Chapter 10 Chapter Ten A Croquet Game

If the Melville brothers hadn't counted the hours, they at least felt like years.Things didn't go as expected.It can be seen that the niece is very unhappy, always wants to be alone, and is also lukewarm to Ursey Krauss.And the young scholar didn't seem to care as much about it as the Melville brothers did, and none of this made staying in Oban enjoyable.The brothers could only try to break the monotony of life, watching the subtle changes in atmospheric pressure, but it was in vain.They thought that Miss Campbell, after her wish had been granted, would change and be as reasonable as before, at least to them both.For two days Helena had been so focused on the green light that she had even forgotten to kiss her uncles in the morning, which would keep them happy for the day.

But the barometer was indifferent to the complaints of the two uncles, and did not make up their minds to predict any changes in the weather. No matter how carefully they tapped it a dozen times a day to see how the pointer was swinging, the pointer was still one tick. not rise.well!These barometers! The Melville brothers, however, had another idea, and on the afternoon of the 11th of August, they suggested that Miss Campbell should play a game of croquet, if possible, in order to give her some amusement.Even though Aristobulus Ursyklaus would also play, Helena agreed, because she knew it was to please the two uncles.

It has to be said that brothers Sam and Sebb considered themselves good at the game of croquet, so popular in England, that only the old "croquet grounds" were known to have the good fortune to cater to young women. Fortunately, there are a few open spaces in Oban where you can play croquet.In most seaside cities, people only need to have a roughly leveled field, whether it is a lawn or a beach, which shows that ball players are not too demanding on this noble game, but they don't care, or they are not so fanatical.The site here is not sandy, but full of grass, which is just right. - This is what is called the "croquet ground" - every night it is moistened by a sprinkler pump, and in the morning a special machine rolls on it, the ground is as soft as velvet, and slides under the track machine .Small ashlar blocks are embedded in the ground and are used to mount small stakes and arches.Another ditch, dug to a depth of several inches, demarcates each field 1,200 square feet in size, such a large field of play as a player must have when he plays.

How many times had the Melville brothers watched with envy the young girls and boys playing on these "elite" grounds!And how satisfied they were when Miss Campbell accepted the invitation!This way they can let her relax while they play their favorite game themselves.There will certainly be crowds of spectators around, and here, as at Helensburgh, they will have no shortage of spectators.What pompous people! Aristobulus Urseyklaus was notified, agreed to temporarily put aside his work, and arrived at the game at the appointed time.He thought he would be as good at the game of croquet in practice as in theory.He can play as a scholar, a geometer, a physicist, and a mathematician. In a word, he can play with A+B, which is very suitable for an engineering student whose mind is full of A+B.

Miss Campbell's crotch to the young pedant was all she could say she was reluctant to agree to, but how could it be otherwise?Could she trouble the two uncles?To separate them in a race, to go against each other?And the thought, character, body and mind of the two are so unified, and they have always played together, can they be separated?No!She doesn't want this! "Miss Campbell," Aristobulus said to her first, "I'm honored to be your crotch, please allow me to introduce to you the decisive factors to win the game..." "Mr. Ursey Claus," Helena told him, pulling him aside, "must let my two uncles win."

"Let them win?" "Yes . . . and without showing it." "But, Miss Campbell..." "They're going to be very upset if they lose." "But, . I've calculated line combinations, I've calculated curve values, and I think I can have a few ideas." "I have no other idea," replied Miss Campbell, "I just want to make my opponents feel comfortable. Besides, I will tell you that they are very good at croquet, and I don't think your theory can beat theirs." witty." "Look then!" murmured Aristoboulos, for no reason why he should be willing to be beaten, not even to please Miss Campbell.

By this time the croquet attendant had brought in the box containing the stakes, tags, arches and mallets. Nine arches have been placed on small stones in the shape of a rhombus, and two small wooden stakes have been placed on both ends of the diagonal of the rhombus. "Draw lots!" said Sam. The labels were placed in a hat, and each person drew one at random. A draw determines that games will be played in the following order of colour: brother Sam with a blue mallet at a blue ball, Ursey Krause with a red mallet at a red ball, brother Seb with a yellow mallet at a yellow ball, and Miss Campbell Divide green mallets and green balls.

"Just waiting for the same color light! It's a good sign!" It was Sam who teed off first, and after exchanging a good support point with the crotch, he drove the ball away. It's best to see him the way he looks, body not too straight, not too slanted, head turned back to get the ball just right, hands next to each other on mallet handle, left hand down, right hand up, legs standing Steady, bend your knees slightly to resist the impact of playing, stand with your left foot in front of the ball, and move your right foot back a little!The perfect example of a gentleman croquet player!

Then Sam picked up the mallet, gave it a light half-circle, and hit the ball 18 inches from the fork or starting stake.Normally, the first down would get three replays, and he wouldn't have to use his right at all. Because after he sent the ball neatly, it passed through the first arch, then the second, and after the second shot, the ball passed through the third arch, only to be hit by the fourth arch. Stopped by a small obstacle. What a beautiful opening.There was also applause among the spectators standing outside the grassy field boundary ditch. It was time to fight at Aristobulus.He was not so lucky.Clumsy and with little luck, he had to hit the ball three times to get the ball past the first arch and was helpless at the second.

He reminded Miss Campbell: "Maybe the diameter of the ball is not fixed. At this time, the center of gravity deviates, which makes the ball deviate from the runway..." "It's your turn, Uncle Sibb," said Miss Campbell, not listening to his scientific explanation at all. Seeb is worthy of being the younger brother of Sam's brother.His ball went through two arches and came to a stop next to Aristobulus' ball, which just got him over the third.After he had hit his own ball close to it, that is to say, from a distance, he hit the young scholar's ball with an expression that seemed to say: "We I will play better!" Finally, when the two balls collided, Uncle Sibb stepped on his own ball, hit it hard with a mallet, and bit the opponent's ball again, that is to say, the opponent's ball was hit by the rebound effect. The ball bounced sixty paces away, far beyond the ditch.

Aristobulus had to run after the ball, but he ran steadily, like a prudent man, waiting with the attitude of a general planning something big. Miss Campbell picked up the green ball and passed lightly through the first two arches as well. The game went on, and the odds favored the Melville brothers.They create conditions for each other to hit the opponent's ball.What a massacre!The two gestured to each other, and with one look, they could understand each other's meaning without even saying anything.In the end they took the lead, to the satisfaction of the niece, but to the great disappointment of Aristobulus. Five minutes into the game, however, Miss Campbell saw that her opponent was far ahead and began to play in earnest.She seemed smarter than crotch, but the guy kept giving her some scientific advice. "The angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence," he told her, "and that tells which way the ball will go after impact. Then use..." "Use it yourself," replied Miss Campbell. "I'm three arches ahead of you, sir!" In fact, Aristobulus Ursyklaus had fallen miserably behind.He had tried several times to pass through the central double arch, but without success.So he blamed the thing, straightened it, adjusted the spacing, and tried his luck again.But he didn't have any good luck. Every time the ball hit the iron, he couldn't get past it at all. Indeed, Miss Campbell should have a right to complain about his crotch.She played very well and fully deserved the praise of her two uncles.There's nothing quite like seeing her fully engaged in a game that's well designed to show off her figure's grace.She tiptoed her right toe to make sure she held her ball as she knocked another off the net, and her arms were round and attractive.She made a half-circle with the mallet, her beautiful face, animated and slightly tilted towards the ground, her waist, swaying gracefully, it all looked so cute!But Aristobulus Ursyklaus saw nothing! You could tell the young academics were getting restless, because the Melville brothers were so far ahead that it was going to be really hard to keep up with them.But in the game of croquet, the accidental factor is totally unpredictable, so you can never lose heart, you must persist. The game was still going on under this unequal situation, and suddenly an unexpected event happened. At last Aristobulus Urseyklaus had a chance to go and hit Sam's ball, which had just passed the center arch again, but the scholar's ball remained stalled in front of the center arch.He was really frustrated, trying to keep his cool in front of the crowd, but also trying to make a good hit and let his opponent feel the same way, knocking his ball out of the court.So he put his ball next to Sam's, and carefully pressing down the grass to keep it close to the ball, he put his left foot on it and turned the mallet most of the arc to make the blow easier. Powerfully, then spin the mallet quickly. Suddenly he screamed!It's a howl of pain!The mallet, not mastered well, hit not the ball, but the fool's foot.Watching him hop around on one leg and moan, it should be natural, but it's kind of funny.Brother Melville ran towards him.Fortunately, the leather of his high-top leather shoes cushioned it, so the bruise was not too serious.But Aristobulus Ursyklaus felt that his misfortune should be explained thus: "The arc made by the mallet," he explained, grimacingly, "is the concentric arc of the circle that should pass tangent to the ground. And I made the radius of the arc too short, so will be hit on the foot..." "So, sir, shall we interrupt the game?" asked Miss Campbell. "Stop the game?!" cried Aristobulus Ursyklaus. "Admit that we have lost? Never! According to the formula of probability theory, it can also be found..." "Never mind! Go on!" Miss Campbell replied. But all the formulas of probability theory give only a pitiful little chance to the opponents of the two uncles.Sam had "finished," which meant that his ball had passed through all the arches and hit the Besan or finish stake.Next, he plays just to help out, knocking all the balls off the goal or into them as needed.In fact, after so many strokes, the Melville brothers had finally won.But winning is very humble, which is very equal to their master status.As for Aristobulus Ursyklaus, despite his expectations, he failed even to hit the central arch.Surely Miss Campbell wanted to look disappointed by this, but it wasn't.She smacked the ball with the mallet, not thinking too much about where it was going. The ball flew off the sideline drawn by the ditch on the other side of the sea, bounced on a pebble, and flew up again.Like Aristobus Ursey Krauss, said, the ball's gravity multiplied by the speed, the ball crossed the boundary on the sand.What an unfortunate blow! A young artist happened to be there, sitting at his easel, contemplating the sea.The mooring at the southern end of Oban frames the sea.The ball happened to hit the painting head-on, and quickly brushed the palette, and the colors on the palette covered its own green.The ball flipped the easel a few steps away. The painter turned around calmly, shrugged and said: "Usually, people have to notify before bombing! It doesn't look safe here!" Miss Campbell had a premonition that something was going to happen, and she ran towards the beach before the ball hit anyone. "Ah, sir," she said to the young artist, "forgive me for my clumsiness!" The painter stood up and greeted the pretty young girl with a smile.The girl who had just apologized was very disturbed. That was actually the "victim" in the Cory Wilkan vortex.