“Make it a round dozen while you’re at it, boys.”

But this was not to be.  The hits for Brill had evidently come to an end, and the side retired with seven runs to its credit.

“Now, Tom, hold them down if you possibly can,” said Bob, as his team took the field.

“I’ll do my level best, Bob,” was the reply.

With the score five to seven against them, Roxley put in a pinch,hitter by the name of Bixby.  This player certainly made good, getting a three-base hit with apparent ease.  Then followed an out, and then another base hit, bringing in Bixby’s run.  Then followed some ragged play on the part of Bob and his second and third basemen, which put out one man, but evened up the score, 7 to 7.

With two men out, and the score a tie, it was certainly a delicate position for Tom.

“Tom, hold them! please hold them!” pleaded Bob, as he came up.  “Don’t let them get as far as first if you can help it.”

The batter to face Tom was a fairly good one, but the young pitcher remembered that this fellow had always struck at balls which were both high and far out.  Accordingly, he fed him only those which were low and well in, “One strike!”

“That’s it, Tom!  Keep it up!”

Again Tom wound up, and the ball shot over the plate.  This time the batsman swung for it, but failed to connect.

“Strike two!”

“Good boy, Tom, that’s the way to do it!”

“Be careful, Billy, make him give you just what you want!”

Once again Tom wound up, and this time sent the ball in with all the speed that was left to him.  Again the bat came around.

“Strike three!  Batter out!”

A wild yell arose.  Here was the end of the ninth inning, and the game was a tie!

“Oh, Songbird! do you think Brill will win?” exclaimed Grace, anxiously.

“I certainly hope so.  We’ve pulled up pretty well.  We had only two runs when they had five, remember.”

“Hasn’t Tom pitched pretty well?” questioned Minnie.

“Sure, he has!  Those Roxley fellows are great batters.  More than once they have knocked a pitcher clean out of the box.”

“Oh, I certainly hope Brill wins,” murmured Nellie.

There was an intense silence when the tenth inning opened.  Frank came to the bat first, and knocked a little one, but managed to reach first.  Then, on a sacrifice hit, he advanced to second.  Following that, came a wild throw by the Roxley pitcher, and Frank dusted as fast as he could for third.

“Now, Carson, hold him!” yelled a number of the Roxley followers to their pitcher.  “Don’t let him get in!”

Carson did his best, but with two strikes called on the batter, there came a neat little one-base hit, and, amid a wild cheering and a grand tooting of horns and sounding of rattles, Frank slid in to the home plate.

“Hurrah! hurrah! that makes the score eight to seven!”