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diff --git a/old/69206-0.txt b/old/69206-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index bb0e1c2..0000000 --- a/old/69206-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8003 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Winning his game, by Ralph Henry -Barbour - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Winning his game - -Author: Ralph Henry Barbour - -Illustrator: Walt Louderback - -Release Date: October 22, 2022 [eBook #69206] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed Proofreading - Team at https://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WINNING HIS GAME *** - - - - - - WINNING HIS GAME - - - - -By Ralph Henry Barbour - - -PURPLE PENNANT SERIES - - The Lucky Seventh - The Secret Play - The Purple Pennant - - -YARDLEY HALL SERIES - - Forward Pass - Double Play - Winning His Y - For Yardley - Around the End - Change Signals - - -HILTON SERIES - - The Half-back - For the Honor of the School - Captain of the Crew - - -ERSKINE SERIES - - Behind the Line - Weatherby’s Inning - On Your Mark - - -THE “BIG FOUR” SERIES - - Four in Camp - Four Afoot - Four Afloat - - -THE GRAFTON SERIES - - Rivals for the Team - Winning His Game - - -BOOKS NOT IN SERIES - - The Brother of a Hero - Finkler’s Field - Danforth Plays the Game - Benton’s Venture - The Junior Trophy - The New Boy at Hilltop - The Spirit of the School - The Arrival of Jimpson - - -D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, Publishers, New York - - - - -[Illustration: “The ball, curving inward, met his bat fairly and -screeched off into short center”] - - - - - WINNING - HIS GAME - - BY - RALPH HENRY BARBOUR - AUTHOR OF “RIVALS FOR THE TEAM,” “THE PURPLE PENNANT,” ETC. - - - [Illustration] - - - ILLUSTRATED BY - WALT LOUDERBACK - - - D. APPLETON AND COMPANY - NEW YORK LONDON - 1917 - - - - - Copyright, 1917, by - D. APPLETON AND COMPANY - - - Printed in the United States of America - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I. DUD WONDERS 1 - II. THE ENTERING WEDGE 13 - III. 29 LOTHROP 25 - IV. A CHANCE MEETING 36 - V. DUD LOSES HIS TEMPER 49 - VI. FIRST PRACTICE 59 - VII. BEN MYATT ADVISES 69 - VIII. A WILD PITCH 81 - IX. JIMMY TAKES CHARGE 93 - X. THE CHALLENGE 104 - XI. WITH THE SCRUBS 118 - XII. ON THE RIVER 130 - XIII. CONFESSION 138 - XIV. MAROONED! 148 - XV. DUD SERVES THEM UP 160 - XVI. THE TRACK MEET 172 - XVII. BASEBALL, TENNIS AND OYSTERS 184 - XVIII. DUD GOES TO THE RESCUE 192 - XIX. BACK TO THE BENCH 207 - XX. JIMMY ENCOURAGES 219 - XXI. ON THE MOUND 230 - XXII. DUD COMES BACK 240 - XXIII. BEN TELLS A SECRET 253 - XXIV. THE FIRST GAME 264 - XXV. LEFT BEHIND 274 - XXVI. THE BORROWED HAND-CAR 286 - XXVII. WINNING HIS GAME 301 - - - - -THE ILLUSTRATIONS - - - “The ball, curving inward, met his bat fairly and screeched - off into short center” _Frontispiece_ - - FACING - PAGE - - “‘You’re a sneaky little bounder, that’s what you are!’” 38 - - “‘The canoes have gone!’” 144 - - “Jimmy ... was rolling over on the platform and Dud ... - with him” 282 - - - - -WINNING HIS GAME - - - - -CHAPTER I - -DUD WONDERS - - -Jimmy Logan stood his skis in the corner behind the door and, tramping -heavily to get the clinging snow from his shoes, climbed the first -flight in Trow Hall slowly and then dragged wearied feet down the -corridor to Number 19. Once inside the room, he said, “Hello,” shied -his cap onto his bed and sank exhaustedly in the nearest chair, -stretching his legs across the rug and slumping down until the wet -collar of his mackinaw came in contact with his ears. Whereupon he -muttered, “Ugh!” and sat up another inch or two. - -Across the room, one foot on the floor and the other doubled up -beneath him on the windowseat, was Jimmy’s roommate. His response to -the greeting had been brief and delivered in a preoccupied voice, for -Dudley Baker had a book open before him on the cushion and held a -stained and battered baseball in his right hand. His attention was -divided between book and ball and had no room for Jimmy. The latter’s -gaze presently came away from his shoes, which were trickling water to -the rug, and fixed itself on Dudley. He had to sit up still higher in -the chair to get an uninterrupted view of his chum, which proceeding -elicited a protesting groan from him, and after he had attained it he -instantly decided that it was not worth while and deeply regretted the -exertion it had caused him. He promptly descended again on his spine, -crossed his feet and sighed luxuriously. - -The dollar clock on Dudley’s chiffonier ticked briskly and loudly in -the ensuing silence. Outside the windows tiny flakes of snow were -falling. The shadows deepened in the room. In the corridor deliberate -footsteps sounded and suddenly the transom over the door showed yellow -and an oblong of light appeared on the ceiling. Mr. Crump, the school -janitor, was lighting the dormitories. Jimmy wished that his shoes were -off, and his mackinaw, and the woolen socks, but as yet he wasn’t equal -to the task. When Mr. Crump’s footsteps had died away on the stairs -Jimmy broke the silence. - -“What’re you doing?” he asked uninterestedly. There was, however, no -reply from the window-seat, possibly because Jimmy’s tones had been too -faint to reach there. After a moment Jimmy turned his head and stared -across a pile of books on the study table at the three or four inches -of Dudley’s head that were visible. Then: - -“_Dud!_” he bawled resentfully. - -“Huh?” - -“What are you doing, I asked you.” - -“Oh, me? Oh, just trying to dope out some of this stuff.” - -“What stuff?” - -“Stuff about pitching. How to hold the ball, you know.” - -“Oh!” Jimmy subsided again and another period of silence followed. Then: - -“You don’t expect to play baseball for a while, do you?” he asked -lazily. “You’d better study how to throw a snowball!” He chuckled -faintly at his joke. - -“It isn’t so long now,” responded Dud soberly. “They’re going to call -candidates the twenty-first.” - -“Gym work,” grunted the other. “Take my advice and keep away from it. -Don’t go out for the team until it gets out of doors. Are you still -thinking of trying for the school?” - -“Of course.” - -Jimmy grunted. “You’ll have a fine show, I don’t think! Better try for -the second, Dud.” - -“I don’t expect to make it, but it’s good practice, and maybe next -year――――” - -“You’ll stand more chance with the second, and have a lot more fun. -The second’s going to have a regular schedule this year; five or six -games, maybe; going away for some of them, too.” - -“If I don’t make the first, and I suppose I won’t, of course, I’ll try -for the second,” said Dud. “I asked Murtha this morning if he thought -it would be all right to try for the first, and he said――――” - -“Guy Murtha said, ‘Yes, indeed, Baker, we want all the candidates we -can get!’ That’s what they always tell you, and then, when you get -out there, they inform you gently but firmly that you won’t do, and -hadn’t you better stay with your class team this year and try again -next? What’s the use? I like to play ball, Dud, but you don’t catch me -putting in a month’s grind in the cage and then getting the G. B. as -soon as we get outdoors. Me for the second――and safety.” - -“You’re lazy,” replied Dud, shutting his book and stowing the ball back -of the pillows. “You could make the first this spring if you’d try for -it. You ought to, too.” - -Jimmy shrugged. “Maybe so. But I’d rather have a sure place on the -second, thanks. Gee, but I’m tired!” - -“Skiing?” - -“Yes; Pete Gordon and Kelly and Gus and I. We climbed up to the -Observatory and then hiked half-way over to the Falls. It was piles of -fun going down the mountain. Gus Weston took a header and turned over -about forty-eleven times and then went into a snow bank head-first up -to his waist. But we tried to do too much. My legs feel as if they’d -never stop aching! What have you been doing? Been in here all the -afternoon? But, of course, you have. I forgot about your tooth. How is -it? Any better?” - -“Yes. I guess I caught a little cold in it. I wish that dentist -chap would yank it out instead of practicing on it!” Dud turned the -lights on and perched himself across a chair at the opposite side of -the table, his arms on the back, and observed Jimmy in a thoughtful -fashion. Jimmy grunted. - -“Shoot,” he said. “What’s on your mind?” - -“I――I’ve been wondering, Jimmy.” - -“Oh, gee!” Jimmy groaned deeply. “At it again, eh? Well, what is -it this time, Dud? The other day you were worrying yourself thin -because you were afraid you were costing your folks too much money, or -something.” - -Dud smiled. “Not exactly worrying,” he replied. “Just――just wondering.” - -“There isn’t much difference, the way you do it. If I――――” - -“Not so much about how much I was costing them as whether they’re going -to get their money’s worth, Jimmy. Sometimes I wonder whether I’m -really doing any good here. Now you look at it this way――――” - -“I won’t! I refuse! Besides, that’s an old one. What’s your latest -worry?” - -“It isn’t a worry――exactly. I was only thinking that――――” He paused. -Then: “Oh, I guess it isn’t anything, after all. Say, you’d better get -out of those wet things, Jimmy.” - -“I’m going to just as soon as I have strength to move. But I want to -hear your new――er――problem, Dud. Come across. ’Fess up to your Uncle -Jimmy.” - -Dud hesitated, smiling a bit embarrassedly. He was a good-looking -chap of fifteen, with clean-cut features, a rather fair complexion -and very bright blue eyes. He was small-boned and slim, and, since -he had been doing a lot of growing the past twelve months, he looked -a trifle “weedy.” In that respect he was a distinct contrast to his -roommate, for James Townsend Logan was a stocky lad, wide of shoulder -and broad of chest. Jimmy was sixteen, although only four months -divided the two boys in age. Jimmy’s features were nondescript, but -the result was pleasing. He wore his red-brown hair rather long――Dud -said it was because he was too lazy to have it cut oftener than once -every term――and had a short nose and a wide, humorous mouth and a very -square chin. He was a member of the upper middle class, while Dud was a -lower middler. - -“I guess it’s sort of silly,” said Dud after a moment. “But I’ve been -wondering”――Jimmy groaned again――“why I don’t know more fellows, Jimmy, -why I don’t――don’t ‘mix’ better. I don’t believe I really care a whole -lot――――” He paused again. “Yes I do, too, though. I’d like to have -fellows like me, Jimmy, as they do you, and ask me to do things and go -places and――and all that. Of course, I know the trouble’s with me, all -right, but――but what is it?” - -“Oh, piffle, Dud! Fellows _do_ like you.” - -“Yes, about the way they like the steps in front of School Hall. That -is, they don’t exactly _like_ me; they just――just don’t _dislike_ me. -I guess I’d rather have them do that than not care a fig whether I’m -alive or dead. I suppose this sounds silly, but――――” - -“Honest confession is good for the soul,” responded Jimmy lightly. “But -I think you’re wrong about it, Dud. Or, anyway――now look here――――” - -“I suppose I’m just not cut out to be what you might call popular,” -interrupted Dud thoughtfully. “Well, but still――――” - -“Shut up and let me talk! The trouble with you is that you don’t let -fellows find out whether they can like you or not. You don’t――don’t -‘mix’――do you see? If you’d get into things more――――” - -“But that’s just it! How can I when I see that I’m not wanted?” - -“That’s just imagination, Dud. You can’t expect fellows to fall all -over themselves and hug you! You’ve got to show ’em that you’re ready -to be friends. You’ve got to make the start yourself. What do you do -when someone says ‘Let’s do this or that’? You mutter something about -having to dig Latin or math and sneak off. Fellows naturally think you -don’t want to do the things they do. Now today, for instance――――” - -“I couldn’t have gone, Jimmy, with this plaguey toothache!” - -“Why, no, I guess you couldn’t. But, thunderation, Dud, if it isn’t -a toothache it’s something else. You’ve always got some perfectly -wonderful excuse for beating it about the time the fun begins. Not that -you missed much this afternoon, for you didn’t, barring a lot of tired -muscles, but you often do miss things. To be what you call a ‘mixer,’ -Dud, you’ve got to ‘mix,’ and you don’t know the first thing about it. -Fellows like you, all right, what they see of you, but you don’t give -them a chance.” - -Dud stared thoughtfully at the green shade before him. “Ye-yes, I -suppose that’s true, Jimmy. But I don’t like to stick around when -fellows are getting up things because I think that maybe they won’t -want me in on it and that if I’m there they’ll think they have to ask -me.” - -“Huh! What if they do have to ask you? Let ’em! Then when they see that -you’re a regular feller they’ll ask you next time without having to.” - -“But I wonder if I am.” - -“Am what?” asked Jimmy ungrammatically. - -“A ‘regular feller.’ Maybe I’m not. I wonder――――” - -Jimmy threw up his hands in despair. “Oh, gee, he’s at it again! -Dud, what you want to do is stop wondering. You’re the finest little -wonderer that ever came down the pike, all right, but you spend so much -time at it that you don’t get anywhere. Now, you take my advice, old -chap, and stop wondering whether fellows like you or don’t like you. -Just get out and butt in a little. When you see a crowd walk right into -the middle of it and find out whether it’s a fight or a frolic. And, -whatever it is, take a hand. Now there’s some mighty good advice, Dud, -take it from me. I didn’t know I had it in me! And let me tell you -another thing, kid. If you expect to have a show for the first team you -want to crawl out of your shell and rub shoulders with fellows. Get -hunky with the first team crowd, do you see? Be――be more of a――well, -more of a regular feller, like I said before. Don’t try too hard to -be popular, though. Fellows get onto that and won’t stand for it. -Just――just be natural!” - -“I guess I’m being natural,” answered Dud, with a smile, “and that -is where the trouble is. I guess I’ll have to wait until next year. -A lower middle fellow feels sort of fresh if he tries to mix in with -upper middlers.” - -“Piffle! Lots of your class are thick as thieves with upper middle -chaps. Look at young Whatshisname――Stiles. He’s always traveling with -upper middlers――Ordway and Blake and that bunch.” - -“Ned Stiles has more cheek than I have. Besides, I don’t think fellows -like him particularly, Jimmy. He sort of toadies, doesn’t he?” - -“He’s a perfect ass, if you ask me. But they seem to stand for him.” - -“Well, but I don’t want to be ‘stood for’; I want fellows to――to want -me.” - -“All right. Give ’em a chance then. You’re all right, Dud, only -you’re shy. That’s what’s the matter with you, old chap, you’re just -plain shy! Never thought of it before. Look here, now, I’ll tell you -what you do. You forget all about your dear little self and get over -being――being――gee, what’s the word I want? Being self-conscious! That’s -it! That’s your trouble, self-consciousness.” Jimmy beamed approval at -himself. “Best way to do it is to――to do it! Tell you what, we’ll make -a start tonight, eh? Let’s go out and visit someone. Who do you know -that you’d like to know better?” - -“I’d like to know Hugh Ordway, for one,” said Dud hesitatingly. “But I -guess he wouldn’t care about knowing me, and so――――” - -“Stow it! That’s just what you mustn’t do, do you see? You mustn’t -‘wonder’ whether a fellow wants to know you or not. You just take -it for granted that he does. Say to yourself, ‘I’m a good feller, a -regular feller. I’m as good as you are. Of course you want to know me. -Why not?’ See the idea?” - -Dud nodded doubtfully. “Still, Hugh Ordway’s a bit――――” - -“A bit what?” demanded Jimmy impatiently. - -“I mean he’s awfully popular and has piles of friends and he wouldn’t -be likely to――to want to know me.” - -“Oh, piffle! Ordway’s just like any of us――except that he happens to be -English and have a Lord or a Duke or something for a father. I don’t -know him very well myself, but that’s just because he trains with the -football crowd――Blake and Winslow and that bunch. But I know him plenty -well enough to visit, and that’s just what we’ll do this evening, Dud.” - -“Maybe we’d better leave it for some other night,” replied Dud -uneasily. “I’ve got a lot of lessons tonight and――――” - -“Ha, ha!” laughed Jimmy mirthlessly. “Where have I heard that before?” -He pulled himself from his chair with a groan and pointed a stern -finger at his chum. “You’ll start right in with me this very evening, -Dud, and be a regular feller! And no more punk excuses, either! I’m -going to take you in hand, son, and when I get through with you you -won’t know yourself. Here, _stop that_!” - -“What?” asked Dud startledly. - -“You know what! You were beginning to wonder! I saw you! No more of -that, understand? The first time I catch you wondering I’ll――I’ll take -my belt to you!” - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE ENTERING WEDGE - - -If you have by any chance read a previous narrative of events at -Grafton School entitled “Rivals for the Team” you are sufficiently -acquainted with the scene of this story, and, also, with many of -the characters. But since it is quite possible that you have never -even heard of the former narrative, it devolves on the historian to -introduce a certain amount of descriptive matter at about this stage, -something he has as little taste for as have you. Descriptions are -always tiresome, and so we’ll have this as short as possible. - -Grafton School, then, occupies a matter of ten acres a half-mile -east of the town of that name and at the foot of the hill which is -known as Mount Grafton. Like many another New England school, it is -shaded by elms, boasts many fine expanses of velvety turf and, so to -speak, laves its feet in a gently-flowing river. The buildings on the -campus consist of three dormitories, the more venerable School Hall, -the gymnasium and the Principal’s residence, and of these all save -the two latter stretch in a straight line across the middle of the -three-acre expanse. The gymnasium is slightly back from the line and -the Principal’s cottage is a bit in advance, its vine-covered porch -looking along the fronts of the other buildings and its rear windows -peering down into Crumbie Street. School Hall is in the center. Trow -comes next on the left, and then Lothrop. On the right of the older -building stands Manning, which shelters the younger boys, and somewhat -“around the corner” is the gymnasium. - -Graveled walks lead across the campus, under spreading elm trees, -to Crumbie Street on one side, to River Street on the other, to -School Street straight in front. Beyond School Street is the Green, a -block-wide parallelogram on which, at the corner of School and River -Streets, two smaller dormitories stand. These, Morris and Fuller, are -converted dwellings of limited accommodations. The main walk from -the steps of School Hall continues across the Green to Front Street, -beyond which, descending gently to the Needham River, is Lothrop Field. -An ornamental wall and gate commemorate the name of the giver. The -Field House flanks the steps on the left and beyond lie the football -gridirons, the baseball diamonds, the tennis courts and the blue-gray -cinder track. The distant weather-stained building on the river bank is -the boathouse. - -Grafton School looks after slightly over two hundred boys between the -ages of twelve and twenty. At the time of which I am writing, February -of last year, the number was, I believe, exactly two hundred and ten, -of which some thirty-five had attained to the senior class and about -eighty were juniors, leaving the upper middle and lower middle classes -to share the residue fairly equally. The faculty numbered twelve, -beginning with Doctor Duncan, the Principal, and ending with Mrs. Fair, -the matron. Doctor Duncan’s full title is Charles William Duncan, A.M., -Ph.D., but he is better known as “Charley”! There was――and doubtless -are――also a Mrs. Duncan and a Miss Duncan, but they are not likely to -enter into this narrative. So much then for our stage setting. I might -keep on, but I fear you are weary, and I know I am! - -Hugh Ordway roomed on the top floor of Lothrop, the newest and most -luxurious of the dormitories, sharing the suite of study and two -bedrooms with Bert Winslow. Hugh’s father was English and his mother -American, and, although Hugh had been born on the other side and had -spent most of his sixteen years there, he declared himself to be half -American. His full name was Hugh Oswald Brodwick Ordway, and in spite -of the fact that by reason of his father being the Marquis of Lockely, -Hugh had every right to the title of Earl of Ordway, he was generally -known at Grafton as “Hobo,” a nickname evolved from his initials. As he -was a straight, well-built, clear-skinned, young chap with quiet brown -eyes and an undeniable air of breeding, the nickname was amusingly -incongruous if one stopped to consider it. But Hugh had been known as -Hobo Ordway ever since fall, when his cleverness as a running halfback -on the first football team had surprised and delighted the school, -and nowadays the name was too familiar to excite any comment. Hugh’s -particular friends were more likely to call him “’Ighness,” however. - -It was Hugh, alone in the study, who responded to the knock at the -door shortly after supper that evening and who successfully disguised -the surprise he felt when he recognized his visitors as Jimmy Logan -and Dudley Baker. He made them welcome quite as heartily as though he -had been expecting them all day, and Dud, who had hung back all the -way up the three flights of slate stairs, was vastly relieved. The -conversation skipped from one subject to another for the first few -minutes, during which time Hugh, perched on the window-seat, leaving -the easy-chairs to his guests, hugged his knees to his chin, piloted -the conversation and secretly wondered at the visit. - -You are not to suppose, however, that Hugh was the only one of the -three at his ease. Such a supposition shows on your part a vast -ignorance of Jimmy Logan. Jimmy was a stranger to embarrassment. Had -Hugh been the President of the United States or the King of England -or――well, “Home Run” Baker, Jimmy would have been just as splendidly -at ease as he was this moment. He might have assumed a more dignified -attitude in the Morris chair and his voice might have held a more -respectful tone, but beyond that――no, not Jimmy! Just now Jimmy was -humorously recounting his skiing adventures that afternoon and Hugh -was chuckling over them. Dud smiled when Hugh laughed, sitting rather -stiffly in his chair, and tried his best to look animated and pleasant -and only succeeded in looking anxious and uncomfortable. Jimmy did his -best to get Dud to talk, but Dud’s conversation consisted largely of -“Yes” and “No” and Hugh secretly thought him a bit of a stick. Jimmy -was wondering whether to withdraw as gracefully as possible before -Dud created any worse impression when the door opened to admit a -black-haired, dark-eyed fellow of seventeen who, with less command over -his features than Hugh, looked frankly surprised when he saw who the -visitors were. The surprise even extended to his voice as he greeted -them. - -“Hello, Jimmy,” said Bert Winslow. “What are you doing up here? Haven’t -seen you around here for ages.” He spoke to Dud then, hesitating a -moment as though not certain of the latter’s name. Dud, noting the -fact, felt his embarrassment increase and wished that Jimmy would -give the word to leave. But Jimmy had already abandoned thoughts of -withdrawing. He liked Bert Winslow, just as most fellows did, and -welcomed the chance to talk to him. Bert and Jimmy were both members of -“Lit”――short for Literary Society――and only two evenings ago had been -pitted against each other in one of the impromptu weekly debates and -had struggled along nip and tuck until Jimmy, abandoning facts, had in -a wild flow of rhetoric won the meeting. Bert alluded to it now as he -tossed his cap through the open door of his bedroom. - -“Jimmy, that was a fine lot of hot air you got off the other night,” he -said with a grin. “Didn’t your folks ever teach you anything about the -beauties of truthfulness?” - -Jimmy laughed. “Sure, but I had to beat you somehow, Bert. Besides, -what I said may be so for all I know!” - -“Huh! You just said the first thing that came into that silly head of -yours! Did you ever hear such a mess of rot as he sprang, Hugh?” - -Hugh smiled. “It sounded all right! Some of the figures were corking. -You must have a wonderful memory, Logan!” - -“Memory!” snorted Bert, seating himself beside Hugh on the window-seat. -“There wasn’t a figure that was right! I looked it up afterwards. Did -you hear him, Baker? Oh, no, you’re Forum, aren’t you?” - -“Yes,” replied Dud. He tried very hard to follow that up with something -brilliant or amusing in regard to Jimmy’s debating, but couldn’t think -of anything, possibly because Bert’s tone had held some of the careless -contempt with which members of a society spoke of its rival, and Dud -wished just for the moment that he, too, was “Lit.” - -Perhaps Hugh thought that his chum had verged on discourtesy, for -he observed quickly: “They tell me you chaps have some awfully good -talkers in Forum, Baker.” - -Dud agreed. “I guess Joe Leslie is our best; he and Guy Murtha.” - -“Murtha’s better than Joe, I think,” said Jimmy. “Anyway, he did a lot -better last year in the debate with Mount Morris.” - -“Joe’s a wonder at hammering home facts,” said Bert. “Guy’s better at -the eloquence stuff, though. Speaking of Guy, Hugh, reminds me that I -told him you were going to try for the outfield this spring and he said -he was mighty glad because if you could get on the base he was certain -you could get around.” - -“Oh, but I say, Bert, I don’t know that I shall! Try for baseball, I -mean.” - -“Of course you will!” - -“But I don’t know much about it. You say it’s quite different from -cricket, eh?” - -“Quite, ’Ighness! You’ve seen baseball played, haven’t you?” - -“Oh, yes, once or twice, but――――” - -“I should think a fair cricket player would easily get the hang of -baseball,” said Jimmy. “I guess it’s as hard to catch a cricket ball as -a baseball, isn’t it? I suppose you’re a rattling good cricket player, -Ordway.” - -“Oh, no, really I’m not,” exclaimed Hugh. “I’ve played a bit at it, of -course. You chaps bowl――I mean pitch to the batters so like thunder, -don’t you? I fancy I’ll be scared to stand up there, eh?” - -“You might if Gus Weston was pitching,” laughed Bert. “You going to -play this year, Jimmy?” - -“Oh, I guess so. What would the dear old second do without me?” - -“Aren’t you trying for the first, though? You’re as good a fielder as -Parker, I guess.” - -“I may. The fact is, Bert, I’m sort of used to the dear old second. It -would be like leaving home to go to the first. Still, I may decide to -break home ties and meet you fellows there.” - -“I fancy you’re not likely to meet me there,” said Hugh. “I’ll be an -awful dub if I try it, I know. Do you play, Baker?” - -“A little,” answered Dud. - -“Dud’s the coming Mathewson,” said Jimmy. “Got to watch him, we have. -Some twirler!” - -“Really?” asked Bert, evidently not much impressed. “That’s fine, -Baker. The second rather needed pitchers last spring.” - -“He’s going out for the first,” said Jimmy. “Dud’s like me, you know. -When Duty calls――――” Jimmy smiled eloquently. - -“I say, though, Logan, who is this Johnnie you spoke of? Mathews, -wasn’t it?” - -“Not Johnnie; Christopher,” replied Jimmy gravely. “I referred to Mr. -Christopher Mathewson, better known as ‘Matty,’ the Dean of American -Pitchers. Dud and ‘Matty’ are as thick as thieves; that is, Dud is! -Dud reads everything ‘Matty’ writes and can tell you off-hand how -many games ‘Matty’ pitched last year and all the other years, and how -many he won, and what his averages are and all the rest of it. He has -a gallery of Mathewson pictures and he’s the proud possessor of a -ball that Mathewson used in a game with Philadelphia back in 1760 or -thereabouts. I don’t know how he got that ball, but I suspect that he -swiped it.” - -“It was given to me,” said Dud defensively. Then he added, embarrassed: -“You mustn’t mind what Jimmy says. He talks a lot of nonsense.” - -“I say, though,” exclaimed Hugh, “I do hope you get on the first, -Baker. It must be a lot of fun to do the pitching, eh? More fun than -fielding, I fancy.” - -“Have you pitched much?” inquired Bert politely. - -“I’ve been trying to for a couple of years,” answered Dud. “I don’t -suppose I’ll make the first this year, of course, but Murtha said he’d -be glad to have me try, and so――――” - -“You must make allowances for his modesty,” said Jimmy. “He’s really -rather a shark at it. He can tell you just how to pitch any ball ever -discovered, from a straight one to a ‘floater.’” - -“Question is, I guess,” Bert laughed, “whether he can _pitch_ ’em. I -know _how_ to pitch a ‘knuckle ball,’ but I can’t do it. I remember -now, Baker, you pitched some on the second last year, didn’t you?” - -“Only three games, or parts of them, Winslow. I dare say I won’t be -good enough this year, but――I thought I’d try.” - -“Of course,” said Bert heartily. “Nothing like trying. The trouble is, -though, you’ve got some good ones to stack up against, eh? There’s Nate -Leddy and Ben Myatt――――” - -“And Gus Weston,” observed Jimmy gravely. - -Bert smiled. “Just the same, Gus has pitched some good games for us. -But isn’t he a wonder when he goes up?” - -Jimmy chuckled. “Gus Weston can go up quicker and higher than any -fellow I ever saw,” he said. “And when he _is_ wild――――” He ended with -an impressive whistle. - -“He looked pretty promising last spring,” continued Bert. “Remember the -game he pitched against Middleboro? They only got six hits off him, I -think.” - -“Yes, and Kelly is another chap that is likely to make good this year,” -said Jimmy. “Oh, we’re pretty well off for twirlers, but you wait until -Dud gets going. And speaking of going, Dud, what do you say if we do a -little of it?” - -“Don’t rush off,” said Bert. “Well, come around again, Jimmy.” - -Probably the invitation was meant to include Dud, but Hugh thought that -Dud might not interpret it so and added cordially, “Yes, do, fellows!” - -On the way downstairs Jimmy said: “Well, we got out of that pretty -well, Dud. I thought for a while you were going to spoil everything by -monopolizing the conversation the way you did, but――――” - -“I don’t seem to know what to talk about,” said Dud ruefully. “I guess -Ordway thought me an awful ass.” - -“Well, he rather pointedly invited you to come back, so I don’t think -you need to worry about that. The next time――――” - -“There won’t be any next time,” interrupted the other. “It’s just like -you said, Jimmy. I can’t mix and there’s no use trying.” - -“Oh, yes, there is! We’ve just started. That was the――the entering -wedge, so to say. We’ll drop around again next week. And between now -and then I’ll put you through a course of sprouts, old chap. We’ll mix -in society. Just as soon as you can learn to forget your plaguey self, -Dud, you’ll get on finely. The trouble is with you that you just sit -and worry about what fellows are thinking of you. But I’ll break you of -that quick enough.” - -“I guess we’ll call it off,” muttered Dud. - -“And I guess we won’t,” was the firm response. “Having set my hand -to the plow, Dudley, I never look back. That’s me. My full name is -Grim Determination. All others are impostors. Accept no substitutes. -Guaranteed to comply with the Pure Food Law. After you, Dud. One flight -and turn to the right, please.” - - - - -CHAPTER III - -29 LOTHROP - - -True to his promise――or threat, if you think with Dud――Jimmy haled his -protesting friend from room to room in the evenings, made him join -the throngs on the ice or the toboggan slide in the afternoons and on -all occasions dragged him into the conversations and, to use his own -expression, “got him in the spot-light.” It can’t be truthfully said -that his efforts met with overwhelming success, however. Dud didn’t -shine as a conversationalist or display any traits calculated to win -popularity. No one disliked him in the least. Most of the time few were -really conscious of his presence, in spite of Jimmy’s untiring efforts. -Personally, as has been suggested, Dud didn’t take kindly to being -exhibited and exploited, and when a fortnight or so after the inception -of the undertaking Jimmy actually got to telling jokes and crediting -them to Dud, the latter was supremely uncomfortable. Jimmy would -chuckle and say: “Dud got off a good one the other day, fellows.” And -then he would follow with some more or less brilliant remark or joke -that sounded to Dud horribly flat. Generally the hearers laughed and -shot surprised glances at the silent and embarrassed Dud, but he didn’t -win recognition as a wit or a sage for all of that. Had they heard the -things from Dud first-hand they might have been more impressed. As it -was the credit went rather to Jimmy than Dud. - -Jimmy played Boswell to Dud’s Doctor Johnson with remarkable enthusiasm -and patience. He evolved all sorts of schemes, most of which his chum -promptly refused to consider, designed to waft Dud into the white light -of publicity. For instance, he conceived the brilliant idea of having -Dud write a notable article for _The Campus_, the school monthly. Dud -had no serious objection to that project, but it fell through because -neither of them could think of a subject to write on. Then Jimmy -suggested that Dud get someone to break through the ice on the river -so Dud could rescue him. Jimmy said he would be glad to impersonate -the drowning character if he wasn’t afraid of catching cold and having -rheumatism in his throwing arm. It was all highly entertaining for -Jimmy and he thoroughly enjoyed it, but Dud was getting very tired -of it. Every now and then Jimmy had what he called a “show down.” At -such times he would take a list from his drawer in the study table and -check off the names of fellows whose acquaintance Dud had succeeded in -making since the last time. - -“Churchill, we got him. Check for Churchill. He was a brand new one, -wasn’t he? Roy Dresser, check. Dresser was rather a success, Dud. I -think he rather took to you. We must call there again. I’ll make a note -of that. Dresser’s room is a good place to meet fellows. Parker, check. -Parker’s an ass, anyway. Ayer――I say, Dud, we haven’t met Neil Ayer -yet. Do you know him at all?” - -“Only to speak to.” - -“We’ll go after Ayer this evening, then. I know where to find him. He -will be in Joe Leslie’s room, I guess. Foster Tray, check. Tray’s a -good sort. Zanetti――that’s another chap we’ve missed. We’ll have to -find him with Nate Leddy some time. I don’t know him at all. He’s a -good fellow to know, though. Stands in with the football and the track -crowds. I tell you what, Dud! Why not go out for the Track Team?” - -“Because I can’t do anything,” laughed Dud. - -“How do you know you can’t?” asked Jimmy, untroubled. “Besides, -you wouldn’t have to really _do_ anything. You could have a try at -something and you’d meet a lot of fellows. Jumping isn’t awfully hard. -Why not try the broad jump?” - -“I couldn’t do that and pitch too, you idiot.” - -“That’s so. I forgot. Still, some fellows do go in for baseball and -track. There’s Cherry, for instance. Well, never mind. Maybe we’d -better――er――concentrate.” Jimmy sat back and studied Dud speculatively, -tapping his pen against his teeth the while. “What we’ve got to do, -Dud,” he continued presently, in the tones of one who has reached a -weighty conclusion after much thought, “is to put it all over those -other box artists. That’s our line, Dud. We’ve got to spring you as a -startling phenom! Yes, sir, that’s the game!” - -“That’s all well enough, Jimmy, but suppose I can’t pitch a little bit -when the time comes?” - -“By Ginger, you’ve got to! Look here, you’re wasting time. You ought -to be at it every day. You ought to get down in the cage in the gym -and practice. What time is it now? Nearly six, eh? Too late today, -then. But tomorrow we’ll put in a half-hour, and the next day, too, and -right along until they call candidates. I’ll catch you. I’ll borrow a -mitt somewhere. It’ll be good fun, too. Practice for both of us. Great -scheme, eh?” - -“Do you mind?” asked Dud eagerly. - -“Love to! We’ve got a week yet and you ought to be able to get a lot -of practice in a week. That’s settled, then. But we mustn’t forget -the――er――the social side of the campaign. So let’s see.” Jimmy -bent over his list again. “Quinn, check. Milford――had him before. -Forbes――――” - -The second visit to Hugh Ordway’s study came off right on schedule, -nine days after the first call, but on this occasion Dud and Jimmy -found the room jammed from door to windows with fellows and a loud -and even violent argument going on. Their appearance went practically -unnoticed and they found seats with some difficulty and became for a -while silent listeners. The argument proved to be concerned with the -election the evening before of one Starling Meyer as captain of the -Hockey Team. The hockey team had just finished a disastrous season, -ending with a second defeat by Grafton’s ancient rival, Mount Morris. -Lack of hard ice had aided in the team’s demoralization, but besides -that things had gone badly from start to finish, and there were many -who credited the afore-mentioned Meyer with having been largely to -blame. “Pop” Driver, who played right guard on the eleven and was -normally good-natured to a fault, expressed the views of the anti-Meyer -faction. - -“Meyer,” Pop was saying, “has caused more trouble all the winter than -he’s worth. Everything that Yetter’s wanted to do one way, Star’s -insisted on doing another. You fellows know that, all of you. Look at -the way they changed the style of play in the middle of the season. -Yetter started out playing four men on defense and it worked all right. -Then Star got to saying that we weren’t scoring enough points and -that the four-men-back business was all wrong. He grouched and sulked -about it until Yetter gave in to him. After that we got licked right -along, with one or two exceptions, and finally Yetter went back to the -old style again, and Star threatened to quit and there was the dickens -to pay for awhile. Star’s simply no use unless he can be the whole -shooting-match.” - -“Well, they’ve made him captain,” said Jim Quinn, football manager, “so -now he can show what he knows.” - -“There’s no sense in blaming everything on Star Meyer,” declared Ned -Musgrave. “Yetter’s a good chap, but he hadn’t any business being -captain. There’s where the whole trouble began. If Yetter――――” - -“Warren would have been all right,” said Bert Winslow, “if Star had -let him alone. But Star hates to see anyone else have any say about -anything. He’s a peach of a hockey player, I’ll grant you that, but -he’s a peach of a trouble-maker, too. And I’ll bet you anything things -will be in a worse mess next year than they were this.” - -“Why didn’t they elect Gus Weston?” asked Roy Dresser. “Gus would have -made a dandy leader.” - -“Because Star pulled all the strings he could,” answered Pop, “and -scared the fellows into voting for him.” - -“I happen to know, Pop,” interposed Musgrave warmly, “that more than -three-fourths of the team wanted Star for captain long before election. -You might as well be fair to him, Pop. Give him a show. Don’t convict a -fellow before he’s tried, I say!” - -“All right, Ned,” answered Pop good-naturedly. “We’ll let him have his -trial. Maybe you’re right, too. Star may make a better captain than he -did a first lieutenant. Let’s hope so. I won’t be here to see, though.” - -“What makes you think so?” inquired Nick Blake maliciously, raising a -laugh at Driver’s expense. Pop, as he himself put it, was doing the -four-year course in five, and there was always some doubt as to his -getting through in five. Pop grinned now and shook his head. - -“They’ll give me my diploma to get rid of me, Nick,” he said. - -Jimmy, who had remained quiescent until now, took advantage of a -momentary lull in the discussion and chuckled. Pop, beside him, turned -inquiringly. “What’s on your mind, Jimmy?” he inquired. - -“I was just thinking of something Dud got off awhile ago,” replied -Jimmy, still visibly amused. Dud threw an entreating look at him, but -Jimmy pretended not to see it. - -“Dud who?” asked Pop. - -“Dud Baker, over here.” Jimmy’s glance indicated his friend. “We -were talking about the hockey team losing so many games one day and -Dud said he guessed the trouble with them”――Jimmy had managed to -gain the attention of the room by now――“was that they were weak from -Star-vation!” - -Dud looked anything but like the author of the bonmot at that moment, -but the audience laughed, even Ned Musgrave, and Jimmy credited himself -with a bull’s-eye. - -“The pun,” observed Nick Blake gravely, “is considered the lowest form -of humor.” - -“I think that’s mighty clever,” exclaimed Hugh. “You’re hipped because -you didn’t think of it yourself, Nick.” - -“Dry up, ’Ighness! I was about to say when you so rudely interrupted -that it is, of course, necessary to consider one’s audience, and that, -having the mentality of the audience in mind, Baker’s joke may be -considered clever, even brilliant. For my part――――” - -“Choke him, somebody,” said Bert. “After all, say what you like about -Star, you’ve got to acknowledge that there’s much to ad-Meyer about――――” - -But Nick’s groan of anguish drowned the rest, and Dresser, pretending -disgust, arose to depart, setting the example for several others. -Jimmy, fearing that Dud’s gloomy silence might undo the effect created -by the joke, thought the moment a good one for retiring and led his -chum away. Outside, Dud remonstrated again. - -“I wish you wouldn’t, Jimmy,” he said. “I feel such an awful fool when -you spring those jokes and tell fellows I made ’em. They must know I -didn’t!” - -“Why? You do say things as good as that, don’t you? When there’s no one -but me around, I mean.” - -“I don’t know. Maybe. I didn’t think that was awfully funny, anyway, -Jimmy.” - -Jimmy chuckled. “I do. And the others did. Cheer up, Dud. I’ll make a -celebrity of you in spite of yourself!” - -Later, back in Number 29 Lothrop, Bert Winslow laughed suddenly while -he was getting ready for bed and Hugh, hearing, called across from his -own bedroom. - -“What’s the joke, Bert?” - -“I was thinking of the one Jimmy Logan sprung; about the hockey team -being weak from Star-vation. It isn’t so bad, eh?” - -“Rather clever, but it was that chap Baker who said it, wasn’t it?” - -“I guess so. But look here,” continued Bert, appearing in his doorway -in the course of a struggle with his collar, “why is it Baker never -gets off any of those things himself? It’s always Jimmy Logan who -springs ’em. All Baker does is to sit and look glum. If he’s so -all-fired clever why doesn’t he say something once in a while? I think -he’s a bit of a pill.” - -“He’s not so bad, I fancy,” replied Hugh. “Maybe you have to know him. -Some chaps are like that, if you know what I mean.” - -“Yes, but――――” Bert’s voice died out until he had at last wrenched the -refractory collar from his neck. Then: “Here’s another funny thing, -Hugh,” he said. “Jimmy lugs that fellow around every place with him; -sort of butts in with him everywhere. You’d think Jimmy was a――a -nurse-maid or something. Looks to me as if he was trying to introduce -his young friend into Society. I wouldn’t care a bit if he forgot to -bring him up here the next time.” - -“What have you got against him?” inquired Hugh. - -“Nothing much. He’s only a lower middler, though, and lower middlers -ought to keep to their own set. Besides, look at the cheek of the kid! -Going to try for pitcher on the first! What do you know about that?” - -“But if he’s really any good at it,” began the other. - -“How could he be? He can’t be more than fifteen, I guess.” - -“You were young once yourself, old chap.” - -“Yes, but I didn’t try to pitch on the first team,” grumbled Bert. -“He’s too fresh.” - -“I’ll tell you just what’s the matter with him,” said Hugh, appearing -in the study in a suit of pink-striped pajamas. “He’s shy, Bert.” - -“Shy! And going out for the first nine!” - -“I know it doesn’t look so,” laughed Hugh, “but that’s just what his -trouble is, and I rather fancy that Logan, out of pure kindness, is -trying to bring him out, if you know what――――” - -“Pure kindness!” scoffed Bert. “Jimmy’s kind enough, I guess, but if -that’s his game you can bet all you’ve got that he’s doing it for a -lark. I know Jimmy!” - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -A CHANCE MEETING - - -Two days after the visit to Hugh Ordway’s room Jimmy Logan’s joke -which he had attributed to Dud bore unexpected fruit. The remark -had tickled the fellows who had heard it and consequently they very -promptly repeated it, with the natural result that within twenty-four -hours it got around to Starling Meyer himself. Star, as he was -generally called, was a large, good-looking boy of seventeen, well -supplied with self-conceit. He was a rattling good hockey player, -undoubtedly the best in school, and a fair performer with the second -nine in the outfield. There his athletic prowess ended, for he -considered――or pretended to consider――track sports unimportant and -football unscientific. He was a clever student and stood high in -class, and was, in consequence, rather a favorite with the faculty. -As a member of the Forum Society his activities were critical rather -than constructive, for he took no part in the debates beyond attending -them and pointing out the deficiencies of the debaters in a superior -manner. Most fellows liked him, especially those who were not clever -in the lines he affected, and even those who saw through his poses and -couldn’t stand his conceit accorded him honor for his brilliancy in -class-room and on the ice. Although Star roomed next door to Dud, the -latter knew him only as he knew three-fourths of the students, that is, -to nod to on passing. Once or twice, since they had both been rather -unimportant members of the second baseball team last year, they had -spoken. But beyond that they were strangers, and so when, two days -after that visit to 29 Lothrop, Star Meyer stopped Dud in front of Trow -by the simple but effective method of seizing him by the arm, Dud was -somewhat surprised. Star was scowling and Dud didn’t need more than -one glance at his face to realize that he was angry. Even when angry, -however, Star didn’t allow himself to forget his pose of contemptuous -superiority, and now when he spoke he managed a one-sided smile -designed to remind Dud of the honor being done him. - -“Baker, you’re a remarkably fresh young kid,” began Star, “and some day -that mouth of yours is going to get you into a heap of trouble. Ever -think of that?” - -Dud, puzzled, moved restively in the bigger boy’s grasp but failed to -get free. “I don’t know what you mean, Meyer,” he protested. - -“Yes, you do. What’s the good of lying? After this you leave my name -out of your funny jokes; hear?” - -“I don’t know what――――” began Dud again. Then recollection of Jimmy’s -bon-mot came to him and he flushed. - -“The next time I’ll kick you from here to the river,” said Star in a -quietly venomous tone. “I’d do it now for a couple of buttons, too. You -leave my name strictly alone, Baker, after this. Understand me?” - -“Yes, but honest, Meyer, I didn’t say――――” Then, however, Dud had to -stop, for, although innocent, to insist on the fact would put the blame -on Jimmy. He dropped his eyes. “All right,” he muttered. - -Somehow that phrase seemed to add fresh fuel to Star’s smoldering -anger, for he took a fresh and very painful grip on Dud’s arm and said: -“All right, is it? Well, it isn’t all right, kid! You’re a sneaky -little bounder, that’s what you are! Saying smart-aleck things and then -trying to lie out of it! Don’t you ever mention my name again. If you -do I’ll get you and you won’t forget it in a hurry. Now you beat it!” - -[Illustration: “‘You’re a sneaky little bounder, that’s what you are!’”] - -With a sudden wrench at the captive arm, Star spun Dud around and aimed -a kick at him. Fortunately, a premonition of what was happening -caused Dud to jump aside and Star’s foot missed its goal. Dud, angry -himself now, turned with clenched fists and flashing eyes. But the -situation was distinctly hopeless. Star topped him by a head and Dud -was suddenly conscious of his own physical inferiority. Still he -might have tried conclusions had it not been for the smile of haughty -contempt on the other’s countenance. Somehow that smile was too much. -It seemed to say: “What, you dare to show disrespect to _me_? Begone, -impious mortal!” Dud’s fingers straightened again, he gulped down his -resentment, stole a doubtful glance at a group of fellows who were -looking on curiously from the dormitory steps and walked away, trying -his best to appear dignified and unconcerned but secretly feeling like -a whipped cur. Later, when he recounted the episode to Jimmy the latter -took him to task vigorously. - -“Why didn’t you tell him you didn’t say it? I’m not afraid of the big -fraud!” - -“Considering you’d told everyone that I had said it――――” - -“Yes, that’s so.” Jimmy frowned mightily. “Well, then, why didn’t you -light into him? Don’t you see that the fellows who were watching you -will think you were afraid of him?” - -“I wanted to, but――but somehow he looked so――so sort of _superior_――――” - -“Yah! That’s Star’s best bluff! Bet you anything if you’d hit him just -one little tap on the nose he’d have run! Hang it, Dud, you’ve got to -play up, boy! Here I am making you out a regular feller, and the first -chance you get to――to put yourself in the lime-light you fall down! -Why, you had the finest sort of an opportunity to distinguish yourself! -Think what it would have meant to you, Dud! Fellows would have said: -‘What do you know about young Baker licking Star Meyer right in front -of Trow this morning? Had it all over him, they say! Beat him something -brutal! Some class to that kid, eh?’ That’s the way they’d have talked -you up. Now you’ve gone and――――” - -“Don’t be an ass,” begged Dud with spirit. “You know plaguey well I -couldn’t lick Star. He’s six inches taller than I am, and he’s at least -seventeen years old, and he’s――he’s stronger――――” - -“Son, when you get in a row with another chap,” replied Jimmy -emphatically, “don’t you stop to figure out how much bigger or stronger -he is. You jump in and get the first lick at him. You’ll be surprised -to find what a lot of inches that first whack takes off the other chap! -What you should have done――――” - -“Well, I didn’t,” said Dud shortly. “You wouldn’t have, either, I -guess.” - -Jimmy grinned. “Never mind what I’d have done, Dud. I’m not making a -name for myself. I’m not――――” - -“Neither am I. You are. And I’m getting sick of it. It’s no use, -anyway. Let’s drop it.” - -“Drop nothing,” replied Jimmy vigorously. “We’re getting on famously. -Why――――” - -“You’ve just said I’ve queered myself!” - -“I said you’d missed a chance to make a hit. So you have. But we can -fix that all right. Those fellows who saw it will talk, I guess, but we -can talk too. Who were they?” - -“I don’t know. Stiles was one, though.” - -“The sweetest little gossip in school,” commented Jimmy. “All right, -Dud, you leave it to me. Your Uncle James will fix it all hunky for -you. You sit tight and――yes, that’s the game! Dud, you must go around -looking very dignified for a couple of days.” - -“Rot!” - -“I mean it. You must make fellows think that you resisted a great -temptation and that it has――er――has sobered you. Get me?” - -“What temptation?” asked Dud, puzzled. - -“Why, the temptation to lose your temper and beat Star up, of course,” -explained Jimmy patiently. “That’s our line, don’t you see? It was only -by――by superhuman control that you manfully resisted the impulse to -fell him to the ground! Great stuff, what? You just wait till I tell -it!” - -“Jimmy, for the love of lemons don’t start anything else! Every time -you get to talking you put me in a hole. You’ve got fellows thinking -I’m a wit, and they all look at me in a funny sort of a way as if they -were waiting for me to spring something bright, and I get tongue-tied -and can’t think of a thing to say. And you’re telling it around that -I’m going to be a wonderful pitcher, too. They don’t believe that, of -course, but it makes me look silly. And now you want to make me out -a――a scrapper――――” - -“Not at all, not at all! Star resented your remark about him and spoke -insultingly to you. You gave him a beautiful calling down and he didn’t -dare talk back. Then, when your back was turned, he tried to kick you, -and you, stifling your――er――your natural and excusable indignation, -kept your temper wonderfully and walked superbly away. All through the -encounter your dignity was sublime!” - -Dud groaned. “You’ll simply make me out an awful ass and fellows will -laugh at you――and me. I wish you wouldn’t, Jimmy!” - -“That remark merely shows how little you appreciate my powers of -diplomacy,” replied the other in tones of sorrowful resignation. “But -never mind. I shall continue to do my best for you, Dud, even though -my efforts are unappreciated, misunderstood. Leave it all to me, my -young friend. Appear very dignified and――and aloof. Let’s see you look -aloof, Dud.” - -Dud only looked disgusted. - -“Not a bit like it,” resumed the other cheerfully. “More like this. Get -it? Sort of hinting at a secret sorrow or――no, that’s not exactly the -idea, either. You want to look like the hero in the second act of the -play, when everyone thinks he stole the jewels and the heroine spurns -him. He knows that he’s innocent, you see, and knows that the audience -will know it in the last act. So he just looks disdainful and a bit sad -and sort of moons around by himself and smokes a good deal to salve his -sorrow――――” - -“I can’t smoke,” interrupted Dud practically. “They won’t let me, and I -don’t like it anyway.” - -Jimmy waved his hand airily. “You get the idea, though, Dud. ‘Too proud -to fight’ is your line, old chap. Now shut up and let me think.” - -Jimmy’s thinking resulted in action. That afternoon about four he might -have been observed lingering idly in front of School Hall, hands in -pockets, whistling tunelessly, evidently quite at a loose end. Nick -Blake tried to entice him up to Lit to play pool, Gus Weston suggested -the joys of a trip to the village for hot soda and Pete Gordon strove -to lure him to his room. Jimmy resisted heroically and was left to his -devices. It was a particularly disagreeable afternoon, with a hard -wind freezing the pools along the walk, and Jimmy from time to time -glanced impatiently at the big doors behind him. But it was nearly the -half-hour before they finally opened again to emit Ned Stiles. Warned -by the creaking of the portal, Jimmy instantly assumed the appearance -of one who, passing, has his attention attracted by the sound of an -opening door. This in the face of the fact that he had been all along -aware that Stiles, in trouble with Mr. Gibbs, the history instructor, -had been having an after-school séance with “Gusty” in a classroom. -Stiles was an upper middler, seventeen years old, an uninteresting and -rather sycophantic youth whom Jimmy secretly disliked very much. Stiles -suspected the fact and was consequently somewhat surprised when Jimmy, -after nodding briefly, halted and awaited him at the foot of the steps. - -“Hello, Stiles. Rotten day, isn’t it? Seen Guy Murtha lately?” - -Stiles shook his head, changing his books from one elbow to the other -in order to reach his handkerchief and blow a very red nose. Stiles -always had a cold in winter and snuffled from October to April. - -“Can’t find him anywhere,” continued Jimmy in preoccupied tones, -accommodating his steps to those of the other boy and continuing on -toward Trow. “Star Meyer said he thought he’d gone to the village. I -want to see him awfully.” - -“I haven’t seen him all day, I guess,” said Stiles. He was hoping -that some of the fellows would look from their windows and see him -hob-nobbing with Jimmy. - -“Well, I guess I can get him at supper,” said the latter. Then he -chuckled, and, in response to Stiles’ unspoken question, explained, “I -was thinking of Star. He hasn’t got over it yet, I guess. Grumpy as -anything he was.” - -“Got over what?” asked Stiles eagerly. - -“Didn’t you hear about it?” Jimmy looked at him incredulously. “Why, -Dud Baker gave him an awful calling down this morning and Star took it -like a lamb. Say, that kid certainly has got spunk!” - -Stiles viewed the other suspiciously, but Jimmy’s countenance expressed -truth and quiet amusement. Stiles grunted. Then he said “Huh!” -doubtfully. - -“Star was mad as a hornet about something Dud said; some joke or other, -you know.” - -Stiles nodded. “Yes, about the hockey team dying of Star-vation.” - -“Was that it? Well, anyway, he got after Dud and wanted Dud to -apologize and Dud told him to chase himself, that it was all true and -that every fellow in school knew it, and a lot more. And Star was mad -enough to bite! Think of Dud getting away with it!” - -“I saw it,” said Stiles, “but it didn’t look――just like that to me. -Star had Baker by the arm and it looked like he was reading the riot -act to him. And then he tried to kick him and Baker beat it.” - -“Good thing for Star he did, then,” said Jimmy knowingly. “I’d hate to -stand up to Dud Baker when he was riled!” - -“I didn’t know he was――that sort,” said Stiles interestedly. They had -reached the entrance to Trow and paused at the door. - -“Dud Baker? Didn’t you ever hear why he left the school he was at -before he came here?” - -Stiles shook his head. - -“Well, it isn’t a nice story to tell, although it wasn’t all Dud’s -fault. I heard it from a fellow who was there and saw it. In fact, he -helped to carry the other fellow to his room. He was three years older -than Dud and a whole head taller, too, they say. But Dud isn’t the sort -of fellow you can bully. Or he wasn’t. Nowadays Dud will stand a lot. -I guess after that fracas he learned to keep his temper. The other -fellow was in bed a month. It was such a close shave for him that it -sort of sobered Dud up and he will go most any length now to keep from -scrapping. He’s got an awful punch, they say.” - -Stiles looked vastly amazed, but Jimmy, glancing from the corners of -his eyes, saw to his satisfaction that there was no incredulity in the -amazement. Stiles had swallowed the yarn whole and was gasping for -more. But Jimmy knew the value of silence. - -“Well, I guess I’ll run over to Lothrop. If you should see Guy you -might tell him I’m looking for him. So long.” - -“But, look here, Logan,” called Stiles eagerly; “what was it Baker said -to Star, eh?” - -“Oh, I don’t know just what he told him, but it was aplenty. And Star -took it, too!” - -“But he――he kicked Baker! We saw him!” - -“Never!” replied Jimmy vehemently. “He may have kicked _at_ him. In -fact, some fellow told me he did aim a kick at Dud when Dud’s back was -turned. Said Dud turned like a tiger on him then and he thought sure -it was all up with Star. But Dud controlled himself and walked quietly -away. Gee, I couldn’t have done that, Stiles! It must have been great -to see, wasn’t it?” - -“Why――er――yes, only――――” Stiles paused. “It looked to us as if Baker -was scared, Logan. Of course he wasn’t, but that’s what it looked like. -I didn’t know he was such a scrapper.” - -“Who, Dud?” Jimmy spread his hands expressively. “Take my advice, old -man, and don’t let him hear you say he looked scared, though maybe he -wouldn’t touch you. And then again he might lose control of that temper -of his and―――― Better not risk it, I guess.” - -“I wouldn’t think of it,” said Stiles earnestly. “I didn’t really think -he was scared, you know; only some of the other fellows who saw it said -it _looked_ that way. Don’t tell Dud Baker I said that, will you?” - -“Me? No indeed. In fact, I wouldn’t mention the thing to him at any -price. He’s awfully touchy, you see, and ever since this morning he’s -been sort of like a bear with a sore head. I guess there’s times when -he wishes he’d forgotten himself and let fly! Well, so long!” - -Jimmy walked on toward Lothrop and Ned Stiles plunged through the -door and hurried down the corridor to leave his books and then spread -his news to all who would hearken to it. And Jimmy, approaching the -first entrance to Lothrop Hall, winked gravely at the ornamental brass -knocker. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -DUD LOSES HIS TEMPER - - -“Winter,” observed Jimmy very disgustedly one morning toward the last -of February, “is sure ‘lingering in the lap of spring,’ as the poet -hath it. Between you and me, Dud, I guess winter’s fallen asleep there! -Here it is almost March and everything’s still covered up with snow or -ice. Or water,” he added a second later, his gaze falling to the pools -of melting snow that lay in the hollows of the campus. - -The windows were wide open and the air that came in, while chill and -damp, still, somehow, held a suggestion――or perhaps a faint promise――of -spring. But the sky was leaden, between the walks the sod was hidden -under patches of dirty snow or ice that had begun to melt a little and -the whole morning world had a tired and bedraggled look. Jimmy, still -attired in pajamas, shivered and turned disapprovingly away. Then his -gaze fell on Dud and the disapproval increased, for Dud, half awake a -moment before, had nestled down on the rumpled pillow again and was -sleeping peacefully. Jimmy was righteously indignant. - -“Wake up, you sluggard!” he bawled, pulling the clothes from the other. -“Here I’ve been talking to you for five minutes, saying perfectly -gorgeous things, and you haven’t heard a word! Get up, you lazy loafer, -and hear the birdies sing――or sneeze! Come out of there!” - -Dud came out, rather in a heap, blinking confusedly, and strove to pull -the clothes from the bed to his shrinking form on the floor. But Jimmy -was merciless, and Dud was forced to arise grumblingly and rub his -sleepy eyes. - -“Wh――what time is it?” he yawned. - -“Never mind what time it is,” replied Jimmy severely. “It’s time you -were up and doing――――” - -“‘With a heart for any fate,’” murmured Dud poetically if sleepily. -“What day is it?” - -“Great Jumpin’ Jehosophat!” exclaimed Jimmy. “He doesn’t even know -the date! It’s a Tuesday, darling, and the month’s February, and the -year――――” - -“Then it’s today practice begins,” said Dud. “I knew there was -something.” He arose and sought his bath robe. “I’ll bet it’s awfully -early. I don’t hear anyone up.” - -“You hear me up,” responded his roommate. “As a matter of fact, I don’t -know just what time it is, because you forgot to wind the clock and my -watch has stopped and I couldn’t find yours. But it must be long after -six――――” - -“Six!” grunted Dud in deep disgust. “What do you go pulling me out of -bed at six for? I’m going back again!” - -“I said it was long after six. Where’s your watch? Have a look at it.” - -Dud discovered that article at last dangling over the back of a chair, -it having escaped from a pocket, and in more mollified tones informed -Jimmy that it was twenty to seven. In the corridor a door opened and -slippered feet pattered toward the bathroom. Jimmy set his watch and -the clock, found his own robe and then, pausing at the door, asked -solicitously: - -“How’s the old arm, Dud?” - -“Sore,” was the answer. Dud bent it and flexed it――it was his right -one――and observed it scowlingly. “It’s lame all the way to the -shoulder. _Ouch!_ And the shoulder’s lame, too!” - -“Too bad,” said Jimmy. “I was afraid you might overdo it, Dud.” - -“Well, whose silly idea was it, anyway?” demanded Dud indignantly. “Who -suggested practicing every day, I’d just like to know?” - -“I did, of course, but I didn’t tell you to do too much of it and lame -yourself, did I? What you’ve gone and done, Dud, is catch cold in it. -You ought to be mighty careful that way. You ought――――” - -“Oh, dry up,” grumbled Dud. “You make me tired. If you know so pesky -much about it, why didn’t you say something before? I wouldn’t have -caught cold in it if you hadn’t insisted on slopping around in that -rink yesterday with the water up to your ankles! No wonder I caught -cold!” - -“Well, you’ll have to lay off a few days, old chap. It’ll be all right -again, I guess.” - -“That’s fine, isn’t it, when I’ve got to report for practice this -afternoon?” - -“You won’t have to pitch, though,” responded Jimmy consolingly. “Just -do the setting-up stuff. Come on and get your bath.” - -“I don’t want any bath,” muttered Dud, still feeling of his pitching -arm with cautious fingers. “You go ahead.” - -“Dud,” said the other severely, “you’ve got a grouch. You must have got -out of bed the wrong way.” - -“I did, when you pulled me out,” was the pointed reply. “And who -wouldn’t have a grouch, I’d like to know? I’ll have a fat chance to do -any pitching, won’t I?” - -“You can tell ’em you lamed yourself, can’t you? Cheer up, Dud, and -come ahead before the crowd gathers. I’ll rub it for you when we get -back.” - -“Huh! I guess that’s what’s the matter with it now. You nearly killed -me last night with your old massaging, as you called it.” - -“It may hurt a little,” said Jimmy earnestly, “but it’s awfully good -for you. It’s regular Swedish stuff, Dud. I learned it from a chap at -home who works in the gym. We ought to have some liniment, though. I -wonder if that liquid dentifrice stuff of yours would do.” - -“I’ll do my own rubbing, thanks,” replied the other ungraciously. “If -it hadn’t been for you――――” - -“Help!” wailed Jimmy, hurrying through the door. Then came the sound -of quick scurrying in the corridor, and Dud, still mooning on the -side of the bed, guessed that Jimmy and some other chap were racing -for a bathtub. Dud hoped the other fellow would win. He continued to -explore the lamed muscles of his arm for several minutes, finding a -grim satisfaction in the twinges of pain he evoked. Finally, however, -he slung the cords of his bath-robe together and dejectedly followed -the others down the corridor. As luck would have it, three other youths -were awaiting their turns at the tubs, while Starling Meyer reached the -washroom at the same moment Dud did. Star fixed a haughty and scornful -glare on the younger boy. - -“I’m ahead of you,” he announced briefly. - -Most any other time Dud would have acquiesced without a murmur, but -this morning his peevishness made him combative and courageous. “Like -fun you are,” he replied scowlingly. - -A perceptible thrill went through the other members of the waiting -group. Dud Baker and Star Meyer were going to have a scrap! They had -heard of Dud’s fighting reputation, and now they were to witness an -example of that youth’s quality! They almost held their breaths in the -excitement, their round eyes traveling from Star to Dud and back again -expectantly. Star frowned portentously. - -“We’ll see,” he remarked coldly. - -“You bet we’ll see,” agreed Dud, a strange recklessness taking -possession of him. Somehow this morning Star didn’t look nearly so -formidable, perhaps because his eyes were still heavy with sleep or -because the flaming red bath-robe in which he was enveloped was so -palpable an affront to good taste. Star stared an instant in perplexed -surprise and then deliberately turned his gaze away from Dud’s -pugnacious countenance, indicating contempt and scorn and several -other things that riled Dud still further. From the cubicles holding -the tubs came the rush and splash of water and the voices of the -bathers. No healthy boy ever bathed silently, and the four in the tubs -were, judging from the sounds, remarkably robust! Jimmy was chanting -a football pæan at the top of his lungs, another boy was singing -something remarkably tuneless and repetitional and the other two were -exchanging badinage across the partition at the tops of their voices. - -After a moment one of the doors opened, a very pink-hued youth emerged -and it was the turn of one of the interested trio. Oddly enough -the latter showed a strange disinclination to avail himself of his -prerogative. Instead he offered in a whisper to let one of the others -precede him. But the reply was a shake of the head, the boy not even -removing his fascinated gaze from Dud. - -There was nothing for it but to go then, and the youth went, -disappearing behind the door most reluctantly. Star moved impatiently -from one foot to the other. “You fellows in there, get a move on,” he -advised loudly. “We’ve been waiting here ten minutes.” - -“Keep on waiting, old chap,” replied Jimmy, interrupting his song. -“Don’t know who you are, but you’re an awful fibber. I say, Dud, are -you there?” - -“Yes,” growled Dud. - -“Hand me a piece of soap from the stand, will you?” - -Dud wanted to say no, but thought better of it and ungraciously crossed -the washroom and secured a cake of soap. “Catch,” he called. - -“Stop it!” squealed Jimmy. “Don’t chuck! Here, pass it in.” The door -opened a bit and Jimmy’s face appeared in the slit. “Squeeze in,” he -whispered. “I’m through.” - -Dud thrust the door open and entered, and Jimmy quickly bolted it -again. “Who’s out there?” he whispered. But before Dud could inform him -Star Meyer’s voice was raised in indignant protest. - -“You can’t do that, Logan! It isn’t Baker’s turn. There are three of us -ahead of him. You come out of there, Baker!” - -“I only took half a bath, Star,” replied Jimmy amiably. “I’m letting -Dud have the other half.” - -“Yes, you are! No funny business now! Here, Benson, it’s your turn. Go -ahead in. They can’t do that.” - -Benson, a slim, unaggressive youth, stared at Star in alarm. “I――I’m in -no hurry, thanks, Meyer. I――I’d just as lief wait, thanks.” - -“Then you, whatever your name is, it’s your tub!” - -The second boy shook his head and grinned. “I don’t like that one,” he -replied diplomatically. “The plug leaks. I’ll wait.” - -Star scowled and looked doubtfully at the closed door. For some reason -intense quiet prevailed. Not a splash was heard. “Then if you fellows -won’t take it,” he said resolutely, “it’s my turn. That’s my tub, -Baker. You’d better come out of there.” - -“I’ll be out when I’ve had my bath,” was the truculent reply, followed -by a sound very much like that caused by a hand descending approvingly -on a bare shoulder. Star strode across and rattled the door, but the -only response was the gurgling of water as the plug was withdrawn. - -“I’ll report you to Mr. Gibbs,” announced Star loftily. “You’re -supposed to take your turn. You’d better let me in there.” - -Just then the door opened and Jimmy came out. Star drew back a step and -Dud quickly shot the bolt again. Jimmy smiled sweetly and carelessly -at Star. “Don’t be a grouch, old man,” he said. “There’s lots of water -yet.” - -Star fell back on his haughty attitude and observed Jimmy as from -Olympian heights. Jimmy chuckled. “Great stuff, Star,” he approved. -Then he nodded affably to the round-eyed Benson and took himself -gracefully from sight. At that moment another cubicle emptied itself of -its occupant and Star, swallowing his wrath, absent-mindedly entered -it, leaving the two waiting youths to scowl blankly at the closed -door. After a moment Benson ejaculated in a careful whisper: “_Hog!_” -The other boy nodded agreement. “I thought he and Baker were going to -scrap,” he confided sotto voce. “Gee, I wish they had. And I wish -Baker had done him up! He’s just a big bluff, that’s what he is!” From -the further cubicle came the sound of song. Dud was regaining his -temper. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -FIRST PRACTICE - - -There was a large attendance at half-past three that afternoon in the -baseball cage. Some forty-odd candidates, most of them last year’s -first and second team members, had assembled for work, while fully as -many others were on hand to watch proceedings. Not that anything very -exciting promised, but it was a raw, uncomfortable sort of day outside -and fellows were glad of any event that offered a half hour’s mild -amusement. The cage was not a very ambitious affair, for it had been -an after-thought and had been built after the building was erected and -at a sacrifice of one of the two bowling alleys, which, thrown into -the space formerly occupied by a storeroom, supplied area for a modest -cage. It was large enough to throw at base distance in and to hold -batting practice in if the batter didn’t attempt anything more than a -tap. Also, of course, it made an excellent place for the pitchers to -limber up. - -Dud and Jimmy went over to the gymnasium together, for the latter had -finally decided to try his luck with the first nine. When, having got -into his gymnasium suit, Dud looked around for Jimmy, he was rather -disconcerted to find himself confronting Starling Meyer across the -bench. Dud didn’t feel so brave today, and would have been just as -satisfied if he hadn’t run across the hockey star. But the latter -only glared in a haughtily disgusted manner and turned his back, and -Dud heaved a sigh of relief, not loud but fervent, and made his way -unobtrusively out of the locker-room. He was careful to nod or speak to -such fellows as he knew, although lots of times it took a good deal of -courage. He was obeying Jimmy’s directions, however. - -“Don’t wait for fellows to speak to you,” Jimmy had ordered. “Speak -first. Don’t act as if you were afraid they wouldn’t know you, either. -Just say, ‘Hello, Smith,’ sort of careless-like, or, if you don’t know -them fairly well, just nod and smile. Don’t grin, smile. Like this.” -And Jimmy turned the corners of his mouth up slightly and nodded his -head very briefly. “Get the idea! ‘I know who you are, but I don’t -recall the name.’ But don’t try that on the big fellows like――well, -like Murtha and Trafford and those chaps. You want to be polite to -them, sort of cordial, too. Only don’t let them think you’re trying to -swipe.” - -“Which I am,” Dud had interpolated a trifle bitterly. - -“Not at all! You’re merely being――er――tactful. There’s a difference. -Tact and diplomacy are great things, Dud. You want to practice ’em.” - -“Toadying, I call it!” - -“Tut, tut! Nothing like it. Call it――call it a studied effort to -please!” - -“Call it what you like,” Dud had replied somberly. “It’s poor business.” - -“Some of our greatest citizens have been diplomats, Dud. Look at me!” - -Dud’s gaze picked out a number of baseball celebrities whom, under -Jimmy’s tutelage, he had come to know well enough to speak to. In every -case, if he found himself near enough to speak he spoke, or, failing -that, he nodded, trying to look quite at his ease and not succeeding -very well. Guy Murtha was there, of course, for Guy was this year’s -captain. He was eighteen, a tall, decidedly plain youth with so many -likable qualities that one soon forgot about his features. And Bert -Winslow and Nick Blake were talking together further on, and near by -were Ben Myatt and Pete Gordon and Nate Leddy. And Hugh Ordway was one -of a group the rest of whom Dud knew only by sight. Jimmy appeared from -somewhere and about that moment Mr. Sargent, the physical director and -baseball coach, came in with Tris Barnes, the manager. Mr. Sargent, -or “Pete,” as he was called, was short and square, with a beard and -mustache and a pair of restless brown eyes behind the big round lenses -of his spectacles. He had a nervous, impatient manner of speaking and -was quite likely, to the secret amusement and delight of the fellows, -to get his words twisted when the least bit excited. - -“All out of the cage, please, but team candidates,” was his order. -“Close that door, somebody. Better bolt it, Churchill. Now, fellows, -if you’ll kindly top stalking――ah――stop talking, we’ll get started. -Captain Murtha, want to say anything?” - -“I guess not, sir. There’ll be plenty of time to talk later on, -won’t there? I’d like to say, though, that we’re going to need more -candidates than are here today and I wish you fellows would try and -get others to come out. There’s no use waiting until we get outdoors, -for this work in the cage is very important and fellows who miss it -won’t stand much show. Our season begins pretty early this spring, a -week earlier than last year, and we haven’t any too much time to get -in shape. I’d like mighty well to see fully twenty more fellows here -tomorrow.” - -“Yes, yes; this is a very poor showing,” agreed Mr. Sargent. “Well, -we’ll make a start, fellows. We’re going to have setting-up work this -afternoon and for a few days. How’s that, Barnes? No, no dumb-bells -today, thanks. Just get in line, fellows, will you? About four rows -will do. That’s it. Now then, follow me, please. And keep your mind on -what you’re doing. One, two, three, four! Stretch the arms out as far -as they’ll go. All right. Now the wrists; twist! One, two, three, four, -five, six, seven, eight――keep it up! All right!” - -It soon became tiresome to Dud, for he hadn’t been in training and -the gymnasium work twice weekly had not been strenuous. It was, he -reflected, rather remarkable to find so many muscles that creaked -in unsuspected places! Almost in front of him, in the second row, -Star Meyer was going through the evolutions easily and gracefully -and untiringly, and with something of his usual haughty disdain for -anything not of his own devising. In gymnasium shirt and trunks Star -showed strong and muscular, and Dud felt a warm satisfaction over -the fact that he and Star had not come to blows that morning in the -bathroom! Star’s legs were things to admire as the muscles played over -them like whip-cords and Dud wished that he had paid a little more -attention to his physical condition during the past year or two. He -imagined that his own thin, elongated body must look strangely out of -place there with all those other well-conditioned ones. Further along, -where he could just be seen out of the corners of Dud’s eyes, stood -Jimmy, sturdy and stocky, loafing a bit when Mr. Sargent’s gaze was -not on him. Dud wanted to loaf, too, but didn’t dare. - -The calisthenics lasted less than a half-hour, by which time Dud was -not the only one breathing hard and perspiring freely, and then Barnes -set the candidates’ names down. When it was Dud’s turn to register -Star Meyer was nearly at his elbow, a fact which added to Dud’s -embarrassment. - -“Name?” asked the manager. - -“Dudley Baker, Upper Middle.” - -“Age, Baker?” - -“Fifteen.” - -“Experience?” - -“I was on the second nine last year.” - -“Position?” - -“P-pitcher, please.” - -Someone sniggered. It wasn’t Star, for Star never sniggered. It was too -low and common. Star only looked insultingly amused. Barnes looked a -little amused, too, although he tried not to. - -“All right, Baker. Get on the scales and let me know your weight -tomorrow. Don’t forget, please.” - -Dud, aware of more than one amused countenance, moved away and sought -the locker-room, conscious that his cheeks were very red. Jimmy, -already out of his gymnasium togs, noticed and frowned disapprovingly. - -“Why the blushes, Dud?” he asked severely. - -Dud muttered something evasive and passed on to his locker. But later -Jimmy wormed it out of him. Jimmy always could. And Jimmy frowned once -more. “We’ll have to do something with Star,” he said thoughtfully, -“something to make him have a little more respect for his betters. I -wonder――――” - -Dud laughed. “I thought wondering was my stunt, Jimmy.” - -“So it is. I don’t wonder, then. I――I merely speculate. Look here, Dud, -know what I think?” Dud shook his head hopelessly. “Well, then,” Jimmy -went on, “I think you’d better have a show-down with Star.” - -“What sort of a――a show-down?” faltered Dud. - -“I mean pick a quarrel with him and fight him. You see, Star has a good -deal of influence, and I’m afraid he’s been talking. One or two things -have reached me, you know. What we’d better do is make an impression on -him.” - -“Thanks!” - -“You’re not much of a slugger, are you?” Dud shook his head. “No, I -suppose not,” continued Jimmy thoughtfully. “Well, neither am I, but I -guess there are a few tricks I could teach you. Besides, I have a hunch -that Star isn’t any fonder of scrapping than you are. I wouldn’t be a -bit surprised if you could bluff him, Dud. Of course, I may be wrong, -but that’s my idea of him.” - -“It’s a fine idea,” said Dud sarcastically, “but suppose you’re wrong? -Then what?” - -“Why, then you’ll have to mix it up a bit,” replied the other quite -cheerfully. “But we won’t try it until we’ve got in shape some. We’d -ought to have a couple of pairs of light gloves. Know any fellow who -has any, Dud?” - -“No, I don’t,” answered the other emphatically. “And if you think I’m -going to stand up to Star Meyer and have him knock me around just -to――just to please you, you’re horribly mistaken. Nothing doing!” - -“To please me! I like that! It isn’t to please me, you silly chump; -it’s for your own good. Star is distinctly――distinctly inimical to your -interests, and――――” - -“Yes, and he’d be distinctly inimical to my nose,” interrupted Dud -warmly. “And I like my nose the way it is. You may not, but I do. I’m -not going to fight him, and that’s all there is to it!” - -Jimmy was plainly disappointed. “It seems the only way, though, Dud,” -he said pleadingly. “If you know any better way―――― And besides you’ve -got a reputation for slugging to keep up. What will fellows think if -you let Star sneer at you and don’t call him down?” - -“You had no business telling fellows I was a fighter,” said Dud. “You -didn’t consult me about that and I’m not responsible now for what they -think. I’m not a fighter and never was and never could be. I don’t know -anything about it. And――and I don’t want to.” - -Jimmy sighed and shrugged. “You’re extremely _difficile_, Dud,” he said -in a discouraged tone. “I plan things for you――――” - -“Plan things! I should say you did! You’re a bully little planner, -Jimmy, but I don’t like your plans. Think up something that won’t get -me killed, please!” - -“Piffle! What if Star did give you a black eye? You’d have the credit -of putting up a game fight and fellows would like you better. I tell -you, Dud, a fellow’s got to risk something now and then!” - -“You do the risking then,” replied the other a trifle sullenly. “I -don’t want any black eyes, thanks.” - -“Oh, all right then. Still, we’ve got to take Star down a peg or two, -Dud. But don’t you worry. I’ll fix my giant intellect on the problem. -Leave it all to me, old chap.” - -“Yes,” answered Dud bitterly, “and find myself all beaten up some fine -day! Look here, Jimmy, I guess this thing’s gone about far enough. -Let’s drop it now. I――I guess I don’t care so much about being a -‘regular feller’ as I did. It――it’s too plaguey strenuous!” - -“Give it up just when we’re beginning to show results?” cried Jimmy in -amazement. “Never! When I start a thing, Dud, I see it through. That’s -me, old chap. Having once set my hand to the plow――――” - -Dud groaned in despair. “Well, then,” he muttered, “I wish you’d go off -and plow somewhere else!” - -“Cheer up, Dud, the dawn is breaking!” Jimmy slapped him encouragingly -on the back. “We’ll make a regular feller of you yet!” - -“That’s all well enough, Jimmy, but what I want to know is this. What’s -Star Meyer going to do when he hears that I’m telling it around school -that he’s afraid of me? It’s a wonder to me that he hasn’t heard it -already!” - -Jimmy winked. “I sort of think he has, Dud,” he said softly. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -BEN MYATT ADVISES - - -If, however, Starling Meyer had heard Jimmy’s version of that encounter -with Dud, he certainly gave no sign. When he and Dud met, which was -frequently now that daily baseball practice was going on in the -cage, he either looked over Dud’s head or deigned him a fleeting and -disdainful glance. But Dud didn’t feel at all badly because he received -no more attention. In fact, he was extremely glad every time he looked -at Star and pondered on that youth’s wealth of muscle and length of -arm, and he hoped from the bottom of his heart that Star would keep -right on treating him with distant disdain――the more distant the better! - -Meanwhile Jimmy, being a firm believer in preparedness, had procured -two pairs of light-weight boxing gloves from different sources and Dud, -much against his inclination, was made to don a pair every day before -supper and do his best to master the rudiments of self-defense. I don’t -believe, just between you and me, that Jimmy knew a whole lot about -boxing, but at least he knew more than his friend did. Dud was the -veriest tyro and those first lessons, undertaken by Dud with no relish -and one might well say under compulsion, were strange affairs. With -the study table drawn back to the length of the green cord connecting -droplight and ceiling plug――the droplight met a natural fate during the -third lesson――an eight-foot “ring” was secured, and in this, with much -thudding of shoes and thumping of gloves, the two feinted and parried -and struck. The striking, though, was somewhat one-sided at first, -Jimmy being the striker and Dud the strikee, to coin a convenient word. -Anyone pausing outside the door of Number 19 might have heard, in spite -of the closed transom, a conversation calculated to arouse curiosity. - -“Watch your head now!... Well, I warned you, didn’t I?... Keep your -right in front of you! Don’t drop your arm like that or.... Now -lead! Quick! Oh, put some pep in it, Dud!... More like this; see?... -Feint with your right and come up quick with your left straight for -my chin!... Get it? Try it again.... That’s better, only you’re too -slow. You give it away beforehand. Keep your eyes on mine and don’t -look where you’re going to hit.... Sorry, Dud! Was it too hard?... You -had your guard down, you see.... Quicker on your feet, old chap! Keep -moving! Don’t get set or I’ll.... I just wanted to show you what would -happen, Dud. Don’t get mad about it. The only way to learn.... Good -one! You got me that time! Right on the nose! Bully work!...” - -After some half-dozen lessons Dud began to learn. And Jimmy, having -procured a paper-covered book in the village which was entitled “Boxing -Self-Taught,” studied it diligently and became more proficient. I -doubt that Jimmy, even when at his best, was what might be termed a -scientific boxer, and Dud never developed beyond the hammer-and-tongs -stage, but they got to fancying themselves quite a bit after a -fortnight or so and talked learnedly of “hooks” and “upper-cuts” and -“side-stepping” and other mysterious things. And by that time Dud -had become really interested and viewed Star Meyer with far less -awe. In fact, though I grieve to relate it, he even got to the point -where he speculated on what it would feel like to place his fist in -violent contact with Star’s supercilious nose! The conclusion that -he invariably arrived at was that the sensation would be distinctly -pleasurable! But much to Jimmy’s disappointment――and a little to Dud’s, -too, I fancy――Star offered the latter no possible excuse for doing such -a thing. - -“He’s afraid of you,” grieved Jimmy. “Isn’t that the limit? A big, -husky chap like him――――” - -“He,” corrected Dud. - -“――――Being afraid of a fellow six inches smaller,” continued the other, -superbly disregarding the interruption. “Wouldn’t it make you weary? -What we’ve got to do, Dud, is force a quarrel on him. There’s no use -waiting for him to start anything!” - -“Well, but why?” asked Dud doubtfully. “As long as he isn’t bothering -me――――” - -“He _is_ bothering you! He――he’s a thorn in your flesh!” - -“Oh!” said the other vaguely. “Is he?” - -“Of course he is! He’s talking, too. Some of the things he’s said have -got back to me.” - -“What?” asked Dud. - -“Never mind what. You wouldn’t want to hear ’em, I guess.” - -Dud laughed. “You’re making that up, Jimmy,” he charged. “You’re just -dying to get me into a scrap with him. I wouldn’t mind――much, although -I guess he’d lick me, but I don’t see any use in fighting him about -nothing. Of course, if he _did_ anything, or _said_ anything――――” - -“Haven’t I been telling you――――” - -“And I heard him say it,” added Dud hastily, “why, that would be -different.” - -“Oh, if you’re going to wait for him to knock you down!” - -“I’m not,” replied Dud indignantly, “but I can’t fight him for nothing -at all!” - -“Huh!” Jimmy viewed his chum gloomily. “I don’t see what use it is then -to go to all that trouble to learn to fight if――if you aren’t going to -make use of――of your knowledge. That’s an economical waste, Dud. And -waste is sinful.” - -“It isn’t a waste,” said Dud. “It’s a good thing to know how to defend -yourself. Besides, that boxing business has put my arm back in shape -for pitching. It feels great nowadays. Just feel of that muscle, Jimmy.” - -“Not bad,” decided the other, grudgingly. Then, more brightly: “Say, -you ought to be able to hand Star a peach of a wallop with that, Dud! -Well, all we can do is hope for the best. We don’t want to fight, but -if we have to――――” - -“We?” queried Dud. “I don’t see where you come into it! You’re always -talking about ‘we’ fighting Star Meyer, but it’s me――――” - -“I,” said Jimmy sweetly. - -“It’s I, then, who would have to do it. If you want Star licked so -plaguey much why don’t you do it yourself?” - -Jimmy considered a moment. “Well, say, that isn’t a bad idea,” he -replied at last. “Someone ought to do it, that’s sure! If you’re quite -certain you don’t mind――――” - -“I’m dead sure,” said Dud emphatically. - -“Then maybe――――” Jimmy felt of his arm muscles. “I’ll think it over,” -he concluded thoughtfully. - -Baseball practice had by this time really become baseball practice. -I mean by that that the period of dumb-bell exercises and setting-up -drills had passed and the candidates, reënforced by some dozen or so -late-comers, were passing and batting and learning the tricks of the -game. The battery candidates comprised Nate Leddy, Ben Myatt, Gus -Weston, Will Brunswick, Joe Kelly and Dud Baker, pitchers, and Pete -Gordon, Hal Cherry and Ed Brooks, catchers. Of the pitchers, Myatt was -last year’s star and a clever twirler, Leddy was a good man but not -so dependable. Weston had speed but little control, and the others -were still unknown quantities, except that both Kelly and Dud had -twirled a few times for the second nine the spring before. Pete Gordon -was the regular catcher and Brooks the second-choice man. Cherry was -a beginner who showed promise. At the end of the first two weeks of -indoor work, the battery candidates were given their first try-out one -afternoon at the conclusion of the regular practice, and Dud, somewhat -to his surprise, survived. Still, as Jimmy kindly pointed out to him -later, that didn’t mean much since it was the custom to keep all the -would-be pitchers until the team got out of doors. Nevertheless, Dud -was encouraged and did his level best to make good. Myatt, a big, -likable chap of eighteen or over, took a real interest in the efforts -of the younger members of the staff and was generous with advice and -instruction. One afternoon, shortly before the candidates got out-doors -for the first time, he took Dud in hand after practice. - -“Say, Baker,” Ben called as Dud was leaving the cage, “got time to -pitch me a few?” - -Dud, pulling his glove off, turned back. “Why, yes,” he answered. “Want -me to?” - -“Yes. Yell to Ed Brooks to lend me his mitt, will you?” A minute later -Ben took his place in front of the net and thumped the big mitten -encouragingly. “All right now, boy! Try a few easy ones. That’s nice. I -say, Baker, mind if I give you a hint or two?” - -“I’d be awfully glad if you would,” replied Dud eagerly. “I know I’m -not much good.” - -“Who says so?” - -“I do.” Dud smiled. - -But Ben shook his head reprovingly. “You ought to be the last one to -say it,” he announced gravely. “First thing you want to do, boy, is -stop tying yourself in a knot on your wind-up. You’ll never last nine -innings if you go through all that gymnastic stuff. What’s the big -idea?” - -“I don’t know,” faltered Dud. “That’s the way I’ve always done it, I -suppose.” - -“Well, I wouldn’t do it any more. You see if you can’t reach the -toe-plate without going through so many motions. Cut out that second -swing of yours, why don’t you? Here’s you.” Ben went through an -exaggerated imitation of Dud’s wind-up. “Too much work, see? If you had -a man on second, now, you couldn’t do half that, boy; he’d be sliding -into the plate before you were through. Get your body into it and stop -throwing your arm around. It’s the body that puts the speed into the -ball. You want to start easy and work up gradually until, when the ball -leaves your hand, you’re at the top of the pitch. The way you do it, -Baker, you get a lot of motion up and then lose it before you pitch. -And you tire yourself a lot. I couldn’t last five innings if I threw my -arms around like that. I hope you don’t mind my criticizing you, Baker.” - -Dud didn’t, and tried to say so, but his response was not much more -than a murmur. However, Ben went on cheerfully. - -“Just at first you won’t have the control you have now, I guess, but -after you’ve got on to the hang of it you’ll find you can pitch a lot -easier. Just try it, will you?” - -Dud’s first attempt was a complete failure, for he started unthinkingly -on that second swing, tried to stop it and got so confused that he -didn’t even let the ball out of his hand. Ben suggested getting used -to the wind-up before trying to pitch, and so Dud twirled and twisted a -number of times, uncomfortably conscious of the few loiterers watching -through the netting, and finally got so that he was able to reach the -moment of delivery without falling over his feet. But when he tried to -pitch a few straight balls into Ben Myatt’s mitten he discovered that -the change in his method had seemingly spoiled his direction, for more -than once Ben had to reach for a wide one or else scoop one off the -floor. - -“Don’t worry about that,” said Ben. “You’ll get your eye back again. -That’s enough for now, I guess. There’s one more thing I’d suggest, -though, Baker. You’re trying to pitch too many different things. You -were hooking them in and out and dropping them and trying to float -’em, too. You don’t need all that, boy. Not yet, anyhow. You take my -advice and learn to pitch a good straight ball. Get so you can send it -high, low, in or out or right in the groove. Then learn to change your -pace without giving it away to the batsman. After that there’s plenty -of time for drops and hooks. I tell you, Baker, the fellow that has -control is the fellow the batters hate to stand up to. This thing of -having fifty-seven varieties of balls doesn’t cut much ice, old man.” -Ben opened the door and gently pushed Dud out ahead of him and they -went across to the locker-room. “A chap who can tease the batter with -the straight ones, slip one across for a strike now and then, follow -a fast one with a slow one and do it all without changing his style -is the fellow who wins his games. I’m not saying hooks and floaters -and all those aren’t useful, for they are, but I do say that when a -fellow’s beginning he ought to pin his faith to just one thing, and -that’s control. Don’t be worried if they hit you hard at first; they’re -bound to; but just keep on learning to put ’em where you want to, and -the first thing you know you’ll be fooling them worse than the curve -artist. Practice that new wind-up, boy, and cut out all the unnecessary -gee-gaws that just use up your strength. Nine innings is a whole month -sometimes and it’s the very dickens to feel your muscles getting sore -along about the sixth. So long, Baker. Good luck.” - -Dud thought it over while he stood under the shower and while he pulled -on his clothes. Maybe Ben Myatt was right, he reflected, but he was a -bit proud of his ability to “put something on the ball” and confining -himself to straight ones didn’t sound interesting. For a moment he -wondered if Ben was trying to steer him away from his hooks and drops -so that he wouldn’t prove a rival. Then the absurdity of that suspicion -dawned and he smiled at it. In the first place, Ben wouldn’t be in -school another year, and in the second place Dud was certain that he -would never be able to pitch as Ben could if he kept at it all his -life! In the end, by which time he was tying his scarf in front of one -of the little mirrors, he decided that Ben’s advice was excellent and -that he would follow it, for a while at least. - -The next afternoon, Hal Cherry, catching Dud and Kelly, looked a trifle -surprised and a bit disgusted, too, when Dud’s delivery suddenly -exhibited a strange eccentricity. Cherry had to spear the air in -all directions that day, and Mr. Sargent, watching and counseling -the fellows, followed Dud’s doings with dubious eyes. Nor was Dud -perceptibly more steady the day following, and Brooks, who caught him, -protested more than once. By that time Dud was getting discouraged and -was strongly tempted to go back to his former more elaborate and far -more labored wind-up, and would have done so probably had it not been -for Ben Myatt’s brief encouragement after practice. - -“Haven’t got the hang of it yet, I see, Baker,” remarked the veteran. -“Keep on, though. It’ll come to you in another day or two, I guess. Try -not to slow up just before your pitch, boy. That’s your trouble now.” - -Pondering that hint, Dud hauled Jimmy out of bed early the next morning -and conducted him out back of the dormitory, where, stationed midway -between two windows, he made cheerful efforts to get his hands on the -balls that Dud pitched him. Many of them, however, bounded unchallenged -from the bricks and trickled back to Dud. One particularly wild heave -came so near a window that Dud shivered, pocketed the ball and led the -way back to the room. - -“If,” said Jimmy disgustedly, on the way, “that’s a sample of what you -can do with this simplified wind-up you’re telling about you’d better -go back to the old stuff. There’s nothing in it, Dud!” - -“I’m going to stick it out a bit longer, though,” was the answer. “Ben -says it will take time, Jimmy.” - -“Yes, and patience,” said Jimmy sarcastically, “the catcher supplying -the patience. After you’ve ‘beaned’ a few batters, Dud, they’ll put you -in jail as a danger to the community. I’m glad I don’t have to stand up -to you!” - -Two days after that, March having departed very lamb-like, the cage was -abandoned and outdoor practice began. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -A WILD PITCH - - -April at its best is an uncertain month, and April this spring lived -up to its reputation. No sooner had the baseball candidates grown -accustomed to the feel of soft and springy turf under their feet than a -three-days’ rain began and they were forced to retire again to the dim -and unsympathetic cage. The track and field candidates defied weather -conditions until the cinders held pools of water and the pits became -of the consistency of oatmeal porridge. Then the sun shone forth again -and, after another day of indoor confinement, the players once more -trailed down to Lothrop Field. The diamond was far from dry, but the -sun was warm and a little south-east breeze promised its best efforts. -Candidates for the second team were called out that afternoon, and -Jimmy, whose status with the first was still a matter for conjecture, -thought seriously of returning to the fold. Dud, however, refused to -sanction the step and so Jimmy grumblingly stayed where he was. - -“I know just how it’ll be, though,” he said pessimistically. “They’ll -keep me here until Crowley’s got his second team all made up and then -they’ll drop me. Oh, all right!” He stretched his legs and leaned more -comfortably back against the railing of the stand. “After all, it’s too -nice a day to do anything. I pity those poor dubs out there catching -flies and wrenching their arms throwing the ball in. Me for the quiet, -untroubled life of a substitute outfielder. You’ll have to go in and -pitch pretty quick, Dud; Pete’s got his eye on you now; but I’ll just -sit here and keep this bench warm and――――” - -Jimmy’s remarks were rudely interrupted. - -“Hi, Logan!” called Mr. Sargent. “Go on out there to left and get your -hands on some of those flies. Lively, now! Send Boynton in.” - -Jimmy arose with alacrity, casting a despairing glance at Dud, and -ambled off. Hugh Ordway, seated further along the bench, got up and -joined Dud. - -“Awfully pretty, isn’t it?” observed Hugh, nodding toward the wide -expanse of new green that led away to the ribbon of river beyond. -“Reminds me a lot of home――I mean England.” It sounded as if he was -correcting himself, and Dud asked: - -“But England is your home, isn’t it?” - -Hugh nodded. “I suppose it is, only when I’m here I like to remember -that I’m part American, if you know what I mean.” - -“Your mother is American, isn’t she?” asked Dud. - -“Yes, she was born in Maryland. Her folks have lived there for a long -time. It’s a bit odd, Baker, but sometimes I feel as if I were more -U. S. A. than British. Being sort of half-and-half like that, a fellow -doesn’t quite know where he is, if you know what I mean!” - -“I dare say,” murmured Dud. It was the first time that Hugh Ordway had -ever approached him, and he felt rather embarrassed. The desire to make -a good impression on the other only resulted in tying his tongue up. -But Hugh appeared not to notice the fact. - -“How are you getting on,” he asked, “with your bowl――your pitching?” - -“Just fair, I guess. How do you like it? Baseball, I mean.” - -“Crazy about it! I’ll never learn to play decently, I fancy, but it’s -a jolly game, isn’t it? What I like best is batting, only I can’t seem -to hit the ball very well yet. Myatt fools me every time, you know. I -got a couple of good ones off Nate Leddy the other day, though. Are you -pitching today?” - -“I guess Pete will put me in for an inning or two later. He’s giving us -all a chance now. I――I’m pretty rotten so far.” - -“Haven’t found yourself yet, I fancy. It takes a bit of time, eh? Bert -says a lot of us will be dropped to the second pretty soon. I say, -Baker, I wasn’t thinking of you, you know!” - -“Oh, I’ll get dropped, all right, I guess.” - -“Hope not, I’m sure. In my own case I wouldn’t mind a bit. Maybe I -could play well enough to make the second. Or a class team perhaps.” - -“I thought you――you fielded very well the other day,” said Dud politely. - -Hugh laughed. “You’re spoofing, I fancy. I did catch a few, but I was -beastly scared of them. Bert says I looked as if I were going to catch -them in my mouth! Odd feeling you have when those balls begin to come -down, getting bigger and bigger every second, and you’re wondering -whether you’ll catch them or if they’ll hit you on the nose! Jolly good -fun, though! Corking! Lots more exciting than cricket.” - -“Is it? I never played cricket.” - -“Oh, no end! Cricket’s a bully good game, too, but it’s a lot more -quiet and――er――sedate, if you know what I mean. Well, I’ll toddle. Hope -you get on finely, Baker. And drop in some time, eh?” - -“Thanks,” answered Dud. Then, as Hugh moved away, he blurted: “Did you -really mean that, Ordway?” - -“What? Why, of course!” - -“Then――then I will. I didn’t know――――” Dud’s voice trailed off into -silence as he dropped an embarrassed gaze. Hugh smiled and nodded. - -“Right-o, Baker! Glad to have you.” - -Dud, wishing he hadn’t made such a fool of himself, bent stern -attention on his glove until the red had subsided from his cheeks. “He -will think me an awful kid,” he reflected. “Asking things like that -and――and blushing like a silly girl! And of course he couldn’t say -anything else. You won’t catch me going!” - -Further self-communing was cut short by Mr. Sargent. “All right, -Baker,” called the coach. “Warm up, will you? Brooks will catch you. -See if you can’t steady down today.” - -Dud squirmed out of his sweater, pulled his glove on and joined Ed -Brooks in front of the first-base stand. Brunswick had taken Kelly’s -place in the box and it would be Dud’s turn next. As Brooks tossed -the ball to him and spread his hands invitingly wide apart Dud hoped -hard that he would be able to steady down, but doubted it. As yet -the recollection of that impulsive question to Ordway still made his -face burn. Consequently when, after pitching a half-dozen easy ones -to warm his arm, he began to put on a little speed, he was pleased as -well as surprised to find that some of his old control had come back. -Encouraged, he made greater efforts to put the ball where he wanted to -and, unconsciously, began to “steam up.” But Brooks cautioned him and -Dud slowed down. - -“That’s pitching ’em,” called Brooks. “They’re all straight, though, -Dud, or pretty near it. Try a slant.” - -But Dud resisted the temptation to “hook” one and shook his head. -Instead, he sent over a slow one that fooled Brooks completely and -brought from the latter a laugh at his own expense. “Do it again,” he -urged, as he threw the ball back. “I want to get used to those.” - -“I’ll wait until you’re not expecting it,” laughed Dud. - -There was no line-up today, but first and second-string players were -batting and running the bases, taking their places in the field -ultimately to let others come in. Weston, Kelly and Brunswick had -held the mound for an inning or two apiece, while Ben Myatt and Nate -Leddy were trying to improve their hitting, a thing that the latter -was rather weak at. Presently the outfielders were called in in a body -and others took their places, and changes were made in the infield. -Brunswick went to the shower and Dud to the pitcher’s box. Pete Gordon -was still catching. - -“All right, Baker!” called Pete. “Strike ’em out, boy. Put her over -now.” - -Neil Ayer fouled one and then landed on the next and went to first, -and Bert Winslow took his place. The pitchers were not expected to -work hard, for a batsman stayed in until he hit or was caught out. -Bert was difficult to dispose of, since he cannily refused everything -that wasn’t distinctly a strike, and Dud pitched a dozen deliveries -before Bert found one he liked and rapped it to deep center. Meanwhile -Mr. Sargent was coaching Ayer from first to second and on to third, -making him slide to every base even though he was not threatened. When, -however, he tried to steal home on Dud’s wind-up, Dud managed to keep -his head, send in a fast one and saw Ayer nailed a yard from the rubber. - -It wasn’t especially interesting work and some of the hits were -screechers into deep right, left or center that the outfielders -couldn’t begin to get their hands onto. Dud had not had much experience -in fielding his position and was momentarily in fear that a hot liner -would come at his head. If one did, he was quite certain he would duck -and quite disgrace himself. But when, after some nine or ten batters -had faced him, Captain Murtha hit one squarely on the nose and it came -straight at Dud, the latter involuntarily put up his hands and, while -he didn’t make the catch, knocked it down, recovered it and tossed out -Murtha at first. He got a round of applause from the stand for that, -which so rattled him that his next delivery shot past Gordon a good -four feet to his right and let in a runner from third. The batter sent -the next one off on a voyage to deep center and took two bases. The -base-runners were taking such extraordinary chances and Mr. Sargent -was making such a hullabaloo back of first that Dud began to lose his -control badly, and he was forced to put exactly eleven balls across -before Weston, tired of waiting for a good one, reached for a wide ball -and fouled out to first-baseman. - -Then Star Meyer faced him and Dud made up his mind to make Star work -for his hit. Star viewed the pitcher with amused contempt and Dud felt -his cheeks tingle. But he set his teeth and sent a high one across -that the batter disdained and followed it with one that barely cut the -inner corner of the plate and was just knee-high. Star looked doubtful -about it, but Gordon proclaimed it “a daisy, Star! They don’t come -any better.” That apparently impressed Star, for he swung hard at the -succeeding delivery, which, happening to be one of Dud’s slow ones, -crossed the plate almost a second after the swing! Someone laughed and -Star frowned haughtily. Dud tempted him with another wide one and then -sneaked one across right in the groove and caught the batter napping. -Gordon thumped the ball into his glove before he threw it back, a -signal of commendation with the big catcher. - -“That’s the stuff, Baker!” he called. “That’s pitching ’em, boy!” - -Dud tried another slow one and again Star swung too soon and again a -laugh greeted the performance. This time, with the ripple of laughter, -came a smatter of applause from the handful of spectators on the stand. -Star’s countenance lost its haughtiness and his mouth set grimly. Dud -decided that he might as well let Star hit and get rid of him, and so -he tried to put one over shoulder-high and across the middle of the -plate. But something went wrong. Dud was convinced afterwards that -his foot had turned on a pebble. At all events, instead of traveling -straight and true into Gordon’s waiting mitt, the ball took an erratic -slant and brought up against Star’s shoulder. There was speed on the -ball and the batter had scarcely tried to dodge it, and now he dropped -his bat, clapped a hand to his shoulder and performed a series of most -unconventional steps about the plate. Dud started toward him, but -Gordon was already at his side and so Dud contented himself with a -sincere “Awfully sorry, Meyer!” - -But Star, impatiently throwing off the catcher’s hand, turned an -angry countenance to Dud. “You meant to do that, Baker! You did it on -purpose. I’ll get you for it, too! You can’t――――” - -But Mr. Sargent interposed then. “Tut, tut, Meyer! It was purely an -accident. You must learn to get out of the way of them. Sorry if it -hurt you, though. Get Davy to rub it for you. That’ll do for today.” - -Star, pausing to cast a final ominous look at Dud, recovered his -poise and, rubbing his injury, retired haughtily. Many amused glances -followed him, for no one there doubted that it had been purely -accidental and Star’s loss of temper had struck them as unnecessary. -The incident ended Dud’s usefulness for that day, for his delivery -became so wild that Mr. Sargent quickly took him out, putting in Weston -to finish the practice. - -Dud, yielding the ball shamefacedly, retired to the bench and donned -his sweater. He was quite aware of the fact that Mr. Sargent meant -him to return to the Field House, but the thought of the irate Star -Meyer, who, by the time Dud got there, would doubtless be just getting -into his clothes, deterred him. Instead, then, of leaving the field, -Dud found a place on the bench and pretended deep absorption in the -practice. Presently, though, a better idea presented itself. Across -on the other diamond the second was putting in its first day of work -under the tuition of “Dinny,” as Mr. Crowley, the assistant physical -director, was called. He would, he decided, wander over there as -unostentatiously as possible, and so escape Mr. Sargent’s eagle eye. -But it proved a mistaken move, for just at the moment that Dud -detached himself from the few idlers on the bench, Mr. Sargent happened -to look across the diamond, and his impatient voice quickly followed -his glance. - -“Baker! Go ahead in! I told you once!” - -The fellows on the bench grinned and Dud tried his best to make it -appear that he wanted nothing better in life than to do that very -thing! But, just the same, once behind the stand and out of view of -those on the diamond, his feet moved very slowly along the path. I -don’t believe that Dud was a coward, for one may have no stomach for -physical combat and yet be brave enough in other ways, but I am quite -certain that he wished heartily all the way across to the Field House -that the tall and dignified form of Star Meyer would appear at the -doorway and proceed homeward before he reached there! But nothing of -the sort happened, and when Dud entered the locker-room he was just -in time to hear Star finish an account of the recent episode for the -benefit of three boys who lolled on the benches in various stages of -undress. - -“He was afraid to give me one I could hit and so he whanged one -straight at me. I wasn’t looking for it and couldn’t get out of the -way, and it got me right on the shoulder. He threw it as hard as he -could, too, and that arm will be out of commission for days. Pete -had the cheek to tell me that it was an accident! Accident! Yes, it -was――not! You wait till I get a chance at that fresh kid!” - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -JIMMY TAKES CHARGE - - -Dud’s first impulse was to turn back, but one of Star’s audience had -seen him already, and so, after a moment of hesitation, he went on and, -since Star had his back toward the door, reached his locker before the -speaker saw him. Then there was an instant’s silence. Dud pulled open -the locker door, took his towel out and dropped it on the bench. Then: - -“Got canned, did you?” asked Star. “Maybe you’ll learn after a while -that you can’t do that sort of thing and get away with it.” - -“I didn’t mean to hit you, Meyer, honestly,” returned Dud. “I――I’m -awfully sorry. There was a pebble or something――――” - -“Oh, forget your pebbles! You know very well you meant to hit me. -You’ve been doing a lot of talking around school lately. I’ve heard it. -And I’d have given you a mighty good spanking if you’d been big enough -to notice.” Star had walked around the end of the bench and now faced -Dud like an outraged Jove from a yard away. Dud tried hard to appear -undisturbed, but the mere publicity was enough to send the blood into -his cheeks and put a tremor in his voice as he answered. - -“I haven’t been talking about you, Meyer,” he said as stoutly as he -could. “And, anyhow, you needn’t try to bully me. I’ve apologized for -that――that accident, and that’s all I can do.” - -“Oh, you apologize, do you?” Star laughed amusedly. “Well, apologies -don’t answer, kid. If you weren’t so small I’d kick you around the -room, you――you ugly-faced little insect!” - -“Never mind my size!” cried Dud, throwing discretion to the winds in -the sudden flare of anger. “And never mind about my looks, either! Any -time you want to start kicking you go ahead, Meyer! I’m not afraid of -you! You’re a bluff, a big bluff, that’s all you――――” - -Star’s right hand shot out suddenly and the open palm landed hard on -Dud’s cheek. The blow sent him sprawling across the bench, but he was -on his feet again in an instant, his face white save where the impact -of Star’s hand had left a tingling red stain. Star, smiling crookedly, -had stepped back, ready for Dud’s rush. But the rush wasn’t made, for -at that instant “Davy” Richards’ voice came sternly from the doorway. - -“Here, boys! Stop that! Look you, Meyer, leave him alone! What mean you -hitting a boy beneath your size, eh?” Davy was Welsh and when excited -relapsed into a brogue as broad as it was difficult of reproduction in -type. Star looked around, shrugged his shoulders and laughed lightly. - -“I wasn’t hitting him, Davy. I merely slapped his face for him. If I -ever really hit him he’d know it!” - -“Well, no more of it in this house! ’Tis no place for fighting. And you -there, you, Baker, behave yourself, do you hear me? No more now or I’ll -take a hand myself!” Davy retired grumbling, and one of the audience -of three chuckled as he got up and sauntered out. The others exchanged -glances of amusement and went on with their dressing. Star nonchalantly -retired to his own bench, leaving Dud standing with clenched fists and -angry face in the middle of the floor, for once unconscious of the -curious gazes of others. - -“It isn’t finished yet, Meyer,” he said at last in a low voice. - -Star glanced up contemptuously. “You’ll be finished if you try any more -funny stunts with me, Baker,” he said threateningly. “And I want you to -stop talking about me, too. Hear that? The next time I’ll do a lot more -than slap your ugly face for you!” - -“You’ll fight me!” - -“I wouldn’t bother to!” Star laughed. “I might break you in two if I -hit you!” - -“You’ll fight me,” reiterated Dud doggedly. “If you won’t――――” - -He stopped, for Davy was glowering at him from the doorway. - -“Look you, Baker, what I say I mean! One more word about fighting while -you’re in this place and out you go!” - -Dud subsided and silence reigned until the door opened to admit a -number of released second team candidates, by which time Dud was ready -for his shower. When he returned to the lockers Star had gone. By that -time the room was crowded from end to end, for practice was over and -some forty-odd boys were struggling for space. Jimmy spied his chum and -pushed his way to him. - -“Oh, Dud, it was fine!” he whispered delightedly. “Only why didn’t you -put it a foot or so higher and ‘bean’ him? Did you see him again?” - -Dud nodded. - -“Was he mad?” demanded Jimmy eagerly. “Hello, what are you looking so -funny about? You didn’t――I say, Dud, you two didn’t――――” He paused -expressively. - -“We had words,” replied Dud in low tones, “and he――slapped my face.” - -“Slapped――――” Jimmy whistled. Then: “Great stuff, Dud! What did you -do? Where were you? I wish I’d seen it!” - -“I didn’t do anything. Davy butted in. I’m going to fight him, though.” - -“Of course! Slapped your face, eh, the big bully? That――that’s a -fighting matter, Dud. When are you going to do it?” - -“He refused; said he wouldn’t bother with me; said he might break me in -two! But he’s got to fight, Jimmy!” - -“You bet he has!” agreed Jimmy enthusiastically. “But listen: let me -get my shower. You wait for me, will you? We’ve got to talk this over, -you know.” - -“There isn’t anything to talk over,” said Dud flatly. “He’s got to -fight me.” - -“Yes, but if he says he won’t―――― You wait for me, see? I won’t be a -minute.” And Jimmy, beaming broadly, dashed off. - -Dud found a corner by the door and waited, listening idly to the -chatter of the fellows. Nearby Foster Tray, struggling with a stubborn -shirt, remarked in smothered tones: - -“Did you see Baker peg Star in the arm, Mil? It was a fierce old biff!” - -“Yes,” replied Oscar Milford, “and Star was hopping mad.” He chuckled. -“Said Baker did it on purpose. Well, maybe he did. I don’t know. But -they say Baker’s got Star scared of him, for some reason.” - -“Oh, piffle! A kid like that? Not likely! But it isn’t sense getting -mad about being hit with a ball. Gee, if I got peeved every time I got -whacked last year――――” - -A good-natured altercation over the possession of a bath towel that -both Leddy and Parker laid claim to drowned the rest of Tray’s remark -and Dud slipped further along. Captain Murtha ran across him a moment -later and stopped an instant. - -“Say, Baker, you did mighty well there for a while today. Keep it up, -old man. But don’t lay out any more of the team, eh? You might leave us -short-handed!” Guy laughed, nodded and went on, and presently, showing -numerous evidences of having dressed hurriedly, Jimmy arrived a bit -breathless and dragged Dud outside. There, one arm through Dud’s, he -led the way back to the dormitory. - -“Now,” he demanded eagerly, “let’s have the whole story.” - -“Well, I stepped on a pebble or something and the ball got away and hit -Star on the shoulder.” - -“Yes,” chuckled Jimmy, “I saw that. Something ought to be done about -those pebbles!” And he winked meaningly. - -“But it was a pebble!” declared Dud. “I didn’t mean to hit him!” - -“You didn’t!” Jimmy was incredulous, incredulous and disappointed. -“Gee, I thought of course you did it so he’d get mad and fight! Are you -sure?” - -“Yes, I am,” answered Dud shortly. “Don’t be a fool, Jimmy.” - -“Oh, all right, then. It was an accident.” Jimmy sighed. “Then what?” - -Dud brought the narrative to its conclusion by the time they were -crossing the campus, and Jimmy disengaged his arm in order to slap Dud -approvingly on the back. “Fine!” he declared. “Just what we wanted! By -the time we put this thing through, Dud, you’ll be the most talked-of -fellow in school!” - -“I don’t want to be talked of. I’m sick of all that rot. All I want is -to show Star Meyer that he can’t slap me and――and get away with it!” - -“Sure! But it’ll do you a lot of good if you lick him, don’t you see? -Fellows will call you a plucky kid and all that. Oh, there’s nothing to -it, Dud! Here’s where we make good, old son!” - -“I’m not likely to lick him,” replied the other quietly. “I dare say he -will beat me to a pulp, but he won’t do it before I’ve got in a few,” -he added grimly. - -“That’s all right, too, but it’s going to make a lot bigger hit if you -get the decision,” responded Jimmy. “No, you’d better make up your mind -to lick him, Dud.” - -“Make up my mind!” replied the other impatiently as they traveled -together down the corridor. “How’s making up my mind going to help? He -can lick me, and you know it. And I know it. What’s the good of talking -rot like that?” - -“How do you know he can?” asked Jimmy eagerly. “I’ll bet you anything -Star’s got a yellow streak in him somewhere. And you’ve been learning -right along, haven’t you? Why, say, I call you a mighty clever boxer -right this minute, Dud! Yes, I do, honest! And――I say, what time is it? -Fine! We’ve just got time to put on the gloves for a few minutes. I was -reading in that book――――” - -“I’m not going to put on the gloves,” answered Dud decidedly. “I’ll -fight him just as I am. All that scientific stuff isn’t much good, -anyway. It didn’t keep him from almost knocking me flat on the floor -this afternoon, did it?” - -“But you weren’t looking for it! If you’d known――――” - -“Besides, the thing is to get him to fight. He says he won’t. How can I -make him, Jimmy?” - -“We-ell――――” Jimmy studied the question with his head on one side and -his mouth pursed. At last: “There are two or three ways, I guess. You -might challenge him publicly or you might just walk up and slap his -face the way he slapped yours or you might――――” - -“That’s good enough,” interrupted Dud. “Come on!” - -“Hold on! Where are you going?” - -“To find him!” - -“Well, but――but wait! Hold on! See here, Dud, you can’t walk into a -fellow’s room and biff him, you know!” - -“Why can’t I?” - -“Because it isn’t done, old chap. Violation of――er――hospitality and all -that, you know. What you want to do is to find him some time when other -fellows are around, see? Then he can’t possibly refuse. But you want to -make sure that a faculty isn’t looking! Better wait now until morning -and get him in School Hall; in the corridor, say. Yes, that’s the idea. -There’ll be a crowd around, and――――” - -“I’d rather do it now,” said Dud. “Maybe――by tomorrow――I might -not――might not want to so much!” - -“Oh, that’s all right. I’ll keep you up to it, son. Trust me. You -see, Dud, this is a wonderful opportunity and we want to make the -most of it. You wait until the morning and then find Star in the -corridor between recitations. There’s bound to be a crowd there. -Imagine the sensation when you step up to him and let him have -it right on the cheek! Maybe you’d ought to say something, too, -something――er――effective. Let’s see now. Suppose――――” - -“Look here, Jimmy, this isn’t any silly pageant! I don’t care whether -anyone’s around or not. All you think about is making a public show of -it! You make me tired!” - -“Nothing of the sort,” returned Jimmy indignantly. “All I say is that -if you’re going to do it you ought to do it right! What’s the good of -balling it all up when, by using a little――er――a little headwork, you -can make a great big hit? No, sir, you listen to me. I’m managing you -in this affair, Dud. Just you sit still and leave the whole business to -me.” - -“Leave it to you――――” began Dud bitterly. - -“Besides, I’ve got a better scheme, old chap! Let’s do it shipshape, -eh? After supper I’ll call on Star and take your challenge to him. -Then, if he says he won’t fight, we’ll go ahead with the public -insult scheme. But that will be giving him a chance to accept like a -gentleman. And, of course, whether he accepts or doesn’t, the thing is -just bound to leak out.” Jimmy grinned. “Those things always do.” - -“I wish,” said Dud moodily, “I’d kept my mouth shut and not told you -anything about it. You’re bound to go and hire a brass band and make a -hullabaloo! I dare say”――sarcastically――“you’ll be selling tickets for -the fight!” - -“By Jove, that isn’t a bad idea! I don’t mean to sell tickets, but we -might issue invitations or――or something. ‘You are cordially invited to -be present at an informal scrap between Dudley Baker and Starling Meyer -at five-thirty on Friday. R. S. V. P.’” - -“I wish you’d quit making a silly joke of it,” complained Dud. “If you -think it’s so terribly funny, why don’t you fight him yourself?” - -“I would in a minute if he slapped my face,” replied Jimmy promptly. -“Maybe he will when I take the challenge to him. Gee, I wish he’d try -it! Still, I suppose you’d claim the right to the first scrap. Well, -that’s settled, then. Come on to supper now. Better be sort of careful -what you eat, you know. You want to keep in condition. What do you say -to tomorrow afternoon before supper down at the Beach? We’d be out of -sight there and it would be handy for fellows to get to after practice. -No use staging the affair too far away if we want a good attendance, -eh? Got to consider folks’ comfort some, you know. All ready?” - - - - -CHAPTER X - -THE CHALLENGE - - -“Come in!” - -Starling Meyer turned from the window in Number 17 and faced the door. -Ernest Barnes, Star’s roommate, looked up from his book and glanced -curiously in the same direction as the portal opened briskly to admit -Jimmy Logan. It lacked but a few minutes of study hour and Jimmy, with -the door of the next room slightly ajar, had made certain of Star’s -return before starting on his errand. Beyond the partition――there was a -connecting door between the rooms, but that was never opened――Dud was -dubiously awaiting Jimmy’s report. - -“Oh,” said Star eloquently as Jimmy advanced jauntily enough but with a -most sober countenance into the radius of light from the study table. -“Hello, Logan, what do you want?” - -Barnes’ greeting was just a nod, civil but not enthusiastic, and having -made it he went back to his book. - -“Hello, fellows,” said Jimmy. “Mind if I sit down, Meyer?” - -“Help yourself.” Star eyed the caller suspiciously. “This is an -unexpected honor,” he added sarcastically. - -Jimmy nodded. “Yes, isn’t it? Fact is, I’m on a painful errand, Meyer. -Mind if I speak before Barnes?” - -“Oh, cut the comedy, Logan,” replied Star impatiently. “What nonsense -are you up to, anyway?” - -“No nonsense at all, really,” Jimmy assured him earnestly. “It’s like -this, Meyer. I’m here on behalf of my friend, Baker. You see, he isn’t -just satisfied with the way things were left this afternoon. He feels -that――er――the matter ought to be settled more――er――more definitely. See -what I mean?” - -“Oh, rot! I’m not going to fight that kid, Logan. He’s too small. Tell -him to forget it. And look here, you!” Star’s voice took on an edge. “I -want you to quit meddling in my affairs, too, Logan. I know what you’ve -been up to. You and that roommate of yours are altogether too fresh.” - -“Me?” asked Jimmy innocently. “What have I done, Meyer?” - -“You’ve talked a whole lot too much, that’s what you’ve done. And -you’ve egged Baker on to――to make trouble. I want you to stop it, both -of you.” - -“Well, I may have talked some,” Jimmy allowed calmly. “Everyone has a -right to talk――――” - -“If they’re careful what they say, yes! But――――” - -“Anyway, that isn’t what I came to see you about. I’ve talked it over -with Dud and we’ve concluded that you ought to give him satisfaction. -You see, Meyer, slapping a fellow’s face and then refusing to go on -with it looks――well, a bit funny, eh? Now what we propose is that you -and Dud meet, say tomorrow afternoon at half-past five, down at the -Beach, and settle the matter in a quiet, gentlemanly way. What do you -say to that?” - -“I say no,” replied Star shortly. “I haven’t any intention of fighting -him. All I will do is slap his face again if he doesn’t let me alone. -He’s been telling it around――or you have――that I’m afraid of him!” - -“Um,” said Jimmy thoughtfully. “Well――er――if you don’t fight him won’t -it look as if he was right?” - -Star flushed angrily. “Don’t be a fool, Logan! I’d take the two of you -on and lick the tar out of you if it wasn’t beneath me!” - -“Oh, I see! Then I’m to tell Dud that you refuse?” - -“Tell him anything you like! And now you get out of here or I’ll throw -you out!” - -Barnes had displayed a remarkable aloofness up to the present moment, -but now he raised his eyes at last from his book and judicially, even -hopefully, compared the two before him. The result of the comparison, -however, seemed to disappoint him, for he sighed and went back to his -occupation again, apparently dismissing the matter from his mind. - -“And what would I be doing?” asked Jimmy brightly. “I’ll tell you -frankly, Meyer, that your attitude is a great surprise to me. It’s a -great disappointment, too. I’d hoped for better things, Meyer. The -fellows are going to be mightily disappointed when they hear about it.” - -“So you intend to talk some more, do you?” demanded the other -exasperatedly. - -“Me? Oh, my, no! But these things have a way of getting out, you know, -Meyer.” Jimmy shook his head sadly. “This school is a frightfully -gossipy little community.” He got up and turned toward the door. “If -you think better of it, all you’ve got to do is just let me know. I -wish you’d think it over, Meyer.” - -“You get out of here!” retorted Star threateningly. - -“I’m going. I don’t know what Dud will say, though, when I tell him!” - -“I fancy,” sneered Star, “that he will be a good bit relieved!” - -“Dud? Oh, dear, no!” responded Jimmy gently. “He’s awfully keen about -it, Dud is. It’ll be a horrible disappointment to him, Meyer. Well, so -long.” - -Jimmy passed out with melancholy mien, closing the door softly behind -him and then pausing an instant to chuckle before he opened the next -portal. A moment later his expression of wicked glee changed to one of -utmost decorum, for to his surprise he found that Dud had a visitor and -that the visitor was none other than Mr. Russell. Mr. Russell, better -known as “J. P.,” was the Greek instructor and one of the house masters -in Trow. Jimmy said “Good evening, sir,” in the most deferential tones, -shot a quick, inquiring glance at Dud and then paused uncertainly. - -“Am I in the way, Mr. Russell?” he asked. - -“Not at all, Logan. I’ve finished my business with Baker. Possibly I’d -better acquaint you with it and enlist your assistance.” Mr. Russell -smiled gently. “We’ve heard that Baker had a quarrel this afternoon -with another boy and was heard to threaten him. As you know, both of -you, fighting is not tolerated here, and I felt it my duty to drop -in and warn Baker against――ah――any infringement of the rules. He has -explained the circumstances and I must acknowledge that he has grounds -for――ah――complaint. But the matter must be settled amicably, boys, and -I shall depend on you, Logan, as an older boy, to see that your friend -here does nothing he will be sorry for. Personally, I believe that -there is something to be said for――ah――a physical encounter under such -circumstances, but rules are rules and we are here to obey them. You -agree with me, Logan?” - -“Absolutely, sir,” replied Jimmy emphatically. - -“Then I may depend on you to see that nothing occurs which――ah――――” - -“You may, sir,” said Jimmy resolutely. “In fact, I’ve already been -talking it over with Dud, Mr. Russell, and I’m certain he doesn’t -intend to make any trouble. You see, just at first he was a bit peeved. -Any fellow would have been if another fellow had slapped his face like -that. But after I’d talked to him a while――――” - -Jimmy paused because Dud was grinning and Mr. Russell had emitted what -was an unmistakable chuckle. - -“I’m afraid, Logan, your counsel didn’t prevail, after all,” said the -instructor, “for I found Baker in a decidedly uncompromising state of -mind. I think you’d better have another talk with him.” Mr. Russell -arose, still smiling, and moved to the door. “My advice to both you -boys is to be sensible. Good evening.” - -“Now what the dickens did he mean by that?” asked Jimmy, frowning -perplexedly after the instructor. Dud laughed. - -“He meant that your bluff didn’t fool him a bit, you silly ass, if you -want to know. I told him I meant to fight Meyer the first chance I got. -Then you came in and began talking too much, as usual.” - -“Oh!” said Jimmy, grinning. “So that’s it? Well, now what’s to be done? -I put it up to Star and he ab-so-lutely refused the invitation.” - -“I guess that ends it,” said Dud. “I certainly don’t intend to have any -scrap with him now when faculty’s on the watch. J. P. says they’d chuck -me if I got caught at it. He’s not a bad sort, J. P.” - -“Isn’t it the very dickens!” muttered Jimmy, plunging his hands in -his pockets and viewing his chum forlornly. “Just when everything was -coming around our way, too!” - -Dud shrugged philosophically. “I’ll get even with him some time, even -if I can’t fight him now,” he declared grimly. “Don’t you worry.” - -“Yes, but that isn’t going to help us much now,” replied Jimmy -perplexedly. “You see, I insisted that you were crazy for a scrap and -Star will think――――” - -“Oh, who cares what Star thinks? Who cares what anybody thinks?” asked -Dud impatiently. “I’m sick of the whole business.” - -“We’ve got to save our faces, though,” said the other, shaking his -head. “And so I guess――――” His face lighted suddenly. “That’s the -ticket! By Jove, Dud, we’ll get credit out of this yet!” - -“What silly scheme are you thinking about now?” asked his chum -dubiously. - -“Why, all we’ve got to do is to tell the truth!” - -“_All?_” asked Dud sarcastically. “I’d say that was a whole lot for you -to try, Jimmy.” - -“Yes, sir, just let it get around that faculty got wind of the thing -and, knowing your reputation as a scrapper, sent J. P. to forbid you to -fight! Great stuff, that!” Jimmy laughed delightedly. “Why, it’s almost -as good as the scrap!” - -“Look here, Jimmy, I’m tired of the whole thing, I tell you. Let it -drop, won’t you?” - -“Sure! Only we’ve got to have the last word, Dud! Now don’t pester me -any more. I’ve got to dig a bit.” - -But if Jimmy really studied, appearances were deceptive, for when, -during the next hour, Dud occasionally glanced across the table, it was -always to behold Jimmy with his hands locked behind his head, his gaze -on the ceiling and a thoughtfully rapturous smile on his face. After -study hour was over he disappeared. - -Dud asked no questions the next day. As he had truthfully told Jimmy, -he was tired of the whole affair. He was still deeply resentful toward -Star Meyer, but his anger had cooled and he had no intention of -getting into trouble with the faculty for the scant satisfaction of -being bruised up further by that youth. He was tired, too, of trying -to become “a regular feller,” to use Jimmy’s descriptive phrase. What -the latter liked to call “the campaign” had been, so far as beneficial -results were concerned, a total failure. To be sure, Dud had enlarged -his circle of acquaintances vastly; he was now on nodding or speaking -acquaintance with fully three-fourths of the fellows; but what, as he -asked himself disconsolately, was the good of knowing chaps if they -didn’t like you afterwards? He could still count on the fingers of one -hand the fellows who really showed any disposition to be friendly: -Hugh Ordway, Ben Myatt, Guy Murtha, Roy Dresser and Ed Brooks. He -tried in vain to find a sixth. There was Jimmy, of course, but Jimmy -was understood. Of the friendly ones only Ordway and Dresser could -be called disinterested, he decided. Murtha was friendly because he -wanted Dud to make good as a pitcher, Myatt because he took a sort of -proprietary interest in the younger twirler, and Brooks because it -had fallen to his lot to catch Dud frequently, and there had sprung -up between them a sort of comradeship that, so far, ended with each -day’s work-out. As to Hugh Ordway, Dud suspected that that youth showed -friendliness because he was naturally kind-hearted and had taken pity -on him. So that left only Roy Dresser, and Dresser was much older -than Dud and went with the football crowd and, in the natural course -of events, their paths seldom crossed. It would have been perfectly -feasible for Dud to call on Dresser, but that would have required an -amount of assurance that the younger boy didn’t possess. No, judging by -results, that “campaign” had not been a colossal success! - -Just now, however, Dud didn’t care so much whether he was popular or -not. He was very full of baseball and secretly consumed by the ambition -to make good as a pitcher and win a place on the first team. For the -present that provided sufficient interest. He didn’t really believe -that he would succeed in his ambition; at least, not this year; but -one may lack belief and still hope, and Dud was doing a whole lot of -hoping. So far he had done as well as any of the “rookies” without, -however, having distinguished himself in the least. He could flatter -himself that neither Brunswick nor Kelly had been used more often than -he, and he took encouragement from the fact. Sometimes he regretted -that he had taken Ben Myatt’s advice and changed his style. If he -hadn’t, he told himself, he might have showed a lot more by this -time. Generally, though, he recognized the fact that Ben’s advice had -really been very sensible and that eventually, if not this season, -then next, he would find himself better off for having followed it. So -far, though, the improvement that Ben had promised had developed very -slowly, and he had days of discouragement. It seemed that what accuracy -he had possessed before had quite left him. He could show speed and -he could fool four batsmen out of five with his change of pace, but -when the score got to be two-and-two and it was necessary to put them -over he was as likely as not to be as wild as a hawk. Obeying Ben, he -still avoided “hooks,” making up his mind to leave such things quite -alone until he was able to put the straight ones where he wanted them. -Plenty of pitchers will tell you that it is harder to pitch a straight -ball than a curve, and it’s very nearly true. It is, in fact, entirely -true in the case of a young pitcher who has started out pitching curves -to the practical exclusion of straight balls. And Dud, having taught -himself very largely, had begun his pitching career on the erroneous -assumption that a wide knowledge of “hooks” and “curves” and “jumps” -and other freakish things is a pitcher’s best asset. It is not, though, -for the simple reason that no pitcher ever combined a large variety of -deliveries with that most valuable of all assets, control. “Putting -it where you want it” is what counts, and the pitcher who can put a -straight ball just where it will do the most good can dispose of the -batsman in far better style than one whose wide curves and drops and -jumps refuse to break over the plate. All this Dud learned for himself -eventually, but just now he was accepting it on faith, and his faith -often failed him. - -The day after Mr. Russell’s visit to Number 19 Dud very carefully -avoided a meeting with Star Meyer. When he left his room he listened to -make sure that his neighbor was not also about to emerge, and in School -Hall he searched the corridors between recitations in order that he -would not find himself embarrassingly confronted by Star. When you have -earnestly vowed to make another fellow fight it is a bit disconcerting -to have to pass him by meekly! Dud’s endeavors met with complete -success until he entered the Field House in the afternoon to get into -his playing togs. Then, as he feared, fortune deserted him. The first -occupant of the room his eyes lighted on was Star, while, oddly enough, -Star glanced across at the doorway at that instant and saw Dud. But -that was all there was to it, for Star removed his gaze without a -flicker of recognition, and Dud went to his own locker, fortunately -the width of the room away from Star’s, and attended strictly to the -matter of making a hurried change of attire. Some of the fellows who -had learned of the encounter between the two the afternoon before -watched them expectantly until Star, ready for work, left the building -with Weston and Milford. Dud avoided the glances of the others as -he pulled his togs on. They knew, he was certain, that he had sworn -revenge against Star and were naturally viewing him disparagingly as a -“quitter.” Had he overheard a whispered conversation in one corner of -the locker-room, however, he wouldn’t have been troubled so much. - -“Did you see Star sneak out?” chuckled Jones, a rather stout youth with -ambitions looking toward a position in the first team outfield. “I’ll -bet he’s mighty glad faculty read the riot act to Baker!” - -“What was that?” asked Churchill, a third-choice shortstop. - -“Didn’t you hear? Why, Star and Baker had a row in here yesterday -and went for each other, and Davy had to separate them. Star was mad -because Baker hit him with the ball when he was at bat. Baker was wild, -they say, and swore he’d get Star the first chance. So Davy pipes off -the faculty and J. P. beats it to Baker’s room and tells him that if he -doesn’t leave Star alone faculty’ll jump him hard. So, of course, Baker -has to promise to behave, but they say he’s hopping mad and will get -Star yet. I thought maybe he’d forget and light into him just now.” - -“Oh, peanuts! I guess Star isn’t afraid of that kid. Why, look at him! -Star’s six inches bigger every way!” - -“That’s all right,” responded Jones, “but they say Baker’s a regular -terror when he gets started. Got thrown out of one school because he -nearly killed a fellow there.” - -“That right?” asked the other incredulously. - -“Surest thing you know, old scout! Ned Stiles was telling me. He knows -the fellow Baker beat up.” Jones gazed speculatively and admiringly -at the unconscious Dud and shook his head. “He doesn’t _look_ awfully -scrappy, does he? But, say, I’ll bet he could hand you an awful wallop -with that right of his! They say he’s as clever as anything on his -feet; just dances all around the other fellow and does about as he -likes. You all ready?” - -On the way out Churchill, regarding Dud in surreptitious awe, -encountered that youth’s gaze, and, as Dud at the instant happened to -be frowning darkly at his thoughts, Churchill was ever after convinced -that Dud was a fellow to be treated with the utmost respect! - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -WITH THE SCRUBS - - -Dud speedily forgot all about Star Meyer, social aspirations and -everything else except baseball, for they had their first practice game -that afternoon and, although Dud wasn’t called on to work during the -first three innings, he became vastly absorbed in the proceedings. Mr. -Sargent made up one team of seasoned veterans of previous campaigns, -with Gus Weston pitching and Gordon catching, and formed the opposing -team of the newer candidates, giving the twirling job to Nate Leddy -and letting Ed Brooks catch him. Since it was the first contest of the -year both teams were on their toes and went into it hard. From the -practice diamond Mr. Crowley’s second nine looked on enviously when the -opportunity allowed. - -Weston pitched nice ball for the regulars for two innings, mowing down -the opposing batsmen impartially and even monotonously. But in the -third, Ben Myatt, playing left field for the scrubs, landed on one of -Gus’s offerings and drove it far into right center, where neither Star -Meyer nor Gordon Parker could reach it in time to prevent him from -reaching third. That put the following batsmen on their mettle, and -before the inning was over Gus Weston had yielded four hits for a total -of seven bases and three runs had crossed the plate. As, however, the -regulars had by that time scored thrice owing to two singles and as -many errors of the scrub’s infield, the contest was far from decided. -Weston managed to survive the fourth inning, although decidedly wobbly. -He allowed two hits and passed Barnes, and the scrubs were yelling for -a tally when Hugh Ordway fanned and made the last out, leaving an irate -runner on third. - -Brunswick went on the mound for the regulars in the fifth and Dud took -Leddy’s place for the scrub. After that, as might have been expected, -the fielders were much busier and runs began to trickle across quite -frequently. Dud pitched three innings that afternoon and performed -fairly creditably. Ed Brooks, fast rounding into form as a catcher, -knew Dud’s failings and jockeyed him along with a lot of skill and -wisdom. More than once Dud found himself in a hole, and if he escaped, -as he generally did that day, it was more due to Brooks than to him. -The catcher never hesitated to demand the third strike when it was due, -leaving it to Dud to put on enough steam or to fool the batter with -an unexpected slow ball, and it must be said to Dud’s credit that he -frequently delivered the goods. But at that he was hammered hard by -the head of the opposing batting list, and could only find consolation -in the fact that Brunswick fared but little better at the hands of the -scrubs. - -Brunswick gave way to Joe Kelly in the eighth, and in that half-inning -the scrubs almost snatched the game away from their haughty opponents. -Kelly was wild and ineffective and filled the bases with the first -three men up. Jimmy Logan, who had never set the world on fire with -his batting, bunted cannily down the first-base line, managed to get -in the way of Kelly’s throw to the plate and not only saw two runners -score but reached first in safety himself. Prentiss fouled out on the -second delivery and Jimmy was caught going down to second. Dud, whose -turn it was at bat, had but slight hope of turning in a hit. But Kelly -had another ascension――or perhaps merely continued his first!――and -got himself in the hole to the tune of one strike and three balls. -Dud let another strike go by and then hit at the next delivery. Luck -favored him, for Nick Blake, at short, made a miserable stop of a weak -grounder and threw to first the fraction of a second too late, and -the runner from third was safe. That run brought the scrubs’ score to -11 to the regulars’ 13 and, even with two down, the scrubs dreamed of -tying it up. But Boynton dispelled the illusion by popping a weak fly -to Neil Ayer at first, and, since the practice period was up, Mr. -Sargent called the game. For the succeeding half-hour the scrubs busied -themselves to a man telling just how they would have won the game had -it gone nine innings! - -Doubtless pitching four innings to the tune of nine hits and two passes -isn’t anything remarkable, but Dud left the field that afternoon -treading on air. If, he confided to himself, he had mixed a few -hooks in with those straight ones and, perhaps, succeeded in getting -a “floater” over nicely a few times, he would have cut those nine -bingles down to three or four! And, anyway, Pete hadn’t taken him out, -as he had Brunswick, which showed that at least the coach was fairly -satisfied with him. And when, while he was pulling off his togs, Guy -Murtha stopped an instant to say “Good work, Baker: I like your style,” -the air under Dud’s feet became roseate clouds! He didn’t even recall -Star Meyer’s existence until, on the way to the showers, he literally -ran into that youth. And then, instead of falling back, abashed, he -pushed past the other with a fine indifference and rattled the curtain -along the rod in Star’s face! - -Afterwards, going across the Green in the early twilight, he overtook -a group of fellows and, contrary to his usual custom of passing them -with a muttered and doubtful greeting, he fell into step with Bert -Winslow, much to that youth’s surprise, and carelessly offered an -observation to the effect that it had been a dandy game. Bert agreed -unenthusiastically, shot a curious side-glance at the other, felt -some of his antipathy toward him vanish and remarked quite cordially: -“You’re more of a pitcher than I thought, Baker. Where’d you learn it?” - -“I haven’t learned it yet,” answered Dud, conquering his shyness with -an effort that left him almost breathless. “Anyway, _you_ didn’t have -much trouble hitting me, Winslow.” - -Bert accepted the compliment as merited, which it was, and thought -better of the other’s discernment and modesty, and while he was -beginning a reply Nick Blake, walking a few steps ahead, turned and -regarded Dud gravely and remarked sadly: “I’ll give you a quarter next -time, Baker, if you’ll tip me off when you’re going to pitch one of -those slow ones. I don’t mind hitting the air, but I hate to break my -back. Besides, I’m extremely sensitive to ridicule, Baker.” - -The others laughed and Dud was spared the necessity of a reply by Bert -Winslow. “If you were really sensitive to ridicule, Nick, you wouldn’t -try to play,” he observed crushingly. Nick resented the insult promptly -and battle ensued. Dud left the adversaries rolling on the turf, -applauded by several spectators, and made his way on to Trow, feeling -much embarrassed and extremely happy. - -The happiness was reflected in the letter which he wrote home the next -afternoon, for that was Sunday, and Dud, while he sometimes dashed -off a hurried note on a weekday, made it a practice to always fill -four pages with his somewhat scrawly writing on Sundays. His epistles -invariably commenced the same way: - - DEAR MOTHER, FATHER AND SISTERS [there were two of the latter]: - - I am well and getting on nicely. I hope you are all well when - this reaches you. - -After that he might change the rest of the contents from week to week, -but Mrs. Baker, who read the letters aloud to a more or less attentive -audience, could get through the first two sentences while she was still -fixing her reading glasses on her nose. Today Dud’s letter was far more -cheerful than usual. In fact, it started right out being cheerful, and -the weather, generally dwelt on at length, was utterly neglected. - - A good deal has happened since I wrote last and things are - getting pretty busy here. Something doing every minute in the - big tent, like Jimmy says. Yesterday I pitched four whole - innings in the first practice game we have had and did pretty - well take everything in consideration. Dad will say I’m - boasting but I’m not because if I hadn’t done pretty well Mr. - Sargent would have canned me quick, I guess. They only got - nine hits off me and Guy Murtha who is captain and a peach - of a whanger only got one real hit off me and one that was - mighty scratchy. I guess I did as well as Brunswick and I know - I did better than Joe Kelly because Joe had an ascension and - handed out passes to beat the band. Well, we’re getting down - to business here now all right, everybody’s doing something, - the Track Team has been out about a fortnight and so have we, - nearly, and the tennis cracks are out on the courts and some - of the fellows who play golf go over to the Mt. Grafton links. - They let the school fellows play there for nothing, but I guess - Charley pays them something for the privilege by the year. I’d - like to try my hand at golf, but I guess it wouldn’t be good - for my pitching. I’m still sticking to straight balls, like I - told you last week, but if I can get my control back pretty - soon I’m going to try hooking them again. I guess you’ll begin - to think I don’t do anything here at School but play baseball, - but that isn’t so because ever since mid-year exams most of us - have been digging like anything. I’m all square again with Mr. - Gring, but I told you that last week. He says if I could write - English as well as I talk it I’d be all right but just the same - I got Good on my last comp and would have got Excellent only - for punctuation. Jimmy says I’m a punk punctuater. I guess I - am, all right, too. - - We play our first game the 25th with the second team and then - we play Portsmouth Grammar the 28th. I’ll send a card with the - schedule on it so you will know when we play and whom. We have - sixteen dates this spring but some of them aren’t filled yet. - It’s very hard to get teams around here to play us because we - usually beat them badly and they don’t like it. I had a row - with Starling Meyer in the Field House the other day and he - slapped me and Davy, he’s the trainer, butted in. I was going - to make Star fight but faculty got wise and J. P. came up and - said if I did I’d get in trouble, so I didn’t. But I’ll fix - him some other way. Jimmy is well and as crazy as ever. He - is out for the first too and I guess he will make it, anyway - he has more chance than I have, but I feel very much more - encouraged since Pete let me pitch all through the last of - the game yesterday like I told you. I didn’t get your letter - until Friday last week so I guess dad forgot to post it again. - You ask him if he didn’t. He will say Pooh, Pooh, but I’ll - bet anything he did. I’m getting on fine. I’ve met some more - fellows who are on the nine and everything’s fine and dandy. - Please tell dad that I’d like it if I could have my allowance - a little before the first this month because I have to dig - down for the track team assessment. They voted to tax all of - us fifty cents apiece, which is O.K. only I haven’t got it to - spare. Love to you all, - - Your aff. Son, - - DUDLEY. - -Dud was highly pleased with that letter, for he discovered that he -had bettered his usual four pages by two more. There was besides, he -decided, a literary flavor to it that most of his epistles lacked; and -he was certain that his father would chuckle about forgetting to post -that letter; and maybe he would send the allowance right away! - -After it was finished he and Jimmy went down to the Beach and, since -they had no canoe of their own and the punts belonging to the school -were hard to row and likely to prove leaky, borrowed one of the many -that reposed under the trees along the Cove. They were in doubt for -a while as to which particular craft to requisition, since it was -distinctly advisable to select one whose owner was not likely to want -it that day. The difficulty was finally solved by Dud, who recalled -the fact that young Twining was in the infirmary with German measles. -Twining was only a junior, anyway, and juniors had few rights even when -perfectly well, and still fewer when they weren’t! So Dud blithely led -the way to a gorgeous light blue Old Town, and together they bore it to -the muddy water of the Cove and clambered in. - -“It’s the best canoe here, too,” observed Jimmy contentedly, as he -dipped his paddle at the bow. (Jimmy took the bow paddle because, or -so he declared, there was more responsibility connected with that -position. Dud, while not deceived in the least, never objected, for he -had a notion that stern paddling would develop his arm muscles.) “They -say that little bounder has heaps of money, millions and millions; -that is, his dad has. Did I ever tell you about the old darkey woman -who used to work for us? She was telling mother about some man who -was terribly rich, you know, and mother said, ‘I suspect he’s a -millionaire, Dorah.’ ‘A millionaire, Mis’ Logan!’ says she. ‘Bless yo’ -heart, honey, that man’s got sev’ral millions of airs!’ Guess that’s -the way with Twining’s dad, eh?” - -“That’s a peach of a canoe that Ordway’s got,” said Dud, after he had -laughed at Jimmy’s story. - -“Too fancy,” replied the other as they left the Cove and headed down -the river. “He has about everything in it except a grand piano!” - -“I suppose it cost a lot,” said Dud. - -“I’ll bet it did. I told him the other day that it was too pretty to -use, and he said he thought it was, too. Seems he didn’t know much -about canoes and let Bert Winslow order it, and Bert got all the -trimmings the law allows. That’s like Bert. I guess it’s too heavy to -handle well. Here comes Brew Longley and Foster Tray. Don’t forget to -speak now!” - -A battered green canoe occupied by two youths passed and salutations -were exchanged. For once Dud managed to get just the proper amount -of mixed hauteur and friendliness in his greeting. Somehow, since -yesterday, it wasn’t so hard to do things like that. Tray, a football -player and track team member, laughed as the canoes passed. “See you -got a canoe now, Jimmy,” he called. - -Jimmy waved his paddle nonchalantly. “Yes, it’s a poor thing but mine -own. I’ll let you use it, Tray, any time you like. I believe in lending -to them as hasn’t.” - -“You believe in borrowing, too, don’t you?” laughed Longley. - -“Anything but trouble,” responded Jimmy, over his shoulder. - -They paused near the old wooden bridge beyond the boathouse to watch -an automobile dash by at some forty miles an hour, and Jimmy sighed -as he began to paddle again. “I always think every time that the old -affair will fall into the river, but it never does. I never do have any -luck!” Beyond the bridge, where the river widened as it wound through -the marshes, they met a canoe at about every turn. Many were drawn to -the bank, and their crews were usually lying at ease above. About two -miles beyond the bridge and within view of Needham Falls they overtook -a white canoe, or a canoe that had been white at one time, apparently -empty, since at a little distance nothing showed but an idle paddle and -the backs of the seats. - -“That,” mused Dud, “looks like Ordway’s. It must have got away from him -somewhere further back. We’d better tow it home, hadn’t we?” - -“I guess so. Got anything we can tie it up with?” Jimmy altered the -direction of his craft to run alongside the derelict. - -“Maybe we can use my belt,” Dud suggested. But at that moment they came -near enough to see into the white canoe and discovered that it was far -from empty, since two forms were stretched out flat on the bottom. -One had the colored pages of a Sunday paper over his face and was -consequently unrecognizable, but the other was unmistakably Nick Blake -himself. Jimmy signaled to stop paddling and the canoe floated silently -alongside. - -“Asleep!” whispered Jimmy. Dud nodded. Their eyes questioned. Here, -plainly, was a Heaven-sent opportunity to perpetrate a joke, but what -form the joke was to take was not easily decided. Dud watched Jimmy -expectantly, and Jimmy frowned thoughtfully, benignantly down on the -recumbent forms. If, he pondered, there was some way of fixing a line -to the white canoe without waking the occupants it would be a lark to -tow it down to the Falls and tie it up there in plain sight of the -trolley bridge. But Nick or his companion would probably wake before -they had accomplished that deed. And, besides, there was no rope handy. -Jimmy was for once at a loss. So, evidently, was Dud, for the latter -returned Jimmy’s inquiring look blankly. The precious moments passed. -And then, while Jimmy still racked his usually prolific brain, Nick’s -lips opened, although not his eyes, and Nick’s voice murmured: “Hello, -Jimmy! How well you’re looking. Isn’t he, ’Ighness?” - -And from under the newspaper came the reply in dreamy accents: “Oh, -rather! Perfectly ripping!” - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -ON THE RIVER - - -“You chumps!” growled Jimmy in deep disgust. “What do you think you’re -doing, anyway?” - -“It’s a sad story,” murmured Nick. “We were shipwrecked six――seven――how -many days ago was it, Mr. Ordway?” - -“Seven, Mr. Blake.” - -“Ay, seven days ago, sir, and ever since we have been tossed about in -this tiny boat at the mercy of the sea and tempest and――――” - -“Elements,” suggested the voice from under the comic supplement. - -“Ay, elephants! At last――at last――――” - -“Get that in about no food nor water,” prompted the other in a hoarse -whisper. - -“I forgot to say that there was no time to provision the boat. For six -days――――” - -“Seven!” - -“For seven days we were without food or drink, and at last, weak and -exhausted, we lay down in the bottom of the boat and died.” - -“Oh, so you’re dead?” asked Jimmy interestedly. - -“Dead as anything,” replied Nick cheerfully. “You dead, Mr. Ordway?” - -“Fearfully, thanks.” - -“I thought so. When one is dead one’s memory is apt to be a bit -uncertain, though. That’s why I asked. Gentleman here inquired. Very -kind of him, I’m sure. Wasn’t it kind of him, ’Ighness?” - -“Extraordinarily kind! Most polite, I’m quite sure!” - -“The trouble with you fellows,” said Jimmy solicitously, “is that -you’ve been lying around here in the sun. What you need is a local -application of cold water to the cranium――――” - -“Doesn’t he talk beautifully, ’Ighness?” - -“It’s wonderful,” sighed the other. - -“And it’s my duty to attend to the matter,” concluded Jimmy. Nick -opened his eyes then and the colored supplement quivered emotionally. - -“Respect the dead, Jimmy,” warned Nick, “or I’ll forget that I’m a -lifeless corpse and lay you out with a paddle. Who’s there with you?” - -“Dud Baker.” - -“Ah, the sprightly Baker,” murmured Nick. “Salutations, Baker.” - -“Hello,” replied Dud from the further end of the canoe. “Hello, Ordway.” - -Hugh cast aside the paper and carefully assumed a sitting position. -“Hello, Baker,” he said. “Nick, I fancy we’re rescued.” - -“Too late,” answered his companion in disaster gloomily. “We’re dead. -It’s perfectly silly to come along at this late day and rescue us, -Jimmy.” - -“Well, if you’re dead it’s up to us to bury you. Mind if we don’t sew -you up in sacks, Nick? We’re awfully shy of sacks.” - -“I mind terribly. I couldn’t think of being buried at sea without a -sack. I suppose you’ll tell me next that you haven’t even a cannon ball -to sink me with!” - -“He might use a couple of those doughnuts,” suggested Hugh, poking with -one foot at a bundle in the middle of the canoe. - -“Doughnuts?” asked Jimmy eagerly. “Got eats in there, fellows?” - -“Yes, sir.” Nick pulled himself up with a groan. “We’re off on a -picnic, Jimmy. And that reminds me, Hugh, that it’s about time we -looked for a picturesque sylvan glade somewhere. Seen any of those -things, Jimmy?” - -Jimmy, who had been working the light blue canoe along until it now -rocked companionably beside the white one, shook his head. “No,” he -answered. “Let’s――er――let’s look at one of those doughnuts, Nick.” - -Nick viewed him speculatively and then dropped his gaze to the bundle. -“I wouldn’t want to expose them to the air, Jimmy. They get stale so -soon, you see. But I’ll describe them to you. They’re big and fat and -sort of a lovely golden-brown color, and they’ve got sugar sprinkled -on their circumferences, so to speak. Honest, Jimmy, they’re awfully -_tasty_ doughnuts. You’d like ’em, I feel sure.” - -“Stingy brute! Come across, Nick. I’m as hungry as a bear. You’ve got -plenty, I’ll bet.” - -“Depends,” replied Nick, clasping his hands about his knees, “what you -call plenty. We’ve got only a dozen.” - -“You can have a couple of my six,” laughed Hugh, reaching for the -luncheon. - -“One moment,” interposed Nick. “Tell you what, ’Ighness. Here we are -with more food than we can eat, and here are two famished mariners -miles from port. What’s the answer?” - -“Why, we invite them to dinner, of course.” - -“Correct! Turn your old tub around, Jimmy, and paddle back to the -willows and we’ll go ashore and have a banquet. We’ve only got three -chops, but there’s lots of bread and butter and some cheese and a can -of peaches. Only we forgot to bring an opener, and so I don’t just -see―――― You don’t happen to carry a can-opener with you, do you Baker?” - -“No, but I think I can-opener without one,” replied Dud. - -“Wow!” said Jimmy. - -Nick turned with great difficulty and viewed Dud reproachfully. “You -shouldn’t do that,” he said. “I don’t mind for myself. I’m strong. But -Hugh here won’t get that before tomorrow morning at eleven-thirty-nine, -and meanwhile he will puzzle that poor English bean of his and get -faint and dizzy. You shouldn’t, Baker, you shouldn’t!” - -“Get what?” asked Hugh innocently. - -Jimmy laughed and Nick nodded sorrowfully at him. “Listen, ’Ighness,” -he explained patiently. “It was like this. I asked Baker if he carried -a can-opener with him. Get that?” - -“Perfectly. And he said he could open it without one. What’s the joke?” - -Nick cast his hands aside hopelessly. “What’s the use? What’s the use?” -he demanded. “Come on and let’s paddle. I’m sta-a-arved!” - -“How about getting back for supper?” inquired Jimmy. “It’s ’way after -five now.” - -“We get lost or we have an upset or something,” rejoined Nick -carelessly. “We discussed that, but I forget now just what we decided.” - -“That’s all right for you,” objected Jimmy as he and Dud swung their -craft around, “but what about us? We can’t all get upset?” - -“Why not?” asked Nick, reaching for his paddle. “There’s plenty of -water, isn’t there?” - -“But, I say, Nick,” remonstrated Hugh, “if we tell them we were upset -we’ll have to get our clothes wet, eh?” - -“Um, that’s so. I hadn’t thought of that. Oh, well, never mind now. -We’ll think up something going back.” - -“We might let the canoes get away from us and have to chase them,” -suggested Dud. - -“Perfect!” applauded Nick. “Baker, you have a great mind. Tell you -what, my hearties. After we get to the willows we’ll carelessly let the -canoes get away, see? Then we’ll catch ’em further downstream. They -won’t ask us how _far_ we had to chase ’em. Even if they do we can be -vague.” - -“Maybe we’d better try to get back on time,” said Hugh. - -“Squealer!” Nick, in the stern, reproachfully splashed Hugh’s back. -“There’s no fun picnicking if you have to go home right away and eat -another meal.” - -“Oh, all right, old chap,” agreed Hugh. “Only don’t throw any more -water down my neck. It’s beastly cold.” - -There was silence then for a few minutes while the two canoes passed -leisurely down the winding stream, side by side. Westward, the sun -was dropping close to the greening summit of the low hills and the -April day was almost at its end. There was a perceptible chill in the -little breeze that crept across the meadows and made catspaws on the -quiet surface of the water. Early blackbirds were fluttering along the -banks ahead of the canoes, uttering their creaky notes and simulating -wild alarm. A fish leaped after a reckless insect and fell back with a -startling splash, sending widening circles away in the amber glow. They -didn’t paddle much, for there was enough current to bear them along. -Jimmy frankly shipped his blade and watched the drops trickle. Nick’s -voice came across the few yards of water. - -“Somebody will please say some poetry,” he requested. - - “‘Now fades the glimmering landscape on the sight, - And all the air a solemn stillness holds, - Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight, - And drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds. - - “‘Save that from yonder ivy-mantled tower - The moping owl――――’” - -“That’ll be about all of that,” interrupted Nick. “If you don’t know -anything cheerful, ’Ighness, dry up. ‘The moping owl’! Where do you get -that stuff, anyway?” - -“Chap name of Gray wrote it,” replied Hugh meekly. - -“Thought so! Same fellow who did that ‘Elegy on a Country Cemetery,’ or -whatever it is. He was a jovial old Johnnie, wasn’t he? Bet you he’d -have been swell company at a funeral!” - -“If you want something bright and sparkling,” offered Jimmy, “I know a -nice little poem about a hanging! It begins――――” - -“Never mind how it begins! Want to spoil a perfectly good appetite? I -say, you fellows, we’ll race you to the willows. Dig, ’Ighness!” - -Followed a spirited race around the last bend to where a group of -willows leaned out over the shadowed water. Victory was claimed by both -crews, and the matter was never finally settled, for Nick tactfully -introduced the subject of supper in the middle of the argument and -leaped ashore with the brown-paper package that contained the precious -viands. Dried marsh grass and the paper from the bundle started a fire -at the foot of one gnarled willow, and small pieces of driftwood, -deposited by some winter flood, were piled on. Meanwhile Hugh made the -discovery that they had failed to provide salt for the chops and that -Nick had neglected to bring his folding cup. Jimmy helpfully reminded -them that it was an ancient custom, or so he had read, to substitute -gunpowder for salt when the latter was not to be had, and so _that_ was -all right! Nick called him an idiot and borrowed his knife to sharpen a -stick on which to broil the chops. In payment Jimmy helped himself to a -doughnut. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -CONFESSION - - -A quarter of an hour later they were sitting around the bed of glowing -coals busily concerned with the chops and bread and butter. The chops -were decidedly underdone in the middle although beautifully crisp -outside, and Nick came in for some criticism as a cook. But each of -the four ate his share――it had proved rather a problem to divide three -chops into four equal portions!――and so, if the proof of “the pudding -is in the eating,” Nick was vindicated. They had also brought four -potatoes to roast, but it was decided that life was too short and -appetites too impatient to wait for them, and so Jimmy buried them in -the ground, after carefully cutting them into quarters, and agreed to -share the proceeds of the crop in September with the others, estimating -the yield at two pecks. When they were thirsty they went down the bank, -climbed into a canoe and leaned their heads into the river, thus, as -Nick pointed out, getting not only a drink but a bath. - -The doughnuts, now diminished to eleven, were served out as dessert, -Jimmy, of course, receiving only two as his share, and were consumed -with the peaches and cheese. Jimmy’s knife was rather the worse for -its encounter with the can, but Dud kept his promise of opening the -latter. They speared the peaches out with slivers, passing the can -around the circle until nothing was left but the juice. Then they drank -that. Afterwards they tossed the can into the river and threw pebbles -at it until it floated slowly out of range. By that time it was fully -twilight and the April evening was growing chill. So they built up the -fire again and sat closer, huddling together for better protection from -the little breeze that whispered through the dead grass and leafless -boughs. For a while no one showed much inclination for conversation, -but after a while Hugh let fall a murmured remark and presently they -were talking desultorily of this and that, or, at least, Jimmy and -Hugh and Nick were. Dud, as usual, had little to say, and finally Nick -remarked: - -“Shut up, Baker, and let someone else get a word in. I never heard such -a chatterbox.” - -Jimmy chuckled. “Isn’t he gabby?” he asked. - -“Is he like this in the room, Jimmy?” Nick inquired. - -“N-no, and that’s the funny part of it. When he and I are alone -together he’s just full of words; can’t get them out fast enough. In -company, though, he’s horribly otherwise. I’ve been trying to break -him of it, but”――Jimmy sighed lugubriously――“nothing doing.” - -“I dare say he believes in waiting until he has something to say,” -offered Hugh. “Is that the idea, Baker?” - -“Oh, I don’t know.” Dud laughed uncertainly. “I never seem to think of -things when――when I’m around with a crowd.” - -“Well, you don’t call us a crowd, do you?” demanded Nick. “Come on -now; loosen up; spring some of those scintillant remarks that Jimmy is -always repeating. Know what he does, Baker? Well, he tells ’em around -and sort of gets the credit for ’em himself. Of course, he says you -said them, but there’s a sort of――of inflection in his voice that gives -you the idea that he put you up to it or――or something; if you know -what I mean, as Hugh would say.” - -“Oh, Dud’s full of bright things,” said Jimmy carelessly. “Only the -trouble is he doesn’t talk for publication.” - -“And you’re his press agent, eh?” laughed Nick. “I’ve often wondered――――” -He stopped. Then he laughed softly and Jimmy was aware that he was -regarding him mirthfully in the half darkness. - -“What’s the bally joke?” murmured Hugh. - -“Oh, nothing. That is――――” Nick fell into silence again. Then: “Most -of the things Jimmy tells sound a whole lot like Jimmy,” he stated -suggestively. There was a moment’s silence, broken at last by Dud. - -“They are Jimmy’s,” he said quietly. - -“Here, don’t try to put the blame on me!” Jimmy laughed loudly. “That’s -a punk trick, Dud!” - -“Honest confession is good for the soul,” said Nick lightly. “Come -across, Jimmy. What’s the idea? Everyone knows you’ve been touting -Baker like anything ever since Christmas recess. What is it, a -conspiracy?” - -Jimmy laid a twig carefully on the fire. “I don’t know what you’re -talking about,” he grumbled. - -“Oh, yes, you do, old man! We’re all friends together, you know, and -nothing you say will be used against you. That all right, Baker?” - -“Don’t ask him,” replied Jimmy. “He’d tell you anything. He’s incapable -of the truth. Say, what’s the matter with getting back, fellows?” - -“Oh, there’s plenty of time,” said Nick. “Joking aside, Jimmy, just -what is the big idea?” - -“Go ahead and tell,” urged Dud. “I don’t mind. Besides, they won’t -talk.” - -“Oh, you!” said Jimmy in disgust. “What is there to tell? Well, all -right, fellows. Only this is just between us, understand? It’s a little -scheme of my own. You see, Dud here is――well, he’s just as you see -him now. He thinks big thoughts and he’s a nice boy, but he’s a graven -image when he gets outside his room. Well, he likes fun as much as the -rest of us but he doesn’t get it because he always thinks he isn’t -wanted around. He――he’s shy, you know. At least, I suppose that’s it. I -never was that way and don’t know much about it.” - -Nick and Hugh laughed. - -“So I said one day: ‘Dud,’ I said, ‘you do like I tell you and I’ll -have you mixing in no time at all. I’ll make a regular feller of you, -and it won’t cost you a cent. All you’ve got to do is what I tell you.’ -So Dud said: ‘Oh, pshaw!’ or words to that effect, but agreed to try -the scheme. First thing I did was to make a list of fellows he ought -to know. Then we started in and got acquainted. It was hard sledding -because just as soon as I got him into a bunch of fellows he’d get -tongue-tied. Well, I saw that that wouldn’t do and so I began to get -off the good things Dud said――――” - -“All of which you made up?” chuckled Nick. - -“No, not all, honest. Some I did, of course. Dud didn’t deliver the -goods fast enough. And――well, that’s all there is to it. Perfectly -legitimate, you see, although Dud has had his doubts now and then and -threatened mutiny once or twice. We’ve got on fairly well. I haven’t -exactly popularized him yet, but I haven’t done so badly either. Lately -he’s been sort of kicking over the traces and refusing to pull, but -we’re progressing slowly. Now you know all about it. If either of you -chaps blab I’ll punch your head.” - -“So that’s it,” mused Nick. “Some scheme, eh, ’Ighness?” - -“Rather!” - -“I’m glad you know,” said Dud, embarrassed, “because it’s always seemed -so silly for Jimmy to go around getting off a lot of funny jokes and -crediting them to me, and then――then for me to just stand around -and act like a dummy. I suppose we went into it as a sort of lark, -or――well, I don’t know. I suppose it sounds funny to you chaps. But I -wanted you to know.” - -“I knew already,” said Hugh. “That is, I guessed a long time ago.” - -“Honest?” exclaimed Jimmy. “Say, that’s queer, because when I asked Dud -which of the fellows he’d like to――――” - -“Shut up, Jimmy!” implored Dud. - -“Why? There’s no harm in it, you chump. I asked Dud who he’d like to -know most and he said――――” - -“_Please_ dry up, Jimmy!” - -“He said Hugh Ordway. That’s why we butted in on you one night a long -while ago.” - -“Really? Well, you know, that’s quite a compliment, Baker. I’m afraid, -though, you didn’t find me――what’s the word, Nick?” - -“Responsive?” - -“Well, yes. Or appreciative, I guess; that’s better. If I’d known――――” - -“You didn’t expect Baker to tell you, did you?” asked Nick. “If you -really wanted to know a fine, respectable member of the community, -though, Baker, why didn’t you select me? I can’t understand you wanting -to know this cold-blooded Britisher.” - -“I think we called on you next,” answered Dud, laughing. - -“Did you? Well, thanks for small favors! But look here, Jimmy, it’s -been fun for you, I guess, but you haven’t done Baker much good, you -idiot! A fellow’s got to work out his own――his own salvation at school. -No one else can do it for him. Now you let Baker hoe his own row, -and――――” - -“That’s all you know about it,” replied Jimmy tranquilly. “Dud is on -speaking terms with about every fellow worth knowing now and before I -took him in hand――――” - -“That’s all right, but I’d rather have a half-dozen real friends than -be able to say ‘Hello’ to everyone. All Baker needs is to put his chin -up and――and get out and――and mix!” - -“Sure!” agreed Jimmy sarcastically. “That’s all! But suppose he -can’t do it? Suppose he hasn’t got the――the assurance? Then what? Why, -that’s where I come in, do you see?” - -“You’re an ass,” laughed Nick. “Baker, you take my advice and discharge -your press agent. He’s no good. Anyway, you won’t need him any more.” - -“It’s funny about being popular, or whatever you like to call it,” -mused Hugh. “Funny, I mean, how some fellows are and some aren’t; and -lots of times the popular chaps aren’t the ones you like best, if you -know what I mean.” - -“Very clear, ’Ighness; almost pellucid,” said Nick. “Just the same――――” - -“I don’t think I ever wanted to be what you’d call popular,” interrupted -Dud. “I never could be, I’m sure. All I did want was to know more -fellows and not feel quite so much out of everything. Of course, being a -lower middler I dare say it’s cheeky to want to mix with fellows in the -upper classes――――” - -“Don’t see it that way,” said Nick. “Very commendable ambition, I’d -call it. Shows a desire to seek――er――refinement and wisdom, and――――” - -“Oh, let’s get back,” said Jimmy. “I’m freezing to death. Besides, -you chaps may say what you like, but I know that without my skillful -handling of the case Dud wouldn’t be sitting here tonight listening to -you talk a lot of poppycock, Nick. Results are what count, and as a――a -press agent, if you like, I’ve produced results. Now someone tell me I -haven’t!” - -“If you call this a result,” began Nick doubtfully. - -“Of course I do! Dud has shown you two chaps that, whether he’s a -brilliant conversationalist or isn’t, he’s a perfectly human sort of a -chump, and you both like him a little better than you did yesterday, -and tomorrow Dud can go around and mention to a few fellows that last -evening he picnicked with Ordway and Blake on the river, and the -fellows will think, ‘Now if Baker is in with Ordway and Nick Blake he -must be all right,’ and――――” - -“Don’t be a rotter, Jimmy!” begged Dud. - -“Rotter nothing! It’s so, isn’t it? Mind, I don’t say you will tell -about it, but you could. You won’t, as a matter of fact, because you -don’t play the game for all it’s worth.” - -“Honest, Jimmy, you’re enough to sicken a fellow,” said Nick. “If I -thought you believed what you preached, or practiced it――――” - -“I do,” insisted Jimmy stoutly. - -“You don’t,” contradicted Dud. “Come on home before you talk any more -nonsense.” - -“I deny the nonsense,” replied Jimmy good-naturedly, “but I’m perfectly -willing to go home. I’ve been trying to for half an hour. Help me up, -someone. My legs are stiff with the cold. I say, we mustn’t forget to -let the canoes get adrift, fellows.” - -“Oh, rot,” said Hugh. “If we’ve got to lie, let’s lie decently.” - -“Why lie at all, then?” asked Dud. “Let’s just say that we wanted to -have supper on the river, and――and had it!” - -“Not a bad idea,” applauded Nick. “Who knows but that we’ll get off -easy that way? Faculty will be so surprised when we don’t offer any -of the usual excuses that they’ll probably forget to put us on pro. -Anyway, let’s try it.” - -“I’ll try anything once,” murmured Jimmy, as he stretched his numbed -legs. “I wonder, though, if we can see our way back? Bet you we’ll -run into the bank every two minutes! Where the dickens is that canoe? -I thought we left it right here. And where’s――――” Jimmy stopped and -turned toward the others approaching. “Say, fellows, I know an awfully -good joke,” he drawled. - -“What is it?” demanded Nick suspiciously. - -“Get ready to laugh. All set? Well, the canoes have gone!” - -[Illustration: “‘The canoes have gone!’”] - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -MAROONED! - - -“Gone!” exclaimed Hugh. “My word! But how――――” - -“Cut out the comedy, Jimmy,” said Nick. “Aren’t they there, really?” - -“Well, you come and have a look. Maybe your sight is better than mine. -I haven’t my glasses with me and so, of course, I may be mistaken, but -nevertheless and notwithstanding――――” - -“Well, I’ll be switched!” muttered Nick, holding a flaring match aloft -in the darkness. “Now how the dickens――――” - -“I guess,” offered Dud, “that getting in and out of them to drink -pushed them off.” - -“That’s the jolly story,” agreed Hugh. “But they were there the last -time I went down.” - -“Who took the last drink?” asked Jimmy. - -“You did, didn’t you? Did you see both canoes then?” - -Jimmy turned to Nick in the gloom and considered. At last: “I didn’t -notice,” he confessed. “It was pretty dark then――――” - -“But I say,” interrupted Hugh, “what are we going to do, eh?” - -“Beat it home, ’Ighness,” responded Nick, “if you know what I mean. -There’s no use looking for the pesky things tonight. I dare say, -anyway, they’ll run aground somewhere before they get very far. What -we’ve got to do is foot it back. How far is it, Jimmy?” - -“About a mile and a half,” answered Jimmy gloomily, “and most of the -way across this plaguey marsh. Unless we strike across that direction -and find the Yarrow road.” - -“That would be worse than looking for the canoes,” said Nick. “Best -thing to do is follow the river as well as we can. Come on!” - -“I say, if I fall in you might sing out so I’ll know which way to -swim,” suggested Hugh. “Tomorrow I’m going to buy an anchor for that -canoe, Nick; that is, if I ever find it.” - -“Gee!” muttered Jimmy. - -“What’s the matter?” asked Nick. - -“I was just recalling the interesting fact that the canoe we were in -belongs to young Twining, the little beast, and he will be likely to be -quite peevish if it’s lost.” - -“How inconsiderate!” laughed Nick. “He’s a junior, isn’t he?” - -“Yes.” - -“That’s all right then. You can point out to him that it’s a great -honor for him to have his canoe lost by an upper middler. Besides, -it’ll turn up in the morning. Oh, thunder!” - -“I should say so!” agreed Hugh, scrambling out of the ditch he had -followed Nick into. “’Ware water, fellows!” - -Dud and Jimmy escaped that time, but during the next half-hour or so -they had their share of misfortunes. There was no moon and the stars -were partly hidden by light clouds and it was impossible to see more -than a pace ahead at any time. They never actually tumbled into the -river, but they frequently stumbled down the bank and only saved -themselves by prompt laying hold of whatever they could reach, as when -Nick, walking too close to the edge and finding himself slipping, -promptly clutched Hugh’s leg and nearly doubled the catastrophe! It -seemed more like an hour than a half-hour since they had left the -willows before they caught sight of the old bridge looming indistinctly -above them. After that the rest was easy, for they had only to break -their way through the bushes that clad the embankment and foot it along -Crumbie Street to the corner of the campus, their path now illumined -by the infrequent street lights. Under the first of them they stopped -to take stock. Every one of them was wet to the knees or above and -plastered here and there with the nice, dark, rich mud of the marshes. -It was almost eight o’clock and any hope they may have entertained of -reaching their various rooms undetected had long since vanished. Nick -sighed philosophically as he turned to continue his journey, his shoes -_squish-squashing_ at every step. - -“Anyway,” he said, “when we tell them we lost the canoes and had to -walk home they’ll just have to believe us! That is the one bright spot -in the surrounding gloom.” - -“I’ve always wondered,” mused Jimmy, “how it would feel to be on -probation.” - -“You ought to know by this time,” chuckled Dud. “You’ve been there -twice already.” For some reason, Dud seemed less troubled by the -impending disaster than the others. - -Jimmy sniffed. “I don’t know, Mr. Baker, where you get your information, -but you have been sadly misled. The other occasions to which you -doubtless allude――――” - -“Shut up, Jimmy,” warned Nick. “And, say, we’d better part company -about now. You and Baker beat it up here and Hugh and I’ll amble -careless-like over to River Street. I hate to attract attention, I’m -that modest. Nighty-night!” - -“Same to you,” replied Jimmy. “And thanks for a pleasant party. -Although I must say that your arrangements for getting us home were a -bit――ah――primitive!” - -“Don’t mention it! Farewell, brothers. We meet in prison!” - -Whether by design or accident, Mr. Russell’s study door was wide -open as Dud and Jimmy quietly slipped from the stairway well into -the first-floor corridor of Trow, and, although they didn’t think it -advisable to stop to pass the time of day with the instructor, they -stopped just the same. - -“Ah, Logan, is that you?” It was “J. P.’s” voice. The two boys retraced -their steps and halted at the doorway. - -“Yes, sir,” replied Jimmy brightly. - -“And Baker, too, I see. Well, young gentlemen, where have you been? We -missed your bright and smiling faces at supper tonight.” - -Mr. Russell seemed to be in a pleasant mood, though one couldn’t always -be certain from appearances, and so Jimmy, as spokesman, smiled his -most winning smile and answered truthfully: “In the mud, sir.” - -“Indeed? Yes, I see. All the evidence tends to corroborate your quaint -statement. But why in the mud, Logan?” - -Jimmy hesitated an instant and then decided to make a clean breast of -the matter. Mr. Russell heard him through, smiling pleasantly. And -when the tale was told he said: “A most interesting narrative, Logan, -on my word. You show a nice sense of dramatic construction. But really, -boys, I’m rather afraid trouble will come of this. You know there’s a -rule about being in bounds by six o’clock on Sundays, eh? By the way, -you brought your fellow miscreants back with you, I trust? I refer to -Ordway and Blake.” - -“Yes, sir; they’re back,” replied Jimmy dispiritedly. Mr. Russell’s -tone now wasn’t so reassuring. - -“And they, too, were――ah――in the mud?” - -Jimmy grinned. “You’d think so if you saw them! They fell right in a -ditch once!” - -“Really?” Mr. Russell smiled quite broadly. “Well, I suppose it’s all a -grand lark with you youngsters, eh? Dear, dear, what a thing it is to -be young! Get those wet things off, boys, and stay in your room for the -rest of the evening. Possibly――――” He caught himself up. Then: “We’ll -hope for the best. Hm! Better look to your ways for awhile, though, -both of you. How about that little matter we spoke of recently, Baker? -Any――ah――any developments?” - -“No, sir. I――I quit.” - -“Wise youth! Go your ways, young gentlemen. Ponder on your sins -and”――Mr. Russell took up his book again――“refresh your souls with the -sweet communion――――” - -The rest was only a mumble. Dud and Jimmy stole noiselessly away. - -Fortune was good to them on the morrow. They were assembled, a -sober quartette, in Dr. Duncan’s office after breakfast and gravely -reprimanded and told that only a diligent application to studies could -wipe out the stain of their guilt. Promises of unfaltering labor -being at once forthcoming from each, they were dismissed with a final -admonition to mend their ways and, they thought, a sigh of relief from -the principal, never at his best in the rôle of Stern Authority. - -After a ten o’clock recitation, Nick and Jimmy hurried up the river -in Nick’s canoe and recovered the lost craft, Twining’s being found -lodged against the bridge timbers and Hugh’s a half-mile up the stream, -entangled in a sunken branch. That, to all appearances, ended the -affair, but in reality there was one important consequence that was -lost sight of, which was the acceptance of Dud into the circle in which -Nick Blake and Hugh Ordway revolved. It didn’t happen all at once, and -for a week or two Dud himself didn’t realize it, but at the end of that -period he suddenly discovered himself sitting with Hugh and Nick and -Bert Winslow and Ted Trafford in Nick’s room very gravely discussing -such important subjects as The Value of the Sacrifice Hit, Overhand -versus Underhand Pitching, When to Use the Pinch-Play and The Duties -of a Third-Baseman on a Bunt to His Territory with a Man on Second. -Perhaps Dud didn’t take a very large part in the discussion, but when -he had anything to say he found voice to say it, and a few remarks from -him on the subject of underhand pitching were well received. But the -main thing was that he was there, not on sufferance but, as it seemed, -quite naturally and as a matter of course. He surreptitiously pinched -himself, found he was actually awake and then, for a moment, was -visibly embarrassed. - -I don’t pretend that either Hugh or Nick would have been broken-hearted -if Dud hadn’t been present that evening, nor shall I attempt to guess -just how much of the friendliness they displayed was due to sympathy. -On the other hand, they were more than willing to have him there, and, -when they thought of it, were at some pains to make him feel welcome. -Ted Trafford took his cue from his host, and Bert Winslow’s attitude -was one of careless toleration. He still looked on Dud with suspicion. -Jimmy Logan couldn’t foist any lemon on him, as he once eloquently put -it to Hugh! Still, he didn’t actually dislike the younger boy, and, -save for an occasional mildly sarcastic comment occasioned by what he -called Dud’s cheek in trying to squirm his way into upper class company -and the first team, he treated the latter decently enough. The evening -ended with ginger-ale and grape-juice, mixed in equal proportions in -a pitcher, the scant remains of a pineapple cheese and some crackers. -Ted Trafford and Dud went back to Trow together, rather silently since -Ted was sleepy and Dud had nothing important to say, and parted in -the corridor. Dud reflected afterwards that Trafford might have said, -“Come and see me some time, Baker,” or something to like effect. But he -didn’t. He merely nodded sleepily, yawned and murmured: “Night!” Dud -was a bit disappointed, and without cause. Ted Trafford, who was a big, -good-hearted senior, would have issued that invitation had it occurred -to him that the younger boy would have set any store by it. As it was, -the thought didn’t enter his mind. If Baker was a friend of Nick and -Hugh, why, that was all there was to it. “Any friend of my friend,” is -the way Ted would have put it. - -Followed a week bare of real incident. Dud, like the other members -of that picnic party, applied himself doggedly to his lessons in an -effort to get square with the Office again and turned out each week-day -afternoon for baseball practice. Sometimes he pitched for the scrubs -and more often his work consisted of serving them up to the batters -at the net and, afterwards, being relieved by Kelly or Brunswick, -practicing batting himself. The first game of the season came off that -Wednesday afternoon, with the second team as the opponent. It wasn’t -much of a contest. Errors swelled the score of each team and all sorts -of delays slowed the game up so that there was time for only seven -innings. Dud took no part, the twirling being performed by Ben Myatt -for three innings and by Nate Leddy for the rest of the game. The -second team pitchers were severely handled and the first won by the -decisive score of 17 to 7. - -If there was any special sensation in that contest it was in the sudden -eminence of “Hobo” Ordway as a batter. Hugh, going into the line-up in -the fourth inning, came twice to bat and on each occasion smashed a -long, clean two-bagger into left-center. In the field he had only three -chances, but he took them all. It was only in throwing in that Hugh -was weak. Jimmy went to right field for three innings, made one rather -brilliant running catch of a long fly, failed to get a hit and retired -in favor of a pinch hitter in the sixth. After that Wednesday game life -settled down again rather monotonously, but not uninterestingly, for -Dud. On Saturday the team journeyed away and played Portsmouth Grammar -School and won handily against a weak adversary. Dud didn’t accompany -the team as a member nor did he go along with the half-hundred ardent -rooters. Neither did Jimmy. Mr. Russell in refusing their request for -leave, intimated that the afternoon might be spent far more profitably -in study. “J. P.” was kindly but firm. Doubtless his advice was -well-meant and worthy of consideration, but I regret to say it was not -followed. Instead, the two boys went trout fishing in Three Gallon -Brook, a mile back of school. Dud used flies and got not even a nibble. -Jimmy, with a plentiful supply of angle-worms, landed a four-inch -sunfish. As no one, so far as they were aware, had ever caught, seen -or suspected the presence of a trout in Three Gallon Brook, they were -not disappointed. The only feature of the excursion not counted on -occurred when Dud slipped from a rock during the effort to free his -line from a snag and landed in three feet of extremely cold water. -Fortunately that happened after Jimmy had landed his catch and so they -were about ready to go home, anyway. Jimmy carried the sunfish back to -school dangling from an alder branch. That is, it dangled until they -reached the school grounds. Then it was placed tenderly in Jimmy’s -coat pocket and smuggled to Number 19. When he returned from supper he -brought salt, and the fish was fried over the gas――with the door and -transom carefully closed and both windows wide open――and consumed in -a peculiarly flabby and underdone condition. Jimmy partook with gusto, -or pretended to, but Dud did scant justice to the repast. Jimmy said -he was jealous. Gus Weston happened in before the penetrating aroma of -the sunfish had been entirely dissipated and asked anxiously what the -trouble was. Whereupon Jimmy stopped trying to dislodge a bone that had -worked its way in back of his tongue and described movingly the size, -ferocious aspect and fighting qualities of that fish, recounting with -much detail the long, exhausting struggle incident to its capture. And -Weston diplomatically vowed that he believed every word of it; and had -either of them a rattling good detective story to lend him? - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -DUD SERVES THEM UP - - -Between Dud and Starling Meyer existed an armed neutrality. They passed -with covert glances, avoided each other when possible and doubtless -caused some disappointment to a certain element in the school who had -been for several weeks eagerly expecting a fracas between the two. The -boxing lessons had been abandoned, since, as Jimmy pathetically pointed -out, there was no use getting ready for something that couldn’t happen. -The gloves were returned to their owners, and, robbed of self-defense -as a principal interest in life, Jimmy gave his attention to playing -baseball. It occurred to him at about this time that it wouldn’t look -well for Dud to make the first team, even as a substitute, and for -him to get chucked back to the second nine. So the Monday after the -Portsmouth Grammar School game Jimmy buckled down to make good. Right -field seemed the only position open to him, and even to earn that -he would have to beat out Harold Boynton, and Boynton, while not an -exceptional fielder, was a pretty fair hitter. Therefore it behooved -Jimmy to get busy and learn to “lam ’em out” a bit better. His first -step was to attempt to bribe Brunswick and Dud to pitch easy ones when -he was at the net. Failing at that, he sighed and set out to conquer -by labor. Jimmy always preferred to take short cuts. The longest way -around might suit some fellows, but he took it only as a last resort. -Having, however, made up his mind to the circuitous journey, Jimmy was -capable of settling down to the task and seeing it through. - -On Wednesday the second team was again defeated, and on the following -Saturday Grafton High School, supported by a large and noisy mob of -pennant-flaunting boys and girls, engaged the attention of the first -team. The batting order that afternoon gave a line on what was likely -to be the final selections: Blake, ss; Murtha, 2b; Parker, cf; Winslow, -3b; Ayer, 1b; Ordway, lf; Boynton, rf; Gordon, c; Myatt or Leddy, p. -There might be, probably would be, changes later on in the arrangement -of the players for batting purposes, but it was generally conceded -that the team as made up that day was practically as it would be six -weeks later. It was likely that Ben Myatt would occasionally be played -in center field, for Ben, aside from being a remarkable pitcher, was -a steady outfielder and a good hitter. There were some critics who -sneered at Hugh Ordway’s presence on the nine, hinting at favoritism, -and it must be acknowledged that Hugh accomplished little that -afternoon to vindicate his selection for the middle-garden position. -Hugh had a bad day, missing one easy fly and failing to reach first -base once. His muff in the third inning let in two runs and made the -outcome doubtful until the sixth, when a single by Guy Murtha with one -down, a sacrifice by Parker, a screeching two-base hit by Bert Winslow -and an error by third-baseman landed two tallies for the home team. - -The score stayed at five to five until the ninth, when the home team -started a rally. Bert Winslow, first man up, was passed. Neil Ayer -laid a bunt in front of the plate, sending Bert to second and going -out himself at first. Mr. Sargent sent Milford to bat in place of Hugh -and Milford came through with a clean single that landed him on first. -Bert, however, was out at the plate by inches only. With two gone, a -second pinch-hitter was sent to the rescue in the person of Gus Weston. -As a pinch-hitter Gus was ordinarily something of a joke, but on this -occasion he turned the laugh on High School’s pitcher, landing on the -first offering and sending it down the third-base line for a hit that -advanced Milford to second. Gordon followed with a pop-fly that should -have been an easy out, but which second baseman and shortstop managed -between them to let fall safe. - -With bases full and Nate Leddy up――Myatt had gone through five innings -and been sent to the showers――Mr. Sargent took a chance and let Nate go -to bat. Evidently the latter was instructed to wait out the pitcher, -for he stood idly by while two strikes and two balls went across. Then -the coach called him back and Jimmy Logan was sent in to distinguish -himself. Anyone but Jimmy would have suffered from nerves, I fancy, -for it is something of an ordeal to step up to the plate with two out, -bases filled and the pitcher’s score two-and-two. But Jimmy approached -the task with beautiful assurance. Some said he even swaggered a -little. Perhaps he did, and perhaps that swagger was the undoing of the -opposing pitcher. At any rate, all Jimmy had to do was dodge two wild -deliveries and trot, smilingly, to first, while Milford ambled over the -plate with what proved eventually to be the winning run. Nick Blake -brought the inning to an end a moment later when he sent a long fly to -the outfield. - -Grafton High School begrudged that victory and showed it, at the time -by the half-hearted way in which they cheered their successful rival, -and later by sending a challenge for another contest on High School -grounds. The challenge was accepted and a vacant date a week and a -half later was awarded her. Since faculty rules prohibited the team -from playing away from the school on Wednesdays during April and May, a -special dispensation was asked for and obtained, and the game came off -in due time and High School went down in decisive defeat, the score at -the end of the seven innings played being 9 to 2 in favor of Grafton. - -Before that, however, Leeds High School had administered the first -beating to the Scarlet-and-Gray to the tune of 3 to 0. It was a good -game and Grafton showed up well in all departments except that of -hitting. Leeds’ pitcher was a hard proposition and only four scattered -hits were registered by Grafton. On the other hand, Leddy, who started -in the box for his team, was found for six hits in four innings, one -of them a three-bagger, and although Ben Myatt, who relieved him, held -the enemy well in hand, the mischief was already done. In the eighth -and ninth innings that day Mr. Sargent used every available player in -his determined effort to stem the tide of disaster, even Dud getting a -chance to show his batting prowess and rapping a liner straight into -the hands of shortstop as his contribution to the cause. Jimmy, called -into the fray in the eighth, managed to get hit with an in-shoot and -so, luckily, earned his base. It was Starling Meyer who came nearest to -accomplishing anything in the batting line, for Star, after watching -two good ones pass him, landed on what was palpably intended for a wide -one and managed to drop it behind first base some three inches inside -the foul line. Unfortunately there was no one on the bases to take -advantage of the miracle. - -As a result of the Leeds game there followed, beginning on the next -Monday afternoon, a series of batting practices that for the rest of -the week, barring Wednesday and Saturday, left no time for line-ups. -There also followed a change in the batting order and a slight shakeup -of the team. Bert Winslow took Guy Murtha’s place as second batter, -Guy following him and Parker slipping into fourth position. Gordon and -Boynton also changed locations. Milford was tried out at first and for -the next three weeks he and Neil Ayer had a very lively struggle for -the first sack. Eventually Ayer came into his own again, although had -batting ability alone entered into it Milford would undoubtedly have -won the place. Jimmy got several opportunities to show what he could do -in right field and Starling Meyer received some recognition in center. -Southlake Academy was defeated on the nineteenth at Southlake, Gus -Weston pitching for once a remarkably steady game until he was taken -out in the seventh. By that time the contest was on ice and Coach -Sargent sent Brunswick in for a couple of innings of experience. -Experience came his way, too, to the tune of four hits for a total of -six bases, but luckily only one run resulted. - -Track and field sports were by now engaging much of the school’s -interest. The team had held its handicap games the last of April, had -defeated St. James Academy the week before and was at present very -busily at work getting into condition to meet Mount Morris, Grafton’s -principal rival, on the twenty-sixth. Over on the big oval ribbon of -gray-blue cinders the twenty-odd youths who wore the scarlet-and-gray -stripe across their chests or who hoped to wear it after next Saturday, -sprinted and ran and hurdled, while about the jumping pits a dozen or -fifteen others strove mightily with shot and hammer and vaulting-pole -or worked zealously at the jumps. Nowadays the audience at the first -team diamond was smaller each afternoon, and one heard much learned -talk of dual records, and the names of Zanetti and Tray and Keyes and -Yetter and Musgrave and many others pursued one from breakfast to -bedtime. “Dinny” Crowley divided his time as best he could between -Track Team and second nine, while Davy Richards, at last really in his -element, loomed large in importance. Davy had a reputation as a trainer -of track and field talent to vindicate and Davy in the process of -vindicating was a fine imitation of a tyrant. Even Mr. Sargent forsook -baseball for a space each day and gave his attention to the weight men -and jumpers, for “Pete” in his day had held a college record for two -years with the hammer and had, as a side issue, leaped his twenty-two -feet-odd for the honor of the Blue. So for one week at least baseball -took a back seat at Grafton and the real heroes were the slim-waisted, -bare-legged chaps in fluttering white trunks. - -The ball team met Middleboro High School on Wednesday afternoon and -had no trouble in winning a 14 to 3 contest that offered little in the -way of excitement or suspense to the listless spectators. It was an -intolerably hot day for May and audience and players alike drooped. For -Grafton, Nate Leddy started the twirling, but after his teammates had -scored eight runs on the opponents in five innings Nate ambled off and -Joe Kelly tried his hand. Joe was not a success, for the enemy took -most kindly to his slants, and after facing two innings of trouble Joe -likewise retired and Dud was given his first taste of hostile batsmen. - -With the score 12 to 3, Dud was not expected to kill himself, and -Ed Brooks, who had taken Gordon’s place behind the plate with the -advent of Kelly on the mound, was all for an easy life. But Brooks was -reckoning without Dud’s ambition to win a place on the list of battery -candidates. Dud had warmed the bench and twirled his glove during so -many games that this opportunity presented itself to him as Heaven-sent -and he resolved to use all the skill he knew and all the control he -possessed. For a fortnight he had been experimenting with his curves -again and, at Ben Myatt’s suggestion, had even attempted a side-arm -delivery that looked promising. He had little fear of being punished -much, but he went to the mound and picked up the ball determined to -deny any sort of a hit to the opponents. That is why he shook his head -so frequently at his catcher, much to that gentleman’s surprise, and -why when Middleboro’s tail-enders faced him in that first of the eighth -he worked so carefully and cunningly that one after another the three -last batters on the list retired without even fouling-off a ball! The -Middleboro pitcher stood like a graven image while Dud shot two fast -ones over the outer corner of the rubber, wasted one for luck and then -ended the inning with a slow ball that floated as perfectly over the -center as though it had been rolled on wires! For the first time during -the game the somnolent spectators showed enthusiasm as Dud dropped the -ball and made for the bench. Brooks squeezed in beside him and thumped -him on the knee. - -“Great work, Dud!” he said. “We made ’em look like pikers, didn’t we?” - -“You!” laughed Parker, sitting next him. “What did you do, Eddie? -Baker scratched every signal you gave him!” - -“Me?” asked Brooks sarcastically. “Oh, nothing! I just held him, that’s -all! You get up there and put your mitt against some of Dud’s fast ones -and see how simple it is! Say, Dud, it would be fine if we could send -them down in the next inning the same way, eh? Only thing is, that -fellow Dollard, who bats second, is a pretty good hitter. He’s made two -already out of three times up.” - -“What’s the first fellow like?” asked Dud. - -“Chapman? I guess that’s his name. Plays third. Oh, he’s not dangerous. -He wants his base. Sneak over the first one for a strike and then tease -him a couple of times with high ones. He’ll go after them every time. -But Dollard’s not so easy. He waits for the good ones.” - -“Then we’ll have to see that he doesn’t get them,” replied Dud simply. - -“Well, if you can keep on working the corners the way you did last -inning you’re all right. That ump has his eyesight with him. If he -didn’t you’d get the worst of it lots of times.” - -Grafton tallied twice more in her half of the eighth and then Dud went -back to the mound and faced the small and stocky third-baseman. But he -wasn’t hard. Once Dud thought he had lost his wish, but the ball rolled -foul before it reached the third sack. After that there was no more -trouble. Chapman, if that was his name, bit at a high one and missed -it badly, let a ball go by and then again swung too late at a fast one -that crossed the plate and retired disgruntled to the bench. - -But Dollard was more canny. Dollard had to have good ones. Dud tried -him on two that looked fair until they broke, but the batter treated -them with contempt. Then Dud tried him out with a slow one and caught -him napping. Dollard fouled the next one into the stand and the score -was two-and-two. Brooks signaled for a straight one, hoping to finish -him off, but Dud shook his head. Instead, he changed his position in -the box a mite, wrapped his fingers about the ball, wound up, stepped -forward and swung his arm wide at the height of his elbow. Brooks had -to jump for that ball, for it proved a cross-fire indeed, and there -was a perceptible moment of hesitation before the umpire reached his -verdict. But when he did he said “_You’re out!_” so decisively as to -make up for the hesitation. Dollard voiced objections all the way to -the bench and let it be known by the manner in which he slammed his bat -to earth that he was totally out of sympathy with that umpire! But the -crowd cheered the strike-out and jeered the victim and the next batsman -stepped to his place. - -Then, for once, and for the first time since he had profited by Ben -Myatt’s advice, Dud went back to his hooks and that third batter swung -and dodged and swung again while Dud brought the game to an end with -exactly four deliveries! - -Two days later there came the final cut in the first squad and six -disappointed candidates were turned over to the second team. One of the -six was a pitcher, but his name was not Baker. It was Kelly. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -THE TRACK MEET - - -It was Saturday afternoon and Dud, squeezed into a seat on the little -grandstand between Roy Dresser and Ernest Barnes, was watching the -Track and Field Meeting of Grafton and Mount Morris. The baseball crowd -had gone off to play the Rotan College Freshman Team and by what Dud -considered a horrible error of judgment on the part of the coach he -had not been taken along. Of course, he hadn’t expected to pitch even -one inning against the college nine, but he did think that Mr. Sargent -might have included him among the substitutes. How was a fellow to -learn if he didn’t watch the team play? And to add to his sense of -injury, Jimmy had actually accompanied the nine to play right field! -Of course that was only because Boynton was entered in the athletic -meet and someone had to take his place, but it didn’t make Dud any more -reconciled. There were moments when he almost wished that the team -would run up against the defeat that was predicted for it! - -Still, those moments were of the past, for during the last half-hour -Dud had been far too excited over the events taking place before his -eyes to recall the injustice done him. The sprints, the half-mile, the -high hurdles, the shot-put and the high jump had been decided and the -rivals were within two points of each other, Mount Morris leading with -28. Just now nine eager youths, four wearing the green-and-white of -Mount Morris and five the scarlet-and-gray of Grafton, were awaiting -the pistol at the start of the quarter-mile and Dud’s eyes were -riveted on them. Warren Yetter, on whom Grafton’s hopes rested, was -the second man from the pole and, oddly enough, Kirkwell, the Mount -Morris crack, was at his right elbow. Dud could see them talking to -each other smilingly, but for all of that a bit constrainedly. Then -the nine bodies poised, there was an instant’s silence and the sharp -report of the starting pistol sounded on the still air. The runners -leaped away, jockeyed for positions in the first dozen strides and -swept past the stand like frightened deer. Dud was on his feet, and so -too were all those around him. Inarticulate sounds made a background -for the strident shouts and yells of encouragement. Along the grass a -Mount Morris youth, an official of some sort, raced beside the runners, -dangling a white sweater with a broad green band on it, yelping and -urging. Now they were at the first corner, Kirkwell leading and Yetter -a yard behind him. Tenney, of Grafton, strove to pass Yetter on the -outside and was followed closely by a Mount Morris runner. At the next -corner the first four were strung out and hugging the rim: Kirkwell, -Yetter, Tenney and Number 54. Dud sought hurriedly for his program to -discover the identity of Number 54, realized the next moment that he -didn’t care, swept his gaze back across the field quickly and joined -his voice in the roar that swept from the stand. Yetter was sprinting -gamely now. Only a yard separated him from Kirkwell. Tenney was certain -of third place. The finish was only a few yards away. Yetter crept -up and up! The shouts increased. The stand was a pandemonium. The -officials, packed about the finish line, were waving and shouting, too, -all but the judges and timers. Yetter and Kirkwell swept to the line -side by side! Or did they? Wasn’t the Mount Morris man a little ahead -as they disappeared behind the group there? The tumult had quieted, but -now it broke forth again and the shouting came from the other end of -the stand. Across the field a half-dozen jubilant Mount Morris fellows -were tossing their hats in air and signaling victory! - -“That was a peach of a finish,” said Roy Dresser, with a sigh of -relief. “Warren almost had him.” - -“That puts them another point ahead,” said Dud, grudgingly crediting -Mount Morris with 5. “Gee, I thought Yetter was supposed to have the -four-forty cinched!” - -“I guess he ran it inside his best time,” replied Roy. “Kirkwell was -better, that’s all.” - -The announcer was bawling forth the result: -“Four-Hundred-and-Forty-Yards-Run! Won by C. J. Kirkwell, Mount Morris! -W. H. Yetter, Grafton, second; A. L. Tenney, Grafton, third. Time, 52⅗ -seconds!” - -“Wow!” exclaimed Roy. “That’s a fifth better than the dual record! I -told you Warren was going some!” - -Dud tried to glean comfort from the fact, but those five points stared -at him obstinately. They were putting the low hurdles across the cinder -for the final heat, while at the end of the oval lithe forms sprang in -air to waft themselves over the bar nearly ten feet above the ground or -to go, doubled up like an animated jack-knife, flying into the brown -loam of the jumping pit. Behind the stand the hammer-throwers were -still busy. Dud watched Jim Quinn launch himself upward with his long -pole, straighten a tense body and drop across the trembling bar and -sighed with relief. The pole vault might decide the meeting and so far -Quinn was more than holding his own. - -Musgrave and Keyes, of Grafton, and Torrey and Capper, of the rival -school, crouched far up the track. At the finish a handkerchief waved. -The four figures set, straightened and leaped away from their marks and -the sound of the pistol followed them. Down they came, stride, stride, -stride, leap; Torrey gaining between hurdles, Keyes pulling him back -at the timbers; Musgrave and Capper falling behind but fighting gamely -for third place. On and on to the growing roar of the excited watchers, -hurdle after hurdle falling behind. Torrey well in advance now, but -Keyes pushing him for every ounce of strength in his body. Two more -hurdles left. Torrey is over! Keyes is over! A mad race for the final -obstacle, Torrey again gaining on the flat, but Keyes, head back, feet -twinkling, only a yard behind. Up again and over, almost side by side -at the next stride. Then the dash to the string, Torrey, arms upthrown, -breaking it a stride ahead of Keyes! Mount Morris shouts wildly and -Grafton joins, for Ned Musgrave has beaten out his rival handily and -again the points go five to Mount Morris and four to Grafton, and Mount -Morris had been conceded first and third places! - -Dud is a trifle comforted as he sinks back to his seat and scratches -agitatedly with his stubby pencil. Barnes, munching chocolate -philosophically, asks the score. - -“Thirty-eight to thirty-four,” replies Dud. - -“We’re a goner then.” - -“We are not! Wait till the mile run comes off! Foster Tray will win -that at a walk, and we may get second place too.” - -“Yes, and Mount Morris will win the broad jump and the hammer.” Barnes -pushes the last of the chocolate between stained lips and wipes sticky -fingers on a dingy handkerchief. “Say, I wonder how the baseball game -is coming out.” - -“We’ll get licked. Here come the milers. Who’s the fellow in the blue -and yellow bathrobe, Roy?” - -“Milton. He ought to do pretty well. He ran fifth last year and they -say he’s a lot faster now. I don’t see――――” - -“The bar is now at nine feet, ten and one-half inches!” announces a -voice, and they turn their gaze to see a Mount Morris youth rise in -air, straighten and come hurtling to earth with the bar on top of him. - -“So sorry,” murmurs Roy Dresser. “Hope he does it again next time.” - -The megaphone artist trots into the middle of the arena and faces the -stand, a slip of paper in his hand. The voices are stilled as he places -the scarlet horn to his mouth. “At the end of the fifth inning――――” - -Deep silence now! - -“――At Rotan the score stands: Grafton 5――――” - -An outburst of cheers, quickly stilled. - -“――Rotan 11!” - -A moment of gloom, broken by ironical cheers from the Mount Morris end -of the stand. - -“What do you know about that?” asks Dud wonderingly. “They must have -hammered Myatt for fair! Eleven to five! Gee!” - -“What I want to know,” observes Barnes, “is how we got five!” - -Dud observes him in faint disgust. “Oh, I suppose they gave them to us! -Don’t you think we can play ball at all?” - -“I didn’t think we could hit that fellow Gibbs,” Barnes answers -carelessly. “He’s a wonder, you know.” - -“Well, even wonders have their off days. I guess Myatt had one today! -Gee, eleven runs!” - -“I’m just as well pleased I didn’t go, Baker. The crowd will be dead -sore when they get back. It costs nearly two dollars to make that trip.” - -“We’ve just simply got to get this meet,” mutters Dud. “We can’t get -beaten all around today!” - -“I’ve known it to happen,” says Roy unfeelingly. “Here they go! Must be -two dozen of ’em!” - -In truth there were exactly fourteen, about evenly divided between -the two schools. They hustled away confusedly and went to the corner -weaving in and out, slowing their strides. Four times around a -quarter-mile track is no pleasure jaunt and they knew it. Foster Tray -was well in the rear of the bunch and he stayed there as long as the -pace suited him, but at the finish of the first lap he had crawled up -to third place, with Towne, of Mount Morris, and Milton, of Grafton, -leading in that order. The field was already strung out, for the pace -had been fairly fast for the tyros. In the backstretch a Mount Morris -youth sprinted from the center of the first bunch and swept into the -lead, no one disputing him. But he lasted only to the beginning of -the homestretch and when the leaders came past the stand again Towne -was first and Tray second. Milton was back in fourth place, behind -a teammate. Then came three Mount Morris fellows and, after them, a -straggling line of pluggers. - -The time was shouted to them as they went by, but there was too much -shouting from the stand for Dud to hear it. At the next corner Milton -hustled past the third runner and fell in behind Tray, and Grafton -cheered that indication of pluck. But by the time the backstretch -was once more ahead Towne and Tray were yards to the good and both -Milton and the man behind him were losing ground. There was no sign of -weariness shown by either of the leaders. Towne was running a fine, -steady race and seemed well within himself. Tray, not so pretty a -runner, looked to be tiring, but he kept his position to the fraction -of an inch, a single stride behind his rival, his spikes hugging the -rim closely. Around the corners they came, into the stretch, to a -chorus of cheers and shouts and shrill yells of advice, entreaty and -encouragement. The gong clanged its announcement of the final lap. -Fifteen yards or so behind the two leaders came Milton, fighting -doggedly to keep ahead of a Mount Morris youth but losing gradually. By -this time the track showed tired contestants everywhere. Towne and Tray -were already lapping the rear-guard. - -Stride for stride, the green ribbon and the scarlet passed the turns -and reached the backstretch. There was still no sign of a change of -pace, no altering of the steady strides. Now they were half-way through -the final circuit, moving together across the green turf like a single -machine. But suddenly cries leapt from the watchers. Towne had started -his sprint! Already a yard separated the two! And now it was a good -two strides! They were rounding the third corner, heads back, digging -for all they were worth! Tray was falling behind! The spectators in -the stand were on their feet, hands outstretched and beckoning, lungs -roaring forth shouts of triumph or of despair. Into the stretch the -two white-clad figures swept. Surely Tray had pulled up again! He had! -He was running stride for stride with the Mount Morris man! He was -gaining! Why, there was nothing to it but Tray! What a sprint! Two -yards between them now, three――four! And Tray still opening up daylight -and the finish growing nearer and nearer! The stand was emptying, the -audience piling down to crowd the track at the finish line. It was -difficult to see now, but there was a head bobbing up and down a few -yards away, and another―――― - -“_Track! Track! Keep back there! Give them room, fellows!_” - -“_Grafton! Grafton! Grafton!_” - -“_Tray! Tray! Tray!_” - -“_Come on, Towne! Mount Morris! Mount Morris!_” - -“_You can do it! Come on! Come on!_” - -Then a veritable babel of sound as a white-clad runner stumbles into -sight at the end of the throng, is caught by ready arms and borne -staggering to the turf. Grafton cheers fill the air. Another runner -subsides on the grass. Cries of “_Track! Track! Let them finish! -Everyone off the track!_” And then Milton, white of face, dragging his -unwilling feet beneath him, fighting for breath, crosses the line a -scant two yards ahead of a Mount Morris youth and plunges forward on -his face. After that they jog in one by one, but no one sees them, for -the race is over and Grafton has won first place and third and added -eight much-needed points to her score! - -Dud, separated in the confusion of that rush down from the stand from -his companion, waited to hear the announcement of the time, hoping to -learn that Foster Tray had made a new record for the mile. But four -minutes and fifty-four seconds was not sensational, and so he followed -the crowd to the pole-vault. The broad jumpers had just finished and -Mount Morris had won first place, leaving four points for Grafton, -and the figures stood 46 to 44, the Green-and-White still two points -ahead. The hammer-throw had not yet been heard from, Dud learned, but -Quinn was sure of first in the pole-vault. Dud joined the ranks of the -anxious onlookers and watched while Mount Morris’s talent tried and -failed to equal Jim Quinn’s ten feet and one inch, watched while Hanson -of Grafton struggled for third place in the vault-off between him and -Joy of Mount Morris and grieved when he lost out. And then, while Dud -was figuring and calculating and staring at the unwelcome result which -showed Mount Morris still a point ahead, a wildly leaping junior shot -around the stand bringing an end to suspense. - -Grafton had won first and second place in the hammer-throw! Driver had -thrown a hundred and thirty-nine feet and four inches! And Gowen had -done almost as well! And Mount Morris’s best was only―――― - -But Dud didn’t care what Mount Morris’s best had been! He was scrawling -a big black 8 on his program and shouting to no one in particular: - -“What do you know about that? Grafton, 57; Mount Morris, 51! Well, -I guess! Six points to the good! Oh, we’re not so bad, not so bad! -Fifty-seven to fifty-one! What do you know about that?” - -No one heard him, I fancy, for there was a great deal of noise about -that time. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -BASEBALL, TENNIS AND OYSTERS - - -There was yet nearly three-quarters of an hour before supper time and -Dud, still elated and excited over the track victory, turned his steps -to River Street and, skirting the school grounds, swung west and made -for the station. The ball team, unless it missed its connection at the -Junction, would be in at a quarter to six. Dud was not alone in his -journey to the station, for the carriages bearing the Mount Morris -athletes passed him half-way along the shaded village road and several -boys, fortunate youths living nearby who had procured leave of absence -over Sunday, were trailing along, suit-cases in hand. Dud witnessed -the departure of the Mount Morris track team and the fellows off for -home and then, seated on a baggage-truck, watched the shadows creep -down the hillside across the tracks and thought of a great many things. -He speculated on what had happened at Rotan to result in Grafton’s -defeat, wondered whether by any stroke of fortune the Scarlet-and-Gray -had redeemed herself in the later innings and then tried to imagine -himself in the box for Grafton, facing those doughty Rotan freshies -and mowing them down one-two-three! He couldn’t quite visualize the -scene, however, and gave up with a sigh. Then he wondered how long it -would be before Mr. Sargent would let him start a game, and what would -happen when he did! And at that instant there was a whistle far down -the track, the few loiterers came to life along the platform and the -baggage man requisitioned his truck. - -Jimmie was one of the first off the train and was all for returning -to school in the barge until Dud reminded him that he had walked all -the way over to meet him and didn’t propose to pay any fifteen cents -to ride back. Whereupon Jimmie good-naturedly set out with his chum on -foot. - -“Twelve to seven,” he answered in reply to Dud’s request for the final -figures. “What was the matter? Why, nothing much, except that we -couldn’t hit that pitcher of theirs and they slammed Myatt all over -the lot in the third. Why the dickens Pete didn’t yank him out I don’t -know. Maybe it’s just as well he didn’t, though. I guess they’d have -battered Leddy something brutal. Those dubs sure can hit the pill, son!” - -“How did you get on?” asked Dud. - -“Rotten, thanks! I muffed a peach of a fly and let two runs cross, -worse luck! It was in that awful third. The sun got square in my eyes -just at the last moment. I had the old thing sighted nicely until I -had to drop my hands to make the catch. Then it went plum through -’em. There were three on bases and so two of them scored. The other -one could have, too, if he’d had any sense, for it took me about ten -seconds to find the ball after I muffed it. But the fellow slowed up at -third and by that time it was too late.” - -“Did you hit any?” - -“I got one, and it was a corker. I’d have had two bases on it if Blake -hadn’t held me up at first, the chump! I wasn’t awfully strong with the -stick, Dud, but I got a base every time I went up!” - -“You did? How, for pity’s sake?” - -“Well, the first time I rolled one in front of base and the catcher -threw to second to get Ordway. He didn’t, though, for Hobo’s a regular -flash on the bases, and we were both safe. The next time I got pinked -in the arm, the next time I hit between short and third――some little -sizzler, that was, old scout!――and the last time I worked Mr. Pitcher -for a pass.” - -“Gee, you’re a lucky chap,” said Dud enviously. - -“Lucky? Nothing of the sort. Brains, son, brains! Besides, do you call -it lucky to have a long, easy fly go right through your fingers? Huh! -Luck didn’t do anything for little Jimmy today! Say, how’d the meet -come out? Heard we’d won it, but what was the score?” - -They talked track meeting until the campus was reached and then Dud -returned to the subject of the ball game. “They tried Star Meyer in -center for a couple of innings; Parker got his leg spiked and Star -wasn’t so bad. Made a pretty catch of a long one that went nearly to -the fence and managed to beat out a bunt in the ninth. I suppose the -first thing I know I’ll have to down him as well as Boynton.” - -Dud looked surprised. “Do you think you’ve got a show, Jimmy?” he -inquired. - -“Why not?” asked the other, bristling. “Boynton’s not much better than -I am. He muffs ’em, too, now and then. Of course, he’s hitting better, -but I’ll wager he doesn’t get to first any oftener. But if they go and -lug Star into the business, why, that’s different. I can’t win out -against the whole school!” - -“But you say they played Star in center. And you’re after right, aren’t -you?” - -“I’m after anything I can get, son. A fellow who can play center can -play right or left, can’t he? An outfielder’s just an outfielder, you -see, and you can’t play more than three of ’em at a time――and get away -with it. Just now there are about six of us, all trying for three jobs. -I wish Star Meyer would go soak his head and not butt in on baseball!” - -Dud laughed. “You might suggest it to him, Jimmy. Who pitched besides -Myatt? Did Brunswick get in?” - -“Nobody. Ben went the distance. They couldn’t touch him much after that -rotten third. Got a couple of hits in the fifth and about one each -inning after that. They made their last run in the eighth with two -down. A fellow cracked a two-bagger down the left foul-line and tried -to steal third, and did it because Winslow let the ball drop. Then the -next fellow hit an easy one to Ayer and Myatt didn’t cover base in time -and the chap on third scrambled in. I guess it was just as well Pete -didn’t derrick Ben, after all, because he certainly pitched a corking -game after that third inning. Gee, but I’m hungry! Wish I was at -training table,” he added wistfully. “They get steaks there!” - -They went over to Nick Blake’s room after supper and found Hugh and -Bert and Guy Murtha there, and there was much baseball talked and -many “might-have-beens” discussed. Dud, as a non-participant, had -little to say, and Hugh, who might have talked a good deal since he -had rather distinguished himself by his work at the bat and on the -bases, was almost as silent. After awhile, on the excuse of showing -Dud a new book, Hugh led the other off upstairs and they settled down -full-length on the window-seat, beside the open casements, and had a -fine, chummy talk. Dud could talk well enough when there was but a -single listener, and tonight Hugh found the younger boy far from dull. -By the time Bert Winslow came in, yawning, they had discovered numerous -bonds of sympathy such as mutual likes and dislikes and an intense -desire to make good at baseball. Hugh, entering the game as the veriest -tyro and with a deal of doubt and not much enthusiasm, was now a rabid -“fan” and almost amusingly eager to make a name for himself. - -Bert, I think, wanted to go to bed, but was too polite to start while -there was a visitor present, and so toppled into a chair and joined the -conversation. Dud realized that Bert didn’t care very much for him and -so tried to get away a few minutes after the other’s advent, but Hugh -wouldn’t have it. - -“Oh, sit down and behave yourself, Baker! It isn’t late. I say, Bert, -Baker and I have been discovering that we have lots of things in -common, if you know what I mean.” - -“Really?” Bert stifled a yawn. “Such as what, ’Ighness?” - -“Oh, baseball, for one, you know. Tennis, too. And oysters――――” - -“Oysters!” - -“Yes. You see I happened to think that a dozen nice cold raw oysters -would taste corking. They would, wouldn’t they?” - -“Out of season, you chump.” - -“Never! That’s only prejudice, old chap. Well, anyway, oysters was one -thing――_were_ one thing, I should say. English is beastly confusing at -times, eh? And then we found that Baker knew my part of the country, -down Maryland way, you know. He comes from Delaware.” - -“So would I,” laughed Bert. - -“Delaware,” replied Dud, smiling, “is small but select. Where’s your -home, Winslow?” - -“Pennsylvania; Shrevesport. Know it?” - -Dud shook his head. “Some of my folks lived in Pennsylvania once, a -good many years ago.” - -“It’s a good state. They were foolish to leave it,” yawned Bert. “Hope -they didn’t have to?” - -“Why, in a way I believe they did. You see one of them was an officer -in the American Army, and when Howe occupied Philadelphia they thought -it might not be healthy.” - -“Oh,” said Bert. Hugh smiled. - -“Still,” continued Bert, “they needn’t have gone to Delaware, eh?” - -“I don’t think they did just then. A couple of them were with -Washington at Valley Forge. I think the women went to New Jersey until -Philadelphia was evacuated again. I don’t know just what happened -then. We’ve been living in Delaware only since my grandfather’s time. -He moved there from Philadelphia to improve his state.” - -“Improve his state? You mean he was――was hard up?” asked Bert -suspiciously. - -“I can’t say. I’ve been told it was to improve his state. That’s all I -know.” - -Hugh laughed. “You began it, Bert! Honors are even. As judge of the -debate, I declare it a draw.” - -Bert smiled slowly. Then: “All right, Baker,” he said amiably, “you -win! Fact is, I don’t know anything about Delaware or a thing against -it. Sorry if I trod on your toes.” - -“You didn’t, Winslow; I moved them out of the way,” laughed Dud. - -After the latter had taken his departure and the two roommates were -preparing for bed, Hugh heard a grunt from the opposite chamber. -“What’s troubling you?” he called. - -“Nothing,” was the answer. “I was just thinking that that kid isn’t -such a fool, after all, eh?” - -“Well,” replied Hugh, winking at himself in the glass, “I rather fancy -he had you, old top.” - -Bert’s only response was another grunt, but it sounded assenting. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -DUD GOES TO THE RESCUE - - -Grafton had now played seven contests with outside teams and had -won five and lost two. Six games remained; seven in case it became -necessary to play a third game with Mount Morris. On the whole the -nine had showed average strength. The pitching had been good and -defensively the team had more than held its own against contenders. -But both Coach Sargent and Captain Murtha would have been anything but -displeased if the batting had been heavier or had even shown promise -of improvement. The remaining games were all, with the exception of -that with Yarrow High School, scheduled just before the second Mount -Morris contest, hard ones. St. James Academy especially was looked -on as a difficult opponent, and Lawrence Textile School as scarcely -less dangerous. Both teams boasted pitchers of reputation, and unless -Grafton’s stick work improved she was not likely to pile up much of -a score against either visitor. Of course, it could be argued that a -team with a perfect defense is in no danger of defeat, but on the -other hand, a team with no power of attack can’t win games. And Guy -Murtha, being captain and in his last year at school, naturally wanted -very much to come off victor in those remaining contests. Fortunately, -the St. James and Lawrence Textile games were to be played on Lothrop -Field, a circumstance which would aid to some extent. The meeting -with Corliss College was to be played away from home, but Corliss――or -Careless, as the Graftonians liked to call it――while strong, was not -the problem that either of the other two was. As for Yarrow High――well, -that was only a practice game to fill in between the first Mount Morris -engagement on the ninth of June, which was a Saturday, and the second -one, which fell on the following Friday, the Mount Morris Class Day. -In case each of the ancient rivals secured a game the play-off would -be at Grafton the next day, the teams remaining after the close of the -schools to settle the controversy. - -On the Monday succeeding their defeat at Rotan the players were given -a particularly strenuous afternoon of it. With the exception of Gordon -Parker, whose leg still protested at the injury done it by a Rotan -baseman’s spikes, all the players were out and not one was spared, -unless we exempt Ben Myatt. Dud put in a hard afternoon, for he pitched -six innings for the scrubs and was fairly well hammered. Still, he -managed to keep the hits of the regulars so well scattered that Mr. -Sargent was satisfied to leave him on the mound until, in the seventh, -it became advisable to let a pinch hitter take his place. After that -Weston finished up for the scrubs and was so erratic that the one-run -lead handed over to him by Dud soon vanished, the regulars winning out -by the score of 9 to 6. When Dud heard the result in the Field House -later he tried to be sorry for Weston, but the effort wasn’t very -successful. Dud, you see, was already entertaining visions of pitching -a half-game or so against Mount Morris and thus winning his letter. -Not that the letter part of it interested him so much, however. Just -the glory of being in a Mount Morris game would be enough for him. Of -course, he couldn’t figure out as yet just how that desirable result -was to come about. There was Ben Myatt for the first game and Nate -Leddy for the second, or the other way around, with Weston to take -a hand if needed. As for Brunswick, Dud wasn’t worrying about him. -Brunswick was keeping along at about the same pace he had begun the -season on, neither worse nor better, while Dud could honestly assure -himself that he was improving from day to day, or, at least, from game -to game. And he didn’t have to rely wholly on his own verdict, for -others had seen the improvement and told him of it. Ben Myatt had -praised him warmly, Captain Murtha had had a good word more than once -and Mr. Sargent had let Dud see that he wasn’t blind to the latter’s -growing ability. - -But Dud was forced to presuppose a third game in the big series before -he could see himself turning back the Mount Morris hitters, and a third -game might not materialize. Of course, if Gus Weston kept on blowing -up every time he went into the points, why, that would improve Dud’s -chances a whole lot, and it was this thought that made it difficult for -Dud to grieve over the loss of that game to the scrubs! With Weston out -of the way―――― - -But Weston was an old hand, had been pitching for three years and was -just as likely to steady down again the next time and send his stock -soaring again. All that was to be done, reflected Dud, was to hope for -the best――which, from Gus Weston’s point of view, was the worst!――and -keep right on getting better and better every day. He didn’t wish -anyone ill luck, but if only Leddy might have a slight attack of -measles or something and Gus Weston develop a bum wing――well, Dud was -forced to admit that it would be Providential! - -But the measles didn’t afflict Leddy nor did Weston complain of trouble -in his arm, and practice went on each day and Dud pitched or didn’t -pitch but always stood in front of the net and took his turn at -“looking like a silly goat,” to use his own expression, while he tried -to connect with the puzzling offerings of Leddy or Weston or Brunswick. - -St. James descended like a wolf on the fold on Wednesday and took -Grafton’s measure without a great deal of trouble. To be sure, the game -went to the fifth inning before St. James solved Leddy’s slants and by -that time Grafton had herself assailed the opposing twirler for three -hits and scored one run. But when the visitors did take to Leddy’s ways -they took enthusiastically. Nate got through the fifth with difficulty, -some brainless base-running on the part of the enemy aiding him out of -a tight place, but in the sixth, after the bases were filled with only -one out and two runs already across, he was retired from service and -Myatt went in to save the day. And Myatt might have done it had he been -backed by errorless fielding, but Nick Blake booted one in the seventh -and Ayer fumbled a heave a minute later and two more runs came over. -Grafton managed to add to her score in the eighth, increasing it to two -when Winslow cracked out a two-bagger after Nick Blake had been passed -to first and had stolen second. But that was the last of the home -team’s scoring, while, just to clinch the game, St. James broke through -with a couple of hits, one good for two bases, and added a fifth run in -the ninth. Grafton tried everything she knew in the effort to start a -rally in the last half of that inning, but the best she could do was to -get Ayer as far as third base, at which station he remained while Hugh -Ordway reached first on a weak infield hit that bounded erratically, -and Jimmy, batting for Boynton, hit into a double, his luck for once -deserting him. So 5 to 2 was the final score, and it pretty fairly -represented the merits of the two teams. St. James had been there -with the hits when hits meant runs and Grafton had failed to show any -attack worthy the name. In view of results, it was cold comfort to know -that, outside two errors and a wild pitch by Leddy, she had played an -excellent defensive game. Results were what counted and another defeat -had been scored up against Grafton. - -That game came off on the last day but one in May, and on Friday June -came in with a spell of torrid weather. The heat combined with the -knowledge of impending final examinations tended to rather take the -starch out of fellows, and the ball players were no exception. Practice -became half-hearted, in spite of Guy Murtha’s impassioned pleas and -scoldings, and when Saturday dawned things looked bad for Grafton -as regarded that Lawrence Textile contest. Most of the fellows were -pulling their feet behind them and wearing worried frowns. The mercury -climbed up to eighty-four at noon that day and what breeze had made -life bearable in the forenoon died away entirely. Lawrence arrived -shortly after one o’clock and, after getting a taste of conditions in -the region of Grafton, willingly consented to a postponement of the -start of the game from two-thirty to three o’clock. The delay, however, -was of not much avail, for at the half-hour it was just as hot as it -had been at two-thirty, and the spectators went to the field armed with -newspapers and fans and all sorts of devices to shield their perspiring -countenances. - -Coach Sargent again altered the batting order. Parker, while probably -able to get in, was not used and Jimmy took his place in center field. -Hugh Ordway went to third place on the list and Jimmy to seventh. Ben -Myatt started the game, with Gordon behind the bat. Lawrence’s twirler -was a tall, able-looking chap of about twenty years, unless appearances -were deceptive, named Fairway. Nick Blake was responsible for an -excruciating pun when, during Grafton’s third time at bat, he confided -to Jimmy that it looked as if that pitcher was in a fair way to beat -them. Jimmy charitably assumed that Nick was affected by the heat. Up -to that time neither team had presented more than three men at the -plate in an inning, the two pitchers going very smoothly and working -the corners for all they were worth. But in that last of the third the -luck broke for the home team. - -Jimmy, surviving Nick’s pun, chose a likely bat and took his stand. -Being first man up, it was required of Jimmy that he secure his base -by any method short of robbery. Fairway sneaked the first one over -on him and teased him with a slow ball, which Jimmy wisely let pass. -After that an attempt to bunt resulted in a foul down the third-base -side. With two against him, Jimmy took a firmer grip of his bat and -bent all his energies to the task. Naturally, Fairway could afford to -waste a ball, and did so, and it was two-and-two. Jimmy took heart. -The next one looked good and he swung briskly. Another foul resulted, -the first-baseman almost making the catch. Another offering curved up -to him and again he laid his bat against it and again it went foul. -Fairway dragged his sleeve across his perspiring face, had a good look -at the signals and unlimbered. The ball shot in, knee-high and looking -good, and Jimmy started his swing. But something warned him in time and -he recovered just as the ball took a most deceptive drop in front of -the plate. - -“Ball――three!” called the umpire. Jimmy grinned and hitched his -trousers. From the bench came encouraging and approving cries. Jimmy -stepped out of the box and wiped his damp hands in the dust. Then he -wiped them on his trousers. Then he stepped back with bat poised. - -“All right, Fairy!” called the catcher. “Right over now, old man!” - -Jimmy’s smile broadened. “Fairy” was such an amusing title for that -tall, husky youth down there! Then the ball was singing up to him, his -bat was swinging at it, there was a _slap_ and Jimmy was legging it to -first. But again he had fouled, and again the Fates that rule over the -lives of such as James Townsend Logan came to his rescue. The catcher, -running back with gaze set skyward, hands poised for the descending -ball, managed at the last instant to get the sun’s rays fairly in his -eyes. The ball struck his mitten, bounded out, was juggled and dropped -to the sod. A shrill shout of joy arose from the Grafton bench. The -catcher angrily sped the ball to third and looked for his mask in a -very disgruntled manner. Jimmy held it out to him. - -“Hard luck,” said Jimmy consolingly. “Next time I’ll put it where you -can catch it.” - -The Lawrence backstop grunted. - -That trifling incident proved psychological, as many trifling incidents -do in baseball, and Fairway’s next attempt at a strike passed a foot -wide of the base, and Jimmy, dropping his bat, trotted to base amidst -the plaudits and laughter of the spectators. The coachers got busy on -the instant, Captain Murtha at first and Bert Winslow at third, and -sent a veritable fusillade of interesting remarks across the diamond. - -“On your toes, Jimmy! Take a lead! Watch his arm! Look out! Up again! -At a boy! Here we go! Go on! Go on! _Who-oa!_” - -Jimmy, hooking a leg back to the bag, grinned, climbed to his feet -again, shook the dust from his togs and inched along the base line. -Fairway gave him up after two attempts and turned his attention to Pete -Gordon. Gordon was there to sacrifice, of course, and the safest way -to do it was to bunt. But Pete was the slugging kind of a hitter, the -sort who doesn’t very frequently connect, but slams out wicked liners -or screeching flies when he does. Bunting, therefore, was not his -strong suit, and his two attempts failed, the first one going foul and -the second resulting in a harmless swing against the atmosphere. After -that, with two strikes against him and only one ball to his credit, -Pete was not dangerous, and when he finally hit one it arched amiably -into center fielder’s hands and Jimmy retraced his steps to first. - -Myatt, however, did better, for Ben landed against the second delivery -and whizzed it over the pitcher’s upraised glove and safely into the -field, and Jimmy slid to second unhurriedly. Nick Blake went out on -strikes, and it was Bert Winslow who came through with the longed-for -safety, rapping the ball straight down first base line and a yard to -the right of the baseman’s best reach. Jimmy scampered home, Myatt -reached third, and Bert managed to get to second ahead of right -fielder’s throw. But that ended Grafton’s chances for the time, for the -best Hugh could do was to lift a fly to short left that shortstop got -after a run. - -At one to nothing the game went to the fifth, Myatt holding the enemy -harmless in the fourth and Grafton failing to reach first base in her -half. But in the first of the fifth a fumble by Winslow put a runner on -first. Myatt struck out the next two batsmen and Grafton’s adherents -began to breathe easier. But Fairway, the Lawrence twirler, who had -fanned ingloriously the time before, took a liking to Myatt’s first -offering and poked it straight between Blake and Winslow. Result, -an eager youth on third casting longing eyes at the plate! Also, an -equally anxious runner on second, Fairway having gone on to that sack -during the throw to the plate. - -Myatt started in with the head of the opposing batting list by putting -himself promptly in the hole, pitching three remarkably poor balls -one after another. Then he got two strikes across, neither of which -was offered at, and tried to follow it with a third. But the heat was -beginning to tell on Myatt, and the next attempt, while it looked -pretty good from the bench, was adjudged a ball and the bases were -full. - -“Weston,” called Mr. Sargent, “get a ball! You, too, Baker.” - -Possibly the sight of the two relief pitchers and Brooks trudging -off to warm up put Myatt on his mettle, for he fairly stood the next -batsman on his ear, fanning him with just four deliveries while the -Grafton sympathizers cheered and yelped. Three disappointed runners -left as many bases and turned sadly to their positions. - -Grafton tried hard to add to her score in her half of the fifth, but -Fairway was quite master of the situation. The sixth passed without a -thrill, even if Lawrence did manage to work a pass and get a scratch -hit. Nothing came of it, for Blake, Murtha and Ayer pulled off a double -and stopped the rampage. For Grafton, Winslow, Ordway and Murtha went -out in order. - -The seventh witnessed Myatt’s Waterloo. For several innings he had been -in bad shape owing to the heat, and when he faced the first batsman in -the seventh it was not difficult to see that he was working on pure -nerve. When the first man had found him for a single and he had pitched -three balls to the second, Murtha stepped over and held a conference. -Myatt shook his head and Bert Winslow joined them. Over behind third -Gus Weston and Dud had taken up their work again, and Will Brunswick -had been sent to join them. - -“There’s a job open for somebody,” remarked Brooks, throwing the ball -to Gus. “Ben’s quitting.” - -The three pitchers, their backs to the bench, never turned, but three -pairs of ears were, you may be certain, very alert. It was Weston -who was summoned, and Gus, throwing aside his sweater, which he -had worn tied across his chest, lolled onto the field. Dud watched -him enviously, first because he had been chosen to relieve Myatt -and secondly because he was able to approach the honor with such a -wonderful assumption of indifference! - -Weston pitched his trial deliveries, rather wildly as a matter of -fact, received the intelligence that the batter had three balls to -his credit and no strikes, and instantly supplied him with a fourth! -The Lawrence coaches and the Lawrence players on the bench hooted and -jeered joyfully as the batsman walked to first, the runner on first -jogged down to second. But that was what might have been expected, that -pass to the batter, for it is no mean task to go to the mound with the -score three against you and keep the batsman from walking. Dud had to -acknowledge that as he and Brunswick and Brooks retired to the thin -strip of shade afforded by the little house in which were stored the -tennis nets. - -But this was not Weston’s day. To Grafton’s dismay, Gus very promptly -passed the third man, working only one strike against him, and behold, -the bases were filled and there were no outs! So suddenly can the -fortunes of battle shift in the game of baseball! Brooks, his gaze on -the bench, jumped to his feet. - -“Come on, fellows!” he said. “At it again! Peter signaled.” - -“Gee,” murmured Brunswick, “I don’t see much use warming up a day like -this! I haven’t a square inch on me that’s dry!” - -“Never mind your troubles, Willie; shoot ’em!” responded Brooks, -grinning as he drew his mitt on. “One of you guys will have to go in -there in about two shakes. They’re holding the game now for you to -limber up your old arms. Shoot ’em, Dud!” - -Over on the diamond Captain Murtha and Bert Winslow and Nick Blake had -surrounded the unfortunate Weston, Pete Gordon, ball in hand, standing -guard at the plate. A faint breeze came up from the river and awakened -murmurs of relief from the sweltering spectators. Lawrence demanded -that the game go on, half a dozen impetuous youths leaping from the -bench to confront the umpire. The group in the center of the diamond -melted and Weston held up his hand for the ball. Gordon tossed it back -to him, knelt and signaled. - -“All right, Gus, now?” he encouraged. “Make ’em good, old man! Let’s -get this one! Slide ’em over!” - -The infielders crept up to short-field, the runners capered and took -daring leads and the coachers shouted themselves hoarse. Gus wound up -and shot the ball away. It dropped prettily across the base, but the -batter refused it and the umpire upheld him. - -“Ball!” announced the latter. Weston, hands on bent knees, stared as -though dumfounded. Then he straightened, turned on his heel and cast -his arms derisively apart. Lawrence jeered enjoyably. - -“Pretty good, Gus,” called Gordon. “Never mind, though. Let’s have it -this time!” - -But Weston, though he took time and pains, shot one in that sent the -batsman staggering out of his box and sent Guy Murtha to the mound. -“That’ll do, Gus,” said Guy. “This isn’t your day, old man.” - -“It’s so beastly hot,” grumbled Weston. - -Murtha nodded non-committingly and raised a hand. At the bench Mr. -Sargent turned to Nate Leddy. “Better warm up,” he said. “We may need -you. Send Baker in.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -BACK TO THE BENCH - - -The coach met Dud at third. He appeared smiling and unworried, but his -characteristic trick of jumbling his words betrayed the fact that he -was not as calm as he looked. - -“Think you can go in there and pull us out of this mess, Baker?” he -asked. “Take all the time you want and set your gignals right――I mean -get your rignals sight――er――well, go ahead, my boy, and show what you -can do!” - -Dud made no answer, which was perhaps just as well since had he replied -truthfully to the coach’s question he would have been forced to say -that he was quite certain that he couldn’t do anything of the sort! -Instead, he walked toward the mound with a fair appearance of ease and -in a condition of blue funk. Murtha met him, and although the latter -smiled cheerfully and tried his best to look as if he thought all his -troubles were now past, it wasn’t difficult for Dud to perceive that -the captain was a bit disappointed in Mr. Sargent’s selection. He would -have much preferred Nate Leddy, but he had a good deal of confidence -in the coach’s judgment and, after all, young Baker had shown real -pitching more than once. - -“Good boy, Baker,” he said cheerfully. “Let’s see what you can do now. -Listen, let Gordon do the head-work, see? Just try to give him what he -wants. They’ve got three on and no one out, Baker, and the score’s two -against you. Whatever you do, old man, don’t pass him. Let him hit if -you have to and try to make him pop up. Do your best, Baker, for we -want this game!” - -Guy handed him the ball and Dud, very trembly at the knees, conscious -of the hot glare of sunlight that made heat waves dance along the -paths, conscious of the encouraging voices of teammates and of hearty -applause from the stand, wrapped his fingers about the leather and -sent in his first “warming-up” ball. A whoop of joy and derision came -from the visitors’ bench, for the ball had almost eluded the spry -Gordon. Back it came and Dud, trying his best to calm his nerves, shot -it in again. It was all right that time and the next. Then the ball -struck the ground in front of the plate and Gordon had to drop and -block it. One more, high and wide, ended the practice and the Lawrence -third-baseman stepped up to the plate again as the umpire called -“Play!” From the Lawrence bench and from the Lawrence coachers came a -sudden hubbub of sound, but through it Dud heard Nick Blake’s cheerful -voice. - -“We’re all with you, Dud! Go to it, son!” - -“Dud!” Nick had never called him that before, and somehow the thought -steadied him remarkably. To be sure, his knees were still a trifle -wobbly as he studied Gordon’s fingers laid against the back of his -mitt, but the stage-fright was passing. - -“Let’s get him, Baker,” called Gordon as he arose from his crouch and -held hands wide apart. “You’ve got the stuff, old man!” - -With a man on third watching for the least excuse to race home, a full -wind-up was out of the question, and Dud realized that he must depend -more on cunning than speed. Gordon had shown three fingers horizontal, -and three fingers horizontal called for a low curve ball. Dud, -emulating the example of Myatt, surveyed the bases slowly, pulled his -cap down, tried to shut out the wild cries of the coachers, snuggled -the ball in his fingers, threw his arm up, took his stride and pitched. - -At the plate the batter moved up on the ball, hesitated and let it pass. - -“Strike!” said the umpire. - -There was cheering from the stand, yells of triumph from the players -in the field, but Dud scarcely heard them. Gordon, walking down the -alley, thumped ball and mitt together. “That’s the stuff, Baker!” he -cried. “One-and-two now! Let’s have him out!” He tossed the ball back, -a watchful eye on third, went back to his place, crouched, signaled and -again held hands wide apart. He wanted a drop and he got it, but it -shaved too closely the outer corner and the umpire judged it a ball. -Gordon turned indignantly. - -“_What!_” - -“You heard what I said,” returned the official crisply. - -Gordon grinned and returned the ball. “It looked good, Baker! Let’s -have it again!” - -But it was “one finger” this time, and the fast one that sailed -straight across the plate caught the batsman napping, and the umpire’s -“_Strike――two!_” was drowned in a shout of joy from the Grafton -sympathizers. - -“That’s the pitching, Dud!” called Nick, scooping a handful of dust -from the base path and tossing it joyfully into the air. “Fine work, -Baker!” “Keep after him!” “No one walks!” They were all calling -encouragement to him now. He almost forgot the shouting, cavorting -runners and the bawling coachers. Back came the ball once more, Gordon -grinning widely. Then he dropped to one knee and laid four fingers -across the big brown mitt. - -“Right in the slot, old man! He can’t see ’em! At a boy! Let her come!” - -And Dud let her! It was a slow one that did the trick, a ball that -sped away from the mound with all the ear-marks of a moderately fast -straight delivery but that never crossed the rubber until the batsman’s -sharp swing had passed harmlessly. Then it descended into Gordon’s -eager hands and the umpire waved an arm skyward. - -“_He’s out!_” - -How the stand shouted then and how silent the Lawrence bench suddenly -became! The third-baseman, disgusted and puzzled, dragged his -dishonored bat away with him and tossed it contemptuously into the -pile. But that was only one down, and a big, capable-looking youth with -a grim determination shown in his tight-set mouth was already waiting. -A wide one that went as a ball, a drop that the batter tried for and -missed, a second ball――Dud had attempted to cut the inner corner of -the plate with a hook and had failed by an inch――and then, in response -to Gordon’s signal of one finger, a fast one that reached the batsman -waist-high and which he met with his bat. - -_Crack!_ - -He was speeding to first, the bases were emptying. Dud, heart in mouth, -turned in time to see Nick Blake spring two feet into the air and spear -the ball, and then, without a wasted motion, dash across the second -sack a scant instant before the runner from first slid, feet foremost, -into it in a cloud of dust! - -Nick had played the double unassisted and the side was out! Grafton -stood up in the stand and shouted herself hoarse. Dud, still a little -dazed by the suddenness of the triumph, stood a moment beside the -pitcher’s box ere he turned toward the bench. Then Guy Murtha was with -him, had him by the arm and was laughing softly and saying extravagant -things that he probably wouldn’t have said five minutes later. But Dud -didn’t altogether sense them. He only knew during the ensuing minute -that Nick had saved him――and the game! And if he could have done what -he wanted to do he’d have embraced that youth on the spot. As it was, -ignorant that some of the applause was really meant for him, he made -his way to the bench and sat down a bit breathlessly, and someone was -waving a dampened towel in front of him and there was much talk and -laughter. - -And so Grafton started her half of the seventh with the score still 1 -to 0 and Ayer at bat. Ayer popped innumerable fouls into all sorts of -out of the way places and then, with two strikes and one ball against -him, stood inertly by and let a perfectly good straight one pass. He -shook his head dejectedly as he turned away. Boynton reached first -on second-baseman’s questionable error――the Lawrence scorer gave -Boynton a hit――and went to second a moment later when Jimmy was thrown -out at first. Gordon brought the inning to an end by fouling out to -third-baseman. - -Then Dud was back in the box again and Gordon was shouting one thing -and signaling another and again the Lawrence coachers were doing their -level best to rattle him. But that first of the eighth was easy work -for Dud. The luck was all Grafton’s. The first of the enemy beat out -a bunt and then was caught by Gordon going to second. Dud scored his -second strike-out on the next man, using just four deliveries. The -succeeding batter proved more troublesome, for after Dud had worked two -strikes across he began to lay against the others and foul them off -with a fine impartiality. Everything, it seemed, was fish that went to -his net, and Dud was beginning to despair of ever getting rid of him. -He slipped up once and sailed one over the stubborn batsman’s head, and -added a second ball to the score. Then, however, Gordon signaled a low -curve and this time the ever-ready bat missed! So did Gordon, for that -matter, but he found the rolling sphere and got it to Ayer well ahead -of the runner. Dud got a round of applause all to himself this time, -as he went back to the bench to pick out his bat, but he was so busy -wondering just how much of a fool he would look when he stood up there -and tried to hit the redoubtable Fairway that he didn’t even hear it. - -I’d like to tell you, in view of what occurred later, that Dud picked -out one of Fairway’s slants and drove it across River Street for a -home-run. But nothing of that sort happened, and if Dud didn’t look -like a fool at the bat on that occasion it was only because pitchers -aren’t supposed to be hitters. Dud was an easy proposition for the -rival twirler. He promptly forgot everything he had ever learned about -batting and swung wildly at the first two offers, held himself away -from temptation at the third one and fanned the air an inch above the -succeeding ball. He returned to the bench shame-facedly, but no one -paid any attention to his fiasco and it dawned on him that he had done -just what they had expected him to do and a great big determination -arose in him to do better the next time, to learn how to judge a ball -rightly and to eventually become that rara avis of baseballdom, a -pitcher who can hit! But there was, it proved, no second chance for him -today. Nick Blake fanned as effectively if not as promptly as Dud had -and Bert Winslow was thrown out at first. And the ninth inning began. - -Once more Dud proved his mastery of the enemy, but there were no -strike-outs for him this time. The first Lawrence batsman hit to -Winslow and went out at first, the next man flied out to Ordway and -the third, after Dud had put two strikes across, lighted on a low -curve and popped it unexpectedly into short right for a base. Dud made -three attempts to catch him napping and failed and the next minute -the runner was sliding to second ahead of Gordon’s hurried throw. But -Lawrence got no further, for the following batsman, trying hard to hit -safely out of the infield, merely succeeded in smashing a liner into -Ayer’s hands. - -Once more Grafton swung her bats and tried to break the deadlock. The -heat was moderating now and long shadows were creeping across the -diamond, but the players of both sides were fagged and wilted and -prayed for the end of the contest. But it wasn’t to come yet, for -Ordway fanned, Murtha flied out to left field――it would have been a -wonderful hit if that fielder hadn’t raced back like a rabbit and -made a one-hand catch that brought applause even from the Grafton -adherents――Ayer beat out a bunt and Boynton hit a weak grounder to -shortstop and the ninth had passed into history. - -Dud was back at his post again, a little tired, too, in spite of -the fact that he had worked only two innings. He had the head of -the list against him now and realized that this was no time for -slip-ups. Lawrence began enthusiastically. The little, blond-headed -second-baseman outwitted Gordon and Dud and walked to first. The next -batsman fouled out to Ayer. Then came a sharp _rap_ and the ball -sailed over second base and there were two on and only one out. But -things looked better a few minutes later, for Dud scored his third -strike-out, turning the left-fielder ignominiously back to the bench. -That surely ought to have ended things for all practical purposes, but -right there Luck took a hand in the game. The next batsman was anxious -to hit, and Gordon knew it. In consequence the latter signaled high -ones and Dud tried to serve them up. They caught him on the second -for a strike, after the first had gone as a ball, and then Dud fooled -him with a low one that barely crossed and the score was two-and-one. -It seemed all over but the shouting and Gordon risked all on the -next delivery. One finger was the signal and Dud sped the fast one -in breast-high with not a thing on it but steam. The batsman leaned -against that nice ball and drove it far and high into right field and -although Boynton was under it he missed the catch. And although he -recovered it quickly and sped it back to second, and Guy Murtha pegged -it on to third, the runner there was safe and the chap who had hit took -advantage of the play and slid to second unchallenged. - -Lawrence caught hopefully at the chance before her. A pinch hitter took -the place of the center fielder. Gordon had no line on the new man -and had to guess his tastes. A high one was refused and was judged a -ball, a curve that just didn’t cut the outer corner went as another -ball. Gordon signaled for a drop and the batter bit at it and had one -strike against him. Then another drop failed to please the umpire and -Dud was in the hole. Gordon called for a high one over the plate and -Dud tried to put it there. But he didn’t. The ball went wide and Dud -saw with dismay the batsman trotting to first and heard the triumphant -yelps of the enemy. Another pinch hitter was up and Gordon, a little -anxious of countenance now, was asking for a curve ball. Dud responded -and scored a strike, the batter hitting hard but uselessly. Then came -a ball, then a second. Gordon was calling all sorts of encouragement. -Guy Murtha came over and told Dud to take his time. His teammates were -assuring him that he could do it. The enemy’s coachers, back of first -and third, were howling and dancing like Comanche Indians. The runners -were running back and forth along the paths. Pandemonium was fairly -loose and the din thumped against Dud’s ears excruciatingly. He felt -his courage ebbing out of his finger-tips. He wanted to ask Murtha to -let him quit, to put someone else in, but was more afraid to do that -than he was to go on. Gordon was pleading for a straight one. Dud glued -his eyes to the catcher’s chest, took his half wind-up and sped the -ball. And even as he released it he knew that he had failed again! - -“_Ball――three!_” called the umpire through the din. - -Gordon was hurrying down the alley toward him, shaking the ball at him, -his eyes blazing. - -“Settle down!” he growled. “Put ’em over! You can do it! Now get on to -yourself!” - -Dud took the ball, nodded dazedly and turned back to the mound. Murtha -was there, Murtha and Winslow, too, and the captain was looking over -past third base and juggling a pebble in his dirt-grimed hands. When he -turned his gaze sought Dud grimly. - -“Guess you’d better let someone else in, Baker,” he said. “Sorry, but -we need this, old man.” - -Dud passed him the ball, tried to say something, he didn’t know what, -and turned, white-faced and with hanging head, toward the bench. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -JIMMY ENCOURAGES - - -That game with Lawrence Textile went to thirteen innings and ended, -still a tie, 1 to 1, to allow the visitors to get their train. Nate -Leddy, going to the rescue with three on, two out and the pitcher’s -score one-and-three, pulled out of the hole very neatly. Instead of -attempting the difficult feat of striking the batsman out, Nate dropped -one over knee-high and the ball went straight up from the swinging bat -and straight down again into Gordon’s mitten, and Lawrence saw her -golden opportunity vanish. After that for three innings, although the -suspense kept up every moment, neither side got anywhere near a score. -Leddy and Fairway, the latter showing fatigue and substituting control -for speed, were masters every minute. Fairway’s work to the very end -was such that the spectators applauded him every time he left the mound -or went to bat. After that hair-raising, nerve-racking tenth inning, -Grafton could feel only satisfaction at the outcome. Even Captain -Murtha had no regrets, and if Coach Sargent was disappointed he made -no sign. - -Perhaps, aside from the Lawrence players, the only disconsolate one -was Dud. He had hurried from his shower straight to his room, his -main desire being to get out of the way before the game ended and the -fellows came piling into the Field House, and so he didn’t learn the -outcome of the contest until Jimmy arrived, half an hour later. By -that time Dud’s common sense had come to the rescue and he was able -to review his performance in the pitcher’s box without being prompted -to suicide. After all, he had fared no worse than Gus Weston, he told -himself comfortingly, and even Ben Myatt had begun distributing passes -before he had been taken out; although, of course, Ben had far more -excuse for giving out, since he had pitched six innings. - -Dud was still wondering what had happened to him. He had been all right -until Boynton had made that memorable muff. After that he hadn’t been -able to get the ball where he wanted it. It wasn’t that his arm had -tired. It had been just as good as when he had started. And, as Dud -recalled it now, he hadn’t been nervous; not, anyway, until he had -issued that first pass in the tenth. It just seemed, looking back on -the fiasco, that the ball had suddenly simply refused to go where it -was sent! He wondered whether Mr. Sargent would ever give him another -chance, whether the fellows were secretly laughing at him. Well, he had -surely afforded Bert Winslow a fine opportunity to say “I told you so!” -Bert had all along been politely contemptuous of Dud’s ambition to make -the first team, although of late he had been very decent to him indeed. -He rather hoped he wouldn’t run across Bert for a day or two! - -Dud didn’t make the mistake of feeling himself disgraced, at least not -after the first few miserable minutes, but he did feel that he had -failed pretty badly as a pitcher, and that before the whole school, -and he dreaded having to face the fellows again. He was pondering the -idea of remaining away from dining-hall that evening when Jimmy came -tramping along the corridor and entered. - -“Hello, you! Where’d you get to?” Jimmy skimmed his cap to the bed and -threw himself tiredly into a chair. “Did you see the game out?” - -Dud shook his head. “What――what was the score?” he asked dejectedly. - -“Just the same as when you ducked; one each.” Jimmy gave a brief but -graphic history of the final three innings. “Why didn’t you come back -and see the rest of it?” he concluded. - -“I guess I would have if I’d known they weren’t beating us. I’m glad -they didn’t. Did――did anyone say anything?” - -“Say anything? What about?” - -“About me, I mean.” - -“Oh, that’s what’s worrying you? I thought you looked a little bit -down-hearted. Don’t you let that bother you, son. They all have to -go through with that before they arrive. You did pretty well, on the -whole. Three strike-outs, wasn’t it? And then you pulled us out of -that hole in the seventh! Don’t be a clam, Dud. No one expects a green -pitcher to go into a game like that and twirl like a veteran. Why, the -row those fellows kicked up even made _me_ nervous, away out in the -field!” - -“It wasn’t that,” said Dud sadly. “I don’t know what it was. Of course, -I was rattled just at first, but afterwards I didn’t pay any attention -to the noise. I guess Mr. Sargent thinks I’m a pill!” - -“Rot! I’ll bet you lasted longer than Pete expected you to. Of course, -I’m not saying that it wouldn’t have been a bully thing for you if -you’d gone the distance; you’d have had the whole school inviting you -to dinner; but you did pretty well as it was. And, say, talking about -that――being popular, I mean, and making a hit――that little meeting with -Hobo and Blake was a lucky thing for us, wasn’t it? Look at the way -they’ve taken you up, Dud! Fine, what?” - -“I suppose so,” agreed the other rather listlessly. “They’ve been -awfully nice to me――――” - -“You bet! And a lot of their crowd, too. Why, say――――” - -“But I don’t, somehow, care so much about being――being a ‘regular -feller’ as I did, Jimmy. I――I’d rather be a good pitcher.” - -“Isn’t that human nature?” demanded Jimmy, apparently of the ceiling. -“Just as soon as a fellow gets what he wants, he doesn’t want it! You -make me tired, Dud! Here I’ve schemed and labored for you――――” - -“I know, and I’m awfully much obliged,” said Dud soberly. “Only――please -don’t do it any more, Jimmy. I’ve had enough of it, I guess.” - -“My dear demented friend, you’ve just started! You mustn’t think that -just because Hobo Ordway and Nick Blake and Bert Winslow and a few of -that close corporation have taken you up that the battle’s won. Far be -it from such! The fun’s only started, son. You’ve got two years here -yet and you want to make hay while the sun shines. Just you leave it to -me――――” - -“No, you leave it to me now,” said Dud. “I guess it’s like Blake said; -every fellow must hoe his own row. And――and I haven’t got time to――to -be popular, Jimmy. I just want to get so I can pitch like Ben Myatt.” - -“Say, that’s hitching your wagon to a star, all right; Ben being the -‘star’! Maybe you’re right, though. There’s always the danger of -having fellows think you’re trying too hard; and they don’t like that. -Maybe your scheme is the best, Dud. Foxy, too, I call it.” - -“I haven’t any scheme,” denied the other impatiently. “I just want to -quit thinking anything about whether fellows like me or don’t like me. -I guess if they do it will be because――because I don’t care!” - -“That’s what I’m saying,” said Jimmy, grinning exasperatingly. “Just -let them think you don’t care a fig and they’ll flock to you. Yep, -that’s a good idea, Dud.” - -“Jimmy, if folks didn’t know you better they’d think sometimes that you -were a regular――regular――――” - -“Feller?” asked Jimmy helpfully. - -“Bounder!” - -“Oh! Thank you kindly. And such is gratitude! Never mind, son, all you -need is food. Let’s get to it.” - -“I don’t think――that is, I’m not very hungry――――” - -“Not hungry! You’re not sick, are you?” Dud shook his head. “Then -what’s wrong with you?” - -“Well, if you must know,” replied the other desperately, “I――I don’t -want to go over there and see the fellows grinning at me.” - -“Grinning at you? What would they be doing―――― Say, for the love of -lemons, Dud, get that idea out of your bean! Why, no one’s grinning at -you, you three-ply chump! Why should they? Didn’t you go in there and -save our bacon for us? Didn’t you work three innings like a regular -‘Matty’? Sure, you did! Then what――――” - -“And I went to pieces, too, and filled the bases that time,” said Dud -bitterly. “Even if they don’t grin I shall know they want to!” - -“Piffle! Honest, Dud, I didn’t know you were such a chump. Look here, -you’ve been wondering again! Don’t tell me! I can see it. You’ve got -your ‘I-wonder’ expression on! You stop thinking about Dud Baker and -wash your dirty face and hands and come to eats. I’ll guarantee that -you won’t get grinned at once, old man. If I see any fellow trying it -I’ll punch his head!” - -After all, Dud only wanted to be reassured and had no real intention of -missing his supper, for he was undeniably hungry. And so, presently, -they were off to dining-hall together, and things were just as Jimmy -had predicted. There were no grins, save an occasional friendly one, -and no one paid much more attention to Dud than usual. They slipped -into their places at table――neither had been called to the training -table yet, since accommodations at that board were very limited――and -Jimmy, in high spirits, bandied remarks with the others between -mouthfuls, and Dud tried hard to forget anything that had happened -since luncheon. - -There was, naturally, much talk of the game and much criticism of -various plays, as there always was, and Jimmy, as a participant, was -listened to with respect if not with entire credence. At the training -table, across the hall, there were no signs of depression, if one could -judge by the talk and laughter. In fact, the whole school was looking -back on the afternoon’s contest as something very much like a lucky -victory. And perhaps it was. At all events, a comparison of the scores -showed that Lawrence had made more hits and fewer errors and that the -renowned Mr. Fairway had behaved more creditably than the four Grafton -pitchers judged together. - -When Dud and Jimmy left the dining-hall they ran into Nick Blake and -Bert Winslow in the corridor. Dud had determined to avoid any such -meeting, but fortune ruled otherwise. - -“Hello, James T.,” greeted Nick. “How’s Tris Speaker Junior tonight? -Hello, Dud Baker.” - -“My arms are a trifle lame,” responded Jimmy. “When a fellow makes all -the hits in a game――――” - -“Hah!” ejaculated Nick mirthlessly. “Again, hah! You make me laugh, -Jimmy. He’s a regular funny fellow, isn’t he, Dud? How are you feeling, -by the way? Say, that was some twirling you did in the seventh, my -lad!” - -“How about the tenth?” asked Dud, smiling wanly. - -“Well, no harm done, you know,” said Nick cheerfully. “They all get -theirs sooner or later, and I dare say if you’d stayed in you’d have -pulled yourself out all right.” - -“If we hadn’t needed the game so much,” observed Bert, “he’d have -stayed in, I guess. I was hoping Guy would let him. It’s a bully good -thing for a pitcher to have to dig his way out, Baker. Gives him -confidence, you know. If I was captain of a team and a pitcher got in -a hole I’d just let him stay right there and crawl out of it. Just -let him have to do it, and if he’s the least bit of good, he will. My -notion is that if a pitcher thinks he’s going to be relieved any time -he goes bad, he’s going bad too plaguey often! That sound like sense to -you, Jimmy?” - -“I haven’t heard a word that sounded like sense since I got here,” -answered Jimmy gravely. “If someone would suggest something to do more -exciting than hearing Lit and Forum jabber over some subject like: -‘Resolved: That Marcus T. Cicero was faster on the bases than his -brother Quint,’ or ‘That the Penguin is mightier than the Swordfish’!” - -“That’s so, it’s debate night, isn’t it?” said Nick. “Who’s going? You, -Bert?” - -“I suppose so. You?” - -“Well, if there was anything better――――!” - -“There’s a moon,” said Jimmy tentatively. - -“Go on, pray! Your words interest me strangely,” prompted Nick, -assuming an attitude of suspense. - -“And there’s a river――――” - -“I get you! Will you go, Bert?” - -“Bathing? I guess so. Let’s find Hugh. You’ll come, Baker?” - -“Thanks, but I’ve got――――” Dud stopped abruptly. Jimmy, smiling -sweetly, had surreptitiously kicked him on the shin. - -“Yes, he’ll come,” said Jimmy. “As this happens to be a Saturday night, -Dud, your excuse of having to dig Latin or something is very poor. -Let’s find a crowd, fellows.” - -“Let’s not,” said Bert. “I’ll round up Hobo and Ted Trafford. They went -off a minute ago. That’s enough. By the way, though, I suppose you -fellows know that the rules forbid it?” - -“No, honest?” Jimmy was evidently as pained as he was surprised. “Did -you know that, Nick?” - -“News to me, Jimmy! I was never so surprised in my life! Are you sure -of what you tell us, Bert?” - -“Oh, go to the dickens! Come on then before the moon goes down.” - -“Or the river evaporates,” added Jimmy. “I’m going to suggest, fellows, -that we avoid publicity as much as possible. The last time I had -anything to do with that old river it nearly got me into trouble!” - -I feel that I ought to record here that Dud’s conscience made itself -heard, and that, refusing to transgress the rules of the school, he -persuaded the others to forego the enterprise. I’d like to record -that, but I can’t, for Dud’s conscience must have been asleep, and -ten minutes or so later he was following the others――and Pop Driver, -who had been discovered in the company of Hugh and Ted Trafford and -persuaded to join the party――across the Green and Lothrop Field to -the Beach, as the scanty expanse of sandy shore bordering the Cove -was somewhat ironically called. And I am forced to relate that the -moonlight bathing party was a huge success, that it lasted until nearly -ten o’clock and that faculty remained forever in ignorance of it. So, -it would seem, for once the transgressor went unpunished. But perhaps -not, after all, for Nick cut his foot open on a mussel shell or a -piece of glass and Ted Trafford caught an awful cold that lasted him -nearly until school closed! Possibly the reason that the others escaped -retribution was just because their crime was not, after all, especially -wicked. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -ON THE MOUND - - -Dud wondered――Jimmy wasn’t there to stop him!――what Mr. Sargent would -say to him on Monday regarding that performance of his in the Lawrence -Textile game. As a matter of fact, Mr. Sargent said absolutely nothing, -either then or at any other time. There was very light practice that -afternoon, most of it batting, and the fellows were dismissed early, -many of them returning after changing to the practice diamond to watch -the second team put away the Grafton High School nine. It wasn’t -a vastly exciting affair, however, for the second, with Joe Kelly -pitching, had things about its own way. Dud and Jimmy departed at the -end of the seventh inning, leaving the home team five runs to the good, -and spent a half-hour on the river in Nick Blake’s canoe. (Jimmy asked -permission when they returned, and so that was all right!) Jimmy was -troubled today and made Dud his confidant as they paddled slowly along -under the drooping boughs. His trouble concerned Starling Meyer. But -we’ll let Jimmy tell it in his own inimitable way. - -“Someone,” said Jimmy morosely, “has told Star he could play baseball. -Huh! That’s all right, too, but what’s the use of making me let go -the second and then dumping me in just when the fun begins? How do I -know I’ll be dumped? Well, I don’t, I suppose. But, listen, if that -chap keeps on butting in where’ll I be? Ordway and Boynton and Parker -are sure of the outfield places unless they break a leg or a neck or -something. Well, sure, that’s O. K.; they’re better than I am. I know -that. The only chance I get is when one of ’em is out of the game. -One of ’em’s likely to be out now and then and so I get a whack. All -right, say we. But here comes this――this Indian, Meyer, butting in and -snooping around for the crumbs, too. That makes two of us; three, if -you count Ben Myatt; and Pete’s likely to put Ben in center or right -any chance he gets because Ben can bat like a whale! If Star Meyer’d -mind his own business, which is playing hockey and running creation, -I’d have a fair chance to get into one of the Mount Morris games, -wouldn’t I? Sure, I would! Parker isn’t very spry on that game leg of -his, and I’ve noticed that Boynton is looking sort of like a friend of -mine looked before he went into a decline. And Hobo might fall out of -his canoe any day and get drowned――if he’d only use it more. I must -suggest it to him. He doesn’t get enough exercise. Why the dickens -can’t Star keep out of it? That’s what I want to know. Something told -me away last winter that I’d have trouble with that galoot before the -year was over!” - -“I thought I was the one,” said Dud slyly. - -Jimmy grunted. “So did I. Well, anyway, one good thing is that faculty -hasn’t forbidden _me_ to take a fall out of him!” - -“But you can’t very well thrash a fellow for just playing ball, Jimmy!” - -“I can beat him up for interfering with my affairs,” responded the -other with dignity. “Bet you anything you like he will work around Guy -Murtha and Guy’ll take him along to Corliss day after tomorrow.” - -“I suppose Parker will be back by then,” suggested Dud. - -“Parker? Oh, I dare say. But, listen, Dud, between you and me now, -I don’t believe Parker stands awfully high with Pete. I wouldn’t be -surprised if he didn’t get back again; regularly, I mean. And if he -doesn’t, why, maybe little Jimmy T. Logan will have a chance, eh? That -is, if Meyer doesn’t persuade Guy that he’s a ball-player beforehand.” - -“You’re hitting better than Star, aren’t you?” - -“N――no, I don’t think so. Wish I were! Still, I get my base a heap -oftener. I suppose shooting at hockey helps Star hit the ball. Say, do -you know, Dud darling, I’m going to be sort of peeved and disappointed -if I don’t get into one of those Mount Morris games? I wasn’t awfully -keen at first, as you know, but now that I’ve started I’d like to make -good. Besides,” he added gloomily, “the family’ll be here for that -second game and I’d feel like an awful chump if I had to swing my legs -on the bench all the afternoon!” - -“You’d be in good company,” said Dud. - -“Meaning you?” asked the other, as he turned the canoe back toward -home. “Oh, you’ll get your chance, Dud. Mount Morris has got some -hitters, they say, and if she has neither Myatt nor Nate Leddy will -last the games through. As for Brunswick, I guess he’s a goner for this -year.” - -“There’s Weston, though.” - -“That’s so, too. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see Gus turn around -and pitch a corking game some day soon. I guess the trouble with Gus -is that he’s too temperamental. He and I are alike that way. If the -weather isn’t just right or the moon’s in the wrong quarter or the -tide’s too high or his shoe pinches him, Gus can’t pitch a little bit. -But some day all the signs are going to be just right, and Gus will -slip on a pair of old shoes, and he will go out there and make ’em eat -out of his hand.” Jimmy paused. Then: “Maybe,” he added cautiously, -“you can’t tell about Gus. Like me, he has the artistic temperament.” - -“Well,” said Dud, after a long silence and as they swung the canoe into -the Cove, “I hope you get into all the Mount Morris games, Jimmy, and -do finely. And I hope,” he added wistfully, “that they let me pitch an -inning or two in one of them. I――I’d like that.” - -“And I,” responded Jimmy, “hope as how you gets your hope! Easy on! Let -her run, sonny!” - -It looked the next day as though Jimmy might be right about Gordon -Parker, for although that youth was back for practice with his leg -evidently as useful as ever, he did not get back into the outfield -when the first and second lined up for the practice game. Instead, -Boynton played in right, Jimmy in center and Ordway in left until -the fifth inning, when Star Meyer took Jimmy’s place, much to that -youth’s disgust. Leddy and Weston pitched that afternoon. Ben Myatt -had been more affected by the heat on Saturday than he or anyone else -had suspected at the time, and was said to be nursing himself for the -next day’s game with Corliss College. Save for pitching to the batters -in practice, neither Dud nor Brunswick did any work that afternoon. -Dud watched the game from the bench and listened, during the last two -innings, to Jimmy’s frank expressions of hurt feelings. Every time a -fly ball went into center field Jimmy watched it hopefully. - -“Hope he muffs it! Hope he mu―――― Isn’t that rotten luck? Anyway, -that’s a bum throw-in! If I couldn’t do better than that――sometimes――I -wouldn’t try to get an honest man’s job away from him. Say, you’re -next, Churchill. Knock a long one into center, will you? Put it about -fifty feet over Meyer’s head, like a good fellow!” - -But in spite of Jimmy’s hopes and criticisms Star played a good enough -game in center and managed to get a rather lucky hit the only time he -went to bat. Jimmy tried to bribe Manager Barnes to score it as an -error for the second team shortstop, but failed. - -There was an early and rather hurried dinner for the players the -next day and the team, eighteen strong, bowled away to the station -shortly after one o’clock. Much to his surprise, Dud made one of four -pitchers to accompany it, and Jimmy, too, was of the number. Jimmy’s -satisfaction, however, was somewhat spoiled by the presence of Star -Meyer. Parker was left behind. So, too, was Ben Myatt, still suffering -from what the school physician had diagnosed as “a touch of heat.” Ben -was instructed to keep out of the hot sunlight and, when playing, wear -a fold of paper inside his cap. Mr. Sargent, however, had no intention -of allowing Ben to pitch again until he was so far recovered as not to -require that paper. The first of the series with Mount Morris would -be played on Saturday, just three days later, and so Ben had been -instructed to stay right at home and be very, very good to himself. -Leddy, Weston, Brunswick and Dud would undoubtedly manage between them -to dispose of Corliss, for Corliss, although called a college, was -little more than a preparatory school and was not considered dangerous. - -Corliss lay an hour and forty minutes away by railroad, although the -actual distance was about thirty-eight miles. The team had to change -at Needham Junction first and, later on, at North Taunton, and in -consequence was somewhat weary when it finally disembarked from the -trolley car that had brought it from the Corliss Station to the nearest -point to the school. They paraded up a tree-shaded street, past some -yellow-brick building that looked uncomfortably hot and glary today, -and eventually reached the field, a very ambitious affair, inclosed -with a brick wall and containing a permanent stand of concrete and a -picturesque building of the same material roofed with red tiles. The -fellows secretly admired that field, but they pretended to consider -it too dressy and made a good deal of fun of the commodious and -well-appointed building into which they were shown. There they had a -room all to themselves and three shower baths as well. By the time -they had changed to playing togs the stand was well sprinkled with -spectators and a welcoming cheer greeted them as they took the field -for practice. Only some dozen and a half Graftonians had accompanied -the nine, for examinations held many at school and others were too -poor to pay for the trip. But the handful of patriotic youths gathered -themselves into a small but devoted group in a corner of the big stand -and from the first appearance of the Scarlet-and-Gray on the diamond to -the end of the contest made enough noise for thrice their number. - -All four pitchers were set to warm up while the fielders practiced. -Will Brunswick, by this time reconciled to his fate, went through the -motions in a mechanical fashion, but the other three set to work hard, -each hoping to get the call. After the Corliss players, a rather hefty -lot of blue-stockinged and blue-sleeved youths, had taken the field -and completed their warming up, Mr. Sargent had a consultation with -Guy Murtha and Pete Gordon. Dud pretended no interest as he sat on the -bench between Hugh Ordway and Neil Ayer, but secretly he was a very -anxious boy. Manager Barnes was getting the batting order now from the -coach and Dud, while answering a remark of Hugh’s, strained his ears to -hear. - -“Blake, Winslow, Ordway, Murtha, Ayer, Boynton, Meyer”――Dud felt sorry -for Jimmy then――“Gordon and――I’ll give you the pitcher later.” Mr. -Sargent nodded to Nick Blake. “Start it up,” he said. - -Nick went to bat while Mr. Sargent arose and, after watching the work -of the opposing pitcher, a broad-shouldered and rather slow-moving -fellow named Walters, for a few moments, moved along and spoke to Nate -Leddy. Dud’s gaze followed, although he tried not to let it. The coach -and Leddy spoke for several moments, their eyes all the while on the -Corliss twirler. At last Mr. Sargent nodded and Leddy settled back in -his seat, turning to his companion on the left, Boynton, and making a -remark that brought, as Dud saw, a look of surprise to the face of the -right fielder. Mr. Sargent remained behind the bench, watching Nick -Blake trying to find something useful to him amongst the slow, wide -curves that the blue-legged pitcher was offering. Nick finally slammed -one across the diamond, but was an easy out, shortstop to first. - -Bert Winslow raised a long fly to left field and likewise retired and -Hugh Ordway, after fouling off a couple, was badly fooled on a drop and -fanned. As the players arose from the bench to trot into the field Dud, -who had forgotten the coach for the moment, felt a hand on his shoulder. - -“Baker, I’m going to let you start,” said Mr. Sargent. “You’ve pitched -to Brooks a good deal, haven’t you? Would you rather have him handle -you than Gordon?” - -“He knows my stuff pretty well, sir,” stammered Dud. “But it’s just as -you say, sir.” - -The coach called to Ed Brooks. “You catch Baker, Brooks,” he said. -“Let’s see what you can do, my boy. Study your batters and watch the -bases. Barnes, put Brooks down for Gordon and Baker last. All right -now, you two. Show what you can do.” - -Dud started for the mound, drawing on his glove, but Brooks overtook -him on the way. “Say, Dud, don’t let’s slip up on signals, eh?” he said -anxiously. “If you don’t get ’em sing out. And if you use that side-arm -pitch signal beforehand, will you? I’m always afraid of that getting by -me. Lift your cap in front and I’ll know, see? All right, Dud!” - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -DUD COMES BACK - - -Dud started out with one idea, which was to redeem himself. He was -pretty sure that Mr. Sargent would not expect him to go more than five -innings, six at the very most, and he determined to use every bit of -strength and science he possessed during those six frames, to pitch -himself out if necessary, but at all hazards to show form. He was -nervous at first and showed wildness with his practice balls, and after -that made a bad start by passing the first man up for Corliss. But -subsequently he settled down nicely, and although he had no strike-outs -to his credit in that first inning, he allowed no hits, and the runner -on first never left that bag. - -Grafton got two hits in the second, one rather scratchy, but failed -to score. Corliss once more got a man to first on a hit that took a -bad bound in front of Nick Blake and once more watched him die there. -In the third, after Grafton had retired in one, two three order, Dud -began to find his control, and he and Ed Brooks disposed of the Corliss -pitcher and the first two batsmen on the Blue’s list with no trouble, -Walters fanning, the next man popping a fly to Neil Ayer and the next -being thrown out at first by Bert Winslow. - -Grafton got her first run in the fourth inning. Hugh Ordway was passed, -Murtha sacrificed him to second and, after Neil Ayer had struck out, -Boynton slipped a fast grounder down the alley between shortstop and -second, and Hugh romped home and beat the throw by a yard. Star Meyer -flied out to center field. - -Dud added speed to science in the last of the fourth and two of the -Blue’s best batsmen fanned wildly, and the little group of Graftonians -in the corner of the stand cheered themselves patriotically and -appropriately scarlet of face. The succeeding batter drove a liner into -Captain Murtha’s glove and the fifth inning began. - -Ed Brooks allowed Walters to put him in a hole with the first two -deliveries, and then, after disdaining a couple of wide ones, swung -despairingly at a third and somehow managed to get it on the tip end of -his bat and land it safely behind shortstop. Then began a fusillade of -the Corliss pitcher that ultimately spelled retirement for that youth. -Dud, who had rolled a weak one down the first-base path and been an -easy out the first time at bat, now tried twice to bunt and failed. -After that there was nothing to do but take a good healthy swing and -try to get the ball out of the infield. With the score two-and-two, Dud -cut loose and poked a hit past third-baseman that put Brooks on the -third sack and himself on first. Blake bunted and the pitcher fielded, -the latter making the mistake of holding the ball too long to protect -the plate. When he finally tossed to first he was too late and the -bases were full. - -At this interesting juncture Bert Winslow ought to have stepped into -the limelight with a smashing home-run or a three-bagger at least, but -the best Bert could do was to bounce one away to shortstop and Brooks -was an easy out at the plate. But the bases were still filled, with -only one man down, and there were cries of “Lift it, Hobo!” “Knock it -in the nose, Hobo!” as Hugh went to the plate. Walters, showing the -strain now, pitched two wild heaves which his catcher barely stopped -and then slipped one across in the groove. Hugh swung at it but was too -late. A third ball followed and Grafton yelled exultantly. But again -Walters made good, Hugh not offering. Everything depended on the next -delivery, and as the ball left the pitcher’s hand the three runners on -the paths started away. They need not have hurried, though, for the -ball went low and wide and Hugh walked, Dud crossing the platter with -the second tally for the Scarlet-and-Gray. - -By this time Corliss had two pitchers warming up and it was easy to -see that Walters’ minutes were numbered. Captain Murtha brought affairs -to the crisis by landing on the pitcher’s second delivery and lifting -it high and far to right field. It was well over the fielder’s head, -and that youth failed to get under it. Two more runs tallied and Guy -took second. After that Walters passed Ayer and was promptly derricked. -The new twirler, Hoyt, had difficulty in getting under way, and before -he succeeded two more hits and as many runs had been scored. Of the -hits Boynton contributed one and Brooks one. Star Meyer made the second -out and Dud the third, Dud being robbed of a hit by a pretty running -catch of a short fly to center. - -The score was 6 to 0 when the last half of the fifth started and there -seemed to be no doubt as to who owned the game. Dud was beginning to -feel tired, but believed himself fit for another inning, or two if -necessary. But things broke bad at the start. The first of the enemy to -face him showed no eagerness to hit and before he knew it Dud was two -balls to the bad. Then, although he managed to get a strike across, he -followed with a third ball, and the final result was that the Corliss -youth smashed a hot liner straight over third base and took two bases -on the hit. The succeeding batsman fouled out quickly to Winslow. Then -Brooks tried to catch the runner off second and the ball got away from -Murtha, who took the throw, and the runner reached third. - -Dud felt himself slipping then and shot an inquiring look toward the -bench. But Mr. Sargent was evidently still unworried, for Leddy and -Weston were both there and no one was warming up. Dud gritted his teeth -and went on. The batsman had a strike and two balls on him when Dud, -trying to break a high one over the inner corner, lost control of the -ball and it went straight for the batter’s head. But Dud’s shout of -“_Look out!_” was not necessary. The man at the plate dropped just in -time and the ball sailed past Brooks and brought up at the net, the -runner on third sprinting home. - -Murtha and the others did their best to steady Dud again, and Ed -Brooks, walking down to place the ball in Dud’s hand, said: “That was -my fault, Dud. I ought to have got it. Sorry, old man. Don’t mind it, -though. Let’s have this fellow, eh?” - -Dud nodded. It was nice of Brooks to call it his fault, but of course -it hadn’t been anything of the sort. Dud glanced again toward the -bench as he went back to his place on the mound. He wished that Mr. -Sargent would get his relief ready. He wondered why he didn’t. He was -giving way to a sort of fright now, although he didn’t show it unless -by the longer time he took to grip the ball and study Brooks’ signal. -About him the infield players were speaking words of encouragement. -The batsman had him in the hole. He must make him hit. But something -told him that he was worked out, that there was no use trying, that -today was to be just a repetition of that other day when he had gone to -pieces there on Lothrop Field with the whole school looking on! - -Brooks had signaled for a straight ball and Dud tried to pitch it. -Instead of being straight, though, it was a hook, but it crossed the -corner of the plate and the umpire was charitable to Dud. Brooks, -looking anxious, threw it back slowly and again spread his hands. The -little group of Grafton rooters cheered. Dud, however, took no joy of -the doubtful decision. Luck had aided him that time, but this time, he -told himself, he would surely fail. And fail he did. The ball passed -well inside the plate and the batsman, staggering away from it, dropped -his bat and trotted down the path. Corliss was cheering madly now, -sensing the fact that the Grafton pitcher was at last weakening. Guy -Murtha hurried to the box and told Dud to take his time, to let them -hit. Dud muttered agreement, conscious chiefly of disappointment. He -had expected Guy to take the ball away from him! What, he wondered -almost angrily, was the matter with them? Couldn’t they see that he was -through? Why did they want to keep him there when he was only making -things worse every minute? - -None out now and a runner on first. The next batsman didn’t wait for -a pass but lighted on Dud’s first offering and sent it rolling toward -third. Dud and Brooks and Winslow all started for it, but it was Bert -who scooped it up and pegged it to Ayer, and Bert wasn’t set for the -throw and the ball went a yard away from the first-baseman. The first -runner dashed to third and the next slid into second base. Dud went -despairingly back to the mound to face the next ambitious blue-legged -youth. A hit meant two more runs for Corliss, he told himself. Surely -then they’d let him go out! But the hit didn’t come just then. Instead, -it was a short fly that left the bat and Nick Blake ran back and got -it safely and slammed it home. But the man on third didn’t try to -score. Then the hit did come, after Dud by some miracle had induced the -batsman to swing at two wide balls, and it sped into short center field -and two joyful Corliss runners tallied. - -Dud looked inquiringly at Murtha and got only a “Never mind that, -Baker! Go to it!” Then his eyes sought the bench, and there sat Leddy, -hands in pockets, and Gus Weston chatting unconcernedly with Barnes -over the score-book, and Mr. Sargent, leaning forward with hands -clasped loosely between his knees and his straw hat pulled over his -eyes! Dud couldn’t understand it at all. Did they want to get beaten? -Couldn’t they see that he was throwing the game away, that he wasn’t -any good after all, that he never had been? - -“Settle down, Dud!” called Nick Blake. “At a boy! Let’s have ’em, old -top!” - -“One gone!” chanted Captain Murtha. “Let’s have the double, fellows!” - -Dud turned desperately to his task again. He tried to remember what the -fellow facing him now had done before. Struck out, hadn’t he? Or was he -the chap who had smashed out that double? Well, it was up to Brooks, -and Brooks wanted a drop. Dud tried to catch the runner at first and -failed twice and then pitched to the plate. The drop was good and the -batsman swung at it. - -“That’s the stuff!” called Brooks cheerfully. “He can’t hit ’em, Dud! -Right across now. Show him a good one.” - -A wide and low one followed and then another. Two-and-one now, and -Brooks showing three fingers for another drop. Dud tried it and failed -and the umpire announced “Ball three!” Corliss shouted and stamped and -clapped. Dud had none to waste and he took all the time he wanted for -the next. But it slanted away erratically and the batsman tossed his -bat behind him and sprang gleefully toward first, while the runner at -that station went on to second. Murtha came to the box. - -“Look here, Baker, what’s the matter with you? Are you trying to -present them with the game? For the love of Mike, put some of them -over! Let them hit ’em, I tell you. We’ll take care of them!” - -“Maybe,” muttered Dud, “you’d better let me out, Murtha.” - -“Let you out? Is that what you’re up to? Well, listen, Baker; you’re -going to stay in here until you get the third man if it takes all the -afternoon! So you might as well get busy. You can throw the game away -if you want to, but you’re going to stay right here, son! Understand -that?” - -Dud viewed him, astonished. Then he nodded. “All right,” he said -finally. “I’ll do my best.” - -“That’s the talk,” responded the captain kindly. “Get a grip on -yourself, Baker. You’re just as good as you were an hour ago, man! All -you’ve got to do is to think so! Now settle down and make ’em eat out -of your hand!” - -Dud gave up trying to understand things after that. They meant to -keep him at it until he had retired the side. That was the principal -thing to think of. He wasn’t to look for relief but must earn his own -salvation. Well, in that case he knew where he stood, and that was -something of a comfort. At least, he wouldn’t have to look over toward -the bench every few minutes. Either they thought he could hold what he -had or they were just keeping him in to punish him. Either way, it -didn’t much matter, he decided. All he had to do now was to retire two -more batsmen in some way or other. That realization seemed to simplify -matters remarkably! - -Dud turned and studied the bases. A runner on second and a runner on -first. And one out. Why, that wasn’t so bad! A double play would end -the trouble, or a hit anywhere in the infield would probably account -for one. He mustn’t let the batsman bunt toward third, though, for that -would draw Winslow off his bag. Better give him low ones and try the -inner corner. If only he could get his slow ball working again he might -squeeze out of the hole he was in. - -“Two fingers,” said Dud to himself. “But that won’t do, Ed. He wants to -dump one down toward third.” Dud shook his head and Brooks laid three -fingers across his mitt. Dud nodded. Yes, a drop was the best. If he -could make it go, he added doubtfully to himself. But he did make it -go. And the batsman professed intense astonishment when a strike was -called. Brooks signaled for the same thing again, and again Dud essayed -it, and again he earned the decision, for this time the batter swung -viciously at it without, however, any result. Dud breathed easier. -With two strikes across he could waste a couple and perhaps fool the -batsman with a hook. Brooks showed two fingers and Dud served a curve -waist-high but wide of the plate. Then another, a little closer, but -still not tempting. Dud refused two signals and at last got Brooks to -show four fingers. Then Dud nodded, glanced behind him to where Murtha -and Blake were running the blue-legged youth back to base whenever he -tried to steal a start, and wound up. Forward shot his arm and away -sped the ball, straight for the plate and fairly high, and around swung -the bat and swept through empty air! For the ball had been a slow one -and the batter had hit inches ahead of it! - -Dud stopped slipping then, brought up with a round turn, in fact! If he -could still make that slow ball of his go right he could fool any of -them! He wondered what had got into him! Why, he was just as good as -ever! What a silly fool he had been to think anything else! They were -shouting shrilly and triumphantly over in the corner of the stand and -Brooks was grinning all over his round, freckled face. Dud spread his -hand in the dust and fondled the ball and waited calmly for the next -batsman. He was no longer afraid, no longer doubtful. He had, he told -himself exultantly, come back! - -Brooks asked for a curve and Dud refused it. A fast, straight ball -instead was what the batter saw speed past him. Perhaps, though, he -didn’t really see it, for it fairly sizzled with the “steam” that Dud -put on it. After that a low curve broke badly and then a second one -barely trimmed the outer corner of the rubber, but the batsman swung at -the latter and missed it. A foul back of the plate just escaped Brooks -and spoiled what Dud had intended for a third strike. Two-and-two now, -and the Corliss coachers shouting imploringly for a hit and the runners -dancing on their toes, eager to be off. Dud might still waste one if -he liked, but his fingers, when the ball came back to him, curved -themselves around the ball cunningly in response to the catcher’s -signal and Dud stepped forward and pitched, and every ounce of speed -he had went into that delivery. Straight as an arrow it flashed to the -plate, cut it squarely in halves and thumped into Ed Brooks’ mitt. The -batter never even offered at it and his bat was still at his shoulder -when the umpire waved him aside! - -Dud, walking across to the bench, heard the cheers of the tiny band of -Grafton rooters and smiled a little. Those cheers sounded awfully good -to him just then! He had come through and the only desire in his heart -now was to be allowed to finish! - -And finish he did, and went straight through to the end of the ninth -without further punishment. In those four succeeding innings the enemy -made just three hits, one of them a two-bagger that netted nothing -beyond a journey to second base. Six strike-outs were added to his -credit and he made two assists. And in the meanwhile Grafton sweetened -her total with three more runs, so that when Dud ended the game by -causing a Corliss pinch hitter to fly out to Boynton in left the score -stood 9 to 3. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -BEN TELLS A SECRET - - -The team missed connection at North Taunton coming back and had to kick -their heels about the platform there for more than an hour, reaching -school finally just before eight, a very tired lot. There was a cold -supper awaiting them in the dining-hall, and after that had been -demolished few of the fellows had inclination for anything but bed. - -Jimmy, who had remained on the bench all the afternoon, was in a -particularly pessimistic frame of mind, and Dud’s last conscious memory -was of Jimmy, pajama-clad, seated on the edge of his bed, muttering -dire threats against Star Meyer. - -Thursday was a busy day for Dud, with examinations beginning in real -earnest. In the corridor of School Hall at noon he was hailed by Roy -Dresser. “Say, Baker, Myatt’s looking for you. Told me to tell you to -drop around to his room if I saw you.” - -As there was still a half-hour before dinner, Dud turned his steps -toward Lothrop and climbed the flight of slate steps that led to the -second corridor. Ben Myatt roomed with Nate Leddy in Number 8, and both -occupants of the two-room suite were in when Dud entered. He hadn’t -seen Myatt for several days and he was surprised to find him stretched -out on the couch looking rather pale and fagged. - -“Hello, Dud,” he said. “Mind if I don’t get up? I’m feeling a bit rocky -today. Pull up a chair.” Dud replied to Leddy’s greeting and found a -seat. Leddy went on sorting some books at his desk. “Nate,” continued -Myatt, “has been telling me about your good work yesterday, Dud. I was -awfully glad to hear it, son. How’s the arm today?” - -“Quite all right, thanks. Oh, it’s a little stiff, but I guess it will -limber up this afternoon.” - -“Better go easy with it. Nine innings is quite a stretch the first -time. You’ve never gone the full limit before, eh?” - -“No, and I thought for a while yesterday that I wasn’t going to be able -to. I guess Leddy told you what a mess I made of that fifth inning.” - -Ben nodded. “I wonder,” he ruminated, “how many of us have had an upset -in that ‘fatal fifth.’ It seems that the fifth is crucial. Anyway, I’ve -always had a sort of superstition about it. If I can last out the fifth -I can go the limit, but almost every game I pitch something happens -in that inning. Sometimes it’s only a stumble and sometimes it’s a -regular fall-down. I dare say you thought it funny Pete didn’t pull -you out yesterday when you went bad, eh?” - -Dud nodded his head. “Yes, I expected him to, and when he didn’t -I――well, I sort of thought he was keeping me in to――to discipline me. I -suppose he was.” - -“Not exactly. We were talking you over the other evening; I guess it -was the night after the Lawrence game; and Pete said he guessed you -wouldn’t stand a full game this year but that you might next. I told -him you could stand it any time if he’d let you do it. ‘You put Baker -in a game that’s on ice,’ I said, ‘or a game you don’t particularly -care about winning and let him see himself through. Every pitcher has -got to get into trouble once and dig out again before he finds himself. -After he has done it once he knows that he can do it and after that he -does it.’ Pete thought I might be right and Guy said he was certain of -it. Great Scott, don’t I know? Haven’t I been through it? I’ve stood up -there with the crowd yelping and been so scared I couldn’t half see the -plate! Just had to trust to luck when I let ’em go that they wouldn’t -fly over the backstop! Don’t you feel, now that you’ve stood the gaff, -that you could start out this afternoon and pitch nine innings without -getting wobbly?” - -“Yes, I think I could,” responded Dud cautiously. “But I mightn’t. When -a fellow’s stuff stops breaking right for him and a play goes wrong in -the infield and there are a couple on the bases――――” - -“Right you are,” said Leddy. “I know the feeling, Baker. It’s the -deuce!” - -“It sure is,” agreed Ben. “But what I’m trying to say is that a chap -has got to get good and scared and get over it before he’s worth a -hang in the box. You had your scare in the Lawrence game, Dud. I could -see just how you felt. But they had to pull you out to save the game. -You had another one yesterday and they didn’t have to pull you out and -you found it was up to you to crawl out of the hole all by yourself, -and you buckled down and did it. You didn’t know it, but if we’d been -trimmed thirty to nothing yesterday you’d still been in there pitching -’em over when the game ended! That was Pete’s plan from the first. ‘If -Baker’s in shape,’ he said to me, ‘I’ll put him in and let him pitch -the whole game.’” - -“I’m glad I didn’t know it,” laughed Dud. “I’d have been frightened -stiff if I had!” - -“Wouldn’t have blamed you a mite,” said Nate. “To tell the truth, -Baker, when Pete told me on the bench there yesterday that he was going -to put you in for the limit I thought he was crazy. I didn’t expect you -to last more than four innings. I don’t mind telling you now, because -it turned out all right and you fooled me beautifully. I apologize. You -pitched as nice a game for a rookie as I ever saw in my life, old man, -and that’s a fact!” - -“I wish I could have seen it,” said Ben. “Fact is, Dud, I sort of look -on you as a pupil, although I never really taught you a thing except a -little common sense. You had everything you’ve got now when I got after -you that day in the cage, but――――” - -“You taught me how to use what I did have,” said Dud stoutly. “If it -hadn’t been for you I’d never have made good a little bit.” - -“Well, all right. Thanks for the testimonial. What I wanted to see -you about today was this. Nate and I talked it over and we decided -to put you wise to what’s up. Pete probably thinks it’s better to -keep quiet about it. Anyway, it wouldn’t help any to let it get over -to Mount Morris. So you keep it to yourself. I’m dished for the rest -of the year, Baker. When I was a kid I had a sunstroke. A lot of us -were on the beach one beast of a hot day and we were doing stunts and -racing and going on the way kids will, you know. Well, I keeled over -and was sick for two or three days; had rather a narrow squeak of it, -I believe. I’ve never had any trouble since, though, until Saturday. -It was beastly hot that day, and I guess I was feeling sort of punk, -anyway. Well, the result was that I had to give up, and after I got -to the Field House I was as sick as a dog and felt like the dickens. -Now the Doc says I’ve got to keep out of the sun all summer. Oh, he -says there’s no harm in going around if it’s just ordinarily warm, -but I’m supposed to wear some sort of a ventilated hat or stick a -newspaper in it or something. If the day’s all right I’ll have a try -at twirling Saturday, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be good for only four -or five innings. That means that Nate here will have to finish out. Or -Nate may start and I’ll go in if it’s necessary. Anyhow, there’s the -second Mount Morris game the next Friday, and, in case they get one -away from us, we’ll have to play them again the next afternoon. See -what I’m getting at, Dud? You’ve got to take your turn in one of those -games, old man. You can’t figure it any other way. Gus may get a whack, -of course, and if Gus happened to have a good day it would help the -situation a lot. For my part, I don’t believe we can count on finishing -the series this year in two games. Mount Morris is good and she’s got a -pitching staff that’s every bit up to ours. So there it is. Nate will -have to pitch part of the Friday game, at least, and if he does he -won’t be up to twirling again the next day. We want to win the series, -naturally, and we’ve been talking it over. And we decided that it -would be the best thing to put you next to what was up and let you get -accustomed to the idea. I don’t know how you are that way, Dud, but I -know that a good many fellows if they were suddenly called on to go in -and pitch in a deciding game with the rival team would have nerves so -badly they wouldn’t know a drop from a jump.” - -Dud took a long breath. “Gee!” he said. “Can I do it?” - -“Yes, I’m sure you can――after yesterday. Yesterday’s experience was -just the sort of medicine you needed. Don’t you think so yourself?” - -“Yes, I do. At least, I don’t think I’d ever go to pieces quite so -badly again, Ben. But――but pitching against Mount Morris――――” - -“Pshaw,” said Leddy. “Mount Morris isn’t so different from Corliss. -They play a little better, that’s all. The big thing is to just go in -and tell yourself, and make yourself _believe_, that you’re a heap -better than any batsman they can put up. Isn’t that so, Ben?” - -“Yep, I think it is. Confidence is a big factor in pitching, Dud. And -we want you to spend the next week or so accumulating a lot of it. -You’re not likely to have to work Saturday, although you never can tell -what’ll happen in a ball game. Anyway, you won’t have to work more -than an inning or two. I’m pretty sure I can go four and Nate isn’t -likely to break down under five, I guess. I wish to goodness we had one -south-paw in the bunch!” - -“Brunswick’s a left-hander,” offered Dud. - -“I know, but he isn’t ready yet. I guess he’ll come around nicely next -year. Well, that’s the outlook. Now, if you take my advice, you’ll do a -little work every day, Dud; not a great deal, but enough to keep silky; -and you’ll get used to the idea of going into one of those Mount Morris -games and doing a lot of pretty pitching. I’m going to get out of here -tomorrow and we’ll have a try-out, just you and I, Dud. I want to see -that cross-fire of yours again. If you can make that good it might be -a big asset against some of Mount Morris’ right-handed batters. How is -your hitting nowadays, Dud?” - -“Pretty poor, I’m afraid,” replied Dud ruefully. - -“Try and brace up with it. You never can tell when a hit will mean a -whole lot to your team. And a pitcher that can smash out a safety now -and then――especially when it’s needed a lot――is pretty useful.” - -“That’s the only thing that got Ben his place,” said Leddy dryly. - -“It helped a lot, anyway,” laughed Ben, “especially when I started in -with the second and didn’t have much more than my glove. But you try -to meet ’em between now and next Friday, Dud. And, by the way, better -not let Pete Sargent know that you’re on. Maybe he will give you a hint -himself in a day or two, but until he does you let him think you don’t -suspect anything.” - -But Dud got no hint from the coach that week. The next day, Friday, -Ben lugged Dud off to the practice diamond after the teams had gone -in and put him through his paces. Dud’s round-arm delivery interested -him considerably, and Ben had to have a try at it himself, without, -however, getting any such result as Dud did. - -“I like that,” said Ben. “If you can make it a bit more certain, Dud, -you’ll have a good ball there. I know if you pitched that to me and -I didn’t know what was coming I’d back out of the box! Let’s try it -again.” - -Dud put in every moment at batting that he could find opportunity for. -But he didn’t seem to make any improvement. He could land on some of -Brunswick’s offerings fairly well, but Gus Weston or Leddy nearly -always got them past him. He wasn’t used in the box on Thursday, and -had only two innings of work Friday, but his pitching arm was back in -shape and he assured himself over and over again that he was quite -ready to face Mount Morris or anyone else. Nevertheless, his heart had -a way of jumping into his throat sometimes when he suddenly remembered -what might happen a week hence! Jimmy wasn’t much use to him at that -time, for Jimmy was having hard work with examinations and was, -besides, much disgruntled over Mr. Sargent’s preference for Star Meyer -in center field. Even when, the day after the Corliss game, he dwelt -on what he termed Dud’s “coup,” he was only half-hearted. - -“You own the school now, Dud,” he proclaimed. “Your middle name is -Popularity. Didn’t I tell you that if you followed my advice and -specialized on pitching a baseball you’d get to be a regular feller? -Sure, I did! And you’ve gone and done it!” - -Dud, though, failed to discern any enormous popularity. Of course those -who had seen the game were warm in their praise of his work, and those -who hadn’t been present looked on him a bit more interestedly, but -if he had expected to wake up on Thursday and find himself suddenly -famous――and, as a matter of fact, he hadn’t thought of any such -thing――he would have been disappointed. No one patted him on the back -and told him how good he was and no one particularly sought the honor -of his society. But the Corliss contest had not been a very important -one and the school had fully expected to win it, anyway. Real fame was -to be garnered only in a game with Mount Morris. - -Saturday dawned hot and breathless, with an unclouded sky overhead. -There were no examinations that morning and the fellows had nothing to -do but look forward to the afternoon’s contest with their old rival and -speculate on the outcome of it. A few heroic ones played tennis and the -canoes were pretty busy, but the heat made idleness almost a virtue. -It was rumored at dinner time that Leddy would start in the box for -Grafton and that Myatt would be held in reserve. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -THE FIRST GAME - - -When, at two o’clock, the invading hordes swept down on Grafton it -looked as though Mount Morris Academy had arrived in toto. Of the -hundred and eighty-odd students enrolled at the Greenbank school -that year, fully a hundred and fifty swarmed over from the station -after the arrival of the train. They came in hilarious mood, marching -along Crumbie and River Streets four abreast and waving small green -megaphones through which they hoped to later roar the enemy into -subjection. Green and white, the Mount Morris colors――I am aware that -white is not a color, but how else can I put it?――were much in evidence -in the shape of pennants and neckties and arm-bands, while a frivolous -fox-terrier led the procession, straining at his leash, attired in -a green blanket with the school monogram in white. Altogether, that -invasion was notable and picturesque, and Grafton, looking on from the -windows of Lothrop and Trow or from along the campus fence, cheered -approvingly. Mount Morris cheered back and waved her pennants, turned -into School Street and disbanded at the gate. Subsequently those who -had acquaintances at Grafton were to be seen climbing stairways, while -others wandered around in critical survey of the school buildings. - -Add some two hundred Grafton fellows and another hundred sympathizers -from the village and roundabout and you’ll understand that the seating -capacity of Lothrop Field that afternoon was severely taxed. Politely, -but not over-eagerly perhaps, Grafton yielded the grandstands to the -visitors and townsfolk and found accommodation on the grass. Only a -band was lacking to make the occasion complete; and I’m not sure that a -band would have had much chance with all that cheering and singing! - -The game started at two-thirty, or, to be exact, four minutes after -the scheduled time. The sun was pretty hot and what slight breeze -crept up now and then from the river did little to mitigate its ardor. -Nate Leddy began proceedings by slipping a strike over on the head of -the Mount Morris batting list, and the Scarlet-and-Gray cheered what -they were pleased to consider a good augury. The enemy retired without -reaching first and when the teams changed places it was seen that Mount -Morris, instead of putting in her best pitcher, Saylor, was going to -use Moulton. Moulton was a left-hander and Grafton had taken very -kindly to his pitching last year in the second game of the series. -Saylor was evidently to be saved for use against Myatt. - -But it was soon apparent that Moulton had progressed in the gentle -art of pitching a baseball since the previous season, for Blake and -Winslow both fanned and the best Ordway could do was to fly out to -second-baseman. Save that the cheering and singing and coaching were -in their enthusiasm sufficient to mark the occasion as one greatly out -of the ordinary, no one would have suspected anything unusual from the -first few innings of the contest. Both teams played hard but ragged -ball, and the rival scorers had to jot down many errors. And yet, since -every spectator was thoroughly partisan, those scoreless innings were -not without their interest. There were some brilliant plays by both -sides: a running, one-hand catch by Left-Fielder Porter of the visitors -that deprived Guy Murtha of a two-bagger, a superb throw to second by -Gordon of the home talent that cut down a green-legged runner, a double -by Blake and Ayer that brought the fourth inning to an inglorious――or -glorious, according to whether you sported green or scarlet――ending. -And the two pitchers, neither seriously threatened, also deserved -laurels. To offset such commendable incidents, however, there was a -sickening muff of an easy toss by Murtha at second, the dropping of a -foul by Ayer after he had it nicely in his hands, the booting of a -hit by Winslow and a “solid ivory” play by Gordon in the third when he -called for a pitch-out and then pegged the ball over first-baseman’s -head when the runner was half-way to second. And the visitors made -quite as many slip-ups and, I think, more displays of bad judgment of -the kind that count in results but do not show in the error column. - -Leddy met his first batch of trouble in the fifth――the “crucial fifth,” -as Ben Myatt had called it two days before――when he passed the first -man up and allowed the next to hit safely past Winslow. After that he -struck out the next two batsmen but couldn’t prevent a run coming over -when the following green-leg popped a Texas Leaguer behind Winslow. -Nick Blake made a valiant effort to get that hit, but the best he could -do was to scoop it up and get the man at third. Grafton got men to -third and second in her half, but they died there. - -That ended the scoring until the seventh, and it was in the seventh -that Leddy gave way to Weston in the first half, and that the home -team put the game away in the second period. Mount Morris began by -getting a scratch hit that put a runner on first. The next man tried -to sacrifice, but Leddy threw wild to Blake at second and both runners -were safe. A short fly to left field settled in Hobo Ordway’s hands and -he held the runners. Then Leddy let down and passed the next batter -on four consecutive balls and the bases were all occupied with but one -out. Leddy showed nervousness and risked a tally by trying to catch -the runner at second. Only quick work by Blake sent the man at third -doubling back to that base. With a strike and two balls on the batter, -Nate let go of a wild one and, although Gordon managed to partly block -it, the enemy scored her second run. Leddy pitched another ball, worked -a strike across and finally passed the batter. It was then that Gus -Weston, who had been warming up to Brooks for two innings, was hurried -to the rescue. - -Gus started erratically by pitching three wild ones in a row and then -settled down and struck out the green-leg and got a fine salvo of -applause from some three hundred anxious Grafton sympathizers. Another -five minutes of suspense followed, during which Dud and Jimmy and the -other non-combatants sat on the final two inches of the bench and -clenched their hands and yelled their heads nearly off. In the end, -after the batsman, who happened also to be Mount Morris’s captain, had -three balls to his credit and two strikes against him and had fouled -off exactly five offerings, a screaming fly to center field that Star -Meyer caught ended the trouble. - -But if it ended Grafton’s trouble it only began Mount Morris’s, for it -was that last of the seventh that saw the downfall of Moulton, the -Green-and-White’s second-best twirler. Gordon led off with a sizzling -shot to right that the fielder had to take on the bound and was secure -on first. Weston went out, second to first. Nick Blake tried the first -thing that came his way and bounced it off Moulton’s shins, advancing -Gordon and arriving at first without question. Winslow came across with -a two-base hit to left that sent Gordon home with Grafton’s first tally -and a minute later Hugh Ordway slammed one down the third-base line, -scoring Winslow and putting himself on second. - -That was enough for Moulton and he disappeared, a tow-headed youth by -the name of Whitten taking his place. Whitten, though, was easy from -the first moment and hit followed hit, interspersed by a couple of -infield errors, until Grafton had crossed the platter with six runs. - -In the eighth Gus Weston almost produced heart disease among the home -team supporters by passing the first batsman, hitting the next on the -leg and then committing a most apparent balk and moving the runners to -third and second. Ben Myatt drew on his glove about that time and moved -down the field with Brooks, but Ben’s services were not needed, after -all, for a weak grounder was pegged home for the first out and Gordon -shot the ball to first for the second. A fly to Boynton, which he -juggled for one awful instant and then captured, brought the suspense -to an end. - -In the Grafton half of the eighth both Winslow and Ordway hit safely, -Murtha flied out to center, Ayer got his base on a fielder’s choice -that failed to catch Winslow at third, and the sacks were again filled -and the stage set for a tragedy. But the best Boynton could do was to -pop up an infield fly, and it was left to Coach Sargent, assisted――very -capably assisted――by one James Townsend Logan, to produce the -appropriate climax. - -It was Star Meyer’s turn at bat, but Star had failed all the afternoon -to do more than reach first on one occasion by virtue of a fielder’s -choice. So Mr. Sargent looked about him for a pinch-hitter. There -was, to be sure, Ben Myatt, but Ben was down the field gently tossing -the ball to Brooks. Perhaps it was a gleam of eagerness in Jimmy’s -eyes that decided the coach. At all events, Star Meyer, armed for the -struggle, was called back half-way to the plate and it was Jimmy who -jumped to his feet, seized a bat at haphazard, possibly afraid that the -coach would change his mind if he gave him a chance, and fairly leaped -to the plate. - -Jimmy got a fine round of applause and a lot of advice as to what to -do. It was evident that many of the audience would be satisfied with -nothing less than a home-run, but, on the other hand, the advice he -got from the bench and the coachers was to “just tap it, Jimmy!” Jimmy -did not so well as the stand demanded and did better than his teammates -advised. He smote it. He didn’t smite at once, though. He let Whitten -put one straight over that looked too low to Jimmy and just right to -the umpire, and he let Whitten follow that strike with two deceitful -hooks that looked fine at first and then didn’t. And then, when Whitten -tried to sneak one over again opposite his knee-pads, Jimmy did his -smiting. Jimmy got that ball on the one square inch of his bat best -calculated to produce results, a square inch located about four inches -from the end, and he put all his contempt for Mount Morris and Whitten -and, incidentally, Star Meyer, into his swing, and the ball traveled -away with a _crack_ that was heartening indeed to the three impatient -runners, shot over second-baseman’s upthrust glove, still ascending, -went curving into center field at a place where neither the guardian of -that territory nor his left-hand neighbor had any chance of reaching -it, and finally dropped to earth to roll joyfully along the sward -pursued by two pairs of agitated green legs! - -Need I narrate that all Grafton arose as one and shrieked hysterical -delight? Or that the bases, filled a scant moment before, were speedily -emptied? Or that Jimmy, finding them empty and having his choice of -any, decided to annex second and then, urged on by coachers more -capable of judging the demands of the moment, spurned second and set -his heart on third――and would have gone tearing home if Guy Murtha -himself hadn’t seized him forcibly and thrust him back to the bag? -Well, perhaps you wouldn’t have guessed the latter details, but I -fancy you’d have surmised the others. That hit of Jimmy’s went down -in local history as one of the famous hits of the national pastime. -It wasn’t that it won the game, for the game was already captured. -Had he struck out Grafton would still have been returned the victor -that afternoon. But there was something beautifully satisfying about -it, one might almost say artistic. The audience was on the _qui vive_ -for it, the setting was right to the most minute detail and it was -made when and where it would do the most good. To be sure, it might -have been a home-run and so scored four tallies instead of three, but -I maintain――and I am supported by Dud and Nick and Hugh and half the -school――that there is nearly always the element of luck in a home-run, -whereas Jimmy’s three-bagger was a solid, meritorious, honestly-earned -hit as soul-satisfying as any homer ever lifted over a fence! - -Perhaps you think I am dwelling over-long on the glory of that -performance and to the holding up of the game. But as a matter of fact -it ended the game there and then to all intents and purposes. To be -sure, Gordon did get to first on a pass, while the cheering was still -going on, but nobody cared, any more than they cared a minute later -when Gus Weston fanned. Anything that might happen now would be an -anti-climax. The audience was satisfied, surfeited. Mount Morris had no -fight left in her and went out in one, two, three order in the ninth. - -Subsequently there was chaos and noise and the sight of numerous -scarlet-and-gray-hosed heroes bobbing about above a sea of joyful -faces and open mouths. And Mount Morris trotted subduedly off the -field, after returning Grafton’s cheer, and was next seen attired in -street clothes being borne in hacks to the station, a number of rather -tired-looking but still smiling young gentlemen whom Fate had used -unkindly. And yet, as they passed Lothrop Hall they tossed a final -cheer behind, and there was a grimness and determination in the tone -of it that seemed to say: “Make the most of your triumph, Grafton! Our -turn comes next!” - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -LEFT BEHIND - - -Grafton jubilated and made glad. Nate Leddy spent a sorrowful evening -and refused the comfort offered by his roommate. Gus Weston was -inclined to be talkative about his share in the victory, but no one -took Gus seriously. Of all those who had taken part in the contest, -it remained to Jimmy Logan alone to be triumphant. Jimmy triumphed -and made no bones about it. I don’t mean that he went around throwing -his chest out or figuratively crowning himself with laurel and with -bay. Oh, not at all. Jimmy was not self-assertive in the least. He -only smiled when laudation came his way, and strove to impress others -as being firmly of the idea that what he had done had been nothing to -speak of, absolutely nothing. Only, now that it had been mentioned, -wasn’t it a joke on Star Meyer? Star hadn’t made a hit in the game and -had fielded――well, anyone knew what Star’s fielding was like! And then, -just when he had a chance to really do something for himself and the -team, Pete had yanked him away from the plate. Not, however, that, in -Jimmy’s belief, Star _would_ have done anything. Probably quite the -contrary and otherwise. Star, he reflected compassionately, must be -feeling rather cheap, eh? - -Jimmy fairly haunted Star’s waking hours for the next day or two. No -matter where Star went, there also was Jimmy, Jimmy with a sympathetic -mien and a sly twinkle in his eye. Star ran across him in corridors, -on the Green, on the Campus, on the field, everywhere. And, on Sunday -afternoon, trying to find sanctuary in the library, he hid himself -behind an atlas of the world in a secluded corner, only to hear a few -minutes later the sound of footsteps on the floor and to glance over -the top of his book into the sweetly condoling countenance of Jimmy. -Star dropped the atlas with a mutter of despair and sought his room. - -There were plenty who predicted that Jimmy had ousted Star from center -field, and Jimmy himself believed that he had, and yet when Wednesday -came around, bringing final examinations to an end and Yarrow High -School to the scene, Jimmy again decorated the bench and it was Star -who ambled out to center field! And, oh, the chagrin of Jimmy! - -There isn’t much to tell of that game. Yarrow had been selected because -she was not calculated to make hard work for Grafton, and she proved -the wisdom of the selection. Brunswick started in the box for the -Scarlet-and-Gray and lasted three innings and a third of the next. Then -Dud went to the rescue and stopped the onslaught of the enemy. He was -instructed not to exert himself and didn’t need to, but, possibly for -fear that he might, Gus Weston relieved him in the eighth. Meanwhile -Grafton kept her plate clean and scored eight runs on her own account. -Except that it kept the players in form and took the place of a game -with the second――which team, by the way, was at Greenbank receiving -a rather conclusive drubbing from the Mount Morris second nine――that -contest might just as well have not been played. Yarrow High was not -enough of an opponent to test Grafton’s ability in any line. But it -served to keep the enthusiasm up, if anything was needed for such a -purpose, and gave the Scarlet-and-Gray something to while away the -time with. The next day was to be Graduation Day and many fathers and -mothers and assorted relatives and friends were already on hand. The -Glee and Mandolin and Banjo Clubs discoursed in the Gymnasium that -evening and there was a dance afterwards. The dance, however, was not -for the baseball players, or, at least, only a few numbers of it, for -they were supposed to be tucked in bed at ten o’clock. Let’s hope that -most of them were. I know, though, that Jimmy wasn’t. Jimmy at that -particular hour was perched rather precariously on the footboard of -Dud’s bed explaining at great length and with a fine flow of language -his opinion of Star Meyer and Coach Sargent and Guy Murtha and all -others who in any way represented authority in baseball affairs. Jimmy -wasn’t nearly through when Dud fell asleep. - -Graduation Day dawned fair and only mildly hot and went, as many -had gone before at Grafton and as many would later. There were the -exercises in the hall at eleven, at which some thirty seniors received -diplomas and some one hundred and eighty others applauded deafeningly. -Several that we know were among the fortunate young gentlemen: Ted -Trafford, captain of last fall’s football team; Roy Dresser, Guy -Murtha, of present fame; Joe Leslie, class president; Gordon Parker, -Nate Leddy, Ben Myatt, Neil Ayer, Jack Zanetti, of track and football -renown, and some others doubtless. And――I had almost forgotten――Pop -Driver! Yes, Pop actually received his diploma at last and bore up very -modestly under the acclaim that almost swept the roof from the building! - -And there was a royal luncheon in dining-hall at one-thirty, and after -that “spreads,” as the fellows liked to call them, in various dormitory -rooms, and still later, lemonade and sandwiches and cakes set out on -a long table in front of Manning. In the evening Forum and Lit held -their big debate of the year, and Lit won hands down, and the admiring -fathers and mothers and sisters and aunts and――oh, all the rest of -them, clapped and beamed and were extraordinarily proud. And then there -were more refreshments and, at last, everyone went home――somewhere. - -The exodus began the next morning, but less than half the students -deserted. Most of them, accompanied by compliant parents, entrained for -Greenbank at eleven-ten or twelve-twenty-five to see the ball game. At -a few minutes after twelve Grafton was pretty well deserted. Mr. Crump, -the worthy head janitor, remained, I think, and possibly a stray member -of the faculty, but Doctor Duncan went and “J. P.” went and “Jimmy” -Rumford and, oh, just about everyone! And so we might as well go too! - -The team, fifteen strong exclusive of manager and assistant manager -and Mr. Sargent and “Dinny” Crowley and “Davy” Richards, left on the -later train. A five-minute wait at the junction, spent in working off a -little extra enthusiasm, and then they boarded the main line train and -were hustled away toward Greenbank and whatever fate awaited them. - -Of course most everyone hoped for a second victory since it would -leave them free to go home for the summer, but there were one or two -enthusiasts who were willing to see the series go to three games. Among -the latter was Dud, for Dud wanted very much indeed to pitch in one -Mount Morris contest, and he saw no likelihood of doing it unless that -third game was played. Most of the fellows proclaimed their belief that -Grafton would again take the measure of her opponent this afternoon, -but secretly they doubted it. Mount Morris had nearly always taken one -game, and today, playing on her own field, surrounded by her graduation -crowd, and smarting under the defeat of last week, she was certain to -make a fine fight for victory. - -Mr. Sargent, Murtha, Barnes and Mr. Crowley occupied seats together -and spent most of the time between Needham Junction and Greenbank -laying plans for the contest. Dud and Jimmy sat together further back -in the coach, Jimmy doing his best to make Star Meyer uncomfortable -by staring at the back of his head. There was a good deal of talk and -laughter and some horse-play, for the fellows had the coach pretty much -to themselves until Webster was reached. There was a delay at Webster, -for a branch line train with which the express made connection had not -arrived. Most of the fellows disembarked to stretch their legs and -harry the station agent, and Jimmy and Dud were of the number. Jimmy -insisted on taking his stand on the platform opposite the window at -which Star sat and staring him out of countenance until Dud dragged him -away by main force. - -“I’ll bet,” chuckled Jimmy as, having promised to behave, he obtained -his release from his chum’s grasp, “I’ll bet that Star will be glad -when he hikes out for home! I never knew a fellow who disliked to be -looked at as much as he does!” - -“Looked at!” said Dud. “You’re enough to drive the fellow crazy! -I wouldn’t be surprised if he dreams of you at night, you and -your――er――bacillus stare!” - -“I think the word is _basilisk_,” replied Jimmy sweetly. “Not that it -matters, however. Not that anything matters except whether I beat that -chump out for the position of center fielder today. Say, where are you -taking me? Suppose the train starts up?” - -“It won’t. You heard the trainman say we were waiting for the local, -and that comes in over there on the other side of the station. Let’s -see if there are any fish in this stream.” - -“Who cares whether there are or not?” But Jimmy followed along the -embankment to lean beside Dud over the railing of the culvert and stare -into the little brook that flowed beneath. “I see a frog down there, -if that will do you any good. I’d like to catch him and put him down -Star’s neck!” - -They had wandered some forty or fifty yards back from the rear car, -which the team had taken possession of, and consequently when a bell -clanged far down the track and the command “All abo-o-oard!” reached -them, as it did at that moment, they didn’t waste time in expressing -surprise or consternation but set off as fast as their feet would carry -them. - -“That trainman,” panted Jimmy, “will come to a bad end!” - -Whether the conductor failed to see them or whether he gave them credit -for an astonishing celerity they never knew, but the train began to -move before they had covered half the distance between the culvert and -the last platform of the rear car. Running over ties is not conducive -to speed and for a moment or two they despaired of reaching their -goal. But they did reach it, just when the end of the station platform -threatened to defeat their efforts, and Jimmy, leading, grasped a -handful of iron railing and gave a spring. - -What happened next was always very confused in their minds. They had -noticed that the rear platform was occupied by someone, but had not -recognized who that someone was. As Jimmy’s fingers closed about the -railing at the steps a rubber-soled shoe was placed against his chest -and the very next thing Jimmy knew he was rolling over on the platform -and Dud was rolling over with him, and the train was rods away! - -[Illustration: “Jimmy ... was rolling over on the platform and Dud ... -with him”] - -Struggling somehow to his feet, Jimmy gave chase, shouting like a wild -Indian and causing a stupendous commotion amongst the few occupants of -the platform. But all he got for his pains was an ironic farewell wave -from the figure in the doorway of the last car! - -Dud, rather pale of face, joined him, dusting his clothes and staring -dazedly after the disappearing express. Jimmy, wild-eyed, turned -sputteringly. - -“D-did you see who that was?” he demanded. “It was Star Meyer! He -pushed me off the step! He――he kicked me off! I might have been killed! -You wait! You wait till I――――” - -But Jimmy was fairly gibbering now. Dud handed his straw hat to him. -“Never mind about that now,” he said impatiently. “The question is how -we’re to get to Greenbank. How far is it?” - -“I don’t know. You wait till I get my hands on that――that――――” - -“Let’s find out,” interrupted Dud anxiously. “The game’s at two-thirty -and it must be half-past one now. Maybe there’s another train that will -get us there in time, Jimmy.” - -Jimmy stopped his mouthings and hurried after Dud to the waiting-room, -unconscious of the curious regard of the small audience. The agent -was most unsympathetic. He had been chivied by the fellows and made -sport of and he seemed to think that it served these two young rascals -just about right. His replies to their anxious questions were short -and discouraging. No, there wasn’t another train to Greenbank before -two-forty-eight. No, he didn’t know how they were to get there by -half-past two. (His tone implied that he hoped they wouldn’t!) Yes, -they might be able to get a carriage to drive them over. There was a -livery stable about a mile down the road there. And the distance to -Greenbank by rail was nine miles. - -They retired to consider. A mile walk to the livery stable didn’t -appeal to them and Dud suggested telephoning. Fortunately, there -was a booth in the corner of the waiting-room and Jimmy possessed a -nickel. They crowded in and at last, after much delay, got the stable. -But the voice at the other end was not at all reassuring. They had -carriages enough and horses enough, but just now there wasn’t anyone to -drive ’em. If they could wait until two o’clock maybe Billy would be -back from Chester. Jimmy impatiently suggested that they could drive -themselves and the stable could send a man over to Greenbank on the -train to bring the team back. But that didn’t appear feasible to the -man on the telephone. Mr. Libby, it appeared, had gone to the city. -(Mr. Libby, they gathered, was the proprietor.) If Mr. Libby was there -maybe he’d let ’em have a rig, but the speaker declined to shoulder the -responsibility. In short, the only course was to await the return of -Billy at two――or maybe half-past――or three, at the latest! - -Jimmy hung up the receiver impatiently. - -“I suppose there isn’t a trolley?” murmured Dud. They consulted the -agent once more. He showed peevishness at being required to awake -from his nap and open the window again and took evident pleasure in -informing them that the nearest trolley line was four miles distant and -that it didn’t go to Greenbank, anyway; leastways, not direct; it went -to West Shoreham first. The window descended with a venomous bang. - -Dud and Jimmy, hands in pockets, wandered disconsolately back to the -platform. There was an unoccupied baggage truck there and they seated -themselves on it and swung their legs and stared forlornly at a field -of potatoes. - -“I dunno,” murmured Jimmy hopelessly. - -Dud consulted his watch. It was now one-forty-six. In three-quarters -of an hour the game would start. And they wouldn’t be there! Of course -it wasn’t very likely that he would have had a chance to pitch today, -anyhow, but there was always the possibility. Dud sighed deeply and -Jimmy echoed the sigh. It had just occurred to him that there was now -no question as to who would play center field. - -“If I ever lay my hands on that skunk,” broke forth Jimmy, “I’ll――I’ll -just about――――” - -But Dud interrupted by sliding off the truck and walking away down the -platform. - -“Where are you going?” called Jimmy. - -“I’m going to Greenbank,” answered Dud. - -“How?” - -“Walk!” - -“Walk! Walk nine miles? Why it’ll take hours!” - -“All right,” replied Dud over his shoulder. “Let it. But I’m going to -get there, just the same, Jimmy.” - -“But――here, hold on!” Jimmy followed at a trot. “What’s the use, Dud? -We won’t get there until the game’s ’most over, and――――” - -“Can’t help it. I started out to see that game and I’m going to! -Besides, a fellow might as well be walking as sitting around on that -platform. I can do nine miles in two hours, I guess.” - -“Two hours! Oh, jimminy!” Jimmy looked longingly back at the shaded -platform. - -“What do you say?” demanded Dud. “Coming along?” - -“I suppose so,” said Jimmy in a weak voice. “I don’t see what good it -is, but――all right, Dud, I’ll have a try at it. Nine miles! Gee!” - -“Come on then,” said Dud. “Let’s hike.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI - -THE BORROWED HAND-CAR - - -It was hot and the walking was hard. They took to the path between the -tracks, but even that was far from being an ideal surface. Now and then -a sleeper, longer than the rest, protruded to trip unwary feet and for -long stretches at a time they walked over ballast. When they had been -on their way only a few minutes a locomotive whistle sounded in the -distance behind them and Jimmy was for turning back. It might be, he -thought, a train to Greenbank. But Dud destroyed his hope. - -“It’s that branch line train,” he said. “The one we didn’t wait for.” - -“I’d like to push it off the track,” muttered Jimmy. “If it hadn’t been -for that we wouldn’t be in this fix.” - -After another ten minutes conversation ceased altogether. They were -too hot and tired for talking. The track, with strange perversity, -ran for a long way through a cut and what breeze there was failed to -reach them. They watched eagerly for the mile-posts at first, but they -were unusually far apart, they concluded, and they soon got tired -of looking for them. A wooden trestle made the going easier while it -lasted, for there were planks to walk on, but it ended all too soon and -they were back on cinders and broken stone again. Near the end of the -third mile they retired to the ditch at one side to let a long freight -trundle past. Jimmy morosely observed that, of course, the pesky thing -had to be going in the wrong direction! - -They reached a small station at about half-past two and made an assault -on the water tank in the little room. Perhaps fortunately, the water -had not seen any ice that day. They rested a few minutes and then went -on again. A hundred yards down the track Jimmy uttered an exclamation -and Dud turned to find him pointing dramatically at a hand-car reposing -on a couple of ties laid at right angles to the rails at one side of -the way. - -“What do you know about that?” asked Jimmy in awed tones. - -“What about it?” asked Dud. - -“Why, you chump, all we’ve got to do is slide that on the track and get -to Greenbank in no time at all!” - -“And get arrested for swiping railroad property!” - -“We won’t swipe it; we’ll just borrow it,” said the other indignantly. - -“I guess,” responded Dud dubiously, “it’s harder to work one of those -things than it is to walk. Besides, we couldn’t lift it onto the rails.” - -“I’ll bet we could. And all you have to do is just work those handles -up and down like a pump, you on one side and I on the other. It may be -hard, but it’ll be a mighty pleasant change!” - -“We’re certain to get in trouble if we try that, Jimmy. Come on. We’ve -done half the distance, I guess, already.” - -“Oh, come on!” Jimmy was already struggling with the hand-car. “We can -lift it easy enough, Dud. It isn’t heavy. Here, we’ll toss this junk -off.” And Jimmy ruthlessly slid a box of spikes and some tools to the -ground. “Give us a lift, Dud!” - -Dud hesitated an instant longer and then went to Jimmy’s assistance. -The car was lumbersome, but they had no great difficulty in trundling -it along the ties and then swinging it to the rails. Fortunately, a -bend in the tracks hid them from the little station. - -“Climb aboard!” said Jimmy joyfully. “Bend your back, Dud! Let her -flicker!” - -She didn’t “flicker” much at first, though, and it proved to be surely -a case of “bend your back”! They did a good deal of grunting and -perspiring before the hand-car found its gait. After that it wasn’t -hard to keep it going, except that the continual raising and lowering -of the bars soon began to tire arms and shoulders and backs. But -Jimmy, although the perspiration was soon trickling down his nose, was -full of encouragement. - -“There’s another mile-post coming, Dud! Say, I’ll bet we’re making -fifteen miles an hour, eh?” - -“More like ten,” panted Dud. “Wish we’d come to a grade so we could -quit a minute!” - -“Bound to be one soon, I guess. Keep it up! We’re doing finely!” - -And there was one soon. It began a few rods beyond, but, instead of -being a down-grade it was the other sort, and for the next ten minutes -they had their work cut out for them! Dud was all for abandoning the -hand-car and taking to their legs again, but Jimmy pointed out that -when they had once reached the top of the hill they’d be able to coast -down the other side of it. But Jimmy was wrong about that, for when the -grade did come to an end only a level track awaited them. Still, after -propelling that thing up a quarter-mile rise, even level track was a -vast relief, and they let the car run a minute while they dropped the -handles and mopped their streaming faces. - -“What time is it now?” asked Jimmy, easing a wilted collar about his -neck. They had long since removed their jackets and hats and bundled -them at their feet. - -“Two minutes to three,” answered Dud. “How much farther is it, do you -think?” - -“Only about two miles, I guess. Say, suppose we come to a station? -We’ll have to beat it by in a hurry, eh?” - -“Either that or let this thing go. But there isn’t likely to be another -station before Greenbank, I guess. Let’s hit her up again.” - -They hit her up and overtook another mile-post and were arguing -breathlessly as to the distance they had covered when a sudden roar and -clatter down the track behind them put the question out of mind. - -“_Train!_” yelled Dud, who was facing the rear. “Stop her, Jimmy!” - -Jimmy threw his body across his ascending bar, after one glance behind -him. A short blast of warning came from the approaching locomotive, and -then another and another. The hand-car slowed and stopped and before it -had ceased its momentum two badly scared boys were on the ground beside -it. - -“We’ve got――to get――her off!” cried Dud. “Quick, Jimmy!” - -On came the train, still whistling, but now they could hear the grating -of brake-shoes as the engineer put on the air. Dud had his end of the -hand-car clear of the rails, but at Jimmy’s end the wheels were caught. - -“Give me a lift――here!” panted Jimmy, and Dud sprang to his aid. - -Neither dared look back up the track, but they could feel the rails -pulse as the locomotive bore down upon them, while the screech of -locked wheels was deafening. It seemed minutes before they managed to -wrench the hand-car from the track, although it was in reality but a -matter of seconds from the first warning blast to the instant that, -pushing the hand-car down the slope beside the railway, the two boys -literally threw themselves after it. There was a roar, a maelstrom of -dust, the sound of releasing brake-shoes and the freight, gathering -speed again, rushed by them. - -_Clank-clank! Thump-thump!_ Car after car went past while Dud and -Jimmy, white-faced, breathless and trembling from their exertions, -crouched in a tangle of bushes beside the half-overturned hand-car, -deafened, choked and blinded with dust, shudderingly grateful for their -escape. - - * * * * * - -Meanwhile, some two miles distant, Grafton and Mount Morris were -battling valiantly on a sun-smitten diamond before the gaze of nearly -a thousand excited spectators. The fourth inning was drawing to its -close. It had been a slow contest, filled with anxious moments for both -contenders. Every inning so far had seen runners on the bases and yet -only one tally had been scored and that for the visitors. In the first -of the second a pass had been followed by a clean hit and a bad error -by Mount Morris’ second-baseman and Captain Murtha had dashed over the -plate. But since then Saylor, for the Green-and-White, and Nate Leddy, -pitching for the visitors, had managed to stave off runs, although more -than once a hit would have spelled disaster. Neither Saylor nor Leddy -had gone unpunished, for there had been hits aplenty for both teams, -but neither Grafton nor Mount Morris had been able to hit safely when a -hit would have meant a run. Errors had been frequent and each team had -been about equally guilty, although the Green-and-White’s slip-ups had -proved more costly. Now, with two down and Gordon on second, Nate Leddy -was trying his hardest to solve the mysteries of the sharply-breaking -deliveries of his rival. Here again a hit would send a tally across, -and here again the hit was not forthcoming, for Nate, after getting -Saylor in the hole, fouled off his second strike and then lifted a high -one to first-baseman. - -The fifth began with the tail-end of the Mount Morris batting list -coming up and Leddy beginning to show wear. Strike-outs had been few -and Nate had in nearly every case been obliged to serve at least seven -balls. Mount Morris had displayed a positive passion for knocking -fouls. Nate’s first two offerings were not good enough and the third -went bounding off the batsman’s cudgel into the stand. Then came a -third ball, and simultaneous with the umpire’s decision Ben Myatt left -the bench and began to warm up with Brooks. Nate had to let that batter -go. The next one flied out to Boynton. Then came another hit, the -seventh for the home team, and first and second were occupied. Nate was -slipping now and from the bench Coach Sargent was watching him as a cat -watches a mouse. One ball――two balls――a strike――another ball―― - -Mr. Sargent arose and Guy Murtha hustled in from second to the mound. -Back of first base Ben Myatt removed his coat and moved into the field. -Nate passed him the ball and Ben clapped the other on the shoulder as -he turned toward the bench. - -“Myatt pitching for Grafton!” announced the umpire. - -Weston had joined Brooks and was tossing the ball to him desultorily, -his gaze on the diamond. The cheers from the visiting contingent died -away and Ben took up the task. The batsman accepted the first ball and -slammed it across the diamond to Nick Blake. Nick dashed to second and -made the out, but the oncoming runner from first spoiled his throw -and the double. Two down and men on first and third. But Ben had the -situation in hand and the next batsman fouled out to Winslow. - -Once more Grafton put runners on the bases, Winslow first, after Blake -had retired by the strike-out route, and then Ordway, the latter -beating out a bunt by a hair’s-breadth. But then Murtha, swinging like -a Hercules, only succeeded in driving a liner into shortstop’s glove -and Neil Ayer’s fly to right was an easy out. - -Mount Morris’ first-batsman struck out amidst the joyful whoops of the -Grafton supporters, but the next man hit safely to short left and was -advanced by a bunt which Winslow, coming in for on the run, scrambled. -A double steal followed, Gordon pegging to Winslow too late. Myatt had -trouble finding the plate and the bags were filled again. But Fortune -had not yet turned her back on the Scarlet-and-Gray. The Mount Morris -left fielder, doing his utmost to bring off a sacrifice fly, only hit -a weak, bounding ball to the pitcher’s box and the runner was out at -the plate. But Gordon’s throw to first was too late to get the batter. -Myatt worked a strike over and followed it with a ball. Then a healthy -swing failed and the score was two-and-one. But a second ball followed -and then a third, and Grafton saw trouble ahead. The next was a strike, -not offered at, and Ben gathered himself together for a final effort. -When the ball left his hand it sped straight for the center of the -plate with nothing on it but speed. There was a _crack_ of wood against -leather and out in left field Hugh Ordway, shading his eyes for an -instant, turned and raced back. A swift turn, a change of direction to -the right and then a breathless, silent moment in the stand. Down came -the ball, Hugh stepped forward a pace and then a mighty shout of joy -and relief arose from the flaunters of the scarlet-and-gray pennants. -With his back almost at the wall of the red-brick dormitory, Hobo -Ordway had pulled down one of the longest flies in the history of the -dual contests! - -The seventh began with Grafton still one lone tally to the good. -Boynton was an easy out, shortstop to first, Star Meyer fanned, Gordon -got a lucky hit that glanced from Saylor’s glove and rolled safely -past second-baseman. Myatt received a salvo of applause as he made his -first appearance at the plate and there were demands for a home-run. -But Ben was not the old Ben today. Those on the bench realized that he -was playing on his nerve and Mr. Sargent viewed him anxiously. Ben let -Saylor put a strike and two balls over before he offered. Then came -the hit-and-run signal and he swung at a fairly wide one while Gordon -streaked to second. Ben missed entirely, but the catcher’s hurried -throw was low and Gordon was safe. Ben spoiled the next one and Saylor -made it three balls and Grafton howled and whooped expectantly. But -Ben’s attempt to wallop failed, for the ball only glanced from his -stick and rolled slowly toward third. Pitcher and third-baseman both -scurried for it and Saylor fielded it. It was too late to get Gordon -and the pitcher pegged across to first. Ben, running hard, scented the -throw and dived feet-foremost to base with the result that he collided -with the baseman and that youth dropped the ball. Had Gordon started -for home at that moment he could have reached it safely, but he didn’t -and a golden opportunity was lost. - -Nick Blake let two go by, one a strike and the other a pitch-out. Then, -on the next delivery Myatt sprinted to second unchallenged. Nick tried -to hit but failed and found himself in the hole. Saylor coaxed him with -a drop and then a wide and high one and Nick refused both. It had to be -good then and it was, and Nick let go at it and dashed for first, while -Gordon tore in from third and Myatt legged it to third. But Nick’s -effort was vain, for the Mount Morris third-baseman speared the ball a -yard in the air! - -The Green-and-White was not yet acknowledging defeat, and proved it -by the way she went after the redoubtable Myatt in the last of the -seventh. Ben was slow and careful today, lacking his usual certainty -and dash, and after the first man at bat had smashed a drive down the -first base line for a single the home team batters lost their awe of -him and began to make trouble. Ben retired the second man after much -trouble by making him fly out to Meyer, and Meyer held the runner at -first by a quick return. But the next man found something to his liking -and sped it straight over second and the runner on first went on to -third. Ben’s trip around the bases had been his undoing and he knew -it, and after he had pitched two balls to the succeeding batsman he -turned and spoke to Murtha and a consultation followed. Mr. Sargent was -already on his feet beside the bench. A nod of his head and Guy Weston -tossed the ball to Brooks and walked toward the mound. - -Ben came out with hanging head and staggered when he reached the bench, -and Davy Richards, a supporting arm around him, led him off to the -dressing-room. - -Weston sped in his warming-up deliveries and then faced his task. A man -on first and one on third, one down and two balls on the batsman was -the situation, and Weston didn’t better it any by pitching two balls in -succession and adding a third runner to the bases! On the bench, Mr. -Sargent watched dismally. Brunswick, his last chance now, was warming -up, but it was a question whether Brunswick could do any better than -Weston. Mr. Sargent was thinking hard things of Dudley Baker at that -moment! - -And consequently it was something of a surprise to him when Dud’s voice -came to him across his shoulder! “I’m terribly sorry, sir,” Dud was -saying breathlessly, “but we got left at that place where we stopped, -Logan and I, and we walked most of the way and stole a hand-car, sir, -and we just got here.” - -Mr. Sargent’s surprise turned to cold disapproval. “Very nice, Baker,” -he replied scathingly. “It may comfort you to know that you’ve probably -lost the game for us. I had meant you to pitch today, but――――” - -“Yes, sir, thanks, and I’m all ready to if you’ll let me!” - -“All ready to!” Mr. Sargent surveyed the boy’s disheveled attire and -flushed, tired face sarcastically. “You look it! Why, you couldn’t find -the plate in the condition you are!” - -“You try me, sir! I’ll be all right in three minutes, sir! Just let me -get into my togs, Mr. Sargent, and give me a chance! Will you, sir, -please?” - -Weston had just served another ball to the new batsman. Mr. Sargent -hesitated only an instant. Then: “I’ll give you a chance, Baker,” he -said quickly. “Hurry into your togs. Churchill, show Baker where to -change. I’ll hold the game up as much as I can. But hurry!” - -“Yes, sir, I won’t be three minutes! And Jimmy, sir? Logan, I mean. May -he――――” - -“Yes, yes, only don’t stand here! Hurry, I say.” - -Mr. Sargent sped Parker to where Brunswick was warming up and in a -moment Brunswick was listening to the coach’s instructions. In the -box, Gus Weston, ball in hand, waited uncomprehendingly. Then Murtha -took the sphere from him, slapped him on the shoulder and sent him -disgustedly to the bench. - -“Brunswick pitching for Grafton!” called the umpire. - -But Brunswick’s pitching was an extraordinary affair! If cold molasses -is slow, then Brunswick was molasses frozen to a state of solidity! -It took him the better part of sixty seconds to get from bench to -mound, and once there he had to talk long and earnestly with Murtha and -Winslow. And then he went at his warming up very, very slowly, with -a wait between each delivery. Mount Morris protested volubly and the -stand hooted, but Brunswick was not concerned. Before each delivery he -examined the ball rather as though he had never seen anything just like -it before, and then, having assured himself that it was all right, he -studied the plate and the catcher, and some time later he pitched. Just -how long it took him to send those five practice balls to Pete Gordon I -don’t know, but I’m certain that he established a record that afternoon -for dawdling! And, finally, just as he had pulled his cap down for the -twentieth time and the batsman was impatiently pawing the dirt and -waving his bat, an interruption occurred. A brand-new scarlet-legged -player appeared on the scene and walked toward the box. Brunswick -dropped the ball and turned away and Mount Morris found the mystery -explained. Gordon was yielding his mask and protector to Ed Brooks and -the umpire, removing his own mask, stepped again in front of the plate. - -“For Grafton,” he announced, “Baker pitching, Brooks catching! _Play -ball!_” - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII - -WINNING HIS GAME - - -Bases filled and only one out! Two balls and no strikes on the batsman! -A hit meant two runs across! All this Guy Murtha explained in quick, -troubled words to Dud. And Dud, tired of face but eager-eyed, nodded -quite as though Guy had explained that it was a fine day and that the -weather prediction was for a continuation of present conditions! - -Then Guy went back to his place and the Grafton sympathizers stopped -cheering and Dud sped his five balls to Brooks, each one just where he -meant it to go. - -Once more the batsman took his place and Dud pitched. - -“Str-r-ike!” bawled the umpire, and waved an arm aloft. The batter -thumped the rubber with his bat. Again Dud launched the ball forward. -Again it sped straight and true across the platter and knee-high. - -“Str-r-ike two!” - -The batsman grew wary. He no longer fidgeted but put his whole mind on -the next delivery. Dud fumbled his cap, took his half wind-up and shot -his arm to the right and around in a swing. The ball flashed to the -plate and the umpire hurled his hand aloft with a mighty gesture. - -“_He’s out!_” - -Strident protest from the retreating batsman and from the Mount Morris -bench! Cheers wild and triumphant from the Grafton seats and from the -field! And another green-stockinged player faced his fate. A ball, a -strike, another ball. Then a drop that was swung at and never touched. -Two-and-two, and Mount Morris watching her opportunity slip from her -grasp. Then, while Dud swung his arm up, came a quick cry from behind -him: - -“_He’s off!_” - -The man at third was streaking to the plate! But so was the ball, and -although the batsman swung at it, it lodged safely in Brooks’ mitt and -Brooks, dropping to his knees, blocked the ambitious runner a foot from -the plate! - -“Can you keep it up?” asked Mr. Sargent wonderingly as Dud sank to the -bench and Davy Richards flourished a towel in front of his face. - -“I think so, sir. I’m going to try awfully hard,” answered Dud. - -“Well, go easy on yourself this inning. Let them hit a little if you -like. There’s another inning coming and maybe several.” - -“Yes, sir.” Dud’s gaze, straying along the bench, caught sight of -Jimmy, Jimmy dressed for play and with an anxious regard fixed on the -coach. “If you could, sir,” said Dud, “I wish you’d let Logan in. It -wasn’t our fault that we got left, sir; at least, not wholly; and -Jimmy’s crazy to play!” - -“Logan? Maybe in the next inning. I’ll see. Here! What’s this?” - -This was Star Meyer picking himself up from the water bucket, having -in some way tripped over one of Jimmy’s feet as he passed. Jimmy was -all sympathy and apologies, but Star only muttered. His haughtiness -was wholly lacking and the fellows viewed with real concern the almost -abject manner with which he righted the empty pail and retired into the -far end of the bench. But Jimmy, catching Dud’s eye, winked wickedly. - -The eighth passed into history without witnessing a run for either -side. Grafton got Ordway to first on a pass and he went on a base when -Ayer lifted one to left for the second out. Then, while Boynton was -at bat, Hugh was caught napping at second and another chance to score -passed into oblivion. - -Mount Morris’ first man got a hit and was thrown out at second on an -attempted steal, Brooks making as pretty a peg to Murtha as one could -hope to see. The next man struck out miserably. Then followed a -scratch hit that came near to being an error for Blake. The next man, -Saylor, flied out to Murtha and ended the eighth. - -Boynton started for Grafton in the ninth by beating out a weak hit and -the scarlet pennants waved again. Meyer, bat on shoulder and stepping -to the plate, was recalled. - -“Logan batting for Boynton!” called the umpire. - -Jimmy swung at the first ball, disdained the next two, had a second -strike called on him, started for the next and changed his mind and -was glad of it and was finally passed when what Saylor had meant for -a strike over the inner corner went wrong. With two on bases, Brooks -was the man of the hour, but Brooks was no hitter and only stood there -while Saylor fooled him on two slow ones that went for strikes, wasted -a wide one on him and then made him bite at a drop that actually dusted -the plate. Although Brooks played the game to the last and sped for his -base the ball was recovered by the catcher and got there well ahead of -him. - -Dud had as much hope of hitting safely as he had of knocking out a -home-run. And he knew very well that he would be doing only what was -expected of him if he struck out as badly as Brooks. But he wanted very -much to do something a little better than that. As he dug his toes and -faced Saylor, he recalled Ben Myatt’s remark that a pitcher who could -hit was pretty useful. And Dud wanted to make himself just that! And -so he tried as hard as he knew how to keep his eyes on the pitcher and -study him and then on the ball, and study that, and so see if―― - -“One ball!” said the umpire. - -Dud took a breath. All right so far. It had been too high and he had -known it. He wondered if Saylor would try it again or―― - -“Str-r-r-ike!” - -Well, that had certainly fooled him! He thought surely it was going -wide. Saylor had some curve on that one! Dud glued his eyes to the ball -once more, swung and missed. - -“Str-r-rike two!” - -That was awful! He was as good as gone now! Unless―― - -“Two balls!” - -Perhaps Saylor would miss it this time. Then it would be three balls -and two strikes and Saylor would have to pitch! Just why Dud offered -at the next delivery he didn’t know then and couldn’t have explained -later. It had all the ear-marks of a fast one on the outside of the -plate, but for some reason Dud let go at it, and the ball, curving -inward, met his bat fairly and screeched off into short center, -low enough to have been speared by second-baseman had he been two -yards nearer its path and long enough to send Boynton and Jimmy -hustling home. Jimmy beat out that throw by inches only, but beat it -nevertheless, while Dud, seeing his chance, streaked to second. And -Grafton went fairly delirious with joy! - -Nick hit safely and advanced Dud, Winslow fouled out to the catcher -and Hugh Ordway, putting all his strength into a terrific swing, sent -a screeching fly far into right field but not far enough to be out -of reach of the guardian of that territory. A long hard run and a -brilliant catch and the half-inning was over. - -Mount Morris tried hard enough in that last period to catch up, but -she had little chance. Dud had no trouble in striking out the first -batsman. The next hit safely through second base territory. The third -went out, Winslow to Ayer, and the fourth, Mount Morris’ last hope, -swung at a high one, was fooled by a drop that he didn’t like and that -was labeled a strike, fouled off another and at last, just as the -shadow of the grandstand had reached the edge of the plate, slammed a -straight, fast one directly at the pitcher’s box. Dud couldn’t make the -catch; it was going too hard for that; but he knocked it down, found -it leisurely enough and tossed to Ayer. And as the big first-baseman -nestled the ball in his glove the stands flowed onto the field and the -game was over! - -Half an hour later, tired and very, very happy, Grafton was returning -home. Dud, hero of the hour, but a very retiring, modest――even -uncomfortable――hero, was wedged between Jimmy and a car window. There -was much talk, much laughter, much noise, and James Townsend Logan -was accountable for fully his share of it. Jimmy had just finished -recounting the history of their hand-car adventure and the subsequent -heart-breaking hike to Greenbank to as many fellows as could cluster -within hearing. Blake, sitting on the arm of the seat, one hand -fondling Jimmy’s damp locks, put a question. - -“Where,” he asked, “is Star now, Jimmy?” - -Jimmy grinned, felt carefully of a large lump under his left eye and -made answer solemnly. - -“He’s coming by the next train. He was――er――delayed.” - -“I hope,” said Nick gently, “that you didn’t――didn’t damage him, Jimmy.” - -Jimmy turned and smiled broadly up at the questioner. - -“You wait till you see him!” he said in a deep, ecstatic whisper. - -Mr. Crowley, pushing his way along the aisle, paused to thrust a hand -over Jimmy’s shoulder. - -“Baker, that was playing ball, my boy,” he said happily. “Shake hands! -You pitched a fine three innings and, what’s more, you won your own -game, boy!” - -Dud murmured his thanks, aware of the kindly smiling looks from the -clustered faces, and turned his own face to the window. It occurred -to him just then that Mr. Crowley’s expression was capable of two -meanings. Yes, he told himself contentedly, he had at last won his game! - - - * * * * * - - - Transcriber’s Notes: - - ――Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_). - - ――Except for the frontispiece, illustrations have been moved to - follow the text that they illustrate. - - ――Punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently corrected. - - ――Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved. - - ――Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WINNING HIS GAME *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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