“I didn’t know there was a man there,” said Iredell lamely.
McRae looked as though he were going to have a fit.
“Didn’t know a man was there!” he sputtered. “Didn’t know a man was there! Didn’t know a-- Look here, you fellows,” he shouted to the rest of the Giants gathered round. “I want you to understand there are no secrets on this team. You tell Iredell after this whenever there’s a man on third. Understand?”
He stalked away from the clubhouse in high dudgeon to share his woes with the ever-faithful Robbie.
It was a hard game to lose, but Joe, as he summed up the results of the Western invasion felt pretty good over the record. The Giants had won eleven out of sixteen games from the strongest teams in the League, and were now only one game behind the leaders. They had climbed steadily ever since he had become captain.
But though he was elated at the showing of the team his heart was heavily burdened by his personal troubles. His mother was still in a precarious condition. He tore open eagerly every letter from home, only to have his hopes sink again when he learned that she was no better. Sometimes the strain seemed more than he could bear.
Then there was Jim, dear old Jim, with the cloud on his brow and look of suffering in his eyes that made Joe’s heart ache whenever he looked at him. From being the soul of good fellowship, Jim had withdrawn within himself, a prey to consuming anxiety. He seemed ten years older than he had a year ago. And as a player, he had slipped undeniably. He was no longer the terror to opposing batsmen that he had been such a short time before. Joe gritted his teeth, and mentally scored Clara, who had brought his friend to such a pass.
But, troubled as he was, Joe summoned up his resolution and bent to his task. His work lay clearly before him. He was captain of the Giants. And the Giants must win the pennant!
“Joe,” said McRae, on the eve of the Giants’ second trip West, “I want to have a serious talk with you.”
“That sounds ominous, Mac,” replied Joe, with a twinkle in his eye. “What have I been doing?”
“What I wish every member of the team had been doing,” responded McRae. “Pitching like a wizard, batting like a fiend, and playing the game generally as it’s never been played before in my long experience as a manager. No, it isn’t you, Joe, that I have to growl about. You’re top-notch in every department of the game, and as a captain you’ve more than met my expectations. You’ve brought the team up from the second division to a point where any day they may step into the lead.”