ng.

"Come along, fellows," he called out. "Come out and get some practice.
What do you mean by staying indoors a morning like this?"

"Just a minute, Fred," answered Bill Garwood, for the rest. "Slim has
got to get this story out of his system."

"As I was saying when this low-brow came in to interrupt me," said Slim,
looking severely at Fred, "this cat was a very smart cat. And a plucky
one too, by ginger. There was no rat so big that he was afraid to tackle
it. And the way he went for snakes was a caution."

"Snakes!" exclaimed Lester Lee incredulously.

"That's what I said, 'snakes,'" said Slim firmly. "There used to be a
lot of rattlesnakes in that neighborhood, and the cat would go out
hunting for one every morning.

"When he found a rattler, he would creep up to him, and the snake,
seeing him, would throw itself into a coil to strike. The cat would hold
up a paw and the snake would strike at it. But the cat was too quick and
would dodge the stroke. Then, before the snake could coil up again, the
cat would have it by the neck. He used to drag them home and stretch
them out in the dooryard, so as to show his folks how smart he was."

"Some cat!" murmured Melvin.

"Yes," assented Slim, "and he was a good-hearted cat too. Some folks say
that a cat thinks only of himself, but do you know what that cat did?

"One day, the baby of the house had lost his rattle and was crying. The
cat sat looking at him for a minute. Then he went out in the yard, bit
the rattles off a dead snake and brought it in and laid it down near the
baby. You see----"

But what Slim saw just at that moment was a pillow coming toward his
head. He dodged with an agility born of long practice; and the laughing
crowd went out with Fred into the bright April morning.

They scattered out on the diamond, on which Big Sluper and his
assistants had been busy for some days past, and which was already in
condition for a game. The turf was smooth and springy, the base paths
had been rolled until they were perfectly level, and the foul lines
stretched away toward left and right field.

"Won't we have some bully times here this spring?" exulted Fred.

"Bet your life we will!" assented Teddy, turning a handspring. "And I'm
going to play shortstop and don't you forget it!"

"Don't be too sure of that," Fred cautioned him. "It'll be nip and tuck
between you and Shorty Ward for the position. And Shorty's a pretty
nifty player."

"I know he is," adm