"And how can you even speak of scoring a point if you do not pursue," and Val uses his shovel to point out the biscuit, helpfully, as it goes past, "that?"

He certainly is not interested--at least not yet, he isn't. Instead he skates over to one of the wickets, glides to a graceful stop, and leans down to examine it.

"I like the idea of wider," he says aloud, thoughtfully. "And perhaps there are too many? The work of skating, at least for some enough, makes for a good enough competition. The scoring of points is nearly secondary."