“And when is this tournament to take place?” questioned the Englishman.
“A little less than five weeks from now,” answered George.
Disbrow uttered a low whistle under his breath.
“You—you expect to win something?”
“Of course we do,” replied Harriet Burrell promptly. “Otherwise we should not have decided to play.”
Disbrow regarded her shrewdly.
“You at least have the proper spirit. Other things being equal, you ought to win. But you must remember that tennis is not a game to be learned in a day. Years ordinarily are required to make the expert player. I am not going to say that I think you have no chance. I can not say until I have seen you play. To-morrow we shall see what you can do. For my part, I shall do my best for you. It follows that I am able to coach to the best advantage, but first of all you must be tennis players by instinct. Even were you fair players, you would have a task before you to prepare yourself for a tournament within the short time left. George, will this tournament call out any high-class material?”
“Herrington says it will, especially the Scott Sisters from Portsmouth, who are said to be near the professional class. I don’t know of my own knowledge how well they play.”
“Hm-m-m. Not a very encouraging outlook, is it, young ladies?”
“I haven’t had any reason to change my mind as to the result,” remarked Harriet.