I'm afraid they're run afoul of Edwards and
that he has managed to get them into trouble."

"If he has he has his nerve," said McCarthy. "Look over there. He
just came in with a party of friends. I know the big man."

"Who is he?" inquired the manager, watching the party just entering one
of the field boxes.

"That's Barney Baldwin, the political boss," explained McCarthy.

"Is he in this thing, too?" inquired Clancy, starting with surprise.

"Yes, at least I think so. You see, I know his niece. It was at his
house I went to call last night. I discovered that he ordered his
niece to call me and had her try to persuade me to quit the team right
away."

"Look here, Kohinoor," said the manager, drawing him aside so the other
players could not hear, "I'm sorry you didn't tell me this before. It
looks worse and worse all the time. He wanted you to quit--and now two
of my men disappear. You'll have to play short to-day, and we'll send
Pardridge to third. Get in there and hustle."

Smith, the big spitball pitcher of the Bears, who had been held in
reserve, was chosen to pitch, and for three innings the teams fought
for the opening without a real chance to score. The cunning of Clancy
was shown in his choice of the big pitcher, whose speed and spitball
kept the Jackrabbit batters hitting toward right field or sending slow,
easy bounders down toward the pitcher. He had chosen Smith in order to
protect the weakened third base side of the infield, and his plan
worked well until the fourth inning, when Egbert, one of the speediest
of the Jackrabbit sprinters, hit a spitball on top and sent a slow,
weak roller toward third base. Pardridge made a desperate effort to
field the ball, but fell short, and the Jackrabbits discovered the weak
place in the defense. Two bunts rolled down the third-base line in
succession, and, although Pardridge, playing close in a desperate
effort to stop that style of attack, managed to throw out the second
bunter, runners were on second and third with but one out when
"Buckthorne" Black smashed a long hit over center for three bases and
scored an instant later on a sharp, slashing hit through Noisy Norton.
The three runs seemed to spell the doom of the Bears, and they came in
from the field angry, hot and desperate. The roar of the crowd grew
stronger when the score board showed the Panthers were winning their
game--5 to 1--from the Blues.

McCarthy was first at bat in that innin