[Big Six]

Canton Base Ball Grounds
August 12, 1899

Kate Black wrung her hands in her lap as she watched Charlie struggle through the first inning. "Charlie looks so nervous!" she exclaimed to her brother Tom, who sat beside her in the grandstand behind the Canton bench.

"You would be too, Kate. Look at this huge crowd."

When the inning ended, Charlie trudged back to the bench. "That's OK, Charlie!" Kate shouted. "We'll get that run back, and more!"

James Travis was confused. He turned to Champ Reed and spoke to him out of the corner of his mouth. "Callahan didn't say anything to you, did he?"

Reed shook his head. "You told me you didn't want me talking to him, remember?" He grinned. "He didn't seek me out, either."

"I was just wondering," Travis said. "He sure laid the ball in to those guys."

The second and third innings went much better for Charlie and the Watchmakers. Callahan was the third man due up for Canton in the bottom of the third, and by the time he stepped to the plate, "Stringbean John" Adams had retired eight consecutive Watchmaker batsmen.

Charlie was no slouch at the plate; he was batting .241 this season, and he'd hit .327 for Canal Dover last year. He took a ball and a strike from Adams before he saw a pitch he liked and swung from the heels.

The crowd roared as the ball bounced off the wooden fence in left-center. Charlie pulled into second with a double, doffing his cap to the crowd.

Nobody was happier to see that happen than Joshua Spesinger.

Three straight singles by Ed Hood, David Reese, and Pedro Cruz followed, and the Watchmakers scored twice to take the lead. The team's two-out rally energized the crowd, especially the young woman whose heart had been stolen by the man who got the rally going.

Kate's loud cheering and frantically waving handkerchief caught the eye of James Travis. He watched her for a moment, and his mind began to work. So that's Callahan's sweetheart. That might be a helpful thing to know...

The Watchmakers scored again in the fifth inning, and led 3-1 as the Terriers came to bat in the sixth. Charlie had been cruising along, and the crowd seemed confident that their young ace would easily put the finishing touches on his 20th win of the season.

Then, three straight Terriers reached base, on a single, a walk, and a hit batsman. James Travis was suddenly paying close attention again. He knew how a pitcher who was on the take operated. He grooved pitches to some hitters; he threw wildly on purpose to others. Charlie Callahan's performance was looking more and more like that of a pitcher who was trying not to win.

Lima outfielder Adrian Sosa bounced a grounder right back to Charlie. He gloved it and squared around to throw home for the force.

The ball sailed over Cobb's head. Two runners scored. The game was tied.

When Lima scored again in the seventh, James Travis grabbed Champ Reed by the arm. "Let's go," he said. "I think we just got double-crossed."

Reed wasn't the smartest man in Ohio. "Whatcha mean, Jim?"

"I mean Callahan's crossed us up. He told me he wasn't interested in working with us, and he's gone and made a deal with someone else! He's throwing this game, and someone else is making the money, not us!"

Reed snarled. "That [expletive deleted]! I'll pull his arm out of its socket and beat the hell out of him with it for that." The Champ punctuated his words by smacking his ham-like fist into his palm.

Travis shook his head. "No, Champ. I think I know a better way to get to him. Let's go."

Lima beat Canton that day, 4-3. Meanwhile, Youngstown won a 2-1 thriller at home against Fremont, the West Division leader. The Watchmakers were now a game behind.

Charlie Callahan was inconsolable, and the only person he could speak freely with was Joshua Spesinger. "I swear to you I didn't throw the game, Josh," he said to his teammate and friend. "I just screwed up."

"I said I believe you," Josh said, "and I still believe you."

"Thanks. I hope everybody else does, too."