“I never had time to rest,” said Hiram. “College is a serious thing with me.”
“It doesn’t pay to work all the time,” remarked Hans. “You know the old saying ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’”
“Yes, I know that, but I’m strong yet and I have been rather dull all my life,” replied Parker without noticing the humor of his remark.
“Why don’t you take a day off and come out and see one of the games some day?” asked Hal.
“Maybe I will some day,” Parker would reply, and would then go on up to his room.
But the drawing nearer of the big games of the season caused a lot of excitement around the university, so much, in fact, that even fellows like Parker began to be affected by it.
On the day of the game with Chadwick College which was the last game at home before the first game with Jefferson now only a week off, Hal met Parker coming in just as he was going out to the grounds. Hal was not in the game that day. He had developed a bad boil on his left hand and Hughie wasn’t taking any chances on having that hand out of commission a week later, by having it further crippled.
So Hal was given a lay off from the team to give his hand a chance to heal, and as he was very anxious not to miss those great games, he made no kick against Hughie’s orders. At the same time it was tough to think of sitting in the stand while Hans and the other boys were enjoying themselves in the game with Chadwick which was generally an easy game for Lowell to win. Chadwick College was not in the same grade as Lowell, but sentiment for the founder, Father Chadwick, known as the Father of Baseball, and the memory of what he had done for the great sport served to keep the game on the regular schedule, and it had always taken place just before the first great game with Jefferson.
“Come on along to the game,” said Hal as he met Parker.
“I have a good notion to. For once I haven’t much to do to-day. Been thinking for some time I’d go out and see a game. I’ll go if you’ll find some one to explain it to me,” answered Parker.