Back ran Warren, going as fast as he could travel and keeping his eyes on the ball over his left shoulder. Back he ran into deep left field, and he was still going when the ball started falling plummet like just ahead of him. Rabbit made a wild lunge and a dive. The ball plunked into his glove and he went down and rolled over and came up to his feet, the ball still gripped in his mitt. It was the most spectacular catch of the day and the Penguins and Penningtons went wild with enthusiasm.
“Some ball playing for the first day of the season,” yelled Mr. Clarkson enthusiastically, as the sides began to change. The score was still 1 to 0 and the fourth inning had started.
And it remained 1 to 0 in spite of the best efforts of the Penguins, for George Dixon, pitching in almost mid-season form, still held the fighting scrubs down through the remainder of the game and Honey Wiggins, with the fine support he was receiving from the rest of his team, tightened up perceptibly and did not let the first team squeeze in another tally. For the first game of the season it was a fine exhibition of baseball and the eighteen players left the field bubbling over with enthusiasm.
The locker room in the basement of the gym. was an interesting place when the whole squad gathered there to change their dusty and sweaty uniforms for more appropriate clothes for the dining hall.
“Jiminy, that was a great catch you made, Rabbit, old boy,” said Jeff enthusiastically, slapping his friend on the shoulder.
“Well, I had to match that double play you pulled, didn’t I?” said Warren grinning from ear to ear.
“Sure you did, you old Indian. I begin to think we’ve got a better team than the first team at that. Notice how anxious Coach Rice was to get Wade over on the other side just as soon as Dave Gleason pulled a tendon. Poor Dave. Heard anything from Dr. Stout?”
“Yes,” yelled Buck Hart from another section of locker, “I passed him coming in and he says Gleason has a mighty mean leg. He’ll have to use a crutch for a week or two or perhaps longer.”
“Shucks, that’s too bad for Gleason. But the Penningtons needn’t worry. We have lots of bright young men on the Penguins ready to step into the breach. Look at Rabbit Warren, for instance. Why, he’s the original skyscraper. When they won’t come down to him he flies up and gets ’em. He’s been putting hair tonic on his shoulder blades, and hanged if I don’t think he started to grow wings the way he climbed up for that one to-day. Give him time and he’ll be—”
Further remarks of a similar nature were cut short from Jeff by a sweater that came sailing through the air and wrapped neatly about his head. When he unwound it Rabbit Warren was grinning at him.