" I acknowledge/* he said, " the pen-
alty for lost ball, and play a new one."
F 81



THE HONG-KONG MEDAL

He teed a ball, an ordinary gutta-per-
cha, and, swinging down upon it, made
the most bungling of "tops." A roar of
laughter went up, and Henry Alderson
joined in it, the heartiest of all. He
caught Kitty Crake's eye, and she was
smiling too. Taking a brassey, he ad-
vanced for his second shot, and " missed
the globe '* twice running. But what a
delightful sensation it was! — this was
something like golf.
Finally, he succeeded in playing inside
of Montague, who followed with a splen-
didly played iron shot out of the bush-
es. Alderson drove into a bunker, and
noted, with an exquisite thrill of pleas-
ure, that his ball had buried itself com-
pletely in the sand. It took him three to
get out, and the crowd applauded. He
" foozled " a shot into a clump of ever-
greens, and Kitty Crake clapped her
hands. Montague made a phenomenal
approach, and landed his ball dead at
the hole. Alderson " hooked " one ball,
" sliced " another, and banged a third
82



THE HONG-KONG MEDAL

into the flag, securing a lucky **rub."
He missed two short putts, and then
managed to hit Montague's ball, holing
it, and leaving his own outside. The
laughter of the " gallery ** gods cleft
the skies, and the referee stepped for-
ward.
" Mr. Montague eighty strokes, Mr.
