Elgin’s jaw dropped and his face flamed scarlet. “You’re going to send me down to the—the Lobsters?” he stammered.
“I am. I’ve found out the dirty trick you played on Locke in Ashland, and I wouldn’t have a scoundrel like you on my team if you was the best pitcher in the country—which you ain’t, by a long shot.”
For an instant the pitcher stood staring at him, an indescribable expression on his face. He cast a single swift glance at the players standing around. Then, without a word, he turned and walked hastily away through the gathering crowd.
“Good riddance!” growled Brennan.
He stood chewing meditatively on the stub of an unlighted cigar. After a moment he shrugged his shoulders and pushed his way through the crowd to where Lefty and a few of the Blue Stockings were hemmed in by the throng.
“You did a fine job, kid,” he said gruffly, thrusting out a square, stubby hand. “Shake!”
Without hesitation Lefty gripped his fingers. Brennan’s treatment had caused him some bitter hours, but this was no time to harbor resentment. The short manager turned to Kennedy, his mouth twisted in a wry smile.
“You can kick me good and hard, Ken,” he said. “I sure fell flat on this deal.” His eyes twinkled, and the smile broadened to a grin. “I sort of think this boy belongs to me. I had the first rights to him, and I reckon I’ll pull him back now.”
“Not if I know it!” laughed Kennedy. “You were thick enough to release him unconditionally. He belongs to me now, and you bet he’s going to stay.”
But old Jack could not foresee the approaching wave of change that was to leave him stranded as a baseball manager. Nor was Lefty Locke, in spite of the splendid beginning he had made, to find it all fair sailing in the Big League. With Kennedy retired and Lefty missing, following his suspension by the new manager, the Blue Stockings were destined to have their troubles in the fight for the pennant. How old Jack and the young southpaw star returned to the field of battle barely in time to save the day is dramatically told in “Lefty o’ the Blue Stockings,” the third volume of The Big League Series.