GETTING THE LEAD.
Berlin Carson had been quick-witted enough to get the knife away from
Crowfoot, aided by Dick Merriwell, who was able to make the Indian
understand he was in danger if the weapon was found upon his person.
Frank’s eyes detected this move, and so he did not worry much when
the redskin was searched for concealed weapons.
Dick’s nerve seemed unshaken, as he again walked on the field to
resume pitching. The Yale men broke into wild cheering for the boy,
which was taken up all around the field.
“That’s ernough to make a feller strike out,” said Gallup.
Instead of striking out, however, he put up an easy fly that was
gathered in by Browning.
The owner of the dog did not return to the vicinity of the Yale crowd
on the bleachers. He had lost his money, and he did not wish to give
the winners a chance to laugh at him.
In this inning Dick Merriwell had proved himself a marvel for a
boy of his years; but the game was young, and Morgan’s team felt
confident of falling on the lad before long and striking a winning
streak.
Morgan was on his mettle when he again walked out to pitch.
“I must win this game!” he mentally exclaimed. “It will be awful to
lose the game, with a boy like that pitching against me!”
With the head of the batting-list up, it looked as if there was
something doing for the Merries. It looked more so when Ready reached
first on a safe hit, and Morgan set his teeth.
Carson did not attempt to sacrifice, Merriwell having given the “hit
and run” signal. He drove the ball hotly along the ground between
Skelding and Mason. Gene got his hand on the ball, but it carromed
off. Fortunately for him, it went straight into the hands of Mason,
who picked it up and threw like a flash to second.
The ball reached Packard before Ready got down, and he lined it to
first, completing a pretty double play.
“Now ye’re playing ball, me bhoys!” cried Barney Mulloy, in deep
satisfaction. “Kape it up! Kape it up!”
Morgan smiled again when Bart Hodge faced him. It seemed that his
temper had been restored, and he was perfectly confident. He used his
head in working Hodge, but found Bart a fine waiter. With two strikes
and three balls called, Bart declined to swing on the next pitch,
though to many the ball looked good.
“Take your base,” said the umpire.
Hodge wore a grim smile as he trotted down to first. Then he got a
fair lead, and went for second on the first ball pitched. Mulloy
threw, but Hodge sprinted like the wind, and slid under safely.
“That’s playing ball!” cried Frank.
Hodge was a great worker, and he never quit, no matter how poor the
prospect. But all were surprised when Bart went to third on a “dope
ball” sent in by Morgan to Browning. The ball hung in the air, and,
having a lead on it, Bart set his teeth and fairly flew along the
line.
Mulloy threw as soon as he could when the ball reached him, but the
runner went round behind Skelding and was safe.
“Gentlemen,” said a Yale man, rising amid the group on the bleachers,
“you see the kind of a man we lost when that fellow got his
sheepskin! He is in every respect a jim-dandy!”
Somehow the success of Hodge seemed to rattle Morgan, for he followed
with a wild pitch, and Bart came scampering home with the run that
put the Merries in the lead.
But Morgan settled down after that, and proceeded to strike Browning
out.
“Now hold ’em, boys!” cried Ready, waltzing down to third. “We must
show these fresh chaps that they are not in the same class as our
great and mighty aggregation.”
Dismal Jones really tried to smile when he walked out with a bat, but
the effort seemed to cause him pain, and it was very distressing in
its effect.
Dick found that Jones was determined to make him put the ball over,
and he finally did so, which gave Dismal the opportunity he wanted.
It was a gentle little hit, but the ball dropped beyond the infield,
and Jones landed on first base.
It is possible that Dick regarded Skelding as too easy, but Gene
did not hit the ball fair and hard. It went down to Ready on a slow
bound, and Jack stopped it awkwardly, letting it get out of his
hands. When he picked it up to throw it was too late to make a double
play, and Skelding was well down toward first.
Jack would have sent the ball across, but, fearing for a wild throw,
Merry shouted for him to hold it. Ready had made the first error for
the Merries.
But now came Hans Dunnerwurst.
“Mofe your fielders avay off nearer!” he cried, with a wave of his
short arm. “I vos goin’ to knock der pall der elefated railroadt ofer
alretty soon.”
Dick remembered that the Dutch youth had secured a most unexpected
two-bagger the first time up, and this put the lad at his best. He
used his best speed and a jump ball till two strikes were called;
then he resorted to a drop.
Dunnerwurst hit the ball straight to Ready, and hit it hard. It went
on a line. Jack froze to it, held it, and threw to second.
Both runners had started when the ball was hit, and Jones had not
even stopped running for third when the ball whistled past his head
on its way to second.
Rattleton was wide-awake, and he covered the bag, taking the throw
and whirling to first.
Skelding had stopped and was trying to dig back to first.
Harry shot the ball into Browning’s hands, thus completing a
beautiful triple play.
How the crowd roared! This was ball-playing to satisfy the most
exacting fan.
Hans Dunnerwurst stood with his mouth open, staring blankly.
“Vot vos der madder?” he muttered. “I pelief somebody vos oudt
alretty!”
But it seemed to take him several seconds to understand that the side
had been retired.
“Wasn’t that beautiful, Elsie?” cried Inza. “Did you ever see
anything so fine before?”
Elsie laughed and gave Inza’s arm a squeeze.
“Yes,” she said, “I saw something just as fine when Bart stole those
two bases, one after another.”
“It’s Bart, Bart, all the time!” laughed the dark-eyed girl. “Do you
never think of any one but Bart?”
“Hardly ever,” confessed Elsie, blushing.
“Let me git holt of a bub-bub-bub-bat!” exclaimed Joe Gamp, as he
strode in to the bench. “Danged if I have made a hit to-day! It’s
tut-tut-tut-time I did something.”
Morgan’s courage was good when he went into the box, and he did not
let up a bit. His speed remained great, and Gamp threatened to strike
out quickly. However, Joe bumped the ball at last, though it went to
Dade on the bound, and he threw Joe out at first.
“That’s a good start, old man!” came from Oliver Packard. “Keep it
up! We’ll get into the game and win yet.”
Swiftwing hit the ball, but it sailed high into the air. Mason got
under it and held it safely when it came down.
Morgan remembered what Merry had done the first time, and this time
he resolved to make Frank hit. He put the ball over with great speed,
getting two strikes called. Then Merry placed a little single and
took first.
With Rattleton up, however, there seemed little show. Harry looked at
Frank, who gave him a signal to wait.
Morgan had a way of working the corners, and just now he could not
seem to get the ball over, which gave Rattleton a base on balls.
“We’ll score a few right now!” cried Ready. “Here is the chap who can
turn the trick. Remember what he did to you last time, Dade.”
It was Dick Merriwell, and he received a round of applause when he
stepped out to strike. Dick had plenty of courage, and he finally
found one that suited him, hitting it fairly. The ball went out on a
line, and the base-runners started instantly.
It looked like a clean hit, but Dismal Jones came in on the jump and
caught the ball within six inches of the ground.
“Out!” cried the umpire.
The side was retired.
“Almost good, Dick,” said Frank. “You bumped it hard, boy.”
But Dick was not pleased, as he had fancied the hit good.
Morgan faced Dick, who proceeded to strike Dade out.
“Good start!” said Frank.
Packard drove a hot one at Frank, who gathered it gracefully and
whistled it across to Browning, putting the second man out.
“One, two, three,” counted Ready. “Mason is the next victim. Walk up
and take your bitters, Hock.”
Mason frowned, for Ready’s airy manner always irritated him. Then he
hit the first ball pitched, putting it into right field for one base.
“Good boy!” cried Ready. “But you’ll die there, Hocksie.”
This prophecy proved true, Starbright sending out a long fly that was
captured by Gamp.
“Let’s quit fooling, fellows--let’s quit fooling,” urged Ready. “We
may as well clinch the game now as any time. I’ll lead right off with
a two-bagger.”
But his two-bagger proved simply a pretty fly into the hands of
Dismal Jones, who was as sure as grim death in his fielding.
“Hard luck!” muttered Ready; “but it is also combined with poor
judgment in hitting. I am not such a much. At least, I am beginning
to fear so.”
Carson found one that suited him, and drove it far into the field.
However, Gamp returned it to second in time to prevent him from
taking more than one base.
Ready started coaching near first. Carson played off, fancying Morgan
was on the point of delivering the ball, and then Dade suddenly
whirled and threw to Starbright.
“Back!” yelled Ready.
Carson tried to get back. Swift as he was, however, Starbright had
the ball, and put it onto him.
“Out!” declared the umpire.
“Will you please kick me?” exclaimed Ready. “I did that by getting
you off too far.”
To Hodge it seemed that his show was poor, as there was no one ahead
of him on bases when he came up, and two were out. He remembered,
however, what he had done before, and he resolved to make another
attempt of the same sort.
With two out, Morgan ventured to put one right over for Bart. Hodge
hit it for a safe single.
“Well, here we go!” cried Ready. “He’ll make another run without
half-trying.”
But Morgan watched Bart so closely that the latter could not steal
second, as he had before. Then Browning put up an infield fly, which
was captured by Mason.
The sixth inning began with Mulloy at the bat. Barney led off with
a clean single. Dick permitted the Irish youth to get too much of
a start, and he stole second, for all of Bart’s handsome throw to
Rattleton.
Gallup struck hard at the first ball, but missed, as it jumped. The
next one failed to take the jump, although Dick threw it for that
kind of a ball, and Ephraim smashed it.
Out on a line whistled the ball, going far into right field, Carson
chasing it. Mulloy came sprinting home, while Ephraim went down to
second. The throw to second was not good, and Gallup kept on to
third, which he reached.
The score was tied, and the Mysteries had a man on third, with no one
out.
“Isn’t that awful!” gasped Elsie Bellwood. “I’m afraid they are going
to lose the game! Why doesn’t Frank go in and pitch now?”
“Frank will go if he thinks it necessary,” said Inza.
Dick Merriwell was pale, but he did not seem at all rattled. Jones
stood up to the plate, and refused to hit anything that was not
fairly over. Dick tried to work him too long, with the result that
the umpire sent the batter to first on balls.
Hodge threw the ball slowly to first. Something unexpected happened.
Quick as a flash, Gallup took advantage of the slow throw to dash for
home.
A shout went up. Ephraim flung himself forward in a slide. Browning
whistled the ball back to Bart, who took it and swung to touch Gallup.
Ephraim was safe, and the Mysteries had taken the lead. Still not a
man was out.
Dick Merriwell seemed dazed, which led Jones to fancy he could steal
second. He started before the boy had made a motion to deliver the
ball to the next batter, and Dick suddenly whirled and threw to
Rattleton.
Dismal was caught between the bases. For a moment there was a little
excitement as Jones tried to dodge the ball and escape being tagged,
but Dick ran in, got the ball himself and chased the runner down.
Flushed but triumphant, Dick returned to the box. Skelding came to
bat, and hit weakly to Frank, who threw to Bruce, and the second man
was out. Dunnerwurst put up an easy fly to Rattleton.
“We must square this up in a hurry,” said Jack Ready. “They had
horseshoe luck to start with that inning. It ended quickly enough
when we got into gear.”
Mr. Hazard came over and smiled on Frank.
“I rather think we have you, Mr. Merriwell,” he said.
“There is another think due you, sir,” put in Ready.
Gamp was earnest to make a hit, but drove a grounder to Mason, who
threw handsomely to Starbright.
Swiftwing sent a long fly into the outfield, and Jones muffed it,
after a hard run.
Frank placed a hit in right field, sending the young Indian round to
third. Merry then signaled for Rattleton to bunt the first ball.
Frank got a lead and started for second with the swing of the
pitcher’s arm.
Rattleton was not a scientific bunter, and he hit the ball into the
air. Morgan ran for it, got under it, held it, and then threw to
first, making a double play.
Thus the sixth inning closed, with Morgan’s team a score in the lead.