by Morgan Scott
CHAPTER III
BENCHED.
In moments like this the baseball fan of any age goes wild with frenzy;especially is this true of the enthusiastic schoolboy fan who haswatched his team fight an uphill game and come neck-and-neck with aworthy and much-feared rival in one of the late innings of the contest.The youthful Wyndhamites shrieked until their faces were purple andtheir eyes bulging, flourishing their banners and frantically poundingone another over heads and shoulders. At the bench the playerslaughingly danced around Foxhall and then cheered Cohen as the lattercame walking back from first, muttering to himself that the catch hadbeen "a case of horseshoes, nothing less."
In the midst of this excitement Nelson ran up to Grant, whose face waspale, but grim and set as ever.
"You couldn't help it, Rod," said the Oakdale captain soothingly. "Theywon't get any more. The bases are clean now."
"But they've tied the score," growled the Texan. "That's the first timeCohen has touched one of my drops to-day."
"Hold them where they are, and we'll win it yet," declared Jackoptimistically. "We didn't expect a walk-over with this bunch."
Wolcott's courage was high as he faced Rodney. Heedless of the uproar,the Texan burned the air with his speed, and Wolcott fouled.
"Strike one," called the umpire.
Another smoker followed with a slightly different twist, and this timethe batter missed cleanly.
"That's two of them, old Maverick," called Stone, breathing on hissmarting right hand. "Some speed, old man--some speed there."
Seemingly with precisely the same movement and snap, Rodney made thethird pitch; but this time the ball lingered astonishingly on its way,as if held back by some subtle force, and, as a result, the befooledbatter struck too soon, not even fouling it. This gave the little bunchof loyal Oakdalers a chance to cheer.
"I don't suppose you're going to call me down for that one-handed catch,are you?" said Shultz insolently, as he came jogging to the bench.
Nelson shot him a look and turned away without answering. Not satisfied,the fielder turned to Cooper. "A man can usually tell whether he canreach the ball best with one hand or two," he declared loudly enough forthe captain to hear. "I didn't make that muff intentionally."
Ben Stone walked out to the plate and watched Lefty Leach waste twobenders, which led Springer stammeringly to prophesy that Leach, beingafraid, would give the stocky catcher a pass. The next one, however, wasover the outside corner and precisely where Ben wanted it, whereupon hesmashed a terrific drive over second and took two sacks on it amidfurther enthusiasm by Oakdale.
Nelson could not refrain from calling Osgood's attention to the factthat this hit would have given the visitors a score had his instructionsregarding sacrificing been obeyed.
"Perhaps you're right," admitted Ned in his blandly polite andtantalizing manner; "but it's no dead sure thing that Stone would havemade just that kind of a hit in the other inning. Anyway, we ought toget some runs now."
Sile Crane ambled awkwardly forth to the plate and hit into the diamondthe first ball pitched, giving Stone, who had a good start, plenty oftime to reach third, for Foxhall juggled the grounder a moment.Realizing he could not stop Ben, Foxhall snapped the sphere to first intime to get the lanky batter.
"The squeeze, Cooper," hissed Nelson in Chipper's ear, as the littleshortstop rose from the bench. At the same time Jack assumed a pose thattold Stone what was to be tried.
Ready to play his part, Ben crept off third, intending to dash for theplate and rely upon Cooper to hit the ball into the diamond somewhere.
Leach placed himself in position, nodded in response to his catcher'ssignal, hunched his left shoulder a bit, and, whirling like a flash,threw to third. Stone had started forward with that shoulder movement bythe pitcher, and was caught off the sack. Instantly, even as he soughtto get back without being touched, he called for judgment on a balk.
The umpires had changed positions, and now the Wyndham man was behindthe pitcher. In response to that demand for a decision on Leach'smovement he grimly shook his head.
"It was a balk--a plain, cold balk," cried Nelson, on his feet.
"No balk," denied the umpire, still shaking his head.
"In that case," said the other umpire slowly, "Stone is out at third."
Nelson ran into the diamond and confronted the Wyndham man. "It was asrank a balk as I ever saw," he asserted hotly. "What kind of a deal areyou trying to give us?"
"I saw no balk, and I was looking at the pitcher," returned the umpire."Get back to your bench."
Nelson argued in vain, while the crowd made the air ring with hoots andcat-calls. Presently the umpire threatened to pull his watch and forfeitthe game, whereupon the disgusted and angry Oakdale captain walkedslowly back to the bench.
"You shouldn't let him get away with it," said Osgood. "It was a balkall right."
"Why didn't our man call Stone safe?" rasped Grant.
"Ben was caught off the sack by five feet," said Nelson. "Two wrongsdon't make a right. But it's hard medicine to swallow."
Thus far Chipper Cooper had not made a hit; but now, as if he, too, wasfired with resentment by the injustice of the decision, he landed on thesecond ball pitched to him and drove it out for a clean single.
"G-g-good bub-bub-boy, Chipper!" shouted Springer. "It's a wonder hedidn't call it a fuf-foul, though."
Sleuth Piper, solemn and savage, took his place at the plate, grabbinghis bat and shaking it as if he meant to make a dent in the ball assurely as Leach got it within reach. Not once did he swing, however, andthe left-handed twirler looked disgusted when he had presently handed upthe fourth ball in succession and thus given one of the weak batters ofthe visiting nine a pass.
"Get the next man, Lefty," urged Baxter. "He's fruit for you."
With the head of the list following Springer, the Oakdale boys hoped forthe best; but Phil put up a dead easy infield fly that was smothered,and the visitors had lost another splendid opportunity.
Never in his life had Grant pitched better than he did in the last ofthe eighth. Only three batters faced him, and two of these fanned, thethird putting up a foul which Stone took care of with ease.
"Steady, fellows," cautioned Baxter, as his men started for the field."We've only got to hold them. Old Grant can't keep that steam up. We'llget to him."
Leach started the ninth as if he meant to duplicate the last turn of theTexan, fanning Captain Nelson with apparent ease.
Once more Rod Grant came to bat, and once more, with his pet club in hishands, he out-guessed the southpaw twirler, banging a clean single intocenter.
At Osgood's elbow Nelson quickly said:
"Sacrifice him to second. That will give him a possible chance to scoreif Shultz hits safe."
Osgood made no retort. He saw Grant looking toward the bench and placinghimself in position to get away swiftly on the bunt. At the plate, hebeheld the first ball pitched to him apparently coming over just wherehe wanted it, and instantly he felt that he could hit it out safely.Furthermore, he had not changed in his conviction that it was bad policyto sacrifice with one man down, even though the next two hitters weresupposed to be the best stickers on the team, and one of them, Shultz,was his especial chum. Therefore he swung on the ball and met it.Instead of a drive, it proved to be a grounder that went clipping overthe skin diamond straight into the hands of Pelty. Like a flash Peltysnapped it to Foxhall, who had leaped on to second, and, turning,Foxhall lined the sphere to first, again completing a fast double play.
Nelson was on his pins, and he intercepted Osgood as the latter, withoutlooking toward him, attempted to pass on the way to his position atthird.
"Go to the bench," said Jack, his voice hoarse and husky. "You're out ofthe game, Osgood."
"I beg your pardon," said Osgood. "What did you say, sir?"
"I said you're out of the game. I won't stand for such rankdisobedience."
"Oh, very well," said Osgood, coolly turning toward the bench. "You'rethe au
tocrat--at present."
"What's the matter?" demanded Shultz, running up. "What's the trouble,Ned?"
"Nothing," was the reply, "only I'm benched because I didn't make a safehit."
"If he benches you I'll quit myself," threatened Shultz.
"You won't quit," said Nelson instantly. "You're fired. The bench foryou, too. Get off the field."
"Well, wouldn't that choke you!" gulped Shultz, astonished to have hisbluff called so promptly. "How will he fill both our places?"
Nelson showed them in a moment by placing Roy Hooker, one of the sparepitchers, at third, and sending Chub Tuttle to fill center field.
Osgood and Shultz retired to the bench, where they sat talking, thelatter showing by his manner that he was thoroughly enraged against hiscaptain, while his friend, more politic and suave, accepted thesituation with pretended indifference and disdain.
Although the team had been weakened by the removal of these two players,for the substitutes surely could not fill their positions with an equalamount of skill, Grant betrayed no sign of weakening himself. Pelty andLeach were retired by the strike-out route, and even Crispin's bestperformance was a weak grounder on which he perished in a hopeless dashto first.
The tenth inning opened with Tuttle at bat. Chub had never been ahitter, but he did succeed in rolling a weak one to Leach, who threw himout.
"Now, Stoney," implored Cooper, as the catcher again came up, "you'vegot to do it. He's been a mark for you. One run is all that we need totake this game. Lace it out."
Leach was very glad that the bases were empty. Even under thosecircumstances he began as if he meant to pass this dangerous slugger.After pitching two balls, however, he got one across, and Ben fouled it.Then came another ball, which was followed by a high, speedy shoot.
Stone smashed the horsehide again, bringing every spectator up standing.It was a splendid drive, but Cohen took it on the run and held fast toit.
"Ah-ha! Oh-ho!" whooped Baxter joyously. "Old Eat-'em-alive is finished.Now you have things your own way, Lefty."
Although Shultz was grinning as Stone came walking back, Osgood politelydeclined to smile.
Sile Crane sighed as he picked up his bat.
"By Jinks!" he muttered. "I'd sartainly like to make one more hit offthat feller. I don't seem able to touch him no more." After which hewalked to the plate and swung at the first ball pitched with all thestrength of his long, sinewy arms.
There was a tremendous ringing crack, and the ball went sailing away,away, far over the center-fielder's head. The little Oakdale crowdscreamed like lunatics, but the Wyndhamites were distressingly silent asthe long-geared lad raced over first, second, third, and on to theplate, which he reached ere the ball could be returned to the diamond.
