"No, old chap, I am not losing my head. But you know I am rather superstitious; at least, my mother says so, and I have a queer notion, to-night, that we are going to do as well to-morrow as we did to-day."
"That's an encouraging sign, Larry," broke in Captain Hiram Porter. "But you fellows must all do your level best, all the same, and we mustn't let any notion of our superiority run away with us, for we are not superior, perhaps except that I do think that we are better fielders than the Galena boys."
"Whatever happens to-morrow, Al," said Larry, as they broke up their sitting for the night. "Put it down that I said that we were to win the second game in this championship series."
"And if we lose, you will charge it to some adverse fate, won't you, Larry?"
"In the bright lexicon—you know the rest, Al."
By a singular coincidence, at that very hour, Miss Alice Howell, writing to her father the glad news, added a postscript thus: "You will think me overconfident, but I am sure the Catalpas will win the championship."
CHAPTER X.
HOW THE GOOD NEWS CAME.
Catalpawas wide awake, next day, although the weather was hotter than ever and the little breeze that drew in from the prairie was laden with heat. The unexpected result of yesterday's game had set everybody to speculating on the issue of this day's contest. Some scandal was created by the appearance of Hank Jackson on the street with a roll of bills, offering to make bets on the game. It had never been the custom of anybody in Catalpa to wager anything on a base ball game, and there was some frowning now on the part of conservative and upright people; and those who were not specially conservative, but who disapproved of gaming, did not hesitate to reprove Hank in terms more forcible than elegant. Hank had spent some days in Bloomington, where he had frequented pool rooms and had acquired a taste for betting, and his brief experience was regarded by the younger portion of Catalpa with much awe and interest. He was followed about by the smaller boys of the town who listened while he bantered some of his cronies into making bets.
But public opinion in Catalpa was not yet educated to the point of engaging in gambling on the uncertain result of a base ball game. Added to this, it should be said, was Hank's persistence in offering bets on the defeat of the home nine. That was an unpopular side. Almost everybody wanted the Catalpas to win the game. It would decide the championship; and, although it was almost too much to hope for, there was a feeling of confidence through the town that was quite inexplicable. So, Hank, after making a swaggering tour of the shops and stores, but without receiving much popular countenance, quietly dropped out of the throngs which gathered at the street corners and in other public places. It was in vain that he argued with rude logic that it was just as safe to bet on a base ball game as on a horse race. Very few who listened to him cared to encourage this new sort of gambling.
This time, it was Al Heaton who fired the heart of Catalpa with the first intelligence from the Diamond Field. It was nearly three o'clock when his first despatch arrived, and the game had been called at two o'clock. There was much grumbling in the main street of the town, where numerous groups stood in the shade of awnings and tall buildings, waiting for the news. The windows ofThe Leafoffice opened on this street, as well as on the side street on which the telegraph office was situated. Editor Downey had announced that he had made arrangements with Albert to send news directly from the base ball grounds in Galena, and that he would display a bulletin from his office windows.
Accordingly, when there was hung out a big white sheet of paper, with black lettering thereon, the assembly below was hushed in expectation. The despatch ran thus:
Everybody confident. Larry Boyne says our nine will win the game. Weather hot, and the dust intolerable. Look out for fun.ALBERT HEATON.
Everybody confident. Larry Boyne says our nine will win the game. Weather hot, and the dust intolerable. Look out for fun.
ALBERT HEATON.
"What does he mean by looking out for fun; and who cares what Larry Boyne thinks?" growled Hank Jackson. "I should think he might send us something more bracing than that by this time."
But the straggling cheer that greeted Albert's encouraging message drowned Jackson's grumbling, and the crowd showed by their excitement that they were ready to accept the slightest omen as proof positive that the Catalpa nine would carry the day. So, when Judge Howell's carriage drove up and halted under the shade of the huge catalpa tree that grew in front of Dr. Selby's drug store, from which the fair Alice could see the throng and watch for the bulletin from the newspaper office, there was a little hurrah from some of the younger lads. They seemed to think that the young lady, in some fashion, represented the absent Judge, who was now recognized as one of the steadfast friends of the band of heroes.
"That's a good sign! I'll swear to gracious!" said Roughand Ready, in a low and hoarse whisper, as he saw the Judge's handsome bays, champing their bits, and prancing uneasily under the shade of the spreading catalpa. "It's a good sign, for that gal never went back on the nine, and her coming will bring good luck. Mark my words, Jake!" Jake, the big butcher, nodded his head and only said "yaw," when the bulletin was again flung out from the window of the printing-office.
The magical black letters were read in silence broken only by the stamping of the horses tethered along the street and worried by the flies. This is what the eager spectators read:
First inning—Catalpas, 1; Galenas, 0.
First inning—Catalpas, 1; Galenas, 0.
"A big round goose egg!" screamed Lew Morris, with delight. Then he raised a hurrah, and the small boys took up the yell. Horses jumped and tore at their halters and vagrant dogs barked madly about the street. Then there were smiles and even broad laughter among the devoted supporters of the home nine. Almost everybody looked pleased, and Dr. Selby, with the easy confidence of an old friend, went to the side of the Judge's carriage and shook hands heartily with Miss Alice who was waving her parasol with a vague notion that it was necessary to celebrate the auspicious opening of the game.
"I didn't tell you, did I, doctor, that I dreamed, last night, that we had won the game? Well, I did. Aunt Anstress says that dreams go by contraries and that thatmeans our nine will be defeated. But I don't believe that; do you, doctor?"
"Well, I don't believe in dreams, anyhow, Miss Alice, and so I hardly think that that counts. But we will keep on thinking that the boys will beat, to-day, and even if we are disappointed, we have yet one more chance."
The doctor, accepting Alice's invitation, took a seat in the carriage from which advantageous point he looked over the gathering throng, now reinforced by arrivals from the region roundabout the town, for the news had gone forth that despatches were coming in from Al Heaton, and every man, woman and child who had the least interest in the game (and these were many) and could leave the labors and duties of the day, was there to hear.
"It looks as it did in the war, when the news from Shiloh and Vicksburg was coming in; doesn't it, doctor?"
"I don't know about that, Alice. I was in the war, myself, you know; was at Port Hudson and Vicksburg. You were a baby then, and I believe your father was in Congress. Yes, I guess it does look like war times. But see! There comes another bulletin!"
Editor Downey had rigorously excluded from his office all outsiders, and was devoting his personal attention to the all-important business of the day. With his own hands, he hung out the paper sheet bearing these words:
2d inning,—Catalpas, 0; Galenas, 1; 3d inning, Catalpas, 0; Galenas, 0.
2d inning,—Catalpas, 0; Galenas, 1; 3d inning, Catalpas, 0; Galenas, 0.
"Not so good as it might be," remarked Dr. Selby, cheerfully, "but it will grow better, by and by."
A little cloud passed over the face of Alice, and she bit her lip with vexation as Hank Jackson bawled with a rough voice, "Ten to five on the Galenas!"
"If I were a man, I'd like to take that offer," she said, her eyes sparkling.
"Oh, no, you wouldn't, Alice," cried her friend Ida. "You wouldn't encourage gambling on base ball, I'm sure."
"Perhaps not; but if I were a man, I would like to thrash that big ruffian."
Better news came, after a little while. The bulletin for the fourth inning showed four for the Catalpas and a big round "0" for their opponents. At this, there was a general and apparently concerted hurrah from the company in the street below. Editor Downey, as if thinking the cheer a personal compliment, put his frowsy head out of the window and bowed with as much grace as was possible under the circumstances.
"Mr. Downey's hair looks as if he was laboring under great excitement," said the apothecary, blandly smiling at the editor's somewhat towseled appearance. "Every individual hair is standing on end, as if he were charged with electricity."
Alice laughed joyously and seemed glad to find something under which she could cover her great elation at the good news from the North. Miss Ida utteredsarcastic remarks about the editor's exuberant comments in the morning paper regarding the coming contest in Galena. She declared that she did not think the game nearly as important as any one of the decisive battles of the war. And she was sure thatThe Leafwould be perfectly ridiculous, next day, if the Catalpas were to win the championship. Her remarks were cut short by the display of another bulletin announcing the result of the fifth inning in these terms:—
Hurrah for our nine! Fifth inning—Catalpas, 0; Galenas, 0.
Hurrah for our nine! Fifth inning—Catalpas, 0; Galenas, 0.
"What in thunder does that mean?" asked Lew Morris, angrily. "Why does the numbskull tell us to hurrah for our nine when both sides have a zero?"
A yell of derision went up from the crowd, and the editor, hearing groans and cat-calls in the street below, put out his head and, with much trepidation, cried, "It was a mistake. I forgot to put on the sixth inning. Catalpas, one; Galenas, nix!"
A loud laugh greeted this sally, and the crowd good-humoredly proposed three cheers forThe Catalpa Leaf, which were given in a random fashion, mingled with laughter. Mr. Downey, now well-smeared with ink, and perspiring with excitement, acknowledged the salute with gravity.
"Six innings played and the Catalpas are six to the Galena's one!" exclaimed Alice, who was keeping the scorewith an assiduity that seemed to come from a belief that exactness in the figures would, somehow, affect the final result. Scraps of paper, on which observers had marked the score and had set down their prognostications of the innings yet to come, were circulated through the crowd. The Catalpas now had the lead, and it would be difficult for their adversaries to come up with them.
Lew Morris, leaning on the door of the carriage, chatted with Alice, drawing on his vivid imagination for pictures of the nine as they were probably looking now, away up there in Galena. He could see, he thought, Hiram Porter devouring the ground as he made his bases with a giant's stride, his handsome face glowing with mingled heat and determination. He could even hear Larry's voice, in a stage whisper, crying, "Go it, Hiram!" And he could see Larry, at third base, when the Catalpas were in the field, making one of those superb running catches of his, Ben Burton looking on, "as if he would eat him up," added Lewis, jocularly.
"Why should Ben want to eat Larry up?" asked Dr. Selby, innocently. "Does he love him so?"
"On the contrary, quite the reverse," laughed Lewis. "Larry is showing himself to be the best player in the nine, and as Ben thought thathewas the best, and is finding out that he is not, he loves Larry accordingly. Besides that, he is jealous of Larry for other reasons," and the young man fixed a bold look on the blushing face of Miss Alice. Sheturned away to see if another bulletin were not ready, and the doctor shook his head deprecatingly at Lewis.
There was much time for talk, however, before another despatch from the seat of war appeared. The impatient crowd, panting in the heat that was more and more oppressive as the sun approached the west, flung all sorts of appeals upwards to the windows of the office ofThe Leaf. There was no response, although Mr. Downey, as if to contradict Hank Jackson's loud jeer that the editor had gone to sleep, showed his shaggy head at the window and made a negative motion with the same. There was no news.
Finally, just as some of the less patient were beginning to make their way homewards, like a banner of victory, the sheet of paper again appeared. This time, it was blazoned with these returns:—
7th inning—Catalpas, 1; Galenas, 0; 8th inning—Catalpas, 0; Galenas, 1.
7th inning—Catalpas, 1; Galenas, 0; 8th inning—Catalpas, 0; Galenas, 1.
"An even thing for the two innings!" cried Lew Morris triumphantly. "The Galenas cannot possibly pull up in the last inning! The game is ours! The game is ours!"
Lew's jubilant shout was taken up by the crowd, which now grew denser again, and the excitement mounted to fever heat as the sun sank behind the cotton-woods below the town. Satisfied that the game and the championship were virtually won, some of the elder citizens, after exchanging congratulations with everybody that had a word of joy ontheir lips, walked homewards. But some of them stopped on the road and turned a listening ear towards the main street to hear the rousing cheer that soon went up, telling the town and all the Stone River Valley that the game was won and that our nine had captured the pennant of Northern Illinois.
A grimy and inky young imp, on the roof ofThe Leafbuilding, hoisted a particularly inky and grimy flag as the editor hung out from his window this bulletin:—
The victory is complete! Old Catalpa to the front! Glory enough for one day! Following is the score by innings:1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9total.Catalpas1 0 0 4 0 1 1 0 1 8.Galenas0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3.The Galenas will banquet the Catalpas at the Quapaw House, this evening, when a right royal time is expected.ALBERT HEATON.
The victory is complete! Old Catalpa to the front! Glory enough for one day! Following is the score by innings:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9total.Catalpas1 0 0 4 0 1 1 0 1 8.Galenas0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3.
The Galenas will banquet the Catalpas at the Quapaw House, this evening, when a right royal time is expected.
ALBERT HEATON.
"And now for the championship of the State, dad?" shouted Tom Selby, exultingly, as his father descended from the carriage of the Judge. Alice, who was beaming with delight, could hardly speak her joy. The great contest was over, and the home nine would come back covered with glory. But she shook her head at Tom's vain-glorious remark. The league games were all made up for the season, she knew, and it would be difficult, if not impossible, to secure a challengefrom any club in the league. Oh, no, she couldn't think of it. Tom must not think of it, at least, not until another summer.
The good doctor smiled at the lad's enthusiasm and said that glory enough for one day meant glory enough for one season. There were other contests before the home nine, and they could be content, or they should be, to wear the laurels already won, whatever happened to them hereafter. They could not lose any prestige by any manner of means.
When Judge Howell arrived by the early evening train from Pawpaw, he was surprised to see the dingy flag ofThe Catalpa Leafdrooping lazily from its staff. He had not forgotten that the second game in the Northern District Championship was to have been played that afternoon; and he remembered his daughter's prediction of success. But it seemed incredible that this should have actually come to pass. As he alighted from the train, his judicial dignity a little soiled by travel and perspiration, he was met by Rough and Ready, who, with a slight touch of his 'coonskin cap, the only recognition of high station of which he was ever capable, said, "Any baggage, Jedge? carry it as cheap as anybody. Our nine has flaxed out the Galenas—eight to three! Big thing, Jedge! Lemme take that grip-sack. Great day for old Catalpa, Jedge. Your darter, she said as how she allowed that you mought like to get the news straight, so I told her I'd come up and tell you quick. Thank you, Jedge." And, dropping a silver quarter into hispocket, Rough and Ready turned and collared a stranger from whom he wrested his valise and marched triumphantly down into the town.
When the Judge, clothed once more in the dignity of cleanliness and his home headship, heard that night from the animated lips of his daughter the story of the winning of the championship, he said, with an air of graceful condescension, "It was a famous victory, Alice. We have reason to be proud of our nine; and I will venture to say that when we get the full particulars of the game, we shall find that that fine-looking young fellow, Lawrence Boyne, contributed the largest share to the triumph."
When the details of the game were brought to Catalpa, next day, in a letter toThe Leaf, it was found that the Judge knew just what he was talking about.
But greater news than this came with Larry Boyne and Hiram Porter, a week or two later. The nine had been playing a few games along the river towns and had rested for a day or two in Rock Island, after playing the Dacotahs of that city. Several of the nine took advantage of a lull in their engagements to visit Catalpa. Mr. Heaton and Albert had returned home, and Larry and Hiram had gone to Chicago on some mysterious errand, nobody knew just what. Neddie Ellis was one of those who had come back to Catalpa while the time was passing before they should play the new series of games beginning with the Moline club. Neddie looked very wise when asked where Larry and Hiram had gone, andAlbert Heaton assumed a most important air whenever he said anything about the doings of the two absent members of the nine.
But it all came out in due time. Captain Porter and his trusty lieutenant arrived by the noon train, and before the sun had set everybody in Catalpa knew that a match had been arranged between the Catalpa nine and the Calumet club for the State Championship. It was indeed wonderful news, and nothing since the war had happened to stir the population of that region as the intelligence. There were divers opinions regarding this unexpected development. Many thought that it was indiscreet for so young and green a club as the Catalpas to challenge the Calumets—the famous and renowned Calumets. Then there were others who thought that it was presumptuous for the Catalpa boys even so much as to ask any leading club to play them merely because a triumph had been unexpectedly achieved in Galena. But all agreed that it was a great feather in the cap of "our nine" that the Chicago club should have accepted the challenge, or should have agreed to meet them on any terms whatever.
"I am not certain whether I am glad or sorry that our nine will play the Calumets, papa," said Alice Howell. "I mean that I cannot tell yet whether I shall be disappointed if they lose. I depend a great deal on my impressions, you know, and I haven't any as yet."
The Judge smiled at his daughter's odd notion of waitingfor impressions, and replied, "I do not wait for any inspiration on the subject, my child. I am sure that the Catalpa nine will be badly beaten. I don't know much about base ball, but I do know enough to know that the Calumet club has been in the newspapers for a long time as the great base ball club of the northwest."
"That's so, papa," sighed Alice, "and I have dreadful forebodings when I think of the risk that they have undertaken."
"Nothing venture, nothing have, Alice, and it will be no disgrace if our nine are defeated by the Calumets. Unless they are very badly beaten indeed, and that is not improbable, to be sure, they will bring some new honors off the field."
The Judge's conservative and moderate view of the case was that of the average of Catalpa. To play the Calumets was in itself an honor.
Henry Jackson represented the most discouraging element in Catalpa public opinion. And when Ben Burton returned to town for a day's holiday, and became at once unusually familiar with Hank, Larry's face clouded and Alice Howell confidentially informed her friend Ida Boardman that she never could abide Ben Burton, and that now she knew he was a man who would consort with mean companions. Nothing could be lower, she thought, than the course that Henry Jackson had taken during the late contest between the Catalpas and the Galenas.
It was only by a lucky accident that the Calumets hadbeen able to find a place in their later engagements for a championship series of three games with the Catalpas. The sudden sickness of several members of the Osceola club, engaged to play the Calumets, had made it necessary to cancel all the engagements of the former club for the season. The Osceolas had been overtaken by a contagious disease that had made sad havoc that summer, as many will remember, among strangers who visited the lower portion of the State, which had been under water from late in February until the beginning of May. But the ill-luck of the Osceola club was the means of opening a way for the Catalpas to play the Calumets; and that was felt to be something almost providential—at least, in the town of Catalpa.
CHAPTER XI.
IN A NEW FIELD.
"Iwishso many of the Catalpa folks had not come in to see the game, to-day," said Larry Boyne, discontentedly, on the morning of the first of the championship series of games in Chicago, late in the following October. "It is bad enough to feel like a cat in a strange garret as I do here, without the feeling added of being watched by our friends from home, who will be so awfully cut up if we do not win."
"But you are not afraid of our losing, are you, Larry? And I am sure there is one young lady, at least, whose smiles will encourage you," said Hiram Porter, with a grin that was meant to be sly and also cheery. "It is pretty generally understood among the boys (and as long as we are alone together, there is no need of our being shamefaced about it) that you and Miss Alice have come to an understanding, as the saying is. You needn't say whether that is so or not, Larry, my boy. But, if I were in your place, I would be glad to have those beautiful and sympathetic eyes watchingmy play. It would make me put in my very best licks, you may be sure of that."
Larry murmured something about there being a difference in people, and turned the subject to the preparations to be made for the day's event. The Catalpas had had only a little opportunity to make themselves familiar with the Chicago base ball grounds. At the end of a game played on the previous day, they had a little practice at pitching, and had taken in the situation of the arena sufficiently to enable them to be not entirely strangers to the place.
They found themselves inside of a complete enclosure, skirted by a grand stand at one end and uncovered and open seats at the other. A high board fence bounded the grassy lawn on which the Diamond Field was laid, and the seats for spectators rose above this fence, so that the players were securely left to their own devices while the game should be in progress. A breeze from the lake, tempered by the October sun, swept over the grounds, and was broken, when the wind arose, by the screen formed by the board enclosure.
When the nine, with beating hearts and quickened pulses, entered the grounds on the day so fraught with importance to them, they were a little dumbfounded to see that an immense crowd of people, perhaps ten thousand, all told, occupied the vast array of seats that lined the amphitheater. A brass band blared and brayed in a tall stand set apart for them, and the entrance of the Catalpa nine was the signal for a burst of kindly applause that helped to reassure thelads composing that now well-known club. Since the matches played in the river towns, the nine had met some of the best-known clubs in the State, and in Iowa. With varying success, but generally doing credit to their own native place, the Catalpas had attracted attention by their uniformly excellent play, their manly bearing, and by their steady habits. They had made no enemies. So, when the young fellows, clad in their blue and white uniform, came into the range of vision of the throngs in the grand stand and boxes, a round of applause greeted them, and one enthusiastic citizen from Catalpa, no less a person than the deputy sheriff of Dean County, ventured to propose three cheers for the Catalpa nine. The proposition fell very flat, and, covered with confusion, the deputy sheriff sat down and mopped his manly brow.
As Hiram Porter threw up the penny for the toss, Larry's eye involuntarily sought a curtained box to which his attention had been directed, the day before, as he had inspected the grounds in company with Miss Ida Boardman, Miss Alice Howell and two other ladies from Catalpa. The party was under the guidance of Mr. Heaton. Albert was never long in one place. He was too highly excited to be depended upon as an escort for the young ladies, and he divided his time between his old companions of the Catalpa nine and the pitcher of the Calumets, Samuel Morse, an old school chum, who had helped signally in arranging the present contest.
So, as Larry's glance lighted on the first box to the rightof the grand stand, it caught an answering smile from Miss Alice, and Albert Heaton, who was momentarily fluttering about the box, waved his hand to the favorite third base man of the Catalpas and said, under his breath, "Sail in, old boy!"
"You don't imagine that Mr. Boyne heard that, do you, in all this noise?" asked Alice, with rosy face and sparkling eyes.
"No, I don't suppose that Larry heard or saw anything but what he saw and guessed at in that telegraphic look of yours, Miss Ally," replied Albert, mockingly. "Larry, the dear boy, knows well enough what I would be saying to him; and I hope he knows what you would be telegraphing him by way of encouragement. Hurrah! Hiram has won the toss! He'll send the Calumets to the bat, see if he don't."
Albert was right. The home club were sent to the bat, and Thomas Walsh, of the Black Hawks, took his place as umpire. This was the order in which the two clubs were named and stationed on that eventful day:—
Catalpas.Larry Boyne, 3d B.Samuel Morrison, L.F.Neddie Ellis, C.F.Charlie King, P.Hart Stirling, 2d B.John Brubaker, R.F.Hiram Porter, 1st B. (Capt.)Ben Burton, S.S.Wm. Van Orman, C.Calumets.Darius Ayres, 1st B. (Capt.)Samuel Morse, P.John Handy, 3d B.Rob Peabody, R.F.Thomas Shoff, C.F.Glenn Otto, S.S.James Kennedy, 2d B.Charlie Webb, C.James McWilliams, L.F.
The Catalpa boys thought there should have been breathless silence in the enclosure as Hiram Porter, having carefully placed his men, called to the umpire "play!" Play was accordingly called, but there was silence, by no means, in the grounds. The clatter of late comers reaching their seats, the buzz of conversation that yet arose from the crowds in the amphitheater, and the cry of boys selling score-cards disturbed the serenity of the ardent champions of the Catalpa Nine. They wondered why people should talk when so momentous a game was about opening. And Alice, with a feverish sigh of impatience, said to Miss Ida that she should think that the Chicago people had very little manners. Whereupon Miss Anstress, with great severity, said that the spectators were not so much in love with the players that they cared a pin whether either side won. This unkind remark was turned aside by Mr. Heaton who said that there were not a few among the on-lookers who had bet money in the gambling rooms outside and who did care very much which side won the game.
All this talk was brought to an end when Darius Ayres, the captain of the Calumets, stood up at the bat and made ready for the first play. Darius was a tall and shapely young fellow, renowned for his long-field hits, and a swift runner. He had an evil look in his eyes, as some of the Catalpa visitors thought, and when he struck a straight ball, like a cannon shot, to right field, there was a little shudder in one of the private boxes. But John Brubaker,always alert, captured it on a hard run. This put the Catalpas in good spirits at once. The game had opened well for them. "Two good signs, Alice," said Ida Boardman. "Won the toss and caught out the first man!"
John's clever catch did not pass unnoticed, for the numerous supporters of the Catalpas raised a little cheer which was taken up and continued around the enclosure as Sam Morse went to the bat for the home club. But Samuel fared no better than his captain, and retired on a short and easy fly to Ben Burton. The first half of the inning was ended by John Handy, who hit a hot grounder to Larry Boyne at third base. Larry mastered it in fine style and made a lightning throw to Hiram Porter on first base. The eyes of the visitors and their friends fairly sparkled as the Catalpas came in from the field. They had made a good beginning.
But no sooner had the nine reached the players' bench than Ben Burton began to criticise the manner in which honest John Brubaker had been rewarded for capturing what Ben was pleased to call "a two-old-cat fly." Larry, politely requesting Burton to be civil, picked up his bat and faced the pitching of the renowned Sam Morse. He made two ineffectual plunges at the ball, and, while the catcher of the Calumets was adjusting his mask so as to enable him to come up closer to the player, Larry stole a glance at his comrades and was mortified and annoyed to see a derisive smile on the blonde face of Ben Burton, whilethe other seven occupants of the bench wore an uneasy expression. Ben Burton was evidently making them uncomfortable. Larry moistened his hands, and, carefully gauging one of Morse's favorite in-shoots, hit the ball with all his might. The flying sphere went swiftly into the left field and yielded the stalwart third base man of the Catalpas two bases. Alice involuntarily clapped her hands, happily unmindful of the sour looks of her observant aunt.
Sam Morrison next stood up before the redoubtable Morse, and hit an easy grounder to Glenn Otto, at short stop, and Samuel was retired at first base. His shot, however, advanced Larry to third base, and Neddie Ellis took up the bat. But Neddie could not yet understand the puzzling curves of the Calumet's pitcher, and, having wildly struck the air three times, went out. This made two out for the Catalpas, with Larry Boyne anxiously waiting on the third base. Not long did he wait, however, for Charlie King, long of limb and keen of eye, came to the bat with great expectations on the part of the sons of Catalpa. Charlie thought favorably of the first ball pitched at him by Morse and he sent it flying to the center field for one base, and allowed Larry to come home amidst a little round of applause from the Catalpa section of the spectators. During the cheer that greeted the successful play, Charlie attempted to steal to second base but was thrown out by Billy Webb, and the ardor of the spirits of Catalpa was consequently soon dampened.
The Calumets now went to work with a will at the beginning of their second inning, and, after receiving some hints from Jamie Kennedy, who assumed to know a little about the mysteries of King's curves, Robert Peabody, the Calumet's right fielder, a Michigan University man and a famous athlete, handled the bat and called for a low ball from the pitcher of the Catalpas. This was delivered, but not where Rob had asked for it, and he politely refused to strike at it, muttering to Captain Darius, "I won't strike until I get one just knee-high." Charlie King overheard this little byplay and continued to put the ball in the vicinity of Peabody's shoulder until the umpire called "six balls." It was now about time for King to give the Chicago player a good ball, but Peabody could not be tempted to strike at it, after being ordered by his captain to try and take his base on called balls. The result was that tricky Charlie King delivered three balls in rapid succession just where the dissatisfied right fielder of the Calumets had requested them, and the umpire called, "One strike!" "Two strikes!" "Three strikes!" "Striker out!"
The ashen stick was then taken up by Tom Shoff, who sent the ball in the direction of Ben Burton at short stop, and who fumbled it, dropping it several times as if it were a hot potato, allowing Tom to reach first base in safety. Next, Glenn Otto hit a ball to Hiram Porter who fielded it handsomely, putting out the striker but allowing Shoff to go to second base. While Jamie Kennedy was at the bat, a passed ball allowed Shoff to complete three quarters of his homeward journey. With two out and a man on third base, CaptainPorter naturally felt alarmed. He cautioned his men to be cool and careful, "especially cool," he added. After two strikes were called on Kennedy, he solved one of Charlie King's in-shoots and, to the delight of the Chicago on-lookers, sent the ball rolling in center field while Shoff sped swiftly homewards; and the score stood 1 and 1. The Calumet's half of the inning was ended by the retiring of Webb on a foul fly to "The Lily," as Bill Van Orman was now universally called. The Catalpa boys were not disheartened; they had confidence in each other, and they went to work again with a determination to try and recover what they had lost. In the second inning, however, they found themselves unsuccessful. Hart Stirling was fielded out at first base by Jamie Kennedy; John Brubaker, following him, met with the same fate, being thrown out at first by Glenn Otto; and Hiram Porter ended the inning by hitting a sky-scraper to James McWilliams at left field.
There was intense depression in the Catalpa section and among the nine of that famous town; only the face of Larry Boyne still bore any semblance of contentment. Larry smiled with his attempt to infuse a little more hopefulness into the Catalpa bosom. And looking to the box where Mr. Heaton's tall white hat towered conspicuously, he caught an answering smile from the young lady who carried a blue parasol.
The score now stood even at even innings, and the faces of the Chicago players wore a broad smile of complacency in place of the gloomy look that had previously been theircharacteristic expression. Full of confidence, James McWilliams picked out his favorite bat and faced "Tricky Charlie," as they had already dubbed the pitcher of the visitors. King was determined to retire this particular player, as "Mac" had often expressed a desire to "take the conceit out of that chap from Catalpa." Charlie did some of his fine work for the occasion and his friend McWilliams threw down his bat in disgust, after hearing the third strike called by the umpire; and Captain Darius Ayres, with a look of vengeful determination, took the place vacated by his club mate. He hit a sharp grounder between first and second bases and reached the first bag. At this point of the game, the boys from Catalpa had lost some of the hope that they had cherished at the beginning of the contest; and they were not cheered in the least by a sarcastic smile that adorned the face of their short stop, Ben Burton, who appeared to be almost glad that the chances of his own club were diminishing, instead of increasing.
Even from her distant point of vantage, Alice Howell, scanning Ben's sour face through her field glass, saw with uneasiness that forbidding look and said, in a tragic whisper to her companion, "Ida, if that scamp could throw the game, I believe he is mean enough to do it."
Sam Morse made a base hit to the right field, and Ayres went safely home to third base, while Morse stole to second base. With second and third bases occupied and but one man out, the Catalpas did not feel in jovial mood, andthe deputy sheriff of Dean County looked around upon the bright faces of the local spectators with the air of one who is indignant at an outrage which he is powerless to abate.
The next man to the bat was John Handy, who had the reputation of being "a slugger," and as he called out in a stern voice, "Give me a low ball, and I'll knock it's cover off," some of the excitable players quaked in their shoes; but Hiram Porter quieted his men by saying, in a low tone of voice, "Keep cool, fellows! keep cool and we will double them up yet!" Handy hit the ball, the first that was delivered him, and it went like a rocket to Larry Boyne at third base. That young gentleman was ready to receive it, and by making a difficult one-hand catch, he succeeded in making a double play as Ayres had vacated third base without once dreaming that Larry would be able to capture the ball.
Ben Burton came now to the bat for the Catalpas, in this inning; but Ben had not established a very good reputation as a batsman, and his speedy retiring on a foul ball excited no remark. "The Lily" took his place at the bat and at once gave evidence of his prowess by hitting the ball for two bases which he made with neatness and despatch. Larry Boyne followed him and gently tipped the sphere for a single base-hit, without ado, whereat "The Lily" slipped to third base. The spectators eyed Sam Morrison as he swung his bat over his shoulder and strode to the home plate. Sam was a stocky, well-built young fellow, with a well-shapedhead and shoulders, and a fine pair of very long arms. He was anxious to do something to send up the score of the Catalpas, but he sent up nothing but a small fly to Morse, and he was at once succeeded by Neddie Ellis, the rather diminutive center fielder of the Catalpa Nine. Neddie owed the club three base hits, as he thought, and was falling behind in his batting record as the season had advanced. He moistened his hands and, with the avowed intention of losing the ball, he made a plunge, and, as Al Heaton from his perch remarked, "hit the ball on the nose" and sent it flying over the center fielder's head. After Larry and "The Lily" had cleared the home plate, Neddie tried his best to make a home run. Tommy Shoff, however, handled the ball in clever fashion, and by fielding it quickly, caught Neddie at the home plate, ending the inning and making the score three to one in favor of the Catalpas.
A murmur of applause, mingled with the little buzz which always follows the close of an inning, like a sigh of relief, went around as the Catalpas went to the field with light hearts. Two or three of the baser sort of the gambling on-lookers jeered the visitors with derisive remarks, but this indiscretion was speedily suppressed. "Fair play for the visitors" was the watchword of the day. The Catalpa boys disposed of their opponents at the opening of the fourth inning without allowing them to send a man around the circuit. In fact, not a player of the Calumet club reached first base in safety during this inning. Rob Peabody secured first base on calledballs, and was followed at the bat by Shoff who hit a grounder to Hart Stirling, at second base, and who delivered the ball in fine style to his captain on first base, after making a neat pick-up. Glenn Otto managed, by great craftiness, to send the ball outside of the diamond with tremendous force, but he lifted it too high and he fell a victim to Sam Morrison's alertness in the left field.
Jamie Kennedy, who succeeded at the bat, also gave the ball a tremendous whack, but he, too, lifted it too high, and Neddie Ellis, in center field, captured it without serious difficulty. The Catalpa club, in this inning, was obliged to be contented with a zero, and Ben Burton's face was a puzzling study to Alice Howell and her friend Ida, who scanned the unconscious Benjamin through their glass, as if his tell-tale countenance were an indicator of the progress of the game. This time, they could not make out whether the Catalpa short stop was pleased by the ill fortune of his own club, or dismayed by the advancing prospects of the Chicago boys. They gave up the riddle with disgust.
There was yet no real occasion for dismay, although there was when Charlie King began the work of going out by hitting a slow ball to Darius Ayres at first base, and Hart Stirling followed his example by a foul tip to Charlie Webb. John Brubaker, "Honest John," as he was called, hit the ball with all his might and had covered half the circuit before he realized that the sphere had gone outside of the foul flags. He made a second attempt, however, and was retired withouthitting the ball, Sam Morse's out-curves being more intricate than anything that he had yet encountered. Honest John's inglorious withdrawal closed the inning.
The Calumets sent Webb first to the bat at the opening of the next inning, but Charlie was not fortunate. He hit the ball several times, and it went high in air, and escaped the vigilance of the Catalpas. But Webb sent up one foul too many and the watchful and agile Larry Boyne captured it, after a hard run. James McWilliams for the second time faced Charlie King's pitching, and as he left his seat, said, "Boy's, I'll eat clover for a week if I don't hit him safely this time." Mac had fire in his eye, and his look and his remark did not escape the attention of Charlie King, who, turning to his captain, slyly promised to give the Chicago man an opportunity to make good his promise. King kept his word, and, by cunning pitching, retired McWilliams on strikes after six balls were charged against him.
Captain Darius Ayres hit safely to the left field, but it was too late, as Sam Morse ruined all chances of the scoring of the Calumets by sending a fly which was neatly caught by Hart Stirling at second base. The Catalpas also failed to add any runs to their score in the fifth inning. At this point, Sam Morse was pitching in admirable style and it was with difficulty that the visitors could hit the ball at all. Morse had a very effectual out-curve, and he had made good use of it during the last two innings.
Captain Hiram Porter went to the bat with some of theconfidence that he had tried to inspire in the breasts of his comrades, but he failed to accomplish his dearest desire, and went out on the strikes successively called by the umpire. He was followed by Ben Burton, who walked up to the batsman's position with a lazy and indifferent manner, hit the ball in an off-hand fashion, and had the pleasure of seeing it fielded by Glenn Otto, and was retired at first base. Here "The Lily" made a desperate attempt to achieve a home run, and he probably would have been successful if he had hit the ball far enough into the out-field, judging from the manner in which he "sprinted" to first base on a slow ball which was readily fielded by Jamie Kennedy.
"This is our lucky inning," said Captain Ayres to John Handy, as the latter started to face the pitching of Charlie King in the sixth inning. "Here, take my bat for luck," he added, "and see if you can't use it to advantage." Handy accepted the offer of the captain's club and used it with good effect. He called for a high ball, caught King off his guard as he struck, and so secured a good hit on the very first ball, and made first base. Rob Peabody followed and hit a liner to Neddie Ellis who misjudged the distance, and the ball went over his head and allowed Rob to make two bases, while Handy got safely home. This put the figures three to two in favor of the Catalpas and seemed to inspire the Calumets with new confidence, their captain remarking with glee, "I told you this was our lucky inning."
Right here, however, Tommy Shoff went out on a fly toLarry Boyne, and "The Lily" caught a sharp foul tip from the bat of Glenn Otto, which left Peabody on second base and two men out. The prospects of the home nine were not brightening.
Next to the bat came Jamie Kennedy, who tried his best to make a short right field hit that should send his colleague safely home, as Peabody was a good base runner and needed only "half a chance" to make a home run. Jamie hit the ball in the right direction, but his blow was a trifle too hard and the ball was cleverly caught by John Brubaker at right field, and this left the game still three to two in favor of the Catalpas. The latter did not, however, feel safe with so small a lead, and they thought it prudent to send several more men around the circuit of the bases, if possible. Larry Boyne was the first man to the bat for the Catalpas in the sixth inning, and he secured his base on called balls, but fell before Charlie Webb's throwing, while trying to steal to the second bag. Sam Morrison struck out, and Neddie Ellis ended the inning by sending up a sky-scraper which was nicely nipped, just in the nick of time, apparently, by Rob Peabody.
In the seventh inning, both clubs failed to score. Webb hit a ball in the direction of Ben Burton who made an overthrow to first base. McWilliams followed and hit a short one to Hart Stirling at second base, who, with the aid of Hiram Porter, made a very pretty double play. Darius Ayres secured his base on called balls, stole to second base,but was left there, as Sam Morse retired on strikes. Not one of the Catalpa players reached first base. Charlie King and Hart Stirling both went out on flies, the former to Tom Shoff and the latter to Glenn Otto. John Brubaker failed to hit the ball and was consequently called out on strikes.
"The Calumets have everything to gain and nothing to lose," remarked Mr. Heaton, sagely, as he regarded the field from the box from which the little party of interested Catalpans overlooked the beautiful scene below. The yellow sun, now declining westward, tinted the woodwork of the stands and enclosures with a golden hue, and a breeze from the lake flaunted the many-colored flags that adorned the structure. The yellow light only intensified the brilliant greenness of the lawn, on which the Diamond Field was laid, and the brilliant costumes of the players were tricked out with a new and strange luster as the sunshine rained down through veiling mists. But the absorbed spectators, as well as the intensely engrossed players in the field below, had no eyes for the picture. Every eye was fixed on John Handy, as he went to the bat for the Calumets. It was felt that they would take desperate chances. On the next few plays might turn the issue of the game. Silence as complete as if there was not a soul in the vast enclosure reigned as Handy took his place at the bat.
He placed the ball safely in the center field and was followed by Peabody who also gained a single hit, sending the ball into the left field. The next ball was hit to Ben Burtonby Shoff. Ben was unable to handle the ball properly, and Hart Stirling came to his rescue and as Ben dropped it out of his hands, Stirling picked it up and sent it to first base in time to head off Shoff. At this point in the game, only one man was out and the second and third bases were occupied. A trifling error would tie the game. A single base hit would give the Calumets the lead. The attention with which the play was now regarded from the seats was something almost painful in its tenseness.
Glenn Otto stood before Charlie King's pitching with a look of resolution and defiance. He had been ordered not to strike at a ball until it was put where he asked for it, and to take the chances of the catcher of the Catalpas having a passed ball charged to him. In this little scheme there was one error. King very well knew the purpose of his opponent, and he managed his own points so well that, before Otto could realize what was about to happen, King had him out on strikes.
Jamie Kennedy was the next man to fall before the destructive tactics now followed by the Catalpas. Jamie hit a sharp ball to Larry Boyne, who, with characteristic skill, retired him at first base. This clever bit of play took a load from the hearts of the Catalpas, and, in the excitement of the moment, Deputy Sheriff Wheeler ejaculated "Gosh all hemlock!" whereupon everybody in that region laughed, as if glad of a pretext to slacken their attention from the play for an instant.
But the riveted intentness of the spectators was at once resumed as the boys of Catalpa went to the bat in the eighth inning, and succeeded in placing another run to their credit. Hiram Porter hit to Kennedy at second base, and was retired at first base. Ben Burton followed his example and "The Lily" finally secured the home run which he had been looking for ever since he had left Catalpa. "The Lily" had many strong points, but base-running was not one of them. He had two strikes called on the first two balls pitched, and then made ready for the third, and, as the ball curved in, he stepped backwards a few inches and hit it with all his might, which was a great deal, for "The Lily" was a man of brawn and muscle. The ball flew over the center fielder's head like a rifle-shot and Bill covered the entire circuit with ease, winning an irrepressible and resounding burst of applause from the multitudes that crowded the amphitheater.
"Splendid, Bill! perfectly splendid!" cried Alice Howell, wholly oblivious of the fact that there were other people than herself in the circle about her. Mr. Heaton looked around with admiration at the impulsive girl, while the dignified maiden aunt glanced into the next box to see if anybody had caught the words of her erratic ward and niece. While this little byplay went on, Alice's eyes were fixed on Larry Boyne who ended the eighth inning by sending a fly ball to McWilliams and so going out.
The score now stood four to two in favor of the Catalpas.To his infinite chagrin, Captain Ayres saw defeat staring him in the face. Hastily calling his men about him, he held a hurried consultation, as they came in from the field. He said,
"Boys, we must take all the chances this time. They lead us two runs, and, in order at least to tie them, you must trust to errors, and, above all things, do not hug the bases."
Captain Darius was right in this particular, and the men obeyed his instructions to the letter in regard to hugging the bases; but it was impossible for them to show any sign of insubordination, as not a man went beyond the first base. Every member of the Calumet club was retired as fast as he went to the bat. Charlie Webb gayly faced "tricky Charlie," and hit the first ball pitched. It went sailing out of the Diamond and into the hands of Sam Morrison. The second victim was McWilliams who failed to take down the pride of King, as he had promised himself that he would; and Charlie felt prouder than ever as he sent his formidable antagonist to the players' bench, put out on strikes.
Darius Ayres made several ineffectual attempts to hit the sphere, and at last struck the ball fairly, but Larry Boyne was prepared for its coming his way. Running backwards, with his eye fixed on the little black speck that dropped out of the clouds with lightning-like swiftness, Larry moved over the turf without seeming to move. Ida Boardman so far forgot herself as to cry out, at this critical juncture, "Catchit! catch it!" The sphere fell into Larry's hardened hand with a resounding thud, and with a fervent "Heaven bless you!" the young lady sunk back into her seat, while a prodigious cheer, frightening to flight the sparrows that twittered on the edges of the structure, and faintly heard far out by sailors on the lake, proclaimed the contest ended with a famous victory for the Catalpa Nine.
"IDA BOARDMAN SO FAR FORGOT HERSELF AS TO CRY OUT AT THIS CRITICAL JUNCTURE: 'CATCH IT! CATCH IT!'"—Page 136.
The band broke forth into a pæan of triumph, and while the majority of the spectators began to shuffle out with eager haste, a few, other than the delighted visitors from Catalpa, remained to gaze with undisguised admiration on the stalwart and handsome young fellows who had so unexpectedly won the day.
The two captains, as the game was concluded, advanced towards each other with outstretched hands.
"Your men are capital players," said Hiram Porter, a glow suffusing his cheek, "and I consider it a great honor to have defeated them."
"Aye, aye," said Captain Ayres, not without a wince. "It is a little hard for our boys to be defeated after playing a game without errors; but your victory was due to lucky batting, and it does not signify that your men are the better players. We will try and turn the tables to-morrow."
The visitors gave three cheers and a tiger for their opponents, and then retired from the field. It would be useless to attempt to describe the thrill and the suppressed exultation with which they read on the bulletin boards ofthe city newspaper offices, as they went to their lodgings, the following score:—
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Calumets0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 =2.Catalpas1 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 =4.Runs earned—Calumets, 0;Catalpas, 4.Base hits— " 5, " 6.Errors— " 0, " 3.Umpire,Mr. Thomas Walsh.Time of game, two and a half hours.
CHAPTER XII.
AFTER THE VICTORY.
"Theboss says he would be obliged to you if you would make less noise."
It was a tall and red-faced young man who brought this message to the Catalpa Nine, as they were gathered in the room of Captain Hiram Porter, in their lodging-house, after the great match game. Al Heaton had hurried to join the boys, as soon as he had sent to Catalpa his despatch announcing the result of the contest in the most glowing terms consistent with the rate of telegraph tolls and the needed conciseness of a despatch. All hands were in that flow of animal spirits that might have been expected from nearly a dozen young fellows who are elated over a great victory and who have laboriously repressed their jubilation until they are alone.
"There! I told you, boys, that your skylarking would bring up the landlord. Oh, I say, Neddie, quit your fooling. You can't throw 'The Lily,' if you try all night; and we are making such a racket that the whole house is disturbed." This was Captain Porter's admonition.
"Besides," said Larry Boyne, who was panting with the unwonted exertion of boosting Charlie King over the headboard of the bedstead, where Charlie was determined he would not go, "besides all that, it's time for you and me, Hi, to get ready to go out to dinner."
"Where are you two fellows going to dinner?" demanded half a dozen voices at once. "Are you going to throw off on us in that way?"
Captain Hiram explained that he and Larry had accepted an invitation to take dinner with Judge Morris, with whose family Mr. Heaton and Albert were staying during the progress of the games in Chicago. The Morrises, he added, lived on the north side of the river, and he and Larry should be ready to start, instead of "cutting up" to show how tickled they were with their recent victory.
"But 'twas a famous victory," quoted Larry, "for all that, and I would just as soon stay with the boys and celebrate it as go out to dine with Judge Morris, who, they say, is a heavy swell."
"I happen to know that Miss Alice Howell and her friend Miss Ida are stopping with the Morrises, Larry," said Ben Burton, with an unpleasant leer, "and you and Hiram will be in clover; so you can afford to shake us until the next game."
Larry grew very red in the face at this, and there was a dangerous gleam in Hiram Porter's eye as he noted the ill-natured scowl on Burton's countenance. He restrainedhimself, however, and said, "Why do you continually harp on the Judge's daughter, Ben? The young lady is from our own town, and she is more interested in the success of the Catalpas than some of its members, I reckon; at least, I think so, judging from appearances."
"What do you mean by that, Hi Porter?" demanded Ben, hotly. "You have insinuated that sort of thing too many times in my hearing. And I want you to understand that you can't put on any captain's airs over me, now that we are off the field. I am my own master for to-night anyway."
"Come, come, boys," interposed Larry, soothingly. "Don't let us mar the enjoyment of this evening by lugging in any old quarrels or little differences. We shall all have to pull together to-morrow, if we are to beat the Calumets. They are going to give us a stiff brush, and you may depend on that. Come, Hiram, let's be off."
Burton said something, sullenly and indistinctly, about the certainty of the defeat of the Catalpas, to-morrow, which caught the ear of "The Lily," who, still puffing with the effects of his tussle with Neddie Ellis, was regarding the malcontent Ben with an expression of wonder on his good-natured face. He slowly dropped out a few words of comment, in his usual fashion, upon Burton's unfriendly attitude and then added:
"I say, I wonder why you don't give up playing base ball, since you find so little fun in it. 'Pears to me you areall the time out 'o sorts—like. You don't enjoy good health, Ben, and that's what is the matter along of you. Now, why do you think that the Calumets are going to get away with us, to-morrow?"
But before Ben could form a reply and cover the confusion that crept over his face, Neddie Ellis, who was the universal favorite of the club, broke in with, "Oh, I say, boys, do you know what these Chicago people call us? why they call us 'The Cats.' That's short for Catalpas, I suppose. We ought to call the Calumets 'The Cads,' and I guess that would be getting even."
Under cover of the laugh which this sally raised, Hiram, Larry, and young Heaton departed to fulfil their engagement on the north side, Ben Burton looking after them with a darkened countenance.
"Ben is angry because he is not invited to Judge Morris's," said Larry, as the three young fellows stepped lightly off in search of a street car. "He has a jealous temper, and the least thing that looks like a slight sets him off."
"Well," said Albert, "Alice said that the Judge would have liked to have invited the whole nine, if he had had room to entertain them properly; but he hadn't, and so he invited only those with whom the governor was most acquainted."
"To say nothing of Miss Alice?" added Hiram, slyly.
Albert admitted that Miss Alice's wishes were consultedin the matter, and that it was only natural that she, being a visitor, should indicate her preferences in the matter.
"What does it signify, anyhow?" said Larry, a little impatiently. "It seems to me that Ben Burton is ready to fly out at the least provocation. I almost wish we had never thought of going over to Judge Morris's. I am sure I have tried my level best to keep the peace with Ben, but he seems to grow more and more cantankerous every day. To think of raising a breeze over such a trifle as this of our going out to dinner without him! It makes me ashamed of my companionship with him."
The conversation was stopped by their entering a street car where they were entertained by the audible comments of the passengers on the wonderful game that had been played that afternoon. Base ball in Chicago is one of the favorite pastimes of the people. But there was so much of the element of unexpectedness in the result of that day's game that it set the tongues of everybody to wagging. Unknown and in silence, the champions of the Catalpa Nine heard themselves and their playing discussed with great freedom and animation. The general verdict was that "The Cats" would, next day, receive their reward in the shape of a "basket of goose eggs" with which they would depart for home, sadder and wiser for their visit.
"What do you think of that for an opinion, Larry?" asked Hiram, laughingly, as they alighted from the car, one block from their destination. "What do you think ofthe woman in the corner who said that the Calumets were only encouraging us on to our defeat?"
Larry replied that that was precisely what Ben Burton thought, and Hiram ejaculated, "Oh, he does, does he? Then it seems that our short stop and our adversaries, or the friends of our adversaries, agree as to what is going to happen to-morrow."
"Perhaps they are right," said Albert, cheerily. "But here we are," and stopping before a handsome house, he darted up the steps and rang the door bell.
While the lads waited for admission, Larry turned and looked westward, with wistful eyes, and said,
"I wonder how they are taking the news in Catalpa, about now?"
Albert's reply that they were probably having a jollification really described what was at that moment taking place. Tom Selby was the happy recipient of early telegrams from Larry, and the editor ofThe Leafsustained his reputation by putting out bulletins from Al Heaton and his father, at frequent intervals during the progress of the game. The excitement waxed high as the contest proceeded, and when the final result was reached, the town was fairly mad with joy. The event had eclipsed everything of the kind that had happened during the season. Every man who had a flag hung it out to the breeze. Jedediah Van Orman, "The Lily's" father, took up a collection from the willing shopkeepers and bought a supply of powder, with which heproceeded to fire a salute from four anvils, the only artillery then accessible in the town. Victory brooded over Catalpa, and in every house as the red sun went down, that night, there was but one theme of conversation—base ball.
CHAPTER XIII.
PRIDE HAS A FALL.
Fogand dampness covered the city of Chicago, next day, when the Catalpa nine, shivering in the chilly air, loitered the time away before the hour came for their little preliminary practice in the base ball grounds. Somebody said, while Captain Hiram was marshalling his men, that the day was a bad one for Catalpa. At this Larry laughed heartily. "As if," he said, "the gloom of a foggy day was not just as ominous for the Chicago boys as for the Catalpas."
"Oh they are used to it," said Ben Burton, gruffly. Soon after, when the hour for play had arrived, Ben was nowhere to be found. Vainly they looked for him in various nooks and corners of the structure, and they were beginning to ask if he had not been spirited away when he hurried in, looking very flushed and red. When asked somewhat tartly by his captain where he had been, Ben made no answer but took up his bat and marched in with the rest.
"He has been visiting some of those confounded poolrooms, I'll be bound," whispered Sam Morrison, who cordially disliked and actively suspected the Catalpa short stop. But there was no time for discussion. The nine now emerged into the arena.
The sky was brightening as the two nines met, and the crowds in the vast amphitheater, largely reinforced since yesterday, in consequence of the fame of the visiting nine being spread abroad, gave "The Cats" a cheery round of applause as they made their appearance at the entrance to the field. "Keep a stiff upper lip, Larry, old boy," was Albert's heartening injunction as the two friends parted at the doorways. Larry smiled brightly and his eye involuntarily sought the upper box from which he had seemed to draw so much inspiration, the day before. It was empty, and he felt a little pang of disappointment. The momentary feeling of depression was soon dissipated, however, for the serious work of the day was now to begin, and sentimentalities were out of place.
The Catalpas failed to win the toss, whereat Neddie Ellis gave a comical little groan of pain and whispered, facetiously, to Ben Burton, "Another evil sign, Bennie!"
"Yes," replied Ben, gloomily, "the worst yet."
He paid no attention to Neddie's mocking laugh, but took his place on the player's bench, as Larry Boyne took up his bat and advanced to the position in obedience to orders. For the scorer had shouted, "Larry Boyne to the bat, and Sam Morrison on deck!"
As Larry, with an elastic movement of his manly figure, placed himself squarely before Sam Morse, the Calumet's pitcher, he said, "Give me one of your favorite high balls, and I'll try to put it over that netting." Morse, in his turn, squared himself and at once began to deliver a series of hot balls, but all of them too low for the Catalpa player to strike at. But he gave one ball at the desired height, however, and, to use the expression of "The Lily," Larry "hit it squarely on the nose," and placed a base hit to his credit. Sam Morrison profited by his example and put the ball safely in the left field. Neddie Ellis then came up, with a beaming smile on his face, and justified the expectations of the Catalpa delegation in the seats, now largely increased by new arrivals. He hit the ball a resounding thwack which was good for three bases, and sent in two runs, Larry and Morrison reaching the home plate with ease.
Charlie King was the first man to be put out; he hit the ball, which was a sharp one, to John Handy at third base, and that active young man mastered it in fine style and retired Charlie at first base. The hit, however, proved to be of value as it sent Neddie Ellis safely across the goal and was the means of tallying the third run for the visiting nine. Hart Stirling went out on a foul ball to Charlie Webb, and John Brubaker sent up a sky-scraper which was captured by McWilliams in the left field. This ended the first half of the first inning, and, with light hearts and radiant faces, the Catalpas went to the field.
As Larry took his position at third base, he glanced furtively toward the draped box on the right of the grand stand. At that moment, a blue parasol was unfurled, for the sun now broke forth from the clouds and mist. One glance was all that he could spare, but it was enough. "She has come," he said to his secret heart.
The Calumets, on the other hand, were coming in from the field with looks of consternation which did not escape the attention of the coldly critical young ladies in the upper box. Scanning them through her glass, Alice declared that they looked as if they were going to a funeral, and Deputy Sheriff Wheeler, far around on the other side of the enclosure, in the more democratic open seats, said very much the same thing.