rew out a white ball with his stentorian
"Play!" and Blake of the Grays strode to the plate.

Hitting safely, he started the game with a rush. With Dorr up, the Star
infield played for a bunt. Like clockwork Dorr dumped the first ball as
Blake got his flying start for second base. Morrissey tore in for the
ball, got it on the run and snapped it underhand to Healy, beating the
runner by an inch. The fast Blake, with a long slide, made third base.
The stands stamped. The bleachers howled. White, next man up, batted
a high fly to left field. This was a sun field and the hardest to play
in the league. Red Gilbat was the only man who ever played it well.
He judged the fly, waited under it, took a step hack, then forward, and
deliberately caught the ball in his gloved hand. A throw-in to catch
the runner scoring from third base would have been futile, but it was
not like Red Gilbat to fail to try. He tossed the ball to O'Brien.
And Blake scored amid applause.

"What do you know about that?" ejaculated Delaney, wiping his moist
face. "I never before saw our nutty Redhead pull off a play like that."

Some of the players yelled at Red, "This is a two-handed league, you
bat!"

The first five players on the list for the Grays were left-handed
batters, and against a right-handed pitcher whose most effective ball
for them was a high fast one over the outer corner they would naturally
hit toward left field. It was no surprise to see Hanley bat a
skyscraper out to left. Red had to run to get under it. He braced
himself rather unusually for a fielder. He tried to catch the ball in
his bare right hand and muffed it, Hanley got to second on the play
while the audience roared. When they got through there was some
roaring among the Rochester players. Scott and Captain Healy roared at
Red, and Red roared back at them.

"It's all off. Red never did that before," cried Delaney in despair.
"He's gone clean bughouse now."

Babcock was the next man up and he likewise hit to left. It was a low,
twisting ball--half fly, half liner--and a difficult one to field.
Gilbat ran with great bounds, and though he might have got two hands on
the ball he did not try, but this time caught it in his right, retiring
the side.

The Stars trotted in, Scott and Healy and Kane, all veterans, looking
like thunderclouds. Red ambled in the last and he seemed very
nonchalant.

"By Gosh, I'd 'a' ketched that one I muffed if I'd had time to cha