'Yes. We were having a match.'
'Golf,' said Grace Forrester, 'seems to make men very rude. Mr. Willard
left me without a word in the middle of our conversation.'
James was astonished.
'Were you talking to Peter?'
'Yes. Just now. I can't understand what was the matter with him. He
just turned on his heel and swung off.'
'You oughtn't to turn on your heel when you swing,' said James; 'only
on the ball of the foot.'
'I beg your pardon?'
'Nothing, nothing. I wasn't thinking. The fact is, I've something on my
mind. So has Peter. You mustn't think too hardly of him. We have been
playing an important match, and it must have got on his nerves. You
didn't happen by any chance to be watching us?'
'No.'
'Ah! I wish you had seen me at the lake-hole. I did it one under par.'
'Was your father playing?'
'You don't understand. I mean I did it in one better than even the
finest player is supposed to do it. It's a mashie-shot, you know. You
mustn't play too light, or you fall in the lake; and you mustn't play
it too hard, or you go past the hole into the woods. It requires the
nicest delicacy and judgment, such as I gave it. You might have to wait
a year before seeing anyone do it in two again. I doubt if the 'pro.'
often does it in two. Now, directly we came to this hole today, I made
up my mind that there was going to be no mistake. The great secret of
any shot at golf is ease, elegance, and the ability to relax. The
majority of men, you will find, think it important that their address
should be good.'
'How snobbish! What does it matter where a man lives?'
'You don't absolutely follow me. I refer to the waggle and the stance
before you make the stroke. Most players seem to fix in their minds the
appearance of the angles which are presented by the position of the
arms, legs, and club shaft, and it is largely the desire to retain
these angles which results in their moving their heads and stiffening
their muscles so that there is no freedom in the swing. There is only
one point which vitally affects the stroke, and the only reason why
that should be kept constant is that you are enabled to see your ball
clearly. That is the pivotal point marked at the base of the neck, and
a line drawn from this point to the ball should be at right angles to
the line of flight.'
James paused for a moment for air, and as he paused Miss Forrester
spoke.
'This is all gibberish to me,' she said.
'Gibberish!' gasped James. 'I am quoting verbatim from one of the best
authorities on golf.'
Miss Forrester swung her tennis racket irritably.
'Golf,' she said, 'bores me pallid. I think it is the silliest game
ever invented!'
The trouble about telling a story is that words are so feeble a means
of depicting the supreme moments of life. That is where the artist has
