Frank came up for the second box, trying a wide curve, which missed the head pin and swept down one side of the bunch. His second ball was sent straight down the middle of the alley, but it took a slight shoot just before hitting the pins and left two standing, one on the center and one on the corner.
“Spares are scarce on this side,” he smiled, apparently not a bit disturbed.
“Hard luck!” growled Browning.
“No,” said Merry, “poor bowling.”
Instead of trying to get just one of the two pins left, he used a curve to the right for a billiard-shot, hoping to make them both, but the head pin was missed by a fraction of an inch, and neither fell.
“Eight pins,” cried Dashleigh. “Seventeen in all.”
“Starbright is bound to have a big start,” said Badger. “In this kind of a game, every pin counts.”
“Don’t forget this first ball counts on your spare, Dick,” warned Dashleigh.
Dick did not forget. He whistled the ball down the alley, struck the pins prettily, and tore down six of them.
“That gives him sixteen in his first box,” said Bert. “And he has a splendid chance for another spare.”