CHAPTER VIII.ONE TO NOTHING.
“But we gave ’em an awful fright,” laughed Ready, his apple cheeks glowing.
“I was a fool to try to make third on that!” growled Hodge. “Somebody ought to shoot me!”
“It is taking chances that win games,” said Merry. “If you had reached that bag, we’d all have thought it clever work.”
Frank went into the box again. His arm was feeling bad, but he wished to pitch as much of the game as possible, and he had no thought of giving up for some time.
“Everybody hit him before,” said Dorrity. “Let’s make ’em good this time.”
Hanson was the first man up, and he was breathing heavily. Frank gave him no time to rest, but sent one straight over. Hanson hit it and sent it sailing out for a short hit over the infield. Every one thought it was a hit.
Dick Merriwell raced back after the ball, looking over his shoulder to see it coming down. As it dropped, he jumped forward, caught it with his right hand, dropped it, but caught it with his left before it could fall to the ground.
As the boy turned, with the ball in his hands, the crowd rose up and gave him a cheer.
“Did you ever see anything like that?” roared the man with the hoarse voice.
“Never in my life!” shrieked one with a shrill voice.
“Kid, you’re all right!” came from various quarters.
“Who is that boy?” was the question that passed from lip to lip.
At length somebody found out the truth, and then men and women were saying:
“Why, he’s Frank Merriwell’s brother! No wonder he can play ball!”
But Dick paid no attention to the crowd. His mind was on the game and nothing else.
“A base-hit spoiled!” muttered Hanson, as he came in to the bench. “He tumbled into that! Couldn’t do it again in a thousand years!”
“Of course not,” agreed Dorrity.
Jack was the next man to step up to the plate. By a strange chance, he hit a ball that was almost the exact duplicate of the one batted by Hanson.
“He won’t get that!”
But Dick raced for the ball as fast as he could, and when it came down he clutched it and held on, though he struck his toe against something and fell headlong.The boy dropped on his stomach, holding the ball clear of the ground with both hands.
“Batter is out!” announced the umpire.
The grand stand and bleachers rose up and roared and roared. Never before on those grounds had two such sensational catches been made in succession.
It was some time before the admiring crowd grew quiet, and then Jack Ready was heard saying:
“It was nothing but an accident, my good people; but he has a way of making those accidents just as regularly as he eats his meals.”
“Why, he’s a corker!” howled the man with the hoarse voice. “He’s the best short-stop I ever saw.”
“Thanks, silver-throated sir,” said Ready, doffing his cap. “He is too modest to speak for himself. I am a trifle shy, but not quite as shy as he is.”
“What do you think of that?” growled Hazen, his red face redder than usual.
“I don’t know how it happened,” said Derring.
Wescott joined them and he said:
“The boy is a wonder! There is no doubt about it. If he keeps on he’ll be playing in one of the big leagues before he is out of his teens.”
“But, of course, he can’t hit any,” said Derring.
“I don’t know whether he can or not. We’ll wait and see.”
Maloney was the next man, and Frank smilingly gave him one over the heart of the plate. Maloneycracked it straight out to Gamp, who gathered it in, and the Merries came trotting in to the bench.
“Talk about support!” laughed Merry. “Why, you’re all marvels to-day!”
“The tender youth killed two hits in that inning,” said Ready.
Old Joe simply grunted at Dick, saying:
“Much good! Do him some more.”
Frank came to bat first, and Batch resolved to strike Merry out. This, however, was not an easy thing to do, and Frank found the ball for a safe single past second.
“Now, we’re off!” cried Carson. “We have started the ball. We’ll keep it up.”
Browning came up to strike. As he did so, Frank touched his cap twice. Bruce opened and closed his fingers on the bat-handle twice, and thus a signal passed between them, which meant that Merry would try to steal second on the second ball pitched.
The first one was wide, and the umpire called it a ball. The next was fairly over, but Bruce swung with the deliberate intention of missing it and bewildering the catcher. He swung hard and reeled back a little, dropping his bat.
Merry was streaking it to second, and the catcher was baffled so that he could not get the throw away in time to catch him. This was team-work, and it counted in giving Merry second.
Now Browning was ready to nail the ball, and he hit the very next one pitched. The ball went past Batch like a streak and out over second. Frank dusted to third and Ready sent him home.
The center-fielder had stopped the ball and thrown to second. The baseman there whirled and drove the ball to the plate, but he was a moment too late, and Frank had scored.
Browning took second on the throw to the plate.
“Now, we’re in the game!” cried Ready. “That’s the kind of work! Keep it up!”
The crowd cheered and cheered.
Swiftwing was the next batter, and he drove the ball hard. It looked like a hit, and Browning went for third. When it was too late, Ready saw the ball would be caught. He tried to turn Bruce back, but O’Grady got the ball and threw it to second, thus making a double play.
Batch had a return of confidence when he saw Rattleton face him, and he proceeded to strike Harry out in short order. But the Merries had the lead.
Could they hold it?
Again Frank went into the box, and again his support was of the finest order. He did not strike out a man, but the first three men up went out in order, two flying to the outfield and one being thrown out at first by Dick.
Dick was the first one to come to bat in the lastof the third. Batch thought the boy must be easy, and he put a swift one right over.
Dick met it, and the ball went out for a pretty single. On first, Dick touched his cap once as Ready stood up to the plate. In return, Ready opened and closed his hands once on the handle of the bat.
Then, when the first ball was pitched, Dick went down to second with such speed that the spectators gasped. Hanson threw to stop the boy, but Dick was there a long time in advance of the ball.
“Pretty stealing!” cried Ready.
“Ugh!” grunted Old Joe. “When Injun him steal, white man say bad stealing. Heap different in baseball.”
Ready did his best to get a hit, but Batch struck him out.
Carson was anxious for a hit. In fact, he was too anxious. He swung at two that would have been balls, and two strikes were called.
Getting a good lead, Dick stole third on the next pitched ball, while Carson struck out.
Hodge was determined to bring the boy home. He picked out a pretty one and hit it hard. The ball went on a line into the hands of Dorrity, and Dick was left on third.
The spectators realized by this time that they were seeing a game of baseball that was the genuine thing.
For the fourth time, Frank went into the box. He tried a drop to start with, and Teller led off with a hit. That drop hurt Frank’s wrist, and he decided that he could not use it any more.
Skew got a good one and dropped out a scratch hit that advanced Teller to second. Then O’Grady came up and smashed a hot one at Dick. The boy managed to handle it, but saw he could not get either Teller or Skew, which led him to throw to first. O’Grady was out, but the Stars had a man on second and third.
Hanson had fire in his eye when he came to the plate. He got a good one and sent a long fly into right field. Teller held third till the fly was caught. The instant it dropped into the hands of Carson he scooted for home.
Carson threw to second, but Rattleton found it useless to throw home, and Skew was too near third. The Stars had tied the score.
Two men were out, and Skew was on third. With Jack up, it seemed possible that another run would come in, which would put the Stars in the lead.
Had Frank been able to throw the double-shoot the scoring would have stopped beyond a doubt; but his wrist was so bad that he could not get the full effect of ordinary curves.
Merry was cautious, and Jack waited till three ballswere called. Then Frank put one right over, and the batter lifted it.
Swiftwing had a long run for the ball, but he made his legs fly, and he took it as it came down. The inning was over, but the score was tied—one to one.