was a great rise!" said Hodge. "Better try a drop next time. Get
'em lower."

On receiving the ball Hans made another flourishing motion, shut his
eyes, and threw the sphere with great force straight at the ground in
front of him.

"Mine cootness!" he gasped. "I vill haf to look oudt for dot drop. It
vos a corker."

"Better start off with a straight ball," advised Hodge. "Give these
youngsters a show. They can't hit your curves, Hans."

"I pelief me," nodded Dunnerwurst soberly. "Your advice vill took me."

A few moments later he announced that he was ready, and Bob Bubbs
stepped out as the first batter.

Hans hit Bob with the first ball pitched, and Kilgore, who was umpiring,
sent Towser to first.

"Vy did you not dotge?" demanded Dunnerwurst, in exasperation. "Any vun
vould pelief der ball did not see you coming. Vos you plind your
eyesight in?"

"Oh, I knew I couldn't hit," chuckled Bubbs, "so I got hit. That's part
of the game."

"Veil, mebbe dot vos so, but you don'd pelief it. Der next man vill haf
something different to did."

Netterby was the next man.

After pitching a ball behind Net's back and another one over his head,
Hans managed to get one across the pan.

Net hit it and drove it out of the diamond, although Mulloy made a
desperate effort to reach it.

"Vat vos you goot for, you Irish pogtrotter?" demanded Hans. "Vy did dot
ball not stop you?"

"G'wan! g'wan!" retorted Barney. "It was a clane hit, Dutchy."

"You dood not pelief it. I vill haf to struck efry patter oudt. Der vos
no udder vay when a pitcher gets dot kind of rotten suppordt."

Hiram Bemis stood forth to the plate and waited until Dunnerwurst had
pitched four balls.

The bases were filled, and Hans began to growl at Kilgore.

"Vere did der umpiring efer learn you?" he demanded.

"Gol ding it!" shouted Ephraim Gallup from the field. "Yeou didn't git
one of them balls within four feet of the pan! Yeou can't pitch! Yeou
never could! Better let me go in and show 'em haow to pitch."

"Go avay pack and sit down," advised Hans derisively. "You vould dood a
lot uf goot uf you vould pitch, vouldn't you!"

"If I couldn't do better than yeou're doing naow, I'd never play another
game of baseball!" retorted Gallup.

"He's envious," said Sparkfair. "Don't listen to him. I know you'll
strike me out. You can't help it."

The first ball pitched to Spark happened to be just where he wanted it.
He met it squarely and drove it Ove