looking down into the girl's face reassuringly, and stroking her
tangled hair.

"Oh, I didn't understand it all, but they hated you, and said they
must get some other bad boys to beat you, so you couldn't play
ball again. If you only saw his face when he said that! It was so
fierce I just shivered. I hope they don't do it to you, Mr. West.
It would be worse than a nasty, cold frog."

Again the two lads exchanged glances.

"Aha!" chuckled Frank, "the plot thickens. Tony feels the chill
of coming events, and wants to make sure that you will never
displace him on the regular team. I'm not so much surprised,
though. It wouldn't be the first time a candidate has been marked
for assault in the hope of putting him out of the running. An
ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. And since we
know now what is in the wind, we must be doubly on our guard. I
suspected that some of them, Lef Seller and his crowd, perhaps,
might have it in for me, but it seems that you are the goat,
Ralph."

"Well, I'm ever so much obliged to Madge here for telling me. And
next time I come out to her house I'm going to fetch along a box
of candy to pay the debt," said Ralph, kindly.

"You always do that, anyway," declared the child, promptly, at
which Frank burst into another laugh.

"Oh, all your secrets will come out, one by one, old fellow. I