The rest of the inning was short, the next player going out on a pop fly to third. Then the Lakeports came in, to try their luck again and talk over De Vere's error.
"I always said he was a stick," grumbled Matt. "A stick and a gas bag combined."
"Perhaps he thought the ball too dirty to hold," suggested Bart, with a grin. "He loves to keep his hands lily white."
No more runs were scored until the sixth inning, when Brookside added one more to its total. Lakeport also scored twice, much to the satisfaction of its supporters.
The seventh inning was also a blank for each side. Then came the eighth which left the score Brookside 7, Lakeport 4. One of the runs put down for the latter team was made by Teddy Dugan and of this the little Irish lad was wonderfully proud.
"Good for you, Teddy!" cried Joe, slapping him on the back. "I am sorry now I didn't put you on the nine in the first place."
"We've got to do some tall hustling, to beat that lead," said Fred, with a doubtful shake of his head.
"It looks like we were up against it good and hard, don't it?" came from Link. "Well, we must expect to be beaten sometimes."
"We are not beaten yet," added Matt, determinedly.
By good pitching Joe managed to put the Brookside players out in one-two-three order in the ninth inning. When this was over he breathed a sigh of relief.