“Throw out the ball!” exclaimed Mr. Brent. “How—how do I do it?”
“Just stand up, sir, and toss it to Tom Haley, down there.”
Mr. Brent looked doubtful, but Morris and Louise urged him on, and finally he got to his feet, measured the distance anxiously, clutched the ball with a death-like grip, and hurled it toward Tom. It went a yard over his head, and was fielded by Harry Bryan near second! But that didn’t matter! Everyone cheered just as hard!
CHAPTER XXIV
DICK SMILES
| CLEARFIELD | RUTTER’S POINT |
| Bryan, 2b. | Billings, 3b. |
| Scott, 3b. | Townsend, 1b. |
| Merrick, 1b. | Chase, ss. |
| Wayland, l. f. | House, c. f. |
| Tappen, r. f. | Leary, 2b. |
| White, c. | Northrop, r. f. |
| Robey, ss. | Jensen, l. f. |
| Haley, p. | Houghton, c. |
| Shaw, c. f. | Mason, p. |
Gordon took his position off first base, thumped fist into glove, and called cheerfully across to Tom Haley:
“First man, Tom! Let’s have him!”
But Gordon wasn’t nearly as cool and collected as he tried to seem. He was conscious of the crowd, and especially of the throng that stretched four and five deep along the base line but a half dozen yards away. The noise, too, was disconcerting. He didn’t mind the bellowing of Jim House back of first, nor the answering shrieks of Pink Northrop behind third; but the steady hum and stir of the crowd gave him what was very much like stage fright. He almost hoped that the first hit would not come into his territory, for he was virtually sure that he would misplay it. But Gordon wasn’t the only one suffering from nervous embarrassment. Tom was as wild as a hawk, and if the batsmen had not been up in the air as well Rutter’s Point might have won the game then and there!
Dick, none too self-possessed himself, in spite of the fact that on the bench he was practically out of the public gaze, saw that in the outfield Way, Jack, and Fudge were each moving restlessly about, and he mentally hoped that there would be no long flies for a few minutes! The only one of the home team who seemed absolutely self-possessed and unconcerned was Lanny. Lanny, behind his mask and protector, gave his signals calmly, and called to Tom coolly and encouragingly, holding his hands over the center of the plate and inviting Tom to “put it right here!” And Tom tried his best to follow signals, and failed lamentably.
Caspar Billings went to base on balls, and Gordon took the bag. Tom tried one throw across, and Gordon, to his relief, caught the ball. While Tom had been in the act of swinging around and stepping out, Gordon had been sure that the ball would get by him. Caspar was playing it safe, however, and after Gordon threw the sphere back to Tom the latter gave his attention to the next batsman, Loring Townsend. Loring, with one strike and two balls against him, reached for a low one and sent it up in the air to Pete Robey. Pete caught it, juggled it, dropped it, and then sped it to second. Caspar, who had stopped halfway down the base line, turned back to the bench.