fellow is a sticker, and it begins to look as if he couldn't be
budged or pried loose with a crowbar. But I'm not the one to give
a thing up because I've failed once or twice; just wait till I get
my third wind, and I'll settle Brother Lu's hash for him!"

So they wandered back to town, sadder but wiser from their new
experience.




CHAPTER XII

SCRANTON FANS HAVE A PAINFUL SHOCK


The nine from Mechanicsburg showed up that afternoon on time. They
were a husky-looking lot of young chaps, accustomed to hard toil
in the mills, and with muscles that far outclassed the high-school
boys. But, as every one knows, it requires something more than mere
brawn to win baseball games; often a club that seems to be weak
develops an astonishing amount of skill with bat and ball, and easily
walks off with the victory.

Mechanicsburg was "out for blood" from the very start. They depended
a great deal on their slugging abilities, and declared that no pitcher
the Scranton players might offer could resist their terrific onslaught.

When the first inning was over at last it began to look as if their
boast might be made good, for the score stood five to one. Frazer