"One of those men was Bud Tyson, the best umpire in the Tri-State League, and the other was Tom Benton, catcher of the Buffaloes. They were talking about baseball. One of the men in the game had tried to steal a base. The catcher had been too quick for him and got the ball down to Billy, the man who was playing second base. He touched the runner and put him out, or killed him, as baseball players often call it. Sometimes they say that a man died at second. The man who was put out made a big kick or squeal about it, because he was so cut up about being put out. But the umpire just laughed at him and he had to go back to the bench."
Sammy felt the sickening sensation at the pit of his stomach that he had sometimes felt when an elevator started down with a rush. So this was all his great discovery amounted to! Another bubble of his had burst.
"So that was it," he said slowly.
"That's all it was," replied the conductor. "Both of those men have boys of their own and are good citizens and fathers. But don't feel a bit bad about it, my boy," he added kindly. "Anybody who isn't up in baseball slang might easily have made the same mistake. You might have been on the track of a real murder and you did just right in telling me about it."
With a friendly pat on the head he went on through the car. The boys looked at each other sheepishly. But this time none of them felt that they had any right to joke Sammy about it. They had believed as fully as he that they were on the track of a mystery and had been worked up to the same pitch of excitement. So that they were all in the same boat.
"So they were only baseball players," said George, disappointedly.
"That explains the crooked fingers that one of them had," remarked Frank. "I suppose they've been broken again and again."
"That was certainly one on us," said Bob, dejectedly.
"Well, after all, we ought to be glad I suppose that they aren't murderers," Sammy comforted himself.
"I'm glad that we're near Chicago," said George. "I don't want to see this conductor any more than I have to, and I'll feel better when we change trains."