“Well, are they going to let this fellow hold them down and break their streak?” wheezed Gowan angrily. “I have money bet on this game. Wake them up and get them into it. They’ve got to win!” Mike Grafter laughed. “No use to squirm, Gowan, my boy,” he said. “We’ve got you.” “If they lose this game, McGann,” said Gowan, “I lose a thousand dollars.” “That’s not all we lose,” said McGann. “I have a contract with Merriwell by which the winners take all the gate money.” “What?” gasped Gowan. “That’s right. He sort of forced me into it. Refused every other offer I made.” “Oh, no!” exclaimed Wallace Grafter. “You forget that I was present, Mr. McGann, when the arrangement was made.” “Well, he refused every reasonable offer.” “Not at all. He was willing to play with the understanding that the winners should have two-thirds and the losers one-third. He even offered to split the receipts even.” “Well, was that reasonable?” snapped McGann. “Here we have the reputation, and a youngster like him wants to split even with us.” “It might have been better for you than the arrangement you made. If you do not get a dollar, you’ll have no one but yourself to blame.” “They must win!” growled McGann. He left the bleachers and hurried to the bench, where he waited to speak with Captain Hurley. In the first half of the seventh the Merries fell on the ball hard, three men making long drives to the outfield, but the fielders were able to catch each one, and so there was no danger of more scores for Frank. “We must do something, Hurley!” exclaimed McGann, as the captain of the Outcasts reached the bench. “If we lose this game, all the gate money goes to those chaps.” “How is that?” McGann explained. “That’s bad,” admitted Hurley. “We’ve been doing everything in our power. The boys can’t bear the thought of being beaten by those chaps, but we can’t seem to hit Merriwell. That new curve of his is a puzzler.” McGann implored Hurley to do something, but again he was assured that everything possible was being done. However, there was some excitement in that inning. The Outcasts had found they could hit Merry safely only by bunting. Marcey, however, was an easy out at first. Bimm followed with a bunt that rolled foul, then struck a pebble and rolled fair again. Merry got it and snapped it to Browning, who muffed it. Bimm crossed first in safety. The Outcasts began to whoop things up. They had many sympathizers in the crowd, and a great uproar arose. Hurley followed with a bunt that landed Bimm on second. The captain of the Outcasts was thrown out at first. Swatt longed to “lace” the ball, but Hurley was positive in his signal for a bunt and he obeyed. The bunt was sent down the line toward third. Bimm raced for third as he saw Ready come off for the ball. Morgan covered the sack and Ready snapped the ball to him, instead of throwing to first. In his haste, Jack made a bad throw, and Morgan barely touched it with his fingers.