“Is it possible?” he asked.
“Why shouldn’t I?” exclaimed Dick. “A fellow who has manhood enough to confess a mistake or a fault is just the sort to win my confidence. You come here like a man and acknowledge your mistake. I suspected you before that, and yet I hated to believe.”
“I knew you couldn’t help suspecting me. I am always doing some confoundedly foolish thing! I have a miserable disposition, Merriwell. I can’t seem to control it at times.”
“A chap who recognizes his own weaknesses and fights against them stands a good chance to win. The one who can’t see his failings, or refuses to see them, is the fellow who fails.”
“Perhaps that is right.”
“I know it is right, Darrell.”
“Still, even now you wouldn’t give me another show? You say you have confidence in me; but, knowing as much as you do, would you dare put me into the game against Fairport?”
Dick stood squarely before his visitor.
“Darrell, you can play baseball, and I know it. I was sorry when you refused to come out with the others this spring. We lost a good man in you. Gardner is ill, and it seems likely now he will not be able to play Wednesday. Do you want to fill his place?”
Instantly Hal sprang to his feet.