It should be borne in mind, however, that the rule is not compulsory, for if it were so, a captain desirous of substituting another player for one in the field, after he had availed himself of the tenth man rule, might conspire with a player to violate the rule intentionally to aid the captain in getting in an extra man. ON CALLED STRIKES. In the case of a called third strike when two men are out, Rule 43, Section VI., requires the ball to be held on the fly whether first base be occupied or not, in order to put the batsman out. But in the case of the first base being occupied by a base runner, when only one man is out, when the third strike is called, in such case the batsman is out on called strikes, whether the ball on the third called strike is held on the fly or not. The batsman is out too,--under the new rule--if, _when the thud strike is called, the pitched ball hits him or touches his clothing_. ON FORFEITED GAMES. The Joint Rules Committee have decided that an umpire cannot declare any game forfeited of his own motion, though in Rule 26 it states that forfeited games are incurred under several conditions, one of which definitely states is the wilful violation of any one rule of the code. But he can declare a game forfeited under any one of the specified conditions in Rule 26 if requested to do so by the captain of the club at fault. Section IV of Rule 26 gives the umpire the discretionary power to declare any game forfeited in which he is personally cognizant of the fact of any single rule having been wilfully violated, the offending team forfeiting the game then and there. But only in very rare cases should this power be used in opposition to the wishes of the captain of the team not in fault. When the rules have been plainly violated and the captain of the team not in fault claims forfeit, the umpire must enforce the penalty. THE UMPIRE'S POWER. Under Section II of Rule 52 the umpire _is invested with the authority to order any player to do, or to omit to do, any act, as he may deem it necessary_, to give force or effect to any or all of the provisions of the code of playing rules. This gives him the authority to decide all disputed points in a game not expressly covered by the rules, subject, of course, to legal protest. JUDGING THE CONDITION OF THE FIELD. Rule 29 gives the captain of the home club the sole power to decide whether the field is in condition for play at the hour appointed for beginning a game. But after a game has been commenced, and it be interrupted by rain, the umpire alone decides whether the field is in fair condition for resuming play after such suspension of the game. THE UMPIRE SOLE JUDGE OF ILLNESS OR INJURY. Rule 28 makes the umpire the sole judge as to the nature and extent of the "illness or injury" claimed to disable a player from service on the field. The captains have nothing to say in the matter. All they can do is to appeal to the umpire, and abide by his decision. GAMES STOPPED BY RAIN.