Page:Adams - A Child of the Age.djvu/32

20 and Middle. One or two fellows in the Team, or pretty high up in the Second Fifteen, always 'take' Middle and Lower Round, that is, they see the small boys play up, kicking them, etc,—Well, one day he was 'taking' Lower Round, when Leslie, who's in the Team too, took to playing back on the other side, so as to show off. Then I thought I'd like to see if I couldn't charge him and, when a chance came and Leslie had the ball and was dribbling past a lot of us small boys, I ran at him with all my might, and we both went over. But I got the cramp. He was up and off again pretty quickly; but, of course, I couldn't do much but sprawl about. But Bruce, who must have been close behind, came up and put his hands under my armpits and lifted me up like a child (I remember how I somehow liked to be lifted up in that way by him) and asked, was I hurt? The game had swept off to the other side of the field.

'No,' I said, looking up into his face, 'it's only the cramp in my calf. It'll go in a moment. I've had it before like that.'

He made me play three-quarters back for the rest of the game and, once or twice, as he passed me asked if I was all right now? To which I answered, 'Thank you, yes.' I liked him after that in a different way to what I had before.

Sometimes, if we were alone in the room together, as before dinner washing our hands and brushing our hair, he would talk to me, about nice things. But the moment any of the other fellows came up, he always stopped and went on doing what he was doing in silence. I don't mind that either. I believe he thinks the other fellows are fools like I do. At night he never speaks without some one speaking to him, and then he won't make a conversation. Everyone hates him, even the small boys.

The last few days of that term were very warm. There was a talk of having cricket and river-bathing: at any rate rackets began and, I think, some boating was done. Football of course had stopped a few weeks before the Sports, so as to get the field ready: I mean the Rounds had stopped; but there was always 'little