McRae’s face lightened a little when he saw Joe.
“I’m going to put you in to pitch to-day, Matson,” he said. “How’s the old soup-bone feeling?”
“Fine and dandy,” returned Joe, with a smile.
“I want you to stand those fellows on their heads,” said the manager. “They’ve been making monkeys of us long enough.”
“I’ll do my best, Mac,” promised Joe, as he picked up a ball preparatory to going out for warming-up practice.
“Your best is good enough,” replied McRae.
Joe and Jim went out with their respective catchers and limbered up their pitching arms.
“How are they coming, Mylert?” Joe called out to the veteran catcher, who was acting as his backstop.
“Great,” pronounced Mylert. “You’ve got speed to burn and your curves are all to the merry. That hop of yours is working fine. You’ll have them breaking their backs to get at the ball.”
McRae, in the meantime, had beckoned to Iredell, the captain of the team.