Page:Lefty o' the Bush.djvu/279

 take chances with them; we're behind you. Don't hurry, and keep your head."

Tom gave the disturbed captain a reassuring smile.

"I know I ought to be sent to the stable," he said; "but I'll do my level best now. Watch me."

Bingo Bangs was not much of a hitter, and the crowd saw Lefty whip the ball through a single groove three times in succession, and three times the Bullies' catcher hammered the air. After the third strike, the ball having been returned by Oulds, Locke caught a quick signal from the backstop, and wheeled, to flash the sphere like a shot into the hands of Labelle, who had dodged past the runner.

Labelle nailed Lisotte, and the two Canadians exchanged courtesies in choice patois. This second swift putout awoke some of the saddened Kingsbridgers, their sudden yells of satisfaction mingling with the groans of the Bancrofters.

"Now we're all right!" cried Larry Stark. "Take a fall out of old Pinwheel, Lefty. We'll make a game of this yet."

Locke's nerves were growing steadier. He had forced himself to dismiss every thought of the girl who had treated him so shabbily, and the man, her companion, who had flung him an insult and