"And I." France, too, sprang impetuously to her feet.
The spirit of the leader was as infectious as a disease. Everyone was on her feet now, eager and enthusiastic. It was as if a flame had suddenly been lit, spreading like a flash from one to the other. It was a different team entirely from the one that had entered the pavilion a few minutes ago.
Duane surveyed them a moment in silence. "That's better," she said, quietly. "I guess, if you're not very big, you're game anyway."
"There's the whistle," cried somebody, and the forwards ran out laughing and talking. The bigger girls followed more decorously. Duane laid her hand lightly on Kitty's shoulder.
"Thanks, Kitty," she said, in a low voice.
"What for?" said Kitty, awkward and embarrassed. "For backing you up? And what else should I do? You're the captain of this team."
The game began again after much the same fashion as in the first half. The school eleven, who had expected to find their work much easier now, were astonished to discover that their opponents were playing with a new burst of energy and enthusiasm, sticking to it determinedly. The spectators, too, were surprised, and generously conceded that if Carslake's had rather too much cheek, their hockey eleven certainly had plenty of grit.
The game went on, and no addition was made to the score. True, the school forwards were getting most of the play, but they could not break through the defence. Kitty cleared the ball away time after time, vowing inwardly that they should not get through again. Bertha stuck to it with sturdy resolution; that streak of sullen obstinacy in her character served her in good stead now. Duane had lost a little of her unflurried, machine-like precision, and nearly all of her casual coolness, but her hitting was as clean and as hard as ever, and Paddy was checked and held in her most desperate rushes. France was gasping for breath, and Daisy was limping painfully.
"Hurt?" inquired Duane, as they halted for a twenty-five bully.
"No, not much," replied Daisy, bravely. "But I'm afraid I can't run. I've twisted my foot over."