CHAPTER IX.THE WINNING RUN.
In vain the Merries tried to send a man round the bags in the last of the fourth. The Stars played fast ball, and nobody got past second base.
Then came a surprise, for Frank Merriwell retired to short and his brother took his place to pitch. Frank had set Dick to warming up as soon as they came in to the bench, and the boy was ready.
“Oh, what a picnic!” cried Maloney, as he came up to the bat. “It’s all over now!”
Dick closed his lips firmly, took Bart’s signal, nodded, and prepared to deliver the ball.
Maloney slashed at the very first one, which came sailing up to the plate in a dead manner, and the bat did not come within a foot of the ball.
“Oh, look at his speed!” cried some of the spectators, in derision.
“Put ’em over! put ’em over!” snarled Maloney. “This is no monkey show!”
“Take the gentleman at bat off the grounds,” cried Ready. “He’ll think differently after he gets through hitting this time.”
Dick had nerve, for he pitched the next ball in exactly the same manner, and again Maloney failed to touch it.
“Two strikes!” announced the umpire.
Then something happened. The next ball came in with the speed of the wind. Maloney thought it was a straight one, and he struck hard at it. Just as the batter swung it seemed that the ball took a strange upward jump in the air, and the third strike had been made.
“Batter is out!” said the umpire, as the ball plunked into the mitt of Bart Hodge and remained there.
“Hooraw!” bellowed the man with the hoarse voice. “Why, the little divvil can pitch, just as well as he can do anything else! Did you ever seen his match?”
“What do you think of that?” growled Hazen; “He has some speed.”
“And a mighty queer rise ball,” nodded Wescott.
“They’ll get on to him, don’t worry,” said Derring. “He is too young to pitch in this class. We are sure of winning, so your money is safe, Hazen.”
But Hazen was not perfectly easy.
Corrigan followed Maloney, and Dick started with the jump ball, at which the batter slashed hard.
“Throw that again,” invited Corrigan.
“Here it is,” said the boy, and, true to his word, he put it over.
“Two strikes!” cried the umpire, as Corrigan failed to connect.
“You little imp!” exclaimed the batter, his face very red. “Give me one more!”
But Dick threw a drop for the third one, and Corrigan struck over it a foot.
Two batters were out.
“Here! here!” cried Ready to Dick. “Stop that, will you? You’re not giving us a chance. I’m getting tired doing nothing.”
“Let the poor fellows hit one once in a while,” urged Rattleton.
But Dick did not seem inclined to obey, for he made the same kind of a mark of Dorrity, striking three men out in the first inning he pitched.
In their half of the fifth the Merries could not score, and the tally remained tied.
The pitching of Dick Merriwell during the rest of the game was the wonder of all who witnessed it. The boy had all kinds of speed, perfect control, and a cool head. His manner of mixing fast and slow balls bothered the batters, while not one of them could touch his jump ball.
Inning after inning passed, and still neither side made a run.
Hazen was anxious, and, at last, he became desperate.
“Confound that boy!” he snarled. “Is he going to be the cause of my losing a pot of money?”
“It looks like it,” confessed Wescott.
“Hold on,” urged Derring. “He can’t keep it up. Something will happen.”
And so the desperate gambler made no move, hoping all the time that something would happen.
Straight through to the ninth Dick pitched without permitting the home team to get another run. In the ninth he used the jump ball and the drop, and not a man fouled the ball, much less hit it out.
Rattleton was the first hitter for the Merries in the ninth. Batch had Harry’s weak spot, and he fanned him.
Then came Dick. Now, Batch had not fanned the boy during the game, and he was determined to do so this time. His determination led him to give the lad his first on balls, Dick waiting prettily.
Again a signal passed between Dick and Ready, and the boy stole second on the second ball pitched.
Ready hit the next ball pitched. It was a fly to right field, and Maloney got it. But Dick held second on the fly, running after it was caught, and got third.
Two men were out, but a hit meant the winning run. Bart drove into the first ball pitched, sending it on the ground past second, and Dick came racing home, while the crowd rose up and roared its applause.
Hazen had lost his bets.