But with all his nerve, and not regretting in the least what he had done, Joe was a bit uneasy as the time for the baseball organization meeting drew near. He hoped against hope that somehow he might get on the team, but he did not see how. He talked with other students, and they all told him that Hiram, Luke and their crowd ran things to suit themselves.
“But I’ve got something up my sleeve,” declared Tom. “There may be a surprise at the meeting.”
“What are you up to?” asked Joe. “Nothing rash, I hope.”
“You wait and see,” his chum advised. “I’m not saying anything.”
As the days went by, Tom might have been seen talking in confidential whispers to many students. He made lots of new friends, and it was remarked that they were neither of the “sporting set,” nor the crowd that trained with Hiram and Luke. To all questions Tom turned a deaf ear, and went on his way serenely.
It was almost a foregone conclusion as to who would constitute the nine, with the exception of the pitchers. As already explained, the students who, as regular and substitute, had filled the box the previous season had left, and it was up to Hiram and Luke to find new pitchers. Hiram did not play on the nine, being content to manage it, but Luke was catcher and some of the friends of Joe and Tom filled regular places.
“How do you dope it out?” asked Tom of Peaches one day, shortly before the organization meeting.
“Well, it’ll be about like this,” was the reply. “We will all gather in the gymnasium—as many as want to—and Hiram will be in the chair. He’ll call the meeting to order and state what we’re there for, which everyone knows already, without being told. Then he’ll ask for nominations for secretary, and one of his friends will go in. Then he’ll spout about what we ought to do to win this season, and how to do it, and say we’re sure to be at the head of the league and win the Blue Banner and all like that.
“Then he’ll ask for nominations for players and they’ll be voted on; we’ll have a little chinning about money matters, Hiram may say who the first few games will be with, and it will be all over but the shouting.”
“Well, won’t lots of fellows have a chance to nominate players, or won’t the players themselves ask to be given a chance?”