Some Thomaston men who had come over to see the game stopped near
Merriwell and his party and laughed over the "snap" Camden would have
that day. One of them was telling the others how easy it was to rattle
Dayguild and break his courage by hitting him hard and putting two
rattling coachers on the line to keep him "up in the air." Frank did not
miss a word of this talk.

"Pop" Williamson was the first man to go to bat for Camden. He stood up
at the plate and looked at Dayguild. Dayguild laughed at him, saying:

"Pop, you're easy."

"Pop" laughed back, observing:

"I have to be easy with you, Gil, or I'd show you up, and you would lose
your job."

"That's what I call wit!" exclaimed Merriwell, in appreciation. "Pop is
all right. He'll get a hit."

He did. He cracked out Dayguild's first ball for an easy single, and
laughed at the Rockland pitcher as he trotted down to first.

"Thought I wouldn't put it into the woods this time, Gil," he said.

"That's a good start to rattle Dayguild if they would get after him,"
said a Thomaston man.

But Camden made the mistake of splitting her coachers, putting one at
third and one at first, and the men did not "open up" in a way to get
the Rockland pitcher on the string.

Putbury, or "Old Put," followed Williamson. He was a left-hand hitter,
and a good man, but Dayguild managed to give him the "evil eye" and
struck him out.

"I'm afraid you won't get away from first, Pop," said Dayguild, winking
at Williamson in a tantalizing manner.

"Oh, there's lots of time," returned the runner, calmly.

Cogern followed Putbury. He fanned twice, and then he cracked out a
daisy cutter that looked like a safe hit, for it got past the pitcher
and was going directly over second, with Smithers, the baseman, playing
away off.

But Smithers was a little fellow who could cover ground wonderfully. How
he ever reached second as soon as the ball and gathered it in was a
marvel, but he did the trick with an ease that brought an exclamation
of admiration from Merriwell.

As he picked the ball off the ground Smithers touched second and put
Williamson out. Then he whirled like a cat and sent the ball whistling
to first.

Rockland's first baseman smothered it with ease before Cogern could get
much more than halfway down the line, and a double play had been made,
which retired Camden with a whitewash as a starter.

What a wild howl of satisfaction went up from the throats of the
Rockland