[legendsport]

Egypt, GA: October 17, 1911:

The idea, which as Rufus had told Joe Reid, had been discussed several times in recent years, was formally put forth by Baltimore Clippers' owner Tim Hillyard at a Commission meeting following the Championship Series. The 16 FABL clubs would select amateur players in a yearly draft, held each winter. These players, and any others signed by the organization beyond the active-roster limit, could then be assigned to an affiliated minor league. Each of the FABL clubs would have three affiliated minor league clubs, one at each of the AAA, AA and A levels. Getting it past the rest of the FABL Commission was not easy, but it did pass. The second hurdle was getting the partner leagues to agree to having their clubs become directly affiliated with a single FABL club. Prior to the new change, these "minor" clubs would often sell, or trade, players to the "major" clubs and turn a tidy profit doing it. Many details needed to be worked out (and they were) but in the end, Hillyard's idea came to pass.

"This will change scouting," Rufus told Alice as he ate breakfast.

"Which means that the Kings will be trying to hire you back.... again," she replied.

Rufus chewed on some bacon and said, "Maybe."

Alice waved a hand dismissively, "You know they will. The real question is, what are you going to say when they do ask?"

Rufus was quiet. Alice shook her finger at him and said, "I know you miss it. And it's fine that you do, but you need to be honest with yourself about it. Then you can be honest with the boys and me, too."

She rose and left him at the table, thinking.

October 30, 1911:

Rufus was in the barn, chewing the fat with Possum when Joe Reid rolled up in his Model T.

"Hey there, boys," Reid said as he entered the barn. Possum nodded, Rufus waved a hand and said, "Joe. What brings you by?"

Possum smirked and said, "I reckon whatever it is, it'll make your liver quiver and your bladder splatter, son!"

Joe Reid just shook his head.

Rufus asked, "This isn't about Joe, is it?"

Reid smiled and said, "Naw, he's up at the house saying howdy to Peaches."

"OK, so what is it?" Rufus asked.

Joe rubbed a hand over his chin and then he smiled and said, "You know the Peaches are affiliated with the Eagles, right?"

"Sure."

"Had an interesting phone call yesterday with Thomas Brennan."

Rufus cocked an eyebrow - Brennan was the owner of the Washington Eagles. Like Presley, he had been around a long time and was well-respected amongst FABL insiders.

When Rufus didn't say anything, Joe smiled and continued, "He asked me to quote 'take your temperature' about working for the Eagles."

Rufus was surprised. He expected the Kings to ask after him, but not another organization, especially considering aside from teaching Danny how to correctly swing a bat (and that one game in Atlanta) he hadn't been around the game at all in three years.

"Really? That's a bit surprising," Rufus replied.

Possum interjected with, "Naw, it's no surprise. You're nobody's fool, son and the smart fellas know it when they see it."

Rufus smiled and said, "Thanks, Rollie." Then to Joe he said, "And, so... what did he mean 'take my temperature?'"

Joe shook his head, "And there you go, proving Rollie wrong. He wants me to see if you'd be interested. Now I know why Peaches call you a rube," and then he chuckled.

Rufus sighed and then replied, "Well... I feel I have a debt to the Kings. So it would really boil down to what I'd be doing... and money, of course."

Joe laughed again, "Of course." Then he rubbed his chin again and said, "I can tell you what he'd have you doing at least."

"And what would that be?"

"Scouting, of course. But more specifically, scouting the Dixie League. You'd be based out of Atlanta and could probably do most of your scouting from there too. I'd expect he might want you to take a gander at some youngsters in the general area, but that's about it. Money... we didn't talk about."

"Hmm, well, I'm interested I suppose. Just pass along what I said about the Kings. I can't make a decision on this right now."

Joe nodded his understanding and then said, "There's one other thing we should discuss."

Rufus raised an eyebrow again. "What?"

"Oh, I wanted to talk about Joe," was the reply.

Possum smiled and said, "Cooter told me the boy's a natural. Gonna be a champ someday, son!"

Rufus, frowning, turned to Possum, "Who is Cooter, exactly?"

Possum slapped Rufus on the arm and said, "Cooter's my brother! He's the trainer I found to work with Young Joe."

"Your brother trains fighters?" Rufus asked with more than a bit of skepticism in his voice.

Joe chimed in: "Actually, Cletus - that's his real name - seems to know what he's doing. I asked around and he's got a good reputation."

Possum was nodding and muttering, "Yep, yep, yep."

"And he does say that Joe's got a lot of talent."

With a wry grin Rufus replied, "Well, I already knew he had a hard head and liked to hit things, so I guess that's no surprise."

Possum slapped his arm again, "Now, son, don't be like that... there's some skill involved in being a fighter, you know?"

Joe Reid laughed and said, "Yes, there is. And really Rufus, the boy can handle himself. He might be able to go places."

Rufus scoffed a bit, but then considered that maybe he was being too skeptical. One thing was certain - he had a lot to think about.