ders, and there were runners on second and third bases, one out
and a hit needed to turn the tide in favor of the Maroons again.

The infield was drawn close in the hope of cutting off the runner from
the home plate. It was desperate baseball, and, as the infielders
advanced to the edge of the grass, each man knew that a line smash, a
hard-driven bounder between them, or even a fumble, probably meant the
destruction of their pennant hopes.

The ball was hit with terrific force straight at McCarthy, who threw up
his hands and blocked desperately. The ball tore through his hands,
struck his knee with numbing force and rolled a few feet away. He
pounced upon it and like a flash hurled it to Kennedy at the plate, so
far ahead of the runner who was trying to score that he turned back
toward third, with Kennedy in pursuit. Swanson had come up to cover
third, and the runner from second base stood at the third bag watching
the play, ready to dash back if the runner, trapped between third and
the plate, managed to elude the pursuers and regain third base.
Kennedy passed the ball to Swanson, and as the runner turned back,
Swanson threw to McCarthy, who had fallen in behind Kennedy, leaving
the pitcher to cover the plate if the runner broke through in that
direction. The runner started to dodge, but McCarthy, without an
instant's hesitation, leaped after him and drove him hard back toward
third base, so hard that the runner went on over the bag and ten feet
beyond before he could stop. Like a flash McCarthy leaped sideways,
touched the other runner who was starting back to second base, and,
with a fierce dive, he threw his body between the base and the runner
who had overslid it and tagged him.

Before he could scramble to his feet to claim the double play he heard
Clancy, excited in spite of his long experience, shouting: "Good
boy--nice work." As the umpire waved both runners out the crowd,
bewildered for an instant by the rapidity with which McCarthy had
executed the coup, commenced to understand and broke into a thundering
round of applause as he limped toward the bench.

With that attack staved off, the Bears held the Maroons safe in the
ninth and closed the final Western trip of the team with a hard-earned
victory. They started homeward that evening with confidence renewed
and the men hopeful.

The Bears were scheduled to stop en route to the home grounds to play a
series of three games against the Travelers, a