Football -- Juvenile fiction; Schools -- Juvenile fiction
Billy laughed and slapped him on the knee. “You’ll do, General Grant,”
he declared. He turned to Jim Newton, and Leonard, considering what
he had been told, didn’t note for a moment that Gordon Renneker was
speaking across the room to Slim. When he did, Renneker was saying:
“Baseball? No, very little. I’ve got a brother who goes in for it,
though.”
“Oh,” replied Slim, “I thought maybe you pitched. You’ve sort of got
the build, you know, Renneker. Hasn’t he, Charlie?”
Charlie Edwards agreed that he had, looking the big guard up and
down speculatively. Renneker shrugged his broad shoulders and smiled
leniently. “Never tried it,” he said in his careful way. “The few times
I have played I’ve been at first. But I’m no baseball artist.”
“First, eh?” commented Slim. “By Jove, you know, you ought to make a
corking first baseman! Say, Charlie, you’d better get after him in the
spring.”
Edwards nodded and answered: “I certainly mean to, Slim.”
Nevertheless it seemed to Leonard that the baseball captain’s tone
lacked enthusiasm. Slim, Leonard noted, was smiling complacently, and
Leonard thought he knew what was in his chum’s mind. Shortly after that
the crowd broke up and on the way over to Haylow Slim asked: “Did you
hear what Renneker said when I asked him if he played baseball?”
“Yes,” said Leonard. Slim hadn’t once mentioned the subject of Johnny
McGrath’s suspicions since that Sunday afternoon, and Leonard had
concluded that the matter was forgotten. Now, however, it seemed that
it had remained on Slim’s mind, just as it had on his.
“He said,” mused Slim, “that he didn’t play. At least very little. Then
he said that when he did play he played at first base. What do you make
of that, General?”
“Very little. Naturally, if he should play baseball he’d go on first,
with that height and reach of his. I noticed that Edwards didn’t seem
very keen about him for the nine.”
“Yes, I noticed that, too.” Slim relapsed into a puzzled silence. Then,
at last, just as they reached the dormitory entrance, he added: “Oh,
well, I guess Johnny just sort of imagined it.”
“I suppose so,” Leonard agreed. “Only, if he didn’t--”
“If he didn’t, what?” demanded Slim.
“Why, wouldn’t it be up to us--or Johnny McGrath--to tell Mr. Cade or
some one?”
“And get Renneker fired?” inquired Slim incredulously, as he closed
the door of Number 12 behind him.
“Well, but, if he took money for playing baseball, Slim, he hasn’t
any right on the football team, has he? Didn’t you say yourself that
faculty would fire him if it was so, and they knew it?”
“If they knew it, yes,” agreed Slim. “Now, look here, General, there’s
no sense hunting trouble. We don’t know anything against Renneker, and
so there’s no reason for starting a rumpus. A fellow is innocent until
he’s proven guilty, and it’s not up to us to pussyfoot about and try to
get the goods on Renneker. Besides, ding bust it, there’s only Johnny
McGrath’s say-so, and every one knows how--er--imaginative the Irish
are!”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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