After the muff already mentioned the second baseman refused to play longer and had to be excused. Then came the accident at the home plate and the team found itself short a man.
“I’ll fill that place,” came from Mark. “I think I can give satisfaction. Anyway, I’ll try my best.”
“Give him the chance,” came from the Rochester player, and so it was decided, the captain thinking he could remove Mark at the end of one innings if the youth proved “a stick,” as he put it.
It was natural for the boys to give a cheer, and they did so with a will, even Professor Strong joining in, for he was almost as enthusiastic as anybody. Mark heard and saw them and waved his hand. He had slipped on a player’s suit, as well as a cap and a pair of baseball shoes and, to use Frank’s words, “he looked the real thing.”
But there was one in the crowd who did not fancy the turn affairs had taken. I doubt if there is need to state that this was Hockley.
“Humph! so he has wormed his way in with them,” he muttered. “I hope he loses the game.”
The ardor of the Americans among the spectators was considerably dampened when the two substitutes appeared. With the score a tie and only three more innings to play it was felt that the Roosevelts would have to put forth their very best efforts in order to win.
The seventh inning was over in remarkably short order. There was but one base hit, made by the Cubans, and this runner “died” at third. Mark had next to nothing to do at second, nor did he come to the bat. But the other substitute came to the plate, and when he “fanned the air” for three strikes a deep groan went up.
“The subs are no good! Might as well give up the game!” cried some of the hasty ones.
In the next inning the Cubans managed by good luck to score two runs. In this inning Mark might have put one of the runners out at second, but the ball was thrown so high up that only his finger tip touched it. Yet this counted as an error for him and the other players looked far from pleased.