“Any time you may wish after to-day. I suppose you have reference to practice?”
“Yes.”
“All shall have opportunity to accustom themselves to the various courts, for until the drawings I cannot say what teams will play on certain courts. The singles are to be played off first. We are reserving the doubles until the last because there is greater interest in these, and by holding them until the last we shall hold the attendance as well. You see there is a business side to this tournament, a side that is not wholly unselfish.”
“Of course,” agreed Miss Elting. “Have you many entries?”
“In the doubles? Yes, there are twenty entries. I imagine there will not be quite so many as that on the second day of the double events,” added Mr. Herrington. “George Baker has been scouting for news; he is a regular sleuth. He will tell you all about it. You will find him at the camp; his own camp is farther back in the woods. And, by the way, I have given him permission to pitch a dressing tent just beyond the last court on that side. He will not do that until just before the doubles are called. Any of the other players who desire it may have the same privilege. I hadn’t thought of it until Baker suggested the idea, which is a good one. Next year we shall do this ourselves. I hope you may be with us then.”
“It is quite likely that we shall,” answered Harriet.
“Then you are quite confident of the result this year?”
“We are going to do our best,” replied Harriet Burrell modestly. “We are new at the game. Five weeks ago we practically knew nothing of the game. What we have done has been done within that time.”
“I wish you luck, my dear young ladies, but you will find yourselves in pretty hot company for girls of your limited experience at the nets. Most of the contestants have been playing for years at home, though very few of them, I believe, have ever participated in a public match.”
“I am glad to hear it,” said the Meadow-Brook Girl with a smile. This was good news to Harriet Burrell and she stowed it away in her mind for future consideration.