“You’re a fine one!” growled Maitland.  “Oh, Holmesy!  Come over here, please.  You haven’t been teasing your stomach, have you?”

“I don’t know that I have a stomach,” replied Greg promptly.

“You’ll play shortstop today, then.”

Half an hour later, the Lehigh fellows were out on the field, going through some practice plays.  Below the center of the grandstand, the West Point band was playing its most spirited music.  The seats reserved for officers and their families, and for invited guests, were filling up rapidly.  At the smaller stand, over at the east side of the field, Lehigh had some two hundred friends and rooters.

Now on to the field marched the corps of cadets, filing into the seats reserved for them, just north of the officers’ seats.

Now, the band began to play the U.S.M.A. songs, the cadets joining in under the leadership of the cheer-master.

Then, amid a storm of West Point yells, the Army nine strode on to the field.  Things moved quickly now.  Lehigh won the toss and went to bat.

Kennedy appeared to be in excellent form.  He struck out the first two Lehigh men at bat.  The third man, however, gained first on called balls.  The fourth man at bat drove a two-bagger, and now second and third were occupied.  As the fifth of the Lehigh batsmen stepped up to the plate, the Lehigh cheers resounded, and West Point’s rooters sat in tense silence.  What was the matter with Kennedy?  But the Army pitcher struck out his man, and Lehigh went out to grass without having scored.  Lehigh’s revenge, though, was swift.  Three West Point men were struck out almost as rapidly as they could move to the plate.

In the second inning both sides got men to bases, but neither side scored.  In the third Lehigh took one solitary run, but it looked well on the score-board at the north end of the field.  West Point, in the last half of the third, put men on first and second, but that was all.

By the fourth inning, Kennedy was pitching a bit wildly.  Maitland gazed at his comrade of the battery with anxious eyes.  Lehigh began to grin with the ease of the thing now.  One after another men walked to bases on called balls, until all of the bags were occupied.

Suddenly Kennedy, after taking a twist on the ball, signaled Maitland.  The captain turned the umpire and spoke.

“Kennedy’s old trick!  He’s gone stale and Tatham is down at hospital,” passed from mouth to mouth among the home rooters.  “Now, what’s left for us?”

After a brief conversation with the umpire Maitland signaled.  Dick Prescott came bounding in from second, to receive the ball from Kennedy, while Ebbett was seen racing out to second.

“Play ball!” called the umpire crisply.

“Oh, pshaw!” called one of the cadets.  “In training season Prescott tried for pitcher and the coaches turned him down.  Now we’re done for today!”