“Throw the ball! throw the ball!” he yelled. But the baseman thought he could outrun Kindlings. He almost succeeded and then, when he saw it was too late, he tossed the ball over the captain’s head to the catcher. Kindlings dropped and, amid a cloud of dust, slid home.
Like a flash the hand of the catcher holding the ball shot toward him. There was a moment of suspense.
“Safe!” howled the umpire, and one more run went to the credit of Randall.
Tom brought in another not so sensational, but it counted. He knocked a pretty fly, which sailed over the second baseman’s head and the pitcher got to first, stole second and came in with a rush on a swift grounder bunt that Phil Clinton sacrificed on under orders.
[CHAPTER XXXIII]
VICTORY
“The score is tie! the score is tie!” came the yells. And so it was—5 to 5 in the last half of the ninth inning. From the Randall stand came the chorus of the song, “We have their measure, we’ll beat them at pleasure!”
The game, however, was far from won. There were a bunch of heavy hitters to come to the bat, and Tom’s arm was in poor shape. But he said nothing and walked to the box with a step as light as though he knew he was to win.