Page:Rowland--In the shadow.djvu/50



HE morning of the day set for the cricket match was one of unusual beauty; its charm, however, was scarcely appreciated by Giles, who, as captain of the Gentlemen's Team, was heavy laden with the sense of his responsibility. This nervousness was unwonted but not unnatural; a defeat before ten thousand strangers would be far less difficult to support than one in the presence of a hundred friends, and it seemed to Giles that every person whom he had ever known was interested in the match.

Fenwick Towers was filled with friends from town, and when, to escape the exhortations coming from all sides, Giles walked moodily down to the stables, the grooms, who were polishing the drag, paused long enough in their work to remind him that the honor of the county rested within the swing of his arms. Giles was heartily glad when the dogcart whirled up to the door to carry him to the field.

Virginia went with the party on the drag. They reached the grounds not many minutes before the teams ran out upon the field, and, at sight of the vast crowd already assembled to see the match, Virginia was suddenly afflicted with an odd little quiver beneath the bunch of violets pinned to her bosom; a flutter which made her breath come quickly, and produced a queer sensation of 40