Wiley went through the second inning unharmed, although, with two down, Colby landed on the horsehide for two sacks. Coming next, Gates bit at a slow one and lifted a foul to the third baseman. "Now give me my faithful bludgeon," cried the Marine Marvel, making for the bats. "Watch me start something! I'm going to lacerate the feelings of this man Lefty. I hate to do it, but I hear the clarion call of duty." Locke decided to strike Wiley out. Wiley picked out a smoking shoot, and banged it on a line for one sack. "Nice tidy little bingle, wasn't it, mate?" he cried. "I fancied mayhap Dame Rumor had slandered you, but alas! I fear me you are easy for a real batter with an eye." Nuccio was up again, and he also hit safely, Wiley going to third on the drive. Locke's teeth clicked together. Was it possible that real batters could find him with such ease? If so, the Big League would see him no more; he would not return to it. If so, his days as a pitcher were surely ended. For a moment Bailey Weegman's grinning face again rose vaguely before him. "I must know!" he muttered. "I must settle these infernal doubts that are torturing me." CHAPTER X THE ONLY DOOR Luther Bemis blundered. He had been given the signal to let Nuccio steal, but he hit at the ball and raised a foul to Colby, who stepped back upon first and completed a double play unassisted, the Italian having made a break for second. Nuccio was disgusted, and Cap'n Wiley made a few remarks to Bemis that caused the lengthy center fielder to retire to the bench in confusion. "There has been a sudden addition to the bone crop," concluded the vexed manager of the Wind Jammers. "Beamy, in order to avoid getting your dates mixed, you should carry a telescope and take an occasional survey of the earth's surface." "Niver mind, cap'n," called O'Reilley. "I'll put ye across whin I hit." With a twinge of apprehension, Locke sought to trick the confident Irishman into biting at a curve. And, even as he pitched, he was annoyed with himself because apprehension prevented him from bending the ball over. O'Reilley stubbornly declined to bite. There was a sudden chorus of warning shouts as Sommers returned the ball, and the pitcher was surprised to see Cap'n Wiley running for the registry station. The foxy old veteran was actually trying to steal home on the Big League pitcher. Laughing, Lefty waited for the ball, aware that Sommers was leaping into position to nail the runner. Without undue haste, yet without wasting a second, the slabman snapped the sphere back to the eager hands of the catcher, who poked it into the sliding man's ribs. Wiley was out by four feet, at least. "Why didn't you wait for O'Reilley to hit?" Locke asked. "I wanted to spare your already tattered nerves," was the instant answer. "You see, sympathy may be found elsewhere than in the dictionary."