The Curse of the Campfire Weenies Read Online Free

walked away from General Treron, I bent down, picked up a candy-bar wrapper from the ground, and tossed it into a trash can. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

TIED UP
    I t was the bottom of the ninety-seventh inning. We were down by one, 57 to 56. I was up next. Tying run on third, winning run on second. I watched as Kent swung too early at a changeup. Strike three. One out.
    â€œCome on, Tucker,” Coach Wagner called from his spot near first base.
    I looked at him for some kind of sign. Hit away for the win or sacrifice for the tie? I was pretty sure I could drive Lucas home from third. I might be able to hit a hard grounder and bring Miguel home, too. A win would be good. Wouldn’t it?
    As I settled down into my batting stance at the plate, I glanced at the scoreboard beyond the left-field fence. It stretched far into the distance. I could barely make out any innings below the thirties. The unplayed innings stretched off to the right.
    â€œStrike!”
    Dang. I had to focus. I couldn’t let my mind wander.
I watched the next pitch come in high and outside. The one after that was also high.
    Come on, give me one I can taste. I knew he wouldn’t walk me. That would load the bases. Which also meant he wasn’t going to risk letting the count get to three and one. Sure enough, he fired a rocket at the upper inside corner of the zone. I halfway decided to swing for the fence, but caution won and I ended up hitting a hopper past first. I was thrown out, but the run scored.
    I looked at Coach Wagner. He nodded, but I couldn’t tell whether he was really pleased.
    â€œGood job,” Kent said when I got back to the bench.
    â€œThanks.” I watched Ethan walk up to the plate. “Maybe I should have gone for the win. What do you think?”
    Kent shrugged.
    â€œHot dogs! Get yer red hots!”
    I looked past the fence. A guy was walking by with a small pushcart. I loved hot dogs.
    â€œHere!” I called.
    He swung over. I had a couple bucks folded in my sneaker just for this. I traded them for a hot dog.
    At the plate, Ethan hit a pop-up. It barely cleared the infield. The shortstop caught it, and the other team came in off the field to start the next inning.
    â€œCome on,” Kent said.
    â€œI’ll be right there.” I gulped the hot dog in three bites. I hated to rush, but I couldn’t take it to the field
with me. The last bite almost caught in my throat, but I managed to get it down without choking.
    â€œYou are such a pig,” Kent said. He flashed me a grin. I didn’t mind if he kidded me.
    â€œYou should talk.” I pointed to a ketchup splotch on his pants leg.
    He looked down and frowned, then headed over to right field. I noticed he had a couple ketchup stains on his back, too. I jogged out to third base. Top of the ninety-eighth. I’d had at least a couple shots at breaking the tie. But I’d played it safe every time. I guess we all had.
    They didn’t score any runs that inning. Neither did we. They scored twice in the ninety-ninth inning, but we managed to tie it up again.
    â€œThis seems kind of special,” I told Kent as we headed into the field for the top of the one hundredth.
    â€œHuh?”
    â€œOne hundred innings,” I said.
    He shrugged. “So?”
    â€œI don’t know.” I looked around the field. Something was tickling the back of my mind. But this was no time to let my attention wander. I focused on the game. They managed to get one man on but weren’t able to advance him. Thanks to a nice dive and throw, I made the third out.
    When I came up to bat, I got to first on a walk. I looked at the coach to see if he wanted me to steal.

    â€œUp to you,” he said.
    I stayed put. After two outs, I made it to third on a strong grounder. If I’d stolen second earlier, the game would be over now. The next batter struck out.
    Inning 101. I’d been sure something special would happen at