"Sit down," said Locke, "and I'll tell you. Since I sent you that message I've heard something that's got me guessing--and worried." "The contracts?" questioned old Jack, sitting down. "The boys signed up, didn't they?" "Every one of them. That's not the trouble. I've had a talk with Jack Stillman." "The only reporter I know with a noodle screwed on right," said Kennedy. "His bean's packed with sound sense. When he gets an idea it's generally correct." "In that case, unless he's made a bobble this time, the situation's worse than we suspected, Jack." "Give me the dope," urged Kennedy. The old man listened to Locke without comment, and when Lefty had finished, he sat thoughtfully plucking at his under lip with his thumb and forefinger. "Well," he said, after a time, "Stillman usually puts them in the groove when he shoots." "Then you think he's hit it right in this case?" "I haven't said so. If anybody else had passed this one up, I'd have said it missed the plate by a rod. With Stillman doing the pitching, I'm not so ready to give a decision against him. But you say he finished a lot more confident than he began?" "Yes. Instead of seeking information, he finished up by giving it." "Just as though he had talked himself into a settled conviction as he went along?" "That's it." "Then we won't accept his statement as fact until he gets some kind of proof, son. You know more about Parlmee than I do, and you've always figured that gent on the level, haven't you?" "Yes; but I'm compelled to admit that I haven't had sufficient dealings with him to feel certain that my estimation of his character is correct. Furthermore, my first impression was unfavorable." "First impressions are sometimes the best." "But at that time, as you know, my judgment could hardly be unprejudiced. It was when Collier first took over the team and I had trouble with Carson, the manager he put in your place. Everything seemed going wrong then." A grin broke over Kennedy's face, and he chuckled softly, a reminiscent expression in his keen old eyes. "Those were some stirring times, boy," he said. "Collier fired me for Al Carson, and Carson made a mess of it. He's managing a dub league team now. He thought he could get along without you, just as Collier reckoned he could dispense with me; but at the finish it was you and me that came back and saved the day for the Stockings. You pitched the game of your life that last day of the season. Now it's up to you to come back again, and I've got a hunch that you will. You'll return, better than ever. You're going to make the wiseacres that think you're down and out look foolish."