CHAPTER XV
FINGER ROCK
The fall tennis tournament began the day following. Both Tad and Rodney had entered, Rodney at Tad’s earnest solicitation. “You see,” Tad had explained, “I want to feel that there’s some one in the tournament I can beat!” This was sheer bravado, however, since in the two or three contests which the two had waged together Rodney had easily shown his superiority, in spite of the fact that he seemed to have lost some of his former dexterity. There were nearly a hundred entrants, and, since it was a handicap affair, some very good matches were played the first part of the week. Rodney met and defeated Sanderson, the First Form president, on Tuesday, while Tad, who had drawn a bye, didn’t meet his first antagonist until Wednesday. Then he barely scraped through, losing one set, two games to six, pulling out of the next, six to four, and finally winning the third, nine to seven. Owing to the epidemic of mumps, which had ceased to be a joke, since by the middle of the week fully twenty boys were down with the malady, the original drawings for the tournament were sadly interfered with, and match after match had to be postponed. Even the class football teams suffered, the First Form team being shorn of five of its players and having to give up practice for the time, and the Second Form team being scarcely better off. In order to keep the disease from spreading any further the faculty placed a ban on visiting. But in spite of that precaution new cases cropped out day by day, and fellows were seen surreptitiously feeling their necks and testing themselves with pickles and lemons. Even the school team was not exempt, for Jim Peterson was missing from practice on Thursday, and investigation showed that James was marooned in his room in East Hall, his jaws tied up in cotton and gauze. Westcott’s escaped the malady, although there was an anxious time when Warren Hoyt had a sore throat, and Pete Greenough moved out of Number 2, bag and baggage, until the doctor allayed his fears. Tad declared that for his part he’d rather like to have mumps so that he wouldn’t have to attend recitations for a week or so, but it was noticed that when Warren was under suspicion Tad gave him a very wide berth.
The tennis tournament dragged along to the middle of the second week. Tad met his Waterloo on Friday when he was opposed to a Fourth Form youth named Wallace. Wallace played at scratch, and Tad’s one-half of fifteen couldn’t save him from a severe drubbing. Rodney lasted until Tuesday and the semi-final round, and put up a game fight against Jack Billings. Rodney, like Tad, had a handicap of one-half of fifteen, and Jack played at scratch. It was the latter’s service that finally won for him. After getting the first set, 6–4, Jack let down, and Rodney captured the first three games before Jack recovered. Then, on his own service, Jack secured the fourth game and the sixth. Rodney got away with the fifth and seventh, and then broke through Jack’s service and won the eighth, winning the set 6–2, much to the surprise of the gallery, which included Tad and the twins, and Jack as well. The third set see-sawed, Jack winning on his service and Rodney on his, until the games stood seven all. Then Jack’s age and experience told and he literally wore his opponent out. Rodney lost the next game 15–40, and then, on his own service, gave Jack an ace by double faulting, smashed the next return out of court and was 0–30 before he knew what had happened. But after that he managed to draw even by two fine serves that Jack failed to handle, and the game stayed at deuce for fully ten minutes. When [finally Jack sent a swift ball across the court] that Rodney missed by a hair’s breadth and so ended the match, there was a good round of applause for both players. Jack reached a brown hand across the net and said, as Rodney shook it:
[“Finally, Jack sent a swift ball across the court”]
“Sorry, Rod. You deserved to win. You gave me the hardest tussle I ever had, I think.”
“Thanks,” replied Rodney. “Glad you won though, Jack. Hope you keep going, too. Only——”
“What?” asked Jack, with a smile, as he vaulted the net, towel in hand.
“Only I’m sorry you won’t be here next year,” said Rodney. “I’d like to try you then.”