Swinging his stone, Alec stooped down, and with no apparent effort ‘placed’ it on the ice. Away it sailed with a loud humming sound, sweet to a curler’s ear.
Every man eagerly watched its rate of speed, while some, running alongside, accompanied it on its course.
‘Soop it up! Soop it up!’ cried some of the younger members of the Muirburn side; and they began to sweep the ice in front of the stone with their brooms, so as to expedite its progress.
‘Let her alane! She’s comin’ on brawly!’ cried Hamilton, from the other end of the rink, in an authoritative tone. They immediately left off sweeping; and two of the Auchinbyres men, acting on the principle that if the stone had, from the Muirburn players’ point of view, just enough way on it, they had better give it a little more, began to ply their brooms vigorously in front of it.
These attentions, however, did no harm. The stone glided up towards the tee, slackened its speed, and finally stopped, exactly where it ought to have stopped, about a foot in front of the mark.
A slight cheer greeted this good shot; and ‘Ye’ll mak’ as guid a player as your faither, Alec!’ from one of the bystanders made Margaret’s face flush with pleasure.
It was now the schoolmaster’s turn. One of his side took Hamilton’s place as pilot; and the old man, playing with even less apparent effort than Alec had used, sent his stone right in the face of his adversary’s. The speed was so nicely graduated that Alec’s stone was disposed of for good, while Simpson’s stone occupied almost exactly the spot on which Alec’s had formerly rested.
Again Hamilton advanced to lend the young player his advice, while Alec took up his remaining stone, and went to the front. He sent a well-aimed shot, but rather too powerfully delivered, and the adversaries of course hastened to make it worse by sweeping. The stone struck Simpson’s slightly on one side, sending it to the left, while it went on towards the right, and finally stopped considerably to the right of the tee, but near enough to make it worth guarding. The schoolmaster’s next shot was not a success. His stone went between the two which were already on the ice, and passing over the tee landed about two feet beyond it.
This gave a chance to the Muirburn men. Their next player placed his stone a long way from the tee, but right in front of Alec’s, so that it was impossible, or almost impossible, to dislodge the latter without first getting rid of the former. To him succeeded Johnnie Fergus; and he, preferring his own judgment before that of the official guide, played the guard full on, with the result that he sent it well into the inner circle, while his own stone formed a very efficient guard for that of his enemy. As every stone which, at the end of the round, is found nearer the tee than anyone belonging to a player of the opposite side counts for one point, the Muirburn men had now two stones in a position to score; and they patiently surrounded them with guards, which the Auchinbyres players knocked away whenever they could. So the game went with varying success, till only one pair of players was left for that round—Hamilton, playing for Muirburn, and Lord Bantock, who belonged to the enemy.
Things at that moment were very bad for the Muirburn men. Four stones belonging to the opposite side were nearer the tee than any one of their own; while a formidable array of guards lined the ice in front of them.