“Everything is all right, isn’t it, Joe?” she asked.
“Perfectly,” he replied, hoping his tone had sounded as confident as he wanted it to. “What could be wrong, little girl?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Mabel replied hesitantly. “Perhaps it’s that trouble you had last year——”
“Here, here!” interrupted Joe, with mock severity. “I thought you promised to forget all about that!”
“I am trying,” said Mabel gamely. “But it’s pretty hard when I’m not with you, Joe.”
Though the boys could have lingered forever at that pleasant little meal, it was not long before they were reminded that time was flying and that if they meant to get to the ball grounds in time they must hurry.
They took the girls to the hotel where they had accommodations ready for them. There they regretfully left them in Reggie’s care and hurried off for the field.
“I wonder if Reggie has got wind of something brewing,” said Jim, as, a few minutes later, they struggled into their uniforms. “He certainly has a talent for smelling out trouble.”
“Let’s hope there won’t be any serious trouble to smell out and let the matter go at that,” answered Joe carelessly. Then everything but baseball and the game on hand was forgotten.