The Wonder

ace which could not be upset by the most ingenious methods of calculating points. They three times defeated Australia, and played four

match was against Notts on the Trent Bridge ground. I

did not wish to make their defeat appear too ignominious. Flower was bowling;

ight have left it alone, for the ball was rising, and the slips were crowded, but Mallinson timed the ball splendidly, and drove it with all his force. He could not keep it on the ground, however, and Stott had a possible

the incident until I saw Findlater beckon to his best bowler, a few overs

ked towards the pavilion, but Stott shook his head. He evidently disagreed with Findlater's proposal. Then Mallinson came up, and the great bulk of his back hid the faces of the other two

g his lower lip with his tongue. His shoulders were humped and his whole expression one of barely controlled glee. (I always see that picture framed in a circle; a bioscopic presentation.

f mixed feelings. No doubt the crowd had come there to witness the performances of the new phenomenon-the abnormal of every kind has a wonderful attraction for us-but, on the other hand, the

hurriedly t

relessly, in answer to my question; "b

tly it had been caught by the seam of the new ball; there was a fairly clean cut abou

said. "We can't afford to

y a snarl. "Ain't the first time I've

t no antiseptic had been used. That was at lunch time, and Notts had made a hundred and sixty-eight for one

. I don't know what had passed between him and Findlat

tt from bowling, and Hampdenshire seemed powerless on that wicket without him. It is very easy to dist

bowled Mallinson with his second ball, and the innings was finished up

re the drawing of stumps, and that was the end of the match, for the

, but that evening Findlater told me over the bridge-table that he was not happy about it. He had seen the finger, and thought it showed a tende

rdinary precautions in such a case as this. A split finger is such an everyday thing, and one is guided by the average

report of Gregory's advice. It was not sufficient. I often wonder now whether Gregory might not have saved the finger. If he had performed some small operation at once, cut

I had for the purposes of my paper. I was never a good journalist. But I went down to Ailesworth on Monday mo

ch-the "Stand-and-Deliver" caricature, in which Stott is represented with an arm about ten feet long, and the batsman is looking wildly over his shoulder to square leg, bewildered, with no conception from what direction the ball

d out of him. He was in a white heat of pure rage. The butler, who se

e tell me what Grave

is unprintable, a

mation. "Finger's got to come off, sir," he said quietly. "Doctor sa

of view, but I made up my three columns with a heavy heart, and the congratulations of my

successfully that evening, a