AN UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER.
It was true Lakeport had won by a score of 13 to 11. Si Voup tried to
enter a protest, saying that Paul had let the ball drop and had then
picked it up, but nobody would listen to him.
"It was a perfectly fair play," said the umpire. "I will leave it to
the crowd. He fell down, but the ball never got within a foot of the
ground."
The cheering was tremendous, and some of the boys wanted to carry Paul
around on their shoulders, but he would not permit this.
"To catch that fly wasn't so much," said he modestly.
"It was the greatest thing that ever happened," answered Joe,
enthusiastically. "We should have lost the game if it hadn't been for
you."
"Great Cæsar, how Paul did leg it down into the field!" came from
Frank. "I never saw anybody run so!"
"Well, I put him there for his running qualities," said Joe. "He's the
best runner on our team," and the others agreed with their captain.
As soon as they saw that they were beaten the Excelsiors lost no time
in leaving the ball field. Only the boy who had charge of the grand
stand remained, and he turned over to the Lakeports the amount of the
receipts coming to them, eighteen dollars and forty cents.
"I don't care a rap for the money," said Harry, on the way back to
the clubroom. "But I can tell you it was a big thing to defeat Voup's
crowd."
To celebrate the victory the club members spent two dollars for cake,
fruit, and lemons and sugar for lemonade. This gave them quite a
spread, which all enjoyed to the utmost.
"Dat was a bang up game, dat was!" declared Teddy Dugan. He was so
hoarse from "rooting" that he could scarcely speak.
"We should have lost if it hadn't been for that catch by Paul," said
Augustus De Vere. He was angry because he had not been called upon to
play.
The game became the talk of the town, and the Excelsiors were asked all
sorts of questions by those who had been foolish enough to bet and who
had lost. Let it be said here that none of the Lakeport Club had bet.
"Oh, my arm wasn't in just the right condition," grumbled Si Voup.
"Just wait till the next game; then we'll show 'em a trick or two."
"I got something in my eye during the second inning and that bothered
me," said Sidney Yates.
"One of those fellows spiked me with his shoe," said the Excelsior
shortstop. "After that I could scarcely walk." He had missed two
"liners" and felt that he must excuse himself somehow.
Fred was so elated over the game that he could scarcely contain himself.
"It's just too good for anything," he said to his mother. "I wish you
had been there."
"Isn't this the first of three games, Fred?"
"Yes, mother."
"Then you must win one more to be the champions of the town."
"We are sure to do that."
"Don't be so positive, Fred. If you lose you will be heart-broken."
On Monday Fred had to go to the saw-mill for his parents, and while
there he fell in with Sidney Yates, whose father was the superintendent
at the mill.
"It was a great game, wasn't it, Sidney?" said the stout youth,
pleasantly.
"Oh, you needn't blow to me about your ball playing!" grumbled Sidney.
"I'm not blowing. I think you fellows put up a pretty good game."
"We should have won if it hadn't been for the umpire," returned the
other boy, sourly.
"I think the umpire was very fair."
"His decisions were rank. We will never have him for an umpire again."
"Perhaps we shall."
"Not much! Paul Shale dropped that ball and I saw it."
"Never!"
"I say he did drop it!" roared Sidney, who was in thoroughly bad humor.
"You fellows are a lot of low upstarts," he added.
"Do you mean to call me an upstart?" cried Fred, his anger rising at
the insult.
"Yes, I do."
"Take that back, Sidney Yates! If you don't----" Fred paused and
clenched his fists.
"What will you do?" demanded Sidney impudently. He was several inches
taller than Fred.
"I'll make you take it back."
"Ho! ho! what talk!" roared Sidney. "I'd like to see you make me take
it back, you fat crab, you!"
Now, although Fred was stout, he hated to be called fat, and without
further ado he pitched into Sidney and struck him on the shoulder.
The other lad retaliated, and in a moment more the quarrel became
exceedingly warm. Fred was struck on the arm and in the cheek, and he
hit Sidney in the left eye and on the nose.
"Oh!" yelled Sidney, as the blood spurted from his nasal organ. "Don't
you dare to hit me in the nose again!"
"Do you take back what you said about me?" demanded Fred, watching for
a chance to strike once more.
"No, I don't!"
"Then take that!" said the stout youth, and aimed a blow at his
opponent's chin. Sidney ducked and Fred's fist landed on the nose
again, hurting worse than ever. Then Sidney began to back away.
"I'm not going to let you get away so easily," cried Fred and followed
the other boy up. Sidney backed up against a log and pitched flat on
his back and Fred lost no time in pinning him to the earth.
"Now, will you take it back, Sidney Yates?"
"Let--let me up!"
"Not until you take back what you said."
"The ground is all wet and muddy here."
"That isn't my fault."
"My suit will be ruined. It's a new suit, too!"
"That's your lookout, not mine."
"I'll call my father!"
"If you do, I'll tell him what you said of me."
"Help! help!" roared Sidney, and then he began to squirm harder than
ever. In the midst of the tussle three men ran from the mill.
"Here, what does this mean?" demanded one of the men, as Fred continued
to hammer Sidney.
"He called me a low upstart," answered the stout youth.
"Make him leave me up, father!" whined Sidney.
"Bless me, if it isn't Sidney!" ejaculated Mr. Yates. "Let him alone!"
The latter words to Fred, who quickly arose. "What's this? Sidney, your
new suit is all plastered with mud!"
"He fell down himself," answered Fred.
"Who started this fight?" asked another of the men.
"He did," answered Sidney, promptly.
"He called me a low upstart. I'll allow nobody to call me that," came
from Fred, whose eyes were still flashing.
"Sidney, did you call Fred that?" demanded Mr. Yates. He was a
fair-minded man and knew something of his son's disposition.
"No."
"And I say he did," retorted Fred. "He said the members of our baseball
club were a lot of low upstarts. He is mad because we beat his club
last Saturday."
Just then a man who had been standing back of a nearby lumber pile came
forward.
"That lad speaks the truth," he said, pointing to Fred. "That boy
taunted him with being a low upstart. I heard every word of the
quarrel."
At this exposure Sidney gazed at his father for a moment and then hung
his head.
"I'm ashamed of you, my son," said Mr. Yates. "You had no business to
use such language."
"Well, they tricked us out of that game," whined Sidney.
"No, they didn't. The game was honestly won. You go right home and
change your clothes, and to-night I'll talk this over with you."
"Ain't you going to punish Fred?"
"No, because you started the quarrel," answered Mr. Yates, and then
Sidney sneaked off like a whipped puppy. But once behind the lumber
piles, he shook his fist savagely at Fred.
"Just you wait, Fred Rush, I'll fix you for this!" he cried to himself.
As soon as the excitement was over Fred transacted his business at the
mill and then walked towards home. On the way he met Link and Harry. He
told them of the encounter with Sidney.
"I'm glad you tackled him," said Link. "If he ever talks that way to me
I'll do something he won't like."
"Sidney is a blower," said Harry. "I guess most of the boys know him by
this time. I don't see how Si Voup can put up with him."
"Because he is willing to do anything for Si," came from Link. "They
are hand-in-glove and always have been."
That evening, when Mr. Yates came home, he read Sidney a stern lecture.
The boy tried to answer back, and as a result Mr. Yates told him he
must come to the mill and go to work during the vacation.
"I am not going to have you idling your time away and getting into
trouble," said Mr. Yates.
"But the ball club----" began Sidney. "I want some time to practice----"
"You must resign your position. They can get somebody in your place,"
was the firm answer, and this decision, although it almost broke
Sidney's heart, was final.