“All here but Buster Billings!” announced some one.
“And there he comes toddling along now!” another called out.
“Buster never would hurry if the world was coming to an end,” said Lanky.
“You wrong him there. Send a fly out in his territory and see him go. Once he makes a start and he can whoop things up like a wild broncho on the plains. The only trouble with Buster is he can hardly stop after he gets wound up. I saw him knock down a whole section of a board fence once,” laughed Frank.
“Who’s he got with him?” asked “Bones” Shadduck.
“It’s a gentleman stopping at his house. I saw him come last night,” one of the boys answered quickly.
“Mr. Billings is having lots of company lately. I met another gentleman at the game last week who said he was visiting at their house,” remarked Jack Eastwick.
Buster came puffing up, his face rosy as ever, and a set grin upon it.
“Hello! fellows, a little late, am I? Well, Rome never was built in a day. Plenty of time to do all the practicing we want. And since we’re going to have a real hot game of it why I thought I’d bring an umpire along!”
He pointed to the gentleman at his side, who was smiling as if pleased to be among such a lot of happy-go-lucky young athletes.