"Ripley never was strong on the truth."
Though the gossip about Fred Ripley was not general, the anxiety over Pitcher Prescott was heard on all sides.
"It'll be a sure hoodoo if Prescott can't pitch the season's first game," declared a man who seldom missed a High School game on the home diamond.
Before three o'clock the grand stand was comfortably filled. The cheaper seats beyond held about as many spectators as they were built to hold.
The attendance, that day, was nearly three thousand. Gardiner had sent a delegation of nearly one-tenth of this number.
Before three o'clock the band began to play. Whenever the musicians launched into a popular baseball ditty the crowd joined with the words.
"Prescott is going to pitch!"
"No, he isn't."
"The word has just been passed around. Besides, his name's down on the score card."
"The score cards were printed yesterday."