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what happened?”
    Coach Beach nodded. “She did. Told meabout the flat tire and her trouble in catching a ride. So don’t worry. I’m not going to bench you for not showing up.”
    “She was stopped for speeding, too,” said Bonesy.
    The smile on Coach Beach’s face disappeared. “She was?”
    The boys nodded. “She got caught speeding when she went back to the cottage with the kerosene,” explained David. “Guess she
     wanted to get us back here in time so that we wouldn’t miss all of the game.”
    “Poor Mrs. Finch.” The coach shook his head regretfully. “She really had tough luck today, didn’t she?”
    “Guess it was partly our fault,” said Bonesy. “She wouldn’t have been stopped for speeding if it wasn’t for us.”
    Coach Beach grinned. “You’re right, Bonesy. That part was your fault.”
    “Who won, Coach?” asked David.
    “The Waxwings. Eight to six. Maybe you had something to do about that, too. I don’t know. Anyway, make sure both of you are
     at the next game.”
    “We sure will,” said David, and then he looked at Bonesy.
    It had been a rough day all around.

9
    D AVID asked Dad to knock him grounders in the front yard. Dad reminded him of the black eye he had received from a bad bounce
     and suggested that they go to the ballpark.
    David called Bonesy, and Bonesy went with them. Dad hit grounders to David’s left side and his right side. David fielded the
     big hops easily when the ball wasn’t too far either way. Dad hit other grounders right past him, grounders that would have
     been caught by a faster player.
    David struck the pocket of his glove angrily when he couldn’t catch those.
    “Never mind,” said Dad. “They would be tough ones for anybody to catch.”
    But David had seen third basemen spear grounders and line drives that were hit hard on either side of them. It was plays like
     those that made a good third baseman.
    He remembered what Don had said in the hospital: It’s up to you now to keep the Kroft name going.
    Somehow he wished that Don had never said that.
    It sprinkled a little Monday morning. The Flickers went to the ballpark early in the afternoon. The rain had settled the dust
     around the base paths and the pitcher’s mound. For an hour Rex Drake had the infielders practice on grounders and the outfielders
     shagging flies. During the next hour they held batting practice.Rex was captain and handled the team when Coach Beach was working and couldn’t be there.
    Later, before the six o’clock game started, there would be men here who would rake the infield and line the base paths and
     the batter’s box with white lime.
    The Flickers practiced again Tuesday morning, and David worked as hard as he could at third. He alternated with Legs Mulligan.
     Legs didn’t seem to try half so hard as David, yet he fielded the ball more easily and made the catches look simpler.
    David didn’t know whether Rex said anything about him to Coach Beach. But when the Flickers played the Canaries the next evening,
     David didn’t start.
    The Canaries had not lost a game. They had won seven straight. The Flickers had won three and lost three. It was in the heart
     of every boy on the Flickers’ team to beat the Canaries today.
    The crowd was larger than usual. David sawthat there were more Canaries’ fans there than Flickers’. And they were sitting on the third-base coaching box side.
    The Flickers were up first. They got off to a poor start as leadoff man Ken Lacey struck out. Two fly balls to the outfield
     ended the Flickers’ half-inning.
    Brad Lodge threw in the warm-up pitches to Rex, but when he faced the first Canaries’ batter he had trouble. He gave the man
     a free ticket to first on four pitched balls. The next batter bunted to Legs at third. Legs tried to throw the man out at
     second, but the ball reached there too late.
    Brad was nervous now. He rubbed his forehead with the sleeves of his jersey and kept jerking his shoulders. He toed the