“What are you going to do?” demanded Hicksley in a surly tone. “Take me out and put that fellow in?”
“Not yet,” answered Frank soothingly. “You’ve had a bad inning, but that can happen to any one. Perhaps you’ll be all right after a rest. We’ll see how you start out the next inning.”
The Somerset boys, with their chances brightened, had taken a mighty brace, and Rockledge went out in one, two, three order.
Hicksley took up his position in the box with an air of confidence that Frank felt was assumed.
Still, the first ball he pitched cut the plate for a strike. The next two were balls. Then followed another strike and a third ball, making the count three and two.
With both batter and pitcher “in the hole,” the next was a hall and the batter capered happily down to first.
Durrock walked over to Hicksley.
“How about it, Hicksley?” he asked.
“Let me alone,” growled Hicksley.
The next batter connected for a clean single, advancing his mate to second.