A quickening of interest took possession of Anthony; they had heard of him then in the cities, they had discovered him worthy of the journey to Ellerton, of investigation. A vision of his name acclaimed from coast to coast, his picture in the playing garb of a famous organization filling the Sunday sheets, occupied his mind as he turned toward the field. The captain called mysteriously, “Don't get patted up with any purple stuff handed you before the game.” The opposing team, widely scattered, were warming; a pitcher, assuming the attitudes of an agonising cramp, was indulging in a preliminary practice; the ball sped with a dull, regular thud into the catcher's mit. A ball was tossed to Anthony, a team mate backed against the fence, and, raising his hands on high, he apparently overcame all the natural laws of flight. He was conscious of Hinkle, prosperous proprietor of the Ellerton Pool Parlor, at his back with a stranger, an ungainly man, close lipped, keen of vision. There were intimations of approval. “A fine wing,” the stranger said. “He's got 'em all,” Hinkle declared. “Hundreds of lads can pitch a good game,” the other told him, “now and again, they are amatoors. One in a thousand, in ten thousand, can play ball all the time; they're professionals; they're worth money... I want to see him act...” they moved away. The players were called in from the field, the captains bent over a tossed coin; and, first to bat, the Ellerton team ranged itself on benches. Then, as the catcher was drawing on his mask, Hinkle and another familiar town figure, who dedicated his days to speeding weedy horses in red flannel anklets from a precarious wire vehicle, stepped forward from the grandstand. “Mr. Anthony Ball!” Hinkle called. A sudden, tense silence enveloped the spectators, the players stopped curiously. Anthony turned with mingled reluctance and surprise. Something shone in Hinkle's hand: he saw that it was a watch. “As a testimonial from your Ellerton friends,” the other commenced loudly. Anthony's confused mind lost part of the short oration which followed “... recognition of your sportsmanship and skill... happy disposition. The good fame of the Ellerton Baseball team... predict great future on the national diamond.”