Sure enough, two men with pads on stood conversing in the doorway of their dressing-room, and looking across at us. “’Never heard of such a thing before,” said the Secretary, with a puzzled air, “as a side having two wicket-keepers. H.C. must be a blooming hurricane. But I’m not quite sure whether this is altogether legal. Who’s got a copy of the rules?” “Why, what are you fellows up to?” demanded Captain George from the other side, gazing earnestly at Halliday’s pads and mine. “The very thing I want to ask you,” said Halliday. “We’re waiting for you to take the field,” said Trentham; “the umpires have been out some time.” “We are quite ready when you are,” said Halliday. “_We’ve_ been ready the last five minutes.” “Then why don’t you go out?” “How can we go out until you are in the field?” The position of Halliday’s jaw announced that he was completely at a loss. “Anyway,” said he, “what are Elphinstone and Archie doing with their pads on?” “_We_ want to know why you two have got yours on?” “I told you we should go in,” said our Captain. “But I said that we should,” said theirs. “But I thought you were joking.” “And I thought you were.” “But I won the toss.” “Pardon me, Halliday, but I won the toss.” “Pardon me, Trentham, but you are quite wrong.” “My dear Halliday, this is absurd!” “Well, who called?” “Hanged if I know; but I know I won the toss. But who did call?” “I don’t know; but I’m certain that I won the toss.” A howl of laughter broke from the light-minded persons in the other room. But on our part we preserved a very religious gravity, I can assure you. The dismay that had seized the whole team was terrible to contemplate. “Well, who saw us toss?” said their Captain confidently. “Yes; who saw us toss?” said ours, with an equally full-toned conviction. Yet, unhappily or happily, sure I know not which, neither side could produce a single witness.[C] What was to be done? The crowd was growing highly impatient, and cries of “Play up!” assailed us as we stood and argued. “I don’t think there’s anything in the rules that provides for both sides going in to bat,” drawled the General Nuisance; “therefore, suppose we send in a man, you send in a man; you have a bowler on at one end, we have one on at the other, and all field? That practically obviates the difficulty, doesn’t it? And it’ll be ever so much nicer for everybody.” Though this solution was hailed by us as the height of ingenuity, and “nice” to the last degree, singularly enough Hickory were blind to its beauties. Therefore when our Captain said, “We’d better toss again, hadn’t we?” it struck George Trentham that this was a rather good idea. This time, that there might be no mistake, both sides crowded round their irresponsible skippers. Hickory had a tendency to view the thing as the finest joke they’d ever heard, but Little Clumpton to a man wore a funereal gravity. Trentham produced a coin, and sent it spinning to the ceiling.