All this aided greatly; but still Bonfire was not satisfied. He might have observed and tabulated these facts from the bench. They had nothing to do with his own playing; and through eight long innings, he had failed to distinguish himself at bat or in the field.
Just before the ninth inning began, with the score still 3-2 in Belden's favor, he turned to Bunny. "I am like a coach who never made the team," he said, smiling a little wistfully. "I tell the others what to do and how to do it; but I can't seem to use the information for my own good."
"Never mind," consoled Bunny. "You've helped as much as the best player on the team. It looks bad now, I'll admit, but maybe we can stage a rally in the last of the ninth."
Now, accidents will happen with the best of regulated batters. After Bunny had fanned the boy who could not hit a ball around his knees by feeding him nothing else, and added a second strike-out to his credit by scorching three sizzling pitches to the one who was not on batting terms with speed, the next fellow, who crowded the plate, upset all precedent by taking one backward step and meeting an inshoot flush on the nose.
The minute the ball was hit, Bonfire groaned. "That's good for three bases," he said positively, without even turning to watch its flight over right field.
Prissler chased dutifully after the ball, but it was far over his head. The best fielder in the world could never have reached it in time, and Prissler laid no claims to that title. Before he could pick it up, after it had rolled nearly to the fence, and line it to Jump, via a relay to S. S., the runner was squatting comfortably on third.
"Well! Well!" shouted some Belden fan who thought he was funny. "There goes your old ball game. Look who's up now—'Home-run' Hogan!"
The batter was squat and broad of shoulder. Already he was credited with three hits in this game, and Bonfire had confessed to Bunny that he seemed to have no weakness.
"You just pitch to him," he had laughed, "and then throw up your hands to keep from getting hit by what he slams back at you."
Bunny measured this dangerous opponent a long time before he pitched. But when he finally shot over the first delivery, it was a clean strike. Out in left field, Bonfire nodded approvingly.