Frank settled himself firmly on the ground, just as Bart was ready to start down to ask what was the matter. Then he sent over a high, straight one that would have been a ball had the batter let it alone. But the batter hit it. The man with the stick happened to be Hanson, the heavy hitter of the Stars, and he tapped the ball a terrible crack. Away sailed the sphere, going out on a line over the infield, and Hanson’s legs took him flying down to first. Both Swiftwing and Gamp went after the ball, but Frank saw at once that neither of them could catch it. Swiftwing was a great runner, and he sped to cut the ball off after it struck the ground. Hanson crossed first and tore along to second, urged by the roaring crowd. Bart Hodge groaned as he saw the ball strike the ground and go bounding away into left field, with Swiftwing tearing after it. “Home run! home run!” yelled the spectators, while one of the home team raced down to third, to be on hand there and send Hanson home as he came along. Away out in the far extreme of left field Swiftwing finally ran down the ball. But Hanson was almost to third, and the spectators in the grand stand and on the bleachers were certain he could reach home before the ball could be sent in. “Come home! come home!” they screamed. Hanson crossed third, and the coacher sent him right along. In the meantime Swiftwing had picked up the ball and given it a quick snap to Gamp, the long New Hampshire youth, who was within two rods of him. Joe turned with the ball in his hand, and saw Hanson crossing third. Then Joe set his teeth and swung back the hand that held the ball. The crowd expected he would throw to Rattleton, on second. At first it seemed that he had thrown to second, but had failed to get the range correctly. Then it was seen that Gamp had tried the seemingly impossible task of throwing to the plate to cut the runner off. “Run, Hanson--run!” shouted the spectators. Hanson was doing his best to beat the ball to the plate, but that ball came on with amazing speed. It was almost a “line throw” from the far outfield, and the crowd was amazed by the manner in which the ball hung up in the air instead of dropping to the ground. It showed what wonderful force had been put into the throw. Hodge settled himself in position to take the ball, and suddenly, as Hanson neared the plate, the coachers shrieked for him to slide. Hanson slid headlong, but Bart caught the ball and “bored” it into his back, actually pinning him to the ground while his hand was yet a foot from the plate. He tried to squirm forward and reach the plate, but the voice of the umpire called: “Out!” A hush fell on the witnesses of this amazing piece of work. Only a moment before they had been roaring loudly, but, of a sudden, they were silent. Then somebody with a hoarse voice roared: “Well, what do you think of that for a throw! Talk about a wing--that fellow’s got it!”