to first place

Westminster and Charterhouse another: Bedford, Tonbridge, Dulwich,Haileybury, and St. Paul's are a third. In this way, Wrykyn, Ripton,Geddington, and Wilborough formed a group. There was no actualchampionship competition, but each played each, and by the end of theseason it was easy to see which was entitled to first place. Thisnearly always lay between Ripton and Wrykyn. Sometimes an exceptionalGeddington team would sweep the board, or Wrykyn, having beatenRipton, would go down before Wilborough. But this did not happenoften. Usually Wilborough and Geddington were left to scramble for thewooden spoon. 　　Secretaries of cricket at Ripton and Wrykyn always liked to arrangethe date of the match towards the end of the term, so that they mighttake the field with representative and not experimental teams. By Julythe weeding-out process had generally finished. Besides which themembers of the teams had had time to get into form. 　　At Wrykyn it was the custom to fill up the team, if possible, beforethe Ripton match. A player is likely to show better form if he has gothis colours than if his fate depends on what he does in thatparticular match. 　　Burgess, accordingly, had resolved to fill up the first eleven just aweek before Ripton visited Wrykyn. There were two vacancies. One gavehim no trouble. Neville-Smith was not a great bowler, but he wassteady, and he had done well in the earlier matches. He had fairlyearned his place. But the choice between Bob and Mike had kept himawake into the small hours two nights in succession. Finally he hadconsulted Mr. Spence, and Mr. Spence had voted for Mike. 　　Burgess was glad the thing was settled. The temptation to allowsentiment to interfere with business might have become too strong ifhe had waited much longer. He knew that it would be a wrenchdefinitely excluding Bob from the team, and he hated to have to do it. 　　The more he thought of it, the sorrier he was for him. If he couldhave pleased himself, he would have kept Bob In. But, as the poet hasit, "Pleasure is pleasure, and biz is biz, and kep' in a sepyrit jug."The first duty of a captain is to have no friends. 　　From small causes great events do spring. If Burgess had not picked upa particularly interesting novel after breakfast on the morning ofMike's interview with Firby-Smith in the study, the list would havegone up on the notice-board after prayers. As it was, engrossed in hisbook, he let the moments go by till the sound on the bell startled himinto movement. And then there was only time to gather up his cap, andsprint. The paper on which he had intended to write the list and thepen he had laid out to write it with lay untouched on the table.