gain met with scant success.
They flatly refused to have a president, stating that a captain could do
all the bossing necessary, and that baseball clubs always had a captain.
In the vote that followed the result was curiously impartial. Every boy
in the club voted for himself. Eveley, who had been won by the bright
face of a young Jewish boy sitting near her with keen eyes intent upon
her, voted for him, which gave him a fifty per cent. majority over the
nearest competitor, and Eveley declared him the captain.

A few moments later, Eveley was called away to the telephone by Nolan,
wishing to know what time he should call for her and the moment she was
out of hearing, the club went into noisy conference. Upon her return, the
argumentative Russian announced that the vote had been changed, and he
was unanimously elected captain.

"But how did that happen?" Eveley demanded doubtfully. "Did the rest of
you change your votes, and decide he should be captain?"

There was a rustle of hesitation, almost a dissenting murmur.

The newly elected captain lowered his brows ominously. "You did, didn't
you?" he asked, glaring around on his fellow members.

"Yes," came feebly though unanimously.

"Did--did you vote?" questioned Eveley tremulously.

"Sure, we voted," said the captain amiably. "We decided that I know the
game better than the rest of the guys, and I can lick any kid in this
gang with one hand, and we decided that I ought to be the captain. Ain't
that right?" Again he turned lowering brows on the Irish-American League.

No denial was forthcoming, and although Eveley felt assured that in some
way the American ideal of popular selection had been violently outraged,
it seemed the part of policy to overlook what might have occurred. Some
minor rules were agreed upon, and the club decided to meet for practise
every evening after school. Eveley could not attend except on Saturdays,
and a boy near her, whose features had seemed vaguely and bewilderingly
familiar, announced that he must withdraw as he worked and had no time
for baseball. The captain professed his ability to fill up the club to
the required number with exceptional baseball material, and the meeting
adjourned without further parley.

This one meeting sufficed unalterably to convince Eveley that she was
totally and helplessly out of her element. She was not altogether sure
those quick-witted boys needed Americanizing, but she was sure that she
was not the one