ught doin' it. French is a reg'lar fool!
He wants to beat Camden, but he wouldn't win in a crooked way for a
thousand dollars. He'd be the first to jump on a chap that was caught
doin' up a Camden man."

"He needn't know it," said Snell, and then he whispered some more, but
he couldn't seem to win Bixton over.

"All right," said Snell. "You'll be sorry when you lose your fifty
plunks."

"I ain't lost 'em yet."

"You will if Frank Merriwell pitches the whole game."

Practice was over, the umpire took his place and called "play," the
Camden team was in the field. Merriwell walked down into the box. He
wore his Yale uniform, as he had been unable to obtain a Camden uniform
that would fit him.

The Rockland crowd looked at Merriwell with curiosity, but all the
applause he received came from the Camden rooters. At one side of the
diamond were gathered twenty small boys. Usually these youngsters were
full of taunts and jeers for Camden, but now they were strangely silent.
One of them turned to the others and said:

"Fellers, Rockland eats dirt ter-day! We kin lick anything else on ther
face of ther earth, but we can't do up that battery. I've read all about
Frank Merriwell, an' there ain't nothin' walks on two legs what kin
pitch ball with him!"

Strange to relate, he was not disputed in the assertion.

The umpire broke open a box and tossed a beautiful new "Spaulding" to
Merry, who caught it and rubbed a handful of dirt over it.

Smithers advanced to the plate. Frank had heard that it was impossible
to discover the little man's weak point, and he resolved to start right
in by fooling him--if possible.

Hodge knew what was coming when Merry assumed a certain attitude. Then,
without any flourish, Frank shot in what seemed at the start to be a
straight, swift ball.

Smithers took it for an inshoot, and, in his judgment, it must be a fair
ball. He swung for it, and then he dropped his bat and gasped.

The ball had reversed from an in to an out, causing Smithers to miss it
by at least six inches!

It was Merriwell's wonderful double shoot!

Those in the grand stand who had seen the double curve of the ball
uttered exclamations of amazement, and some of them would not believe
their eyes had not deceived them.

Smithers picked up his bat, muttering:

"If I'd been drinking lately I wouldn't wonder at it!"

Hodge returned the ball, and in a moment Merry was ready to deliver
again. Smithers fancied he had been