Stumptown Kid (14 page)

I was glad Ruckus was in jail. Mom said he’d probably have to go before a judge in Cedar Rapids. Then maybe they’d take him back on the train to the sheriff in Tennessee.

I just wanted Ruckus far away from Luther so he couldn’t try to hurt him again. I had to talk Luther out of going home. How would he be able to stay away from Ruckus in Tennessee? But we still had to play that game against Lobo and Will and the Wildcats. I’d have to talk to him later.

It was weird thinking about Will in the same category as Lobo and the Wildcats. What would it be like to play a game against him? We’d always rooted for each other. This time we’d be hoping the other guy would make mistakes. In some ways, playing against Will would be almost as hard as playing against Lobo.

Luther was a great coach, and we’d all improved a lot. But I didn’t think we’d improved enough to be much competition for the Wildcats.

Lobo was still bragging that he was going to pitch against us. That made me more nervous than ever. Our concentration would have to be like Superman’s not to let Lobo’s sneer affect our hitting.

The morning started out sunny, but by noon, dark clouds rolled in. The man on the radio said it might rain in the afternoon. To tell you the truth, I hoped it would start pouring, but that didn’t make a lot of sense. If the game was rained out, we’d just have to play it later. And Luther was leaving Holden soon. I sure didn’t want to play this game without him around. So we might as well get it over with.

Mom dropped me off at the park at one and said she’d be back before two. She had some errands to run, she said. I hoped picking up Vern wasn’t one of those errands, but I didn’t ask her. I didn’t want to get mad seeing the two of them up there in the stands but I didn’t want to get all worked up now before the game.

The rest of the Stumptown Stormers got to the ball field at one o’clock, too.

“Lobo’s gonna pitch for sure,” Eileen said when we’d gathered around Luther. “I heard one of his friends talkin’ about it.”

Everyone groaned.

“It’ll be hard for us to hit with Lobo makin’ all those mean faces right from the pitcher’s mound,” Kathleen said.

“You remember what I told you the first day about concentration?” Luther asked. “If you concentrate, you won’t even see his face.” He smiled. “But I had a feeling that Lobo might want to pitch.”

We all looked at each other like it was doomsday.

“All right, Stormers, listen up,” Luther said. “Having Lobo pitch is
good.”

“What do ya mean, Luther?” Walter asked. “How could that be good?”

“Pitching isn’t like playin’ catch,” Luther said. “Lobo’s expecting to come here and get an easy win. But we’ll use our speed and our ability to drag bunt. You all did a good job with that yesterday. The drag bunt’ll surprise and frustrate him, especially when he pitches out of a stretch. We might not be able to hit Lobo, but we can bunt anybody. We need to put the ball in play and let Lobo’s team make the mistakes.”

Could that really work? A look around at my friends’ faces showed me that pretty much everybody on the team was wondering the same thing.

But it was worth a try. We had to trust Luther. He’d worked his magic with us before. I just hoped his plan was good enough that we’d survive the game.

Luther unfolded a sheet of paper and read off the starting lineup. Eileen would be first at bat, then Devin, then me. I was real happy that Luther trusted me to bat third, but it made me even more scared. Alan would be next, in the cleanup spot.

The Wildcats boys began arriving before too long. Will came, too, but he didn’t look at me. I didn’t really care. I wondered if he knew that Luther had gotten dragged down to the sheriff’s office after Will spilled the beans about what happened in Tennessee.

About twenty minutes before the game, a whole bunch of people started coming to the park. By five minutes to game time, the bleachers were packed, and folks were sitting around in lawn chairs. Most of the parents from both teams were there, and lots of people from town came to watch, too. It was the biggest crowd I’d ever seen at a baseball game.

Mom came alone and sat with Eileen’s mom and dad. I was real happy she hadn’t brought Vern with her.

When Coach Hennessey arrived, I got even more nervous. He leaned against the batter’s cage, chewing a wad of gum.

Lobo got there at the last minute, strutting onto the ball field a little before two o’clock. He looked real sure of himself.

“You girls ready to get stomped on?” Lobo asked, grinning at us. He didn’t look at me. I wondered if he was remembering how I’d seen his brother slap him at the A&P.

But then his ugly mouth curled into a sneer that could’ve been peeled off the devil himself. “Prepare to die,” Lobo told us.

“Come on, Charlie and Brad,” Luther called. “Time for the coin toss.”

I almost laughed out loud when Luther called Lobo “Brad.” His first name didn’t sound so scary that way. And I could see by the way Lobo’s face got all red that he didn’t like being called Brad.

Lobo, me, and Luther met at home plate for the coin toss to decide the home team. Luther flipped the quarter into the air.

“You call it, Brad,” Luther said.

“Heads,” Lobo yelled.

It came up heads, so us Stormers would be up at bat first. Me and Luther and the rest of the team hustled to our places for hitting.

A raindrop fell on my nose. I hadn’t noticed till then that the sky had gotten darker. Maybe we’d get rained out after all. “Remember our strategy,” Luther told us in a low voice, and we all nodded.

“Go, Stumptown!” some of the parents yelled from the stands, clapping. “You can do it!”

Eileen was up first. She’s left-handed, so she stood on the right side of the plate in a good, closed position.

Lobo snorted. “They’re puttin’ a
girl
first?” he called out. “Get ready for the game’s first strikeout.”

He wound up and threw a powerful fastball.

Eileen did the drag bunt just perfect. The second the ball left Lobo’s hand, she swiveled fast from a closed position to an open one. She let the ball bounce hard off the very end of the bat and took off for first base before Lobo knew what was what.

Lobo was so surprised by the drag bunt, he scrambled for the ball and fell on his face. By the time he was back on his feet and scooped up the ball, Eileen was safe at first.

We all grinned, and a ripple of laughter ran through the crowd of Stormers fans. The drag bunt had worked! It was the last thing Lobo had expected, and he’d blown the play.

The laughing made Lobo’s shame worse, and he got red in the face. He was pacing around the pitcher’s mound and he looked like he was grinding his teeth, too.

Alan gave me a thumbs-up, and I blew out a relieved sigh. Luther smiled at me and nodded.

I glanced at Will. He was looking real serious. Was he wishing he’d played on our side?

A few more soft raindrops sprinkled around us now. The air had a good earthy smell, but I wasn’t thinking about that too much. I didn’t want to get rained out now. After getting our first base hit, I hoped we’d be able to play for a while. I was curious to see if Luther’s strategy would keep working.

Next up was Devin.

“Concentrate, Lobo!” Coach Hennessey hollered from the stands.

Our team had to concentrate, too. One good play was a start, but we had a long way to go.

Lobo pitched another hardball to Devin. Devin bunted, too, only he used a regular bunt, which surprised Lobo all over again. Lobo fielded it and threw to second, but Eileen was already safe.

The people in the stands on our side stood up and cheered wildly.

Lobo was rattled, that was for sure. And after all his bragging and strutting, the surprise plays made it all the worse for him. He stomped around, muttering words I couldn’t hear.

Now it was my turn at bat. I tried to fill my mind with all Luther had taught me about hitting. I kept my focus glued on that baseball in Lobo’s hand, and I whispered to myself, “I’m gonna hit the ball. I’m gonna hit it.”

I kept myself in a closed position and took my stance. I was ready.

Lobo wound up and threw a powerful pitch. I swung and smashed the ball with all the strength I had. It flew out over the first baseman’s head and into right field.

“You got it, Charlie!” Luther hollered. “You got it!”

I ran all the way to third base, following Eileen and Devin, who safely made it home.

Half the crowd in the stands cheered and clapped. I grinned at Luther and he held up a fist, beaming. Will glanced at me a second and turned away again.

I wanted Will to be impressed with our team and Luther’s coaching. I’m not sure why I cared about that, but I did.

The game was going real good. In fact, now I wanted it to go on and on. Luther had performed some kind of magic on us, all right. We were holding our own against the mighty Wildcats!

I knew I’d be up to pitch soon. Then I remembered I’d left my bag of rosin in the car. If it didn’t stop sprinkling, the ball would be slippery, and I’d be sure to need it.

Alan stepped up to bat. He was a great choice for the cleanup spot, because he was a powerful hitter. Lobo, still grinding his teeth, wound up and threw. Alan hit it toward Lobo. Lobo bobbled the ball and threw to first, but way over the first baseman’s head.

I slid in for my first run of the game. Lobo threw his cap on the ground and stomped all over the pitcher’s mound. The Stumptown fans went crazy, whistling and hollering.

Coach Hennessey strode onto the field with long, angry steps and called a team meeting. The Wildcats crowded around Hennessey for a minute while he talked to them.

What were they going to do? I looked at Luther, and he winked at me. Lobo’s team seemed shocked that we already had three runs on them. The Wildcats’ parents and the folks in the stands who wanted to see us lose looked pretty unhappy, too. Some of them were grumbling loudly about Hennessey and Lobo.

Out on the field, Hennessey pointed at Lobo’s chest and said something.

“What?”
Lobo yelled.

Hennessey gave a nod. Then he turned his back on Lobo and walked off the field to his spot by the batter’s cage. Lobo stomped from the pitcher’s mound to third base.

Hennessey had
fired
Lobo as pitcher!

We Stormers couldn’t stop grinning. No matter who won the game, we had already beat Brad Lobo. Maybe that would knock him down a peg or two. Or ten. I sure hoped so.

It was still sprinkling, so I figured I’d better go to the car and get my rosin. It looked like I’d be pitching the next inning.

I hurried to Mom’s car in the parking lot behind the stands and found my bag of rosin on the front seat where I’d left it. I slammed the door shut and was heading back through the parking lot when somebody grabbed me from behind. A hand clapped over my mouth.

“I don’t want to hurt you, kid, so just stay calm.”

Ruckus Brody.

I stifled a scream.

My body started to shake.
How did he get out of jail?

He let go and gave me a little shove.

I glanced back to see a knife in his fist. A different one from last night, but it looked just as mean.

I walked in front of him, feeling hot and then cold with the thoughts that tore through my head. Would he kill Luther? Could I help Luther this time? I didn’t have the bayonet. I didn’t have nothing that could help him. I felt bad, almost sick, I was so scared for Luther.

I started toward the ball field, but Ruckus grabbed my arm and jerked me in another direction.

“This way,” he said. “I want him to see you from a ways off.”

“How’d you get out of jail?” I asked, walking ahead of him.

“Friend of your mom’s. Her boyfriend, I guess.”

I whirled around. “You mean
Vern Jardine?
Vern bailed you out of jail?”

“Keep walkin’, kid,” he said, and shoved me again. I did what he said. “Yeah, that’s him. Vern Jardine and a couple others. Luther seems to’ve made himself some enemies up here, too.”

I’ll kill Vern,
I thought.
If anything happens to Luther, I swear, I’ll kill him.
I think at that moment I hated Vern even more than Ruckus.

“See that bench? Head out there,” Ruckus said.

I kept walking. The tree was maybe fifty yards from the ball field. When we got to the bench, Ruckus said, “Sit down.”

I sat, the tiny puddles of rain on the bench soaking through my pants. “You’re the bait that’ll get Luther over here,” Ruckus said. “So you sit there and look over at him, and wait till he sees you.”

What if Mom sees us first?
I thought.
She’d get help from somebody real fast.

I sure hoped so.

The game was still going on, even though it was raining harder now. Luther stood next to the backstop, watching the game. I wondered how long it would take him to notice I was gone.

I sat there, trying to figure out how to warn Luther, to tell him Ruckus was here and to get away. But I knew Luther wouldn’t run. If he saw me here with Ruckus, he’d try to help me.

And maybe he’d die because of it.

It was Walter who finally spotted me. He walked around the backstop and stood next to Luther. Then he waved. “Hey, Charlie!” he hollered at me. “What’re you doin’ way over there?”

Luther turned and saw me and Ruckus. Even from that far away, I could see his body stiffen. He said something to Walter, then started walking fast toward me and Ruckus.

“You just do what I told you now,” Ruckus said. He shifted his knife from one hand to the other.

“He’s my best friend,” I said, real quiet.

When Luther was halfway to us, he called out, “You okay, Charlie?”

“He’s got a knife, Luther!” I yelled, waving my arms. “Go back!”

But Luther didn’t go back. He didn’t even slow down. He just kept walking toward us.

“Good boy,” Ruckus told Luther under his breath.

Luther stopped right in front of us. The rain was still coming down steady, plopping on his head, sliding down his face, soaking his clothes. He blinked rain out of his eyes.

“Let Charlie go,” Luther said. “This is between me and you.”