The Lucky Seventh

“Well, we may tell you some time,” teased Gordon. “What do you think, Lanny?”

“I guess so. It would cost money to advertise it in the paper, and so – ”

“Oh, you make me tired,” growled Fudge. “I don’t want to know it anyway. ’Tain’t anything, I’ll bet!”

“Not a thing, Fudge,” agreed Lanny.

“Then what you so – so mysterious about?” Fudge demanded.

“To arouse your curiosity, Fudge. Good-night, Gordie. Maybe you’d better tell him before he busts up. Good-night, Fudge. Say, we play Lesterville Saturday, don’t we?”

“You bet! And don’t forget practice again to-morrow. We want to beat those fellows.”

“Well, we’ve got a perfect record so far,” laughed Lanny. “Our percentage is one thousand. Played one, won one, lost none. Are the Pointers going to play us again?”

“Sure! I told Dick to see Caspar Billings to-day if he had a chance and see if they’d come over here a week from Saturday.”

“That’s good. Bet you, though, they lick us next time. So long.”

Lanny sped homeward and Gordon and Fudge parted midway between their gates. “You come over after supper, Fudge, and I’ll tell you what that is we were talking about.”

“Thanks, but I guess I don’t care to know,” replied Fudge a trifle haughtily. Gordon laughed.

“Don’t be a chump. We were only fooling. All the fellows are going to know about it, but I’ll tell you first if you’ll come over.”

“You told Lanny first,” Fudge objected doubtfully. “But – I’ll come.”

CHAPTER XII

A REVERSED DECISION

Two days later the Clearfield Baseball Club met at the railroad station shortly after dinner time and boarded the train for Lesterville. Only Harry Bryan was missing. A press of business had developed at the grocery store and Mr. Bryan had, to Harry’s sorrow, set his foot down on a Saturday holiday. A small youth named Tim Turner, a youthful crony of Fudge’s, was drafted to play in right field and Jack Tappen was moved to second in Harry’s place.

None of the fellows was very hopeful of beating Lesterville, for the neighboring mill town had maintained for several years a nine which averaged fully two years older than Clearfield. But, as Dick pointed out, the game would be fine practice, even if they were beaten. “We really need,” said Dick, “to run up against a spanking good nine and see how the game is played.”

Some of the fellows hooted at that, but Dick only smiled. “That’s all right,” he replied. “I’ll wager that you’ll learn one or two tricks to-day worth knowing.”

“What’s their pitcher like?” inquired Fudge anxiously.

“They have two of them, Fudge, and they’re both pretty good.”

“They won’t be hard for Fudge,” said Pete Robey. “Fudge will eat ’em alive!”

“Bet you I make as many hits as you do,” responded Fudge eagerly. “Come on, now! Wh-wh-what do you say?”

But Pete only grinned and shook his head. You couldn’t start an argument with Pete.

On the way to Lesterville Dick exhibited a list of games which he had already arranged. Rutter’s Point was to play a return contest on the High School field a week from to-day, Logan was to visit Clearfield the following Wednesday and Corwin was to come a week later. “We have next Wednesday open,” explained Dick, “and a week from Saturday. I don’t believe we’ll be able to find a game for Wednesday, but I’ve written Shirley at Springdale to get up a team to play us that Saturday. I’ve told him we’d go over there.”

“Fine!” exclaimed Tom Haley. “I’d love to have another chance at those fellows!”

“Well, I suppose it won’t be quite the same team that we played last month,” said Dick. “I dare say some of their fellows have gone away for the summer. But that gives us three games anyhow, and perhaps four. And I heard of a team over at Locust Valley which may like to play us.”

“All those games are at home, too,” reflected Lanny. “How about trying that scheme to charge admission, Dick?”

“No harm in trying it,” returned the manager thoughtfully. “Whether it will go or not we’ll have to see. We could get a few notices printed and stick them around in the windows down town. And I guess the paper will announce the games if we ask.”

“A lot of folks will pay a quarter to see a good game,” said Jack Tappen.

“Would you?” challenged Gordon.

“Sure,” laughed Jack, “if I had the quarter!”

“Not if he could find a crack in the fence,” said Fudge.

“Look here,” announced Will Scott, “someone said they were surveying the athletic field, Dick. Suppose they start to work there in a day or two. We couldn’t play those games, could we?”

“In that case we’ll play the teams on their own grounds.”

“It makes it pretty expensive,” objected Way. “I’m nearly broke now. If I lose my return ticket someone will have to pay my fare back.”

“Oh, the walking’s good,” replied Tom carelessly.

“Another thing,” said Lanny. “If we play away from home we can’t make any money.”

At that most of the fellows observed each other with questioning and somewhat dismayed glances. Dick, studying his list, replied:

“That doesn’t make much difference, does it? None of those places are far away and it won’t break us to pay trolley fares. After all, we don’t need the money as far as I see.”

“Don’t we!” exploded Jack. “We need it like anything!”

Curtis Wayland kicked him on the ankle and Jack subsided.

“What for?” asked Dick, mildly surprised. “We’ve got four balls that haven’t been used and three that are still good. We’ve got bats and gloves and a mask and about everything else. I thought we were in this for the fun of it. What do we want to make money for?”

But Jack only mumbled, while the others regarded him with threatening looks. Will Scott changed the subject gracefully.

“You fellows don’t want to forget that there’s a meeting to-night about the new field. You’d better all show up. We want to get as many there as possible.”

“Thought it was just a meeting of the committee,” said Gordon.

“No, it’s public. We want to find out what the fellows think about it before we go ahead and do anything.”

“I don’t see that there’s more than one thing we can think about it,” observed Tom. “The old field’s going and we’ve got to have another. That’s dead simple.”

“Yes, but we may have to rent ground,” replied Way. “And we want to know how far out of town fellows are willing to go. And how much we ought to pay.”

“And whether to get a place on the town side or across the river. There’s a field over toward the Point, right near the car line, that might do.”