“The varmint ought to be hanged!” snarled the Texan. “A rope and a limb is what’s coming to him.” Bradley finally cracked out a clean single and easily took first. Then Buckhart walked to the plate and slammed the ball fairly against centre-field fence. It rebounded and was lost in some grass near the fence. Nevertheless, Mole lost no time in searching for it. In the midst of a tuft of grass he found a ball snugly hidden, and this he sent back into the diamond. Ted Smart was on the coaching line near third, and his signal sent Bradley across that bag and onward to the plate. Mole’s throw to Dillard was swift and accurate. Dillard wheeled and lined the ball to Garvin, who tagged Bradley the moment before Billy reached the plate. Buckhart had crossed second, and he made an attempt to reach third on Dillard’s throw to Garvin. The catcher snapped the ball over to Lumley, who tagged Brad as he was sliding, and in this manner two men were put out, which retired the islanders. In fact, neither Bradley nor Buckhart had been legally put out, for the ball returned by Mole was not the one batted to the fence by the Texan. Dick suspected this, but was not sure of it. By this time Bart Hodge, who had thus far restrained himself with difficulty, was thoroughly aroused. His fighting blood was up, and he longed to get into the game himself. “This doesn’t seem much like old Maplewood,” he muttered. “In the old days this was the cleanest town in the league. Frank will hardly believe it when I write him about this game.” Bold went into the box for Fairhaven, and immediately the hoodlums began to yell at him. They piled on the insults thicker and thicker, but he seemed entirely unaware of their howling. At intervals he had felt a slight catch in his shoulder, but he fancied this might work out as the game progressed. Mole was a good waiter, and in the end he secured a pass to first, as Bold could not seem to locate the plate. Hunston followed, and he bunted the second ball pitched, rolling it slowly down just inside the third-base line. As Bradley came leaping in to handle this bunt, he was confused to see two balls rolling slowly along within a foot of each other. Some one on the opposite side of the home plate had tossed out another ball, which thus rolled into the diamond beside the one hit. Bradley caught up the wrong ball and snapped it to Singleton. Had it been the right ball Hunston should have been declared out, for it reached big Bob’s hands before the runner touched first. Then arose an argument over which ball was in play, and the umpire confessed that he did not know. For this very reason he refused to declare Hunston out. Bart Hodge seemed inclined to seek the fellow who had thrown the ball out onto the diamond, but Jack Cole advised him against it. “Better keep still,” said Cole. “That gang will all jump any one who starts trouble to-day.”