uts the fat in the fire, and gives
him the scare of his life. Belleville went down to defeat last
Saturday before Allandale, and the score looks rotten, but you remember
they fought like tigers."

"You're right, Hugh."

"And only for some hard luck they would have started a streak of
hitting that might have pulled them out of the hole. Half a dozen
fierce drives were taken on the run by Allandale fielders, any one
of which, if sent ten feet one way or the other, would have counted
for a three-bagger easily. That's how luck has a hand in defeating
a team, and there's no way of denying it, either."

"Well, we mean to put up our best sort of game, and not count it won
till the last man goes down in the final inning," avowed Thad.

"It's always wise to play safe in baseball," declared the field
captain of the Scranton High team, "and take nothing for granted.
Hit as hard as you can every time you're at bat, and don't allow
yourself to be tempted to ease up out of sympathy for the other
fellows. It's scant sympathy they'll show you, once they get at
your prize pitcher, to knock him out of the box. Instead it'll
be jeers, and taunts, and every sort of thing calculated to sting."

"But after the game's been won?" expostulated Thad.

"Oh, that's a different thing," admitted his chum. "Then we feel
that we can afford to be generous without being put in a possible
hole. Every true player is ready to take off his cap and give a
beaten rival a hearty cheer. It sort of eases up the sting of defeat
a bit, too, as all of us know."

As they parted at the gate in front of Thad's home he once more
returned to the subject that had such a strong hold on his mind.

"If anything crops up that you think would interest me, about that
tramp, of course, I mean, Hugh, please give me the sign, won't you?"
Thad asked.

Hugh did not seem disposed to take his chum into his confidence just
then; perhaps he wanted to make more certain that his faint suspicions
were well grounded before committing himself to a disclosure.

"Sure I will, if I learn anything positive, Thad," he merely said;
"and in the meantime we'll keep tabs on Brother Lu's eccentric actions,
hoping to catch him off his guard," and later on Thad realized that
these last words were rather significant.

CHAPTER XVI

AN ADVENTURE ON THE ROAD

On Saturday morning Hugh had an errand that took him out of town. Once
again it was to the farm where his mother se