With this the young pitcher had to be content, and, when he came to think it over, he was not wholly sorry. The dinner and theater party had been planned a week before to celebrate Larry Dalton’s birthday, and, considering Dalton’s peculiar sensitiveness, Lefty would have disliked being reckoned a quitter on account of “a skirt.” Besides, Janet would be in town long enough for him to see her many times. Comforted by this reflection, Locke paid the triple call, made a bee-line for the elevator, and five minutes later was hurrying into his evening clothes. “Moonlights?” Laughing Larry had chuckled, when the question of clothes was broached that morning. “You bet! We’ll show this bunch of city rounders how things ought to be done, eh?” CHAPTER VIII AT THE THEATER When the quartet piled into a taxi about half past six, and started for an exclusive downtown restaurant, their appearance would have been a revelation to those who picture a professional ball player as a pugnacious, rough-mannered individual who fits in well enough on the diamond but is quite out of his element when he attempts anything in the social line. It would have been difficult, in fact, to find four finer-looking specimens of manhood anywhere. Their faces glowing with perfect health and physical well-being, they showed not the slightest signs of being awkward or ill at ease in their evening togs. Add to this the fact that two of them, Lefty Locke and Billy Orth, were men of unusual good looks, and it is small wonder that their arrival at the restaurant caused a little stir of interest among the diners already present. They were swiftly recognized, of course, and the stir increased to a bustle; for even society doesn’t often have a chance of studying two pitchers, the catcher, and second baseman of a national organization at close range. The four athletes, however, paid scant attention to the interest they were exciting. They were too well accustomed to that sort of thing to let it interfere with their enjoyment. They were out for a good time, and meant to have it, regardless of rubbernecks. There was nothing in the least boisterous in their behavior. They laughed and talked and joshed one another, to be sure, but their manner was not a whit different from that of a dozen other parties about them. They consumed the well-ordered dinner――conspicuous by the absence of anything to drink――leisurely. Then, it being close on to eight, they paid the sizable check, tipped the waiters, and departed, having shown from the beginning a breeding and a refreshing lack of self-consciousness which opened the eyes of not a few observers. The theater being only a few blocks away, they walked, arriving in the lobby just as the overture was beginning. There was the usual crowd jostling to get in. As the four friends stood waiting for an usher to take their checks, Lefty heard his name called in a slightly familiar voice.