Part 11 (1/2)

Cleverdale again looked dangerous in the sixth, but again Chot and Tom, with Bert's a.s.sistance, cut off two runs when it seemed that the rival side must score.

Tom led off for Winton. Getting a ball where he wanted it after a strike and two b.a.l.l.s had been called, he sent the sphere into deep right for three bases.

Chot struck the first ball pitched, and it went sailing between left and center, out into the tall gra.s.s, where it was recovered some minutes later by the combined efforts of Burton and King! By the time the ball was thrown into the diamond, Chot had made a complete circle of the bases, sending Tom in ahead of him.

”Gee whiz! Eleven to nothing,” said Fleet. ”This game should have a poem.”

”Not if we know ourselves!” cried Pod. ”Let well enough alone. Don't bring down a hoodoo by turning loose any bad verse.”

”Speaking of women,” said Pod. ”Did--”

”Who said anything about women?” Fleet demanded.

”Well, speaking of them, anyway, I know a school teacher who is so industrious that she is knitting all the time while she is teaching.”

”Get out!” cried Fleet. ”How can a school teacher knit and teach at the same time?”

”This teacher is knitting her eyebrows,” said Pod, and dodged out of the way as Fleet made a dash for him. The Kattskill Bay boys laughed heartily at Pod's joke, which caused Fleet to remark:

”If you heard as many of them as we do, they wouldn't be funny.”

”And if you heard as many bad verses as we do,” said Pod, ”you'd hate to travel in the company we travel in.”

Fleet glared at him but said nothing, and a moment later, when Jones went out on a grounder to Corker, all interest became centered on the game.

Day flied out to Burton and Lorrens went out on a grounder, Strange to Windle.

Believing the seventh might be their lucky inning, the Cleverdale boys tried their utmost to score. The cry with them grew to be not, ”Can we win?” but ”Can we save ourselves from a shut-out?” Captain Biddle thought they could. Chot Duncan had resolved they shouldn't.

Strange was up for Cleverdale, and he knocked a single into right. No man had yet tried to steal a base on Tom, so Strange resolved to be the one to humiliate Bert Creighton's catcher. He was a swift runner, and felt that with a good lead he could make it. With the first ball Chot threw, he was off for second. Burton, knowing that Strange was going to attempt a steal, struck wildly at the ball to bother Tom.

But Tom was always at his best in situations of this kind, and with apparently no effort he shot the ball down to Bert, who put it on Strange when he was ten feet from the bag, Tom having antic.i.p.ated the runner and thrown that far to the right, where Bert stood just a foot or so back of the base line.

A cheer went up from the Creighton rooters. This was the sort of playing they liked best to see.

Burton knocked a little fly back of second which Pod caught easily.

Windle hit the ball hard, but it was a liner straight to Bert, and the second baseman smothered it in his glove, retiring the side.

The seventh was over and still Cleverdale had not made a score.

”Why don't you give them just one?” cried someone, as Bert and his players came in for their turn at bat.

”Give 'em one and they'll want a dozen,” replied Bert, smiling. ”A coat of whitewash will look good on Cleverdale.”

The Creightons then proceeded to add another run to their already large list. Smeed secured a base on b.a.l.l.s. Pod struck out, but Bert advanced his center fielder to second with a sacrifice, and Smeed came home a moment later on Fleet's long hit between first and second. Tom flied out to King, and the side was out.

Johnson struck out as usual, Chot giving him no opportunity to hit the ball. He seemed afraid to stand up to the plate, and a batter who is timid is easy prey for the opposing pitcher.