Psmith in the City

nly appropriate that he should make a dramatic entry into it. This he did by walking behind the bo

regiment arrived in their brake, the sun was shining once more in a watery, melancholy way, but play was not possible before lunch. After lunch the bowlers were in their element. The regiment, winning the toss, put together a hundred and thirty, due principally to a last wicket stand between two enormous corporals, who swiped at everything and had luck enough for two whole teams. The house team followed with seventy-eight, of which Psmith, by his usual golf methods, claimed thirty. Mike, who ha

hire, and taken Ilsworth Hall in a neighbouring county. This he had done, as far as could be ascertained, simply bec

motor on the Monday, 'is a man of vast but volatile brain. He has not that calm,

mith's movements with apprehension,

the time we get to the ground he may have chucked cricket and taken up the Territorial Army. Don't be surprised if you find the wicket being dug up into trenches, when we arrive, and the pro. moving in echelon towards the pavilion. No,' he added, as the car turned into the drive, and they caught a glimpse of whit

Psmith sat on his bed, an

e going to the '

cing his boots. 'You ar

'm going

dashed if I know what's going to happen to

said Mike, br

had a good mind to start me on that. I pointed out that lack of early training had rendered me unable to distinguish between a threshing-machine and a mangel-wurzel, so he chucked that. He has now worked round to Commerce. It seems that a blighter of the name of Bickersdyke is coming here for the week-end next Saturday. As far as I can say without searching the Newgate Calendar, the man Bickersdyke's career seems to have been as follows. He was at school with my pater, wen

would be trying to be in four places at once. When Psmith presented Mike to him, he shook hands warmly with him and started a sentence, but broke off in the middle of both performances to dash wildly in the direction of the pavilion in an endeavour to catch an impossible catch some thirty yards away. The impetus so gained carried him on towards Bagley

tance with him; and by the end of the week they were on excellent ter

on his pads, Mr Smith bounded up

studied cricket all my life'-till that summer it is improbable that Mr Smith had ever handled a bat-'and I know a first-class batsman when I see one. I've seen your brothers play. Pooh, you're better than any of them. That century of yours against the Green Jackets was a wonderful innings, wonderful

eaving Mike to digest his expert advic

t seem to him, it had enough sting in it to worry the rest of the team considerably. Batsmen came and went at the other end with such rapidity that it seemed hardly worth while their troubling to come in at all. Every now and then one would give promise of better things by lifting the slow bowler into the pavilion or over the boundary, but it always happened that a similar stroke, a few balls later, ended in an easy catch. At five o'clock the Ilsworth score was eighty-one for seven wickets, last man nought, Mike not out fifty-nine. As most of the house team, including Mike, were dispersing to their homes or were due for vis

t very silly point for eight. The score was a hundr

's warning ringing in his ears, he adopted the unspectacular, or Bagley, style of play. His manner of dealing with the ball was that of one playing croquet. He patted it gingerly back to the bowler when it was straight, and left it icily alone when it was off the wicket. Mike, still in the brilliant vein, clumped a half-volley past poin

eived a single ball during the week, was down the pavilion steps and half-

ke. 'Any idea how many you've got? You mu

id Mike. He always

that? This is somet

he off-stump to be hit at safely. Then he felt a thrill as the third ba

ickersdyke walked into his l

st sight of it for a fraction of a second, and hit wildly. The ne

Some silly idiot walked across the

e fool who walked behind the bowler's

, whoever he i

saw that he had a hard, thin-lipped mouth, half-hidden by a rather ragged moustache, and that behind a

ou, Smith,

ggle, and then Mr Smith ceased to be the cricketer and

e, I suppose,' sa

ain, blended now, however, with the host. He

d complainingly, 'you shouldn't have walked across the

scr

e's a sort of rough idea of giving the batsman a chance of seeing the ball, as well.

purple, and was about to reply, when what sport

ing the game, and they expressed t

do on these occasions. Mike ran into the