Shadow Over Second Read Online Free

the bag, and he was out.
    Two players on base, one out.
    Nicky knelt in the on-deck circle, watching T.V. take a few practice swings. His heart was thumping.
    This is it
, he thought.
Even if T.V. gets out, I’ll have a chance to make an RBI. I could bat Barry home.
    T.V. swung at three pitches. He missed three times.
    Two outs.
    Nicky stood up. He was about to gothrough his pre-batting ritual when he remembered his promise to his mother.
    Oh, man
, he thought.

9

    “Batter up!” the umpire called. “C’mon, son, time’s ticking.”
    Reluctantly Nicky stepped into the box.
    Here goes nothing
, he thought dismally.
    But when the pitcher reared back and threw, Nicky’s instincts took over. He swung. Hard.
    Crack!
    A high-flying ball straight into the hole behind the shortstop! Nicky’s cleats tore up the dirt as he hightailed it to first.
    Safe!
    A loud cheer rose from the Mudders’ fans. It got even louder when Barry McGee beatthe throw to home.
    The score now read Bulls 2, Mudders 1. And Nicky knew that the scorekeeper was placing a small, neat check mark in the RBI
     column next to his name.
    One down, three to go
, he thought, dazed.
Maybe I’m not jinxed after all! Or maybe Mom’s right
, he added.
Maybe superstitious rituals have less to do with my hitting than I think!
    A moment later, Alfie Maples popped out to end the Mudders’ turn at bat.
    The Bulls’ second baseman led off at the bottom of the third. He drilled a low pitch to deep right. It sailed between José
     and Alfie and went for a triple.
    Adzie Healy drew a walk, Stick Jolly fanned, and Jim Hance singled. Bases loaded.
    “C’mon, Zero, use your magic touch!” T.V. shouted from third base.
    Zero did. He struck out the next batter. Then Turtleneck caught a fly ball. Three outs.
    The Mudders could do nothing their turn at bat, and the Bulls came up still ahead by one run. By the end of the inning, they
     had added two more runs to their lead. Bulls 4, Mudders 1.
    The fifth inning saw no change in the score. In fact, both teams brought three batters to the plate and watched three batters
     return without getting on base.
    The Mudders started off the sixth and last inning at the top of the order. Once again, Nicky watched T.V. from the on-deck
     circle. T.V. hit a solid single.
    Nicky stood and marched straight into the batter’s box.
    Okay, Mom, a promise is a promise
, he thought, gritting his teeth.
But let’s see if that first hit was just a fluke.
    What happened next made Nicky question forevermore the value of superstition. He swung at the first pitch — and connected
     so hard that the bat cracked in two! He didn’t
     

    wait to see the pieces land. He just ran as fast as he could. When he stopped, he was standing on third base.
    Nicky had chalked up another RBI. The score now read Bulls 4, Mudders 2.
    The cheers that burst forth from the stands were deafening. Even if the Mudders didn’t win the game, Nicky was sure the fans
     would go home happy. His grin was so wide, it almost split his face in half.
    But then he heard a noise that wiped the smile from his lips.
    It was a low laugh. So low it sounded muffled.
    He spun around and found himself face to face with Stick Jolly.
    “Bet you thought that RBI was going to help your stupid team pull ahead, didn’t you?” Stick said. “Well, guess again!”
    Nicky was stunned. Stick’s words were hateful. But it was his laugh that had joltedhim. He had heard that laugh earlier that day —
only moments before he and Turtleneck had discovered themselves locked in the shed!

10

    But if that were true
, Nicky told himself,
then Stick must be the one who put the peg into the latch!
    Then Nicky hesitated. Was a barely heard laugh enough evidence to accuse someone of sabotage?
    As Alfie Maples stepped to the plate for his turn at bat, Nicky replayed the morning’s events over again in his mind: from
     the time he and Turtleneck walked into the shed, to when Babe Ruth barked, to when they