‘They were not as easy as they looked,’ said Rakes. ‘You don’t suppose I dropped them on purpose, do you?’
‘I should be very sorry to think that,’ said Edgar; ‘but be more careful next time.’
At last Will Brown secured Harold Simpson’s wicket, and the others followed rapidly, the innings closing for a hundred and thirty-four, a good score in a one-day school match.
‘What do you think of it, Edgar?’ asked his father. ‘Shall you be able to wipe that off?’
‘I think so,’ replied Edgar. ‘We should have had a much easier task had Rakes held those two catches off my bowling.’
‘He made an awful mess of them,’ said Robert Foster. ‘How he dropped the first puzzles me; he had it fairly in his hands.’
‘Look here, Edgar!’ said Will Brown. ‘It’s no use mincing matters. I’m sure Rakes missed those catches purposely. When are you going to send him in?’
‘About seventh,’ said Edgar.
‘Put him in last,’ said Will.
‘That would only make matters worse,’ said Edgar; ‘he would know I doubted him, and act accordingly. He shall go in sixth wicket down. It will give him a chance of making up for missing those catches.’