money on the blue.

It was expected by Harvard that Merriwell would pitch the deciding game,
for the actual condition of his hand had been kept a secret, and
Harvard feared Merriwell.

To himself Frank confessed that he could pitch the game, as his hand was
in fairly good condition, but such improvement had not been expected,
and it had been arranged that he should do no "twirling."

Besides that, it was Heffiner's last game for Yale, and, taking into
consideration the record he had made, it seemed no more than right that
he should be placed in the box.

The usual crowd had gathered to witness the game, and there was the
usual display of flags. Yale was over-confident; Harvard was hopeful,
but filled with fears.

The game began, and for three innings Yale had the advantage. The "sons
of Old Eli" were jubilant, and they made the air ring with their cheers
and songs.

At the end of the third inning it was seen that Harvard must make a
change if it had any hope of winning. Yedding, the great Cambridge
pitcher, was "rocky." He could not find the plate, and he was "hammered"
when he did "get 'em over."

Some Yale man with an inclination to rhyme had composed some doggerel
verse, which about twenty lads were singing to some sort of mongrel
tune.

"Poor Harvard she can talk--
(That's all!)
At other things she'll balk;
We'll beat her in a walk--
Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!

"Poor Harvard's lost her grip--
(That's so!)
She's let the pennant slip,
We've done her up this trip--
Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!"

"It is altogether too early in the game to crow," declared Frank
Merriwell. "Several things may happen before the ninth inning is over."

"Oh, we've got the game nailed solid now!" declared Bruce Browning, in a
satisfied way. "Robinson will be able to get his shirts out of soak."

In the fourth inning Harvard sent a new pitcher into the box. It was
Coulter, who, as a freshman, had pitched against Merriwell.

Coulter was nervous and rather wild at first, but he puzzled the Yale
men, who could not hit him when he did get them over the plate.

"If he steadies down, he will prove to be a bad man," said Frank,
soberly. "This is his first trial on the regular team, and he is not at
his best just now."

Yale secured one score in the fourth inning, while Harvard retired with
her third whitewash.

In the fifth there was a change. Coulter did steady down in a most
ast