The baseball boys of Lakeport

A BALL GAME ON THE GREEN.

"What a beautiful afternoon for a game of ball, Fred!"

"Right you are, Joe.Let us see if we can't scare up some of the other fellows and have a game," returned Fred Rush.

"I know Harry will be glad to play—he spoke about a game this morning," went on Joe Westmore."Have you that new ball of yours handy?"

"Right here," and Fred brought it forth and tossed it high in the air."Go and get your bat and hurry up about it.If we can scare up enough fellows we can play sides."

"All right, you go after Link Darrow and Bart Mason and I'll tell Frank Pemberton and Paul Shale.My!but can't Paul run!"

"Run?Well, I just guess.He's the best runner in Lakeport.Say, if we organized a regular baseball club, he'd make a dandy base runner, wouldn't he?"

"What put organizing a regular baseball club into your head, Fred?"

"Oh, I don't know.They have a regular club up to Brookside, and one over to Camdale, too.We ought to be able to support a club as well as those places."

"That's exactly my idea."Joe Westmore paused for a moment."I think we could get up a better team here than that up to Brookside.I don't know much about the fellows at Camdale."

"If we organized a regular club we could send out challenges to those other clubs and have regular contests."

"If we did that we would have to fix up a regular ball field."

"That would be easy.I know father would let us use the ten-acre lot back of the milk station.We could build a little grand stand, and have things in real city style."

"If we went that far we'd want uniforms, too."

"We'd have to save up for the uniforms—or else take up a collection.I guess my father would give something.He used to love baseball when he was a boy—and he likes to look at a game still."

"So does my father like it.He used to be a pitcher on his town club.It would just be grand if we could get up a real good club, and fix up those grounds with a stand, and get uniforms and gloves, and masks and those things, and have a clubroom somewhere——"

"Phew!but you've got it all cut and dried, Joe."

"We can do it—I know we can," answered Joe Westmore, confidently."Some of the boys laughed at us last winter, when we started to organize our gun club.But the plan went through, and——"

"We had the best outing in the woods any set of fellows ever had," finished Fred Rush."Do you know, I shall never forget our camp on Pine Island," he went on."What a lot of sport we did have!If this baseball club would afford as much sport——"

"It will."

"Then I'm in favor of it this minute.But come on, let us have our game first and talk club afterwards," added Fred, and ran off in one direction while Joe made off in another.

Fred Rush was the son of a hardware dealer, whose establishment was located in the thriving town of Lakeport, situated at the foot of Pine Lake.Fred was a stout youth, with a round, ruddy face.He was generally bubbling over with energy and good humor and numbered a host of friends among those who knew him.

Fred's closest chums were Joe and Harry Westmore, the sons of a local flour and feed dealer.The Westmores were fairly well to do, and had recently come into possession of valuable land near the head of the lake.

As already intimated, the three boys had, during the previous winter, organized the Gun Club of Lakeport, the doings of which organization have already been set down by me in another volume, entitled, "The Gun Club Boys of Lakeport."With an old hunter named Joel Runnell they set out for Pine Island, located near the head of the lake, and there spent several weeks in hunting and trapping game, and in fishing through the ice.During a part of the outing they had had with them two of their fellow members, Link Darrow and Bart Mason, and also a young Irish lad named Teddy Dugan.Some of their adventures had been perilous, but all had ended happily, and when they had returned to Lakeport with their game the success of the gun club had been the talk of the town for several weeks.

"Those boys are all right," was the comment of Mr. Paxton, the postmaster."I reckon a lot of other young fellows wish they had been along."

"Well, I wish I had been there," Paul Shale had answered, and in this declaration he had been joined by Frank Pemberton, Walter Bannister, Matt Roscoe, and half a dozen other lads of Lakeport, who had hung fire about going.

The outing in the woods had been productive of one very important result.A dishonest real estate dealer of Brookside had been claiming some land which rightfully belonged to the Westmore family.On the island the young hunters had picked up some legal documents which proved the Westmore claim, and Hiram Skeetles, the real estate dealer, had been made to right the wrong done.Skeetles had had as his friend a bully of Lakeport named Dan Marcy.When the exposure came the real estate dealer departed for parts unknown.But Dan Marcy was more brazen, and as soon as the talk over the affair subsided he returned to the vicinity of Lakeport, to begin his bullying habits as of yore.So far he had not bothered the Westmores and Fred Rush, but the time was coming when he would do so, as we shall presently see.

Joe found his brother Harry working over some photographs which he had been printing.Harry owned a good snap-shot camera, and during the outing in the woods had taken a number of really fine photographs, one of which had been enlarged and now hung framed in the parlor.

"Give it up, Harry!"he called out."Fred wants us to play ball.I'm going to drum up some of the other fellows and he is going to do the same."

"All right, just as soon as this picture is finished," answered Harry, who was just a year and a day younger than his brother."Isn't it a dandy!"and he held up the print in hand.It represented all of the young hunters and old Runnell in front of the campfire, each with a gun, ax, or kitchen utensil in his hand."I'm going to send it to Aunt Laura.She asked me for it."

"Those were surely gay old times, Harry.But hurry up—we don't want to keep the others waiting."

Joe ran off, to find Frank Pemberton and Paul Shale, who lived but a short distance away.He found them trying their skill at long jumping.

"Come on, fellows, we are going to have a game of baseball!"he cried."Harry and Fred are coming, and some of the others, too."

"Whoop!That's me!"ejaculated Paul Shale."There, beat that if you can, Frank!"And he made an extra long jump down the garden path.

"Not to-day," laughed Frank Pemberton."Your legs are too long for me.But I think I can beat you at playing ball," he added.

"Can you?Come on and see," answered Paul, and running up to the picket fence he cleared it at a bound.Frank had to go around by the gate, and then both boys joined Joe on his way to the field where the ball game was to come off.

When they arrived, they found Fred already there, with Bart Mason and Link Darrow.Harry was also coming up, with several others, including Teddy Dugan, who chanced to be in town on an errand for his father.

"Sure an' I love baseball, so I do!"cried the Irish boy, with a twinkle of his eye."It's meself as is goin' to be a professional pitcher when I grow up."

"Good for Teddy!"cried Link Darrow."Just wait till he's the leading pitcher in the regular league at ten thousand a year, won't he be some pumpkins?"And a laugh went up.

"Are they after payin' a ladin pitcher ten thousand a year?"asked Teddy, curiously.

"To be sure, Teddy," answered Bart Mason."And when they travel he gets the best room in the hotel, and turtle soup every day for dinner."

"And a gold medal every time he strikes out a man," added Fred.

"And a diamond if he hits the umpire in the eye," came from Joe.

"Now you're pokin' fun at me!"grumbled the Irish boy."Just the same, I'm going to be a pitcher some day," he continued, brightening."Mike Leary once pitched for the Red Stockings, of Pittsfield, an' they paid him five dollars the game.'Twas easy money, my dad said."

All told, twelve boys had assembled, and it was speedily settled that they should choose sides, with Fred and Joe as leaders, one having furnished the bat and the other the ball.Fred's first choice of a player was Harry, while Joe took Bart, and the other choices followed rapidly.A game of five innings was arranged, with Joe's side first to the bat.

"Here is where you go out in one, two, three order," said Fred, as he stationed himself behind the home plate.He had put in Harry as pitcher and Frank as first baseman."Harry, don't you favor Joe, even if he is your brother!"he called out.

"No favors granted or expected!"sang out Harry."All ready?"

"Ready," answered Joe, who was the first player up.

With care Harry sent the ball in, but it was too high and Joe did not strike at it.

"One ball!"cried out the youth who had been selected as umpire.

Again the ball came in.This time Joe struck at it and missed it.

"One strike!"

"What did I tell you?"exclaimed Fred, as he threw the ball back to the pitcher.

Again Harry made his calculations with care.But Joe was on the alert and as the ball came in just where he wanted it he met it fairly and sent it sailing down to centerfield.

"Hurrah, first blood!"yelled Bart."Leg it, Joe!"And Joe did "leg it" for all he knew how and reached third base in safety.

"Hi, there, stop up!"called out Harry, ruefully."Don't try to make a home run the first thing."

"Never mind.I'll put him out at the home plate," said Fred, but he failed to do so, and Joe came in when Bart made a safe hit to first base.

Thus the game went on until the beginning of the third inning, when the score stood 7 to 7.

"Sure an' it's a foin game, so it is!"cried Teddy Dugan."It's a real baseball club Lakeport ought to have, wid yourselves as mimbers."

"Perhaps we shall have a club," answered Joe.

Link was at the bat, and after he had made a safe hit to second, Harry followed.

"Here comes Mr. Jadell," remarked Frank."See that you don't hit him, or there'll be a row."

Mr. Montgomery Jadell was the principal of the Lakeport school.He was a fussy old gentleman, who wore a high, silk hat on all occasions and big, gold-rimmed spectacles.Only a few of his pupils liked him, and the majority of the lads spoke of him as Old Stovepipe behind his back.He was a bachelor and had a maiden sister named Angelina who kept house for him.

"Old Stovepipe is going to walk right across the ball field," came from Paul."Guess he is in a hurry to get home."And evidently the schoolmaster was in a hurry for he scarcely gave the boys a look as he passed those in the outfield.

Harry let one ball pass him and then the sphere came in just where he wished it.Taking a step forward he swung around the bat with vigor.There was a sharp crack!and away flew the ball over the pitcher's head and out toward centerfield.

"Hi!hi!look out!"yelled several voices at once, and the player in centerfield started to catch the ball.But before he could do so, it landed fairly and squarely on the school principal's high hat, crushing in the top of the silk tile and sending Mr. Montgomery Jadell flat on his back on the grassy field.