their adventures at ismailia formed the subject of conversation for several days between edgar and muriel wylde. with her mother’s consent, muriel accepted edgar’s offer of marriage, and when the engagement became known on board they were regarded with romantic interest by the passengers. the remainder of the voyage proved uneventful. muriel wylde and her mother left the steamer at naples, and proceeded overland to london, but edgar remained on board with the team.
on arriving at tilbury, the eleven received a hearty welcome from a large number of influential cricketers and lovers of the game. to edgar, all this was as nothing to the joy he felt at meeting his father and doris again.
elm lodge looked much the same as when he went away, and the old home was so peaceful that edgar began to wonder how he had ever made up his mind to leave it. he had much to relate to his father and sister, and, needless to say, will brown entertained doris in a manner agreeable to that young lady.
[224]
the wreck of the distant shore was described again, and robert foster noticed with pride how modestly edgar spoke of the part he took in saving eva.
‘poor manton!’ said robert foster. ‘i am sorry he was drowned, for a better seaman could not be found. i should like to meet wal jessop, and we must try and have little eva over here, for we cannot spare you again, edgar, now we have got you at home.’
‘it would be splendid if wal could be induced to bring eva and his wife home,’ said edgar. ‘i must write and ask him. you have to meet ben brody, who came over with us, and i am sure you will be amused at him. he is a character, and a rough-and-ready customer, but a genuine good fellow.’
when edgar spoke of his engagement to muriel wylde, his father was pleased he had found a girl after his own heart, for his son’s happiness always held a foremost place with him.
‘and what about the australian eleven?’ said robert foster. ‘are they a strong team? it is rather too bad of you to play against the old country. it places me in an awkward position. of course, i am patriotic enough to wish to see england victorious, and yet i shall be highly delighted to see you pile up a big score.’
‘i shall do my best,’ said edgar; ‘and every member of the team will try hard to win the matches. i think we stand an excellent chance, and you will[225] have to put your best eleven in the field to beat us in the test matches.’
‘your men generally play well, and with constant practice they know each other’s play thoroughly, but we have some splendid cricketers now, and they will take a lot of beating,’ said his father.
‘all the more credit to us, then, if we win,’ said edgar.
the members of an australian eleven have plenty of hard work to go through when in england, and edgar could not remain idle at home. he went to mitcham to practise on the famous common, and his father accompanied him to see how the men shaped. to two or three of the older members of the team, who had been in england before, robert foster was well known, and his appearance with edgar was hailed with delight.
william murch, the captain of the australians, shook hands heartily with robert foster, and said with a smile:
‘we have had you against us on many occasions, but i think we can cry quits now we have your son on our side.’
‘how does edgar shape?’ asked robert foster.
‘i consider him one of our best bats, and expect great things of him. he has a happy knack of making a big score when it is most wanted. he is a smart fielder and a good change bowler. in fact, i cannot pay him a higher compliment than to say he is as good a man as his father,’ said murch.
[226]
edgar was now at the nets, and making the balls fly about merrily.
‘he does not seem very stiff after the voyage,’ said robert foster. ‘his wrist play is good, but his style could be improved a bit. i must give him a wrinkle or two.’
‘that will be going over to the enemy’s camp,’ said murch, with a laugh; ‘but we shall be glad of such a valuable coach.’
‘by jove! so it will,’ said robert foster. ‘but i cannot resist the temptation, all the same. we cricketers, i am glad to say, are always ready to help each other, and i have had many a good wrinkle given me by australians.’
‘ah! it is a game that stands ahead of all other games,’ said murch enthusiastically. ‘it is a genuine sport, and a manly sport. it not only gives pleasure to the players, but to thousands of people in all parts of the world. lovers of cricket, no matter where you go, are always willing to help each other.’
‘you are right,’ said robert foster. ‘cricket will never take a back seat to any other game.’
‘look out!’ said murch, as he dodged a ball hit by edgar. ‘your son is evidently bent upon letting us know he is at the nets.’
when he had finished his turn with the bat edgar joined his father and murch.
‘how do you think i shape?’ said edgar.
‘very well,’ replied his father, ‘but your style is[227] rather faulty. i think i can give you a hint as to what i mean when we reach home.’
‘now then, will, it’s your turn,’ said edgar, and will murch went to the nets with his bat under his arm.
‘you have seen him play before?’ said edgar.
‘many times,’ said his father. ‘he is a splendid bat, and i should think he will make a good captain. is he popular with the team?’
‘very,’ said edgar. ‘i believe every one of us thinks he is the best man that could have been selected.’
‘that is the proper feeling to start with,’ said robert foster. ‘if you have no confidence in your captain, defeat is almost certain.’
when robert foster had seen the australians at practice on several occasions, he came to the conclusion it was the strongest team that had yet come to england.
‘the test matches will be a treat,’ he said. ‘if honours are divided in the first two matches, what tremendous excitement there will be over the final!’
‘which i hope we shall win,’ said edgar.
doris foster was quite as interested as her father in the probable result of the tour. although will brown had not returned from australia with enough wealth to warrant him in setting up an establishment of his own, doris thought she would not be risking much in accepting him as her lover. with[228] robert foster’s sanction they became engaged, and the family circle at elm lodge increased.
ben brody came to elm lodge, and soon made himself at home. robert foster discovered that men of brody’s stamp are to be trusted, and although he might have been out of place amidst the sham and humbug of a society drawing-room, ben brody was in his element at elm lodge.
his quaint remarks caused roars of laughter, and he drew some amusing pictures of station life in which edgar and will brown were conspicuous figures.
‘i’ll tell you what it is,’ he said to edgar one day as they sat on the lawn enjoying the fragrant weed, ‘this beats yanda hollow. what a trump your dad is! talk about colonial hospitality, it is a mere trifle to the way in which i have been treated here. i have lived on the fat of the land, while those poor beggars at yanda have been stifling their ill-feelings with the usual mutton. then there’s your sister—but she ought to have a whole vocabulary to herself and not be mixed up with such matters. will brown’s a lucky fellow, and so for the matter of that are you. girls like miss muriel wylde are not found every day. i wonder if you will ever return to australia.’
‘that remains to be seen,’ said edgar. ‘after the tour will be time enough to think about that.’
the opening match of the tour was played at sheffield park against lord sheffield’s eleven. ever ready to assist in promoting honest manly games,[229] h.r.h. the prince of wales honoured them with his presence. will murch was introduced to his royal highness, and was naturally much elated. the match resulted in a win for the australians, but edgar did not ‘come off’ on this occasion.
as the weeks rolled by and the tour progressed, it was easy to see the australian eleven was a fine team. so far they had only been twice beaten—once by an m.c.c. eleven, and in the first match against england.
their second struggle with the cracks of the home team had resulted in a win for the australians. edgar played well in these matches, but had done nothing particularly wonderful. against several of the county elevens he had made good scores. he astonished w. g. at gloucester by the way he knocked the champion’s bowling about, and the hero of a hundred fights warmly congratulated him on his performance.
‘i always thought w. g. was a jealous man,’ said edgar.
‘not a bit of it,’ said robert foster. ‘he’s one of the first to recognise merit in a cricketer. i’ll tell you what he is jealous about.’
‘and that is?’ asked edgar.
‘the honour of the game, and the honour of his side when he captains a team,’ said robert foster.
the final test match was to be played at lord’s, and the greatest interest was manifested in the result. throughout england enthusiastic cricketers[230] waxed eloquent over the forthcoming struggle. in australia every item of news was eagerly read and discussed. it might safely be said that millions of people anxiously awaited the result of this great match. the picking of the england eleven was a difficult task, but at last it was done, and robert foster could not find a fault with the team.
‘they ought to beat you, edgar,’ he said. ‘it is the best team that could have been selected. grace has had a large finger in that pie, and no fault can be found with it. i cannot pick out a weak spot.’
‘they have not won yet,’ said edgar; ‘and all our men are in splendid trim. murch is sanguine, and he’s not given to over-estimate our chances. lord’s has been our unlucky ground, but that is no reason why we should not prove successful.’
‘what a sight it will be!’ said robert foster. ‘i hope you will pile up a big score.’
‘so do i,’ replied edgar. ‘this is my chance, and i shall do my best.’
the great match was to commence on monday, and on the sunday quite a party of cricketers assembled at elm lodge. will murch, bannman, black, royle of the australians, and two of the english team enjoyed robert foster’s hospitality and listened to the yarns spun by ben brody.
muriel wylde and her mother were in london for the match, and came to spend the day at elm lodge. muriel and doris were great friends, and found much to talk about. it was an eventful[231] sunday, this day before the great match, which formed almost the sole topic of conversation. many were the surmises as to who would make the big scores, and which bowler would secure the best average.
‘we count upon you this time,’ said murch to edgar. ‘it is your turn to knock up a big score against england.’
‘i mean to try,’ said edgar, ‘and i feel very fit.’
‘muriel will be terribly disappointed if you make less than a hundred,’ said doris.
‘that is rather a large order,’ laughed edgar, ‘but i must do my best to execute it.’
late hours were not kept that night. robert foster packed them off in good time.
‘you shall have a night of it when the match is over,’ he said to will murch. ‘win or lose, you must come here to celebrate the event. remember i am equally interested in both sides.’
as edgar bade muriel good-night, she said:
‘i am quite anxious about you, edgar. i feel sure you will succeed. i shall be terribly excited during the first over, but when you are firmly set and making a score, it will be glorious.’
