With Mask and Mitt

er quarters in Carter. The difference in character between the two boys appeared in the experiences of their first days in school. Before the first Sun

many of them were true. Between the room which he occupied and that of the twins lay, according to one informant, a natural feud. At least such had prevailed the year before in the days of Tompkins, Rob's predecessor. He was advised by Lindsay, the football man who roomed opposite, to ignore this fact and avoid a continuance of the custom; and the stories in circulation concerning the amenities of Tompkins and the Pecks seemed to prove that

a considerable time in doubt. He was at first inclined to charge it up against homesickness, feeling himself for a time the forlornness of his exile from the home circle, and the burden of his independence. At the end of a fortnight, however, when all trace of discontent had vanished from Owen's mind, Payner remained as sour and taciturn as ever. Rob next ascribed the fellow's conduct to shyness, and put himself to some inconvenie

ionally in the dormitory until near the end of the season, when the conferences in Lindsay's room became frequent. Of the non-football players no one seemed to Owen more wholly desirable as a friend than Poole, the captain of the nine. He was a straight, dark, wiry fellow of average height and weight, with an open face and an air of quiet confidence and simple honesty and unaffected common sense combined visibly with energy and principle. According to Lindsay, Poole pos[Pg 15]sessed all the admirable qualities except brilliancy.

he captain one morning, about a fo

" replied Owen, modestly. "

d me. He says he has pitche

tic phrase of the day. "He's the best pitcher of his age I've ever seen! He

g

owever, the radiance had passed away and a dubious shade settled into its place. Terryville High School and the famous Seaton Academy were two very different

d?" he asked, with doubt showin

wered dryly, smothering the sharp retort that sprang to his lips. "We played other nines besides the high schools. Car

by the arm and swung him round so as to bring his face close to his own. "Tell me straight now," he demanded with an earnestness that was almost stern, and looking squarely into Owen's eyes. "I want the truth right now and all the truth. Is his record clear? Has he ever been paid for pitching, directly or indirectly, o

rland that lies between amateur and professional. McLennan's vulgarity he could put up with, because of McLennan's marvellous skill in his business. But the third-rater and the semi-professional, who represents a fair laborer or mechanic eternally spoiled to make a poor bal

play for money and refused them. McLennan advised h

Of course we shall have to look him up, but what you

ally," re

aptain, "but we want good men for other po

g

h," answ

ncluded the captain, turning away. "There'll be chance en

nly a pitcher that Poole wanted; it evidently had not even occurred to him to raise the question whether the new man could possibly be better than the Seaton catcher. And Carle,—well, Carle was friendly, of course, and w

nfield! I'm willing[Pg 20] to try for anything, of course, or play anywhere they want me, or not play at all; and if they've got a better catcher than I am, I'm glad of it, but they might at least say they'd give me a

altogether comforting reflecti

d of that time he was throwing all kinds of fast and slow balls as Borland demanded, and putting them over according t

performance, as he pulled on his sweater and the trio sta

g

—good?" aske

ance his own glory by depreciating his mate. "We always work

so," sai

in for them the Hillbury game. Whereat Lindsay and Laughlin congratulated him heartily and turned again to the problem of guar

er the deeds of his heroes, these ambitions grew stronger and more definite. He laid his tired head on the pillow after the evening's[Pg 22] celebration with all the separate impressions of the day focussed in one deep, absorbing longing. What Laughlin and Lindsay and Durand and Hendry and t

mit

itories