e reputation. The match
would not take place for a fortnight, which gave extra time for
practice. In cricket, Betty Carlisle had come to the front at bowling,
while Maggie Allesley and Irene Swinburne were heroines of the bat. It
is inevitable that some girls should overtop the rest, but Winona would
not on that account allow the others to slack. She knew the importance
of a high general average of play, and urged on several laggers. She
thoroughly realized the importance of fielding, and made her eleven
concentrate their minds upon it.

"We lost Tamley on fielding," she affirmed, "and if we've any intention
of beating Binworth, we've just got to practice catching and throwing
in."

Of the two matches in which the school had so far taken part, the first,
with Baddeley High School, had been a draw, and in the second, with
Tamley, they had been beaten. It was not an encouraging record, and
Winona felt that for the credit of the school it was absolutely
necessary to vanquish Binworth. Its team had a fairly good reputation,
so it would be no easy task, but after the hockey successes of last
winter she did not despair. Apart from school she had a very pleasant
time. Nearly every evening after supper Aunt Harriet would suggest a
short run in the car before sunset. She generally allowed her niece to
take the wheel as soon as they were clear of the town traffic, and
Winona soon became quite expert at driving. She liked to feel the little
car answering to her guidance; there was a thrill in rounding corners
and steering past carts, and every time she went out she gained fresh
confidence. She was not at all nervous, and kept her head admirably in
several small emergencies, managing so well that Aunt Harriet finally
allowed her to bring the car back down the High Street, which, as it was
the most crowded portion of the town, was considered the motorist's
ordeal in Seaton. She acquitted herself with great credit, passed a
tramcar successfully, and understood the signals of the policeman who
waved his hand at the corner. Aunt Harriet had taken out a driver's
license for her, so having proved her skill in the High Street, she now
felt quite a full-fledged lady chauffeur.

Winona immensely enjoyed these evening runs when the sky was aflame with
sunset, and the trees were quiet dark masses of color, and the long road
stretched out before her, pink from the glow above, and the lacey
hemlocks and meadowsweets made a soft blurred borde