Holworthy Hall

“ I'd be even with par."
"Steady as a church," said Corbett.
"Only one mistake in four holes," said Bowker.
"I thought I was a long driver," said Horton, aggrievedly, "but you 're right with me every shot."
Mr. Cuyler stared at the lofty hill which confronted him.
"There's one thing about it," he proclaimed through chattering teeth. "I—I 've got nerve enough, but against this wind, with a heavy ball—well, it's all in the day's work. What difference does it make?"
"Not the least," Bowker assured him heartily. "We all play for the fun of it." ”

“ An impenetrable morass masquerades, from the club-house, as a Japanese garden. Neither bunker nor trap impedes the player in his journey from tee to green; everywhere his gaze falls upon the natural coloring of a lawn, but in some places the blades rise three inches higher than they do in other places. So the amateur record is still seventy-five.
On a certain particularly attractive morning in July, Mr. Robert Corbett, President, and Mr. Samuel Bowker, Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, met in the New York office of a real-estate corporation. ”

“ The three conspirators stole covert glances at one another as they walked to the eleventh tee.
"We think we 're extravagant if we play for a ball a hole," whispered Corbett to Bowker. "It's possible that we played the tenth for half a million—and lost!"
"Give him a chance!" said Bowker, mirthlessly.
The eleventh was rated on the card as a par five; Mr. Cuyler, assisted by a flat stone at the root of a tree, accomplished it in seven, broke his putter over his knee, and kicked his tweed hat into the brook. ”

“ He chipped out to the green, and took two putts; and overcome by the realization that his score was good, he regarded the ball for several seconds and stole furtive glances at his partners. Once he made as though to speak to Corbett, but chose the part of discretion, and endeavored to look diffident.
"Did you see him play his third?" said Horton to Bowker, very loudly. "He talks about playing in the eighties. I don't believe he ever made an eighty in his life; he makes seventies." The capitalist, who had started angrily, became calmer at the conclusion of the last sentence. ”

“ He pitched squarely on the flag; the ball bounded into the brook.
"You hesitate at the top of your swing," said Mr. Cuyler. "You'll pardon me for saying so, but it's very noticeable." He marched dignifiedly down to his ball, and took three skittish putts. "One over four for three holes," he stated, fighting down his pride. "If your course has correct architecture, the next hole ought to be a long one."
"Five hundred and thirty yards," said Corbett. "You want to clear the brook on your drive, that's all."
"He'd better play safe," objected Bowker.
Mr. Cuyler addressed his ball gingerly. ”

“ Can't anybody in this whole crowd stand still when I'm going to shoot?"
"I'm sorry," said Corbett, hastily.
"You ought to be!" He returned to the ball. "Confound it!" he repeated. "Something's wrong every hole. First it's a caddy, and then it is n't. You 've got me shaking like a convict. Look at me!"
Indeed, his hands were strikingly unsteady.
"There's no hurry," soothed Horton. "Take your time, Mr. Cuyler."
"Oh, another counselor!" He breathed hard, and swung his club. "If I were n't a guest here—" Choking incontinently, he slashed at the ball, and saw it disappear over a near-by ridge. ”

“ The champion drove prettily; Corbett and Bowker followed; the capitalist stood on the tee and waved his driver threateningly.
"I have n't had a club in my hands for nineteen days," he said, "and my hands are cold. Never mind; I 'll scratch along somehow." He drove clear across the taller grass, and was delighted to find his ball within twenty yards of Horton's.
"Beautiful drive, Mr. Cuyler," said Bowker in his ear. "Horton's champion of the club,—handicapped four in the national,—and he hit his ball perfectly, too." ”

“ Some of your holes are too short, but you 've got to play 'em with deadly accuracy. That's how I made my score to-day—I was deadly accurate. Well, it's too lovely a club to let go by. default. So I'm going to take it over, and lease it to you for a term of years. All I ask from you, to please an old man's vanity, is your affidavits about my card. You'll do that, won't you?"
"Certainly we will," said Bowker, clearing his throat. "Is it—is it absolutely definite that you 're through with golf?"
"Absolutely."
"He gave all his clubs to the caddy," said Corbett to Bowker. ”

“ I 've done everything I can. It's no use. The best thing for us to do is to get our names up for some other club as soon as we can."
"I'm afraid so," granted Horton, the club champion. "There really was n't much use trying; you can't raise four hundred thousand among four hundred members in a club of this kind."
"When you 're all through talking," said Corbett, "I 'll tell you something I 've been holding back. I know one man—a person—who might finance the whole thing for us; he has the money."
"Don't wake me up," said Bowker, softly. ”

“ LET it be understood that every stranger at Warwick is presumed innocent until he steps out on the turf. It is only when he accepts a starting-card from the caddy-master that he becomes an object of suspicion and interest. No fairway was ever seriously injured by club-house conversation, so that an alien's claim of eighty-five rests undisputed up to the point of trial; but statistics show that the man who in the grill-room prophesies eighty-five or better for his first round at Warwick generally scores one hundred and ten or worse ”

“ Farwell, complacently, "that we should expect to receive, gross, after developing the property and selling it at acreage figures."
"And you won't take into consideration the desirability of having the club in Warwick? You've still got three or four hundred acres. Won't the club help you sell them? Is n't it worth something to your company to keep the club alive?"
"Not a nickel," denied Mr. Farwell. "Land is land. The only price I can make is the one I quoted, and the very best I can do is to give you an option until the first of September."
"Mortgage?" asked Corbett. ”

“ They may know golf, but they don't know Warwick; and as they lag wearily to the players' entrance, they are mentally competent to appreciate the fugitive verse painted in small letters above the door. ”

“ They 've gone back; afraid to hit a ball any more. If I try to spare it, I 'll fluff it. Hardest shot for anybody in the world's a spared shot." The mere weight of the club carried the ball out in soaring flight; Mr. Cuyler sat down on the tee-box and mopped his glistening countenance. His expression, as he looked at Corbett, was the harbinger of speech, but he thought better of it, and kept silence, although the effort must have tortured him. ”

“ Bowker reflected upon the terms.
"Out of the question," he stated flatly. "The club is n't a bank, Mr. Farwell. We've very few wealthy members. We want men who play golf; it's been something of a strain to pay the overhead as it is. Even so, I think we might come to some agreement on the basis of an increased rental—"
"No," said Mr. Farwell, yawning slightly; "we 're selling the property. It's immaterial whether you or some one else takes it off our hands; but we 're selling. If you want a little leeway, if you want to put it up to your members, we 'll arrange for a formal option. ”

“ He's been a big man, an important man; he's always had attention, and he loves it. There'd have to be a luncheon before the game—incidentally, he never plays in the morning. If he were n't entertained, he'd never forget it ”

“ Honestly, he could give Jerry Travers two adjectives a hole, and beat him without half trying. You listen to him before he goes out or after he comes back, and you 'll think he broke the course record. But in the meantime—"
"Yes?"
"I 've played this game for a good many years," said Corbett, "and I 've seen some wonderful exhibitions. I 've seen men lose their tempers, and I 've seen them break their clubs. I 've heard some alibis that would have given Ananias material for another couple of centuries. But when John Cuyler gets up to the tee—well, it's a new chapter." ”

“ Farwell, again breaking the silence, "our purpose in conducting this company is to sell real property. The Warwick Estates is n't an eleemosynary institution in any sense of the word. Already we 've renewed the lease of the golf club two years beyond the limit we originally set ”