As Dick put it, "He liked to be the 'main squeeze,'" and he had been much irritated over the way in which Bert had attracted the coach's attention, and the consequent talk on the campus regarding the "new pitcher." He and his friends made it a point to sneer at and discredit these stories, however, and to disparage Bert on every possible occasion. The veteran trainer had not forgotten, however, and moreover he was worried in secret about Winters. It was, of course, his duty to see that all the players attended strictly to business, and let no outside interests interfere with their training. Of late, however, he had heard from several sources that Winters had been seen in the town resorts at various times when he was supposed to be in bed, and Reddy knew, none better, what that meant. However, he hoped that the pitcher would not force him to an open rebuke, and so had said nothing as yet. Nevertheless, as has been said, he kept Bert in mind as a possible alternative, although he hoped that he would not be forced to use him. "He's had too little experience yet," he mused. "If I should put him in a game, he'd go up like a rocket, most likely. Them green pitchers can't be relied upon, even if he did fool Ainslee," and the veteran, in spite of his worry, was forced to smile over the memory of how Bert had struck the great coach out in practice. Previous to the actual start of the game both teams had been warming up on the field, and each had won murmurs of applause from the grandstands. To the wise ones, however, it was apparent that the Blues were a trifle shaky in fielding work, and many were seen to shake their heads dubiously. "The youngsters will have to do some tall hustling if they expect to win from the visitors," one gray-haired man was heard to say, "but they say they have a crackerjack pitcher, that's one thing in their favor." "Yes, of course," agreed his friend, "but it's not only that; the other fellows have had a whole lot more experience than our boys. And that counts an awful lot when it comes to a pinch." "You're right, it does," acquiesced the other; "however, there's no use crossing the bridge till we come to it. We'll hope for the best, anyway." After a little more practice both teams retired to the clubhouse to make their last preparations. Not many minutes later everything was in readiness, and the teams trotted into their positions. Of course, the visitors went to bat first, and then could be heard the umpire's raucous cry of "Play ball!" that ushered in the game.