laid off," said McCarthy as if astonished. "It isn't right. He's
laying me off for something he thinks I did"----

"Don't quit--be game," cautioned Swanson. "Tell me about it to-night."

McCarthy was miserable, and his face revealed it. Swanson, hardened by
years of facing such little tragedies, of seeing the hearts of young
players broken under such punishment, sympathized, but preserved a
cheerful demeanor as he selected his bats and prepared for the battle.

"Buck up, Jimmy boy," said Swanson, sitting down beside him and
pretending to be retying his shoe laces. "We'll win this one anyhow,
and to-night we'll have a talk with Clancy after he cools down. I can
square things with him."

The comforting words of the kindly, big shortstop helped McCarthy.
Clancy did not look toward the youngster, who sat huddled in his heavy
sweaters on the opposite end of the bench watching the game and going
over and over in his mind the circumstances that had led to his
punishment and banishment from the team.

The game proceeded rapidly. The Bears scored a run in the second
inning on Swanson's long drive against the left field fence for three
bases, and a fly to the outfield, on which Swanson came by sliding
under the catcher. In the fourth the Travelers evened up the score on
an error by Pardridge, who, off his balance by his sudden change of
position, threw wild and allowed a runner to score from second base.
The score remained tied until the fifth, neither team being able to hit
the opposing pitcher's delivery hard enough to send home a run. Then
Pardridge misplayed an easy bounder and, recovering, hurled wildly
toward second base, striving to force out a runner coming down from
first. His throw went on high and far into right field, one runner
scored, the batter was perched on second and the crowd was in a tumult,
thinking that the inevitable break had come. A crashing base-hit sent
home another runner, and with the score 3 to 1 against them the Bears
faced one of the supreme tests of nerve of the season.

Gamely they rallied in the fifth and again in the sixth inning, but
failed to reach even terms again as Carver, the best pitcher of the
Travelers, was holding them by clever work. Each time they forced men
to within reaching distance of the plate he settled, and using more
speed, checked the attacks and made the game one sequence of
disappointments for the Bears.

The seventh inning proved uneventful, although