“Social blazes!” growled Riley. “Think I’d ride thirty miles at night just to make a social call, Bob? You know better.” “If you came for any other purpose,” said Hutchinson, “you should not have brought company. That’s straight over the pan, Riley.” “Aw, I tell ye Fancy is trusty; needn’t be afraid of him.” “I’ve had some experience,” reminded Hutchinson. “You know what I mean. Are you trying to put me in bad in this town?” “Not a bit of it.” “Of course, I know the result of the game to-day raised particular thunder in Bancroft. It must have made them gnash their teeth.” “Gnash ’em――you bet!” said Dyke. “There was an awful holler went up.” “Got anything to drink, Hutch?” asked Riley. “It’s a bit chilly ridin’ to-night.” “You know I do not drink.” “Well, you can order up a round for Dyke an’ me.” “I can, but I won’t. The boy would see you here, and in twenty minutes the whole town would know it. Sit down, and make yourselves as comfortable as you can without drinks. Here are cigars.” Riley accepted one of the weeds, but Dyke chose to smoke a cigarette. Although they sat down, they plainly were not at ease; there was an atmosphere of suppressed tension in the room. “Let’s git right down to cases,” said Riley abruptly. “You know, a place like Bancroft can’t afford to let a raw, mushroom burg of this sort beat it out at baseball, or anything else. We’re willin’ the games should run close, so’s to keep the int’rest up, but we’ve got to feel all the time that we’ve got somethin’ up our sleeves that’ll land us sure at the head of the column when the season finishes.” “Go ahead,” nodded Hutchinson, as the speaker paused. “Don’t mind me.” “I know you well enough, Hutch,” pursued the Bancroft manager significantly, “to be dead sure you ain’t goin’ out and tattle anything I say to you in confidence. Well, our strongest hitters are left-handers, and that southpaw o’ yourn bothers ’em. Kingsbridge ’u’d like to win the pennant; but, next to winnin’ herself, she’d be satisfied to keep us from coppin’ it. Havin’ found a pitcher that can hold us down, she’ll keep him for that express purpose, no matter how the games with the other teams go. I own up that that pitcher looks like a nasty stumblin’ block, and we’d like to git him outer our way.” “We’ve got to do it!” put in Fancy. Still cautious about his words before Dyke, Hutchinson made no comment. “Now,” continued Riley, “knowin’ you as I do, Hutch, I decided to talk it over with ye. Outside of that guy Locke, you’ve got a couple of dead ones for twirlers. Deever’s arm is on the blink, and Skillings is a has-been. Playin’ five games a week, as you do, with only one lay-off besides Sunday, you need three reg’lar dependable pitchers to do the work.” “What are you driving at?” “Just this: To win from Fryeburg and Lakeport, you’ve got to use better slabmen than Deever or Skillings. Locke is the only one you’ve got, and so you’ll have to work him in them games. See?”