“No,” said Cutting; “only you came back too fast, and pumped up and down instead of taking it smoothly; and you moved your head. Keep your eyes on your shadow as if it were the golf-ball. That’s better,” he added.
The next instant there was a heavy chug, and the fourteen-ounce mashie bit the nap off a patch of carpet.
There was a commotion in the anteroom, but Mr. Heminway seemed not to hear it.
“I was keeping my eyes on the shadow that time,” he said.
Cutting laughed sympathetically. “I know it’s pretty hard. You have to remember about seven different things at once. It’s bad for the carpet, though. You ought to have a door-mat. A door-mat is a good thing to practise on. The fiber gives very much the same surface as turf.”
Mr. Heminway rang his bell again. “Joseph,” he said, “bring the door-mat here. Tell Mr. Lansing to get a new one for the outer office, and leave this one.” The boy came back with the mat. The lawyer kicked it into position, and began again. “This is better,” he observed. “I’ll keep it here till I learn.”
“That’s the only way to do,” said Cutting. “Go in to win. If you practise every day with a proper club, you’ll get the hang of it in a month or two. But you must use a light club.”
Mr. Heminway stopped. “A month or two?” he asked.
“Why, yes,” said Cutting. “For a large and rather stout man, you are very active. I’ve no doubt, if you give your mind to it, you can show pretty decent form in a couple of months. You ought to practise with your coat off, though; it binds you.”