y the growing
repute of the Hill club, had condescended to arrange a game. When that
game was scheduled for July Fourth Daddy Howarth set to driving his
men. Early and late he had them out. This manager, in keeping with all
other famous managers, believed that batting was the thing which won
games. He developed a hard-hitting team. He kept everlastingly at
them to hit and run, hit and run.

On the Saturday before the Fourth, Madden's Hill had a game to play
that did not worry Daddy and he left his team in charge of the captain.

"Fellers, I'm goin' down to the Round House to see Natchez play. I'll
size up their game," said Daddy.

When he returned he was glad to find that his team had won its ninth
straight victory, but he was not communicative in regard to the playing
of the Natchez club. He appeared more than usually thoughtful.

The Fourth fell on Tuesday. Daddy had the boys out Monday and he let
them take only a short, sharp practice. Then he sent them home. In his
own mind, Daddy did not have much hope of beating Natchez. He had been
greatly impressed by their playing, and one inning toward the close of
the Round House game they had astonished him with the way they suddenly
seemed to break loose and deluge their opponents in a flood of hits and
runs. He could not understand this streak of theirs--for they did the
same thing every time they played--and he was too good a baseball
student to call it luck.

He had never wanted anything in his life, not even to have two good
legs, as much as he wanted to beat Natchez. For the Madden's Hill boys
had come to believe him infallible. He was their idol. They imagined
they had only to hit and run, to fight and never give up, and Daddy
would make them win. There was not a boy on the team who believed that
Natchez had a chance. They had grown proud and tenacious of their
dearly won reputation. First of all, Daddy thought of his team and
their loyalty to him; then he thought of the glory lately come to
Madden's Hill, and lastly of what it meant to him to have risen from a
lonely watcher of the game--a cripple who could not even carry a
bat--to manager of the famous Hill team. It might go hard with the boys
to lose this game, but it would break his heart.

From time out of mind there had always been rivalry between Madden's
Hill and Natchez. And there is no rivalry so bitter as that between
boys. So Daddy, as he lay awake at night planning the system of play