“Hones’? You ain’ mindin’ if I do?”
“No, I’d rather you did, June. You might—I don’t see how you could, exactly—but you might——”
“Yes, sir, Mas’ Wayne?”
“Well, you just might be able to help me, June, if you were at the Congress House. Suppose, for instance, I wanted to see Mr. Milburn, and the clerk wouldn’t let me up. If you sort of made his acquaintance and got friendly with him——”
“Lawsy-y-y! Ain’ that the truth? Mas’ Wayne, I goin’ make that yere Mister Manager jus’ love me, yes, sir! I goin’ be so nice an’ ’tentive to him——”
“Go ahead,” laughed Wayne. “Make him love you so much that he will give me a place on the team, June.”
“That’s jus’ what I’m aimin’ to do,” replied June, showing all his teeth in a broad grin. “You jus’ wait till I gets me acquainted with that Mister Man. I—I goin’ put a conjur on him, yes, sir!”
The next morning June departed, armed with his “four bits” and his ingratiating smile in the direction of the Congress House and Wayne saw him no more until supper time. Wayne spent the forenoon at the ball grounds making himself useful. Today his duties included catching “Red” again. Linton did not show up and as Young couldn’t attend to more than three of the pitchers Herring found a mitt for Wayne and towed him across to the third base side of the field and ranged him alongside Catcher Young.
“You take the other fellers, Dan,” said “Red.” “I got me a catcher.”
Wayne was a little embarrassed and awkward at first, but by the time “Red” was getting warmed up and putting speed into the ball he was so interested that he forgot all self-consciousness. “Red” was feeling in fine form this morning, possibly as a result of yesterday’s game, and some of his deliveries were hard to judge. There was a “jump ball” in particular that always caused Wayne anxiety until it had settled into his mitten. Crane, Nye, and Cotton, who were pitching to Young, and Young, too, for that matter, observed the emergency catcher with interest. It was “Hop” who asked presently: “You and Steve got together yet, kid?”