Owen Clancy.
“What’s the Hornet?” inquired Billy, in wonder. “There’s no noon train in!”
“That’s Clancy’s car,” laughed Merry. “It’s an old auto that he took off the scrap heap and made into a racer, though it doesn’t look up to much. He brought it with him from the West.”
“I’d like to put him up,” volunteered Spaulding. “We’ve got lots of room at our place, and he’d be welcome to stay a month.”
Billy protested, for he wanted Clancy as a guest himself, but Merriwell knew that two guests would sorely tax good Mrs. McQuade’s resources, so he accepted Spaulding’s offer gratefully. The meeting broke up with the first practice set for the following morning, Chub Newton stating that he would get off work easily enough, as his employer had no love for the Carsons.
Merriwell rather expected that he would get a letter from his father in the morning’s mail, but none came. Though he said nothing of it, this worried him slightly. He had explained to Billy that he had written his father, asking for the thousand dollars, and he began to wonder if his letter had miscarried.
He soon forgot his worry, when the Clippings assembled on an old diamond used by the high school. It was in a meadow beside the river. Three or four old balls were produced, and Merry at once set to work to get an idea of what his team could do.
The results were both encouraging and discouraging. The diamond was rough and uncared for, so that the infield had a tough time judging balls, but the base throws were excellent, and they showed good form.
Merry handed up slow ones, and the batting practice proved that in this quarter his team was lamentably weak. Chub Newton would bite at anything. McCarthy faced the plate wickedly, but his eye was poor on slow ones, and it was said that Bully Carson did his best work with a fadeaway ball.
Spaulding proved to be a fair batsman, while Nippen landed on Merry’s first ball and knocked it into the middle of the river. Henderson and Moore did poorly, and, although the three outfielders showed up better on gathering in high ones, Merry was not greatly encouraged when he and Billy went home for lunch.