CHAPTER XV.
ON THE BALL FIELD.
The sophomores went in to watch the freshmen practice and incidentally to have sport with them.
Two nines had been selected, one being the regular freshman team and the other picked up to give them practice.
As Merriwell had been given a place on the team as reserve pitcher, his services were not needed at first, and so he went in to twirl for the scrub nine.
Walter Gordon went into the box for the regular team, and he expected to fool the irregulars with ease.

He was a well-built lad, with a bang, and it was plain to see at a glance that he was stuck on himself.

He had a trick of posing in the box, and he delivered the ball with a flourish.
The scrub team did not have many batters, and so it came about that the first three men up were disposed of in one-two-three order, not one of them making a safe hit or reaching first.
Rattleton had vainly endeavored to get upon the regular team.

He had played pretty fast ball on a country nine, but he was somewhat out of practice and he had not made a first-class showing, so he had failed in his ambition.
He went into catch for Merriwell, and they had arranged a code of signals beforehand, so that they were all prepared.
There was no affectation about Frank's delivery, but the first man on the list of the regulars found Merriwell's slow drop was a hard ball to hit.

He went after two of them before he saw what he was getting.