CHAPTER XXVIII
THE GAGE FLUNG DOWN
Hutchinson laughed in a mirthless
manner, no sound escaping his thin lips.
The young man had refused a direct
answer, and nimbly made his escape from the
corner in which Hutch had tried to pin him, but
it seemed that he might as well have owned up
without squirming.
"It's a peculiar affair," said the manager, after a few moments, during which Lefty sat frowning at the newspaper he still held in his hand. "Riley proposes to protest against the counting of any games we may win with you pitching. It seems that old man Cope is getting cold feet, for he has instructed me to fish up another pitcher or two without delay, and I've got some lines out already."
The pitcher lifted his eyes and gazed steadily at Hutchinson, as if looking straight and deep into the hidden chambers of the man's mind, there to read his secret thoughts and purposes. In spite of himself, Hutch felt his icy self-control
