"I don't want to listen!" growled the umpire.
"I do not consider those runs fair," said Joe. "One man cut third base and the other did not touch the plate."
"It was all right," returned Cameron, stubbornly.
"If we have any more such work I shall either call for another umpire or throw up the game," said Joe sharply. The decision was so unpopular that the umpire was roundly hissed, while a few yelled to "Throw him out!"
In the seventh inning Kyle Fenton made a home run and this was all the scoring that was done up to the beginning of the ninth. The score board now read: Excelsiors 7, Lakeports 4.
"This looks bad," said Fred, as the club went to the bat, "we have got to make three runs to tie the score."
The first boy to the bat went out on a foul. The second, however, made a safe hit to first, and this was followed by a "two-bagger" which brought in one run. Then came another streak of luck, and when the first half of the inning ended the score was tied.
"Now to shut them out," said more than one member of the Lakeports.
"I shall certainly do my best," returned Joe.
He pitched with extreme care, but Cameron was still favoring the other nine and called several pitches balls when they should have been strikes.