NICK AS A GAP-STOPPER
On Saturday afternoon the field was the scene of another gathering.
Almost every boy in town had come out to see what success the Scranton
High fellows were making with their new team. Besides, there were many
little knots of high-school girls present, all eager to watch some
fellow in whom they felt especial interest. Then, from time to time,
older folks began to show up, until quite a gathering could be seen in
the grandstand and on some sections of the bleachers.
Perhaps Scranton did not possess as fine buildings as Allandale, for
instance, because the spirit of sport had long been rampant in the
other town, while Scranton seemed to have been half asleep until
latterly; but they were good enough, and commodious in the bargain.
The field itself could hardly have been surpassed. It was unusually
level, and stretched away to such a distance that it must needs be
quite a slugger who could make a home-run hit on those grounds.
Still it had been done. There was at least one member of the team who
had shown an ability to send the ball out over the head of a fielder,
and to such an astonishing distance that by the time it was recovered
and returned to the diamond, he had raced completely around the circuit
for a home run.
Mr. Leonard had by now completed his choice of the team. He had
watched the play of the boys, and decided on just who best seemed
fitted to fill the various positions. Of course, as time passed, this
schedule of players was subject to possible changes, but on the whole
the physical instructor believed he had built up the strongest team
Scranton could put in the field that season.
Much must depend on the pitching staff. It remained to be seen how the
twirlers would "pan out" under fire. At present Mr. Leonard was
working strenuously, trying to put more "ginger" into their work; and
also teaching them some of the wrinkles of the game, as known to
semi-professionals like himself.
Greatly to the surprise as well as delight of Owen Dugdale, he had been
notified that he was to cover short. Indeed, others were not as much
astonished as Owen himself, because they had been admiring the splendid
way in which he fielded his difficult position there, accepting chances
that many fellows would have allowed to let get by them for fear of
making an error, and with wonderful success.
Once Owen got his hands on the ball, and he could shoot it across to
first like a rifle bullet. His accuracy and speed were simply grand;
everybody cheered when he sent the ball "screaming" across to the man
guarding the initial sack; or on occasion hurled it to Hugh on third
for a double.
Then again, Owen was improving in his batting. Hugh had gone to great
pains to give him many pointers, and the fruit of this was seen by the
clever way in which Owen could lay down a pretty bunt, the ball rolling
along just inside the line in a tantalizing fashion, and headed for
first or third, as the occasion might require. The player who can be
depended on to bunt successfully two times out of three attempts is
always a valuable accessory to a club; since he is thus able to push a
runner along; and perhaps get his own base in the bargain, when the
others are busily engaged in trying to catch the fellow on the bases.
Short-stop must always be an agile chap, who is especially quick both
at decisions and throwing. Even though he snatch up the ball, and thus
make a fine stop, if his judgment is poor or his throwing arm lame, he
can often bungle his work, and prove of little help to his team.
There would still be another full week before the first game with
Belleville. If fair weather favored them the Scranton boys hoped to
put in daily practice, and speed up in their team work, as well as
signals. The pitchers, too, needed considerable more practice before
they could be said to be at their best; in fact, they would all be
better off for two more weeks of hard work, which, however, could not
be obtained.
Two teams were made up for this afternoon, one of them the regulars,
and the other a "scrub," though with some fair players aboard, mostly
substitutes. Mr. Leonard himself meant to play at various positions
for the latter team. He chanced to be one of those remarkable
all-round handy men, capable of filling a job as catcher, first
baseman, second, short-stop or fielder. He even astonished the boys
during the afternoon play by taking his place as a slab-artist in the
pitcher's box; and some of his shoots and drops puzzled the hard
hitters on the regular team, so that they whiffed at thin air, and thus
passed out on strikes.
The pitchers had been evenly divided, and all showed considerable
ability after their caliber. Some seemed to have considerable "stuff"
with them, and mystified the batters with their delivery. Others were
hit freely, and runs were either earned or else made with the
assistance of errors more or less glaring.
The weak places in the team's play were being noted by Mr. Leonard, who
would take measures to stop the leaks after a fashion of his own;
through advice and practical instructions, if he could; and should
these means fail, then by a radical change in the line-up.
As Hugh had been made field captain, he would have charge of the
playing to a considerable extent. On this account, he took an
especially keen interest in all that went on. When Nick Lang, who
played centre field, made a difficult catch of a great fly from Mr.
Leonard's bat, no one applauded more than did Hugh; while Thad behind
the bat stood and scowled, for somehow he disliked the idea of the town
bully having any part in the team's work.
When he took occasion to speak of this during their turn at bat, as he
and Hugh sat by themselves on the lower bleacher seats, watching the
game, the other took him to task for his way of thinking.
"You've got to get over that personal way of thinking, Thad, when you
belong to a ball club like Scranton High," he said, earnestly. "Now we
all know what Nick is, and few fellows like to play in a game where he
has any part; but remember that he is one of the high-school students,
and on that account has just as much right to aspire to a place on the
representative team as you or I."
"But he always makes trouble wherever he goes," expostulated Thad,
still unconvinced, it seemed; "and mark my words, he'll do something to
try and break up this team, if things don't go just to suit his ideas."
"Please don't forget Mr. Leonard when you say that, Thad. Depend on
it, he's going to keep his eye on Nick right along. If the fellow
shows any insubordination, he'll get his walking papers like a flash,
and perhaps be booted off the grounds in the bargain, if he gets too
fresh."
"Well, perhaps you're right, Hugh," grumbled Thad. "Mr. Leonard must
know a heap more than a boy like me, who sees everything on the
surface. And I admit that was a cracking good catch Nick made, after
such a hard run. He can field, all right, and he is a gap-stopper in
center field, for a fact."
"There, look at him send out a screamer right now, that ought to be
good for a double!" exclaimed Hugh. "You see, we need Nick on the
team. He is one of our mainstays at bat and in the field. If only Mr.
Leonard can control him, he's apt to be of great assistance to us in
winning games. The boy who would take his place isn't really in the
same class with Nick as a player. So let's try to forget all about our
natural aversion while we're playing ball. If we act that way, the
other fellows are apt to follow suit. And, Thad, conquering your
feelings may be the means of bringing a glorious victory to Scranton
High. Wouldn't you think yourself well repaid for just repressing your
antipathy toward Nick Lang?"
"Of course you're right, Hugh, as you nearly always are. I'm so
quick-tempered I make all sorts of silly blunders. But look there, I
can see a cloud of dust up the road yonder. Now I wouldn't be at all
surprised if we had another friendly visit from that Belleville fellow,
O. K. He's taking quite an interest in Scranton, it seems, and has run
over again this Saturday to find out how we're improving. We must
jolly him along, Hugh, and never let him see we're feeling a bit of
anxiety over our pitchers."
Sure enough, the rider of the motorcycle proved to be Oliver Kramer,
the same boy who had been over before to take a look at the Scranton
players. He came alongside the two chums sitting on the bleachers, and
deposited his machine so that it would be safely out of the way.
"Hello! fellows!" he remarked, cheerily, as he held out his hand to
Hugh. "Here I am again, right side up with care, as the clown in the
circus always says. Glad to meet you again, Captain Morgan, and you
also, Thad Stevens. Mr. Leonard was over to dinner at our house
Sunday, and he invited me to drop in any old time, and see how your
crowd was making out. I hope now you don't object to my being here,
Hugh?"
"Not in the least, O. K.," Hugh told him, smilingly. "We're pushing
along pretty fairly, and ironing out some of the wrinkles as we go.
Lots still to be done before we're ready to try conclusions with your
team at Belleville; but with such a capable coach as Mr. Leonard, we
believe we'll get there in time."
They watched the play go on. There were some really clever stunts done
that called for loud cheers on the part of the small crowd present. O.
K. added his strident voice to the shouts.
"Great work that, old top!" he shouted at Sandy Dowd, who had made a
magnificent steal to second, after getting first on a single, his slide
amidst a cloud of dust being the grand climax of the feat; for though
the catcher sent the ball down in a direct line to the baseman, still
the red-headed Sandy had his hand on the bag at the time he was
touched, and there was no disputing the "safe on second" of the umpire.
For three innings did O. K. sit there and enjoy the game. He was a
baseball enthusiast of the first water, and never could get quite
enough of his favorite sport. Of course he preferred taking part in a
game, but the next best thing was to watch others play, and comment on
their mistakes; just as most people can play the critic while watching
a game of billiards and always feel they could have improved on the
shot that missed connections.
"Well, what do you think now, O. K.?" asked Hugh later on, when the
Belleville boy made preparations as though about to start homeward.
"Do you notice any improvement in our work? Have we gone up or down,
in your judgment?"
"Yes, be honest, now, O. K., and say," asked Thad. "We can take
criticism without flinching. You know what your team can do; have we
any show against Belleville, or that strong aggregation at Allandale?"
"Honestly, between man and man, fellows," said the other, earnestly, "I
can see the greatest sort of improvement in your play. When you get
your team work down a bit better and closer to scientific principles,
you're going to make both the other clubs in the Three-Town League
hustle some to hold their own. I'm glad to see it, too, because it
means we'll have to do our level best if we hope to win. And that
insures some mighty lively ball games during the short season while
we're playing against each other."
Hugh felt satisfied, for he believed O. K. to be quite honest in what
he said.