READY FOR THE BATTLE OF THE BATS.
"GOOD NIGHT again, colonel," said Elmer, thinking to start for home once
more.
"Ah, are you there, my boy?" said the old gentleman, turning around.
"Well, perhaps you wouldn't mind waiting over a little, and acting as
witness at a little business ceremony that Phil and myself want to carry
through?"
"Certainly not, sir," replied the boy; "only I was thinking that, since
my wheel is out of the running, I will be very late in getting home, and
I promised father to leave at eleven, you know."
"Oh, that's easily fixed, Elmer! I'll just call him on the phone, if you
think he's up still, and explain matters. And Sam here, will hitch up
the team, and take you home presently. Now, please don't object, for you
know I like to have my way. Both of you come with me into the house."
Once in the library, Elmer saw that the man Phil was not such a
desperate looking scoundrel as he had imagined from hearing him mutter
and threaten. Indeed, he had a very decent face, which was now red with
the confusion and shame that overwhelmed him because of his recent
miserable action.
Readily he put his signature to a paper the gentleman wrote out, and
Elmer signed his name as a witness. He knew that it all depended upon
the ability of the repentant man to make good. If he could show himself
worthy of trust, his future was safe in the hands of that fine old
gentleman.
"I'll never forget this, kunnel," he said, brokenly, as he stood there
and looked his employer in the face firmly. "You're goin' tuh make a man
uh me. I don't deserve it a bit, either; for if I got what I
deserved----"
"There, that will do, Phil," interrupted the colonel. "If we all got
what we deserved there'd be few of us walking down the street to-morrow,
I'm afraid. But, see here, don't you think you owe some thanks to this
bright young chap for what happened? If he hadn't just happened to
overhear you talking to your friend, and crept after you, to shut you in
the tool house, possibly you might have found a chance to carry out your
harebrained scheme, and then there could be no turning back. In my mind
you owe a great deal to Elmer Chenowith here."
"I jest reckons I do, sir. It was mighty plucky for him tuh foller us,
and tuh do that clever trick. I'd like to shake hands with the boy, and
thank him, if so be he's your friend, kunnel," said the former gardener.
The old gentleman had before this succeeded in catching Mr. Chenowith
over the wire, and assured him that circumstances had arisen to keep
Elmer beyond the time he had promised; but that he would send him home
presently in his vehicle.
"And you've reason to be proud of that lad of yours, Chenowith," he had
added. "To-morrow I hope to see you, and tell you something that's
happened here, in which he bore a part manfully. Good night, now!"
He chuckled as he turned away from the phone, knowing that Elmer's
father would now be eager to ask questions when the boy reached home.
As the carriage lights could be seen just below on the drive showing
that Sam had hitched up as he was ordered, and there was really no cause
for further delay, Elmer shook hands with the colonel again and went
out.
"I'll be after my wheel on Monday morning, sir," he said at parting;
"when I can see to put a plug in that tire. I hope Phil didn't smash the
whole thing when he got working with that ax."
"If he did I'll see that you have a new wheel, my boy; and, indeed, I
think that I'm deeply in your debt as it is," replied the gentleman,
smiling. "Just think what a big difference it would have made, to myself
and Phil Lally here, if you hadn't had that puncture. I'm not the man to
forget, Elmer. Good night, and God bless you!"
As Elmer lay back in the comfortable carriage, and was drawn homeward by
the spirited bays, he chuckled more than once at the idea of a healthy
lad like himself being thus treated, as though he were an invalid.
"Only that the colonel seemed determined, and he does not like anyone to
oppose him, I sure would have declined this lift," he said to himself.
But on the whole, he could not say that he would have had anything
different from the way events had come to pass, even though he had the
making of the chart. And he was inclined to agree with the colonel in
declaring that if any misfortune could ever be looked upon in the light
of a lucky accident, that puncture which he had given his tire just as
he reached the place he was heading for was such.
When he arrived home he found his father waiting for him. And since the
gentleman's curiosity had been stirred by those words of the colonel, he
was bent on asking questions until he learned the whole facts.
Elmer was not a boaster, and he made no attempt to show himself up in
the light of a hero. But reading between the lines of his story, his
father saw that there might be still more to hear when he met the
colonel in the morning, as he was now fully determined to do.
Perhaps, after such an exciting experience, the boy did not sleep as
soundly as he might have done under ordinary conditions. But the event
had made a powerful impression on his mind, and the generous conduct of
his old friend toward his erring servant had served to teach Elmer one
more lesson that might at some future day bring forth good fruit.
He did not mention the matter save to his best chum, Mark; and even he
was placed under bonds never to reveal it. The colonel had asked this as
a favor, for he did not want the story to get to the ears of Phil
Lally's old mother.
Of course, it would soon be known that he had taken Phil back again as
his head gardener, and that all matters against the young man had been
quashed; but that was nobody's business save the two involved.
Monday came, and about every boy in and around Hickory Ridge, upon
getting out of bed that morning, made a bee line for the window and
consulted the signs of the weather. For it was certainly going to be a
famous day for those who were fond of the great national game, since the
Boy Scouts of the neighboring town of Fairfield were due to meet their
nine in a struggle for victory.
And not only Hickory Ridge and Fairfield, but Basking Ridge, where the
game was to be played on neutral territory, seemed baseball mad.
Elmer himself had hardly gotten downstairs before he heard the phone
bell ring, and, as no one else was around, he answered it. Just as he
surmised, it proved to be one of his chums, Red Huggins, after him for
information.
"How about this weather business, Elmer?" demanded the other, as soon as
he learned that he was in touch with the patrol leader.
"Well, what about it?" returned Elmer, chuckling. "I hope none of you
think to hold me responsible for whatever comes."
"Oh, shucks! you know better than that," retorted Red, eagerly; "but
we've heard you explain just how they know what sort of a day it's going
to be, away up there in the Canadian wilderness, and we want your
opinion right now. Ted and Toby are over at my house and I'm
commissioned to hold you up and get an answer, so's to know what to
expect. See?"
"But see here, why d'ye want to know how the weather away up in the
Northwest is going to be to-day? Have you got any wheat planted; or do
you mean to put the steam plow into that quarter section, if the signs
are favorable?" demanded Elmer.
"Aw, let up on a feller, Elmer, can't you?" went on the other, in what
was meant to be a wheedling tone. "We want you to make use of the
knowledge you picked up away off yonder, to tell us what sort of
afternoon it's going to be. Get that, now? Is there any rain storm in
sight? Will it be as hot as the dickens; or are we in for a cold wave?
We want to know, and we depend on you to tell us. Open up now, won't
you, and be good?"
"Oh, is that all you want?" laughed Elmer. "Why, if I could tell you
what's sure going to happen eight hours ahead I'd hire out to the
government as Old Probs."
"But you can hit it pretty fair, Elmer," persisted Red. "Come on, now,
and tell us. We've seen you do it lots of times, and nearly every shot
came true. Now, some of us think we're due for a rain, because the sky
was a little red this morning. And you know that old saying, 'Red in
the morning is the sailor's warning.' What do you think? Give us a drive
now. Elmer."
"Well, I took a squint around from my window, and so far as I could
see----"
"Yes, sir; but go on, Elmer," broke in the impatient Red, nervously.
"It was a beautiful morning."
"Oh, rats! We all know that much, Elmer; but the signs, what do they
say? If it pours down rain the game's all off, and that means bad luck
to our fellows," Red went on, being addicted to a belief in all sorts of
signs and tokens; just as the boy from South Carolina, Chatz Maxfield,
was a believer in ghosts, and charms, and the hind foot of a rabbit
killed in a graveyard at midnight by the light of the full moon.
"Don't worry, Red," Elmer went on, purposely holding back the desired
information, since he owed this comrade more than one long-standing debt
because of tricks practiced by the prank-loving Red.
"Then the signs _are_ favorable; do you mean that, Elmer?" begged the
other.
"The sky looks good to me. The little color you saw was only the rosy
flush of a summer dawn. And the breeze seems to be coming from the right
quarter, Red. I don't think it's going to be a roasting day for August."
"That sounds all right to me, Elmer. On the whole, then, you predict
that we'll have a decent afternoon; just the kind to spur every fellow
on to doing his best licks?" continued the boy at the other end of the
wire, with joy permeating his tones.
"I never predict, and you know it," laughed Elmer. "All I can say is
that just now things look good. If the clouds don't come up, and it
stays as clear as it is right now, the chances are we'll not get wet."
"Oh, rats! but you've said enough to tell me what you think, and that's
the main thing. Do we practice any this morning, Elmer?" asked Red.
"The last thing I heard from Captain Lil Artha, he said he didn't want a
stale team on his hands this afternoon, so there'll be no regular
practice this A.M. I expect to toss a few over with Mark, just to make
sure I've got control; but as the game promises to be a pretty warm
affair, it's best everybody keeps rested up until we get in practice
half an hour before the umpire calls on us to play. Anything more, Red?"
"No, nothing; only the boys here want me to ask you how your arm feels."
"Fine and dandy," laughed Elmer. "Couldn't be in better shape. If those
swatters from Fairfield straighten out my curves this afternoon, it'll
only be my own fault. You won't hear me complaining I wasn't in
condition, for I am."
"Bully boy! We all know what that means when you're feeling right. I'm
sorry for Matt Tubbs and his crowd, that's all," Red said over the wire;
whereupon Elmer, unable to stand for any more of this palaver, cut him
short by hooking up the receiver.
When later on he went out with Mark to do a little preliminary pitching,
every boy they met seemed to fall in behind, until there was quite an
imposing procession heading for the field where Hickory Ridge athletic
contests were always pulled off.
They understood that everything depended on the ability of the pitcher
of the Hickory Ridge Boy Scout nine to baffle these heavy hitters from
Fairfield; and hence, everyone wanted to see for himself just what Elmer
could do on the eve of the great and important battle with the bats.
Elmer would much rather have found a chance to do his practicing in
secret; but at the same time he sympathized with these kids who were
baseball mad. So for half an hour he and Mark worked their many little
games, and exchanged signals that were supposed to be known only to
themselves, while groups of fellows lounged under the neighboring trees
and kept tabs on their actions, commenting favorably on every play that
struck them as cleverly done.
Later on Elmer, having donned his sweater because of his heated
condition, was waiting for Mark to join him, the latter having gone off
to speak to a girl who was passing in a little pony cart, when he was
suddenly startled to have a hand laid on his arm and hear little Jasper
Merriweather say in a thrilling tone:
"It's all off, Elmer; they've got you marked for the slaughter. If you
pitch this afternoon, those sluggers from Fairfield are going to just
knock you out of the box. It's a mean shame, that's what it is, now!"