Rider, the Browns’ third sack artist, waited out two offerings and then slammed the next down the base line to Billy White. Billy was having a bad day, and, although he knocked the ball down, he couldn’t heave it to Jim in time to get his man, and another black mark was set against Billy’s fair fame. This poor beginning was speedily remedied, though, when the Toonalta right fielder hit to Despaigne, and Vic, performing one of his circus stunts, grabbed the ball as it bounded past him well to the right and tossed it to Wayne as the latter sped to the bag. Still going, Wayne half turned and chucked underhand to Jim, completing as pretty a double play as one would wish to see. Medfield voiced delight and approval and relief very loudly and very long while Ellis walked to the plate and faced Chase, grimly determined to get a hit. But Chase knew his opponent’s weakness and toyed with him until the score stood two strikes and one ball. Then, however, Ellis managed to connect with the next delivery and send it high into the air behind first base. For a long moment it looked safe, but Wayne got under it after a hard run and squeezed it. For the Chenangos, Colton flied out to shortstop, Billy White hit to second and was out on a close decision that brought a howl of protest from the blue nine’s supporters and Hoffman made his first--and last--hit, a bounder over shortstop’s head. Wayne went up with the encouraging applause of the Medfield supporters in his ears and faced Ellis calmly. He had been twice up and had two hits to his credit, and he meant to keep his score perfect. But he was reckoning without Fate, for after Ellis had pitched a wide one on the supposition that Hoffman would steal on the first ball, and then had sneaked a low strike across--low ones constituted Wayne’s batting weakness, and he knew the fact and meant to profit by the knowledge--the hit-and-run signal came, Wayne swung at a high one on the inside, missed it and watched the ball hurtle down to shortstop and saw Gas put out at second. Wayne disappointedly tossed his bat to June and went back to the field. Toonalta started the seventh with the head of her batting-list up. This was Brook, her centre fielder, a player with some reputation for getting to first and for moving along afterward. So far, though, he had not lived up to that reputation, since in three times at the plate he had reached the initial sack but one, that being when Chase had passed him in the nerve-racking fourth. He was due now, as it proved, to sweeten his average, and at the expense of Billy White, for when he swung at Chase’s second delivery and slammed it straight at Billy the latter made his second error of the game. The ball went through him, and had Brook taken advantage of his chance he might easily have reached second. As it was, though, he hesitated at first and Collins, who had come in fast on the ball, pegged promptly to Wayne and Brook was forced to scuttle back to safety.