“Seems to me it was your business to call time, sir,” he said.
“Not at all. You rushed up and protested my decision. You had no right to do that, Madden. If you had wanted time called you should have said so. The runner is safe at the plate. That man is safe on third. Play ball!”
Audelsville howled its disapproval from the stands, but Mr. Chase was not to be shaken from his position, and after a few minutes of further argument and protest the game continued. But now Captain Madden was “up in the air” with a vengeance. The next man took his base on balls and stole second immediately, Connors being afraid to throw down to head him off. The subsequent batsman took kindly to Madden’s third delivery and hit safely between shortstop and third, and two more runs came across.
Dissatisfaction reigned on the bleachers. “Why doesn’t he start Billy warming up?” demanded Spider Wells. “He’s losing the game for us.”
“He’s mad,” chuckled Teddy Thurston. “He isn’t thinking a thing about Billy or anyone else just now. Watch this big chap smash a homer!”
The big chap didn’t accomplish that feat, but he had no trouble with one of Chester Madden’s slow balls and sent it whizzing into short left, a clean hit. With men on first and second and none out, things looked bad for the home team. Connors walked down and talked with Madden, and the latter nodded. Billy Younger arose from the players’ bench and began to warm up to Poor. The spectators murmured their relief.
Madden made four attempts to catch the man off at second and then turned his attention to the impatient batsman. The man happened to be the opposing pitcher and a poor hand with the stick. But in spite of that Madden seemed unable to put the ball over the plate to Mr. Chase’s satisfaction and the Providence pitcher ambled to first, advancing the other runners and filling the bases. Cries of “Take him out!” “Put in Younger!” arose, demands which increased the captain’s unsteadiness. Certainly Billy Younger had not had time to get the kinks out of his arm, yet even so it would doubtless have been well to substitute him for Madden just then. For the next batsman, one of the Purple’s heaviest hitters, rapped a sharp one down the third base line that was just out of Tucker’s reach and two more runs came in. Connors took affairs in his own hands then, and talked earnestly to Madden, with the result that the captain, shrugging his shoulders, dropped the ball in the box and went over to third base, displacing Tucker, and Billy Younger, pulling off his faded blue sweater, ran on to the field. The stands applauded loudly and Billy, rescuing the ball, pulled his cap down and faced the situation.