[Illustration: “He comes down to earth.”] And so it goes, through nine whole awfully short innings always. Time flies so quickly at a ball game. It’s over before you want it to be. Our side wins! You go home happy. Our boys lose? Well, better luck to-morrow. In the second half of the seventh inning of the game with Chadwick, this Lowell team just had to get at least three runs, so Hughie told the boys and he would be obliged if they would get a half dozen. Everson was the first man up and he got an infield hit to short which he beat by inches. Then the Lowell boys on the bench commenced to get busy, for they had sensed the “break.” There comes a time in almost every game of ball, which has become known as the “break,” when the game can be won for one team or the other. There is no definite period of the game when this occurs, but the players seem to sense it. Let a batter get to first and if you see the players on the bench commence to reach for their bats, swing them a few times, laugh, get excited and dance up and down like boys with a new toy, you will know that the “break” has come then, and that the game will be won or lost right there. So it was at this point in the game with Chadwick. Delvin was the next man up. He got a single to right field. Next came Hans. He hit a grounder over second base which couldn’t be stopped and the bases were full. Ty came up with his little black bat and hit the ball over third base for a two bagger and Everson and Delvin raced home for runs. Hans got to third and Ty reached second. Tris knocked the ball to shortstop, who was nervous by this time and made an error. Hans got home and Robb reached third while Tris was on first. One more run. The Larke hurried to the plate and after fouling off a couple, hit one fair and square and the ball made a high flight straight for the left field fence, and went over. A home run, and Robb and Tris scored ahead of him. The “break” was over, the opposing players settled down. The pitcher steadied himself, recovered his nerves, and the next three men went out in order. The rest of the game went along without any further excitement. The “break” in the seventh inning was the meat of the whole game. Parker and Hal went through the inning like all the rest. It got so exciting for Hal that he forgot all about Parker and when he did remember him he saw that Parker had forgotten him. Parker was standing up on his seat with all the rest of them, bareheaded, for his hat had been discarded many minutes before. His hair was disheveled, his coat was in his left hand and he was whirling it above Hal’s head while with his other hand he was slapping his neighbor on the right violently on the back with a newspaper, while that party was hugging the fellow in front of him. “I see you have joined the ranks of the lunatics, you told me about the other day,” said Hal.