Frederick felt the competitive urge well up within him. He forgot for the moment that this meeting between Kirkwood and Melville was essentially for the playing of hockey. Here was an individual who dared meeting him on his own ground—who defied the ice skating champion! The stunt that Scotty had pulled was a new variation, one in which Frederick was not practiced, but the crowd had begun yelling for him to repeat the trick as Scotty stood by, banteringly.
“I guess that stumps you, doesn’t it?” taunted Melville’s crack centre.
Rand Downey, with other members of Kirkwood’s team, watched the developments with great interest and no little amusement.
“Frederick, the Great’s in a hotbox now,” chuckled Rand. “If he refuses to try to duplicate Scotty’s stunt, he admits he’s licked; and if he tries it and flops, he’s just as bad off! Serves the old boy right. Scotty’s hitting him in the only place where he can be hurt!”
Deadly serious and grimly determined, Frederick skated off across the ice, whirled and came back in a series of rolls. Twice it seemed as though he was about to go into a handspring but checked himself and continued on. It was obvious that the maneuver was a new one to him and that he was feeling his way before actually attempting the stunt. Scotty winked at fellow team mates.
“Stumped on the very first one,” he said, in a loud voice, “and I’ve got plenty of others!”
But Frederick, with confidence in his own ability, was not admitting that he could not duplicate Scotty’s performance. He suddenly left his feet on a lunge to the side, struck the ice on his hands and attempted the handspring. He was off balance, however, and succeeded only in throwing himself, joltingly.
“Ha, ha, ha!” laughed Scotty. “She’s not as simple as she looks, is she?”
Frederick, red of face, got to his feet, painfully. He immediately tried again with similar embarrassing results.
“Here’s an easier one,” cried Scotty, as the crowd murmured its hilarity at the impromptu skating match.