“Yes, I see it there. But look just above it. See that word. It reads s-u-b-s-t-i-t-u-t-e. Can’t you read?”
“Well, what does the young man want? Does he want to be crown prince or emperor or what? My goodness, Jeff, it’s something to be in uniform and on the bench. I think if you get that far you’ll get a chance in the game. Anyhow, you are making progress.”
“I suppose I do want too much. But look at you, you lucky duck. Make the first team right off.”
“Well, that’s a combination of luck and circumstances. If Dave Gleason hadn’t pulled a tendon and if the rest of the fellows out for fielding positions were just a little more lucky I’d be warming the bench this afternoon myself. Just luck, old kid, and I’m afraid that it won’t last any too long. Rabbit Warren is moving along too fast to make me very happy. First thing I know they will bench me and shove him in. I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened to-day. I bet you and Rabbit will get a show before the game is over. So will Honey Wiggins.”
But Wade’s prediction was only partly right. Honey Wiggins did get a chance. Coach Rice put him in in the seventh inning because he did not want George Dixon to go the entire route and possibly strain his arm. But Honey was the only one of the five substitutes who did get a chance.
Gould played an air-tight game, fielding one hundred per cent and getting two hits out of five times up, and drawing a pass once. Whether the presence of Jeff inspired him to do great deeds just to show the aggressive Freshman that he hadn’t a chance in the world for the job, or whether he was improving so steadily that he was fast reaching the top of his form Jeff could not guess, but certainly he played brilliant and heady ball in every inning but the ninth. His success seemed to make him more cocky than ever then, and he all but started a fight with the man on the Erasmus Hall coaching line. They exchanged words that fairly made the air sizzle with their sharpness, and Gould was all for fighting it out there and then until Umpire Stephens came over and stopped the argument with a threat to put both Gould and the other offending player off the field if they did not hold their tongues.
On the bench, beside Mr. Rice, Jeff could see that Gould’s nastiness did not please the coach at all. He frowned and looked very much displeased while the argument was taking place, and Jeff heard him remark to Mr. Clarkson:
“That’s the worst of that boy. He’s mean clear through sometimes. If it wasn’t that he deserved a chance, and that he is a fair enough third baseman I’d throw him out of the squad. I’d yank him out now if the game wasn’t so nearly finished, just to show him that I will not stand for fresh players on a Pennington team.”
But the inning closed with the next out and that was the end of that, and Jeff and Rabbit and Cas Gorham wended their way to the locker room more or less discouraged with their luck.
On their way across the campus Jeff noticed a boy coming slowly out of the infirmary door. He was bundled in a heavy coat despite the pleasant spring warmth of the day, and he looked thin and hollow-eyed. Jeff had to look at him twice before he recognized him.