Jack Winters' Baseball Team by Mark Overton (short books to read .TXT) 📕

out his hand, and smiled pleasantly. He was a great and constant admirer of Jack Winters, because he could read frankness, honesty, determination to succeed, and many other admirable traits in the boy’s face. In fact, Mr. Taft had been quite an athlete himself when at college, and his interest in clean sport had never flagged even when he took up serious tasks in the business world.

“Glad to see you, my boy,” he observed, in his customary genial fashion, as he squeezed Jack’s hand. “What can I do for you today? How is the team getting along after that glorious game you played? No press of business is going to prevent one man I know of in Chester from attending the game next Saturday. I hope you are not in any trouble, Jack?”

Evidently his quick eye had noted the slight cloud on the boy’s face, an unusual circumstance in connection with the captain of the nine.

“Yes, I am in a peck of trouble, sir,” candidly confessed Jack. “The fact of the matter is it looks as though, we might be short our wonderful young pitcher, Alec Donohue, next Saturday.”

“How’s that, Jack?” demanded the gentleman, anxiously. “I’m greatly interested in that lad’s work. He certainly has the making of a great pitcher in him. Why, if we lose Donohue, I’m afraid the cake will be dough with us, for I hear Hendrix is in excellent shape, and declares he will pitch the game of his life when next he faces your crowd.”

“I’ll tell you what the matter is, sir,” and with that Jack plunged into a brief exposition of the Donohue family troubles.

As he proceeded, he saw with kindling joy that a beaming smile had commenced to creep over the rosy countenance of the one-time college athlete. This encouraged him to state how a wild hope had arisen in his heart that possibly some job might be found for Mr. Donohue that would keep the family in Chester right along.

“We need him the worst kind, Mr. Taft,” he concluded. “If Alec quits us cold I’m afraid it’s bound to set all our fine schemes for athletics in Chester back a peg or two. This seems to be a most critical time with us. If we win that game we’re going to make many new friends around here, who will assist us in getting that club-house we’ve been talking about, and putting athletic sports on a sound footing in our town.”

“Make your mind easy, Jack, my boy,” said the stout gentleman, with a nod, “Alec will toss for us next Saturday, because we won’t allow the Donohue family to shake the dust of Chester off their shoes. Why, it happens that my night watchman has just given notice that he must throw up his job because he has taken a position in one of those munition works in another town, where they pay such big wages for men who know certain things. So consider that I offer Donohue the position at twenty-four dollars a week; and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be a permanent job, as I understand he’s a reliable watchman.”

Jack could hardly speak for happiness. The tears actually came in his eyes as he wrung the hand of the gentleman.

“Oh! you don’t know how happy you’ve made me by saying that, Mr. Taft,” he managed to declare. “And have I permission to go over to the Donohue home with that glorious news right away?”

“Suit yourself about that, son. Tell him to come around tomorrow and see me; but that the job is his right now. And also tell Alec from me that Chester expects him to fool those heavy hitters of Harmony to the top of his bent, when he faces Hutchings, Clifford, Oldsmith, O’Leary and the rest.”

When Jack went out of that office his heart was singing with joy. The clouds had rolled away once more, and the future looked particularly bright. He only hoped it would be an augury of success in store for the Chester nine in their coming battle.

CHAPTER XII
ONE TROUBLE AFTER ANOTHER

“Ting-a-ling!”

The telephone bell in Jack’s home was ringing just as the boy passed through the hall on Thursday morning around ten. He had been busily engaged in matters at home, and not gone out up to then. As he held his ear to the receiver he caught the well-known voice of Toby Hopkins.

“That you, Jack?”

“No one else; and what’s going on over at your house?” Jack replied. “I thought for sure you’d have been across before now, if only to learn how I came out with that Donohue trouble.”

“Oh! I would have been starting you up at daybreak this morning, Jack, only it happens that I learned the good news last night.”

“How was that?” demanded the other; “did you walk over to their place to ask Alec about it?”

“I went over to offer Mr. Donohue a job in the Cameron mill tending a plane, only to have him tell me with a happy look in his eyes that he had already taken a position as night watchman with the foundry and rolling mill people, meaning Mr. Taft, your special friend and backer. So I knew you had been busy as well as myself. But you can tell me all about it, and what the Donohues said, when you join me inside of five minutes; because I’m coming over in our tin-Lizzie to take you on a little jaunt with me.”

“But I don’t believe I ought to go off just now,” expostulated Jack; “because I’ve got a number of things to see to; and besides, we must be out to practice again this afternoon.”

“Rats! you’ve got plenty of time for all that,” snorted Toby, who evidently would not take no for an answer when once his heart was set on a thing. “And, besides, it happens that I’m heading for Harmony this time, on some business for dad. We can come back by the road that finally skirts the lake shore. I heard some of the fellows say they meant to go swimming this morning, and we’ll like as not come across them in the act, perhaps have a dip ourselves for diversion. Say you’ll go, Jack?”

It was a very alluring programme for a boy who loved the open as much as Jack did. His scruples vanished like the mist before the morning sun.

“All right, then, Toby,” he went on to say; “I’ll go with you, because we can kill two birds with one stone. It happens that I’d like to have a chat with Martin, the Harmony captain. There are several things we ought to settle before we meet on the diamond Saturday afternoon. I’ll be ready for you when you come around with your antique chariot.”

“It isn’t good taste to look a gift-horse in the mouth, Jack; and you ought to know that same flivver can show her heels to many a more pretentious car when on the road. So-long, then. See you in five minutes!”

Toby was as good as his word, and the car stopped before Jack’s gate with much honking of the claxon. Once they were off of course Toby demanded that his companion relate his experiences of the preceding afternoon, when he interviewed the affable manager of the big rolling mills, and secured that offer of a good job for Mr. Donohue, calculated to keep their wonderful wizard of a pitcher on the roll-call of the Chester baseball team.

“Of course,” said Jack, in conclusion, “when I got to Alec’s place and told them what good news I was fetching, they were all mighty well pleased. I thought Alec would certainly have a fit, he danced around so. And take it from me, Toby, that boy will show the Harmony players some wonderful tricks from his box when they face him again, because he’s feeling simply immense. When a pitcher is in the pink of condition, he can make the heaviest sluggers feed from his hand; and Alec certainly has a bunch of shoots that run all the way from speed, curves, drops, and several others that, for one, I never before heard of. Now tell me about your offer of a job.”

Toby laughed softly.

“Well, you see, Jack, I just knew what you’d be up to, and says I to myself, it’d be a bully thing if I could beat Jack out for just once. So I humped myself and ran around to see Joe Cameron, who happens to be a distant relative of my mother, you remember. He wanted to help me, but at first couldn’t see any way where he could make use of a man like Donohue, at least at living wages. But I pleaded so hard, that in the end he remembered a certain place that was vacant. True, it only paid fifteen a week, but he placed it at my disposal. And so after supper I ran around to see if Donohue wouldn’t consent to fill that job, through the summer, or until a better one showed up. But I was tickled when Alec told me about your stunt.”

Chatting as they rode along, they were not long in reaching Harmony. This town was somewhat larger than Chester, though the latter did more business when it came to the matter of dollars and cents, on account of the mills and factories along the lake and the river.

Toby soon transacted his errand, which was connected with a business house. Then they made inquiries, and learned that Martin lived on the outskirts of the town, actually on the road they meant to take going home by another route.

“That must be his place yonder!” remarked Toby, presently.

“No doubt about it,” laughed Jack, “for you can see that a baseball crank lives in that big house with the extensive grounds. Listen to the plunk of a ball landing in a glove, will you. Martin is having a little private practice of a morning on his own account.”

“Yes, I can see two fellows passing the ball across the lawn,” admitted Toby. “If all the other members of the Harmony team are just as hard at work every hour of daylight, it’s mighty evident they mean to be as fit as a fiddle for that big game. They must feel that if they lose, all their good work of the summer will go in the scrap heap.”

“I’m glad to know they feel so anxious,” chuckled Jack. “It shows how we made them respect our team that last time, when they had their full line-up on deck. We are due for a thrilling game, and don’t you forget it, Toby.”

When the two boys who were passing the ball so swiftly discovered the stopping flivver, and recognized their morning callers, they hurried out through the gate to shake hands with Jack and Toby. Martin’s companion proved to be Hutchings, the efficient first baseman and hard hitter of the locals.

They chatted for some time, Jack making such, inquiries as he had in mind, and being given all the information at the disposal of the other pair.

“About that letter of mine,” Captain Martin finally remarked, when the visitors were preparing to depart; “it was a nasty subject to handle, and I hardly knew how to go about it; so finally decided to hit straight out, and tell you what we suspected was going on over here. I was glad to hear from Bailey that you boys took it in just the same spirit it was sent.”

“We were in a humor to give you and your fellows a hearty cheer,” Jack told him; “we all agreed that it was a genuine pleasure to run up against such a fine bunch of honorable ball players; and believe me, if we can’t carry off that game for Chester, we’ll not