CHAPTER XTHE SLUMP
That settled the Peace Embassy.
When Jack narrated his talk with Farmer Finkler to Dolph and Ted they agreed unanimously that any further efforts at securing the land would be wasted. Perhaps Dolph was a little bit relieved at not having to face the enemy. Certainly Prentiss and Walker were when the news reached them. Steve Walker even cut a caper.
“That’s a load off my mind,” he laughed. “I’ve been dodging you for two weeks, Dolph, for fear you’d grab me and lug me over there to that ogre’s castle.”
“It was a wild dream from the start,” declared Thorp Prentiss. “He’d have turned us down, anyway. Probably set the dog on us!”
“I guess we’ll just have to struggle along with the field we’ve got,” mused Dolph.
“I suppose so,” agreed Prentiss gloomily.“If we only had a track we could have the Tri-Meet next Spring for the asking. Well, this is my last year. I’ve done the best I could and if we get beaten as usual—which we naturally will—it isn’t my fault. Only thing is, though, that in another year or two we won’t have any Track Team at all; fellows will get tired of always being licked.”
“Benny ought to do something,” said Dolph vaguely.
“I’d like to do something to old Finkler!” growled Walker savagely. “Stubborn old mule!”
“Think of his giving Borden a ride, though!” marveled Prentiss. “That’s the wildest yarn I ever heard. You don’t suppose he dreamed it, do you?”
“Who? Jack Borden? No, he didn’t dream it. Well, I’m off to practice. The Peace Embassy is dissolved, fellows.”
June came in and the Tri-Meet was duly held at Dixon Academy. As usual, Maple Ridge ran a bad third, being totally eclipsed by both her competitors in the track events, althoughshe made an excellent showing on the turf. Chase won the meet, with Dixon a close second and Maple Ridge last. Maple Ridge was not disappointed or cast down for the simple reason that she never expected to get better than third place. A new captain was elected and Thorp Prentiss handed over the reins of government with a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile the Baseball Team had been coming strongly. Sam was pitching better and better every time he was put in the box and his support was steadying down wonderfully. Jack was still spending much of his time on the bench during the contests, although he usually got in for two or three innings in right field or left. His batting was getting more certain all the time and as a pinch-hitter he was making something of a reputation for himself. Mr. Shay kept him at the net for half an hour at a time every practice and Jack could not help but profit by the work. In the field he was gradually acquiring that ability to judge flies that he had envied Tyler Wicks the possession of. He learned to “size up” the batter; to know whatto expect from a left-handed hitter; to judge direction by the batter’s stand at the plate; to tell by the sound of bat against ball whether the hit was a long, hard one or one to be handled by the infield. In short, he began to develop very rapidly what Mr. Shay, the coach, called “baseball sense.” But all this didn’t give him the coveted position with the “regulars.” He was still a utility man; substitute outfielder and pinch-hitter. The difficulty was that Jack had three good players in front of him, all hard to displace. There was Tyler Wicks in left field, and Tyler was a very good man, not brilliant, but steady and dependable. In right field Watkins was almost as good, though more valuable as a batter than a fielder. In centre Truesdale was all that could be desired. As for the other substitutes, Jack was already on an even footing with them; in fact, he stood a little better in the estimation of Mr. Shay and Dolph than any of them, possibly excepting Joe Williams. And even Joe might find himself out-distanced if Jack’s batting continued to improve. Already the latter was hittingclose to .300, with only Ted and Dolph and Truesdale ahead of him.
Maple Ridge lost the game with Mayport Academy, on the latter’s grounds, the second Saturday in June owing to what Sam called “one grand slump.” Mort Prince, who started the game for Maple Ridge, was batted out of the box in the fourth inning when Mayport through a combination of four safe hits and two errors in the visitors’ infield tallied six runs. After that Maple Ridge went to pieces. Hal Morris took Prince’s place and was fairly effective until the seventh. Then the enemy landed on him fiercely, and when the dust of battle had cleared away the score stood 14 to 4 in Mayport’s favor, and Maple Ridge departed homewards with their green banners trailing. There were some who criticised Mr. Shay for not putting Sam in instead of Morris. The more knowing ones, however, pointed out that with the whole team playing like a lot of children the game was lost after the fourth and that it would have been useless to put in Sam, especially as he would be needed on Wednesday for the contestwith Springfield Preparatory, the last game before the final one with Chase. Jack vindicated his reputation as a pinch-hitter in the Mayport fracas, batting for Prince in the fifth inning and lining out a two-bagger. Unfortunately, however, he was the first man up and his hit brought no runs; and he never got beyond third himself. In the seventh inning he took Watkins’s place in right field, and although he did no worse than any one else that day he certainly failed to distinguish himself. No errors were scored against him, but that was due more to good luck than aught else, for twice flies that he might have captured fell safely to earth before he reached them. Once he and Truesdale got into a mix-up where their territories overlapped and the ball struck the turf between them and Mayport tore off two tallies.
Mr. Shay had very little to say either on the way back to Charlemont or later. A slump is something that is almost certain to happen to the best regulated ball teams, and scolding seldom helps much. The players had a lay-off onMonday and a short, if sharp, practice on Tuesday. The contest with Springfield Preparatory School was not considered important, although as Springfield had given Maple Ridge several good drubbings in the past the Light Green was naturally not averse to a victory. Whether the team had recovered from its slump was a matter of conjecture on Wednesday, and the school was divided in prophecy, many predicting an overwhelming defeat for Maple Ridge and others foretelling a close victory.
The game was played at Springfield. Sam was in the box for the visitors. From the second inning the contest was a batting-fest, with honors about even. Sam’s slants struck no terror to the hearts of the home team and they landed on them unerringly. On the other hand, the Springfield pitcher fared no better, and with two on bases in the third inning Gus Turnbull brought the Maple Ridge supporters to their feet by knocking out a home run that put the Light Green in the lead. This lead was held until the eighth, when Watkins muffed a long fly and let in two runners. Shortly after thatWatkins pulled off his second error, allowing a ball which he had been unable to reach in time to catch to bound by him. It was clear that Maple Ridge was still feeling the effects of the slump, although convalescence had set in. The infield made four errors, of which only one proved costly, and Dolph had two passed balls chalked against him when the game was over. But in spite of this Maple Ridge triumphed by inaugurating a batting rally in the first of the ninth, tying the score with Truesdale’s sacrifice fly that brought in Sam, and taking a two run lead later, when, with two out, Ted, Dolph and Cassart all hit safely. In the last of the inning Maple Ridge tightened up and, although Springfield got two men on bases, no runs were scored, and Maple Ridge traveled home with a 10 to 8 victory tucked away.
Jack adorned the bench during the whole of that game and it required all of Sam’s eloquence to comfort and encourage him.
“Don’t you worry, chum,” said Sam. “You’ll get into the Chase game all right. I wouldn’t be surprised if Shay put you in atright. Will certainly played like a lobster this afternoon. Maybe we all did. I know I didn’t have much on those chaps, and that’s a fact. But Will was absolutely woozy; didn’t make a single hit either, did he?”
“One,” replied Jack grudgingly.
“Did he? Well, anyway, I guess he’s dished. I’m sorry, too, for I like Will, and he can play good ball sometimes. I dare say Shay will put you in right field on Monday. Then all you’ve got to do is to play the game you can play and you’ve got the position cinched for Saturday.”
“Sounds easy the way you tell it,” replied Jack with a smile, “but suppose I don’t play the game I can play?”
Sam shrugged his broad shoulders. “Then it’s a toss-up, I guess, between you and Will. Anyway, you’ll get into the Chase game long enough to get your letters.”
“I don’t care so much about my letters,” answered Jack.
“You don’t? Why not? That’s what every fellow wants, you goop! Think how swell you’lllook on Class Day with your M. R. on your cap.”
“Maybe it will be too hot for caps,” laughed Jack. “Can I put the letters on my straw?”
“It’s never too hot for caps that have M. R. on them,” replied Sam. “Reminds me of a story my dad tells. There used to be a man in our town who was the glummest, sourest old codger you ever saw. Never smiled in his life, they say, until one day he got mixed up with a street car and had two teeth knocked out. The dentist put in two gold ones. After that the old chap grinned all the time, just to show his gold teeth, and grinning seemed to improve his disposition wonderfully. He got quite cheerful and sunny and folks got to liking him. The only trouble was that he never got asked to funerals because he couldn’t stop grinning!”
“That means, I suppose,” laughed Jack, “that I’ve got to wear my cap all summer. Not much, letters or no letters! I’d rather be comfortable than stylish.”
“That’s what they all say,” responded Sam knowingly, “until they get something to be stylishabout. I dare say you’ll be like Pete Bates. Pete won his football letters in his Junior year. He got so fond of his sweater that he wore it all the time. Some fellows say he even slept in it! Anyway, he came into Talcott’s class one morning with it on and Talcott got so mad he reported him to Benny.”
Sam proved his ability as a prophet when on Monday Jack went into right field in place of Watkins, benched. For the rest of that week, or as long as practice lasted, which was until Thursday, Jack and Watkins fought for that position like two bulldogs over a bone. On Tuesday Watkins was given a chance to make good again, but failed in a measure, probably because he was too eager. On Wednesday Jack went back and made a lamentable muff that doubtless brought joy to the heart of Watkins. On Thursday, the last day of work, Jack played at right on the second team and Watkins came into his own again. The other players and the school at large watched the struggle with interest and amusement and Jack and Watkins each had his coterie of supporters. One thingthat made Jack hopeful of ultimate success was the fact that at the bat he could more than hold his own against his rival. Meanwhile the two boys watched each other like duelists, maintained the most courteous relations and waited anxiously for coach and captain to give out the line-up for the big game. Not until then would they know who had won. But the line-up wasn’t made public until the morning of the game, and before that other things happened which, if they had little bearing on the Chase game, at least produced important results.