Page:Baseball Joe on the School Nine.djvu/199

Rh every game," went on the bully. "But the season is young yet, and—"

"I don't think that is a valid excuse," said the professor. "You had your choice of the whole school in picking the nine, so it is the fault of yourself and the captain if you haven't a good team. As for the earliness of the season, the boys have had plenty of practice and they ought to have struck their gait before this. I'm afraid something else is to blame."

"We need better pitchers for one thing!" called someone.

"That's right!" yelled a double score of voices, and Dr. Rudden, seeing the sway of sentiment, did not object.

"We've got two good pitchers!" fairly yelled Hiram. "I know what this all means—that Joe Matson and his crowd—"

"That will do," the chairman warned him.

"It's true!" exclaimed Frank Brown, jumping to his feet. "I'm not a good pitcher, and I don't mind admitting it. I can't hold the other fellows down enough. If I could, we would have won these last two games, for our boys can bat when they haven't the heart taken out of them."

"That's the way to talk!" cried Tom Davis.

"Nothing like being honest about it,"