ts. And not
a few juniors joined with them, showing how much admiration Merriwell
had won outside his own class.

Walter Gordon cheered with the others, but Roland Ditson stood at a
distance, beating his heart out with rage and jealousy. He was all
alone, for at Yale not one man was left who cared to acknowledge Ditson
as a friend.

CHAPTER XXVII.

A CHANGE OF PITCHERS.

"The game is lost!"

"Sure."

"Yale has not scored since the second inning."

"That's right. She made one in the first and three in the second, and
then comes four beautiful whitewashes. Harvard hasn't missed a trick,
and the score is eleven to four in her favor."

"Lewis, this is awful!"

"Right you are, Jones. Hear those Harvard rooters whoop up! It gives me
nervous prostration."

The Yale freshmen were playing the Harvard freshmen on the grounds of
the latter team, and quite a large delegation had come on from New Haven
to witness the game, which was the second of the series of three
arranged between the freshmen teams of the two colleges. The first had
been played at New Haven, and the third was to be played on neutral
ground.

Yale had won the first game by heavy batting, the final score being
twelve to eleven. As the regular 'Varsity nine had likewise won the
first of their series with Harvard, the "Sons of Eli" began to think
they had a sure thing, and those who came on from New Haven were dead
sure in their minds that they would bring back the scalps of the Harvard
freshmen. They said over and over that there would be no need of a third
game to settle the matter; Yale would settle it in the second.

Walter Gordon had pitched the whole of the first Harvard game. He had
been hammered for thirteen singles, two two-baggers, and a three-bagger,
and still Yale had pulled out, which was rather remarkable. But Walter
had managed to keep Harvard's hits scattered, while Yale bunched their
hits in two innings, which was just enough to give them the winning
score.

It was said that Frank Merriwell was to be given a show in the second
game, and a large number of Yale men who were not freshmen had come on
to see what he would do. Pierson had been particularly anxious to see
Merriwell work, and he had taken a great deal of trouble to come on. The
"great and only" Bob Collingwood, of the 'Varsity crew, had accompanied
Pierson, and both were much disappointed, not to say disgusted, when Old
Put put in Gordon and kept him in the box, de