“Yes,” assented Joe, and then the Silver Star pitcher took his place in the box and exchanged a few preliminary balls with the catcher, Bart Ferguson.
“Play ball!” yelled the young umpire again, selecting some pebbles with which to keep score.
Hank Armstrong, the sturdy left fielder of the Resolutes, was the first at the bat for his side, and with a vicious swing he hit the first ball which Sam pitched to him. Squarely on the bat he caught it with a resounding ping!
Away it sailed straight over Sam’s head and over the head of the second baseman. Farther and farther it went, until the centre fielder began running back to get it.
“Oh, wow! Pretty one! Pretty one!”
“Go on! Go on!”
“Make a three bagger of it!”
“Run, you beggar!”
These and many other cries speeded Armstrong on. He was running fast and reached second well in advance of the ball. But he dared not go on to third.
“Hum, if they hit Sam like that too often he won’t last very long,” commented Tom.