He rapped out a nice bingle that took him to second base. Then came Dan Woodhouse, and he struck out, amid groans.
Bricktop walked up with an air of confidence, amid encouraging comments from his chums. The Fairview pitcher was getting a little rattled, and threw so wild that the catcher, though he jumped for the ball, missed it, and had to run back while Holly, who had stolen to third, came in with a rush. There was a mixup at the plate, as Holly slid in, accompanied by a cloud of dust, but the pitcher, who had run up to assist the catcher, and make amends for his wild throw, dropped the ball, and Holly scored the winning run.
There was a moment of silence until the big crowd and the players appreciated what it meant to pull out a victory in the tenth, and that after an exceedingly close game. Then came a burst of cheers, and applause that made the grand stands and bleachers rattle.
“Wow! Wow! Wow!” yelled the exultant Randallites, and they capered about in very joy, like wild Indians, slapping each other on the back, punching and being punched, cheering for themselves and for Fairview by turns.
[CHAPTER XXII]
SID DESPAIRS
“Wasn’t it great!” demanded Dutch Housenlager, as he waltzed up to Tom, and tried to lead him out into a dance on the diamond. “Immense, eh? Pulling it out of the fire that way?”
“Yes, that’s what we did—pulled it out of the fire,” agreed Tom, with a smile. “We needed this victory, and I’m glad we won, but we’ve got to play better—and that includes me—if we’re to have the loving cup this year. Our batting and fielding could be improved a whole lot.”