“Saved? Why, what do you mean?” I exclaimed, still more mystified. “Rain! rain!” he shouted, waving his umbrella again. “Our luck has turned. It is raining pitchforks! No game to-day.” I rushed to the window, hardly daring to believe his words. One glance was enough, and then I gave a whoop of joy. The sky was darkly overcast, and the rain was falling softly but steadily――not in a shower, that might pass away in a few hours, but with the heavy, businesslike downpour of a regular easterly storm. “Didn’t I say that I was going to pray for rain?” said Tony complacently, taking the credit of it all to himself. CHAPTER XXV THE SECOND GAME Certainly, as Tony said, our luck had turned. As the morning advanced, the rain continued to fall, so the question of playing ball was practically settled. About ten o’clock Tony telegraphed to the secretary of the Park nine, “Raining hard. Shall we come?” Within an hour he received the following answer from Berkeley, “Impossible to play. Game will have to be postponed. Will write you later.” Mutual congratulations followed. The fellows were all delighted, and at noon a jubilant, happy crowd assembled in Ray’s room to discuss the matter. “Nothing could have pleased me better,” said Ray. “For the first time in my life I am glad to see it rain on a baseball day. It gives Harry time to cure his wrist, and the rest of us several days more of practice. It is just what we most needed.” “Pour away, old boy!” exclaimed Tony, as a sudden gust of wind brought the rain swirling against the window panes. “You have done the square thing by us to-day. I’ll never complain of the weather again――never. Say, Ray, what new date had we better arrange for the game?” “I was just thinking of that,” answered Ray. “We can’t get a day off in the middle of the week. The faculty don’t want us to go away except on Saturdays.” “Suppose we appoint the Monday following the Halford game,” I said. “The faculty might object to our going away twice. Now, as the Halford game takes place next Saturday, we might stay at Halford over Sunday, and play the Park men Monday afternoon, on our way back. In that way we can do it all up in one trip, and be back here Monday night.” “A very good idea,” answered Ray, “and if the Park men are agreeable, we had better fix it that way by all means.” The consent of our faculty to this scheme was easily obtained, and the correspondence which Tony held with the Park men resulted in their acceptance of the arrangement, so the game was appointed to take place on the Monday following our trip to Halford.