“here’s a letter for you, tommy!” said his mother one saturday morning, when the postman had stopped on his usual round.
“for me?” exclaimed her son. “is it from freeport?”
“no, it’s from where we used to live. why, were you expecting a letter from freeport?”
“yes, we challenged the ramblers from there to another game, and they haven’t answered it. but i wonder who is writing to me from millton?”
“it looks like some boy,” replied mrs. tiptop, as she handed the letter to tommy.
it did not take him long to read it, and then he cried out:
“say, momsey, this is great news! it’s a challenge from the millton junior athletes! they’ve got a ball nine, and they want to play my team. oh, say, this will be fun!”
“i didn’t know there was a nine in millton—that is, a small team,” said mrs. tiptop. “there wasn’t one when you were there.”
“i tried to start one,” spoke tommy, “but we moved away too soon. but dan danforth, george squire, patsie cook, billy newhouse, pete johnson and some of the others have a regular nine now. and they have uniforms, dan writes me. he wants to come here for a game. oh, i’m glad our team all have suits now! i must write to dan and tell him to come on, and we’ll beat his nine.”
[pg 118]
the riverdale roarers lost their game of ball that day. some of them said afterward that the umpire was unfair to them, and others admitted that the hightstown boys were the better players. tommy was inclined to believe the last.
“we’ve got to play better than this two weeks from saturday,” he said after the lost game.
“why?” asked teddy.
“because a team of fellows from millton, where i used to live, is coming here. i’ve just got to beat ’em!”
“we’ll help you!” exclaimed billie, eagerly. “but who do we play this saturday week?”
“the ramblers from freeport. they have a new pitcher, too, and he can curve like anything, i hear.”
“then we’ll have to do more practicing,” declared sammie sandlass. nearly everyone else thought the same thing, and, beginning with the following monday afternoon, some hard scrub games took place on the field diamond.
the boys who had, up to this time, no uniforms, were provided with suits for the rambler game, and though they did not all match, having been bought at different times in different places, still they made the team look very shipshape.
the “r. r.” device in red, worked on the shirts of all the suits, showed up bravely in the sun, as the lads trotted out to do a little practicing before the game.
“now, boys, go in and win!” begged tommy.
“sure we will!” they cried in a chorus.
whether it was the new uniforms, or because the ramblers made up their minds not to be beaten a second time, was not made plain, but certainly tommy’s team met with another defeat, though not by a very large score.
“i declare, it’s too bad!” exclaimed georgie pennington,[pg 119] who had muffed a ball and been responsible for letting the winning run come in. “i don’t see how it happened.”
“oh, we’re all right!” exclaimed teddy. “we’ll whitewash the millton juniors.”
the day of the great game came. at least tommy always called it the “great” game. it was beautiful weather, just right for baseball, and the diamond had been put in extra good shape.
“when are your old friends coming, tommy?” asked his mother, as tired from practice, but happy and confident, her son came home to dinner.
“about one o’clock, on the trolley. i’m going to meet them.”
several of his team accompanied the young captain to the point where the challenging members would leave the trolley. it was a sort of welcoming committee.
“guess this must be their car,” spoke tommy, after several electric vehicles had gone past without bringing the nine. “yes, there they are!” he added as he caught sight of the heads of several lads thrust from the open windows.
“there he is!”
“nice uniforms they got!”
“we’re a bigger team than they are.”
“hello, tommy tiptop! how are you?”
“glad to see you!”
these were only a few of the many expressions that were yelled forth as the car came to a stop. the next minute tommy was in the midst of his former boy friends of millton, laughing, talking and shaking hands with them.
