not Hazelton," said the manager. "If you prove to her that he lied, isn't it likely she'll drop him like a hot flatiron? In that way, you'll protect her, all right, and you'll put the blade into him, after which any comparison on her part between you and the man who tried to deceive her will be decidedly to your advantage."
"Yes," admitted King, "perhaps so, but to think of him trying to carry this thing through in such a brazen—"
"He has simply besmirched himself, and his sojourn in Kingsbridge will be brief. Mike Riley has in his possession a letter from Paul Hazelton, which, as it is an effort to jack Riley up in the matter of salary—Riley having made Hazelton an offer to pitch for Bancroft—will establish Bancroft's prior claim to the man. As near as I can learn, old Cope got Hazelton by paying him a preposterously big sum."
"If he goes to Bancroft, he'll still be pitching in the league and appearing regularly in Kingsbridge."
Hutchinson permitted a frosty smile to fade across his face. "He'll never pitch for Bancroft or any other team in the Northern League. Riley is sore. I am telling you in confidence that we have talked the matter over and agreed that Haz-
