“That’s better,” Gwen encouraged. “If you feel like dropping them again, just look at the new wing.”
“The Red Twins are positively walking on air,” Sally ground her teeth and looked appealingly at Phyllis.
Phyllis put up one hand in entreaty.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she entreated. “I’m only in the contest because you and Jan insisted. I won’t even hit the target, and I know it.”
“Never mind, I will,” Janet comforted; “though, of course, we won’t beat the Red Twins.”
“I’ve put them together, and Phyllis and you directly after,” Gwen explained; “then you’ll see what you’re up against. It isn’t as bad as it looks. We still have Agnes Leiter, Puss Boroughs, and Poppy, all last year’s team girls, and Marion West has been practicing all summer. She only missed out by a point for the team last year. Then there are a couple of Juniors, that have belonged to archery clubs at home, so we may pull through.”
“But look what we’re up against,” Gladys groaned.
A bell tinkled as Miss Hull walked out of the hall, a soft grey dress floating about her, and a shade hat on her aristocratic head. It was a signal for the contest to begin.
Gwen had arranged the order cleverly. The girls who had been on the team the year before were played off first. As there were six to three in favor of the new wing, the score looked very one-sided, as Prue marked it on the board.
Then came the younger girls, who stood very little chance of scoring the required six points. They were worked off quickly, and then the real work began. Two girls from the new wing, would alternate with two girls from the old wing. Cheering followed every score, so that it was impossible to tell which side was ahead.