it was an excited crowd of boys and girls that gathered about the steps of parker school the next morning, for the news that phil was going to leave before the end of the term had spread rapidly. yet, though they waited eagerly for his appearance, that they might hear confirmation or denial from his lips, they were forced to go to their classes unsatisfied, because the boy, realizing their curiosity, purposely kept out of the way until after recitation time, and when he did enter the building, he went directly to the office of the principal instead of to his class-room.
“what’s all this i hear about your deserting the team, porter?” asked that official, as he motioned phil to a chair.
“i do not know what you may have heard, mr. maxwell, but it is true that i intend to leave school today—and ted will also.”
“afraid of the mercer academy team?” sneered the principal, who had felt it keenly that his school had not been able to win the baseball championship and now saw the unusually rosy prospect of accomplishing the feat this season vanish.
a hot flush suffused the boy’s face at this taunt, and he arose from his chair.
“you should know me better than that, mr. maxwell. it is for no such reason. my mother is in a very serious condition, and ted and i intend to take the burden of the support of ourselves and our sisters from her shoulders. will you call a meeting of the team to elect a new captain, or shall i?”
as he scanned the manly face before him, the principal was thoroughly ashamed of his slur.
“i’m sorry to hear about your mother, phil,” he said. “also, i admire your pluck. just forget, if you can, my remark about mercer, but you know i had set my heart on your bringing the interscholastic championship to parker and it is a keen disappointment to be informed of your leaving.”
“but that doesn’t mean parker won’t win, mr. maxwell. the team is working splendidly and they will probably do better without than with me.”
“i’m afraid not. somehow, when you were in the box, it not only gave confidence to our boys, but it rattled the opposing team. for what time do you wish me to call the meeting—that is, if you are quite sure you cannot be persuaded to remain in school until the end of the term?”
“that is out of the question, sir.” and then the boy briefly informed the principal of the seriousness of his mother’s condition.
“have you a position yet?” asked mr. maxwell, as phil finished. “if you have not, i shall be glad to do all i can to assist you. i know several business men and i shall be pleased to give you letters to them.”
“we are going out west to take up a homestead, but i thank you just the same.”
“well, well, we shall not even be able to have your services as coach for parker, shall we? that’s too bad. i had hoped we might, at least, arrange to have you do some coaching. h’m, going to take up a homestead, eh? you’ll have pretty tough ‘sledding,’ as they say, i’m afraid.”
“no more so than in any other work, and, besides, my mother will be able to be out-of-doors.”
“is she going with you?”
“no, ted and i are going alone. after we have filed our claim and put up our cabin, we shall send for her and the girls.”
“i’m afraid you will have some difficulty about filing your entry, as they call filing a claim, in the land office. i know something about it because my father was an ‘entryman.’”
“but why do you think so, sir?”
“because you are neither of age nor the head of a family, and minors are not allowed to make an entry unless they have done service in the army or navy.”
“but widows can file a claim, and ted and i shall select the homestead, build a cabin, then send for momsy and she will make the entry.”
“clever way of getting around it, phil, very—that is, if the government will allow minors to act as settlers. how about that?”
“we do not know yet, but dr. blair will write to washington about it and he thinks he can arrange it.”
“probably he can. if you have any difficulty, however, just ask your mother to let me know and i will do all i can to help her and you. and now, when do you wish me to call the team together—after school?”
“i rather thought, if you don’t mind, sir, that i should like to speak to the fellows, but our time is so short that i must go right home to pack.”
“then i’ll have the team go to the gymnasium directly. it won’t interfere with classes very much, for i don’t imagine, in view of the excitement about your resigning, that recitations are going very well.”
and rising from his desk, mr. maxwell went to the various rooms, summoning the members of the team and substitutes, while phil went directly to the meeting place.
as he looked about the gymnasium, whose walls were decorated with the various trophies won by members of parker school during its fifteen years of existence, a lump rose in his throat. for he had often gazed upon them before and had hoped that he should be able to place upon its walls the most coveted emblem of all, the pennant betokening the baseball championship of the interscholastic league.
going over to the spot where were the footballs, with the scores of the games in which they had been used marked upon them, he was fondly fingering one bearing the legend parker 12—mercer 6, 1910, a victory in which his work at fullback had played no mean part, when there was a patter of footsteps and in rushed a group of excited, eager boys.
for the moment, as they beheld phil standing before the footballs, they were hushed. then, as they began to sense his feelings, one of them shouted:
“three cheers for good old phil!”
lustily they were given, and they were about to be repeated when another group of boys entered and began to groan and catcall.
“stop that—instantly,” rang out the stern voice of the principal, who was close upon their heels, unbeknown to the boys.
but though the hoots were silenced, those who had uttered them kept up a continual growling and grumbling among themselves, even after mr. maxwell had mounted the instructor’s platform, at one end of the gymnasium, and rapped for order.
“i have called you together to listen to me, not to listen to you,” exclaimed the principal. “if i hear any more derisive words, i shall suspend the utterer from the team for the remainder of the term. undoubtedly, from the reports that have come to me from the classrooms as to the hopelessness of your recitations, you have heard the rumour that phil porter intended to resign from parker school. i am only too sorry to say that it is true. i—”
“quitter! he’s afraid of mercer!” burst from different parts of the room.
“jenkins, you and whitten leave the gymnasium, and after school bring your uniforms to me. we will now proceed to elect a captain to take phil’s place. hawley, i appoint you to gather the votes.”
abashed at the drastic punishment meted out to the two of their number who had expressed their opinions, the other members of the team searched for paper and pencils, then divided into groups, discussing the best candidates.
while they were thus absorbed, phil approached mr. maxwell.
“i know it is none of my business, sir, but won’t you lift your ban from jenkins and whitten? just because they do not like me is no reason why parker should be made to suffer from their loss.”
no answer did the principal make to the boy’s request, and he turned away, sick at heart to think that the team had been still further crippled on his account.
but when young hawley quietly walked up to the platform and handed his hat containing the votes to mr. maxwell, the master exclaimed:
“phil has importuned me to revoke my suspension of jenkins and whitten so that parker shall not be weakened any more. while you all know that i am not in the habit of changing my mind, as phil is going out west and on a particularly praiseworthy purpose, i shall yield to his wish. hawley, fetch jenkins and whitten back.”
ere the words had left the principal’s mouth, hearty cheers for their old captain rang through the room, punctuated by cries of “speech! speech!”
with a smile mr. maxwell nodded to phil, and the boy walked to the platform, then turned and faced his former team-mates.
“i’m sorry that i must resign, fellows, but i must, so there’s no use talking about it. we have the best nine at parker that we have had for years, and if you all give your new captain the same kind of support you have given me, there is no reason why the pennant should not hang on the wall of this gym.”
again cheers rang through the room, and as they subsided mr. maxwell announced:
“the voting has resulted as follows: sydney thomas, 14; bertram peters, 7; jenkins, 1. thomas is, therefore, elected captain to succeed porter.”
“good boy, syd!” cried his friends, gathering around him, excitedly. but thomas broke from them and walked to where phil stood.
“whatever i know about baseball i have learned from phil, and for his sake i want you all to work hard with me to bring the pennant to parker,” he exclaimed.
when the cheers subsided, the former captain said:
“i only wish i had taught syd. there is no need to tell you fellows that it is hard to leave my—i mean the—team. but syd knows more inside baseball than i do, and he can lead you to the championship, as i said before, if you will only give him the support you have given me. though i shall be far away, i want some of you to write to me and tell me how things are going, but if you don’t win the pennant, you needn’t expect to receive any replies from me. if i can get out to practise this afternoon, i shall, but as i start in the morning, i haven’t much time to get ready. and now, just to please me, let’s cheer old parker and syd.”
willing was the response to this request, but instead of cheering their new captain, the boys shouted for their old one, surging about him and wringing his hands; even jenkins and whitten, who had returned, speaking with him, grateful for his intervention in their behalf.
