Dick Merriwell's Assurance. In his Brother's Footsteps

CHAPTER I.

ARLINGTON GETS THE CHANCE.

When the Fardale Military Academy arranged to play a baseball game with the Great Northern A. A. it was generally believed that the cadets would be “snowed under.” The Great Northern was a semi-professional organization, and it had been necessary to give the team a large guarantee in order to bring it to Fardale.

Captain Merriwell, of the Fardales, had taken no part in the arrangements for this game. He had advised neither for nor against it.

The success of the Fardale team had been such that the athletic committee of the school, on receiving the proposition from the Great Northern, had decided to make the game, even though it was known that the schoolboys would be pitted against semi-professionals who were much older and many of whom made a regular business of baseball. It was generally believed among the cadets that their team had risen superior to the school nines with which they were scheduled to play.

This being the case, there was a great rejoicing at the academy when it was known that the Great Northern 

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A. A. would appear there. There were a few who predicted overwhelming defeat for Fardale. These, however, were greatly in the minority; the main body of cadets were confident of victory.

When Captain Merriwell’s opinion was sought in advance, he simply declared that Fardale was going to capture the game if possible. On being asked if he did not consider it almost a sure thing, he replied that no baseball game could be a sure thing unless one team greatly outclassed the other, for that element called “luck” often decided the result of a contest on the diamond.

Brad Buckhart, Merriwell’s chum and roommate, was the only one who knew Dick was in no condition to pitch his best. Dick’s side had been injured by an assault upon him in a billiard room, when he had been thrown against a table. It had not recovered, and if he went into the box with the idea of pitching nine innings when the Great Northern appeared, it was quite likely he would retard his recovery to such an extent that he might remain out of condition for the rest of the spring season. It was Brad who urged Dick to let some one else pitch against the athletic organization. The Texan chose the opportunity to do this privately in their room.

“If you get knocked out for fair and can’t pitch any more this season, I certain see where we land in the ditch,” said Brad; “this yere game don’t amount to such a lot, pard; what if we do lose it? It won’t hurt our standing any at all in the school series, and it certain will be the natural thing any man with a good nut on him will expect. What if you did go in 

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against these Great Northern chaps and win, but knocked yourself out so you had to stay on the bench and see Fairport, Rivermouth, Hudsonville, Springvale, and the rest of them eat us up? Wouldn’t that be fine! Wouldn’t that make you tired! You didn’t have anything to do with arranging for this game, and so there’s no responsibility on your shoulders.”

Dick shook his head.

“I have little to do with arranging any of the games,” he said; “but I feel just as much responsible, Buckhart. Every one knows this is going to be a tough old struggle. If I put some one else in to pitch they will have the impression that I was afraid to go against the Great Northern.”

“What do you care! You’re a whole lot independent, and I certain never knew you to mind what any one thought, as long as you believed you were right.”

“It’s not that, Brad. I can’t afford to lose the confidence of the team. As long as the fellows behind me believe in me implicitly, they play better baseball. Let them lose confidence in me, in even a small degree, and it will affect their playing.”

“Then it’s up to you to let them know your condition. It’s up to you to keep it secret no longer that your side is hurt. Pard, you’re a plenty queer. Why, some pitchers squeal and say they have lame arms, or something, every time there is a tough game in sight. But you never want to let any one know you are in bad shape, no matter what the circumstances may be. Tell you what, partner, if you don’t explain about your side so it will be understood, I sure am going to do it myself.”

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“You will do nothing of the sort, Buckhart; when I get ready to tell, I’ll tell. If you stop to think a moment you will see the bad effect of putting another man into the box. It will look as if I felt shaky about going against these fellows, and put some one else in to take chances and suffer blame and defeat if we are beaten.”

“Oh, rot! Any one who knows you well knows you better than that. And there is Chet Arlington. He is just seething to pitch a game.”

Dick smiled.

“You can see yourself how it would seem if I should ask Arlington to pitch this game. He wanted to pitch against Hilsboro, and was not given the chance. He felt that he might win that game. If I should put him in now, and Fardale lost the game, which it is quite possible she may, there would be many who would fancy I had not given him a fair show. He might think so himself. You can see that, old man.”

“Well, I suppose that’s so,” admitted the Texan. “Never thought of it that way. No, pard, you can’t ask him to pitch; but, all the same, you can’t pitch yourself. What are you going to do?”

“It’s a problem I can’t answer now,” said Dick.

Arlington was the one who settled the problem. That very day he stopped Merriwell on the parade ground, drew him aside, and said:

“See here, Captain Merriwell, I am going to ask you just one more favor. If you don’t grant it, this will be the last time I’ll ever ask anything of you.”

“What is it?” demanded Dick.

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“I want to pitch Saturday.”

“Do you?”

“Sure thing. May I?”

“Do you realize what you are asking?”

“You bet I do!” warmly retorted Chet. “You turned me down the last time I asked such a favor, and I thought I’d never ask another.”

“I didn’t turn you down. I thought seriously of using you against Hilsboro, but you went round telling that I had promised to put you into that game when I had done nothing of the sort. You knew I had done nothing of the sort, but you tried to force me into it by circulating the report that I had. This is true, Arlington, and you cannot deny it.”

“Well, maybe that’s right,” confessed Chester. “I did wrong about that, Merriwell. I am willing to acknowledge it to any one.”

Instantly Dick’s face cleared.

“Now that you have acknowledged it to me you don’t have to say anything more about it,” he nodded. “We’ll let it drop. But I want you to think this matter over before you plunge. You know the kind of a team we have to meet Saturday. Those fellows are professionals. Our chance of beating them is a small one. I don’t want you to go around telling that I said this, but you should understand the facts. If you pitch that game you may lose it. If I put you in, there will be many ready to say I did it because I didn’t dare pitch myself.”

“Any one who says such a thing is a chump!” exclaimed Chester. “You don’t have to pay any attention to such talk.”

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“But you know it will be said.”

“Put me in and I will tell everybody the truth-that I begged you to do so. Why should you pitch this game, anyhow? It’s not a school game, and it will be no disgrace to lose it. If I pitch, I am going to do my utmost to win. You know what it will mean to me if I do win. It will put me on my feet here. It will give me a reputation. The actual fact is that by letting me pitch you will be doing a great favor to one who has done you no favors.”

“Is that the way you look at it, Arlington? Tell me the truth. Is that the way you look at it?”

“I swear that’s the way I look at it.”

“Then say nothing and get into the best condition possible for that game.”

Chester’s face brightened.

“Now, that’s great stuff, Captain Merriwell!” he said. “I won’t forget this of you, and you see if I don’t work like a dog to take that game!”