Page:Baseball Joe on the School Nine.djvu/251

Rh air helplessly, or stood while the umpire called strikes on them.

But there had to be a break, and it came in the fourth inning. In their half of that Excelsior again had to retire without a run, and the four circles looked rather strange on the score board.

Then something happened. Joe was delivering a puzzling drop, but his hand slipped, the curve broke at the wrong moment and the batter hit it for three bases. That looked like the beginning of the end for a little while, as the Morningside lads seemed to have struck a winning streak and they had three runs to their credit when Joe, after having struck two men out, caught a hot liner himself and retired the third man.

"Three to nothing," murmured Captain Ward as his men came in to bat again. "It looks bad—looks bad."

"That will only give us an appetite," declared Joe. "You'll see," and it did seem as if he were a prophet, for the rivals of Morningside, evidently on desperation bent, "found" Ted Clay, rapped out five runs, putting them two ahead, and then the crowd went wild.

So did Joe and his mates. They fairly danced as they took the field again; danced and shouted,