“Wait a minute, my dear Billy, I want——­”

“Now, Tom, please don’t call me Billy,” pleaded the dudish student.

“Oh, all right, Philly.  I was just going to say——­”

“Now, Tom, Philly is just as bad as Billy, if not worse.  You know my name well enough.”

“All right, Tubblets.  If you prefer any such handle to the tub, why I——­”

“Tom, if you are going to talk that way, I’ll really have to leave you, don’t you know,” cried William Philander.  “I am not going to stand for it any longer.  I have told you at least a hundred times——­”

“No, not a hundred times, not more than sixty-eight times at the most,” interrupted Tom.

“Well, I’ve told you enough times, anyway, Tom.  So if you——­”

“Don’t say another word, or you’ll make me weep,” said Tom, and drew down his face soberly.  “Why, my dear fellow, I wouldn’t hurt your feelings, not for the world and a big red apple thrown in.  But what I was going to say was this:  Are you going to play on our baseball team this Spring?  Somebody said you were going to pitch for us,” and Tom looked very much in earnest.

“Me pitch for you?” queried William Philander.  “Why, who told you such a story as that?”

“It’s all over college, Tubbs, all over college.  You must be practicing pitching in private.”

“But I don’t know a thing about pitching.  In fact, I don’t know much about baseball,” pleaded the dudish student.”

“Oh, come now, Tubbs—­ you can’t fool me.  Most likely you have been practicing in private, and when you come out on the diamond you will astonish everybody.  Well, I am glad to know that Brill College is really to have a first-class pitcher at last.  We need it if we are going to win any baseball games.

“Now, Tom, I tell you that I don’t know——­”

“Oh, you can’t fool me, William,” declared Tom, positively.  “I got the information straight, and I know it is absolutely correct.  You are booked as the head pitcher for Brill this season.”  And thus speaking, Tom turned on his heel and walked off, leaving William Philander Tubbs much perplexed.

CHAPTER V

 Three letters

A new idea had entered Tom’s mind, and he lost no time in carrying it out.  Meeting Bob Grimes and Stanley Browne, he drew them quickly to one side and mentioned the talk he had had with William Philander.

“Now, carry it along,” he concluded.  “If you do it properly, we’ll have a barrel of fun out of it.”

“Right you are!” returned Bob, and Stanley winked knowingly.  Then Tom hurried off, to interview several others of the students, principally those who were interested in the Brill baseball nine.

Just before the bell rang for breakfast, William Philander found himself confronted by Bob, who shook hands cordially.  “This is the best news yet, William,” said the baseball leader, heartily.  “I have been wondering what we were going to do for a pitcher this season.”