No one was more delighted than Dick at the work of the tramp catcher. He now sought to talk with Hoboson, but to his surprise the tramp seemed strangely shy and silent. Whenever Dick approached him the mysterious catcher edged off and evinced a disinclination to talk.
From that time to the finish of the game every witness was kept keyed to the highest pitch of excitement. Hoboson demonstrated that he was a batter and base runner as well as a wonderful catcher. Still Kennedy managed to keep the islanders down until the sixth inning. In the sixth Hoboson singled to right field.
A few moments later, on Dick’s hit, Hoboson went racing over third with the speed of an express train and kept on to the plate.
Randolph threw to Brodie, but the tramp slid under and was declared safe, thus getting the first score for Fairhaven.
Dick took second on Randolph’s throw, but again Kennedy mowed down Jolliby, Tubbs, and Smart in succession.
By this time the Rockfordites were aware that it was necessary to fight the thing through to the finish in order to secure the game. Try as they might, however, they could not bunch hits. With Hoboson handling the ball perfectly, Dick Merriwell pitched in a wonderful manner and prevented the enemy from making a further gain.
Ere the ninth inning began Merriwell found himself puzzling over something familiar in Hoboson’s style of catching. The Fairhaven captain began to fancy he had seen the tramp before, although he could not remember the occasion.
With one man out in the ninth, Singleton drove a hot one through Stowe and reached second by a daring run. Kennedy was afraid of Hoboson and tried to deceive him with curves. The tramp finally dropped the ball over the right-field fence for two bags, according to the ground rules, and Singleton scored.
With Hoboson on second, another run was needed to tie the score.
The island crowd was cheering wildly now, while the Rockfordites did their best to encourage Kennedy.