -"I do not see how it could be better," answered the guardian. "They -practically live out-of-doors a good part of the year. I should say that -their endurance is as great as it is possible to find in a woman, if that -is what you mean." - -He nodded reflectively. - -"I judged as much from the little I have seen of them. I trust you to see -to it that they do not overdo nor 'go stale' before the date set for the -match. An ambitious person is quite likely to try to do too much. He pays -for it bitterly in many cases. But we shall see after a day or so. -To-morrow morning I wish to see the young ladies play. You naturally will -play in doubles at the tournament, so that is the way I shall have you -play to-morrow. Until then I can say nothing definite as to what we shall -do. How are their strokes, George?" - -"Awkward," answered the captain frankly. - -"That is the fault of their teacher. You haven't taught them properly." - -"I did the best I could," replied George bitterly, "but it did not seem -to me to be of much use. I am no tennis sharp, anyway." - -"I'll not have you depreciating yourself that way, Captain," declared -Miss Elting warmly. "He has done nobly by us," she added to Mr. Disbrow. - -"Yes, it isn't his fault that we have made so little progress," agreed -Harriet. - -"What about the court?" inquired the young Englishman. - -"As good as I could make. I've played on worse ones," answered the -captain. - -"We shall have to look into that, too. It's an important factor, and -conditions on the practice court must be as near a duplicate of those on -which the tournament is to be played as possible. Will they be grass or -dirt courts?" - -"Dirt, so Herrington said. This one is dirt also." - -"Well, I think when that tent is ready I will retire. How about it, -Brother George?" - -"It is up. The fellows are making your bed now." - -"How thoughtless in me! I shall attend to that myself," said the -guardian, rising hurriedly and going to the tent that the boys had set up -some little distance from the Meadow-Brook camp. Shortly after that Mr. -Disbrow retired to his tent. The boys saw him safely stowed there, then -left for their own camp. - -The next day was to be a day of activity, a day of hopes and -disappointments which were destined to have an important bearing on the -outcome of their plans. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - IN THE HANDS OF A MASTER - - -The Englishman was out early the next morning. The girls found him -hobbling about with a stick, he having cast his crutch aside. It was -plain that he was a very resolute young man, who intended to begin his -task with a will. - -The Tramp Boys came over shortly after Disbrow had finished his breakfast -with the Meadow-Brook Girls. - -"Well, what's the first thing on the program, P. E.?" questioned George. - -"The first thing is to make the court usable. At present it is hopeless. -If you will have your boys get to work on it, we may be able to have a -try-out some time this afternoon. Got anything to mark the lines with!" - -"No, I forgot the chalk." - -"Any flour in the camp?" - -Miss Elting said there was. Disbrow said that when the court had been -leveled off he would mark out the side lines and base lines with the -flour, after which the girls would play a game for him. All that forenoon -the boys worked at their task, and by luncheon time had done all the -champion had suggested. The court, he said, was still in almost -impossible shape, but that it was the best that could be had at that -moment. - -The hour following the luncheon was spent in conversation, after which -Disbrow told the young women to go on the court and play out a set. At -first they were nervous with the champion watching them, but after the -first two games of the set their confidence returned, their nervousness -disappeared and they went at their work with a vim. George chewed his hat -brim nervously as they floundered about the court, but the face of the -Englishman was impassive. He watched keenly, making no comment, but -storing up data in his mind to be used later on when he should have -really begun his instruction. Tommy and Harriet were playing together -against Hazel and Jane, which arrangement the champion changed in the -last half of the set. - -The set came to an end suddenly through a fault of Jane's, and the girls, -flushed and excited, turned to their new instructor. - -"Are we to play another game?" questioned Harriet. - -"No." - -"What do you think of them?" asked George in a hesitating voice. - -"Too early to think, old chap. Better reserve the thinking for another -time. There is work to be done now. I wonder if I should break my neck if -I were to play a game?" - -"Better not try it," answered the captain. - -"Yes, I will. I'll play against you and--who is your best player?" - -"Charlie is." - -"Then take your places. We won't toss for sides. There isn't any choice -so far as I can see. You will excuse me if I use my stick to assist me. I -will permit your side to serve. That will give you the advantage at the -beginning. I probably shall make an exhibition of myself. What I want you -young ladies to observe is my method of delivery. My position will be -nothing to be proud of, playing on one leg, as I shall have to." - -"I fear it will not be prudent for you to try," said Miss Elting, with a -shake of her head. - -"I must get myself into shape in order to coach the Meadow-Brook team -properly. Now that I have started, I shall go through with it. How could -I do otherwise after being made acquainted with the pluck of your young -charges! Let it come, old chappie." - -George served the ball. Disbrow hopped on one leg, making a leap half-way -across the court, scooping up the ball after its first bound, as the -rules require. It slipped past George and Charlie really before they -realized that it was on the way. - -"Love, fifteen," sang out the Englishman. "You will have to do better -than that, my lads, or it wouldn't do for you to try to play opposite the -young ladies. Love, thirty. Why, what ails you, boys? You aren't playing -tennis, you are merely watching your opponent play." - -The Englishman was hopping from one side of the court to the other, in -the air, it seemed, fully as much as he was on the ground. Disbrow out of -a court and Disbrow in a court were two wholly different personalities. -The Meadow-Brook Girls began to understand why he was a champion. They -revised their earlier opinions about his being delicate and slow. His -movements when occasion required were lightning-like in their rapidity, -then with a languid movement of his racquet he would drop the ball just -over the net, many feet from where Charlie and Captain George were -waiting to receive it. Wherever they were not, there went the tennis -ball. The Englishman outplayed them at every point. - -The girls became so excited over the game that they simply could not keep -still. They applauded till their hands stung and smarted, they shouted -until their voices grew husky. They had never seen the like of this, and -now that they had begun to understand the game of tennis, they were able -to appreciate many of the fine plays. It was the grace and ease of the -player at all times that aroused their wonder. He appeared to work -without the slightest effort, even with the handicap of a foot that would -not bear his weight. The tennis ball, too, seemed endowed with reasoning -powers, it seemed to change its course after leaving the racquet of the -server when an opponent got in the way. This they could not understand, -neither could the other spectators, for they had never seen anything like -it in all their experience. - -"Game!" announced the Englishman. "Keep right on playing. We will go -through the set. See to it that you don't loaf. Play tennis; don't stand -there and watch me serve. Show the young ladies that you at least know -how to play the game." - -George flushed. - -"Of course I know how. They know that without my showing them. But what -can you expect a couple of amateurs to do against the champion of all -England and half the United States of America? Charlie, watch yourself," -he added in a whisper. "We've got to win at least one game of the set -from P. E. for the sake of our reputation with the girls." - -"We'll be a heap better players than we are now before we win anything -from him. There's something about his serving that I can't understand, -some magic that we don't know about." - -"The magic of skill, that's all, Charlie. Play." - -The ball came back as before. This set told nearly the same story as the -first, Disbrow winning all the points up to the last game of the set. The -first game had been a _love game_, meaning that Disbrow had won all the -points. On the fifth game of the second set, George made a point on his -opponent because Disbrow had missed his footing on the soft ground of the -court. - -The girls were delighted. Somehow they did not like the idea of seeing -the Tramp Boys wholly defeated, though they knew well that the point -would not have been scored for the boys, had the champion been playing on -a hard court. - -That was the last and only point won by George and Charlie in that set. -In the last game of the set, Disbrow, apparently having become warmed up, -threw himself into the work with utter abandon, this time playing faster -than he had at any time before that. His right arm, the sleeve rolled -nearly to the shoulder, grew rosy from the rapid exercise, his ordinarily -pale face showed a delicate flush and his eyes sparkled with excitement, -even though his opponents were not worthy of the name. - -From that time on followed the most wonderful exhibition of tennis -playing that any person present had ever seen. And further, hopping on -one foot was not the only remarkable thing about Disbrow's playing. - -"He hopth jutht like a jack rabbit," cried Tommy. "I believe I could do -that, too. Harriet, that ith the trouble with our playing--we don't hop. -I'll know what to do the next time we play tennith. Then I'll thurely -win." - -"You will hop on your head if you try it," warned Sam. - -The game came to a close, to the regret of all except the players opposed -to the champion. As for them, they had had enough of it. They were not -anxious to play another game. - -Excitement ran high. The girls wanted to shout with all their lung power. -Tommy did, giving unrestrained vent to her emotions. The camp of the -Meadow-Brook Girls was vibrant with enthusiasm. They were eager to be at -a game of their own. - -"I can hardly hold myself, I am so eager to play," declared Harriet, eyes -and cheeks glowing. - -"Now, give heed to what I say," requested Disbrow, with a shake of the -head. "I will first teach you the strokes. There are five strokes on -which are built the whole structure of modern tennis playing, viz., the -service stroke, the horizontal ground stroke, the volley, the half-volley -and the lob. There are, of course, variations of these, such as the -drop-stroke, the side-stroke and the cut--or chop--all of which you will -take up in their regular order, learning one thoroughly, then going on to -the next. Two of you take your places in the court and practise the -service." - -Harriet and Tommy did so, Jane and Hazel being told to listen and observe -closely, as their turn would follow. - -"The service--that is, putting the ball into play--should be an overhand -delivery, almost straight, with a slight cut to the right to keep the -ball from sailing in the air," continued Disbrow. "Reach up high, rising -on the left toe, bringing the ball sharply down into the opponent's -court. Now we shall practise the service for a time until your wrists -grow tired. And right here let me suggest that when the racquet is not in -action it is a good idea to rest it across the left hand, which relieves -the right wrist wonderfully. Boys, please get into the other court and -return the balls. We shan't have time to chase them." - -Harriet and Tommy made their first service, but Harriet put so much force -into the ball that it rolled out of the other court. - -"Too much speed, Miss Burrell. Try that again. There, that is much -better. Now, Miss Thompson." She, too, did better this time. - -Hazel and Jane were next given a chance. While they were learning the -tricks and twists of the service, Harriet and Tommy were practising it by -themselves just beyond the court, Disbrow now and then offering a -criticism or a suggestion. - -Nearly two hours were spent on the service stroke alone. Then, after a -brief rest, they took up the half-volley, which Disbrow explained was the -art of trapping the ball with the racquet, blocking it--not striking -it--just as it rises from the ground. The girls worked faithfully all -that forenoon, declining to halt for any long period of rest until their -instructor finally insisted upon it. How much progress they had made they -could only guess, for Mr. Disbrow did not commit himself. During the -luncheon, of course, the talk was on tennis. The very air was charged -with tennis. The Meadow-Brook Girls, the Tramp Club, the guardian and the -English champion breathed in the atmosphere of the game as they did the -fragrant air of the pines that surrounded the clearing where the court -had been laid. - -Now that he was not playing, Mr. Disbrow walked with a more noticeable -limp than before. He denied, however, that his two sets on the court had -had anything to do with this. He said inactivity, sitting about and doing -nothing, was responsible for the stiffness of the muscles of the injured -ankle. - -After luncheon the girls were eager to get at their practice again, but -the instructor said they must digest their food first. In the meantime he -gave them some detailed instruction regarding the importance of holding -the racquet correctly. - -"One principal reason why you appear to play so awkwardly is that you do -not know how to hold your racquets," he said. "Before coming to that I am -going to give you three things to store away in your minds and think of -whenever you are not thinking of anything else. That's an Irish bull, -isn't it?" he smiled. - -"An Englishman couldn't make one," retorted Jane quickly. - -"The three things are _how_ to hit the ball, _where_ to hit the ball and -_when_ to hit the ball. Just think that over, young ladies. To return to -the best way of holding the racquet; remember that the grasp on it should -always allow the greatest possible freedom for the muscles of the wrist. -Always avoid a cramped position. The full length of the handle should -always be used, the end of the handle resting against the fleshy part of -the palm. That isn't difficult to remember, is it?" - -Each girl replied by adjusting her racquet to the right hand. - -"For forehand play the grip of the hand should be along the handle with -the first finger separated from the others and extended an inch or two -farther along the racquet. The finger nails when at rest on the handle -should face the direction the ball is to go. In making the backhand -stroke, which you will learn this afternoon, the fingers should be closer -together and the thumb extended out along the handle behind the racquet. -The second or middle knuckles should face in the direction the ball is to -be driven. I think that will be enough lecture for the present. Do you -all thoroughly understand?" - -"I think we do," answered Harriet. "I would suggest that we go through -the forehand and backhand strokes to make certain that we are right." - -Disbrow nodded his approval. Most of the girls hit it the first time, all -on the second trial. - -"Now we will practise the various strokes, first going over what we -learned this morning." - -The practice for the rest of the day was real work. There was no -inspiration in it, though the Meadow-Brook spirit was strong upon the -four girls, and not for a moment did they permit themselves to feel the -monotony that the Tramp Boys long since had found. The girls devoted -themselves painstakingly to every stroke taught them. The new instruction -meant the undoing of much that they had already learned, but that was to -be expected. The girls were not to be disturbed by it. - -Late in the afternoon they asked permission to play a game, but the -Englishman declined to allow it. - -"You may not play a game even to-morrow," he added. "It will depend upon -the progress you make for the rest of the day and to-morrow forenoon." - -He was so patient and gentle with them that the girls, knowing what a -trial they must be, found themselves greatly drawn to their instructor. - -There seemed to be little difference in the progress of the girls, except -in the case of Tommy. Her companions were amazed at her work. One would -not have thought it of Tommy Thompson. She was as pleased over her -success and as enthusiastic as any of her companions. Added to this was a -full measure of the Meadow-Brook "do or die" spirit that always had -characterized this little organization of wide-awake girls. - -After supper they all sat and talked around the campfire, before which -the Englishman comfortably stretched himself, after having asked -permission to do so. Later on in the evening the boys escorted him to his -tent. On the morrow they were to move him over to their own camp, his -ankle now being strong enough to enable him to walk about with some -degree of comfort. - -"Well, what do you think about them?" was Captain George's eager question -when they had entered the Englishman's tent that night. - -"A fine lot of young women," answered Disbrow enthusiastically. - -"I know all about that. But what about this tournament--what are the -prospects, do you think?" - -"Pretty early to answer that question, isn't it?" - -"You have come to some conclusion about it, I know." - -"Miss Burrell has the making of a great tennis player," answered the -champion. - -"Just what I said," cried George enthusiastically. "I knew I'd picked a -winner." - -"She has a wise little head on her shoulders, George. She uses it, too. -It is working all the time, which is a most necessary quality in a tennis -player. I know of no sport that requires more of this quality." - -"Then you think the girls have a chance to win out in the tournament! I -can't tell you how glad I am to have you say that. It repays me for a lot -of stewing, old man." - -"Not so fast, old chappie. I haven't said that at all. On the contrary, I -do not consider that they have the slightest chance of winning in the -doubles at your tournament if, as you say, there are several clever teams -entered. How could you expect it? They may stay in for a few sets just -because of that wonderful pluck and spirit. But the finals"--the -Englishman shook his head. "Hopeless, George. You might as well make up -your mind to that." - -George Baker groaned dismally. Then he gripped his friend's arm. - -"You won't tell them that, P. E.? Please don't tell them that. It would -so discourage them that they would quit instantly." - -"You don't know your friends, I see," answered Disbrow with a short -laugh. "They would laugh at me were I to make such an announcement, and -tell me very quietly and confidently that they were going to enter the -tournament and were going to win. What are you going to do with such -spirit as that? I take off my hat to it. Whatever P. Earlington Disbrow -can do for those plucky young women he is going to do, and don't forget -it, Captain George Baker!" - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - A STEAM ROLLER TO THE RESCUE - - -The tired girls were awakened by a terrific racket. Groanings, clankings -and an unfamiliar hiss greeted their ears. They opened their eyes to find -that the day had dawned. But what meant this terrible uproar? A shrill, -piercing whistle split the calm of the morning. - -"Thave me! A train of carth ith coming through the woodth," cried Tommy. -"Oh, thtop them! They'll run over the tennith court. Thave me!" - -Harriet, who had sprung out of bed ahead of her companions, ran to the -tent-opening and peered out. Her eyes grew large as she gazed. What she -saw was a huge steam roller, enveloped in a cloud of steam. The roller -was bumping over the uneven ground, jerking from side to side and making -frantic efforts to escape from the rough trail over which the guiding -hand of the engineer was directing it. - -"For mercy's sake, what does it mean?" gasped Harriet. - -"It evidently is a mistake," replied Miss Elting. "He has missed his way. -Isn't that man from Meadow-Brook?" - -"Yes, he is. But I do not know him. I have seen him driving his steam -roller through the streets. He is employed on the improved roads, I -believe." - -"He's coming right this way. He will run down the tent," cried Margery. - -The engineer made a detour at this stage, skirting the tennis court, then -once more heading down toward the tent. He continued on his uneven way -until right opposite the Meadow-Brook tent and but a few yards distant -from it, when he shut off and stopped. Instantly a great burst of -escaping steam roared from the safety valve, enveloping the roller in -such a cloud that for the moment it was entirely obscured. The furnace -door opened with a clank. When a gentle breeze blew the steam across the -court toward the woods the girls saw the engineer lighting his pipe. This -accomplished, he grasped the whistle lever, pulled the valve wide open -and held it there, filling the air with an ear-splitting noise that -lasted for a full minute and was deafening to say the least. - -The girls were peering out through the narrow slit at the opening of -their tent, but immediately on the starting of the whistle they poked -their fingers in their ears to shut out the awful sound. - -"Stop it!" yelled Crazy Jane. But the whistle drowned the sound of her -voice, the latter being barely heard by her companions in the tent. - -About this time they discovered P. Earlington Disbrow hopping from his -tent with the aid of his stick. He had hastily drawn on his clothes, his -hair was standing up in an unkempt shock. He approached the steam roller -in a series of leaps and bounds, aided by his stick. The engineer, -observing him, finally decided to let go of the whistle lever. - -"Here, you bally driver, what do you mean by waking civilized people up -by that din?" he demanded angrily. - -"Isn't this the place?" questioned the engineer innocently. - -"Yes, it is the place, but blowing all the steam out of your boiler -wasn't a part of the job for which you were engaged. Either stop that -racket or pull off where we won't hear you. It's five o'clock in the -morning." - -"I got to get through and go back on a road job." - -"You will be finished before you start if you don't watch out. Pull away -from there. There are ladies in that tent. I don't flatter myself that -they are asleep. If this were a cemetery nobody would be asleep now, -after your salutation to the dawn. Pull out, I tell you, and give them a -chance." - -The engineer jerked the throttle open and started his lumbering craft -ahead without a word of reply to the irate Englishman, who was regarding -him with frowning eyes. The engineer drove his engine to the edge of the -clearing, where once more the steam began to blow off, but he mercifully -refrained from pulling the whistle. After the roller had come to a halt -again, Disbrow hopped back to his own tent, where he took his time about -making his morning toilet. - -In the meantime the girls were gazing at each other wonderingly. - -"What does it mean?" questioned the guardian. - -"I do not know," replied Harriet. "You heard Mr. Disbrow admit that the -man had made no mistake in coming here. But what need have we for a steam -roller unless it be to run over us, which perhaps might be a good thing -after all," she added with a laugh. - -"Dress yourselves, girls," ordered Miss Elting. "We have overslept as it -is. Perhaps it is just as well that the steam roller woke us up." - -"I think I prefer another kind of alarm clock," chuckled Harriet. "This -one is too violent and nerve-racking." - -Mr. Disbrow was out a second time before the girls had made ready for -their first appearance. He walked over and held a brief conversation with -the driver of the roller, after which he sat down by his own tent to -await the coming of the girls, who, he felt sure, would soon be out. - -They were. They shouted a cheery good morning to their guest, who -thereupon hobbled over to them, looking somewhat embarrassed. - -"To whom are we indebted for the steam roller?" asked the guardian -lightly. - -"I owe you an apology, ladies. When I sent word to the man to come here, -I did not for a moment imagine he would find it advisable to drive his -hideous vehicle into camp before breakfast. I have expressed as much to -him, though in somewhat less temperate language," added Disbrow with a -faint smile. - -"The apology is accepted, sir," answered Harriet gravely. "But we are -still in the dark as to the reason for this--this visitation?" - -"Ah, yes. I took it upon myself. You see, I need some practice, my late -accident making it necessary that I, too, begin playing. No better -opportunity will present itself. However, the court being in such -wretched shape I dare not attempt any work upon it. It was for that -reason that I had the boys send to town for a steam roller." - -"To pack down the court! Oh, that is it," said Harriet brightly. "How can -we thank you?" - -"No necessity, Miss Burrell. I tell you it was principally in my own -behalf that I ordered the roller. I didn't order the whistle. That is -thrown in gratis. When the boys get here we will have the net taken down -so that the man can begin his work of rolling the court." - -"No need to wait for the boys. Come on, girls," cried Harriet. - -They ran to the court and, pulling up the stakes, laid the net flat, -after which they rolled it carefully. The net was then removed and laid -beside their tent, racquets and stakes were gathered up and stowed in the -same place. It was all done with the usual snap of the Meadow-Brook -Girls. - -"You American girls certainly have the initiative," declared Disbrow -approvingly. "You aren't afraid to do things. Now, if you were English, -you would sit about and look languid, you would wait until the men came -to do the work for you. Not so the American girl. When there is a thing -to be done she does it. That is all there is to it. I'll tell that driver -to start in. I believe he has gone to sleep." - -"Thhall I throw a thtone at him?" questioned Tommy. - -"By no means," answered the guardian severely. "Run over and tell him we -are ready for him." - -"No, no! Leave that for me," protested Disbrow. But Harriet was already -running toward the roller. She awakened the driver, telling him he might -begin work at once. He delayed a long time before starting, first feeding -more coal into the fire box and oiling the rheumatic joints of the -machine before starting. While Mr. Disbrow was showing the driver how the -court was to be rolled, the girls were hurriedly preparing breakfast. Had -they not been enthusiastic before, they surely would be now that their -instructor had gone to all this pains and expense in their behalf. They -well knew that it was done wholly on their own account, despite his -explanations to the contrary. - -Captain George and his party arrived after the girls had finished their -breakfast and the man was still clanking back and forth over the court, -which was being slowly packed down into a firm surface that shone under -the polish put on by the heavy roller. - -"You are up early this morning," remarked Disbrow, "but we have finished -our breakfast. You will have to wait until luncheon time." - -"Had our breakfast, thank you," answered Sam. "What time did the -automobile get here?" - -"That got here before breakfatht, too," answered Tommy. "You mutht have -thlept pretty thoundly not to have heard it." - -"We did hear it. We heard the whistle," replied George. "Fine time of day -to get here. Who cleared the court?" - -"The young ladies," answered Disbrow, with a reproving glance at the -Tramp Boys. - -"Too bad we all had sprained ankles," retorted Sam mischievously, whereat -a smile flitted over the pale face of P. Earlington Disbrow. - -By eight o'clock Disbrow, after walking over the court and poking it with -his stick, pronounced it satisfactory. He paid the driver of the outfit -and dismissed him. The boys were directed to place the net, while the -instructor looked on critically. When it came to measuring the court, he -insisted on doing this himself. - -"It is of vital importance that one practise under the identical -conditions that will prevail in the match game. George, set up stakes and -stretch a string so that all our lines may be true." - -When the court was completed, about an hour later, the campers gazed upon -it delightedly. - -"Oh, this is a real court!" cried Harriet with glowing eyes. - -"Yes. And now you shall do some real playing. We shall have our strokes -first, then we shall see you put them into practice in a real game. I'll -be playing myself if I look at that handsome court any longer." - -The day's work was welcomed with enthusiasm by the Meadow-Brook team. -Three sets were played before luncheon time, and rather spirited games -they were. The girls with each succeeding game grew more and more -proficient as the different strokes became more mechanical to them, and -when a halt was called for the noon meal P. Earlington Disbrow showed -real enthusiasm. - -"Fine, fine!" he exclaimed, smiling broadly. - -"Then you think we thall win the tournament?" questioned Tommy. - -"My dear Miss Thompson, we are not cup-winners yet; we are still in the -novice class. We hope to advance a step a day until we get into one of -the higher classes." - -A long rest was taken after luncheon, and then the afternoon was a -repetition of the morning with work made easy by the enthusiasm and the -painstaking effort of the Meadow-Brook Girls. It had been the first -really successful day since they began their practice. - -"One point in your favor," declared Disbrow as he was leaving the -Meadow-Brook camp that night, "is your wonderful endurance. I believe in -a long race you would wear out a steam engine. Add skill to that quality -of endurance and you will be heard from one of these days on the tennis -court." - -With this cheering word still ringing in their ears the Meadow-Brook -Girls tumbled into bed and went to sleep almost as soon as they had drawn -their blankets under their chins. - - - - - CHAPTER XV - WOULD-BE CUP WINNERS BREAK CAMP - - -"Well, P. E., what do you think now?" asked Captain Baker on the first -opportunity. - -"I think, as I did when you asked me that question some time ago, that -the Meadow-Brook team will attract considerable attention by their -playing in the Coast Tournament. They may even get a place well up in the -list, but so far as winning any of the prizes, I do not believe they are -far enough advanced for that. Their progress, during the four weeks we -have been at work, is nothing less than marvelous. Sometimes I almost -believe they will be fit for a championship match. Then I discover that -I've been carried away by that confounded Meadow-Brook enthusiasm. It's -as catching as the plague, old chap." - -"Well, we're all obliged to you for what you've done, P. E." - -"My boy, it isn't Earlington Disbrow who has done it; it is the young -women themselves. You can't make tennis players out of unavailable -material. About all I have done, besides giving them some technical -points, has been to keep them at work. They would have done that just the -same had I been on the other side of the ocean. At times they show -excellent form; then again they fall off without any reason that I am -able to discover. In two or three years from now we'll hear from the -Meadow-Brook Girls, but I should say it would take all that time to make -champions of them, in spite of their unshaken determination to win out." - -"How are you going to pair them off when we get to the tournament?" The -Englishman had announced his intention of witnessing all the matches at -Newtown. - -"That I have not fully decided. I may do it in a way that you won't -approve," smiled Disbrow. - -"You are the doctor, we are the patients," nodded George. "Well, at any -rate, it has been worth the price of admission to have you up here with -us, and I shall never forget what you've done for us, and for me -especially." - -"Chop it, old chap! You jolly well know the shoe is on the other foot. -Besides, I've had some much needed practice on my own account. I am fit -as a fiddle now, ready to take on any matches that may be arranged for -me. This has been a great vacation for me." The speaker expanded his -chest, inhaling deeply of the air that was heavy with the odor of the -pines. - -"Were I to remain up here all summer I think I might gain something of -the endurance that those young women possess. It's wonderful, as I have -said before." - -Four weeks had elapsed since the arrival of P. Earlington Disbrow. During -that time real work had been done in the camp of the Meadow-Brook Girls. -They had practised early and late, and when not actually at practice were -listening to words of wisdom, born of the experience of a world champion. -Now they possessed a theoretical knowledge of the game that was barely -second to that of Disbrow himself. They had learned to serve drop curves, -over-head curves, to place the tennis ball almost with the accuracy of -rifle fire; they had with varying degrees of success become able to -accomplish the difficult _twist service_, so puzzling to the novice, much -as would be the well-known curves of the baseball player to one who did -not understand them; their foot work had improved, they had been taught -to conserve their energies, to leap from the toes in springing to meet a -ball--in fact, had been coached in all the little delicate arts of the -game that had already made their instructor famous wherever tennis was -played. - -And now the period of their work in camp had come to an end. Only five -days remained before the opening of the tournament at Newtown, where they -would either win recognition or suffer humiliating defeat. Harriet still -persisted in her belief in herself and her companions. Disbrow did not -seek to shake that confidence, being well aware that without it they had -better remain out of the contest entirely. - -It had been planned that he was to meet them at Newtown three days hence. -He wished them to play a set over each of the courts, but they were not -to do anything like the hard work they had been doing on the court in the -pine woods, nor were they to touch a racquet during the days between then -and the time they reported at Newtown. This had been the champion's -strictest injunction to them. - -The girls were to go home to arrange their clothing. After no little -discussion it had been decided that they were to wear their regular Camp -Girl uniforms, minus the beads. These costumes, being especially arranged -for freedom of muscular play and comfort, were ideal for the purpose, -except that they were of blue serge, while all the other players would be -dressed in white. This would mean that the figures of the Meadow-Brook -Girls would stand out from all the rest, which might prove a disadvantage -when standing before the nets. Harriet understood this well, but she had -been determined on the Camp Girl uniform for reasons of her own, which -she did not confide to her companions nor to the Tramp Boys. - -Jane had been to town and brought her automobile. The camp had been -struck by the boys and packed ready for the wagon that was coming from -town to take them home. The girls and Mr. Disbrow were to return in -Jane's car, he to go on to Boston that evening. They were holding their -last meeting in the old camping place, which, now that they were about to -leave, seemed dearer than ever to them. None of that little party would -ever forget the weeks spent in that clearing in the pine woods. The -summer vacation that had opened so tamely bade fair to close in a giddy -whirl of excitement. It had already been full to overflowing with -activity and accomplishment. - -"Remember, you are to follow out my directions regarding the care of -yourselves between now and the time I see you again, young ladies," -reminded Mr. Disbrow. - -"I shall be on hand early and look over the practice of the other -contestants. I may be able to offer you some suggestions as to what to do -or what not to do after I have seen some of the other contestants in -action. As for my share in your training, it will be well for you to -forget that. From now on you are to be placed upon your own -responsibility." - -"You are asking an impossibility," replied Harriet. "Whatever may follow, -we owe you a debt of gratitude that nothing can ever repay, both you and -the boys." - -"Go in and win. That will be payment enough," answered Mr. Disbrow with a -light laugh. - -"That is what we are going to do," replied Harriet earnestly. - -He did not contradict her. He knew in his own mind that the Meadow-Brook -team could not carry off the cup. The most that could be hoped for was -one of the smaller prizes. If they stood up under the grilling of the -first few games, they would have done remarkably well. He should call -that achievement worth while, let alone winning the cup. - -About the middle of the forenoon the wagon came up from town and the boys -began loading the equipment, after which they were to take up their own -camp. The tennis racquets the girls had kept with them. They had chosen -their racquets after trying out all weights, Harriet finally choosing a -fourteen-ounce racquet, an unusually heavy weight for a woman player. Mr. -Disbrow had advised against this heavy weight, but after observing her -work with this and then with a lighter one approved her choice. Harriet, -though slight, was very strong, and under the practice on the court her -wrists had become as pliant as steel. - -They placed their smaller belongings in the car and got in, then, with -shouts of good-bye to the boys and to the camp, turned their faces -homeward. - -The news had traveled abroad in Meadow-Brook that the Meadow-Brook Girls -were to take part in the Coast Tournament, which entry caused no little -interest. It had not been known that the girls played tennis at all. Some -little argument had been necessary to gain the permission of the girls' -parents, but Miss Elting had taken the matter in hand, and in the end won -their consent. Not only this, but the parents were arranging to go to -Newtown to see the tournament. - -The plans of the party embraced some unusual features. They were to make -camp and live in tents, cooking their own food, living their regular -outdoor life just the same as if they were encamped in the woods. Mr. -Disbrow approved of this. Any change in their method of living might -affect them adversely, and the girls were thankful for his approval. - -That afternoon, after the girls had taken their instructor to each of -their homes and introduced him to their parents, Disbrow boarded a train -for Boston. He had skilfully evaded the direct questions of the parents -as to what chances the girls had to win. Tommy's father was delighted at -the opportunity presented to her. Whether or not she won anything, it -would be of great benefit to his little daughter, who, from a delicate -girl, had developed into a muscular young woman. - -True to their promise, the girls did no practising, though in her room at -home, using the wall to receive the ball under her light touches, Harriet -studied out problems of service. It was not practice, according to her -reasoning; it was study. But most of her time was occupied in sewing and -in performing her regular duties about the house, which she persisted in -doing despite her mother's protestations. - -In the meantime the Tramp Boys had moved, bag and baggage, to Newtown. -They not only had taken their own equipment, but that of the Meadow-Brook -Girls as well. George, after consultation with Mr. Herrington, would -decide on a site for the camp, which, owing to his acquaintance with the -manager of the tournament, would be almost any site the captain chose. -George was very fortunate in his friends, and he never hesitated to use -them, being fully as ready and willing to be used himself whenever he -could be of service. Then, again, in the present instance he felt a -proprietary interest beyond the ordinary one of friendship. It was his -team, as he chose to call it. He had made the entry, he would be -responsible for the Meadow-Brook Girls' appearance on the courts in the -tournament. He had no great hopes now of their winning the cup, but he -did believe the Meadow-Brook pluck and endurance would land them in a -position some little distance from the tail-end of the procession of -defeated contestants. - -On the third morning the girls were up early, for they were to make an -early start for Newtown, nearly three hours' drive by motor car from -their home town. As usual, they were to be accompanied by Miss Elting. No -other persons accompanied them. The parents were not to go on until the -day the tournament was to open. Their personal belongings and their -precious racquets were stowed in the car and in the luggage trunk that -was strapped on behind. It was a new car that Jane's father had purchased -for her to take the place of the one lost in the ice pond on that fateful -night the year previous, when Harriet had narrowly escaped drowning. - -Their departure was a quiet one. The car simply called at the homes of -the girls and picked them up as if they were just going out for a -pleasure drive. Tommy was the only nervous one in the party. Jane was -full of merry chatter, Buster grumbling, as usual, and Harriet silent and -thoughtful. - -"Well, we're off for the killing," announced Jane, after having picked up -the last of her passengers and started on her way. "And that's not saying -who it is that's going to be killed," she added with a chuckle. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - IN CAMP ON THE BATTLE FIELD - - -Newtown, as already mentioned, was a summer resort. There were many fine -summer homes, excellent bathing, a limited number of hotels, and a large -population of fashionable summer visitors. - -This year the tournament had excited more than ordinary interest because -arranged wholly for women. Not a man was to take part in any event, -though most of the teams were managed by relatives or family friends. -That it was to be a bitter fight was evident from the activity of the -preparations and the care with which the various minor officials had been -chosen. A very large attendance was promised and it was believed that -some future champions would be developed from the contest. This, as a -matter of fact, was the fond hope of Jack Herrington, the manager, who -had arranged this unusual tournament. One team from which much was -expected was a club of girls from the summer colony, fashionable young -women who had spent some years playing tennis. - -This latter club consisted of four girls, just as did the Meadow-Brook -entry. One pair was entered as "The Fifth Avenues," the other as "The -Riversides." All their practising had been done on the private court -belonging to one of the girls, so that no one outside of the few on the -inside really knew what they were doing. Then there were other clubs from -various parts of the State. One team from Portsmouth, the Scott Sisters, -were known to be among the most expert tennis players in the ranks of the -younger players, and among those who claimed to know, it was believed -that the Scott Sisters were sure winners, provided the Fifth Avenues and -the Riversides did not carry off the cup. There was just enough mystery -in the entries of the latter to cause a great deal of speculation and -arouse keen interest. - -Jane McCarthy and her passengers arrived in Newtown at eleven o'clock in -the forenoon of the day on which they had left home. Their arrival -attracted no attention, for the girls were unknown to the residents of -Newtown. Jane did not know where to go. Harriet called a halt and soon -learned where the office of the manager was. They repaired there at once, -only to find that he was out on the tennis field. They were directed how -to get there and drove away in search of it. - -The tennis field was located on the outskirts of the town in an open -field. The nets were not yet in place, but men were working on the -courts, packing these down with hand rollers in some instances, in others -chalking out the lines, taking measurements, working on the covered stand -where seats were held at high prices for such spectators as wished to be -under cover and out of the direct rays of the sun. The girls were -directed to the manager. They waited while Harriet went over to speak to -him. - -"So you are one of the Meadow-Brook Girls, eh?" he exclaimed, extending a -cordial hand. "George Baker has told me all about you. You look as though -you could give a good account of yourself." - -"Thank you." - -"Where are your friends?" - -"In Miss McCarthy's car yonder. We drove over from Meadow-Brook this -morning. Do you know whether Mr. Baker has made our camp or not?" - -"He has," answered Herrington, regarding the brown-faced young woman -keenly, pleased both with her manner and her apparently splendid -condition. - -"Will you kindly direct me to it?" - -"With pleasure, Miss Burrell. The camp is pitched just within the edge of -those trees at the far side of the field yonder," pointing to a grove. -"You are the only contestants who, so far as I am aware, are camping out. -Baker tells me that you prefer it. I consider it an excellent idea, -provided the weather is good." - -"Oh, we do not mind bad weather. We are quite well used to all kinds," -answered Harriet, her face lighting up in a happy smile. "Are any of the -other players here?" - -"None of those from out of town so far as I know. Some of them may be -staying with friends. None has reported to me. I should like to meet your -companions if you have no objection." - -"They will be glad to know you," answered Harriet, turning back toward -the car, with Mr. Herrington walking beside her. The manager was -presented to Miss Elting and each of the Meadow-Brook Girls in turn. He -said he knew Grace Thompson's father quite well and that he also knew Mr. -McCarthy by reputation. - -"I thought I was the only member of our family who had a reputation," -blurted out Jane. "Between myself and the motor car pretty nearly every -one in our part of the State has met disaster. Is that our camp over -yonder?" - -"Yes," answered Herrington, with an amused smile. - -"May I drive the car over?" - -"You may. But please go around the outside edge of the field so as not to -cut up the turf near the courts. We have spent some weeks on these -grounds, and are naturally very careful of them." - -"It is a very beautiful field," remarked the guardian admiringly. "I see -there are no nets up. When will you stretch them?" - -"Any time you may wish after to-day. I suppose you have reference to -practice?" - -"Yes." - -"All shall have opportunity to accustom themselves to the various courts, -for until the drawings I cannot say what teams will play on certain -courts. The singles are to be played off first. We are reserving the -doubles until the last because there is greater interest in these, and by -holding them until the last we shall hold the attendance as well. You see -there is a business side to this tournament, a side that is not wholly -unselfish." - -"Of course," agreed Miss Elting. "Have you many entries?" - -"In the doubles? Yes, there are twenty entries. I imagine there will not -be quite so many as that on the second day of the double events," added -Mr. Herrington. "George Baker has been scouting for news; he is a regular -sleuth. He will tell you all about it. You will find him at the camp; his -own camp is farther back in the woods. And, by the way, I have given him -permission to pitch a dressing tent just beyond the last court on that -side. He will not do that until just before the doubles are called. Any -of the other players who desire it may have the same privilege. I hadn't -thought of it until Baker suggested the idea, which is a good one. Next -year we shall do this ourselves. I hope you may be with us then." - -"It is quite likely that we shall," answered Harriet. - -"Then you are quite confident of the result this year?" - -"We are going to do our best," replied Harriet Burrell modestly. "We are -new at the game. Five weeks ago we practically knew nothing of the game. -What we have done has been done within that time." - -"I wish you luck, my dear young ladies, but you will find yourselves in -pretty hot company for girls of your limited experience at the nets. Most -of the contestants have been playing for years at home, though very few -of them, I believe, have ever participated in a public match." - -"I am glad to hear it," said the Meadow-Brook Girl with a smile. This was -good news to Harriet Burrell and she stowed it away in her mind for -future consideration. - -"Mr. Baker tells me that Earlington Disbrow is a friend of yours and that -he is coming down here from Boston to-morrow." - -"Yes, Mr. Disbrow has been good enough to take an interest in our work," -answered Miss Elting innocently. "We shall be glad to see an old -acquaintance again." - -Mr. Herrington bowed low, expressing his pleasure at having met so -renowned a party as the Meadow-Brooks, and, requesting that they call -upon him for anything in his power to grant, returned to his supervision -of the courts. - -As they neared the edge of the wood the tents began to stand out more -plainly. These were just within the edge of the grove. Out in the field a -short distance from the edge of the grove they saw a number of khaki-clad -boys at work. So busy were the latter that up to this time they had -failed to observe the approach of the motor car. - -Jane blew her horn. The boys heard and recognized the sound. - -"It's the Meadow-Brooks!" shouted George Baker. "Give 'em a cheer, -fellows. Hurrah!" - -The boys tossed their hats in the air and whooped so loudly that the men -at work on the courts at the opposite end of the field paused in their -work to look and listen. The Meadow-Brook Girls answered with their club -yell, the car came to a stop in front of the boys and the girls hopped -out. Hand-shaking was the order of the day for the next few minutes, -during which the girls were overwhelmed with questions. - -"Fit as fiddles all around," declared George after a critical look into -the smiling face of each girl. "Miss Brown is the only soft one in the -party." - -"I'm not soft," flung back Margery indignantly. "I'd have you know that. -You ought to know it without my telling you." - -"Don't get angry over it, Miss Margery," answered George laughingly. "I -didn't mean to hurt your feelings. What I meant was that you were not in -the pink of condition like the other girls. They have been in training -for some weeks, you know, so you could not be expected to come up to -them." - -Buster, somewhat mollified, smiled and sat down. The girls glanced about -them inquiringly. - -"What are you boys doing here?" demanded the guardian, glancing curiously -about her. - -"Oh, Miss Elting, they are making a practice court," cried Harriet. - -"Why, boys, you shouldn't have gone to all that trouble. The games come -on the day after to-morrow and we shall have very little use for a court. -Then, again, you have peeled off the sod. Why couldn't we have practised -on a grass court for the short time?" asked the guardian. "Of course we -appreciate this, just as we do everything you have done for us, but you -have done altogether too much." - -"In the first place," replied George, "all you will wish to do on the -courts out there is to warm up, to limber up. You will wish to practise -some of your fancy strokes, which you can do here without any one -observing you. We shall see to that. We shall stand guard and not let any -one near the court while you girls are at work. The reason we peeled the -sod is that you will play on a hard court in the contest. To play on a -grass court here for practice might undo all you have accomplished thus -far with regard to foot work. I know P. E. would agree with me in that." - -"Hathn't George got a head to be proud of?" demanded Tommy. "I withh I -had a head like hith, only much more beautiful." - -"Thank you." Captain George bowed with great ceremony, as though deeply -appreciative of this rather doubtful compliment. - -"You do think of everything, George," remarked Harriet. "You are right, -too. This court will be of no little assistance to us for the finishing -touches. I have some new strokes that I have thought out, strokes that I -should like to try without any one's observing me. Come, let's look at -the tents." - -There were two of these, one for Miss Elting, the other for the girls. -The boys had given the guardian one of their small camping tents. The -girls uttered exclamations of surprise when they entered the tent. -Everything was arranged with as much taste as they themselves could have -shown. In addition to this the interiors of the two tents were decorated -with cedar boughs that the lads had gathered by the wayside on their way -to Newtown. On the two end poles crossed tennis racquets had been -fastened with a tennis ball in the crotch formed by each pair of -racquets. In the center of the girls' tent was a small folding table -covered with a scarf that George had borrowed from his mother, and on the -center of the table stood a pitcher filled with roses. - -"Oh, you boys, you boys!" exclaimed Miss Elting, her eyes shining -happily. In her own tent she found a similar condition. - -The girls looked their deep appreciation rather than expressing it in -mere words. - -"I am going to put up a dressing tent for you before the games," said -George. - -"Yes, Mr. Herrington told us," answered Harriet. - -"Oh, then you've met Jack? There won't be much in the tent but a few -blankets and a cot. You will appreciate that tent when you have a rest -between sets. We shall have water there for bathing your faces to help -you cool off. I think we are in for some roasting weather." - -"Anybody would think this was a prize fight that was about to be fought," -declared Sam abruptly. George fixed him with a rebuking glance. - -"I see a great deal is expected of us," replied Harriet seriously. "If we -do not do our best, we are unworthy of such friendship. But, George, you -know what I promised you before we even began to practise--that we are -going to win. I repeat that statement now, and I mean every word of it." - -"That is the talk," said George, but inwardly he groaned. He knew in his -own mind that it was beyond the power of Harriet and her fellow-players -to carry off the cup. "You don't want to practise to-day, do you?" - -"Perhaps late in the afternoon," answered Harriet. - -"Then I'll tell you what let's do," suggested Dill enthusiastically. -"Let's all go down to the beach for a swim in the surf." - -"Fine! Come on, darlin's," cried Jane. - -"Oh, yeth, let'th go," urged Tommy. - -"I do not think it would be wise," answered Harriet reflectively. "I -should dearly love a swim, but I do not think it prudent. We might catch -a little cold or stiffen our muscles or something of the sort. We have -too much at stake to take any chances. I for one shall not go in the surf -and I hope none of you girls will." - -"Harriet is right," answered George approvingly. - -"Yes, she is," agreed Miss Elting. "But you haven't told us the news. Mr. -Herrington said you knew a lot about what had been going on here." - -George's face took on a more serious expression. - -"I've turned up a few facts," he said. - -"I suppose it is all settled as to who is going to win the championship -cup?" said Harriet with a smile. - -He nodded. - -"That's what they say. They say that the championship lies between the -Scott Sisters and the two pairs known as the Fifth Avenues and the -Riversides." - -"Have you seen them play?" asked Harriet. - -"No. But I got hold of a fellow I know who has seen them play a number of -times. He says they are wonders, regular Indians with the racquets. I've -got Charlie Mabie scouting now. He will bring back the news." - -"I hope you will not do anything that isn't quite right, George," said -Miss Elting deprecatingly. - -The captain shook his head. - -"No. You'll find they will be doing the same thing here, or trying to. -They will get a hard bump if they do," he added under his breath. "But -you do want to look alive for those Scott Sisters. From all I can learn, -they are regular professionals, and those who have seen them play in -other matches say they are mighty tricky players." - -"You mean dishonest?" questioned Harriet. - -"Well, you might call it that. I mean they would be if they could get -away with it. But even so, a player sometimes can turn a trick that isn't -fair and not be caught at it, or else is able to convince the umpire that -she didn't do anything unfair." - -"Nothing of the sort will be done by this team," declared Harriet Burrell -firmly. "But though we shall play fairly, we shall go in prepared to -fight to the bitter end, to fight every inch of the way until either we -drive our opponents off the court or are driven off of it ourselves." - -"Hurrah! That's certainly the real hero talk," shouted Sam. - -"Will you please keep still," admonished George. "I was about to say that -I haven't learned anything of interest about the other teams entered for -the doubles. In fact, not much of anything is known here. All of them -will be here to-morrow. Perhaps Herrington told you that the singles are -to be played off first. Some of the girls in those are to play in the -doubles also. You ought to be able to get pointers by watching them play -in the singles, learning their tricks and so on." - -"That will be helpful," agreed Harriet. - -"What do you wish to do now, sit down and rest?" questioned the captain. - -"We must go back to town and get our food supplies," answered the -guardian. "Will you come with us, George?" - -"Yes, thank you. I was going to propose that you go over to town with me. -There's something there that I want to show you. Oh, you'll be delighted -when you see it." - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - THE CUP THAT LURED - - -The girls lost no time in getting into Jane's car, accompanied by Captain -Baker, who sat on the front seat with the driver. They drove slowly -around the edge of the field, thence out into the street, observed by -Jack Herrington with a quizzical smile on his face. - -"There is as fine a set of girls as I ever saw," he reflected. "I -shouldn't be surprised if they were heard from at the nets one of these -days. But five weeks' practice and entering the hottest amateur -tournament we've ever had on the coast!" he muttered. "I ought to ask -them to withdraw their entry, but I couldn't do it when that Miss Burrell -looked at me with that unflinching, searching gaze of hers." He laughed -as he saw Jane and her car enveloped in a cloud of dust. Then the -Meadow-Brook car disappeared around the corner. - -"That one certainly can drive a car, even if she can't play tennis," he -added. - -In the meantime the automobile was speeding through the town, scattering -pedestrians right and left, Jane unheeding the guardian's urgent demands -that she drive more slowly. Jane was in a hurry to learn what it was that -Captain George Baker had in store for them. They were eager to know about -this latest surprise. - -"I hope you are not getting us into more trouble, Captain," Miss Elting -called to him. - -"It spells trouble for some one," answered the captain. "No, this is no -other game I am trying to play on you. You have game enough on hand as it -is." - -"I should say we have," answered the guardian, her face taking on a -thoughtful expression, little lines of perplexity forming on her -forehead. "Indeed we have, and to spare." - -George directed Jane into the main business street of the town. - -"Do you wish to get your supplies first?" asked the captain. - -"No!" cried the girls with one accord, "we want the surprise." - -"You shall have it. Pull up before that red brick building you see on the -left there, Miss Jane. We will get out there." - -They got down hurriedly. They could not imagine what this new surprise -might be. George led them to the sidewalk, passers-by glancing -inquiringly at the brown-faced girls as well as at their distinctive blue -uniforms, which a few persons recognized as belonging to the Meadow-Brook -Girls' organization. The captain stepped across the walk to the window of -a jewelry store, where he halted and pointed. - -"There is the surprise," he said, his eyes sparkling, his face flushed. - -At first the girls' eyes wandered over the glittering array of costly -articles displayed in the window, their glances finally coming to rest on -a centerpiece that stood out and above all the rest. That something was a -massive silver cup, standing fully eighteen inches high. The cup stood by -itself, on a black velvet mat. There was a massive silver handle on -either side. Then they saw that it was a trophy. A tennis net worked out -in silver decorated the lower part of the cup; above the net were two -crossed racquets and a ball, all in solid silver. - -Still further up on the swell, cut deeply into the polished surface were -the words, "Atlantic Coast Tennis Association Trophy for Girls Under -Eighteen. Doubles. Won by ----" - -__"Ohh-h-h!" breathed the girls in a delighted chorus. - -"Isn't it perfectly lov--e--ly?" gasped Buster. - -"Why, it must be worth a great deal of money," cried Hazel. - -"Yes, it is very beautiful and very expensive," agreed the guardian. -"That, Meadow-Brook Girls, is the prize for which you are to play. Isn't -it worth going after?" - -"Indeed, it is," agreed Jane McCarthy, really overcome by the -magnificence of the trophy cup. - -"Won't that look perfectly stunning on our center tables?" exclaimed -Buster. - -"Our thenter tableth!" exploded Tommy. "You aren't in the match at all. -Jutht remember that, Buthter." - -"No, but she is one of us and will share all the glory as well as the -disappointments of the Meadow-Brook Girls," answered Harriet reprovingly. -"Where shall we put it, girls?" - -"My father will want it on hith library table, where he can look at it -until hith eyethight failth him," answered Tommy. - -"But we shall all want it in our homes," declared Jane. "How are we going -to arrange that?" - -"We might split the cup into five parts and each take a piece home," -suggested Hazel. - -"No, that won't do. I'll tell you how we shall arrange it, girls," -planned Harriet enthusiastically. - -"Yeth, Harriet knowth what to do," said Tommy, nodding her tow-head -rapidly. "Thhe alwayth knowth everything." - -"First, we shall place it on exhibition in that jewelry store on Sycamore -Street at home. We shall want everybody to see it, and we shall be very -proud." - -"Yeth, and we'll thtand inthide the thtore and lithten to what they thay -about uth, won't we?" bubbled Tommy. - -"Then, after a day or two, we shall draw lots to see who has it in her -home first. In the beginning each shall keep it for a day until it goes -the rounds of all our homes. On the next round each shall keep it for two -days and so on, every round adding a day up to a month. A month will be -long enough for any girl to have it in her home at a stretch. I'll tell -you what we will do, we will each put in a little money that we shall -earn, and buy one of those black marble pedestals that are used to hold -statues. Then we can stand the precious cup in the window so people -passing may see it." - -"And, of course, we must write to our friends and announce the good -news," reminded Hazel Holland. - -"I know one person, at least, who will be glad to hear of our triumph," -declared Harriet. "Grace Harlowe will be delighted to learn that we've -qualified as champion tennis players." - -"And so will her friends, Nora O'Malley and Anne Pierson and Jessica -Bright," chimed in Marjory. "We never dreamed, when we met those nice -girls on our return from the mountains that we'd all become such friends, -did we?" - -"I'm fond of them all, but Grace Harlowe is my ideal." Harriet spoke with -deep conviction. She had met Grace Harlowe and her three chums during the -preceding summer. When the Meadow-Brook Girls had passed through Oakdale -on their way home. They had remained over night with the Wingates, who -were relatives of Tommy Thompson's. - -Hippy Wingate, Tommy's cousin, had risen to the occasion and invited his -particular group of friends, known as the Eight Originals, of whom much -has been told in the "Grace Harlowe Books," to meet the Meadow-Brook -Girls. These wide-awake young people had spent a most delightful evening -together and a firm comradeship had sprung up between the two sets of -girls. Harriet and Grace Harlowe had at once established a permanent bond -of fellowship, so it was hardly to be wondered at that the former's first -thought was of Grace. - -"Of courthe we'll let the Oakdale girlths know what marvelouth championth -we are," nodded Tommy. "I'll thend Grathe a telegram mythelf the minute -the tournament'th over, thaying we've won the cup." - -"Can you beat it?" murmured George, chancing to catch the laughing eyes -of the guardian. - -"No, George, I confess that I cannot," answered Miss Elting. - -"Maybe you might want to take the cup with you right now?" suggested the -captain. - -"Could we?" asked Tommy innocently, whereat there was a laugh at her -expense. - -"No, my dear. There are some little formalities to be gone through with -first," said Harriet. "We first have to win it after battling with some -of the best girl players in the State. That done, we shall take the cup -and carry out the plans already made. I think we had better attend to our -errands now." - -"Oh, don't go," begged Tommy. "I could thtand here and look at it all the -retht of the day." - -They started back toward the car. At the edge of the sidewalk Tommy -turned and ran back to the window. The other girls stepped into the car -and there they sat for fully five minutes until Tommy Thompson had -impressed every line and curve of the beautiful trophy on her mind. - -"You may break it if you look at it so hard," warned George. - -"Come, Tommy. Remember, you must get your rest and be ready for practice -this afternoon," called the guardian. - -The little girl turned away reluctantly, and getting into the car settled -back in the seat, uttering a deep sigh of happy satisfaction. - -"I thhall want to look at it all the time. I know I'll thit up nighth -looking at it," she murmured. - -No one answered her. Each girl was too deeply absorbed in her thoughts to -speak at that moment. Then the car moved on and the exquisite trophy for -which they were soon to enter the lists was left behind them. But Harriet -resolved that the separation should not be for long. Captain George, on -his part, took a different view of the matter. - -"The disappointment will nearly kill them," he thought. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - WHAT THE SPY LEARNED - - -The purchases made, Jane drove at her usual rate of speed until she -reached the tournament grounds. She slowed down just long enough to gain -the field, then put on full speed. The car went dashing over the lot, -threatening every minute to upset. She did not even turn out for a group -of workmen. They were the men who got out of the way, and just in time, -too. No amount of argument on the part of her companions could induce -Jane McCarthy to drive slowly. Of course, she would not have run over any -one recklessly, but in trying to avoid doing so she might have upset her -car and caused serious injury to her passengers. - -The boys were still rolling their practice court with hand rollers, -packing down a lump or digging it off here and there, giving as much -attention to the task as if the tournament were to be played on that -particular court. - -"It is a shame for the boys to work so hard," said Miss Elting. - -"Do them good," answered George carelessly. - -"We thaw the cup, Tham," cried Tommy, leaping from the car. - -"Well, seeing is believing." - -"And each of uth ith going to have it in her home. Jutht think of that!" - -"Just think of it," scoffed Sam. "Makes me dizzy to contemplate. Aren't -you girls eating in the middle of the day any more or are you fasting for -the tournament?" - -They hadn't thought of luncheon. They had been absorbed with matters of -much greater importance. - -"I don't see anything that looks like a campfire," said Hazel, glancing -about her. - -George led the way to the rear of the tents, where he pointed proudly to -a fireplace made of stones. Near it was a pile of dry wood, some soft for -starting the fire, some hard for making a bed of hot coals. - -"As you are not fasting, we shall proceed to get something to eat for -you," declared Captain George. - -"No, indeed. You have done quite enough. We will get it ourselves," -answered Harriet, immediately setting about preparing the noonday meal, -which in this instance would be eaten some time after noon. Her -companions put on their aprons, and half an hour later Tramp Boys and -Meadow-Brook Girls sat down to a light luncheon. - -George told them such other news as he had learned, the plans for the -tournament, how the names of the players who were to be opposed to each -other were to be drawn, and the like. No one knew exactly whom she was to -play against, no one would know until the drawings were made shortly -before the game was to be played. This added a spice to the contest, -though that was not the purpose of the regulation. - -"You see," continued the captain, "in case you were pitted against such -players as the Scott Sisters, or those high-toned players from New York -City, you might go down and out in the first set. Then you would be done -for, for good and all this season, without a doubt." - -"You are mistaken," answered Harriet promptly. - -"I know the laws," answered George with some warmth. - -"Yes, but it is quite plain that you do not know the Meadow-Brook Girls. -In the case you mention it would be the New York girls who would be done -for, for good and all. You are mistaken, George. But we forgive you. We -know your heart is in the right place." - -"There's no use trying to tell you anything," objected the captain -warmly. "You are so stubborn." - -"Isn't that the way to be?" questioned Harriet Burrell sweetly. "Or would -you prefer to have us meek and to say, 'Oh, yes, the New York girls will -win, of course. We stand no chance, whatever; we are going to lie right -down on the court and let them have their way'? Is that the way you would -like to have me receive your remarks and answer them?" - -"No!" exploded George, "not by a jug full. I withdraw my ungentlemanly -remark and beg your pardon. You are right and I am wrong. You are always -right. Tommy says so and I agree with her." - -"You thee, I am the withe one of the outfit, Mith Elting," spoke up Tommy -brightly. - -"How many prizes are to be offered?" asked the guardian, thus putting an -end to the subject the young folks had been discussing. "I have heard -nothing about it save the little you and Mr. Herrington have mentioned." - -"In the doubles, you mean? Well, there is the championship cup----" - -"Our cup," cut in Tommy. "You know we are each to have it in our hometh." - -"There is a smaller cup, too, I believe. There is also a gold bracelet -and a few other consolation prizes, including a pair of rag dolls for the -ones at the tail end of the procession. How would you like a nice, -homemade rag doll, Grace?" - -"I don't want a rag doll, I want a thilver cup--_the_ thilver cup," -protested Tommy indignantly. "I won't have a rag doll!" - -"Of course not," agreed Harriet. "What a ridiculous idea! We shall have a -silver cup, shan't we, dear?" - -"_The_ thilver cup," corrected Tommy. - -"Yes. And how soon will our court be ready for us, Captain?" asked -Harriet, turning to the captain. - -"Not until late this afternoon. You will want to get settled and rest and -adjust yourselves." - -"No; I shall, for one, want to get to work as soon as I shall have -properly digested my luncheon," replied Harriet, and then, turning to -Charlie Mabie, she added, "Charlie, you are actually getting thin." - -"No wonder. I'm doing all the running for both outfits. Up at the camp in -the woods it was 'Charlie, run to town and get so and so.' Town was only -twelve miles away, but Charlie runs just the same. Now it will be, -'Charlie, run over to town and get a box of candy for the girls.'" - -"Not for these girls," interjected Harriet. "These girls are not eating -candy at the present time. We are living plainly, I would have you -understand. Tommy, I want you to help me for a little while. You are -small and thin. Do you wish to assist me in working out something?" - -"Yeth." - -"Then I wish you would stand up and let me see if I can hit you with the -tennis ball. I want to try an experiment." - -"I gueth not. You had better try to hit a tree if you want thomething to -hit. I don't like thuch experimenth." - -"I'll be the easy mark," offered Sam. "You may hit me in the face, too, -if you want to and can. Only don't volley for my game nose. It is still a -little tender from the wollop Grace gave it with her racquet that time. -You won't throw your racquet at me, will you?" - -"Indeed, not," answered Harriet with a merry laugh. "I just want to -practise for accuracy." - -Sam posed as a mark for Harriet shortly after dinner, though she -permitted him to try to avoid her returns. Sam succeeded part of the -time, but not all of the time. Harriet had a little mystifying way of -sending the ball at him and reaching almost any spot on his body at which -she chose to aim. George said it was because Sam was too slow to get out -of the way. Harriet smiled but made no denial. There was no regular -practice play, however, until very late in the afternoon. Then for a time -the girls limbered up on the court while the boys were placing the net. - -Then they decided to play a set. Jane and Hazel won the first two games -of the set, the other four games going to Harriet and Tommy. The second -set, by agreement, was played much faster than the first had been. The -girls really disposed of this set with a dash and spirit that they had -not displayed at any other previous practice. - -"Well, I'll be jiggered!" declared George. "I didn't think you had it in -you to go through with it like that. That was a dandy, but not yet fast -enough to win the big cup." - -Harriet laughed at him with that teasing laugh that always made George -feel like chewing the brim of his hat to keep from making remarks. -Harriet suggested that they play a slower game this time and try to put -into practice all the tricks they had learned from Mr. Disbrow, to -rehearse everything, in fact, that they held in reserve for their -opponents when the time came to play the big games. - -It was an interesting practice and one who had been looking on might have -gained some valuable information as to what sort of a game the -Meadow-Brook Girls intended to play in the tournament. - -"Another thing that we need is a set of signals," announced Harriet. "Now -we all play with our right hands, so I suggest that we agree upon a -certain set of signals to be made with the left hand as a direction to -our playing-mate as to what to do. These signals must not be overdone, -only used in case of extreme necessity. Not knowing how we shall be -paired off on the playing day, we must all learn them alike. I have -prepared a few already. We can add others as they seem to be needed." - -Harriet then explained her signals to her companions, which each one -wrote down at her dictation while the boys looked on wonderingly. Sam had -gone back to their own camp on an errand for George, so he was not a -party to the plan. After they had read over their lists, Harriet went -through the signals, requiring the others to interpret them as she made -the signs. When unable to do so they had but to refer to their papers. -This proved a very short cut to memorizing the signals. - -"Of course," continued Harriet, "we can't be watching each other all the -time for signals, but there may come moments when an understanding -between the team-mates may be worth a great deal to each of them." - -"I don't know whether P. E. will approve of this business or not," said -Captain Baker in a doubtful tone. - -"If he does not, of course, we shall not use them," answered Harriet -readily. "I'll tell you what we will do. We will play a game for him -without telling him we are going to use signals, while all the time we -will be signaling to each other. Then we will tell him and ask his -judgment on the matter." - -"Agreed," said George. "Now, if you think you have the signals down pat -enough, suppose you play a game for me, using the signs as you find you -can. You, Jane and Hazel, are not supposed to know anything about these -signals for this game. Just don't see them." - -A game was played, and several times during the progress of it Harriet or -Tommy made use of the signals. The other team-mates could not wholly -overlook these signals, hence they were in a measure on their guard for -what followed each time, but the value of signals was so apparent that -George declared himself fully convinced. He said there could be no doubt -as to how P. E. would view them. - -"How did you ever think of it, Harriet?" he questioned, gazing at her -admiringly. - -"I just dreamed them out at home the other night, but I had forgotten all -about it until to-day." - -"Well, all I've got to say about it is that you are a mighty good -dreamer. Now, we haven't much time left before dark, so go ahead and -play. Use your signals, use everything. Work fast and do your best. -There's no one to see you. No one comes around here. They know better -when we men are on hand to watch over you." - -Despite George's boast, however, a young man had been gradually working -his way through the grove, approaching the tennis court from the rear of -the tents, his stealthy movements as he darted from tree to tree being -shielded from their view by the tents. As the shadows grew more dense in -the grove he kept creeping closer. There was still plenty of light for -the players, and their movements were quite plain to the spy who had -stolen upon them. - -Reaching a point some little distance removed from the camp and now to -one side of it, a position that commanded a fairly unobstructed view of -the tennis court, he drew a pair of opera glasses from his pocket and -immediately became absorbed in watching the playing on the Meadow-Brook -court. Now and then he was able to hear what was said, but, fortunately, -when discussing the signals the girls and boys lowered their voices -instinctively. If the fellow had been a keen student of the game he -undoubtedly would have seen that something was being done that looked -like learning a signal code, but whether or not he understood the meaning -of the natural movements of the left arms and hands of the players cannot -be said. He had not crept close enough to make his observations before -they began to play. - -While all this was going on Sam Crocker had been to the Tramp Boys' camp -and was on his way back. All at once he halted, and, shading his eyes, -gazed at the figure. The fellow's back was turned toward Sam. Then the -latter saw the opera glasses. He understood at once. Some one was spying -on the camp. - -"Oh!" chuckled Sam, rolling up his sleeves, "here is food for reflection, -and food for my two big fists. Now, Mr. Man, look out for yourself, for -the avenger is certainly on your trail!" - -The avenger was. Stooping low and moving with extreme caution, Sam -Crocker crept slowly up toward the supposed spy, getting nearer and -nearer. All at once, after straightening up, he uttered a whoop and -sprang forward, hurling himself on the man at the tree. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - ON THE TOURNAMENT COURTS - - -The spy went down, more under the force of a well-directed blow that Sam -had planted on the back of his neck than from the force of Sam's weight -that fell upon him. - -"I've got him!" yelled Sam. "I've got the miserable spy. Come here, -fellows, quick! Oh-h-h-h! Ouch!" There was a despairing wail in the voice -of the Tramp Boy now. The note of triumph had left it. - -Sam's companions had sprung up with his first call and started into the -grove, but though they could hear their companion they were unable to -locate him. - -Sam Crocker's yells were now half smothered, so it seemed to his -companions. Then all at once they saw Sam rise from the ground, saw him -with both hands clapped to his face, heard his unintelligible yells for -help. The boys ran at top speed. - -"What is it?" shouted George. - -"Catch him!" moaned Sam, suddenly sitting down again. - -"Catch whom?" - -"The spy! the spy! He's getting away. He ran that way. Chase him." - -The boys now began to understand. With one accord they spread out and -began running through the grove, shouting to each other as they ran, but -no trace of Sam's spy did they find. He had had ample time to make his -escape while Sam was trying to make his companions understand what had -happened. - -The girls had dropped their racquets and ran out, following the boys. -They found the unhappy Sam, hands still pressed against his face, rocking -to and fro and groaning. - -"Oh, Sam, you have hurt your poor nose again," sympathized Miss Elting. -"Get a pail of water. No, we will take him back to camp where we can give -him better treatment," said the guardian. Sam permitted himself to be -assisted to his feet and slowly led back to the camp of the Meadow-Brook -Girls. Miss Elting promptly set to work to wash the blood from his face -so that she might determine how serious was the hurt that he had -received. - -It was while she was thus engaged that George and his companions -returned. They were in none too good humor either. - -"You are a fine one to send us off on a wild goose chase like that!" -growled George. "I don't believe you saw any one at all. You must have -seen a shadow." - -Sam found his voice. - -"Look at my nose! Does that look as if I hadn't seen any one? Does my -nose look as if I had met a shadow?" he roared, his roar ending in a -groan, for, in opening his mouth, he had hurt his nose again. - -"Tell us what you did see," urged Baker, his voice growing sympathetic -when he saw that Sam was suffering. - -"I think we shall have to take him to a physician," announced the -guardian. "I fear this is a little beyond my ability as a surgeon. Can't -you wait until he is fixed up, George?" - -"Yes, but if he's able, he must tell us now," replied the captain. "If -there is anything at all to this we should know it at once. Think you can -talk, Sam?" - -"Ye--es, if you won't nag me. Ouch!" Sam remonstrated as the guardian -touched his suffering nose. - -"Never mind. I won't do it again," said Miss Elting gravely. "I thought -that perhaps I might be able to straighten your nose, but see that is not -best, nor had I better put on any adhesive plaster. The doctor would have -to take it off, thus causing you useless additional pain. Tell them, -please, if you are going to do so. We must get you to a doctor at once." - -"I was coming through the grove when I discovered a fellow hiding behind -a tree," explained Sam Crocker with many a halt and groan. "I crawled up -toward him. I didn't like his looks. Then I saw he had a pair of opera -glasses. Through the glasses he was watching the girls at practice." - -"What!" shouted George. "Why didn't you tell me?" - -"I did, but you thought I had seen shadows. Shadows don't give a fellow -this," he added, pointing to his own disreputable nose. "When I got up -close enough I jumped upon him. I punched him at the same time. He went -down and I on top of him. It looked like a soft thing for me. I yelled to -you boys about that time. But Fate was against me. Do you know, that -fellow knew all about my sore nose, knew that it was the one particular -tender, sensitive spot on my whole body. The scoundrel jerked his elbow -back just like this. It hit me on the nose and made me yell. Oh, it hurt -awfully. I just rolled right off him and clapped both hands to my poor -nose. It was bleeding badly. Then the fellow jumped up. I made a grab for -him; then, what do you suppose he did? He kicked me in the nose, kicked -me right on the sorest spot in my whole body. I don't mind being kicked, -but to be insulted by being kicked on the nose--that's _too_ much for a -self-respecting Tramp. If you catch him, don't do anything to him. Just -bring him to me." - -"Would you know the fellow if you were to see him again?" questioned -George, frowning. - -"I don't know. I think so, although I saw his face only for a second." - -"How was he dressed?" - -"He had on a pair of shoes, heavy ones," was Sam's innocent reply. - -"What kind of suit?" persisted George. - -"Didn't notice it. Don't think I saw it at all." - -"Boys, this is serious," declared Captain Baker, turning to his fellow -Tramps. "Some one has been spying while the girls were at practice. We -should have posted guards, but I didn't think we should be bothered this -afternoon. There are some queer people around here. Of course, we can't -blame them for wanting to know all they can, but we may blame ourselves -for letting them find out. We shall see to it, however, that this -incident is not repeated." - -"I wonder if he saw our signals!" gasped Jane. - -"He did, no doubt. We were making them about that time. But, girls, keep -your eyes open. If the boys don't catch the guilty ones, we shall -undoubtedly do so when we get in the tournament. If this spying has been -done in the interest of any of the players, the girls will know our -signals when we face the net," declared Harriet. "The spy may not have -heard our explanations, but if he is sharp he will be able to identify -the signals with the plays that follow. When any of you sees that her -opponents understand our signals you will know you are getting close to -the fellow who hurt Sam's nose. Then you just watch. Are you going to -send him to a doctor, Miss Elting?" - -"I'll take him in the motor car," said Jane. - -It was arranged in that way, Miss Elting and Captain George accompanying -the injured boy, who really was suffering more than he ever remembered to -have suffered in all his life. The other Tramp Boys remained with the -Meadow-Brook Girls. The boys were angry and the girls indignant at the -attack on Sam Crocker, but there was nothing to be done in the matter now -except to wait and watch. - -Sam was brought back in Jane's car. His face was plastered until he was -well-nigh unrecognizable, but it was the same old familiar voice that -inquired if supper were ready. The girls had forgotten all about the -meal. Their minds had not been on eating at any stage of this eventful -day. They hurriedly set about preparing a meal for themselves and the -boys. - -"The doctor says he will not be permanently disfigured," Harriet informed -her companions. "Of course, he must not get any more such knocks on the -nose. It's too bad, now that the tournament is on." - -"I have my voice left," answered Sam. "I can yell, and now that the -plasters are there to hold my nose in place I won't crack my face doing -so. I'm going to do some yelling. Another fellow may be heard to yell, -too, but he won't yell in the same tone, not if I lay my gentle hands -upon him." - -The girls were tired and they were to have a long day's practice on the -following day, so the boys were permitted to go to their own camp at an -early hour in the evening. There the Tramps discussed ways and means of -trapping the spy and giving him the thrashing he deserved, not so much on -account of his having spied on them as because of his brutal kicking of -Sam Crocker. The elbow jolt was necessary in order to free himself, but -the kick in the nose was not. It was the kick that he should be punished -for, the lads decided, after sitting in judgment on the matter for a long -time. They, too, went to bed with their minds fully made up as to what -they would do when they found the man. It would not have been a pleasant -prospect for him had he known. - -Next morning Harriet was out at daylight. Shortly afterward she saw the -men setting the nets on the tournament courts. - -"Here is our chance, girls," she cried. "The nets are being placed. Get -ready and we can have a long practice before the rest of the community is -stirring." - -There was some grumbling, but Harriet being recognized as the leader -among the girls, her suggestions were usually adopted. They were in this -instance and were warmly seconded by the guardian. As soon as they could -get ready they did so and were off across the fields, each eating a piece -of bread. There were no Tramp Boys in sight at that early hour, only the -workmen and a manager who was directing the placing of the nets on -measurements already laid down. Jack Herrington had reasoned that some of -the contestants might desire early practice and, to give them all an -opportunity, had ordered the nets set up at daybreak. - -Miss Elting asked permission to use the courts, which was granted; then -the girls began a game, after first having warmed up, for the morning was -chill. There being no one to see them except the men at work, they did -not hesitate to use all their tricks and secret plays, making good use of -the signals all through the set. Harriet and Tommy won the first game, -Hazel and Jane the next. - -Acting upon the suggestion of the guardian the girls were not playing -fast games that morning, but instead they were playing for accuracy and -perfection. They were devoting a great deal of attention these days to -form, seeking to make their movements as graceful and artistic as -possible and yet obtain the best results from their playing. In this -instance Miss Elting was their critic. - -So interested were the Meadow-Brook Girls in their work that they failed -to see a man climb the fence from the street and cross the lot toward the -courts. His approach was shielded by the stand built for the tournament -spectators. They were unaware of his presence as he stood behind the -stand, where he watched the whole of the second set. Then to their -amazement he suddenly appeared before them, having walked around to the -front of the stand without attracting attention to himself until Harriet -Burrell had called "Game!" - - - - - CHAPTER XX - A WELCOME DISTURBANCE - - -"Caught red-handed," cried a familiar voice. - -Margery uttered a little scream. - -"Thave me!" cried Tommy, dropping her racquet. - -"Sorry to have frightened you, ladies, but glad that it was I who did it -rather than some one else," he said, stepping forward, laughing heartily -at their confusion. - -"It's Mr. Disbrow," cried Harriet. "Oh, we are glad to see you. How long -have you been here?" - -"Since the beginning of the set. You should be more cautious. How did you -know but that one of your opponents might be watching and getting -pointers from your practice? You certainly have been applying all the -instruction I gave you." - -"It was a mistake," agreed Miss Elting. "We were all too absorbed to -think that any one might be looking on. How did you get here so early?" - -"I just arrived, and, after leaving my bag at the hotel, thought I would -walk over and have a look at the courts. It is too early for breakfast at -the hotel, you know." - -"I am glad. You will now have breakfast with us. The boys have not yet -arrived." - -"I did not expect to see them," chuckled Disbrow. "But tell me, what is -new? What do you hear about the other contestants?" - -Harriet told him all that they had learned from George Baker, to all of -which Mr. Disbrow listened gravely. - -"Yes, I have heard as much. It seems a foregone conclusion that the Scott -Sisters are going to win the cup. From what I have been able to learn -they are accomplished players and have been in training for this match -ever since early in the spring." - -"Yes?" Harriet's eyebrows elevated ever so little. "You have lost your -confidence in the Meadow-Brook Girls, then?" - -"By no means. From what I have just seen here you girls will give a most -excellent account of yourselves, but that doesn't mean that you will win -the cup. I do not see how you could even hope to do so after the very -brief time you have spent at the nets. Had you finished?" - -"We were going back to camp, but we will put on another game if you -like," replied Harriet. - -"I wish you would. You may not find another opportunity when no others -are about. After this afternoon I shouldn't do more than just keep in -good form. I mean, do no hard work on the court. Now, if you are ready, -you may play a couple of games, keeping the same partners, and paying -especial attention to team work." - -They did so, Harriet Burrell's side winning each time, the two games -being watched keenly by the Englishman, but without comment until the -games were finished. - -"Very good, _very_ good!" he cried, with something more than the usual -praise in his voice. "I am satisfied that you have done a great deal more -than really could be expected of you. In fact, I may say that I would not -have deemed it possible for novices to get in such form as you are -showing in so short a time. Do not set your hopes too high, but get as -near the top as you can. I shall make it a point to circulate among the -players who are here and renew old acquaintances. I may have something -further to say on the matter this evening. Oh, no, I am not going to spy -on our opponents. I merely want to hear from persons who know what the -others have been doing, how they are showing up as to form and skill. I -think I shall accept your invitation to breakfast with you. This air has -given me an appetite." - -"We have a very good court at the camp," said Miss Elting after the party -had started for camp. "The boys have worked like Trojans to put it in -excellent shape. It is a dirt court." - -"That is good. They are a fine lot of boys." - -"Yeth, and Tham bumped hith nothe," Tommy informed him. - -"So I hear. Poor Samuel. He is a most unfortunate mortal, but he is all -to the good. That is a fine location for you. You should have some place -in which to rest, however. You will have seven minutes after each third -set, you know." - -"The teams are to have dressing tents near the courts if they wish," -answered Harriet Burrell. "Mr. Baker is going to put up one for us." - -"Good old George!" approved Mr. Disbrow. - -At breakfast, which was a hearty meal in the case of the champion, he -offered his criticisms of their playing that morning, making valuable -suggestions and giving them a series of instructions regarding their -playing when the real test was at hand--that of standing up before -hundreds of people and yet being wholly unconscious of their presence. - -The conversation was continued after breakfast, then the girls told him -of their code of signals. Disbrow said he had observed them when they -were playing the second set while he was watching from behind the stand. -He agreed that it was an excellent idea provided they did not give too -much attention to watching for signals and thus overlook the more -important things. - -"Harriet ith going to let uth have the thilver polithh and cloth for the -cup," interjected Tommy wholly irrelevantly to the subject under -discussion. - -Mr. Disbrow laughed heartily. - -"I sincerely hope you may have use for the silver polish," he replied. -"To-morrow, I believe, the singles are to be played off. You should see -all of them and study the methods of the players critically, especially -those whom you are to face in the courts next day. Here come the boys." - -"It's P. E.!" shouted George the instant he caught sight of the -Englishman sitting in the camp. The boys welcomed him boisterously, then -George poured out all the news he had obtained. Later on he accompanied -Mr. Disbrow to his hotel, where the two discussed the chances of the -Meadow-Brook Girls. Neither the champion nor the boy saw any reason to -change their opinions on this subject. That the girls might make an -excellent showing they agreed, but that they stood any chance at all of -winning the championship neither believed. - -"It is simply an impossibility," declared P. E. with emphasis. "I wish I -might look at it in a different light. Perhaps we may change our minds -after we see what the other people have been doing, but I doubt it. Have -you seen any of the others play?" - -George said he had not, but that he had some confidential reports on the -work of the Fifth Avenues and the Riversides. - -"How are they?" questioned Disbrow eagerly. - -"Hot stuff," answered George, "but very fancy. My, but they handle their -racquets well!" - -"That doesn't necessarily make a champion," suggested Disbrow -thoughtfully. "But we shall see. I shall hope to have further information -by this evening and still more to-morrow. I say, if I shouldn't get back -before dark, see that the girls play a couple of sets--light practice, -mind you--after four o'clock this afternoon. And don't let them work too -hard during the heat of the afternoon. They are pretty fit physically now -and I don't want them to lose form. I think it is safe to say that no -team in the tournament will enter the courts in better physical condition -than the Meadow-Brooks. They are simply wonderful physically. I leave you -to look after these things as I do not wish to take an active part. It -would not be best for them." - -George agreed. All arrangements having been talked over and understood -between George and Mr. Disbrow, they separated, George to return to camp, -the Englishman to spend the day among the tennis people, many of whom he -knew, for the tournament had drawn as spectators tennis players of high -and low degree. - -Almost every person was talking tennis and discussing the merits of the -respective teams. Of the Meadow-Brooks little was known. Some had heard -of them, most had not, nor had the girls appeared on the streets of the -town enough to be identified and placed. They were too busy with the -serious affairs in hand to spend any time wandering about the summer -resort in idle pleasure. - -Every train that arrived during the day brought with it players and -visitors. Early in the forenoon girls in white sweaters might have been -seen at practice on the tournament courts. The Meadow-Brook Girls were at -no time among them, nor were the Scott Sisters nor the Fifth Avenues and -Riversides. The latter two were practising on their own private courts -and the former were staying with friends and resting preparatory to the -battle to be fought perhaps on the morrow. - -It was after dinner that evening before Earlington Disbrow turned his -footsteps toward the Meadow-Brook camp. He was not highly elated over -what he had learned that day, but showed nothing of this in his face or -manner when he called on the girls. The boys were still there. - -George reported that the girls had had a very satisfactory day's -practice, but that the Tramps had had difficulty in keeping spectators -and curious players away from the place. The Tramps had literally thrown -a circle about the Meadow-Brook Girls' court, permitting no one to pass -within the circle while practice was in progress. - -"Will they play to-morrow?" questioned Dill. - -"No. Mr. Herrington does not think it advisable. It will undoubtedly be -late in the afternoon before the singles are run off, so he has decided -to start the doubles on the following forenoon at ten o'clock." - -"What do you wish on the question of team-mates?" he asked, turning to -Miss Elting. - -"We have been leaving that to you." - -"Then I will offer my suggestion. I have talked it over with George and -he agrees with me. I believe the best results can be obtained by -arranging it as follows, Miss Burrell and Miss Thompson to play together, -Miss McCarthy and Miss Holland to act as team-mates. Of course, Miss -Thompson is not as heavy as I wish she were, but she makes up for that in -a measure by her alertness. Have you any objections to the arrangement?" - -"Indeed not," answered the guardian. "You have expressed my own ideas on -the question. None of the girls has expressed any preference, but I know -they will be satisfied." - -"I for one am," answered Harriet promptly. The other girls announced -themselves as pleased with the arrangement. - -"Then we will call it settled. I wish we might be drawn so that you girls -could play the weaker teams first." - -"We do not wish any favoritism," declared Harriet. "If we can't win -fairly and on our merits, we prefer to be beaten." - -"That is the sportsman-like spirit. That is the spirit that should -prevail in all contests, as I am certain it will in this. You are going -to be in hot company. I have learned something more about the playing of -the Scott Sisters. They are fine players. I am not belittling your work, -mind you. You play a splendid game--a marvelous game for the time you -have been practising, but you must remember that one has to go through a -few public matches before one learns to play well before people." - -"Yeth, we underthtand," nodded Tommy. - -"Then you think we shall not win?" questioned Harriet. - -"I do not wish to discourage you, nor do I think you will so construe -what I have to say. I think you will play a very fine game and that you -will not win the booby prize, but as for winning the cup, for the life of -me I don't see how you are going to do it. There! It's out now." - -"You are one of those perthonth who have to be thhown, aren't you?" -lisped Tommy Thompson after a moment of deep silence following the -discouraging announcement. "I gueth that we thhall have to thhow you." - - - - - CHAPTER XXI - A DISASTER IN CAMP - - -The morning following the conversation between the Meadow-Brook Girls and -Earlington Disbrow dawned clear and cool, though the weather gave promise -of being much hotter--in fact, the Weather Bureau had promised the -hottest wave of the summer thus far, which the management of the -tournament advanced as an added reason why every one should come to the -seashore for the Coast Tennis Tournament. - -The girls, in no way cast down by the doubts expressed by their -instructor, were still full of determination to win or go down with -colors flying to the breeze. That was the Meadow-Brook spirit. Now that -each girl had been assigned her partner, the two teams got together and -planned out the methods to be used by each of the two teams--in fact, -planned everything that could be planned. It was the first public -appearance of any of the girls of the Meadow-Brook camp, hence their -behavior when they found themselves on the courts was still an unknown -quantity. However, instead of worrying over their ordeal the girls had a -lively round at their own net early in the morning before breakfast, then -a cold bath, after which they were ready for breakfast. - -They were alone, that morning, for breakfast, and enjoyed themselves very -much. Only Tommy appeared to be nervous, but she soon forgot this in -talking about the cup that she confidently believed would be in their -possession on the following day. - -They were not to play any more until after they had returned from the -singles that were to be run off on this, the first day of the tournament. -Mr. Disbrow they would not see again until they had reached the -tournament grounds, but George and at least one of his companions were -coming over to accompany Miss Elting and the girls to the tournament. The -girls were looking forward to the arrival of their own parents, all -except Harriet Burrell, who thought her father and mother would not be -present. In a way she was glad of it, though she knew she should miss -them, that she would give almost anything were they able to see her play -and enjoy the proud distinction which she hoped and believed would come -to her and her companions. But she was wise enough to keep nothing on her -mind from that time until the end of the games, save the games -themselves. - -They repaired to the tennis grounds about an hour before the calling of -the games. None of the girls shared the comforts of the grand stand. They -preferred to be on the ground, where they could stroll about, where they -could be close enough to watch and learn. That they did learn a great -deal that day they admitted later on, for there were some excellent sets -played in the singles. During the morning Mr. Disbrow came to them with a -copy of the "draw" which had been made that morning, showing the -assignments of the teams for the preliminary games in the doubles. The -Meadow-Brook Girls perused the list eagerly. - -"Oh, listen to this! Jane and Hazel play the Riversides first," cried -Harriet excitedly; "and, Tommy, you and I are listed to play our first -match against the Fifth Avenues. That is what will happen if both these -teams win in their preliminary matches, which, of course, they are bound -to do. I don't like to have to sit and wait until those preliminaries are -over, but some one must do it, I suppose. Some one always has to suffer -for another person's gain." - -"I am well pleased that both of you do not have to meet the top-notchers -the first thing," said Mr. Disbrow. "The meeting with a team nearer your -own class will give you a chance to get a notch or two higher than you -might otherwise attain. Miss Burrell and Miss Thompson will have an added -disadvantage. They must try to profit by your experience." - -"Mr. Dithbrow, may I thay thomething perthonal?" asked Tommy sweetly. - -"Yes, certainly." - -"Then I will thay it. You are a regular calamity howler. I thaid you were -one of thothe perthonth who had to be thhown. Wait until to-morrow and -we'll thhow you." - -The Englishman doffed his hat politely. - -"I think you are right, but perhaps I have had a motive in saying those -things that you call 'calamity howling.' However, I shall explain what I -mean after the games to-morrow. Watch this set; it is going to be a good -one." - -"Are either of the top-notchers whom we are to meet playing in the -singles?" whispered Harriet. - -"No. Like yourselves, they are lying low and conserving their energies. -The Scott Sisters I have not seen, nor the other two teams we have spoken -of. I don't know that any of them are on the grounds, though I presume -they are." - -During the next hour there was little opportunity for conversation. The -play held the attention of the Meadow-Brook Girls, Mr. Disbrow remaining -near them, now and then calling their attention to improper plays or some -particularly fine bit of playing that he wished them to impress upon -their minds. - -A very large crowd of people was in attendance; a greater attendance, -even, was looked for on the morrow. Every player had hosts of friends to -cheer for her and to shout encouraging words between the sets. The games -were run off quickly, only two sets being long-drawn out when skilful -players found themselves opposed to each other. Even these were limited -to half an hour's playing. The playing day ended about three o'clock in -the afternoon, some contestants having made a miserable showing, others -having shown such form as gave promise of future successes. - -Mr. Disbrow went to camp to take dinner with the Meadow-Brook Girls as -well as to watch their practice, which was to take place immediately upon -their return to camp. He did not compliment them on their work that -afternoon, but before leaving them that night he said: - -"Remember, no work to-morrow morning. Sleep as late as you can -comfortably and do not lie awake thinking of to-morrow. Time enough to -think when you are before the net. Just try to imagine that it is a -practice game with your humble instructor on the side lines ready to -criticise you sharply for any shortcomings he may observe. Try to think, -too, that there is nothing worth while at stake, even if you do not win -out." - -"Yeth, there ith," objected Tommy. "There ith a cup at thtake. I call -that thomething." - -"I may look in on you after breakfast to see that you are all in working -order," continued Disbrow. "George, as the manager of the team, I would -suggest that you see Herrington at nine o'clock in the morning to see -that there are no changes in the arrangements. Miss Elting, it will be -for you and Miss Brown to look after the physical comfort of the young -ladies when they come in from the sets. You understand what to do, being -an athlete yourself." - -The guardian nodded understandingly. - -"Then, good-bye until to-morrow. Remember!" He shook a warning finger at -the girls. - -"We shall not forget," answered Harriet simply. - -"I feel," said Tommy, after he had gone, "jutht ath though I were going -to jail to-morrow. Thuppothe--thuppothe a girl thhould defeat me and I -thhould throw my racquet at her and hit her on the nothe--would they -thend me to jail for that?" - -"Tommy!" exclaimed Harriet, "how can you say such a thing?" - -"I can thay it all right. What I want to know ith may I do it, if I want -to?" - -"You most certainly may not," answered Miss Elting sternly. - -"Then I won't," decided the little girl. - -"I should say you won't," returned Harriet, breaking out into a merry -peal of laughter. - -The boys remained in the camp for an hour after the departure of Mr. -Disbrow, when they, too, prepared to go to their own camp. George -promised that the boys would be over early. In the meantime the dressing -tent would be pitched and made ready for them, so that the girls might go -directly to their dressing tent from their camp. There they could rest -until they were called for their turn, all of which George would attend -to personally, removing any necessity for worry about arrangements. - -The boys bade their friends good night, shaking hands with each girl and -the guardian before leaving, then strode away in the darkness. The girls -retired very shortly after the departure of the boys. All were weary, nor -did they feel much like talking that evening. Miss Elting kissed each of -them good night, and within fifteen minutes every Meadow-Brook girl was -sound asleep. Healthy minds and healthy bodies had much to do with this. - -Late that night, well past midnight, Harriet was awakened by the sound of -thunder. As she opened her eyes a vivid flash of lightning caused her to -close them again sharply. She got up quietly and secured the tent flap, -then crawled back under her blanket. The rain was not long in coming. A -heavy shower fell. She wondered if this would prevent the game on the -morrow, but she was too sleepy to dwell long on the thought, and dropped -into a doze a moment later. - -The awakening from that doze was a sudden one. The wind was blowing and -the rain causing a great commotion in the foliage of the trees, when all -at once one side of the tent tilted up. The whole stretch of canvas was -suddenly lifted from them and hurled against a tree trunk, about which -the wet canvas wrapped itself. - -In almost an instant the Meadow-Brook Girls were soaked to the skin. They -sprang up with cries of alarm. The night was very dark, except when a -flash of lightning lighted up the deserted field that only a few hours -before had been peopled with pleasure-lovers. - -"Thave me!" cried little Tommy shrilly. - -"What's the matter? Oh, I'm getting wet," groaned Margery. - -"Nothing is the matter--not with us. It's the tent that is in trouble. -The wind has blown it over, that's all," answered Harriet calmly. - -"Keep your blankets around you. You simply must not get wet," commanded -the guardian. "Oh, this is too bad--and on the night before the -tournament," she added under her breath with a little groan, unheard by -her charges. For an hour they sat shivering, wet to the skin, unable to -do a thing to help themselves until the wind and rain had ceased. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII - AN EXCITING MORNING - - -It was not an encouraging situation. Within a few hours the four girls -were to enter upon the most momentous undertaking of their lives,--an -undertaking that would require them to be in fit physical condition, with -clear heads, alert and supple in limb. And here they sat in a blinding -rainstorm with nothing more substantial than their blankets between them -and the heavy downpour. - -"There will be no game for you girls to-morrow," groaned Margery Brown, -dismally. - -"If there is a game, we shall play," answered Harriet. - -"What shall we do?" cried Jane. "We'll all catch cold!" - -"When the rain stops we shall put the tent up again," returned Harriet -Burrell. "That question is easily answered, but answering is the easiest -part of it. The worst feature of it is that all our clothes will be out -of shape and unfit to wear in the morning." - -"We shall have to make the best of it," said the guardian. - -"We will iron them in the morning," replied Harriet. "We must, for the -sake of our friends, make a half-way decent appearance. You saw how neat -and well groomed all the players looked to-day. With our dark clothes it -will be even more difficult to make ourselves presentable." - -"I withh the boyth were here," lisped Tommy. - -"I don't. We are perfectly able to take care of ourselves. What we must -wish for is the rain to cease." - -No signs of its doing so were observable. They sat, dismal and forlorn, -wrapped in their blankets, each girl sitting in a puddle of water, for -there was no floor in their tent. - -Harriet soon saw that remaining as they were might be attended with -serious results. She urged the girls to get up and walk about, which -suggestion the guardian seconded. Then for the next hour they walked back -and forth, keeping well out in the open field, fearing that were they to -take refuge under the trees they might be struck by lightning. - -About three o'clock in the morning the rain suddenly stopped. Soon after -that the clouds broke away and the stars came out. The faint light of the -coming day enabled them to see with some distinctness. - -"Now for the tent, girls," cried Harriet. "I wish we had a fire or a -lantern. But we shall have light from the skies soon. Help me spread the -tent on the ground and straighten it out, Jane, dear." - -While they were doing this the other girls were placing their belongings -on higher ground. - -"Oh, joy!" shouted Hazel. "All our dresses were in the chest. Who put -them there?" - -"I did," answered Tommy. "I have thenthe thometimeth." - -A weak cheer greeted this announcement. Their dresses were dry, after -all. Much of their trouble being thus banished the girls' spirits rose, -and soon thereafter they were laughing and chattering, unmindful of their -bedraggled and thoroughly uncomfortable condition. - -Suddenly Jane McCarthy uttered a cry. - -"The ropes are broken--broken right off near the stakes, I should judge," -she called excitedly. - -"That is strange," replied Harriet. "The ropes are too strong to break so -easily. The stakes would have pulled up before the ropes would break. Let -me see." - -Harriet took the end of a guy-rope that Jane extended toward her, and -looked at it closely. She ran to where the tent had been pitched and -began tugging at a stake, which came up after no little effort on her -part. This stake she carried back to Jane and held it before her -companion, a piece of the broken rope dangling from it. - -"See, Jane?" - -"Well, darlin', didn't I tell you? The rope broke off just as I said." - -"You are mistaken, Jane, dear." - -"Eh, what?" exclaimed Jane. "Then what did happen to it?" - -"The rope didn't break off, at least not wholly so. It has been cut -nearly in two with a sharp knife. I presume we shall find the other ropes -in a similar condition. Whoever did it must have known that a storm was -coming and thought that the first good puff of wind would leave us -without a roof over our heads. Now, what do you think of that, Jane -McCarthy?" - -"The miserable cowards!" raged Jane. "Miss Elting!" - -The others of the party were quickly made acquainted with what Harriet -had discovered. Then there followed an immediate examination of the other -guy-ropes, all being found partly severed by a knife. The uneven, stringy -ends showed where the break had come when the wind blew hard enough to -part them. - -This was a new element of discomfort and mystery. - -"I can't understand who would do such a thing," pondered Harriet Burrell. - -"The boys wouldn't play that trick on us, would they?" questioned -Margery. - -"Indeed they would not. This is not fun; this is malice, nothing less," -declared Harriet. "I am afraid we have enemies here, girls, but whoever -they are we are going to triumph over them to-morrow, even if we have to -go to the courts soaked to the skin and out of condition as the result of -our night's experiences." - -The light was now strong enough to enable them to make out objects about -them quite clearly. They examined the ground. They found the imprint of -boots in the soft turf all around where the tent had stood, but whether -these had been made by one of the boys or by their midnight visitor they -were unable to say. They were strongly inclined to the opinion that it -was the enemy who had put them in such a plight. - -"I don't think we shall put up the tent now," said Miss Elting, after -reflection. "It is now nearly daylight. The boys will be along soon. They -will set the camp to rights. There go two of them now to put up the -dressing tent. Whoo-e-e-e!" - -Sam and Dill Dodd halted at the hail. They saw instantly that something -was wrong at the Meadow-Brook camp and came over at a trot. The situation -was explained in a few words. Sam started on a run for his own camp to -inform George Baker, and in an almost incredibly short time George came -in sight with Sam Crocker trailing along a few rods behind him. - -The girls had never seen George in a rage before. But his rage took a -different form from what they might have expected. His face was very pale -and his voice was so calm as to be almost gentle. Yet there was a note of -restraint in it, of enforced control, that told the girls he was laboring -under great excitement. - -"Sam, skate back and tell the fellows to get our tent in shape. Tell them -the girls will be along in a few moments," he ordered, and Sam went -obediently. - -"But----" protested Harriet. - -"You are going to our camp to turn in, all of you. Miss Elting, you will -see that they go to bed and get some rest, won't you?" - -"Yes; thank you very much." - -"Let me see. The grounds are wet this morning. I do not think the games -will be called much before eleven o'clock. You may safely sleep until -nine o'clock. That will give you two hours in which to get ready. If -there is any change in the time I will have you called earlier or later -as needed, so don't worry one little bit. This ground is too wet for you -to sleep on, that is why I am sending you to our camp." - -"What are you planning to do, put up our tent?" questioned Miss Elting. - -"After the ground dries off, yes. Just now I am going to see Jack -Herrington, then call on P. E. How do the girls seem to be feeling?" -George lowered his voice so that only the guardian might hear. - -"In excellent condition, I should say. You know a little wetting doesn't -disturb them very much. I hope they play the games to-day. The grounds -will be wet and somehow I believe our girls will make a better showing on -soft, soggy grounds than on a smooth, hard court." - -"I've been thinking of that myself," answered George confidentially. -"Well, so long for a few hours. I have business on hand this morning, -being business manager of the Meadow-Brook team. Sounds important, -doesn't it? May not sound so important to-morrow." - -George started across the field. His chin was lowered almost to his chest -and he was raging inwardly at the indignity put upon the Meadow-Brook -Girls. He would see to it that nothing of the sort occurred again. He -censured himself because he had not thrown a guard about the camp on the -evening before the battle. It was too late now for regrets. The one great -question now uppermost in the minds of a hundred or more persons besides -himself was, who was going to win the doubles? - -So far as George Baker was able to judge, the Scott Sisters were slated -for this victory. Disbrow agreed with him, basing his judgment on what he -had heard of the sisters and what he had seen of the Meadow-Brook Girls. -Harriet and her companions, as the reader already knows, were confident -of a great victory. The odds seemed to be heavily against them, however; -hard luck certainly was on their side, as the incidents of the night just -past plainly indicated. - -Jack Herrington was very angry when he learned what had happened to the -ambitious girls, but there was nothing he could do except promise to see -to it that the guilty one would be punished, provided he were ever -caught, which seemed doubtful. Mr. Disbrow shook his head sadly. He said -the effects of that wetting might not show until the girls were on the -court, but that they would surely suffer from it. - -The tournament was not to be postponed. It was to be started at ten -o'clock in the morning, even if the courts were not dry. The sky was -still overcast and the sun had not yet come out, though the air was -sultry and close. - -George sent a messenger to the Tramp Boys to have the girls called at -eight o'clock and to tell them the games would be called on time. The -active young man visited the courts, there to stand stroking his chin as -he looked over the battle ground reflectively, consulted the skies, -decided in his own mind which would be the favorable end of the courts -with reference to the sun in case his side won the choice of sides. He -considered everything, showing that Captain George Baker was a -long-headed young man well worthy to be the leader of the band of hardy -lads whose commander he was. - -While he was thus engaged, two young women clad in raincoats, their heads -enveloped in the hoods of the coats, came out on the field. They appeared -to be very much interested in the courts, which they tested by stepping -on them, taking note of the slipperiness, the stickiness and other -features of the courts, they shook their heads disapprovingly. George -decided that they were players--players, too, who appeared to know their -business. Once they had whispered together while looking at him. He knew -they were speaking of him, which made the young man rather ill at ease. -He watched them leave the field. Asking one of the men who had come to -work on the courts who these young women were, Captain Baker learned that -they were the Scott Sisters, which information did not tend to strengthen -his hopes for his team. - -There being nothing more to be done, George went back to his own camp, -where he knew breakfast would be awaiting him. The other lads had put up -the dressing tent and were now carrying in boards for a floor, the ground -being too wet to be used as a floor. - -It was nearly eight o'clock when the captain reached his camp. He found -the girls up and dressed. They greeted him brightly, but he thought there -was something forced in their gayety. The captain did not blame them for -this. They were laboring under a great strain--in fact, the greatest they -had ever experienced. - -Before eating breakfast the team took a limbering-up exercise, consisting -of forward and backward bends, skipping the rope, a rapid round with -half-pound dumb bells, wrist exercises with light Indian clubs, and other -exercises calculated to put in condition every muscle in their bodies. -They went through their morning work without a hitch, finishing with -flushed faces and sparkling eyes. - -"Oh, it is good to be alive, even if one had to sit in a puddle of water -most of the night," declared Harriet, as they sat down to breakfast. "Eat -sparingly, girls, and chew your food well. That was Mr. Disbrow's advice. -We are to have some dry biscuit to nibble if we feel hungry." - -Margery and Miss Elting had taken an earlier breakfast and hurried over -to the Meadow-Brook camp to gather up the necessary articles for the -battle. These were packed in a chest which the boys carried to the -dressing tent, one of them remaining on guard over the stuff. George did -not propose to have their mysterious enemy playing any more tricks. - -At nine o'clock they started for the battle ground. The sun had come out -broiling hot, the ground was steaming, the air full of humidity, a most -depressing condition for those who were to participate in the great -tennis match. - -"I feel ath though I were going to a funeral," declared Tommy dismally, -as they plodded along over the wet turf. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII - A MEMORABLE BATTLE - - -As the Meadow-Brook Girls neared the grounds they saw that great throngs -were there, while a constant stream of spectators poured across the -field. Now that the sun had come out, nearly every one was dressed in -white. The stand was still nearly empty, the seats there being sold by -numbers, making it unnecessary for the ticket holders to come early in -order to get a seat. - -George was waiting for the girls at their tent, to which they went -directly and, disappearing within, were seen no more until Jane and Hazel -were called for their match. Their entrance had attracted no attention, -however, as little was known concerning them. - -"How are the courts?" was Harriet's first question. - -"Slippery as a skating rink," answered George. - -"It is as fair for one as another," reflected Harriet, nodding. "I don't -know that I mind it particularly. Not very nice for white shoes, though, -is it?" - -"Now you may go out," said the guardian. "We must get the girls ready. I -will let you know as soon as we have finished." - -George promptly stepped outside. In front of the tent stood Charlie Mabie -on guard. George directed him to permit no one to come near the tent -until the guardian had notified him they were ready, and then only the -friends of the party. There was little left to be done in the dressing. -They took off their muddy shoes, putting on tennis shoes in place of the -others. - -There was but little talking in the dressing tent, but outside a great -wave of conversation rose, reaching the tent in a confused murmur. The -girls were rather pale, but this might be the result of the trying night -through which they had passed. Harriet pulled herself together and began -a series of cheerful remarks. She soon had her companions laughing, and -by the time they had finished their preparations the color had returned -to their faces and each had found her voice. - -Mr. Disbrow was their first caller. He turned Harriet toward the light -that shone through the tent opening and gazed quizzically down into her -eyes. - -"Just a wee bit nervous, eh? You will get over that when you get to work. -It is perfectly natural. Everyone feels nervous before going into a -tournament. Why, when I am going into a match I am so nervous that I -can't talk without breaking down, but the moment I feel the grip of the -racquet in my hand and see the net before me I want to shout for joy. Ah, -life is worth while when you are facing a hard-hitter across the net, and -there leaps into your heart a savage determination to drive him from the -court, a defeated man. Of course, it doesn't always work out that way. -Sometimes you are the fellow who gets driven off, but it is the spirit, -almost as much as the skill, that wins games. No one with a faint heart -ever won anything except defeat." - -"Have you theen that beautiful cup thith morning?" questioned Tommy -eagerly. - -"No, I did not come over that way," answered P. E. laughingly. - -"I hope it ith thtill there," was the little girl's anxious remark. - -"You may depend upon it. Later in the day it will be brought over to the -grounds so that it may serve as an encouragement to the contestants. -Don't lose yourself gazing at it while you are playing," he warned -jokingly. - -"Have you seen the other teams?" asked the guardian. - -"Yes, they are thick as flies on a summer's day. They are literally -swarming about the place. But there will be a thinning out soon. I was -not misinformed regarding the Scott Sisters. They are fine championship -material." - -"Aren't we?" demanded Harriet quickly. - -"You will be in time." - -"Yeth, in about two hourth from now," answered Tommy. "But I do withh I -wath not tho weak in my kneeth. Why, do you think, am I tho weak in my -kneeth, Mr. Dithbrow?" - -"You imagine that. Forget all about it. Think of the beautiful cup and -the weakness will leave your knees," he advised. - -"Yeth, I have notithed that. I----" - -"Time to go out," called George cheerily, poking his head into the tent. -"All fit and fine, I see. There's going to be some lively work pretty -soon. Jack Herrington says this is going to be a rattling tournament. You -know where your courts are. Now go in and win. Good luck to the -Meadow-Brook Girls." - -"We are going to," answered Harriet Burrell, but her voice, though having -lost none of its determination, seemed rather weak to Captain Baker. - -Already the teams were taking their places in their respective courts and -an air of tense expectancy was beginning to be noticeable over the great -throng of spectators. It was all confusion to the girls. They did not -appear to see any one individually, and in their ears was that confused -murmur that they had heard while in their tent. - -George led Jane and Hazel to their respective courts, Miss Elting and -Disbrow accompanying them at a short distance behind. The trim figures of -the Meadow-Brook Girls clad in their dark blue serge uniforms attracted -no little attention as the two stepped into the courts where they were to -play. Pressing close against the ropes, anxiously twirling their hats in -their hands, were the boys of the Tramp Club, so nervous that they could -scarcely control themselves. Harriet and Tommy also came out to watch -this first match of their companions. - -The linesmen were in their places at the sides of the courts, the referee -sat in his high chair, where he commanded a clear view of the court over -which he was to make decisions. Tommy laughed and poked Harriet in the -ribs with her racquet. - -"Doethn't he look funny in hith high chair?" she chuckled. "Jutht like a -baby. They ought to give him a bib and tucker." - -"Sh-h-h-h!" The referee was instructing the players as to what was -expected of them. This finished, the sides tossed for the courts and -service. In the case of the Meadow-Brook team the toss was won by their -opponents, giving the opponents the service, the right to serve the first -ball, a considerable advantage and one that frequently leads to victory. - -The team opposed to Hazel and Jane were Miss Sprague and Miss Collins, -the famous Riversides. Each girl was larger than either Hazel or her -teammate, but to Disbrow's keen eyes the two Riverside girls did not -appear to be in the fittest condition. They were a little too stout, it -seemed to him. - -"Play!" called the referee. - -Jane and Hazel stood in position, Jane apparently all ready to return the -first ball that went over the net. Disbrow uttered a sigh of relief as he -saw the lack of force with which Miss Sprague served the ball. Surely his -pupil would send it back in the approved "smashing" manner. But Jane -stood as if rooted to the spot; her first experience of playing before a -crowd of onlookers had given her an unprecedented attack of "stage -fright." She partially recovered when the ball was on its second bounce, -but then it was too late, for the Meadow-Brooks had lost the first point. -And so it was throughout the six games that followed. Both Hazel and Jane -played more like wooden automatons than like the strong, agile girls they -were known to be. Their opponents were weak players, but they had entered -tournaments before and therefore had more self-confidence than the -Meadow-Brook Girls. In nearly every game either Jane or Hazel would -manage to get a point or two, but Miss Sprague and her partner succeeded -in getting six games before Disbrow's pupils had won any, and therefore -were credited with the first set of the match. - -The Tramp Boys had cheered the girls whenever they had the slightest -excuse, but they were too despondent to offer any real encouragement to -the defeated teammates as they made their weary way to the dressing tent -for a seven minutes' rest. Even Disbrow could not conceal his -disappointment, for he knew the Meadow-Brook team had not played as well -as they had done in practice. Jane realized this, too, and just before -they reached the court for the second set she whispered to Hazel in a -very decided tone, "This set we _must_ win. You know perfectly well that -we can play better than those girls. If we lose, it will be a disgrace to -Mr. Disbrow, and if we make use of all he has so patiently taught us, we -shall not lose. Come on, let's 'thhow' him, as Tommy would say." - -The next set told a very different story. Miss Collins and Miss Sprague -had become over-confident because they had won the first set so easily; -the Meadow-Brook spirit had asserted itself once more, with the result -that Jane and Hazel had three games to their credit almost before they -knew it. The Tramp Boys were yelling with delight, but the Englishman's -team were so intent on the business at hand that they were hardly -conscious of the din. The second set they won easily, the final score -being 6-2 in their favor. In the third decisive set of the match every -point marked a long struggle, and the Riversides had to fight for every -point they gained. The games stood 5-2 in their favor when Jane caught -sight of Disbrow's tense, excited face and tightly clasped hands. That -was enough. - -"Remember P. E.," she whispered to Hazel, and thereafter they played with -such vim that they brought the score up to 5-5 or deuce. Wild yells from -onlookers greeted this feat. However, the longer training and greater -poise of the Riversides told in the end, for in their eagerness to return -one of the balls, Jane and Hazel both rushed for it, collided in the -middle of the court, and the ball passed swiftly by them. - -"Game and set for the Riversides!" called out the referee. - -Recovering quickly from their collision, Hazel and Jane jumped gracefully -over the net and shook hands with their opponents, almost before any one -realized that the match was over. - -When the Meadow-Brook Girls made their way back to the tent this time -they heard congratulations for their plucky playing on all sides, and -friendly sympathy for their bad luck. Disbrow was delighted with the -showing they had made, and as he had not expected them to win, he was -really proud of his team. - -While Jane and Hazel had been playing, the Fifth Avenues were giving a -fine exhibition of their skill in a preliminary match. Harriet and Tommy -watched with great interest, for they were to play the winners. - -"Game and set for the Fifth Avenues," announced the referee. - -"In fifteen minutes the 'running up' matches will be played, the Scott -Sisters _vs._ The Riversides, and the Fifth Avenues _vs._ The -Meadow-Brooks," Mr. Herrington then announced. - -"That means you and me, Tommy," whispered Harriet. - -"Yeth, I know it doeth. But what did he mean by the 'running up' -matches'?" - -"Mr. Disbrow explained that to me a few minutes ago. The two teams that -win these matches play against each other for the cup. Therefore, those -three teams and we are 'running up' for the cup." - -"And we are going to win it, too, aren't we?" - -"Indeed, we are, for the sake of P. E. and the Tramp Boys, if not for our -own," Harriet declared as they made their way to the court. - -__"Play!" called the referee. - -"Are you ready?" asked the Fifth Avenue girl who had won the right to -serve the first ball. - -"Yes," replied Harriet. - -Harriet being the striker-out, it was her duty first to permit the ball -to strike the ground, taking it on its first bound and return it into the -opposite court. The service ball had been served with great swiftness, it -seemed, whereas, as a matter of fact, it was not coming nearly as fast as -Harriet had thought. The ball dropped into her court not far from the -net. Harriet saw at once that she had misjudged the serve and that she -must make a quick move. - -She ran quickly and leaning slightly forward started to scoop the ball up -and return it, when suddenly both feet slipped out from under her. -Harriet measured her full length on the ground, falling flat on her face, -sliding along the slippery court until she plunged head-first into the -net. - -A shout went up from the spectators. The Tramp Boys groaned. They wished -themselves miles away. Miss Elting's face grew suddenly pale. - -"Fifteen-love," droned the referee. Harriet's opponent had scored the -first point. Harriet got up. She was covered with brown mud from head to -feet, a good bit of it on her face. Never had she suffered the -humiliation that was hers at that moment. Tommy had not uttered a sound. -She was aghast with amazement. - -The play went on, but not a point had been scored by Harriet and her -partner when the announcement fell from the lips of the referee: - -"Love game." - -"Isn't it awful!" groaned Sam Crocker. - -The second game was a repetition of the first except that Harriet did not -fall down. It was a love game in favor of their opponents. - -"It's all over," declared Dill when they began the third game. - -"It's our last chance, Tommy. We _must_ win the rest of the set. See! -They've brought the cup here," said Harriet. - -The cup stood out in the bright sunlight a vivid flame. Tommy gasped. It -was an inspiration to her. - -"Yeth," she breathed in awe of the beautiful sight. - -They began to play. Harriet Burrell did not fall down. She was on her -mettle. All the determination that she possessed had been summoned to the -task before her. She was a different person. Tommy, inspired by the sight -of the beautiful trophy, was a different girl, too. - -Their opponents won the first two games, but Harriet and Tommy gave -evidence of their splendid training and spirit by winning the next two. - -"Two-all," called the referee, and so the score went see-sawing back and -forth until it was deuce, and finally 6-5 in favor of the Meadow-Brooks. - -"Drive them out," urged Harriet. She returned the server's stroke, -putting the ball into her opponents' court, where neither of them -succeeded in hitting it. - -The decisive game now stood forty-thirty, leaving the Meadow-Brook team -but one point to go. This Harriet made by a puzzling "floater," a slow -ball that fell in the opposite court far out of reach. - -"Game!" announced the referee. "Seven minutes' rest at the end of third." - -For a moment the Tramp Boys were silent. They were scarcely able to -believe their eyes. Then the boys tossed their hats in the air and -uttered a great shout. - -"Splendid!" cried Disbrow. "Keep on that way and you will win the match. -If you do, it will have been a magnificent thing after the awful start -you made." - -Miss Elting's eyes were shining happily. - -"Girls, do you know who the Scott Sisters are?" she cried. "Oh, you can't -imagine! Your opponents are Patricia Scott and her sister!" - -"Really!" was Harriet's sharp exclamation. - -"Yes, the same Patricia Scott who was dismissed from Camp Wau-Wau because -of her enmity for you and her disgraceful treatment of you. She saw you -girls, too. She knows all about our being entered." - -Harriet and Jane glanced at each other. There was the same thought in the -mind of each. Patricia, or her friends, had had something to do with the -cutting of the tent ropes. But neither girl voiced her suspicion at the -moment. They were called back to the court almost immediately. But in -Harriet Burrell's mind was a stronger determination than ever to win -until she came face to face with Patricia Scott across the tennis net, -provided Patricia were still playing, which seemed more than likely, for -the Scott Sisters were playing a magnificent game. - -The story of the next set of the match is briefly told. Harriet and Tommy -played three strong games, not perfect games by any manner of means, but -Disbrow, who was watching their every movement with the eyes of an -expert, saw that they were coming up magnificently. Each succeeding game -was played better than the previous one. - -"Set and match for the Meadow-Brook Girls," called the referee, in -stentorian tones. - -The Tramp Boys were beside themselves with joy. Regardless of time or -place, they uttered a series of blood-curdling war whoops. - -But there was little time for congratulation. The Scott Sisters had won -their match, and therefore would be pitted against Harriet and Tommy in -the final match of the tournament. Fifteen minutes were allowed each team -to recuperate. - -The Tramp Boys were becoming worked up to a pitch of enthusiasm that -threatened the temporary loss of their reason. Sam suddenly made a -discovery. A young man in a white suit was seen talking with the Scott -Sisters. There was something very familiar about his appearance. Sam drew -near. When the man left the two girls, Sam followed him until the young -man reached a secluded place at the end of the grand stand. - -"You are the fellow who hit me on the nose!" he hissed. "Put up your -hands! I am going to pay my debts." - -When Samuel Crocker had finished with the stranger the white suit was -sadly stained with mud, and the young man's own nose was in need of -repairs. The fellow fled from the field, while Sam returned triumphantly -to his companions, one eye blackened, his hair standing up, but his heart -full of unholy joy. He felt that he had wiped out two scores instead of -one. - -The ranks of the players were thinning. It was well along in the -afternoon now. Players moved about wearily. Their feet were not nearly so -light as when the work of the day had begun and there were many -disappointed faces to be seen. As for the Meadow-Brook Girls, instead of -growing weary, they plainly were gaining in strength. Perhaps their -success was largely responsible for this. But their endurance was -undeniable. Still, the work of the day was far from done, the -championship a long way off, for the team that had been picked to win -were still to be beaten. - -Enthusiasm was running high. The Meadow-Brook Girls had by this time -become very prominent. They were nearing the blazing cup which had served -as Tommy's inspiration and which seemed almost within reach now. But -there remained the other team, before which everything had gone down. It -seemed hopeless for Harriet and her slender, excitable little companion -to hope to win against the hard-hitting, quick-footed, skilful Scott -Sisters. - -"They can't do it," declared Disbrow. "But even if they do not, they have -won second place. That alone I should think ought to be triumph enough -for any team that has been on the court only five weeks. Oh, this is -splendid! It's glorious!" - -Harriet overheard. Her eyes lighted up for a moment and, catching Mr. -Disbrow's eyes, she smiled. Then, nudging Tommy, she moved toward the -center court, where the final game was to be played. Only Tommy, Harriet -and the Scott Sisters were left now. All the other courts were deserted -with the exception of number five, on which a series of consolation games -were to be played by the losers. But there was little interest in these. -The great and absorbing interest was for number one court. The two teams -were loudly cheered when they appeared at the court where the finals were -to be played. - -The Scott girls, smiling, confident, but plainly weary from the -hard-fought battles of the day, entered the court. Patricia Scott jeered -audibly as Harriet entered the opposite court and faced her. - -"I'm sorry we couldn't have met you earlier in the day," she said -sneeringly. - -"I share your regret," answered Harriet calmly. "But better late than -never. I am going to defeat you if I can, Patricia, and I think I can. If -you win this match you will earn it, and so shall we if we win." - -Patricia tossed her head in the air and stepped back, an angry light in -her eyes. - -"Some bad blood there," said a spectator who had overheard. - -"Steady," warned the voice of Mr. Disbrow from the side lines. - -Harriet nodded, but did not turn her head. She was watching her -opponents, studying their every move, planning. - -"Play!" commanded the referee. - -Then began the game that was to be talked of for many a day thereafter by -those who had been fortunate enough to watch it. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV - CONCLUSION - - -Patricia served. Tommy returned it, whereupon Patricia sent a ball which -Tommy failed to reach. - -"Fifteen love," announced the referee. The Scott Sisters had won the -first point easily. - -"Look alive!" snapped Harriet, cutting her words off short. "Keep the cup -in mind, but don't look at it." - -The Scott Sisters took another point; then the tide changed. The -Meadow-Brook Girls made two points in succession. The score stood at -thirty-all. Then the latter gave a point to their opponents by a winning -cross-court volley made by Patricia's sister. Harriet earned the next -point for the Meadow-Brooks by driving a terrific ball straight at -Patricia Scott. The ball hit her squarely on the left eye, bounded back -and came to rest in her court before she realized what had occurred. The -spectators uttered a shout. - -The two teams were tied at deuce. Harriet began speeding up, but took two -long chances and faulted two points to her opponents. The Scott Sisters -had won the first game of the set, but there had been no lack of -excitement. They had secured the necessary two points after the score had -stood at deuce, or three points each. - -Excitement ran high. There could be no doubt that here were two _real_ -teams. About this time the word began to be passed about that the -Meadow-Brook Girls had never played a real game of tennis up to about -five weeks before the tournament. It was inconceivable. But by the time -the Scott Sisters had won the first set, Tommy was showing a little -weariness and welcomed the seven minutes' rest granted to both teams. - -Encouraged by Mr. Disbrow, and still determined to have the cup, the -Meadow-Brooks won the second set after a bitter fight. They walked -briskly to their tent amid the cheers and shouts of the spectators. In -the tent they were fanned, their faces bathed, their mouths rinsed with -water--they were not permitted to drink--then once more they were called -forth to what all believed was to be a great battle. If anything, Harriet -Burrell was fresher, stronger than at any time since she had begun -playing in the tournament, but it was too much to hope that she and Tommy -could ever stand up under the cruel grilling of the Scott Sisters, who -seemed to know every trick that was known to tennis players. Tommy and -Harriet would do well to earn second place. - -P. Earlington Disbrow's face was pale, his hair was rumpled, his fingers -were open and closing nervously, while little beads of perspiration stood -out on his forehead. - -The next set was a fight from start to finish. The Meadow-Brooks went at -it aggressively. They hammered the Scott Sisters, giving them such a -grilling as those two players had never experienced. Twice during the one -game Patricia had been made a target for Harriet's ball, twice had -Patricia been struck in the face, unable to dodge in time to avoid, or to -hit the ball the way it came to her. She appealed angrily to the referee, -only to be informed that if she could not keep out of the way of the ball -she must expect to be hit. As a point was scored for her opponent each -time the ball touched her person or her clothing, Patricia naturally was -angry. - -The Scott Sisters threw themselves savagely into their work. Some time -since they had learned the Meadow-Brook code of signals, as Harriet -quickly discovered. The code was abandoned then and there, but as she -played Harriet was devising a new scheme for outwitting their opponents. -Then to Harriet's dismay she discovered that Tommy was giving out. Little -Tommy seemed to be withering. She was making a desperate effort to hide -her utter weariness, but the quick eyes of their opponents discovered -this fact very shortly after Harriet had done so. - -"Favor yourself. I'll take the bulk of the work," flashed Harriet, when -near enough to speak without being overheard. The opposition having -observed that the little lisping girl was weakening began to hammer her, -volleying at her, hurling ground balls into her court, directing almost -their full attack at her. - -Harriet, in making a run to her companion's assistance, slipped, fell, -but was on her feet almost instantly. Miss Elting saw the girl twist her -face as if she were suffering great pain. Harriet limped a little. - -"Oh, that _settles_ it!" groaned Disbrow. - -But it was not settled yet. Game after game was played, first one side -getting the odd game then the other, and at every other game the score -went from advantage to deuce and back again. It was well-nigh impossible -to get the two games necessary to give the set to one side or the other. -The day was waning. Harriet Burrell and Tommy Thompson had been on the -courts for hours. Their opponents also had been playing fully as long, -but they were large and strong, while one of the Meadow-Brook partners -was slight and was fast becoming exhausted. - -Harriet, by taking all of her partner's work that she possibly could, -gave Tommy a little rest. The latter finally announced that she felt -strong enough to take her full share of the play. It was then that -Harriet tried the new plans she had been thinking out. She had observed -in all the playing that players always glanced quickly in the direction -they proposed to send the ball. This had been a great help to her in -deciding where an opponent's ball was going. She tried the plan of -looking in the opposite direction just before she served a ball. The -effect exceeded her fondest expectations. The striker-out leaped the -wrong way the first time the trick was turned on her and Harriet scored a -point. From that on the trick was applied now and then and almost always -with success. Harriet's lips were set tight all the time she played and -it was plain to those who knew her well that she was suffering great -pain, but from what they did not know. - -The Scott Sisters were furious. Where they had confidently looked for an -easy victory, they found themselves fighting the greatest battle of their -lives. Three times they had been warned by the referee for violations of -the law, and, had the Meadow-Brook Girls demanded it, the game, under -these circumstances, would have gone to them. They made no such demand. -They proposed to fight it out to the bitter end. It was deuce, then -advantage, advantage, then deuce again and again. Would there be no end -to it? Each side determined that the next game should put an end to it. - -"I am afraid Miss Thompson is too far gone for our wonderful girls to -win. But oh, what a magnificent battle!" cried Mr. Disbrow. Captain Baker -opened his mouth to reply, but was too overcome with emotion to do so. - -"Tommy, _we must win this game_! Understand?" whispered Harriet. - -Grace nodded weakly. They were advantage-in on games, being one game in -the lead. It now needed but a game to win the match for them, but it had -needed but one game to do that several times during this grilling battle. - -"You play close to the net on your side. I will cover the court. If they -lob, I will try to get out in time to volley it back. Now do your best. -Remember the cup! Remember the beautiful cup, Tommy," encouraged Harriet. - -Tommy looked toward the cup, now turned to molten gold under the last -rays of the departing sun. Tommy uttered a little squeal and leaped up -into the air to meet a lob from her opponent, which she did so -successfully that she scored for her team. - -"Good girl!" encouraged Harriet. "Keep them at the back of the--oh, that -was too bad," as Patricia scored a point. The score in that game now -stood thirty-fifteen. The Scott Sisters gained another point over Tommy's -fault, making the score thirty-all. - -"Slow ball over the net," commanded Harriet. Tommy obeyed and Tommy -scored. Patricia volleyed, then darted back near the baseline ready to -take a hard volley which she expected in return from Harriet, who was -going to make the return, or to run up in case of a drop-ball. - -Harriet saw it all. It was a critical moment. Her plans were formed in a -second's time. She sent a floater toward her opponent's court. It hit the -net-band, the strip of white canvas on the upper edge of the net. -Patricia had darted forward just as Harriet knew she would, but as the -ball hit the net-band, Patricia stopped short and laughed. She thought -the ball had been played into the net and that it would fall back into -her opponent's court, thus scoring a point for the Scott team. - -Instead of doing so the tennis ball, after striking the net-band, hopped -over the net and dropped into Patricia Scott's court, rolled along a few -feet toward the side-line and stopped. It was as neat a "net ball" as any -expert there had ever seen played. - -"Game!" announced the referee. "The Meadow-Brook team wins." - -That was all. For a few seconds there was silence. The sun flashed out of -sight and the cup changed from gold to silver. Harriet limped toward the -net. - -"Will you shake hands with me, Patricia?" she asked, with a wan smile. - -"Only because I have to." Patricia's voice was low, and only Harriet -heard her add, "I hate you more than ever!" With that she hurried off the -court. - -It seemed that up to that moment the spectators had not realized that the -game was over. Now it came to them with tremendous force. - -The little serge-clad Meadow-Brook Girls, the girls who had had but five -weeks' practice on the tennis court, had won one of the greatest amateur -matches that had ever been played on the Atlantic coast. A great, -explosive roar burst from the throats of the spectators. - -P. Earlington Disbrow, forgetting that his sprained ankle was no longer -sprained, began hopping about like a rabbit. The boys fought their way -through the throngs that were almost mobbing them to get at the -victorious girls. They got them safely to the dressing tent, but as soon -as they were inside Harriet's head had drooped and she leaned heavily on -Captain Baker's shoulder. - -"She's fainted," said George as they gently laid her down on a cot in the -dressing tent. Miss Elting and a pale-faced woman rushed into the tent at -this juncture. The latter threw herself down by the cot and gathered -Harriet into her arms. Tommy sat gasping on the floor while a girl in a -white sweater was bathing her face with cold water. - -Harriet suddenly opened her eyes and looked into the face of the woman -who was holding her so tightly. - -"Mother, O, Mother! is it you?" she breathed, with a sharp catch in her -voice. - -"You fainted, but you are all right now. Oh, it was wonderful, but it was -terrible," sobbed Mrs. Burrell. - -"It was foolish in me to faint," answered Harriet weakly. "I wouldn't -have fainted, but I sprained my ankle more than an hour ago. It seemed as -if every step I took would kill me." - -Disbrow, with face now flushed, had been standing on one leg peering -anxiously in at Harriet and her friends. - -"Do you hear, P. E.?" shouted George, rushing to him and shaking a fist -under Disbrow's nose. "Do you hear that? She's been playing on a sprained -ankle for more than an hour, and yet they won the cup! _They won the -cup!_ Lucky for me that my heart's all right! Whoope-e-e!" - -Word of this was quickly passed, and the people would not leave until -they had seen Harriet. She was carried out--the boys would not permit her -to step even on one foot--then as she slipped an arm about Tommy's neck -and smiled bravely, another great shout went up. But now Jack Herrington -was pushing his way to them. In his hands he held the trophy they had -won, the much-coveted silver cup. He held up his hand for silence. - -"It is my pleasure," he said, "to present this handsome trophy to the -Meadow-Brook Girls. It has been fairly won, and that after the most -wonderful exhibition of pluck and endurance that it ever has been my good -fortune to witness. I congratulate you from my heart. I am proud of you, -proud of the honor that is mine, and hope we may meet again." - -The outburst that followed drowned his concluding words. It was at this -moment that Jane McCarthy came tearing up in her motor car, scattering -people to the right and to the left. The Meadow-Brook Girls were going -back to their camp to spend the night, then on the morrow they were going -home, bearing the precious trophy that Harriet and Tommy had won for -them. There was also a smaller cup that had been awarded to Jane and -Hazel, but the big trophy was the prize that overshadowed everything -else. - -Immediately on their return to camp Harriet's ankle was dressed by Miss -Elting, after the guardian had satisfied herself that no bones were -broken. The faithful Tramp Club had elected to remain on guard about the -Meadow-Brook camp that night. P. Earlington Disbrow also remained with -them and after supper both camps gathered in front of the tent for a -long, happy evening. In spite of her sprained ankle Harriet insisted on -making one of the party. - -Sam, who had been pursuing diligent inquiries regarding the young man to -whom he had administered a well-merited beating, now informed them that -the spy was none other than the brother of the Scott Sisters, thus -verifying the suspicion in the minds of Jane and Harriet that Patricia -Scott was responsible for the cutting of their tent ropes. Jane cast a -triumphant glance toward Harriet while Sam was speaking, but the almost -imperceptible shake of Harriet's head caused the impulsive Irish girl to -remain silent regarding Patricia's past misdeeds. - -It was late before the Meadow-Brook Girls said good night to the Tramp -Club and went into their tent and the boys stationed themselves outside -for their vigil. - -A few minutes after the Meadow-Brook Girls and their guardian had rolled -up in their blankets for the night Tommy mumbled sleepily: - -"Harriet!" - -"Yes, little partner?" - -"Don't forget about that thilver polithh and the cloth, will you?" - -"I won't forget," promised Harriet. Five minutes later Harriet, too, was -wrapped in sleep, and the round-faced moon smiled kindly down on the -tired but triumphant Meadow-Brook Girls. - - - The End. - - - - - Transcriber's Notes - - ---Copyright notice provided as in the original printed text--this e-text - is public domain in the country of publication. - ---Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard spellings and - dialect unchanged. - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Meadow-Brook Girls on the Tennis -Courts, by Janet Aldridge - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS ON TENNIS COURTS *** - -***** This file should be named 42725.txt or 42725.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/7/2/42725/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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