uk is here tomorrow,' says the manager, 'and we'll pitch you.'"

"'We'll pitch you?'" echoed Hootsey. "What a mean thing for him to say!
Imagine, just pitching you out after all your effort to get there!"

"No, no," explained the shadow. "He meant that he wanted me to pitch the
next day. But I was all tuckered out and hardly ready to do that. I
really wanted to have a bath and get some sleep.

"'Tomorrow or never, Young Fellow,' he says to me. Tomorrow or not at
all.'

"'All right,' I said. 'But could I have five dollars in advance so I can
get a clean shirt or something?'

"'After the game tomorrow,' he said. Then he just walked away from me
like I was nothing."

"How rude," said Elephant.

"The least he could have done would have been to let you take a shower
in the locker-room," said Lisa.

"Well, I got to clean up," admitted Rube. "Howard took me to his rooming
house and gave me something to eat. They let me sleep on an extra cot
they had. And the next day we went to the Ball Park and I was introduced
to the players and given a uniform that was too small for me. The Keokuk
team was shagging balls while I warmed up, and they kept making comments
about green rookies and bushers and nitchies and such; and how they'd
knock me out of the box in the first inning; and how I should have
stayed home with my Mommy. Ooh, I felt terrible. I had an awful headache
and I was exhausted! Still, I was determined to show them that I could
make good, and I went out there and won that game six against one!

"With that," continued the shadow, "I felt sure I'd be offered a
contract. So after the game, I went to Mr. Frisbee and said, 'Welp, I
showed you I could deliver the goods. Can we talk about a contract
now?'

"'Oh,' he says to me. 'Keokuk is in last place. Wait until Oskaloosa
comes in this weekend. They are in second place. They are a rough team,
and if you can beat them, then we'll talk.'

"'Can't I get any money--any advance money--on my contract?' I asked
him.

"'You haven't got a contract,' he said.

"'All right,' says I, and I didn't say another word. I knew that he was
right. I'd have to prove myself before I could expect any handouts from
this man. So I stayed quiet. I didn't say anything to anybody that
evening. But when it got dark, I went down to the railway station, and
the same stationmaster was there. He remembered me.

"'Hey!' he says. 'You pitched a fine game today! I was there, and you
did a great j