"What a mean thing for him to say!
Imagine, just pitching you out after all your effort to get there!"
"No, no," explained the shadow. "He meant that he wanted me to pitch the
next day. But I was all tuckered out and hardly ready to do that. I
really wanted to have a bath and get some sleep.
"'Tomorrow or never, Young Fellow,' he says to me. Tomorrow or not at
all.'
"'All right,' I said. 'But could I have five dollars in advance so I can
get a clean shirt or something?'
"'After the game tomorrow,' he said. Then he just walked away from me
like I was nothing."
"How rude," said Elephant.
"The least he could have done would have been to let you take a shower
in the locker-room," said Lisa.
"Well, I got to clean up," admitted Rube. "Howard took me to his rooming
house and gave me something to eat. They let me sleep on an extra cot
they had. And the next day we went to the Ball Park and I was introduced
to the players and given a uniform that was too small for me. The Keokuk
team was shagging balls while I warmed up, and they kept making comments
about green rookies and bushers and nitchies and such; and how they'd
knock me out of the box in the first inning; and how I should have
stayed home with my Mommy.
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