falo infielders. "Keep 'em close
on the Crab." Eager and fierce as McCall was, he let pitch after pitch
go by till he had three balls and two strikes. Still the heady Vane
sent up another pitch similar to the others. Mac stepped forward in
the box, dropped his bat on the ball, and leaped down the line toward
first base. Vane came rushing in for the bunt, got it and threw. But
as the speeding ball neared the baseman, Mac stretched out into the air
and shot for the bag. By a fraction of a second he beat the ball. It
was one of his demon-slides. He knew that the chances favored his
being crippled; we all knew that some day Mac would slide recklessly
once too often. But that, too, is all in the game and in the spirit of
a great player.

"We're on," said Spears; "now keep with him."

By that the captain meant that Mac would go down, and Ashwell would hit
with the run.

When Vane pitched, little McCall was flitting toward second. The Bison
shortstop started for the bag, and Ash hit square through his tracks. A
rolling cheer burst from the bleachers, and swelled till McCall overran
third base and was thrown back by the coacher. Stringer hurried
forward with his big bat.

"Oh! My!" yelled a fan, and he voiced my sentiments exactly. Here we
would score, and be one run closer to that dearly bought pennant.

How well my men worked together! As the pitcher let the ball go, Ash
was digging for second and Mac was shooting plateward. They played on
the chance of Stringer's hitting. Stringer swung, the bat cracked, we
heard a thud somewhere, and then Manning, half knocked over, was
fumbling for the ball. He had knocked down a terrific drive with his
mitt, and he got the ball in time to put Stringer out. But Mac scored
and Ash drew a throw to third base and beat it. He had a bad ankle,
but no one noticed it in that daring run.

"Watch me paste one!" said Captain Spears, as he spat several yards.
He batted out a fly so long and high and far that, slow as he was, he
had nearly run to second base when Carl made the catch. Ash easily
scored on the throw-in. Then Bogart sent one skipping over second, and
Treadwell, scooping it on the run, completed a play that showed why he
was considered the star of the Bison infield.

"Two runs, fellers!" said Spears. "That's some! Push 'em over, Rube."

The second inning somewhat quickened the pace. Even the Rube worked a
little faster. Ellis lined to Cairns in right; Tre