“We’ve got a tough nut to crack here, old man,” he remarked soberly. “Can the Clippers hit pretty well?”
“That’s their strong suit,” gloomily returned Billy Mac. “They get a pitcher going, and it’s all off with him. They’re pretty ragged when it comes to headwork, but they give Carson mighty good support. Yes, they can certainly hit. Squint Fletcher leads the league.”
“Slugging doesn’t always mean hitting,” said Merry cheerfully. “Brace up, old man! We’ve a day and a half for practice, and we’re going to improve a whole lot.”
“We’ll need to,” muttered Billy. He halted suddenly, staring up at the house just ahead of them. “Hello! There’s a machine standing out in front!”
“Clancy must have come ahead of time!” cried Merry.
The two burst into a run. Reaching the veranda, they found a red-haired young fellow seated in a rocker. He was talking with Mrs. McQuade. At sight of Merriwell, he leaped up and vaulted the railing.
“Hello, Chip!” he cried, wringing Merry’s hand. “Wow! I’m glad to see you!”
“Same here,” returned Chip. “I see you’ve already met Mrs. McQuade, eh?”
“We’re old friends by this time,” said Clancy. “Hello, Billy! I haven’t seen you since last fall. How’s everything?”
“Pretty good,” stated Billy, forgetting his troubles for the moment. “When do we get some eats, mother?”
“Lunch is all ready,” said Mrs. McQuade, who had taken a fancy to the red-haired chap already. “Do you want to bring your stuff inside, Mr. Clancy?”
Merriwell hastily explained that Clan was going to stop with Jim Spaulding, and they turned to examine the load heaped in the vacant seat of the machine.
This was composed of two Fardale uniforms, together with a catcher’s mitt, protector, and mask, and a half dozen balls. On these Billy pounced with delight.
“Wait till this afternoon, Chip! We couldn’t do much with those old balls this morning, but we’ll show you something this afternoon! Say, this looks pretty good to me.”
“Something to eat would look pretty good to _me_,” said Clancy. “I’ve been hitting the high places ever since early this morning. Say, it certainly did feel good to go out and have your mother pump water over me, Billy. Reminded me of days on the farm.”
The three settled down about the table, and Merry at once launched into a description of events at Carsonville. Billy and his mother never tired of watching the bronzed young fellow, who had been regaling Mrs. McQuade with tales of his adventures in Arizona, and Clancy polished off the good things before him with astonishing rapidity.