They were the pick of the University and London clubs, with a few players from the northern counties; not a man among them whose name was not known wherever football was played.

That tall, long-legged youth is Evans, the great half-back, who is said to be able to send a drop-kick further than any of his predecessors in the annals of the game.

There is Buller, the famous Cambridge quarter, only ten stone in weight, but as lithe and slippery as an eel; and Jackson, the other quarter, is just such another--hard to tackle himself, but as tenacious as a bulldog in holding an adversary.

That one with the straw-coloured hair is Coles, the great forward; and there are nine lads of metal who will stand by him to-day through thick and thin.

They were a formidable-looking lot, and betting, which had been five on four to them in the morning, showed symptoms of coming to five to three.