XXIII
KID TRIUMPHS!
Quite an audience assembled for that final game. Day fellows brought their sisters and their chums, and now and then a father or a mother, while a few boys from the village, unable to follow their high school nine away on a trip, came up to cheer for the Day Team. And of course the Doctor and Mrs. Merton were there; the Doctor enjoyed a game of baseball or football as much as any one; and equally, of course, Miss Nancy Merton was on hand. Yes, it was quite a fair-sized audience, and it couldn’t have had a finer day to sit on the settees along the base lines and watch eighteen eager and excited youths do battle for baseball supremacy. The sun was warm, but a little west breeze mitigated its ardor. The sky was cloudless, the world green and fresh and the air as soft and gentle as a caress.
The Junior Four Trophy stood imposingly on its ebony base in the middle of a table for all to see. It glistened bravely in the sunlight and the Junior Four and the Honorary Member were very proud of it. More than once Nan, who sat a few feet away, bent forward to read her name engraved on the silver cup. Mr. Folsom, who was to umpire on bases, thus lending quite an air of Big League importance to the contest, was surreptitiously studying the rules behind first base. But he hadn’t progressed very far when Mr. Crane called “Play ball!”
House took the field and Day went to bat. Out in right field, a ridiculously small figure in that expanse of green sward, stood Kid, thumping his fielder’s glove with a bare fist impatiently. On second base Sam Perkins called encouragement and tried to make himself believe that he felt at home there. Behind the bat was Steve Lovell, looking not a little nervous. Waters pitched, for it had been decided to get the jump on Day at the start, if such a thing was possible, and win the game in the first few innings. Ben, although barred from playing, was directing the team from the bench. Beside him sat Bert, a bit downhearted at being out of it.
White, first man up for Day, started the excitement with the first ball pitched. It was “in the groove,” and White banged it down to Perkins, waist-high. Sam caught it, dropped it, snatched it up again and pegged it to first. But the throw was short and the ball struck the ground a yard in front of Pierce, and, although that youth succeeded in stopping it, the runner was safe. Turner worked a neat sacrifice. O’Connell tried to score White from second and sent a fly to Lanny in center. Lanny caught it, but his throw in was weak and White went to third. Then Briggs slammed a liner between Crandall and Cupples, scored White and took second himself. Grimshaw hit two fouls, both of which Steve Lovell tried for and missed, and then placed a neat base-hit in short left. Spooner should have been an easy out at first, but Stanley Pierce dropped the ball and the bases were full. Waters was plainly worried, and when, a moment later, Lovell let a pitch get by him and two runs came in, Waters went straight up in the air. Tucker was passed and so was Sibley. Day’s coachers danced and shrieked and their supporters kept up a constant din intended to add further to Waters’ discomfort. But, strange to say, just when Ben was wondering whether perhaps it would not be best to take Waters out before the game was lost beyond recovery, the pitcher settled down and struck out “Toots” Morgan with three pitched balls!
It was House’s turn to applaud and they didn’t miss it. But with three runs against them the outlook wasn’t particularly bright. Captain Turner surprised House by sending Sibley in to pitch, Morgan going into the field. Ben was tickled indeed and saw in imagination all sorts of hits streaking over the landscape. But Sibley wasn’t as easy to-day. In spite of the fact that the first two batters up hit him safely, he managed to crawl out of an awkward situation without having a run scored against him.
There was no scoring by either team in the second. Day got a man to third, but he died there when Lovell raced into the crowd and pulled down a foul. House had hopes when George Waters hit a two-bagger, but there were already two men out and Lanny, who followed him at the plate, couldn’t make good and was thrown out easily at first.
Day started the third inning by hitting a long fly into right field. Kid had to travel back to reach it and then let it bounce out of that famous glove of his. The error was good for three bases. A passed ball let the runner score. But after that Waters again settled down and there were no more hits in the inning. House failed to reach first and, with the score four to nothing, the fourth inning began. Day went out in order, and for House Cupples found Sibley for a bunt and beat out the ball, going to second a minute later when Crandall trickled the ball along the first base line and was tagged out by Sibley. Gardner offered at two deliveries and then waited and got his base. Kid struck out miserably, swinging at everything that came. Waters again got a hit and Cupples raced in from second for the first tally. Lanny flied out to shortstop.
The fifth inning was filled with errors on each side, but no runs were scored. The sixth gave Day another tally when Grimshaw banged the ball out for a home run. Then Waters struck out Spooner, made Tucker pop a fly to Pierce and passed Sibley only to catch him napping a moment later off first base. House went into the sixth with the score five to nothing and Ben was gnawing his finger-nails on the bench. Perkins leaned against the first delivery and the shortstop found it too hard to handle. He went to second when Pierce flied out to left field. Then Sibley let down and Lovell hit safely past third and Perkins scored House’s second run. Cupples drew a pass. Crandall advanced the runners but went out at first. Gardner was ordered to bother Sibley and try for a pass. So he waved his bat back and forth and jumped around in the box, while the House coachers yelled themselves hoarse back of the bases. Two balls—one strike—three balls—two strikes—and then, “Four balls; take your base,” said Mr. Crane. A shriek of triumph went up from House. Turner ran over from first base and Sibley tossed the ball down. “Toots” was already trotting in from left field. Turner was taking no chances, it seemed.