Ralph Henry Barbour

“ They viewed each other with dismay and discouragement.
“I’m just simply written out,” sighed Alf. “I say we fill the rest up with ads.”
“Ads!” exclaimed Tom. “They’re the hardest of all. We’ve just about played that game out.”
“I tell you!” said Gerald. “When a paper hasn’t anything to put in it prints an advertisement of its own, like ‘Subscribe to The Scholiant! One Dollar a Year! Do it Now!’”
“Bully scheme!” cried Dan. “That’ll use up a whole column.”
“One! Pshaw! Let’s make it three columns,” said Alf. “And we’ll make it a good one, too. Push me some paper, Tom.” ”

“ You called your sheet The Scholiant. That lets me out, don’t you see?”
Alf viewed him reproachfully, sorrowfully, and shook his head.
“Joe, that isn’t like you,” he replied. “That’s quibbling. It—it even savors of dishonesty. No, no, as your friends, we can’t allow you to take that stand. Truth is truth, Joe, and justice is justice. Be a man, Joe. Pay up, old sport!”
Joe looked about him for moral support, but the faces of Dan and Tom and Gerald expressed only disapproval and hunger. ”

“ On that occasion Gerald and Arthur had fished him out of the pond in Meeker’s Marsh far more dead than alive. But nowadays all the fresh air he demanded he could get through the open windows of his room, while as for exercise, turning the pages of his big stamp albums or mounting new additions to his fast growing collection was quite sufficient for his requirements. If any boy was ever obsessed by a mania, that boy was Harry Merrow ”

“ Mile runners aren’t made in a day, nor a week, nor yet a year, for that matter.”
And when Gerald complained to Alf that he feared Andy wasn’t going to take enough interest in him, Alf gave him a little lecture. “Get that idea out of your head, Gerald,” he said, severely. “Andy knows what he’s up to. When he tells you to jog, you jog. When he tells you to sprint, you sprint; and when he says rest, why, rest as hard as you know how. That’s the way to get on fastest. Distance running, as I’ve heard, is largely a matter of endurance, and I guess endurance is something you’ve got to learn slowly.” ”

“ The track and field squad had grown to over forty boys, and every afternoon they were hard at it under Andy Ryan’s direction. Every one was glad when gymnasium work was over, and they could get out on the field and feel the sod or cinders under their spiked shoes. Dan and Alf were busy on the diamond, Dan at second base and Alf in left field. Tom was swinging the hammer around his head or tossing the shot, getting himself into form again, and at the same time helping Andy with the coaching of three other candidates for the weight events. ”

“ It does make a difference, Harry. How is the pitching situation shaping, old man?”
“About the way you see,” answered Durfee, with a shrug of his square shoulders. “I guess it’ll be Reid for the big games, but he isn’t doing much. Servis hasn’t a thing but a whole lot of speed, Dan; and if he gets cornered, he goes up in the air like a skyrocket.”
“That’s funny, too,” said Dan, “for when he isn’t playing ball, Servis is as cool and collected as a—a cucumber.”
“I know. I’m hoping he will get over it a bit after he’s been through more. We’ll work him in every game we can, whether we win or lose. ”

“ It’s plucky of you to try for the track squad, and I guess every fellow thinks that way. And don’t get discouraged about it. Even if you don’t do terribly well this year, you’ve got two more years here, and college afterward.”
“But I’m going to do well this year,” replied Gerald, determinedly. Adding, less assuredly, “If they’ll give me a fair show, I mean.”
“And they will. Why shouldn’t they? Don’t you think Andy and Maury want to win the Duals as much as you do? Not to treat you fair would be cutting off their nose to spite their face, wouldn’t it?” ”

“ Yardley went to bat, but the best it could do with the delivery of the redoubtable Holmes was to pop up an infield fly and score two strike-outs. Durfee went out to his position growling exasperatedly. There was no more scoring until the sixth inning. Then a Porter man, a tail-ender on the batting list, managed somehow to connect with a fast ball and send it far out into the field for three bases. ”

“ Harry had some very decided views on the subject of fellows who wasted life’s golden moments in chasing baseballs, digging up perfectly good cinder track with spikes, or hitting a rubber ball, hard or soft, over net or links. A championship game on the diamond or gridiron always commanded Harry’s presence, but I fear he appeared at [203] such affairs more from a sense of duty than from any thought of pleasure to be derived from them. ”

“ Gerald had meant to ask the trainer whether he should jog to-day or try some sprints, but Andy had gone and Gerald consoled himself with the reflection that perhaps it was just as well, since asking advice from Andy was hardly allowable under the terms of his agreement with Mr. Collins. No, if he was going to train by himself he must play fair. So he stepped onto the track, threw aside his robe, and started around at a jog. On his fifth lap the milers passed him, and Goodyear ranged alongside long enough to ask him if he were off probation. ”

“ Holmes left the field sadly disgruntled and with his fame much tattered.
“Well,” said Payson on the way to the gymnasium, “you finally discovered him, eh, Durfee?”
“Yes, sir, finally,” answered the Yardley captain somewhat sheepishly.
“Yes, he had been stealing six or eight inches on you every delivery,” said Payson. “I might have told you, but I wanted you to learn to keep your eyes open and find such things out for yourself. It nearly cost us the game, I guess, but the lesson would have been worth even that. Baseball, Durfee, isn’t all physical skill. It’s like almost everything else ”

“ Anyhow, our canoe is good and light, Alf.”
“Best little canoe on the river, Tom. Where are you going?”
“Bed,” replied Tom, suppressing a yawn. “You need plenty of sleep if you’re going to surmount obstacles. Good-night, every one.”
“That means we’re not wanted, Paul,” said Dan. “See you in the morning, fellows. First race is at ten-thirty, Alf. Good-night.”
“Oh, don’t run off,” begged Alf. “Tom doesn’t mind sleeping with a crowd around, do you, Tom? You couldn’t keep him awake if you tried.” ”

“ Pennimore! Never say die, you know.”
But Gerald’s countenance didn’t clear. “That’s all well enough for you,” he grumbled, “for Andy treats you right. And Maury makes a fuss about you, because you’re our crack pole vaulter. But they don’t care a button whether I get along or not. I guess they’re just laughing at me behind my back. Guess they think I’m sort of a fresh kid for wanting to make the team. I’ve seen fellows kind of grin as I went by on the track.”
“Oh, come, Gerald, that’s nonsense!” said Arthur, heartily. “Nobody’s laughing at you, I’ll bet. ”

“ Let’s pie somebody’s room for him.”
“No fun in that. Besides, everybody’s in their room now.”
“That’s so. Say, Dan, Friday’s April Fool’s Day. I’d like to work a nice big hoax on some one.”
“You might fool Old Toby by staying at school instead of going home,” suggested Dan.
“Don’t be an ass! Think of something, can’t you?”
“All I can think of is supper,” replied Dan, with a laugh.
“Your soul’s in your tummy,” said Alf, disgustedly. “Well, leave it to me. If I can think of something, are you in on it? Something big—and—er—awe-inspiring?”
“Sure,” answered Dan. “Go ahead and think. ”

“ When an average good batter,” continued Payson, including Durfee and Alf with a glance, “finds that he can’t hit a pitcher, the thing for him to do is to keep his eyes open and study the fellow’s delivery. There’s some perfectly simple reason why he isn’t finding the ball, and it’s just a case of using his head and finding out what the reason is. That’s what Loring did. I’ve seen a good many chaps pitch ball, and it didn’t take me long to see that Holmes there was pitching a ball that started out fast and then slowed up in front of the plate. ”

“ And without Durfee and Alf and Dan the Baseball Team might as well go out of training.”
“Well, that’s a mighty decent way to look at it, Gerald,” said Tom, “but I think it’s the only fair one. I guess we are all of us ready to take our share of the blame and the punishment if it will do any one any good.”
“It won’t, though; no one, that is, but Collins,” said Alf, morosely. “I feel a good deal like a skunk for getting you fellows into such a mess.”
“Oh, forget it!” said Tom, heartily. “We aren’t kids to be led into trouble with our eyes shut. ”

“ All we want to do is to keep him for the Broadwood game.”
“Porter might miss him,” said Dan, gravely.
“Let her! Who cares as long as we have the victim safe?”
“I’m willing to wager,” scoffed Durfee, “that Holmes won’t show up a bit better than Reid.”
“Is Reid going in?” asked Alf. “I thought you’d decided on Servis for to-day.”
“Oh, Payson thinks we ought to be sure about the game,” replied Durfee. “As far as I’m concerned, I don’t much care whether we win or lose. I’d put Servis in if I had my way. Hammel is going to start the game at catch. Payson thinks he ought to have a good try-out. ”

“ You haven’t the speed to win the race, but you’ve got endurance, my boy. Run yourself out in the three laps. After that, if you can get a place, well and good. When the last lap begins, Cap, move up and get where you can pass Stewart over there on the back-stretch. After that it’s a case of hitting it up. Save yourself all you can for the last lap. Norcross, you ought to get a third or fourth if you use your head. Goodyear, you look after Stewart for the three laps; keep him back all you can. Next to Stewart, I guess Webster is their best man. ”

“ An evening in the company of his roommate didn’t appeal to Arthur, and so after supper that night he went across to Clarke and climbed the stairs to 28. Gerald was alone, for Alf and Paul Rand had called a few minutes before and lugged Dan away to Cambridge Society. He didn’t look to be oppressed by loneliness, however, for Arthur discovered him sprawled comfortably in an arm-chair with the last issue of The Scholiast in his hands. He tossed this aside, however, when the guest appeared.
“Hello,” he said, “what’s the matter with you, Arthur? You look pretty mad about something.” ”

“ Gerald read, “should try to develop a long, easy stride. He should not, however, exhaust himself seeking to attain a length of stride which his build naturally prohibits. An unnatural stride results in exhaustion. By careful practice he may add to the length of stride by just that little within his power, and which may mean a great deal in a contest. Remember that in distance running every inch added to the stride means seconds gained at the finish.” ”

“ He can’t put ’em over!”
Well, Reid did let down for a space; most pitchers do now and then; and a base-hit over shortstop’s head looked for a moment like a tally. But there was some misunderstanding between runner and coach at third, and the former, after starting for home, doubled back on his tracks and contented himself with one base. But the bags were filled and only one man was out. Porter cheered and howled and whooped things up nobly considering the scarcity of her rooters, and Yardley gave a long, confident cheer to steady her players. ”

“ The mile run was Yardley’s, for Maury was faster than any one Broadwood could put on the track. Now that Arthur Thompson was out of the pole vault, the field events would yield the honors to Yardley’s rival, only the shot-put and the hammer throw being credited to the Blue. With first place counting 5, second place 3, third place 2, and fourth place 1, much depended on the winning of seconds, thirds, and fourths, and Yardley fellows had to acknowledge that in many events the capture of third and fourth places would not be so easy. ”

“ Nothing’s new. Nothing has happened in this dead-and-alive hole since—since the hockey game. I detest this time of year, don’t you?”
“It is a bit dull, but I guess we’ll be outdoors in a few days. Gee, but I’ll be glad to feel a baseball again!”
“Me too. We’ve been discussing the Track Team’s chances. Now that Gerald has decided to [14] come out for the mile it looks like a pretty sure thing for Yardley.”
“Oh, you can make all the fun you want,” said Gerald, cheerfully. “I’ll bet, though, that I’ll win just as many points as you will, Alf.”
“That’s a good safe wager,” observed Tom, lazily. ”

“ Dan, in spite of his having, in his own words, invented diving, was outclassed by [258] many of his rivals, and failed to win even, as Alf put it, a kind word! The barrel race proved excruciatingly funny. Most of the entrants were Preparatory or Fourth-Class youngsters, but one chap, a long, lanky youth named Prince, was participating for the honor of the First Class. It was Prince who afforded most of the fun. It is no easy matter to bestride a barrel, using your feet for paddles to propel yourself, even when you are short and the center of gravity is near the surface of the water. ”

“ No one was in sight. The night was mild, and a half-moon sailed in and out of a cloudy sky. Closing the door behind him, Gerald crept along in the shadows of the buildings until he had reached the front of Oxford. He knew that the [104] others would meet somewhere, and believed that from here he was certain to see or hear them.
And, as it proved, he hadn’t long to wait. Presently seven forms crept around the corner between Oxford and Whitson, and he buried himself more deeply in the shadow. They went by without suspecting him, and took the path that led down the hill toward Wissining. ”

“ Every team tries to rattle its opponent, and you know it well enough. What does coaching amount to, anyhow, but rattling the other fellow? When you have the bases full you’re [191] not thinking half as much about the runners as you are about the pitcher.”
“Well, that’s customary,” replied Durfee. “I don’t intend to set out to be a reformer, Alf, but I don’t like the idea of just starting out to rattle the pitcher. Besides, after all, it doesn’t make much difference whether we win this or not. I guess that chap Holmes is giving us some pretty fine batting practice, and we need it, too. ”

“ I owe it to the school and the team to keep mum and——”
“Seems to me,” interrupted Arthur, “we’re losing sight of the main question, which is: Will it help Gerald any? If it won’t, that ends it, to my mind, because the law doesn’t insist that a chap must give himself away. As long as faculty doesn’t find us out it isn’t up to us to help them.”
“That’s so,” said Durfee. “And I guess there isn’t any question of benefiting Pennimore. I’ll tell you what we can do, though, fellows, we can see that he doesn’t have any trouble with his studies. He will have to have C’s, or better, you know. ”

“ At one to one the game ran to the fifth. Twice Nordham filled the bases, and twice failed to score. Then Nordham’s catcher started the fun with a two-bagger. An attempted double play failed to work, and the runner was safe on second. The third man walked, and the bases were full with no one out. A sacrifice to left field scored the man on third, but a fine throw-in caught the next runner at the plate. With two out Yardley breathed easier, but the trouble wasn’t yet over, as was quickly proved when Servis passed the next batsman. ”

“ Both Rand and Bufford can beat me in the sprints.”
“You might crowd a Broadwood man out in the trials, though,” said Tom. “And you wouldn’t have to train much; your baseball work would keep you in trim.”
“Wouldn’t it be fine,” asked Gerald, enthusiastically, as he felt of his damp shoes, “if we won the [10] baseball and the track meet, too, this year? That would be a clean sweep, wouldn’t it? Football, cross country, hockey——”
“We won’t,” said Alf. “We never have in the school’s history. We’re bound to drop either track or baseball. Personally, I hope it will be track. ”

“ It’s a good school, is Yardley Hall; good in all ways; and, which is more important, it turns out some fine fellows. If I had space to set down a list of all the eminent government officials, scientists, writers, jurists, diplomats and the like who have graduated you would be vastly impressed. But I haven’t, and you must just take my word for it. I might add that it has turned out a large number of athletes who, if their renown has been more fleeting, have won honor and acclaim. ”

“ You, too, Norcross. Now, boys, remember there’s to be no jostling. Look out for your arms at the corners. Be sure you’re two strides ahead before crossing in front of a competitor. Careful about your start; you’ll be penalized if you beat the pistol. All right.”
“Yardley! Yardley! Yardley!” thundered the stand. The runners threw aside their wraps and limbered up, running a few steps back and forth along the track. Gerald was excited, but not nervous. He looked curiously at Stewart, the Broadwood crack, and compared him with Maury. Stewart was big and rangy and confident looking. ”

“ You tell me who the fellows were, and I’ll let you have that stamp for just half what I asked for it; and I’ll promise, crossing my heart, not to breathe a word about it to any one.”
“Don’t see why you want to know so much,” grumbled Harry. “And, anyway, I don’t want the stamp that bad.” But he began to wonder whether it would do any one any harm if he revealed the names of the practical jokers. If Cotton kept the knowledge to himself, no one, surely, would be any the worse off. ”