ONCE MORE.
Rackliff turned through Lake Street toward the square in the center of
the village, muttering to himself about Hooker, whom he now thoroughly
despised as a "soft thing" and a "quitter." As he approached the Town
Hall a low whistle like a signal reached his ears, and he saw a dark
figure standing in the shadows near one corner of the building.
"It must be Springer," said Herbert. "Now we'll find out if he has any
sand or is a quitter, too."
It was Springer, who spoke in a low tone as Herbert turned and drew
near. "I thought it just as well for us not to meet where we would be
seen," said Phil, "so I watched for you here, being pretty sure you'd
come this way. There's a bub-bunch of the fellows down at Stickney's."
"Good!" returned Herbert. "I hope they've got their mazuma with them,
for I've got my cash at last, and I'm on the warpath. It'll be just
like finding money for me if they'll only give me a chance at them."
"You're just as confident as ever that Wyndham will win?"
"My boy, I tell you it's a cold cinch; it's fixed so that Wyndham can't
lose."
"What do you mean by 'fixed'?"
Rackliff hesitated; recalling his late interview with Hooker, he
decided that it would be unwise to tell Springer too much.
"Never you mind what I mean, old sport," he returned. "Leave it to me.
I wasn't born yesterday. What these Joshuas around here have won off
me already will serve nicely as bait. I'm bound to get them this time,
and, as we're friends, I'm letting you in on the deal. After the
rotten way you've been treated, it should make you feel well to get the
chance. I'll place your loose coin on Wyndham, and not a soul need
know about it until you're ready for him to know. Perhaps by and by,
when this old baseball team is all to the punk, you'll feel like coming
out openly and informing them that you've added to your bank account by
betting against them; but, if you don't happen to feel that way, you
can keep still and enjoy the fruits of your cleverness--which should be
some satisfaction for the raw deal that's been handed out to you."
The fellow's words and manner were suave and seductive, and, if Phil
had wavered, he now put his hesitation aside.
"Oh, I'm ready to take a ch-chance," he declared. "I want to see them
done up, and I'm not at all averse to winning some money through their
defeat. Wyndham has always had rather the better team at baseball or
football, and I see no reason to believe she won't have this year."
"And every reason for believing she will have, considering the fact
that a dandy like Dade Newbert is going to pitch for her. Wait till
you see him in action; it will open your eyes. How much money have you
got?"
Springer moved until the light of the street lamp in front of the
postoffice over the way shone upon him, plunging his hand into his
pocket and bringing up a lot of silver.
"Here's five dollars in ten-cent pieces," he said; "and I've got two
dollars besides."
"Seven plunks, all told. But say, I hope you didn't get this chicken
feed the way Hooker got his that he let me have to bet on the Barville
game."
"Eh? How did he get it?"
"Stole it; swiped it off his own mother. What do you know about that,
Bo?"
"Stole it!" cried Phil. "Well, you nun-needn't think I got mine that
way! I'm no thief!"
"I should hope not. I'm not eager to chum with a fellow of that sort,
and I've cut Hooker out; told him what I thought of him and quit him
for good. He's too cheap for me." Herbert coughed behind his hand,
his air one of great virtue and uprightness.
"These dimes came from my ten-cent bank," explained Springer. "I've
been saving them one at a tut-time as I could spare them, and I had it
pretty near full. When I mum-made up my mind to bet--or let you bet
for me--I got enough to fill the bank and break it open; and that's why
there are so many of them. Here they are; you can count them if you
want to. And here's two dollars more."
Rackliff accepted the money and pocketed it "Don't suppose you want a
receipt?" he asked, laughing.
"Nun-no," faltered Phil, suddenly realizing that Herbert could deny the
whole transaction if he saw fit to do so, and that there would be no
way of proving it had ever taken place. In spite of the fact that
circumstances and mutual sympathies had led him into taking up with the
city boy, he did not feel that a fellow of Herbert's stamp was wholly
to be trusted.
"Nun-no," mocked Rackliff with an intonation of resentment. "I swear
that was weak! I believe you are shaky. If so you'd better take your
money back--quick."
"No, no," objected Springer. "It's all right. It was ju-just my
rotten stammering, that's all. I wish I could break myself of it."
But suddenly Herbert grew very dignified. "We'll do this thing in a
business-like way," he declared. "You don't know much about me, and a
really square chap never gets haughty when he's asked to give some
proof of his squareness. Just come over under the lamp."
Protesting, Phil followed; and the city boy, heedless of those
protests, brought forth a pocket-notebook and pencil, scribbled an
acknowledgement of the money on a leaf of the book, dashed his name at
the bottom, tore the leaf out and handed it over.
"I insist," he said. "Now everything's all right. This is a wicked
world, and every fellow who's dead wise has a right to take
precautions. You say there's a bunch down by Stickney's, eh? Well, I
think I'll meander down that way and see if I can't prod them into
making a few wagers. Good night, old fel; sleep tight and don't worry
about the chink you've let me handle. It will be an investment that'll
pay a hundred per cent. in double-quick time."
It was a delightfully warm spring night, and there on the platform of
Stickney's store, where the softened light from within shone upon them
through a huge window, the boys had gathered. They were chatting,
jesting, chaffing one another, and occasionally playing pranks, which
once or twice started a squabble. As Rackliff sauntered up Chub Tuttle
was complaining that nearly a pint of peanuts had been stolen from his
pocket.
"Why don't you put Sleuth onter the case?" laughingly drawled Sile
Crane. "He'll ketch the thief, for he's sartainly got Sherlock Holmes
beat to a frazzle."
"My deduction is," said Piper, loudly shuffling his feet to drown the
noise as he stealthily cracked a peanut, "that there are scoundrels in
our very midst who would feel no compunction in swiping plugged money
from a contribution box. Doubtless," he continued, deftly snapping the
shelled kernels into his mouth, "the hands of those scoundrels are even
now at work."
"Sleuthy's right," said Chipper Cooper, swiftly stowing away a handful
of the peanuts which he had skillfully removed from Piper's coat pocket
while the latter was speaking; "there are villyuns among us. Anyhow,
there's liable to be one in a minute, unless we move." Apparently this
concluding remark was caused by the appearance of Rackliff, who came
strolling into the light of the window and paused.
Herbert looked them over. "Several prominent members of the great
Oakdale baseball team, I observe," he said. "Been talking of the
coming game, I presume."
[Illustration: "Several prominent members of the great Oakdale baseball
team, I observe," said Rackliff.]
"You're presuming, as usual," returned Cooper.
"That remark is very stale; I think I've heard you use it before. Your
efforts at wit are painful. I suppose you're pretty confident, after
beating both Barville and Clearport? Now I'm confident myself; I have
confidence----"
"You look like a confidence man," interrupted Chipper.
"I have confidence," pursued Herbert, trying to ignore the little chap,
"that Wyndham will win; and I'm ready to back my conviction with real
money."
"Dinged if I didn't think yeou'd got abaout enough of it bating against
Oakdale!" exclaimed Crane.
"Wonder where he gets so much money?" said Fred Sage.
"He's bluffing," was the opinion of Jack Nelson. "He's dead broke, but
he wants to make believe that he's a dead game sport, and so----"
"If you think I'm dead broke," said Herbert, "and you can raise five or
ten bones to wager on Oakdale, just produce the currency and watch me
cover it. I have about twenty-five dollars I'd like to put up on
Wyndham."
"Twenty-five dollars!" spluttered Tuttle. "That's some wealth for one
fellow to be packing around."
"Go on," advised Crane, waving his long arm at Herbert; "don't bother
us. We're tired takin' your spondulicks away from ye; it's too easy."
"You're quitters," declared Herbert with a cutting sneer. "There isn't
one of you who has a real drop of sporting blood in his veins, that's
what's the matter. You've won my money, and now, being pikers and
quitters, you don't propose to give me a chance to win it back. You
know Wyndham's going to put it all over you Saturday, and you're
shivering in your shoes. I don't blame you for being frightened, as
you haven't one chance in a hundred to take that game. It wouldn't
surprise me if you were beaten about twenty or thirty to nothing; I
sincerely hope it won't be worse than that."
Crane rose to his feet in the midst of this speech, which was far more
provoking and insulting than cold type can convey.
"Looker here, yeou," cried Sile; "I've got some money I won batin' with
you, and, by thut-ter! you'll find I ain't afraid to give ye all the
chance you want on that Wyndham game. If you've really got twenty-five
dollars, mebbe we can raise a pool, same as we done before, and cover
the whole of it. I'll put in my share anyhaow. Who's the next feller?"
"I am!"
"Count me in!"
"I'm another!"
"Same here!"
"Me, too!"
It seemed that they were all eager to contribute to the pool, and
Herbert, smiling with self-complaisant satisfaction, felt that he had
cleverly accomplished his purpose.