Page:The spirit of the leader (IA spiritofleader00heyl).pdf/260

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
Chapter VIII
Northfield to Northfield

FOR eight innings Northfield had been pecking away, only to have rally after rally die just when it seemed that runs were about to be scored. The score-board, fastened to one wall of the shack that served as a dressing house, read: Monroe, 5; Northfield, 3. And so when Northfield came in to take her ninth inning turn at bat, a dozen or more students began to worm their way out through the crowd. One stopped for a moment to call back over his shoulder:

"Coming, Praska?"

"I think I'll wait," George Praska answered calmly, "and see Northfield win."

The student went off grumbling. "That's the worst of being president of the Northfield Student Congress," he complained. "Even if the team hasn't a chance you're expected to stick around to the finish."

But Praska was not staying there as a matter