It was an excusable error, for the fielder had fallen headlong at the instant his fingers touched the ball. He was up like a flash and chasing after it. Paul circled the bases and easily came home, but the coach held Frank at third, as the ball was coming in when he reached there.
Nevertheless, it had been a three-bagger, despite the mess Snodgrass had made of his effort to capture the fly, and a run had resulted. Frank had reason to feel satisfied with himself as he crouched there and panted for breath.
He knew that the chances were he would be a little off in his work unless this inning lasted for some time. That was one reason why his fellow players tried to delay matters as best they could within reason. Ralph tied his shoe, and then knocked three fouls, finally going out on one that Clay managed to get after a furious rush among the crowd to the right, and which brought him much hand-clapping.
Then Bones Shadduck tried his hand. He wanted to bring Frank in, and struck savagely at what he considered fair balls; but Coddling had him guessing, and finally put him to sleep with a fadeaway that had not even reached the plate when the batter tried to knock it out of sight, and “fell all over himself,” as Lanky said, while doing so.
In their half of this inning the Bellport boys seemed to awaken from the trance that had been binding them. There was a hustle and an energy to their play that told Frank he had better take care, or a batting rally would set in under which Bellport would speed to victory as on former occasions.
Bardwell opened with a hit that bounded off the shins of Seymour. When the captain and second baseman of Columbia managed to snatch up the ball it was too late to head the runner off, though Bardwell was a clumsy man on bases.
He pretended to limp around as though he had been spiked or something. The trick is, of course, as old as the hills. It only happens when a better runner is wanted on the initial bag. Seymour nodded his head when the Bellport captain called out, and accordingly Lacy was substituted for the elephantine Bardwell.
Clay tried to bring him in with a big hit away out in center, but Comfort was on his job in that territory, and managed to corral the ball after backing out, even though he could not keep Lacy from taking second.
Then came Coddling. He was no great batter, but there are times when baseball is full of surprises, and Frank was taking no chances.
“Fan him, Frank!” shouted an excited rooter from the grandstand.