o pieces. He seemed as cool as ever, and smiled as he
handled the ball; while O'Leary was knocking his big bat on the ground
to test its reliability, as though he meant to put it to some good
service then and there. He was seen to turn his head and grin toward
some of his ardent admirers in the bleachers back of him. By this means
he doubtless informed them that he had been only playing with the
tenderfoot pitcher hitherto, and would now proceed to show what strength
lay in those muscular arms of his.

Jack waved the fielders back. He anticipated that O'Leary was due for
one of his famous lengthy drives, and it was necessary that those
guarding the outer gardens should be in position to make a great run,
once the ball left the bat. Still, he continued to feel fairly confident
that Donohue would recover from his temporary set-back, and possibly
deceive O'Leary, as he had done twice before.

He realized that the crisis he had feared was now upon them. If O'Leary
sent a scorcher toward Fred, how would the third baseman handle it?
Clifford knew what was expected of him, and already part way home on the
movement of the pitcher winding up to throw, he would shoot along at the
crack of the bat, taking his chances, since there were already two down.

He saw O'Leary actually turn his head slightly and take a quick look
toward third as though making up his mind just where he wanted to send
the ball, should he be able to connect with the horse-hide sphere. Jack
felt a cold chill pass over him. Could it be possible that O'Leary
actually _knew_ there was a weak link in the chain made by the
infield, and figured on taking advantage of Fred's intended treachery?

At that moment it seemed as though Jack lived years, so many things
flashed into his mind. He even remembered how earlier in the game two
men, strangers in town, had made themselves obnoxious by standing up in
the bleacher seats and shaking handfuls of greenbacks, daring Chester
people to back their favorites at odds of three to four. They had been
spotted almost immediately, and the mayor of Chester ordered them to
desist under penalty of being arrested, since it was against the law of
the town for any sort of wagering to be indulged in.

The presence of the local police, and their movement toward the spot had
resulted in the two sporty looking strangers subsiding. Some of the
Harmony boys, however, scoffed at such Puritanical methods of procedure,
since over at their to