"Do you snore?" Rad wanted next to know.
"I never heard myself."
Rad laughed.
"I guess you'll do," he said. "We'll hit it off all right."
Joe soon fell easily into the life at the big hotel. He met all the other players, and while some regarded him with jealous eyes, most of them welcomed him in their midst. Truth to tell, the St. Louis team was in a bad way, and the players, tired of being so far down on the list, were willing to make any sacrifices of professional feeling in order to be in line for honors, and a share in the pennant money, providing it could be brought to pass that they reached the top of the list.
Joe spent a week at the hotel while Manager Watson was arranging matters for the trip South. One or two players had not yet arrived, "dickers" being under way for their purchase.
But finally the announcement was made that the start for the training camp, at Reedville, Alabama, would be made in three days.
"And I'm glad of it!" cried Rad Chase, as he and Joe came back one evening from a moving picture show, and heard the news. "I'm tired of sitting around here doing nothing. I want to get a bat in my hands."
"So do I," agreed Joe. "It sure will be great to get out on the grass again. Have you ever been in Reedville?"
"No, but I hear it's a decent place. There's a good local team there that we brush up against, and two or three other teams in the vicinity. It'll be lively enough."