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 two bats he had picked up, listening to the excited words of Crandall. He had never seen the famous and eccentric Pinwheel Murtel, but he had heard a great deal about the man, as, doubtless, had every other baseball player in the country.

"By Jove!" he muttered, having turned to stare at the lengthy twirler. "I believe you're right, Reddy."

"I know I'm right," said Crandall. "I've been trying to figure out who the man was, and I've got him at last. At his best, he can walk any three of us without a man down and then keep us from scoring. This game is as good as settled, and a lot of Kingsbridge sports have lost some good money to-day."

"Nonsense, Crandall!" said Locke swiftly. "Even if the man is Pinwheel Murtel, he isn't invincible."

"There goes Pete ag'in," said Reddy, as Labelle fanned out the second time. "Nobody's even touched him."

"What of it? The best pitchers in the business can be hit."

"But not by batters in our class."

"Yes, sometimes they can be hit by batters in our class. Mathewson has been batted and beaten by a scrub country team, at least once, according