The Matador of the Five Towns and Other Stories

the men were a few women in furs and wraps, equally absorbed. Nobody took any notice of us as we insinuated our way up a rickety flight of wood

rched in strange perilous places, even high up towards the sombre sky, were more human beings clinging. On the field itself, at one end of it, were a scattered handful of doll-like figures, motionless; some had white bodies, others red; and three were in black; all were so small and so far off that they seemed to be mere unimportant casual incidents in whatever recondite affair it was that was proceeding. Then a whistle shrieked, and all these figures began simultaneously to move, and then I saw a ball in the air. An obsc

w,

ice, further a

w,

ly the grim warning sh

os! Now

f my sight, and then I heard a bump on the slates of the roof of the grand stand, and it fell among the crowd in the stand-enclosure. But almost before the flight of the ball h

vo,

old

earer of these two white dolls must be Jos,

ghbour in the side to

anded of the neighbour, wh

n uz!" The o

their time to draw. The

cid

dered him off f

t of common sense and justice; and I gathered that a less gentlemanly crowd would undoubtedly have lynche

r upon the living tissues of fellow-creatures. The gentle, mannerly sound of hand-clapping was a kind of light froth on the surface of the billowy sea of heartfelt applause. The host of the fifteen thousand might have just had their lives saved, or their children snatched from destruction and their wives from dishonour; they might have been preserved from bankruptcy, starvation, prison, torture; they might have been rewarding with their impassioned worship a band of national heroes. But it was not so. All that had happened was that the ball had rolled into the net of the Manchester Rovers' goal. Knype had drawn level. The reputation of the Five Towns before the jury of expert opinion that could distinguish between first-clas

they were free agents and masters of the air, but really wafted away to fixe

strument to the fluctuations of the game. Each feat and manoeuvre of Knype drew generous applause in proportion to its intention or its success, and

nate hearts. It thrilled me; it genuinely frightened me. I involuntarily made the motion of swallowing. After the thunderous crash of anger from

ou

ted in the desire of murder and whose features were changed from the li

the ground and approach a less

l! F

his neck out! Jos!

cipled referee; he had disallowed the foul. In the protracted duel between the offending Manchester forward and the great, honest Jos Myatt he had given another point to the enemy. As soon as the host realized the infamy it yelled once more in heightened fury. It seemed to surge in masses against the thick iron railings that alon

a few abrupt, commandi

acutest suspense the whole of his earthly career must have flashed before him in a phantasmagoria. And then t

they'd man-handled hi

Association 'ud ha' fined us maybe a hundred quid an

Football A

t you c

hot hell!" Different voices heartily encourage

h the ball and got it again, twice. The devil was in him and in the ball. The devil was driving him towards Myatt. They

imed Stirling. "

ing had been unforeseen in the wonderful organization of this enterprise. A pigeon sped away and an official do

man say as I hesitated on t

could discern on every face the conviction that a divine providence was in this affair, that God could not be mocked. I too had this conviction. I could discern also on every face the fear lest the referee might give a foul against the hero Myatt, or even order him off the field, though of course the fracture was a simple accident. I too had this fea

arder than the other chap

hed at close quarters, and were replaced by unrecognizably gigantic huma

outh and his left knee were red with blood, and he was piebald with thick patches of mud from his tousled crown to his enormous boot. His blue eyes had a heavy, stupid, hone

s-somewhat too obviously conscious-of

seemingly, Jos!"

Hadn't he been blooming well begging and pr

dded. Then he sai

missis,

t," said Myatt. "Or

dollar as it inna' a la

seemed

lad?" he demanded, bending down and s

e little man,

ve

ve

arlie," said Myatt,

had been lost over a broken leg, but Stirling said that the referee would surely de

o-morra morning,"

rned on his heel and proudly rejoined the crowd. He ha

seeing him, neither of us, I think, was quite without a consciousness of glory: I cannot imag