Baseball Flyhawk (6 page)

Suddenly something on the ground caught Chico’s eyes. It was at the edge of the path — a snake about three feet long!

“Look out!” he yelled. “Snake!”

Just as he yelled, it slithered across the path behind the two boys. Buddy spun, his eyes wide. String spun around, too. His
face turned white. He saw the snake and jumped back.

One foot slid onto some leaves at the edge of the path, and he lost his balance. He fell, then slid on his back down the steep
bank. He tried to stop himself but
couldn’t. “Help! I — I can’t swim!” he screamed.

The next instant he was falling through space, his feet sprawled out in front of him. Far below, he struck the water and disappeared.

H
e sank!” cried Buddy. “I can’t see him!” Panic was in his face and eyes.

Frozen with shock and horror, Chico was unable to move.

“What are we going to do?” Buddy moaned. “He’ll probably drown!”

Suddenly Chico came to life. He quickly started stripping off his T-shirt. “I’ll dive in after him,” he said.

“Dive in? Are you crazy? That’s about thirty feet! You could hurt yourself bad!”

“I won’t get hurt,” Chico assured him.
“You said yourself there was a deep pool cleared out down below here!”

Buddy stared down at the water. “Look!” He pointed. “There’s String! He came up! But he looks ... he looks unconscious or
something.”

Chico pulled off his sneakers and socks. Carefully he hurried down the bank a few feet, stood in diving position for a moment,
then pushed himself forward. He dived gracefully, his feet together behind him, his hands stretched over his head and spread
slightly apart. It seemed a long time that he was suspended there in the air, holding his breath. Then he struck the smooth,
mirrorlike top of the water. He went down deep, then swam back up to the surface.

The water was cool, and he shivered. He gulped in fresh air, whipped his hair away from his face, and looked around for String.

About twenty feet away from him — in
the direction of the falls — he saw String bobbing in the water.

“String!” Chico yelled. “String!”

String didn’t move. Terror took hold of Chico. Maybe Buddy was right. String was probably unconscious!

Chico started swimming as swiftly as he could toward String. The falls were not too far away. If he didn’t get to String soon
. . .

The horrible thought of what would happen made Chico swim even faster. Suddenly he didn’t see String. String had gone down!

No! There he was again!

Chico swam harder than he had ever swum in his life. The gap between them began to close. At long last he reached String,
put his left hand under String’s chin, then turned and swam toward the shore.

The current was strong against them, but Chico swam with powerful strokes. He reached the shore, pulled up String beside
him with panting breath, and held String’s head in his arms.

String’s eyes were closed. Suddenly he coughed hard, sputtering water.

“String!” Chico cried. “String! Can you talk?”

“Who — who is it?” gasped String.

The words were like music to Chico. His eyes brightened. “It’s me! Chico!”

“Where — where’s Buddy?”

“Up on the path. I’ll bet he went after Coach Day.”

String didn’t say any more. Chico looked at his wet face. It was pale and tired-looking. Chico grew worried. Would String
be all right?

After what seemed like a long while, he heard voices nearby. Then Coach Day and the other men came hurrying along the narrow
shore. They saw him and String and rushed forward.

“How is he, Chico?”

“He was talking to me,” said Chico.

“Good! Here, let me have him.” Coach Day put his arms around String’s shoulders. “String! Are you all right?”

String turned his head. His eyes opened. “I guess I swallowed a lot of water, Coach. My stomach feels full.”

Coach Day smiled. “We’d better get you to a doctor, String. From what Buddy told us, that was quite a long fall.”

“Chico saved my life, Coach,” said String. “He dived in after me. That took a lot of nerve, Coach. You know it?”

T
he doctor could find nothing seriously wrong with String, except that he suffered slightly from shock. However, he advised
that String be sent to a hospital.

String stayed in the hospital only a day. He was told, though, that he should rest for a week. During that time the Royals
played two games. They squeezed a win over the Bombers, 8 to 7. Then they started off round three with a loss to the Braves,
5 to 2.

Chico got a hit in each game. He felt he was getting back in stride.

On August 3, the Royals played the Colts. With String back on first base, the Royals were their old selves again. But no,
thought Chico. Something was different from before.

The Colts pounded Frankie’s pitches, but a Royals man was always there to catch the ball. Their defense was like a brick wall.

The fans gave String a rousing cheer when he stepped to the plate. There were two men on. It was a good chance to score.

String took two strikes, then went down swinging. Ground balls to short and first ended the Royals’ threat. The Colts were
playing well defensively, too.

The innings went on without a score. The game turned into a pitchers’ duel. Several men from both teams got on bases, but
tight playing kept them from scoring.

In the fifth, the Colts started to build
some momentum. The first batter singled, then stole second. Then Frankie threw a hook that went wild. The runner raced to
third.

“Let’s settle down!” yelled Coach Day.

String and Dutch Pierce walked to the mound to talk with Frankie. They returned to their positions and started a steady flow
of infield chatter.

Out in left field, Chico watched the batter closely. Here was a strong hitter, he remembered. He didn’t hit the ball very
high, but low and hard.

Crack!
A smashing hit to left. It sailed over third baseman Dutch Pierce’s head in a long clothesline drive.

Chico moved back. The ball was coming like a bullet. It was going over his head!

He leapt.
Plop!
He had it!

The runner on third tagged up and made
a beeline for home. The way the game was going, that run could mean plenty. It could win the ball game.

Chico reared back and pegged the ball in as hard as he could. It went over Dutch’s head and bounced once. Then Dale caught
it at the plate and tagged the runner.

“You’re out!” yelled the umpire.

The Royals fans stomped on the bleachers and screamed.

“Beautiful peg, Chico!” Dutch called.

“Thataway, Chico!” String shouted from first. “Great arm!”

Chico glowed with pride.

The next man grounded out, and the inning was over.

With one out and no men on, String came to the plate. This time he cut hard at the first pitch and struck it solidly. Even
as the ball sailed far and high, everybody knew just where it was going.

Over the fence! A home run!

The Colts’ momentum was gone, and their final at-bat was scoreless. The game ended, 1 to 0.

The whole Royals team crowded around String and Frankie. They happily pounded their backs and shook their hands. String’s
smile stretched from ear to ear.

Then he saw Chico. He came forward and put an arm around Chico’s shoulders.

“Boy, Chico!” he said. “You really threw that apple! It was perfect!”

“Thanks,” said Chico, smiling. “You really
hit
that apple!”

“Thanks, Chico. Look, after you change clothes and eat, come over to my house, will you? I have something I want to ask you.”

Chico nodded. “Okay!”

He knew now what was different from before. It was String.

At home Chico took off his uniform, washed, put on clean clothes, and ate. All the while he wondered why String wanted him
to go to his house.

It was almost twilight when he left. He met Buddy on the way, and Buddy went with him. Chico didn’t think String would mind.

“Hi, Chico. Hi, Buddy,” said String as he opened the door for them. “Come on in.”

The boys sat in the living room. String left the room for a minute. When he returned, he was wearing a brand-new bathing suit.
He grinned sheepishly.

“I don’t have anything to give you to thank you for saving my life, Chico,” he said plainly. “In fact, I’m going to ask you
for something.” He took a deep breath and blurted out, “Will you teach me how to swim?”

Chico gazed at him solemnly. “Okay, but I want something in return.”

String and Buddy looked at him with surprise. “You do?” String said.

“Yes,” Chico replied. He broke out in a big smile. “I want you to teach me how to hit with that long yellow bat! Next season,
I want to put one over the fence like you do!”

String and Buddy laughed out loud. “It’s a deal!” String said. “I’ll meet you at the ballpark first thing tomorrow morning.
But now you guys scram. I feel like an idiot standing around here in my bathing suit!”

Still laughing, Buddy and Chico headed for home.

Things are working out just fine
, thought Chico happily.
Just fine.

Baseball Pals	Dive Right In
Baseball Turnaround	Double Play at Short
The Basket Counts	Face-Off
Body Check	Fairway Phenom
Catch That Pass!	Football Fugitive
Catcher with a Glass Arm	Football Nightmare
Catching Waves	The Fox Steals Home
Center Court Sting	Goalkeeper in Charge