"
"Absolutely," agreed Hootsey. "But I don't expect that your father gave
you the money. Did you ever get to Waterloo?"
"Well," answered the shadow, "pretty soon I got a telegram from the
Waterloo manager. He said that I had been recommended very highly by
Howard Wakefield, and asked if I would like to come and try out for the
team. The Waterloo manager offered to reimburse the cost of
transportation if I was given a contract."
"But you still couldn't get the money from your father," said Ozma.
"No," sighed the ballplayer. "It was hardly an improvement over Howard's
letter. So I just went upstairs to my room and closed the door. Then I
wrote back a long letter to the Waterloo manager, explaining that I
didn't have any money for transportation. But I told him that, if he
sent me an advance right now for transportation, I'd be on the very next
train to Waterloo and he could take it out of my salary later on."
"That's assuming you were hired, of course," said Lisa.
"Yes," agreed Rube. "But I didn't have the slightest doubt that I would
make good. And, of course, I didn't mention that I was only sixteen
years old. I thought it best to leave that out.
"I mailed the letter to Iowa, and then I waited on pins and needles for
an answer.
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