urrick in!"

The next player up was a tall, lanky chap named Wilks. He swung savagely
at the sphere as if intending to knock it over the back fence.

"If he ever connects with it it will be a homer with three runs in,"
thought Gif.

Two strikes were called, and then three balls. Then Jack took a sudden
brace and sent in a swift high one. Wilks leaped for it, and the crack
of the bat could be heard all over the grounds.

It looked like a safe hit to center field, but as the crack of the bat
sounded on the air Jack Rover was seen to leap high up with hand
out-stretched. The next instant he came down with the sphere safe within
his grasp.

[Illustration: JACK ROVER LEAPED HIGH UP AND CAUGHT THE BALL.]

"Fly ball! Batter out!"

Longley Academy had played its first inning without scoring.

CHAPTER X

A GLORIOUS VICTORY

"Good for Jack Rover!"

"That was some stop, all right!"

"Maybe it didn't sting his hand!"

So the cries ran on, and when the Colby Hall nine came in from the field
the young pitcher was wildly applauded.

In the meantime, however, Gif ran to him anxiously.

"It was the best ever, Jack, but did it hurt your hand--I mean enough to
stop your pitching?"

"It's not going to stop my pitching, Gif," answered the young pitcher.
His hand stung as if burnt by fire, but he was not going to admit it.

"Oh, wasn't that a glorious play!" burst out Ruth Stevenson, and her
glowing face showed her pleasure.

"I hope Jack wasn't hurt," answered the young captain's sister
solicitously.

There was another cheering when Dan Soppinger stepped to the plate with
his bat in hand. Dan had two strikes called on him, and then sent a fly
to left field which was gathered in with ease.

"One out! Keep it up, Longley!"

"Don't let 'em see first!"

Gif was the next player up, and by hard work he managed to rap out a
single between short and second, which carried him to first in safety.
But the next two players failed to connect with the sphere, and the
goose egg went up on the board for the cadets.

After that there was a good deal of seesawing for four innings, and
without any results so far as scoring was concerned. Longley made four
hits, and so did the Colby boys. But no runner got further than second
base.

Of course the catching of the red-hot liner had done Jack's pitching
hand no good. It was a little swollen in the palm, and this prevented
the fingers from working quite as freely as would o