The Young Pitcher by Zane Grey (list of ebook readers txt) ๐
When the Christmas recess was over he went back to his lectures resigned to the thought t
Read free book ยซThe Young Pitcher by Zane Grey (list of ebook readers txt) ๐ยป - read online or download for free at americanlibrarybooks.com
- Author: Zane Grey
- Performer: -
Read book online ยซThe Young Pitcher by Zane Grey (list of ebook readers txt) ๐ยป. Author - Zane Grey
Once in the eighth inning Ken became aware that Worry was punching him in the back and muttering:
โLook out, Peg! Listen! Murphy'll get one in Reddy's groove this time.... Oh-h!โ
The crack of the ball, as well as Worry's yell, told Ken what had happened. Besides, he could see, and as the ball lined away for the fence, and the sprinter leaped into action, Ken jumped up and screamed:
โOh, Reddy, it's overโover! No! Run! Run! Oh-h-h!โ
In the shrill, piercing strife of sound Ken's scream seemed only a breath at his ears. He held to it, almost splitting his throat, while the sprinter twinkled round third base and came home like a thunderbolt.
Another inning passed, a confusion of hits, throws, runs, and plays to Ken, and then Worry was pounding him again.
โDig for the trainin'-house!โ yelled Worry, mouth on his ear. โThe students are crazy! They'll eat us alive! They're tearin' the bleachers down! Run for it, Peg!โ
A Matter of Principle
Ken found himself running across Grant Field, pursued by a happy, roaring mob of students. They might have been Indians, judging from the way Ken and his fellow-players fled before them. The trained athletes distanced their well-meaning but violent pursuers and gained the gate, but it was a close shave. The boys bounded up the street into the training-house and locked the door till the puffing Arthurs arrived. They let him in and locked the door again.
In another moment the street resounded with the rush of many feet and the yells of frantic students. Murray, the trainer, forced a way through the crowd and up the stoop. He closed and barred the outside door, and then pounded upon the inside door for admittance. Worry let him in.
โThey'd make a bowl-fight or a football rush look tame,โ panted Murray. โHey! Scottyโlock up tight down in the basement. For Heaven's sake don't let that push get in on us! Lock the windows in the front.โ
โWho's that poundin' on the door?โ yelled Worry. He had to yell, for the swelling racket outside made ordinary conversation impossible.
โDon't open it!โ shouted Murray. โWhat do we care for team-captains, college professors, athletic directors, or students? They're all out there, and they're crazy, I tell you. I never saw the like. It'd be more than I want to get in that jam. And it'd never do for the varsity. Somebody would get crippled sure. I'm training this baseball team.โ
Murray, in his zealous care of his athletes, was somewhat overshooting the mark, for not one of the boys had the slightest desire to be trusted to the mob outside. In fact, Ken looked dazed, and Raymond scared to the point of trembling; Trace was pale; and all the others, except Homans and Reddy Ray, showed perturbation. Nor were the captain and sprinter deaf to the purport of that hour; only in their faces shone a kindling glow and flush.
By-and-by the boys slipped to their rooms, removed their uniforms, dressed and crept down-stairs like burglars and went in to dinner. Outside the uproar, instead of abating, gathered strength as time went by. At the dinner-table the boys had to yell in each other's ears. They had to force what they ate. No one was hungry. When Worry rose from the table they all flocked after him.
It was growing dark outside, and a red glow, brightening upon the windows, showed the students had lighted bonfires.
โThey're goin' to make a night of it,โ yelled Worry.
โHow'll my boys be able to sleep?โ shouted Murray. Both coach and trainer were as excited as any of the boys.
โThe street's packed solid. Listen!โ
The tramp, tramp, tramp of thousands of feet keeping time was like the heavy tread of a marching multitude. Then the tramp died away in a piercing cheer, โWayne!โ nine times, clear and sustainedโa long, beautiful college cheer. In the breathing spell that followed, the steady tramp of feet went on. One by one, at intervals, the university yells were given, the broken rattling rally, the floating melodious crew cheer, and the hoarse, smashing boom of football. Then again the inspiriting โWayne!โ nine times. After that came shrill calls for the varsity, for Homans, Reddy Ray, Raymond, and Peggie Ward.
โCome up-stairs to the windows, boys!โ shouted Worry. โWe've got to show ourselves.โ
Worry threw up the windows in Weir's room, and the boys gingerly poked their heads out. A roar greeted their appearance. The heads all popped in as if they had been struck.
โHomans, you'll have to make a speech,โ cried the coach.
โI will not!โ
โYou've got to say somethin'. We can't have this crazy gang out here all night.โ
Then Worry and Murray coaxed and led Homans to the window. The captain leaned out and said something that was unintelligible in the hubbub without. The crowd cheered him and called for Reddy, Ward, and Raymond. Worry grasped the second-baseman and shoved him half over the sill. Raymond would have fallen out but for the coach's strong hold.
โCome on, Peg!โ yelled Worry.
โNot on your life!โ cried Ken, in affright. He ran away from the coach, and dived under the bed. But Reddy Ray dragged him out and to the window, and held him up in the bright bonfire glare. Then he lifted a hand to silence the roaring crowd.
โFellows, here he isโWorry's demon, Wayne's pitcher!โ called Reddy, in ringing, far-reaching voice. โListen! Peggie didn't lose his nerve when he faced Herne to-day, but he's lost it now. He's lost his voice, too. But he says for you to go away and save your cheers for this day two weeks, when we meet Place. Then, he says, you'll have something to cheer for!โ
The crafty sprinter knew how to appeal to the students. All of voice and strength and enthusiasm left in them went up in a mighty bawl that rattled the windows and shook the house. They finished with nine โWaynes!โ and a long, rousing โPeggie Ward!โ and then they went away.
โBy George! look here, Peg,โ said Reddy, earnestly, โthey gave you Wayne's Nine! Wayne's Nine! Do you hear? I never knew a freshman varsity man to get that cheer.โ
โYou've got to beat Place now, after tellin' 'em you'd do it,โ added Worry.
โBut, Worry, I didn't say a wordโit was Reddy,โ replied Ken, in distress.
โSame thing,โ rejoined the coach. โNow, boys, let's quiet down and talk over the game. I won't waste any time jollyin' you. I couldn't praise you enough if I spent the rest of the season tryin' to. One and all, by yourselves and in a bunch, you played Herne off their feet. I'll bet MacNeff and Prince are dizzy figurin' what'll happen Saturday week. As to the score, why, scores don't mean much to usโโ
โWhat was the score, anyway?โ asked Ken.
The boys greeted this with shouts of doubtful laughter, and Worry glanced with disapproval at his star.
โPeg, you keep me guessin' a lot. But not to know how much we beat Herne would be more 'n I could stand. On the level, now, don't you know the score?โ
โFair and square, I don't, Worry. You never would let me think of how many runs we had or needed. I can count sevenโyes, and one more, that was Reddy's home-run.โ
โPeg, you must have been up in the air a little; 14 to 4, that's it. And we didn't take our bat in the last of the ninth.โ
Then followed Worry's critical account of the game, and a discussion in which the boys went over certain plays. During the evening many visitors called, but did not gain admission. The next morning, however, Worry himself brought in the newspapers, which heretofore he had forbidden the players to read, and he told them they were now free to have any callers or to go where they liked. There was a merry scramble for the papers, and presently the reading-room was as quiet as a church.
The account that held Ken Ward in rapt perusal was the Morning Times-Star's. At first the print blurred in Ken's sight. Then he read it over again. He liked the glowing praise given the team, and was shamefully conscious of the delight in his name in large letters. A third time he read it, guiltily this time, for he did not dream that his comrades were engrossed in like indulgence.
WAYNE OUTCLASSES HERNE
ARTHURS DEVELOPS ANOTHER GREAT TEAM.
PEGGIE WARD AND REDDY RAY STARS.
Wayne defeated Herne yesterday 14 to 4, and thereby leaped into the limelight. It was a surprise to every one, Herne most of all. Owing to the stringent eligibility rules now in force at Wayne, and the barring of the old varsity, nothing was expected of this season's team. Arthurs, the famous coach, has built a wonderful nine out of green material, and again establishes the advisability of professional coaches for the big universities.
With one or two exceptions Wayne's varsity is made up of players developed this year. Homans, the captain, was well known about town as an amateur player of ability. But Arthurs has made him into a great field captain and a base-getter of remarkable skill. An unofficial computing gives him the batting average of .536. No captain or any other player of any big college team in the East ever approached such percentage as that. It is so high that it must be a mistake.
Reddy Ray, the intercollegiate champion in the sprints, is the other seasoned player of the varsity, and it is safe to say that he is the star of all the college teams. A wonderful fielder, a sure and heavy hitter, and like a flash on the bases, he alone makes Homans' team formidable.
Then there is Peg Ward, Worry Arthurs' demon pitcher, of freshman bowl-fight fame. This lad has been arriving since spring, and now he has arrived. He is powerful, and has a great arm. He seems to pitch without effort, has twice the speed of Dale, and is as cool in the box as a veteran. But it is his marvellous control of the ball that puts him in a class by himself. In the fourth inning of yesterday's game he extended himself, probably on orders from Coach Arthurs, and struck out Herne's three best hitters on eleven pitched balls. Then he was taken out and Schoonover put in. This white-headed lad is no slouch of a pitcher, by-the-way. But it must have been a bitter pill for Herne to swallow. The proud Herne varsity have been used to knocking pitchers out of the box, instead of seeing them removed because they were too good. Also, MacNeff and Prince, of Place, who saw the game, must have had food for reflection. They did not get much of a line on young Ward, and what they saw will not give them pleasant dreams. We pick Ward to beat the heavy-hitting Place team.
Other youngsters of Arthurs' nine show up well, particularly Raymond and Weir, who have springs in their feet and arms like whips. Altogether Arthurs' varsity is a strangely assorted, a wonderfully chosen group of players. We might liken them to the mechanism of a fine watch, with Ward as the mainspring, and the others with big or little parts to
Comments (0)