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“You can’t get to work too early, Sam,” he heard one of them say as he drew near. “Start them going about the middle of February. Of course there isn’t a whole lot to be done in the cage, but you can get in a lot of batting practice, and your pitchers can find themselves, and——”

He broke off and walked along behind the counter to where Joe was standing. “Good morning,” he said cheerfully. “Is there something you want?”

He was a well-built chap of seventeen, with red-brown hair, very blue eyes and a smile that won Joe on the instant.

“I want a lacing for this boot, or a pair of them, please. They told me at Rice and Perry’s that you kept them.”

“We surely do, and you can have one or two, just as you say.” He turned away and pulled a box from the shelves. “There you are. Five cents apiece.”

“I’ll take just the one, I guess.”

“All right. They say the skating’s best at Proctor’s Pond. Have you tried it?”

“No, I haven’t. I was going down to the river, because I thought I could find that. Where is this pond, please?”