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 to get Nod to—to sort of speak a good word for me. You see, if I can show him I've got something on the ball and he tells Pinky, why, I guess Pinky wouldn't want to lose me."

"Why don't you speak to Pinky yourself?"

"Oh, you know how coaches are. They don't believe what you tell 'em half the time; think you're just stringing 'em to get on the squad."

"And, of course, you wouldn't do that," said Ned gravely.

"Oh, shut up," answered Kewpie, grinning. "You don't think I can pitch, I'll bet."

"You win," replied Ned simply.

"All right, then, I'll show you, by Joshua! You get Nod to catch me, and you'll see. Honest, you might help a fellow, Nid, instead of joshing him. Why, say, look how I got you on the foot-*ball team last fall! If I hadn't told Joe Stevenson about you being a star half-back—"

"Yes, and you came mighty close to getting your silly dome knocked clean off you," interrupted Ned grimly. "A nice bunch of trouble you got me into!"

"Well, it came out all right, didn't it?" asked Kewpie irrepressibly. "Didn't you win the old