“What is the matter with him, anyway?” asked Pooler. “Why has the doctor ordered him not to play?”
“Heart tut-tut-trouble,” explained Gamp. “He’s liable to drop dead some tut-tut-time when he exerts himself too much.”
The boys looked at each other in doleful silence. The news had cast a deep gloom over them.
“Who’ll be captain now?” said Halliday. “You ought to know, Parker.”
“How should I know?” asked Puss. “I don’t have anything to do with the management of the team. It’s all I can do to play first base.”
“Well, who do you think stands the best chance?”
“Frank Merriwell.”
Pooler started and scowled.
“I hope they won’t be fools enough to put him in!” he said. “His head is swelled enough now. He’ll feel so big that he won’t be worth anything if he is made captain.”
“Oh, how can you say that!” exclaimed Sidney Gooch, who had joined the crowd. “Mr. Merriwell is such a splendid fellow!”