Merriwell in a second,
skipping along the ground and passing over second base just beyond the
baseman's reach, although he made a good run for it.

The center fielder secured the ball and returned it to second, but
Hinkley had made a safe single off the very first ball delivered.

Harvard roared, while the Yale crowd was silent.

A great mob of freshmen was up from New Haven to see the game and watch
Merriwell's work, and some of them immediately expressed disappointment
and dismay.

"Here is where Merriwell meets his Waterloo," said Sport Harris. "He'll
be batted out before the game is fairly begun."

That was quite enough to arouse Rattleton, who heard the remark.

"I'll bet you ten dollars he isn't batted out at all,"' spluttered
Harry, fiercely. "Here's my money, too!"

"Make it twenty-five and I will go you," drawled Harris.

"All right, I'll make it twenty-five."

The money was staked.

Derry, also a heavy hitter, was second on Harvard's list. Derry had a
bat that was as long and as large as the regulations would permit, and
as heavy as lead; yet, despite the weight of the stick, the strapping
Vermonter handled it as if it were a feather.

Frank sent up a coaxer, but Derry refused to be coaxed. The second ball
was high, but Derry cracked it for two bags, and Hinkley got around to
third.

It began to seem as if Merriwell would be batted out in the first
inning, and the Yale crowd looked weary and disgusted at the start.

The next batter fouled out, however, and the next one sent a red-hot
liner directly at Merriwell. There was no time to get out of the way, so
Frank caught it, snapped the ball to third, found Hinkley off the bag,
and retired the side without a score.

This termination of the first half of the inning was so swift and
unexpected that it took some seconds for the spectators to realize what
had happened. When they did, however, Yale was wildly cheered.

"What do you think about it now, Harris?" demanded Harry, exultantly.

"I think Merriwell saved his neck by a dead lucky catch," was the
answer. "If he had missed that ball he would have been removed within
five minutes."

Pierson, who was sitting on the bench, was looking doubtful, and he held
a consultation with Costigan, captain of the team, as soon as the latter
came in from third base.

Costigan asked Frank how he felt, and Merriwell replied that he had
never felt better in his life, so it was decided to let him see what he