Bart missed it.
He longed to get a clean, safe hit to right field, being satisfied that Merry would score on it if obtained, following Morgan in.
The suspense was great, for every one realized that a hit meant one run—possibly two.
Then Bart began to make fouls.
Once Sprowl touched his bat, but he fouled the ball. He felt that he must have made a safe hit only for that light deflection of the bat just as he swung.
“Did you see that, Mr. Umpire?” he cried.
The umpire had seen nothing.
Like Ready, Bart stepped onto the plate and turned to Sprowl.
“I want to tell you something,” he said, in a cold, hard tone. “This is it: If you touch my bat again I’ll turn round and punch your face for you! Is that plain enough?”
“I’d enjoy having you try it!” flung back Sprowl.