d grew until the
crowd applauded heartily and gave round after round of applause for the
third baseman. It was the American spirit of fair play and justice
revealing itself, and the crowd, accepting Manager Clancy's confidence
in his third baseman, rendered its verdict of not guilty in cheers.

The Jackrabbits had figured cunningly that McCarthy would be unnerved
by the strain of the situation, and "Hooks" O'Leary, the manager, had
ordered that the attack be directed upon him. The first batter pushed
a slow, twisting bounder down the third-base line and McCarthy, racing
forward, scooped the ball with one hand and still running, snapped it
underhand to first base ten feet ahead of the runner. He knew that his
feat was mere bravado and that he had taken a reckless and useless
chance, but the crowd needed no further convincing, but broke into a
crashing testimonial of applause, and he knew he was safe so far as
their confidence in him was involved.

The game developed into a panic, then the rout of the Rabbits and the
triumphant Bears rushed to victory by a score of 11 to 2. And, while
they were winning, the Panthers won one game by a wide margin and lost
the second after a fierce pitcher's duel, 2 to 1, leaving the Bears a
full game in the lead of the pennant race, with but five games to play,
while the Panthers played four.

"The place to contradict baseball stories," remarked Clancy, grimly, in
the club house, as the players were dressing after the victory, "is on
the ball field. If we had lost to-day we would have been a bunch of
crooks, but as we won, we're all honest."

He glanced quickly toward where Williams was dressing, but the pitcher
kept his eyes averted and seemed not to hear the remark.

"And Kohinoor," the manager added, "I give it to you for nerve in
pulling off that circus stuff in the first inning. But if you do it
again it'll cost you a bunch of your salary."

McCarthy found a note in his key box when he returned to the hotel. He
had torn it open to read when Miss Betty Tabor, who had returned from
the grounds with Mrs. Clancy, came laughing and almost dancing across
the lobby toward the group of players, leaving her portly, but no less
elated companion, to pant along behind her.

"Oh, it was glorious, boys!" she said. "I never was so excited in my
life as when you made those four runs in the third inning. And Mother
Clancy was so wrought up she dropped three stitches in her fancy work