o hundrid
av all Oi have in the Phoenix Bank. Oi'll use up the remainin' two
hundrid av Oi see fit by drawin' on it, but for the prisint Oi think
Oi'll let it remain there as a nist egg. Oi've noticed nist eggs are
moighty foine things to hav', av ye kept thim warm. They sometoimes
hatch out all roight, all roight."

No one had noticed the quiet entrance of a man, who stood unobtrusively
near, listening to the talk. With a yawn, this man now advanced, saying:

"I beg your pardon, gentlemen. I presume it's very rude, but I need some
change right away in order to pay a sum to a man who wishes to catch a
train. I've been unable to get this hundred-dollar bill changed. Would
you mind if the cashier stopped long enough to change it for me?"

The speaker was Casper Silence, backer of the Rovers baseball team.

"Niver a bit do we moind," answered Barney. "It's all roight, sor; go
ahead."

"Yes, go ahead," nodded Gallup. "We've gut loads of time."

Silence pushed the hundred-dollar bill through to the cashier, who
glanced at it critically, asked what sort of change he desired and then
gave, at his request, five tens and ten fives.

"I'm very much obliged, gentlemen--very much obliged," said Silence,
bowing to Mulloy and Gallup. "I hope I haven't interfered with you, Mr.
Merriwell."

"Not in the least," answered Frank.

"Do you think we'll have good weather for the game to-morrow?"

"The indications are that the weather will be all right."

"And are you still confident that we will be able to bring out a
thousand people or more?"

"Quite confident," laughed Frank. "One of my errands in Wellsburg is to
get a notice of the game into a newspaper here. I thought of looking Mr.
Bearover up for the purpose of obtaining some facts concerning the
Rovers, which might interest the newspaper readers."

"I can give you any information you desire," said Silence. "In fact, I
have it here on this printed slip. Here's a whole history of the team
and the players who make up the team. You'll see we've lost no games
this season. If you'll read this slip through, you'll learn beyond
question that our players form the most remarkable independent baseball
organization ever assembled in this country."

While talking he had produced a leather pocketbook, from which he took a
printed slip at least six inches long. This he handed to Frank.

As Silence opened the pocketbook both Mulloy and Gallup observed that it
was well stuffed with ba