Frank A. Warner

“ The light of battle began to glow in Betty’s eyes, but still she stood irresolute.
“I’ll give you a cent if you hit me,” pursued Fred.
“My! isn’t he reckless with his money?” mocked Pee Wee.
“He talks like a millionaire,” added Mouser.
“A whole cent,” mused Bobby.
Fred flushed.
“Make it a nickel, then,” he said. “And if that isn’t enough, I’ll give you a dime,” he added, in a final burst of generosity.
“Have you got it?” Betty asked suspiciously. She knew that Fred was usually in a state of bankruptcy. ”

“ Bobby and his chums were jubilant over the change as they got together in the gymnasium after breakfast on the morning of the holiday.
“Isn’t it just bully?” cried Fred, doing a handspring.
“The hill will be like glass,” gloated Mouser.
“I’ll bet we fetch further than we ever did before,” exulted Bobby, who could see himself scudding like the wind on his trusty Red Arrow.
“But, gee! won’t it be tough climbing up to the top again,” put in Pee Wee, who liked well enough to ride down but hated the task of walking back. ”

“ The very next Saturday with Bobby in the box and pitching gilt-edged ball they walked all over Belden, not only beating their chief rival but doing it to the score of seven to nothing. The whole team played behind their pitcher as though they were inspired with new life. And from that time on, the Beldenites drew into their shell and did not do so much crowing when they met the Rockledge boys in the town. ”

“ The boys, left alone, looked gleefully at each other.
“Scubbity-yow!” shouted Fred, as he threw his cap to the ceiling.
“All our troubles are over now,” exulted Pee Wee.
“Isn’t he a brick?” demanded Bobby gratefully.
“Reminds me of the bread cast upon the waters that our minister was talking about last Sunday,” remarked Mouser. “He said it would come back to you after many days, and by ginger I believe it now.”
“It’s more than bread,” gloated Pee Wee. “It’s cake.”
“If Pee Wee says it’s cake, it is cake,” mocked Fred. “There’s nobody knows more than he does about things to eat.” ”

“ As he did so, the boys saw that he had a perceptible limp.
“And the other one has a scar on his face,” whispered Bobby excitedly. “You can see it if you look close.”
They looked more closely, and Fred in his eagerness rose a little too high. His red head caught the eye of the man with the scar, and he uttered a startled exclamation.
“Now you’ve, done it,” whispered Mouser disgustedly. “Why didn’t you keep that red mop of yours out of sight?”
“Hurry, fellows,” urged Bobby. “We’ve got to catch those fellows before they can get away. Whip on your clothes and let’s get back after them.” ”

“ ON THE TRAIL The school chums sat up late in the dormitory that night, nursing their bruises, and by the time they had got through applying arnica and other lotions, the place smelled like a hospital.
How they could bring the trick home to those who had played it was a problem that was too much for them at the present. They felt sure that the bullies would deny it if taxed with it, and there was no way of actually proving it, no matter how sure they might feel in their own minds. ”

“ It’s easy enough to win games in our dreams, but the only ones that count are those that are won on the diamond.”
“We’ll win them all right there too,” replied Fred, who already saw himself cracking out a home run with the bases full. “We’ll be there with bells on from the time the season opens.”
“I bet we’ll go all through the season without losing a game,” declared Sparrow, in a wild flight of fancy.
“Come off the perch,” warned Bobby.
“Turn over, turn over, you’re on your back,” said the irreverent Skeets.
“You’ll bring bad luck on us if you talk like that,” cautioned Frank. ”

“ In the scramble for seats when they had first boarded the train, Bobby and Fred had had the luck to get the seat that faced forward. Mouser and Pee Wee had to ride backward and naturally after a while they objected.
“You fellows have all the best of it,” grumbled Pee Wee.
“That’s all right,” retorted Fred. “That’s as it should be. Nothing’s too good for Bobby and me. The best people ought to have the best of everything.”
“Sure thing,” Bobby backed him up. “The common people ought to be satisfied with what they can get. You fellows ought to be glad that we let you travel with us at all.” ”

“ One thing is certain, and that is if any team beats Rockledge it will know it’s been in a fight.”
“I suppose Larry Cronk will be pitching for Belden,” mused Fred.
“I suppose so, and he’s a corking good pitcher too. But Bobby beat him the last time he faced him and I guess he can do it again.”
“Trust Bobby,” replied Fred loyally.
“Well, I’ll have to go now,” concluded Frank. “I’m glad you boys think the league is going to be a good thing.”
“The best thing that ever happened,” declared Sparrow.
“I’m tickled to death with it,” agreed Fred.
“Hits me awful hard,” said Bobby. ”

“ And again they lamented, when they saw by daylight how thoroughly the hill was spoiled for coasting.
“There must be bushels and bushels of ashes!” exclaimed Mouser, as his eyes roamed over the lower half of the hill.
“It beats me how they managed to get it all here,” observed Skeets.
“It must have been brought a long way,” commented Sparrow. “There’s no place round here they could have got them from.”
“They couldn’t have carried all that stuff themselves,” said Bobby thoughtfully.
“It would have been an awful job,” added Howell, “and those fellows don’t like work well enough for that.” ”

“ The lithe limbs of the boys gave them an advantage over their heavier companions, and they were soon on the heels of the tramps, who turned snarling and faced them.
“Keep off or I’ll club the life out of you,” shouted one, whom they recognized as the man with the scar.
“No you won’t,” cried Bobby, defiantly.
“We want the things you stole from us,” sang out Fred.
“Jail for yours!” Mouser shouted.
They circled round the men, thus holding them in check, and in another moment Mr. Wharton and the constable had come up and each grabbed one of the men by the collar. ”

“ The boys took comfort from the fact that the fence was high and that the dog was too big and heavy to leap over it.
“He’s glad to see us—I don’t think,” said Fred.
“Seems to have a sweet disposition,” muttered Pee Wee.
“Let Mouser get to talking to him,” suggested Bobby. “He’ll tame him down in no time.”
Mouser, somewhat flattered, stepped forward. He had gained his nickname because he had a number of mice which he had taught to do all sorts of clever tricks. His fondness extended to all animals, and he had the remarkable power over them with which some people are gifted. ”

“ In the ninth inning, after disposing of Belden, Rockledge went in to do or die. Yells of encouragement came from their partisans as they made their last stand.
“Go to it, boys!”
“You can beat them yet!”
“Never say die!”
“Rockledge! Rockledge! Rockledge!”
But the shouts turned to groans, when Willis, who was playing center field in place of Bronson, put up a skyscraper which Cronk gobbled up without moving in his tracks. Barry sent a hot grounder to short which was fielded cleverly and sent to first ahead of the batter. There was a movement in the stand, as the spectators got ready to leave. ”

“ Fred replied. “Frank has heard that he’s a good ball player, and if he is, he wants him on the nine. He heard Bobby and me talking of the scrap we had with him this morning, and he doesn’t want trouble in the team.”
“Maybe Frank’s right, at that,” conceded Skeets. “But I don’t know that it’s good dope to have a fellow like that on the nine, no matter how good a player he is. He’ll be wanting to run things and perhaps break up the whole team.” ”

“ Mouser came back at him.
“What’ll you do?” jeered the bully, though his voice now was getting unsteady as he saw that the boys were in earnest.
Fred leaned forward, snatched the fellow’s cap from his head and threw it in a seat some distance away.
“Follow your hat and you’ll find your seat,” he cried.
The fellow started forward in a rage, but just then the conductor came into the car. He came forward briskly.
“Here, none of this!” he exclaimed. “You boys mustn’t do any scrapping on this train. Get back in your seats now, all of you, and behave yourselves.” ”

“ But first he doubled up his fist and shook it at the boys, a gesture which they answered with a derisive shout of laughter.
“I think that Ap Plunkit is just horrid,” declared Betty, with a stamp of her little foot.
“I don’t blame him for feeling a little sore,” said Bobby, “especially before he knew I didn’t do it on purpose. But I guess he has a grudge against me anyway.”
“He was just looking for an excuse to make trouble,” put in Fred, “and it was just like him to bring his whip along. He never has played fair yet.” ”

“ Each went for a strike. Then when the batter was set for another of the same kind, Bobby outguessed him with a straight fast one, and the ball plunked into the catcher’s mitt for an out.
There was a chorus of cheers from the Rockledge rooters as Bobby drew off his glove and came in to the bench.
“That’s what you call getting out of a hole,” cried one.
“The bases full and nobody out and yet they couldn’t score,” shouted another.
“We’ll give you a run this time, Bobby, and all you’ll need to do then will be to hold them down in the ninth,” prophesied Frank, as he selected his bat. ”

“ Fred put on an air of offended virtue.
“Do you think I’m a crook?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” retorted Mouser in a most unflattering way. “A fellow that will pour water down my back when I’m trying to do him a favor will do anything.”
Fred looked at him sadly as though lamenting his lack of faith, but proceeded briskly to tear the strips. The boys drew and Bobby had the luck to retain his seat, but Fred had to exchange with Mouser.
“It’s a shame to have to sit with Pee Wee,” said Fred as he squeezed in beside the fat boy. “He takes up two-thirds of the seat.” ”

“ The boys roared with laughter, and Hicksley’s temper rose to the boiling point.
“Own up now, which one of you did it,” he demanded fiercely.
“Whoever did it knew you pretty well, Tom Hicksley,” said Fred.
“What do you suppose the picture means?” inquired Mouser, as though he could not quite make it out.
“I think it means that the fellow who would take a dead mouse from a blind kitten is about as mean as they make them,” put in Sparrow.
“Mean enough to torment a poor old soldier, I shouldn’t wonder,” added Shiner, pouring oil on the flames. ”

“ Each team was screwed to the highest pitch and full of determination and enthusiasm.
Bobby started out like a winner. His arm had never felt better, and he whipped the ball over the plate at a speed that delighted the spectators—always excepting the Belden rooters—but that made Frank Durrock a little anxious.
“Easy there, Bobby,” he counseled from first base, when the first batter had gone out on strikes. “The game’s young yet, and you’ve a long way to go.”
Bobby realized the wisdom of this, and made the next batter pop up an infield fly to Mouser at second. ”

“ So that the outlook was very blue for Rockledge, and the boys fairly squirmed under the crowing of the Belden fellows whenever they met them on the trolley or in the town.
“If we only had Bobby in the box, we’d be going along at the head of the procession,” groaned Fred.
“That yellow streak of Hicksley’s comes out in almost every game,” growled Sparrow.
“He can’t stand the gaff when it comes to a pinch,” assented Skeets gloomily.
“A fellow who would lie as he did about Bobby doesn’t deserve to have any luck,” grunted Pee Wee.
“He’s a hoodoo,” agreed Shiner. “But what are we going to do?” ”

“ Bobby Blake off the ball team! Where would Rockledge be now in the race for the pennant of the Monatook Lake League?
The lessons proceeded, but the class might as well have been dismissed at once, for only one thought filled the minds of all. And when at last the gong rang, there was a rush for Bobby on the campus, and a buzzing arose that resembled a hive of angry bees.
It was well for the bullies that, sitting on the rear seats, they had slipped out of the door quickly and disappeared. They would surely have come to grief in the present excited condition of the boys. ”

“ The other occupants of the room clustered instantly about Bobby and his party, who were general favorites. They had already learned almost all there was to be told about the adventures of the day, but they were keenly interested in the exploits of the party during their winter holiday in the Big Woods.
“Shiner”—the nickname that had been bestowed on Jimmy Ailshine—Howell Purdy and “Sparrow” Bangs, had also been on that memorable trip, but as they too had reached school but a little earlier in the day, they had been able to tell only enough of their adventures to whet the appetite for more. ”

“ You just have it and that’s all there is to it.”
“I hate to think of buckling down to work again,” said Fred. “We had such a bully free time up in the woods that I wish it would last forever.”
“That’s all the more reason you ought to be willing to work when the time comes,” remonstrated Bobby. “Think of the poor fellows that never have any outings and have to work hard all the time.” ”

“ What’s the use of getting into a row that will make your folks feel bad when they hear of it and perhaps bring you up before the doctor?”
“I notice that you’re ready enough to fight sometimes,” grumbled Fred in self-defense. “You’d have pitched into Ap Plunkit if he’d hit you with that whip yesterday morning, and you were all worked up on the train at Hicksley.”
“That’s a very different thing from looking for trouble,” said Bobby stoutly. “It’s all right to take your own part when people try to bully or strike you. But it’s always best to keep out of a fight unless you’re forced into it. ”

“ But instead of slipping into the seat beside him, as the boys had expected, he sat down in the seat directly behind him.
“Guess again, Fred,” laughed Pee Wee good-naturedly.
“Everybody’s hunches go wrong sometimes,” answered Fred defensively.
“What’s the fellow up to anyway?” asked Mouser, with a sudden stirring of curiosity.
The newcomer seemed to have a long feather in his hand such as is commonly used in feather dusters. While the old man’s head drooped in a doze, the boy reached over and tickled the back of the old man’s neck with the tip of the feather. ”

“ The snorting monster seemed to give up the struggle, and stood puffing and wheezing, with the steam hissing and great volumes of smoke rising from the stack.
“We’re blocked,” cried Bobby.
“It must be that we’ve got to the gulch,” observed Fred.
“A pretty kettle of fish,” grumbled Pee Wee.
“We’re up against it for fair, I guess,” admitted Mouser. “But let’s get out and see how bad the trouble is.”
The boys joined the procession of passengers going down the aisle and jumped off the steps of the car into a pile of snow beside the track that came up to their knees. ”