him:

"Ball one!"

"Ball two!"

"Ball three "

Bert jerked with a sudden jolt of the train and missed.

"Striker's out!" called the umpire, while everybody laughed because
the boy had missed first.

Then Bert had to go all the way back to center, while Nan was four
seats down.

Three more balls were passed, then Nan missed.

"I shouldn't have to go all the way back for the miss," protested Nan.
"You went three seats back, so I'll go three back."

This was agreed to by the umpire, and the game continued.

A smooth stretch of road gave a good chance for catching, and both
sister and brother kept moving toward the doors now, with three points
"to the good" for Nan, as a big boy said.

Who would miss now? Everybody waited to see. The train struck a
curve! Bert threw a wild ball and Nan missed it.