teams. If you beat them, they’ll give you two hundred dollars.”
“Two hundred dollars? That’s a lot of money,” LeRoy said.
“Yeah, that would be twenty dollars apiece,” Dooley added.
“You can forget that,” Pearlie said.
“What do you mean, we can forget it?” Jules asked. “It would be good to leave twenty dollars with my mom before we started on this trail drive.”
“You can forget it, because we ain’t likely to win.”
“Well, come on, don’t give up before we even try,” Jules said.
“Didn’t you say this St. Louis Unions was a bunch of professional baseball players?”
“Yes.”
“Then that means that they play baseball all the time. I prob’ly ain’t played more’n two or three times in my entire life.”
“Me’n Dooley have played a lot,” Andy said. “We used to have baseball games out at the fort.”
“Yeah, and Andy’s real good at it,” Dooley said.
“I’ve played a lot too,” Jules said. “Come on, we can at least try.”
“Jules, you’re young so I don’t hold it against you none that you ain’t really got no sense,” Pearlie said. “But this whole idea of playing a baseball game against a bunch of people who make a living playing baseball is a…”
“Great idea,” Sally said, finishing Pearlie’s sentence.
“What?” several of the others replied at the same time.
“I think Jules has a great idea,” Sally said. “I think you should play a baseball game against these people.”
“Sally, I tend to agree with Pearlie,” Smoke said. “Why humiliate ourselves before our neighbors against a bunch of professionals?”
“We’re going to be working together for the next several weeks, right?” Sally asked.
“Yes.”
“Then what better way to learn to work together than to play a baseball game now? I think it will create a sense of cooperation and belonging.”
“Even if we lose?” Cal asked.
“Yes, even if you lose,” Sally said. “Win or lose, if you all play together, you are going to come out ahead. Go on, Smoke, sign them up to play a game.”
Smoke chuckled and shook his head. “All right,” he said, “I’ll challenge the—what are they called?”
“The St. Louis Unions,” Jules said.
“I’ll challenge the St. Louis Unions. But if we are humiliated, it’s on your shoulders.”
“I can take it,” Sally said.
As Smoke, Sally, and the contingent from Sugarloaf rode into town, they passed under a banner that was stretched across the street, tied up on one side at Andersons’s Apothecary and on the other at Miller’s Meat Market. In big red letters the sign read:
WELCOME TO COUNTY FAIR
A series of exploding firecrackers made Billy’s horse rear up, but Billy got it under control very quickly. The young boys who had set off the firecrackers laughed as they ran up the street.
Several vendors had set up booths in the street and were selling such things as taffy, roasted peanuts, fudge, and slices of pie. The city band, resplendent in their red and black uniforms, was seated on a temporary stage, playing a rousing march.
“Look, over there,” Jules said, pointing to an open field. There, several men wearing identical straw hats, white shirts, and matching trousers were throwing a ball back and forth.
“Why are they all dressed alike?” Cal asked.
“They are in their uniforms,” Jules answered.
“Uniforms? You mean like the suits the soldiers wear?”
“Sort of like that,” Jules said. “They all wear the same uniform so you can tell who is on your side.”
“Well, now, that don’t make no sense a’tall,” LeRoy said. “I mean, all you got to do is look at who the person is.”
“It’s probably for a little intimidation as well,” Sally suggested.
“What does that mean?” Cal asked.
“It’s just a way of giving them an edge,” Sally explained.
“I see. Well, it ain’t workin’, whatever it’s supposed to be doin’,” Cal said.
“Shall we go over there and challenge them?” Smoke asked.
“Yeah,” Pearlie said. “Let’s do it.”
“Really? You were one of the ones who thought it was such a crazy idea,” Jules said.
