CHAPTER XXIXTHE ANGER OF THE NINE
“Do you fellows believe I meant to hit Dan?” asked Gus, as he joined the boys and walked beside them on the way to the dressing-room.
“What makes you think we do?” asked Ned.
“Do you think I intended to hit you, Dan?” asked Gus, turning to the young pitcher.
“You did hit me,” said Dan quietly.
“I know I did; but you can believe me or not, I didn’t mean to. I’ll own up that I threw the ball hard, but I thought, of course, you saw me.”
As Dan did not reply, Ned said to Gus, “Have you any idea what made Walter sick?”
“Why do you ask me that?” retorted Gus.
“He seemed to be suffering from a peculiar trouble. He was deathly sick and then, in a little while, he was all right again. He put up a good game after he went in at short.”
“Do you think I had anything to do with his being sick?”
“I didn’t say you did. I just asked you if you knew what made him sick?”
“I suppose I’m to blame for that error Hodge made in the fifth inning too,” said Gus gruffly. “Ifanything goes wrong, then I’m the one to blame. I don’t know why all the fellows are down on me. I pitched my prettiest after Dan was—after he gave out. I’m to blame for losing the game too, I suppose.”
“We haven’t ‘blamed’ you for anything, Gus,” said Ned warmly. “You’re getting away off the track. All I asked you was whether or not you could give a guess about what made Walter sick. You have switched off on to something else and haven’t said a word about that.”
“What do you want me to say?”
“Whatever you choose.”
“I don’t see why you suspect me of making Walter sick. What earthly reason would I have for wanting to get him out of the game?”
“Was there anyone you wanted to put out of the game?” Ned’s face was flushed and, as he looked straight at Gus while speaking, the latter was unable entirely to conceal his uneasiness.
“Here comes Walter. Ask him if he thinks I tried to poison him,” said Gus.
“Feeling better?” inquired Ned, as the short-stop walked beside him.
“I’m all right now,” said Walter quietly.
“Walter,” said Ned, “we were just asking Gus if he had any idea what it was that made you sick just before the game.”
“Did he tell you?” inquired Walter, as he looked half angrily at Gus.
“He didn’t say you had too much ipecac in the apollinaris.”
“He didn’t say what?” interrupted Walter aghast, staring first at Ned and then at Gus.
“He didn’t say that you got the wrong glass, but——”
“I wish you’d say right out just what you’ve got to say,” broke in Walter peevishly. “I’m not good at riddles.”
“Oh,” said Gus Kiggins with a growl, “the fellows are all down on me. First they say I tried to disable Dan’s pitching arm; then they say Hodge’s error in the fifth was my fault; then the reason why none of them could hit Ingersoll was because I’d fixed it up with him; and now they say I doctored your lemonade and made you sick. Give a dog a bad name——”
“Look here, Gus Kiggins!” broke in Ned with eyes flashing. “You know you’re just talking to hear yourself talk. We happen to know about that ipecac.”
“What about it?”
“You had it all fixed for Dan.”
“Oh, I tried to make Dan sick too, did I?” said Gus in real or pretended scorn. “Next you’ll have me down for trying to poison the whole school. Why should I want to play such a trick as that upon Dan? If you should accuse me of wanting to get Ingersoll out of the game——”
“No use, Gus,” broke in Ned quietly.
“That’s the worst of it. You condemn me without hearing a word.”
“We have heard. We know all about the scheme you and Walter——”
“What ‘scheme’ are you talking about?” shouted Gus.
“Just what I’m telling you. Someone overheard you two talking it over and we decided that we’d just be ready for you.”
“Who heard us?” demanded Gus.
“Never mind. Somebody heard you. That’s enough, isn’t it?”
“Why didn’t we do it then?”
“It wasn’t the fault of either of you that it didn’t go through.”
“What do you mean?”
“That lemonade had been fixed.”
“Then why wasn’t every fellow sick?”
“Because only one fellow was to be——”
“Who was that?”
“Dan.”
“Why didn’t he get sick then?”
“Because we let Walter have the glass intended for Dan.”
“I’d like to know who put any such stuff as that into your heads!” said Gus savagely. “I’d show him——”
The angry young giant stopped abruptly as his eyes fell upon little Carlton Hall who, with great pride, was walking beside Dan. As the glance ofGus fell upon him, Carlton slunk back in terror and clutched Dan by the arm.
“It might help to clear up matters a little if you would kindly explain how it was that Walter happened to be sick after he took the glass which was intended for Dan,” said Ned bitterly.
“There isn’t any use in my saying a word,” declared Gus as he turned away. “You wouldn’t believe me under oath.”
“That’s right!” said Smith, who had not known of the plot, and his surprise and anger were consequently greater.
Gus turned abruptly and for a moment the boys believed he was about to attack Smith, but if that was in his mind he evidently thought better of his purpose as he became aware of the unfriendly glances of all in the group.
“We haven’t come to the end yet,” called Ned as Gus departed.
The indignation of the boys increased as they entered the dressing-room and it might have fared ill with Gus if he had remained with his companions instead of proceeding directly to his own room.
“It’s the worst I ever heard!” said Smith. “I knew that Gus was jealous of Dan, but I didn’t believe even he would stoop to such a low-lived trick as to try to keep him out of the game by feeding him on ipecac! How did you find out about it anyway, Ned?”
“Somebody overheard the talk,” answered Ned glancing at Walter, who had remained with the boys.
Not a word had Walter spoken since he entered the room. His face was colorless and his suffering was manifest to all, but the troubled boy, as he occasionally looked about him, saw only the expression of anger and disgust on every face. Dan too had been silent and his face betrayed an anxiety hardly less than that of Walter’s. In a brief time the boys were dressed and departed.
As they came out of the building Carlton Hall, who had been waiting for Dan, rushed to the side of his friend and seizing his hand said in a low voice, “I’m afraid.”
“What are you afraid of?” asked Dan with a smile.
“Gus Kiggins. When he started for his room he saw me and I thought he was going to strike me.”
“Why didn’t he?”
“I don’t know. He stopped all at once and then went right on.”
“He won’t touch you.”
“Yes, he will! I know he will! He’ll kill me, because he thinks I was the one that heard him talking to Walter.”
“Don’t be scared. If he sees you acting in this way, then he may think you had something to do with it. Run along now and don’t act as if you were frightened. He won’t hurt you.”
Carlton obediently departed, and Dan’s heart, as he watched the little fellow, almost smote him. The boy had developed wonderfully during the school year, but he was a slight lad and not able as yet to fight his own battles. Then too, Dan had spoken more confidently than his real feelings had warranted. He was by no means certain that Gus would not wreak his vengeance upon the boy, who was unable to defend himself. And yet Gus had no knowledge that Carlton had been the informer, and the thought relieved his fear.
“How is your arm, Dan?” inquired Hodge as he joined his friend.
“Sore,” replied Dan lightly.
“It’s a wonder it wasn’t broken. What a low-down, sneaking piece of business that was. Don’t you think Gus did it on purpose?”
“No.”
“You’re too easy. All the fellows know that he had made up his mind that you shouldn’t keep him out of the box. And he got the place too—worse luck! He made us lose the game.”
“No one knows that.”
“Everybody knows it!” retorted Hodge. “The low-lived sneak! I don’t envy him when the school finds out about it. This place will be too hot for Gus Kiggins! It isn’t the first time, either, that he has been up to his dirty tricks.”
“What’s the use, Hodge? If it is all true, why, I’m the one that had the worst of it——”
“When we lost the game?” broke in Hodge. “Not much! If we had won, Gus might have put on a bold face and carried his bluff through, but now he’s a home boy as sure as you’re born. Believe me, he won’t stay around here long.”
Dan would have been less than human if the words of praise and sympathy had not found a warm response in his heart. He had endured the taunts and flings of Gus Kiggins, aware in part that the boy was jealous of him. Seldom had anyone crossed the path of the school bully; those who were not afraid of him preferring to leave him to himself, while those who were afraid seldom disputed his claims. Even Dan, inexperienced as he was, had found that there was a measure of satisfaction in the thought that Gus had vented his anger upon him because he was jealous of the skill that had been shown. Dan knew that if he had displayed no ability in the pitcher’s box, Gus would have ignored him. Among the few words Mr. Borden had spoken to Dan was one warning which had not been forgotten. “Don’t forget,” Mr. Borden had said, “that no man ever does well without somebody being envious of him. The true man understands that and does not let the petty jealousy of others trouble him.”
Dan recalled the words now and the recollection helped him. He was in deep trouble as he thought of Walter. The boy, somehow, had come under the influence of Gus, until his life was poisoned. Whatwould Walter say now? How would he bear the feeling of the school, for there could be no doubt he would share with Gus the indignation all felt. These questions were in Dan’s mind when he went up and found Walter alone in their room.