there so firmly, so confidently. He gave Edward a smile and a nod, which Edward returned; then instantly the faces of the two became serious, intent, watchful. The pitcher deliberated; somehow he felt that he was facing a dangerous man.
He sent one of his sharp inshoots against which Edward had been warned. It came at Edward shoulder high; Edward leaned backward, without stepping away from it, and let it pass: “Ball one!” called the umpire.
He might have allowed it to hit him; but he had thought quickly when he dodged; his business was to drive in a run that would tie the score.
He stepped forward at the second ball and hit hard; it curved out over third base beyond the foul line, a long but unlucky hit, for being a foul it counted as a strike. Still, it gave Edward confidence to have met the ball so squarely and to have driven it on such a long low line.
“Guess my eye is all right,” he muttered to himself.
