"I'm afraid you won't get away from first, Pop," said Dayguild, winking at Williamson in a tantalizing manner. "Oh, there's lots of time," returned the runner, calmly. Cogern followed Putbury. He fanned twice, and then he cracked out a daisy cutter that looked like a safe hit, for it got past the pitcher and was going directly over second, with Smithers, the baseman, playing away off. But Smithers was a little fellow who could cover ground wonderfully. How he ever reached second as soon as the ball and gathered it in was a marvel, but he did the trick with an ease that brought an exclamation of admiration from Merriwell. As he picked the ball off the ground Smithers touched second and put Williamson out. Then he whirled like a cat and sent the ball whistling to first. Rockland's first baseman smothered it with ease before Cogern could get much more than halfway down the line, and a double play had been made, which retired Camden with a whitewash as a starter. What a wild howl of satisfaction went up from the throats of the Rockland rooters! How they hammered on the railing and yelled! Their satisfaction was unlimited, for they had not dreamed there could be such a happy termination of the Camden's half of the first inning. "Sorry for you, Pop," grinned Dayguild. "It's a good thing for you there was a man like Smithers on second," returned Williamson. "It was a clean case of luck." At this Dayguild laughed derisively, walking in to the bench. Camden took the field. Woods stripped off his sweater and went into the box. He was a clean, fine-looking fellow in his suit. He had warmed up a little, and now he tossed a few to Williamson, who was on first. Smithers, the captain of the Rocklands, was the first man to go to the plate. He was known to be a most remarkable little hitter, without a weak point that any pitcher had been able to discover. Woods looked Smithers over, and then sent in a swift one that the little man let pass. The umpire called a ball. "Whew!" exclaimed Diamond. "That's what I call speed." "You don'd peen aple to seen dot pall ad all, eh?" cried Hans. "Merry," said Bart, "Woods is the first fellow I ever saw who reminded me of you in the box." Smithers went after the next ball, but fouled it over the fence, and a new ball was put into play. Again and again he fouled. "You are finding him," cried the Rockland rooters. At last Smithers hit it fairly on the trade mark, and sent it out into right field for a single. The Rockland crowd was delighted. "Why, Woods is easy!" they roared. Woods was not ruffled in the least. When the ball was thrown in, he entered the box with it immediately, and then suddenly snapped his left foot out and shot the ball over to first. Smithers saved himself by a hair's breadth. It was a close decision on the part of the umpire. "Did you get onto that motion with his foot?" came eagerly from Hodge. "It's Merriwell exactly! Why, the fellow appears more and more like you, Frank!"