Church walked over to the pitcher’s box and La Joy and Brest joined them where they held a consultation at which it was decided to walk Hans. This was a natural thing to do, as Hal who was up next, while a good batter, was not so sure to get it safe. Hans knew what they were up to and the Jefferson boys knew he knew it. So he stood there at the plate, more or less resigned to his fate, acting as though it wasn’t any use even to watch the balls as they were pitched. At the same time he was standing a little nearer the plate than he usually did although Mellen didn’t notice this. Hans let three go by and they were about as wide of the plate as three balls could be. Hans hadn’t moved. When Mellen started to pitch the fourth ball Hans’ bat was swinging in his left hand. The ball came on high and wide and apparently Hans was going to take his base but as the ball approached he took one step forward, swung his bat up and out and met the ball on the nose. When Mellen heard the crack of the bat his arms dropped to his sides and he didn’t even turn to look where the ball went. He knew that ball wasn’t meant to be caught by any fielder within the grounds. As it went over Twitchell’s head that fellow also knew it would do no good for him to give chase and as for the rest of the Jefferson team, all of them except Church and La Joy stood still with mouths open and watched the ball go sailing clean over the right-field bleachers into the runway which leads from the ticket offices into the grand stand, and if they could have followed it after that they would have seen it bounce beyond the turnstile and clear out onto the elevated tracks, where it dropped through to the street. The aforesaid Church and La Joy merely took off their caps, threw them into the dust and stamped on them. Then they picked them up, brushed them off and put them back on their heads. [Illustration: “He took one step forward, swung his bat up and out and met the ball on the nose.”] Meanwhile Talkington, Robb and Hagner had touched the plate and were trying to get through the crowd of Lowell rooters who had surrounded them and the other members of the team. It was nothing but shoulders for the boys after that. Up they went surrounded by thousands for a parade around the park. “Where’s Hal? He saved it!” shouted the crowd, and then, “Where’s Hans? He won it,” and after they had borne these two to the head of the procession, though no one could tell how it was possible, they carried them round the field a dozen times to the music of Lowell songs and yells, to finally land them at the Club House door where they left them to bathe and dress, after giving them to understand they were expected to attend the Lowell banquet at the Waldorf at eight.