"Forty-nine," announced Greg Holmes, as soon as he had finished counting. "Five whole nines and a few extras left over."
"I'm glad to see that Gridley High School grit is up to the old standard," declared Coach Luce, cheerily, after he had brought them to order. "Our squad, this year, contains three more men than appeared last year. It is plain that my threats haven't scared anyone off the Gridley diamond. Now, I am going to write down the names of the squad. Then I will ask each member, as his name is called, to indicate the position for which he wishes to qualify."
There was a buzz of conversation again, until the names had all been written down. Then, after Coach Luce had called for silence, he began to read off the names in alphabetical order.
"Dalzell?" asked the coach, when he had gone that far down on the list.
"First base," answered Dan, loudly and promptly.
"Darrin?"
"Pitcher," responded Dave.
There was a little ripple of surprise. When a sophomore goes in for work in the box it is notice that he has a good opinion of his abilities.
A few more names were called off. Then:
"Hazelton?"