“No; but he’s green.”
“And he has come forward faster than any green man I have ever tried. He has worked like a dog to make himself valuable. Not another man on the nine has worked so hard. He could catch a ball when he began, and that was about all he could do. He could not throw, but in one week’s time he became a good thrower. In three weeks he was good enough for the field. He could not bat, but he practised faithfully, and every day he made progress. He is now one of the safest hitters on the team.”
“But you can’t depend on him in an emergency, and you know it, Frank.”
“There were plenty of men who used to say the same thing about you. They don’t say so now.”
Bart shrugged his shoulders.
“They are saying everything you can imagine about Mason.”
Frank looked grim.
“Because Mason had a bad day and put up a poor game. Every player has such days, no matter how good he may be.”
“And you mean to keep him for all of what everybody says?”
“I mean to give him another trial.”