"Well, yes, Fred, if you're sure you can make yourself the star pitcher of the school nine, I will."
"When may I go to see Everett, sir?" asked Fred, making no effort to conceal the great joy this promise had given him.
"Since you're to be engaged for this afternoon, Fred, we'll make it to-morrow. I'll order out the car and go over to Duxbridge with you.".
It was in the happiest possible frame of mind, for him, that Fred Ripley went back to the High School that afternoon. He didn't arrive until five minutes before the hour for calling the meeting; he didn't care to be of the common crowd that would be on hand at or soon after two-thirty.
When he entered, he found a goodly and noisy crowd of some eighty High School boys of the three upper classes present. Ripley nodded to a few with whom he was on the best terms.
Settees had been placed at one end of the gym. There was an aisle between two groups of these seats.
"Gentlemen, you'll please come to order, now," called out Coach
Luce, mounting to a small platform before the seats.
It took a couple of minutes to get the eager, half-turbulent throng seated in order. Then the coach rapped sharply, and instantly all was silence, save for the voice of the speaker.
"Gentlemen," announced Mr. Luce, "it is the plan to make the next season the banner one in baseball in all our school's history. This will call for some real work, for constantly sustained effort. Every man who goes into the baseball training squad will be expected to do his full share of general gymnastic work here, and to improve every favorable chance for such cross-country running and other outdoor sports as may be ordered.
"To-day, as we are so close to Christmas, we will arrange only the general details—-have a sort of mapping-out, as it were. But immediately after the holidays the entire baseball squad that enrolls will be required to start at once to get in general athletic condition. There will be hard—-what some may call grilling—-gym. work at the outset, and much of the gym. work will be kept up even after the actual ball practice begins.