hen Dan Soppinger, running as he had never run before, dropped
down and slid to the plate amid a whirl of dust, followed instantly by
the ball, which landed with a thud in the catcher's mitt.

"He's safe! He's safe!"

"And look! Jack Rover is going to make third!"

Realizing that it was too late to catch the man at the plate, the
catcher threw the ball down to second. But Jack Rover had already
started for third, and now he streaked along with all his might,
arriving at that bag just an instant before the ball followed him.

"That's the way to do it, boy! Keep it up!"

"Oh, he made three bases!" cried one of the girls in the grandstand.
"Isn't that just lovely?"

"I told you he'd do it, Ruth," said another of the girls.

"I wish my cousin Dick was coming up," remarked one of the girls. "I'm
sure he would be able to help them out."

"Never mind, May. He'll be coming up pretty soon," answered Ruth
Stevenson.

The next cadet to the bat was Walt Baxter. Walt was a good all-around
player, but just at present he was not in the best of condition,
having suffered from a touch of the grippe early in the season.

"Bang out a homer, Walt!" sang out Andy Rover.

"Never mind that, Walt. Make a safe hit and bring Jack in," said Gif
Garrison.

"I'll do my best," answered Walt Baxter. But it was plainly to be seen
that his recent illness had rendered him somewhat nervous. He had a
ball and a strike called on him, and then got another strike through a
little foul that passed over one of the coaches' heads. Then Dink
Wilsey passed him a slow, tantalizing ball. Walt connected with it but
sent up only a pop fly, which the third baseman gathered in with ease.

"Hurrah! that's the way to hold 'em down," came the cry from one of
the high-school boys.

"Gee, old man, it's too bad you didn't have a chance to bring that run
in," remarked Gif Garrison to Jack Rover, as the latter walked in from
third base.

"Well, anyway, I brought Dan in," returned Jack, as cheerfully as he
could.

"Yes; but if you had got in that would have tied the score," went on
the manager. "However, the game isn't over yet."

"Over! Why, we've just begun to play!" returned Jack, with a grin.

"That's the talk!" cried Andy Rover. "Colby Hall forever! Now then,
boys, all together!" he yelled, turning to the grandstand. And a
moment later there boomed out this refrain:

"Who are we?
Can't you see?
Colby Hall!
Dum! Dum! Dum, dum, d