“That’s as far as you’ll get,” snapped Miles. “I’ve got this fellow’s number.”
And Joe was inclined to think he was right, for when the next ball went over, Wheeler missed it “by a mile.” One more strike, and the inning would be over.
Jamieson, the Pirate catcher, threw the ball back to Miles. Before it had fairly left his hand Joe was legging it to the plate. There was a yell from the spectators, and Miles, aghast at Joe’s audacity, threw hurriedly to Jamieson.
Twenty feet from the plate, [Joe] launched himself into the air and [slid into the rubber in a cloud of dust]. The ball had come high to Jamieson, and he had to leap for it. He came down with it on Joe like a thunderbolt, and the two rolled over and over.
“Safe!” cried the umpire.
[CHAPTER XVIII]
A TEST OF NERVE
The play was so close and so much depended on it that there was a rush of Pirate players to the plate to dispute the decision. But the umpire refused to change it, and curtly ordered them to get back into the game.
Joe picked himself up, and, smiling happily, walked into the Giants’ dugout, where he was mauled about by his hilarious clubmates, while McRae and Robbie beamed their delight.