Hugh believed he had had quite enough of this see-saw business.  If Frazer was going to “jump” in that miserable fashion the game was as good as gone.  He disliked doing it the worst kind, but he saw the appealing look Frazer shot in his direction on third when the visitors once more started their bombardment.  It meant Frazer had lost all confidence in his ability to stop the threatened rally; and that he was making signs for help.

So Hugh took him out.

It was Alan Tyree who stepped into the box, and began to toss a few balls to the backstop, in order to limber up his arm; while the visiting batsman waited the signal from the umpire to toe the home plate, and get ready to strike.

Just three times did Alan send in one of his terrific shoots that fairly sizzled as they shot past; three times the heavy batter cut the thin air with his club, and then walked over to where his companions sat in a clump, watching curiously to see how the change was going to work.

Up came the next visitor on the list, who also made light with the offering of poor Frazer.  Did he start a batting bee all over again?  Well, not that any one could notice it.  The best he could do was to fan the air on two successive occasions, and then send up a twisting foul that Thad Stevens managed to hold, after a pretty erratic chase back and forth.

Now it was the loyal home fans who began to root long and hard.  They scented victory, and it seemed good after so much bitter humiliation at the hands of this newly organized team, most of them strange to their positions, and capable of many fielding errors, but able to remedy this by their ability to bat.

The third out followed in quick succession.  Scranton sighed with relief, and the fielders had had a rest.  They were really getting tired of chasing wildly after all those terrific smashes, and of seeing the big fellows running the bases at will.

Hugh led off in the next inning, and the renewed confidence put in the whole team by the change of pitchers showed itself.  When that inning was over the locals had reduced the lead of Mechanicsburg to one run; and they fully anticipated wiping that slight advantage out in the next round.

Tyree still held them close.  They knocked several fouls, and one man actually went out through Juggins in far right, managing to sprint fast enough to grapple with a soaring fly that came his way across the foul line.  The rest struck out, being almost like babies in the hands of the wizard Tyree.

Well, the locals not only wiped that lead out but went two better, so that it now began to look as though they had the game “sewed up,” with Tyree pitching championship brand of ball, and every fellow keyed up to playing his best.  Wonderful infield work saved Alan from having the first hit marked up against him in the eighth frame, for several of the hard hitters were up again, and they managed to swat the ball with a vim; but only to have Owen, or it might be Morgan on third, intercept the speeding horsehide, and whip it over to waiting Old Reliable Joe Danvers on first for an out.