Burt L. Standish

“ Without good backing I can’t hope to get away with that game. Only for old Brad behind the pan to steady me and assist me in working the batters I fear I’d make a pretty poor showing. In most cases the success of a pitcher depends on the sort of catcher he works with.”
“Oh, dear, partner, let up on that!” exclaimed the Texan, really confused. “You know you can pitch ball without any old catcher at all behind the pan.”
“Yes, I can pitch, but I can’t win games, Brad. To win games I need the backing of the whole team, and the man I depend on most is the man behind the bat.” ”

“ One balmy morning Dick Merriwell met Billings on the campus. Walter squinted at Dick through his spectacles and then stopped short and called to him.
“Hello, Merriwell,” he said, shaking the freshman’s hand. “How’s trix? Everything going all right?”
“First-rate,” was the cheerful answer.
“But you’re pitching your arm off, boy. Now don’t tell me you’re not. You’re doing too much. You’ll hurt yourself.”
“I’m pretty careful of that arm,” laughed Dick. “I watch it and care for it as if it were a baby. I don’t think I’ll injure it, Billings.” ”

“ He could feel his fingers slipping on the smooth, moist rail of the launch—slipping, slipping, slipping. Above him bent the face of a fellow who hated him with an intensity that was really deadly. Lynch was a vindictive, revengeful fellow, who would stop at nothing in order to injure a person who had aroused his enmity. In those moments of distress and anxiety, Buckhart was struck by the thought that this malicious young ruffian had deliberately brought about the running down of the Sallie. Having seen Dick and Brad in the rowboat, Mike had deliberately cut them down. ”

“ But no one seems to realize the fact that Merriwell himself would be rotten if he didn’t have a catcher behind the bat who knows him and all his peculiarities. Only for Buckhart, Merriwell wouldn’t be such a star on the slab. Where’s there another freshman who could go behind the bat and handle Merriwell’s pitching? Where’s there another chap who could handle the combination ball or any of Merriwell’s queer kinks and shoots? Of course, a professional catcher, a big-league man, would be all right for it; but I’m talking about the freshman ball players to be found at Yale to-day. ”

“ Near the foot of the long table sat Mabel Ditson, with Brad Buckhart on her right and Rob Claxton on her left. She was dividing her favors between them, and both seemed satisfied. Her position was a delicate one, and it required art and cleverness to balance her smiles and words so that neither should fancy the other to be the one most favored. Sparkfair was chatting in his airy manner with a beautiful girl by the name of Agnes Locke. Nevertheless, it seemed that he occasionally cast faintly regretful glances in the direction of June and Dick. ”

“ Tommy Tucker, with a tall, dark-haired girl, peered in upon them.
“Peekaboo!” cried Tommy. “Caught you. Say, Dick, what makes you monopolize the only secluded retreat there is in this room? Can’t you give a fellow a show?”
“Mr. Tucker!” exclaimed the tall brunette reprovingly.
“Call me Tommy, Janette—please call me Tommy,” pleaded the little chap. “And don’t for the love of decorum hitch Mister onto my name. I have to stop and think who you mean when you do. Nobody ever calls me Mister. All my friends insult me by calling me ‘Runt’ and ‘Shaver’ and ‘Sawed-off,’ and offensive names like that. ”

“ There was a hush, and, with a grave smile, Casper turned his eyes on the lad at June Arlington’s side.
“Here’s to Dick Merriwell,” he said. “Here’s to his friends and his foes; may his friends never falter in their loyalty, and may his foes soon realize their folly and become his friends.”
“Splendid! splendid!” was the cry as they drank the toast.
Dick thanked Casper in a clever little speech, his face flushed and his heart warmed by it all. It was Randall who proposed the next toast.
“Here’s to Yale,” he bowed; “Yale, Harvard’s beloved rival. ”

“ May the blue ever flutter high above all other colors save the crimson.”
“I’ll have to attach an amendment to that,” laughed Dick. “May the best team win, and, if it does, the blue has no fear of finding itself looking up to the crimson.”
“You wait until your freshman baseball team goes against our freshies!” cried Randall. “You know we have a slab wizard by the name of Sparkfair.”
“Keep it dark, keep it dark!” came in a hoarse whisper from Dale. “Don’t put the enemy wise. Let him march unsuspecting to the slaughter.” ”

“ Welch longed to send his bat spinning at Dick Merriwell’s head, for there is nothing so provoking to a batter as to be fooled by a slow ball. It makes him feel foolish, and the laughter that invariably greets his ears arouses his ire. ”

“ There was more or less laughter and joshing from the Providence boys as the Yale team marched onto the field with Bugle at the side of Blessed Jones. Every one watched with intense curiosity to see what the man would do when he seized a bat and prepared to take part in the practice. To the surprise of all, he hammered the ball in a scientific manner, driving it wherever he chose and in whatever manner he chose.
But Buckhart was still absent and the Yale players were downcast. They were talking about a substitute catcher when Bugle announced that he was going to do the catching himself. ”

“ If you’re going to have the pantry, I’ll take the cold room.”
“I’ll see more of the fun than either one of you,” laughed Tucker. “Next to my chosen retreat beneath the couch, I’d choose the sink, for then I could keep the door open on a crack and watch everything that was going on.”
“This don’t seem to be a time for dignity,” said Brad, “so I’ll take the sink for mine. But, however are we going to get to our retreats, gents?”
“You’ve got sort of left me out,” observed Jones. “I suppose you think I don’t enjoy life, anyhow, and there’s no use in trying to amuse me.” ”

“ To tell you the truth, I feel like what Buckhart called me—a murderer.”
“Don’t talk that way!” growled Lynch, shrugging his thick shoulders. “I don’t like it. Even if I didn’t have any love for Merriwell, I wouldn’t want to kill him, would I? We’re going to have lots of trouble over this.”
Again Du Boise smiled.
“Don’t worry, my friends,” he said. “Nothing really matters, anyhow. This life is of no consequence. Perhaps Merriwell is better off this minute than he would be if he were living. Perhaps he’s thankful for what happened. I’m sure the dead are better off than the living. ”

“ You are the traitor who betrayed the team.”
“You are a liar!” said Tommy, slowly and distinctly.
“Wait a minute, Tucker—you’ll get all that’s coming to you if you don’t get humble. I say you betrayed the team. I’m not the only one who believes it. Merriwell saved your pelt by hiring a disreputable character to take the blame on his own shoulders. Every one knows that man Smith lied when he said he was the one who stole the signals and gave them to the manager of the Hudson team.” ”

“ Like Brad, Merriwell believed the rowboat had been cut down by deliberate intent. On discovering that Lynch and Ditson were aboard the launch, this belief became a fixed certainty in Dick’s mind.
The launch slid slowly past, with Buckhart vainly straining his eyes for some glimpse of his chum.
“It’s awfully tough on Brad,” thought Dick; “but I’m more than willing those other fellows should think I’ve been drowned. If they have a conscience, it ought to prick them a little.” ”

“ You, Thomas Jefferson Tucker, were the miserable wretch who did that.”
“You, Turkey, old boy, are a liar by the clock!” flung back Tommy. “I had nothing to do with it. I thought that was proven long ago.”
“Nothing of the sort,” said Satan. “Your fine friend, Richard Merriwell, induced a wretched bummer to shoulder the blame of that piece of treachery, but we happen to know that the bummer was paid to clear you of stigma. While you have been cleared, suspicion has continued to rest on another who is innocent.”
“I suppose you mean Bern Wolfe?” ”

“ Truly, it was with no small difficulty that Merriwell repressed a rising inclination to shout with laughter. In spite of himself, a faint smile crept over his face, and this he tried to conceal by covering his lips with his hand. Buckhart had observed it, however, and he stopped at Dick’s side, glaring at his friend as he muttered:
“If you laugh, you certain take your life in your hand, partner. You’ll have the whole blamed bunch on your back like a lot of catamounts. They are sure the ugliest crowd I ever traveled with. ”

“ Having discovered Dick on the Yale bench, Mike stared at him through inning after inning, paying very little attention to the conversation of his companions or the excited cheering of the great crowd.
Ditson nudged Bern Wolfe and called his attention to Lynch.
“Mighty queer about Mike,” he whispered. “I was talking with the doctor to-day. He seems to think Mike has received some severe shock from which he will not recover unless he gets a counter shock. Just look at him, Bern. See his eyes. See him glare. Why, he looks absolutely dangerous to-day.” ”

“ It’s an outrage to shove Kates in there to-day. Manhattan has Hogan, their very best pitcher, against us. He’s on the slab now. Watch him. Note what he does to our boys.”
“Our boys! He! he! he!” scoffed Dagett. “Do you mean Mike Lynch? I suppose you’re dead stuck on Mike now that he’s become a Merriwellite? Yah! He makes me sick! What do you think of a fellow like him posing as the soul of generosity and paying other fellows’ debts? I don’t blame Ditson for taking advantage of his attempt to fool people, but I guess we all know the kind of a fellow Lynch is.” ”

“ If you don’t help me out, I shall have to give Merriwell the touch, and perhaps he hasn’t that amount in his jeans.”
“It certainly galls me to see you stand for blackmail, Sparkfair.”
“It can’t gall you any worse than it does me, but when a fellow’s guilty he has to cough if the blackmailer puts on the screws. Let’s not procrastinate. I want to hasten Hanks forth into the coolness of the outer air. The knowledge that he is beneath this roof hangs over me like a fog.” ”

“ When Dick had fooled the next batter with two elusive benders, it began to look as if hitting the ball was not such an easy thing, after all. Forced into a corner, the batter finally lifted a high foul, which Buckhart got under and gathered in.
“That’s two, partner,” laughed the Texan, as he tossed the ball to Dick. “Why, they couldn’t hit you safely if you pitched with your feet.”
“Get in there, now,” urged Marone, as O’Mora trotted to the plate. “A little single is all we want. A little safety is the goods. ”

“ Dead silence fell on the assembled spectators as Kates walked into the box. Sam’s keen ears fancied this silence was broken by a number of repressed groans. Involuntarily, he flashed a look of resentment toward his classmates on the seats. Then he threw a few to Mike Lynch, just to give his wing a last limbering, whirling and facing O’Mora as the umpire called: “Play.”
Sam’s first ball was far too high. O’Mora grinned and held his bat above his head in a derisive manner after the ball had passed. ”

“ You know there’s no living thing behind you, yet you keep turning your head to peer over your shoulder. You don’t see anything, but you can feel it just the same as I can. Ditson feels it, too. We all know it’s there, fellows. I’m afraid the thing will follow us the rest of our lives. I’m afraid we’ll never be able to get away from it.”
“For Heaven’s sake, cut that out!” entreated Ditson. “Like Lynch, I’m not superstitious, but I swear you’ve got my teeth chattering by your silly talk. I agree with you, Mike. This street is too dark.” ”

“ If that’s the case, I won’t trouble her. I’ll dance with somebody else.”
Bab laughed.
“You are the most jealous, touchy person I ever saw, Brad Buckhart. Why, you’re worse than the Virginian you dislike so much.”
“I don’t dislike him, begging your pardon. I thought I did once, but I guess he’s all right in his way. We don’t tie to each other a whole lot, but there’s no longer any hard feelings. We have planted the tomahawk. If Mabel likes him better than she does me, she sure can have him as much as she wants.”
Dale Sparkfair and Agnes Locke swung past them. ”

“ At the opening of the game, Tufts had professed a hilarious confidence in its ability to hit Merriwell, but within a short time this confidence oozed away, and the game was proving tiresomely one-sided and monotonous when Yale changed pitchers.
Immediately Tufts braced up and took heart. Kates was nervous, and the visitors seemed to know it. They whooped and barked joyously as the first man to face Sam lined out a sizzling two-bagger.
“Never mind that, Kates,” came reassuringly from Dick. “Those things will happen occasionally. They can’t all do it.” ”

“ If you ever get up against a pitcher like Merriwell, you’ll strike out. If that boy wasn’t a freshman and barred from the varsity on that account, Yale would have a cinch at the college baseball championship this year.”
The flush had left Pumper’s face, and he was now quite pale.
“I don’t know what business you have to meddle with baseball affairs, Billings!” he cried hotly. “You’re always spying around to get hold of something you can write up for the papers. You betray Yale’s athletic secrets in order to get a few paltry dollars for your greedy pockets. ”

“ The fact was Dick had fancied Kates in the very best of health and in fine spirits the day before the game with Highland.
“Well, it’s true,” persisted Sam; “there’s something the matter with me. I can’t stand for training-table feed. It makes me sick. All I can think of is rare roast beef and stuff like that. I’d like to sit down and make a square meal off cake and pie and ice cream and strawberries and chocolates and bon-bons. I think it’s all rot this tying a fellow down on a certain line of diet. One man’s food is another’s poison, you know. ”

“ Gentlemen, this fellow is known at Harvard as a crook. He’s likewise a contemptible blackmailer. Shall we kick him out, Steele? I’d like the pleasure of booting him myself.”
“Let him get out as quietly as possible,” urged Casper. “We don’t wish to raise a disturbance. We don’t wish to alarm the girls.”
“You’re getting off mighty easy, Hanks,” said Randall. “Hereafter, I think you’ll find Cambridge a most disagreeable place for you. ”

“ I haven’t squealed. I hate a squealer. That’s why I’m disgusted with Mike Lynch. I’m not saying that he isn’t sincere now, but I do say that he has squealed. After blowing and bleating around about Merriwell, and making so much talk, he suddenly threw up the sponge. I swear I didn’t know he was a quitter, but I know it now. He has disgusted me more than any chap I know of. I’d like to see him kicked out of college.”
At this Wolfe gave Ditson a nudge.
“There are others,” whispered Bern. “Oh, if I could only get hold of that confession! ”

“ Dick gave his chum a whimsical look of disgust.
“What do you think of that, Brad?” he said. “He’s going to take us in. We get held up and nearly murdered, and after it’s all over a gallant policeman appears and arrests us.”
“What’s that you’re saying?” snapped the officer. “What kind of a fairy-story have you invented? You’re a couple of students, and I’m onto your game. You fellows are forever making trouble. Give me that pistol.” ”

“ The batter thought the ball too high, and made no move to swing. The sphere shot down in an astonishing manner and crossed the batter’s chest.
“Three strikes—out!” announced the umpire.
The deceived hitter stood as if dazed for a moment, and then savagely hurled his bat to the ground. Once more the Yale stand cheered, and Merriwell walked in to the bench with Kates, congratulating him with sincere pleasure.
“You’ve got to do your best work to-day, Sam,” said Dick. “You’ve got to prove yourself. I need you. Toleman won’t come out. He’s still sulking. I can’t do all the pitching. ”

“ I couldn’t seem to do anything with that crazy bunch after Kates went to pieces. The more I talked to them, the worse they played. They wouldn’t pay any attention to my orders, yet the wise in heart will receive commandments, but prating fools shall fall.”
“Weren’t you too harsh in your manner of reproving them?” asked Dick.
“Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge, but he that hateth reproof is brutish.”
“I’m afraid you all lost your heads,” said Dick. “It may do the team some good.”
“How can that be?”
“A team that can’t take defeat isn’t fit to win victories. ”

“ It’s a wonder we haven’t had newspaper reporters after us already. Of course by this time they all know of Merriwell’s drowning. We’ll have to tell the story until we’re sick of it in the morning. We’ll have to face both reporters and police. I’ve got to rest in order to do that.”
“Rest?” said Duncan. “I hope you can. I’m afraid I shall get very little rest to-night.”
Nor was Lynch to experience any genuine refreshing rest. In his room, with the door locked, he paced the floor for hours, pausing at intervals to listen, with shuddering heart, to every faint sound of the night. ”

“ Why don’t you do your sleeping nights? You can’t afford to get dopy on bases.”
“But everybody hits! everybody hits!” came from the coacher at the other side of the field. “We’ll keep 8right on. We’ll pound him off the rubber just the same.”
But, somehow, Sam’s nervousness had disappeared beneath the effect of Merriwell’s touch and words. Having caught the runner in this manner, Kates grew cool and collected, and the next man up promptly bit at two twisters that he did not touch.
“Now you’re pitching, old fellow,” laughed Dick. “The poor boy can’t see the ball. He’s yours, Sam—he’s yours. ”

“ Of course, I don’t want to be quoted, Merriwell. I wouldn’t say this to every one, but it’s a fact.”
“There’s no danger that I’ll repeat it, Billings. It’s a shame.”
“It is a shame!” growled Walter. “Already we’ve been beaten by some of the smaller teams. What will happen to us when we go up against some of the better ones? It makes me sick to think what Harvard is sure to do to us.”
“What’s the matter with Welch for a pitcher?”
“The trouble is right here,” answered Billings, tapping his forehead. “Welch has speed and kinks and all that, but he doesn’t use his head.” ”