Locke had forgotten the blue parasol and its owner; he had no fleeting thought for Benton King; he was heart and soul in the game.
With one out, it seemed an excellent time for Kingsbridge to keep up the bunting, and attempt to score on it by the “squeeze,” so Bancroft’s infield drew closer and the outfielders quickly came in.
At the plate, Stark gave a secret signal, changing the style of play, and then he set the local crowd frantic by meeting Murtel’s high one on the trade mark. With the outfielders playing in their usual places, that line drive would have been good for a clean single, but while they were chasing it down, Larry dug all the way round to third, Oulds and Labelle romping over the rubber with the runs that tied the score.
The whole Kingsbridge team was laughing, now, while Murtel, enraged over being outguessed and deceived, was almost frenzied.
“It’s a great top piece you have, Lefty, old pal,” cried Larry Stark. “That was the trick to get ’em going. Look at Pinwheel champ the bit.”
But Hutchinson was back on the bench now, and he directed Crandall to hit the ball out. Reddy, trying to respond manfully, boosted an infield fly, and Stark was forced to remain on the sack while it was caught. Had Anastace, coming next, taken a daring chance and bunted, it is possible that the Bullies might have been thrown into confusion again; but he had orders from Hutchinson to hit, and in trying to do so he succumbed to Murtel’s strategy, expiring in the box.
“Oh, this is some game, believe me!” shouted a Kingsbridger. “Hold ’em where they are, Lefty. You’ve got the stuff to do it. We depend on you.”
The Bancrofters who had wagered money on the tussle were not as cocksure as they had been, and doubtless more than one, Manager Riley included, regretted that matters had not been privately arranged in advance so that it would not be necessary to rely almost wholly on the prowess their new left-handed pitcher.
Surely their regrets became still more acute when, in the seventh, Locke showed no let-up in form, and was not even ruffled when McGovern reached first on an infield error, the other three batters to face him going the way of all flesh.