The Pennant

"Hello――o――o, Dan! " Walter had exclaimed as he first caught sight of his friend in the doorway. "Come right in! I'm mighty glad to see you! " The impulsive Walter had leaped from the chair in which he was seated and darting to the door seized Dan by the hand, then grasped his canvas bag which he hurriedly took into the little bedroom which Dan was to occupy. Turning quickly about he said to Sinclair: "Sin, this is the new fellow I was telling you about. Stand up and do yourself proud to shake hands with Dan Richards. He's going to be the new pitcher on the Tait School nine and he'll make our opponents work some!"

"Pleased to meet you," said Sin drawlingly, as he shook hands with the new boy. The contrast between the two for the first time struck Walter almost with the force of a blow: one easy and self-possessed in his manner, dressed in the latest fashion, and having the confidence that is the result of the possession of wealth and all that money implies; the other quiet, but still somewhat self-conscious. His clothing manifestly was not made by a fashionable tailor, and his face and hands showed the effect of his toil in the fields. For a moment Walter almost felt as if Dan must be painfully aware of his own deficiencies. But if the newcomer was abashed in the presence of Sinclair Bradley, his manner at least failed to betray it.