CHAPTER VIII
THE COMING OF REGGIE
The happy conference had been so animated and there had been so manythings to talk about that Joe gave a start when he glanced at his watch.
"Great Scott!" he exclaimed. "I didn't think it was anywhere near solate as that. I'll have to get a move on, if I'm going to meet Reggie."
"Do you think he'll be here today?" asked Mrs. Matson.
"There's no telling what Reggie will do," laughed Joe. "He's a law untohimself. All that he said in his telegram was that he was coming on. Butit's possible for him to get here this afternoon and I have a hunch thathe'll be here by the first train he could catch after he sent the wire."
"Of course he'll stay with us while he's in town," said his mother.
"You can be sure that Joe wouldn't let Mabel's brother go to a hotel,"put in Clara, demurely.
Joe pretended not to hear.
"I've got some other things to do too," he said, as he rose from thetable, "so I guess I'd better be starting."
"What other things?" asked Clara.
"First of all, I've got to get some bamboo poles and rig up things for amoving picture stunt in the gymnasium," replied her brother. "I met DickTalbot this morning and he promised to come over and take a film of mycurve ball in a day or two. Professor Crabbe is as hard to move as therock of Gibraltar, but I guess he'll pull in his horns after Dick and Ishow him a thing or two." And much to their amusement, he told them ofthe controversy he had had with the doughty professor.
"Then too," he went on, "I'll have to practise like the mischief nowuntil I receive notice to start for the training camp. A good dealdepends on first impressions, and I want to show McRae that he hasn'tpicked a lemon."
"Oh, dear," sighed Mrs. Matson, "I hate to hear you talk of going away.I grudge every day you're away from Riverside."
"Never mind, Momsey," said Joe, cheerily, as he kissed her. "It'll besome time before I have to go and, after I do, I'll keep the mailsworking overtime."
He put on his hat and coat and started out, walking as swiftly andlightly as though he trod on air. The atmosphere was crisp and bracing,his blood coursed strongly through his veins, and the world had neverbefore seemed so good a place to live in.
He turned his steps first toward the gymnasium. He had found this placeof the greatest value to him through the winter season. He had notpractised so hard that there was danger of his going "stale" before theactual beginning of the season, but he had done just enough work to keephim in superb physical condition and hold the flesh down. There wasscarcely an ounce of superfluous flesh upon his bones and he felt asthough he could go in the box tomorrow if he were called upon. He neverdissipated--had never touched a drop of liquor in his life--and onemight have gone a long way before finding a more perfect specimen of theathlete than Joe presented that afternoon.
He found several of his chums awaiting his coming, and of course thefirst thing he did was to tell them of the great news that had come tohim that morning.
"The New York Giants!"
"Bully for Joe!"
"Some class to old Riverside, eh?"
"They'll win the pennant sure, now!"
"You'll have a look-in at the World's Series, Joe!"
They all crowded round with warm and hearty congratulations and wrunghis hand until he winced.
"Don't take my arm off, boys," he laughingly protested. "I need the oldsoup bone in my business."
"I wish I could tell you all about it, fellows," he went on, in replyto their eager request for particulars, "but honestly, I don't know anymore about it than you do yet. I suppose I'll get a contract to sign ina day or two, and perhaps there'll be something about it in the New Yorkpapers when they get here tomorrow morning. All I know now is that I'mgoing to play this year in New York. That is," he jested, "unless McRaefinds out he's been buncoed and fires me."
"Swell chance of anything like that!" exclaimed Tom Davis. "I'll betyou'll take your regular turn in the box from the very start."
"I'm not so sure of that," answered Joe. "McRae puts a great deal offaith in his veterans, and the chances are I'll have to warm the benchuntil some of the others fall down. You know how it was with Markwith,the 'eleven thousand dollar beauty.' McRae kept him on the bench fornearly two years, scarcely using him at all, but giving him a chance tolearn the 'inside stuff' by watching the others. Then when he was ripe,McRae put him in and he went through the league like a prairie fire. Hemay do the same thing with me."
"Stuff and nonsense," declared Tom, loyally. "You're as good a pitchernow as Markwith ever dared to be. Besides Markwith came from a minorleague while you've already had a year's experience in the NationalLeague with St. Louis."
"I'm afraid it's your friendship rather than your judgment that'stalking now, Tom," answered Joe. "Markwith has won nineteen straight,right off the reel, and that's some little record, let me tell you. ButI surely am going to do my best, not only on my account but so as not todisappoint my old friends. Take off your coat now and I'll toss you up afew just to get my wing good and supple."
Tom complied, and there was some spirited pitching practice whichdemonstrated that Joe was in fine fettle. All his curves worked finely,and there was a world of speed behind the high fast ball that heoccasionally cut loose.
"I'm afraid I'll have to stop now," said Joe reluctantly, after halfan hour of good practice, as he looked at his watch. "I've got to stopat Brigg's store to get a couple of bamboo poles, and then I have togo down to the station to meet a friend whom I rather expect by thefour-thirty-five. I'm sorry, too, for I'm just getting warmed up and I'dlike to keep going for an hour yet."
He said goodby to his chums, and, after having stopped in the store tomake his purchases, strolled down to the railroad station, to await thepossible coming of Reggie. He was eager to find out all the meaning ofthe queer message he had received, and it is barely possible that he wasstill more eager to have some tidings of Reggie's sister.
He had to cool his heels in the depot for some time, as the train waslate, and it was fully an hour after its usual time when it finallyrolled into the station.
There were several day coaches and but one parlor car, and Joe made hisway straight toward this, knowing that Reggie, who looked for the bestin everything, would travel in no other.
In the first few who came down the steps he noted no familiar figure,and he was beginning to think that Reggie for some reason had deferredhis trip when he caught sight of that young man coming leisurely fromthe Pullman. If he had not seen the face he would have had a moralcertainty that it was Reggie, for he was dressed in an extreme of stylethat was not at all common in the quiet little town of Riverside.
Reggie was an amiable young man who could not by any stretch ofimagination be described as an intellectual giant. Many in fact wouldhave had no hesitation in classing him as a "lightweight." But he hadmany qualities that redeemed his foppishness, chief among which, inJoe's estimation, was that he was a rabid baseball "fan," and above allwas the brother of Mabel. This last would alone have been capable, likecharity, of covering a multitude of sins.
He had a tiny little moustache curled up at the ends that gushing girlswould have described as "darling," his clothes were a suit of Englishtweeds, and he had an accent and a vocabulary that he made as English aspossible.
"Hullo, old top!" he exclaimed, as he saw Joe. "I'm awfully glad to seeyou, don't you know. It was no end good of you to come down to meet me,especially as I hadn't told you just when I was coming."
"That's all right, Reggie," smiled Joe, as he grasped his handcordially. "I knew you must have been rather cut up when you sent thattelegram and forgot to tell me the train you were taking. But it seemslike old times to see you again. How's every one down at Goldsboro?"
"Fine as silk," responded Reggie. "If I hadn't had to rush off insuch a hurry, I'd have brought Mabel along with me just for the trip.She's awfully anxious to see your sister, Clara, don't you know. It'sastonishing how those girls have taken
to each other."
"Clara feels the same way," responded Joe warmly. "She's done littleelse but talk of Mabel since the last time she was here. But give meyour check, old man, and I'll attend to your baggage. Of course you'llstop with us while you are here. That goes without saying."
Reggie made a feeble protest as a matter of form, saying that he oughtto go to the hotel, but he readily submitted to be overruled by Joe. Thelatter tossed the check to the station hackman with instructions to getReggie's valise, and when this was done the two friends took the hackand were whirled through the quiet streets to Joe's home.
By tacit consent, neither spoke of the real object of Reggie's visit toRiverside just then. There would be plenty of time for that when theyshould be alone after supper and have nothing to interrupt them.
"Beastly cold weather, what?" said Reggie, as he turned up the collar ofhis overcoat.
"It is pretty sharp," agreed Joe; "but nothing to what it was the lasttime you were here. That was a blizzard for fair. Remember how we wereall upset in the snow when we were trying to get to town from the trainstalled in a snowdrift?"
"I remember, all right," laughed Reggie. "We certainly had a fight forlife that night."
"And what a thoroughbred your sister was that night," continued Joe, whowas always anxious to bring the conversation round to Mabel. "Where lotsof girls would have gone into hysterics, she was as cool and brave asany man could have been."
"Mabel has class," agreed Reggie carelessly. "I recall how she held thehorses' heads while we were righting the sleigh. Some plucky girl!"
"You bet she is!" responded Joe, with an enthusiasm that might haveseemed suspicious to Reggie if the latter had not been so wrapped up inhis own affairs that his talk with Joe was rather absent-minded and madeno strong impression on him.
Joe was not long in discovering that Reggie's trouble, whatever it was,sat heavily on him. He relapsed into monosyllables until the Matson homewas reached.
The hearty welcome he received from all the members of the familythawed him out somewhat, and during the meal that followed--a meal intowhich Mrs. Matson had put all her housewifely skill because of theexpected guest--he was more like the gay, care-free Reggie that they hadpreviously known.
He was especially delighted to know of the change in Joe's fortunes, andcongratulated him heartily on his transfer to New York.
"If you work for them as well as you worked against them, there'll be nokick coming on the part of McRae," he prophesied. "In that last game youplayed in New York you had the Giants eating out of your hand."
"Let's see," said Joe, with affected carelessness, "your sister waswith you that time, wasn't she?"
"You'd think she was if you heard how many times she's referred to thatgame since then," answered the unsuspecting Reggie. "Mabel always didlike to see a good game, but this last year or so, she's become more ofa fan than ever."
Clara, glancing at her brother, felt that she could make a shrewd guesswhy Mabel had developed such an increased interest in baseball, but thepresence of Reggie put a spoke in her eager desire to tease Joe for thefun of seeing him blush.
"You're lucky to have the thing happen just now, when the fans arebeginning to get hungry for baseball news," commented Reggie. "Thenewspapers will play up the deal for all that it is worth, and yourpicture and record will be on every big sporting page in the country."
"Perhaps that won't be an unmixed blessing," laughed Joe. "It'll makethe public expect too much, and the disappointment will be all thegreater if I don't make good."
"I'll take chances on that," replied Reggie emphatically. "There isn't abetter aim than yours in the league, and the whole country will be readyto admit it before the season is over."
The talk ran on pleasantly for an hour or two after the supper was over.Clara played and sang, and Reggie dutifully turned her music for her andmade himself agreeable to Mrs. Matson. But all felt that Reggie hada revelation to make to Joe, and as soon as courtesy would permit theother members of the family said good night and left the two young mento themselves.
There was a cozy open fire burning in the grate and they drew up theireasy chairs before its cheerful glow, facing each other.
"Now, Reggie," said Joe, with a quizzical smile, "tell me the sad storyof your life. Go to it, old man. Tell me about Talham Tabbs."