"That was a strike!" cried Joe finally.
"It was a ball—too high," growled the umpire.
"A strike! A strike!" yelled the crowd.
"Put the umpire off the field!"
"He has been favoring the Excelsiors right along!"
There was a sudden rush, and fearful of attack Cameron began to sneak from the field. But Joe waved the crowd of angry boys back.
"Don't touch him," he said loudly. "We can handle this case."
"Well, stand up for your rights," came from a man in the crowd. "Make them put in a new umpire."
Si Voup wanted to defend Cameron, but he saw that it would be useless to attempt to do so. Nearly everybody was calling for his removal.
"I'll give it up!" called out Cameron. "Get another umpire. I'm sick of it!" And he ran rather than walked from the field.