“But that’s all we can stand now,” said Tommy. “If we can earn more money we’ll have a back-stop, and I guess we can. It will soon be summer, and lots of people will want their grass cut. We fellows can do it, I think. We can use our lawn mower, and before long we may have enough cash to get suits all around. But we’ll play without them at first.”
“Who are we going to play?” asked Joie.
“Any team our size. I’ll send out some challenges,” said Tommy. “Maybe the team from Millton will come here. And we’ll play any scrub team that wants to.”
“What you going to call our team?” inquired Teddy.
“Oh, we’ll have a meeting and decide on a name,” replied the lad who was doing more than anyone else to get the boys into a ball nine. “The thing to do now is to get the ground in shape.”
There had been several talks among the lads, who met in each other’s houses or in Tommy’s attic room, which he had fitted up with many of his own treasures, so that it looked a little like a “den,” as he had heard some older boys call their apartment.
The Tiptop house had been pretty well settled by this time. Tommy and Nellie had started to school, and they had made many new friends. Tommy several times saw the lad who had taken his bat, but the bully did not even speak to our hero, and Tommy was glad enough to let Jakie alone.
“Well, as soon as we clean out the third base line, I guess we’ll stop,” suggested Tommy one afternoon, when they had done considerable work on the diamond. “My! but it’s hot, though!”
“I should say so!” exclaimed Joie Grubb. “I wonder if it isn’t warm enough to go in swimming?”
“Of course it is!” agreed Mortimer Manchester. “Let’s go down to the old swimming hole by the buttonball tree. I was in the other day, and it wasn’t as warm as it is now.”