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Rh for he saw that his rival had something that he himself lacked—a better control of the ball, though Tom could pitch a swifter curve.

Tom was third at the bat. Now a good pitcher is usually a notoriously bad hitter. Tom proved an exception to the rule, though perhaps he had not developed into such a good pitcher yet that it applied in his case. He faced Langridge confidently and even smiled mockingly as a swift ball came in. Tom was a good judge of it and saw that it was going wild, so he did not attempt to strike it. His judgment was confirmed when the umpire sang out:

"Ball one!"

Langridge looked annoyed and sent in a swift one. Tom's bat met it squarely and it went well over the center fielder's head.

"Go on! go on, me brave lad!" yelled Molloy, his brogue very pronounced. "That's the stuff!"

"Take two bases! take two!" cried Phil.

"Make it three! make it three!" begged Sid, and three Tom made it, for he was a swift runner, and the ball rolled provokingly away from the fielder who raced after it.

"Well, you can bat, anyway, me lad," observed Molloy as Tom came in on a safe hit made by Sid a little later.

"Does that mean I can't pitch?" asked Tom with a smile.

"Not a bit of it. It only accentuates it, so to