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.