“I’m going to get a fair chance to show what I can do, anyhow,” declared our hero, as he went to his room. On the way he was joined by Spike, who had dropped back when the head coach started his instructions.
“Well?” asked Joe’s room-mate.
“Fairly well,” was the answer. “Say, I believe you’ve got a chance, Spike.”
“Me? How?”
“Why, it isn’t settled that Kendall will catch all of next season.”
“Oh, I guess it is as much as anything is settled in this world. But I can wait. I’ve got four years here.”
Joe was elated at his triumph, and little was talked of in baseball circles that night but how the scrubs had “put one over” on the ’varsity. There was some disposition to criticize the first team for loose and too confident playing, but those who knew gave Joe credit for what he had done.
And so the baseball season went on until the ’varsity was fully perfected and established, the class teams improved and the schedule made up. Then came hard and grilling work. Joe was doing his best on his Freshman class team, and often played against the college nine, either in conjunction with his mates, or, when it was desired to give one of the other Freshmen pitchers a chance, taking part with a mixed “scrub” team, composed of lads from various classes in order to give the ’varsity good opposition.
And Yale swept on her way. Of course Joe bewailed the fact that he would have to lose a whole year before he could hope for a chance to be on the first team, but he bided his time. Weston was doing fairly well, and the feeling between him and our hero had not changed.
The Spring term was drawing to a close. Yale and Princeton had met twice, and there was a game apiece. Yale had also played other colleges, losing occasionally, but winning often enough to entitle her to claim the championship if she took the odd game from the Tiger. But she did not, and though her players insisted, none the less, that Yale was at the top of the heap, and though the sporting writers conceded this, still Princeton won the third game. And Yale was bitter, though she stood it grimly,—as she always does.