CHAPTER XVI

UPHILL WORK FOR THE TEAM

"I declare!" ejaculated Bobby Hargrew; "we're being whipped out of our boots!"

"I'm doing the best I can!" wailed Roberta Fish.

"Nobody's blaming you, child," Jess Morse hastened to say.

"Not at all," added Laura. "I haven't a single complaint to make about your work, Roberta."

"But there's something lacking somewhere," declared Dorothy Lockwood.

"We might as well admit that these Keyport girls are better at basketball than we are," said her twin.

"My gracious!" cried Bobby. "They're better than we ever _dared_ to be!"

"No!" cried Laura. "That is not so."

"What's the answer, then, Miss Captain?" demanded the irrepressible.

"We must play up to each other, that's all," said the captain. "Our playing is loose."

"We're weak in spots," admitted Nellie Agnew, slowly.

"And I'm the worst spot," groaned Roberta.

"Pshaw! you're not, either," said Eve Sitz, kindly.

"You do your very best, Roberta," said Laura, again.

"But that isn't as good as Hester's best," responded Roberta, quickly.

"Hessie is certainly one mighty good player," grumbled Bobby.

"And we got rid of her rather hastily," sighed Nellie.

"Don't wail about that now!" cried Josephine Morse, with some asperity. "My goodness! I'm only glad she's out of it. And I reckon Laura is."

"I am sorry it seemed best to ask her to get out," admitted the captain.

"Bah! she was more trouble than she was good," declared Jess. "Let's not weep and wail over what we did."

"But have you heard what she did last week, girls?" asked the doctor's daughter, earnestly.

"What now?" returned Bobby, with curiosity.

"Remember the day we found her broken down in that new car of her father's on the Keyport road?"

"Sure!" cried several of the team together.

"That was the day of that big forest fire. You know, Chet warned her that the wind was likely to change and blow the fire across the road. Well, she rescued a man from the burning woods and then ran that car all over the hill country up there, warning farmers and other people that the fire was coming. She is a very brave girl," concluded Nellie, softly.

"Pshaw! don't you weep over Hess Grimes," exclaimed Bobby. "You're too tender-hearted, Nell."

"But she _is_ brave," said Laura, hastily.

"And just as ill-tempered as she can be," put in Jess Morse. "We're well rid of her."

"I guess nobody in this world is quite perfect--nor all bad, either," suggested the doctor's daughter. "And as for Hester, she never let us see her good points."

"But some mighty mean ones!" exclaimed Dora Lockwood.

"Just the same," sighed Laura, "if she had only stuck to the rules of basketball in playing she would have been a great help to us right now!"

Lily had been "prinking up" at the other end of the room while this conversation was going on. Now she flung them one malicious "I told you so!" as the gong rang and they hurried out to their places in the basketball court.

"All ready?" cried the referee.

"Do your best, girls!" begged Laura.

The whistle sounded long and loud at the toss-up and the game was on. At first, although the play was fast and furious, neither side scored. Then came the umpire's shout:

"Foul on Central High for over-guarding!"

It rattled Laura and her team mates. Their opponents got the ball and shot it basketward. Right from the field Keyport made a basket. And then, in little over half a minute they made another!

"Break it up, guards! Break it up!" begged Laura.

But although the girls of Central High fought hard, and there were some brilliant plays on the part of Laura and Jess, it was all to no avail. Nor did the "rooting" of their boy friends help. The Keyport team forged ahead steadily and at the end of the game they were six points in the lead. It was as bad a beating as the girls of Central High had ever received in a trophy game.

Roberta was in tears in the dressing room when Mrs. Case came in to cheer them up.

"Now, now! what have I told you about being good losers?" she demanded, briskly.

"Tha--that's all right," stammered Roberta. "We cheered 'em, didn't we? But I feel it's my fault. I fumble dreadfully. You know, I always did when I was on the team before. Get somebody else in my place, Mrs. Case--do!"

Naturally Lily Pendleton told all this to Hester; but it only added to Hester's bitterness of spirit. Deep down in her heart she felt the sting of Central High's defeat--only she wouldn't admit it. The team had lost--she believed it, too--because she wasn't there in her place at forward center!

And Mrs. Case had tried to show her how she might win back, if she would, and Hester had refused. Her bad temper had cut her off from the instructor's help entirely. She was a pariah--and she felt it.

So she told Lily she was glad the team was having up-hill work and was so nasty about it that Lily, who was feeling bad, too, about the affair, almost got mad herself, and went home early.

"That Hester Grimes _can_ be awfully exasperating when she wants to be," Lily admitted to her mother.

"Bless me, child! I don't really see why you associate so much with her. She does come of such common people. Why, Mrs. Grimes is impossible!" sighed Mrs. Pendleton.