Diamond was a freshman, and so he received a calling down from Hartwick, who told him he was altogether too new. But as Hartwick strolled away, Diamond quietly said:
"I may be new, sir, but I back up any talk I make. There are others who do not, sir."
Hartwick made no reply.
As the third and final game of the series was to be played on neutral ground, there had been some disagreement about the location, but Springfield had finally been decided upon, and accepted by Yale and Harvard.
Frank did his best to keep his arm in good condition for that game, something which Pierson approved. Hicks was used as much as possible in all other games, but Frank found it necessary to pull one or two off the coals for him.
Heffiner had indeed used his arm up in the grand struggle to win the second game from Harvard--the game that it was absolutely necessary for Yale to secure. He tended that arm as if it were a baby, but it had been strained severely and it came into shape very slowly. As soon as possible he tried to do a little throwing every day, but it was some time before he could get a ball more than ten or fifteen feet.
It became generally known that Merriwell would have to pitch at Springfield, beyond a doubt, and the greatest anxiety was felt at Yale.
Every man had confidence in Heffiner, but it was believed by the majority that the freshman was still raw, and therefore was liable to make a wretched fizzle of it.
Heffiner did not think so. He coached Merriwell almost every day, and his confidence in Frank increased.
"The boy is all right," was all he would say about it, but that did not satisfy the anxious ones.
During the week before the deciding game was to come off Heffiner"s arm improved more rapidly than it had at any time before, and scores of men urged Pierson to put Old Reliable, as Hugh was sometimes called, into the box.
A big crowd went up to Springfield on the day of the great game, but the "sons of Old Eli" were far from confident, although they were determined to root for their team to the last gasp.
The most disquieting rumors had been afloat concerning Harvard. It was said her team was in a third better condition than at the opening of the season, when she took the first game from Yale; and it could not be claimed with honesty that the Yale team was apparently in any better shape. Although she had won the second game of the series with Harvard, her progress had not been satisfactory.
A monster crowd had gathered to witness the deciding game. Blue and crimson were the prevailing colors. On the bleachers at one side of the grandstand sat hundreds upon hundreds of Harvard men, cheering all together and being answered by the hundreds of Yale men on the other side of the grand stand. There were plenty of ladies and citizens present and the scene was inspiring. A band of music served to quicken the blood in the veins which were already throbbing.
There was short preliminary practice, and then at exactly three o"clock the umpire walked down behind the home plate and called: "Play ball!"
CHAPTER x.x.xIV.
A HOT FINISH.
Yale took the field, and as the boys in blue trotted out, the familiar Yale yell broke from hundreds of throats. Blue pennants were wildly fluttering, the band was playing a lively air, and for the moment it seemed as if the sympathy of the majority of the spectators was with Yale.
But when Hinkley, Harvard"s great single hitter, who always headed the batting list, walked out with his pet "wagon tongue," a different sound swept over the mult.i.tude, and the air seemed filled with crimson pennants.
Merriwell went into the box, and the umpire broke open a pasteboard box, brought out a ball that was wrapped in tin foil, removed the covering, and tossed the snowy sphere to the freshman pitcher Yale had so audaciously stacked up against Harvard.
Frank looked the box over, examined the rubber plate, and seemed to make himself familiar with every inch of the ground in his vicinity. Then he faced Hinkley, and a moment later delivered the first ball.
Hinkley smashed it on the nose, and it was past Merriwell in a second, skipping along the ground and pa.s.sing over second base just beyond the baseman"s reach, although he made a good run for it.
The center fielder secured the ball and returned it to second, but Hinkley had made a safe single off the very first ball delivered.
Harvard roared, while the Yale crowd was silent.
A great mob of freshmen was up from New Haven to see the game and watch Merriwell"s work, and some of them immediately expressed disappointment and dismay.
"Here is where Merriwell meets his Waterloo," said Sport Harris. "He"ll be batted out before the game is fairly begun."
That was quite enough to arouse Rattleton, who heard the remark.
"I"ll bet you ten dollars he isn"t batted out at all,"" spluttered Harry, fiercely. "Here"s my money, too!"
"Make it twenty-five and I will go you," drawled Harris.
"All right, I"ll make it twenty-five."
The money was staked.
Derry, also a heavy hitter, was second on Harvard"s list. Derry had a bat that was as long and as large as the regulations would permit, and as heavy as lead; yet, despite the weight of the stick, the strapping Vermonter handled it as if it were a feather.
Frank sent up a coaxer, but Derry refused to be coaxed. The second ball was high, but Derry cracked it for two bags, and Hinkley got around to third.
It began to seem as if Merriwell would be batted out in the first inning, and the Yale crowd looked weary and disgusted at the start.
The next batter fouled out, however, and the next one sent a red-hot liner directly at Merriwell. There was no time to get out of the way, so Frank caught it, snapped the ball to third, found Hinkley off the bag, and retired the side without a score.
This termination of the first half of the inning was so swift and unexpected that it took some seconds for the spectators to realize what had happened. When they did, however, Yale was wildly cheered.
"What do you think about it now, Harris?" demanded Harry, exultantly.
"I think Merriwell saved his neck by a dead lucky catch," was the answer. "If he had missed that ball he would have been removed within five minutes."
Pierson, who was sitting on the bench, was looking doubtful, and he held a consultation with Costigan, captain of the team, as soon as the latter came in from third base.
Costigan asked Frank how he felt, and Merriwell replied that he had never felt better in his life, so it was decided to let him see what he could do in the box the next inning.
Yedding, who was in the box for Harvard, could not have been in better condition, and the first three Yale men to face him went out in one-two-three order, making the first inning a whitewash for both sides.
As Merriwell went into the box the second time there were cries for Heffiner, who was on the bench, ready to pitch if forced to do so, for all of the fact that it might ruin his arm forever, so far as ball playing was concerned.
In trying to deceive the first man up Merriwell gave him three b.a.l.l.s in succession. Then he was forced to put them over. He knew the batter would take one or two, and so he sent two straight, swift ones directly over, and two strikes were called.
Then came the critical moment, for the next ball pitched would settle the matter. Frank sent in a rise and the batter struck at it, missed it, and was declared out, the ball having landed with a "plunk" in the hands of the catcher.
The next batter got first on a single, but the third man sent an easy one to Frank, who gathered it in, threw the runner out at second, and the second baseman sent the ball to first in time to retire the side on a double play.
"You are all right, Merriwell, old man," enthusiastically declared Heffiner, as Frank came in to the bench. "They haven"t been able to score off you yet, and they won"t be able to touch you at all after you get into gear."
Pierson was relieved, and Costigan looked well satisfied.
"Now we must have some scores, boys," said the captain.