It was a fact that Chester had bet on Rivermouth. He made no effort to hide his belief that the visitors would win. The game began promptly on time, with Rivermouth at the bat. The first man started off in a manner to delight the visitors, for he drove out a single with perfect ease. Buckhart shook his head a little and pounded his fist into the hole in his big mitt. Still Merriwell continued to pitch with his left hand, and the next batter, in an effort to sacrifice the base runner to second, rolled the ball into Dick’s hands. Scooping it up quickly, Dick snapped it to Gardner, who covered the bag for Tubbs. Earl whistled it up to Singleton, and the handsome double play set the cadets into a roar. “Dern my picter!” squeaked Obediah Tubbs. “That was too easy!” The third batter tried hard for a hit. He simply lifted an infield fly that was easily captured, and Rivermouth was quickly retired in this manner without accomplishing anything, for all of her propitious start. The visitors had a new pitcher, a long, lank, green-looking freshman, whose movements were very awkward, but who soon revealed the fact that he had an exasperatingly hard ball to hit safely. He was not a “strike-out” pitcher. He was one of the kind who kept batters popping up little flies or knocking easy grounders into the diamond. Gardner and Black were both thrown out at first, and Flint reached the bag only through an error by shortstop. Bradley tried hard for a single, but popped a little fly into the lank pitcher’s hands. The second inning was a fast one, for once more only one cadet reached first, and there he “died.” “They can’t do anything with you!” yelled a Rivermouth rooter. “They are up against it to-day! You will make monkeys of them, the same as you did the Great Northern chaps.” Three innings passed without a score. In the fourth Rivermouth got a runner to third; but two men were out, and, with three balls and no strikes called against him, Dick braced wonderfully, putting two straight ones over the plate and then fanning the batter with a drop. This seemed to revive the confidence of the home team somewhat, and Jolliby started off with a hit in Fardale’s half. On Singleton’s out at first Chip reached second. Tubbs bunted and came near beating the ball to first. Although he was thrown out by a narrow margin, Jolliby was landed on third. Buckhart tried his best for a hit, but drove the ball along the ground at Armstrong. The pitcher snapped it up, whirled toward third, and held Chip close to that bag, after which he turned and threw to first. The throw was a trifle wide, and it bounded out of the baseman’s mitt. By the time the ball was picked up Buckhart had crossed the bag. “Well! well! well!” roared the cadets in great relief. “Up!” shouted the leader of the cheering, with an upward motion of both arms. “All up for Merriwell!” Every boy in blue rose to his feet as Dick advanced to the plate, bat in hand.