“Is Marjorie Wilkinson a member of the troop now?” he asked.
Ruth laughed. “No, poor girl, she isn’t! It’s a shame, too, for she tries so hard. But she’s hopeless in Latin!”
John sighed, thinking of his remaining month at Episcopal. “I’ll never see her again,” he kept thinking to himself, “unless I suddenly develop a violent friendship with Jack!”
The referee blew the whistle and the contestants appeared. The forwards grouped themselves around the baskets, and practiced throwing for goals; the rest of the girls gathered in separate spots to go over a few last points.
Marjorie realized that she was a different girl from the one who had played forward on the hockey-team last fall. She came to this game with Miss Martin’s in perfect physical condition, and with the consciousness of good practices behind her. And, added to this, she felt a new love for Miss Phillips; she knew how much her teacher cared for the victory, and she meant to do all in her power to win it.
John regarded her all the while intently; he scarcely listened to the conversation Ruth and Evelyn were holding with Jack.
In a few moments the game started. Marjorie had the advantage of being taller than the opposing center; besides this, she had arranged for signals with Frances and her forwards, so that her efforts in getting the ball to her team immediately after the toss-up were almost always successful.
With this advantage, the audience thought the game was going to prove to be a walk-over for Miss Allen’s team. But such was not the case. The guards who played against Ethel and Edith were splendid; they succeeded in keeping the forwards from scoring for nearly five minutes, at the end of which time they finally sent the ball to the other end of the field.
But if the guards on Miss Martin’s team had been good, those on Miss Allen’s proved equally efficient. Again, these forwards were powerless. The only real chance that was given to Miss Martin’s side to score was when Dorothy Maxwell made a foul, and gave the forward a free throw; but the girl missed the basket, the whistle blew, and the score remained 0–0.
During the intermission, the spectators cheered loudly for both sides, and the Gym teachers encouraged and coached their girls. Each team went back to the field with the grim determination to win.