“What did you say?” asked Doris. “My goodness! You haven’t opened your lips since the game began! And you don’t even seem to know we’re here! What’s the matter with you?” “Nothing,” answered the girl questioned. But both her companions could see that there was something the matter. In the third inning Dick led off with a clean hit. Black sacrificed him to second. Bradley tried hard to line the ball out, but finally fanned. Ware was of the opinion that Dave Flint was dangerous, and in trying to fool the boy with the scar he finally gave Flint a pass to first. Again Darrell came up. Doris Templeton caught her breath. “Hit it, Hal!” she murmured. “Oh, he won’t get a hit!” declared Bessie Dale. “He’s a nice fellow, but he can’t hit Jack Ware.” Hal slashed at the ball in a reckless manner without seeming to use judgment. He missed the first three pitched and was out in such short order that every one was surprised for a moment. Flint and Merriwell had been left on the bases. “That’s the time you handed ’em hot, Jack, old man!” cried Roberts. The home team once more started with the head of the batting order. Crockett refused to be fooled as he had been in the first inning, and finally caught a good one on the end of his bat, lifting it over the infield. Tubbs ran back for it, but caught his heel and fell down just as the ball would have struck his hands. Crockett crossed first and saw Obediah wildly pawing around in the grass at his feet in search of the ball. Immediately the runner turned and scudded toward second. Obed had one eye rolled up toward first, and, as soon as Crockett was well down toward second, which had been covered by Darrell, the fat boy picked up the ball and gave it a snap toward the base without rising to his feet. Crockett was trapped and would have been in a bad place, but the ball struck on the end of Hal’s fingers and bounded off. The runner laughed with derisive relief as he reached the bag. “Why didn’t you take your time, Tubbs?” demanded Darrell. “You had an hour. You snapped that ball so quick I wasn’t ready for the throw.” Not a word did Obediah retort, but the look on his face expressed a great deal. Dustan now came up and attempted to sacrifice Crockett to third. In trying to do this the batter made a little slow bunt that rolled along the first base line. Singleton ran in for the ball, but fancied it would roll foul and paused, letting Dustan go to first. The ball struck a slight rise and rolled over the chalk mark into the diamond, where it finally stopped. It was a fair hit. “Well! well! well!” laughed Roberts. “We’re doing it this time!” “Talk about ’orseshoes!” exclaimed Billy Bradley. “You must ’ave your pockets full!” “Pitch the ball! pitch the ball!” cried Roberts, who had observed the rising cloud and feared the shower would break before five innings had been played. “Make him pitch the ball, Mr. Umpire!”