“Get ’em down! Get ’em down!” growled Brad Buckhart.
“Keep those men still on the bench, Mr. Umpire!” cried Don Roberts, captain of the home team. “They’re breaking the rules!”
Instantly Dick was on his feet. “You broke the rules first yourself!” he declared. “You have no right to address the batter when he is in the box! If you want to coach your pitcher, coach him; but confine your remarks to proper coaching.”
Instantly there rose a cheer from the small crowd of Fardale spectators. There were others who applauded and others who laughed and scoffed. This made no difference to Dick, for he knew his position was right.
The umpire knew it, too, and he turned to Roberts, saying:
“If your team talks to the batter, you can’t object if the players talk from the bench.”
“All right! all right!” snapped Roberts. “We’ll see who can do the most talking to-day. I rather think they will get all they want of it.”
“That’s courtesy!” growled Brad Buckhart. “You hear me chirp! That’s politeness! That’s being used handsomely when we’re away from home!”
“Never mind, old man,” said Dick, as he sat down. “We can stand it if we run against nothing worse than that to-day. I don’t believe there is a man on the team they can rattle by their talk.”
“Darrell is rattled now. Look at him! He is fighting mad!”