On the instant the crowd in the stand were yelling like so many demons and Frank was dancing up and down as if he had suddenly gone crazy. Mark had reached first—he was already on his way to second, and still the center fielder was chasing after that ball, which kept bouncing on and on just out of his reach. One runner crossed the home plate and the second followed almost on his heels. The catcher was yelling and so was the captain of the Palmas but nobody heard them. Mark, his breath coming thick and fast was fairly leaping through the air on his way to third. Here the baseman made a feint as if to catch the ball and Mark ducked and slid in to the bag.
“Go on! Go on!” yelled the coach, and a hundred others, and Mark glanced back, to see that the fielder was just picking up the ball. How he got to his feet he never knew, but off he started for home, amid a yelling that was louder than ever. He came over like the wind, to sink exhausted near the “bench,”—and then the ball came in.
The game was won!
“Hurrah for Mark!” Frank fairly screamed, and made a wild leap into the field, followed by Sam and Darry, and even the professor, and in another moment the enclosure was black with people. All the Americans were shouting loudly, while the Cubans had but little to say.
“He must be a first-class professional,” said one Cuban.
“Nothing of the kind,” retorted Frank, who heard the remark. “He is only an academy player. He never played on a professional team in his life.”
The players on the Roosevelt nine were not slow in congratulating Mark, and had he allowed it they would have carried him around the field on their shoulders. But Mark was too modest for this, and as soon as possible escaped to the dressing room.
“Oh, say, but it was great!” burst out Darry, as he wrung Mark’s hand. “Better than anything I ever saw at Lakeview.”
“You fairly lifted the crowd off its feet with that home run,” put in Sam. “Even the professor was yelling like a senior.”
“Was I?” the question came from Amos Strong himself, who stood behind Sam. “Well, I fancy the game was worth it,” he added, but looked rather sheepish for a second.