“Is it possible!” laughed Frank. “Now, wouldn’t it be awful if it really did happen that—— But I won’t speak of it.”
“Confound him!” growled the big Yale graduate. “He has two curves! You must have found him an apt pupil, Merriwell.”
“Not at first; but he is coming into it all right.”
“I should guess yes! But I fancy his stock of tricks is exhausted now. I’ll just have to line it out.”
Hodge signaled for another in, but Dick shook his head. He also shook his head on being given a signal for an out, but nodded when Bart called for a drop.
Then the boy threw a ball that seemed a very pretty one to Bruce, but it suddenly dropped toward the ground, just when the big fellow swung the bat, and he missed it for the third time.
“Struck him out, Dick!” said Frank, smiling. “I knew you could do it.”
“Struck me out, by thunder!” rumbled Bruce, his face crimson. “Struck out by a kid like that!”
He seemed to be greatly cut up over it, but Merry was highly satisfied.
“He struck you out, for one reason, because you were too confident, Browning,” said Frank. “You thought you were dead sure to hit a little chap like that. It is this same overconfidence that sometimes makes a good batter strike out. A heady pitcher often gives a good batter the impression that it is easy to get hits off him, doing it for the very purpose of fooling the batter. There are lots of tricks in pitching besides throwing curves. Change of speed is necessary. Then a pitcher may often fool a batter by appearing to have no control over the ball. The batter thinks he is sure of getting a base on balls, and he waits, throwing away his chances.”