As an assiduous frequenter of Wimbledon Henry Garnet had a good many friends in the tennis world, and one evening he found himself at a City dinner sitting next to one of them, a Colonel Brabazon, and in due course began talking to him of Nicky and what chance there might be of his being chosen to play for his university during the following season.
"Why don't you let him go down to Monte Carlo and play in the spring tournament there?" said the Colonel suddenly.
"Oh, I don't think he's good enough for that. He's not nineteen yet, he only went up to Cambridge last October; he wouldn't stand a chance against all those cracks."
"Of course, Austin and von Cramm and so on would knock spots off him, but he might snatch a game or two; and if he got up against some of the smaller fry there's no reason why he shouldn't win two or three matches. He's never been up against any of the first-rate players and it would be wonderful practice for him. He'd learn a lot more than he'll ever learn in the seaside tournaments you enter him for."
"I wouldn't dream of it. I'm not going to let him leave Cambridge in the middle of a term. I've always impressed upon him that tennis is only a game and it mustn't interfere with work."
Colonel Brabazon asked Garnet when the term ended. "That's all right. He'd only have to cut about three days. Surely that could be arranged. You see, two of the men we were depending on have let us down, and we're in a hole. We want to send as good a team as we can. The Germans are sending their best players and so are the Americans."
"Nothing doing, old boy. In the first place Nicky's not good enough, and secondly, I don't fancy the idea of sending a kid like that to Monte Carlo without anyone to look after him. If I could get away myself I might think of it, but that's out of the question."
"I shall be there. I'm going as the non-playing captain of the English team. I'll keep an eye on him."
"You'll be busy, and besides, it's not a responsibility I'd like to ask you to take. He's never been abroad in his life, and to tell you the truth, I shouldn't have a moment's peace all the time he was there."
They left it at that and presendy Henry Garnet went home. He was so flattered by Colonel Brabazon's suggestion that he could not help telling his wife.
"Fancy his thinking Nicky's as good as that. He told me he'd seen him play and his style was fine. He only wants more practice to get into the first flight. We shall see the kid playing in the semi-finals at Wimbledon yet, old girl."
To his surprise Mrs Garnet was not so much opposed to the notion as he would have expected.
"After all the boy's eighteen. Nicky's never got into mischief yet and there's no reason to suppose he will now."
"There's his work to be considered; don't forget that. I think it would be a very bad precedent to let him cut the end of term."
"But what can three days matter? It seems a shame to rob him of a chance like that. I'm sure he'd jump at it if you asked him."
"Well, I'm not going to. I haven't sent him to Cambridge just to play tennis. I know he's steady, but it's silly to put temptation in his way. He's much too young to go to Monte Carlo by himself."
"You say he won't have a chance against these crack players, but you can't tell."
Henry Garnet sighed a little. On the way home in the car it had struck him that Austin's health was uncertain and that von Cramm had his off-days. Supposing, just for the sake of argument, that Nicky had a bit of luck like that - then there would be no doubt that he would be chosen to play for Cambridge. But of course that was all nonsense.
"Nothing doing, my dear. I've made up my mind and I'm not going to change it."
Mrs Garnet held her peace. But next day she wrote to Nicky, telling him what had happened, and suggested to him what she would do in his place if, wanting to go, he wished to get his father's consent. A day or two later Henry Garnet received a letter from his son. He