“Think they can hold that lead of three runs?” asked Bob.
“I don’t believe so,” Nelson replied. “Depends a good deal on their pitcher. Who is he?”
“A chap named Sullivan,” answered Bob. “Pretty poor, I guess.”
“Well, let’s stay and see it out, anyway. Hello, you chaps!” he added, as Dan and Tom came up.
“Hello, yourself,” replied Dan. “What’s the row?”
Nelson explained, and Tom was highly indignant.
“Ho-ho-ho-hope they ch-ch-ch—” he began.
“Yes, indeed, Tommy,” said Bob soothingly, “but I don’t believe they will choke. They may get beaten, but they probably won’t choke.”
“You might run over and suggest it to them, though,” said Dan hopefully. “They might be willing to oblige you.”
It soon began to look bad for Mannig. The new pitcher was fast, and at times puzzling, but he was terribly wild. Conly alone saved his team from utter rout for a while, stopping many a wild pitch. Then things began to happen. With one out, Laurelville located the ball, and started to hammer it to all parts of the diamond. Only the best sort of fielding kept her from forging ahead then and there. With three men on bases and but one out, it surely looked for a while as though Mannig’s sun was about to set. But heady, fast work on the part of the infield spoiled Laurelville’s chances, and only one run was added to her score in that inning. But Laurelville trotted out looking hopeful. Next time, they hoped, they would have better luck. As the Mannig players returned to the bench, it was plain to be seen that they feared defeat. Fultz threw himself down beside Dan.