A few moments later Johnny met Meggy Strawn at his own door. Meggy was champion cheer leader for Hillcrest.
“Why Johnny, what’s up?” she asked. “Why all the gloom?”
“Burt Standish is going to pitch tomorrow.”
“Burt! He can’t! He’s got heart trouble. Johnny, who told you?”
“Why, a—” Johnny stopped short. He couldn’t tell Meggy that some little Chinaman had taken a picture of Barney Bradford’s thoughts. That would sound sort of queer. “I—I—” he hesitated, “I just found out.”
“And yet I believe it,” he thought to himself as he hurried past her.
There was reason enough to believe, for next day as Johnny took his place on the bleachers there was Burt Standish, the pitcher who was supposed to have serious heart trouble, on the mound warming up.
“He knew,” Johnny told himself with sudden shock. “That little Chinaman knew! And yet Centralia succeeded in keeping it a dead secret. Not a player on our team knew Burt was to pitch.” His respect for the little Chinaman’s mind reading, or whatever it might be, rose several notches.
CHAPTER II
A STRANGE PROPHECY COMES TRUE
“Oh!” someone exclaimed. “There is Burt Standish! He’s going to pitch against us!”