the fourth inning started off badly, smith beating out a bunt to first, but he held on while merry tightened and fanned the next two men with the double shoot. at this smith went down to second, where villum was standing on the sack as usual.
billy mac sent down a perfect throw from the plate, but villum appeared not to see it, for he was staring at smith.
“jump, you chump!” yelled smith, and flung himself down in a beautiful fall-away slide.
for the second time that day, villum sat down suddenly. the ball plunged into the cloud of dust, and a groan from the bleachers. when the dust cleared off, villum was seen to be smiling blandly at smith, holding the ball against the latter’s chest; smith’s leg was hooked about villum’s waist, and the clipper was staring up with wild astonishment.
“you vas oudt,” exclaimed villum. “you vos hooked me aroundt vhere i down sit, und you thought it vos der pase, yes, no?”
“well, i’m jiggered!” gasped smith.
the crowd roared with laughter at this evidence of villum’s playing, but it fell into somber[287] silence once more as fardale came to bat and o’day struck out.
then villum came up to the plate, and, in trying to hit the first ball over, he lost his balance and was hit himself. the umpire hesitated, then motioned him to first, and olcott’s protest went unheeded.
“yaw!” triumphantly blatted the dutch lad, as he trotted down. “i toldt you i’d dood it! britty soon der ball vill hit chip a home run vor, you pet me!”
“sacrifice, clan,” ordered merry quietly. “you can’t hope for a hit.”
“why not?” said clancy, pausing as he was going forth.
“because we’re up against southpaw diggs. bunt it.”
the red-haired chap tried hard to obey, but failed. villum went to second, however. murray stood square on the base line, trying to block him off, and villum arrived at about the same time as the ball. he flung himself straight at the sack and murray went down amid a cloud of dust, from which the ball was seen to roll. instantly villum jumped up and went tearing toward third, regardless of lowe’s orders to hold second. murray pegged the ball down to craven, but made a poor throw. it was a close decision, but villum got the benefit of the doubt.
“bring him in, chip,” said clancy.
[288]
for the second time, merry faced his rival, and for the second time green resorted to his wonderful spit ball. once chip fouled, and once struck in vain, then at the last instant he choked his bat and met the third ball for a bunt.
the slippery ball twisted along toward first, and merry sped after it like a deer. green went for it, but chip beat out the throw, and villum was safe with the first run for fardale. harker fanned, and the inning was ended.
“well, that showed that they aren’t invulnerable, fellows,” said merry cheerfully. “we’ll even up pretty soon!”
“you’re the only one of us who has a hit so far,” said billy mac.
“and that was a bad scratch,” chuckled merry. “well, go to it!”
craven, the dangerous third baseman, was again up. he could not solve the double shoot, however, and merrell and runge went down, also. merry had repeated green’s feat of retiring the side with nine pitched balls.
as he walked in and met billy, however, he shook his head doubtfully.
“i’m using that ball too much,” he said, in a low voice. “i don’t want to use the jump unless i have to, but i can’t throw the double shoot all the time, billy.”
“change arms, then.”
“i have. well, let’s see what happens.”
[289]
billy, chester, and lange went down in regular order to the smiling green, although lange managed to send up a pop fly that was gathered in by murray. the sixth started with the heavy end up, and ironton came out confidently.
frank tried to avoid using the double shoot, with the result that ironton poled a hot liner toward third. lowe made a beautiful stop that drew an admiring yell from the bleachers, but dropped the ball, and ironton beat it out.
the next man up was murray, and chip handled him carefully, forcing him to put up an infield fly, that villum easily absorbed. then green strode out, smiling.
chip gathered every energy. he put over the double shoot, reversing from an in to an out, and green fanned. then, using his left hand, he reversed the shoot, and once more green struck in vain, ironton going down to second. knowing that it was useless to attempt luring green, frank once more threw every effort into a terrifically swift, straight ball—and again green fanned.
the speed of that ball was too much for billy, however. it went through him and rolled back to the grand stand, while green tore to first and ironton to third. both were safe, and smith advanced to the plate. frank signaled to billy to come up.
“it’s no use, old man,” he said quietly.
“i’m sorry, chip,” and billy was almost in[290] tears. “they can’t touch you, and if you only had a decent catcher——”
“none of that,” said merry. “you’re all right, billy. but i daren’t use the double shoot again. i’ve pitched nothing else, and i can’t give away the jump ball just yet. i’m going to try the spit ball, so watch out for bad ones.”
the almost constant use of the double shoot had been a tremendous strain on frank’s arm, and billy was forced to assent. merry did not half like using the spit ball, as he had not practiced it for some time, but the need was imperative.
in fact, his first two balls went wide of the plate, and nearly let in a run. then he found himself, and smith fanned twice, billy vainly trying to catch green at second. by sheer good luck, smith connected and walloped out a beauty to the left garden, which chester gathered. but ironton beat the ball to the plate for the third tally.
“he’s gone!” came a voice from the grand stand that frank recognized for that of colonel carson. “knock him out of the lot! he’s gone!”
“i’ll show you something, you old scoundrel!” muttered chip angrily, as olcott pounded the rubber and begged for a good one.
he seemed unable to fulfill his prediction, however, for olcott bunted the first ball to harker,[291] the shortstop made a poor throw to first, and olcott was safe. johnson came up, but ended the inning by popping a foul, that billy mac neatly garnered.
“four to one,” said lowe, with a groan, as they came in. “we’re done!”
“we’re not,” said clancy warmly. “chip hasn’t begun to pitch yet.”
merry smiled faintly, and stared aghast as green again put over nine pitched balls and retired fardale. the man seemed made of iron!
in the first half of the seventh it seemed that only luck saved fardale. chester dropped craven’s fly, and merrell let the ball hit him. runge fanned, and ironton came up with second and third filled, and one out. he knocked a hot one to villum, who promptly dropped it; while every one yelled at him, the dutch lad stared at the runners in astonishment.
then he picked up the ball and slammed it to third, catching merrell, and lowe snapped it to billy for a double play that retired the clippers.
“get a hit, clan,” said merry quietly. “green’s weakening.”
clancy brightened up perceptibly, and though green showed no sign of weakening, clancy was hit by the ball, and went to first. merry came up, made a quick guess that green would give him an in, and swung with all his strength. he hit the ball on the nose.
[292]
“wow!”
a shrill yell went up from every fan as the ball sailed out, cleared the fence, and was no more seen. as merry jogged in from third he grinned.
“all luck, green,” he cried.
frank had netted two runs with that homer, but the eighth opened with the score four to three in favor of the clippers, and craven at bat. he grounded out to clancy, merrell fanned, and runge flied to lowe. green again fanned three men, leaving kess up, and the ninth inning was on.
“all right, billy,” said chip quietly. “every ball a jump.”
“hurray!” yelled billy, in delight. “nine balls, merry!”
ironton was up. merry put the first ball down to him right in the groove, and he swung viciously at it. the ball seemed to leap over his bat into billy’s glove.
“hey!” cried ironton, amazed. “what’s the matter with that ball?”
“take another look,” said chip, with a grin.
again he sent it squarely over the plate, and again ironton failed utterly to find it. the third ball looked even better, and with wondering desperation ironton brought around his bat.
“out!”
“what kind of a ball is that?” demanded ironton savagely.
[293]
“plain straight ball,” chuckled billy. “couldn’t you see it?”
the grand stand began to appreciate a change in merriwell’s pitching as johnson came into the box and proceeded to strike out also.
“he’s using a new ball!” yelled the traveling man who had recognized green-diggs.
“look at johnson swing!” shrieked another fan excitedly. “where’d he get that ball? what is it?”
johnson watched the third one come, and tried helplessly to find it. he was motioned out, and flung his bat away heatedly.
“there’s some crooked work here!” he cried.
“and it smells like southpaw diggs,” chirped clancy, as green came out swinging two bats. he flung one away and stepped into the box.
the fardale fans began to pluck up hope. they roared out hoarse entreaties to fight it out, and as he glanced at the grand stand merry saw colonel gunn standing up and excitedly waving his hat, dignity utterly forgotten, while randall clutched him around the neck and yelled like a crazy man.
“here’s a nice straight one for you, green,” said chip.
green evidently believed him, for he swung at the ball wickedly. but the sphere took a queer upward jump into billy’s mitt, and green stepped back with a single gasp of amazement.
[294]
“what you got on that ball?” he queried wonderingly.
smiling, merry sent down another, square in the groove. this time green stood back and watched it, then grinned.
“let her come!” he cried, and chip knew that he had solved the jump.
with that, he sent down a straight ball. green grinned again, struck a foot above it—and was out!
but the clippers were still one run to the good.
