“Hold ’em this inning, Tom, and we’ve got ’em. Our best batters will be up next time and we’ll get a run or two as sure as shooting! Just take your time and don’t get flustered, old man. And follow the signals.” Lynton’s head of the list faced him now and Tom knew that he would prove no such easy victim as the two last hitters. Walter, confident and cheerful of voice, stooped behind the swinging bat. “All right now, fellows. First man! Make it be good, Tom!” Tom followed the signals that Walter gave him, sometimes doubting the catcher’s wisdom, but always doing his best to send what was asked for. The Lynton batsman, however, was canny and experienced and two balls were called before he offered at anything. Then it was a deceptive out-shoot that went by at the height of his shoulder and he missed it. But after that Tom couldn’t find the plate and the batsman trotted smiling to first. Tom made one attempt to catch him off the bag, but throwing to first is something that requires much practice and Tom had never tried to before. The result was that he neglected to step out of the box, there were frantic and eager cries from the opponents, and the umpire waved the runner to second. Tom had made a balk. After that, only dimly comprehending in what way he had offended against the rules, he refrained from paying any attention to the runners on bases. The second batter fell a victim to a high, straight ball, which went up from his bat and landed in shortstop’s eager hands. The third man proved a harder proposition, for he knocked innumerable fouls all over the place, after Tom had wasted two balls on him, and refused to have his fate settled. Eventually, however, he rolled a slow one toward third and was out at first. His sacrifice, though, had put the first runner on the last sack and Lynton in the stand chanted lustily in an endeavour to rattle the Blues’ battery. But Walter worked carefully and Tom, following instructions, launched a low ball that was called a strike, a high one, outside, that went as a ball, an out-shoot that found the batsman napping and went as a second strike, and a straight, fast one that cut the plate squarely in the centre, but was several inches too low. Then, with the score two and two, a low ball met the tip of the bat and went up and out into right field and straight down into the fielder’s hands, and another inning had passed into history and the score was still 4 to 4. Then Buster grabbed a bat and faced the Lynton hurler. The first delivery was a strike. Then came two balls, followed by a foul tip that smashed against the back-stop and made the second strike. The next offer looked good from the bench, but Buster disdained it, and when it crossed the plate it was so low that the umpire called it a ball. It was up to the pitcher then to put one across, and he did so. Or, rather, it would have gone across if Buster had not swung easily and sent it singing over pitcher’s head and into short centre for a base.