Church, of Jefferson, on the other hand, got his encouragement out of the fact that his team had played fully as well as Lowell, and with a little luck would have won. A little less wind when Larry got a foul instead of a homer in the ninth would have given them the game, and he told the boys he felt sure the luck would average up, and that the championship would be won this time.
[CHAPTER XXI]
RETURNING HOME
At midnight the Lowell special started on the return trip, with another special train, bearing the Jefferson team and her faithful rooters, trailing them.
The celebration after the game had been glorious but pretty strenuous, and the boys were tired. They all tumbled into their berths and went promptly to sleep.
Early in the morning, however, they were awakened by the noise of cheering, and looking out of the windows of the car they could see they had stopped at a station crowded with people. It was hardly six o’clock, but the platform was crowded with an enthusiastic mob, giving the Lowell yell and calling on the boys to get up and show themselves. The train pulled out before they could do this, but they got up and dressed and had an early breakfast.
Then they prepared themselves for the all-day ride to the East. Presently they stopped again. A still larger crowd was at the station with the familiar green flags and banners. This time the boys went out on the platform and joined the chorus of Lowell songs and yells.
So it went all day. Wherever they stopped there were cheering crowds and songs and yells. Every once in a while they called on Hughie for a speech and he would do his best in reply. It was almost the kind of a ride which the President makes on his occasional swings around the circle. Certain it is that no President ever got a more enthusiastic reception than did the Lowell boys that day.
During the course of the morning when there was about an hour’s run to the next stop, Johnny Everson and Arthur Delvin found Ty Robb in the far corner writing busily.