They could hardly afford to be beaten by a team like Mechanicsburg, he
figured, as he saw Frazer "fall down" for the third time, and a
catastrophe threaten.

It was the sixth inning.

Scranton had done more or less scoring on her side, so that the
figures were mounting rapidly, and it promised to be an old-fashioned
batting bee. It now stood nine to twelve in favor of the visitors;
and as they had started another of their rallies no one could say what
the result might be by the time Scranton once more came to bat.

There was a small but noisy delegation from the other town present,
and they kept things pretty lively most of the time, cheering their
fellows, and hooting the slightest opportunity when Scranton failed
to connect, or one of the high-school boys did not make a gilt-edged
pickup.

Nor were the Mechanicsburg rooters alone in this jeering. As usually
happens, there were a number of fellows in Scranton who entertained
feelings of jealousy toward the local nine, based on an idea that
they had been purposely overlooked when the choice of players was made.

Chief among these malcontents was the town bully, Nick Lang, whose
acquaintance the reader has already made in a previous volume, and
under exciting conditions. Nick at one time had a good chance of
making the nine, for he was a hustler when it came to playing ball,
and indeed, in nearly every sport; but as might be expected, he
managed to display his nasty temper in practice, and Coach Saunders,
who heartily disliked and distrusted the big fellow, speedily turned