Tom and Phil did not see Sid again until after the game, and then they felt in no condition to dwell upon his trouble, for Randall had been beaten by Fairview.
It was a never-to-be-forgotten battle of the diamond. It opened well for Randall, for Tom felt a fierce anger at fate in general, that nerved him to pitch as he had seldom pitched before. Then things began to go backward, for his hand was in no condition to stand the fierce work necessary. Mr. Leighton saw this, and deciding to save Tom for the Boxer Hall game, took him out of the box, and put in Evert. After that it was all over but the shouting, and Fairview piled up eleven runs against Randall’s five. It was a miserable and dispirited lot of players that filed back to Randall that evening, nor could the sympathy of Ruth and Madge take any of the sting out of it for Tom.
“It isn’t so bad,” remarked Phil, in a consoling sort of voice. “We still have a chance.”
“A mighty slim chance,” grumbled Tom. “Almost none at all. Oh, if old Sid had only been with us!”
“There’s no use talking about that now,” went on Phil. “We simply must devote all our energies to the Boxer Hall game.”
“No use thinking of that unless Fairview loses to them,” came from Tom, gloomily.
“Oh, cheer up!” urged Phil. “You can’t win the championship by feeling that way,” but his words did little to dispel the gloom in the heart of the captain.
For the next few days there was hard practice. Tom’s hand received special attention, and it was hoped that he could last the entire Boxer game. The batting improved very much, and the ’varsity nine was as much on edge as it was possible for it to be. Meanwhile there was anxiety over the outcome of the Fairview-Boxer game.
For some time past the Randall players had been reckoning percentages. It must be remembered that the games described in detail in this volume were not the only ones played by the rival colleges in the league. There were many more contests than those set down here, but space will not permit their description.