Fast Nine; or, A Challenge from Fairfield Page 9

  CHAPTER VII.

  MORE WORK ON THE DIAMOND.

  WHEN Lil Artha showed up on the field that afternoon, clad in his oldbaseball suit that showed the wear and tear of many a battle, he had hiscamera slung over his shoulder with a strap.

  "Want to take the nine in action?" asked Elmer, as he noted this fact,and paused in his delivery of the ball to the catcher, Mark Cummings.

  "Oh, I might, if the signs were right, and they showed that theydeserved all that sort of attention," replied the tall scout, "but I'vemade up my mind about one thing, Elmer."

  "What might that be?" asked the other, smiling at his friend'sseriousness.

  "I'm going to carry this little box around with me day and night, that'swhat. Just the time you want it most you haven't got it along," declaredLil Artha, with a look of sheer disgust.

  "Well, I always heard that a fellow could see all sorts of game when hedidn't happen to have a gun," laughed Elmer; "and I suppose the samething goes with a camera. But I can guess what's ailing you now, myboy."

  "Of course you can," grinned the other. "Say, just think what it wouldmean to you and me if we only had a picture of Toby Jones kicking theair up in that old tree, and learning to swim! Wow, no chance of us evergetting the blues while we had that to look at! It would have been thefunniest ever. And to think it's all lost to us, just because I wassilly enough to leave my box at home. Shucks!"

  "Don't suppose Toby would pose it over again, do you?" suggested LarryBillings, who was passing a ball with Matty Eggleston, the leader of theBeaver Patrol, and one of the reliables in the nine.

  "Well, hardly," Lil Artha replied. "I reckon Toby got enough of hangingthat time to last him right along. Is he here this afternoon?"

  "Sure he is, and as chipper as ever. Only grins when anybody tries tojosh him about flying. Nothing ever feases that feller. He comes upagain after every knockdown, as fresh as a daisy. Says he's going togive the old town a sensation some day before long. And he means it,too," remarked one of the other boys near by.

  Elmer and Lil Artha exchanged meaning glances, and presently the lattermanaged to whisper to his companion of the morning:

  "Did you do it, Elmer?"

  "I asked my father what I ought to do, and he sent me over to tell Mr.Jones the whole story, because all sorts of yarns were going around, andhe said Toby's mother might hear something awful had happened, and befrightened."

  "And what did Mr. Jones say?" continued Lil Artha.

  "He laughed a little," replied Elmer, then looked serious like. "Irather expect he'll put a crimp in Toby's flying business after this,though up to now he's rather encouraged the boy, thinking it was smartin him. Now he sees the danger. But get out in the field, and throw in afew from first, old fellow."

  The scene was an animated one, with boys in uniform and without, bangingout high flies, passing balls, and exercising generally. It reallyseemed as though every one in the town who could get off must be therethat afternoon to see how the Hickory Ridge team gave promise of playingwhen up against the strong Fairfield nine.

  Girls had come down in flocks, and not a few men were present, amongwhom Elmer noticed his old friend, Colonel Hitchins.

  This fact caused him to remember something, and the sight of hiscatcher, Mark Cummings, fitted right in with his thoughts. ApparentlyMark had also noticed the presence of the Colonel, for after throwing uphis hand as a signal that he had had enough of practice for the timebeing, he advanced toward Elmer, and was presently speaking in a lowtone to him.

  "See who's here, Elmer?" he asked.

  "Well, I notice a lot of mighty pretty girls for one thing," smiled theother.

  "You know I don't mean them, or any particular girl," replied thecatcher, who was a singularly modest lad as well as a handsome one."Over yonder in that bunch--the old colonel!"

  "Oh, yes, I noticed him a bit ago," remarked Elmer. "But that isn'tsurprising. He's always taken a heap of interest in boys' sports, andused to play baseball many years ago, he says, when it was a new game.He told me he was in a nine that played the old Cincinnati Reds thefirst year they ever had a league. And that was a long time ago, Mark."

  "You're right, it was, Elmer; but when I saw the colonel it reminded methat so far I haven't done anything about finding out how that lost capof mine happened to be picked up under his peach trees, when I droppedit a mile away, over on the bank of the Sunflower."

  "I heard that two men had been arrested, charged with stealing thosepeaches," Elmer remarked.

  "Yes, that's so, for they were silly enough to sell the fruit to PhilDongari, the man who keeps the biggest fruit store in town. ColonelHitchins could tell his prize peaches anywhere, so he went and boughtthem back again; and getting a line on the men, had them put in the towncooler, where they are yet."

  "Just so, Mark; that's ancient history," smiled Elmer; "but as you sayit doesn't do the first thing along the line of explaining how your capgot under those same trees, does it?"

  "But, Elmer, I'm relying on you to get a move on and find out somethingbefore the trail gets cold," argued Mark.

  "That sounds pretty fine, my boy," observed Elmer; "but what makes youbelieve I can do anything to help out? You've got all the advantages Ihave."

  "That's so," admitted Mark; "only I'm a greenhorn about following atrail, and you know heaps. Besides, something in your manner seems totell me you've already got a hunch on about this thing."

  "Oh, that's the way you look at it, eh?" mocked Elmer.

  "Yes, I haven't been going with you all this time not to know how toread your face and actions," replied Mark, boldly. "And it's my honestopinion right now that if you chose you could put your finger on theculprit."

  "Thank you for your confidence, my boy; but I'm not quite so dead sureas you make out," returned Elmer.

  "But you _think_ you know?" protested Mark.

  "I believe I've got a good clew; I admit that, Mark."

  "Were you over there again?" demanded the other.

  "Now you're referring to where you lost your old cap, I take it?" Elmersaid in a noncommittal way.

  "That's just what I mean--over on the bank of the Sunflower, where LilArtha began kidding me, and in consequence my cap fell off. You rodeover on your wheel, didn't you, Elmer?"

  "Well, yes, I did," the other admitted; "but not like you, to look forthe cap, because at the time I went I happened to know it had beenfound, and you had it at home."

  "Then why should you bother going all that way over a rough path? Holdon, let me change that question, because I see why you wanted to lookover the ground. Did you find anything there to tell you who picked thatcap up?" and Mark looked directly in the face of his chum.

  "If I did you needn't expect that I'm going to tell you about it tillI'm good and ready," laughed Elmer. "And that will be inside oftwenty-four hours, perhaps. This is Saturday, and by Monday night I hopeI'll be in a position to show you something interesting. Just bottle uptill then, my boy. And now there's the scrub team going out, so we havelost the toss and must take our first turn at bat."

  Mark knew that it would be useless trying to urge his chum to relent.Elmer no doubt had some good reason for holding off longer. So, althoughhe was very anxious to learn the solution of the mystery connected withhis cap, Mark put the matter out of his mind for the time being andprepared to play ball.

  The game was, as before, hotly contested.

  Johnny Kline, as captain of the scrub, bent every energy to beating theregulars, and pitched as he had never done before. But Elmer was also infine fettle on this bright Saturday afternoon. His speed was better thanever; and when in pinches he floated the ball up in one of thosetantalizing drops, he had the heaviest slugger guessing and beating theair in a vain attempt to connect.

  The crowd numbered several hundreds, and they were as ready to applaudany clever work on the part of the scrub players as Lil Artha's team.And with such a host of pretty high-school girls present every fellowstrove to do his best in order to merit t
he hand clapping that followedevery bit of fine play.

  For five innings the score stood at nothing to nothing. Elmer was equalto each and every crisis, and somehow the boys back of him did not seemable to solve the puzzling delivery of Johnny Kline any better than thescrub team did that of the scout pitcher.

  In the sixth there came a break. Lil Artha led off with a rousing twobagger, and the next man up, who happened to be Chatz Maxfield, sent himto third with a clever sacrifice, for which he was noted.

  Then along came Red, who was equal to the emergency, and whipped out atremendous fly which the fielder caught handsomely, but tumbled all overhimself in so doing; and of course the long-legged first baseman had nodifficulty in getting home before the ball could be returned to thediamond. Indeed, Lil Artha was such a remarkable runner that once he gothis base his club counted on a tally three times out of four.

  That broke the ice, and in the innings that followed the boys took sweetrevenge on Johnny's benders, smashing them to all parts of the fielduntil the spectators were roaring with laughter and a halt had to becalled to let the overworked fellow in center come in to get a revivingdrink of water.

  The result of the game was a score of eleven to two, and neither ofthese runs for the scrub were earned, but presented to them on errors inthe field.

  "It looks good to me," remarked Red Huggins, as he and several others ofthe scouts plodded homeward after the conclusion of the game. "If we cando as clever work on Monday as we did this afternoon, those Fairfieldgiants won't have a show for their money."

  "And that's what we're going to do, just you make your mind up to it,"declared Lil Artha. "And to think what a great catch our Toby made whenhe had to run and jump into the air for that liner. Shows he's all tothe good, no matter if he did get such a bounce this morning. We'd misshim if he took a notion to fly away between now and Monday P.M.," andthe speaker cast a side glance toward the right fielder, who was limpingalong, talking over the game with Ty Collins.

  "Oh, there are several good fellows just waiting for a chance to breakin!" declared Red; "Larry Billings, for instance, who can hit 'em some;Jack Armitage, who is nearly as swift as Lil Artha on the bases; andGeorge Robbins, who knows how to rattle a pitcher to beat the band. Iguess we don't need to worry, since we've got plenty of good materialhandy in case of accidents."

  "But Toby isn't going to fail us," asserted Elmer. "He's too good ascout not to know his duty in this crisis. For we've just got to beatthat Fairfield crowd this time, or we'll never hear the end of it."

  "Don't worry, fellows; if we play like we did to-day we'll have theirnumber, all right. Wait till you see how Elmer teases their heavybatters with that drop of his! There'll be need of a lot of dope afterthe game, for the arms that swing nearly out of joint swiping the air.Wow, don't I wish to-morrow was Monday, though!" and Lil Artha gavefurther emphasis to his wrought-up feelings by a certain gesture thatwas one of his peculiarities.

  "I've heard lots of people say Hickory Ridge never had so fast a ninebefore," remarked Matty.

  "Thspare our blushes, pleath!" laughed Ted Burgoyne, who could neverconquer that hissing habit that caused him to lisp, though no one everheard him admit the fact, which he always vigorously denied.

  It was a jolly and well-satisfied party of athletes that journeyed backto town from the field where the game was played. Even the members ofthe badly beaten scrub could not but feel a certain pride in the work ofthe regulars, and declared that if the boys could only do as well in thegame with Fairfield there need be no fear of the result.

  And luckily Sunday would come as a day of rest before the match game atBasking Ridge was to take place.