Prendergast began to edge in.
"Strike one!" from the umpire.
Crack! The leather hung low, a little to the left of shortstop, who raced after it.

Prendergast was going in at a tremendous clip.

As shortstop reached the ball, he swooped down on it, stopped its rolling, and rising quickly, hurled it in across the plate.
Purcell was waiting, and made a good catch.

It looked close.
Everyone eyed Umpire Foley.
"Runner safe home," he decided.
There was a gasp of disappointment, but the decision was fair.
Prendergast had made good by a fraction of a second---and there was a man on first.
"Oh, Dick! Oh, Prescott!" wailed the home fans.

"We look to you." Dick's answer was to strike the next man out, with never a chance for the man on first to steal away from Dalzell and make second.
Then a short fly filled first and second.