“Nothing doing there,” replied Tom quickly. “Luke Fodick is captain, or, rather he was last year, I hear, and he’s slated for the same position this season. Luke and Hiram are as thick as such fellows always are. When Hiram is hit Luke does the boo-hoo act for him. No, Luke will be down on you as much as his crony is. But maybe we can get up a second nine, and play some games on our own hook!”
“None of that!” Joe exclaimed quickly. “I’m not an insurgent. I play with the regulars or not at all. They’d be saying all sorts of things against me if you and I tried to start an opposition team.”
“That’s so. Still it mightn’t be a bad idea, under the circumstances, to have another team, if it wasn’t for what the school would say.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why, Excelsior got dumped in the interscholastic league last season. They play for the blue banner you know—a sort of prize trophy—and it was won by Morningside Academy, which now holds it. That’s why I say it might be a good thing to have some more ginger in the team here. I know you could put it in, after the way you pitched on the Silver Stars when they licked the Resolutes.”
“Well, it can’t be done I’m afraid,” Joe rejoined. “There can only be one first team in a school, and I don’t want to disrupt things or play second fiddle. If I can’t get on the nine I’ll have to stay off, that’s all. But it’s going to be mighty tough to sit still and watch the other fellows play, and all the while just itching to get hold of the ball—mighty tough,” and Joe gazed abstractedly about the room.
“I wish I could help you, old man, but I can’t,” said Tom. “I suppose this clash with Hiram had to come but I do wish it had held off until after the season opened. Once you were on the nine you could show the fellows what stuff you had in your pitching arm, and then Hiram and Luke could do their worst, but they couldn’t get you off the team.”
“That’s nice of you to say, but I don’t know about it,” remarked Joe. “Well, I’m about done studying. I wish——”