not Ross struck out immediately afterward there would have been
other runs scored. The count was now three to nothing in favor
of the Central Grammars.

"Prescott's fellows are playing some ball," declared Bill Rodgers.

"Hub! You mean that the Souths don't know how to play," sneered
Hi Martin.

"Teall's fellows are playing well," argued Rodgers. "If you watch,
you'll see that the luck of the Centrals depends a lot on the
way they run the bases. Whew! They go like greased lightning
when they're sprinting around the diamond."

"Well, why shouldn't they run?" demanded Hi. "Prescott and his
fellows have been running every day since the snow went away."

"I wish our Norths had been running all the time, too," sighed
Bill.

The Souths were playing desperately well in the field. Dick's
side came in for the ninth, but did not succeed in getting another
run.

"Now, watch 'em closely, fellows," counseled Dick, as, from the
benches, he started his men out to the field. "The Souths are
mad and game, and they may get runs enough in this last half to
beat us. Play, all the time, as if you didn't know what it was
to be tired. Keep after 'em!"