Page:Rowland--In the shadow.djvu/51

 faintness and exhilaration combined. There was a thrill of pride in the sudden thought that Giles was at the head of it all, the central point for the focus of excited attention from the hundreds of spectators.

There is probably no quality in a man which so stirs a woman as a strong, active part played in the presence of many people. A dominant will, dominant brain, dominant body gives to an action which is mediocre when performed alone an inspiring force when witnessed by an admiring throng. The stage hero, in the military drama, who staggers before the footlights grasping a tattered property flag, is more admired by the women who watch him than is the man who plays the real part and of whom they read from afar. Yet this is natural, for most hero worship is founded on actual tradition. In the present case Giles, with his yellow hair and blue eyes and sturdy figure and the sun flashing from the cricket bat which he held in his hand, represented to Virginia the leading character and seemed the reincarnation of some Anglo-Saxon ancestor who had stepped forth, sword in hand, at the head of his chosen band to repel the invader.

To-day the invader was the famous Cherrystone Cricket Club, a team which had made its name dreaded throughout Great Britain. To repel this enemy, Giles had carefully selected a team from the crack players of the counties Kent and Surrey, chiefly ex-'varsity cricketers. This team had played together in but two uneventful matches where the scores had been so ridiculously in their favor as to seem unsportsmanlike. The result had been a challenge to the famous C. C. C.'s, but at the eleventh hour one of the strongest players on the Gentle- 41