CHAPTER XX

THE TRY-OUT

By the first of June Hillman's baseball team had settled into its stride. Four successive victories had restored the confidence of players and adherents alike, and the final test of the season, the game with Farview Academy, played this year at Orstead, was being viewed in prospect with less apprehension. Laurie had somewhat solved the science of throwing to bases from the plate and was running a very even race with Elk Thurston, a fact that did nothing to increase the entente cordiale between those two. Elk seldom missed an opportunity to make himself disagreeable to his rival, and since Elk was both older and bigger, and possessed also the prestige of being a member of the upper-middle class, Laurie had to keep his temper many times when he didn't want to. After all, though, Elk's offenses weren't important enough to have excused serious reprisals.