CHAPTER XII
"Lord's"
"There we sat in the circle vast,
Hard by the tents, from noon,
And looked as the day went slowly past
And the runs came all too soon;
And never, I think, in the years gone by,
Since cricketer first went in,
Did the dying so refuse to die,
Or the winning so hardly win."
"My dear Jonathan, I'm delighted to see you. You know my father, I think?" It was the Caterpillar that spoke.
John shook hands with Colonel Egerton.
The three were standing in the Members' Enclosure at Lord's. The Caterpillar, gorgeous in frock-coat, with three corn-flowers[36] in the lapel of it, was about as great a buck as his sire, quite as conspicuous, and, seemingly, as cool. It happened to be a blazing hot day, but heat seldom affected Colonel Egerton.
"By Jove," he said to John, "I'm told it's a certainty this year, and I've come early, too early for me, to see a glorious victory. There's civil war raging on the top of the Trent coach, I give you my word."
"We've won the toss," said John.