This Allandale pitcher seemed capable of outwitting the smartest batter by giving just what he wanted least of all, as if he knew every fellow's weaknesses, and could take advantage of them at will.
Then the blow fell.
It cast gloom over the whole Scranton camp, as the horrible news was quickly circulated through the various groups.

Boys turned to look at one another aghast, and the grins on their faces assumed a sickly yellow hue.
Word had been brought to the anxious Hugh that Alan Tyree would be utterly unable to be on the field that day, not to speak of pitching.
An unlucky accident after lunch had injured his left leg, and the doctor absolutely forbade his getting into uniform, or even leaving the house, under severe penalty for disobedience.
It was in the nature of a dreadful calamity, after the way Frazer had been actually knocked out of the box by those crude players from Mechanicsburg.

Still the game must be played, or forfeited to Allandale; and Scranton fellows are not in the habit of giving anything up without the hardest kind of a struggle.

So with a sigh, and trying to appear calm, Hugh turned to his second-string pitcher..