To Hal, Gregory and Sandow, it seemed to be one of those straight, swift balls, and a grin suffused the batter's face as he prepared to meet it. But though he swung viciously, just as the ball was in front of the plate, it jumped, and the bat missed it. "Good boy! Great work!" shouted several of the onlookers, while Hal called "Strike one!" and Sandow rapped the plate disgustedly with the bat, bracing himself for the next ball. Again Bronson served him the same sort, and again Sandow missed. "Strike him out! Strike him out!" shouted the crowd. "Shall I?" asked the boy, turning to Hal. "If you can." Once more Bronson worked his fingers and released the ball. But this time it took a sudden drop, and Sandow's bat went over it. "Three strikes!" cried Hal. "Fluke! Fluke! Sandow hasn't got his eye back! Bet he can't do it again," shouted Taffy. But Bronson proved it was no fluke, and that he had remarkable control, by not only striking out Sandow again, but two of the next best batsmen, including Hal himself. Satisfied that the Baxter High School had, indeed, received a valuable acquisition, Hal told Bronson to take good care of his arm, and after a short workout with the rest of the candidates, announced the practice over. To Bart, the ability of Bronson was a bitter blow, but, worst of all, as the season wore on, he found that the boys did not even mention his desertion of the nine. At last, fearing he would lose his followers in school entirely, he went to Hal and pleaded to be allowed to play. But the captain was obdurate. Finally, however, as a matter of precaution in case anything happened to Bronson, he agreed to let Bart practice in secret. Fred, having the natural qualifications of a second baseman, had no difficulty in beating out the other candidates for the position, and he and Bronson worked out a secret code of signals to assist the pitcher when men were on bases. CHAPTER XVIII ON THE DIAMOND As it was Baxter's turn to play the first of the championship games at Landon, when the day arrived it was none too sanguine a band of students that accompanied the nine. The Landon team was composed of unusually hard hitters, and the fact that they were to play on their home grounds gave them an advantage that only Bronson's ability to puzzle the batsmen could overcome. Indeed, Baxter practically conceded the first game to their rivals, pinning their hope for the championship to the return game at Baxter, and to the third game, which the headmasters of the two schools had agreed should be played on neutral ground in the town of Winthrop. When the Baxter contingent, with banners flying, descended from the train at Landon, they found the entire school and many of the ball-loving townspeople on hand. And but one desire did they have--to get a glimpse of Baxter's pitching find.