“Let’s see it,” said Ben. “Hm; looks rather good. Mind if I borrow it?”
“Help yourself,” laughed Stanley, “only don’t say you got it from me if it gets pinched!”
“I won’t. I guess it will help to keep me going until supper time. Well, so long. Tell Kid I borrowed this.”
Stanley replied that he would, but he promptly forgot all about it, and when, ten minutes later, Kid came in to change his wet shoes for dry ones Stanley was deep in “Kidnapped.”
The next morning in class Doctor Merton made the announcement regarding the Junior Four Baseball Trophy. The house fellows had heard rumors about the cup, but to the rest it was news, and when the Doctor drew the silver trophy from its purple bag and set it on the corner of his desk there were murmured exclamations of admiration followed by a hearty clapping of hands. Bert and Lanny and Small strove to look unconscious when their names were given as being donors, but Kid beamed and winked when the fellows turned to regard him. As they passed out the fellows stopped at the desk to examine the trophy. The inscription had been neatly engraved and read as follows:
JUNIOR FOUR BASEBALL TROPHY
PRESENTED TO MOUNT PLEASANT ACADEMY TO BE
CONTESTED FOR BY HOUSE AND DAY TEAMS
THE GIFT OF
JAMES FAIRCHILD
ALBERT PAYSON BRYANT
LANSING STONE GREY
THOMAS KIRKWOOD FRYE
NANCY MERTON
The trophy created a sensation and was the subject of conversation for the rest of the day. Will Turner, captain and first baseman of the Day Team, declared that it was as good as won.
“Huh,” said Sam Perkins, who had overheard him, “when you fellows get even one leg of that you’ll know it! That little cup has our name all over it!”
Ben Holden was delighted and told the juniors that they were bricks, that he was proud of them and that the cup would look fine on the hall mantel. “But I don’t see how you fellows ever got enough money together to buy a thing like that!”