“Of course he wouldn’t do such a dirty trick!” said Tom to himself, a moment after he had entertained the thought.
The captain reached the stand, in company with Dutch, who had run back in response to the pitcher’s motion, in time to see Sid leap to his feet, reach forward toward Langridge, who sat in front of him, while the deposed second baseman exclaimed:
“You mean sneak!”
“What’s the matter?” asked Langridge coolly, as he turned an insolent stare on Sid. “Mad because I’m with Miss Harrison?”
“No, you cur! But I see what you’re doing! Hand over that mirror!” and before Langridge could protest Sid had yanked him backward, partly over the seat, and had grasped the right hand of the former Randall student—a hand containing a small, circular mirror.
“You were flashing that in the eyes of our second baseman, you sneak!” cried Sid hotly. “I was watching you! You held it down, where you thought no one would see. You ought to be kicked off the stand!”
“I did not!” declared Langridge brazenly, yet there was fear in his manner, and the mirror was mute evidence. “I was just going to hand it to Miss Harrison,” he went on. “To let her see if her hat——”
The girl turned her blue eyes on him, and shrank away from the notice attracted to her escort. Langridge did not complete his lie.
“I saw what you were doing,” went on Sid. “Wasn’t something flashing in Pete’s eyes?” he asked, as Tom and Dutch, with some of the other Randall players, stood on the ground, in front of where the scene had taken place.
“That’s what I came in to see about,” declared Tom.