CHAPTER XX
RANDALL SCORES FIRST
Holly Cross was up first, and he faced John Allen, the Fairview pitcher,with a grin of confidence. He swung viciously at the first ball, andmissed it clean.
"Make him give you a nice one," called Bricktop, who was coaching fromthird. "We've got all day, Holly. He'll tire in about two innings.He has no Irish blood in him, as I have," and there was a laugh atBricktop's "rigging" while the Fairview pitcher smiled sheepishly.
But though Holly waited, it availed him but little. Three balls werecalled for him, after his first strike, though the Fairview crowd wantedto injure the umpire. Then Allen stiffened, and Holly walked back to thebench without even swinging the stick again.
"Only one gone. We've got plenty of chances yet," called Bricktop, fromthe coaching box, and in his enthusiasm he stepped over the line. Theumpire warned him back. Dan Woodhouse was up next.
"Make kindling wood of your bat," yelled an enthusiastic freshman in theRandall bleachers, but though Dan sent a nice bingle to center, wellover the pitcher's head, the second baseman pulled it down, and Dan wasout. Bricktop repeated this, save that he flied to Herbert Bower, inleft field, and Randall had a zero to her credit.
In the second and third innings neither side scored, and when the fourthwas half over, with another minus mark for Fairview the crowd began tosit up and take notice.
"This'll be a hot game before it's through," prophesied Bert Bascome,who with Ford Fenton, and a crowd of like spirits sat together.
"That's right," agreed Ford. "My uncle says----"
"Sit down! Sit down!" yelled a score of voices about him, though theunfortunate Ford was not standing. He knew, however, what was meant, anduttered no protest.
Though Randall did her best when her chance came in the ending of thefourth, nothing resulted. Backus flied to Sam Soden and Tom Parsonsmanaged to get to first on a clean hit to right field, but Joe Jackson,who followed him, struck out, and, as though emulating his brother, theother Jersey twin did likewise, letting Tom die on second.
"Say, when is something going to happen?" asked Holly Cross of Tom, asthe home team filed out in the field.
"It ought to, pretty soon now," replied Tom, as he kicked a small stoneout of the pitchers' box.
Bean Perkins, with his crowd of "shouters" started the "Wallop 'em" song,in an endeavor to make things lively, and he very nearly succeeded, forJohn Allen, who came up first in the beginning of the fifth, rapped out apretty one to left field. It looked as if Joe Jackson would miss it, butJoe wasn't there for that purpose. He had a long run to the side to getwithin reaching distance of the horsehide, but, as though to make up forstriking out, he made a sensational catch, and was roundly applauded,while Allen walked back disgustedly from first, which he had almostreached.
"Pretty catch! Lovely catch!" yelled Bean Perkins. "Now a couple morelike that, and things will be all ready for us when our boys come in."
Herbert Bower and Sam Soden, the next two Fairview players who followedAllen, were both struck out by Tom, who was doing some fine twirling,having given no player his base on balls yet.
"Now, boys, show 'em what you can do!" pleaded a score of Randall"fans," as Tom and his men walked in to the bench for their share ofthe fifth inning.
Dutch Housenlager was up first, and he selected a bat with care.
"What are you going to do, me son," asked Bricktop solicitously.
"Knock a home run," declared Dutch, and he faced the pitcher with a grimair. He didn't do that, but he did rap out a single, and got to first.Then came Phil Clinton, who made a sacrifice bunt. That is, it wasintended for that, but the pitcher fumbled it, and was delayed ingetting it to first. Then the throw was so wild that the Fairview firstbaseman had to take his foot off the bag to get it, and, meanwhile Philwas legging it for the bag for all he was worth, while Dutch went on tosecond.
"Batter's out!" howled the umpire, though it seemed to all the Randallplayers that Phil was safe. Tom protested hotly at the decision, but itstood, and, though it looked as if there would be trouble, Mr. Leightoncalmed things down.
"Only one gone," he said, "and Holly Cross is up next. He'll bring inDutch, and score himself."
Holly sent out a beautiful hit to center field, and there was a chorusof joyful cries.
"Go on! Go on!"
"Make a home run!"
"Come on in, Dutch, you old ice wagon!"
Dutch legged it from second to third, and started home, but the ball,which the center fielder had managed to get sooner than had beenexpected, looked dangerous to Dutch, and he ran back to third, afterbeing halfway home. Holly was safe on second, and amid a storm ofencouraging yells Dan Woodhouse got up.
"Now a home run, Kindlings!" called the crowd, and then Bean and hiscohorts began singing: "We've Got 'em on the Run Now."
Dan got two balls, and the third one was just where he wanted it. Heslammed it out for a three base hit, and Dutch and Holly scored thefirst two runs of the game, while Tom did a war dance at third, where hewas coaching. On a single by Bricktop Dan came in, though he was nearlycaught at home, for the ball was quickly relayed in from left field,where the shortstop had sent it, but old Kindlings slid in through acloud of dust, and Charley Simonson, who was catching for Fairview,dropped the horsehide, so Dan's run counted.
"Three--nothing! Three--nothing!" yelled Tom, wild with joy. "Now, boys,we've struck our gait! And only one out!"
"Watch his glass arm break!" shouted several in scorn at the Fairviewpitcher, but the latter refused to let them get his "goat" or rattle himand kept a watchful eye on Bricktop at first, when Pete Backus came up.
"Now, Pete, don't forget what I told you!" shouted Tom, as the lad whowas taking Sid's place stepped up, but poor Pete must have had a poormemory, for he struck out, and when Tom himself took up his stick,Bricktop, who had been vainly trying to steal second and who wassomewhat tired out, by the pitcher's efforts to catch him napping onfirst, finally did what the Fairview players hoped he would do--heplayed off too far, and he couldn't get back, when Allen suddenlyslammed the ball over to the first baseman. Bricktop was out, and theRandall side was retired, but with three runs to its credit.
"That'll do for a starter," observed Tom, as he put on his pitchingglove. "We'll duplicate that next inning."
But the sixth saw goose eggs in the frames of both nines, though Tomsent a pretty, low fly out to center, where it was neatly caught by TedPuder, who had to jump for it. The Jersey twins struck out in monotonoussuccession, thus ending the sixth.
"Now for the lucky seventh!" yelled a crowd of Fairview supporters."Everybody stand up!" and the big crowd arose to get some relief fromsitting still so long.
The seventh was destined to be lucky in spite of the efforts of Tom andhis men to hold back Fairview.