A VISITOR FROM BELLEVILLE HIGH
On the following afternoon, which chanced to be Tuesday, more boys than
before appeared at the recreation grounds for practice. Mr. Leonard
had sent out an urgent call for every one of the numerous candidates to
be on hand, since they expected to organize two nines. They would have
a fierce game, in order that he might have an opportunity to watch the
actions of every aspirant, and get pointers as to his capacity for
filling a gap.
The boys appeared in all sorts of suits, some even hunting up football
togs because they had no others handy, and felt that they must make
some sort of a show at appearing in uniform.
But the suits would be ready on time, for a local tailor had agreed to
make as many as were needed of various sizes, and to have them done
with a rush. Already Mr. Leonard, being furnished with ample funds,
had ordered bats and balls, bases, and all manner of necessary adjuncts
that go with a well-organized baseball team. Meanwhile, they must make
a virtue of necessity, and do the best they could with the stock in
hand.
After some knocking of balls, and catching of flies, the boys were
tooled off in two fairly matched nines, and a game was started. They
had just got well along in this, when Thad, who was sitting on a bench
alongside Hugh, it being their turn at bat, suddenly remarked:
"Hello! we're going to be spied on, it seems, Hugh; for notice that
chap coming along on his motorcycle, will you? Don't you know who he
is, just because he's wearing a pair of big goggles, and has his cap
pulled down over his forehead? Why, that's a Belleville boy named
Oliver Kramer. They call him O. K. for short; and I kind of guess it
stands for his character pretty well, because he's straight. I'm a
little surprised to see _him_ nosing around here today, trying to find
out what sort of crowd Scranton High can put in the field."
"Oh! there's nothing queer about that, Thad," Hugh remonstrated,
quickly. "You can easily see it stands to reason those fellows over in
Belleville are anxious to get a line on what we expect to do, so as to
know just how much push they ought to put in their own work. He isn't
trying to spy things out, or he wouldn't come up so boldly. See,
there, he's starting to speak to Mr. Leonard now, and the old Princeton
athlete is shaking hands with him. Like as not O. K. has a dad who
used to be a college-mate of Mr. Leonard."
Hugh himself, followed by Thad, walked that way. Hugh had been told by
Mr. Leonard that he was to be the field captain of the Scranton High
team. In fact, that seemed to be taken for granted by all the boys,
who were very well satisfied to have such a general favorite and
all-round good athlete for a leader. Consequently, Mr. Leonard had
caught Hugh's eye, and made a beckoning motion with his hand, evidently
wishing him to meet the Belleville boy.
But the two had run across one another on several previous occasions,
it happened. Hugh shook hands with O. K. cordially, as did also Thad.
The latter was already ashamed of having entertained such thoughts in
connection with this friendly visit of the owner of the motorcycle,
whom he had always known to be a fine chap.
"Our fellows are practicing this afternoon, just as your crowd is,
Captain Morgan," O. K. was saying. "I would have been with them, only
yesterday I happened to hurt a finger a bit, for you see I'm the
catcher of our nine, and it was thought best for me to lay off a few
days so as to let it mend."
"And you dropped over to see if we were making any headway, I suppose?"
remarked Hugh, while Mr. Leonard went off to resume his duties, anxious
to see every play that came along; for he would not have much time to
decide on the line-up of the team, which must afterwards get all the
practice possible, in order to do Scranton High justice.
O. K. laughed good-naturedly.
"I hope, now, you won't suspect me of being a spy, and trying to pick
up pointers which might serve us later on in a hotly contested game,"
he went on to say. "Fact is, I'm so much of a baseball crank that I
live and move and have my being in the great game. I came over hoping
to find you'd made a bully good start, because we Belleville boys want
your strongest team to face us a week from next Saturday. We expect to
win the game, that goes without saying, but none of us will be
satisfied to have a regular walkover of it."
"Make your mind easy on that score, O. K.," snapped Thad, aggressively.
"We expect to have a lot of hard-hitting and splendid fielding boys on
the diamond, who will be out for blood. If you get the better of
Scranton High, you'll deserve all the praise you receive; and we'll be
the first to give you a cheer."
"Well, I'm beginning to believe a little that way myself," admitted O.
K. in his frank way, as Nick Lang knocked out a screamer that went far
over the head of the center fielder. "That chap is a born batter. I
reckon, now, he must be your best card in the pack."
"Oh! we've got a few others who can meet the ball," advised Thad,
proudly. "Watch that throwin', will you? Mighty few fellows could
send the ball all the way from deep center to the home plate, as
straight as a die. That kid's name is Sandy Dowd. You may not be so
glad to see him work later on, O. K. Just warn your sluggers they
needn't expect any home-runs if they put the ball out in center."
They stood there and watched for some little time. Occasionally the
boy from Belleville would make some remark. His eyes sought the agile
figure of the athletic instructor from time to time.
"One thing you Scranton fellows are lucky in, which is, having such a
splendid coach as Mr. Leonard. Why, he used to go to Princeton with my
dad, as I only learned a day or so ago. He's coming over to take
dinner with us next Sunday. Let me tell you, he's some peach of a
physical director. Dad says he was one of the most popular fellows in
college, and that as a half-back on the gridiron, he made a reputation
second to none."
Hugh and Thad looked especially pleased to hear this outside praise of
the man for whom they themselves had come to entertain the utmost
respect and admiration.
"Yes," said Hugh, warmly, "we expect that if Scranton has any show in
the games that are to be played in the Three-town League this season,
most of the credit will lie at the door of Mr. Leonard. He seems to be
a wonder at getting a boy to bring out every atom of energy and vim
that lies in him. Only Nick Lang acts surly under him. That's the big
fellow who made that three-bagger a while ago. He's the bully of the
town."
"Used to be, you mean, Hugh, up to the time--" began Thad, when the
other shook his head at him discouragingly.
"None of that now, if you please, Thad. We want to forget bygones, and
only remember that we're in the baseball world these days. There, Eli
hit the ball a good hard smack, but it went straight at the short-stop,
who handled it neatly for an out. Our turn out in the field now, Thad.
Glad to have seen you, O. K. Carry a message back home to Belleville
for me, will you? Tell your fellows Scranton High has found herself at
last, in the world of sports, and is primed to give both Belleville and
Allandale a hard tussle for the prize."
"I'll tell them that with pleasure, Captain Morgan," replied the other,
"and add a few remarks of my own about what I have seen of your
hustling crowd over here. May the best nine win, and the contests
leave no after bitter sting. If we can't get the prize, we'd be glad
to see you fellows beat Allandale, because they'd be unbearable if they
won two years running."
O. K. soon afterwards mounted his motorcycle and went spinning along
the road like a streak, leaving a cloud of dust behind him, also an
odor of gasoline. The practice game continued with varying fortunes.
In fact, it mattered very little which side won, as various pitchers
were being tried out under the eagle eye of Mr. Lawrence; his principal
object being to form an opinion as to the respective merits of the many
players.
When another afternoon they met again, doubtless Mr. Lawrence would
have decided to eliminate several of the players as utterly beyond hope
of ever making the regular nine. So by degrees he would decide who was
best fitted for each and every position, with a number of able
substitutes, who could be called on should there be any change
necessary during a game, from injury, or because a certain player
failed to do what was expected of him.
After the game had come to an end, and the crowd commenced to separate,
as usual, Hugh and Thad started to walk home together. They overtook
Owen Dugdale and hastened to join him. Both boys doubtless had a
little thrill just then, remembering how often the other had been in
their thoughts lately.
Owen seemed to be in great spirits.
"I never knew that I had it in me to become so fond of baseball as I
seem to be doing right now," he told them. "Of course I played a
little at several kinds of games like cricket, and since coming here to
Scranton I've been knocking flies for some of the boys, and playing in
scrub games. But now I enjoy it ever so much, though, of course, I
don't dream that I'll have the good luck to be selected for the team,
when there are so many who know more about the game than I do."
"You can safely leave all that to Mr. Leonard, Owen," said Hugh. "I've
been keeping tabs on your play at short, and honestly, I want to say,
you're doing mighty well. I heard Mr. Leonard say so, too. While you
may not be picked for that position, there's a likelihood that you will
be held as a substitute. Only practice your batting all you can, Owen;
that's your weakest point. I'll show you a wrinkle about bunting that
may help you a lot."
"Thank you, Hugh, ever so much!" exclaimed the other, his fine eyes
glowing with gratitude. "You've always been mighty kind to me, for a
fact. Was that boy on the motorcycle one of the Belleville fellows? I
thought I heard Otto Brand say so."
"Yes," replied Hugh, "his name is Oliver Kramer, thought they call him
just O. K., as we dubbed our comrade K. K. for short. He hurt his
hand, and is laid off for a spell, because he is the catcher of the
Belleville High team, you see. O. K. is a fine chap. He ran over here
to see what we were doing, and to warn us we'd have to get a hustle on
if we hoped to have even a look-in, because Allandale is working like
anything, while Belleville means to do her best this year."
"Belleville had better get a move on," suggested Thad, caustically,
"unless she wants to share the fate of poor old Lawrence. Both teams
beat Lawrence so badly last season that her club disbanded, for the
fellows started to squabbling among themselves, which of course ruins
any organization going."
So, chatting as they walked along, the three boys finally parted at a
corner where their several ways led in different directions. Hugh
glanced back over his shoulder once in the direction of the receding
figure of Owen Dugdale. What was in his mind just then it might be
hard to say; but at least the expression on his face would indicate
that his former confidence in the Dugdale boy had not yet been
extinguished.