Page:Baseball Joe on the School Nine.djvu/206

192 school nine, and I'll be happy," said Joe to Peaches and Teeter, as the meeting broke up.

"I think you can," declared Teeter. "Jake Weston is going to get out, I hear, and Tom will fit In. Charlie Borden can take Jake's place at short and Tom can play first, which he's used to. Oh, I guess old Excelsior Hall has come into her own again, and we'll make some of these other teams sit up and take notice."

And Jake did resign, following the example of his two cronies. This made a place for Tom, and he promptly filled it.

There was a snap and a vim to the playing of the school nine when they first went at it with the changed players, that fairly took the breath out of the scrub. Of course that unfortunate collection of players was weakened by the withdrawal of Joe, Ward and Tom, but even with players of equal strength it is doubtful if they could have held the school nine down.

Joe and his mates struck a winning streak, and the young pitcher never was better than in that practice game on Monday afternoon.

"Joe's pitching his head off," observed Tom Davis, and when Ward missed holding one or two particular "hot" ones he thought the same thing. The school team won a decisive victory.