John Henry Smith Read online

  ENTRY NO. XIII

  OUR NEW PROFESSIONAL

  LaHume was furious when Carter and I told him Wallace was a candidatefor Kirkaldy's place.

  "What do you mean by taking this step without consulting me?" heblustered.

  "We have not employed this chap yet," Carter calmly responded. "Don'tget excited, Percy, Wallace may not make good."

  "But who knows who he is?" demanded LaHume. "He may be the rankest kindof an impostor."

  "A golf impostor?" smiled Carter. "I never heard of one. We can get aline on him before he has played five holes."

  "I don't mean that," growled LaHume. "What I mean is that we don't knowanything about this fellow. He comes with no recommendations, and allthat sort of thing."

  "If he can play within five strokes of Kirkaldy, and teach Smith how tokeep from slicing, that's recommendation enough," remarked Carter. "Whathave you against him, Percy?"

  "I'll vote against him in the committee," hotly declared LaHume, "and ifI'm over-ruled I will appeal the matter to the club."

  "Go as far as you like, my boy," drawled Carter, slowly adjusting hismonocle and turning on his heel.

  The news Kirkaldy had resigned and that "Bishop's hired man, Wallace,"was to have a try out for his place spread rapidly, and created no endof comment and excitement. When it was rumoured that the MissesHarding, Ross, and Lawrence--the three acknowledged beauties of theclub--were his sponsors the interest was vastly increased.

  Wallace appeared half an hour ahead of the appointed time, and Iintroduced him to Kirkaldy. The latter studied him intently as theychatted, but asked no questions concerning his identity with theirnative Scotland. Wallace looked over an array of clubs, selected somewhich suited him, but retained my cleek and mashie. It was agreed Ishould act as caddy for Wallace, Chilvers for Kirkaldy, and that Cartershould referee. LaHume declined to act in any capacity.

  All games were postponed to watch this strange contest, and the"gallery" clustered at the first tee numbered fully one hundred. It wasagreed that the contest should be at medal play, the match score also tobe taken into consideration.

  Mr. Harding called me aside before the match started.

  "What do you think about this game, Smith?" he asked. "You've seen bothof them play, and I hav'n't. This young fellow, LaHume, is bluffingaround offering to bet any part of five hundred dollars Kirkaldy willbeat this Wallace seven strokes. I don't mind losing the money, but Ihate to make a foolish bet and be laughed at."

  "Take LaHume up, and I'll stand half the bet," I said, after consideringthe matter for a moment. "Wallace is a stranger to the course, but Idoubt if Kirkaldy or anyone living can beat him seven strokes."

  Harding covered LaHume's money, and the latter placed several hundreddollars more at the same odds. Miss Lawrence heard he was bettingagainst Wallace, and her eyes blazed with indignation.

  "You go to Mr. LaHume," she said to Marshall, "and ask him what odds hewill give that Mr. Wallace does not win the game. Do not tell him whowishes to know."

  "What odds Wallace does not win the game?" sneered LaHume, when Marshallsounded him. "Five to one, up to a thousand dollars!"

  Just before they teed off, Marshall put a crisp one-hundred-dollar notebelonging to Miss Lawrence in Harding's hands as stakeholder, and LaHumepromptly covered it with five bills of the same denomination. There werescores of smaller wagers with no such animus back of them.

  Wallace won the toss and took the honour. I doubt if there be anygreater mental or nervous strain than that of making the initial strokein an important golf contest. The player realises that all eyes are onhim, and unless he has nerves of steel and an absolute mental poise heis likely to fall the victim of a wave which surges against him as hegrasps the shaft of his club.

  Wallace's first shot was the poorest I had seen him execute. It wenthigh and to the left, and for a moment I was sure it would not clear thefence, but it did, dropping in as thick a clump of swamp grass as canbe found in Woodvale. It left him fully one hundred and fifty yards fromthe cup. It-was a most disappointing shot, and I instinctively turnedand looked at LaHume.

  That young gentleman was satisfied beyond measure. There was somethingvindictive and repellent in the satisfied expression of his face. Iturned and watched Kirkaldy drive a beautiful ball within fifty yards ofthe cup. The first hole is two hundred and eighty-five yards from thetee.

  I found Wallace's ball. It was on a soggy spot of ground, with tallslush grass in front of it, but luckily there was room to swing a clubback of it. He studied it a moment intently. It was a villainous lie. Idid not wish to give advice, but could not restrain myself.

  "Better play safe," I said. "It will cost you only one stroke."

  "I think I can take it out," he said, reaching in the bag for a heavy,old-fashioned lofting iron.

  He took one glance at the green, and then came down on that ball as ifhe intended to drive it into the bowels of the earth. I saw nothing buta shower of mud and a huge divot hurled up by the club-head as thewrists relaxed to save breaking the shaft.

  Others saw the ball as it flicked the tips of the menacing grass andsoared high in the air. It struck on the near edge of the green.

  "A bonny shot, mon; a guede clean shot as ere were made out thot muck!"exclaimed Kirkaldy, his face mantled with a grin of frank admiration.

  It was a glorious recovery! Miss Lawrence was fairly dancing for joy.Kirkaldy laid his ball within a foot of the hole, and won it with athree against four for Wallace, the latter making bogy. Wallace isunable to explain how he made a fluke of that first shot, and I am sureI have no idea.

  On the second hole both drove perfect balls over the old graveyard, butWallace had a shade the best of it in distance and direction. Both werenicely on the green in two, and Wallace missed a putt for a three by ahair, while his opponent was lucky, running down in a long lag for four,halving it in bogy.

  Timid players drive short on the third so as to avoid dropping in thebrook, but both drove smashing balls far over it.

  "I don't know much about this game," chuckled Harding, overtaking me atthe foot-bridge, "but so far as I can see, this man of Bishop's isn'texactly what you folks call a duffer."

  "It struck on the near edge of the green"]

  Both took this hole in bogy fours, and both drove the duck pond on thenext hole, and we found their balls fair on the green, 220 yards awayand slightly up hill. Wallace rimmed the cup for a two, and both madethrees, one stroke better than bogy. It was lightning golf. LaHume'sface was a study.

  The fifth hole is 470 yards, and both were within easy choppingapproach of the green on their second. Wallace had the worst of a badkick, and Kirkaldy holed a thirty-foot putt for a par four, making himtwo up. LaHume smiled once again. The next four holes were made in bogyby both players, leaving Kirkaldy two up on both medal and match scores.Here is the out card:

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 KIRKALDY-- 3 4 4 3 4 5 5 5 4--37 WALLACE--- 4 4 4 3 5 5 5 5 4--39

  This was three under bogy for Kirkaldy, and one under for Wallace.

  "I think this Scotchman of yours will do," Carter said in an undertone,as we neared the tenth tee. "He is executing fairly well for a manplaying a course for the first time, fixed up with a strange set ofclubs, and getting all the worst of the luck on putts. He is actuallyoutdriving Kirkaldy, but I'm afraid our friend Miss Lawrence will losethat hundred to Percy."

  "So am I," I said, "but it is the only bet he will win."

  It was at the tenth hole that Miss Lawrence sliced her ball over thefence, and Wallace deftly returned it, as I have mentioned. As he lookedover the ground he identified it, and for the first time during the gamehe took a sweeping glance at the "gallery."

  His eyes met those of Miss Lawrence, and I saw him make a gesture withhis hand as if to remind her that this was the spot where he first hadseen her. She answered with a smile and a nod, and then said somethingto Miss Harding and Miss Rose, at which the three of them laughed.
/>   Then the machine-like Kirkaldy drove his usual accurate long ball.

  It is a dangerous hole, this tenth, with a deep cut through which thecountry road runs to the right, and dense woods and rock-strewnunderbrush to the left. The cautious player does not hazard making thenarrow opening, but Wallace smashed that ball a full 250 yards asstraight as a rifle shot. It is a 450-yard hole, and it has been theambition of every player in the club to reach it in two. Kirkaldy hadnever done it, but Wallace had made a record-breaking drive. Could hereach the green?

  Kirkaldy brassied and was short, but in good position. Wallace did nothave a good lie, but I told him it was a full 200 yards, and the forecaddy gave him the direction. It was uphill almost all the way to thehole. He used a full brassie, going well into the turf, and I knew whenthe ball started it would reach the green.

  We climbed the hill breathless with curiosity. I came in sight of thegreen. A new, white ball lay within a foot of the cup! All records on"Mount Terrible" had been shattered!

  Kirkaldy smiled grimly and was short on his approach, but got down intwo more, losing the hole with a five against that phenomenal three.Five is bogy and par for this hole, and sevens more common than fives.The medal score was even.

  They halved the eleventh, Wallace won the twelfth and lost thefourteenth, both making threes on the tricky thirteenth. Wallace tookthe medal lead by winning the fifteenth in another perfect three, andthe sixteenth produced fours for both of them. It was Kirkaldy's turn toregister a three on the next, this bringing them to the last hole allsquare on medal score, with Kirkaldy one up on match play. It wasintensely exciting!

  The eighteenth hole is 610 yards. By wonderful long work both were onthe green in three, but Kirkaldy was on the extreme far edge and away.His approach putt was too strong, overrunning the cup by twelve feet.Wallace laid his ball dead within six inches of the cup, and putted downin five, one under bogy. This insured him at least a tie for the medalscore, but the match honours would go to Kirkaldy if he could hole thatlong putt. We held our breaths! He went to the left by a slight margin,halving the match by holes. Here is the card coming in:

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 KIRKALDY-- 5 4 6 3 4 4 4 3 6--39 WALLACE--- 3 4 5 3 5 3 4 4 5-36

  "LaHume ... stalking toward the club house"]

  Wallace therefore won the medal round by a score of 75 against 76 forKirkaldy, and honours were even on holes. It was a match to make one'sblood tingle; a clean, honest contest between two clear-headed andmuscle-trained athletes.

  Kirkaldy was the first to grasp Wallace's hand, and in the blue eyes ofour tried and popular golf mentor there was naught but sincere goodwilland unaffected admiration.

  "Ye'll do, my laddy, ye'll do!" Kirkaldy exclaimed. "I dinna ken whotaught ye, but he was a guede mon; a guede mon!"

  As Kirkaldy's ball stopped rolling, and it was known Wallace had won themedal score, the breathless gallery found their voices and gave vent totheir feelings. The silent and motionless circle came to life, and, asit were, exploded toward its centre. We found ourselves in the vortex ofcheering men, laughing girls, fluttering 'kerchiefs, and the excitedclatter of a hundred voices.

  I looked for LaHume and saw him stalking toward the club house. Someoneclutched me by the sleeve, and I looked into the beautiful and happyeyes of Miss Lawrence.

  "Wasn't it glorious!" she said. "Isn't he a splendid player! Did youever see anything like that tenth hole? And I won! I just thought Ishould scream when Mr. Wallace lay dead for a five on this hole!"

  "Say, he's all right, eh, Smith!" said Mr. Harding, handing me a roll ofmoney. "Here's your share of the plunder. It was like picking it up inthe street after a cyclone has hit a national bank. I'm going to blowmine in giving a dinner to Wallace and Kirkaldy, and everybody isinvited."

  We had that dinner, and right royally did we welcome the new and speedthe parting professional. And this is how Tom Wallace, "Bishop's hiredman," came to Woodvale as its golf professional.

  After the dinner in honour of our professionals Kirkaldy made me apresent of his famous driver. It is a beauty, and I confidently expectto lengthen my drive by at least ten yards with it. For the first timein my life I am now reasonably sure with my cleek shots. I do not knowwhen I have been so well satisfied with my prospects.

  My apparent stock losses to date foot up to $202,000.