They chatted about various trivial things, Janet seeming quite light-hearted. He, however, was troubled; he wished that she would speak of baseball, which would make it easier for him to introduce the matter that was on his mind. Coming in sight of the parsonage at last, he decided to delay no longer.
“I understand,” he said abruptly, “that Kingsbridge’s great pitcher, Locke, is in trouble.”
“In trouble?” she exclaimed, surprised. “How?” The undisguised depth of her interest, and her all too apparent alarm, gave him a stab of anger.
“Oh,” he answered, with pretended carelessness, “it has just leaked out that he played a rather slick two-handed game with Bancroft and Kingsbridge, and Mike Riley is making a holler about it. He professes to hold first claim on the man. If so, this town will lose the mighty southpaw.”
Her alarm became almost panicky.
“I don’t understand, and I don’t believe a word of it. It’s only another of Riley’s tricks. How can he have any claim on Lefty?”
He explained.
“Oh,” said Janet, “is Lefty really and truly a college man? I felt sure he could not be just an ordinary professional player. He seems far too refined and well bred.”
“He’s a college man, all right. He looked familiar to me at first sight, but I was not sure I had seen him before. His name is Hazelton, and he did some pitching for Princeton this year, but I don’t think he was a regular on that team until the end of last season. I suppose he thought that, coming away up here in the bush, he could get by under a fake name without being found out. They’re wise to him, however, and now he’s in bad. It should end his career as a college pitcher.”
“That would be a shame!”