CHAPTER XVIII
ANOTHER DEFEAT
For a moment there was some embarrassment, as Sam was not in the habitof mingling with this crowd of boys. He had his own friends, not verymany, to tell the truth, but he was usually with them. The lads did notknow exactly how to take his request, but Joe came to the rescue.
"Sure you can come in," he said heartily. "We're just seeing who can putthe most balls in the basket."
"What good do you think that does?" asked Sam.
"Well, doesn't it help a fellow to get a straight aim?" asked Tom, halfdefiantly.
"Oh, I don't know," was the rather sneering answer. "It might, if youkept at it long enough."
"Let's see you try it," suggested Rodney Burke, who did not hold Sam inmuch awe.
Carelessly the Silver Star pitcher accepted a ball that Joe obliginglyheld out. He threw quickly and the ball landed squarely in the basket.Then he did the trick again, and there was a little murmur of applause,for only a few of the boys had "two straight" to their credit.
"Joe did three straight a while ago," said Tom proudly. "He and I areplaying off a tie."
Sam did not answer but threw again, and the ball went wide of the basketby two feet at least. Rodney laughed.
"You're not such a much, even if you are the pitcher," he declared.
"Who asked you anything about it?" demanded Sam savagely.
He darted a look of anger at the lad, but as Rodney was well built andhad a reputation for "scrappiness" Sam concluded not to tackle him justthen.
"I'll show you how to throw!" he exclaimed the next moment, and twoballs went squarely in the basket. "Now, let's see you and Matson playit off," commanded Sam to Tom as though he was in the habit of havinghis wishes complied with.
Whether it was nervousness or not, or whether he wanted to see his chumdo well when Sam was present, was not made manifest, but Tom did notcome up to his previous record, and Joe easily won. In fact Joe made amuch better score than Sam, and there were several curious glancesdirected at the pitcher.
"Don't you want to try it some more?" asked Rodney Burke, and there wasmockery in his voice.
"No!" half-growled Sam. "I've got to save my arm for the next game.We're going to win that sure. So long," and with that he turned andstrode away.
"As cheerful as a bear with a sore nose," remarked Rodney.
Ordinarily but little importance would have been attached to the cominggame with the Denville Whizzers, but on account of two previous defeats,Darrell Blackney and George Rankin had several conferences concerningit. The captain and manager were plainly worried.
"Do you wish you had some one else to put in the box?" asked Rankin.
"Well, not exactly," was the answer. "I haven't lost faith in Sam, but Ido wish we could depend more on him. He'll pitch fine for severalinnings and then go to pieces. He tries to use too much speed and toomany varieties of curves, I think."
"By the way, what do you think of young Matson?" asked the captain.
"I think a good deal of him. He doesn't amount to much as yet, but he'sin earnest and he's got grit. In time I think he'll make a player."
"He wants to pitch."
"I know he does, but it's out of the question yet. Have you any line onhim?"
"Not yet," answered Rankin, "but I'll keep my eyes open. He's a goodfielder all right, now that he isn't so nervous. He wants to play hishead off. But Sam--well, we can't do any better right away, and--well, Iguess we'll win this game."
"We've got to!" insisted the manager earnestly, "if we want the peopleof Riverside to support us. They won't come to see a losing home teamall the while."
The game with the Whizzers was to take place on their grounds, and earlyon that morning the Silver Stars, some substitutes, and a crowd of"rooters" got ready for the trip. Denville was about seven miles fromRiverside, back from the stream, and could be reached by trolley. Aspecial car had been engaged for the team.
The game started off well, and the Silver Stars got three runs in theirhalf of the first inning. The home team was blanked and for a time itlooked as if there would be an easy victory for the visitors.
Sam was pitching in good form, and had struck several men out. For threeinnings the home team did not get a run, and there was only one to theircredit in the fourth. There was gloom and despair among their supporterswhile the "rooters" of the visiting team were happy singing songs andyelling.
Joe played well and had two outs to his credit on long flies, with noerrors to mar his record. But he noticed that as the home team came tothe bat in their half of the fifth, in which the Silver Stars had madetwo runs, that Darrell and the captain were in earnest consultation withSam. They seemed to be remonstrating with him, and Joe heard the managersay:
"Take it easy now; we have the game on ice."
"Oh, I know how to play ball," retorted the pitcher.
Then began a series of happenings. With a lead of four runs when thelast half of the fifth started it would have seemed that the Stars mighthave won out. But Sam fell a prey to the applause of the crowd and beganto do "grandstand" work. He contorted his body unnecessarily in windingup for a delivery. He hopped about before pitching the ball and hefailed to study the batters, though he had had plenty of chance to doso.
The result was that he went to pieces through sheer weariness and begangiving balls. Then the home team, realizing what was happening, began topound him, and to steal bases. In their half of the fifth the home teammade six runs, putting them two ahead.
"We've got to stop that!" said Darrell, with a shake of his head.
"We sure have," agreed the captain.
There was somewhat of a brace on the part of the Stars and they made onerun in their part of the sixth. But the Whizzers kept pace with them.The seventh inning resulted in one run for the visitors and none for thehome team and that made only a lead of one for the home nine.
Joe brought in a run in the eighth, but as if it had been prearrangedthe home team duplicated so the score at the beginning of the ninthstood eight to nine in favor of the home team.
"We need two runs to win, if we can serve them goose eggs for lunch,"said the Silver Star captain grimly. "Go to it, boys; beat 'em out."
"Sure we will," said Sam airily, and he brought in one of the neededtwo runs. Darrell contributed the other, and when the visiting team tookthe field they were one ahead.
"Don't let a man get to first!" cried Captain Rankin.
But it was not to be. Sam gave the first man his base on balls and therewas a groan of anguish from his fellows and the Riverside crowd. Thenthe second man whacked out what appeared to be a pretty three bagger,scoring the runner from first. The batter slipped on his way from secondto third, however, and was put out when Joe made a magnificent throw infrom deep centre.
With one out Sam gathered himself together and struck out the next man.Then came to the bat the mightiest walloper of the rival team.
"Wait for a good one. Make him give you what you want," advised thecoacher to the batter.
And the latter did wait, for when he got what he wanted he "slammed it"away out in centre field.
"A home run! A home run!" yelled the frantic crowd.
"And win the game!" shouted a score of the players' friends. "Come on,baby-mine!"
Joe was madly racing after the ball, which had gone away beyond him. Hegot it and hurled it to second for a relay home, as a quick glance hadshown him the man rounding third.
Straight and true the ball went and the baseman had it. Then he sent itto Catcher Ferguson as the runner was racing in. Sam had run from hisbox and stood watching and expectant near home plate.
The runner dropped and slid and Bart Ferguson, as the ball landed in hismitt, reached over to touch him.
"Safe!" howled the umpire, and it meant the defeat of the Silver Stars.
For a moment there was silence and then Sam, stepping up to the umpire,a lad smaller than himself, said:
"Safe, eh? Not in a thousand years! You don't know
how to umpire a game.Safe! I guess not!" and drawing back his fist Sam sent it crashing intothe face of the other lad.