“Well, I suppose you’re right,” he growled at last. “You always are, confound you! But if we don’t get the police in on this, what are we going to do? We can’t let this business go on unchecked, and not raise a finger to stop it, can we?”
“Not by a long shot!” exclaimed Robson. “But it would be better to worry along almost any way to the end of the season than it would to get this scandal in the newspapers. It would leave a stain on organized baseball that it would be almost impossible to wipe out. Let’s keep what we know to ourselves for the time being, and see if we can’t find some better way of handling the problem.”
“I’ll agree with you in that,” said McRae. “You’ll have to admit, though, that we can’t leave McCarney and Hupft to throw games for us at will. I’ll follow your advice as far as not publicly throwing them off the team goes, but I’m not going to have them play those important positions any more. The race is getting closer every day, and we can’t afford to take chances.”
“Yes, you’re right there,” admitted Robson. “The trouble of it is, that we haven’t any good substitutes to put in their places.”
“Even a rookie that’s honestly trying to do his best is better than the finest ball player in the world that’s trying to make mistakes,” McRae pointed out. “I’ll let them stay until they make some other bone play accidentally on purpose, and then I’ll have a good excuse to retire them to the bench. Maybe our rookies will do more than we hope for. I’ll leave it to your judgment which ones to put in when the time comes.”
“But what are you going to do about that meeting at Bill Davendorp’s to-night, Mac?” asked Jim. “There will be a choice assortment of crooks there, including the ringleader of the crowd. I’d say, capture the whole bunch red-handed, if possible, even if we have to get the police in on it. I know that a public scandal will be a bad thing for baseball, but if this sort of thing keeps on there’s bound to be a big blow-up some time, anyway, and when it comes it may be a lot worse than at the present time.”
“You told it, Jim!” exclaimed Joe. “Round up the whole bunch and get it over with right away, is what I say. And nothing will please me more than to be in at the finish. I owe that crowd a thing or two, and I’m anxious to pay them off.”
“They’re right, at that, Robson,” said McRae. “This looks like a golden opportunity, and we’d be foolish to miss it, it seems to me.”
“Well, yes and no,” said Robson slowly. “As you say, it looks like the opportunity of a lifetime to round up the gang and put them out of business. But don’t you think we could do it quietly, without letting the police and newspapers in on the show? I want to see those fellows get their deserts, all right, but if there’s some way to do it without hurting the game I want to do it that way.”
“Yes, yes,” said McRae, a trifle impatiently. “But what way is there? These men are desperate characters, and won’t submit tamely to be captured. If you’ve got a plan, tell us the details.”