It looked as if he was not going to do it, for he passed Sam Soden to first, and duplicated the trick for Charley Simonson and with two men on bases, not a man down, and Tom as nervous as a cat, it began to look dubious for Randall. The crowd was on edge. So was Tom, with two lively runners on the first and second bags to watch. Several times he threw to first, hoping to catch Simonson napping, but it was not to be. Suddenly Pete Backus, who was holding down second base, threw up his hand to shield his eyes, and Tom saw a dazzling streak of light flash across from the grand stand. "What's the matter, Pete?" asked the pitcher. "Some girl up there must have bright buttons on, or a hat pin made of diamonds, for they're flashing in my eyes," complained Pete. Then the flash vanished and Tom was about to pitch a ball for Ed Felton, who was up, when, as he gave a comprehensive look at first and second, he again saw the dazzling gleam in Pete's eyes. "We'll have to stop that!" exclaimed the captain. "I'll ask Kerr or Mr. Leighton to speak to whoever's wearing such bright adornments." "Funny it should hit me in the eyes all the while," complained Pete, changing his position, but the beam of light followed him. "Some one's doing that on purpose," declared Tom, and he fairly ran toward the grand stand. But before he got there he saw something happening. The beam of light came from that section of the stand near where Tom had noticed Langridge and Miss Harrison sitting. Then, as he raced on, he also remembered that Sid sat there too. A terrible thought came to him. Could Sid be trying to disconcert the player who was taking his place, by flashing a mirror in his eyes? "Of course he wouldn't do such a dirty trick!" said Tom to himself, a moment after he had entertained the thought. The captain reached the stand, in company with Dutch, who had run back in response to the pitcher's motion, in time to see Sid leap to his feet, reach forward toward Langridge, who sat in front of him, while the deposed second baseman exclaimed: "You mean sneak!" "What's the matter?" asked Langridge coolly, as he turned an insolent stare on Sid. "Mad because I'm with Miss Harrison?" "No, you cur! But I see what you're doing! Hand over that mirror!" and before Langridge could protest Sid had yanked him backward, partly over the seat, and had grasped the right hand of the former Randall student--a hand containing a small, circular mirror. "You were flashing that in the eyes of our second baseman, you sneak!" cried Sid hotly. "I was watching you! You held it down, where you thought no one would see. You ought to be kicked off the stand!" "I did not!" declared Langridge brazenly, yet there was fear in his manner, and the mirror was mute evidence. "I was just going to hand it to Miss Harrison," he went on. "To let her see if her hat----" The girl turned her blue eyes on him, and shrank away from the notice attracted to her escort. Langridge did not complete his lie.