Then followed an exhibition of umpiring such as no one present had ever witnessed before. Frank was all over the diamond, and he always seemed on exactly the best spot to see any play to advantage. How he covered so much ground was a mystery, but he did it without seeming to exert himself remarkably, and he kept the game hustling from the very start. Newport scored twice in their half of the first inning, and were prevented from making a third tally by a beautiful throw from deep left to the plate. Then Newport went into the field. They filled the box with Burton, of Corinna, a Colby man, and a puzzling “south-paw” pitcher. Burton’s greatest fault was his slow delivery, but, being in good form, he more than made up for it by his tricks in “working the batter.” Newport had not beaten the Institute team in two years, and the M. C. I.’s fancied they had a snap. They had been against Burton before, and hit him pretty hard, and they believed they could do it again. But Burton, who was a determined chap, with a bulldog disposition to never give up, was there to redeem himself that day. He proceeded to strike out the first two men with great ease, and then he caused the third man to pop up a light fly that he gathered himself without getting out of his tracks. The Institute boys laughed at this. “We’ll fall on him and hammer him out of the box the next inning,” they said. But they did not, for neither side scored in the following inning. There were, however, three close plays, one at second, one at third, and one at the home plate. Frank Merriwell was on hand to witness every play from the most advantageous point and his decisions could not be disputed with reason. Both players and spectators began to see that the umpiring was making it a remarkably lively and interesting game at the very start off. In the fourth inning the M. C. I. team tied the score, and in the fifth it took a lead of three. Newport had not been able to score thus far after the first, and the Institute lads declared it was “all over but the shouting.” That did not disturb Burton, who continued to work in the same cool, deliberate manner. In the seventh inning Newport got a tally, but M. C. I. made two more, giving them a lead of four. In the eighth Newport cut it down by two in their half, and then Burton “pitched for his life.” In vain the Institute lads tried to get a safe hit off him. One man fanned and the others were “killed at first.” As both of these decisions were close, a M. C. I. player started a vigorous kick on the last one, but Frank, who had made every ruling promptly and firmly, quickly closed the kicker up. Then came the “fatal ninth.” Newport needed two to tie and three to win. If they made three and white-washed their opponents the game was theirs.