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+Project Gutenberg's Baseball Joe Around the World, by Lester Chadwick
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Baseball Joe Around the World
+       Pitching on a Grand Tour
+
+Author: Lester Chadwick
+
+Release Date: November 27, 2008 [EBook #27338]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BASEBALL JOE AROUND THE WORLD ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank, Juliet Sutherland and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: IT WAS A HAMMER-AND-TONGS CONFLICT FROM START TO FINISH.
+_Baseball Joe Around the World_ Page 221]
+
+
+
+
+BASEBALL JOE
+
+AROUND THE WORLD
+
+or
+
+Pitching on a Grand Tour
+
+By LESTER CHADWICK
+
+AUTHOR OF
+
+"BASEBALL JOE OF THE SILVER STARS," "BASEBALL JOE IN THE BIG LEAGUE,"
+"THE RIVAL PITCHERS," "THE RIGHT-OARED VICTORS," ETC.
+
+ILLUSTRATED
+
+New York
+
+CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+BOOKS BY LESTER CHADWICK
+
+THE BASEBALL JOE SERIES
+12mo. Cloth. Illustrated
+
+BASEBALL JOE OF THE SILVER STARS
+BASEBALL JOE ON THE SCHOOL NINE
+BASEBALL JOE AT YALE
+BASEBALL JOE IN THE CENTRAL LEAGUE
+BASEBALL JOE IN THE BIG LEAGUE
+BASEBALL JOE ON THE GIANTS
+BASEBALL JOE IN THE WORLD SERIES
+BASEBALL JOE AROUND THE WORLD
+
+THE COLLEGE SPORTS SERIES
+12 mo. Cloth. Illustrated
+
+THE RIVAL PITCHERS
+A QUARTERBACK'S PLUCK
+BATTING TO WIN
+THE WINNING TOUCHDOWN
+THE EIGHT-OARED VICTORS
+
+CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, New York
+
+Copyright, 1918, by
+Cupples & Leon Company
+
+Baseball Joe Around the World
+
+Printed in U. S. A.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+CHAPTER                                 PAGE
+      I  In Deadly Peril                   1
+     II  Quick As Lightning               12
+    III  The Stranger's Visit             22
+     IV  The Top Of The Wave              32
+      V  Lucky Joe                        40
+     VI  Circling The Globe               49
+    VII  The Gathering Of The Clans       60
+   VIII  The Rival Teams                  67
+     IX  The Under Dog                    75
+      X  By A Hair                        84
+     XI  A Close Call                     93
+    XII  A Dastardly Attack              103
+   XIII  Danger Signals                  112
+    XIV  A Weird Game                    119
+     XV  The Bewildered Umpire           128
+    XVI  Putting Them Over               135
+   XVII  "Man Overboard"                 143
+  XVIII  One Strike And Out              150
+    XIX  Braxton Joins The Party         155
+     XX  In Mikado Land                  164
+    XXI  Running Amuck                   175
+   XXII  Taking A Chance                 183
+  XXIII  An Embarrassed Rescuer          191
+   XXIV  The Blow Falls                  200
+    XXV  The Cobra In The Room           207
+   XXVI  In The Shadow Of The Pyramids   213
+  XXVII  The Signed Contract             220
+ XXVIII  Whirlwind Pitching              227
+   XXIX  The Ruined Castle               234
+    XXX  Brought To Book--Conclusion     240
+
+
+
+
+BASEBALL JOE AROUND
+THE WORLD
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+IN DEADLY PERIL
+
+
+"Great Scott! Look at this!"
+
+Joe Matson, or "Baseball Joe," as he was better known throughout the
+country, sprang to his feet and held out a New York paper with headlines
+which took up a third of the page.
+
+There were three other occupants of the room in the cozy home at
+Riverside, where Joe had come to rest up after his glorious victory in the
+last game of the World's Series, and they looked up in surprise and some
+alarm.
+
+"Land's sakes!" exclaimed his mother, pausing just as she was about to
+bite off a thread. "You gave me such a start, Joe! What on earth has
+happened?"
+
+"What's got my little brother so excited?" mocked his pretty sister,
+Clara.
+
+"Has an earthquake destroyed the Polo Grounds?" drawled Jim Barclay,
+Joe's special chum and fellow pitcher on the Giant team.
+
+"Not so bad as that," replied Joe, cooling down a bit; "but it's something
+that will make McRae and the whole Polo Grounds outfit throw a fit if it's
+true."
+
+Jim snatched the paper from Joe's hands, with the familiarity born of long
+acquaintance, and as his eyes fell on the headlines he gave a whistle of
+surprise.
+
+"'Third Major League a Certainty,'" he read. "Gee whiz, Joe! I don't
+wonder it upset you. That's news for fair."
+
+"Is that all?" pouted Clara, who had been having a very interesting
+conversation with handsome Jim Barclay, and did not relish being
+interrupted.
+
+Mrs. Matson also looked relieved and resumed her sewing.
+
+"Is that all?" cried Joe, as he began to pace the floor excitedly. "I tell
+you, Sis, it's plenty. If it's true, it means the old Brotherhood days all
+over again. It means a fight to disrupt the National and the American
+Leagues. It means all sorts of trickery and breaking of contracts. It
+means distrust and suspicion between the members of the different teams.
+It means--oh, well, what doesn't it mean? I'd rather lose a thousand
+dollars than know that the news is true."
+
+"But perhaps it isn't true," suggested Clara, sobered a little by her
+brother's earnestness. "You can't believe half the things you see in the
+papers."
+
+"Will it hurt your position with the Giants, Joe?" asked Mrs. Matson, her
+motherly instincts taking alarm at anything that threatened her idolized
+son.
+
+Joe stopped beside his mother's chair and patted her head affectionately.
+
+"Not for a long time if at all, Momsey," he replied reassuringly. "My
+contract with the Giants has two years to run, and it's as good as gold,
+even if I didn't throw a ball in all that time. It wasn't the money I was
+thinking about. As a matter of fact, I could squeeze double the money out
+of McRae, if I were mean enough to take advantage of him. It's the damage
+that will be done to the game that's bothering me."
+
+"Perhaps it won't be as bad as you think," ventured his mother. "You know
+the old saying that 'the worst things that befall us are the things that
+never happen.'"
+
+"That's the way to look at it," broke in Jim heartily. "Let's take a
+squint at the whole article and see how much fire there is in all this
+smoke."
+
+"And read it out loud," said Clara. "I'm just as much of a baseball fan as
+either of you two. And Momsey is, too, after all the World's Series games
+she's seen played."
+
+It is to be feared that Mrs. Matson's eyes had been so riveted on Joe
+alone, in that memorable Series when he had pitched his team to victory,
+that she had not picked up many points about the game in general. But
+anything that concerned her darling boy concerned her as well, and she let
+her sewing lie unheeded in her lap as Joe read the story from beginning to
+end.
+
+"Seems to be straight goods," remarked Jim, as Joe threw the paper aside.
+
+"They've got the money all right," rejoined Joe. "They've got two or three
+millionaires who are willing to take a chance and put up the coin."
+
+"One of the names seems to be rather familiar," remarked Jim, with a
+sidewise look at Joe. "Do you remember him?"
+
+"I remember him," replied Joe grimly, "but I'd bet a dollar against a
+plugged nickel that he remembers me better yet."
+
+"Who is it?" asked Clara with quickened interest.
+
+"Beckworth Fleming," replied Joe.
+
+"Rather a pretty name," remarked Mrs. Matson absently.
+
+"Prettier than he was when Joe got through with him," interposed Jim with
+a grin.
+
+Mrs. Matson looked up, shocked.
+
+"Oh, I hope Joe didn't hurt him!" she exclaimed.
+
+"Whatever Joe did was for the good of his soul," laughed Jim. "I can't say
+as much for his body."
+
+"It's all right, Momsey," smiled Joe. "He was insolent to Mabel, and I had
+to give him a thrashing. But that's neither here nor there. He's the
+spoiled son of a very rich man, and he's one of the men behind this new
+league. 'A fool and his money are soon parted,' and he'll probably be
+wiser when he gets through with this than he is now."
+
+"But why shouldn't they start a new league if they want to?" asked Mrs.
+Matson. "I should think they had a right to, if they wanted to do it."
+
+"Of course they have a right to," agreed Joe. "This is a free country, and
+any man has a right to go into any legitimate business if he thinks
+there's money in it. Neither the National League nor the American League
+have a mortgage on the game. But the trouble is that there aren't enough
+good players to go round. All the really good ones have been already
+gobbled up by the present leagues. If the new league started in with
+unknown players, it wouldn't take in enough money to pay the batboys. The
+consequence is that it tries to get the players who are already under
+contract by making them big offers, and that leads to all sorts of
+dishonesty. You take a man who is making three thousand a year and offer
+him six if he'll break his contract, and it's a big temptation."
+
+"They'll be after you, Joe, sure as shooting," remarked Jim. "It would be
+a big feather in their cap to start off with copping the greatest pitcher
+in the game. They'd be willing to offer you a fortune to get you. They
+figure that after that start the other fellows they want will be tumbling
+over themselves to get aboard."
+
+"Let them come," declared Joe. "I'll send them off with a flea in their
+ear. They'll find that I'm no contract jumper."
+
+"I'm sure that you'd never do anything mean," said his mother, looking at
+him fondly.
+
+"There isn't a crooked bone in his head," laughed Clara, making a face at
+him as he threatened her with his fist.
+
+"The contract is enough," said Joe; "but even if I were a free agent, I
+wouldn't go with the new league and leave McRae in the hole. I feel that I
+owe him a lot for the way he has treated me. He took me from a
+second-string team and gave me a chance to make good on the Giants. He
+took a chance in offering me a three-year contract in place of one. I'm
+getting four thousand, five hundred a year, which is a good big sum
+whatever way you look at it. And you remember how promptly he came across
+with that thousand dollars for winning twenty games last season."
+
+"We remember that, don't we, Momsey?" said Clara, patting her mother's
+hand.
+
+"I should say we did," replied Mrs. Matson, while a suspicious moisture
+came into her eyes. "Will we ever forget the day when we opened that
+letter from the dear boy, and the thousand-dollar bill fell out on the
+table? It gave us all the happiest time we have had in all our lives."
+
+Jim, too, mentally blessed that big bill which had brought the Matson
+family to witness the World's Series games and so had enabled him to meet
+Joe's charming sister. Perhaps that vivacious young lady read what was
+passing in his mind, for her eyes suddenly dropped as they met Jim's
+eloquent ones.
+
+Joe flushed at this reference to his generosity, and Clara was quick to
+cover her own slight confusion by rallying her brother.
+
+"He's blushing!" she declared.
+
+"I'm not," denied Joe stoutly, getting still redder.
+
+"You are so," averred his sister in mock alarm. "Stop it, Joe, before it
+gets to your hair. I don't want a red-headed brother."
+
+Joe made a dash at his tormentor, but she eluded him and got into another
+room.
+
+"Come along, Jim," said Joe, picking up his cap. "Let's warm up a little.
+We want to keep our salary wings in good condition, and maybe the open
+air will help to get the bad taste of the new league out of our mouths."
+
+They went into an open lot near by and had a half-hour's practice,
+pitching to each other at a moderate pace, only now and then unlimbering
+some of the fast balls that had been wont to stand opposing batters "on
+their heads" in the exciting games of the season just ended.
+
+"How does the old soup bone feel?" inquired Jim.
+
+"Fine as silk," replied Joe; "I was afraid I might have strained it in
+that last game. But it feels as strong now as it did at the beginning of
+the season."
+
+They had supper a little earlier than usual that night, for with the
+exception of Joe's father, who was busy on a new invention, they were all
+going to a show that evening at the Riverside Opera House. It promised to
+be an interesting entertainment, for the names of several popular actors
+appeared on the program. But what made it especially attractive to Joe and
+his party was the fact that Nick Altman, the famous pitcher of the "White
+Sox" of Chicago, was on the bill for a monologue. Although, being in the
+American League, Joe and Jim had never played against him, they knew him
+well by reputation and respected him for his ability in their chosen
+profession.
+
+"As a pitcher he sure is classy," remarked Joe. "They say that fast
+inshoot of his is a lulu. But that doesn't say that he's any good on the
+stage."
+
+"He's pulling in the coin all right," replied Jim. "They say that his
+contract calls for two hundred dollars a week. He won't have to eat
+snowballs this winter."
+
+"Jim tells me that a vaudeville manager offered you five hundred dollars a
+week the day after you won the championship for the Giants," said Clara.
+
+"So he did," replied Joe, "but it would have been a shame to take the
+money."
+
+"Such a shrinking violet," teased his sister.
+
+"I'm sure he would make a very good actor," said his mother, who would
+have been equally sure that he would make a good president of the United
+States.
+
+The night was fine, and the town Opera House was crowded to its capacity.
+There was a buzz and whispering as Joe and his party entered and made
+their way to their reserved seats near the center of the house, for
+Riverside regarded the famous pitcher as one of its greatest assets. He
+had given the quiet little village a fame that it would never have had
+otherwise. In the words of Sol Cramer, the hotel keeper and village
+oracle, Joe had "put Riverside on the map."
+
+There were three or four sketches and vaudeville turns before Altman,
+who, of course, was the chief attraction as far as Joe and his folks were
+concerned, came on the stage. He had a clever skit in which baseball
+"gags" and "patter" were the chief ingredients, and as he was a natural
+humorist his act went "big" in the phrase of the profession. Knowing that
+Joe lived in Riverside and would probably be in the audience, Altman
+adroitly introduced his name in one of his anecdotes, and was rewarded by
+a storm of applause which clearly showed how Joe stood in his home town.
+
+"You own this town, Joe," laughed Jim, who was seated between him and
+Clara--Jim could be depended on these days never to be farther away from
+Clara than he could help.
+
+"Yes," mocked Clara. "Any time he runs for poundkeeper he's sure to be
+elected."
+
+Joe was about to make some laughing retort, when his quick eye caught
+sight of something that made the flush fade from his face and his heart
+lose a beat.
+
+From the wing at the left of the stage _a tiny wisp of smoke was
+stealing_.
+
+Like lightning, his quick brain sensed the situation. The house was old
+and would burn like tinder. There were only the two exits--one on each
+side of the hall. And the place was crowded--and his mother was there--and
+Clara!
+
+His plan was formed in an instant. He must reach a narrow corridor, by
+which, out of sight of the audience, he could gain the back of the stage
+and stamp out whatever it was that was making that smoke.
+
+He rose to slip out, but at that moment a big bulk of a man sitting two
+seats ahead of him jumped to his feet with a yell.
+
+"Fire! Fire!" he shouted wildly. "The house is on fire!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+QUICK AS LIGHTNING
+
+
+For one awful instant the crowd sat as though paralyzed.
+
+But in that instant Joe acted.
+
+With one powerful leap he reached the frenzied shouter, his fist shot out,
+and the man went down as though hit with an axe.
+
+Up the aisle Joe went like a flash, cleared the orchestra rail at a bound,
+and with one more jump was on the stage.
+
+The audience had risen now and was crowding toward the aisles. Women
+screamed, some fainted, and all the conditions were ripe for a panic.
+
+Above the hubbub, Joe's voice rang out like a trumpet.
+
+"Keep your seats!" he shouted. "There's no danger. I tell you to keep your
+seats."
+
+The crowd halted uncertainly, fearfully, and Joe took instant advantage of
+the hesitation.
+
+"You know me," he cried. "I tell you there's no danger. Haven't you ever
+smelled cigar smoke before?"
+
+The suggestion was a happy one, and the crowd began to quiet down,
+regaining their courage at the sight of that indomitable figure on the
+stage.
+
+Jim had been only two jumps behind Joe in his rush to the front, and while
+Joe was calming the crowd Jim had rushed into the wing and dragged down
+some draperies that had caught fire from a gas jet. In a moment he had
+trampled them underfoot and the danger was over.
+
+The orchestra had seemed to keep its wits better than the rest of the
+throng, and Joe signaled to the leader to strike up a tune. The next
+instant the musicians swung into a popular air, and completely reassured,
+the people settled down into their seats.
+
+And while Joe stands there, exulting in his triumph over the panic, it may
+be well for the sake of those who have not read the preceding books of
+this series to sketch something of his life and adventures up to this
+time.
+
+Joe's first experience in the great game in which he was to become so
+famous was gained on the diamond of his own home town. He did so well
+there that he soon became known in the towns around as one of the best
+players in the county. He had many mishaps and difficulties, and how he
+overcame them is told in the first volume of the series, entitled,
+"Baseball Joe of the Silver Stars; Or The Rivals of Riverside."
+
+A little later on, when playing on his school nine, he had obstacles of a
+different character to surmount. The bully of the school sought to down
+him, but found that he had made a mistake in picking out his victim. Joe's
+natural skill and constant practice enabled him to win laurels for himself
+and his school on the diamond, and prepared him for the larger field that
+awaited him when later on he went to Yale.
+
+As may be easily understood, with all the competition he had to meet at
+the great University his chance was long in coming to prove his class in
+the pitching box. But the homely old saying that "it is hard to keep a
+squirrel on the ground" was never better exemplified than in his case.
+There came a time when the Yale "Bulldog" was hard beset by the Princeton
+"Tiger," and Joe was called on to twist the Tiger's tail. How well he did
+it and what glory he won for his Alma Mater can be read in the third
+volume of the series, entitled: "Baseball Joe at Yale; Or, Pitching for
+the College Championship."
+
+But even at the top notch of his popularity, Joe was restless at college.
+He was bright and keen in his studies and had no difficulty in standing up
+well in his classes. But all his instincts told him that he was made for
+the out-of-door life.
+
+His mother had hoped that Joe would enter the ministry, but Joe, although
+he had the greatest respect for that profession, did not feel that his
+life work lay in that direction. He had been so successful in athletic
+sports and took such pleasure in them that he yielded to his natural bent
+and decided to adopt professional baseball as his vocation.
+
+His mother was sorely grieved at first, and the more so as she felt that
+Joe was "stepping down" in entering the professional ranks. But Joe was
+able to show her that scores of college men were doing the same thing that
+he planned to do, and she had too good sense to press her opposition too
+far.
+
+The opening that Joe was looking for came when he was offered a chance to
+play in the Pittston team of the Central League. It was only a minor
+league, but all the great players have been developed in that way, and Joe
+determined to make it a stepping stone to something higher. How he
+speedily rose to leadership among the twirlers of his league is told in
+the fourth volume of the series, entitled: "Baseball Joe in the Central
+League; Or, Making Good as a Professional Pitcher."
+
+While Joe had been winning his spurs, the keen-eyed scouts of the big
+leagues had not been idle. The St. Louis team of the National League
+drafted him into their ranks and took him away from the "bushes." Now he
+felt that he was really on the highway to success. Almost from the start
+he created a sensation, and it was his pitching that brought his team into
+the first division.
+
+A still wider field opened up before him when after one year with St.
+Louis he was bought by the New York Giants. This had been his ambition
+from the start, but he had scarcely dared to hope that his dream would
+come true. He promised himself that he would "pitch his head off" to
+justify the confidence that McRae, the Giants' manager, had put in him.
+How he came through an exciting season and in the final game won the
+championship for his team can be seen in the sixth volume of the series,
+entitled: "Baseball Joe on the Giants; Or, Making Good as a Ball Twirler
+in the Metropolis."
+
+Of course this brought him into the World's Series, in which that year the
+Boston Red Sox were the Giants' opponents. It proved to be a whirlwind
+series, whose result remained in doubt until the last inning of the last
+game. Joe had fearful odds to contend against since an accident to
+Hughson, the Giants' standby, put the bulk of the pitching burden on our
+hero's shoulders. Unscrupulous enemies also sought by foul means to keep
+him out of the Series, but Joe's indomitable will and magnificent pitching
+won out against all odds, as told in the volume preceding this, entitled:
+"Baseball Joe in the World Series; Or, Pitching for the Championship."
+
+If ever a man had earned a rest it was Joe, and, as we have seen, he was
+taking it now in his home town. Jim Barclay, a fine young Princeton man
+and second-string pitcher on the Giants, had come with him, not so much,
+it is to be suspected, because of his fondness for Joe, though that was
+great, as to be near Clara, Joe's charming sister, who had been working
+all sorts of havoc with poor Jim's heart.
+
+By the time the orchestra had finished the tune, the panic had about
+subsided. But Joe was taking no chances and he motioned for a repetition.
+The leader obeyed, and at the end of this second playing the danger was
+entirely over. The audience was seated, with the exception of the man whom
+Joe had knocked down, who slunk shame-facedly out of the hall holding his
+hand on the place where the blow had landed.
+
+And now that the peril had passed, it was Joe who was panic-stricken.
+Though brave as a lion and quick as a panther in an emergency, he was the
+most modest of men and hated to pose as a hero. He was wondering what he
+should say or do, when Altman solved the problem by coming up to him with
+both hands extended. That gave the audience its cue, and in a moment a
+tempest of cheers swept the hall.
+
+"What's the matter with Matson?" someone shouted in a stentorian voice.
+
+"He's all right!" came back in a roar.
+
+"Who's all right?"
+
+"Matson! Joe Matson! Baseball Joe!"
+
+Men crowded forward, and in a moment Joe was surrounded by his friends and
+fellow townsmen, most of whom had known him when he was in knickerbockers
+and now were more proud of him than they had ever been, even when he
+returned to Riverside crowned with the laurels of his last great season.
+Joe was mauled and pounded until he was almost out of breath, and it was a
+relief when at last he had made his way back to his mother and sister.
+
+They were both crying openly with joy and pride, and the looks they turned
+on Joe were a greater reward than all the plaudits of his friends.
+
+There was no going on with the performance after that. The nerves of the
+audience were too highly keyed by the great peril that had been escaped.
+And they had a more dramatic scene to remember and talk about than
+anything that could be given them from the stage.
+
+In the excitement, a great many of those present had lost track of the
+friends or relatives that had been with them, and from all sides came
+various calls.
+
+"Where is Frank?"
+
+"Did you see what became of my sister Bessie?"
+
+"Oh, Bill! I say, Bill! Where are you?"
+
+Many of the scenes were most affecting. Women would rush into each other's
+arms, crying with joy to find that the lost ones were safe.
+
+"I can tell you it's a grand good thing that panic was stopped so
+quickly," remarked one man to another, as he gazed admiringly at the hero
+of the occasion.
+
+As Joe and his folks were leaving, a tall, well-dressed man stepped up to
+Joe and extended his hand.
+
+"Let me congratulate you, Mr. Matson," he said effusively. "That was a
+splendid thing you did to-night. I never saw anything finer."
+
+"I'm afraid you exaggerate it," deprecated Joe.
+
+"Not at all," said the stranger. "By the way, Mr. Matson, it's a
+coincidence that I came to town with the express purpose of seeing you on
+a business matter. But I didn't expect that my first meeting with you
+would be under such exciting circumstances."
+
+He took a card from his pocket and handed it to Joe.
+
+"My name, as you see, is Westland," he continued. "I'm stopping at the
+hotel, and I would be glad to see you there or at any place that may be
+convenient to you some time to-morrow."
+
+"Suppose you call at my home to-morrow morning," said Joe. "It's only
+about five minutes' walk from the hotel."
+
+"You needn't bother about giving me the directions," said Westland, with
+an ingratiating smile. "Everybody in Riverside knows where Baseball Joe
+lives. I'll be around at eleven o'clock."
+
+He lifted his hat and departed, while Joe and the others walked toward
+home.
+
+"What do you suppose he wants of you, Joe?" asked Clara, with lively
+curiosity.
+
+"Oh, I don't know," answered her brother carelessly. "Some reporter
+probably who wants to get the sad story of my life."
+
+"If it is, he'll have something to write about after to-night," put in
+Jim. "Great Scott! Joe, if that had happened in New York it would be
+spread all over the front page of to-morrow's papers."
+
+"Oh, Joe, I'm so proud of you," sighed his mother happily.
+
+"You're a brother worth having!" exclaimed Clara warmly.
+
+Jim was on the point of saying that Joe was a brother-in-law worth having,
+but checked himself in time.
+
+They had almost reached the house when Clara began to laugh.
+
+"What's the joke?" inquired Jim.
+
+But Clara only laughed the harder until they became a little alarmed.
+
+"No, I'm not hysterical," she said, when she could speak. "I only happened
+to remember what tune it was the orchestra played. I suppose it was the
+first thing the leader thought of, and he didn't have time to pick out
+another. Do you remember what it was?"
+
+They cudgeled their brains, but could not recall it.
+
+"What was it?" asked Jim.
+
+"'There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town To-night!'"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE STRANGER'S VISIT
+
+
+Promptly the next morning at eleven, Westland put in an appearance at the
+Matson home. He was carefully groomed and everything about him indicated
+money. He fairly exuded prosperity.
+
+He greeted Joe with a cordiality that seemed a trifle overdone,
+considering their brief acquaintance.
+
+"By George, Mr. Matson," he said, "this town has fallen for you all right.
+The whole place is buzzing with that affair of last night, and I don't
+wonder. If it hadn't been for you, the coroner and undertaker would be
+busy this morning."
+
+"Oh, I don't know," responded Joe. "If I hadn't got to it someone else
+would. It wasn't much of a blaze anyway, and ten to one it would have gone
+out of itself."
+
+"Modest I see," laughed Westland. "They say that all great men are. But
+you can't get anyone in this town to take such a slighting view of it as
+you do yourself."
+
+"You said last night that you had a business matter you wanted to see me
+about," suggested Joe, in order to change the subject.
+
+"So I have," replied Westland, "and I've traveled over a thousand miles to
+talk to you personally about it."
+
+He lighted a fresh cigar while Joe waited indifferently. He had been
+interviewed so much in the last year or two on all conceivable subjects
+that his curiosity was scarcely awakened.
+
+"Of course, Mr. Matson," began Westland, "you've heard of the new major
+league that has just been organized and----"
+
+Joe's bored feeling vanished and he was wide-awake in an instant. So this
+was what the visit meant! Jim's prediction was coming true sooner than he
+had expected.
+
+"Pardon me, Mr. Westland," he interrupted, "but if this is about baseball,
+I have a friend visiting me who is as much interested in the game as I am.
+In fact, he's a player himself. It's Jim Barclay of the Giants. You've
+heard of him, of course. Hello there, Jim!" he called, as he threw open
+the door into the adjoining room, where Jim was watching a distracting
+dimple come and go in Clara's cheek as they chatted together.
+
+"Really, Mr. Matson," said Westland, visibly flustered, "much as I would
+like to meet Mr. Barclay, I would rather----"
+
+But just then Jim came strolling in, and Joe hastened to introduce him. He
+had used the stratagem in order to have a witness at hand. He was
+determined that no false or twisted version of the interview should be
+given out broadcast in the interest of the new league.
+
+Despite his annoyance, Westland was diplomat enough to make the best of
+the situation, and he acknowledged the introduction graciously.
+
+"Mr. Westland called in connection with the new league we were reading
+about yesterday, Jim," explained Joe, "and I knew that you would be
+interested and so I called you in."
+
+Jim's jaw set a trifle, but he only nodded and Westland went on:
+
+"I'm a business man, Mr. Matson, and so are you. So I won't beat around
+the bush, but come straight to the point. You're the greatest pitcher in
+the country, and we want to secure your services for the new league. We've
+got oceans of money behind us, and we're prepared to let you name your own
+terms. We'll give you anything in reason--or out of reason for that
+matter--if you'll sign up with us."
+
+He delivered himself of this with the air of a man sure of having his
+offer accepted. But if he had expected Joe to gasp with astonishment and
+delight, he was disappointed.
+
+"Well," said Joe quietly, after a moment's pause, "that's certainly a very
+liberal proposition----"
+
+"Oh, we're no pikers," put in Westland complacently.
+
+"But there's one little thing in the way," Joe went on; "and that is that
+I'm already signed up with the Giants for the next two years."
+
+Westland saw that he was in for a tussle and braced himself.
+
+"Of course, of course," he said, with the tolerant smile of a man of the
+world. "I didn't think for a minute that McRae would let his kingpin run
+around loose without being signed up. But you know what baseball contracts
+are. They're so jug handled that no court would uphold them for a minute.
+In fact, McRae wouldn't dare to bring it into court. He may threaten and
+bluster, but that will be the end of it. That ten-day clause alone would
+kill it with any judge."
+
+"Even admitting that I could break my contract with the Giants and get
+away with it," said Joe, leading him on, "what guarantee would you have
+that I wouldn't do the same thing with you if I should want to?"
+
+"The guarantee of your own self-interest," replied Westland, flicking the
+ash from his cigar. "We'd make it so much worth your while to stay with us
+that there wouldn't be any inducement to go anywhere else."
+
+"In other words," said Joe, with a touch of sarcasm, "if you once bought
+me you'd rely on your money to see that I'd stay bought."
+
+"Now, now, Mr. Matson," put in Westland deprecatingly, "there's no use
+putting it in so harsh a way as that. This is simply business I'm talking
+to you, and in this world every man has got to look out for Number One.
+Now I don't know how much money McRae pays you, but I make a guess that
+it's about five thousand a year, a little more or a little less. Now I'll
+tell you what we're prepared to do. We'll hand you twenty thousand dollars
+the day you put your signature to a contract with us. Then we'll agree to
+pay you fifteen thousand dollars a year for a three-years' term. And to
+make the whole thing copper riveted, we'll put the whole amount in the
+bank now, subject to your order as you go along. So that even if the new
+league should break up, you could loaf for three years and be sixty-five
+thousand dollars to the good."
+
+With the air of one who had played his trump card and felt sure of taking
+the trick, Westland from out his pocket drew a fountain pen.
+
+"Put up your pen, Mr. Westland," said Joe calmly, "unless you want to
+write to those who sent you here that there's nothing doing."
+
+Jim brought his fist down on the arm of his chair with a bang.
+
+"That's the stuff, Joe!" he cried jubilantly. "You knocked a home run that
+time."
+
+A look of blended astonishment and vexation came into Westland's eyes. He
+seemed to doubt the evidence of his ears.
+
+"Surely you're joking, Mr. Matson," he said. "No man in his senses would
+turn down such an offer as that."
+
+"I must be out of my senses then," replied Joe, "for that's exactly what
+I'm doing."
+
+"Perhaps you think we're bluffing," said Westland, "but money talks, and
+here is where it fairly shouts."
+
+He drew from his pocket a roll of bills of large denominations and laid it
+on the table.
+
+"There's the signing-up money," he explained. "They wanted me to bring a
+certified check, but I insisted on the actual cash. Count it if you like
+and take it to the bank if you doubt that it's good. There's twenty
+thousand dollars in that roll, and every cent of it's yours if you put
+your name at the bottom of this contract."
+
+He laid an official-looking document on the table beside the bills, and
+leaned back in his chair, ostensibly intent on the end of his cigar, but
+watching Joe keenly from the corner of his eyes.
+
+That pile of crisp yellowbacks was more money than Joe had ever seen at
+one time in his life, except through the bars of a cashier's cage. And all
+he had to do was to reach out, sign his name, and the next minute thrust
+the bills into his pocket. They meant independence. They meant security.
+They meant the power and comfort and luxury that money can give.
+
+But they also meant treachery and dishonor, and Joe never wavered for an
+instant.
+
+"It's a lot of money, Mr. Westland," he agreed, "but it isn't enough."
+
+A look of relief came into Westland's eyes. Perhaps his task wasn't
+hopeless after all.
+
+"If that's the case, perhaps we can raise the figures a little," he said
+eagerly, "although we thought we were making a very liberal offer. But as
+I said before, we're no pikers, and we wouldn't let a few thousands stand
+between us. State your terms."
+
+"You don't understand," replied Joe. "What I meant was that there isn't
+money enough in your whole crowd to make me go back on my word and jump my
+contract."
+
+"Hot off the bat!" exclaimed Jim. "Gee, I wish McRae and Robbie and the
+rest of the Giant bunch could have heard this pow-wow."
+
+Westland evidently had all he could do to contain himself. He had felt so
+serenely confident in the power of his money that he had scarcely allowed
+himself to think of failure. Yet here was his money flouted as though it
+were counterfeit, and he himself, instead of being greeted with open arms,
+was being treated with scorn and contempt.
+
+"Upon my word, Mr. Matson," he said, with an evident effort to keep cool,
+"you have a queer way of meeting a legitimate business proposition."
+
+"That's just the trouble," retorted Joe. "It isn't legitimate and you know
+it. In the first place you're offering me a good deal more than I'm
+worth."
+
+"Oh, I don't know about that," expostulated Jim loyally. "There's at least
+one man in the league getting that much, and he never saw the day when he
+was a better man than you are."
+
+"More than I'm worth," repeated Joe. "Still, if that were all, and you
+were simply trying to buy my baseball ability, it would be your own affair
+if you were bidding too high. But you don't want to give me all this money
+because I'm a good pitcher. It's because you want to make me a good liar.
+You think that every man has his price and it's only a matter of bidding
+to find out mine."
+
+"Now, now!" said Westland, spots of color coming into his cheeks.
+
+"And more than that," went on Joe, not heeding the interruption, "you want
+to make me a tool to lead others to break their contracts, too. I'm to be
+the bellwether of the flock. You figure that if it's once spread abroad
+that Matson has jumped into the new league, it will start a stampede of
+contract breakers. I tell you straight, Westland, it's dirty business. If
+you want to start a new league, go ahead and do it in a decent way. Get
+new players and develop them, or get star players whose contracts have
+expired. Play the game, but do it without marked cards or loaded dice."
+
+Westland saw that he had lost, and he threw diplomacy to the winds.
+
+"Keep your advice till it's asked for!" he snarled, snatching up the money
+and jamming it viciously into his pocket. "I didn't come to this jay town
+to be lectured by a hick----"
+
+"What's that?" cried Joe, springing to his feet.
+
+Westland was so startled by the sudden motion that he almost swallowed his
+cigar. Before Joe's sinewy figure he stepped back and mumbled an apology.
+Then he reached for his hat, and without another word stalked out of the
+house, his features convulsed with anger and chagrin.
+
+As he flung himself out of the gate, he almost collided with a messenger
+boy bringing a telegram to Joe.
+
+The latter signed for it and tore it open hastily. It was from the Giants'
+manager and read:
+
+  "I hear the new league is coming after you hotfoot. But I'm betting
+  on you, Joe.
+
+                                                            "McRae."
+
+He handed it over to Jim who read it with a smile.
+
+"Betting on me, is he?" said Joe. "Well, Mac, you win!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE TOP OF THE WAVE
+
+
+While they were still discussing the telegram, Joe's father came home to
+lunch from the harvester works where he was employed. He seemed ten years
+younger than he had before the trip to the World's Series, which he in his
+quiet way had enjoyed quite as much as the rest of the family.
+
+He greeted the young men cordially.
+
+"I met a man a little way down the street who seemed to have come from
+here," he said, as he hung up his hat. "He had his hat jammed down on his
+head, and was muttering to himself as though he were sore about
+something."
+
+"He was," replied Jim with a grin. "He laid twenty-five thousand dollars
+on the table, and he was sore because Joe wouldn't take it up."
+
+Mr. Matson looked bewildered, but his astonishment was not as great as
+that of Clara, who at that moment put her head in the door to announce
+that lunch was ready.
+
+"What are you millionaires talking about?" she asked.
+
+"What do millionaires usually talk about?" answered Jim loftily.
+"Money--the long green--iron men--filthy lucre--yellowbacks----"
+
+"If you don't stop your nonsense you sha'n't have any lunch," threatened
+Clara, "and that means something, too, for mother has spread herself in
+getting it up."
+
+"Take it all back," said Jim promptly. "I'm as sober as a judge. Lead me
+to this lunch, fair maiden, and I'll tell you nothing but the plain,
+unvarnished truth. But even at that, I'm afraid you'll think I'm
+romancing."
+
+The merry group seated themselves at the table, and Clara, all alive with
+curiosity, demanded the fulfilment of Jim's promise.
+
+"Well," said Jim, "the simple truth is that that fellow who was here this
+morning offered Joe sixty-five thousand dollars for three years' work."
+
+Mrs. Matson almost dropped her knife and fork in her amazement. Mr. Matson
+sat up with a jerk, and Clara's eyes opened to their widest extent.
+
+"Sixty-five thousand dollars!" gasped Joe's father.
+
+"For three years' work!" exclaimed Mrs. Matson.
+
+"Why," stammered Clara, "that's--that's--let me see--why, that's more than
+twenty-one thousand dollars a year."
+
+"That's what," replied Jim, keenly relishing the sensation he was causing.
+"And it wasn't stage money either. He had brought twenty thousand dollars
+with him in bills, and he laid it down on the table as carelessly as
+though it was twenty cents. And all that this modest youth, who sits
+beside me and isn't saying a word, had to do to get that money was to put
+his name on a piece of paper."
+
+"Joe," exclaimed Clara, "do tell us what all this means! Jim is just
+trying to tantalize us."
+
+"Stung!" grinned Jim. "That's what comes from mixing in family matters."
+
+"Why, it's this way, Sis," laughed Joe. "That fellow traveled a thousand
+miles to call me a hick. I wouldn't stand for it and made him take it back
+and then he got mad and skipped."
+
+"Momsey," begged Clara in desperation, "can't you make these idiots tell
+us just what happened?"
+
+"Them cruel woids!" ejaculated Jim mournfully.
+
+"Do tell us, Joe!" entreated his mother. "I'm just dying to know all about
+it."
+
+Teasing his mother was a very different thing from teasing Clara, who was
+an adept at that art herself, and Joe surrendered immediately.
+
+They forgot to eat--all except Jim, who seldom carried forgetfulness so
+far--while he told them about Westland's call and his proposition to Joe
+to break his contract and jump to the new league.
+
+Sixty-five thousand dollars was a staggering amount of money, a fortune,
+in fact, in that quiet town, and yet there was not one of that little
+family who didn't rejoice that Joe had turned the offer down.
+
+"You did the right thing, Joe," said his father heartily; "and the fact
+that lots of people would call you foolish doesn't change things in the
+least. A man who sells himself for a hundred thousand dollars is just as
+contemptible as one who sells himself for a dollar. I'm proud of you, my
+boy."
+
+"I could have told beforehand just what Joe would do," said Mrs. Matson,
+wiping her eyes.
+
+"You're the darlingest brother ever!" exclaimed Clara, coming round the
+table and giving him a hug and a kiss.
+
+The thought of Clara being a sister to him had never appealed to Jim
+before, but just at that moment it would have had its advantages.
+
+For the rest of the meal all were engrossed in talking of the great event
+of the morning--that is, all but Joe, who kept casting surreptitious
+glances at the clock.
+
+"Don't get worried, Joe," said his sister mischievously, as she
+intercepted one of his glances. "Mabel's train doesn't get in until
+half-past two, and it isn't one o'clock yet."
+
+Joe flushed a little and Jim laughed.
+
+"Can you blame him?" he asked.
+
+"Not a bit," answered Clara. "Mabel's a darling and I'm crazy to get hold
+of her. After Joe, though, of course," she added.
+
+Joe threw his napkin at her but missed.
+
+"Sixty-five thousand dollars for a baseball player who can't throw any
+straighter than that," she mocked. "It's a lucky thing for the new league
+that you didn't take their money."
+
+"Maybe I had better take their money after all!" cried Joe tantalizingly.
+
+At these words Clara threw up her hands in mock horror.
+
+"You just dare, Joe Matson, and I'll disown you!"
+
+"Ah-ha! And now I'm disowned and cast out of my home!" exclaimed the young
+baseball player tragically. "Woe is me!"
+
+"I don't believe any decent player would ever have anything to say to you,
+Joe, if you did such a mean thing as that," went on Clara seriously. And
+at this Joe nodded affirmatively.
+
+An hour later, all three, chatting merrily, were on their way to the
+train. But their progress was slow, for at almost every turn they were
+stopped by friends who wanted to shake hands with Joe and congratulate him
+on his presence of mind the night before.
+
+"One of the penalties of having a famous brother," sighed Clara, when this
+had happened for the twentieth time.
+
+"You little hypocrite," laughed Jim. "You know that you're just bursting
+with pride. You're tickled to death to be walking alongside of him. Stop
+your sighing. Follow my example. I'm tickled to death to be walking
+alongside of you and you don't hear _me_ sighing. I feel more like
+singing."
+
+"For goodness' sake, don't," retorted Clara in mock alarm. "Oh, dear,
+here's another one!"
+
+"Were you addressing me when you said 'dear'?" asked Jim politely.
+
+Clara flashed him an indignant glance, just as Professor Enoch Crabbe, of
+the Riverside Academy, stepped up and greeted Joe. He was earnest in his
+congratulations, but his manner was so stilted that they looked at each
+other with an amused smile, as he stalked pompously away.
+
+"I wonder if he believes now that I can throw a curve," laughed Joe.
+
+"He ought to ask some of the Red Sox who whiffed away at them in the World
+Series," said Jim with a grin. "They didn't have any doubt about it."
+
+"Professor Crabbe had very serious doubts," explained Joe. "In fact, he
+said it was impossible. Against all the laws of motion and all that sort
+of thing. I had to rig up a couple of bamboo rods in a line, and get Dick
+Talbot, a friend of mine in the moving-picture business, to take a picture
+of the ball as it curved around the rods, before I could prove my point."
+
+"Did it convince him?" queried Jim.
+
+"It stumped him, anyway," replied Joe. "But sometimes I have a sneaking
+notion that he thinks yet that Dick and I played some kind of a bunco game
+on him by doctoring the film."
+
+"Well, I hope that nobody else stops us," remarked Clara. "It seems to me
+that almost everybody in Riverside is on the street this afternoon."
+
+"It wouldn't be such an awful mob at that," replied Jim. "But it's a safe
+bet that one man at least won't stop Joe to shake hands with him."
+
+"Who is that?" asked Clara.
+
+"The fellow who yelled 'Fire' in the hall last night," answered Jim with a
+grin.
+
+"I hope I didn't hurt him," observed Joe, thoughtfully.
+
+"Perish the thought," replied Jim. "You just caressed him. He was a big
+fellow, and he probably sat down just to take a load off his feet."
+
+"I'm glad he wasn't a Riverside man, anyway," remarked Joe, loyal to his
+home town. "I never saw him before. Probably he came from some place near
+by."
+
+"Oh, then, of course he won't mind it," chaffed Jim.
+
+"Of all the nonsense----" Clara was beginning, when her eye caught sight
+of a figure she recognized on the station platform which they had nearly
+reached.
+
+She nudged her brother's elbow.
+
+"There's the man you were talking to this morning," she said in a low
+voice.
+
+"By George, so it is!" replied Joe, as he followed her glance. "And he's
+talking to Altman. Trying to make him a convert."
+
+"A renegade, you mean," growled Jim.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+LUCKY JOE
+
+
+Westland saw the party coming, and with a scowl turned his back upon
+them.
+
+Altman, however, greeted Joe with a smile and, excusing himself to
+Westland, went over to meet him with extended hand.
+
+"How are you, old scout?" he exclaimed. "You sure batted .300 last
+night."
+
+Joe greeted him cordially, while Jim and Clara strolled on toward the end
+of the platform. It was astonishing what good company those two were to
+each other, and how well they bore the absence of anybody else from their
+conversation.
+
+"I'm feeling fine as silk," was Joe's response to Altman's question.
+
+"Didn't sprain your salary wing, or anything like that?" grinned Altman.
+"You fetched that fellow an awful hit in the jaw."
+
+"I hated to do it, but it was coming to him," laughed Joe.
+
+"Well, if there are any doctors' bills, I guess the Riverside people will
+be willing to take up a collection to pay them," replied Altman. "It's
+mighty lucky for the town that you happened to be in the crowd last
+night."
+
+"I suppose you're off to keep your next engagement," said Joe, to change
+the subject. "By the way, Nick, that was a mighty nifty skit of yours at
+the hall last night. It brought down the house. It ought to pull big
+everywhere."
+
+"I'm glad you liked it," replied Altman. "I'm booked for twenty weeks and
+I'm drawing down good money."
+
+"I suppose you'll be with the White Sox next year, as usual," said Joe.
+
+Altman hesitated.
+
+"W-why, I suppose so," he said slowly. "My contract with them has another
+year to run. To tell the truth, though, Joe, I'm somewhat unsettled."
+
+"Why," said Joe, "you're not going to give up the game for the stage, are
+you?"
+
+"Oh, nothing like that," replied Altman. "I'd rather play ball than eat,
+and I'll stick to the game as long as this old wing of mine can put them
+over the plate. But whether I'll be with the White Sox or not is another
+question."
+
+"Some other team in the American league trying to make a dicker for you?"
+asked Joe.
+
+"Not that I've heard anything about," responded Altman. "But the American
+League isn't the whole cheese in baseball--nor the National League,
+either, for that matter."
+
+"I see Westland has been talking to you," said Joe. "I don't want to butt
+in, Nick, but don't let him put one over on you."
+
+"The new league seems to have barrels of money," replied Altman, evading a
+direct answer. "This fellow Westland seems aching to throw it to the
+birds--he's got a wad in his pocket that would choke a horse."
+
+"Yes," said Joe dryly, "I've seen that wad before. But take a fool's
+advice, Nick, and stick to the old ship."
+
+"That's all very well," said Altman. "But a man's worth all that he will
+bring in any other line of work--and why shouldn't it be so in baseball?
+Who is it that brings the money in at the gate, anyway? We're the ones
+that the public come to see, but it's the bosses that get all the money."
+
+"Lay off on that 'poor, down-trodden slave' talk, Nick," said Joe
+earnestly. "You know as well as I do that there are mighty few fellows who
+get as well paid for six months' work as we ball players do. But, leave
+that out of the question for a minute--don't you suppose the backers of
+this new league are just as eager to make money out of us as anybody
+else? Do you think they're in the game for the sport of it? And don't you
+know that the coming of a new league just now is likely to wreck the game?
+You know how it was in the old Brotherhood days--they did the same crooked
+work then that they're trying to do now--bribing men to jump their
+contracts by offers of big money. The game got a blow then that it took
+years to recover from, and there wasn't a single major league player that
+in the long run, didn't suffer from it. Play the game, Nick--and let's
+show these fellows that they can't buy us as they would so many cattle."
+
+Altman was visibly impressed, and Westland, who had been watching
+proceedings out of the corner of his eye, thought it time to intervene. He
+strolled down toward them and without looking at Joe, spoke directly to
+Altman.
+
+"Train's coming, Nick," he said. "I just heard the whistle. I'll stay with
+you so that we can get seats together in the smoker."
+
+"Well, good-bye, Joe!" said Altman. "I'm glad to have seen you again,
+anyway, and I'll promise not to do anything hastily."
+
+And as Jim and Clara came hurrying up at that moment, Joe had to be
+content with the hope that, at least, he had put a spoke in Westland's
+wheel.
+
+The train was in sight now, and all thoughts of baseball were banished
+for the moment at the thought of what that train was bringing to him.
+
+With a rush and a roar the train drew up at the station. The colored
+porter jumped down the steps of the parlor car to assist the descending
+passengers.
+
+Joe uttered an exclamation, and Clara gave a little squeal of delight as
+two young people, whom a family resemblance proclaimed to be brother and
+sister, came hurriedly down the steps.
+
+In a moment they were the center of an eager and tumultuous group.
+
+"Mabel!" exclaimed Joe,--at least that was all that they heard him say
+just then. What he said to her later on is none of our business.
+
+The girls hugged and kissed each other, much to the aggravation of the
+masculine contingent, while Reggie Varley extended his two hands, which
+were grasped cordially by Joe and Jim.
+
+The romance which had culminated in the engagement of Mabel Varley and Joe
+dated back two years earlier. Joe had been in a southern training camp, in
+spring practice with his team, when one day he had been lucky enough to
+stop a runaway horse which Mabel had been driving, and thus saved her from
+imminent danger and possible death. The acquaintance, so established,
+rapidly deepened into friendship and then into something stronger.
+
+Mabel was a charming girl with lustrous brown eyes, wonderful complexion
+and dimples that came and went in a distracting fashion, and it was no
+wonder that Joe before long was a helpless but willing captive. She, on
+her part, developed a sudden fondness for the great national game to which
+she had hitherto been indifferent.
+
+They had met many times during the season, and with every meeting her
+witchery over Joe had become more potent. He had stolen a glove from her
+during one of his visits to Goldsboro, her home town in the South, and
+during the exciting games of the last World's Series he had worn it close
+to his heart when he had pitched his team to victory.
+
+And when he told her this on the night following the famous game that had
+set the whole country wild with excitement, and told her too, that victory
+meant nothing, unless she shared it with him, she had capitulated and
+promised to become his wife.
+
+Reggie, her brother, had formed Joe's acquaintance earlier than Mabel and
+in a less pleasant way. He was a rather foppish young man who cultivated a
+mustache that the girls called "darling," and affected what he fondly
+believed to be an English accent.
+
+In a railway station he had left his valise near where Joe was sitting,
+and, on his return, found that the valise had been opened and some
+valuable jewelry stolen from it. He had rashly accused Joe of the theft,
+and had narrowly escaped a thrashing from that indignant young man, in
+consequence.
+
+The matter had been patched up at the time, and afterward, when Joe
+learned that he was Mabel's brother, had been forgiven entirely. The men
+were now on the most cordial of terms, for Reggie, despite his
+peculiarities and though he would never "set the river on fire" with his
+intellectual ability, was by no means a bad fellow.
+
+There was a merry hubbub of greetings and exclamations while the men
+arranged for the baggage and the girls asked each other twenty questions
+at once and then the party paired off for the walk to the Matson
+home--that is, Joe and Mabel and Jim and Clara, formed the pairs, while
+Reggie was, so to speak, a fifth wheel to the coach!
+
+Not that this bothered Reggie in the least. He ambled along amiably,
+dividing his talk and attentions impartially, serenely unconscious that
+each pair was willing to bestow him upon the other.
+
+"We ought to have a band playing 'See, the Conquering Hero Comes,'"
+remarked Jim to Mabel, who was walking in front with Joe.
+
+"I know he's a hero," said Mabel, her eyes eloquent as she looked at Joe.
+"I can hardly pick up the paper but what it calls him the hero of the
+World's Series."
+
+"I don't mean a baseball hero," said Jim, "but a real, honest-to-goodness
+hero--the life-saver and all that kind of stuff, you know."
+
+"Yes," joined in Clara, "you came a day too late, Mabel. You ought to have
+seen Joe at the Opera House last night. He was simply great."
+
+"At the Opera House?" Mabel repeated, in some bewilderment.
+
+"Sure," chaffed Jim. "Didn't you know Joe'd gone on the stage?"
+
+"Yes," said Clara, carrying out the mystification. "He made a hit, too."
+
+"There was at least one man in the audience he made a hit with," chuckled
+Jim.
+
+"Don't let them fool you, Mabel," said Joe, tenderly. "There was just a
+little excitement at the Opera House last night and Jim and I took a hand
+in stopping it. They're making an awful lot of a very simple matter."
+
+"You've no idea what a voice Joe has for public speaking," persisted the
+irrepressible Jim. "Last night he was a howling success."
+
+"Clara, dear, tell me all about it," entreated Mabel. "We girls are the
+only ones who can talk sense."
+
+Thus appealed to, Clara told about the circumstances of the night before,
+and, as may be imagined, Joe did not suffer in the telling. If the latter
+had needed any other reward for his exploit he found it in Mabel's eyes as
+she looked at him.
+
+"I thought I knew all about you before," she said, in a half whisper, "but
+I'm learning all the time!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+CIRCLING THE GLOBE
+
+
+When the party reached the Matson home, motherly Mrs. Matson took Mabel
+into her arms as she had long since taken her into her heart. Then Clara
+took her up to her room to refresh herself after the journey, while Jim
+and Joe took care of Reggie and his belongings.
+
+"Oh, I'm so glad that you've got here at last!" exclaimed Clara, as she
+placed an affectionate hand on Mabel's shoulder.
+
+"And you may be sure that I'm glad that I am here," was the happy
+response. "I declare, this place almost feels like home to me."
+
+"Well, you know, we want it to feel like home to you, Mabel," answered
+Joe's sister, and looked so knowingly at the visitor that Mabel suddenly
+began to blush.
+
+In the meantime, Joe had taken Reggie to the room which the young man was
+to occupy during his stay. Joe carried both of the bags, which were
+rather heavy, for the fashionable young man was in the habit of taking a
+good share of his wardrobe along whenever he left home.
+
+"Some weight to one of these bags, Reggie," remarked Joe good-naturedly,
+as he deposited the big Gladstone on the floor with a thud. "You must have
+about three hundred and fifteen new neckties in there."
+
+"Bah Jove, that's a good joke, Joe, don't you know!" drawled Reggie. "But
+you're wrong, my boy; I haven't more than ten neckties with me on this
+trip."
+
+"Say, I'm glad to know you've got so many. Maybe I'll want to borrow one,"
+went on Joe, continuing his joke.
+
+"Of course you can have one of my neckties if you want it, Joe," returned
+the fashionable young man quickly. "I've got a beautiful lavender one that
+ought to just suit you. And then there is a fancy striped one, red and
+green and gold, which is the most stunning thing, don't you know, you ever
+saw. I purchased it at a fashionable shop on Fifth Avenue the last time I
+was in New York. If you wore that tie, Joe, you would certainly make a
+hit."
+
+"Well, you see, I'm not so much of a hitter as I am of a pitcher,"
+returned Joe; "so I guess I'd better not rob you of that tie. Come to
+think of it, I got several new ties myself last Christmas and on my
+birthday. I think they'll see me through very nicely. But I'm much obliged
+just the same. And now, Reggie, make yourself thoroughly at home."
+
+"Oh, I'll be sure to do that," returned Mabel's brother. "You're a fine
+fellow, Joe; and I often wonder how it was I quarreled with you the first
+time we met."
+
+"We'll forget about that," answered Joe shortly.
+
+Naturally the men returned to the living room first, and while they were
+waiting impatiently for the girls to rejoin them, Joe caught sight of a
+letter resting against the clock on the mantelpiece.
+
+He took it up and saw that it was addressed to himself, and that it bore
+the postmark of New York. He recognized the handwriting at once.
+
+"It's from McRae," he said. "The second message I've received from the old
+boy to-day, counting the telegram this morning. Excuse me, fellows, while
+I look it over."
+
+He tore it open hastily and read with glowing interest and excitement.
+
+"The World Tour's a go!" he cried, handing the letter over to Jim. "Mac's
+got it all settled at last. When we said good-bye to him in New York it
+was all up in the air. But trust Mac to hustle--he's got enough promises
+to make up the two teams and now he's calling on us, Jim, to keep our word
+and go with the party. We're all to meet in Chicago for the start on the
+nineteenth of the month."
+
+"Gee!" exclaimed Jim. "That doesn't give us very much time. Let's see," as
+he snatched up a newspaper and scanned the top line. "To-day's the
+sixteenth. We'll have to get a wiggle on."
+
+"Bah Jove," lisped Reggie. "It's bally short notice, don't you know? How
+long will you fellows be gone?"
+
+"Just about six months," said Joe, his face lengthening as he reflected on
+what it meant to be all that time away from Mabel.
+
+"What's all this pow-wow about?" came a merry voice from the door, as the
+girls tripped in, their arms about each other's waist.
+
+"I'm glad we girls aren't as talkative as you men," said Clara,
+mischievously.
+
+"When we do talk we at least say something," added Mabel. "What is it,
+Joe?"
+
+"I'm afraid it's rather bad news in a way," said Joe. "I've just got a
+letter from McRae in which he tells me that he's completed all
+arrangements for a baseball tour around the world. You know, Mabel, that I
+spoke to you about it just before we left New York. But it was only a
+vague idea then and something of the kind is talked about at the end of
+every baseball season. Usually though, it only ends in talk, and the teams
+make a barnstorming trip to San Francisco or to Cuba. But this time it
+seems to have gone through all right. And now Mac is calling upon Jim and
+me to go along."
+
+"My word!" broke in Reggie, "anyone would think it was a bally funeral to
+hear you talk and see your face. I should think you'd be no-end pleased to
+have a chance to go."
+
+To tell the truth, neither Joe nor Jim seemed elated at the prospect.
+Joe's eyes sought Mabel, while Jim's rested on Clara, and neither one of
+those young ladies was so obtuse as not to know what the young men were
+thinking.
+
+"When do you have to go?" asked Clara, soberly.
+
+"We have to be in Chicago by the nineteenth," answered Joe, "and we'll
+have to leave here the day before. To-day's the sixteenth and you can see
+for yourself how much time that gives us to stay in Riverside."
+
+"No rest for the wicked," said Reggie, jocularly. "'Pon honor, you boys
+have earned a rest after the work you did against the Red Sox."
+
+Clara was very far from her vivacious self as she thought of the coming
+separation, but Joe was surprised and the least bit hurt to see how
+lightly Mabel seemed to regard it.
+
+"It's too bad, of course," she said, cheerfully, "but we'll have to make
+the best of these two days at least. It's a pity, though, that it wasn't
+November nineteenth instead of October."
+
+"We could have started a bit later if it were only for the foreign trip,"
+explained Jim, "but we're going to play a series of exhibition games
+between here and the Coast, and we've got to take advantage of what good
+weather there is left. If we can only get to the Rockies before it's too
+cold to play, we'll be all right, because in California they're able to
+play all the year round."
+
+"My word!" exclaimed Reggie, "I don't see why they don't cut out the
+exhibition games altogether. I should think this country had had baseball
+enough for one season."
+
+"Not when the Giants and an All-American team are the players," replied
+Joe. "The people will come out in crowds--they'll fairly beg us to take
+their money."
+
+"And it will be worth taking," chimed in Jim. "Do you know how much money
+the teams took in before they reached the coast on their last World's
+Trip? Ninety-seven thousand dollars. Count them, ladies and
+gentlemen--ninety-seven thousand dollars in good American dollars!" he
+added grandly.
+
+"That sounds like a lot of money," said Reggie, thoughtfully.
+
+"And they'll need every cent of it too," said Joe. "It's the only way a
+trip of that kind can be carried on. The teams travel in first-class
+style, have the finest quarters on the ship, and stay at the best hotels.
+In the games abroad there won't be money enough taken in, probably, to
+cover expenses. Then the money we've taken in from the exhibition games
+will come in handy."
+
+"How many men are going in the two teams?" inquired Clara.
+
+"I imagine each team will carry about fourteen men," replied Joe. "That
+will give them three pitchers, two catchers, an extra infielder and
+outfielder, beside the other members of the team. That ought to be enough
+to allow for sickness or accident."
+
+"How much do you fellows expect to get out of it for yourselves?" asked
+Reggie.
+
+"That's just a matter of guess work," Joe replied. "I understand that what
+is left after all expenses are paid will be divided equally among the
+players. On the last World's Trip I think it amounted to about a thousand
+dollars apiece. But then again, it may not be a thousand cents. All we
+really know is that we'll have a chance to see the world in first-class
+style without its actually costing us a dollar."
+
+"Oh, you lucky men!" said Clara, with a sigh. "You can go trotting all
+over the world, while we poor girls have to stay at home and look for an
+occasional letter from your highnesses--that is, if you deign to write to
+us at all."
+
+"I'll guarantee to keep the postman busy," said Jim, fervently.
+
+"Same here," said Joe, emphatically, as his eyes met Mabel's.
+
+"Do you know just what route you'll follow?" Reggie asked.
+
+"Our first stop will be at Hawaii," replied Joe, consulting his letter.
+"So that the first game we play outside of the States will still be under
+the American flag. We'll see Old Glory again, too, when we strike the
+Philippines. But that will come a little later. After we leave Hawaii, we
+won't see dry land again until we get to Japan."
+
+"I fancy we'll get some good games there, too," broke in Jim. "Those
+little Japs have gone in for the game with a vengeance. Do you remember
+the time when their Waseda and Keio University teams came over to this
+country? They gave our Princeton and Yale fellows all they could do to
+beat them."
+
+"Yes," said Joe, "they're nifty players when it comes to fielding and
+they're fleet as jack rabbits on the bases--but they're a little light at
+the bat. When it comes to playing before their home crowds they'll be a
+pretty stiff proposition."
+
+"Do you take in China at all?" asked Reggie.
+
+"We'll probably stop at Shanghai and Hongkong," replied Joe. "I don't
+imagine the Chinks can scrape up any kind of a baseball team, but there
+are big foreign colonies at both of those places and they'll turn out in
+force to see players from the States. Then after touching at Manila, we'll
+go to Australia, taking in all the big towns like Sydney, Melbourne and
+Adelaide. While of course the Australians are crazy about cricket, like
+all Englishmen, they're keen for every kind of athletic sport, and we're
+sure of big crowds there. After that we sail for Ceylon and from there to
+Egypt."
+
+"I'd like to see Egypt better than any other place," broke in Clara. "I've
+always been crazy to go there."
+
+"It's full of curiosities," remarked Jim. "There's the Sphinx, for
+instance--a woman who hasn't said a word for five thousand years."
+
+Clara flashed a withering glance at him, under which he wilted.
+
+"Don't mix your Greek fable and your Egyptian facts, Jim," chuckled Joe.
+
+"Huh?"
+
+"Fact. Since this trip's been in the wind, I've been reading up. Those
+Egyptian sphinxes--those that haven't a ram's or a hawk's head--have a
+man's, not a woman's, head."
+
+"That's why they've been able to keep still so long, then!" exclaimed
+Jim.
+
+"You mean thing!" cried Mabel.
+
+"Don't lay that up against me," he begged, penitently, "and I'll send you
+back a little crocodile from the Nile."
+
+"Oh, the horrid thing!" cried Clara with a shudder.
+
+"I'm doing the best I can," said Jim, plaintively. "I can't send you one
+of the pyramids."
+
+"That's the last we'll see of Africa," went on Joe. "After that, we set
+sail for Italy and land at Naples. Then we work our way up through Rome,
+Florence, Milan, Monte Carlo, Marseilles, Paris and London. We'll stay
+about a month in Great Britain, visiting Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dublin.
+Then we'll make tracks for home, and maybe we won't be glad to get here!"
+
+The vision conjured up by this array of famous cities offered such scope
+for endless surmise and speculation that they were surprised at the flight
+of time when Mrs. Matson smilingly summoned them to supper.
+
+Of course, Joe sat beside Mabel and Jim beside Clara. If, in the course of
+the evening meal, Joe's hand and Mabel's met beneath the table, it was
+purely by accident. Jim, on his side would cheerfully have risked such an
+accident, but had no such luck.
+
+Joe was happy, supremely happy in the presence by his side of the dearest
+girl in all the world. Yet there was a queer little ache at his heart
+because of the apparent indifference with which Mabel had viewed their
+coming separation.
+
+"You haven't said once," he said to her in a low tone, with a touch of
+tender reproach, "that you were sorry I was going."
+
+"Why should I," answered Mabel, demurely, "since I am going with you?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE GATHERING OF THE CLANS
+
+
+If Mabel had counted on creating a sensation, she succeeded beyond her
+wildest hopes.
+
+For a moment, Joe thought that he must have taken leave of his senses.
+
+"What!" he cried, incredulously, half rising to his feet.
+
+This sudden ejaculation drew the attention of all the others seated at the
+table.
+
+"Land sakes, Joe!" expostulated his mother, "you almost made me upset my
+tea cup. What's the matter?"
+
+"Enough's the matter," responded Joe, jubilantly. "That is, if Mabel
+really means what she said just now."
+
+"What was it you said, Mabel dear?" asked Clara.
+
+"Come, 'fess up," invited Jim.
+
+"I guess I'll let Reggie tell the rest of it," said Mabel, blushing under
+the battery of eyes turned upon her.
+
+"All right, Sis," said Reggie, affably. "Bah Jove, I give you credit for
+holding in as long as you have. The fact is," he continued, beaming
+amiably upon all the party, "the governor asked me to take a trip to Japan
+and China, and Mabel put in to come along. I didn't twig what the little
+minx was up to, until she said we could go on the same steamer that took
+the baseball party. Lots of other women--wives of the managers and players
+and so on--will go along, I understand. So there's the whole bally story
+in a nutshell. Rippin' good idea I call it--what?"
+
+"Glory hallelujah!" cried Joe, grasping Mabel's hand, openly this time.
+
+"It's simply great!" cried Jim, enthusiastically.
+
+"You darling, lucky girl!" exclaimed Clara, while Mr. and Mrs. Matson
+smiled their pleasure.
+
+"Had you up in the air for a minute, didn't it, old top?" grinned Reggie.
+
+"I should say it did," Joe admitted. "I thought for a minute I was going
+crazy. Somebody pinch me."
+
+Jim reached over and accommodated him.
+
+"Ouch!" cried Joe, rubbing his arm. "You needn't be so literal."
+
+"There's nothing I wouldn't do for my friends," said Jim, piously.
+
+Questions poured in thick and fast.
+
+"How can you possibly get ready in time?" asked Clara. "It's the
+sixteenth now, and the teams leave Chicago on the nineteenth."
+
+"Oh, we're not going to make the trip across the country," explained
+Mabel, flushed with happiness. "Reggie and I will join the party in San
+Francisco or Seattle, or wherever they start from. So that will give us
+nearly a month, and I'm going to spend most of that right here--if you can
+stand me that long."
+
+Clara came round the table and gave her an impulsive hug.
+
+"I'd be glad to have you stay here forever," said Mrs. Matson fervently.
+
+Just here a thought struck Joe.
+
+"It's the greatest thing ever that you're going as far as Japan," he said.
+"But why can't you keep on with us and swing right around the circle?"
+
+"You greedy boy!" murmured Mabel.
+
+"We've thought of that too," explained Reggie. "The governor promised
+Mabel a trip round the world as soon as she got through with the finishing
+school. She could have gone last year if she had chosen, but she got so
+interested in baseball----"
+
+"Reggie!" murmured Mabel, warningly.
+
+"Well, anyway," said Reggie a little lamely, "she didn't go, and so I put
+it up to the governor that there was no reason she couldn't go now. He
+saw it the same way--he's a rippin' good sort, the governor is--and he's
+left it to us to make the trip all the way round--that is, if I can get
+through my business in Japan in time."
+
+"If you don't get through in time, there'll be murder done," threatened
+Joe.
+
+In the animated talk that ensued all took a part. But toward the end of
+the meal, Joe noticed that Jim was a little more subdued than was usual
+with him, and that some of the sparkle and vivacity had vanished from
+Clara's eyes and voice.
+
+He glanced from one to the other and knew the reason. He knew how deep the
+feeling was growing between the two and realized what the coming
+six-months' separation would mean to them. A generous impulse came to him
+like a flash.
+
+"Listen folks," he said. "Surprises seem to be in fashion, so here's
+another one. Clara's going along with us."
+
+Astonishment and delight held Clara speechless--then she rose and flung
+her arms impulsively about her brother's neck, and for the second time
+that day Jim would have been willing to let her be a sister to him also.
+
+Jim reached his brawny hand across the table.
+
+"Put her there, Joe, old boy!" he said. "You're the finest fellow that
+ever wore shoe leather."
+
+"Won't it be just glorious!" exulted Mabel.
+
+"There never was such a boy in all the world," murmured Joe's mother.
+
+"But, Joe dear, won't it be too great an expense?" suggested Clara. "You
+know it's less than a month since you sent us that thousand-dollar bill
+that took us to the World's Series."
+
+"That's all right, Sis," reassured Joe, patting her hand. "Remember I
+cleared nearly four thousand dollars extra in the World's Series, and this
+won't put much of a dent in that. You just go ahead and doll yourself
+up--and hang the expense."
+
+And so it was settled, and it is safe to say that a group of happier young
+people could not be found anywhere than those who discussed excitedly,
+until late into the night, the coming trip with all its marvelous
+possibilities.
+
+The next two days flew by all too rapidly. The girls, of course, had
+plenty of time, but Joe and Jim had a host of things to attend to and a
+very limited time to do them in. But somehow, Joe made time enough to say
+a lot of things to Mabel that, to lovers at least, seem important, and
+Jim, though not daring to go quite so far, looked and said quite enough to
+deepen the roses in Clara's cheeks and the loveliness in her eyes.
+
+It was hard to part when the time for parting came, but this time there
+was no long six-months' separation to be dreaded--that is, as far as the
+young folks were concerned.
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Matson had counted on having their son with them throughout
+the fall and winter, but they had been accustomed for so long to merge
+their own happiness in that of their children that they kept up bright
+faces while they said good-bye, although Mrs. Matson's smile was
+tremulous.
+
+A day and night of traveling and the ball players reached Chicago, where,
+at the Blackstone, they found McRae awaiting them--the same old McRae,
+aggressive, pugnacious, masterful, and yet with a glint of worry in his
+eyes that had not been there at the close of the World's Series.
+
+Robbie was there too, rotund and rubicund, but not just the Robbie who had
+danced the tango with McRae before the clubhouse on the occasion of the
+great victory.
+
+But if worry and anxiety had set their mark upon the manager and trainer
+of the Giants, it had not affected the players, who were lounging about
+the corridor of the hotel.
+
+A bunch of them, including Burkett and Denton and good old Larry, gave the
+newcomers a tumultuous welcome.
+
+"Cheer, cheer, the gang's all here!" cried Larry.
+
+McRae clasped Joe's hand in a grip that almost made him wince.
+
+"So the new league hasn't got you yet, Joe?" he cried.
+
+"No," laughed Joe, returning his clasp; "and it never will!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE RIVAL TEAMS
+
+
+Robbie, who had come up just in time to hear Joe's last words, gave him a
+resounding thump on the back.
+
+"That's the way to talk, Joe, old boy!" he cried. "I've been telling Mac
+all along that no matter who else weakens he could bet his last dollar on
+you."
+
+"Not that I needed any bracing up," declared McRae. "I know a man when I
+see one, and I count on you to the limit. I didn't send that telegram
+because I had any doubt, but I knew that they'd make a break for you first
+of all and I didn't want you to be taken by surprise. By the way, have any
+of them turned up yet?"
+
+"A chap named Westland came to see me the very day I got your telegram,"
+replied Joe.
+
+"And he came well heeled, too," put in Jim. "Money was fairly dripping
+from him. He just ached to give it away. It was only up to Joe to become a
+bloated plutocrat on the spot."
+
+"Offered good money, did he?" asked McRae, with quickened interest.
+
+"Twenty thousand dollars right off the bat," replied Jim. "Fifteen
+thousand dollars a year for a three-year contract. And as if that weren't
+enough, he offered to put the money in the bank in advance and let Joe
+draw against it as he went along."
+
+McRae and Robbie exchanged glances. Here was proof that the new league
+meant business right from the start. It was a competitor to be dreaded and
+it was up to them to get their fighting clothes on at once.
+
+"That's a whale of an offer," ejaculated Robbie.
+
+"They've thrown their hat into the ring," remarked McRae. "From now on
+it's a fight for blood."
+
+"There's no need of asking what Joe said to that," said Robbie.
+
+"I wish you'd been behind the door to hear it," grinned Jim. "The way Joe
+lighted into him was a sin and a shame. He fairly skinned him alive. It
+looked at one time as if there would be a scrap sure."
+
+"It would have been a tremendous card for them to get the star pitcher of
+the World's Series," said McRae with a sigh of relief. "And in these days,
+when so many rumors are flying round it's a comfort to know there's one
+man, at least, that money can't buy. There isn't a bit of shoddy in you,
+Joe. You're all wool and a yard wide."
+
+At this moment, Hughson, the famous pitcher who had been a tower of
+strength to the Giants for ten years past, came strolling up, and Joe and
+Jim fell upon him with a shout.
+
+"How are you, Hughson, old man?" cried Joe. "How's that wing of yours
+getting along?"
+
+"All to the good," replied Hughson. "I stopped off for a day or two at
+Youngstown and had it treated by Bonesetter Reese. I tell you, that old
+chap's a wonder. He tells me it will be as good as ever when the season
+opens."
+
+"I'm mighty glad you're going along with us on this trip," said Jim,
+heartily. "It wouldn't seem like the Giant team with you out of it."
+
+"I'm going through as far as the coast anyway," answered Hughson. "More
+for the fun of being with the boys than anything else. But I don't think
+I'll make the trip around the world. I made a half promise some time ago
+to coach the Yale team this coming spring, and they don't seem inclined to
+let me out of it. And I don't know if after all it may not be best to rest
+up this winter and get in shape for next year."
+
+The three strolled on down the corridor, leaving McRae and Robbie in
+earnest conversation.
+
+"How many of the boys is Mac taking along?" asked Joe.
+
+"I think he figures on about fourteen men," replied Hughson. "That will
+give him three pitchers, two catchers, an extra infielder and outfielder,
+besides the seven other men in their regular positions. That'll allow for
+accident or sickness and ought to be enough."
+
+"Just as I doped it out," remarked Joe.
+
+"On a pinch, McRae could play himself," laughed Jim. "No better player
+ever held down the third bag than Mac when he was on the old Orioles. The
+old boy could give the youngsters points even now on winging them down to
+first."
+
+"For that matter, Robbie himself might go in behind the bat," grinned Joe.
+"No ball could get by him without hitting him somewhere."
+
+"It would be worth the price of admission to see Robbie running down to
+first," admitted Hughson, with a smile.
+
+"What kind of a team has Brennan got together for the All-American?" asked
+Joe.
+
+"Believe me; it's a good one," replied Hughson. "He's got a bunch of the
+sweetest hitters that he could get from either league. They're a bunch of
+fence breakers, all right. When those birds once get going, they're apt to
+send any pitcher to the shower. You'll have all you want to do, Joe, to
+keep them from straightening out your curves."
+
+"I don't ask anything better," replied Joe, with a laugh. "I'd get soft if
+they were too easy. But who are these ball killers? Let me know the
+worst."
+
+"Well," said Hughson, "there's Wallie Schalk behind the bat--you know how
+he can line them out. Then there's Miller at first, Ebers at second,
+McBride at short and Chapman at third. The outfielders will probably be
+Cooper and Murray and Lange. For pitchers Brennan will have Hamilton,
+Fraser and Ellis,--although Ellis was troubled with the charley-horse
+toward the end of the season, and Banks may take his place."
+
+"It's a strong team," commented Jim, "and they can certainly make the ball
+scream when they hit it. They're a nifty lot of fielders, too. I guess
+we'll have our work cut out for us, all right."
+
+"Both Mac and Brennan have got the right idea," said Hughson. "Too many of
+these barnstorming trips have been made up of second string men, and when
+people came to see the teams play and didn't find the real stars in the
+line-up they naturally felt sore. But they're going to get the simon-pure
+article this time and the games are to be for blood. Anyone that lays
+down on his job is going to get fired. It'll be easy enough to pick up a
+good man to take his place."
+
+"What's the scheme?" asked Joe. "Are we two teams to play against each
+other all the time, or are we to take on some of the local nines?"
+
+"I don't think that's been fully worked out yet," replied Hughson. "I know
+we're going to play the Denver nine and some of the crack California
+teams."
+
+"Easy meat," commented Jim with a grin.
+
+"Don't you believe it," rejoined Hughson. "Don't you remember how the Waco
+team trimmed us last spring? Those fellows will play their heads off to
+beat us--and they'll own the town if they succeed. They figure that
+they'll catch us off our guard and get the Indian sign on us before we
+wake up."
+
+"Yes. But do you think they can get the Indian sign so easily?"
+
+"No, I don't."
+
+"Of course, those minor teams will play their very best, because it would
+be a feather in their cap if they could take a game away from us. They'll
+probably look around and pick up the very best players they can, even if
+they have to put up some money for the purpose. Just the same, we ought to
+be able to polish them off with these."
+
+"Well, of course, we've got to expect to lose some games. It would be a
+remarkable thing to go around the world and win every game."
+
+"Yet it might be done," broke in Jim.
+
+"I suppose there'll be quite a party going along with the teams, just for
+the sake of the trip," observed Joe.
+
+"You've said it," replied Hughson. "At least half of the men will have
+their wives along, and then there's a whole bunch of fans who have been
+meaning to go round the world anyway who will think this a good chance to
+mix baseball and globe trotting. Altogether I shouldn't wonder if there
+would be about a hundred in the party. Some of the fellows will have their
+sisters with them, and you boys had better look out or you'll lose your
+hearts to them. But perhaps," he added, as he saw a look of quick
+intelligence pass between the chums, "you're already past praying for."
+
+Neither one of them denied the soft impeachment.
+
+"By the way," said Hughson, changing the subject, "while I think of it,
+Joe, I want to give you a tip to be on your guard against 'Bugs'
+Hartley."
+
+"Why, what's he up to, now?" inquired Joe.
+
+"I don't know," Hughson replied. "But I do know that he's sore at you
+through and through. He's got the idea in that twisted brain of his that
+you got him off the Giant team. I met him in the street the other
+day----"
+
+"Half drunk, I suppose," interjected Jim.
+
+"More than half," replied Hughson. "He's got to be a regular
+panhandler--struck me for a loan, and while I was getting it for him, he
+talked in a rambling way of how he was going to get even with you. Of
+course I shut him up, but I couldn't talk him out of his fixed idea. He'll
+do you a mischief if he ever gets the chance."
+
+"He's tried it before," said Joe. "He nearly knocked me out when he doped
+my coffee. Poor old 'Bugs'--he's his own worst enemy."
+
+"But he's your enemy too," persisted Hughson. "And don't forget that a
+crazy man is a dangerous man."
+
+"Thanks for the tip," replied Joe. "But 'threatened men live long' and I
+guess I'm no exception to the rule!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE UNDER DOG
+
+
+"Talking of angels!" exclaimed Jim, giving Joe a sharp nudge in the ribs.
+
+Joe looked up quickly and saw Hartley coming down the corridor.
+
+"It's 'Bugs,' sure enough," he said. "And, for a wonder, he's walking
+straight."
+
+"Guess he's on his good behavior," remarked Hughson. "There's a big
+meeting of the American League here just now, winding up the affairs of
+the league, now that the playing season is over. Maybe Hartley thinks he
+has a chance to catch on somewhere. Like everybody else that's played in
+the big leagues, he hates to go back to the bushes. He'd be a find, too,
+if he'd only cut out the booze--there's lots of good baseball in him
+yet."
+
+"He's a natural player," said Joe, generously. "And one of the best
+pitchers I ever saw. You know how Mac tried to hold on to him."
+
+"I don't think he has a Chinaman's chance, though, of staying in big
+league company," observed Jim. "After the way he tried to give away our
+signals in that game at Boston, the Nationals wouldn't touch him with a
+ten-foot pole, and I don't think the American has any use for him either.
+You might forgive him for being a drunkard, but not for being a traitor."
+
+Hartley had caught sight of the group, and at first seemed rather
+undecided whether to go on or stop. The bitter feeling he had for Joe,
+however, was too strong to resist, and he came over to where they were. He
+paid no attention to Jim, and gave a curt nod to Hughson and fixed a
+malignant stare on Joe.
+
+"All dolled up," he said, with a sneer, as he noted the quiet but handsome
+suit that Joe was wearing. "I could have glad rags, too, if you hadn't
+bilked me out of four thousand dollars."
+
+"Cut out that talk, Bugs," said Joe, though not unkindly. "I never did you
+out of anything and you know it."
+
+"Yes, you did," snarled Hartley. "You got me fired from the Giants and did
+me out of my share of the World's Series money."
+
+"You did yourself out of it, Bugs," said Joe, patiently. "I did my best to
+have Mac hold on to you. I never was anything but your friend. Do you
+remember how Jim and I put you to bed that night in St. Louis when you
+were drunk? We took you up the back way so Mac wouldn't get next. Take a
+fool's advice, Bugs--cut out the liquor and play the game."
+
+"I don't want any advice from you!" sneered Hartley. "And take it from me,
+I'll get you yet."
+
+"Beat it, Bugs!" Jim broke in sternly, "while the going's good. Roll your
+hoop now, or I'll help you."
+
+Hartley hesitated a moment, but took Jim's advice and with a muttered
+threat went on his way.
+
+"Mad as a March hare," murmured Jim, as they watched the retreating
+figure.
+
+"Do a man a favor and he'll never forgive you," quoted Joe.
+
+"Where did he get his grouch against you?" asked Hughson, curiously.
+
+"Search me," replied Joe. "I think it dates from the time when he was
+batted out of the box and Mac sent me in to take his place. I won the game
+and Bugs has been sore at me ever since. He figured that I tried to show
+him up."
+
+"I wonder how he got here?" mused Hughson. "The last time I saw him was in
+New York, and the money I lent him wasn't enough to bring him on."
+
+"Perhaps Mac gave him transportation," suggested Jim.
+
+"Not on your life," rejoined Hughson. "Mac's got a heart as big as a
+house, but he hates a traitor. You see, though, Joe, I was right in giving
+you the tip. Keep your eyes open, old man."
+
+Joe was about to make a laughing reply, but just at that moment Larry and
+Denton came along with broad smiles of welcome on their faces, and the
+unpleasant episode was forgotten.
+
+It was a jolly party that left Chicago the next morning for the trip
+around the world. The managers had chartered a special train which was
+made up wholly of Pullman sleepers, a dining car and a smoker.
+
+It was travel _de luxe_, and the sumptuous train was to be their home for
+the full month that would elapse before they reached the coast.
+
+"Rather soft, eh, for the poor baseball slaves," grinned Jim, as he
+stretched out his long legs luxuriously and gazed out of the window at the
+flying telegraph poles.
+
+"This is the life," chanted Larry Barrett.
+
+"Nothing to do till to-morrow," chimed in Denton. "And not much even
+then."
+
+"Don't you boys go patting yourselves on the back," smiled Robbie, looking
+more like a cherub than ever, as he stopped beside their seats on his way
+along the aisle. "These games, remember, are to be the real thing--there's
+going to be no sloppy or careless work just because you're not playing
+for the championship. They're going to be fights from the time the gong
+rings till the last man is out in the ninth inning."
+
+If Robbie wanted action, he got it, and the first games had a snap and vim
+about them that augured well for the success of the trip. It is true that
+the players had not the stimulus that comes from a fight for the pennant,
+but other motives were not lacking.
+
+There was one game which was a nip-and-tuck affair from start to finish.
+At the end of the fourth inning the score stood 1 to 1, and at the end of
+the sixth inning the score had advanced so that it stood 2 to 2.
+
+"Say, we don't seem to be getting anywhere in this game," remarked Jim to
+Joe.
+
+"Oh, well, we've got three more innings to play," was the answer.
+
+In the seventh inning a most remarkable happening occurred. The
+All-Americans had three men on bases with nobody out. It looked as if they
+might score, but Joe took a sudden brace and pitched the next man at the
+bat out in one-two-three order.
+
+The next man up knocked a pop fly, which Joe gathered in with ease.
+
+"That's the way to do it, Joe!" sang out one of his companions. "Now go
+for the third man!"
+
+The third fellow to the bat was a notable hitter, and nearly every one
+thought he would lace out at least a two-bagger, bringing in probably
+three runs. Instead, however, he knocked two fouls, and then sent a liner
+down to first base, which the baseman caught with ease; and that ended the
+chance for scoring.
+
+"That's pulling it out of the fire!" cried McRae. The showing had been a
+good one, but what made the inning so remarkable was the fact that in
+one-two-three order the Giants got the bases filled exactly as they had
+been filled before. Then, more amazing still, the next man was pitched
+out, the second man knocked a pop fly to the pitcher, and it was Joe
+himself, coming to the bat, hit out a liner to third base, which was
+gathered in by the baseman, thus ending the Giants hope of scoring.
+
+"Well, what do you know about that!" cried Brennan. "The inning on each
+side was exactly alike, with the exception that our third man out flied to
+first base, while your man flied to third."
+
+But that ended the similarity both in batting and in scoring, for in the
+eighth inning the Giants added another run to their score, and held this
+lead to the end, even though the All-Americans fought desperately in the
+effort to tie the score.
+
+"Oh, we had to win," said one of the Giants. "Too many of our folks
+looking at us to lose."
+
+Many members of the teams had their wives or sisters with them, and
+defeat would have been galling under the eyes of the fair spectators.
+
+Then, too, the Giants had their reputation to sustain as the Champions of
+the World. On the other hand, the All-Americans were anxious to show that
+even though they had not been in the World's Series, they ought to have
+been--and it was a keen delight to them to make their adversaries bite the
+dust.
+
+Add to this the fact that there was a strong spirit of rivalry,
+good-natured but intense, between the scrappy McRae and the equally
+pugnacious Brennan, whose team had been nosed out by the Giants in that
+last desperate race down the stretch for the pennant, and it is no wonder
+that the crowds kept getting larger in every city they played, that the
+gate receipts made the managers chuckle, that the great city papers gave
+extended reports of the games and that the baseball trip around the world
+began to engross the attention of every lover of sports in the country.
+
+Joe had never been in finer fettle. His fast balls went over the plate
+like bullets from a gatling gun. His fadeaway was working to a charm. He
+wound the ball near the batters' necks and curved it out of reach of their
+bats with an ease and precision that explained to the applauding crowds
+why he was rated as the foremost pitcher of the day.
+
+Jim, too, showed the effect of his season's work and Joe's helpful
+coaching, and between the two they accounted for three of the games won by
+the Giants before they reached Colorado. Two other games had gone to the
+All-Americans in slap-dash, ding-dong finishes, and it was an even thing
+as to which team would have the most games to its credit by the time they
+had reached the Pacific coast.
+
+The tension was relaxed somewhat when they reached Denver, where, for the
+first time, instead of fighting it out between themselves a team picked
+from both nines was to play the local club.
+
+"Here's where we get a rest," sighed Mylert, the burly catcher of the
+Giant team.
+
+"It will be no trick at all to wipe up the earth with these bushers,"
+laughed Larry Barrett.
+
+"What we'll do to them will be a sin and a shame," agreed "Red" Curry, he
+of the flaming mop, who was accustomed to play the "sun field" at the Polo
+Grounds.
+
+"It's almost a crime to show them up before their home crowd," chimed in
+Iredell, the Giant shortstop.
+
+But if the local club was in for a beating, they showed no special
+trepidation as they came out on the field for practice. If the haughty
+major leaguers had expected their humble adversaries to roll over and play
+dead in advance of the game itself, they were certainly doomed to
+disappointment.
+
+The home team went through its preliminary work in a snappy, finished way
+that brought frequent applause from the crowds that thronged the stand.
+
+Before the game, Brennan, of the Chicagos, sauntered over to Thorpe, the
+local manager, who chanced to be an old acquaintance.
+
+"Got a dandy crowd here to-day, Bill," he said. "We ought to give them a
+run for their money. Suppose I lend you one of our star pitchers, just to
+make things more interesting."
+
+"Thank you, Roger," Thorpe replied, with a slow smile, "but I think we're
+going to make it interesting for you fellows, anyway."
+
+"Quit your kidding," grinned Brennan, with a facetious poke in the ribs,
+and strolled back to the bench.
+
+The gong rang, the field cleared, and the visiting team came to the bat.
+Larry, who had finished the season in a blaze of glory as the leading
+batsman of the National League came up to the plate, swinging three bats.
+He threw away two of them, tapped his heels for luck and grinned
+complacently at the Denver pitcher.
+
+"Trot out the best you've got, kid," he called, "and if you can put it
+over the plate I'll murder it."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+BY A HAIR
+
+
+The pitcher, a dark-skinned, rangy fellow, wound up deliberately and shot
+the ball over. It split the plate clean. Larry swung at it--and missed it
+by two inches.
+
+He looked mildly surprised, but set it down to the luck of the game and
+squared himself for a second attempt. This time he figured on a curve, but
+the boxman out-guessed him with a slow one that floated up to the plate as
+big as a balloon.
+
+Larry almost broke his back in reaching for it, but again fanned the air.
+The visiting players, who had looked on rather languidly, straightened up
+on the bench.
+
+"Some class to that pitcher," ejaculated Willis.
+
+"It isn't often that a bush leaguer makes a monkey out of Larry," replied
+Burkett.
+
+"I've seen these minor league pitchers before," grinned "Red" Curry. "They
+start off like a house afire, but about the fifth inning they begin to
+crumple up."
+
+The third ball pitched was a wide outcurve at which Larry refused to bite.
+He fouled off the next two and then swung savagely at a wicked drop that
+got away from him.
+
+"You're out," called the umpire as the ball thudded into the catcher's
+mitt, and Larry came back a little sheepishly to his grinning comrades on
+the bench.
+
+"What's the matter, Larry?" queried Iredell, as he moved up to make room
+for him. "Off your feed to-day?"
+
+"You'll find out what the matter is when you face that bird," snorted
+Larry. "He's the real goods, and don't you forget it."
+
+Denton, the second man in the batting order, took a ball and a strike, and
+then dribbled an easy roller to the box, which the swarthy pitcher had no
+trouble in getting to first on time.
+
+Burkett, who followed, had better luck and sent a clean single between
+first and second. A shout went up from the Giant bench, which became a
+groan a moment later, when a snap throw by the pitcher nailed Burkett
+three feet off the bag.
+
+The half inning had been smartly played and the Giants took the field with
+a slightly greater respect for their opponents.
+
+Joe had pitched the day before, and it was up to Fraser to take his turn
+in the box. He walked out to his position with easy confidence. He was
+one of the best pitchers in either league, and it was he who had faced Joe
+in that last battle royal of the World's Series and had gone down
+defeated, but not disgraced.
+
+But to-day from the start, it was evident that he was not himself. His
+speed was there and the curves, but control was lacking.
+
+"Wild as a hawk," muttered McRae, as the first Denver man trotted down to
+base on balls.
+
+"Can't seem to locate the plate at all," grunted Robbie.
+
+"He'll pull himself together all right," remarked Brennan, hopefully.
+
+But the prophecy proved false, and the next two men up waited him out and
+were also rewarded with passes. The bases were full without a hit having
+been made, and the crowds in the stand were roaring like mad.
+
+Brennan from the coaching lines at first waved to Fraser and the latter,
+drawing off his glove, walked disgustedly to the bench.
+
+"What's the matter with you to-day?" queried McRae. "You seemed to think
+the plate was up in the grandstand."
+
+"Couldn't get the hang of it, somehow," Fraser excused himself. "Just my
+off day, I guess."
+
+Hamilton succeeded him in the box, and from the way he started out it
+seemed as though he were going to redeem the poor work of his predecessor.
+He struck out the first man on three pitched balls, made the second send
+up a towering foul that Mylert caught after a long run, and the major
+leaguers began to breathe more freely.
+
+"Guess he'll pull out of the hole all right," remarked Robbie.
+
+But for the next batter, Hamilton, grown perhaps a trifle too confident,
+put one over in the groove, and the batter banged out a tremendous
+three-bagger to right field. Curry made a gallant try for it but could not
+quite reach.
+
+Three runs came over the plate, while the panting batsman slid to third.
+The crowd in the stands went wild then, and Thorpe, the manager of the
+local team, grinned in a mocking way at Brennan.
+
+"Is this interesting enough?" he drawled, referring to Brennan's
+patronizing offer to lend him a player.
+
+"Just a bit of luck," growled Brennan. "A few inches more and Curry would
+have got his hooks on the ball. Beside, the game's young yet. We've got
+the class and that's bound to tell."
+
+Hamilton, whose blood was up, put on more steam, and the third player went
+out on an infield fly. But the damage had been done, and those three runs
+at the very start loomed up as a serious handicap.
+
+"Three big juicy ones," mourned McRae.
+
+"And all of them on passes," groaned Robbie. "Too bad we didn't put
+Hamilton in right at the start."
+
+Neither team scored in the second inning, and the third also passed
+without result.
+
+Hamilton was mowing down the opposing batters with ease and grace. But the
+swarthy flinger for the local club was not a bit behind him. The heavy
+sluggers of the visiting teams seemed as helpless before him as so many
+school-boys.
+
+"That fellow won't be in the minors long," commented Brennan. "I wonder
+some of my scouts haven't gone after him before this. Who is he, anyway?"
+
+"I'll tell you who he is," broke in Robbie, suddenly. "I knew I'd seen him
+before somewhere, and I've been puzzling all this time to place him. Now
+I've tumbled. It's Alvarez, the crack pitcher of Cuba."
+
+"Do you mean the fellow that stood the Athletics on their heads when they
+made that winter trip to Cuba a couple of years ago?" asked McRae.
+
+"The same one," affirmed Robbie. "I happened to be there at one of the
+games, and he showed them up--hundred thousand dollar infield and all.
+Connie was fairly dancing as he saw his pets slaughtered. I tell you, that
+fellow's a wonder--he'd have been in a major league long ago if it hadn't
+been for his color. He may be only a Cuban, and he says he is, but he's so
+dark-skinned that there'd be some prejudice against him and that's barred
+him out."
+
+"That's what made Thorpe so confident," growled Brennan. "He's worked in a
+'ringer' on us. We ought to make a kick."
+
+"That would put us in a nice light, wouldn't it?" replied McRae, stormily.
+"We'd like to see it in the papers, that the major leagues played the baby
+act because they couldn't bat a bush pitcher. Not on your life! Thorpe
+would be tickled to death to have us make a squeal. We'll simply have to
+lick him."
+
+But if the promised licking was yet to come, it was not in evidence in the
+next two innings. Alvarez seemed as fresh as at the beginning, and his arm
+worked with the force and precision of a piston rod.
+
+"What's the matter with you fellows, anyway?" raged McRae, when the end of
+the fifth inning saw the score remain unchanged. "You ought to be in the
+old ladies' home. It's a joke to call you ball players."
+
+"It must be this Denver air," ventured Willis. "It's so high up here that
+a fellow finds it hard to breathe. These Denver boobs are used to it and
+we're not."
+
+"Air! air!" snapped McRae. "I notice you've got plenty of hot air. Go in
+and play the game, you bunch of false alarms."
+
+Whether it was owing to his rasping tongue or their own growing resentment
+at the impudence of the minor leaguers, the All-Americans broke the ice in
+the sixth.
+
+Burkett lined out a beauty between left and center that was good for two
+bases. Willis followed with a towering sky scraper to right, which,
+although it was caught after a long run, enabled Burkett to get to third
+before the ball was returned. Then Becker who had perished twice before on
+feeble taps to the infield, whaled out a home run to the intense
+jubilation of his mates.
+
+"We've got his number!" yelled Larry, doing a jig on the coaching lines.
+
+"He's going up," sang out "Red" Curry.
+
+"I knew he couldn't last," taunted Iredell, as he threw his cap in the
+air.
+
+But Alvarez was not through, by any means. Undaunted by that tremendous
+home run which might have taken the heart out of any pitcher, he braced
+himself, and the next two men went out on fouls.
+
+"I thought we had them on the run that time," observed McRae, "but he's
+got the old comeback right with him."
+
+"Never mind," exulted Robbie. "We're beginning to find him now, and we've
+cut down that big lead of theirs to one run. The boys will get after him
+the next inning."
+
+But even the lucky seventh passed without bringing any luck to the
+visitors, and although the major leaguers got two men on bases in the
+eighth, the inning ended with the score still three to two in favor of the
+local club.
+
+"Looks as though we were up against it," said Jim, anxiously, as the
+Giants went to bat for the last time.
+
+"It sure does," responded Joe. "I'll hate to look at the papers to-morrow
+morning. The whole country will have the laugh on us."
+
+"The boys will want to keep away from McRae if they lose," said Jim.
+"He'll be as peeved as a bear with a sore head for the next three days or
+so."
+
+"Now, Larry, show them where you live," sang out Curry, as the head of the
+Giant batting order strode to the plate.
+
+"Kill it," entreated Willis. "Hit it on the seam."
+
+"Send it a mile," exhorted Becker.
+
+It was not a mile that Larry sent it, but it looked so to the left and
+center fielders who chased it as it went on a line between the two. A
+cleaner home run had probably never been knocked out on the Denver
+grounds.
+
+Larry came galloping in to be mauled and pounded by his exulting mates,
+while McRae brought down his hand on Robbie's knee with a force that made
+that worthy wince.
+
+"That ties it up," he cried. "Now, boys, for a whirlwind finish!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+A CLOSE CALL
+
+
+The crowds in the stand, which had been uproarious a few moments before,
+were quiet now. The lead which the local club had held throughout the game
+had vanished; the visitors had played an uphill game worthy of their
+reputation, and now they had at least an even chance.
+
+Denton came to the bat, eager to emulate Larry's feat, but Alvarez was
+unsteady now--that last home run had taken something out of him. He found
+it hard to locate the plate, and Denton trotted down to first on balls.
+
+As no man was out and only one run was needed to gain the lead, a
+sacrifice was the proper play, and Burkett laid down a neat bunt in front
+of the plate that carried Denton to second, although the batter died at
+first.
+
+Alvarez purposely passed Willis on the chance of the next batter hitting
+into a double play, which would have retired the side. Becker made a
+mighty effort to bring his comrades in, but hit under the ball, and it
+went high in the air and was caught by Alvarez as it came down, without
+the pitcher moving from his tracks.
+
+With two out, there was no need of a double play and the infielders, who
+had been playing close in, resumed their usual positions. Iredell, the
+next man up caught the ball square on the end of his bat and sent it
+whistling between center and third. The shortstop leaped up and knocked
+the ball down, but it was going too fast for him to hold.
+
+Denton had left second at the crack of the bat, and by the time the
+infielder regained the ball had rounded third and was tearing like a
+racehorse toward the plate. There was little time to get set and the
+hurried throw home went over the catcher's head. Denton slid feet first
+over the plate, scoring the run that put his team in the lead.
+
+Willis tried to make it good measure by coming close behind him, but by
+this time the catcher had recovered the ball and shot it back to Alvarez
+who was guarding the plate. He nipped Willis by three feet and the side
+was out.
+
+But that one run in the lead looked as big as a house at that stage in the
+game.
+
+"All you've got to do now, Hamilton, old man, is to hold them down in
+their half," said Brennan.
+
+"Cinch," grinned Hamilton. "I'll have them eating out of my hand."
+
+But the uncertainty that makes the national game the most fascinating one
+in the world was demonstrated when the Denver team came in to do-or-die in
+their half of the ninth.
+
+Hamilton fed the first batter a snaky curve, which he lashed at savagely
+but vainly. The next was a slow one and resulted in a chop to the infield
+which Larry would have ordinarily gobbled up without trouble. But the ball
+took an ugly bound just as he was all set for it and went over his head
+toward right. Before Curry could get the ball the batter had reached
+second and the stands were once more in an uproar.
+
+The uproar increased when Hamilton, somewhat shaken by the incident, gave
+the next batter a base on balls, and the broad smiles which had suffused
+the faces of Robbie and McRae began to fade.
+
+"Is Hamilton going up, do you think?" asked the Giant manager, anxiously.
+
+"Looks something like it," replied Robbie, "but he'll probably brace. You
+see Denton's talking to him now, to give him a chance to rest up a
+little."
+
+The third baseman had strolled over to Hamilton on pretense of discussing
+some point of play, but the crowd saw through the subterfuge, and shouts
+of protest went up:
+
+"Hire a hall!"
+
+"Write him a letter!"
+
+"Play ball!"
+
+Not a bit flustered by the shouts, Denton took his time, and after
+encouraging his team mate sauntered slowly back to his position.
+
+But Hamilton's good right arm had lost its cunning. His first ball was
+wild, and the batter, seeing this, waited him out and was given a pass.
+His comrades moved up and the bags were full, with none out and the
+heaviest sluggers of the team coming to the bat.
+
+McRae and Brennan had been holding an earnest conference, and now on a
+signal from them Hamilton came in from the box.
+
+"It's no use," said McRae to Brennan, while the crowd howled in derision.
+"We'll have to play our trump and put Matson in to hold them down."
+
+"But he hasn't warmed up," said Brennan dubiously.
+
+"That makes no difference," replied McRae. "I'd rather put him in cold
+than anyone else warm."
+
+"All right; do as you please," responded the other manager.
+
+McRae called over to where Joe was sitting. The crack pitcher had been
+watching the progress of the game with keen interest, although making
+comparatively few comments. As McRae approached Joe, the crowd howled
+louder than ever at Hamilton.
+
+"Why don't you learn how to pitch?"
+
+"Say, let us send one of the high-school boys into the box for you!"
+
+"Too bad, old man, but I guess we've got your goat all right!"
+
+"I guess you know what I want, Joe," cried McRae. "I want you to get in
+the box for us."
+
+"All right, Mac," was the young pitcher's answer.
+
+"And, Joe," went on the other earnestly, "try to think for the next five
+minutes that you're pitching for the pennant."
+
+"I'll do anything you say," was Joe's reply; and then he drew on his glove
+and walked out upon the ball field.
+
+"Hello! what do you know about that?"
+
+"Matson is going to pitch for them!"
+
+"I guess they've enough of that other dub!"
+
+"Oh, Hamilton isn't a dub, by any means," replied one of the spectators
+sharply. "He's a good player, but a pitcher can't always be at his best."
+
+"But just you wait and see how we do up Matson!" cried a local
+sympathizer.
+
+At a signal the next man to bat stepped away from the plate, and Joe had
+the privilege of warming up by sending three hot ones to the catcher.
+
+"He'll put 'em over all right enough!" cried one of his friends.
+
+"That's what he will!" returned another.
+
+"Not much! He'll be snowed under!"
+
+"This is our winning day!"
+
+So the cries continued until the umpire held up his hand for silence.
+
+"He's going to make an announcement!" cried a number of the spectators.
+
+"Ladies and gentlemen," roared the umpire, removing his cap, "Matson now
+pitching for the All-Americans."
+
+A howl went up from the stands, made up in about equal parts of derision
+and applause. Derision because the All-American team must, they figured,
+be scared to death when they had to send their greatest player into the
+game. Whether they won or lost it was a great compliment to the Denver
+team. The applause came from the genuine sportsmen who knew the famous
+pitcher by reputation and welcomed the chance to see him in action.
+
+The three men on the bases were dancing about like dervishes in the hope
+of rattling the newcomer. They did not know Joe.
+
+Never cooler than when the strain was greatest and the need most urgent,
+Joe bent down to pick up the ball. As he did so, he touched it, apparently
+accidentally, against his right heel.
+
+It was a signal meant for Denton, the third baseman, who was watching him
+like a hawk.
+
+Joe took up his position in the box, took a grip on the ball, but instead
+of delivering it to the batter turned suddenly on his left heel, as though
+to snap it down to first. The Denver player at that bag, who had taken a
+lead of several feet, made a frantic slide back to safety.
+
+But the ball never got to first, for Joe had swung himself all the way
+round and shot the ball like a bullet to Denton at third. The local player
+at third had been watching eagerly the outcome of the supposed throw to
+first and was caught completely unawares.
+
+Down came Denton's hand, clapping the ball on his back, while the victim
+stood dazed as though in a trance.
+
+It was the prettiest kind of "inside work," and even the home crowd went
+into convulsions of laughter as the trapped player came sheepishly in from
+third to the bench.
+
+McRae was beaming, and Robbie's rubicund face became several degrees
+redder under the strain of his emotion.
+
+"Say, is that boy class, John?" Robbie gurgled, as soon as he could
+speak.
+
+"Never saw a niftier thing on the ball field," responded McRae warmly.
+"When that boy thinks, he runs rings around lightning."
+
+"And he's thinking all the time," chimed in Jim.
+
+But the peril was not yet over. The man at the most dangerous corner had
+been disposed of, yet there was still a man on first and another on
+second. A safe hit would tie the game at least, and possibly win it.
+
+Joe wound up deliberately and shot a high fast one over the plate. It came
+so swiftly that the batter did not offer at it, and looked aggrieved when
+the umpire called it a strike.
+
+The next was a crafty outcurve which went as a ball. The batsman fouled
+off the next.
+
+With two strikes on and only one ball called, Joe was on "easy street" and
+could afford to "waste a few." Twice in succession he tempted the batsman
+with balls that were wide of the plate, but the batter was wary and
+refused them.
+
+Now the count was "two and three," and the crowd broke into a roar.
+
+"Good eye, old man!" they shouted to the batter.
+
+"You've got him in a hole!"
+
+"It only takes one to do it!"
+
+"He's got to put it over!"
+
+With all the force of his sinewy arm, Joe "put it over."
+
+The batsman made a wicked drive at it and sent it hurtling to the box
+about two feet over Joe's head.
+
+Joe saw it coming, leaped into the air and speared it with his gloved
+hand. The men on bases had started to run, thinking it a sure hit. Joe
+wheeled and sent the ball down to Burkett at first.
+
+"Look at that!"
+
+"Some speed, eh?"
+
+"I should say so."
+
+"Matson has got them going!"
+
+The man who had left the bag strove desperately to get back, but he was
+too late. That rattling double play had ended the game with the
+All-American team a victor by a score of four to three.
+
+Joe's fingers tingled as he pulled off the glove, for that terrific drive
+had stung. The crowd had been stunned for a moment by the suddenness with
+which the game and their hopes of victory had gone glimmering. But it had
+been a remarkable play and the first silence was followed by a round of
+sportsmanlike applause--though of course it was nothing to what would have
+greeted the victory of the home team.
+
+"Fine work, Matson!"
+
+"Best I ever saw!"
+
+"You're the boy to do it."
+
+"Best pitcher in the world!"
+
+Joe found himself the center of a joyous crowd when he reached his own
+bench. All were jubilant that they had escaped the humiliation of being
+whipped by a minor league team.
+
+"You've brought home the bacon, Joe!" chortled McRae.
+
+"We all did," replied Joe. "But we almost dropped it on the way!" he
+added, with a grin.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+A DASTARDLY ATTACK
+
+
+The tourists' train was scheduled to leave Denver at eleven-thirty that
+night, so that there was ample time after the game for a leisurely meal
+and a few hours for recreation for any of the party that felt so
+inclined.
+
+Some went to the theater, others played cards, while others sat about the
+lobby of the leading hotel and discussed the exciting events of the
+afternoon's game.
+
+As for Joe and Jim, their recreation took the form of long letters to two
+charming young ladies whose address, by coincidence, happened to be
+Riverside. Both seemed to have much to write about, for it was nearly ten
+o'clock before the bulky letters were ready for mailing.
+
+"Give them to me and I'll take them down to the hotel lobby and mail
+them," said Jim, as they rose from the writing table.
+
+"I don't know," replied Joe, as he looked at his watch. "Perhaps the last
+collection for the outgoing eastbound mail has already been made. What do
+you say to going down to the post-office itself and dropping them in
+there? Then they'll be sure to go."
+
+"All right," Jim acquiesced. "It's a dandy night anyway for a walk and I'd
+like to stretch my legs a little. Come along."
+
+They went out into the brilliantly lighted streets, which at that hour
+were still full of people, and turned toward the post-office which was
+about half a mile distant.
+
+As they were passing a corner, Jim suddenly clutched Joe's arm.
+
+"Did you see that fellow who went into that saloon just now?" he asked,
+indicating a rather pretentious café.
+
+"No," said Joe, dryly. "But it isn't such an unusual thing that I'd pay a
+nickel to see it."
+
+"Quit your fooling," said Jim. "If that fellow wasn't Bugs Hartley, then
+my eyes are going back on me."
+
+"You're dreaming," Joe retorted. "What in the world would Bugs be doing in
+Denver?"
+
+"Panhandling, maybe," returned Jim. "Drinking, certainly. But it isn't
+what he's doing that interests me. It's the fact that he's here."
+
+"Let's take a look," suggested Joe, impressed by his friend's
+earnestness.
+
+They went up to the swinging door, pushed it open and looked in. There
+were perhaps a dozen men in the place, but Hartley was not among them.
+
+"Barking up the wrong tree, Jim," chaffed Joe.
+
+"Maybe," agreed Jim a little perplexed, "but if it wasn't Bugs it was his
+double."
+
+They reached the post-office and after mailing their letters turned back
+towards the hotel.
+
+"It's taken us a little longer than I thought," remarked Jim, looking at
+his watch. "We won't have any more than time to get our traps together and
+get down to the train."
+
+"This looks like a short cut," said Joe, indicating a side street which
+though rather dark and deserted cut into the main thoroughfare, as they
+could see by the bright lights at the further end. "We'll save something
+by going this way."
+
+They had gone perhaps a couple of blocks when they reached a part of the
+street which had no dwelling houses on it. On one side was a factory, dark
+and forbidding, and on the side where the young men were walking was a
+high board fence enclosing a coal yard.
+
+"Wait a minute, Jim," said Joe. "It feels as though my shoe lace had come
+untied."
+
+He stooped down to fasten the lace, and just as he did so, a jagged piece
+of rock came whizzing past where his head had been a second before and
+crashed against the fence.
+
+Joe straightened up with a jerk.
+
+"Who threw that?" he exclaimed.
+
+Jim's face was white at the peril his friend had so narrowly escaped.
+
+"Somebody who knew how to throw," he cried, "and I can make a guess at who
+it was. There he is now!" he shouted, as he caught sight of a dim figure
+slinking away in the darkness on the further side of the factory.
+
+They darted across the street in pursuit, but when they turned the corner
+there was no one to be seen. Several alleys branched off from the street,
+up any one of which the fugitive might have made his escape. Although they
+tried them one after the other they could find no trace of the rascal.
+
+Baffled and chagrined, they made their way back to the scene of the
+attack. Joe picked up the piece of rock and weighed it in his hand.
+
+"About half a pound," he judged. "And look at those rough edges! It would
+have been all up with me, if it had landed."
+
+"Do you notice that that's about the weight of a baseball?" asked Jim
+significantly. "And it went for your head as straight as a bullet. It
+would have caught you square if you hadn't stooped just as you did. You
+can thank your lucky stars that your shoelace came untied. That fellow
+knew just how to throw, as I said before."
+
+"You don't mean," replied Joe, "that Bugs----"
+
+"Just that," affirmed Jim grimly. "Now maybe you'll believe me when I say
+that I saw him to-night. That skunk thought that I had seen him, and
+slipped into the saloon to get out of sight. Probably he went out through
+a rear door and has been following us ever since."
+
+"But why----" began Joe.
+
+"Why?" repeated Jim. "Why does a crazy man do crazy things? Just because
+he is crazy. He doesn't have to have a reason. If he thinks you've injured
+him he's just as bitter as though you really had. Hughson's tip was a good
+one, Joe. The fellow's deadly dangerous. It's only luck that he isn't a
+murderer this minute."
+
+"It's good for him I didn't lay my hands on him," replied Joe. "I wouldn't
+have hit him, because I don't think he's responsible for what he does. But
+I'd have had him put where he couldn't do any more mischief for a while."
+
+"It gives me the creeps to think of what a close call that was," said Jim,
+as they walked along.
+
+"Don't say anything about it to the boys," cautioned Joe. "The thing would
+get out, and before we knew it the folks at home would have heard of it.
+And they wouldn't have an easy minute for all the rest of the trip."
+
+They made quick time to the hotel, and as most of their luggage had
+remained on the train, they had only to gather a few things together in a
+small hand bag and start out for the station.
+
+Their special train had been standing on a side track a few hundred yards
+east of the main platform. They were picking their way toward it across a
+network of tracks, when, just as they rounded the corner of a freight car,
+they came face to face with Hartley.
+
+They almost dropped their handbags at the unexpectedness of the meeting.
+But if they were startled, Bugs was frightened and turned on his heel to
+run. In an instant Joe had him by the collar in a grip of iron, while Jim
+stood on the alert to stop him should he break away.
+
+"Let me go!" cried Hartley in stifled tones, for Joe's grip was almost
+choking him.
+
+"Not until you tell me why you tried to murder me to-night," said Joe,
+grimly.
+
+"I don't know what you're talking about," snarled Bugs, trying to wrench
+himself loose from Joe's hold on his collar.
+
+"You know well enough," replied his captor. "Own up."
+
+"You might as well, Bugs," put in Jim. "We've got the goods on you."
+
+"You fellows are crazy," replied Bugs. "I've never laid eyes on you since
+I saw you in Chicago. And you can't prove that I did either."
+
+"You're the only enemy I have in the world," declared Joe. "And the man
+who threw that rock at me to-night was a practiced thrower. Besides,
+you're all in a sweat--that's from running away when we chased you."
+
+"Swell proof that is," sneered Hartley. "Tell that to a judge and see what
+good it will do you."
+
+The point was well taken, and Joe and Jim knew in their hearts that they
+had no legal proof, although they were morally certain Bugs was guilty.
+Besides, they had no time to have him arrested, for their train was
+scheduled to start in ten minutes.
+
+"Now listen, Bugs," said Joe, at the same time shaking him so that his
+teeth rattled. "I know perfectly well that you're lying, and I'm giving
+you warning for the last time. You've had it in for me from the time you
+doped my coffee and nearly put me out of the game altogether. Ever since
+that you've bothered me, and to-night you've tried to kill me. I tell you
+straight, I've had enough of it. If I didn't think that your brain was
+twisted, I'd thrash you now within an inch of your life. But I'm telling
+you now, and you let it sink in, that the next time you try to do me, I'm
+going to put you where the dogs won't bite you."
+
+He dug his knuckles into Bugs' neck and gave him a fling that sent him
+several yards away. The fellow kept his feet with an effort, and then with
+a muttered threat slunk away into the darkness.
+
+They watched him for a minute, and then picked up their handbags and
+started toward the train.
+
+"Hope that's the last we see of him," remarked Joe.
+
+"So do I," Jim replied. "But we felt that way before and he's turned up
+just the same. I won't feel easy till I know that he's behind the bars."
+
+"He's usually in front of the bars," joked Joe. "But I'm glad anyway that
+we had a chance to throw a scare into him. He knows now that we'll be on
+our guard and perhaps even he will have sense enough to let us alone."
+
+Jim consulted his watch.
+
+"Great Scott!" he ejaculated.
+
+"What's the matter, Jim?"
+
+"We haven't any time to spare if we want to catch that train."
+
+"All right, let's run for it."
+
+As best they could, they began sprinting in the direction of the railroad
+station, but their handbags were somewhat heavy, and this impeded their
+progress. Then, turning a corner, they suddenly found themselves
+confronted by a long sewer trench, lit up here and there by red lanterns.
+
+"We've got to get over that trench somehow!" cried Joe.
+
+"Can you jump it?" questioned Jim anxiously.
+
+"I'm going to try," returned the crack pitcher.
+
+He threw his handbag to the other side of the sewer trench, and then,
+backing up a few steps, ran forward and took the leap in good shape. His
+chum followed him, but Jim might have slipped back into the sewer trench
+had not Joe been watching, and grabbed him by one hand.
+
+"Gosh, that was a close shave!" panted Jim, when he felt himself safe.
+
+"Don't waste time thinking about it. We have still a couple of blocks to
+go," Joe returned, and set off once more on the run, with Jim at his
+heels.
+
+Soon they rounded another corner, and came in sight of the railroad
+station. There stood their train, and the conductor was signaling to
+start.
+
+"Wait! Wait!" yelled Joe. But in the general confusion around the railroad
+station nobody seemed to notice him.
+
+"We've got to make that train--we've just got to!" cried Joe, and dashed
+forward faster than ever, with Jim beside him.
+
+They scrambled up the steps just as a warning whistle sounded; and a few
+moments later the train drew out on its climb over the Rockies.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+DANGER SIGNALS
+
+
+The travelers were now in the most picturesque part of their journey, and
+the magnificent views that spread before them as they topped the ridges of
+the continent and dropped down on the other side into the land of flowers
+and eternal summer were a source of unending interest and pleasure.
+
+"I'll tell you what, Joe," remarked Jim: "I never had an idea that this
+section of our country was so truly grand."
+
+"It certainly is magnificent scenery," was Joe's answer. "Just look at
+those mountain tops, will you? Some height there, believe me!"
+
+"Yes. And just see the depth of some of those canyons, will you? Say! if a
+fellow ever fell over into one of those, he'd never know what happened to
+him."
+
+"I've been watching this particular bit of scenery for some time,"
+remarked Joe. "It somehow had a familiar look to it, and now I know why."
+
+"And why is it, Joe?"
+
+"I'll tell you. Some time ago I saw a moving picture with the scene laid
+in the Rocky Mountains, and, unless I'm greatly mistaken, some of the
+scenes were taken right in this locality."
+
+"Was that a photo-play called 'The Girl From Mountain Pass?'" questioned
+another player who was present.
+
+"It was."
+
+"Then you're right, Matson; because I was speaking about that film to the
+conductor of this train, and he said that some of the pictures were taken
+right around here. His train was used in one of the scenes."
+
+This matter was talked over for several minutes, but then the conversation
+changed; and, presently, the chums went off to talk about other matters.
+
+Joe and Jim were lounging in the rear of the observation car, talking over
+the stirring events of the night before, when McRae happened along and
+dropped into a seat beside them.
+
+"Some game that was yesterday, boys," he remarked genially. "Those Denver
+fellows were curly bears, but we trimmed them just the same."
+
+"Yes," grinned Jim. "But we weren't comfortable while we were doing it."
+
+"They sure did worry us," acquiesced Joe. "They made us know at least that
+we'd been in a fight."
+
+"It was that ninth-inning work of yours that pulled us through, Joe,"
+declared McRae. "That stunt you pulled of whirling on your heel and
+shooting it over to third was a pretty bit of inside stuff. And there
+wasn't anything slow either about spearing that ball that Thompson hit."
+
+"I'd have let the fielders take care of that," admitted Joe, "if there
+hadn't been so much at stake. My hand stung for an hour afterward. But I'd
+have hated to let those fellows crow over us."
+
+"That fellow, Alvarez, that Thorpe rang in on us was a sure-enough
+pitcher," observed McRae. "I'd sign him up in a minute if it weren't for
+that dark skin of his. But it wouldn't work. We had a second baseman like
+that one time, and although he was a rattling good player it nearly broke
+up the team. It's too bad that color should stand in the way of a man's
+advancement, but it can't be helped.
+
+"By the way," he continued, drawing a paper from his pocket, "here's
+something that may interest you. It's the official record of the National
+League of the pitching averages for this season. It made me feel good when
+I read it and you'll see the reason why."
+
+He handed them the paper, which they opened eagerly to the sporting page.
+
+Joe's heart felt a thrill of satisfaction as he saw that his name stood at
+the head of the list, and Jim, too, was elated, as he noted that although
+this was his first year in a major league his name was among the first
+fifteen--a rare distinction for a "rookie."
+
+"Some class to the Giants, eh?" grinned McRae. "There's sixty names in
+that list and no single team has as many in the first twelve as we have.
+That average of yours, Joe, of 1.53 earned runs per game is a hummer.
+Hughson is close on your heels with 1.56. The Rube, you see, is eighth in
+the list with 1.95, and Jim's eleventh with 2.09. I tell you, boys, that's
+class, and to cap it all we won the pennant."
+
+"Two pennants, you mean," corrected Jim with a smile.
+
+"And neither one to be sneezed at," grinned Joe.
+
+"We sure had a great season," observed McRae. "If we start next year with
+the same team we ought to go through the league like a prairie fire. I
+have every reason to think that Hughson will be in tip-top shape when the
+season opens, and if he is, there won't be any pitching staff that can
+hold a candle to ours. But----"
+
+He paused uncertainly and looked at Joe as though he wanted to speak to
+him privately. Jim saw the look and took the hint.
+
+"I guess I'll go into the smoker and see what the rest of the fellows are
+doing, if you'll excuse me," he said, rising and strolling back.
+
+McRae greeted his departure with evident satisfaction.
+
+"I'm glad to have a chance to talk to you alone, Joe," he said. "You're my
+right bower and I can talk to you more freely than to anyone else, except
+Hughson. I don't mind telling you that this new league is worrying me a
+lot."
+
+"What is it?" asked Joe with quick interest. "Anything happened lately?"
+
+"Plenty," replied McRae. "I've kidded myself with the idea that the thing
+was going to peter out of its own accord. Every few seasons something of
+the kind crops up, but it usually comes to nothing. Usually the men who
+put up the coin get scared when they see what a big proposition it is
+they've tackled and back out. Sometimes, too, they go about it in such a
+blundering way that it's bound to fail from the start.
+
+"But this time it's different. They've got barrels of money behind them,
+and they're spending it like water. There's one of them named Fleming,
+whose father is a millionaire many times over, and he seems to have money
+to burn. They certainly are making big offers to star players all over the
+country. You saw the way they came at you, and they're doing the same in
+other places. There isn't a paper that I pick up that doesn't give the
+name of some big player that they're tampering with. The last one I saw
+was Altman of the Chicago White Sox. I guess though, that is a wrong
+steer, for Altman has come out flat for his old team and denies any
+intention of jumping his contract."
+
+"Bully for Nick!" exclaimed Joe. "I guess I helped to queer that deal. I
+saw Westland talking to him, and he seemed to have him going, but I put a
+few things straight to Nick and he seems to have come to his senses before
+it's too late."
+
+"There's Munsey of the Cincinnatis, he's left his reservation," continued
+McRae. "He's the crack shortstop of the country. They've got a line out,
+too, for Wilson of the Bostons, and you know they don't make any better
+outfielders than he is. In fact, they're biting into the teams everywhere,
+and none of them know where they're at. If I'd known they were going at it
+so seriously, and hadn't got so far in my preparations for this trip, I
+think I wouldn't have gone on this world's tour. It looks to me as though
+the major leagues would be backed up against the wall and fighting for
+their lives before this winter's over."
+
+"It may not be as bad as you think," said Joe consolingly. "Even if they
+get a lot of the stars, there will be a great many left. And, besides,
+they may have trouble in finding suitable grounds to play on."
+
+"But they will," declared McRae. "They've got the refusal of first-class
+locations in every big city of the major league. I tell you, there's
+brains behind this new league and that's what's worrying me. I don't know
+whether it's Fleming----"
+
+"No," interrupted Joe, smiling contemptuously, as he thought of the
+dissipated young fellow whom he had thrashed so soundly. "It isn't
+Fleming. He's got money enough, but there's a vacuum where his brains
+ought to be."
+
+"Then it's his partners," deduced McRae. "And their brains with his money
+make a strong combination."
+
+"Well," comforted Joe, "there's one good thing about this trip, anyway.
+You've got the Giants out of reach of their schemes."
+
+McRae looked around to see if anyone were within earshot, and then leaned
+over toward Joe.
+
+"Don't fool yourself," he said earnestly. "I'm afraid right now there are
+traitors in the camp!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+A WEIRD GAME
+
+
+Baseball Joe was startled and showed it plainly.
+
+"What do you mean?" he asked, as his mind ran over the names of his
+team-mates.
+
+"Just what I say," replied McRae. "I tell you, Joe, somebody's getting in
+his fine work with our boys and I know it."
+
+"Where's your proof?" asked Joe. "I hate to think that any of our fellows
+would welch on their contracts."
+
+"So do I," returned McRae. "We've been like one big family, and I've
+always tried to treat the boys right. I've got a rough tongue, as
+everybody knows, and in a hot game I've called them down many a time when
+they've made bonehead plays. But at the same time I've tried to be just,
+and I've never given any of them the worst end of the deal. They've been
+paid good money, and I've carried them along sometimes when other managers
+would have let them go."
+
+"You've been white all right," assented Joe warmly. He recalled an
+occasion when a muff by a luckless center-fielder had lost a World Series
+and fifty thousand dollars for the team, and yet McRae had "stood the
+gaff" and never said a word, because he knew the man was trying to do his
+best.
+
+"I'm telling this to you, Joe," went on McRae, "because I want you to help
+me out. You've proved yourself true blue when you were put to the test. I
+know you'll do all you can to hold the boys in the traces. They all like
+you and feel that they owe you a lot because it was your pitching that
+pulled us through the World's Series. Besides, they'll be more impressed
+by what you say than by the talk I'd give them. They figure that I'm the
+manager and am only looking after my own interests, and for that reason
+what I say has less effect."
+
+"I'll stand by you, Mac," returned Joe, "and help you in any way I can.
+Who are the boys that you think are trying to break loose?"
+
+"There are three of them," replied McRae. "Iredell, Curry and Burkett, and
+all three of them are stars, as you know as well as I do."
+
+"They're cracks, every one of them," agreed Joe. "And they're among the
+last men that I'd suspect of doing anything of the kind. What makes you
+think they've been approached?"
+
+"A lot of things," replied McRae. "In the first place, I have noticed that
+they are stiff and offish in their manner when I speak to them. Then, too,
+I've come across them several times lately with their heads together, and
+when they saw me coming they'd break apart and start talking of something
+else, as if I had interrupted them. Beside that, all three have struck me
+lately for a raise in salary next season."
+
+"That's nothing new for ball players," said Joe, with a smile.
+
+"No," admitted McRae, an answering smile relieving the gravity of his face
+for the moment. "And I stand ready of my own accord to give the boys a
+substantial increase on last year's pay because of their winning the
+pennant. But what these three asked for was beyond all reason, and made me
+think there was a nigger in the woodpile. They either had had a big offer
+from somebody else and were using that as a club to hold me up with, or
+else they were just trying to give themselves a better excuse for
+jumping."
+
+"How long do their contracts have to run?" asked Joe.
+
+"Iredell has one year more and Curry and Burkett are signed up for two
+years yet," replied the Giants' manager. "Of course I could try to hold
+them to their contracts, but you know as well as I do that baseball
+contracts are more a matter of honesty than of legal obligation. If a man
+is straight, he'll keep it, if he's crooked, he'll break it. And you know
+what a hole it would leave in the Giant team if those three men went over
+the fence. There isn't a heavier slugger in the team than Burkett, except
+Larry. His batting average this year was .332, and as a fielding first
+baseman he's the class of the league."
+
+"You're right there," acquiesced Joe, as he recalled the ease and
+precision with which Burkett took them on either side and dug them out of
+the dirt. "He's saved a game for me many and many a time."
+
+"As for Iredell," went on McRae, "he hasn't his equal in playing short and
+in covering second as the pivot for a double play. And nobody has played
+the infield as Curry does since I've been manager of the team."
+
+"It would certainly break the Giants all up to lose the three of them,"
+agreed Joe. "But we haven't lost them yet. Remember that the game isn't
+over till the last man is out in the ninth inning."
+
+"I know that. You've helped me win two fights this year, Joe, one for the
+championship of the league and the other for the championship of the
+world. Now I'm counting on you to help me win a third, perhaps the hardest
+of them all."
+
+"Put 'er there, Mac," said Joe, extending his hand. "Shake--I'm with you
+till the cows come home."
+
+"Of course, they'll be willing to put up big money, Joe. You know that
+already."
+
+"It doesn't make a particle of difference, Mac, how much money they put
+up," returned the crack pitcher warmly. "There isn't enough cash in the
+U. S. treasury to tempt me."
+
+"I know that, Joe. And I only wish that I could be as certain of the rest
+of the players."
+
+"Well, of course, I can't speak for the others. But you can be sure that
+I'll use my influence on the right side every time. Some of them may
+weaken and break away, but I doubt very much if they'll be any of your
+main-stays. If I were you, Mac, I wouldn't let this worry me too much."
+
+"Yes, I know it's getting on my nerves, Joe, because, you see, it means so
+much to me. But having you on my side has braced me up a good deal," went
+on the manager.
+
+They shook hands warmly, and McRae, evidently encouraged and braced by the
+talk with his star pitcher, made his way back to his own immediate party.
+
+The teams were slated to play in Salt Lake City and in Ogden. In both
+places they "cleaned up" easily, and it was not until a few days later
+when they reached the slope that they encountered opposition that made
+them exert themselves to win.
+
+At Bakersfield, with Jim in the box, the game went to eleven innings
+before it was finally placed to the credit of the Giants by a score of
+three to two. The 'Frisco team also put up a stiff fight for eight
+innings, but were overwhelmed by a storm of hits which rained from Giant
+bats in the ninth.
+
+The game with Oakland was the last on the schedule before the teams left
+for the Orient, and an enormous crowd was in attendance.
+
+Joe was in the box for the All-American team. He was in fine form, and
+held the home team down easily until the fifth inning, but the Oaklands
+also, undaunted by the reputation of their adversaries, and under the
+guidance of a manager who had formerly been a famous first baseman of the
+Chicago team, were also out to win if possible, and with first-class
+pitching and supported by errorless fielding, they held their redoubtable
+opponents on even terms.
+
+At the end of the fifth, neither team had scored, although the Giants had
+threatened to do so on two separate occasions. A singular condition
+developed in the sixth. It was the Giants' turn at bat and Curry had
+reached first on a clean single to right. A neat sacrifice by Joe advanced
+him to second. A minute later he stole third, sliding feet first into the
+bag and narrowly escaping the ball in the third baseman's hand.
+
+With only one out and Larry coming to the bat, the prospects for a run
+were bright.
+
+Larry let the first go by, but swung at the second, which was coming
+straight to the plate. His savage lunge caught the ball on the underside,
+and it went soaring through the air to a tremendous height.
+
+Both the second and third baseman started for the ball. It looked as
+though neither would be able to reach it, and Curry ran half-way down the
+line between third and home, awaiting the result. If the ball were caught
+he figured that he would easily have time to get back to third. If it were
+dropped, he could make home and score.
+
+The third baseman got under the descending ball, but it was coming from
+such a height that it was difficult to judge. It slipped through his
+fingers, but instead of falling to the ground, went plump into the pocket
+of his baseball shirt.
+
+He tugged desperately to get it out, at the same time running toward
+Curry, who danced about on the line between third and home in an agony of
+indecision. Was the ball caught or not? If it were, he would have to
+return to third. If it were not, he must make a break for home.
+
+The teams were all shouting now, while the crowd went into convulsions.
+The third baseman reached Curry and grabbed him with one hand, while with
+the other he frantically tried to get the ball from his pocket and clap
+it on him. But the ball stuck, and in the mixup both players fell to the
+ground and rolled over and over.
+
+Larry, in the meanwhile, was tearing round the bases, but he himself
+wasn't sure whether he was really out or whether he ought to strike for
+home. He reached third and pulled up there, still in the throes of doubt.
+He could have easily gone on past the struggling combatants, but in that
+case, if Curry were finally declared not out, Larry would also be out for
+having passed him and got home first.
+
+On the other hand, if Curry should finally escape and get back to third,
+one of them would still be out because he was occupying the bag to which
+his comrade was entitled. He did not really know whether he was running
+for exercise or to score a run.
+
+It was the funniest mixup that even the veteran players had ever seen on a
+ball field, and as for the crowd they were wild with joy.
+
+The third baseman, finding that Curry was about to get away from him and
+unable to get the ball out of his pocket, finally threw his arms about him
+and hugged him close in the wild hope that some part of the protruding
+ball would touch his prisoner's person and thus put him out.
+
+The sight of those burly gladiators, locked in a fond embrace, threatened
+the sanity of the onlookers, but the farce was ended when Curry finally
+wriggled out from the anaconda grasp of his opponent and took a chance for
+the plate.
+
+Then there was a hot debate, as the umpire, himself laughing until the
+tears ran down his face, tried to solve the situation. Had Curry been
+touched by the ball, or had he not? Had the ball been caught or not?
+
+Players on both sides tugged at him as they debated the matter _pro_ and
+_con_.
+
+"I don't know what that umpire's name is," grinned Jim to Joe, who was
+weak with laughter, "but I know what it ought to be."
+
+"What?" asked Joe.
+
+"Solomon," chuckled Jim.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE BEWILDERED UMPIRE
+
+
+But whatever the umpire's name might have been, he only resembled Solomon
+in one respect. He was inclined to compromise and cut the play in two,
+giving one part to the major leaguers and the other to the Oakland team.
+
+He was not to blame for being bewildered, for the baseball magnates who
+had framed the rules had never contemplated the special case of a player
+catching the ball in his pocket.
+
+Between the opposing claims he pulled out his book and scanned it
+carefully but with no result.
+
+"It's easy enough," rasped McRae. "He tried to catch a ball and muffed it.
+It goes for a hit and Curry scores."
+
+"Not on your life," barked Everett, the manager of the Oakland team. "He
+got the ball and it never touched the ground."
+
+"Got it," sneered McRae. "This is baseball, not pool. He can't pocket the
+ball."
+
+There was a laugh at this, and Mackay, the third baseman, looked a little
+sheepish. The baited umpire suggested that the whole play be called off
+and that Curry go back to third while Larry resumed his place at the bat.
+
+Larry set up a howl at this, as he saw his perfectly good three-baser go
+glimmering.
+
+"Oh, hire a hall," snapped Everett. "Even if the umpire decides against
+the catch it was only an error and you ought to have been out anyway."
+
+"You can't crawl out of it that way," said McRae to the umpire. "A play is
+a play and you've got to settle it one way or the other, even if you
+settle it wrong."
+
+The umpire hesitated, wiped his brow and finally decided that the ball was
+caught. That put Larry out, and he retreated, growling, to the bench,
+while Everett grinned his satisfaction.
+
+"That's all right, Ump," said the latter. "But how about Curry? Mackay put
+the ball on him all right and that makes three out."
+
+"Say, what do you want, the earth?" queried McRae. "He didn't put the ball
+on him. He didn't have the ball to put. It was in his pocket all the
+time."
+
+"Of course I put the ball on him," declared Mackay. "I must have. When I
+fell on him I hit him everywhere at once."
+
+The umpire finally decided that Mackay had not put the ball on Curry, and
+the red-headed right-fielder chuckled at the thought of the run he had
+scored.
+
+"That makes it horse and horse," said the umpire. "Get back to your
+places."
+
+If he thought he was at the end of his troubles he was mistaken, for
+Everett suddenly cried out:
+
+"Look here. You said that Mackay caught that ball, didn't you?"
+
+"That's what I said," snorted the umpire.
+
+"Well, then," crowed Everett triumphantly, "why didn't Curry go back to
+third and touch the bag before he lit out for home? He has to do that on a
+caught fly ball, hasn't he?"
+
+The umpire looked fairly stumped. Here was something on which the rules
+were explicit. It was certain that Curry should have returned to the base
+and it was equally certain that he hadn't. Mackay had caught him half-way
+between third and home.
+
+But McRae was equal to the occasion.
+
+"Suppose he did have to," he cried. "You said that Mackay hadn't touched
+him and he's free to go back yet."
+
+"And I'm free to touch him with the ball," Mackay came back at him.
+
+"But the ball isn't in play," put in Robbie, adding his mite to the
+general confusion. "You called time when you came in to settle this."
+
+"Who wouldn't be an umpire?" laughed Jim to Joe, as he saw the look of
+despair on that worried individual's face.
+
+"The most glorious mixup I ever saw on the ball field," answered Joe.
+
+"'How happy he could be with either were 'tother dear charmer away,'"
+chuckled Jim, pointing to the two pugnacious disputants on either side of
+the umpire.
+
+"Curry's out--Curry isn't out. Love me--love me not," responded Joe.
+
+By this time the crowd had got over their laugh and impatiently demanded
+action. The umpire cut the Gordian knot by sending Curry back to third,
+where he and Mackay chaffed each other and the game went on.
+
+It was not much of a game after that, however, as the laughable incident
+had put all the players in a more or less frivolous mood. It finally ended
+in a score of six to three in favor of the All-Americans, and the teams
+made a break for the showers.
+
+"The last game we play on American soil for many moons," remarked Joe, as,
+having bathed and dressed, the two young athletes strolled toward their
+hotel.
+
+"And every one of them a victory," observed Jim. "Not a single mark on
+the wrong side of the ledger!"
+
+"That game at Denver was the closest call we had," said Joe. "The trip so
+far has been a big money-maker, too. McRae was telling me yesterday that
+we'd already topped ninety-five thousand, and there was ten thousand in
+that crowd to-day if there was a penny."
+
+"I guess Mac won't have any trouble in buying steamship tickets," laughed
+Jim. "By the way, we haven't had a look at the old boat yet. Let's go down
+to-morrow and inspect her."
+
+"Why not make it the day after to-morrow?" suggested Joe. "The girls will
+be here by that time and we'll take them with us."
+
+"That will suit me, Joe."
+
+"I've been thinking of something, Jim," went on the crack pitcher, after a
+pause. "It won't be long now before we leave America. What do you say if
+we do a little shopping, and buy some things for ourselves and for the
+girls?"
+
+"Say, that's queer! I was thinking the same thing." Jim paused for a
+moment. "Won't it be fine to have the others with us again?"
+
+"Yes; I'll be very glad to see Mabel, and glad to see Clara, too. I
+suppose you've been getting letters pretty regularly, eh, Jim?"
+
+"I don't believe I've been getting any more letters than you have, Joe,"
+returned the other.
+
+"Well, you're welcome to them, Jim. I wish you luck!" said Joe, and placed
+a hand on his chum's shoulder. For a moment they looked into each other's
+eyes, and each understood perfectly what was passing in the other's mind.
+But Jim just then did not feel he could say too much.
+
+"I'll be glad to see Reggie again, too," remarked Joe, after a moment of
+silence. "He's something of a queer stick, but pretty good at that."
+
+"Oh, he's all right, Joe," answered Jim. "As he grows older and sees more
+of the seamy side of life, he'll get some of that nonsense knocked out of
+him."
+
+They ate their supper that night with a sense of relaxation to which they
+had long been strangers. For the first time since they had gone to the
+training camp at Texas in the spring, they were out of harness. There had
+been the fierce, tense race for the pennant that had strained them to the
+utmost.
+
+Then, with only a few days intervening, had come the still more exciting
+battle for the championship of the world. They had won and won gloriously,
+but even then they had not felt wholly free, for the long trip across the
+continent which they had just finished was then before them, and although
+this struggle had been less close and important, it had still kept them on
+edge and in training.
+
+But now their strenuous year had ended. Before them lay a glorious trip
+around the world, a voyage over summer seas, a pilgrimage through lands of
+mystery and romance, the fulfillment of cherished dreams, and with them
+were to go the two charming girls who represented to them all that was
+worth while in life and who even now were hurrying toward them as fast as
+steam could bring them.
+
+"This is the end of a perfect day," hummed Jim, as he sat back and lighted
+a cigar.
+
+"You're wrong there, Jim," replied Joe, with a smile. "The perfect day
+will be to-morrow."
+
+"Right you are!"
+
+Yet little did Baseball Joe and his chum dream of the many adventures and
+perils which lay ahead of them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+PUTTING THEM OVER
+
+
+As the two baseball players sauntered down the corridor after supper they
+chanced upon Iredell. He was sitting at a reading table, intent upon a
+letter which had attached to it what looked like an official document of
+some kind.
+
+It was a chance for which Joe had been looking, and he gave Jim a sign to
+go on while he himself dropped into a seat beside the famous shortstop.
+
+"How are you, Dell, old boy?" he said, genially.
+
+"Able to sit up and take nourishment," replied the other, at the same time
+thrusting the document into his pocket with what seemed like unnecessary
+haste.
+
+"Most of the boys are that way," laughed Joe. "There are just two things
+that every ball player is ready to do, take nourishment and nag the
+umpire."
+
+Iredell laughed as he bit off the end of a cigar.
+
+"That poor umpire got his this afternoon," he said. "With McRae on one
+side and Everett on the other I thought he'd be pulled to pieces."
+
+"He was sure up against a hard proposition," agreed Joe. "The next hardest
+was in a play that happened when I was on the Pittston team. A fellow
+poled out a hit that went down like a shot between left and center. A lot
+of carriages were parked at the end of the field and a big coach dog ran
+after the ball, got it in his mouth and skipped down among the carriages
+where the fielders couldn't get at him. It would have doubled you up to
+have seen them coaxing the brute to be a good dog and give the ball up. In
+the meantime, the batter was tearing around the bases and made home before
+the ball got back."
+
+"And how did his Umps decide it?" asked Iredell, with interest.
+
+"He was flabbergasted for a while," replied Joe, "but he finally called it
+a two-base hit and let it go at that."
+
+"An umpire's life is not a happy one," laughed Iredell. "He earns every
+dollar that he gets. I suppose that's what some of us fellows will be
+doing, too, when we begin to go back."
+
+"It will be a good while before you come to that, Dell," Joe replied.
+"You've played a rattling game at short this year, and you're a fixture
+with the Giants."
+
+"I don't know about that," said the shortstop slowly. "Fixtures sometimes
+work loose, you know."
+
+"It won't be so in this case," said Joe, purposely misunderstanding him.
+"McRae wouldn't let go of you."
+
+"Not if he could help it," responded Iredell.
+
+"Well, he doesn't have to worry about that just yet," said Joe. "How long
+does your contract have to run?"
+
+"A year yet," replied Iredell. "But contracts, you know, are like pie
+crust, they're easily broken."
+
+"What do you mean by that?" demanded Joe sharply.
+
+"Oh, nothing, nothing at all," said Iredell, a little nervously, as though
+he had said more than he intended. "But to tell the truth, Joe, I'm sore
+on this whole question of contracts. It's like a yoke that galls me."
+
+"Oh, I don't know," responded Joe. "A good many folks would like to be
+galled that way. A good big salary, traveling on Pullmans, stopping at the
+best hotels, posing for pictures, and having six months of the year to
+ourselves. If that's a yoke, it's lined with velvet."
+
+"But it's a yoke, just the same," persisted Iredell stubbornly. "Most men
+in business are free to accept any offer that's made to them. We can't. We
+may be offered twice as much as we're getting, but we have to stay where
+we are just the same."
+
+"Well, that's simply because it's baseball," argued Joe. "You know just as
+well as I do that that's the only way the game can be carried on. It
+wouldn't last a month if players started jumping from one team to another,
+or from one league to another. The public would lose all interest in it,
+and it's the public that pays our salaries."
+
+"Pays our salaries!" snapped Iredell. "Puts money in the hands of the
+owners, you mean. They get the feast and we get the crumbs. What's our
+measly salary compared with what they get? I was just reading in the paper
+that the Giants cleaned up two hundred thousand dollars this year, net
+profit, and yet it's the players that bring this money in at the gate."
+
+"Yes," Joe admitted. "But they are the men who put up the capital and take
+the chances. Suppose they had lost two hundred thousand dollars this year.
+We'd have had our salaries just the same."
+
+Just then Burkett and Curry came along and dropped into seats beside the
+pair.
+
+"Hello, Red," greeted Joe, at the same time nodding to Burkett. "How are
+your ribs feeling, after that bear hug you got this afternoon?"
+
+Curry grinned.
+
+"That's all right," he said. "But he never touched me with the ball. And
+that umpire was a boob not to give me the run."
+
+"What were you fellows talking about so earnestly?" asked Burkett, with
+some curiosity.
+
+"Oh, jug-handled things like baseball contracts," responded Iredell.
+
+"They're the bunk all right," declared Burkett, emphatically.
+
+"Bunk is right," said Curry.
+
+"What's the use of quarreling with your bread and butter?" asked Joe
+good-naturedly.
+
+"What's the use of bread and butter, if you can have cake and ought to
+have it?" Iredell came back at him.
+
+"Cake is good," agreed Joe, "but the point is that if a man has agreed to
+take bread and butter, it's up to him to stand by his agreement. A man's
+word is the best thing he has, and if he is a man he'll hold to it."
+
+"You seem to be taking a lot for granted, Joe," said Burkett, a little
+stiffly. "Who is talking of breaking his word? We've got a right to talk
+about our contracts, haven't we, when we think the owners are getting the
+best end of the deal?"
+
+"Sure thing," said Joe genially. "It's every man's privilege to kick, but
+the time to kick is before one makes an agreement, not when kicking won't
+do any good."
+
+"Maybe it can do some good," said Curry significantly.
+
+"How so?" asked Joe innocently. "No other club in the American or National
+League would take us if we broke away from the Giants."
+
+"There are other leagues," remarked Iredell.
+
+"Surely. The minors," replied Joe, again purposely misunderstanding. "But
+who wants to be a busher?"
+
+"There's the All-Star League that's just forming," suggested Burkett, with
+a swift look at his two companions.
+
+"'All-Star,'" repeated Joe, a little contemptuously. "That sounds good,
+but where are they going to get the stars?"
+
+"They're getting them all right," said Iredell. "The papers are full of
+the names of players who have jumped or are going to jump."
+
+"You don't mean players," said Joe. "You mean traitors."
+
+The others winced a little at this.
+
+"'Traitors' is a pretty hard word," objected Curry.
+
+"It's the only word," returned Joe stiffly.
+
+"You can't call a man a traitor who simply tries to better himself,"
+remarked Burkett defensively.
+
+"Benedict Arnold tried to better himself," returned Joe. "But it didn't
+get him very far. The fellows that jumped, in the old Brotherhood days,
+thought they were going to better themselves, but they simply got in bad
+with the public and nearly ruined the game. This new league will promise
+all sorts of things, but how do you know it will keep them? What faith can
+you put in men who try to induce other men to be crooked?"
+
+"Well, you know, with most men business is business, as they put it."
+
+"I admit business is business. But so far as I am concerned, it is no
+business at all if it isn't on the level," answered Joe earnestly. "A
+great many men think they can do something that is shady and get away with
+it, and sometimes at first it looks as if they were right about it. But
+sooner or later they get tripped up and are exposed."
+
+"Well, everybody has got a right to make a living," grumbled Curry.
+
+"Sure he has--and I'm not denying it."
+
+"And everybody has got a right to go into baseball if he feels like
+investing his money that way."
+
+"Right again. But if he wants to make any headway in the great national
+game, he has got to play it on the level right from the start. If he
+doesn't do that, he may, for a certain length of time, hoodwink the
+public. But, as I said before, sooner or later he'll be exposed; and you
+know as well as I do that the public will not stand for any underhand work
+in any line of sports. I've talked, not alone to baseball men, but also
+to football men, runners, skaters, and even prize fighters, and they have
+all said exactly the same thing--that the great majority of men want their
+sports kept clean."
+
+There was no reply to this and Joe rose to his feet.
+
+"But what's the use of talking?" he added. "Let the new league do as it
+likes. There's one bully thing, anyway, that it won't touch--our Giants.
+Whatever it does to the other teams, we will all stick together. We'll
+stand by Robbie and McRae till the last gun's fired. So long, fellows, see
+you later."
+
+He strode off down the corridor, leaving three silent men to stare after
+his retreating figure thoughtfully.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+"MAN OVERBOARD"
+
+
+Baseball Joe found Jim waiting for him near the clerk's desk.
+
+"Been having quite a confab," remarked the latter.
+
+"Yes," replied Joe carelessly. "Burkett and Red came along and we had a
+fanfest."
+
+The next day was the first of their real vacation, and they spent the
+morning strolling about the city and marveling at the quick recovery it
+had made from the earthquake. They had a sumptuous dinner on the veranda
+of the Cliff House, where they had a full view of the famous harbor and
+watched the seals sporting on the rocks.
+
+The commerce of the port was in full swing, and out through the Golden
+Gate passed great fleets with their precious argosies bound for the
+Orient, for immobile China, for restless and awakened Japan, for the
+islands of the sea, for the lands of the lotus and the palm, of minaret
+and mosque and pagoda, for all the realms of mystery and romance that lie
+beneath the Southern Cross.
+
+It would have been a wrench to tear themselves away had it been any other
+day than this, but to-day was the one to which they had looked eagerly
+forward through all the month of exhibition playing, since they had left
+the quiet home at Riverside, and they kept looking at their watches to see
+if it were not time to go to the train and meet the girls.
+
+They were at the station long before the appointed time, and when at last
+the Overland Flyer drew in they scanned each Pullman anxiously to catch a
+sight of two charming faces.
+
+They were not kept long in suspense, for down the steps of the second car
+tripped Clara and Mabel, looking more wonderfully alluring than ever,
+although a month before neither Jim nor Joe would have admitted that such
+a thing were possible.
+
+Reggie, too, was there, dressed "to the limit" as usual, and with his
+supposed English accent twice as pronounced as ever.
+
+But Reggie for the moment did not count, compared with the lovely charges
+whom he had brought across the continent. Of course, the boys felt
+grateful to him, but their eyes and their thoughts were fastened on his
+two charming companions.
+
+"I'm awfully glad you've got here at last," cried Joe, as he rushed up to
+Mabel and caught her by both hands. He would have liked very much to have
+kissed her, but did not dare do it in such a public place.
+
+"Oh, what a grand trip we've had!" declared Clara, as she shook hands
+first with Jim and then with her brother. "I never had any idea our
+country was so big and so magnificent."
+
+"That's just what Joe and I were remarking on our trip across the
+Rockies," answered Jim. He could not take his eyes from the face of his
+chum's sister. Clara looked the picture of health, showing that the trip
+from her little home town had done her a world of good.
+
+But if Clara looked good, Mabel looked even better--at least in the eyes
+of Joe. He could not keep his gaze from her face. And she was certainly
+just as glad to see him.
+
+"Ye-es, it was quite a trip, don't you know," remarked Reggie. "I met
+several bally good chaps on the way, so the time passed quickly enough.
+But I'm glad to be here, and hope that before long we'll be on
+shipboard."
+
+"Oh, I'm so excited to think that I'm going to take a real ocean trip!"
+burst out Clara. "Just to think of it--a girl like me going around the
+world! I never dreamed I'd get that far."
+
+"And just think of the many queer sights we'll see!" broke in Mabel. "And
+the queer people we'll meet!"
+
+The girls were all on the _qui vive_ with excitement in their anticipation
+of the delightful trip that lay before them, and there were no pauses in
+their conversation on the way to the hotel.
+
+Here they were introduced to the other members of the party, which by this
+time had increased to large proportions, for beside the ladies who had
+accompanied the players across the continent, many others had followed the
+same plan as Mabel and Clara and joined their friends in San Francisco.
+Altogether, there were more than a hundred of the tourists, of whom
+perhaps a third were women.
+
+All were out for a good time, and the atmosphere of good will and jollity
+was infectious. There was an utter absence of snobbery and affectation,
+and the boys were delighted to see how quickly the girls fell into the
+spirit of the gathering and with their own fun and high spirits added more
+than their quota to the general hilarity.
+
+That night there was a big banquet given to the tourists by the railroad
+officials who had had the party in charge from the beginning and by some
+of the leading citizens of San Francisco. It was a jolly occasion, where
+for once in affairs of the kind the "flowing bowl" was notable for its
+absence. The stalwart, clear-eyed athletes who, with their friends, were
+the guests of the occasion, had no use for the cup that both cheers and
+inebriates.
+
+A striking feature of the table decorations was a cake weighing one
+hundred and twenty-five pounds, on whose summit was a bat and ball, and
+whose frosted slopes were accurate representations of the Polo Grounds and
+the baseball park at Chicago. It is needless to say how pronounced a hit
+this made with the "fans" of both sexes. It was a great send-off to the
+globe-encircling baseball teams.
+
+The next day, Joe and Jim took the girls down to the pier to see the ship
+on which they were to sail. It was a splendid craft of twenty thousand
+tons and sumptuously fitted up. The girls exclaimed at the beauty of her
+lines and the superb decoration of the cabins and saloons.
+
+"The _Empress of Japan_!" read Clara, as she scanned the name on the
+steamer's stern.
+
+"Most fittingly named," said Jim gallantly, "since she carries two
+queens."
+
+"What a pretty compliment," said Clara, as she flashed a radiant look at
+Jim.
+
+"I'm afraid," said Mabel, "that Jim's been practising on some of the nice
+girls in the party."
+
+"Have I, Joe?" appealed the accused one. "Haven't I been an anchorite, a
+senobite, an archimandrite----"
+
+"Goodness, I thought you were bad," laughed Clara. "But now I know you're
+worse."
+
+"Keep it up, old man, as long as the 'ites' hold out," said Joe. "I guess
+there are plenty more in the dictionary. But honest, girls, Jim hasn't
+looked twice at any girl since he came away from Riverside."
+
+"I've looked more than twice at one girl since yesterday," Jim was
+beginning, but Clara, flushing rosily, thought it was high time to change
+the subject.
+
+The next day, with all the party safely on board, the ship weighed anchor,
+threaded its way through the crowded commerce of the bay and then,
+dropping its tug, turned its prow definitely toward the east and breasted
+the billows of the Pacific.
+
+"The last we'll see of Old Glory for many months," remarked Joe, as,
+standing at the rail, they watched the Stars and Stripes floating out from
+the flag-pole on the top of the government station.
+
+"Not so long as that," corrected Jim. "We will still be on the soil of
+God's country when we reach Hawaii seven days from now."
+
+The first two days of the voyage passed delightfully. The girls proved
+good sailors, and had the laugh on many of the so-called stronger sex,
+who were conspicuous by their absence from the table during that period.
+
+On the afternoon of the third day out, Joe and Mabel were pacing the deck
+with Jim and Clara at a discreet distance behind them. It was astonishing
+how willing each pair was not to intrude upon the other.
+
+Suddenly there was a tumult of excited exclamations near the stern of the
+vessel, and then above it rose a shout that is never heard at sea without
+a chill of terror.
+
+"Man overboard!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+ONE STRIKE AND OUT
+
+
+The two young baseball players and the girls joined the throng that was
+racing toward the stern.
+
+A number of people were pointing wildly over the port side at a small
+object some distance behind the ship.
+
+They followed the pointing fingers and saw the head of a man who was
+swimming desperately toward the receding ship.
+
+The steamer, which had been taking advantage of the favorable weather and
+had been ploughing ahead under full steam, found it hard to stop, although
+orders had been given at once to shut off steam.
+
+It was maddening to the onlookers to see the distance increase between the
+giant ship and that bobbing, lonely speck far out in the waste of waters.
+
+With all the celerity possible the great steamer swung round in a circle
+and bore down upon the struggling swimmer, while at the same time
+preparations were made to lower a boat as soon as they should be near
+enough.
+
+"They're going to save him!" cried Mabel, half-sobbing in her excitement.
+"Oh, Joe, they're going to save him after all!"
+
+It seemed as though there were no doubt of this now, for the man was
+evidently a strong swimmer and seemed to be maintaining himself without
+great effort, and it was certain that within the next few minutes the
+boat, already filled with oarsmen and swaying at the davits, ready to be
+lowered, would reach him.
+
+Suddenly Clara, with a stifled scream, clutched at Jim's arm.
+
+"Oh, Jim!" she cried, "what is that? Look, look----"
+
+Jim looked and turned pale under his tan.
+
+"Great heavens!" he cried. "It's a shark!"
+
+The cry was taken up by scores.
+
+"A shark! A shark!"
+
+There, cleaving the water and coming toward the swimmer like an arrow at
+its mark, was a great black dorsal fin which bespoke the presence of the
+pirate of the seas.
+
+The steamer had lessened speed in order to lower its boat, but the
+momentum under which it was carried it within twenty yards of the
+castaway.
+
+Almost instantly the ship's boat struck the water, and the sinewy backs of
+the sailors bent almost double as they drove it toward the swimmer.
+
+From the crowded deck they could see his face now, pale and dripping, but
+lighted with a gleam of hope as he saw the boat approaching. But the
+horrified onlookers saw something else, that ominous, awful fin, that came
+rushing on like a relentless fate toward its intended prey.
+
+Some of the women were sobbing, others almost fainting, while the men,
+pale and with gritted teeth, groaned at their helplessness.
+
+It was a question now of which would reach the luckless man first, the
+boat or the shark. The boat was nearer and the men were rowing like
+demons, but the shark was swifter, coming on like an express train.
+
+There must have been something in those faces high above him that warned
+the man of some impending peril. He cast a swift look behind him, and then
+in frantic terror redoubled his efforts to reach the boat.
+
+"Oh, Joe, they'll be too late! They'll never reach him in time!" sobbed
+Mabel. "Oh, can't we do anything to help him?"
+
+Joe, as frantic as she, looked wildly about him. His eyes fell on a heavy
+piece of iron, left on the deck by some seaman who had been repairing the
+windlass. Like a flash he grabbed it.
+
+It seemed as though the swimmer were doomed, and a gasp of horror went up
+from the spectators as they saw that the boat would be too late.
+
+For now the fin had disappeared, and they saw a hideous shape take form as
+the monster came into plain sight, a foot beneath the surface, and turned
+over upon its back to seize its prey.
+
+Then Joe took a chance--a long chance, a desperate chance, an almost
+hopeless chance--and yet, a chance.
+
+With all the force of his powerful arm he sent the jagged piece of iron
+hurtling at the fiendish open jaws.
+
+And the chance became a certainty.
+
+The missile crashed into the monster's nose, its most sensitive point. The
+brute was so near the surface that the thin sheet of water was no
+protection.
+
+The effect was startling. There was a tremendous plunging and leaping that
+lashed the waters into foam, and then the crippled monster sank slowly
+into the ocean depths.
+
+The next instant the ship's boat had reached the castaway, and strong arms
+pulled him aboard, where he sank panting and exhausted across a thwart.
+
+It had all happened with the speed of light. There was a moment of stunned
+surprise, a gasp from the crowd, and then a roar went up that swelled into
+a deafening thunder of applause.
+
+Joe had reversed the baseball rule of "three strikes and out." This time
+it was just one strike--and the shark was out!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+BRAXTON JOINS THE PARTY
+
+
+The passengers crowded around Joe in wild delight and exhilaration,
+reaching for his hand, pounding him on the back, vociferous in their
+praise and congratulations, until he was almost ready to pray to be
+rescued from his friends.
+
+Mabel, starry-eyed, slipped a hand within his arm and the pressure was
+eloquent. Jim almost wrenched his arm from the shoulder, and Clara hugged
+her brother openly.
+
+Naturally, Joe's great feat appealed especially to the baseball players of
+the party. They felt that he had honored the craft to which they belonged.
+He had justified his reputation as the star pitcher of the country, and
+they felt that they shared in the reflected glory.
+
+"Great Scott, Joe!" beamed Larry. "You put it all over his sharklet that
+time."
+
+"Straight over the plate!" chuckled Burkett.
+
+"Against the rules, though," grinned Denton. "You know that the 'bean
+ball' is barred."
+
+The rescued man had now been brought on board. He had been too excited and
+confused to understand how he had been snatched from the jaws of
+death--and such a death!
+
+He proved to be a member of the crew, a Lascar, whose knowledge of the
+English language was limited, and whose ignorance of the great national
+game was fathomless.
+
+But when he had recovered and had learned the name of his rescuer, he
+sought Joe out and thanked him in accents that were none the less sincere
+because broken and imperfect, and from that time on throughout the trip he
+was almost doglike in his devotion.
+
+A few days more and the ship reached Hawaii, that far-flung outpost of
+Uncle Sam's dominions, which breaks the long ocean journey between America
+and Japan.
+
+The hearts of the tourists leaped as the ship drew near the harbor and
+they caught sight of the Stars and Stripes, floating proudly in the
+breeze.
+
+"I never knew how I loved that flag before," cried Mabel
+enthusiastically.
+
+"The most beautiful flag that floats," chimed in Clara.
+
+"The flag that stands for liberty everywhere," remarked Jim.
+
+"Yes," was Joe's tribute. "The flag that when it has gone up anywhere has
+never been pulled down."
+
+As the ship drew near the shore the beauty of the island paradise brought
+exclamations of delight from the passengers who thronged the steamer's
+rails.
+
+The harbor was a scene of busy life and animation. The instant the ship
+dropped anchor she was surrounded by native boats, paddled by Hawaiian
+youngsters, who indulged in exhibitions of diving and swimming that were a
+revelation of skill.
+
+"They've got it all over the fishes when it comes to swimming," remarked
+Jim with a grin. "Cough up all your spare coin, Joe, and see these little
+beggars dive for it."
+
+They tossed coin after coin into the transparent waters and swiftly as
+each piece sank, the young swimmer was swifter. Every one was caught
+before it reached bottom, and came up clutched in some dusky hand or
+shining between ivory teeth.
+
+"I'll be bankrupt if this keeps up long," laughed Joe.
+
+"Yes," said Jim. "You'll wish you'd joined the All-Star League and copped
+that twenty thousand."
+
+"How do they ever do it?" marveled Clara.
+
+"In the blood I suppose," replied Joe. "Their folks throw them into the
+water when they're babies, and like puppies, they have to swim or drown."
+
+"They're more at home in the water than they are on land," remarked Jim.
+"Those fellows will swim out in the ocean and stay there all day long."
+
+"I should think they'd be afraid of sharks," remarked Mabel, with a
+shudder, as she thought of the recent incident in which that hideous brute
+had figured.
+
+"Sharks are easy meat for them," replied Jim. "You ought to pity the
+sharks instead of wasting it on these fellows. Give them a knife, and the
+shark hasn't a Chinaman's chance."
+
+"Not even a knife," chimed in Joe. "A stick sharpened at both ends is
+enough."
+
+"A stick?" exclaimed Mabel, wonderingly.
+
+"Sure thing," replied Joe. "They simply wait until the shark turns over to
+grab them and then thrust it right into the open jaws. You've no idea how
+effective that can be."
+
+"It's a case of misplaced confidence," laughed Jim. "The poor trustful
+shark lets his jaws come together with a snap, or rather he thinks he
+does, and instead of a nice juicy human, those guileless jaws of his close
+on the two ends of the pointed stick and stay there. He can't close his
+mouth and he drowns."
+
+"Poor thing," murmured Clara involuntarily, while the boys put up a shout.
+"I don't care," she added, flushing. "I'm always sorry for the
+underdog----"
+
+"That's why she's taken such a fancy to you, Jim, old man," laughed Joe.
+
+"Well, as long as pity is akin to----" began Joe, when Mabel, tired with
+laughing, interrupted him:
+
+"But suppose the stick should break," she said.
+
+"Then there would be just one less native," answered Jim, solemnly. "By
+the way, Joe," he added, "speaking of sharks--what's the difference
+between a dog and a shark?"
+
+"Give it up," replied Joe promptly.
+
+"Because," chuckled Jim, "a dog's bark is worse than his bite, but a
+shark's bite is--is--worse than his--er----"
+
+"Go ahead," said Joe bitterly, while the girls giggled. "Perpetrate it.
+What shark has a bark?"
+
+"A dog-faced shark," crowed Jim triumphantly.
+
+"Of all the idiots," lisped Reggie, joining them at the rail. "'Pon honor,
+you know, I never heard such bally nonsense."
+
+The gibe that followed this remark was cut short by the approach of the
+lighter on which the passengers were to be carried to the shore.
+
+They were to spend two days in Hawaii while the steamer discharged its
+cargo, but they would have gladly made it two weeks or two months.
+
+Only one game was played, and that was between the Giant and the
+All-American teams. There was no native talent which was quite strong
+enough to stand a chance against the seasoned veterans, although Hawaii
+boasts of many ball teams.
+
+There was a big crowd present, made up chiefly of government officials and
+representatives of foreign commercial houses from all over the world who
+had established branches on the island.
+
+The contests between the two teams had been waxing hotter and hotter,
+despite the fact that there was nothing at stake except the pleasure of
+winning.
+
+But this was enough for these high-strung athletes, to whom the cry "play
+ball" was like a bugle call. The fight was close from start to finish, and
+resulted in a victory for the All-Americans by a score of three to two.
+
+"That makes it 'even Stephen,'" chortled Brennan to his friend and rival,
+McRae. "We've won just as many games as you have, now."
+
+"It's hoss and hoss," admitted McRae. "But just wait; what we'll do to you
+fellows before we get to the end of the trip will be a crime."
+
+The time that still remained before the steamer resumed its journey was
+one of unalloyed delight. The scenery was wonderful and the weather
+superb.
+
+Jim and Joe hired a touring car and with Joe at the wheel--it is
+unnecessary to state who sat beside him--they visited all the most
+picturesque and romantic spots in that glorious bit of Nature's
+handiwork.
+
+"Do you remember our last ride in an automobile, Mabel?" asked Joe with a
+smile, as she snuggled into the seat beside him.
+
+"Indeed I do," replied Mabel. "It was the day that horrid Fleming carried
+me off and you chased us."
+
+"I caught you all right, anyway," Joe replied.
+
+"Yes," said Mabel saucily. "Only to spend all your spare moments afterward
+in regretting it."
+
+Joe's reproachful denial both in words and looks was eloquent.
+
+They visited the famous volcano with its crater Kilaeua, and watched in
+awe and wonder the great sea of flame that surged hideously and writhed
+like a chain of fiery serpents.
+
+They saw the famous battlefield where Kamehameha, "the Napoleon of the
+Pacific," had won the great victory that made him undisputed ruler of the
+island. They saw the steep precipice where the three thousand Aohu,
+fighting to the last gasp, had made their final stand, and had at last
+been driven over the cliff to the death awaiting them below.
+
+It was with a feeling of genuine regret that they finally bade farewell to
+the enchanting island and again took ship to pursue their journey.
+
+A large number of new passengers had come on board at Honolulu, and among
+them was a man who soon attached himself to the baseball party. He was
+tall and distinguished in appearance, smooth and plausible in his
+conversation, and seemed to be thoroughly versed in the great national
+game.
+
+His ingratiating manners soon made him a favorite with the women of the
+party also, and he spared no pains to deepen this impression.
+
+Reggie liked him immensely, largely, no doubt, owing to the hints that
+Braxton, which was the stranger's name, had dropped of having aristocratic
+connections. He had traveled widely, and the names of distinguished
+personages fell from his lips with ease and familiarity.
+
+"How do you like the new fan, Joe?" Jim asked, a day or two later.
+
+"I can't say that I'm stuck on him much," responded Joe. "He seems to be
+pretty well up in baseball dope, and that in itself I suppose ought to be
+a recommendation, to a ball player especially, but somehow or other, he
+doesn't hit me very hard."
+
+"I think he's very handsome," remarked Mabel, with a mischievous glance at
+Joe, and that young man's instinctive dislike of the newcomer became
+immediately more pronounced.
+
+"He seems very friendly and pleasant," put in Clara. "Why don't you like
+him, Joe?"
+
+"How can I tell?" replied her brother. "I simply know I don't."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+IN MIKADO LAND
+
+
+But if Braxton sensed the slight feeling of antipathy which Joe felt for
+him, he gave no sign of it, and Joe himself, who wanted to be strictly
+just, took pains to conceal it.
+
+Braxton had a fund of anecdotes that made him good company, and the
+friendship that Reggie felt for him made him often a member of Joe's
+party.
+
+"Fine fellow, that Mr. Matson of yours," he remarked one afternoon, when
+he and Reggie and Mabel were sitting together under an awning, which the
+growing heat of every day, as the vessel made its way deeper into the
+tropics, made very grateful for its shade and coolness.
+
+"Indeed he is," remarked Mabel, warmly, to whom praise of Joe was always
+sweet.
+
+"He's a ripper, don't you know," agreed Reggie.
+
+"Not only as a man but as a player," continued Braxton. "Hughson used to
+be king pin once, but I think it can be fairly said that Matson has taken
+his place as the star pitcher of America. Hughson's arm will probably
+never be entirely well again."
+
+"Joe thinks that Hughson is a prince," remarked Mabel. "He says he stands
+head and shoulders above everybody else."
+
+"He used to," admitted Braxton. "For ten years there was nobody to be
+compared with him. But now it's Matson's turn to wear the crown."
+
+"Have you ever seen Joe pitch?" asked Mabel.
+
+"I should say I have," replied Braxton. "And it's always been a treat to
+see the way he did his work. I saw him at the Polo Grounds when in that
+last, heartbreaking game he won the championship for the Giants. And I saw
+him, too, in that last game of the World's Series, when it seemed as
+though only a miracle could save the day. That triple play was the most
+wonderful thing I ever beheld. The way he nailed that ball and shot it
+over to Denton was a thing the fans will talk over for many years to
+come."
+
+"Wasn't it great?" cried Mabel, enthusiastically, at the same time
+privately resolving to tell all this to Joe and show him how unjust he was
+in feeling the way he did toward this generous admirer.
+
+"The fact is," continued Braxton, "that Matson's in a class by himself.
+He's the big cog in the Giant machinery. It's a pity they don't
+appreciate him more."
+
+"Why, they do appreciate him!" cried Mabel, her eyes opening wide with
+wonder. "Mr. McRae thinks nothing's too good for him."
+
+"Nothing's too good except money," suggested Braxton.
+
+"They give him plenty of that, too," put in Mabel, loyally.
+
+"He gets a ripping salary, don't you know," put in Reggie. "And he almost
+doubled it in this last World's Series."
+
+"A man's worth what he can get," returned Braxton. "Now, of course, I
+don't know and perhaps it might be an impertinence for me even to guess
+what his salary is, but I should say that it isn't a bit more than ten
+thousand a year."
+
+"Oh, it isn't anything like that," said Reggie, a little chop fallen.
+
+Braxton raised his eyebrows in apparent surprise.
+
+"I didn't think the Giants were so niggardly," he remarked, with a touch
+of contempt. "It's simply robbery for them to hold his services at such a
+figure. Mr. Matson could demand vastly more than that."
+
+"Where?" asked Reggie. "He's under contract with the Giants and they
+wouldn't let him go to any other club."
+
+"Why doesn't he go without asking leave?" asked Braxton.
+
+"But no other club in the big leagues would take him if he broke his
+contract with the Giants," said Mabel, a little bewildered.
+
+"I've heard there was a new league forming," said Braxton, carelessly.
+"Let's see, what is it they call it? The All-Star League. There would be
+no trouble with Matson's getting an engagement with them. They'd welcome
+him with open arms."
+
+"They've already tried to get him," cried Mabel, proudly.
+
+"Is that so? I suppose they made him a pretty good offer. I've heard
+they're doing things on a big scale."
+
+"It was a wonderful offer," said Mabel.
+
+"It certainly was, 'pon honor," chimed in Reggie.
+
+"Would it be indiscreet to ask the amount?" said Braxton.
+
+"I don't think there's any bally secret 'bout it," complied Reggie. "They
+offered him twenty thousand dollars to sign a contract and fifteen
+thousand dollars a year for a three years' term. Many a bank or railroad
+president doesn't get that much, don't you know."
+
+"And Matson refused it?" asked Braxton, incredulously.
+
+"How could he help it?" replied Mabel. "His contract with the Giants has
+two years yet to run."
+
+"My dear young lady," said Braxton, "don't you know that a baseball
+contract isn't as binding as the ordinary kind? In the first place, it's
+one-sided, and that itself makes it worthless."
+
+"In what way is it so one-sided?" asked Mabel.
+
+"Well, just to take one instance," replied Braxton. "A baseball club may
+engage a man for a year and yet if it gets tired of its bargain, it can
+let him go on ten days' notice. That doesn't seem fair, does it?"
+
+"No-o, it doesn't," admitted Mabel slowly.
+
+"It would be all right," continued Braxton, "if the player also could
+leave his club by giving ten days' notice. But he can't. That's what makes
+it unfair. The club can do to the player what the player can't do to the
+club. So the supposed contract is only a bit of paper. It's no contract at
+all."
+
+"Not in the legal sense, perhaps," said Reggie, dubiously.
+
+"Well, if not in the legal sense, then in no sense at all," persisted
+Braxton. "The law is supposed to be based on justice, isn't it, and to do
+what is right?
+
+"Of course," he went on, "it's none of my business; but if I were in Mr.
+Matson's place, I shouldn't hesitate a moment in going where my services
+were in the most demand."
+
+Mabel felt there was sophistry somewhere in the argument, but could hardly
+point out where it was.
+
+"I wouldn't like to be quoted in this matter, of course," said Braxton,
+suavely. "And it might be just as well not to mention to Mr. Matson that I
+have spoken about it. He might think I was trying to pry into his
+affairs."
+
+As Joe and Jim came up just then from the engine-room of the ship which
+they had been inspecting, the subject, of course, was dropped, and after a
+while Braxton strode away with a self-satisfied smile on his lips.
+
+The travelers were now in the heart of the typhoon region but luckily for
+them it was the winter season when such storms are least frequent and
+although they met a half gale that for two days kept them in their cabins,
+they were favored on the whole by fair weather and at the appointed time
+dropped anchor in the harbor of Yokohama.
+
+Now they were on the very threshold of the Oriental world of whose wonders
+they had heard and dreamed, and all were on tiptoe with curiosity and
+interest.
+
+The sights and scenes were as strange almost as though they were on
+another planet. Everything was new to their young blood and unjaded senses
+in this "Land of the Rising Sun."
+
+The great city itself, teeming with commerce and busy life, had countless
+places of interest, but far more enchanting were the trips they took in
+the jinrikishas drawn by tireless coolies which carried them to the little
+dreaming, rustic towns with their tiny houses, their quaint pagodas, their
+charming gardens and their unhurried life, so different from the feverish,
+restless tumult of western lands.
+
+"Really, this seems to be a different world from ours," was Clara's
+comment.
+
+"It certainly is vastly different from anything we have in America,"
+replied Mabel.
+
+"It's interesting--I'll admit that," said Joe. "Just the same, I like
+things the way we have them much better."
+
+"To me these people--or at least a large part of them--seem to lead a
+dreamlike existence," was Jim's comment. "They don't seem to belong to the
+hurry and bustle of life such as we know it."
+
+"And yet there is noise enough, goodness knows!" answered Clara.
+
+"I think I really prefer the good old U. S. A., don't you know," drawled
+Reggie. "There may be society here, but really it's so different from ours
+that I shouldn't like to take part in it."
+
+"Yes, there is plenty of noise, but, at the same time, there is a good
+deal of calm and quiet," said Joe.
+
+But the calm and quiet that seemed to be prevailing features of Japanese
+life were wholly absent from the ball games where the visiting teams met
+the nines of Keio and Waseda Universities.
+
+The Giants were to play the first named team, while later on the
+All-Americans were slated to tackle the Waseda men.
+
+In the first game the contrast was laughable between the sturdy Giant
+players and their diminutive opponents.
+
+"What are we playing against?" laughed Larry to Denton. "A bunch of
+kids?"
+
+"It would take two of them to make a mouthful," grinned Denton.
+
+"I feel almost ashamed of myself," chimed in Burkett. "We ought to tackle
+fellows of our own size."
+
+"You don't find many of that kind in Japan," said Joe. "But don't you hold
+these fellows too cheap. They may have a surprise in store for us."
+
+The snap and vim that the Japs put into their practice before the game
+seemed to add point to his prophecy. They shot the ball around the bases
+with a speed and precision that would have done credit to seasoned
+veterans and made McRae, who watched them keenly, give his men a word of
+caution.
+
+"Don't get too gay, boys," he warned.
+
+The game that followed was "for blood." The universities had poured out
+their crowds to a man to cheer their players on to victory.
+
+And for the first five innings the scales hung in the balance. The Keio
+pitcher had a world of speed and a tantalizing drop, and only two safe
+hits were made off him. Behind him his team mates fielded like demons. No
+ball seemed too hard for them to get, and even when a Giant got to first
+base he found it difficult to advance against the accurate throwing to
+second of the Jap catcher.
+
+At the bat the home players were less fortunate. They hit the ball often
+enough but they couldn't "lean against it" with the power of their
+sturdier rivals.
+
+They were skillful bunters, however, and had the Giant players "standing
+on their heads" in trying to field the balls that the clever Jap players
+laid deftly in front of the plate.
+
+By these tactics they scored a run in the sixth inning, against which the
+Giants had only a string of goose eggs.
+
+"It's like a bear against a wildcat," muttered Robbie to McRae, as the
+little Jap scurried over the plate.
+
+"And it looks as if the wildcat might win," grunted the Giant manager, not
+at all pleased at the possibility.
+
+"Not a bit of it," denied Robbie sturdily. "A good big man is better than
+a good little man any time."
+
+And his faith was justified when, in the seventh inning, the Giants, stung
+by the taunts of their manager, really woke up and got into action. A
+perfect storm of hits broke from their bats and had the Japanese players
+running after the ball until their tongues hung out.
+
+Five runs came in and it was "all over but the shouting." There was not
+much shouting, however, for the home crowd had seen its dream of victory
+shattered.
+
+But though the Giants won handily in the end by a score of six to two, it
+had been a red-hot game, and had taken some of the conceit out of the
+major leaguers. It was a tip, too, to the All-Americans, who, when they
+played the Waseda team a little later, went in with determination to win
+the game from the start and trimmed their opponents handsomely.
+
+"Those Japs are the goods all right," conceded McRae, when at last they
+were ready to embark for Hongkong.
+
+"You're right they are," agreed Robbie.
+
+"We call ourselves the world's champions," grinned Jim. "But, after all,
+we're only champions of the United States. The time may come when there
+will be a real World's Series and then the pennant will mean something
+more than it does now."
+
+"It would be some big jump between the games," said Joe.
+
+"Lots of queer things happen," said Larry sagely. "The time yet may come
+when the umpire will take off his hat, bow to the crowd and say--
+
+"'Ladies and gentlemen: the batteries for to-day's game are Matsuda and
+Nagawiki for the All-Japans, Matson and Mylert for the All-Americans.'"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+RUNNING AMUCK
+
+
+If Japan had been a revelation to the tourists, China was a still greater
+one. For Japan, however much she clung to the dreamy life of former times,
+had at last awakened and was fast adapting herself to modern, civilized
+conditions.
+
+If Japan was still half dreaming, China was sound asleep. This, of course,
+was not true of the foreign quarter, where the great English government
+buildings and commercial houses might have been those of Paris or London.
+
+But just behind this lay the real China, looking probably the same as
+three hundred thousand years ago. The little streets, so narrow in places
+that the houses almost touched and a carriage could not pass! That strange
+medley of sounds and smells and noises! Here a tinker mending his pans on
+the sidewalk! There a dentist, pulling a tooth in the open street,
+jugglers performing their tricks, snake charmers exhibiting their slimy
+pets.
+
+There was a bewildering jumble of trades, occupations and amusements, so
+utterly different from what the tourists had ever before seen that it held
+their curiosity unabated and their interest stimulated to its highest
+pitch during the period of their stay.
+
+"Everything is so topsy turvy!" exclaimed Mabel, as she threaded the
+noisome streets, clinging close to Joe's arm. "I feel like Alice in
+Wonderland."
+
+"It's not surprising that things should be upside down when we're in the
+Antipodes," laughed Joe.
+
+"If we saw men walking on their heads it would seem natural out here,"
+said Jim. "All that a Chinaman wants to know is what other people do, then
+he does something different."
+
+"Sure thing," said Joe. "See those fellows across the street. They're
+evidently old friends and each one is shaking hands with himself."
+
+"You can't dope out anything here," said Jim. "When an American's puzzled
+he scratches his head--the Chinaman scratches his foot. We wear black for
+mourning, they wear white. We pay the doctor when we're sick----"
+
+"If the doctor's lucky," interrupted Joe.
+
+"They pay him only while they're well. They figure that it's to his
+interest then to keep them well. We think what few brains we have are in
+our head. The Chinaman thinks they're in the stomach. Whenever he gets off
+what he thinks is a good thing he pats his stomach in approval. We put a
+guest of honor on our right, the Chinaman puts him on his left."
+
+"Anything else?" asked Clara laughingly.
+
+"Lots of things," replied Joe. "And we'll probably find them out before we
+go away."
+
+As they passed a corner they saw a man standing there, rigged out in a
+queer fashion. About him was what seemed to be a tree box, from which only
+his head protruded.
+
+"Why is he going around that way?" asked Mabel, curiously.
+
+"You wouldn't care to know that," said Joe, hurrying her along, but Mabel
+was not to be disposed of in so cavalier a fashion.
+
+"But I do want to know," she persisted.
+
+"Might as well tell her," said Jim, "and let her suffer."
+
+"Well," said Joe, reluctantly, "that fellow's being executed."
+
+"What do you mean?" exclaimed Mabel, in horror.
+
+"Just that," replied Joe. "That thing that looked like a tree box is what
+they call a cangue. They put him in there so that he's standing on thin
+slabs of wood that just enable him to keep his head above that narrow
+opening around his neck. Every little while they take one of the slabs of
+wood from underneath him; then he has to stand on tiptoe. By and by his
+feet can't touch the slabs at all, and then he chokes to death."
+
+The girls shuddered and Mabel regretted her ill-timed curiosity.
+
+"What a hideous thing!" exclaimed Clara.
+
+"And what cruel people!" added Mabel.
+
+"One of the most cruel on God's earth," replied Jim. "You see in all this
+crowd there is nobody looking at that fellow with pity. They don't seem to
+have the slightest tincture of it."
+
+"Let's go back to our hotel," pleaded Mabel. "I've seen all I want to for
+to-day."
+
+The games at Hong Kong were interesting and largely attended. There was
+one rattling contest between the major leaguers that after an
+eleventh-inning fight was won by the Giants.
+
+A few days later a second game was played in which a picked team from the
+visitors opposed a nine of husky "Jackies" selected from the United States
+battleships that lay in the harbor.
+
+To make the game more even, the Giants loaned them a catcher and second
+baseman, and a contest ensued that was full of fun and excitement.
+
+Of course, the Jackies were full of naval slang, and sometimes their talk
+was utterly unintelligible to the landsmen. At the end of the third
+inning the Giants had three runs to their credit, while the boys from the
+navy had nothing.
+
+"Say there, Longneck, we've got to get some runs," howled one Jackie to
+his mate. "Give 'em a shot from a twelve-inch gun!"
+
+"Aye! aye! Give it 'em."
+
+In the next inning the Jackies took a brace, and, as a consequence, got
+two runs. Immediately they and their friends began to cheer wildly.
+
+"Down with the pirates!"
+
+"Let's feed 'em to the sharks!"
+
+"A double portion of plum duff for every man on our side who makes a run!"
+cried one enthusiastic sailor boy.
+
+Several of the Jackies were quite good when it came to batting the ball,
+but hardly any of them could do any efficient running, for the reason that
+they got but scant practice while on shipboard. The way that some of them
+wabbled around the bases was truly amusing, and set the crowd to laughing
+loudly.
+
+"Our men don't like this running," declared one sailor, who sat watching
+the contest. "If, instead of running around those bases, you fellows had
+to climb a mast, you'd see who would come out ahead."
+
+The Jackies managed to get two more runs, due almost entirely to the lax
+playing of the Giants. This, however, was as far as they were able to go,
+and, when the game came to an end, the score stood 12 to 5 in favor of the
+Giants.
+
+A visit to Shanghai followed, where only one game was played, and this by
+a rally in the last inning went to the All-Americans, thus keeping the
+total score of won and lost even between the rival teams.
+
+They spent a few more days in sightseeing, and then set sail for the
+Philippines, glad at the prospect of soon being once more under the flag
+of their own country.
+
+"Look at those queer little boats!" exclaimed Mabel, as they stood at the
+rail while the ship was weighing anchor and looked at the native sampans
+with their bright colors and lateen sails as they darted to and fro like
+so many gaudy butterflies.
+
+"What are those things they have on each side of the bow?" asked Clara.
+"They look like eyes."
+
+"That's what they are," replied Jim, seriously.
+
+Clara looked at him to see if he were joking.
+
+"Honest to goodness, cross my heart, hope to die," returned Jim.
+
+"But why do they put eyes there?" asked Clara, mystified.
+
+"So that the boat can see where it's going," replied Jim.
+
+"Well," said Mabel, with a gasp, "whatever else I take away from this
+country, I'll have a choice collection of nightmares."
+
+The steamer made splendid weather of the trip to the Philippines, and in a
+few days they were steaming into Manila bay. Their hearts swelled with
+pride as they recalled the splendid achievement of Admiral Dewey, when,
+with his battle fleet, scorning mines and torpedoes, like Farragut at
+Mobile, he had signaled for "full speed ahead."
+
+"That fellow was the real stuff," remarked Jim.
+
+"As good as they make them," agreed Joe. "And foxy, too. Remember how he
+kept that cable cut because he didn't want the folks at Washington to
+queer his game. He had his work cut out and he wasn't going to be
+interfered with."
+
+"Something like Nelson, when his chief ran up the signal to withdraw,"
+suggested Denton. "He looked at it with that blind eye of his and said he
+couldn't see it."
+
+"Dewey was a good deal like Nelson," said Joe. "Do you remember how he
+trod on the corns of that German admiral who tried to butt in?"
+
+"Do I?" said Jim. "You bet I do."
+
+The party met with a warm welcome when they went ashore at Manila.
+American officers and men from the garrison thronged the dock to meet the
+veterans of the diamond, whose coming had been widely heralded.
+
+Many of them knew the players personally and all knew them by reputation.
+
+The baseball teams went to their hotel and after they were comfortably
+settled in their new quarters, the two chums accompanied by the girls went
+out for a stroll. But they had not gone far before they were startled by
+excited shouts a little way ahead of them and saw groups of people
+scattering right and left in wild panic and confusion.
+
+Down the street came a savage figure, running with the speed of a hare,
+and holding in either hand a knife with which he slashed savagely right
+and left at all that stood in his way.
+
+His eyes were flaming with demoniacal fury, foam stood out upon his lips,
+and from those lips issued a wailing cry that ended in a shriek:
+
+"Amuck! Amuck!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+TAKING A CHANCE
+
+
+There was a scream from the frightened girls and a gasp from the young men
+as they saw this messenger of death bearing down upon them.
+
+They knew at a glance what had happened. A Malay, yielding to the
+insidious mental malady that seems peculiar to his race, had suddenly gone
+mad and started out to kill. That he himself would inevitably be killed
+did not deter him for a moment. He wanted to die, but he wanted at the
+same time to take as many with him as possible.
+
+He had made his offering to the infernal gods, had blackened his teeth and
+anointed his head with cocoa oil, and had started out to slay.
+
+With his eyes blazing, his head rolling from side to side like a mad dog,
+and with that blood-chilling cry coming from his foam-flecked lips, he was
+like a figure from a nightmare.
+
+For a moment the Americans stood rooted to the spot. That instant past,
+Baseball Joe, as usual, took the lead.
+
+"Look after the girls, Jim!" he cried, and started full tilt toward the
+awful figure that came plunging down the street.
+
+Mabel and Clara screamed to him to stop, but he only quickened his pace,
+running like a deer, as though bent on suicide. The Malay saw him coming,
+and for a second hesitated. He had seen everyone else scurry from him in
+fear. What did this man mean by coming to meet him?
+
+It was just this instant of indecision upon which Joe had counted, and
+like a flash he seized it.
+
+When within twenty feet of the Malay, Joe launched himself into the air,
+and came down flat on the hard dirt road, as he had done many a time
+before when sliding to base.
+
+The Malay, confused by the unlooked-for action, slashed down at him. Had
+Joe gone straight toward him, the knife would have been buried in him. But
+here again his quickness and the tactics of the ballfield came into play.
+
+Instead of going straight toward his antagonist, his slide had been a
+"fall away."
+
+Many a time when sliding to second he had thrown himself this way out of
+the reach of the ball, while his extended hand just clutched the bag.
+
+So now, his sinewy arm caught the Malay by the leg, while his body swung
+round to the right. Down went the Malay with a crash, his blood-stained
+knives clattering on the ground and the next instant Joe was on his back.
+
+His hands closed upon the man's throat with an iron grip.
+
+But there was no more fight left in the would-be murderer. The fall had
+jarred and partially stunned him. In an instant Jim had joined Joe, other
+men came rushing up; and the danger was over.
+
+The crazed man was secured with ropes and carried away, while Joe,
+perspiring, panting and covered with dust, received the enthusiastic
+congratulations of the rapidly gathering crowd.
+
+"Pluckiest thing I ever saw in my life!" exclaimed the colonel of the army
+command, who had witnessed the exploit.
+
+"That fall-away slide of yours was great, Joe!" cried Larry Barrett, who
+had come up. "I never saw a niftier one on the ballfield."
+
+"You made the bag all right!" grinned Denton.
+
+"He never touched you!" chuckled Burkett.
+
+"If he had it would have been some touch," declared McRae, as he picked up
+one murderous-looking knife and passed it round for inspection.
+
+It was a wicked weapon, nearly a foot in length, with a handle so
+contrived as to get all the weight behind the stroke and a wavy blade
+capable of inflicting a fearful wound.
+
+"Has a bowie knife skinned a mile!" ejaculated Curry, expressing the
+general sentiment.
+
+Joe hated to pose as a hero but it was some time before the crowd would
+let him get away and rejoin the girls who were waiting for him.
+
+All the plaudits of the throng were tame compared with what he read in the
+eyes of Mabel and his sister.
+
+The baseball teams stayed nearly a week in Manila, making short excursions
+in the suburbs as far as it could be done with safety. Two games were
+played, one between the Giants and All-Americans, which resulted in favor
+of the latter, and another between the Giants and a picked nine from the
+army post.
+
+Many of Uncle Sam's army boys had been fine amateur players and a few had
+come from professional teams, so that they were able to put up a gallant
+fight, although they were, of course, no match for the champions of the
+world.
+
+"But they certainly put up a fine game," was Joe's comment. "They had two
+pitchers who had some good stuff in 'em."
+
+"That's just what I was thinking," returned Jim.
+
+"One of those pitchers used to play ball on a professional team from Los
+Angeles," said McRae, who was standing near. "I understand he had quite a
+record."
+
+"I wonder what made him give up pitching and join the army," remarked Jim
+curiously.
+
+"Oh, I suppose it was the love of adventure," answered the manager.
+
+"That might be it," said Joe. "Some fellows get tired of doing the same
+thing, and when they have a chance to leave home and see strange places,
+they grab it."
+
+While warming up prior to this last game, Joe's attention was attracted by
+a muscular Chinaman, who was standing in the crowd that fringed the
+diamond, interestedly watching the players at practice. He recognized him
+as a famous wrestler who had taken part in a bout at a performance the
+night before and who had thrown his opponents with ease.
+
+"Some muscles on that fellow," Joe remarked to Jim.
+
+"Biggest Chink I ever saw," replied Jim, "and not a bit of it is fat
+either. He'd make a dandy highbinder. You saw what he did to the Terrible
+Turk in that match last night. He just played with him. And the Turk was
+no slouch either."
+
+"Look at those arms," joined in Larry, gazing with admiration at the
+swelling biceps of the wrestler. "What a slugger he'd make if he knew how
+to play ball. He'd break all the fences in the league."
+
+"He sure would kill the ball if he ever caught it on the end of his bat,"
+declared Red Curry.
+
+"I've half a mind to give him a chance," laughed Joe.
+
+"Go ahead," grinned Larry. "I'd like to see him break his back reaching
+for one of your curves."
+
+"He might land on it at that," replied Joe. "A wrestler has to have an eye
+like a hawk."
+
+He beckoned to the wrestler, who came toward him at once with a smile on
+his keen but good-natured face.
+
+"Want to hit the ball?" asked Joe, piecing out his question by going
+through the motions of swinging a bat that he picked up.
+
+The wrestler "caught on" at once, and the smile on his face broadened into
+a grin as he nodded his head understandingly.
+
+"Me tly," he said in the "pidgin English" he had picked up in his travels,
+and reached out his hand for the bat.
+
+"Have a heart, Joe," laughed Larry. "Don't show the poor gink up before
+the crowd. At any rate let me show him how it's done."
+
+"All right," responded Joe. "You lead off and he can follow."
+
+Larry took up his position at the plate and motioned to the wrestler to
+watch him. The latter nodded and followed every motion.
+
+Joe put over a swift high one that Larry swung at and missed. He "bit"
+again at an outcurve with no better result.
+
+"Look out, Larry," chaffed Jim, "or it's you that will be shown up instead
+of the Chink."
+
+A little nettled, Larry caught the next one full and square and it sailed
+far out into right field.
+
+"There," he said complacently, as he handed the bat to the wrestler,
+"that's the way it's done."
+
+The latter went awkwardly to the plate and a laugh ran through the crowd
+at the unusual sight.
+
+Joe lobbed one over and the Chinaman swung listlessly a foot below the
+ball.
+
+"Easy money," laughed Denton.
+
+"Where's that good eye you said this fellow had?" sang out Willis.
+
+The second ball floated up to the plate as big as a balloon, and again the
+wrestler whiffed, coming nowhere near the sphere.
+
+But as Joe wound up for the third ball, the listlessness vanished from the
+Chinaman. A glint came into his eyes and every muscle was tense.
+
+The ball sped toward the plate. The wrestler caught it fair "on the seam"
+with all his powerful body behind the blow.
+
+The ball soared high and far over center field, looking as though it were
+never going to stop. In a regular game it would have been the easiest of
+home runs.
+
+The wrestler sauntered away from the plate with the same bland smile on
+his yellow face while the crowd cheered him. He had turned the tables, and
+the laugh was on Joe and his fellow players.
+
+"But why," asked Jim, after the game had resulted in a victory for the
+visitors by a one-sided score, and he was walking back with Joe to the
+hotel, "did he make such a miserable flunk at the first two balls? Was he
+kidding us?"
+
+"Not at all," grinned Joe. "It's because the Chinamen are the greatest
+imitators on earth. He saw that Larry missed the first two and so he did
+the same. He thought it was part of the game!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+AN EMBARRASSED RESCUER
+
+
+On the long trip to Australia the tourists encountered the most severe
+storm of the journey. In fact, it was almost equal to the dreaded typhoon,
+and there were times when, despite the staunchness of the vessel, the
+faces of the captain and the officers were lined with anxiety.
+
+After two days and nights, however, of peril, the storm blew itself out
+and the rest of the journey was made over serene seas and under cloudless
+skies.
+
+One night after the girls had retired, Joe and Jim, together with McRae
+and Braxton, were sitting in the smoking room. The conversation had been
+of the kind that always prevails when baseball "fans" get together.
+
+After a while Jim accompanied McRae to the latter's cabin to discuss some
+details of Jim's contract for the coming season, leaving Joe and Braxton
+as the sole occupants of the room.
+
+Joe had never been able to overcome the instinctive antipathy that he had
+felt toward Braxton from the first, but he had kept this under restraint,
+and Braxton himself, though he might have suspected this feeling, was
+always suave and urbane.
+
+There was no denying that he was good company and always interesting. In
+an apparently accidental way, Braxton, who had been scribbling aimlessly
+upon some pieces of paper that lay on the table, led the talk toward the
+subject of handwriting.
+
+"It's a gift to write a good hand," he remarked. "It's got to be born in
+you. Some men can do it naturally, others can't. I'm one of the fellows
+that can't. I'll bet Horace Greeley himself never wrote a worse hand than
+I do."
+
+"I've heard that he was a weird writer," smiled Joe.
+
+"The worst ever," rejoined Braxton. "I've heard that he wrote to his
+foreman once, ordering him to discharge a printer who had set up a bad
+copy. The printer hated to lose his job and an idea struck him. He got
+hold of the letter discharging him and took it to Greeley, who didn't know
+him by sight, and told him it was a letter of recommendation from his last
+employer. Greeley tried to read it, but couldn't, so he said he guessed it
+was all right and told him he was engaged."
+
+Joe laughed, and Braxton tossed over to him a sheet of paper on which he
+had written his name.
+
+"Greeley has nothing on me," he said. "If you didn't know my name was
+Braxton, I'll bet you wouldn't recognize these hen tracks."
+
+"You're right," said Joe. "I'm no dabster myself at writing and I can
+sympathize with you."
+
+"It couldn't be as bad as this," challenged Braxton, slipping a pen over
+to Joe, together with a fresh piece of paper.
+
+"No," said Joe, as he took up the pen, "I guess at least you could make
+mine out."
+
+He scribbled his name and Braxton picked up the paper with a laugh.
+
+"I win," he said. "You're bad, but I'm worse. You see I am proud even of
+my defects."
+
+He dropped the subject then and talked of other things until Joe, stifling
+a yawn, excused himself and went to his cabin.
+
+The reception of the party in Australia went far beyond their
+expectations. That remote continent has always been noted for its sporting
+spirit and although of course the English blood made cricket their
+favorite game, the crowds were quick to detect and appreciate the merits
+of the great American pastime.
+
+As a rule they would not concede that the batting was any better than that
+shown by their own cricketers, but there was no question as to the
+superiority of the fielding.
+
+The lightning throws, the double plays, the marvelous catches in the
+outfield and the speed shown on the bases were freely admitted to be far
+and away beyond that shown by their elevens. And the crowds grew larger
+and larger as the visiting teams made their triumphal progress through the
+great cities of Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne.
+
+Inspired by their reception and put upon their mettle by the great
+outpouring of spectators, the teams themselves played like demons. One
+might almost have thought that they were fighting for the pennant.
+
+They were so evenly matched that first one and then the other was on top,
+and by the time they reached Melbourne the Giants were only one game in
+the lead of the total that had been played since the trip began.
+
+Melbourne itself with its romantic history and magic growth proved very
+attractive. But Joe was destined to remember it for very different
+reasons.
+
+While walking with Jim one day outside the town near the Yarra Yarra
+river, they were startled by hearing a cry for help, and racing toward the
+sound they saw a young girl struggling in the water.
+
+Trained by their vocation to act quickly, they threw off their coats,
+plunging into the water almost at the same instant. They swam fiercely,
+lashed on by that frantic wail, sounding fainter each time it was
+repeated.
+
+The race for a life was almost neck and neck until Joe, showing his
+tremendous reserve strength, shot ahead at the very end, grasping the
+struggling figure as it was sinking for the last time.
+
+Jim helped, and together they brought the rescued girl--the long dank
+black hair testified to her sex--back to shore, where a group of the
+native blacks, attracted by the cries, had gathered to welcome them.
+
+Dripping and exhausted, the two heroes of the occasion staggered up the
+bank while willing hands relieved them of their burden.
+
+"Let's beat it," whispered Jim, as the crowd of natives closed around the
+unconscious object of their heroism, "while the going's good. If that girl
+ever finds out that you rescued her she'll want to attach herself to you
+for life. That seems to be the fool custom of these parts."
+
+"She'd find it pretty hard work," said Joe, with a wry smile. "Besides, we
+don't even know that the girl's alive. It would be pretty heartless to
+clear out without learning."
+
+"Oh, all right," said Jim, uneasily. "But remember, if there are any
+consequences you've got to take 'em."
+
+At that moment the crowd opened and the boys saw a remarkably good-looking
+black girl standing dizzily and supported by another native who might have
+been her father.
+
+She looked dazedly from one to the other of the young men and Jim promptly
+"stepped out from under."
+
+"It's him," said Jim, neglecting grammar in his eagerness to shift the
+burden of credit to Joe's broad shoulders. "He did it all."
+
+The girl walked unsteadily up to Joe and said, submissively: "My life is
+yours! Me your slave!"
+
+Joe started, stared, and gulped, then turned to Jim to make sure he was
+awake, and not a victim of some bad dream. But Jim had suddenly acquired a
+peculiar form of hysteria, and with a choking sound turned his back upon
+his friend.
+
+"N-no," stuttered Joe, gently pushing the girl away, "no want."
+
+Another explosion from Jim did not serve to improve Joe's state of mind.
+His face was fiery red, and his voice husky.
+
+"Me slave!" persisted the girl stubbornly.
+
+Then Joe turned and fled, manfully fighting a desire to shout with
+laughter one moment, and groan with dismay the next.
+
+Two very much subdued baseball players crept in at the side door of the
+hotel, and scurried along the corridor toward their rooms, hoping ardently
+to meet no one on the way. It was with a sigh of relief that they slipped
+inside, locked the door, and repaired the ravages that the waters of the
+Yarra Yarra had made upon their clothing.
+
+A few moments later, with self respect considerably improved, they
+sauntered down to the writing room, where they found the two girls looking
+more distractingly pretty than ever, engaged in folding the last of their
+letters.
+
+"Oh, back so soon?" queried Mabel, looking up.
+
+"Goodness, how the time has flown," said Clara. "It seems as though you
+had just gone. Have you another stamp, Mabel dear? I have used mine all
+up."
+
+"Say, you're complimentary," remarked Jim, dryly. "It's great to be missed
+like that."
+
+"Well, we'll miss something more if we don't get a move on," said Joe,
+practically. "How about some lunch, girls?"
+
+After luncheon the quartette sauntered out for a walk up Elizabeth street
+to the post-office. The boys were just congratulating themselves that
+their uncomfortable, though piquant, experience of the morning was a thing
+definitely of the past, when it happened!
+
+Joe felt a touch on his arm, and, looking down, saw, to his horror, the
+black girl.
+
+"Me yours!" she cried, eagerly.
+
+Joe muttered savagely beneath his breath, and held the girl off at arm's
+length, his misery increasing as, with a quick side glance, he saw the
+growing indignation in Mabel's eyes.
+
+"Me yours!" repeated the girl, with the maddening monotony of a
+phonograph.
+
+But just then, when Joe was at his wit's end, help came from an unexpected
+quarter. A big black man, glowering threateningly, elbowed his way through
+the curious group that had gathered about them, grasped the girl by the
+arm, and dragged her away. There was no mistaking the jealousy that
+prompted the action. Joe drew a deep sigh of deliverance, while Jim was
+crimson with suppressed laughter.
+
+Mabel was the only one, except Joe himself, who could not see the joke.
+There were two pink spots in her cheeks, her eyes were very bright, her
+head was held high, and poor Joe had some explaining to do before the
+party left Australia, which they did soon after, and started on their
+journey to Ceylon.
+
+They reached Colombo in Ceylon, the island of spices, the richest gem in
+the Indian ocean, and disembarked late one afternoon. At the hotel in the
+English quarter, while the women of the party went to their rooms to
+refresh themselves and dress for dinner, the men, after a hasty toilet,
+went into the lobby of the hotel where, as always, their first thought was
+to get hold of the papers from home.
+
+Joe's eyes fell on a New York paper and he snatched it up eagerly and
+turned to the sporting page for the latest news of the diamond. He gave a
+startled exclamation as he saw the bold headline that stretched across the
+top of the page:
+
+"_Joe Matson, the Pitching King, Signs with the All-Star League!_"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+THE BLOW FALLS
+
+
+Baseball Joe's first sensation was one of unutterable surprise, followed a
+moment later by fierce indignation.
+
+"What's the matter, Joe?" asked Jim, coming up behind him.
+
+"Matter enough!" growled Joe, thrusting the offending paper under his
+comrade's nose. "Look at this!"
+
+Jim looked and gave a long whistle of surprise.
+
+"What does it mean?" he ejaculated, as his eyes went from the headlines to
+the story, which covered the greater part of the page.
+
+"Mean?" snorted Joe. "It means a stab in the back. It means that those
+skunks are trying to do by lying what they couldn't do by bribery. It
+means that while we're thousands of miles away they are trying to gull the
+public and get other ball players to jump their contracts by a barefaced
+lie like this. I wish I had hold of the fellow who's doing this--I'd make
+him sweat for it!"
+
+"Of course it's a lie," assented Jim, "and a lie out of whole cloth. But
+what beats me is why they should do it? It's bound to be a boomerang."
+
+They sat down side by side and read the paper together, and the more they
+read the more bewildered they became.
+
+For the story was circumstantial. It went into minute details. It embraced
+interviews with the backers of the new league, who confirmed it without
+hesitation. One of the paragraphs read as follows:
+
+  "Nothing in years has created such a sensation in the world of sport
+  as the news just made public that Matson, the star pitcher of the
+  Giants, had jumped the fold and landed in the All-Star League. It was
+  known that overtures were made to this great pitcher at the end of
+  his last season, when his magnificent work created a record in the
+  National League that will probably never be surpassed. It was
+  understood, however, that these offers, though coupled with a
+  tremendous bonus and salary, had been definitely rejected. For that
+  reason the news that he has reconsidered and jumped to the All-Stars
+  comes like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. The major leaguers are in
+  consternation, while the new league naturally is jubilant at this
+  acquisition to their ranks. Matson is a popular idol among his fellow
+  players and it is believed that many stars who have been wavering in
+  their allegiance to the old leagues will follow his example."
+
+The rest of the page was devoted to a recital of Joe's achievements in
+pitching the Giants to the Championship of the National League and, later,
+to the Championship of the World.
+
+The two friends stared at each other in amazement and rage, and just then
+McRae and Robbie, together with a group of other players, came hurrying
+up, holding other papers which, though in different words, told
+substantially the same story.
+
+There was a babel of excited questions and exclamations, and Joe felt a
+sharp pang go through him, as for the first time in his experience with
+the manager of the Giants, he saw in McRae's eyes a shadow of distrust.
+
+"Isn't this the limit?" asked McRae, as he crushed the paper in his hand,
+threw it to the floor and trampled on it in disgust and anger.
+
+"It sure is," replied Joe. "I've had lies told about me before but never
+one that touched me on the raw like this."
+
+"It's a burning outrage," cried Denton indignantly.
+
+"What they expect to make out of it is beyond me," declared Robbie. "They
+ought to know that they can't get away with it."
+
+"But in the meantime it will have done its work," Willis pointed out.
+"What if it is contradicted later on? By that time they'll have a dozen
+stars signed and they should worry. As long as it's believed that Joe has
+jumped, it's just as good for them as though he had."
+
+"That's the worst of it," agreed Joe bitterly. "Of course I'll send a
+cable contradicting it, but the lie has got a head start and a lot of
+damage has been done. What do you suppose my friends in America are
+thinking about me just now?"
+
+"Don't worry about that, Joe," comforted Jim. "Your real friends won't
+believe it, and for the rest it doesn't matter. Nobody that really knows
+you believes you would jump your contract."
+
+"Whoever got that story up was foxy, though," commented Mylert, the burly
+catcher of the Giants. "There are no 'ifs or ands' about it like most
+phony stories where the fellow's trying to hedge in case someone comes
+back at him. It sounds like straight goods. It's the most truthful looking
+lie I ever saw."
+
+"But it's a lie just the same!" cried Joe desperately. "All you fellows
+know I wouldn't throw the Giants down, don't you?" he asked, as his eyes
+swept the circle of fellow players who were gathered around him.
+
+There was a murmur of assent, but it was not as hearty as Joe could have
+wished. If there was not distrust, there was at least bewilderment, for
+the story bore all the earmarks of truth.
+
+"You know it, don't you, Mac?" repeated Joe, this time addressing directly
+the Giant leader.
+
+For a fraction of a second McRae hesitated. Then he threw doubt to the
+winds and gripped Joe's hand with a heartiness that warmed the latter's
+heart.
+
+"Of course, I know it, Joe!" he exclaimed emphatically. "I don't deny that
+for a moment the paper had me going. But in my heart I know it's a lie. So
+just send your cable and then let's forget it. Those fellows are just
+making a rope to hang themselves with. We'll make it warm for them when we
+get back to the States."
+
+"You ought to sue the papers for libel," growled Robbie.
+
+"There won't be any suing," said Joe heatedly. "Just let me have five
+minutes alone with the fellow that started this and that's all I'll ask."
+
+He hurried down with Jim to the cable office and a few minutes later this
+message buzzed its way across the seas:
+
+  "Report that I have signed with the All-Star League absolutely false.
+  Will give a thousand dollars to charity if anyone can produce
+  contract.
+
+                                                    "JOSEPH MATSON."
+
+"That ought to hold them for a while," commented Jim.
+
+"It ought," said Joe gloomily. "But you know the old saying that 'a lie
+will go round the world while truth is getting its boots on.'"
+
+Still he felt better, and by the time he got back to the hotel and met the
+girls, he had so far regained his usual poise that he could tell them all
+about it with some measure of self-control.
+
+"Why, Joe! how could they dare do such a thing as that?" exclaimed Mabel,
+her eyes flashing fire.
+
+"It's about the meanest thing I ever heard of!" cried his sister.
+
+"They ought to be sued for libel, don't you know," broke in Reggie. "If
+you sued them, Joe, you might get quite heavy damages."
+
+"It's a pity you can't put somebody in jail for it," was Mabel's further
+comment.
+
+"Yes, that's what ought to happen!" cried Clara.
+
+Both of the girls were wild with indignation. Although Mabel at one time,
+influenced by the arguments of Braxton that Joe was not really bound by a
+one-sided contract, had spoken to him about it in a guarded way, Joe had
+shown her so clearly his moral obligation that he had convinced her
+absolutely. And now she was angry clear through at the blow in the dark
+that had been launched against him.
+
+"Who could have done such a contemptible thing?" she cried.
+
+"It must have been that horrid Westland!" exclaimed Clara.
+
+"Maybe," agreed her brother. "I rather hope it was."
+
+"Why?" asked Jim curiously.
+
+"Because," gritted Joe through his teeth, "he's a big fellow and I won't
+be ashamed to hit him."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+THE COBRA IN THE ROOM
+
+
+Ceylon was a land of wonders to the tourists. Here they were in the very
+heart of the Orient. Rare flowers and strange plants grew in glorious
+profusion, the air was odorous with a thousand scents, and it was hard for
+them to realize that at that very moment America might be suffering from
+zero weather or swept by blizzards. Here life moved along serenely and
+dreamily, lulled by the sound of birds and drone of locusts, wrapped in
+the warm folds of eternal summer.
+
+"It's an earthly Eden!" murmured Clara, as she and Jim walked along one of
+the main streets of Colombo, followed at a little distance by Joe and
+Mabel.
+
+"Yes," replied Jim with a laugh, "and not even the snake is missing."
+
+He pointed to a group of natives and Europeans on the other side of the
+street who were gathered about a snake charmer.
+
+"Ugh, the horrid things!" exclaimed Clara with a shudder.
+
+"Let's go over and take a look," suggested Jim.
+
+Clara demurred at first and so did Mabel. They were used to seeing snakes
+behind a network of wire and glass, and they did not relish the idea of
+standing within a few feet of the crawling serpents in the open street.
+But curiosity, added to the urgings of the young men, finally conquered,
+and they joined the throng on the other side.
+
+The performer, an old man with bronzed face, was squatting on his haunches
+playing a weird tune on a reedy instrument resembling a flute. Before him
+was upreared a monstrous specimen of the deadly cobra species, swaying
+gently to and fro and keeping time to the music. Its malignant eyes
+looking out from the broad head whose markings resembled a pair of
+spectacles had lost something of their fiery sparkle, and a slight haze
+spread over them, as though the creature were under a spell.
+
+The music continued and two other snakes crawled out as if in response to
+a call and joined their companion in his swaying, rhythmic dance. Then the
+tune changed, the snakes uncoiled, and the performer took them up without
+the slightest fear and put them back in the basket.
+
+"Suppose they should bite him!" exclaimed Mabel.
+
+"He's had their fangs drawn already," returned Joe. "The old rascal's
+taking no chances."
+
+"They say that a man lasts about half an hour after one of those fellows
+nips him," observed Jim. "Somebody was telling me that over twenty
+thousand natives are bitten by them every year."
+
+A little further down the street, another fakir was giving an exhibition.
+He placed a small native boy in a basket that was a tight fit and put down
+the basket cover. Then after making mysterious signs and muttering
+invocations, the fakir drew a long sword and plunged it through the basket
+from end to end. A scream of pain came from within, and when the sword was
+withdrawn it was red. Again and again this was repeated until the screams
+died away. Then the fakir lifted up the cover and the boy sprang out safe
+and sound, and, showing his white teeth in a smile, went around collecting
+coins from the bystanders.
+
+They wandered further among the bazaars, making purchases of curios as
+presents for the folks at home and adding to their personal stock of
+mementos. Jim secured among other things a cane made of a rare Indian
+wood, which while light was exceedingly strong and so pliable that it
+could be bent almost double like a Damascus blade.
+
+But through all the chaff and fun of the day Joe was unhappy and restless.
+What he had read in the paper from home about himself poisoned everything
+for him.
+
+He had always tried to be perfectly straight and honorable in all his
+business relations. His word had ever been as good as his bond. Now, at
+one stroke, he saw his reputation damaged perhaps beyond mending. All over
+the United States he had been pictured as a contract-breaker. He could see
+the incredulity of his friends turning gradually to contempt. He fancied
+he could hear them saying:
+
+"So Joe has fallen for that game, has he? Well, they say that every man
+has his price. No doubt Joe's price was high, but they found out what it
+was and bought him."
+
+Of course he had denied it, but he knew how people smiled when they read
+denials. And months must pass before he could get back to America and try
+to hunt out the author or authors of the story.
+
+He tried to hide his mood under a cover of light talk and banter, but the
+others felt it and sympathized with him, though all refrained from
+mentioning what each of them was thinking.
+
+All through the day his gloom persisted, and when night came and he had
+retired to the room that he and Jim occupied together he felt that it
+would be impossible for him to sleep.
+
+"There's no use talking," said Jim with a yawn, as he set his cane so that
+it rested against the footboard and threw off his coat preparing to
+undress, "sight-seeing's the most tiring work there is. I feel more done
+up to-night than if I had been pitching in a hard game."
+
+"I'm tired too," agreed Joe, "but I don't feel the least bit like sleep."
+
+Jim was asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow. But Joe
+tossed about restlessly for what seemed to him to be hours. The night was
+very warm and all the windows were open to get what breath of air might be
+stirring.
+
+A broad veranda ran all around the building, not more than two feet below
+the windows, and from the ground to the veranda rose a luxuriant tangle of
+vines and flowers.
+
+The moon was at the full and its light flooded a part of the room, leaving
+the rest in deep shadow.
+
+Joe at last dropped off into a doze from which he woke with a start.
+
+He had heard nothing, but he had an uneasy consciousness that something
+was wrong.
+
+He glanced over at Jim who was peacefully sleeping. Then he raised himself
+on his elbow and his glance swept the room.
+
+Nothing seemed amiss in the lighted part, but in a darkened corner the
+shadow seemed to be heavier than usual. It was as though it were piled in
+a mass instead of being evenly distributed.
+
+Then to Joe's consternation _the shadow moved_, reached the edge of
+moonlight, rose higher and higher with a sickening swaying motion. From a
+hideous head two sparks of fire glowed balefully and Joe knew that he was
+in the presence of a giant cobra!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+IN THE SHADOW OF THE PYRAMIDS
+
+
+Joe's blood chilled with horror and his heart seemed for a moment to stop
+beating.
+
+He did not dare to move and scarcely to breathe. He might have been a
+statue, so rigid was his attitude. He knew that the least movement would
+provoke an attack on the part of the deadly reptile.
+
+On the other hand, if he kept perfectly quiet, there was the chance of the
+snake gliding away through the window, which had evidently been its means
+of entering the room.
+
+Whether the serpent saw him or not, Joe could not tell. The head swayed
+for a minute or two, while the glowing eyes seemed to take in every corner
+of the room. Then the coils unwound and with a slithering sound the snake
+began to crawl across the floor.
+
+But instead of seeking the window it was gliding towards the bed!
+
+If he had had a revolver Joe would have had a chance, for at such close
+range he could scarcely have missed. Even a knife to hurl, though only a
+forlorn hope, might have pinned the snake to the floor. But he was utterly
+without a weapon of any kind.
+
+Suddenly he remembered the cane that his chum had leaned against the
+footboard a few hours earlier.
+
+He reached down stealthily and his hand closed upon it.
+
+He did not dare to wake Jim for fear that the latter might leap from the
+bed and perhaps land squarely on the gliding death that was somewhere in
+the room. He had lost sight of it, but he could still hear the dragging
+body and it seemed to be now under the bed. At any instant that awful head
+might rise on either side prepared to strike.
+
+Gripping the cane until his fingers seemed to dig into it, Joe had a
+moment of awful suspense.
+
+The gliding sound had ceased. Then from the side nearest Jim a hideous
+head uprose within a foot of the sleeping man's face.
+
+Like a flash the tough cane hissed through the air with all Joe's muscle
+back of it. It caught the reptile full in the neck and sent it half way
+across the room where it lay writhing.
+
+In an instant Joe had leaped to the floor, raining blows upon the head
+and floundering coils, until at last the reptile straightened out and lay
+still.
+
+"What's the matter?" cried Jim, awakened by the tumult and jumping out of
+bed.
+
+He turned pale as he saw the snake stretched out on the floor and Joe who,
+now that the awful strain was over, was leaning against the wall as limp
+as a rag.
+
+Jim turned on the light and they viewed the monster, standing at a
+respectful distance from the head.
+
+"He seems dead enough, but you can never be sure of a snake," said Joe,
+after in a few hurried words he had told of his experience. "Suppose, Jim,
+you get that Malay's knife out of my trunk and we'll make certain."
+
+Jim brought the kriss, which Joe had kept as a memento of his struggle
+with the maniac, and with one stroke severed the cobra's head from his
+body.
+
+"That knife never did a better bit of work," he commented as he washed it
+off. "Now let's get this thing out of the window and clear up the mess."
+
+They got through the repugnant work as soon as possible and then made a
+careful search of the room.
+
+"That fellow may have had a mate," remarked Joe, "and one experience of
+this kind is enough for a lifetime. I've always felt a little doubtful
+about those stories of people whose hair turned gray in a single night,
+but it's easy enough to believe it now."
+
+"We'll close the window too," said Jim, suiting the action to the word and
+letting the upper sash down only for an inch or two. "That's the way that
+fellow must have crawled in. It's pretty hot in here but I'd rather die of
+heat than snake bites."
+
+They went back to bed but not to sleep, for they were too thoroughly
+wrought up by their narrow escape.
+
+"You must have hit that fellow an awful crack," said Jim. "You sure batted
+.300 in the Ceylon League."
+
+"Broke his neck, I guess," responded Joe. "It's lucky it wasn't a missed
+strike for I wouldn't have had time for another one."
+
+"Don't let's say anything to the girls about it," suggested Jim. "Not
+until we get away from India anyway. They'd be seeing snakes all the rest
+of the time we're here."
+
+It was lucky that neither of them was slated to pitch the next day, for
+they would scarcely have been in condition after their night's experience.
+A game had been arranged between the visiting teams at a date three days
+later. By that time Joe was in his usual superb form and easily carried
+off the victory for his team. This put the Giants "on velvet," for they
+now had a clear lead of two over the All-Americans.
+
+But the satisfaction that this would have usually given Joe was lacking
+now. Victory had ceased to be sweet since the receipt of that newspaper
+from home.
+
+Perhaps it was because of his sensitive condition that he thought he
+detected a subtle change in the conduct of his team mates towards him.
+While perfectly friendly in their relations with him, they did not "let
+themselves go" when in his presence, as formerly. There was no boisterous
+clapping on the back, no jolly sparring or wrestling. There seemed to be a
+little holding in, a feeling of reserve, a something in the back of their
+minds that they did not care for him to see.
+
+This joyous freemasonry of sport had always been especially pleasant to
+Joe and for that reason he felt its absence the more keenly.
+
+But what exasperated him most was that if the old standbys of the club
+were a trifle cool, Iredell, Curry and Burkett went to the other extreme
+and were more cordial than ever before. It was as though they were
+welcoming a newcomer to their ranks. They knew that they were under
+suspicion of planning to jump their contracts in the spring, and the
+apparent evidence that so renowned a player as Joe was planning to do the
+same thing made them hail him as a reinforcement.
+
+Where formerly they had often ceased talking when he approached them and
+made him feel that he was an intruder, they now greeted him warmly,
+although they did not yet feel quite sure enough to broach the subject of
+their own accord.
+
+"All little pals together," hummed Iredell significantly on one occasion
+with a sidelong glance at Joe.
+
+"Just what do you mean by that?" asked Joe sharply.
+
+"Just what I say," replied Iredell innocently. "What is there wrong about
+that? Aren't we Giants pals to each other?"
+
+"Of course we are, as long as we stay Giants," replied Joe. "But that
+wasn't what you meant, Dell, and you know it."
+
+"Now, don't get red-headed, Joe," put in Curry soothingly. "You must have
+got out of bed on the wrong side this morning. Dell didn't mean any
+harm."
+
+"Tell me one thing," said Joe. "Do any of you fellows believe for one
+minute that story in the paper?"
+
+He looked from one to the other, but none of them looked him straight in
+the eye.
+
+"You know that I've denied it," went on Joe, as they kept silent, "and if
+after that you still believe the story it's the same as saying that I
+lie. And no one can call me a liar and get away with it."
+
+He stalked away leaving them dumbfounded.
+
+"Do you think he really has jumped his contract?" asked Burkett.
+
+"I don't know," replied Iredell dubiously.
+
+"He's got me guessing," muttered Curry.
+
+And the trio were still guessing when several weeks later the party
+reached Egyptian soil, prepared to play the most modern of games before
+the most ancient of monuments--baseball in the very shadow of the
+Pyramids!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+THE SIGNED CONTRACT
+
+
+"If old Pharaoh could only see us now!" chortled Jim, as the teams lined
+up for their first game.
+
+"He'd probably throw a fit," grinned Denton.
+
+"Not a bit of it," said Joe. "He'd probably be up in the grandstand,
+eating peanuts and singing out once in a while to 'kill the umpire.'"
+
+"And he'd do it too," laughed Jim. "I'll bet an umpire in those days would
+have had a hard job to get life insurance. It would have been good dope to
+get a tip before the game as to just what team Pharaoh wanted to win."
+
+"I think you men are awfully irreverent," reproved Mabel, who, with Clara,
+was seated in the first row in the stand right behind the players' bench
+and had overheard the conversation.
+
+"Not at all," laughed Jim. "It's a big compliment to Pharaoh to suggest
+that he would have been a baseball fan if he hadn't been born too soon. It
+puts him on a level with the President of the United States."
+
+The teams were playing on the cricket field used by the English residents,
+and not far off the Pyramids reared their stately heads toward the sky. It
+was a strange conjunction of the past and the present, and all were more
+or less impressed by it.
+
+"Well, I must confess that in my wildest dreams of seasons gone by, I
+never supposed that I would be pitching here in Egypt in the shadow of the
+pyramids," remarked Joe.
+
+"It certainly takes a fellow back to ancient days," put in Jim. "Just
+imagine playing before a crowd of those old Egyptians!"
+
+"Well, they had fun in their day just as well as we have," said McRae.
+"Just the same, they didn't know how good baseball is."
+
+"They didn't even know anything about yelling to kill the umpire when a
+wrong decision was given," remarked Joe, with a grin, and at this there
+was a general laugh.
+
+There was a big outpouring of Europeans and visiting Americans, and under
+the inspiration of their interest and applause both teams played
+brilliantly. It was a hammer-and-tongs contest from start to finish, and
+resulted in the first tie of the trip, neither team being able to score,
+although the game went to eleven innings.
+
+"Still two ahead," McRae said to Brennan, as they left the grounds after
+the game.
+
+"We're gunning for you," retorted Brennan good-naturedly, "and we'll get
+you yet. You've had all the breaks so far, but our turn has got to come."
+
+"Tell that to the King of Denmark," laughed McRae. "We've got your number,
+old man."
+
+The party "did" Egypt thoroughly, visiting Cairo, Thebes and Memphis,
+climbing the Pyramids, sailing on the Nile, viewing the temples of Karnak
+and Philae, the statue of Memnon, and countless other places of interest
+in this cradle of the world's civilization. And it was a tired but happy
+crowd that finally assembled at Alexandria to take ship for Naples, their
+first stopping place on the continent of Europe.
+
+Braxton was no longer with the party, having left it at Ceylon, and others
+had dropped away here and there. But in the main the members were the same
+as at the beginning. Their health had been excellent, and only a few
+things had occurred to mar the pleasure of the trip.
+
+The discomfort that Joe had felt had largely worn away with the passing of
+time. Every day was bringing him nearer the time when with the opening of
+the season he would actually appear on the diamond wearing a Giant
+uniform, and thus effectually dispose of the slander that had troubled
+him.
+
+There had just been time enough to receive some of the earliest papers
+from America that had been published after the receipt of his denial. That
+denial had evidently produced a great effect, coupled as it was with the
+offer to give a thousand dollars to charity if the new league could
+produce any contract signed by him. "Money talks," and the paper intimated
+that the All-Star League had the next move and that it would be "in bad"
+with the public if it failed to make its statements good.
+
+"They'll have a hot time doing it," grinned Joe.
+
+"I'm wondering how they'll dodge it," remarked Jim.
+
+"By getting out a new lie to bolster up the old one probably," conjectured
+Joe.
+
+The latest papers from America had come on board just as the steamer left
+Alexandria, and in the hurry of getting aboard and settling down in their
+new quarters it was after supper that night before Joe hurried to the
+smoking room to have a look at them.
+
+"Got a thousand dollars handy, Joe?" inquired Denton, as Joe came near
+him.
+
+"Because, if you have, the All-Star League wants it," added Larry.
+
+"What do you mean?" asked Joe, all the old discomfort and apprehension
+coming back to him.
+
+"Read this," replied Larry, handing him a paper opened at the sporting
+page.
+
+Joe read:
+
+  "All-Star League Calls Matson's Bluff. Produces Signed Contract.
+  Facsimile of Contract Shown Below."
+
+And staring right out at him was the photographic reproduction of a
+regulation baseball contract and at the bottom was written the name:
+"Joseph Matson."
+
+Joe stared at it as though he were in a dream. Here was the old blow at
+his reputation, this time with redoubled force. Here was what claimed to
+be the actual contract. But it was not the body of the contract that held
+his attention. The thing that made him rage, that gave him a sense of
+furious helplessness, that put his brain in a whirl, was this:
+
+_He knew that that was his signature!_
+
+No matter how it came there, it was his. A man's name can seldom be so
+skilfully forged that it can deceive the man himself. It may get by the
+cashier of the bank, but when it is referred back to the man who is
+supposed to have written it, that man knows instinctively whether he ever
+wrote it. Perhaps he cannot tell why he knows it, but he knows it just the
+same.
+
+So Joe _knew_ that it was his signature that was photographed on that
+contract. But he also knew another thing just as certainly.
+
+_He had never signed that contract!_
+
+Both things contradictory. Yet both things true.
+
+Larry and Denton were watching him closely. Joe looked up and met their
+eyes. They were two of his oldest and warmest friends on the Giant team
+and had always been ready to back him through thick and thin. Confidence
+still was in their gaze, but with it was mixed bewilderment almost equal
+to Joe's own.
+
+Before anything further could be said, McRae and Robbie joined the group.
+
+"Well, Joe, there's the contract," said McRae.
+
+"It seems to be a contract all right," replied Joe. "I haven't had time to
+read what it says, but that doesn't matter anyway. The only important
+thing is that I never signed that contract."
+
+"That seems to be a pretty good imitation of your signature at the bottom
+there," chimed in Robbie.
+
+"It's even better than that," said Joe, taking the bull by the horns. "It
+isn't even an imitation. It's my own signature."
+
+Both Robbie and McRae looked at him as if they thought he was crazy.
+
+"I don't get you, Matson," said McRae, a little sternly. "And it seems to
+me it's hardly a time for joking. There's the contract. You say you didn't
+sign it, and yet you admit that the name at the bottom is your own
+signature. How do you explain it?"
+
+"I don't pretend to explain it," replied Joe. "There's crooked work
+somewhere that I've got to ferret out. Somehow or other my name, written
+by me, has gotten on the bottom of that contract. But I never put it
+there. Some rascal has, and when I find him, as I will, may Heaven have
+mercy on him, for I won't!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+WHIRLWIND PITCHING
+
+
+"A fellow who would do a thing like that is taking long chances," said
+McRae doubtfully.
+
+"And how could he do it?" put in Robbie. "The name would have to be cut
+from one piece of paper and pasted on another, wouldn't it?"
+
+"Even admitting that they might get your name from a check or letter, I
+don't see how a thing like that could stand inspection for a minute,"
+chimed in Willis. "Even if it were so well done that an eye couldn't
+detect it, a microscope would give it away."
+
+"And you can bet that the reporters who hunted up this thing haven't
+overlooked any bets," said Brennan. "They knew that the signature was the
+nub of the whole thing and if there was anything phony about the paper
+they'd have got next at once."
+
+"It's a horrible mixup!" cried Joe, who felt that he was being enmeshed in
+a net of circumstantial evidence which he might find it impossible to
+break. "Let me read the story first from end to end. Then, perhaps, I'll
+find some clue that will solve the mystery."
+
+He plunged at once into the reading, but the more he read the worse the
+matter looked.
+
+He found that a nation-wide interest had been excited by his denial and
+his challenge. The officers of the All-Star League had been besieged by
+reporters, who had made it clear to them that they must prove their
+statement that Matson had signed with them or else stand convicted before
+the American public, on whose favor they depended for support in the
+coming season, of being slanderers and liars.
+
+Mr. Beckworth Fleming, the president of the All-Star League, had shown a
+little hesitation in responding to these demands. This, perhaps, was
+natural enough, since no business organization cares to have the terms of
+its contracts blazoned forth to the world, perhaps to the benefit of its
+rivals. Still, under all the circumstances, Mr. Fleming had finally
+decided to permit a photographic copy to be made of the contract in order
+to establish the good faith of the new league. This had been done and
+facsimiles had been sent to all the leading newspapers of the United
+States.
+
+There was no question that the contract was genuine. It had been
+submitted to bank cashiers who were familiar with Mr. Matson's writing,
+and they had pronounced it his signature beyond the shadow of a doubt. The
+paper had been examined under powerful glasses and found to be a single
+piece. Everything was in proper form, and it was clearly up to Mr. Matson
+to explain what seemed to be explainable only in one way, namely, that he
+had signed the contract.
+
+There were many worthy charities that could find a good use for the
+thousand dollars that the great pitcher had so rashly offered.
+
+This was the gist of the story in all the papers. There were various
+suggested explanations. One paper hinted that men had been known to sign
+papers when they had dined and wined too well.
+
+Another thought that the denial was purely a "diplomatic" one. Others
+ventured the hypothesis that the whole thing was an advertising dodge,
+designed to set the country agog with excitement and stimulate big
+audiences for the coming season.
+
+But underneath all the suppositions one thing seemed to be unquestioned by
+the papers, and that was that Joe had signed a contract to play with the
+All-Star League and had left the Giants in the lurch.
+
+Joe felt as though the ground were slipping from beneath his feet. He was
+perfectly innocent, and yet he already stood convicted in the public mind
+of having done a thing that he loathed and abhorred. And the worst of it
+was that he had not the slightest clue to the scoundrel or scoundrels who
+had brought this thing about.
+
+"It's beyond me, Mac," he said at last in despair, as he looked up and saw
+the Giants' manager's eyes fixed upon him as though they would read into
+his soul. "They seem to have a strangle hold on me. And yet as black as
+things look I tell you straight, Mac, that you know every bit as much
+about this as I do."
+
+"That's all right, Joe," returned McRae. "I'll admit I'm flabbergasted.
+Who wouldn't be? There's a plot here somewhere, and the fox that planned
+it has been mighty cunning in covering up his tracks. But there never yet
+was a lie that didn't have a weak point somewhere, and soon or late we'll
+find it."
+
+Mabel and Clara, as well as Jim, were beside themselves with anger at the
+dastardly trick. They racked their brains to find the explanation, but
+every time they came up against a blank wall.
+
+"I certainly can't understand it, Joe," said Mabel, for at least the tenth
+time.
+
+"Well, I can't understand it myself, Mabel," he replied.
+
+"Are you sure you didn't sign that contract, thinking it was something
+else--an order for something, or something like that?" questioned Clara.
+
+"I'm not in the habit of signing anything without knowing what it is,"
+said the crack pitcher. "If any of those fellows had brought such a thing
+to me to sign, I would have handed it back and given the fellow a piece of
+my mind. No, there is something else in all this, though what it is I
+haven't the faintest idea."
+
+"It's too bad we're so far away from those fellows just at present," put
+in Jim. "If we were close by we might interview them, and find out some of
+the details that are as yet missing. And then maybe somebody would get a
+broken head," he added vigorously.
+
+"Oh, Jim! would you break anybody's head?" burst out Clara in horror.
+
+"I sure would if he was trying to put Joe in such a hole as this!"
+returned the young man promptly. "Maybe you don't understand what a black
+eye this is calculated to give your brother."
+
+"Oh, yes, I can understand that well enough," sighed Joe's sister.
+
+"I think it's the meanest thing that ever could possibly happen!" burst
+out Mabel. "And I don't wonder that Jim is angry enough to break
+somebody's head for it," and she looked lovingly at Joe.
+
+"Oh, I suppose it will come out all right in the end," answered Joe. But
+he said this merely to ease Mabel's mind. Secretly he was afraid that he
+was in for some real trouble.
+
+It was early spring when they landed in Naples, but the winter had been
+prolonged more than usual and it was too cold to play. At Monte Carlo and
+Nice, however, they were able to get in two games, both of which were won
+by the All-Americans. This put the teams again on an equality as to games
+won and lost, and revived the hopes of the All-Americans that they might
+still come out ahead in the series.
+
+They made but a short stay in Paris, and the weather was so inclement that
+games were out of the question. But it would have taken more than bad
+weather to prevent the shopping and sightseeing that all had been looking
+forward eagerly to in the great French capital, and they enjoyed their
+visit to the full.
+
+In London they met with the greatest welcome of their trip. They played at
+Lord's Oval, the most famous grounds in the United Kingdom, and before an
+audience that included the most distinguished people in the realm,
+including the king himself.
+
+The American colony, too, was there almost to a man, and the United States
+ambassador lent his presence to the occasion.
+
+It was the most distinguished audience, probably, that had ever witnessed
+a baseball game.
+
+And here it was that Joe did the most brilliant pitching of the trip. His
+tireless arm mowed down his opponents inning after inning. They came to
+the bat only to go back to the bench. His mastery of the ball seemed
+almost uncanny, and as inning after inning passed without a hit being
+made, it began to look as though he were in for that dream of all
+pitchers--a no-hit game.
+
+Brennan, the Chicago manager, fidgeted restlessly on the bench and
+glowered as his pets were slaughtered. He tried all the tactics known to
+clever managers, but in vain. It was simply a day when Baseball Joe was
+not to be denied.
+
+His comrades, too, gave him brilliant support and nothing got away from
+them, so that when finally the last man up in the ninth inning in the
+All-American team lifted a towering skyscraper that Joe caught without
+stirring from his tracks, a pandemonium of cheers forced him to remove his
+cap and bow to the applauding crowds again and again.
+
+Not a man had scored, not a man had been passed, not a man had reached
+first, not a man had hit safe. Joe had won the most notable game in his
+whole career!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+THE RUINED CASTLE
+
+
+With London as their center the teams made flying trips to Edinburg,
+Glasgow and Dublin. In all three places they received a royal welcome, for
+the fame of that great game in London had spread throughout the nation and
+all were eager to see the hero of that occasion.
+
+Under other circumstances Joe would have been jubilant, for he was at the
+very height of his reputation, the girl he loved was with him, as well as
+his only sister and his closest friend, but ever in his thoughts like the
+spectre at the feast was that matter of the signed contract--the
+abominable thing that smirched his reputation and branded him to the world
+as false to his word and bond.
+
+Again and again he sought to find the key to the mystery. It seemed like
+some monstrous jugglery, something akin to the fakir's tricks that he had
+witnessed at Colombo where the impossible had seemed so clearly possible.
+
+Try as he would he could find no explanation of the puzzle and his friends
+were equally powerless to suggest a solution.
+
+The game at Dublin, which commenced auspiciously for the Giants, was
+turned into a rout by a rally of the All-Americans in the ninth. A rain of
+bingles came from their bats and they won easily with six runs to spare.
+
+"Got it in the neck that time, old man," said Joe to Jim, after the game.
+"But we can't always win. What do you say to getting a buzz wagon and
+taking a little spin out into the country? The girls will be getting ready
+for that reception at the Viceroy's castle, and they'll be too busy
+dolling up to care what becomes of us."
+
+"Good idea," said Jim, and the two friends made their way to a public
+garage, secured a good car together with a driver, and whirled away into
+the open country.
+
+They had made perhaps twenty miles through the beautiful Irish scenery
+when Joe called Jim's attention to a cloud bank forming in the west.
+
+"Better skip back, old man," he said. "We're due for a wetting if we
+don't."
+
+"Plenty of time yet," objected Jim. "Those look to me just like wind
+clouds. Let's see a little bit more of Ireland."
+
+They went on perhaps five miles further and then Jim found that his
+confidence was misplaced. The clouds grew blacker, an ominous muttering
+was heard in the sky and a jagged flash of lightning presaged the coming
+storm.
+
+"You see I was right," said Joe. "In this open car we'll be drenched to
+the skin. Turn around, Mike," he said to the driver, "and let's see how
+fast this old boat of yours can travel in getting back to Dublin. Throw
+her into high and give her all you've got."
+
+The driver obeyed and the car fairly purred as it sped back toward the
+city. But fast as it was, the storm was faster. Great raindrops pattered
+down, and they looked anxiously about for shelter.
+
+"What's that place up there, Mike?" asked Jim, pointing to a rambling
+stone structure on an elevation perhaps a hundred yards from the road.
+
+"'Tis the castle o' the last o' the O'Brian's, hivin rist his sowl,"
+replied Mike. "But they do be sayin' the place is hanted, an' 'tis a brave
+man that would be shteppin' inside the dhure."
+
+"I'm a brave man, then," cried Jim. "For I'll face a dozen ghosts before I
+would this storm. Turn in, Mike, and we'll wait there till the rain is
+over."
+
+With a muttered protest Mike did as directed, and a moment later the young
+men stepped jauntily through the ruined portal, while Mike, shocked at
+their temerity, crossed himself and, throwing an oilskin over his head,
+crouched low in his seat, preferring the discomfort of the open to the
+unknown terrors that might lurk beyond the doorway of the ruined castle.
+
+The friends had scarcely stepped inside before the rain came down in
+torrents.
+
+"Lucky we got here just as we did," remarked Joe, as they leaned up
+against the masonry of the ruined hall and looked out at the cloudburst.
+
+"It surely was," agreed Jim. "I wish we had a little more light. It's as
+dark as Egypt in here."
+
+"I've got my pocket flashlight with me," said Joe, reaching toward his hip
+pocket. "But listen, what's that?"
+
+"I didn't hear anything," returned Jim, a little nervously, it must be
+admitted.
+
+The two ball players kept perfectly still for a minute and heard what
+seemed to be the murmur of voices a room or two away.
+
+"Can it be that the last of the O'Brians is rambling about the castle?"
+whispered Jim, with a feeble attempt at raillery.
+
+"More likely some travelers stormbound like ourselves," returned Joe
+practically. "Let's take a squint at them."
+
+They tiptoed their way through the hall to a room opening on the right.
+The door, half broken from its hinges, was standing open, and in the
+darkness they saw the tips of two lighted cigars.
+
+As this was not at all ghostly and they did not care to intrude, they were
+about to retire as softly as they had come, when Joe was startled by
+hearing his own name. Jim's hand shot out and clenched his friend's arm,
+and they stood there like statues.
+
+"That was a slick trick you put over on Matson," said a voice which Joe
+recognized instantly as belonging to Beckworth Fleming. He had heard that
+voice before when he had made its owner kneel in the dirt of the road and
+beg Mabel's pardon for his insolence.
+
+"I think myself it was rather clever," drawled another familiar voice,
+that of Braxton. "He fell for it like a lamb."
+
+"He's a pretty keen chap usually, too," remarked Fleming. "How is it you
+caught him napping?"
+
+"I picked out just the right time," said Braxton complacently. "And I
+don't deny that luck helped me a little. If McRae and Barclay hadn't gone
+away just the time they did, it might not have worked. But I got him
+talking about handwriting, and the first thing you know he'd scribbled his
+name on the blank sheet. I took good care that only the bottom of the
+sheet was where he could reach it. Then I slipped the paper into my
+pocket, sent it to you to have the contract printed above the signature,
+and you know the rest."
+
+"Easy meat," chuckled Fleming.
+
+"Too easy," chortled Braxton. "It makes me laugh every time I think of
+it."
+
+Joe stepped into the room, followed by Jim.
+
+"I do a little laughing myself sometimes," Joe said coldly. "And this is
+one of the times!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+BROUGHT TO BOOK--CONCLUSION
+
+
+There was a gasp of dismay and astonishment, as the conspirators jumped to
+their feet from the windowsill upon which they had been sitting.
+
+At the same instant Joe drew the flashlight from his pocket and illumined
+their startled faces.
+
+"Don't move!" he commanded. "Jim, you keep them covered."
+
+Jim took up his station in the doorway, and in the insufficient light the
+rascals could not see whether he had a weapon or not.
+
+"What do you mean by this?" blustered Fleming, in a voice that he tried to
+make brave, but that quavered despite himself.
+
+"It means," said Joe grimly, "that one of you men is in for the licking of
+his life. Don't tremble so, Fleming," he added contemptuously. "I've
+already thrashed you once and I don't care to soil my hands with you
+again. But I've been aching for months to get my fingers on the man that
+made me out a liar and a contract-breaker. I have him now," he added,
+with a steely glance at Braxton.
+
+"Here, Jim," he continued, stepping back, "take this flash. I've got some
+work to do."
+
+With a quick wrench he tore off his coat.
+
+"You'd better be careful," said Braxton--no longer the suave and polished
+trickster, but pale as chalk and trembling like a leaf. "This is assault
+and battery, and you'll answer to the law."
+
+"Put up your hands," said Joe curtly. "You're as big a man as I am, but
+you've got to prove which is the better one. And you, Jim, keep your eye
+on Fleming and stand by to see fair play."
+
+Even a rat will fight when cornered and Braxton, seeing no alternative,
+threw off his coat and made a desperate rush at Joe. Joe met him with a
+clip to the jaw that shook him from head to foot. Then he sailed in and
+gave the scoundrel what he had promised--the thrashing of his life.
+
+Braxton tried foul tactics, butted and kicked and tried to gouge and bite,
+but Joe's powerful arms worked like windmills, his fists ripping savagely
+into Braxton's face and chest. All the pent-up indignation and humiliation
+of the last few weeks found vent in those mighty blows, and soon, too soon
+to suit Joe, the man lay on the floor, whining and half-sobbing with shame
+and pain.
+
+"Get up, you cur!" said Joe, as he pulled on his coat. "I'm not through
+with you yet."
+
+"You're not going to hit him again, are you?" asked Fleming, while Braxton
+staggered painfully to his feet.
+
+"No," said Joe. "I guess he's had enough."
+
+"You said it!" cried Jim admiringly. "If ever a man was trimmed to the
+queen's taste he's that man."
+
+"But I'm going to nail, right now, the lies you fellows have been
+spreading," continued Joe, eyes alight with the thought of his coming
+vindication. "You've got to sign a written confession of the part you've
+played in this dirty business."
+
+"We w-will, w-when we get back to town," stammered Fleming.
+
+"No, you won't," cried Joe. "You'll do it right here and now."
+
+"B-but we haven't any writing materials," suggested Braxton, through his
+swollen lips.
+
+"I've got paper and a fountain pen!" exclaimed Jim eagerly. "This light is
+rather dim, but probably Mike has got the automobile lamps going by this
+time and that'll be light enough."
+
+"Come along!" cried Joe sternly, and his crest-fallen opponents knew him
+too well by this time to resist.
+
+They went out into the open and found that the rain had almost stopped. As
+Jim had prophesied, the automobile lamps were gleaming through the dusk.
+Like every Irishman, Mike dearly loved a scrap, and his eyes lighted with
+a mixture of eagerness and regret as he looked at Braxton and realized
+what he had been missing.
+
+"Begorra!" he cried in his rich brogue, "'tis a lovely shindy ye've been
+after havin'."
+
+With the paper resting on his knee and Jim's fountain pen in his hand, Joe
+wrote out the story of the trickery and fraud that had been practiced in
+getting his signature. When he had covered every important point, he held
+out the pen to Braxton.
+
+The latter hesitated, and Joe's fist clenched till the knuckles were
+white. Braxton knew what that fist was capable of and hesitated no longer.
+He wrote his name under the confession and Fleming followed suit. Then Jim
+affixed his name as a witness, and Michael O'Halloran happily added his.
+
+"Now," said Jim, as he folded the precious paper and stowed it safely in
+his pocket, "you fellows clear out. I suppose that's your car that we saw
+standing a little way down the road. I don't think either of you will care
+to mix in my affairs again."
+
+They moved away with an assumption of bravado they were far from feeling
+and were lost in the darkness.
+
+"And now, Mike," said Joe with a jubilant ring in his voice, as they
+leaped into the car, "let her go. Drive to Dublin as if the ghost of the
+last of the O'Brians were at your back!"
+
+And Mike did.
+
+The two baseball players found the girls impatiently awaiting them, and
+wondering rather petulantly what had become of them. Joe seized Mabel in
+his arms and whirled her about the room like a dancing dervish, paying no
+heed to her laughing protests.
+
+Jim would have liked to do the same to Joe's sister, but did not quite
+dare to--yet.
+
+"Are you boys crazy?" demanded Mabel, as soon as she could get her
+breath.
+
+"Yes," said Joe promptly. "You'll be, too, when you see this."
+
+He flourished the paper before their faces and in disjointed sentences,
+frequently broken by interruptions, told them of all that had happened
+since they had left them after the game.
+
+No need of telling how they felt when the boys had finished. There was no
+happier party that night in all Ireland.
+
+Then, leaving the delighted girls for a few minutes, the boys hunted up
+McRae. They found him glum and anxious, talking earnestly with Robbie in
+the lobby of the hotel. One glance at the young men's faces made the pair
+jump wonderingly to their feet.
+
+"For the love of Pete, let's have it, Joe!" cried McRae. "What's
+happened?"
+
+"Plenty!" exulted Joe. "We've put the All-Star League out of business!"
+
+"What!" cried McRae, as he snatched the paper that Joe held out to him and
+devoured its contents, while Robbie peered eagerly over his shoulder.
+
+Then, as they realized what it meant, they set up a wild whoop which made
+the other members of the team, scattered about the lobby, come running,
+followed a scene of mad hilarity, during which no one seemed to know what
+he said or did.
+
+That night the cable carried the news to New York, and from there to every
+city in the United States. It sounded the death knell of the All-Star
+League, and it went to pieces like a house of cards. The American public
+will stand for much, but for nothing so gross and contemptible as that had
+been.
+
+The trip wound up in a blaze of glory with the Giants just one game to the
+good in the hot series of games that had been played. They had a swift and
+joyous journey home, and when they separated on the dock in New York,
+McRae's hearty grip of Baseball Joe's hand fairly made the latter wince.
+
+"Good-bye, old man," he said. "You've stood by me like a brick. You'll be
+on hand when the bell rings."
+
+"Joe will hear other bells before that," grinned Jim, as he looked at
+Mabel, who flushed rosily.
+
+"What's that?" asked McRae with a twinkle in his eye.
+
+"Wedding bells," replied Jim.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+                        THE BASEBALL JOE SERIES
+                           By LESTER CHADWICK
+
+             12mo. Illustrated. Price 50 cents per volume.
+                      Postage 10 cents additional.
+
+1. BASEBALL JOE OF THE SILVER STARS
+    or The Rivals of Riverside
+
+2. BASEBALL JOE ON THE SCHOOL NINE
+    or Pitching for the Blue Banner
+
+3. BASEBALL JOE AT YALE
+    or Pitching for the College Championship
+
+4. BASEBALL JOE IN THE CENTRAL LEAGUE
+    or Making Good as a Professional Pitcher
+
+5. BASEBALL JOE IN THE BIG LEAGUE
+    or A Young Pitcher's Hardest Struggles
+
+6. BASEBALL JOE ON THE GIANTS
+    or Making Good as a Twirler in the Metropolis
+
+7. BASEBALL JOE IN THE WORLD SERIES
+    or Pitching for the Championship
+
+8. BASEBALL JOE AROUND THE WORLD
+    or Pitching on a Grand Tour
+
+9. BASEBALL JOE: HOME RUN KING
+    or The Greatest Pitcher and Batter on Record
+
+10. BASEBALL JOE SAVING THE LEAGUE
+    or Breaking Up a Great Conspiracy
+
+11. BASEBALL JOE CAPTAIN OF THE TEAM
+    or Bitter Struggles on the Diamond
+
+12. BASEBALL JOE CHAMPION OF THE LEAGUE
+    or The Record that was Worth While
+
+13. BASEBALL JOE CLUB OWNER
+    or Putting the Home Town on the Map
+
+14. BASEBALL JOE PITCHING WIZARD
+    or Triumphs Off and On the Diamond
+
+                Send for Our Free Illustrated Catalogue.
+
+             CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers    New York
+
+
+
+
+                         THE BOY HUNTERS SERIES
+                       By CAPTAIN RALPH BONEHILL
+
+               12mo. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors.
+        Price 50 cents per volume. Postage 10 cents additional.
+
+Captain Ralph Bonehill is one of the best known and most popular writers
+for young people. In this series he shows, as no other writer can, the
+joy, glory and happiness of outdoor life.
+
+FOUR BOY HUNTERS
+    or The Outing of the Gun Club
+
+A fine, breezy story of the woods and waters, of adventures in search of
+game, and of great times around the campfire, told in Captain Bonehill's
+best style. In the book are given full directions for camping out.
+
+GUNS AND SNOWSHOES
+    or The Winter Outing of the Young Hunters
+
+In this volume the young hunters leave home for a winter outing on the
+shores of a small lake. They hunt and trap to their hearts' content and
+have adventures in plenty, all calculated to make boys "sit up and take
+notice." A good healthy book; one with the odor of the pine forests and
+the glare of the welcome campfire in every chapter.
+
+YOUNG HUNTERS OF THE LAKE
+    or Out with Rod and Gun
+
+Another tale of woods and waters, with some strong hunting scenes and a
+good deal of mystery. The three volumes make a splendid outdoor series.
+
+OUT WITH GUN AND CAMERA
+    or The Boy Hunters in the Mountains
+
+Takes up the new fad of photographing wild animals as well as shooting
+them. An escaped circus chimpanzee and an escaped lion add to the interest
+of the narrative.
+
+                Send for Our Free Illustrated Catalogue
+
+             CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers    New York
+
+
+
+
+                            THE JEWEL SERIES
+                            By AMES THOMPSON
+
+              12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in colors.
+                       Price 50 cents per volume.
+                      Postage 10 cents additional.
+
+A series of stories brimming with hardy adventure, vivid and accurate in
+detail, and with a good foundation of probability. They take the reader
+realistically to the scene of action. Besides being lively and full of
+real situations, they are written in a straight-forward way very
+attractive to boy readers.
+
+1. THE ADVENTURE BOYS and the VALLEY OF DIAMONDS
+
+In this book they form a party of five, and with the aid of a shrewd,
+level-headed sailor named Stanley Green, they find a valley of diamonds in
+the heart of Africa.
+
+2. THE ADVENTURE BOYS and the RIVER OF EMERALDS
+
+With a guide, they set out to find the River of Emeralds. But masked foes,
+emeralds, and falling mountains are all in the day's fun for these
+Adventure Boys.
+
+3. THE ADVENTURE BOYS and the LAGOON OF PEARLS
+
+This time the group starts out on a cruise simply for pleasure, but their
+adventuresome spirits lead them into the thick of things on a South Sea
+cannibal island.
+
+4. THE ADVENTURE BOYS and the TEMPLE OF RUBIES
+
+The Adventure Boys find plenty of thrills when they hit the ruby trail,
+and soon discover that they are marked by some sinister influence to keep
+them from reaching the Ruby.
+
+5. THE ADVENTURE BOYS and the ISLAND OF SAPPHIRES
+
+The paths of the young jewel hunters lead to a mysterious island where the
+treasures are concealed.
+
+                Send for Our Free Illustrated Catalogue
+
+             CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers    New York
+
+
+
+
+                            THE BOMBA BOOKS
+                            By ROY ROCKWOOD
+
+                       Price 50 cents per volume.
+                      Postage 10 cents additional.
+
+Bomba lived far back in the jungles of the Amazon with a half-demented
+naturalist who told the lad nothing of his past. The jungle boy was a
+lover of birds, and hunted animals with a bow and arrow and his trusty
+machete. He had a primitive education in some things, and his daring
+adventures will be followed with breathless interest by thousands.
+
+1. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY
+
+2. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AT THE MOVING MOUNTAIN
+
+3. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AT THE GIANT CATARACT
+
+4. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY ON JAGUAR ISLAND
+
+5. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY IN THE ABANDONED CITY
+
+6. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY ON TERROR TRAIL
+
+7. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY IN THE SWAMP OF DEATH
+
+8. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AMONG THE SLAVES
+
+9. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY ON THE UNDERGROUND RIVER
+
+10. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AND THE LOST EXPLORERS
+
+11. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY IN A STRANGE LAND
+
+12. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AMONG THE PYGMIES
+
+                Send for Our Free Illustrated Catalogue
+
+             CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers    New York
+
+
+
+
+                           THE WEBSTER SERIES
+                          By FRANK V. WEBSTER
+
+Mr. WEBSTER'S style is very much like that of the boys' favorite author,
+the late lamented Horatio Alger, Jr., but his tales are thoroughly
+up-to-date.
+
+             Cloth. 12mo. Over 200 pages each. Illustrated.
+                       Stamped in various colors.
+
+                      Price per volume, 50 cents.
+                      Postage 10 cents additional.
+
+Only a Farm Boy
+    or Dan Hardy's Rise in Life
+
+The Boy from the Ranch
+    or Roy Bradner's City Experiences
+
+The Young Treasure Hunter
+    or Fred Stanley's Trip to Alaska
+
+The Boy Pilot of the Lakes
+    or Nat Morton's Perils
+
+Tom the Telephone Boy
+    or The Mystery of a Message
+
+Bob the Castaway
+    or The Wreck of the Eagle
+
+The Newsboy Partners
+    or Who Was Dick Box?
+
+Two Boy Gold Miners
+    or Lost in the Mountains
+
+The Young Firemen of Lakeville
+    or Herbert Dare's Pluck
+
+The Boys of Bellwood School
+    or Frank Jordan's Triumph
+
+Jack the Runaway
+    or On the Road with a Circus
+
+Bob Chester's Grit
+    or From Ranch to Riches
+
+Airship Andy
+    or The Luck of a Brave Boy
+
+High School Rivals
+    or Fred Markham's Struggles
+
+Darry the Life Saver
+    or The Heroes of the Coast
+
+Dick the Bank Boy
+    or A Missing Fortune
+
+Ben Hardy's Flying Machine
+    or Making a Record for Himself
+
+Harry Watson's High School Days
+    or The Rivals of Rivertown
+
+Comrades of the Saddle
+    or The Young Rough Riders of the Plains
+
+Tom Taylor at West Point
+    or The Old Army Officer's Secret
+
+The Boy Scouts of Lennox
+    or Hiking Over Big Bear Mountain
+
+The Boys of the Wireless
+    or a Stirring Rescue from the Deep
+
+Cowboy Dave
+    or The Round-up at Rolling River
+
+Jack of the Pony Express
+    or The Young Rider of the Mountain Trail
+
+The Boys of the Battleship
+    or For the Honor of Uncle Sam
+
+               CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers    NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+                    Everybody will love the story of
+
+                              NOBODY'S BOY
+
+                            By HECTOR MALOT
+
+The dearest character in all the literature of child life is little Remi
+in Hector Malot's famous masterpiece Sans Famille ("Nobody's Boy").
+
+All love, pathos, loyalty, and noble boy character are exemplified in this
+homeless little lad, who has made the world better for his being in it.
+The boy or girl who knows Remi has an ideal never to be forgotten. But it
+is a story for grown-ups, too.
+
+"Nobody's Boy" is one of the supreme heart-interest stories of all time,
+which will make you happier and better.
+
+                  4 Colored Illustrations. $1.50 net.
+                           At All Booksellers
+
+              CUPPLES & LEON CO.    Publishers    New York
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Baseball Joe Around the World, by Lester Chadwick
+
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+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+<title>
+The Project Gutenberg eBook of Baseball Joe Around the World, by Lester Chadwick.
+</title>
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+<pre>
+
+Project Gutenberg's Baseball Joe Around the World, by Lester Chadwick
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Baseball Joe Around the World
+       Pitching on a Grand Tour
+
+Author: Lester Chadwick
+
+Release Date: November 27, 2008 [EBook #27338]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BASEBALL JOE AROUND THE WORLD ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank, Juliet Sutherland and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<hr class='ppg-pb' />
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<img src='images/cover.jpg' alt='' title='' style='width: 330px; height: 398px;' /><br />
+</div>
+
+<hr class='ppg-pb' />
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<img src='images/frontis.jpg' alt='' title='' style='width: 330px; height: 512px;' /><br />
+<p class='caption' style='margin: 0 auto; text-align:center;width: 330px;'>
+IT WAS A HAMMER-AND-TONGS CONFLICT FROM START TO FINISH.<br />
+<i>Baseball Joe Around the World</i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>Page</i> 221<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='ppg-pb' />
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:2.2em;'>Baseball Joe</p>
+<p style=' font-size:2.2em; margin-bottom:0.5em;'>Around the World</p>
+<p style=' margin-bottom:1em;'>OR</p>
+<p style=' font-size:1.2em; margin-bottom:3em;'>Pitching on a Grand Tour</p>
+<p style=' font-size:1.2em; margin-bottom:1.5em;'><i>By</i> LESTER CHADWICK</p>
+<p style=' font-size:0.8em; margin-bottom:1em;'>AUTHOR OF</p>
+<p style=' font-size:0.8em;'>&#8220;BASEBALL JOE OF THE SILVER STARS,&#8221; &#8220;BASEBALL</p>
+<p style=' font-size:0.8em;'>JOE IN THE BIG LEAGUE,&#8221; &#8220;THE RIVAL PITCHERS,&#8221;</p>
+<p style=' font-size:0.8em; margin-bottom:5em;'>&#8220;THE RIGHT-OARED VICTORS,&#8221; ETC.</p>
+<p style=' margin-bottom:4em;'><i>ILLUSTRATED</i></p>
+<p>NEW YORK</p>
+<p style=' font-size:1.2em; margin-bottom:2em;'>CUPPLES &amp; LEON COMPANY</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='ppg-pb' />
+<table summary='poetry' style='margin:0 auto; '><tr><td>
+<p  style=' font-size:1.2em; margin-bottom:0.2em;text-align: center;'>BOOKS BY LESTER CHADWICK</p>
+<br />
+<p  style='text-align: center;'>THE BASEBALL JOE SERIES</p>
+<p  style=' font-size:0.8em; margin-bottom:0.7em;text-align: center;'>12mo. Cloth. Illustrated</p>
+<br />
+<p  style=' font-size:0.8em;margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>BASEBALL JOE OF THE SILVER STARS</p>
+<p  style=' font-size:0.8em;margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>BASEBALL JOE ON THE SCHOOL NINE</p>
+<p  style=' font-size:0.8em;margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>BASEBALL JOE AT YALE</p>
+<p  style=' font-size:0.8em;margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>BASEBALL JOE IN THE CENTRAL LEAGUE</p>
+<p  style=' font-size:0.8em;margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>BASEBALL JOE IN THE BIG LEAGUE</p>
+<p  style=' font-size:0.8em;margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>BASEBALL JOE ON THE GIANTS</p>
+<p  style=' font-size:0.8em;margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>BASEBALL JOE IN THE WORLD SERIES</p>
+<p  style=' font-size:0.8em;margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>BASEBALL JOE AROUND THE WORLD</p>
+<br />
+<p  style=' font-size:1.2em; margin-top:1em;text-align: center;'>THE COLLEGE SPORTS SERIES</p>
+<p  style=' font-size:0.8em; margin-bottom:0.7em;text-align: center;'>12 mo. Cloth. Illustrated</p>
+<br />
+<p  style=' font-size:0.8em;margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>THE RIVAL PITCHERS</p>
+<p  style=' font-size:0.8em;margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>A QUARTERBACK&#8217;S PLUCK</p>
+<p  style=' font-size:0.8em;margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>BATTING TO WIN</p>
+<p  style=' font-size:0.8em;margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>THE WINNING TOUCHDOWN</p>
+<p  style=' font-size:0.8em;margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>THE EIGHT-OARED VICTORS</p>
+<br />
+<p  style=' margin-bottom:2em;text-align: center;'>CUPPLES &amp; LEON COMPANY, New York</p>
+</td></tr></table>
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p>Copyright, 1918, by</p>
+<p><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Cupples &amp; Leon Company</span></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p>Baseball Joe Around the World</p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p>Printed in U. S. A.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='ppg-pb' />
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:1.4em; margin-bottom:1em;'>CONTENTS</p>
+</div>
+
+<table border='0' width='500' cellpadding='2' cellspacing='0' summary='Contents' style='margin:1em auto;'>
+<tr>
+  <td align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'><span style='font-size:small;'>CHAPTER</span></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td align='right'><span style='font-size:small;'>PAGE</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>I</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>In Deadly Peril</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#I_IN_DEADLY_PERIL'>1</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>II</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Quick As Lightning</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#II_QUICK_AS_LIGHTNING'>12</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>III</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>The Stranger&#8217;s Visit</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#III_THE_STRANGER_S_VISIT'>22</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>IV</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>The Top Of The Wave</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#IV_THE_TOP_OF_THE_WAVE'>32</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>V</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Lucky Joe</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#V_LUCKY_JOE'>40</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>VI</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Circling The Globe</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#VI_CIRCLING_THE_GLOBE'>49</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>VII</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>The Gathering Of The Clans</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#VII_THE_GATHERING_OF_THE_CLANS'>60</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>VIII</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>The Rival Teams</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#VIII_THE_RIVAL_TEAMS'>67</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>IX</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>The Under Dog</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#IX_THE_UNDER_DOG'>75</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>X</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>By A Hair</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#X_BY_A_HAIR'>84</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XI</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>A Close Call</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XI_A_CLOSE_CALL'>93</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XII</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>A Dastardly Attack</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XII_A_DASTARDLY_ATTACK'>103</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XIII</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Danger Signals</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XIII_DANGER_SIGNALS'>112</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XIV</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>A Weird Game</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XIV_A_WEIRD_GAME'>119</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XV</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>The Bewildered Umpire</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XV_THE_BEWILDERED_UMPIRE'>128</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XVI</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Putting Them Over</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XVI_PUTTING_THEM_OVER'>135</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XVII</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>&#8220;Man Overboard&#8221;</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XVII__MAN_OVERBOARD'>143</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XVIII</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>One Strike And Out</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XVIII_ONE_STRIKE_AND_OUT'>150</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XIX</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Braxton Joins The Party</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XIX_BRAXTON_JOINS_THE_PARTY'>155</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XX</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>In Mikado Land</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XX_IN_MIKADO_LAND'>164</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXI</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Running Amuck</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXI_RUNNING_AMUCK'>175</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXII</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Taking A Chance</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXII_TAKING_A_CHANCE'>183</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXIII</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>An Embarrassed Rescuer</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXIII_AN_EMBARRASSED_RESCUER'>191</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXIV</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>The Blow Falls</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXIV_THE_BLOW_FALLS'>200</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXV</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>The Cobra In The Room</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXV_THE_COBRA_IN_THE_ROOM'>207</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXVI</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>In The Shadow Of The Pyramids</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXVI_IN_THE_SHADOW_OF_THE_PYRAMIDS'>213</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXVII</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>The Signed Contract</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXVII_THE_SIGNED_CONTRACT'>220</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXVIII</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Whirlwind Pitching</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXVIII_WHIRLWIND_PITCHING'>227</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXIX</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>The Ruined Castle</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXIX_THE_RUINED_CASTLE'>234</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXX</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Brought To Book&mdash;Conclusion</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXX_BROUGHT_TO_BOOK_CONCLUSION'>240</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<hr class='ppg-pb' />
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_1' name='page_1'></a>1</span></div>
+<div class='ce' style=' font-size:1.4em;'>
+<p>BASEBALL JOE AROUND</p>
+<p>THE WORLD</p>
+</div>
+
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='I_IN_DEADLY_PERIL' id='I_IN_DEADLY_PERIL'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER I</h2>
+<h3>IN DEADLY PERIL</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>&#8220;Great Scott! Look at this!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Joe Matson, or &#8220;Baseball Joe,&#8221; as he was better
+known throughout the country, sprang to his
+feet and held out a New York paper with headlines
+which took up a third of the page.</p>
+<p>There were three other occupants of the room
+in the cozy home at Riverside, where Joe had
+come to rest up after his glorious victory in the
+last game of the World&#8217;s Series, and they looked
+up in surprise and some alarm.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Land&#8217;s sakes!&#8221; exclaimed his mother, pausing
+just as she was about to bite off a thread.
+&#8220;You gave me such a start, Joe! What on earth
+has happened?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s got my little brother so excited?&#8221;
+mocked his pretty sister, Clara.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Has an earthquake destroyed the Polo
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_2' name='page_2'></a>2</span>
+Grounds?&#8221; drawled Jim Barclay, Joe&#8217;s special
+chum and fellow pitcher on the Giant team.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not so bad as that,&#8221; replied Joe, cooling down
+a bit; &#8220;but it&#8217;s something that will make McRae
+and the whole Polo Grounds outfit throw a fit
+if it&#8217;s true.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jim snatched the paper from Joe&#8217;s hands, with
+the familiarity born of long acquaintance, and as
+his eyes fell on the headlines he gave a whistle of
+surprise.</p>
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;Third Major League a Certainty,&#8217;&#8221; he read.
+&#8220;Gee whiz, Joe! I don&#8217;t wonder it upset you.
+That&#8217;s news for fair.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Is that all?&#8221; pouted Clara, who had been having
+a very interesting conversation with handsome
+Jim Barclay, and did not relish being interrupted.</p>
+<p>Mrs. Matson also looked relieved and resumed
+her sewing.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Is that all?&#8221; cried Joe, as he began to pace
+the floor excitedly. &#8220;I tell you, Sis, it&#8217;s plenty.
+If it&#8217;s true, it means the old Brotherhood days all
+over again. It means a fight to disrupt the National
+and the American Leagues. It means all
+sorts of trickery and breaking of contracts. It
+means distrust and suspicion between the members
+of the different teams. It means&mdash;oh, well,
+what doesn&#8217;t it mean? I&#8217;d rather lose a thousand
+dollars than know that the news is true.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But perhaps it isn&#8217;t true,&#8221; suggested Clara,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_3' name='page_3'></a>3</span>
+sobered a little by her brother&#8217;s earnestness.
+&#8220;You can&#8217;t believe half the things you see in the
+papers.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Will it hurt your position with the Giants,
+Joe?&#8221; asked Mrs. Matson, her motherly instincts
+taking alarm at anything that threatened her idolized
+son.</p>
+<p>Joe stopped beside his mother&#8217;s chair and
+patted her head affectionately.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not for a long time if at all, Momsey,&#8221; he
+replied reassuringly. &#8220;My contract with the
+Giants has two years to run, and it&#8217;s as good as
+gold, even if I didn&#8217;t throw a ball in all that time.
+It wasn&#8217;t the money I was thinking about. As a
+matter of fact, I could squeeze double the money
+out of McRae, if I were mean enough to take
+advantage of him. It&#8217;s the damage that will be
+done to the game that&#8217;s bothering me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Perhaps it won&#8217;t be as bad as you think,&#8221; ventured
+his mother. &#8220;You know the old saying that
+&#8216;the worst things that befall us are the things that
+never happen.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s the way to look at it,&#8221; broke in Jim
+heartily. &#8220;Let&#8217;s take a squint at the whole article
+and see how much fire there is in all this smoke.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And read it out loud,&#8221; said Clara. &#8220;I&#8217;m just
+as much of a baseball fan as either of you two.
+And Momsey is, too, after all the World&#8217;s Series
+games she&#8217;s seen played.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_4' name='page_4'></a>4</span></p>
+<p>It is to be feared that Mrs. Matson&#8217;s eyes had
+been so riveted on Joe alone, in that memorable
+Series when he had pitched his team to victory,
+that she had not picked up many points about the
+game in general. But anything that concerned her
+darling boy concerned her as well, and she let her
+sewing lie unheeded in her lap as Joe read the
+story from beginning to end.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Seems to be straight goods,&#8221; remarked Jim,
+as Joe threw the paper aside.</p>
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;ve got the money all right,&#8221; rejoined
+Joe. &#8220;They&#8217;ve got two or three millionaires who
+are willing to take a chance and put up the coin.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;One of the names seems to be rather familiar,&#8221;
+remarked Jim, with a sidewise look at
+Joe. &#8220;Do you remember him?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I remember him,&#8221; replied Joe grimly, &#8220;but I&#8217;d
+bet a dollar against a plugged nickel that he remembers
+me better yet.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who is it?&#8221; asked Clara with quickened interest.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Beckworth Fleming,&#8221; replied Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Rather a pretty name,&#8221; remarked Mrs. Matson
+absently.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Prettier than he was when Joe got through
+with him,&#8221; interposed Jim with a grin.</p>
+<p>Mrs. Matson looked up, shocked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I hope Joe didn&#8217;t hurt him!&#8221; she exclaimed.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_5' name='page_5'></a>5</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Whatever Joe did was for the good of his
+soul,&#8221; laughed Jim. &#8220;I can&#8217;t say as much for his
+body.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s all right, Momsey,&#8221; smiled Joe. &#8220;He was
+insolent to Mabel, and I had to give him a thrashing.
+But that&#8217;s neither here nor there. He&#8217;s the
+spoiled son of a very rich man, and he&#8217;s one of
+the men behind this new league. &#8216;A fool and his
+money are soon parted,&#8217; and he&#8217;ll probably be
+wiser when he gets through with this than he is
+now.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But why shouldn&#8217;t they start a new league if
+they want to?&#8221; asked Mrs. Matson. &#8220;I should
+think they had a right to, if they wanted to do it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course they have a right to,&#8221; agreed Joe.
+&#8220;This is a free country, and any man has a right
+to go into any legitimate business if he thinks
+there&#8217;s money in it. Neither the National League
+nor the American League have a mortgage on the
+game. But the trouble is that there aren&#8217;t enough
+good players to go round. All the really good
+ones have been already gobbled up by the present
+leagues. If the new league started in with unknown
+players, it wouldn&#8217;t take in enough money
+to pay the batboys. The consequence is that it
+tries to get the players who are already under
+contract by making them big offers, and that leads
+to all sorts of dishonesty. You take a man who is
+making three thousand a year and offer him six
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_6' name='page_6'></a>6</span>
+if he&#8217;ll break his contract, and it&#8217;s a big temptation.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;ll be after you, Joe, sure as shooting,&#8221;
+remarked Jim. &#8220;It would be a big feather in
+their cap to start off with copping the greatest
+pitcher in the game. They&#8217;d be willing to offer
+you a fortune to get you. They figure that after
+that start the other fellows they want will be
+tumbling over themselves to get aboard.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let them come,&#8221; declared Joe. &#8220;I&#8217;ll send
+them off with a flea in their ear. They&#8217;ll find that
+I&#8217;m no contract jumper.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m sure that you&#8217;d never do anything mean,&#8221;
+said his mother, looking at him fondly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There isn&#8217;t a crooked bone in his head,&#8221;
+laughed Clara, making a face at him as he threatened
+her with his fist.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The contract is enough,&#8221; said Joe; &#8220;but even
+if I were a free agent, I wouldn&#8217;t go with the new
+league and leave McRae in the hole. I feel that
+I owe him a lot for the way he has treated me.
+He took me from a second-string team and gave
+me a chance to make good on the Giants. He
+took a chance in offering me a three-year contract
+in place of one. I&#8217;m getting four thousand, five
+hundred a year, which is a good big sum whatever
+way you look at it. And you remember how
+promptly he came across with that thousand dollars
+for winning twenty games last season.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_7' name='page_7'></a>7</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;We remember that, don&#8217;t we, Momsey?&#8221; said
+Clara, patting her mother&#8217;s hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I should say we did,&#8221; replied Mrs. Matson,
+while a suspicious moisture came into her eyes.
+&#8220;Will we ever forget the day when we opened that
+letter from the dear boy, and the thousand-dollar
+bill fell out on the table? It gave us all the happiest
+time we have had in all our lives.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jim, too, mentally blessed that big bill which
+had brought the Matson family to witness the
+World&#8217;s Series games and so had enabled him to
+meet Joe&#8217;s charming sister. Perhaps that vivacious
+young lady read what was passing in his
+mind, for her eyes suddenly dropped as they met
+Jim&#8217;s eloquent ones.</p>
+<p>Joe flushed at this reference to his generosity,
+and Clara was quick to cover her own slight confusion
+by rallying her brother.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s blushing!&#8221; she declared.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not,&#8221; denied Joe stoutly, getting still
+redder.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You are so,&#8221; averred his sister in mock alarm.
+&#8220;Stop it, Joe, before it gets to your hair. I don&#8217;t
+want a red-headed brother.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Joe made a dash at his tormentor, but she
+eluded him and got into another room.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come along, Jim,&#8221; said Joe, picking up his
+cap. &#8220;Let&#8217;s warm up a little. We want to keep
+our salary wings in good condition, and maybe the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_8' name='page_8'></a>8</span>
+open air will help to get the bad taste of the new
+league out of our mouths.&#8221;</p>
+<p>They went into an open lot near by and had a
+half-hour&#8217;s practice, pitching to each other at a
+moderate pace, only now and then unlimbering
+some of the fast balls that had been wont to stand
+opposing batters &#8220;on their heads&#8221; in the exciting
+games of the season just ended.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How does the old soup bone feel?&#8221; inquired
+Jim.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Fine as silk,&#8221; replied Joe; &#8220;I was afraid I
+might have strained it in that last game. But it
+feels as strong now as it did at the beginning of
+the season.&#8221;</p>
+<p>They had supper a little earlier than usual that
+night, for with the exception of Joe&#8217;s father, who
+was busy on a new invention, they were all going
+to a show that evening at the Riverside Opera
+House. It promised to be an interesting entertainment,
+for the names of several popular actors
+appeared on the program. But what made it especially
+attractive to Joe and his party was the
+fact that Nick Altman, the famous pitcher of the
+&#8220;White Sox&#8221; of Chicago, was on the bill for a
+monologue. Although, being in the American
+League, Joe and Jim had never played against
+him, they knew him well by reputation and respected
+him for his ability in their chosen profession.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_9' name='page_9'></a>9</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;As a pitcher he sure is classy,&#8221; remarked Joe.
+&#8220;They say that fast inshoot of his is a lulu. But
+that doesn&#8217;t say that he&#8217;s any good on the stage.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s pulling in the coin all right,&#8221; replied Jim.
+&#8220;They say that his contract calls for two hundred
+dollars a week. He won&#8217;t have to eat snowballs
+this winter.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jim tells me that a vaudeville manager offered
+you five hundred dollars a week the day
+after you won the championship for the Giants,&#8221;
+said Clara.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So he did,&#8221; replied Joe, &#8220;but it would have
+been a shame to take the money.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Such a shrinking violet,&#8221; teased his sister.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m sure he would make a very good actor,&#8221;
+said his mother, who would have been equally
+sure that he would make a good president of the
+United States.</p>
+<p>The night was fine, and the town Opera House
+was crowded to its capacity. There was a buzz
+and whispering as Joe and his party entered and
+made their way to their reserved seats near the
+center of the house, for Riverside regarded the
+famous pitcher as one of its greatest assets. He
+had given the quiet little village a fame that it
+would never have had otherwise. In the words
+of Sol Cramer, the hotel keeper and village oracle,
+Joe had &#8220;put Riverside on the map.&#8221;</p>
+<p>There were three or four sketches and vaudeville
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_10' name='page_10'></a>10</span>
+turns before Altman, who, of course, was
+the chief attraction as far as Joe and his folks
+were concerned, came on the stage. He had a
+clever skit in which baseball &#8220;gags&#8221; and &#8220;patter&#8221;
+were the chief ingredients, and as he was a natural
+humorist his act went &#8220;big&#8221; in the phrase of the
+profession. Knowing that Joe lived in Riverside
+and would probably be in the audience, Altman
+adroitly introduced his name in one of his anecdotes,
+and was rewarded by a storm of applause
+which clearly showed how Joe stood in his home
+town.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You own this town, Joe,&#8221; laughed Jim, who
+was seated between him and Clara&mdash;Jim could be
+depended on these days never to be farther away
+from Clara than he could help.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; mocked Clara. &#8220;Any time he runs for
+poundkeeper he&#8217;s sure to be elected.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Joe was about to make some laughing retort,
+when his quick eye caught sight of something that
+made the flush fade from his face and his heart
+lose a beat.</p>
+<p>From the wing at the left of the stage <i>a tiny
+wisp of smoke was stealing</i>.</p>
+<p>Like lightning, his quick brain sensed the situation.
+The house was old and would burn like
+tinder. There were only the two exits&mdash;one on
+each side of the hall. And the place was crowded&mdash;and
+his mother was there&mdash;and Clara!
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_11' name='page_11'></a>11</span></p>
+<p>His plan was formed in an instant. He must
+reach a narrow corridor, by which, out of sight of
+the audience, he could gain the back of the stage
+and stamp out whatever it was that was making
+that smoke.</p>
+<p>He rose to slip out, but at that moment a big
+bulk of a man sitting two seats ahead of him
+jumped to his feet with a yell.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Fire! Fire!&#8221; he shouted wildly. &#8220;The house
+is on fire!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='II_QUICK_AS_LIGHTNING' id='II_QUICK_AS_LIGHTNING'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_12' name='page_12'></a>12</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER II</h2>
+<h3>QUICK AS LIGHTNING</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>For one awful instant the crowd sat as though
+paralyzed.</p>
+<p>But in that instant Joe acted.</p>
+<p>With one powerful leap he reached the frenzied
+shouter, his fist shot out, and the man went down
+as though hit with an axe.</p>
+<p>Up the aisle Joe went like a flash, cleared the
+orchestra rail at a bound, and with one more
+jump was on the stage.</p>
+<p>The audience had risen now and was crowding
+toward the aisles. Women screamed, some
+fainted, and all the conditions were ripe for a
+panic.</p>
+<p>Above the hubbub, Joe&#8217;s voice rang out like a
+trumpet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Keep your seats!&#8221; he shouted. &#8220;There&#8217;s no
+danger. I tell you to keep your seats.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The crowd halted uncertainly, fearfully,
+and Joe took instant advantage of the hesitation.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_13' name='page_13'></a>13</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;You know me,&#8221; he cried. &#8220;I tell you there&#8217;s
+no danger. Haven&#8217;t you ever smelled cigar smoke
+before?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The suggestion was a happy one, and the crowd
+began to quiet down, regaining their courage at
+the sight of that indomitable figure on the
+stage.</p>
+<p>Jim had been only two jumps behind Joe in his
+rush to the front, and while Joe was calming the
+crowd Jim had rushed into the wing and dragged
+down some draperies that had caught fire from a
+gas jet. In a moment he had trampled them
+underfoot and the danger was over.</p>
+<p>The orchestra had seemed to keep its wits better
+than the rest of the throng, and Joe signaled
+to the leader to strike up a tune. The next instant
+the musicians swung into a popular air, and
+completely reassured, the people settled down
+into their seats.</p>
+<p>And while Joe stands there, exulting in his
+triumph over the panic, it may be well for the sake
+of those who have not read the preceding books
+of this series to sketch something of his life and
+adventures up to this time.</p>
+<p>Joe&#8217;s first experience in the great game in which
+he was to become so famous was gained on the
+diamond of his own home town. He did so well
+there that he soon became known in the towns
+around as one of the best players in the county.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_14' name='page_14'></a>14</span>
+He had many mishaps and difficulties, and how he
+overcame them is told in the first volume of the
+series, entitled, &#8220;Baseball Joe of the Silver Stars;
+Or The Rivals of Riverside.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A little later on, when playing on his school
+nine, he had obstacles of a different character to
+surmount. The bully of the school sought to
+down him, but found that he had made a mistake
+in picking out his victim. Joe&#8217;s natural skill and
+constant practice enabled him to win laurels for
+himself and his school on the diamond, and prepared
+him for the larger field that awaited him
+when later on he went to Yale.</p>
+<p>As may be easily understood, with all the competition
+he had to meet at the great University
+his chance was long in coming to prove his class
+in the pitching box. But the homely old saying
+that &#8220;it is hard to keep a squirrel on the ground&#8221;
+was never better exemplified than in his case.
+There came a time when the Yale &#8220;Bulldog&#8221; was
+hard beset by the Princeton &#8220;Tiger,&#8221; and Joe was
+called on to twist the Tiger&#8217;s tail. How well he
+did it and what glory he won for his Alma Mater
+can be read in the third volume of the series,
+entitled: &#8220;Baseball Joe at Yale; Or, Pitching for
+the College Championship.&#8221;</p>
+<p>But even at the top notch of his popularity, Joe
+was restless at college. He was bright and keen
+in his studies and had no difficulty in standing up
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_15' name='page_15'></a>15</span>
+well in his classes. But all his instincts told him
+that he was made for the out-of-door life.</p>
+<p>His mother had hoped that Joe would enter
+the ministry, but Joe, although he had the greatest
+respect for that profession, did not feel that
+his life work lay in that direction. He had been
+so successful in athletic sports and took such pleasure
+in them that he yielded to his natural bent and
+decided to adopt professional baseball as his vocation.</p>
+<p>His mother was sorely grieved at first, and the
+more so as she felt that Joe was &#8220;stepping down&#8221;
+in entering the professional ranks. But Joe was
+able to show her that scores of college men were
+doing the same thing that he planned to do, and
+she had too good sense to press her opposition too
+far.</p>
+<p>The opening that Joe was looking for came
+when he was offered a chance to play in the Pittston
+team of the Central League. It was only a
+minor league, but all the great players have been
+developed in that way, and Joe determined to
+make it a stepping stone to something higher.
+How he speedily rose to leadership among the
+twirlers of his league is told in the fourth volume
+of the series, entitled: &#8220;Baseball Joe in the Central
+League; Or, Making Good as a Professional
+Pitcher.&#8221;</p>
+<p>While Joe had been winning his spurs, the keen-eyed
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_16' name='page_16'></a>16</span>
+scouts of the big leagues had not been idle.
+The St. Louis team of the National League
+drafted him into their ranks and took him away
+from the &#8220;bushes.&#8221; Now he felt that he was
+really on the highway to success. Almost from
+the start he created a sensation, and it was his
+pitching that brought his team into the first division.</p>
+<p>A still wider field opened up before him when
+after one year with St. Louis he was bought by
+the New York Giants. This had been his ambition
+from the start, but he had scarcely dared to
+hope that his dream would come true. He promised
+himself that he would &#8220;pitch his head off&#8221;
+to justify the confidence that McRae, the Giants&#8217;
+manager, had put in him. How he came through
+an exciting season and in the final game won the
+championship for his team can be seen in the
+sixth volume of the series, entitled: &#8220;Baseball Joe
+on the Giants; Or, Making Good as a Ball Twirler
+in the Metropolis.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Of course this brought him into the World&#8217;s
+Series, in which that year the Boston Red Sox
+were the Giants&#8217; opponents. It proved to be a
+whirlwind series, whose result remained in doubt
+until the last inning of the last game. Joe had
+fearful odds to contend against since an accident
+to Hughson, the Giants&#8217; standby, put the bulk of
+the pitching burden on our hero&#8217;s shoulders.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_17' name='page_17'></a>17</span>
+Unscrupulous enemies also sought by foul means to
+keep him out of the Series, but Joe&#8217;s indomitable
+will and magnificent pitching won out against all
+odds, as told in the volume preceding this, entitled:
+&#8220;Baseball Joe in the World Series; Or,
+Pitching for the Championship.&#8221;</p>
+<p>If ever a man had earned a rest it was Joe,
+and, as we have seen, he was taking it now in his
+home town. Jim Barclay, a fine young Princeton
+man and second-string pitcher on the Giants, had
+come with him, not so much, it is to be suspected,
+because of his fondness for Joe, though that was
+great, as to be near Clara, Joe&#8217;s charming sister,
+who had been working all sorts of havoc with
+poor Jim&#8217;s heart.</p>
+<p>By the time the orchestra had finished the tune,
+the panic had about subsided. But Joe was taking
+no chances and he motioned for a repetition.
+The leader obeyed, and at the end of this second
+playing the danger was entirely over. The audience
+was seated, with the exception of the man
+whom Joe had knocked down, who slunk shame-facedly
+out of the hall holding his hand on the
+place where the blow had landed.</p>
+<p>And now that the peril had passed, it was Joe
+who was panic-stricken. Though brave as a lion
+and quick as a panther in an emergency, he was
+the most modest of men and hated to pose as a
+hero. He was wondering what he should say or
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_18' name='page_18'></a>18</span>
+do, when Altman solved the problem by coming
+up to him with both hands extended. That gave
+the audience its cue, and in a moment a tempest
+of cheers swept the hall.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the matter with Matson?&#8221; someone
+shouted in a stentorian voice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s all right!&#8221; came back in a roar.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who&#8217;s all right?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Matson! Joe Matson! Baseball Joe!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Men crowded forward, and in a moment Joe
+was surrounded by his friends and fellow townsmen,
+most of whom had known him when he was
+in knickerbockers and now were more proud of
+him than they had ever been, even when he returned
+to Riverside crowned with the laurels of
+his last great season. Joe was mauled and
+pounded until he was almost out of breath, and
+it was a relief when at last he had made his way
+back to his mother and sister.</p>
+<p>They were both crying openly with joy and
+pride, and the looks they turned on Joe were a
+greater reward than all the plaudits of his
+friends.</p>
+<p>There was no going on with the performance
+after that. The nerves of the audience were too
+highly keyed by the great peril that had been escaped.
+And they had a more dramatic scene to
+remember and talk about than anything that could
+be given them from the stage.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_19' name='page_19'></a>19</span></p>
+<p>In the excitement, a great many of those present
+had lost track of the friends or relatives that had
+been with them, and from all sides came various
+calls.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where is Frank?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did you see what became of my sister Bessie?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, Bill! I say, Bill! Where are you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Many of the scenes were most affecting.
+Women would rush into each other&#8217;s arms, crying
+with joy to find that the lost ones were
+safe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I can tell you it&#8217;s a grand good thing that panic
+was stopped so quickly,&#8221; remarked one man to another,
+as he gazed admiringly at the hero of the
+occasion.</p>
+<p>As Joe and his folks were leaving, a tall, well-dressed
+man stepped up to Joe and extended his
+hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let me congratulate you, Mr. Matson,&#8221; he
+said effusively. &#8220;That was a splendid thing you
+did to-night. I never saw anything finer.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m afraid you exaggerate it,&#8221; deprecated
+Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not at all,&#8221; said the stranger. &#8220;By the way,
+Mr. Matson, it&#8217;s a coincidence that I came to town
+with the express purpose of seeing you on a business
+matter. But I didn&#8217;t expect that my first
+meeting with you would be under such exciting circumstances.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_20' name='page_20'></a>20</span></p>
+<p>He took a card from his pocket and handed it
+to Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;My name, as you see, is Westland,&#8221; he continued.
+&#8220;I&#8217;m stopping at the hotel, and I would
+be glad to see you there or at any place that may
+be convenient to you some time to-morrow.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Suppose you call at my home to-morrow morning,&#8221;
+said Joe. &#8220;It&#8217;s only about five minutes&#8217; walk
+from the hotel.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You needn&#8217;t bother about giving me the directions,&#8221;
+said Westland, with an ingratiating smile.
+&#8220;Everybody in Riverside knows where Baseball
+Joe lives. I&#8217;ll be around at eleven o&#8217;clock.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He lifted his hat and departed, while Joe and
+the others walked toward home.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What do you suppose he wants of you, Joe?&#8221;
+asked Clara, with lively curiosity.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; answered her brother carelessly.
+&#8220;Some reporter probably who wants to
+get the sad story of my life.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;If it is, he&#8217;ll have something to write about
+after to-night,&#8221; put in Jim. &#8220;Great Scott! Joe,
+if that had happened in New York it would be
+spread all over the front page of to-morrow&#8217;s
+papers.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, Joe, I&#8217;m so proud of you,&#8221; sighed his
+mother happily.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re a brother worth having!&#8221; exclaimed
+Clara warmly.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_21' name='page_21'></a>21</span></p>
+<p>Jim was on the point of saying that Joe was a
+brother-in-law worth having, but checked himself
+in time.</p>
+<p>They had almost reached the house when Clara
+began to laugh.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the joke?&#8221; inquired Jim.</p>
+<p>But Clara only laughed the harder until they
+became a little alarmed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, I&#8217;m not hysterical,&#8221; she said, when she
+could speak. &#8220;I only happened to remember what
+tune it was the orchestra played. I suppose it was
+the first thing the leader thought of, and he didn&#8217;t
+have time to pick out another. Do you remember
+what it was?&#8221;</p>
+<p>They cudgeled their brains, but could not recall
+it.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What was it?&#8221; asked Jim.</p>
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;There&#8217;ll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town
+To-night!&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='III_THE_STRANGER_S_VISIT' id='III_THE_STRANGER_S_VISIT'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_22' name='page_22'></a>22</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER III</h2>
+<h3>THE STRANGER&#8217;S VISIT</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>Promptly the next morning at eleven, Westland
+put in an appearance at the Matson home.
+He was carefully groomed and everything about
+him indicated money. He fairly exuded prosperity.</p>
+<p>He greeted Joe with a cordiality that seemed
+a trifle overdone, considering their brief acquaintance.</p>
+<p>&#8220;By George, Mr. Matson,&#8221; he said, &#8220;this town
+has fallen for you all right. The whole place is
+buzzing with that affair of last night, and I don&#8217;t
+wonder. If it hadn&#8217;t been for you, the coroner
+and undertaker would be busy this morning.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; responded Joe. &#8220;If I
+hadn&#8217;t got to it someone else would. It wasn&#8217;t
+much of a blaze anyway, and ten to one it would
+have gone out of itself.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Modest I see,&#8221; laughed Westland. &#8220;They
+say that all great men are. But you can&#8217;t get anyone
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_23' name='page_23'></a>23</span>
+in this town to take such a slighting view of
+it as you do yourself.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You said last night that you had a business
+matter you wanted to see me about,&#8221; suggested
+Joe, in order to change the subject.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So I have,&#8221; replied Westland, &#8220;and I&#8217;ve traveled
+over a thousand miles to talk to you personally
+about it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He lighted a fresh cigar while Joe waited indifferently.
+He had been interviewed so much in
+the last year or two on all conceivable subjects
+that his curiosity was scarcely awakened.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course, Mr. Matson,&#8221; began Westland,
+&#8220;you&#8217;ve heard of the new major league that has
+just been organized and&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Joe&#8217;s bored feeling vanished and he was wide-awake
+in an instant. So this was what the visit
+meant! Jim&#8217;s prediction was coming true sooner
+than he had expected.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Pardon me, Mr. Westland,&#8221; he interrupted,
+&#8220;but if this is about baseball, I have a friend visiting
+me who is as much interested in the game as
+I am. In fact, he&#8217;s a player himself. It&#8217;s Jim
+Barclay of the Giants. You&#8217;ve heard of him, of
+course. Hello there, Jim!&#8221; he called, as he threw
+open the door into the adjoining room, where Jim
+was watching a distracting dimple come and go
+in Clara&#8217;s cheek as they chatted together.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Really, Mr. Matson,&#8221; said Westland, visibly
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_24' name='page_24'></a>24</span>
+flustered, &#8220;much as I would like to meet Mr. Barclay,
+I would rather&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>But just then Jim came strolling in, and Joe
+hastened to introduce him. He had used the
+stratagem in order to have a witness at hand. He
+was determined that no false or twisted version
+of the interview should be given out broadcast in
+the interest of the new league.</p>
+<p>Despite his annoyance, Westland was diplomat
+enough to make the best of the situation,
+and he acknowledged the introduction graciously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mr. Westland called in connection with the
+new league we were reading about yesterday,
+Jim,&#8221; explained Joe, &#8220;and I knew that you would
+be interested and so I called you in.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jim&#8217;s jaw set a trifle, but he only nodded and
+Westland went on:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m a business man, Mr. Matson, and so are
+you. So I won&#8217;t beat around the bush, but come
+straight to the point. You&#8217;re the greatest pitcher
+in the country, and we want to secure your services
+for the new league. We&#8217;ve got oceans of
+money behind us, and we&#8217;re prepared to let you
+name your own terms. We&#8217;ll give you anything
+in reason&mdash;or out of reason for that matter&mdash;if
+you&#8217;ll sign up with us.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He delivered himself of this with the air of a
+man sure of having his offer accepted. But if he
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_25' name='page_25'></a>25</span>
+had expected Joe to gasp with astonishment and
+delight, he was disappointed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; said Joe quietly, after a moment&#8217;s
+pause, &#8220;that&#8217;s certainly a very liberal proposition&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, we&#8217;re no pikers,&#8221; put in Westland complacently.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But there&#8217;s one little thing in the way,&#8221; Joe
+went on; &#8220;and that is that I&#8217;m already signed up
+with the Giants for the next two years.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Westland saw that he was in for a tussle and
+braced himself.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course, of course,&#8221; he said, with the tolerant
+smile of a man of the world. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t
+think for a minute that McRae would let his kingpin
+run around loose without being signed up.
+But you know what baseball contracts are.
+They&#8217;re so jug handled that no court would uphold
+them for a minute. In fact, McRae wouldn&#8217;t
+dare to bring it into court. He may threaten and
+bluster, but that will be the end of it. That
+ten-day clause alone would kill it with any
+judge.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Even admitting that I could break my contract
+with the Giants and get away with it,&#8221; said
+Joe, leading him on, &#8220;what guarantee would you
+have that I wouldn&#8217;t do the same thing with you
+if I should want to?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;The guarantee of your own self-interest,&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_26' name='page_26'></a>26</span>
+replied Westland, flicking the ash from his cigar.
+&#8220;We&#8217;d make it so much worth your while to stay
+with us that there wouldn&#8217;t be any inducement to
+go anywhere else.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;In other words,&#8221; said Joe, with a touch of
+sarcasm, &#8220;if you once bought me you&#8217;d rely on
+your money to see that I&#8217;d stay bought.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now, now, Mr. Matson,&#8221; put in Westland
+deprecatingly, &#8220;there&#8217;s no use putting it in so harsh
+a way as that. This is simply business I&#8217;m talking
+to you, and in this world every man has got to
+look out for Number One. Now I don&#8217;t know
+how much money McRae pays you, but I make a
+guess that it&#8217;s about five thousand a year, a little
+more or a little less. Now I&#8217;ll tell you what we&#8217;re
+prepared to do. We&#8217;ll hand you twenty thousand
+dollars the day you put your signature to a contract
+with us. Then we&#8217;ll agree to pay you fifteen
+thousand dollars a year for a three-years&#8217; term.
+And to make the whole thing copper riveted, we&#8217;ll
+put the whole amount in the bank now, subject to
+your order as you go along. So that even if the
+new league should break up, you could loaf for
+three years and be sixty-five thousand dollars to
+the good.&#8221;</p>
+<p>With the air of one who had played his trump
+card and felt sure of taking the trick, Westland
+from out his pocket drew a fountain pen.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Put up your pen, Mr. Westland,&#8221; said Joe
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_27' name='page_27'></a>27</span>
+calmly, &#8220;unless you want to write to those who
+sent you here that there&#8217;s nothing doing.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jim brought his fist down on the arm of his
+chair with a bang.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s the stuff, Joe!&#8221; he cried jubilantly.
+&#8220;You knocked a home run that time.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A look of blended astonishment and vexation
+came into Westland&#8217;s eyes. He seemed to doubt
+the evidence of his ears.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Surely you&#8217;re joking, Mr. Matson,&#8221; he said.
+&#8220;No man in his senses would turn down such an
+offer as that.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I must be out of my senses then,&#8221; replied Joe,
+&#8220;for that&#8217;s exactly what I&#8217;m doing.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Perhaps you think we&#8217;re bluffing,&#8221; said Westland,
+&#8220;but money talks, and here is where it fairly
+shouts.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He drew from his pocket a roll of bills of large
+denominations and laid it on the table.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s the signing-up money,&#8221; he explained.
+&#8220;They wanted me to bring a certified check, but
+I insisted on the actual cash. Count it if you like
+and take it to the bank if you doubt that it&#8217;s good.
+There&#8217;s twenty thousand dollars in that roll, and
+every cent of it&#8217;s yours if you put your name at
+the bottom of this contract.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He laid an official-looking document on the table
+beside the bills, and leaned back in his chair, ostensibly
+intent on the end of his cigar, but watching
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_28' name='page_28'></a>28</span>
+Joe keenly from the corner of his eyes.</p>
+<p>That pile of crisp yellowbacks was more money
+than Joe had ever seen at one time in his life, except
+through the bars of a cashier&#8217;s cage. And
+all he had to do was to reach out, sign his name,
+and the next minute thrust the bills into his pocket.
+They meant independence. They meant security.
+They meant the power and comfort and luxury
+that money can give.</p>
+<p>But they also meant treachery and dishonor,
+and Joe never wavered for an instant.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a lot of money, Mr. Westland,&#8221; he agreed,
+&#8220;but it isn&#8217;t enough.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A look of relief came into Westland&#8217;s eyes.
+Perhaps his task wasn&#8217;t hopeless after all.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If that&#8217;s the case, perhaps we can raise the
+figures a little,&#8221; he said eagerly, &#8220;although we
+thought we were making a very liberal offer. But
+as I said before, we&#8217;re no pikers, and we wouldn&#8217;t
+let a few thousands stand between us. State your
+terms.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t understand,&#8221; replied Joe. &#8220;What
+I meant was that there isn&#8217;t money enough in
+your whole crowd to make me go back on my word
+and jump my contract.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hot off the bat!&#8221; exclaimed Jim. &#8220;Gee, I
+wish McRae and Robbie and the rest of the Giant
+bunch could have heard this pow-wow.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Westland evidently had all he could do to
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_29' name='page_29'></a>29</span>
+contain himself. He had felt so serenely confident
+in the power of his money that he had scarcely
+allowed himself to think of failure. Yet here was
+his money flouted as though it were counterfeit,
+and he himself, instead of being greeted with
+open arms, was being treated with scorn and contempt.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Upon my word, Mr. Matson,&#8221; he said, with
+an evident effort to keep cool, &#8220;you have a queer
+way of meeting a legitimate business proposition.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s just the trouble,&#8221; retorted Joe. &#8220;It
+isn&#8217;t legitimate and you know it. In the first place
+you&#8217;re offering me a good deal more than I&#8217;m
+worth.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I don&#8217;t know about that,&#8221; expostulated
+Jim loyally. &#8220;There&#8217;s at least one man in the
+league getting that much, and he never saw the
+day when he was a better man than you are.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;More than I&#8217;m worth,&#8221; repeated Joe. &#8220;Still,
+if that were all, and you were simply trying to
+buy my baseball ability, it would be your own affair
+if you were bidding too high. But you don&#8217;t
+want to give me all this money because I&#8217;m a good
+pitcher. It&#8217;s because you want to make me a good
+liar. You think that every man has his price and
+it&#8217;s only a matter of bidding to find out mine.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now, now!&#8221; said Westland, spots of color
+coming into his cheeks.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_30' name='page_30'></a>30</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;And more than that,&#8221; went on Joe, not heeding
+the interruption, &#8220;you want to make me a tool to
+lead others to break their contracts, too. I&#8217;m to
+be the bellwether of the flock. You figure that if
+it&#8217;s once spread abroad that Matson has jumped
+into the new league, it will start a stampede of
+contract breakers. I tell you straight, Westland,
+it&#8217;s dirty business. If you want to start a new
+league, go ahead and do it in a decent way. Get
+new players and develop them, or get star players
+whose contracts have expired. Play the game, but
+do it without marked cards or loaded dice.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Westland saw that he had lost, and he threw
+diplomacy to the winds.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Keep your advice till it&#8217;s asked for!&#8221; he
+snarled, snatching up the money and jamming it
+viciously into his pocket. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t come to this
+jay town to be lectured by a hick&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s that?&#8221; cried Joe, springing to his feet.</p>
+<p>Westland was so startled by the sudden motion
+that he almost swallowed his cigar. Before Joe&#8217;s
+sinewy figure he stepped back and mumbled an
+apology. Then he reached for his hat, and without
+another word stalked out of the house,
+his features convulsed with anger and chagrin.</p>
+<p>As he flung himself out of the gate, he almost
+collided with a messenger boy bringing a telegram
+to Joe.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_31' name='page_31'></a>31</span></p>
+<p>The latter signed for it and tore it open hastily.
+It was from the Giants&#8217; manager and read:</p>
+<div class='blockquot'>
+<p>&#8220;I hear the new league is coming after
+you hotfoot. But I&#8217;m betting on you, Joe.</p>
+<div class='ra'>
+<p>&#8220;<span style='font-variant: small-caps'>McRae.</span>&#8221;</p>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+<p>He handed it over to Jim who read it with a
+smile.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Betting on me, is he?&#8221; said Joe. &#8220;Well, Mac,
+you win!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='IV_THE_TOP_OF_THE_WAVE' id='IV_THE_TOP_OF_THE_WAVE'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_32' name='page_32'></a>32</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER IV</h2>
+<h3>THE TOP OF THE WAVE</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>While they were still discussing the telegram,
+Joe&#8217;s father came home to lunch from the harvester
+works where he was employed. He seemed
+ten years younger than he had before the trip to
+the World&#8217;s Series, which he in his quiet way
+had enjoyed quite as much as the rest of the
+family.</p>
+<p>He greeted the young men cordially.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I met a man a little way down the street who
+seemed to have come from here,&#8221; he said, as he
+hung up his hat. &#8220;He had his hat jammed down
+on his head, and was muttering to himself as
+though he were sore about something.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He was,&#8221; replied Jim with a grin. &#8220;He laid
+twenty-five thousand dollars on the table, and he
+was sore because Joe wouldn&#8217;t take it up.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mr. Matson looked bewildered, but his astonishment
+was not as great as that of Clara, who at
+that moment put her head in the door to announce
+that lunch was ready.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_33' name='page_33'></a>33</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;What are you millionaires talking about?&#8221; she
+asked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What do millionaires usually talk about?&#8221; answered
+Jim loftily. &#8220;Money&mdash;the long green&mdash;iron
+men&mdash;filthy lucre&mdash;yellowbacks&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;If you don&#8217;t stop your nonsense you sha&#8217;n&#8217;t
+have any lunch,&#8221; threatened Clara, &#8220;and that
+means something, too, for mother has spread herself
+in getting it up.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Take it all back,&#8221; said Jim promptly. &#8220;I&#8217;m
+as sober as a judge. Lead me to this lunch, fair
+maiden, and I&#8217;ll tell you nothing but the plain, unvarnished
+truth. But even at that, I&#8217;m afraid
+you&#8217;ll think I&#8217;m romancing.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The merry group seated themselves at the
+table, and Clara, all alive with curiosity, demanded
+the fulfilment of Jim&#8217;s promise.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; said Jim, &#8220;the simple truth is that that
+fellow who was here this morning offered
+Joe sixty-five thousand dollars for three years&#8217;
+work.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Matson almost dropped her knife and
+fork in her amazement. Mr. Matson sat up with
+a jerk, and Clara&#8217;s eyes opened to their widest
+extent.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sixty-five thousand dollars!&#8221; gasped Joe&#8217;s
+father.</p>
+<p>&#8220;For three years&#8217; work!&#8221; exclaimed Mrs. Matson.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_34' name='page_34'></a>34</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Why,&#8221; stammered Clara, &#8220;that&#8217;s&mdash;that&#8217;s&mdash;let
+me see&mdash;why, that&#8217;s more than twenty-one
+thousand dollars a year.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s what,&#8221; replied Jim, keenly relishing the
+sensation he was causing. &#8220;And it wasn&#8217;t stage
+money either. He had brought twenty thousand
+dollars with him in bills, and he laid it down on
+the table as carelessly as though it was twenty
+cents. And all that this modest youth, who sits
+beside me and isn&#8217;t saying a word, had to do to get
+that money was to put his name on a piece of
+paper.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Joe,&#8221; exclaimed Clara, &#8220;do tell us what all
+this means! Jim is just trying to tantalize us.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Stung!&#8221; grinned Jim. &#8220;That&#8217;s what comes
+from mixing in family matters.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why, it&#8217;s this way, Sis,&#8221; laughed Joe. &#8220;That
+fellow traveled a thousand miles to call me a
+hick. I wouldn&#8217;t stand for it and made him take
+it back and then he got mad and skipped.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Momsey,&#8221; begged Clara in desperation, &#8220;can&#8217;t
+you make these idiots tell us just what happened?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Them cruel woids!&#8221; ejaculated Jim mournfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Do tell us, Joe!&#8221; entreated his mother. &#8220;I&#8217;m
+just dying to know all about it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Teasing his mother was a very different thing
+from teasing Clara, who was an adept at that art
+herself, and Joe surrendered immediately.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_35' name='page_35'></a>35</span></p>
+<p>They forgot to eat&mdash;all except Jim, who seldom
+carried forgetfulness so far&mdash;while he told
+them about Westland&#8217;s call and his proposition to
+Joe to break his contract and jump to the new
+league.</p>
+<p>Sixty-five thousand dollars was a staggering
+amount of money, a fortune, in fact, in that quiet
+town, and yet there was not one of that little family
+who didn&#8217;t rejoice that Joe had turned the offer
+down.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You did the right thing, Joe,&#8221; said his father
+heartily; &#8220;and the fact that lots of people would
+call you foolish doesn&#8217;t change things in the least.
+A man who sells himself for a hundred thousand
+dollars is just as contemptible as one who sells
+himself for a dollar. I&#8217;m proud of you, my
+boy.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I could have told beforehand just what Joe
+would do,&#8221; said Mrs. Matson, wiping her eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re the darlingest brother ever!&#8221; exclaimed
+Clara, coming round the table and giving him a
+hug and a kiss.</p>
+<p>The thought of Clara being a sister to him had
+never appealed to Jim before, but just at that
+moment it would have had its advantages.</p>
+<p>For the rest of the meal all were engrossed in
+talking of the great event of the morning&mdash;that
+is, all but Joe, who kept casting surreptitious
+glances at the clock.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_36' name='page_36'></a>36</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t get worried, Joe,&#8221; said his sister mischievously,
+as she intercepted one of his glances.
+&#8220;Mabel&#8217;s train doesn&#8217;t get in until half-past two,
+and it isn&#8217;t one o&#8217;clock yet.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Joe flushed a little and Jim laughed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can you blame him?&#8221; he asked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not a bit,&#8221; answered Clara. &#8220;Mabel&#8217;s a darling
+and I&#8217;m crazy to get hold of her. After Joe,
+though, of course,&#8221; she added.</p>
+<p>Joe threw his napkin at her but missed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sixty-five thousand dollars for a baseball
+player who can&#8217;t throw any straighter than that,&#8221;
+she mocked. &#8220;It&#8217;s a lucky thing for the new league
+that you didn&#8217;t take their money.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Maybe I had better take their money after
+all!&#8221; cried Joe tantalizingly.</p>
+<p>At these words Clara threw up her hands in
+mock horror.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You just dare, Joe Matson, and I&#8217;ll disown
+you!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ah-ha! And now I&#8217;m disowned and cast out
+of my home!&#8221; exclaimed the young baseball
+player tragically. &#8220;Woe is me!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t believe any decent player would ever
+have anything to say to you, Joe, if you did such
+a mean thing as that,&#8221; went on Clara seriously.
+And at this Joe nodded affirmatively.</p>
+<p>An hour later, all three, chatting merrily, were
+on their way to the train. But their progress was
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_37' name='page_37'></a>37</span>
+slow, for at almost every turn they were stopped
+by friends who wanted to shake hands with Joe
+and congratulate him on his presence of mind
+the night before.</p>
+<p>&#8220;One of the penalties of having a famous
+brother,&#8221; sighed Clara, when this had happened
+for the twentieth time.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You little hypocrite,&#8221; laughed Jim. &#8220;You
+know that you&#8217;re just bursting with pride. You&#8217;re
+tickled to death to be walking alongside of him.
+Stop your sighing. Follow my example. I&#8217;m
+tickled to death to be walking alongside of you
+and you don&#8217;t hear <i>me</i> sighing. I feel more like
+singing.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;For goodness&#8217; sake, don&#8217;t,&#8221; retorted Clara in
+mock alarm. &#8220;Oh, dear, here&#8217;s another one!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Were you addressing me when you said
+&#8216;dear&#8217;?&#8221; asked Jim politely.</p>
+<p>Clara flashed him an indignant glance, just as
+Professor Enoch Crabbe, of the Riverside Academy,
+stepped up and greeted Joe. He was earnest
+in his congratulations, but his manner was
+so stilted that they looked at each other with
+an amused smile, as he stalked pompously
+away.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wonder if he believes now that I can throw
+a curve,&#8221; laughed Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He ought to ask some of the Red Sox who
+whiffed away at them in the World Series,&#8221; said
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_38' name='page_38'></a>38</span>
+Jim with a grin. &#8220;They didn&#8217;t have any doubt
+about it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Professor Crabbe had very serious doubts,&#8221;
+explained Joe. &#8220;In fact, he said it was impossible.
+Against all the laws of motion and all that
+sort of thing. I had to rig up a couple of bamboo
+rods in a line, and get Dick Talbot, a friend of
+mine in the moving-picture business, to take a picture
+of the ball as it curved around the rods, before
+I could prove my point.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did it convince him?&#8221; queried Jim.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It stumped him, anyway,&#8221; replied Joe. &#8220;But
+sometimes I have a sneaking notion that he thinks
+yet that Dick and I played some kind of a bunco
+game on him by doctoring the film.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, I hope that nobody else stops us,&#8221; remarked
+Clara. &#8220;It seems to me that almost
+everybody in Riverside is on the street this afternoon.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It wouldn&#8217;t be such an awful mob at that,&#8221;
+replied Jim. &#8220;But it&#8217;s a safe bet that one man at
+least won&#8217;t stop Joe to shake hands with him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who is that?&#8221; asked Clara.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The fellow who yelled &#8216;Fire&#8217; in the hall last
+night,&#8221; answered Jim with a grin.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I hope I didn&#8217;t hurt him,&#8221; observed Joe,
+thoughtfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Perish the thought,&#8221; replied Jim. &#8220;You just
+caressed him. He was a big fellow, and he
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_39' name='page_39'></a>39</span>
+probably sat down just to take a load off his feet.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m glad he wasn&#8217;t a Riverside man, anyway,&#8221;
+remarked Joe, loyal to his home town. &#8220;I never
+saw him before. Probably he came from some
+place near by.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, then, of course he won&#8217;t mind it,&#8221; chaffed
+Jim.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of all the nonsense&mdash;&mdash;&#8221; Clara was beginning,
+when her eye caught sight of a figure she
+recognized on the station platform which they
+had nearly reached.</p>
+<p>She nudged her brother&#8217;s elbow.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s the man you were talking to this
+morning,&#8221; she said in a low voice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;By George, so it is!&#8221; replied Joe, as he followed
+her glance. &#8220;And he&#8217;s talking to Altman.
+Trying to make him a convert.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;A renegade, you mean,&#8221; growled Jim.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='V_LUCKY_JOE' id='V_LUCKY_JOE'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_40' name='page_40'></a>40</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER V</h2>
+<h3>LUCKY JOE</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>Westland saw the party coming, and with a
+scowl turned his back upon them.</p>
+<p>Altman, however, greeted Joe with a smile and,
+excusing himself to Westland, went over to meet
+him with extended hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How are you, old scout?&#8221; he exclaimed.
+&#8220;You sure batted .300 last night.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Joe greeted him cordially, while Jim and Clara
+strolled on toward the end of the platform. It
+was astonishing what good company those two
+were to each other, and how well they bore the
+absence of anybody else from their conversation.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m feeling fine as silk,&#8221; was Joe&#8217;s response to
+Altman&#8217;s question.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Didn&#8217;t sprain your salary wing, or anything
+like that?&#8221; grinned Altman. &#8220;You fetched that
+fellow an awful hit in the jaw.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I hated to do it, but it was coming to him,&#8221;
+laughed Joe.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_41' name='page_41'></a>41</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, if there are any doctors&#8217; bills, I guess
+the Riverside people will be willing to take up a
+collection to pay them,&#8221; replied Altman. &#8220;It&#8217;s
+mighty lucky for the town that you happened to
+be in the crowd last night.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I suppose you&#8217;re off to keep your next engagement,&#8221;
+said Joe, to change the subject. &#8220;By
+the way, Nick, that was a mighty nifty skit of
+yours at the hall last night. It brought down the
+house. It ought to pull big everywhere.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m glad you liked it,&#8221; replied Altman. &#8220;I&#8217;m
+booked for twenty weeks and I&#8217;m drawing down
+good money.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I suppose you&#8217;ll be with the White Sox next
+year, as usual,&#8221; said Joe.</p>
+<p>Altman hesitated.</p>
+<p>&#8220;W-why, I suppose so,&#8221; he said slowly. &#8220;My
+contract with them has another year to run. To
+tell the truth, though, Joe, I&#8217;m somewhat unsettled.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why,&#8221; said Joe, &#8220;you&#8217;re not going to give up
+the game for the stage, are you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, nothing like that,&#8221; replied Altman. &#8220;I&#8217;d
+rather play ball than eat, and I&#8217;ll stick to the game
+as long as this old wing of mine can put them
+over the plate. But whether I&#8217;ll be with the White
+Sox or not is another question.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Some other team in the American league trying
+to make a dicker for you?&#8221; asked Joe.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_42' name='page_42'></a>42</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Not that I&#8217;ve heard anything about,&#8221; responded
+Altman. &#8220;But the American League isn&#8217;t
+the whole cheese in baseball&mdash;nor the National
+League, either, for that matter.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I see Westland has been talking to you,&#8221; said
+Joe. &#8220;I don&#8217;t want to butt in, Nick, but don&#8217;t let
+him put one over on you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;The new league seems to have barrels of
+money,&#8221; replied Altman, evading a direct answer.
+&#8220;This fellow Westland seems aching to throw it
+to the birds&mdash;he&#8217;s got a wad in his pocket that
+would choke a horse.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said Joe dryly, &#8220;I&#8217;ve seen that wad before.
+But take a fool&#8217;s advice, Nick, and stick
+to the old ship.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s all very well,&#8221; said Altman. &#8220;But a
+man&#8217;s worth all that he will bring in any other
+line of work&mdash;and why shouldn&#8217;t it be so in baseball?
+Who is it that brings the money in at the
+gate, anyway? We&#8217;re the ones that the public
+come to see, but it&#8217;s the bosses that get all the
+money.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lay off on that &#8216;poor, down-trodden slave&#8217;
+talk, Nick,&#8221; said Joe earnestly. &#8220;You know as
+well as I do that there are mighty few fellows who
+get as well paid for six months&#8217; work as we ball
+players do. But, leave that out of the question
+for a minute&mdash;don&#8217;t you suppose the backers of
+this new league are just as eager to make money
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_43' name='page_43'></a>43</span>
+out of us as anybody else? Do you think they&#8217;re
+in the game for the sport of it? And don&#8217;t you
+know that the coming of a new league just now is
+likely to wreck the game? You know how it was
+in the old Brotherhood days&mdash;they did the same
+crooked work then that they&#8217;re trying to do now&mdash;bribing
+men to jump their contracts by offers
+of big money. The game got a blow then that it
+took years to recover from, and there wasn&#8217;t a
+single major league player that in the long run,
+didn&#8217;t suffer from it. Play the game, Nick&mdash;and
+let&#8217;s show these fellows that they can&#8217;t buy us as
+they would so many cattle.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Altman was visibly impressed, and Westland,
+who had been watching proceedings out of the
+corner of his eye, thought it time to intervene.
+He strolled down toward them and without looking
+at Joe, spoke directly to Altman.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Train&#8217;s coming, Nick,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I just heard
+the whistle. I&#8217;ll stay with you so that we can get
+seats together in the smoker.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, good-bye, Joe!&#8221; said Altman. &#8220;I&#8217;m
+glad to have seen you again, anyway, and I&#8217;ll
+promise not to do anything hastily.&#8221;</p>
+<p>And as Jim and Clara came hurrying up at
+that moment, Joe had to be content with the hope
+that, at least, he had put a spoke in Westland&#8217;s
+wheel.</p>
+<p>The train was in sight now, and all thoughts
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_44' name='page_44'></a>44</span>
+of baseball were banished for the moment at the
+thought of what that train was bringing to
+him.</p>
+<p>With a rush and a roar the train drew up at
+the station. The colored porter jumped down the
+steps of the parlor car to assist the descending
+passengers.</p>
+<p>Joe uttered an exclamation, and Clara gave a
+little squeal of delight as two young people,
+whom a family resemblance proclaimed to be
+brother and sister, came hurriedly down the
+steps.</p>
+<p>In a moment they were the center of an eager
+and tumultuous group.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mabel!&#8221; exclaimed Joe,&mdash;at least that was all
+that they heard him say just then. What he said
+to her later on is none of our business.</p>
+<p>The girls hugged and kissed each other, much
+to the aggravation of the masculine contingent,
+while Reggie Varley extended his two
+hands, which were grasped cordially by Joe
+and Jim.</p>
+<p>The romance which had culminated in the engagement
+of Mabel Varley and Joe dated back
+two years earlier. Joe had been in a southern
+training camp, in spring practice with his team,
+when one day he had been lucky enough to stop
+a runaway horse which Mabel had been driving,
+and thus saved her from imminent danger and
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_45' name='page_45'></a>45</span>
+possible death. The acquaintance, so established,
+rapidly deepened into friendship and then into
+something stronger.</p>
+<p>Mabel was a charming girl with lustrous brown
+eyes, wonderful complexion and dimples that
+came and went in a distracting fashion, and it
+was no wonder that Joe before long was a helpless
+but willing captive. She, on her part, developed
+a sudden fondness for the great national
+game to which she had hitherto been indifferent.</p>
+<p>They had met many times during the season,
+and with every meeting her witchery over Joe had
+become more potent. He had stolen a glove from
+her during one of his visits to Goldsboro, her home
+town in the South, and during the exciting games
+of the last World&#8217;s Series he had worn it close
+to his heart when he had pitched his team to
+victory.</p>
+<p>And when he told her this on the night following
+the famous game that had set the whole country
+wild with excitement, and told her too, that
+victory meant nothing, unless she shared it with
+him, she had capitulated and promised to become
+his wife.</p>
+<p>Reggie, her brother, had formed Joe&#8217;s acquaintance
+earlier than Mabel and in a less pleasant
+way. He was a rather foppish young man
+who cultivated a mustache that the girls called
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_46' name='page_46'></a>46</span>
+&#8220;darling,&#8221; and affected what he fondly believed
+to be an English accent.</p>
+<p>In a railway station he had left his valise near
+where Joe was sitting, and, on his return, found
+that the valise had been opened and some valuable
+jewelry stolen from it. He had rashly accused
+Joe of the theft, and had narrowly escaped
+a thrashing from that indignant young man, in
+consequence.</p>
+<p>The matter had been patched up at the time,
+and afterward, when Joe learned that he was
+Mabel&#8217;s brother, had been forgiven entirely. The
+men were now on the most cordial of terms, for
+Reggie, despite his peculiarities and though he
+would never &#8220;set the river on fire&#8221; with his intellectual
+ability, was by no means a bad fellow.</p>
+<p>There was a merry hubbub of greetings and
+exclamations while the men arranged for the
+baggage and the girls asked each other twenty
+questions at once and then the party paired off
+for the walk to the Matson home&mdash;that is, Joe
+and Mabel and Jim and Clara, formed the pairs,
+while Reggie was, so to speak, a fifth wheel to
+the coach!</p>
+<p>Not that this bothered Reggie in the least. He
+ambled along amiably, dividing his talk and attentions
+impartially, serenely unconscious that each
+pair was willing to bestow him upon the other.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_47' name='page_47'></a>47</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;We ought to have a band playing &#8216;See, the
+Conquering Hero Comes,&#8217;&#8221; remarked Jim to
+Mabel, who was walking in front with Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know he&#8217;s a hero,&#8221; said Mabel, her eyes
+eloquent as she looked at Joe. &#8220;I can hardly pick
+up the paper but what it calls him the hero of
+the World&#8217;s Series.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t mean a baseball hero,&#8221; said Jim, &#8220;but
+a real, honest-to-goodness hero&mdash;the life-saver
+and all that kind of stuff, you know.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; joined in Clara, &#8220;you came a day too
+late, Mabel. You ought to have seen Joe at the
+Opera House last night. He was simply great.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;At the Opera House?&#8221; Mabel repeated, in
+some bewilderment.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure,&#8221; chaffed Jim. &#8220;Didn&#8217;t you know Joe&#8217;d
+gone on the stage?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said Clara, carrying out the mystification.
+&#8220;He made a hit, too.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;There was at least one man in the audience
+he made a hit with,&#8221; chuckled Jim.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t let them fool you, Mabel,&#8221; said Joe,
+tenderly. &#8220;There was just a little excitement at
+the Opera House last night and Jim and I took a
+hand in stopping it. They&#8217;re making an awful
+lot of a very simple matter.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve no idea what a voice Joe has for
+public speaking,&#8221; persisted the irrepressible Jim.
+&#8220;Last night he was a howling success.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_48' name='page_48'></a>48</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Clara, dear, tell me all about it,&#8221; entreated
+Mabel. &#8220;We girls are the only ones who can
+talk sense.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Thus appealed to, Clara told about the circumstances
+of the night before, and, as may be imagined,
+Joe did not suffer in the telling. If the
+latter had needed any other reward for his exploit
+he found it in Mabel&#8217;s eyes as she looked at him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I thought I knew all about you before,&#8221; she
+said, in a half whisper, &#8220;but I&#8217;m learning all the
+time!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='VI_CIRCLING_THE_GLOBE' id='VI_CIRCLING_THE_GLOBE'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_49' name='page_49'></a>49</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER VI</h2>
+<h3>CIRCLING THE GLOBE</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>When the party reached the Matson home,
+motherly Mrs. Matson took Mabel into her
+arms as she had long since taken her into her
+heart. Then Clara took her up to her room to
+refresh herself after the journey, while Jim
+and Joe took care of Reggie and his belongings.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I&#8217;m so glad that you&#8217;ve got here at last!&#8221;
+exclaimed Clara, as she placed an affectionate hand
+on Mabel&#8217;s shoulder.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And you may be sure that I&#8217;m glad that I am
+here,&#8221; was the happy response. &#8220;I declare, this
+place almost feels like home to me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, you know, we want it to feel like home
+to you, Mabel,&#8221; answered Joe&#8217;s sister, and looked
+so knowingly at the visitor that Mabel suddenly
+began to blush.</p>
+<p>In the meantime, Joe had taken Reggie to the
+room which the young man was to occupy during
+his stay. Joe carried both of the bags, which were
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_50' name='page_50'></a>50</span>
+rather heavy, for the fashionable young man was
+in the habit of taking a good share of his wardrobe
+along whenever he left home.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Some weight to one of these bags, Reggie,&#8221;
+remarked Joe good-naturedly, as he deposited the
+big Gladstone on the floor with a thud. &#8220;You must
+have about three hundred and fifteen new neckties
+in there.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bah Jove, that&#8217;s a good joke, Joe, don&#8217;t you
+know!&#8221; drawled Reggie. &#8220;But you&#8217;re wrong, my
+boy; I haven&#8217;t more than ten neckties with me on
+this trip.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Say, I&#8217;m glad to know you&#8217;ve got so many.
+Maybe I&#8217;ll want to borrow one,&#8221; went on Joe,
+continuing his joke.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course you can have one of my neckties if
+you want it, Joe,&#8221; returned the fashionable young
+man quickly. &#8220;I&#8217;ve got a beautiful lavender one
+that ought to just suit you. And then there is a
+fancy striped one, red and green and gold, which
+is the most stunning thing, don&#8217;t you know, you
+ever saw. I purchased it at a fashionable shop
+on Fifth Avenue the last time I was in New York.
+If you wore that tie, Joe, you would certainly make
+a hit.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, you see, I&#8217;m not so much of a hitter as
+I am of a pitcher,&#8221; returned Joe; &#8220;so I guess I&#8217;d
+better not rob you of that tie. Come to think of
+it, I got several new ties myself last Christmas
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_51' name='page_51'></a>51</span>
+and on my birthday. I think they&#8217;ll see me
+through very nicely. But I&#8217;m much obliged just
+the same. And now, Reggie, make yourself thoroughly
+at home.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I&#8217;ll be sure to do that,&#8221; returned Mabel&#8217;s
+brother. &#8220;You&#8217;re a fine fellow, Joe; and I often
+wonder how it was I quarreled with you the first
+time we met.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ll forget about that,&#8221; answered Joe
+shortly.</p>
+<p>Naturally the men returned to the living room
+first, and while they were waiting impatiently for
+the girls to rejoin them, Joe caught sight of a
+letter resting against the clock on the mantelpiece.</p>
+<p>He took it up and saw that it was addressed
+to himself, and that it bore the postmark of
+New York. He recognized the handwriting at
+once.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s from McRae,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The second
+message I&#8217;ve received from the old boy to-day,
+counting the telegram this morning. Excuse me,
+fellows, while I look it over.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He tore it open hastily and read with glowing
+interest and excitement.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The World Tour&#8217;s a go!&#8221; he cried, handing
+the letter over to Jim. &#8220;Mac&#8217;s got it all settled
+at last. When we said good-bye to him in New
+York it was all up in the air. But trust Mac to
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_52' name='page_52'></a>52</span>
+hustle&mdash;he&#8217;s got enough promises to make up the
+two teams and now he&#8217;s calling on us, Jim, to keep
+our word and go with the party. We&#8217;re all to
+meet in Chicago for the start on the nineteenth
+of the month.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Gee!&#8221; exclaimed Jim. &#8220;That doesn&#8217;t give us
+very much time. Let&#8217;s see,&#8221; as he snatched up a
+newspaper and scanned the top line. &#8220;To-day&#8217;s
+the sixteenth. We&#8217;ll have to get a wiggle on.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bah Jove,&#8221; lisped Reggie. &#8220;It&#8217;s bally short
+notice, don&#8217;t you know? How long will you fellows
+be gone?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just about six months,&#8221; said Joe, his face
+lengthening as he reflected on what it meant to be
+all that time away from Mabel.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s all this pow-wow about?&#8221; came a
+merry voice from the door, as the girls tripped
+in, their arms about each other&#8217;s waist.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m glad we girls aren&#8217;t as talkative as you
+men,&#8221; said Clara, mischievously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;When we do talk we at least say something,&#8221;
+added Mabel. &#8220;What is it, Joe?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m afraid it&#8217;s rather bad news in a way,&#8221;
+said Joe. &#8220;I&#8217;ve just got a letter from McRae
+in which he tells me that he&#8217;s completed all arrangements
+for a baseball tour around the world.
+You know, Mabel, that I spoke to you about it
+just before we left New York. But it was only
+a vague idea then and something of the kind is
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_53' name='page_53'></a>53</span>
+talked about at the end of every baseball season.
+Usually though, it only ends in talk, and the
+teams make a barnstorming trip to San Francisco
+or to Cuba. But this time it seems to have
+gone through all right. And now Mac is calling
+upon Jim and me to go along.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;My word!&#8221; broke in Reggie, &#8220;anyone would
+think it was a bally funeral to hear you talk and
+see your face. I should think you&#8217;d be no-end
+pleased to have a chance to go.&#8221;</p>
+<p>To tell the truth, neither Joe nor Jim seemed
+elated at the prospect. Joe&#8217;s eyes sought Mabel,
+while Jim&#8217;s rested on Clara, and neither one of
+those young ladies was so obtuse as not to know
+what the young men were thinking.</p>
+<p>&#8220;When do you have to go?&#8221; asked Clara,
+soberly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We have to be in Chicago by the nineteenth,&#8221;
+answered Joe, &#8220;and we&#8217;ll have to leave here the
+day before. To-day&#8217;s the sixteenth and you can
+see for yourself how much time that gives us to
+stay in Riverside.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No rest for the wicked,&#8221; said Reggie, jocularly.
+&#8220;&#8217;Pon honor, you boys have earned a rest
+after the work you did against the Red Sox.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Clara was very far from her vivacious self
+as she thought of the coming separation, but Joe
+was surprised and the least bit hurt to see how
+lightly Mabel seemed to regard it.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_54' name='page_54'></a>54</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s too bad, of course,&#8221; she said, cheerfully,
+&#8220;but we&#8217;ll have to make the best of these two
+days at least. It&#8217;s a pity, though, that it
+wasn&#8217;t November nineteenth instead of October.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;We could have started a bit later if it were
+only for the foreign trip,&#8221; explained Jim, &#8220;but
+we&#8217;re going to play a series of exhibition games
+between here and the Coast, and we&#8217;ve got to
+take advantage of what good weather there is
+left. If we can only get to the Rockies before
+it&#8217;s too cold to play, we&#8217;ll be all right, because
+in California they&#8217;re able to play all the year
+round.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;My word!&#8221; exclaimed Reggie, &#8220;I don&#8217;t see
+why they don&#8217;t cut out the exhibition games altogether.
+I should think this country had had
+baseball enough for one season.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not when the Giants and an All-American
+team are the players,&#8221; replied Joe. &#8220;The people
+will come out in crowds&mdash;they&#8217;ll fairly beg us to
+take their money.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And it will be worth taking,&#8221; chimed in Jim.
+&#8220;Do you know how much money the teams took
+in before they reached the coast on their last
+World&#8217;s Trip? Ninety-seven thousand dollars.
+Count them, ladies and gentlemen&mdash;ninety-seven
+thousand dollars in good American dollars!&#8221; he
+added grandly.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_55' name='page_55'></a>55</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;That sounds like a lot of money,&#8221; said Reggie,
+thoughtfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And they&#8217;ll need every cent of it too,&#8221; said
+Joe. &#8220;It&#8217;s the only way a trip of that kind can
+be carried on. The teams travel in first-class style,
+have the finest quarters on the ship, and stay at
+the best hotels. In the games abroad there won&#8217;t
+be money enough taken in, probably, to cover expenses.
+Then the money we&#8217;ve taken in from
+the exhibition games will come in handy.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;How many men are going in the two teams?&#8221;
+inquired Clara.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I imagine each team will carry about fourteen
+men,&#8221; replied Joe. &#8220;That will give them three
+pitchers, two catchers, an extra infielder and outfielder,
+beside the other members of the team.
+That ought to be enough to allow for sickness
+or accident.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;How much do you fellows expect to get out
+of it for yourselves?&#8221; asked Reggie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s just a matter of guess work,&#8221; Joe replied.
+&#8220;I understand that what is left after all
+expenses are paid will be divided equally among
+the players. On the last World&#8217;s Trip I think it
+amounted to about a thousand dollars apiece.
+But then again, it may not be a thousand cents.
+All we really know is that we&#8217;ll have a chance to
+see the world in first-class style without its actually
+costing us a dollar.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_56' name='page_56'></a>56</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, you lucky men!&#8221; said Clara, with a sigh.
+&#8220;You can go trotting all over the world, while we
+poor girls have to stay at home and look for an
+occasional letter from your highnesses&mdash;that is,
+if you deign to write to us at all.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll guarantee to keep the postman busy,&#8221; said
+Jim, fervently.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Same here,&#8221; said Joe, emphatically, as his eyes
+met Mabel&#8217;s.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Do you know just what route you&#8217;ll follow?&#8221;
+Reggie asked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Our first stop will be at Hawaii,&#8221; replied Joe,
+consulting his letter. &#8220;So that the first game we
+play outside of the States will still be under the
+American flag. We&#8217;ll see Old Glory again, too,
+when we strike the Philippines. But that will
+come a little later. After we leave Hawaii,
+we won&#8217;t see dry land again until we get to
+Japan.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I fancy we&#8217;ll get some good games there, too,&#8221;
+broke in Jim. &#8220;Those little Japs have gone in
+for the game with a vengeance. Do you remember
+the time when their Waseda and Keio University
+teams came over to this country? They gave
+our Princeton and Yale fellows all they could do
+to beat them.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said Joe, &#8220;they&#8217;re nifty players when
+it comes to fielding and they&#8217;re fleet as jack rabbits
+on the bases&mdash;but they&#8217;re a little light at the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_57' name='page_57'></a>57</span>
+bat. When it comes to playing before their home
+crowds they&#8217;ll be a pretty stiff proposition.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Do you take in China at all?&#8221; asked Reggie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ll probably stop at Shanghai and Hongkong,&#8221;
+replied Joe. &#8220;I don&#8217;t imagine the Chinks
+can scrape up any kind of a baseball team, but
+there are big foreign colonies at both of those
+places and they&#8217;ll turn out in force to see players
+from the States. Then after touching at Manila,
+we&#8217;ll go to Australia, taking in all the big towns
+like Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. While of
+course the Australians are crazy about cricket,
+like all Englishmen, they&#8217;re keen for every kind
+of athletic sport, and we&#8217;re sure of big crowds
+there. After that we sail for Ceylon and from
+there to Egypt.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d like to see Egypt better than any other
+place,&#8221; broke in Clara. &#8220;I&#8217;ve always been crazy
+to go there.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s full of curiosities,&#8221; remarked Jim.
+&#8220;There&#8217;s the Sphinx, for instance&mdash;a woman who
+hasn&#8217;t said a word for five thousand years.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Clara flashed a withering glance at him, under
+which he wilted.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t mix your Greek fable and your Egyptian
+facts, Jim,&#8221; chuckled Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Huh?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Fact. Since this trip&#8217;s been in the wind, I&#8217;ve
+been reading up. Those Egyptian sphinxes&mdash;those
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_58' name='page_58'></a>58</span>
+that haven&#8217;t a ram&#8217;s or a hawk&#8217;s head&mdash;have
+a man&#8217;s, not a woman&#8217;s, head.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s why they&#8217;ve been able to keep still so
+long, then!&#8221; exclaimed Jim.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You mean thing!&#8221; cried Mabel.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t lay that up against me,&#8221; he begged,
+penitently, &#8220;and I&#8217;ll send you back a little crocodile
+from the Nile.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, the horrid thing!&#8221; cried Clara with a
+shudder.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m doing the best I can,&#8221; said Jim, plaintively.
+&#8220;I can&#8217;t send you one of the pyramids.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s the last we&#8217;ll see of Africa,&#8221; went on
+Joe. &#8220;After that, we set sail for Italy and land
+at Naples. Then we work our way up through
+Rome, Florence, Milan, Monte Carlo, Marseilles,
+Paris and London. We&#8217;ll stay about a month in
+Great Britain, visiting Glasgow, Edinburgh and
+Dublin. Then we&#8217;ll make tracks for home, and
+maybe we won&#8217;t be glad to get here!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The vision conjured up by this array of famous
+cities offered such scope for endless surmise and
+speculation that they were surprised at the flight
+of time when Mrs. Matson smilingly summoned
+them to supper.</p>
+<p>Of course, Joe sat beside Mabel and Jim beside
+Clara. If, in the course of the evening meal,
+Joe&#8217;s hand and Mabel&#8217;s met beneath the table,
+it was purely by accident. Jim, on his side would
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_59' name='page_59'></a>59</span>
+cheerfully have risked such an accident, but had
+no such luck.</p>
+<p>Joe was happy, supremely happy in the presence
+by his side of the dearest girl in all the world.
+Yet there was a queer little ache at his heart because
+of the apparent indifference with which
+Mabel had viewed their coming separation.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You haven&#8217;t said once,&#8221; he said to her in a
+low tone, with a touch of tender reproach, &#8220;that
+you were sorry I was going.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why should I,&#8221; answered Mabel, demurely,
+&#8220;since I am going with you?&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='VII_THE_GATHERING_OF_THE_CLANS' id='VII_THE_GATHERING_OF_THE_CLANS'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_60' name='page_60'></a>60</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER VII</h2>
+<h3>THE GATHERING OF THE CLANS</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>If Mabel had counted on creating a sensation,
+she succeeded beyond her wildest hopes.</p>
+<p>For a moment, Joe thought that he must have
+taken leave of his senses.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What!&#8221; he cried, incredulously, half rising to
+his feet.</p>
+<p>This sudden ejaculation drew the attention of
+all the others seated at the table.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Land sakes, Joe!&#8221; expostulated his mother,
+&#8220;you almost made me upset my tea cup. What&#8217;s
+the matter?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Enough&#8217;s the matter,&#8221; responded Joe, jubilantly.
+&#8220;That is, if Mabel really means what she
+said just now.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What was it you said, Mabel dear?&#8221; asked
+Clara.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come, &#8217;fess up,&#8221; invited Jim.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess I&#8217;ll let Reggie tell the rest of it,&#8221; said
+Mabel, blushing under the battery of eyes turned
+upon her.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_61' name='page_61'></a>61</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;All right, Sis,&#8221; said Reggie, affably. &#8220;Bah
+Jove, I give you credit for holding in as long
+as you have. The fact is,&#8221; he continued, beaming
+amiably upon all the party, &#8220;the governor
+asked me to take a trip to Japan and China, and
+Mabel put in to come along. I didn&#8217;t twig what
+the little minx was up to, until she said we could
+go on the same steamer that took the baseball
+party. Lots of other women&mdash;wives of the
+managers and players and so on&mdash;will go along,
+I understand. So there&#8217;s the whole bally story
+in a nutshell. Rippin&#8217; good idea I call it&mdash;what?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Glory hallelujah!&#8221; cried Joe, grasping
+Mabel&#8217;s hand, openly this time.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s simply great!&#8221; cried Jim, enthusiastically.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You darling, lucky girl!&#8221; exclaimed Clara,
+while Mr. and Mrs. Matson smiled their pleasure.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Had you up in the air for a minute, didn&#8217;t it,
+old top?&#8221; grinned Reggie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I should say it did,&#8221; Joe admitted. &#8220;I thought
+for a minute I was going crazy. Somebody pinch
+me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jim reached over and accommodated him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ouch!&#8221; cried Joe, rubbing his arm. &#8220;You
+needn&#8217;t be so literal.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s nothing I wouldn&#8217;t do for my friends,&#8221;
+said Jim, piously.</p>
+<p>Questions poured in thick and fast.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How can you possibly get ready in time?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_62' name='page_62'></a>62</span>
+asked Clara. &#8220;It&#8217;s the sixteenth now, and the
+teams leave Chicago on the nineteenth.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, we&#8217;re not going to make the trip across
+the country,&#8221; explained Mabel, flushed with happiness.
+&#8220;Reggie and I will join the party in San
+Francisco or Seattle, or wherever they start from.
+So that will give us nearly a month, and I&#8217;m going
+to spend most of that right here&mdash;if you can
+stand me that long.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Clara came round the table and gave her an
+impulsive hug.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d be glad to have you stay here forever,&#8221;
+said Mrs. Matson fervently.</p>
+<p>Just here a thought struck Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s the greatest thing ever that you&#8217;re going
+as far as Japan,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But why can&#8217;t you
+keep on with us and swing right around the
+circle?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You greedy boy!&#8221; murmured Mabel.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve thought of that too,&#8221; explained Reggie.
+&#8220;The governor promised Mabel a trip round the
+world as soon as she got through with the finishing
+school. She could have gone last year if
+she had chosen, but she got so interested in baseball&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Reggie!&#8221; murmured Mabel, warningly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, anyway,&#8221; said Reggie a little lamely,
+&#8220;she didn&#8217;t go, and so I put it up to the governor
+that there was no reason she couldn&#8217;t go now.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_63' name='page_63'></a>63</span>
+He saw it the same way&mdash;he&#8217;s a rippin&#8217; good sort,
+the governor is&mdash;and he&#8217;s left it to us to make
+the trip all the way round&mdash;that is, if I can get
+through my business in Japan in time.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;If you don&#8217;t get through in time, there&#8217;ll be
+murder done,&#8221; threatened Joe.</p>
+<p>In the animated talk that ensued all took a
+part. But toward the end of the meal, Joe noticed
+that Jim was a little more subdued than was
+usual with him, and that some of the sparkle and
+vivacity had vanished from Clara&#8217;s eyes and
+voice.</p>
+<p>He glanced from one to the other and knew
+the reason. He knew how deep the feeling was
+growing between the two and realized what the
+coming six-months&#8217; separation would mean to
+them. A generous impulse came to him like a
+flash.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Listen folks,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Surprises seem to be
+in fashion, so here&#8217;s another one. Clara&#8217;s going
+along with us.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Astonishment and delight held Clara speechless&mdash;then
+she rose and flung her arms impulsively
+about her brother&#8217;s neck, and for the second time
+that day Jim would have been willing to let her
+be a sister to him also.</p>
+<p>Jim reached his brawny hand across the table.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Put her there, Joe, old boy!&#8221; he said. &#8220;You&#8217;re
+the finest fellow that ever wore shoe leather.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_64' name='page_64'></a>64</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Won&#8217;t it be just glorious!&#8221; exulted Mabel.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There never was such a boy in all the world,&#8221;
+murmured Joe&#8217;s mother.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But, Joe dear, won&#8217;t it be too great an expense?&#8221;
+suggested Clara. &#8220;You know it&#8217;s less
+than a month since you sent us that thousand-dollar
+bill that took us to the World&#8217;s Series.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s all right, Sis,&#8221; reassured Joe, patting
+her hand. &#8220;Remember I cleared nearly four
+thousand dollars extra in the World&#8217;s Series, and
+this won&#8217;t put much of a dent in that. You just
+go ahead and doll yourself up&mdash;and hang the
+expense.&#8221;</p>
+<p>And so it was settled, and it is safe to say that
+a group of happier young people could not be
+found anywhere than those who discussed excitedly,
+until late into the night, the coming trip with
+all its marvelous possibilities.</p>
+<p>The next two days flew by all too rapidly. The
+girls, of course, had plenty of time, but Joe and
+Jim had a host of things to attend to and a very
+limited time to do them in. But somehow, Joe
+made time enough to say a lot of things to Mabel
+that, to lovers at least, seem important, and Jim,
+though not daring to go quite so far, looked and
+said quite enough to deepen the roses in Clara&#8217;s
+cheeks and the loveliness in her eyes.</p>
+<p>It was hard to part when the time for parting
+came, but this time there was no long six-months&#8217;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_65' name='page_65'></a>65</span>
+separation to be dreaded&mdash;that is, as far as the
+young folks were concerned.</p>
+<p>Mr. and Mrs. Matson had counted on having
+their son with them throughout the fall and winter,
+but they had been accustomed for so long to
+merge their own happiness in that of their children
+that they kept up bright faces while they said
+good-bye, although Mrs. Matson&#8217;s smile was
+tremulous.</p>
+<p>A day and night of traveling and the ball players
+reached Chicago, where, at the Blackstone,
+they found McRae awaiting them&mdash;the same
+old McRae, aggressive, pugnacious, masterful,
+and yet with a glint of worry in his eyes that
+had not been there at the close of the World&#8217;s
+Series.</p>
+<p>Robbie was there too, rotund and rubicund, but
+not just the Robbie who had danced the tango
+with McRae before the clubhouse on the occasion
+of the great victory.</p>
+<p>But if worry and anxiety had set their mark
+upon the manager and trainer of the Giants, it
+had not affected the players, who were lounging
+about the corridor of the hotel.</p>
+<p>A bunch of them, including Burkett and
+Denton and good old Larry, gave the newcomers
+a tumultuous welcome.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Cheer, cheer, the gang&#8217;s all here!&#8221; cried
+Larry.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_66' name='page_66'></a>66</span></p>
+<p>McRae clasped Joe&#8217;s hand in a grip that almost
+made him wince.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So the new league hasn&#8217;t got you yet, Joe?&#8221;
+he cried.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; laughed Joe, returning his clasp; &#8220;and
+it never will!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='VIII_THE_RIVAL_TEAMS' id='VIII_THE_RIVAL_TEAMS'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_67' name='page_67'></a>67</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2>
+<h3>THE RIVAL TEAMS</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>Robbie, who had come up just in time to hear
+Joe&#8217;s last words, gave him a resounding thump
+on the back.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s the way to talk, Joe, old boy!&#8221; he
+cried. &#8220;I&#8217;ve been telling Mac all along that no
+matter who else weakens he could bet his last
+dollar on you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not that I needed any bracing up,&#8221; declared
+McRae. &#8220;I know a man when I see one, and I
+count on you to the limit. I didn&#8217;t send that telegram
+because I had any doubt, but I knew that
+they&#8217;d make a break for you first of all and I
+didn&#8217;t want you to be taken by surprise. By
+the way, have any of them turned up yet?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;A chap named Westland came to see me the
+very day I got your telegram,&#8221; replied Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And he came well heeled, too,&#8221; put in Jim.
+&#8220;Money was fairly dripping from him. He just
+ached to give it away. It was only up to Joe to
+become a bloated plutocrat on the spot.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_68' name='page_68'></a>68</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Offered good money, did he?&#8221; asked McRae,
+with quickened interest.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Twenty thousand dollars right off the bat,&#8221;
+replied Jim. &#8220;Fifteen thousand dollars a year for
+a three-year contract. And as if that weren&#8217;t
+enough, he offered to put the money in the bank
+in advance and let Joe draw against it as he went
+along.&#8221;</p>
+<p>McRae and Robbie exchanged glances. Here
+was proof that the new league meant business
+right from the start. It was a competitor to be
+dreaded and it was up to them to get their fighting
+clothes on at once.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s a whale of an offer,&#8221; ejaculated
+Robbie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;ve thrown their hat into the ring,&#8221; remarked
+McRae. &#8220;From now on it&#8217;s a fight for
+blood.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s no need of asking what Joe said to
+that,&#8221; said Robbie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wish you&#8217;d been behind the door to hear it,&#8221;
+grinned Jim. &#8220;The way Joe lighted into him was
+a sin and a shame. He fairly skinned him alive.
+It looked at one time as if there would be a scrap
+sure.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It would have been a tremendous card for
+them to get the star pitcher of the World&#8217;s
+Series,&#8221; said McRae with a sigh of relief. &#8220;And
+in these days, when so many rumors are flying
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_69' name='page_69'></a>69</span>
+round it&#8217;s a comfort to know there&#8217;s one man, at
+least, that money can&#8217;t buy. There isn&#8217;t a bit of
+shoddy in you, Joe. You&#8217;re all wool and a yard
+wide.&#8221;</p>
+<p>At this moment, Hughson, the famous pitcher
+who had been a tower of strength to the Giants
+for ten years past, came strolling up, and Joe
+and Jim fell upon him with a shout.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How are you, Hughson, old man?&#8221; cried Joe.
+&#8220;How&#8217;s that wing of yours getting along?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;All to the good,&#8221; replied Hughson. &#8220;I
+stopped off for a day or two at Youngstown and
+had it treated by Bonesetter Reese. I tell you,
+that old chap&#8217;s a wonder. He tells me it will be
+as good as ever when the season opens.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m mighty glad you&#8217;re going along with us
+on this trip,&#8221; said Jim, heartily. &#8220;It wouldn&#8217;t
+seem like the Giant team with you out of it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going through as far as the coast anyway,&#8221;
+answered Hughson. &#8220;More for the fun
+of being with the boys than anything else. But
+I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;ll make the trip around the world.
+I made a half promise some time ago to coach the
+Yale team this coming spring, and they don&#8217;t seem
+inclined to let me out of it. And I don&#8217;t know
+if after all it may not be best to rest up this
+winter and get in shape for next year.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The three strolled on down the corridor, leaving
+McRae and Robbie in earnest conversation.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_70' name='page_70'></a>70</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;How many of the boys is Mac taking along?&#8221;
+asked Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think he figures on about fourteen men,&#8221;
+replied Hughson. &#8220;That will give him three
+pitchers, two catchers, an extra infielder and outfielder,
+besides the seven other men in their regular
+positions. That&#8217;ll allow for accident or
+sickness and ought to be enough.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just as I doped it out,&#8221; remarked Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;On a pinch, McRae could play himself,&#8221;
+laughed Jim. &#8220;No better player ever held down
+the third bag than Mac when he was on the old
+Orioles. The old boy could give the youngsters
+points even now on winging them down
+to first.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;For that matter, Robbie himself might go in
+behind the bat,&#8221; grinned Joe. &#8220;No ball could get
+by him without hitting him somewhere.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It would be worth the price of admission to
+see Robbie running down to first,&#8221; admitted Hughson,
+with a smile.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What kind of a team has Brennan got together
+for the All-American?&#8221; asked Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Believe me; it&#8217;s a good one,&#8221; replied Hughson.
+&#8220;He&#8217;s got a bunch of the sweetest hitters
+that he could get from either league. They&#8217;re a
+bunch of fence breakers, all right. When those
+birds once get going, they&#8217;re apt to send any
+pitcher to the shower. You&#8217;ll have all you want
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_71' name='page_71'></a>71</span>
+to do, Joe, to keep them from straightening out
+your curves.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t ask anything better,&#8221; replied Joe, with
+a laugh. &#8220;I&#8217;d get soft if they were too easy. But
+who are these ball killers? Let me know the
+worst.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; said Hughson, &#8220;there&#8217;s Wallie Schalk
+behind the bat&mdash;you know how he can line them
+out. Then there&#8217;s Miller at first, Ebers at second,
+McBride at short and Chapman at third.
+The outfielders will probably be Cooper and
+Murray and Lange. For pitchers Brennan will
+have Hamilton, Fraser and Ellis,&mdash;although
+Ellis was troubled with the charley-horse toward
+the end of the season, and Banks may take his
+place.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a strong team,&#8221; commented Jim, &#8220;and
+they can certainly make the ball scream when they
+hit it. They&#8217;re a nifty lot of fielders, too. I
+guess we&#8217;ll have our work cut out for us, all
+right.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Both Mac and Brennan have got the right
+idea,&#8221; said Hughson. &#8220;Too many of these barnstorming
+trips have been made up of second
+string men, and when people came to see the
+teams play and didn&#8217;t find the real stars in the
+line-up they naturally felt sore. But they&#8217;re going
+to get the simon-pure article this time and the
+games are to be for blood. Anyone that lays
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_72' name='page_72'></a>72</span>
+down on his job is going to get fired. It&#8217;ll be
+easy enough to pick up a good man to take his
+place.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the scheme?&#8221; asked Joe. &#8220;Are we
+two teams to play against each other all the
+time, or are we to take on some of the local
+nines?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think that&#8217;s been fully worked out
+yet,&#8221; replied Hughson. &#8220;I know we&#8217;re going to
+play the Denver nine and some of the crack California
+teams.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Easy meat,&#8221; commented Jim with a grin.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t you believe it,&#8221; rejoined Hughson.
+&#8220;Don&#8217;t you remember how the Waco team
+trimmed us last spring? Those fellows will play
+their heads off to beat us&mdash;and they&#8217;ll own the
+town if they succeed. They figure that they&#8217;ll
+catch us off our guard and get the Indian sign on
+us before we wake up.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes. But do you think they can get the Indian
+sign so easily?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, I don&#8217;t.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course, those minor teams will play their
+very best, because it would be a feather in their
+cap if they could take a game away from us.
+They&#8217;ll probably look around and pick up the very
+best players they can, even if they have to put up
+some money for the purpose. Just the same, we
+ought to be able to polish them off with these.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_73' name='page_73'></a>73</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, of course, we&#8217;ve got to expect to lose
+some games. It would be a remarkable thing to
+go around the world and win every game.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yet it might be done,&#8221; broke in Jim.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I suppose there&#8217;ll be quite a party going along
+with the teams, just for the sake of the trip,&#8221;
+observed Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve said it,&#8221; replied Hughson. &#8220;At least
+half of the men will have their wives along, and
+then there&#8217;s a whole bunch of fans who have been
+meaning to go round the world anyway who will
+think this a good chance to mix baseball and globe
+trotting. Altogether I shouldn&#8217;t wonder if there
+would be about a hundred in the party. Some
+of the fellows will have their sisters with them,
+and you boys had better look out or you&#8217;ll lose
+your hearts to them. But perhaps,&#8221; he added,
+as he saw a look of quick intelligence pass between
+the chums, &#8220;you&#8217;re already past praying
+for.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Neither one of them denied the soft impeachment.</p>
+<p>&#8220;By the way,&#8221; said Hughson, changing the subject,
+&#8220;while I think of it, Joe, I want to give you
+a tip to be on your guard against &#8216;Bugs&#8217; Hartley.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why, what&#8217;s he up to, now?&#8221; inquired Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; Hughson replied. &#8220;But I do
+know that he&#8217;s sore at you through and through.
+He&#8217;s got the idea in that twisted brain of his that
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_74' name='page_74'></a>74</span>
+you got him off the Giant team. I met him in
+the street the other day&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Half drunk, I suppose,&#8221; interjected Jim.</p>
+<p>&#8220;More than half,&#8221; replied Hughson. &#8220;He&#8217;s
+got to be a regular panhandler&mdash;struck me for a
+loan, and while I was getting it for him, he talked
+in a rambling way of how he was going to get
+even with you. Of course I shut him up, but I
+couldn&#8217;t talk him out of his fixed idea. He&#8217;ll do
+you a mischief if he ever gets the chance.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s tried it before,&#8221; said Joe. &#8220;He nearly
+knocked me out when he doped my coffee. Poor
+old &#8216;Bugs&#8217;&mdash;he&#8217;s his own worst enemy.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But he&#8217;s your enemy too,&#8221; persisted Hughson.
+&#8220;And don&#8217;t forget that a crazy man is a
+dangerous man.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Thanks for the tip,&#8221; replied Joe. &#8220;But
+&#8216;threatened men live long&#8217; and I guess I&#8217;m no
+exception to the rule!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='IX_THE_UNDER_DOG' id='IX_THE_UNDER_DOG'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_75' name='page_75'></a>75</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER IX</h2>
+<h3>THE UNDER DOG</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>&#8220;Talking of angels!&#8221; exclaimed Jim, giving
+Joe a sharp nudge in the ribs.</p>
+<p>Joe looked up quickly and saw Hartley coming
+down the corridor.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s &#8216;Bugs,&#8217; sure enough,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And, for
+a wonder, he&#8217;s walking straight.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Guess he&#8217;s on his good behavior,&#8221; remarked
+Hughson. &#8220;There&#8217;s a big meeting of the American
+League here just now, winding up the affairs
+of the league, now that the playing season is over.
+Maybe Hartley thinks he has a chance to catch
+on somewhere. Like everybody else that&#8217;s played
+in the big leagues, he hates to go back to the
+bushes. He&#8217;d be a find, too, if he&#8217;d only cut out
+the booze&mdash;there&#8217;s lots of good baseball in him
+yet.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s a natural player,&#8221; said Joe, generously.
+&#8220;And one of the best pitchers I ever saw. You
+know how Mac tried to hold on to him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think he has a Chinaman&#8217;s chance,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_76' name='page_76'></a>76</span>
+though, of staying in big league company,&#8221; observed
+Jim. &#8220;After the way he tried to give
+away our signals in that game at Boston, the
+Nationals wouldn&#8217;t touch him with a ten-foot
+pole, and I don&#8217;t think the American has any use
+for him either. You might forgive him for being
+a drunkard, but not for being a traitor.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Hartley had caught sight of the group, and at
+first seemed rather undecided whether to go on
+or stop. The bitter feeling he had for Joe, however,
+was too strong to resist, and he came over
+to where they were. He paid no attention to
+Jim, and gave a curt nod to Hughson and fixed a
+malignant stare on Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;All dolled up,&#8221; he said, with a sneer, as he
+noted the quiet but handsome suit that Joe was
+wearing. &#8220;I could have glad rags, too, if you
+hadn&#8217;t bilked me out of four thousand dollars.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Cut out that talk, Bugs,&#8221; said Joe, though not
+unkindly. &#8220;I never did you out of anything and
+you know it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, you did,&#8221; snarled Hartley. &#8220;You got
+me fired from the Giants and did me out of my
+share of the World&#8217;s Series money.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You did yourself out of it, Bugs,&#8221; said Joe,
+patiently. &#8220;I did my best to have Mac hold on
+to you. I never was anything but your friend.
+Do you remember how Jim and I put you to bed
+that night in St. Louis when you were drunk? We
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_77' name='page_77'></a>77</span>
+took you up the back way so Mac wouldn&#8217;t get
+next. Take a fool&#8217;s advice, Bugs&mdash;cut out the
+liquor and play the game.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t want any advice from you!&#8221; sneered
+Hartley. &#8220;And take it from me, I&#8217;ll get you
+yet.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Beat it, Bugs!&#8221; Jim broke in sternly, &#8220;while
+the going&#8217;s good. Roll your hoop now, or I&#8217;ll
+help you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Hartley hesitated a moment, but took Jim&#8217;s
+advice and with a muttered threat went on his
+way.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mad as a March hare,&#8221; murmured Jim, as
+they watched the retreating figure.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Do a man a favor and he&#8217;ll never forgive
+you,&#8221; quoted Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where did he get his grouch against you?&#8221;
+asked Hughson, curiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Search me,&#8221; replied Joe. &#8220;I think it dates
+from the time when he was batted out of the box
+and Mac sent me in to take his place. I won the
+game and Bugs has been sore at me ever since.
+He figured that I tried to show him up.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wonder how he got here?&#8221; mused Hughson.
+&#8220;The last time I saw him was in New York, and
+the money I lent him wasn&#8217;t enough to bring
+him on.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Perhaps Mac gave him transportation,&#8221; suggested
+Jim.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_78' name='page_78'></a>78</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Not on your life,&#8221; rejoined Hughson.
+&#8220;Mac&#8217;s got a heart as big as a house, but he
+hates a traitor. You see, though, Joe, I was
+right in giving you the tip. Keep your eyes open,
+old man.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Joe was about to make a laughing reply, but
+just at that moment Larry and Denton came
+along with broad smiles of welcome on their faces,
+and the unpleasant episode was forgotten.</p>
+<p>It was a jolly party that left Chicago the next
+morning for the trip around the world. The
+managers had chartered a special train which was
+made up wholly of Pullman sleepers, a dining
+car and a smoker.</p>
+<p>It was travel <i>de luxe</i>, and the sumptuous train
+was to be their home for the full month that would
+elapse before they reached the coast.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Rather soft, eh, for the poor baseball slaves,&#8221;
+grinned Jim, as he stretched out his long legs
+luxuriously and gazed out of the window at the
+flying telegraph poles.</p>
+<p>&#8220;This is the life,&#8221; chanted Larry Barrett.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Nothing to do till to-morrow,&#8221; chimed in
+Denton. &#8220;And not much even then.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t you boys go patting yourselves on the
+back,&#8221; smiled Robbie, looking more like a cherub
+than ever, as he stopped beside their seats on his
+way along the aisle. &#8220;These games, remember,
+are to be the real thing&mdash;there&#8217;s going to be no
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_79' name='page_79'></a>79</span>
+sloppy or careless work just because you&#8217;re not
+playing for the championship. They&#8217;re going to
+be fights from the time the gong rings till the last
+man is out in the ninth inning.&#8221;</p>
+<p>If Robbie wanted action, he got it, and the
+first games had a snap and vim about them that
+augured well for the success of the trip. It is
+true that the players had not the stimulus that
+comes from a fight for the pennant, but other motives
+were not lacking.</p>
+<p>There was one game which was a nip-and-tuck
+affair from start to finish. At the end of the
+fourth inning the score stood 1 to 1, and at the
+end of the sixth inning the score had advanced so
+that it stood 2 to 2.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Say, we don&#8217;t seem to be getting anywhere in
+this game,&#8221; remarked Jim to Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, well, we&#8217;ve got three more innings to
+play,&#8221; was the answer.</p>
+<p>In the seventh inning a most remarkable happening
+occurred. The All-Americans had three
+men on bases with nobody out. It looked as if
+they might score, but Joe took a sudden brace and
+pitched the next man at the bat out in one-two-three
+order.</p>
+<p>The next man up knocked a pop fly, which Joe
+gathered in with ease.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s the way to do it, Joe!&#8221; sang out one of
+his companions. &#8220;Now go for the third man!&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_80' name='page_80'></a>80</span></p>
+<p>The third fellow to the bat was a notable hitter,
+and nearly every one thought he would lace out
+at least a two-bagger, bringing in probably three
+runs. Instead, however, he knocked two fouls,
+and then sent a liner down to first base, which the
+baseman caught with ease; and that ended the
+chance for scoring.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s pulling it out of the fire!&#8221; cried McRae.
+The showing had been a good one, but what
+made the inning so remarkable was the fact that
+in one-two-three order the Giants got the bases
+filled exactly as they had been filled before. Then,
+more amazing still, the next man was pitched out,
+the second man knocked a pop fly to the pitcher,
+and it was Joe himself, coming to the bat, hit out a
+liner to third base, which was gathered in by the
+baseman, thus ending the Giants hope of scoring.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, what do you know about that!&#8221; cried
+Brennan. &#8220;The inning on each side was exactly
+alike, with the exception that our third man out
+flied to first base, while your man flied to third.&#8221;</p>
+<p>But that ended the similarity both in batting and
+in scoring, for in the eighth inning the Giants
+added another run to their score, and held this
+lead to the end, even though the All-Americans
+fought desperately in the effort to tie the score.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, we had to win,&#8221; said one of the Giants.
+&#8220;Too many of our folks looking at us to lose.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Many members of the teams had their wives
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_81' name='page_81'></a>81</span>
+or sisters with them, and defeat would have been
+galling under the eyes of the fair spectators.</p>
+<p>Then, too, the Giants had their reputation to
+sustain as the Champions of the World. On the
+other hand, the All-Americans were anxious to
+show that even though they had not been in the
+World&#8217;s Series, they ought to have been&mdash;and
+it was a keen delight to them to make their adversaries
+bite the dust.</p>
+<p>Add to this the fact that there was a strong
+spirit of rivalry, good-natured but intense, between
+the scrappy McRae and the equally pugnacious
+Brennan, whose team had been nosed out
+by the Giants in that last desperate race down the
+stretch for the pennant, and it is no wonder that
+the crowds kept getting larger in every city they
+played, that the gate receipts made the managers
+chuckle, that the great city papers gave extended
+reports of the games and that the baseball trip
+around the world began to engross the attention
+of every lover of sports in the country.</p>
+<p>Joe had never been in finer fettle. His fast
+balls went over the plate like bullets from a gatling
+gun. His fadeaway was working to a charm.
+He wound the ball near the batters&#8217; necks and
+curved it out of reach of their bats with an ease
+and precision that explained to the applauding
+crowds why he was rated as the foremost pitcher
+of the day.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_82' name='page_82'></a>82</span></p>
+<p>Jim, too, showed the effect of his season&#8217;s work
+and Joe&#8217;s helpful coaching, and between the two
+they accounted for three of the games won by the
+Giants before they reached Colorado. Two
+other games had gone to the All-Americans in
+slap-dash, ding-dong finishes, and it was an even
+thing as to which team would have the most
+games to its credit by the time they had reached
+the Pacific coast.</p>
+<p>The tension was relaxed somewhat when they
+reached Denver, where, for the first time, instead
+of fighting it out between themselves a team picked
+from both nines was to play the local club.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Here&#8217;s where we get a rest,&#8221; sighed Mylert,
+the burly catcher of the Giant team.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It will be no trick at all to wipe up the earth
+with these bushers,&#8221; laughed Larry Barrett.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What we&#8217;ll do to them will be a sin and a
+shame,&#8221; agreed &#8220;Red&#8221; Curry, he of the flaming
+mop, who was accustomed to play the &#8220;sun field&#8221;
+at the Polo Grounds.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s almost a crime to show them up before
+their home crowd,&#8221; chimed in Iredell, the Giant
+shortstop.</p>
+<p>But if the local club was in for a beating, they
+showed no special trepidation as they came out
+on the field for practice. If the haughty major
+leaguers had expected their humble adversaries
+to roll over and play dead in advance of the game
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_83' name='page_83'></a>83</span>
+itself, they were certainly doomed to disappointment.</p>
+<p>The home team went through its preliminary
+work in a snappy, finished way that brought frequent
+applause from the crowds that thronged the
+stand.</p>
+<p>Before the game, Brennan, of the Chicagos,
+sauntered over to Thorpe, the local manager,
+who chanced to be an old acquaintance.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Got a dandy crowd here to-day, Bill,&#8221; he said.
+&#8220;We ought to give them a run for their money.
+Suppose I lend you one of our star pitchers, just
+to make things more interesting.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Thank you, Roger,&#8221; Thorpe replied, with a
+slow smile, &#8220;but I think we&#8217;re going to make it
+interesting for you fellows, anyway.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Quit your kidding,&#8221; grinned Brennan, with a
+facetious poke in the ribs, and strolled back to
+the bench.</p>
+<p>The gong rang, the field cleared, and the visiting
+team came to the bat. Larry, who had finished
+the season in a blaze of glory as the leading
+batsman of the National League came up to the
+plate, swinging three bats. He threw away two
+of them, tapped his heels for luck and grinned
+complacently at the Denver pitcher.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Trot out the best you&#8217;ve got, kid,&#8221; he called,
+&#8220;and if you can put it over the plate I&#8217;ll murder
+it.&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='X_BY_A_HAIR' id='X_BY_A_HAIR'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_84' name='page_84'></a>84</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER X</h2>
+<h3>BY A HAIR</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>The pitcher, a dark-skinned, rangy fellow,
+wound up deliberately and shot the ball over. It
+split the plate clean. Larry swung at it&mdash;and
+missed it by two inches.</p>
+<p>He looked mildly surprised, but set it down to
+the luck of the game and squared himself for a
+second attempt. This time he figured on a curve,
+but the boxman out-guessed him with a slow one
+that floated up to the plate as big as a balloon.</p>
+<p>Larry almost broke his back in reaching for it,
+but again fanned the air. The visiting players,
+who had looked on rather languidly, straightened
+up on the bench.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Some class to that pitcher,&#8221; ejaculated Willis.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It isn&#8217;t often that a bush leaguer makes a
+monkey out of Larry,&#8221; replied Burkett.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve seen these minor league pitchers before,&#8221;
+grinned &#8220;Red&#8221; Curry. &#8220;They start off like a
+house afire, but about the fifth inning they begin
+to crumple up.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_85' name='page_85'></a>85</span></p>
+<p>The third ball pitched was a wide outcurve at
+which Larry refused to bite. He fouled off the
+next two and then swung savagely at a wicked
+drop that got away from him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re out,&#8221; called the umpire as the ball
+thudded into the catcher&#8217;s mitt, and Larry came
+back a little sheepishly to his grinning comrades
+on the bench.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the matter, Larry?&#8221; queried Iredell,
+as he moved up to make room for him. &#8220;Off your
+feed to-day?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ll find out what the matter is when you
+face that bird,&#8221; snorted Larry. &#8220;He&#8217;s the real
+goods, and don&#8217;t you forget it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Denton, the second man in the batting order,
+took a ball and a strike, and then dribbled an
+easy roller to the box, which the swarthy pitcher
+had no trouble in getting to first on time.</p>
+<p>Burkett, who followed, had better luck and sent
+a clean single between first and second. A shout
+went up from the Giant bench, which became a
+groan a moment later, when a snap throw by
+the pitcher nailed Burkett three feet off the
+bag.</p>
+<p>The half inning had been smartly played and
+the Giants took the field with a slightly greater
+respect for their opponents.</p>
+<p>Joe had pitched the day before, and it was up
+to Fraser to take his turn in the box. He walked
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_86' name='page_86'></a>86</span>
+out to his position with easy confidence. He was
+one of the best pitchers in either league, and it
+was he who had faced Joe in that last battle
+royal of the World&#8217;s Series and had gone down
+defeated, but not disgraced.</p>
+<p>But to-day from the start, it was evident that
+he was not himself. His speed was there and
+the curves, but control was lacking.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Wild as a hawk,&#8221; muttered McRae, as the
+first Denver man trotted down to base on balls.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can&#8217;t seem to locate the plate at all,&#8221; grunted
+Robbie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;ll pull himself together all right,&#8221; remarked
+Brennan, hopefully.</p>
+<p>But the prophecy proved false, and the next
+two men up waited him out and were also rewarded
+with passes. The bases were full without
+a hit having been made, and the crowds in
+the stand were roaring like mad.</p>
+<p>Brennan from the coaching lines at first waved
+to Fraser and the latter, drawing off his glove,
+walked disgustedly to the bench.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the matter with you to-day?&#8221; queried
+McRae. &#8220;You seemed to think the plate was up
+in the grandstand.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Couldn&#8217;t get the hang of it, somehow,&#8221;
+Fraser excused himself. &#8220;Just my off day, I
+guess.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Hamilton succeeded him in the box, and from
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_87' name='page_87'></a>87</span>
+the way he started out it seemed as though he
+were going to redeem the poor work of his predecessor.
+He struck out the first man on three
+pitched balls, made the second send up a towering
+foul that Mylert caught after a long run, and
+the major leaguers began to breathe more
+freely.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Guess he&#8217;ll pull out of the hole all right,&#8221; remarked
+Robbie.</p>
+<p>But for the next batter, Hamilton, grown perhaps
+a trifle too confident, put one over in the
+groove, and the batter banged out a tremendous
+three-bagger to right field. Curry made a gallant
+try for it but could not quite reach.</p>
+<p>Three runs came over the plate, while the
+panting batsman slid to third. The crowd in the
+stands went wild then, and Thorpe, the manager
+of the local team, grinned in a mocking way at
+Brennan.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Is this interesting enough?&#8221; he drawled, referring
+to Brennan&#8217;s patronizing offer to lend
+him a player.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just a bit of luck,&#8221; growled Brennan. &#8220;A
+few inches more and Curry would have got his
+hooks on the ball. Beside, the game&#8217;s young yet.
+We&#8217;ve got the class and that&#8217;s bound to tell.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Hamilton, whose blood was up, put on more
+steam, and the third player went out on an infield
+fly. But the damage had been done, and those
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_88' name='page_88'></a>88</span>
+three runs at the very start loomed up as a serious
+handicap.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Three big juicy ones,&#8221; mourned McRae.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And all of them on passes,&#8221; groaned Robbie.
+&#8220;Too bad we didn&#8217;t put Hamilton in right at the
+start.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Neither team scored in the second inning, and
+the third also passed without result.</p>
+<p>Hamilton was mowing down the opposing
+batters with ease and grace. But the swarthy
+flinger for the local club was not a bit behind
+him. The heavy sluggers of the visiting teams
+seemed as helpless before him as so many school-boys.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That fellow won&#8217;t be in the minors long,&#8221;
+commented Brennan. &#8220;I wonder some of my
+scouts haven&#8217;t gone after him before this. Who
+is he, anyway?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll tell you who he is,&#8221; broke in Robbie, suddenly.
+&#8220;I knew I&#8217;d seen him before somewhere,
+and I&#8217;ve been puzzling all this time to place him.
+Now I&#8217;ve tumbled. It&#8217;s Alvarez, the crack pitcher
+of Cuba.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Do you mean the fellow that stood the Athletics
+on their heads when they made that winter
+trip to Cuba a couple of years ago?&#8221; asked
+McRae.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The same one,&#8221; affirmed Robbie. &#8220;I happened
+to be there at one of the games, and he
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_89' name='page_89'></a>89</span>
+showed them up&mdash;hundred thousand dollar infield
+and all. Connie was fairly dancing as he
+saw his pets slaughtered. I tell you, that fellow&#8217;s
+a wonder&mdash;he&#8217;d have been in a major league long
+ago if it hadn&#8217;t been for his color. He may be
+only a Cuban, and he says he is, but he&#8217;s so dark-skinned
+that there&#8217;d be some prejudice against
+him and that&#8217;s barred him out.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s what made Thorpe so confident,&#8221;
+growled Brennan. &#8220;He&#8217;s worked in a &#8216;ringer&#8217; on
+us. We ought to make a kick.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That would put us in a nice light, wouldn&#8217;t
+it?&#8221; replied McRae, stormily. &#8220;We&#8217;d like to see
+it in the papers, that the major leagues played the
+baby act because they couldn&#8217;t bat a bush pitcher.
+Not on your life! Thorpe would be tickled to
+death to have us make a squeal. We&#8217;ll simply
+have to lick him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>But if the promised licking was yet to come,
+it was not in evidence in the next two innings.
+Alvarez seemed as fresh as at the beginning, and
+his arm worked with the force and precision of a
+piston rod.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the matter with you fellows, anyway?&#8221;
+raged McRae, when the end of the fifth
+inning saw the score remain unchanged. &#8220;You
+ought to be in the old ladies&#8217; home. It&#8217;s a joke
+to call you ball players.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It must be this Denver air,&#8221; ventured Willis.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_90' name='page_90'></a>90</span>
+&#8220;It&#8217;s so high up here that a fellow finds it hard to
+breathe. These Denver boobs are used to it and
+we&#8217;re not.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Air! air!&#8221; snapped McRae. &#8220;I notice you&#8217;ve
+got plenty of hot air. Go in and play the game,
+you bunch of false alarms.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Whether it was owing to his rasping tongue or
+their own growing resentment at the impudence
+of the minor leaguers, the All-Americans broke
+the ice in the sixth.</p>
+<p>Burkett lined out a beauty between left and
+center that was good for two bases. Willis followed
+with a towering sky scraper to right, which,
+although it was caught after a long run, enabled
+Burkett to get to third before the ball was returned.
+Then Becker who had perished twice before
+on feeble taps to the infield, whaled out a
+home run to the intense jubilation of his mates.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve got his number!&#8221; yelled Larry, doing
+a jig on the coaching lines.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s going up,&#8221; sang out &#8220;Red&#8221; Curry.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I knew he couldn&#8217;t last,&#8221; taunted Iredell, as
+he threw his cap in the air.</p>
+<p>But Alvarez was not through, by any means.
+Undaunted by that tremendous home run which
+might have taken the heart out of any pitcher,
+he braced himself, and the next two men went
+out on fouls.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I thought we had them on the run that time,&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_91' name='page_91'></a>91</span>
+observed McRae, &#8220;but he&#8217;s got the old comeback
+right with him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Never mind,&#8221; exulted Robbie. &#8220;We&#8217;re beginning
+to find him now, and we&#8217;ve cut down that
+big lead of theirs to one run. The boys will get
+after him the next inning.&#8221;</p>
+<p>But even the lucky seventh passed without
+bringing any luck to the visitors, and although the
+major leaguers got two men on bases in the
+eighth, the inning ended with the score still three
+to two in favor of the local club.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Looks as though we were up against it,&#8221; said
+Jim, anxiously, as the Giants went to bat for the
+last time.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It sure does,&#8221; responded Joe. &#8220;I&#8217;ll hate to
+look at the papers to-morrow morning. The
+whole country will have the laugh on us.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;The boys will want to keep away from McRae
+if they lose,&#8221; said Jim. &#8220;He&#8217;ll be as peeved as a
+bear with a sore head for the next three days or
+so.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now, Larry, show them where you live,&#8221;
+sang out Curry, as the head of the Giant batting
+order strode to the plate.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Kill it,&#8221; entreated Willis. &#8220;Hit it on the
+seam.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Send it a mile,&#8221; exhorted Becker.</p>
+<p>It was not a mile that Larry sent it, but it
+looked so to the left and center fielders who
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_92' name='page_92'></a>92</span>
+chased it as it went on a line between the two.
+A cleaner home run had probably never been
+knocked out on the Denver grounds.</p>
+<p>Larry came galloping in to be mauled and
+pounded by his exulting mates, while McRae
+brought down his hand on Robbie&#8217;s knee with a
+force that made that worthy wince.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That ties it up,&#8221; he cried. &#8220;Now, boys, for a
+whirlwind finish!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='XI_A_CLOSE_CALL' id='XI_A_CLOSE_CALL'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_93' name='page_93'></a>93</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER XI</h2>
+<h3>A CLOSE CALL</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>The crowds in the stand, which had been uproarious
+a few moments before, were quiet now.
+The lead which the local club had held throughout
+the game had vanished; the visitors had
+played an uphill game worthy of their reputation,
+and now they had at least an even chance.</p>
+<p>Denton came to the bat, eager to emulate
+Larry&#8217;s feat, but Alvarez was unsteady now&mdash;that
+last home run had taken something out of him.
+He found it hard to locate the plate, and Denton
+trotted down to first on balls.</p>
+<p>As no man was out and only one run was needed
+to gain the lead, a sacrifice was the proper play,
+and Burkett laid down a neat bunt in front of the
+plate that carried Denton to second, although the
+batter died at first.</p>
+<p>Alvarez purposely passed Willis on the chance
+of the next batter hitting into a double play,
+which would have retired the side. Becker made
+a mighty effort to bring his comrades in, but hit
+under the ball, and it went high in the air and
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_94' name='page_94'></a>94</span>
+was caught by Alvarez as it came down, without
+the pitcher moving from his tracks.</p>
+<p>With two out, there was no need of a double
+play and the infielders, who had been playing close
+in, resumed their usual positions. Iredell, the
+next man up caught the ball square on the end
+of his bat and sent it whistling between center
+and third. The shortstop leaped up and knocked
+the ball down, but it was going too fast for him
+to hold.</p>
+<p>Denton had left second at the crack of the bat,
+and by the time the infielder regained the ball had
+rounded third and was tearing like a racehorse
+toward the plate. There was little time to get
+set and the hurried throw home went over the
+catcher&#8217;s head. Denton slid feet first over the
+plate, scoring the run that put his team in the
+lead.</p>
+<p>Willis tried to make it good measure by coming
+close behind him, but by this time the catcher
+had recovered the ball and shot it back to Alvarez
+who was guarding the plate. He nipped Willis
+by three feet and the side was out.</p>
+<p>But that one run in the lead looked as big as a
+house at that stage in the game.</p>
+<p>&#8220;All you&#8217;ve got to do now, Hamilton, old man,
+is to hold them down in their half,&#8221; said Brennan.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Cinch,&#8221; grinned Hamilton. &#8220;I&#8217;ll have them
+eating out of my hand.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_95' name='page_95'></a>95</span></p>
+<p>But the uncertainty that makes the national
+game the most fascinating one in the world was
+demonstrated when the Denver team came in to
+do-or-die in their half of the ninth.</p>
+<p>Hamilton fed the first batter a snaky curve,
+which he lashed at savagely but vainly. The
+next was a slow one and resulted in a chop to the
+infield which Larry would have ordinarily gobbled
+up without trouble. But the ball took an ugly
+bound just as he was all set for it and went over
+his head toward right. Before Curry could get
+the ball the batter had reached second and the
+stands were once more in an uproar.</p>
+<p>The uproar increased when Hamilton, somewhat
+shaken by the incident, gave the next batter
+a base on balls, and the broad smiles which had
+suffused the faces of Robbie and McRae began
+to fade.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Is Hamilton going up, do you think?&#8221; asked
+the Giant manager, anxiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Looks something like it,&#8221; replied Robbie,
+&#8220;but he&#8217;ll probably brace. You see Denton&#8217;s
+talking to him now, to give him a chance to rest
+up a little.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The third baseman had strolled over to Hamilton
+on pretense of discussing some point of play,
+but the crowd saw through the subterfuge, and
+shouts of protest went up:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hire a hall!&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_96' name='page_96'></a>96</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Write him a letter!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Play ball!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Not a bit flustered by the shouts, Denton took
+his time, and after encouraging his team mate
+sauntered slowly back to his position.</p>
+<p>But Hamilton&#8217;s good right arm had lost its
+cunning. His first ball was wild, and the batter,
+seeing this, waited him out and was given a pass.
+His comrades moved up and the bags were full,
+with none out and the heaviest sluggers of the
+team coming to the bat.</p>
+<p>McRae and Brennan had been holding an earnest
+conference, and now on a signal from them
+Hamilton came in from the box.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s no use,&#8221; said McRae to Brennan, while
+the crowd howled in derision. &#8220;We&#8217;ll have to
+play our trump and put Matson in to hold them
+down.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But he hasn&#8217;t warmed up,&#8221; said Brennan dubiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That makes no difference,&#8221; replied McRae.
+&#8220;I&#8217;d rather put him in cold than anyone else
+warm.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;All right; do as you please,&#8221; responded the
+other manager.</p>
+<p>McRae called over to where Joe was sitting.
+The crack pitcher had been watching the progress
+of the game with keen interest, although making
+comparatively few comments. As McRae
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_97' name='page_97'></a>97</span>
+approached Joe, the crowd howled louder than ever
+at Hamilton.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why don&#8217;t you learn how to pitch?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Say, let us send one of the high-school boys
+into the box for you!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Too bad, old man, but I guess we&#8217;ve got your
+goat all right!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess you know what I want, Joe,&#8221; cried
+McRae. &#8220;I want you to get in the box for us.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;All right, Mac,&#8221; was the young pitcher&#8217;s answer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And, Joe,&#8221; went on the other earnestly, &#8220;try
+to think for the next five minutes that you&#8217;re pitching
+for the pennant.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll do anything you say,&#8221; was Joe&#8217;s reply; and
+then he drew on his glove and walked out upon the
+ball field.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hello! what do you know about that?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Matson is going to pitch for them!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess they&#8217;ve enough of that other dub!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, Hamilton isn&#8217;t a dub, by any means,&#8221; replied
+one of the spectators sharply. &#8220;He&#8217;s a good
+player, but a pitcher can&#8217;t always be at his
+best.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But just you wait and see how we do up Matson!&#8221;
+cried a local sympathizer.</p>
+<p>At a signal the next man to bat stepped away
+from the plate, and Joe had the privilege of warming
+up by sending three hot ones to the catcher.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_98' name='page_98'></a>98</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;ll put &#8217;em over all right enough!&#8221; cried
+one of his friends.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s what he will!&#8221; returned another.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not much! He&#8217;ll be snowed under!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;This is our winning day!&#8221;</p>
+<p>So the cries continued until the umpire held up
+his hand for silence.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s going to make an announcement!&#8221; cried
+a number of the spectators.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ladies and gentlemen,&#8221; roared the umpire, removing
+his cap, &#8220;Matson now pitching for the
+All-Americans.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A howl went up from the stands, made up in
+about equal parts of derision and applause. Derision
+because the All-American team must, they
+figured, be scared to death when they had to send
+their greatest player into the game. Whether they
+won or lost it was a great compliment to the
+Denver team. The applause came from the
+genuine sportsmen who knew the famous pitcher
+by reputation and welcomed the chance to see him
+in action.</p>
+<p>The three men on the bases were dancing about
+like dervishes in the hope of rattling the newcomer.
+They did not know Joe.</p>
+<p>Never cooler than when the strain was greatest
+and the need most urgent, Joe bent down to pick
+up the ball. As he did so, he touched it, apparently
+accidentally, against his right heel.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_99' name='page_99'></a>99</span></p>
+<p>It was a signal meant for Denton, the third
+baseman, who was watching him like a hawk.</p>
+<p>Joe took up his position in the box, took a
+grip on the ball, but instead of delivering it to the
+batter turned suddenly on his left heel, as though
+to snap it down to first. The Denver player at
+that bag, who had taken a lead of several feet,
+made a frantic slide back to safety.</p>
+<p>But the ball never got to first, for Joe had
+swung himself all the way round and shot the
+ball like a bullet to Denton at third. The local
+player at third had been watching eagerly the
+outcome of the supposed throw to first and was
+caught completely unawares.</p>
+<p>Down came Denton&#8217;s hand, clapping the ball
+on his back, while the victim stood dazed as
+though in a trance.</p>
+<p>It was the prettiest kind of &#8220;inside work,&#8221; and
+even the home crowd went into convulsions of
+laughter as the trapped player came sheepishly
+in from third to the bench.</p>
+<p>McRae was beaming, and Robbie&#8217;s rubicund
+face became several degrees redder under the
+strain of his emotion.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Say, is that boy class, John?&#8221; Robbie gurgled,
+as soon as he could speak.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Never saw a niftier thing on the ball field,&#8221;
+responded McRae warmly. &#8220;When that boy
+thinks, he runs rings around lightning.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_100' name='page_100'></a>100</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;And he&#8217;s thinking all the time,&#8221; chimed in
+Jim.</p>
+<p>But the peril was not yet over. The man at
+the most dangerous corner had been disposed of,
+yet there was still a man on first and another on
+second. A safe hit would tie the game at least,
+and possibly win it.</p>
+<p>Joe wound up deliberately and shot a high fast
+one over the plate. It came so swiftly that the
+batter did not offer at it, and looked aggrieved
+when the umpire called it a strike.</p>
+<p>The next was a crafty outcurve which went as
+a ball. The batsman fouled off the next.</p>
+<p>With two strikes on and only one ball called,
+Joe was on &#8220;easy street&#8221; and could afford to
+&#8220;waste a few.&#8221; Twice in succession he tempted
+the batsman with balls that were wide of the
+plate, but the batter was wary and refused
+them.</p>
+<p>Now the count was &#8220;two and three,&#8221; and the
+crowd broke into a roar.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Good eye, old man!&#8221; they shouted to the
+batter.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve got him in a hole!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It only takes one to do it!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s got to put it over!&#8221;</p>
+<p>With all the force of his sinewy arm, Joe
+&#8220;put it over.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The batsman made a wicked drive at it and
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_101' name='page_101'></a>101</span>
+sent it hurtling to the box about two feet over
+Joe&#8217;s head.</p>
+<p>Joe saw it coming, leaped into the air and
+speared it with his gloved hand. The men on
+bases had started to run, thinking it a sure hit.
+Joe wheeled and sent the ball down to Burkett
+at first.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Look at that!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Some speed, eh?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I should say so.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Matson has got them going!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The man who had left the bag strove desperately
+to get back, but he was too late. That
+rattling double play had ended the game with the
+All-American team a victor by a score of four to
+three.</p>
+<p>Joe&#8217;s fingers tingled as he pulled off the glove,
+for that terrific drive had stung. The crowd had
+been stunned for a moment by the suddenness
+with which the game and their hopes of victory
+had gone glimmering. But it had been a remarkable
+play and the first silence was followed by a
+round of sportsmanlike applause&mdash;though of
+course it was nothing to what would have greeted
+the victory of the home team.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Fine work, Matson!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Best I ever saw!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re the boy to do it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Best pitcher in the world!&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_102' name='page_102'></a>102</span></p>
+<p>Joe found himself the center of a joyous crowd
+when he reached his own bench. All were jubilant
+that they had escaped the humiliation of being
+whipped by a minor league team.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve brought home the bacon, Joe!&#8221; chortled
+McRae.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We all did,&#8221; replied Joe. &#8220;But we almost
+dropped it on the way!&#8221; he added, with a grin.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='XII_A_DASTARDLY_ATTACK' id='XII_A_DASTARDLY_ATTACK'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_103' name='page_103'></a>103</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER XII</h2>
+<h3>A DASTARDLY ATTACK</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>The tourists&#8217; train was scheduled to leave Denver
+at eleven-thirty that night, so that there was
+ample time after the game for a leisurely meal
+and a few hours for recreation for any of the
+party that felt so inclined.</p>
+<p>Some went to the theater, others played cards,
+while others sat about the lobby of the leading
+hotel and discussed the exciting events of the
+afternoon&#8217;s game.</p>
+<p>As for Joe and Jim, their recreation took the
+form of long letters to two charming young ladies
+whose address, by coincidence, happened to be
+Riverside. Both seemed to have much to write
+about, for it was nearly ten o&#8217;clock before the
+bulky letters were ready for mailing.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Give them to me and I&#8217;ll take them down to
+the hotel lobby and mail them,&#8221; said Jim, as they
+rose from the writing table.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; replied Joe, as he looked at
+his watch. &#8220;Perhaps the last collection for the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_104' name='page_104'></a>104</span>
+outgoing eastbound mail has already been made.
+What do you say to going down to the post-office
+itself and dropping them in there? Then they&#8217;ll
+be sure to go.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;All right,&#8221; Jim acquiesced. &#8220;It&#8217;s a dandy
+night anyway for a walk and I&#8217;d like to stretch
+my legs a little. Come along.&#8221;</p>
+<p>They went out into the brilliantly lighted
+streets, which at that hour were still full of people,
+and turned toward the post-office which was
+about half a mile distant.</p>
+<p>As they were passing a corner, Jim suddenly
+clutched Joe&#8217;s arm.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did you see that fellow who went into that
+saloon just now?&#8221; he asked, indicating a rather
+pretentious café.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; said Joe, dryly. &#8220;But it isn&#8217;t such an
+unusual thing that I&#8217;d pay a nickel to see it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Quit your fooling,&#8221; said Jim. &#8220;If that fellow
+wasn&#8217;t Bugs Hartley, then my eyes are going back
+on me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re dreaming,&#8221; Joe retorted. &#8220;What in
+the world would Bugs be doing in Denver?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Panhandling, maybe,&#8221; returned Jim. &#8220;Drinking,
+certainly. But it isn&#8217;t what he&#8217;s doing that
+interests me. It&#8217;s the fact that he&#8217;s here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s take a look,&#8221; suggested Joe, impressed
+by his friend&#8217;s earnestness.</p>
+<p>They went up to the swinging door, pushed it
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_105' name='page_105'></a>105</span>
+open and looked in. There were perhaps a dozen
+men in the place, but Hartley was not among
+them.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Barking up the wrong tree, Jim,&#8221; chaffed Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Maybe,&#8221; agreed Jim a little perplexed, &#8220;but
+if it wasn&#8217;t Bugs it was his double.&#8221;</p>
+<p>They reached the post-office and after mailing
+their letters turned back towards the hotel.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s taken us a little longer than I thought,&#8221;
+remarked Jim, looking at his watch. &#8220;We won&#8217;t
+have any more than time to get our traps together
+and get down to the train.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;This looks like a short cut,&#8221; said Joe, indicating
+a side street which though rather dark and
+deserted cut into the main thoroughfare, as they
+could see by the bright lights at the further end.
+&#8220;We&#8217;ll save something by going this way.&#8221;</p>
+<p>They had gone perhaps a couple of blocks when
+they reached a part of the street which had no
+dwelling houses on it. On one side was a factory,
+dark and forbidding, and on the side where the
+young men were walking was a high board fence
+enclosing a coal yard.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Wait a minute, Jim,&#8221; said Joe. &#8220;It feels as
+though my shoe lace had come untied.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He stooped down to fasten the lace, and just
+as he did so, a jagged piece of rock came whizzing
+past where his head had been a second before
+and crashed against the fence.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_106' name='page_106'></a>106</span></p>
+<p>Joe straightened up with a jerk.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who threw that?&#8221; he exclaimed.</p>
+<p>Jim&#8217;s face was white at the peril his friend
+had so narrowly escaped.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Somebody who knew how to throw,&#8221; he cried,
+&#8220;and I can make a guess at who it was. There
+he is now!&#8221; he shouted, as he caught sight of a
+dim figure slinking away in the darkness on the
+further side of the factory.</p>
+<p>They darted across the street in pursuit, but
+when they turned the corner there was no one
+to be seen. Several alleys branched off from the
+street, up any one of which the fugitive might
+have made his escape. Although they tried them
+one after the other they could find no trace of the
+rascal.</p>
+<p>Baffled and chagrined, they made their way
+back to the scene of the attack. Joe picked up the
+piece of rock and weighed it in his hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;About half a pound,&#8221; he judged. &#8220;And look
+at those rough edges! It would have been all
+up with me, if it had landed.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Do you notice that that&#8217;s about the weight of
+a baseball?&#8221; asked Jim significantly. &#8220;And it
+went for your head as straight as a bullet. It
+would have caught you square if you hadn&#8217;t
+stooped just as you did. You can thank your
+lucky stars that your shoelace came untied. That
+fellow knew just how to throw, as I said before.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_107' name='page_107'></a>107</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t mean,&#8221; replied Joe, &#8220;that
+Bugs&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just that,&#8221; affirmed Jim grimly. &#8220;Now maybe
+you&#8217;ll believe me when I say that I saw him to-night.
+That skunk thought that I had seen him,
+and slipped into the saloon to get out of sight.
+Probably he went out through a rear door and
+has been following us ever since.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But why&mdash;&mdash;&#8221; began Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why?&#8221; repeated Jim. &#8220;Why does a crazy man
+do crazy things? Just because he is crazy. He
+doesn&#8217;t have to have a reason. If he thinks you&#8217;ve
+injured him he&#8217;s just as bitter as though you really
+had. Hughson&#8217;s tip was a good one, Joe. The
+fellow&#8217;s deadly dangerous. It&#8217;s only luck that
+he isn&#8217;t a murderer this minute.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s good for him I didn&#8217;t lay my hands on
+him,&#8221; replied Joe. &#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t have hit him, because
+I don&#8217;t think he&#8217;s responsible for what he
+does. But I&#8217;d have had him put where he couldn&#8217;t
+do any more mischief for a while.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It gives me the creeps to think of what a close
+call that was,&#8221; said Jim, as they walked along.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t say anything about it to the boys,&#8221;
+cautioned Joe. &#8220;The thing would get out, and
+before we knew it the folks at home would have
+heard of it. And they wouldn&#8217;t have an easy
+minute for all the rest of the trip.&#8221;</p>
+<p>They made quick time to the hotel, and as
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_108' name='page_108'></a>108</span>
+most of their luggage had remained on the train,
+they had only to gather a few things together in a
+small hand bag and start out for the station.</p>
+<p>Their special train had been standing on a side
+track a few hundred yards east of the main platform.
+They were picking their way toward it
+across a network of tracks, when, just as they
+rounded the corner of a freight car, they came
+face to face with Hartley.</p>
+<p>They almost dropped their handbags at the
+unexpectedness of the meeting. But if they were
+startled, Bugs was frightened and turned on his
+heel to run. In an instant Joe had him by the
+collar in a grip of iron, while Jim stood on the
+alert to stop him should he break away.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let me go!&#8221; cried Hartley in stifled tones,
+for Joe&#8217;s grip was almost choking him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not until you tell me why you tried to murder
+me to-night,&#8221; said Joe, grimly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know what you&#8217;re talking about,&#8221;
+snarled Bugs, trying to wrench himself loose from
+Joe&#8217;s hold on his collar.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You know well enough,&#8221; replied his captor.
+&#8220;Own up.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You might as well, Bugs,&#8221; put in Jim. &#8220;We&#8217;ve
+got the goods on you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You fellows are crazy,&#8221; replied Bugs. &#8220;I&#8217;ve
+never laid eyes on you since I saw you in Chicago.
+And you can&#8217;t prove that I did either.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_109' name='page_109'></a>109</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re the only enemy I have in the world,&#8221;
+declared Joe. &#8220;And the man who threw that rock
+at me to-night was a practiced thrower. Besides,
+you&#8217;re all in a sweat&mdash;that&#8217;s from running away
+when we chased you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Swell proof that is,&#8221; sneered Hartley. &#8220;Tell
+that to a judge and see what good it will do
+you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The point was well taken, and Joe and Jim
+knew in their hearts that they had no legal proof,
+although they were morally certain Bugs was
+guilty. Besides, they had no time to have him
+arrested, for their train was scheduled to start in
+ten minutes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now listen, Bugs,&#8221; said Joe, at the same time
+shaking him so that his teeth rattled. &#8220;I know
+perfectly well that you&#8217;re lying, and I&#8217;m giving
+you warning for the last time. You&#8217;ve had it in
+for me from the time you doped my coffee and
+nearly put me out of the game altogether. Ever
+since that you&#8217;ve bothered me, and to-night you&#8217;ve
+tried to kill me. I tell you straight, I&#8217;ve had
+enough of it. If I didn&#8217;t think that your brain
+was twisted, I&#8217;d thrash you now within an inch
+of your life. But I&#8217;m telling you now, and you
+let it sink in, that the next time you try to do me,
+I&#8217;m going to put you where the dogs won&#8217;t bite
+you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He dug his knuckles into Bugs&#8217; neck and gave
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_110' name='page_110'></a>110</span>
+him a fling that sent him several yards away. The
+fellow kept his feet with an effort, and then with
+a muttered threat slunk away into the darkness.</p>
+<p>They watched him for a minute, and then
+picked up their handbags and started toward the
+train.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hope that&#8217;s the last we see of him,&#8221; remarked
+Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So do I,&#8221; Jim replied. &#8220;But we felt that way
+before and he&#8217;s turned up just the same. I won&#8217;t
+feel easy till I know that he&#8217;s behind the bars.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s usually in front of the bars,&#8221; joked Joe.
+&#8220;But I&#8217;m glad anyway that we had a chance to
+throw a scare into him. He knows now that we&#8217;ll
+be on our guard and perhaps even he will have
+sense enough to let us alone.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jim consulted his watch.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Great Scott!&#8221; he ejaculated.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the matter, Jim?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;We haven&#8217;t any time to spare if we want to
+catch that train.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;All right, let&#8217;s run for it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>As best they could, they began sprinting in the
+direction of the railroad station, but their handbags
+were somewhat heavy, and this impeded their
+progress. Then, turning a corner, they suddenly
+found themselves confronted by a long
+sewer trench, lit up here and there by red lanterns.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_111' name='page_111'></a>111</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve got to get over that trench somehow!&#8221;
+cried Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can you jump it?&#8221; questioned Jim anxiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to try,&#8221; returned the crack pitcher.</p>
+<p>He threw his handbag to the other side of the
+sewer trench, and then, backing up a few steps,
+ran forward and took the leap in good shape. His
+chum followed him, but Jim might have slipped
+back into the sewer trench had not Joe been watching,
+and grabbed him by one hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Gosh, that was a close shave!&#8221; panted Jim,
+when he felt himself safe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t waste time thinking about it. We have
+still a couple of blocks to go,&#8221; Joe returned, and
+set off once more on the run, with Jim at his heels.</p>
+<p>Soon they rounded another corner, and came in
+sight of the railroad station. There stood their
+train, and the conductor was signaling to start.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Wait! Wait!&#8221; yelled Joe. But in the general
+confusion around the railroad station nobody
+seemed to notice him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve got to make that train&mdash;we&#8217;ve just got
+to!&#8221; cried Joe, and dashed forward faster than
+ever, with Jim beside him.</p>
+<p>They scrambled up the steps just as a warning
+whistle sounded; and a few moments later the
+train drew out on its climb over the Rockies.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='XIII_DANGER_SIGNALS' id='XIII_DANGER_SIGNALS'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_112' name='page_112'></a>112</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER XIII</h2>
+<h3>DANGER SIGNALS</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>The travelers were now in the most picturesque
+part of their journey, and the magnificent views
+that spread before them as they topped the ridges
+of the continent and dropped down on the other
+side into the land of flowers and eternal summer
+were a source of unending interest and pleasure.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll tell you what, Joe,&#8221; remarked Jim: &#8220;I
+never had an idea that this section of our country
+was so truly grand.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It certainly is magnificent scenery,&#8221; was Joe&#8217;s
+answer. &#8220;Just look at those mountain tops, will
+you? Some height there, believe me!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes. And just see the depth of some of those
+canyons, will you? Say! if a fellow ever fell over
+into one of those, he&#8217;d never know what happened
+to him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been watching this particular bit of scenery
+for some time,&#8221; remarked Joe. &#8220;It somehow
+had a familiar look to it, and now I know why.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And why is it, Joe?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_113' name='page_113'></a>113</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll tell you. Some time ago I saw a moving
+picture with the scene laid in the Rocky Mountains,
+and, unless I&#8217;m greatly mistaken, some of
+the scenes were taken right in this locality.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Was that a photo-play called &#8216;The Girl From
+Mountain Pass?&#8217;&#8221; questioned another player who
+was present.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It was.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then you&#8217;re right, Matson; because I was
+speaking about that film to the conductor of this
+train, and he said that some of the pictures were
+taken right around here. His train was used in one
+of the scenes.&#8221;</p>
+<p>This matter was talked over for several minutes,
+but then the conversation changed; and, presently,
+the chums went off to talk about other matters.</p>
+<p>Joe and Jim were lounging in the rear of the
+observation car, talking over the stirring events
+of the night before, when McRae happened along
+and dropped into a seat beside them.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Some game that was yesterday, boys,&#8221; he remarked
+genially. &#8220;Those Denver fellows were
+curly bears, but we trimmed them just the same.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; grinned Jim. &#8220;But we weren&#8217;t comfortable
+while we were doing it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;They sure did worry us,&#8221; acquiesced Joe.
+&#8220;They made us know at least that we&#8217;d been in a
+fight.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_114' name='page_114'></a>114</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;It was that ninth-inning work of yours that
+pulled us through, Joe,&#8221; declared McRae. &#8220;That
+stunt you pulled of whirling on your heel and
+shooting it over to third was a pretty bit of inside
+stuff. And there wasn&#8217;t anything slow either
+about spearing that ball that Thompson hit.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d have let the fielders take care of that,&#8221; admitted
+Joe, &#8220;if there hadn&#8217;t been so much at stake.
+My hand stung for an hour afterward. But I&#8217;d
+have hated to let those fellows crow over us.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That fellow, Alvarez, that Thorpe rang in on
+us was a sure-enough pitcher,&#8221; observed McRae.
+&#8220;I&#8217;d sign him up in a minute if it weren&#8217;t for that
+dark skin of his. But it wouldn&#8217;t work. We had
+a second baseman like that one time, and although
+he was a rattling good player it nearly broke up
+the team. It&#8217;s too bad that color should stand
+in the way of a man&#8217;s advancement, but it can&#8217;t
+be helped.</p>
+<p>&#8220;By the way,&#8221; he continued, drawing a paper
+from his pocket, &#8220;here&#8217;s something that may interest
+you. It&#8217;s the official record of the National
+League of the pitching averages for this season.
+It made me feel good when I read it and you&#8217;ll
+see the reason why.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He handed them the paper, which they opened
+eagerly to the sporting page.</p>
+<p>Joe&#8217;s heart felt a thrill of satisfaction as he saw
+that his name stood at the head of the list, and
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_115' name='page_115'></a>115</span>
+Jim, too, was elated, as he noted that although
+this was his first year in a major league his name
+was among the first fifteen&mdash;a rare distinction for
+a &#8220;rookie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Some class to the Giants, eh?&#8221; grinned
+McRae. &#8220;There&#8217;s sixty names in that list and
+no single team has as many in the first twelve as
+we have. That average of yours, Joe, of 1.53
+earned runs per game is a hummer. Hughson is
+close on your heels with 1.56. The Rube, you
+see, is eighth in the list with 1.95, and Jim&#8217;s
+eleventh with 2.09. I tell you, boys, that&#8217;s class,
+and to cap it all we won the pennant.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Two pennants, you mean,&#8221; corrected Jim with
+a smile.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And neither one to be sneezed at,&#8221; grinned
+Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We sure had a great season,&#8221; observed
+McRae. &#8220;If we start next year with the same
+team we ought to go through the league like a
+prairie fire. I have every reason to think that
+Hughson will be in tip-top shape when the season
+opens, and if he is, there won&#8217;t be any pitching
+staff that can hold a candle to ours.
+But&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>He paused uncertainly and looked at Joe as
+though he wanted to speak to him privately. Jim
+saw the look and took the hint.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess I&#8217;ll go into the smoker and see what
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_116' name='page_116'></a>116</span>
+the rest of the fellows are doing, if you&#8217;ll excuse
+me,&#8221; he said, rising and strolling back.</p>
+<p>McRae greeted his departure with evident satisfaction.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m glad to have a chance to talk to you alone,
+Joe,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You&#8217;re my right bower and I can
+talk to you more freely than to anyone else, except
+Hughson. I don&#8217;t mind telling you that this
+new league is worrying me a lot.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What is it?&#8221; asked Joe with quick interest.
+&#8220;Anything happened lately?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Plenty,&#8221; replied McRae. &#8220;I&#8217;ve kidded myself
+with the idea that the thing was going to peter out
+of its own accord. Every few seasons something
+of the kind crops up, but it usually comes to nothing.
+Usually the men who put up the coin get
+scared when they see what a big proposition it is
+they&#8217;ve tackled and back out. Sometimes, too,
+they go about it in such a blundering way that it&#8217;s
+bound to fail from the start.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But this time it&#8217;s different. They&#8217;ve got barrels
+of money behind them, and they&#8217;re spending
+it like water. There&#8217;s one of them named Fleming,
+whose father is a millionaire many times over,
+and he seems to have money to burn. They certainly
+are making big offers to star players all
+over the country. You saw the way they came at
+you, and they&#8217;re doing the same in other places.
+There isn&#8217;t a paper that I pick up that doesn&#8217;t
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_117' name='page_117'></a>117</span>
+give the name of some big player that they&#8217;re tampering
+with. The last one I saw was Altman of
+the Chicago White Sox. I guess though, that is a
+wrong steer, for Altman has come out flat for his
+old team and denies any intention of jumping his
+contract.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bully for Nick!&#8221; exclaimed Joe. &#8220;I guess I
+helped to queer that deal. I saw Westland talking
+to him, and he seemed to have him going, but
+I put a few things straight to Nick and he seems
+to have come to his senses before it&#8217;s too late.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s Munsey of the Cincinnatis, he&#8217;s left his
+reservation,&#8221; continued McRae. &#8220;He&#8217;s the crack
+shortstop of the country. They&#8217;ve got a line out,
+too, for Wilson of the Bostons, and you know they
+don&#8217;t make any better outfielders than he is. In
+fact, they&#8217;re biting into the teams everywhere,
+and none of them know where they&#8217;re at. If I&#8217;d
+known they were going at it so seriously, and
+hadn&#8217;t got so far in my preparations for this trip,
+I think I wouldn&#8217;t have gone on this world&#8217;s tour.
+It looks to me as though the major leagues would
+be backed up against the wall and fighting for their
+lives before this winter&#8217;s over.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It may not be as bad as you think,&#8221; said Joe
+consolingly. &#8220;Even if they get a lot of the stars,
+there will be a great many left. And, besides, they
+may have trouble in finding suitable grounds to
+play on.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_118' name='page_118'></a>118</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;But they will,&#8221; declared McRae. &#8220;They&#8217;ve
+got the refusal of first-class locations in every big
+city of the major league. I tell you, there&#8217;s brains
+behind this new league and that&#8217;s what&#8217;s worrying
+me. I don&#8217;t know whether it&#8217;s Fleming&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; interrupted Joe, smiling contemptuously,
+as he thought of the dissipated young fellow whom
+he had thrashed so soundly. &#8220;It isn&#8217;t Fleming.
+He&#8217;s got money enough, but there&#8217;s a vacuum
+where his brains ought to be.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then it&#8217;s his partners,&#8221; deduced McRae.
+&#8220;And their brains with his money make a strong
+combination.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; comforted Joe, &#8220;there&#8217;s one good thing
+about this trip, anyway. You&#8217;ve got the Giants
+out of reach of their schemes.&#8221;</p>
+<p>McRae looked around to see if anyone were
+within earshot, and then leaned over toward Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t fool yourself,&#8221; he said earnestly. &#8220;I&#8217;m
+afraid right now there are traitors in the camp!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='XIV_A_WEIRD_GAME' id='XIV_A_WEIRD_GAME'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_119' name='page_119'></a>119</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER XIV</h2>
+<h3>A WEIRD GAME</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>Baseball Joe was startled and showed it
+plainly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What do you mean?&#8221; he asked, as his mind
+ran over the names of his team-mates.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just what I say,&#8221; replied McRae. &#8220;I tell
+you, Joe, somebody&#8217;s getting in his fine work with
+our boys and I know it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where&#8217;s your proof?&#8221; asked Joe. &#8220;I hate to
+think that any of our fellows would welch on
+their contracts.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;So do I,&#8221; returned McRae. &#8220;We&#8217;ve been like
+one big family, and I&#8217;ve always tried to treat the
+boys right. I&#8217;ve got a rough tongue, as everybody
+knows, and in a hot game I&#8217;ve called them down
+many a time when they&#8217;ve made bonehead plays.
+But at the same time I&#8217;ve tried to be just, and I&#8217;ve
+never given any of them the worst end of the
+deal. They&#8217;ve been paid good money, and I&#8217;ve
+carried them along sometimes when other managers
+would have let them go.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_120' name='page_120'></a>120</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve been white all right,&#8221; assented Joe
+warmly. He recalled an occasion when a muff
+by a luckless center-fielder had lost a World Series
+and fifty thousand dollars for the team, and
+yet McRae had &#8220;stood the gaff&#8221; and never said
+a word, because he knew the man was trying to do
+his best.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m telling this to you, Joe,&#8221; went on McRae,
+&#8220;because I want you to help me out. You&#8217;ve
+proved yourself true blue when you were put to
+the test. I know you&#8217;ll do all you can to hold the
+boys in the traces. They all like you and feel
+that they owe you a lot because it was your pitching
+that pulled us through the World&#8217;s Series.
+Besides, they&#8217;ll be more impressed by what you
+say than by the talk I&#8217;d give them. They figure
+that I&#8217;m the manager and am only looking after
+my own interests, and for that reason what I say
+has less effect.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll stand by you, Mac,&#8221; returned Joe, &#8220;and
+help you in any way I can. Who are the boys
+that you think are trying to break loose?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;There are three of them,&#8221; replied McRae.
+&#8220;Iredell, Curry and Burkett, and all three of them
+are stars, as you know as well as I do.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re cracks, every one of them,&#8221; agreed
+Joe. &#8220;And they&#8217;re among the last men that I&#8217;d
+suspect of doing anything of the kind. What
+makes you think they&#8217;ve been approached?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_121' name='page_121'></a>121</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;A lot of things,&#8221; replied McRae. &#8220;In the
+first place, I have noticed that they are stiff and
+offish in their manner when I speak to them.
+Then, too, I&#8217;ve come across them several times
+lately with their heads together, and when they
+saw me coming they&#8217;d break apart and start talking
+of something else, as if I had interrupted
+them. Beside that, all three have struck me lately
+for a raise in salary next season.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s nothing new for ball players,&#8221; said
+Joe, with a smile.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; admitted McRae, an answering smile relieving
+the gravity of his face for the moment.
+&#8220;And I stand ready of my own accord to give the
+boys a substantial increase on last year&#8217;s pay because
+of their winning the pennant. But what
+these three asked for was beyond all reason, and
+made me think there was a nigger in the woodpile.
+They either had had a big offer from somebody
+else and were using that as a club to hold
+me up with, or else they were just trying to
+give themselves a better excuse for jumping.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;How long do their contracts have to run?&#8221;
+asked Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Iredell has one year more and Curry and
+Burkett are signed up for two years yet,&#8221; replied
+the Giants&#8217; manager. &#8220;Of course I could try to
+hold them to their contracts, but you know as well
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_122' name='page_122'></a>122</span>
+as I do that baseball contracts are more a matter
+of honesty than of legal obligation. If a man is
+straight, he&#8217;ll keep it, if he&#8217;s crooked, he&#8217;ll break
+it. And you know what a hole it would leave in the
+Giant team if those three men went over the fence.
+There isn&#8217;t a heavier slugger in the team than
+Burkett, except Larry. His batting average this
+year was .332, and as a fielding first baseman he&#8217;s
+the class of the league.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re right there,&#8221; acquiesced Joe, as he recalled
+the ease and precision with which Burkett
+took them on either side and dug them out of the
+dirt. &#8220;He&#8217;s saved a game for me many and many
+a time.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;As for Iredell,&#8221; went on McRae, &#8220;he hasn&#8217;t
+his equal in playing short and in covering second
+as the pivot for a double play. And nobody has
+played the infield as Curry does since I&#8217;ve been
+manager of the team.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It would certainly break the Giants all up to
+lose the three of them,&#8221; agreed Joe. &#8220;But we
+haven&#8217;t lost them yet. Remember that the game
+isn&#8217;t over till the last man is out in the ninth inning.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know that. You&#8217;ve helped me win two fights
+this year, Joe, one for the championship of the
+league and the other for the championship of the
+world. Now I&#8217;m counting on you to help me win
+a third, perhaps the hardest of them all.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_123' name='page_123'></a>123</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Put &#8217;er there, Mac,&#8221; said Joe, extending his
+hand. &#8220;Shake&mdash;I&#8217;m with you till the cows come
+home.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course, they&#8217;ll be willing to put up big
+money, Joe. You know that already.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It doesn&#8217;t make a particle of difference, Mac,
+how much money they put up,&#8221; returned the crack
+pitcher warmly. &#8220;There isn&#8217;t enough cash in the
+U.&nbsp;S. treasury to tempt me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know that, Joe. And I only wish that I
+could be as certain of the rest of the players.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, of course, I can&#8217;t speak for the others.
+But you can be sure that I&#8217;ll use my influence on
+the right side every time. Some of them may
+weaken and break away, but I doubt very much
+if they&#8217;ll be any of your main-stays. If I were
+you, Mac, I wouldn&#8217;t let this worry me too much.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I know it&#8217;s getting on my nerves, Joe,
+because, you see, it means so much to me. But
+having you on my side has braced me up a good
+deal,&#8221; went on the manager.</p>
+<p>They shook hands warmly, and McRae, evidently
+encouraged and braced by the talk with his
+star pitcher, made his way back to his own immediate
+party.</p>
+<p>The teams were slated to play in Salt Lake City
+and in Ogden. In both places they &#8220;cleaned up&#8221;
+easily, and it was not until a few days later when
+they reached the slope that they encountered
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_124' name='page_124'></a>124</span>
+opposition that made them exert themselves to win.</p>
+<p>At Bakersfield, with Jim in the box, the game
+went to eleven innings before it was finally placed
+to the credit of the Giants by a score of three to
+two. The &#8217;Frisco team also put up a stiff fight for
+eight innings, but were overwhelmed by a storm
+of hits which rained from Giant bats in the ninth.</p>
+<p>The game with Oakland was the last on the
+schedule before the teams left for the Orient, and
+an enormous crowd was in attendance.</p>
+<p>Joe was in the box for the All-American team.
+He was in fine form, and held the home team
+down easily until the fifth inning, but the Oaklands
+also, undaunted by the reputation of their
+adversaries, and under the guidance of a manager
+who had formerly been a famous first baseman
+of the Chicago team, were also out to win if possible,
+and with first-class pitching and supported
+by errorless fielding, they held their redoubtable
+opponents on even terms.</p>
+<p>At the end of the fifth, neither team had scored,
+although the Giants had threatened to do so on
+two separate occasions. A singular condition developed
+in the sixth. It was the Giants&#8217; turn at
+bat and Curry had reached first on a clean single
+to right. A neat sacrifice by Joe advanced him to
+second. A minute later he stole third, sliding feet
+first into the bag and narrowly escaping the ball
+in the third baseman&#8217;s hand.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_125' name='page_125'></a>125</span></p>
+<p>With only one out and Larry coming to the bat,
+the prospects for a run were bright.</p>
+<p>Larry let the first go by, but swung at the second,
+which was coming straight to the plate. His
+savage lunge caught the ball on the underside,
+and it went soaring through the air to a tremendous
+height.</p>
+<p>Both the second and third baseman started for
+the ball. It looked as though neither would be
+able to reach it, and Curry ran half-way down the
+line between third and home, awaiting the result.
+If the ball were caught he figured that he would
+easily have time to get back to third. If it were
+dropped, he could make home and score.</p>
+<p>The third baseman got under the descending
+ball, but it was coming from such a height that it
+was difficult to judge. It slipped through his fingers,
+but instead of falling to the ground, went
+plump into the pocket of his baseball shirt.</p>
+<p>He tugged desperately to get it out, at the same
+time running toward Curry, who danced about on
+the line between third and home in an agony of
+indecision. Was the ball caught or not? If it
+were, he would have to return to third. If it
+were not, he must make a break for home.</p>
+<p>The teams were all shouting now, while the
+crowd went into convulsions. The third baseman
+reached Curry and grabbed him with one
+hand, while with the other he frantically tried to
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_126' name='page_126'></a>126</span>
+get the ball from his pocket and clap it on him.
+But the ball stuck, and in the mixup both players
+fell to the ground and rolled over and over.</p>
+<p>Larry, in the meanwhile, was tearing round the
+bases, but he himself wasn&#8217;t sure whether he was
+really out or whether he ought to strike for home.
+He reached third and pulled up there, still in the
+throes of doubt. He could have easily gone on
+past the struggling combatants, but in that case,
+if Curry were finally declared not out, Larry
+would also be out for having passed him and got
+home first.</p>
+<p>On the other hand, if Curry should finally escape
+and get back to third, one of them would still
+be out because he was occupying the bag to which
+his comrade was entitled. He did not really know
+whether he was running for exercise or to score
+a run.</p>
+<p>It was the funniest mixup that even the veteran
+players had ever seen on a ball field, and as for
+the crowd they were wild with joy.</p>
+<p>The third baseman, finding that Curry was
+about to get away from him and unable to get the
+ball out of his pocket, finally threw his arms about
+him and hugged him close in the wild hope that
+some part of the protruding ball would touch his
+prisoner&#8217;s person and thus put him out.</p>
+<p>The sight of those burly gladiators, locked in
+a fond embrace, threatened the sanity of the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_127' name='page_127'></a>127</span>
+onlookers, but the farce was ended when Curry finally
+wriggled out from the anaconda grasp of
+his opponent and took a chance for the plate.</p>
+<p>Then there was a hot debate, as the umpire,
+himself laughing until the tears ran down his face,
+tried to solve the situation. Had Curry been
+touched by the ball, or had he not? Had the ball
+been caught or not?</p>
+<p>Players on both sides tugged at him as they debated
+the matter <i>pro</i> and <i>con</i>.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know what that umpire&#8217;s name is,&#8221;
+grinned Jim to Joe, who was weak with laughter,
+&#8220;but I know what it ought to be.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What?&#8221; asked Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Solomon,&#8221; chuckled Jim.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='XV_THE_BEWILDERED_UMPIRE' id='XV_THE_BEWILDERED_UMPIRE'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_128' name='page_128'></a>128</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER XV</h2>
+<h3>THE BEWILDERED UMPIRE</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>But whatever the umpire&#8217;s name might have
+been, he only resembled Solomon in one respect.
+He was inclined to compromise and cut the play
+in two, giving one part to the major leaguers and
+the other to the Oakland team.</p>
+<p>He was not to blame for being bewildered, for
+the baseball magnates who had framed the rules
+had never contemplated the special case of a
+player catching the ball in his pocket.</p>
+<p>Between the opposing claims he pulled out his
+book and scanned it carefully but with no result.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s easy enough,&#8221; rasped McRae. &#8220;He tried
+to catch a ball and muffed it. It goes for a hit
+and Curry scores.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not on your life,&#8221; barked Everett, the manager
+of the Oakland team. &#8220;He got the ball and it
+never touched the ground.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Got it,&#8221; sneered McRae. &#8220;This is baseball,
+not pool. He can&#8217;t pocket the ball.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_129' name='page_129'></a>129</span></p>
+<p>There was a laugh at this, and Mackay, the
+third baseman, looked a little sheepish. The
+baited umpire suggested that the whole play be
+called off and that Curry go back to third while
+Larry resumed his place at the bat.</p>
+<p>Larry set up a howl at this, as he saw his perfectly
+good three-baser go glimmering.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, hire a hall,&#8221; snapped Everett. &#8220;Even if
+the umpire decides against the catch it was only
+an error and you ought to have been out anyway.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You can&#8217;t crawl out of it that way,&#8221; said
+McRae to the umpire. &#8220;A play is a play and
+you&#8217;ve got to settle it one way or the other, even
+if you settle it wrong.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The umpire hesitated, wiped his brow and finally
+decided that the ball was caught. That put
+Larry out, and he retreated, growling, to the
+bench, while Everett grinned his satisfaction.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s all right, Ump,&#8221; said the latter. &#8220;But
+how about Curry? Mackay put the ball on him
+all right and that makes three out.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Say, what do you want, the earth?&#8221; queried
+McRae. &#8220;He didn&#8217;t put the ball on him. He
+didn&#8217;t have the ball to put. It was in his pocket
+all the time.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course I put the ball on him,&#8221; declared
+Mackay. &#8220;I must have. When I fell on him I
+hit him everywhere at once.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_130' name='page_130'></a>130</span></p>
+<p>The umpire finally decided that Mackay had
+not put the ball on Curry, and the red-headed
+right-fielder chuckled at the thought of the run he
+had scored.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That makes it horse and horse,&#8221; said the umpire.
+&#8220;Get back to your places.&#8221;</p>
+<p>If he thought he was at the end of his troubles
+he was mistaken, for Everett suddenly cried
+out:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Look here. You said that Mackay caught that
+ball, didn&#8217;t you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s what I said,&#8221; snorted the umpire.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, then,&#8221; crowed Everett triumphantly,
+&#8220;why didn&#8217;t Curry go back to third and touch the
+bag before he lit out for home? He has to do
+that on a caught fly ball, hasn&#8217;t he?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The umpire looked fairly stumped. Here was
+something on which the rules were explicit. It
+was certain that Curry should have returned to the
+base and it was equally certain that he hadn&#8217;t.
+Mackay had caught him half-way between third
+and home.</p>
+<p>But McRae was equal to the occasion.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Suppose he did have to,&#8221; he cried. &#8220;You said
+that Mackay hadn&#8217;t touched him and he&#8217;s free to
+go back yet.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And I&#8217;m free to touch him with the ball,&#8221;
+Mackay came back at him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But the ball isn&#8217;t in play,&#8221; put in Robbie,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_131' name='page_131'></a>131</span>
+adding his mite to the general confusion. &#8220;You
+called time when you came in to settle this.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who wouldn&#8217;t be an umpire?&#8221; laughed Jim
+to Joe, as he saw the look of despair on that
+worried individual&#8217;s face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The most glorious mixup I ever saw on the
+ball field,&#8221; answered Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;How happy he could be with either were
+&#8217;tother dear charmer away,&#8217;&#8221; chuckled Jim, pointing
+to the two pugnacious disputants on either side
+of the umpire.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Curry&#8217;s out&mdash;Curry isn&#8217;t out. Love me&mdash;love
+me not,&#8221; responded Joe.</p>
+<p>By this time the crowd had got over their laugh
+and impatiently demanded action. The umpire
+cut the Gordian knot by sending Curry back to
+third, where he and Mackay chaffed each other
+and the game went on.</p>
+<p>It was not much of a game after that, however,
+as the laughable incident had put all the players
+in a more or less frivolous mood. It finally ended
+in a score of six to three in favor of the All-Americans,
+and the teams made a break for the showers.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The last game we play on American soil for
+many moons,&#8221; remarked Joe, as, having bathed
+and dressed, the two young athletes strolled toward
+their hotel.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And every one of them a victory,&#8221; observed
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_132' name='page_132'></a>132</span>
+Jim. &#8220;Not a single mark on the wrong side of
+the ledger!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That game at Denver was the closest call we
+had,&#8221; said Joe. &#8220;The trip so far has been a big
+money-maker, too. McRae was telling me yesterday
+that we&#8217;d already topped ninety-five thousand,
+and there was ten thousand in that crowd to-day if
+there was a penny.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess Mac won&#8217;t have any trouble in buying
+steamship tickets,&#8221; laughed Jim. &#8220;By the way,
+we haven&#8217;t had a look at the old boat yet. Let&#8217;s
+go down to-morrow and inspect her.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why not make it the day after to-morrow?&#8221;
+suggested Joe. &#8220;The girls will be here by that
+time and we&#8217;ll take them with us.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That will suit me, Joe.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been thinking of something, Jim,&#8221; went
+on the crack pitcher, after a pause. &#8220;It won&#8217;t be
+long now before we leave America. What do you
+say if we do a little shopping, and buy some things
+for ourselves and for the girls?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Say, that&#8217;s queer! I was thinking the same
+thing.&#8221; Jim paused for a moment. &#8220;Won&#8217;t it be
+fine to have the others with us again?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes; I&#8217;ll be very glad to see Mabel, and glad
+to see Clara, too. I suppose you&#8217;ve been getting
+letters pretty regularly, eh, Jim?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t believe I&#8217;ve been getting any more letters
+than you have, Joe,&#8221; returned the other.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_133' name='page_133'></a>133</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, you&#8217;re welcome to them, Jim. I wish
+you luck!&#8221; said Joe, and placed a hand on his
+chum&#8217;s shoulder. For a moment they looked into
+each other&#8217;s eyes, and each understood perfectly
+what was passing in the other&#8217;s mind. But Jim
+just then did not feel he could say too much.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll be glad to see Reggie again, too,&#8221; remarked
+Joe, after a moment of silence. &#8220;He&#8217;s
+something of a queer stick, but pretty good at
+that.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, he&#8217;s all right, Joe,&#8221; answered Jim. &#8220;As
+he grows older and sees more of the seamy side
+of life, he&#8217;ll get some of that nonsense knocked
+out of him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>They ate their supper that night with a sense of
+relaxation to which they had long been strangers.
+For the first time since they had gone to the training
+camp at Texas in the spring, they were out of
+harness. There had been the fierce, tense race for
+the pennant that had strained them to the utmost.</p>
+<p>Then, with only a few days intervening, had
+come the still more exciting battle for the championship
+of the world. They had won and won
+gloriously, but even then they had not felt wholly
+free, for the long trip across the continent which
+they had just finished was then before them, and
+although this struggle had been less close and important,
+it had still kept them on edge and in
+training.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_134' name='page_134'></a>134</span></p>
+<p>But now their strenuous year had ended. Before
+them lay a glorious trip around the world, a
+voyage over summer seas, a pilgrimage through
+lands of mystery and romance, the fulfillment of
+cherished dreams, and with them were to go the
+two charming girls who represented to them all
+that was worth while in life and who even now
+were hurrying toward them as fast as steam could
+bring them.</p>
+<p>&#8220;This is the end of a perfect day,&#8221; hummed
+Jim, as he sat back and lighted a cigar.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re wrong there, Jim,&#8221; replied Joe, with
+a smile. &#8220;The perfect day will be to-morrow.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Right you are!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Yet little did Baseball Joe and his chum dream
+of the many adventures and perils which lay ahead
+of them.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='XVI_PUTTING_THEM_OVER' id='XVI_PUTTING_THEM_OVER'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_135' name='page_135'></a>135</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER XVI</h2>
+<h3>PUTTING THEM OVER</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>As the two baseball players sauntered down the
+corridor after supper they chanced upon Iredell.
+He was sitting at a reading table, intent upon a
+letter which had attached to it what looked like
+an official document of some kind.</p>
+<p>It was a chance for which Joe had been looking,
+and he gave Jim a sign to go on while he
+himself dropped into a seat beside the famous
+shortstop.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How are you, Dell, old boy?&#8221; he said, genially.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Able to sit up and take nourishment,&#8221; replied
+the other, at the same time thrusting the document
+into his pocket with what seemed like unnecessary
+haste.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Most of the boys are that way,&#8221; laughed Joe.
+&#8220;There are just two things that every ball player
+is ready to do, take nourishment and nag the umpire.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Iredell laughed as he bit off the end of a cigar.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That poor umpire got his this afternoon,&#8221; he
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_136' name='page_136'></a>136</span>
+said. &#8220;With McRae on one side and Everett on
+the other I thought he&#8217;d be pulled to pieces.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He was sure up against a hard proposition,&#8221;
+agreed Joe. &#8220;The next hardest was in a play that
+happened when I was on the Pittston team. A
+fellow poled out a hit that went down like a shot
+between left and center. A lot of carriages were
+parked at the end of the field and a big coach
+dog ran after the ball, got it in his mouth and
+skipped down among the carriages where the fielders
+couldn&#8217;t get at him. It would have doubled
+you up to have seen them coaxing the brute to be
+a good dog and give the ball up. In the meantime,
+the batter was tearing around the bases and
+made home before the ball got back.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And how did his Umps decide it?&#8221; asked Iredell,
+with interest.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He was flabbergasted for a while,&#8221; replied
+Joe, &#8220;but he finally called it a two-base hit and let
+it go at that.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;An umpire&#8217;s life is not a happy one,&#8221; laughed
+Iredell. &#8220;He earns every dollar that he gets.
+I suppose that&#8217;s what some of us fellows will be
+doing, too, when we begin to go back.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It will be a good while before you come to
+that, Dell,&#8221; Joe replied. &#8220;You&#8217;ve played a rattling
+game at short this year, and you&#8217;re a fixture
+with the Giants.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know about that,&#8221; said the shortstop
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_137' name='page_137'></a>137</span>
+slowly. &#8220;Fixtures sometimes work loose, you
+know.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It won&#8217;t be so in this case,&#8221; said Joe, purposely
+misunderstanding him. &#8220;McRae wouldn&#8217;t
+let go of you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not if he could help it,&#8221; responded Iredell.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, he doesn&#8217;t have to worry about that just
+yet,&#8221; said Joe. &#8220;How long does your contract
+have to run?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;A year yet,&#8221; replied Iredell. &#8220;But contracts,
+you know, are like pie crust, they&#8217;re easily
+broken.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What do you mean by that?&#8221; demanded Joe
+sharply.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, nothing, nothing at all,&#8221; said Iredell, a
+little nervously, as though he had said more than
+he intended. &#8220;But to tell the truth, Joe, I&#8217;m sore
+on this whole question of contracts. It&#8217;s like a
+yoke that galls me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; responded Joe. &#8220;A good
+many folks would like to be galled that way. A
+good big salary, traveling on Pullmans, stopping
+at the best hotels, posing for pictures, and having
+six months of the year to ourselves. If that&#8217;s a
+yoke, it&#8217;s lined with velvet.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But it&#8217;s a yoke, just the same,&#8221; persisted Iredell
+stubbornly. &#8220;Most men in business are free
+to accept any offer that&#8217;s made to them. We
+can&#8217;t. We may be offered twice as much as we&#8217;re
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_138' name='page_138'></a>138</span>
+getting, but we have to stay where we are just
+the same.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, that&#8217;s simply because it&#8217;s baseball,&#8221; argued
+Joe. &#8220;You know just as well as I do that
+that&#8217;s the only way the game can be carried on.
+It wouldn&#8217;t last a month if players started jumping
+from one team to another, or from one league
+to another. The public would lose all interest in
+it, and it&#8217;s the public that pays our salaries.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Pays our salaries!&#8221; snapped Iredell. &#8220;Puts
+money in the hands of the owners, you mean.
+They get the feast and we get the crumbs. What&#8217;s
+our measly salary compared with what they get?
+I was just reading in the paper that the Giants
+cleaned up two hundred thousand dollars this
+year, net profit, and yet it&#8217;s the players that bring
+this money in at the gate.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; Joe admitted. &#8220;But they are the men
+who put up the capital and take the chances. Suppose
+they had lost two hundred thousand dollars
+this year. We&#8217;d have had our salaries just the
+same.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Just then Burkett and Curry came along and
+dropped into seats beside the pair.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hello, Red,&#8221; greeted Joe, at the same time
+nodding to Burkett. &#8220;How are your ribs feeling,
+after that bear hug you got this afternoon?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Curry grinned.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s all right,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But he never
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_139' name='page_139'></a>139</span>
+touched me with the ball. And that umpire was a
+boob not to give me the run.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What were you fellows talking about so earnestly?&#8221;
+asked Burkett, with some curiosity.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, jug-handled things like baseball contracts,&#8221;
+responded Iredell.</p>
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re the bunk all right,&#8221; declared Burkett,
+emphatically.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bunk is right,&#8221; said Curry.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the use of quarreling with your bread
+and butter?&#8221; asked Joe good-naturedly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the use of bread and butter, if you can
+have cake and ought to have it?&#8221; Iredell came
+back at him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Cake is good,&#8221; agreed Joe, &#8220;but the point is
+that if a man has agreed to take bread and butter,
+it&#8217;s up to him to stand by his agreement. A man&#8217;s
+word is the best thing he has, and if he is a man
+he&#8217;ll hold to it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You seem to be taking a lot for granted, Joe,&#8221;
+said Burkett, a little stiffly. &#8220;Who is talking of
+breaking his word? We&#8217;ve got a right to talk
+about our contracts, haven&#8217;t we, when we think
+the owners are getting the best end of the
+deal?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure thing,&#8221; said Joe genially. &#8220;It&#8217;s every
+man&#8217;s privilege to kick, but the time to kick is before
+one makes an agreement, not when kicking
+won&#8217;t do any good.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_140' name='page_140'></a>140</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Maybe it can do some good,&#8221; said Curry significantly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How so?&#8221; asked Joe innocently. &#8220;No other
+club in the American or National League would
+take us if we broke away from the Giants.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;There are other leagues,&#8221; remarked Iredell.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Surely. The minors,&#8221; replied Joe, again purposely
+misunderstanding. &#8220;But who wants to be
+a busher?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s the All-Star League that&#8217;s just forming,&#8221;
+suggested Burkett, with a swift look at his
+two companions.</p>
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;All-Star,&#8217;&#8221; repeated Joe, a little contemptuously.
+&#8220;That sounds good, but where are they
+going to get the stars?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re getting them all right,&#8221; said Iredell.
+&#8220;The papers are full of the names of players who
+have jumped or are going to jump.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t mean players,&#8221; said Joe. &#8220;You
+mean traitors.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The others winced a little at this.</p>
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;Traitors&#8217; is a pretty hard word,&#8221; objected
+Curry.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s the only word,&#8221; returned Joe stiffly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You can&#8217;t call a man a traitor who simply
+tries to better himself,&#8221; remarked Burkett defensively.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Benedict Arnold tried to better himself,&#8221; returned
+Joe. &#8220;But it didn&#8217;t get him very far. The
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_141' name='page_141'></a>141</span>
+fellows that jumped, in the old Brotherhood days,
+thought they were going to better themselves, but
+they simply got in bad with the public and nearly
+ruined the game. This new league will promise
+all sorts of things, but how do you know it will
+keep them? What faith can you put in men who
+try to induce other men to be crooked?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, you know, with most men business is
+business, as they put it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I admit business is business. But so far as I
+am concerned, it is no business at all if it isn&#8217;t on
+the level,&#8221; answered Joe earnestly. &#8220;A great
+many men think they can do something that is
+shady and get away with it, and sometimes at first
+it looks as if they were right about it. But sooner
+or later they get tripped up and are exposed.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, everybody has got a right to make a living,&#8221;
+grumbled Curry.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure he has&mdash;and I&#8217;m not denying it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And everybody has got a right to go into baseball
+if he feels like investing his money that way.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Right again. But if he wants to make any
+headway in the great national game, he has got to
+play it on the level right from the start. If he
+doesn&#8217;t do that, he may, for a certain length of
+time, hoodwink the public. But, as I said before,
+sooner or later he&#8217;ll be exposed; and you know as
+well as I do that the public will not stand for any
+underhand work in any line of sports. I&#8217;ve talked,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_142' name='page_142'></a>142</span>
+not alone to baseball men, but also to football
+men, runners, skaters, and even prize fighters, and
+they have all said exactly the same thing&mdash;that
+the great majority of men want their sports kept
+clean.&#8221;</p>
+<p>There was no reply to this and Joe rose to his
+feet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But what&#8217;s the use of talking?&#8221; he added.
+&#8220;Let the new league do as it likes. There&#8217;s one
+bully thing, anyway, that it won&#8217;t touch&mdash;our
+Giants. Whatever it does to the other teams, we
+will all stick together. We&#8217;ll stand by Robbie
+and McRae till the last gun&#8217;s fired. So long, fellows,
+see you later.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He strode off down the corridor, leaving three
+silent men to stare after his retreating figure
+thoughtfully.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='XVII__MAN_OVERBOARD' id='XVII__MAN_OVERBOARD'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_143' name='page_143'></a>143</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER XVII</h2>
+<h3>&#8220;MAN OVERBOARD&#8221;</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>Baseball Joe found Jim waiting for him near
+the clerk&#8217;s desk.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Been having quite a confab,&#8221; remarked the
+latter.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; replied Joe carelessly. &#8220;Burkett and
+Red came along and we had a fanfest.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The next day was the first of their real vacation,
+and they spent the morning strolling about the
+city and marveling at the quick recovery it had
+made from the earthquake. They had a sumptuous
+dinner on the veranda of the Cliff House,
+where they had a full view of the famous harbor
+and watched the seals sporting on the rocks.</p>
+<p>The commerce of the port was in full swing,
+and out through the Golden Gate passed great
+fleets with their precious argosies bound for
+the Orient, for immobile China, for restless and
+awakened Japan, for the islands of the sea, for
+the lands of the lotus and the palm, of minaret
+and mosque and pagoda, for all the realms of
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_144' name='page_144'></a>144</span>
+mystery and romance that lie beneath the Southern
+Cross.</p>
+<p>It would have been a wrench to tear themselves
+away had it been any other day than this,
+but to-day was the one to which they had looked
+eagerly forward through all the month of exhibition
+playing, since they had left the quiet home at
+Riverside, and they kept looking at their watches
+to see if it were not time to go to the train and
+meet the girls.</p>
+<p>They were at the station long before the appointed
+time, and when at last the Overland Flyer
+drew in they scanned each Pullman anxiously to
+catch a sight of two charming faces.</p>
+<p>They were not kept long in suspense, for down
+the steps of the second car tripped Clara and
+Mabel, looking more wonderfully alluring than
+ever, although a month before neither Jim nor
+Joe would have admitted that such a thing were
+possible.</p>
+<p>Reggie, too, was there, dressed &#8220;to the limit&#8221;
+as usual, and with his supposed English accent
+twice as pronounced as ever.</p>
+<p>But Reggie for the moment did not count, compared
+with the lovely charges whom he had
+brought across the continent. Of course, the boys
+felt grateful to him, but their eyes and their
+thoughts were fastened on his two charming companions.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_145' name='page_145'></a>145</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m awfully glad you&#8217;ve got here at last,&#8221; cried
+Joe, as he rushed up to Mabel and caught her by
+both hands. He would have liked very much to
+have kissed her, but did not dare do it in such a
+public place.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, what a grand trip we&#8217;ve had!&#8221; declared
+Clara, as she shook hands first with Jim and then
+with her brother. &#8220;I never had any idea our country
+was so big and so magnificent.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s just what Joe and I were remarking on
+our trip across the Rockies,&#8221; answered Jim. He
+could not take his eyes from the face of his chum&#8217;s
+sister. Clara looked the picture of health, showing
+that the trip from her little home town had
+done her a world of good.</p>
+<p>But if Clara looked good, Mabel looked even
+better&mdash;at least in the eyes of Joe. He could not
+keep his gaze from her face. And she was certainly
+just as glad to see him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ye-es, it was quite a trip, don&#8217;t you know,&#8221;
+remarked Reggie. &#8220;I met several bally good
+chaps on the way, so the time passed quickly
+enough. But I&#8217;m glad to be here, and hope that
+before long we&#8217;ll be on shipboard.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I&#8217;m so excited to think that I&#8217;m going to
+take a real ocean trip!&#8221; burst out Clara. &#8220;Just
+to think of it&mdash;a girl like me going around the
+world! I never dreamed I&#8217;d get that far.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And just think of the many queer sights we&#8217;ll
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_146' name='page_146'></a>146</span>
+see!&#8221; broke in Mabel. &#8220;And the queer people
+we&#8217;ll meet!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girls were all on the <i>qui vive</i> with excitement
+in their anticipation of the delightful trip
+that lay before them, and there were no
+pauses in their conversation on the way to the
+hotel.</p>
+<p>Here they were introduced to the other members
+of the party, which by this time had increased
+to large proportions, for beside the ladies
+who had accompanied the players across the continent,
+many others had followed the same plan
+as Mabel and Clara and joined their friends in
+San Francisco. Altogether, there were more than
+a hundred of the tourists, of whom perhaps a
+third were women.</p>
+<p>All were out for a good time, and the atmosphere
+of good will and jollity was infectious.
+There was an utter absence of snobbery and affectation,
+and the boys were delighted to see how
+quickly the girls fell into the spirit of the gathering
+and with their own fun and high spirits
+added more than their quota to the general hilarity.</p>
+<p>That night there was a big banquet given to the
+tourists by the railroad officials who had had the
+party in charge from the beginning and by some
+of the leading citizens of San Francisco. It was
+a jolly occasion, where for once in affairs of the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_147' name='page_147'></a>147</span>
+kind the &#8220;flowing bowl&#8221; was notable for its absence.
+The stalwart, clear-eyed athletes who, with
+their friends, were the guests of the occasion, had
+no use for the cup that both cheers and inebriates.</p>
+<p>A striking feature of the table decorations was
+a cake weighing one hundred and twenty-five
+pounds, on whose summit was a bat and ball, and
+whose frosted slopes were accurate representations
+of the Polo Grounds and the baseball park
+at Chicago. It is needless to say how pronounced
+a hit this made with the &#8220;fans&#8221; of both sexes. It
+was a great send-off to the globe-encircling baseball
+teams.</p>
+<p>The next day, Joe and Jim took the girls down
+to the pier to see the ship on which they were to
+sail. It was a splendid craft of twenty thousand
+tons and sumptuously fitted up. The girls exclaimed
+at the beauty of her lines and the superb
+decoration of the cabins and saloons.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The <i>Empress of Japan</i>!&#8221; read Clara, as she
+scanned the name on the steamer&#8217;s stern.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Most fittingly named,&#8221; said Jim gallantly,
+&#8220;since she carries two queens.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What a pretty compliment,&#8221; said Clara, as
+she flashed a radiant look at Jim.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m afraid,&#8221; said Mabel, &#8220;that Jim&#8217;s been
+practising on some of the nice girls in the party.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Have I, Joe?&#8221; appealed the accused one.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_148' name='page_148'></a>148</span>
+&#8220;Haven&#8217;t I been an anchorite, a senobite, an archimandrite&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Goodness, I thought you were bad,&#8221; laughed
+Clara. &#8220;But now I know you&#8217;re worse.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Keep it up, old man, as long as the &#8216;ites&#8217; hold
+out,&#8221; said Joe. &#8220;I guess there are plenty more in
+the dictionary. But honest, girls, Jim hasn&#8217;t
+looked twice at any girl since he came away from
+Riverside.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve looked more than twice at one girl since
+yesterday,&#8221; Jim was beginning, but Clara, flushing
+rosily, thought it was high time to change the
+subject.</p>
+<p>The next day, with all the party safely on
+board, the ship weighed anchor, threaded its way
+through the crowded commerce of the bay and
+then, dropping its tug, turned its prow definitely
+toward the east and breasted the billows of the
+Pacific.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The last we&#8217;ll see of Old Glory for many
+months,&#8221; remarked Joe, as, standing at the rail,
+they watched the Stars and Stripes floating out
+from the flag-pole on the top of the government
+station.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not so long as that,&#8221; corrected Jim. &#8220;We
+will still be on the soil of God&#8217;s country when we
+reach Hawaii seven days from now.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The first two days of the voyage passed delightfully.
+The girls proved good sailors, and
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_149' name='page_149'></a>149</span>
+had the laugh on many of the so-called stronger
+sex, who were conspicuous by their absence from
+the table during that period.</p>
+<p>On the afternoon of the third day out, Joe and
+Mabel were pacing the deck with Jim and Clara
+at a discreet distance behind them. It was astonishing
+how willing each pair was not to intrude
+upon the other.</p>
+<p>Suddenly there was a tumult of excited exclamations
+near the stern of the vessel, and then
+above it rose a shout that is never heard at sea
+without a chill of terror.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Man overboard!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='XVIII_ONE_STRIKE_AND_OUT' id='XVIII_ONE_STRIKE_AND_OUT'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_150' name='page_150'></a>150</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER XVIII</h2>
+<h3>ONE STRIKE AND OUT</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>The two young baseball players and the girls
+joined the throng that was racing toward the
+stern.</p>
+<p>A number of people were pointing wildly over
+the port side at a small object some distance behind
+the ship.</p>
+<p>They followed the pointing fingers and saw
+the head of a man who was swimming desperately
+toward the receding ship.</p>
+<p>The steamer, which had been taking advantage
+of the favorable weather and had been ploughing
+ahead under full steam, found it hard to stop,
+although orders had been given at once to shut off
+steam.</p>
+<p>It was maddening to the onlookers to see the
+distance increase between the giant ship and that
+bobbing, lonely speck far out in the waste of
+waters.</p>
+<p>With all the celerity possible the great steamer
+swung round in a circle and bore down upon the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_151' name='page_151'></a>151</span>
+struggling swimmer, while at the same time preparations
+were made to lower a boat as soon as they
+should be near enough.</p>
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re going to save him!&#8221; cried Mabel,
+half-sobbing in her excitement. &#8220;Oh, Joe, they&#8217;re
+going to save him after all!&#8221;</p>
+<p>It seemed as though there were no doubt of
+this now, for the man was evidently a strong swimmer
+and seemed to be maintaining himself without
+great effort, and it was certain that within the
+next few minutes the boat, already filled with oarsmen
+and swaying at the davits, ready to be lowered,
+would reach him.</p>
+<p>Suddenly Clara, with a stifled scream, clutched
+at Jim&#8217;s arm.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, Jim!&#8221; she cried, &#8220;what is that? Look,
+look&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jim looked and turned pale under his tan.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Great heavens!&#8221; he cried. &#8220;It&#8217;s a shark!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The cry was taken up by scores.</p>
+<p>&#8220;A shark! A shark!&#8221;</p>
+<p>There, cleaving the water and coming toward
+the swimmer like an arrow at its mark, was a
+great black dorsal fin which bespoke the presence
+of the pirate of the seas.</p>
+<p>The steamer had lessened speed in order to
+lower its boat, but the momentum under which it
+was carried it within twenty yards of the castaway.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_152' name='page_152'></a>152</span></p>
+<p>Almost instantly the ship&#8217;s boat struck the
+water, and the sinewy backs of the sailors bent
+almost double as they drove it toward the swimmer.</p>
+<p>From the crowded deck they could see his face
+now, pale and dripping, but lighted with a gleam
+of hope as he saw the boat approaching. But the
+horrified onlookers saw something else, that ominous,
+awful fin, that came rushing on like a relentless
+fate toward its intended prey.</p>
+<p>Some of the women were sobbing, others almost
+fainting, while the men, pale and
+with gritted teeth, groaned at their helplessness.</p>
+<p>It was a question now of which would reach the
+luckless man first, the boat or the shark. The
+boat was nearer and the men were rowing like
+demons, but the shark was swifter, coming on like
+an express train.</p>
+<p>There must have been something in those faces
+high above him that warned the man of some impending
+peril. He cast a swift look behind him,
+and then in frantic terror redoubled his efforts to
+reach the boat.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, Joe, they&#8217;ll be too late! They&#8217;ll never
+reach him in time!&#8221; sobbed Mabel. &#8220;Oh, can&#8217;t
+we do anything to help him?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Joe, as frantic as she, looked wildly about him.
+His eyes fell on a heavy piece of iron, left on the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_153' name='page_153'></a>153</span>
+deck by some seaman who had been repairing the
+windlass. Like a flash he grabbed it.</p>
+<p>It seemed as though the swimmer were doomed,
+and a gasp of horror went up from the spectators
+as they saw that the boat would be too
+late.</p>
+<p>For now the fin had disappeared, and they saw
+a hideous shape take form as the monster came
+into plain sight, a foot beneath the surface, and
+turned over upon its back to seize its prey.</p>
+<p>Then Joe took a chance&mdash;a long chance, a desperate
+chance, an almost hopeless chance&mdash;and
+yet, a chance.</p>
+<p>With all the force of his powerful arm he sent
+the jagged piece of iron hurtling at the fiendish
+open jaws.</p>
+<p>And the chance became a certainty.</p>
+<p>The missile crashed into the monster&#8217;s nose, its
+most sensitive point. The brute was so near the
+surface that the thin sheet of water was no protection.</p>
+<p>The effect was startling. There was a tremendous
+plunging and leaping that lashed the
+waters into foam, and then the crippled monster
+sank slowly into the ocean depths.</p>
+<p>The next instant the ship&#8217;s boat had reached the
+castaway, and strong arms pulled him aboard,
+where he sank panting and exhausted across a
+thwart.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_154' name='page_154'></a>154</span></p>
+<p>It had all happened with the speed of light.
+There was a moment of stunned surprise, a gasp
+from the crowd, and then a roar went up that
+swelled into a deafening thunder of applause.</p>
+<p>Joe had reversed the baseball rule of &#8220;three
+strikes and out.&#8221; This time it was just one strike&mdash;and
+the shark was out!</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='XIX_BRAXTON_JOINS_THE_PARTY' id='XIX_BRAXTON_JOINS_THE_PARTY'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_155' name='page_155'></a>155</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER XIX</h2>
+<h3>BRAXTON JOINS THE PARTY</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>The passengers crowded around Joe in wild
+delight and exhilaration, reaching for his hand,
+pounding him on the back, vociferous in their
+praise and congratulations, until he was almost
+ready to pray to be rescued from his friends.</p>
+<p>Mabel, starry-eyed, slipped a hand within his
+arm and the pressure was eloquent. Jim almost
+wrenched his arm from the shoulder, and Clara
+hugged her brother openly.</p>
+<p>Naturally, Joe&#8217;s great feat appealed especially
+to the baseball players of the party. They felt
+that he had honored the craft to which they belonged.
+He had justified his reputation as the
+star pitcher of the country, and they felt that they
+shared in the reflected glory.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Great Scott, Joe!&#8221; beamed Larry. &#8220;You put
+it all over his sharklet that time.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Straight over the plate!&#8221; chuckled Burkett.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Against the rules, though,&#8221; grinned Denton.
+&#8220;You know that the &#8216;bean ball&#8217; is barred.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_156' name='page_156'></a>156</span></p>
+<p>The rescued man had now been brought on
+board. He had been too excited and confused to
+understand how he had been snatched from the
+jaws of death&mdash;and such a death!</p>
+<p>He proved to be a member of the crew, a Lascar,
+whose knowledge of the English language
+was limited, and whose ignorance of the great
+national game was fathomless.</p>
+<p>But when he had recovered and had learned
+the name of his rescuer, he sought Joe out and
+thanked him in accents that were none the less sincere
+because broken and imperfect, and from that
+time on throughout the trip he was almost doglike
+in his devotion.</p>
+<p>A few days more and the ship reached Hawaii,
+that far-flung outpost of Uncle Sam&#8217;s dominions,
+which breaks the long ocean journey between
+America and Japan.</p>
+<p>The hearts of the tourists leaped as the ship
+drew near the harbor and they caught sight
+of the Stars and Stripes, floating proudly in the
+breeze.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I never knew how I loved that flag before,&#8221;
+cried Mabel enthusiastically.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The most beautiful flag that floats,&#8221; chimed in
+Clara.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The flag that stands for liberty everywhere,&#8221;
+remarked Jim.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; was Joe&#8217;s tribute. &#8220;The flag that when
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_157' name='page_157'></a>157</span>
+it has gone up anywhere has never been pulled
+down.&#8221;</p>
+<p>As the ship drew near the shore the beauty of
+the island paradise brought exclamations of delight
+from the passengers who thronged the steamer&#8217;s
+rails.</p>
+<p>The harbor was a scene of busy life and animation.
+The instant the ship dropped anchor she
+was surrounded by native boats, paddled by Hawaiian
+youngsters, who indulged in exhibitions of
+diving and swimming that were a revelation of
+skill.</p>
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;ve got it all over the fishes when it comes
+to swimming,&#8221; remarked Jim with a grin. &#8220;Cough
+up all your spare coin, Joe, and see these little beggars
+dive for it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>They tossed coin after coin into the transparent
+waters and swiftly as each piece sank, the young
+swimmer was swifter. Every one was caught before
+it reached bottom, and came up clutched in
+some dusky hand or shining between ivory
+teeth.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll be bankrupt if this keeps up long,&#8221; laughed
+Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said Jim. &#8220;You&#8217;ll wish you&#8217;d joined the
+All-Star League and copped that twenty thousand.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;How do they ever do it?&#8221; marveled Clara.</p>
+<p>&#8220;In the blood I suppose,&#8221; replied Joe. &#8220;Their
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_158' name='page_158'></a>158</span>
+folks throw them into the water when they&#8217;re
+babies, and like puppies, they have to swim or
+drown.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re more at home in the water than they
+are on land,&#8221; remarked Jim. &#8220;Those fellows will
+swim out in the ocean and stay there all day
+long.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I should think they&#8217;d be afraid of sharks,&#8221;
+remarked Mabel, with a shudder, as she thought
+of the recent incident in which that hideous brute
+had figured.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sharks are easy meat for them,&#8221; replied Jim.
+&#8220;You ought to pity the sharks instead of wasting
+it on these fellows. Give them a knife, and the
+shark hasn&#8217;t a Chinaman&#8217;s chance.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not even a knife,&#8221; chimed in Joe. &#8220;A stick
+sharpened at both ends is enough.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;A stick?&#8221; exclaimed Mabel, wonderingly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure thing,&#8221; replied Joe. &#8220;They simply wait
+until the shark turns over to grab them and then
+thrust it right into the open jaws. You&#8217;ve no idea
+how effective that can be.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a case of misplaced confidence,&#8221; laughed
+Jim. &#8220;The poor trustful shark lets his jaws come
+together with a snap, or rather he thinks he does,
+and instead of a nice juicy human, those guileless
+jaws of his close on the two ends of the pointed
+stick and stay there. He can&#8217;t close his mouth
+and he drowns.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_159' name='page_159'></a>159</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Poor thing,&#8221; murmured Clara involuntarily,
+while the boys put up a shout. &#8220;I don&#8217;t care,&#8221; she
+added, flushing. &#8220;I&#8217;m always sorry for the underdog&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s why she&#8217;s taken such a fancy to you,
+Jim, old man,&#8221; laughed Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, as long as pity is akin to&mdash;&mdash;&#8221; began
+Joe, when Mabel, tired with laughing, interrupted
+him:</p>
+<p>&#8220;But suppose the stick should break,&#8221; she said.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then there would be just one less native,&#8221; answered
+Jim, solemnly. &#8220;By the way, Joe,&#8221; he
+added, &#8220;speaking of sharks&mdash;what&#8217;s the difference
+between a dog and a shark?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Give it up,&#8221; replied Joe promptly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Because,&#8221; chuckled Jim, &#8220;a dog&#8217;s bark is
+worse than his bite, but a shark&#8217;s bite is&mdash;is&mdash;worse
+than his&mdash;er&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Go ahead,&#8221; said Joe bitterly, while the girls
+giggled. &#8220;Perpetrate it. What shark has a
+bark?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;A dog-faced shark,&#8221; crowed Jim triumphantly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of all the idiots,&#8221; lisped Reggie, joining them
+at the rail. &#8220;&#8217;Pon honor, you know, I never heard
+such bally nonsense.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The gibe that followed this remark was cut
+short by the approach of the lighter on which the
+passengers were to be carried to the shore.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_160' name='page_160'></a>160</span></p>
+<p>They were to spend two days in Hawaii while
+the steamer discharged its cargo, but they would
+have gladly made it two weeks or two months.</p>
+<p>Only one game was played, and that was between
+the Giant and the All-American teams.
+There was no native talent which was quite strong
+enough to stand a chance against the seasoned
+veterans, although Hawaii boasts of many ball
+teams.</p>
+<p>There was a big crowd present, made up chiefly
+of government officials and representatives of foreign
+commercial houses from all over the world
+who had established branches on the island.</p>
+<p>The contests between the two teams had been
+waxing hotter and hotter, despite the fact that
+there was nothing at stake except the pleasure of
+winning.</p>
+<p>But this was enough for these high-strung athletes,
+to whom the cry &#8220;play ball&#8221; was like a bugle
+call. The fight was close from start to finish, and
+resulted in a victory for the All-Americans by a
+score of three to two.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That makes it &#8216;even Stephen,&#8217;&#8221; chortled Brennan
+to his friend and rival, McRae. &#8220;We&#8217;ve won
+just as many games as you have, now.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s hoss and hoss,&#8221; admitted McRae. &#8220;But
+just wait; what we&#8217;ll do to you fellows before we
+get to the end of the trip will be a crime.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The time that still remained before the steamer
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_161' name='page_161'></a>161</span>
+resumed its journey was one of unalloyed delight.
+The scenery was wonderful and the weather superb.</p>
+<p>Jim and Joe hired a touring car and with Joe
+at the wheel&mdash;it is unnecessary to state who sat
+beside him&mdash;they visited all the most picturesque
+and romantic spots in that glorious bit of Nature&#8217;s
+handiwork.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Do you remember our last ride in an automobile,
+Mabel?&#8221; asked Joe with a smile, as she
+snuggled into the seat beside him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Indeed I do,&#8221; replied Mabel. &#8220;It was the
+day that horrid Fleming carried me off and you
+chased us.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I caught you all right, anyway,&#8221; Joe replied.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said Mabel saucily. &#8220;Only to spend all
+your spare moments afterward in regretting it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Joe&#8217;s reproachful denial both in words and
+looks was eloquent.</p>
+<p>They visited the famous volcano with its crater
+Kilaeua, and watched in awe and wonder the great
+sea of flame that surged hideously and writhed
+like a chain of fiery serpents.</p>
+<p>They saw the famous battlefield where Kamehameha,
+&#8220;the Napoleon of the Pacific,&#8221; had won
+the great victory that made him undisputed ruler
+of the island. They saw the steep precipice where
+the three thousand Aohu, fighting to the last gasp,
+had made their final stand, and had at last been
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_162' name='page_162'></a>162</span>
+driven over the cliff to the death awaiting them
+below.</p>
+<p>It was with a feeling of genuine regret that they
+finally bade farewell to the enchanting island and
+again took ship to pursue their journey.</p>
+<p>A large number of new passengers had come
+on board at Honolulu, and among them was a
+man who soon attached himself to the baseball
+party. He was tall and distinguished in appearance,
+smooth and plausible in his conversation,
+and seemed to be thoroughly versed in the great
+national game.</p>
+<p>His ingratiating manners soon made him a favorite
+with the women of the party also, and he
+spared no pains to deepen this impression.</p>
+<p>Reggie liked him immensely, largely, no doubt,
+owing to the hints that Braxton, which was the
+stranger&#8217;s name, had dropped of having aristocratic
+connections. He had traveled widely, and
+the names of distinguished personages fell from
+his lips with ease and familiarity.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How do you like the new fan, Joe?&#8221; Jim
+asked, a day or two later.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t say that I&#8217;m stuck on him much,&#8221; responded
+Joe. &#8220;He seems to be pretty well up
+in baseball dope, and that in itself I suppose ought
+to be a recommendation, to a ball player especially,
+but somehow or other, he doesn&#8217;t hit me
+very hard.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_163' name='page_163'></a>163</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I think he&#8217;s very handsome,&#8221; remarked Mabel,
+with a mischievous glance at Joe, and that young
+man&#8217;s instinctive dislike of the newcomer became
+immediately more pronounced.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He seems very friendly and pleasant,&#8221; put in
+Clara. &#8220;Why don&#8217;t you like him, Joe?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;How can I tell?&#8221; replied her brother. &#8220;I
+simply know I don&#8217;t.&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='XX_IN_MIKADO_LAND' id='XX_IN_MIKADO_LAND'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_164' name='page_164'></a>164</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER XX</h2>
+<h3>IN MIKADO LAND</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>But if Braxton sensed the slight feeling of
+antipathy which Joe felt for him, he gave no sign
+of it, and Joe himself, who wanted to be strictly
+just, took pains to conceal it.</p>
+<p>Braxton had a fund of anecdotes that made
+him good company, and the friendship that
+Reggie felt for him made him often a member
+of Joe&#8217;s party.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Fine fellow, that Mr. Matson of yours,&#8221; he
+remarked one afternoon, when he and Reggie
+and Mabel were sitting together under an awning,
+which the growing heat of every day, as the
+vessel made its way deeper into the tropics, made
+very grateful for its shade and coolness.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Indeed he is,&#8221; remarked Mabel, warmly, to
+whom praise of Joe was always sweet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s a ripper, don&#8217;t you know,&#8221; agreed
+Reggie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not only as a man but as a player,&#8221; continued
+Braxton. &#8220;Hughson used to be king pin
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_165' name='page_165'></a>165</span>
+once, but I think it can be fairly said that Matson
+has taken his place as the star pitcher of America.
+Hughson&#8217;s arm will probably never be entirely
+well again.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Joe thinks that Hughson is a prince,&#8221; remarked
+Mabel. &#8220;He says he stands head and
+shoulders above everybody else.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He used to,&#8221; admitted Braxton. &#8220;For ten
+years there was nobody to be compared with him.
+But now it&#8217;s Matson&#8217;s turn to wear the crown.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Have you ever seen Joe pitch?&#8221; asked Mabel.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I should say I have,&#8221; replied Braxton. &#8220;And
+it&#8217;s always been a treat to see the way he did his
+work. I saw him at the Polo Grounds when in
+that last, heartbreaking game he won the championship
+for the Giants. And I saw him, too, in
+that last game of the World&#8217;s Series, when it
+seemed as though only a miracle could save the
+day. That triple play was the most wonderful
+thing I ever beheld. The way he nailed that
+ball and shot it over to Denton was a thing the
+fans will talk over for many years to come.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Wasn&#8217;t it great?&#8221; cried Mabel, enthusiastically,
+at the same time privately resolving to
+tell all this to Joe and show him how unjust he
+was in feeling the way he did toward this generous
+admirer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The fact is,&#8221; continued Braxton, &#8220;that Matson&#8217;s
+in a class by himself. He&#8217;s the big cog in
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_166' name='page_166'></a>166</span>
+the Giant machinery. It&#8217;s a pity they don&#8217;t appreciate
+him more.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why, they do appreciate him!&#8221; cried Mabel,
+her eyes opening wide with wonder. &#8220;Mr. McRae
+thinks nothing&#8217;s too good for him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Nothing&#8217;s too good except money,&#8221; suggested
+Braxton.</p>
+<p>&#8220;They give him plenty of that, too,&#8221; put in
+Mabel, loyally.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He gets a ripping salary, don&#8217;t you know,&#8221;
+put in Reggie. &#8220;And he almost doubled it in this
+last World&#8217;s Series.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;A man&#8217;s worth what he can get,&#8221; returned
+Braxton. &#8220;Now, of course, I don&#8217;t know and
+perhaps it might be an impertinence for me even
+to guess what his salary is, but I should say that
+it isn&#8217;t a bit more than ten thousand a year.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, it isn&#8217;t anything like that,&#8221; said Reggie,
+a little chop fallen.</p>
+<p>Braxton raised his eyebrows in apparent surprise.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t think the Giants were so niggardly,&#8221;
+he remarked, with a touch of contempt. &#8220;It&#8217;s
+simply robbery for them to hold his services at
+such a figure. Mr. Matson could demand vastly
+more than that.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where?&#8221; asked Reggie. &#8220;He&#8217;s under contract
+with the Giants and they wouldn&#8217;t let him
+go to any other club.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_167' name='page_167'></a>167</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Why doesn&#8217;t he go without asking leave?&#8221;
+asked Braxton.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But no other club in the big leagues would
+take him if he broke his contract with the Giants,&#8221;
+said Mabel, a little bewildered.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve heard there was a new league forming,&#8221;
+said Braxton, carelessly. &#8220;Let&#8217;s see, what is it
+they call it? The All-Star League. There would
+be no trouble with Matson&#8217;s getting an engagement
+with them. They&#8217;d welcome him with open
+arms.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;ve already tried to get him,&#8221; cried
+Mabel, proudly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Is that so? I suppose they made him a pretty
+good offer. I&#8217;ve heard they&#8217;re doing things on a
+big scale.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It was a wonderful offer,&#8221; said Mabel.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It certainly was, &#8217;pon honor,&#8221; chimed in
+Reggie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Would it be indiscreet to ask the amount?&#8221;
+said Braxton.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think there&#8217;s any bally secret &#8217;bout it,&#8221;
+complied Reggie. &#8220;They offered him twenty
+thousand dollars to sign a contract and fifteen
+thousand dollars a year for a three years&#8217; term.
+Many a bank or railroad president doesn&#8217;t get
+that much, don&#8217;t you know.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And Matson refused it?&#8221; asked Braxton, incredulously.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_168' name='page_168'></a>168</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;How could he help it?&#8221; replied Mabel. &#8220;His
+contract with the Giants has two years yet to
+run.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;My dear young lady,&#8221; said Braxton, &#8220;don&#8217;t
+you know that a baseball contract isn&#8217;t as binding
+as the ordinary kind? In the first place, it&#8217;s
+one-sided, and that itself makes it worthless.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;In what way is it so one-sided?&#8221; asked
+Mabel.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, just to take one instance,&#8221; replied
+Braxton. &#8220;A baseball club may engage a man for
+a year and yet if it gets tired of its bargain, it
+can let him go on ten days&#8217; notice. That doesn&#8217;t
+seem fair, does it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No-o, it doesn&#8217;t,&#8221; admitted Mabel slowly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It would be all right,&#8221; continued Braxton, &#8220;if
+the player also could leave his club by giving ten
+days&#8217; notice. But he can&#8217;t. That&#8217;s what makes
+it unfair. The club can do to the player what
+the player can&#8217;t do to the club. So the supposed
+contract is only a bit of paper. It&#8217;s no contract
+at all.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not in the legal sense, perhaps,&#8221; said Reggie,
+dubiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, if not in the legal sense, then in no sense
+at all,&#8221; persisted Braxton. &#8220;The law is supposed
+to be based on justice, isn&#8217;t it, and to do what is
+right?</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course,&#8221; he went on, &#8220;it&#8217;s none of my
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_169' name='page_169'></a>169</span>
+business; but if I were in Mr. Matson&#8217;s place, I
+shouldn&#8217;t hesitate a moment in going where my
+services were in the most demand.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mabel felt there was sophistry somewhere in
+the argument, but could hardly point out where
+it was.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t like to be quoted in this matter,
+of course,&#8221; said Braxton, suavely. &#8220;And it might
+be just as well not to mention to Mr. Matson that
+I have spoken about it. He might think I was
+trying to pry into his affairs.&#8221;</p>
+<p>As Joe and Jim came up just then from the
+engine-room of the ship which they had been inspecting,
+the subject, of course, was dropped, and
+after a while Braxton strode away with a self-satisfied
+smile on his lips.</p>
+<p>The travelers were now in the heart of the
+typhoon region but luckily for them it was the
+winter season when such storms are least frequent
+and although they met a half gale that for two
+days kept them in their cabins, they were favored
+on the whole by fair weather and at the appointed
+time dropped anchor in the harbor of Yokohama.</p>
+<p>Now they were on the very threshold of the
+Oriental world of whose wonders they had heard
+and dreamed, and all were on tiptoe with curiosity
+and interest.</p>
+<p>The sights and scenes were as strange almost
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_170' name='page_170'></a>170</span>
+as though they were on another planet. Everything
+was new to their young blood and unjaded
+senses in this &#8220;Land of the Rising Sun.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The great city itself, teeming with commerce
+and busy life, had countless places of interest, but
+far more enchanting were the trips they took in
+the jinrikishas drawn by tireless coolies which
+carried them to the little dreaming, rustic towns
+with their tiny houses, their quaint pagodas, their
+charming gardens and their unhurried life, so different
+from the feverish, restless tumult of western
+lands.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Really, this seems to be a different world from
+ours,&#8221; was Clara&#8217;s comment.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It certainly is vastly different from anything
+we have in America,&#8221; replied Mabel.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s interesting&mdash;I&#8217;ll admit that,&#8221; said Joe.
+&#8220;Just the same, I like things the way we have them
+much better.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;To me these people&mdash;or at least a large part of
+them&mdash;seem to lead a dreamlike existence,&#8221; was
+Jim&#8217;s comment. &#8220;They don&#8217;t seem to belong to
+the hurry and bustle of life such as we know it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And yet there is noise enough, goodness
+knows!&#8221; answered Clara.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think I really prefer the good old U. S. A.,
+don&#8217;t you know,&#8221; drawled Reggie. &#8220;There may
+be society here, but really it&#8217;s so different from
+ours that I shouldn&#8217;t like to take part in it.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_171' name='page_171'></a>171</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, there is plenty of noise, but, at the same
+time, there is a good deal of calm and quiet,&#8221; said
+Joe.</p>
+<p>But the calm and quiet that seemed to be prevailing
+features of Japanese life were wholly absent
+from the ball games where the visiting teams
+met the nines of Keio and Waseda Universities.</p>
+<p>The Giants were to play the first named team,
+while later on the All-Americans were slated to
+tackle the Waseda men.</p>
+<p>In the first game the contrast was laughable
+between the sturdy Giant players and their diminutive
+opponents.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What are we playing against?&#8221; laughed
+Larry to Denton. &#8220;A bunch of kids?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It would take two of them to make a mouthful,&#8221;
+grinned Denton.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I feel almost ashamed of myself,&#8221; chimed
+in Burkett. &#8220;We ought to tackle fellows of our
+own size.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t find many of that kind in Japan,&#8221;
+said Joe. &#8220;But don&#8217;t you hold these fellows too
+cheap. They may have a surprise in store for
+us.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The snap and vim that the Japs put into their
+practice before the game seemed to add point to
+his prophecy. They shot the ball around the
+bases with a speed and precision that would have
+done credit to seasoned veterans and made
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_172' name='page_172'></a>172</span>
+McRae, who watched them keenly, give his men a
+word of caution.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t get too gay, boys,&#8221; he warned.</p>
+<p>The game that followed was &#8220;for blood.&#8221; The
+universities had poured out their crowds to a
+man to cheer their players on to victory.</p>
+<p>And for the first five innings the scales hung
+in the balance. The Keio pitcher had a world of
+speed and a tantalizing drop, and only two safe
+hits were made off him. Behind him his team
+mates fielded like demons. No ball seemed too
+hard for them to get, and even when a Giant got
+to first base he found it difficult to advance
+against the accurate throwing to second of the
+Jap catcher.</p>
+<p>At the bat the home players were less fortunate.
+They hit the ball often enough but they
+couldn&#8217;t &#8220;lean against it&#8221; with the power of their
+sturdier rivals.</p>
+<p>They were skillful bunters, however, and had
+the Giant players &#8220;standing on their heads&#8221; in
+trying to field the balls that the clever Jap players
+laid deftly in front of the plate.</p>
+<p>By these tactics they scored a run in the sixth
+inning, against which the Giants had only a string
+of goose eggs.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s like a bear against a wildcat,&#8221; muttered
+Robbie to McRae, as the little Jap scurried over
+the plate.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_173' name='page_173'></a>173</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;And it looks as if the wildcat might win,&#8221;
+grunted the Giant manager, not at all pleased at
+the possibility.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not a bit of it,&#8221; denied Robbie sturdily. &#8220;A
+good big man is better than a good little man any
+time.&#8221;</p>
+<p>And his faith was justified when, in the seventh
+inning, the Giants, stung by the taunts of their
+manager, really woke up and got into action. A
+perfect storm of hits broke from their bats and
+had the Japanese players running after the ball
+until their tongues hung out.</p>
+<p>Five runs came in and it was &#8220;all over but the
+shouting.&#8221; There was not much shouting, however,
+for the home crowd had seen its dream of
+victory shattered.</p>
+<p>But though the Giants won handily in the end
+by a score of six to two, it had been a red-hot
+game, and had taken some of the conceit out of
+the major leaguers. It was a tip, too, to the
+All-Americans, who, when they played the Waseda
+team a little later, went in with determination to
+win the game from the start and trimmed their
+opponents handsomely.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Those Japs are the goods all right,&#8221; conceded
+McRae, when at last they were ready to
+embark for Hongkong.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re right they are,&#8221; agreed Robbie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We call ourselves the world&#8217;s champions,&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_174' name='page_174'></a>174</span>
+grinned Jim. &#8220;But, after all, we&#8217;re only champions
+of the United States. The time may come
+when there will be a real World&#8217;s Series and then
+the pennant will mean something more than it
+does now.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It would be some big jump between the
+games,&#8221; said Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lots of queer things happen,&#8221; said Larry
+sagely. &#8220;The time yet may come when the umpire
+will take off his hat, bow to the crowd and
+say&mdash;</p>
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;Ladies and gentlemen: the batteries for to-day&#8217;s
+game are Matsuda and Nagawiki for the
+All-Japans, Matson and Mylert for the All-Americans.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='XXI_RUNNING_AMUCK' id='XXI_RUNNING_AMUCK'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_175' name='page_175'></a>175</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXI</h2>
+<h3>RUNNING AMUCK</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>If Japan had been a revelation to the tourists,
+China was a still greater one. For Japan, however
+much she clung to the dreamy life of former
+times, had at last awakened and was fast adapting
+herself to modern, civilized conditions.</p>
+<p>If Japan was still half dreaming, China was
+sound asleep. This, of course, was not true of
+the foreign quarter, where the great English government
+buildings and commercial houses might
+have been those of Paris or London.</p>
+<p>But just behind this lay the real China, looking
+probably the same as three hundred thousand
+years ago. The little streets, so narrow in places
+that the houses almost touched and a carriage
+could not pass! That strange medley of sounds
+and smells and noises! Here a tinker mending
+his pans on the sidewalk! There a dentist, pulling
+a tooth in the open street, jugglers performing
+their tricks, snake charmers exhibiting their
+slimy pets.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_176' name='page_176'></a>176</span></p>
+<p>There was a bewildering jumble of trades, occupations
+and amusements, so utterly different
+from what the tourists had ever before seen that
+it held their curiosity unabated and their interest
+stimulated to its highest pitch during the period
+of their stay.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Everything is so topsy turvy!&#8221; exclaimed
+Mabel, as she threaded the noisome streets, clinging
+close to Joe&#8217;s arm. &#8220;I feel like Alice in Wonderland.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not surprising that things should be upside
+down when we&#8217;re in the Antipodes,&#8221; laughed
+Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If we saw men walking on their heads it would
+seem natural out here,&#8221; said Jim. &#8220;All that a
+Chinaman wants to know is what other people
+do, then he does something different.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure thing,&#8221; said Joe. &#8220;See those fellows
+across the street. They&#8217;re evidently old friends
+and each one is shaking hands with himself.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You can&#8217;t dope out anything here,&#8221; said Jim.
+&#8220;When an American&#8217;s puzzled he scratches his
+head&mdash;the Chinaman scratches his foot. We
+wear black for mourning, they wear white. We
+pay the doctor when we&#8217;re sick&mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;If the doctor&#8217;s lucky,&#8221; interrupted Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;They pay him only while they&#8217;re well. They
+figure that it&#8217;s to his interest then to keep them
+well. We think what few brains we have are
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_177' name='page_177'></a>177</span>
+in our head. The Chinaman thinks they&#8217;re in the
+stomach. Whenever he gets off what he thinks
+is a good thing he pats his stomach in approval.
+We put a guest of honor on our right, the Chinaman
+puts him on his left.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Anything else?&#8221; asked Clara laughingly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lots of things,&#8221; replied Joe. &#8220;And we&#8217;ll
+probably find them out before we go away.&#8221;</p>
+<p>As they passed a corner they saw a man standing
+there, rigged out in a queer fashion. About
+him was what seemed to be a tree box, from which
+only his head protruded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why is he going around that way?&#8221; asked
+Mabel, curiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You wouldn&#8217;t care to know that,&#8221; said Joe,
+hurrying her along, but Mabel was not to be disposed
+of in so cavalier a fashion.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But I do want to know,&#8221; she persisted.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Might as well tell her,&#8221; said Jim, &#8220;and let
+her suffer.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; said Joe, reluctantly, &#8220;that fellow&#8217;s
+being executed.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What do you mean?&#8221; exclaimed Mabel, in
+horror.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just that,&#8221; replied Joe. &#8220;That thing that
+looked like a tree box is what they call a cangue.
+They put him in there so that he&#8217;s standing on
+thin slabs of wood that just enable him to keep
+his head above that narrow opening around his
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_178' name='page_178'></a>178</span>
+neck. Every little while they take one of the
+slabs of wood from underneath him; then he has
+to stand on tiptoe. By and by his feet can&#8217;t
+touch the slabs at all, and then he chokes to
+death.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girls shuddered and Mabel regretted her
+ill-timed curiosity.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What a hideous thing!&#8221; exclaimed Clara.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And what cruel people!&#8221; added Mabel.</p>
+<p>&#8220;One of the most cruel on God&#8217;s earth,&#8221; replied
+Jim. &#8220;You see in all this crowd there is
+nobody looking at that fellow with pity. They
+don&#8217;t seem to have the slightest tincture of it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s go back to our hotel,&#8221; pleaded Mabel.
+&#8220;I&#8217;ve seen all I want to for to-day.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The games at Hong Kong were interesting and
+largely attended. There was one rattling contest
+between the major leaguers that after an eleventh-inning
+fight was won by the Giants.</p>
+<p>A few days later a second game was played in
+which a picked team from the visitors opposed a
+nine of husky &#8220;Jackies&#8221; selected from the United
+States battleships that lay in the harbor.</p>
+<p>To make the game more even, the Giants
+loaned them a catcher and second baseman, and
+a contest ensued that was full of fun and excitement.</p>
+<p>Of course, the Jackies were full of naval slang,
+and sometimes their talk was utterly unintelligible
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_179' name='page_179'></a>179</span>
+to the landsmen. At the end of the third inning
+the Giants had three runs to their credit, while the
+boys from the navy had nothing.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Say there, Longneck, we&#8217;ve got to get some
+runs,&#8221; howled one Jackie to his mate. &#8220;Give &#8217;em
+a shot from a twelve-inch gun!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Aye! aye! Give it &#8217;em.&#8221;</p>
+<p>In the next inning the Jackies took a brace, and,
+as a consequence, got two runs. Immediately they
+and their friends began to cheer wildly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Down with the pirates!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s feed &#8217;em to the sharks!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;A double portion of plum duff for every man
+on our side who makes a run!&#8221; cried one enthusiastic
+sailor boy.</p>
+<p>Several of the Jackies were quite good when it
+came to batting the ball, but hardly any of them
+could do any efficient running, for the reason that
+they got but scant practice while on shipboard.
+The way that some of them wabbled around the
+bases was truly amusing, and set the crowd to
+laughing loudly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Our men don&#8217;t like this running,&#8221; declared one
+sailor, who sat watching the contest. &#8220;If, instead
+of running around those bases, you fellows had to
+climb a mast, you&#8217;d see who would come out
+ahead.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The Jackies managed to get two more runs, due
+almost entirely to the lax playing of the Giants.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_180' name='page_180'></a>180</span>
+This, however, was as far as they were able to go,
+and, when the game came to an end, the score
+stood 12 to 5 in favor of the Giants.</p>
+<p>A visit to Shanghai followed, where only one
+game was played, and this by a rally in the last
+inning went to the All-Americans, thus keeping
+the total score of won and lost even between the
+rival teams.</p>
+<p>They spent a few more days in sightseeing, and
+then set sail for the Philippines, glad at the prospect
+of soon being once more under the flag of
+their own country.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Look at those queer little boats!&#8221; exclaimed
+Mabel, as they stood at the rail while the ship
+was weighing anchor and looked at the native
+sampans with their bright colors and lateen sails
+as they darted to and fro like so many gaudy
+butterflies.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What are those things they have on each side
+of the bow?&#8221; asked Clara. &#8220;They look like
+eyes.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s what they are,&#8221; replied Jim, seriously.</p>
+<p>Clara looked at him to see if he were joking.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Honest to goodness, cross my heart, hope to
+die,&#8221; returned Jim.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But why do they put eyes there?&#8221; asked Clara,
+mystified.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So that the boat can see where it&#8217;s going,&#8221;
+replied Jim.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_181' name='page_181'></a>181</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; said Mabel, with a gasp, &#8220;whatever
+else I take away from this country, I&#8217;ll have a
+choice collection of nightmares.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The steamer made splendid weather of the
+trip to the Philippines, and in a few days they
+were steaming into Manila bay. Their hearts
+swelled with pride as they recalled the splendid
+achievement of Admiral Dewey, when, with his
+battle fleet, scorning mines and torpedoes, like
+Farragut at Mobile, he had signaled for &#8220;full
+speed ahead.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That fellow was the real stuff,&#8221; remarked
+Jim.</p>
+<p>&#8220;As good as they make them,&#8221; agreed Joe.
+&#8220;And foxy, too. Remember how he kept that
+cable cut because he didn&#8217;t want the folks at
+Washington to queer his game. He had his work
+cut out and he wasn&#8217;t going to be interfered
+with.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Something like Nelson, when his chief ran up
+the signal to withdraw,&#8221; suggested Denton. &#8220;He
+looked at it with that blind eye of his and said he
+couldn&#8217;t see it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Dewey was a good deal like Nelson,&#8221; said
+Joe. &#8220;Do you remember how he trod on the
+corns of that German admiral who tried to butt
+in?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Do I?&#8221; said Jim. &#8220;You bet I do.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The party met with a warm welcome when they
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_182' name='page_182'></a>182</span>
+went ashore at Manila. American officers and
+men from the garrison thronged the dock to meet
+the veterans of the diamond, whose coming had
+been widely heralded.</p>
+<p>Many of them knew the players personally and
+all knew them by reputation.</p>
+<p>The baseball teams went to their hotel and
+after they were comfortably settled in their new
+quarters, the two chums accompanied by the girls
+went out for a stroll. But they had not gone
+far before they were startled by excited shouts
+a little way ahead of them and saw groups of
+people scattering right and left in wild panic and
+confusion.</p>
+<p>Down the street came a savage figure, running
+with the speed of a hare, and holding in
+either hand a knife with which he slashed savagely
+right and left at all that stood in his way.</p>
+<p>His eyes were flaming with demoniacal fury,
+foam stood out upon his lips, and from those lips
+issued a wailing cry that ended in a shriek:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Amuck! Amuck!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='XXII_TAKING_A_CHANCE' id='XXII_TAKING_A_CHANCE'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_183' name='page_183'></a>183</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXII</h2>
+<h3>TAKING A CHANCE</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>There was a scream from the frightened girls
+and a gasp from the young men as they saw
+this messenger of death bearing down upon
+them.</p>
+<p>They knew at a glance what had happened.
+A Malay, yielding to the insidious mental malady
+that seems peculiar to his race, had suddenly gone
+mad and started out to kill. That he himself
+would inevitably be killed did not deter him for a
+moment. He wanted to die, but he wanted at
+the same time to take as many with him as possible.</p>
+<p>He had made his offering to the infernal gods,
+had blackened his teeth and anointed his head
+with cocoa oil, and had started out to slay.</p>
+<p>With his eyes blazing, his head rolling from
+side to side like a mad dog, and with that blood-chilling
+cry coming from his foam-flecked lips, he
+was like a figure from a nightmare.</p>
+<p>For a moment the Americans stood rooted to
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_184' name='page_184'></a>184</span>
+the spot. That instant past, Baseball Joe, as
+usual, took the lead.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Look after the girls, Jim!&#8221; he cried, and
+started full tilt toward the awful figure that came
+plunging down the street.</p>
+<p>Mabel and Clara screamed to him to stop, but
+he only quickened his pace, running like a deer,
+as though bent on suicide. The Malay saw him
+coming, and for a second hesitated. He had seen
+everyone else scurry from him in fear. What did
+this man mean by coming to meet him?</p>
+<p>It was just this instant of indecision upon which
+Joe had counted, and like a flash he seized it.</p>
+<p>When within twenty feet of the Malay, Joe
+launched himself into the air, and came down flat
+on the hard dirt road, as he had done many a time
+before when sliding to base.</p>
+<p>The Malay, confused by the unlooked-for action,
+slashed down at him. Had Joe gone straight
+toward him, the knife would have been buried in
+him. But here again his quickness and the tactics
+of the ballfield came into play.</p>
+<p>Instead of going straight toward his antagonist,
+his slide had been a &#8220;fall away.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Many a time when sliding to second he had
+thrown himself this way out of the reach of the
+ball, while his extended hand just clutched the
+bag.</p>
+<p>So now, his sinewy arm caught the Malay by
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_185' name='page_185'></a>185</span>
+the leg, while his body swung round to the right.
+Down went the Malay with a crash, his blood-stained
+knives clattering on the ground and the
+next instant Joe was on his back.</p>
+<p>His hands closed upon the man&#8217;s throat with
+an iron grip.</p>
+<p>But there was no more fight left in the would-be
+murderer. The fall had jarred and partially
+stunned him. In an instant Jim had joined Joe,
+other men came rushing up; and the danger was
+over.</p>
+<p>The crazed man was secured with ropes and
+carried away, while Joe, perspiring, panting and
+covered with dust, received the enthusiastic congratulations
+of the rapidly gathering crowd.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Pluckiest thing I ever saw in my life!&#8221; exclaimed
+the colonel of the army command, who
+had witnessed the exploit.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That fall-away slide of yours was great,
+Joe!&#8221; cried Larry Barrett, who had come up.
+&#8220;I never saw a niftier one on the ballfield.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You made the bag all right!&#8221; grinned Denton.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He never touched you!&#8221; chuckled Burkett.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If he had it would have been some touch,&#8221; declared
+McRae, as he picked up one murderous-looking
+knife and passed it round for inspection.</p>
+<p>It was a wicked weapon, nearly a foot in
+length, with a handle so contrived as to get all
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_186' name='page_186'></a>186</span>
+the weight behind the stroke and a wavy blade
+capable of inflicting a fearful wound.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Has a bowie knife skinned a mile!&#8221; ejaculated
+Curry, expressing the general sentiment.</p>
+<p>Joe hated to pose as a hero but it was some
+time before the crowd would let him get away
+and rejoin the girls who were waiting for him.</p>
+<p>All the plaudits of the throng were tame compared
+with what he read in the eyes of Mabel and
+his sister.</p>
+<p>The baseball teams stayed nearly a week in
+Manila, making short excursions in the suburbs as
+far as it could be done with safety. Two games
+were played, one between the Giants and All-Americans,
+which resulted in favor of the latter,
+and another between the Giants and a picked nine
+from the army post.</p>
+<p>Many of Uncle Sam&#8217;s army boys had been fine
+amateur players and a few had come from professional
+teams, so that they were able to put up
+a gallant fight, although they were, of course, no
+match for the champions of the world.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But they certainly put up a fine game,&#8221; was
+Joe&#8217;s comment. &#8220;They had two pitchers who had
+some good stuff in &#8217;em.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s just what I was thinking,&#8221; returned
+Jim.</p>
+<p>&#8220;One of those pitchers used to play ball on a
+professional team from Los Angeles,&#8221; said
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_187' name='page_187'></a>187</span>
+McRae, who was standing near. &#8220;I understand he
+had quite a record.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wonder what made him give up pitching and
+join the army,&#8221; remarked Jim curiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I suppose it was the love of adventure,&#8221;
+answered the manager.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That might be it,&#8221; said Joe. &#8220;Some fellows
+get tired of doing the same thing, and when they
+have a chance to leave home and see strange
+places, they grab it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>While warming up prior to this last game, Joe&#8217;s
+attention was attracted by a muscular Chinaman,
+who was standing in the crowd that fringed the
+diamond, interestedly watching the players at
+practice. He recognized him as a famous wrestler
+who had taken part in a bout at a performance
+the night before and who had thrown his
+opponents with ease.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Some muscles on that fellow,&#8221; Joe remarked
+to Jim.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Biggest Chink I ever saw,&#8221; replied Jim, &#8220;and
+not a bit of it is fat either. He&#8217;d make a dandy
+highbinder. You saw what he did to the Terrible
+Turk in that match last night. He just
+played with him. And the Turk was no slouch
+either.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Look at those arms,&#8221; joined in Larry, gazing
+with admiration at the swelling biceps of the
+wrestler. &#8220;What a slugger he&#8217;d make if he knew
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_188' name='page_188'></a>188</span>
+how to play ball. He&#8217;d break all the fences in
+the league.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He sure would kill the ball if he ever caught
+it on the end of his bat,&#8221; declared Red Curry.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve half a mind to give him a chance,&#8221;
+laughed Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Go ahead,&#8221; grinned Larry. &#8220;I&#8217;d like to see
+him break his back reaching for one of your
+curves.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He might land on it at that,&#8221; replied Joe.
+&#8220;A wrestler has to have an eye like a hawk.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He beckoned to the wrestler, who came toward
+him at once with a smile on his keen but good-natured
+face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Want to hit the ball?&#8221; asked Joe, piecing out
+his question by going through the motions of
+swinging a bat that he picked up.</p>
+<p>The wrestler &#8220;caught on&#8221; at once, and the
+smile on his face broadened into a grin as he
+nodded his head understandingly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Me tly,&#8221; he said in the &#8220;pidgin English&#8221; he
+had picked up in his travels, and reached out his
+hand for the bat.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Have a heart, Joe,&#8221; laughed Larry. &#8220;Don&#8217;t
+show the poor gink up before the crowd. At any
+rate let me show him how it&#8217;s done.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;All right,&#8221; responded Joe. &#8220;You lead off and
+he can follow.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Larry took up his position at the plate and
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_189' name='page_189'></a>189</span>
+motioned to the wrestler to watch him. The latter
+nodded and followed every motion.</p>
+<p>Joe put over a swift high one that Larry swung
+at and missed. He &#8220;bit&#8221; again at an outcurve
+with no better result.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Look out, Larry,&#8221; chaffed Jim, &#8220;or it&#8217;s you
+that will be shown up instead of the Chink.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A little nettled, Larry caught the next one full
+and square and it sailed far out into right field.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There,&#8221; he said complacently, as he handed
+the bat to the wrestler, &#8220;that&#8217;s the way it&#8217;s done.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The latter went awkwardly to the plate and a
+laugh ran through the crowd at the unusual sight.</p>
+<p>Joe lobbed one over and the Chinaman swung
+listlessly a foot below the ball.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Easy money,&#8221; laughed Denton.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where&#8217;s that good eye you said this fellow
+had?&#8221; sang out Willis.</p>
+<p>The second ball floated up to the plate as big
+as a balloon, and again the wrestler whiffed, coming
+nowhere near the sphere.</p>
+<p>But as Joe wound up for the third ball, the
+listlessness vanished from the Chinaman. A
+glint came into his eyes and every muscle was
+tense.</p>
+<p>The ball sped toward the plate. The wrestler
+caught it fair &#8220;on the seam&#8221; with all his powerful
+body behind the blow.</p>
+<p>The ball soared high and far over center field,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_190' name='page_190'></a>190</span>
+looking as though it were never going to stop. In
+a regular game it would have been the easiest of
+home runs.</p>
+<p>The wrestler sauntered away from the plate
+with the same bland smile on his yellow face
+while the crowd cheered him. He had turned the
+tables, and the laugh was on Joe and his fellow
+players.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But why,&#8221; asked Jim, after the game had resulted
+in a victory for the visitors by a one-sided
+score, and he was walking back with Joe to the
+hotel, &#8220;did he make such a miserable flunk at the
+first two balls? Was he kidding us?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not at all,&#8221; grinned Joe. &#8220;It&#8217;s because the
+Chinamen are the greatest imitators on earth.
+He saw that Larry missed the first two and so
+he did the same. He thought it was part of the
+game!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='XXIII_AN_EMBARRASSED_RESCUER' id='XXIII_AN_EMBARRASSED_RESCUER'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_191' name='page_191'></a>191</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXIII</h2>
+<h3>AN EMBARRASSED RESCUER</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>On the long trip to Australia the tourists encountered
+the most severe storm of the journey.
+In fact, it was almost equal to the dreaded
+typhoon, and there were times when, despite the
+staunchness of the vessel, the faces of the captain
+and the officers were lined with anxiety.</p>
+<p>After two days and nights, however, of peril,
+the storm blew itself out and the rest of the journey
+was made over serene seas and under cloudless
+skies.</p>
+<p>One night after the girls had retired, Joe and
+Jim, together with McRae and Braxton, were
+sitting in the smoking room. The conversation
+had been of the kind that always prevails when
+baseball &#8220;fans&#8221; get together.</p>
+<p>After a while Jim accompanied McRae to the
+latter&#8217;s cabin to discuss some details of Jim&#8217;s contract
+for the coming season, leaving Joe and
+Braxton as the sole occupants of the room.</p>
+<p>Joe had never been able to overcome the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_192' name='page_192'></a>192</span>
+instinctive antipathy that he had felt toward Braxton
+from the first, but he had kept this under restraint,
+and Braxton himself, though he might
+have suspected this feeling, was always suave and
+urbane.</p>
+<p>There was no denying that he was good company
+and always interesting. In an apparently
+accidental way, Braxton, who had been scribbling
+aimlessly upon some pieces of paper that lay on
+the table, led the talk toward the subject of handwriting.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a gift to write a good hand,&#8221; he remarked.
+&#8220;It&#8217;s got to be born in you. Some men
+can do it naturally, others can&#8217;t. I&#8217;m one of the
+fellows that can&#8217;t. I&#8217;ll bet Horace Greeley himself
+never wrote a worse hand than I do.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve heard that he was a weird writer,&#8221; smiled
+Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The worst ever,&#8221; rejoined Braxton. &#8220;I&#8217;ve
+heard that he wrote to his foreman once, ordering
+him to discharge a printer who had set up a
+bad copy. The printer hated to lose his job and
+an idea struck him. He got hold of the letter
+discharging him and took it to Greeley, who
+didn&#8217;t know him by sight, and told him it was a
+letter of recommendation from his last employer.
+Greeley tried to read it, but couldn&#8217;t, so he said
+he guessed it was all right and told him he was
+engaged.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_193' name='page_193'></a>193</span></p>
+<p>Joe laughed, and Braxton tossed over to him
+a sheet of paper on which he had written his
+name.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Greeley has nothing on me,&#8221; he said. &#8220;If you
+didn&#8217;t know my name was Braxton, I&#8217;ll bet you
+wouldn&#8217;t recognize these hen tracks.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re right,&#8221; said Joe. &#8220;I&#8217;m no dabster myself
+at writing and I can sympathize with you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It couldn&#8217;t be as bad as this,&#8221; challenged
+Braxton, slipping a pen over to Joe, together with
+a fresh piece of paper.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; said Joe, as he took up the pen, &#8220;I
+guess at least you could make mine out.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He scribbled his name and Braxton picked up
+the paper with a laugh.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I win,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You&#8217;re bad, but I&#8217;m worse.
+You see I am proud even of my defects.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He dropped the subject then and talked of
+other things until Joe, stifling a yawn, excused
+himself and went to his cabin.</p>
+<p>The reception of the party in Australia went
+far beyond their expectations. That remote continent
+has always been noted for its sporting spirit
+and although of course the English blood made
+cricket their favorite game, the crowds were
+quick to detect and appreciate the merits of the
+great American pastime.</p>
+<p>As a rule they would not concede that the batting
+was any better than that shown by their own
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_194' name='page_194'></a>194</span>
+cricketers, but there was no question as to the
+superiority of the fielding.</p>
+<p>The lightning throws, the double plays, the
+marvelous catches in the outfield and the speed
+shown on the bases were freely admitted to be
+far and away beyond that shown by their elevens.
+And the crowds grew larger and larger as the
+visiting teams made their triumphal progress
+through the great cities of Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide
+and Melbourne.</p>
+<p>Inspired by their reception and put upon their
+mettle by the great outpouring of spectators, the
+teams themselves played like demons. One
+might almost have thought that they were fighting
+for the pennant.</p>
+<p>They were so evenly matched that first one and
+then the other was on top, and by the time they
+reached Melbourne the Giants were only one
+game in the lead of the total that had been played
+since the trip began.</p>
+<p>Melbourne itself with its romantic history and
+magic growth proved very attractive. But Joe
+was destined to remember it for very different
+reasons.</p>
+<p>While walking with Jim one day outside the
+town near the Yarra Yarra river, they were startled
+by hearing a cry for help, and racing toward
+the sound they saw a young girl struggling in the
+water.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_195' name='page_195'></a>195</span></p>
+<p>Trained by their vocation to act quickly, they
+threw off their coats, plunging into the water
+almost at the same instant. They swam fiercely,
+lashed on by that frantic wail, sounding fainter
+each time it was repeated.</p>
+<p>The race for a life was almost neck and neck
+until Joe, showing his tremendous reserve
+strength, shot ahead at the very end, grasping the
+struggling figure as it was sinking for the last
+time.</p>
+<p>Jim helped, and together they brought the rescued
+girl&mdash;the long dank black hair testified to
+her sex&mdash;back to shore, where a group of the
+native blacks, attracted by the cries, had gathered
+to welcome them.</p>
+<p>Dripping and exhausted, the two heroes of the
+occasion staggered up the bank while willing
+hands relieved them of their burden.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s beat it,&#8221; whispered Jim, as the crowd of
+natives closed around the unconscious object of
+their heroism, &#8220;while the going&#8217;s good. If that
+girl ever finds out that you rescued her she&#8217;ll
+want to attach herself to you for life. That
+seems to be the fool custom of these parts.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;She&#8217;d find it pretty hard work,&#8221; said Joe, with
+a wry smile. &#8220;Besides, we don&#8217;t even know that
+the girl&#8217;s alive. It would be pretty heartless to
+clear out without learning.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, all right,&#8221; said Jim, uneasily. &#8220;But
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_196' name='page_196'></a>196</span>
+remember, if there are any consequences you&#8217;ve got
+to take &#8217;em.&#8221;</p>
+<p>At that moment the crowd opened and the boys
+saw a remarkably good-looking black girl standing
+dizzily and supported by another native who
+might have been her father.</p>
+<p>She looked dazedly from one to the other of
+the young men and Jim promptly &#8220;stepped out
+from under.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s him,&#8221; said Jim, neglecting grammar in
+his eagerness to shift the burden of credit to Joe&#8217;s
+broad shoulders. &#8220;He did it all.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girl walked unsteadily up to Joe and
+said, submissively: &#8220;My life is yours! Me your
+slave!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Joe started, stared, and gulped, then turned to
+Jim to make sure he was awake, and not a victim
+of some bad dream. But Jim had suddenly acquired
+a peculiar form of hysteria, and with a
+choking sound turned his back upon his friend.</p>
+<p>&#8220;N-no,&#8221; stuttered Joe, gently pushing the girl
+away, &#8220;no want.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Another explosion from Jim did not serve to
+improve Joe&#8217;s state of mind. His face was fiery
+red, and his voice husky.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Me slave!&#8221; persisted the girl stubbornly.</p>
+<p>Then Joe turned and fled, manfully fighting a
+desire to shout with laughter one moment, and
+groan with dismay the next.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_197' name='page_197'></a>197</span></p>
+<p>Two very much subdued baseball players crept
+in at the side door of the hotel, and scurried
+along the corridor toward their rooms, hoping
+ardently to meet no one on the way. It was with
+a sigh of relief that they slipped inside, locked
+the door, and repaired the ravages that the waters
+of the Yarra Yarra had made upon their clothing.</p>
+<p>A few moments later, with self respect considerably
+improved, they sauntered down to the
+writing room, where they found the two girls
+looking more distractingly pretty than ever, engaged
+in folding the last of their letters.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, back so soon?&#8221; queried Mabel, looking
+up.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Goodness, how the time has flown,&#8221; said
+Clara. &#8220;It seems as though you had just gone.
+Have you another stamp, Mabel dear? I have
+used mine all up.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Say, you&#8217;re complimentary,&#8221; remarked Jim,
+dryly. &#8220;It&#8217;s great to be missed like that.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, we&#8217;ll miss something more if we don&#8217;t
+get a move on,&#8221; said Joe, practically. &#8220;How
+about some lunch, girls?&#8221;</p>
+<p>After luncheon the quartette sauntered out for
+a walk up Elizabeth street to the post-office. The
+boys were just congratulating themselves that
+their uncomfortable, though piquant, experience
+of the morning was a thing definitely of the past,
+when it happened!
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_198' name='page_198'></a>198</span></p>
+<p>Joe felt a touch on his arm, and, looking down,
+saw, to his horror, the black girl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Me yours!&#8221; she cried, eagerly.</p>
+<p>Joe muttered savagely beneath his breath, and
+held the girl off at arm&#8217;s length, his misery increasing
+as, with a quick side glance, he saw the
+growing indignation in Mabel&#8217;s eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Me yours!&#8221; repeated the girl, with the maddening
+monotony of a phonograph.</p>
+<p>But just then, when Joe was at his wit&#8217;s end,
+help came from an unexpected quarter. A big
+black man, glowering threateningly, elbowed his
+way through the curious group that had gathered
+about them, grasped the girl by the arm, and
+dragged her away. There was no mistaking the
+jealousy that prompted the action. Joe drew a
+deep sigh of deliverance, while Jim was crimson
+with suppressed laughter.</p>
+<p>Mabel was the only one, except Joe himself,
+who could not see the joke. There were two pink
+spots in her cheeks, her eyes were very bright,
+her head was held high, and poor Joe had some
+explaining to do before the party left Australia,
+which they did soon after, and started on their
+journey to Ceylon.</p>
+<p>They reached Colombo in Ceylon, the island
+of spices, the richest gem in the Indian ocean, and
+disembarked late one afternoon. At the hotel in
+the English quarter, while the women of the party
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_199' name='page_199'></a>199</span>
+went to their rooms to refresh themselves and
+dress for dinner, the men, after a hasty toilet,
+went into the lobby of the hotel where, as always,
+their first thought was to get hold of the papers
+from home.</p>
+<p>Joe&#8217;s eyes fell on a New York paper and he
+snatched it up eagerly and turned to the sporting
+page for the latest news of the diamond. He
+gave a startled exclamation as he saw the bold
+headline that stretched across the top of the page:</p>
+<p>&#8220;<i>Joe Matson, the Pitching King, Signs with
+the All-Star League!</i>&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='XXIV_THE_BLOW_FALLS' id='XXIV_THE_BLOW_FALLS'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_200' name='page_200'></a>200</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXIV</h2>
+<h3>THE BLOW FALLS</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>Baseball Joe&#8217;s first sensation was one of unutterable
+surprise, followed a moment later by
+fierce indignation.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the matter, Joe?&#8221; asked Jim, coming
+up behind him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Matter enough!&#8221; growled Joe, thrusting the
+offending paper under his comrade&#8217;s nose. &#8220;Look
+at this!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jim looked and gave a long whistle of surprise.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What does it mean?&#8221; he ejaculated, as his
+eyes went from the headlines to the story, which
+covered the greater part of the page.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mean?&#8221; snorted Joe. &#8220;It means a stab in
+the back. It means that those skunks are trying
+to do by lying what they couldn&#8217;t do by bribery.
+It means that while we&#8217;re thousands of miles
+away they are trying to gull the public and get
+other ball players to jump their contracts by a
+barefaced lie like this. I wish I had hold of the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_201' name='page_201'></a>201</span>
+fellow who&#8217;s doing this&mdash;I&#8217;d make him sweat
+for it!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course it&#8217;s a lie,&#8221; assented Jim, &#8220;and a lie
+out of whole cloth. But what beats me is why
+they should do it? It&#8217;s bound to be a boomerang.&#8221;</p>
+<p>They sat down side by side and read the paper
+together, and the more they read the more bewildered
+they became.</p>
+<p>For the story was circumstantial. It went into
+minute details. It embraced interviews with the
+backers of the new league, who confirmed it without
+hesitation. One of the paragraphs read as
+follows:</p>
+<div class='blockquot'>
+<p>&#8220;Nothing in years has created such a sensation
+in the world of sport as the news just made public
+that Matson, the star pitcher of the Giants, had
+jumped the fold and landed in the All-Star
+League. It was known that overtures were made
+to this great pitcher at the end of his last season,
+when his magnificent work created a record in the
+National League that will probably never be surpassed.
+It was understood, however, that these
+offers, though coupled with a tremendous bonus
+and salary, had been definitely rejected. For
+that reason the news that he has reconsidered
+and jumped to the All-Stars comes like a thunderbolt
+from a clear sky. The major leaguers are
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_202' name='page_202'></a>202</span>
+in consternation, while the new league naturally
+is jubilant at this acquisition to their ranks.
+Matson is a popular idol among his fellow players
+and it is believed that many stars who have
+been wavering in their allegiance to the old
+leagues will follow his example.&#8221;</p>
+</div>
+<p>The rest of the page was devoted to a recital
+of Joe&#8217;s achievements in pitching the Giants to
+the Championship of the National League and,
+later, to the Championship of the World.</p>
+<p>The two friends stared at each other in amazement
+and rage, and just then McRae and Robbie,
+together with a group of other players, came
+hurrying up, holding other papers which, though
+in different words, told substantially the same
+story.</p>
+<p>There was a babel of excited questions and
+exclamations, and Joe felt a sharp pang go
+through him, as for the first time in his experience
+with the manager of the Giants, he saw in
+McRae&#8217;s eyes a shadow of distrust.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Isn&#8217;t this the limit?&#8221; asked McRae, as he
+crushed the paper in his hand, threw it to
+the floor and trampled on it in disgust and
+anger.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It sure is,&#8221; replied Joe. &#8220;I&#8217;ve had lies told
+about me before but never one that touched me
+on the raw like this.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_203' name='page_203'></a>203</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a burning outrage,&#8221; cried Denton indignantly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What they expect to make out of it is beyond
+me,&#8221; declared Robbie. &#8220;They ought to know
+that they can&#8217;t get away with it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But in the meantime it will have done its
+work,&#8221; Willis pointed out. &#8220;What if it is contradicted
+later on? By that time they&#8217;ll have a
+dozen stars signed and they should worry. As
+long as it&#8217;s believed that Joe has jumped, it&#8217;s just
+as good for them as though he had.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s the worst of it,&#8221; agreed Joe bitterly.
+&#8220;Of course I&#8217;ll send a cable contradicting it, but
+the lie has got a head start and a lot of damage
+has been done. What do you suppose my friends
+in America are thinking about me just now?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t worry about that, Joe,&#8221; comforted Jim.
+&#8220;Your real friends won&#8217;t believe it, and for the
+rest it doesn&#8217;t matter. Nobody that really
+knows you believes you would jump your contract.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Whoever got that story up was foxy, though,&#8221;
+commented Mylert, the burly catcher of the
+Giants. &#8220;There are no &#8216;ifs or ands&#8217; about it
+like most phony stories where the fellow&#8217;s trying
+to hedge in case someone comes back at him. It
+sounds like straight goods. It&#8217;s the most truthful
+looking lie I ever saw.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But it&#8217;s a lie just the same!&#8221; cried Joe
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_204' name='page_204'></a>204</span>
+desperately. &#8220;All you fellows know I wouldn&#8217;t
+throw the Giants down, don&#8217;t you?&#8221; he asked, as
+his eyes swept the circle of fellow players who
+were gathered around him.</p>
+<p>There was a murmur of assent, but it was not
+as hearty as Joe could have wished. If there was
+not distrust, there was at least bewilderment, for
+the story bore all the earmarks of truth.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You know it, don&#8217;t you, Mac?&#8221; repeated Joe,
+this time addressing directly the Giant leader.</p>
+<p>For a fraction of a second McRae hesitated.
+Then he threw doubt to the winds and gripped
+Joe&#8217;s hand with a heartiness that warmed the
+latter&#8217;s heart.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course, I know it, Joe!&#8221; he exclaimed
+emphatically. &#8220;I don&#8217;t deny that for a moment
+the paper had me going. But in my heart I
+know it&#8217;s a lie. So just send your cable and then
+let&#8217;s forget it. Those fellows are just making a
+rope to hang themselves with. We&#8217;ll make it
+warm for them when we get back to the
+States.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You ought to sue the papers for libel,&#8221;
+growled Robbie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There won&#8217;t be any suing,&#8221; said Joe heatedly.
+&#8220;Just let me have five minutes alone with
+the fellow that started this and that&#8217;s all I&#8217;ll
+ask.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He hurried down with Jim to the cable office
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_205' name='page_205'></a>205</span>
+and a few minutes later this message buzzed its
+way across the seas:</p>
+<div class='blockquot'>
+<p>&#8220;Report that I have signed with the All-Star
+League absolutely false. Will give a thousand
+dollars to charity if anyone can produce contract.</p>
+<div class='ra'>
+<p>&#8220;<span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Joseph Matson</span>.&#8221;</p>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+<p>&#8220;That ought to hold them for a while,&#8221; commented
+Jim.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It ought,&#8221; said Joe gloomily. &#8220;But you know
+the old saying that &#8216;a lie will go round the world
+while truth is getting its boots on.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Still he felt better, and by the time he got back
+to the hotel and met the girls, he had so far regained
+his usual poise that he could tell them all
+about it with some measure of self-control.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why, Joe! how could they dare do such a
+thing as that?&#8221; exclaimed Mabel, her eyes flashing
+fire.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s about the meanest thing I ever heard of!&#8221;
+cried his sister.</p>
+<p>&#8220;They ought to be sued for libel, don&#8217;t you
+know,&#8221; broke in Reggie. &#8220;If you sued them, Joe,
+you might get quite heavy damages.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a pity you can&#8217;t put somebody in jail for
+it,&#8221; was Mabel&#8217;s further comment.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, that&#8217;s what ought to happen!&#8221; cried
+Clara.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_206' name='page_206'></a>206</span></p>
+<p>Both of the girls were wild with indignation. Although
+Mabel at one time, influenced by the arguments
+of Braxton that Joe was not really bound
+by a one-sided contract, had spoken to him about
+it in a guarded way, Joe had shown her so clearly
+his moral obligation that he had convinced her
+absolutely. And now she was angry clear through
+at the blow in the dark that had been launched
+against him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who could have done such a contemptible
+thing?&#8221; she cried.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It must have been that horrid Westland!&#8221; exclaimed
+Clara.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Maybe,&#8221; agreed her brother. &#8220;I rather hope
+it was.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why?&#8221; asked Jim curiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Because,&#8221; gritted Joe through his teeth, &#8220;he&#8217;s
+a big fellow and I won&#8217;t be ashamed to hit him.&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='XXV_THE_COBRA_IN_THE_ROOM' id='XXV_THE_COBRA_IN_THE_ROOM'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_207' name='page_207'></a>207</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXV</h2>
+<h3>THE COBRA IN THE ROOM</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>Ceylon was a land of wonders to the tourists.
+Here they were in the very heart of the Orient.
+Rare flowers and strange plants grew in glorious
+profusion, the air was odorous with a thousand
+scents, and it was hard for them to realize that
+at that very moment America might be suffering
+from zero weather or swept by blizzards.
+Here life moved along serenely and dreamily,
+lulled by the sound of birds and drone of
+locusts, wrapped in the warm folds of eternal
+summer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s an earthly Eden!&#8221; murmured Clara, as
+she and Jim walked along one of the main streets
+of Colombo, followed at a little distance by Joe
+and Mabel.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; replied Jim with a laugh, &#8220;and not even
+the snake is missing.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He pointed to a group of natives and Europeans
+on the other side of the street who were
+gathered about a snake charmer.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_208' name='page_208'></a>208</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Ugh, the horrid things!&#8221; exclaimed Clara with
+a shudder.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s go over and take a look,&#8221; suggested
+Jim.</p>
+<p>Clara demurred at first and so did Mabel.
+They were used to seeing snakes behind a network
+of wire and glass, and they did not relish
+the idea of standing within a few feet of the
+crawling serpents in the open street. But curiosity,
+added to the urgings of the young men, finally
+conquered, and they joined the throng on the other
+side.</p>
+<p>The performer, an old man with bronzed face,
+was squatting on his haunches playing a weird
+tune on a reedy instrument resembling a flute. Before
+him was upreared a monstrous specimen of
+the deadly cobra species, swaying gently to and
+fro and keeping time to the music. Its malignant
+eyes looking out from the broad head whose markings
+resembled a pair of spectacles had lost something
+of their fiery sparkle, and a slight haze
+spread over them, as though the creature were
+under a spell.</p>
+<p>The music continued and two other snakes
+crawled out as if in response to a call and joined
+their companion in his swaying, rhythmic dance.
+Then the tune changed, the snakes uncoiled, and
+the performer took them up without the slightest
+fear and put them back in the basket.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_209' name='page_209'></a>209</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Suppose they should bite him!&#8221; exclaimed
+Mabel.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s had their fangs drawn already,&#8221; returned
+Joe. &#8220;The old rascal&#8217;s taking no chances.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;They say that a man lasts about half an hour
+after one of those fellows nips him,&#8221; observed
+Jim. &#8220;Somebody was telling me that over twenty
+thousand natives are bitten by them every year.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A little further down the street, another fakir
+was giving an exhibition. He placed a small native
+boy in a basket that was a tight fit and put
+down the basket cover. Then after making mysterious
+signs and muttering invocations, the fakir
+drew a long sword and plunged it through the
+basket from end to end. A scream of pain came
+from within, and when the sword was withdrawn
+it was red. Again and again this was repeated
+until the screams died away. Then the fakir lifted
+up the cover and the boy sprang out safe and
+sound, and, showing his white teeth in a smile,
+went around collecting coins from the bystanders.</p>
+<p>They wandered further among the bazaars,
+making purchases of curios as presents for the
+folks at home and adding to their personal stock
+of mementos. Jim secured among other things a
+cane made of a rare Indian wood, which while
+light was exceedingly strong and so pliable that it
+could be bent almost double like a Damascus
+blade.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_210' name='page_210'></a>210</span></p>
+<p>But through all the chaff and fun of the day Joe
+was unhappy and restless. What he had read in
+the paper from home about himself poisoned
+everything for him.</p>
+<p>He had always tried to be perfectly straight and
+honorable in all his business relations. His word
+had ever been as good as his bond. Now, at one
+stroke, he saw his reputation damaged perhaps
+beyond mending. All over the United States he
+had been pictured as a contract-breaker. He
+could see the incredulity of his friends turning
+gradually to contempt. He fancied he could hear
+them saying:</p>
+<p>&#8220;So Joe has fallen for that game, has he?
+Well, they say that every man has his price. No
+doubt Joe&#8217;s price was high, but they found out
+what it was and bought him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Of course he had denied it, but he knew how
+people smiled when they read denials. And
+months must pass before he could get back to
+America and try to hunt out the author or authors
+of the story.</p>
+<p>He tried to hide his mood under a cover of
+light talk and banter, but the others felt it and
+sympathized with him, though all refrained
+from mentioning what each of them was thinking.</p>
+<p>All through the day his gloom persisted, and
+when night came and he had retired to the room
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_211' name='page_211'></a>211</span>
+that he and Jim occupied together he felt that it
+would be impossible for him to sleep.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s no use talking,&#8221; said Jim with a yawn,
+as he set his cane so that it rested against the footboard
+and threw off his coat preparing to undress,
+&#8220;sight-seeing&#8217;s the most tiring work there is. I
+feel more done up to-night than if I had been
+pitching in a hard game.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m tired too,&#8221; agreed Joe, &#8220;but I don&#8217;t feel
+the least bit like sleep.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jim was asleep almost as soon as his head
+touched the pillow. But Joe tossed about restlessly
+for what seemed to him to be hours. The
+night was very warm and all the windows were
+open to get what breath of air might be stirring.</p>
+<p>A broad veranda ran all around the building,
+not more than two feet below the windows, and
+from the ground to the veranda rose a luxuriant
+tangle of vines and flowers.</p>
+<p>The moon was at the full and its light flooded a
+part of the room, leaving the rest in deep shadow.</p>
+<p>Joe at last dropped off into a doze from which
+he woke with a start.</p>
+<p>He had heard nothing, but he had an uneasy
+consciousness that something was wrong.</p>
+<p>He glanced over at Jim who was peacefully
+sleeping. Then he raised himself on his elbow
+and his glance swept the room.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_212' name='page_212'></a>212</span></p>
+<p>Nothing seemed amiss in the lighted part, but
+in a darkened corner the shadow seemed to be
+heavier than usual. It was as though it were
+piled in a mass instead of being evenly distributed.</p>
+<p>Then to Joe&#8217;s consternation <i>the shadow moved</i>,
+reached the edge of moonlight, rose higher and
+higher with a sickening swaying motion. From
+a hideous head two sparks of fire glowed balefully
+and Joe knew that he was in the presence of
+a giant cobra!</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='XXVI_IN_THE_SHADOW_OF_THE_PYRAMIDS' id='XXVI_IN_THE_SHADOW_OF_THE_PYRAMIDS'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_213' name='page_213'></a>213</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXVI</h2>
+<h3>IN THE SHADOW OF THE PYRAMIDS</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>Joe&#8217;s blood chilled with horror and his heart
+seemed for a moment to stop beating.</p>
+<p>He did not dare to move and scarcely to
+breathe. He might have been a statue, so rigid
+was his attitude. He knew that the least movement
+would provoke an attack on the part of the
+deadly reptile.</p>
+<p>On the other hand, if he kept perfectly quiet,
+there was the chance of the snake gliding away
+through the window, which had evidently been its
+means of entering the room.</p>
+<p>Whether the serpent saw him or not, Joe could
+not tell. The head swayed for a minute or two,
+while the glowing eyes seemed to take in every
+corner of the room. Then the coils unwound and
+with a slithering sound the snake began to crawl
+across the floor.</p>
+<p>But instead of seeking the window it was gliding
+towards the bed!</p>
+<p>If he had had a revolver Joe would have had
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_214' name='page_214'></a>214</span>
+a chance, for at such close range he could scarcely
+have missed. Even a knife to hurl, though only
+a forlorn hope, might have pinned the snake to
+the floor. But he was utterly without a weapon
+of any kind.</p>
+<p>Suddenly he remembered the cane that his chum
+had leaned against the footboard a few hours
+earlier.</p>
+<p>He reached down stealthily and his hand closed
+upon it.</p>
+<p>He did not dare to wake Jim for fear that the
+latter might leap from the bed and perhaps land
+squarely on the gliding death that was somewhere
+in the room. He had lost sight of it, but he could
+still hear the dragging body and it seemed to be
+now under the bed. At any instant that awful
+head might rise on either side prepared to
+strike.</p>
+<p>Gripping the cane until his fingers seemed to
+dig into it, Joe had a moment of awful suspense.</p>
+<p>The gliding sound had ceased. Then from the
+side nearest Jim a hideous head uprose within a
+foot of the sleeping man&#8217;s face.</p>
+<p>Like a flash the tough cane hissed through the
+air with all Joe&#8217;s muscle back of it. It caught
+the reptile full in the neck and sent it half way
+across the room where it lay writhing.</p>
+<p>In an instant Joe had leaped to the floor,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_215' name='page_215'></a>215</span>
+raining blows upon the head and floundering coils,
+until at last the reptile straightened out and lay
+still.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the matter?&#8221; cried Jim, awakened by
+the tumult and jumping out of bed.</p>
+<p>He turned pale as he saw the snake stretched
+out on the floor and Joe who, now that the awful
+strain was over, was leaning against the wall as
+limp as a rag.</p>
+<p>Jim turned on the light and they viewed the
+monster, standing at a respectful distance from
+the head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He seems dead enough, but you can never be
+sure of a snake,&#8221; said Joe, after in a few hurried
+words he had told of his experience. &#8220;Suppose,
+Jim, you get that Malay&#8217;s knife out of my trunk
+and we&#8217;ll make certain.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jim brought the kriss, which Joe had kept as a
+memento of his struggle with the maniac, and with
+one stroke severed the cobra&#8217;s head from his
+body.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That knife never did a better bit of work,&#8221; he
+commented as he washed it off. &#8220;Now let&#8217;s get
+this thing out of the window and clear up the
+mess.&#8221;</p>
+<p>They got through the repugnant work as soon
+as possible and then made a careful search of
+the room.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That fellow may have had a mate,&#8221; remarked
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_216' name='page_216'></a>216</span>
+Joe, &#8220;and one experience of this kind is enough
+for a lifetime. I&#8217;ve always felt a little doubtful
+about those stories of people whose hair turned
+gray in a single night, but it&#8217;s easy enough to
+believe it now.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ll close the window too,&#8221; said Jim, suiting
+the action to the word and letting the upper sash
+down only for an inch or two. &#8220;That&#8217;s the way
+that fellow must have crawled in. It&#8217;s pretty hot
+in here but I&#8217;d rather die of heat than snake bites.&#8221;</p>
+<p>They went back to bed but not to sleep, for
+they were too thoroughly wrought up by their narrow
+escape.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You must have hit that fellow an awful crack,&#8221;
+said Jim. &#8220;You sure batted .300 in the Ceylon
+League.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Broke his neck, I guess,&#8221; responded Joe. &#8220;It&#8217;s
+lucky it wasn&#8217;t a missed strike for I wouldn&#8217;t have
+had time for another one.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t let&#8217;s say anything to the girls about it,&#8221;
+suggested Jim. &#8220;Not until we get away from
+India anyway. They&#8217;d be seeing snakes all the
+rest of the time we&#8217;re here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>It was lucky that neither of them was slated
+to pitch the next day, for they would scarcely have
+been in condition after their night&#8217;s experience. A
+game had been arranged between the visiting
+teams at a date three days later. By that time
+Joe was in his usual superb form and easily carried
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_217' name='page_217'></a>217</span>
+off the victory for his team. This put the Giants
+&#8220;on velvet,&#8221; for they now had a clear lead of two
+over the All-Americans.</p>
+<p>But the satisfaction that this would have usually
+given Joe was lacking now. Victory had ceased
+to be sweet since the receipt of that newspaper
+from home.</p>
+<p>Perhaps it was because of his sensitive condition
+that he thought he detected a subtle change in the
+conduct of his team mates towards him. While
+perfectly friendly in their relations with him, they
+did not &#8220;let themselves go&#8221; when in his presence,
+as formerly. There was no boisterous clapping
+on the back, no jolly sparring or wrestling. There
+seemed to be a little holding in, a feeling of reserve,
+a something in the back of their minds that
+they did not care for him to see.</p>
+<p>This joyous freemasonry of sport had always
+been especially pleasant to Joe and for that reason
+he felt its absence the more keenly.</p>
+<p>But what exasperated him most was that if the
+old standbys of the club were a trifle cool, Iredell,
+Curry and Burkett went to the other extreme and
+were more cordial than ever before. It was as
+though they were welcoming a newcomer to their
+ranks. They knew that they were under suspicion
+of planning to jump their contracts in the
+spring, and the apparent evidence that so renowned
+a player as Joe was planning to do the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_218' name='page_218'></a>218</span>
+same thing made them hail him as a reinforcement.</p>
+<p>Where formerly they had often ceased talking
+when he approached them and made him feel that
+he was an intruder, they now greeted him warmly,
+although they did not yet feel quite sure enough
+to broach the subject of their own accord.</p>
+<p>&#8220;All little pals together,&#8221; hummed Iredell significantly
+on one occasion with a sidelong glance
+at Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just what do you mean by that?&#8221; asked Joe
+sharply.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just what I say,&#8221; replied Iredell innocently.
+&#8220;What is there wrong about that? Aren&#8217;t we
+Giants pals to each other?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course we are, as long as we stay Giants,&#8221;
+replied Joe. &#8220;But that wasn&#8217;t what you meant,
+Dell, and you know it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now, don&#8217;t get red-headed, Joe,&#8221; put in Curry
+soothingly. &#8220;You must have got out of bed on
+the wrong side this morning. Dell didn&#8217;t mean
+any harm.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Tell me one thing,&#8221; said Joe. &#8220;Do any of
+you fellows believe for one minute that story in
+the paper?&#8221;</p>
+<p>He looked from one to the other, but none
+of them looked him straight in the eye.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You know that I&#8217;ve denied it,&#8221; went on Joe,
+as they kept silent, &#8220;and if after that you still
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_219' name='page_219'></a>219</span>
+believe the story it&#8217;s the same as saying that I lie.
+And no one can call me a liar and get away with
+it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He stalked away leaving them dumbfounded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Do you think he really has jumped his contract?&#8221;
+asked Burkett.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; replied Iredell dubiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s got me guessing,&#8221; muttered Curry.</p>
+<p>And the trio were still guessing when several
+weeks later the party reached Egyptian soil, prepared
+to play the most modern of games before
+the most ancient of monuments&mdash;baseball in the
+very shadow of the Pyramids!</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='XXVII_THE_SIGNED_CONTRACT' id='XXVII_THE_SIGNED_CONTRACT'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_220' name='page_220'></a>220</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXVII</h2>
+<h3>THE SIGNED CONTRACT</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>&#8220;If old Pharaoh could only see us now!&#8221; chortled
+Jim, as the teams lined up for their first
+game.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;d probably throw a fit,&#8221; grinned Denton.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not a bit of it,&#8221; said Joe. &#8220;He&#8217;d probably
+be up in the grandstand, eating peanuts and singing
+out once in a while to &#8216;kill the umpire.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And he&#8217;d do it too,&#8221; laughed Jim. &#8220;I&#8217;ll bet
+an umpire in those days would have had a hard
+job to get life insurance. It would have been
+good dope to get a tip before the game as to just
+what team Pharaoh wanted to win.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think you men are awfully irreverent,&#8221; reproved
+Mabel, who, with Clara, was seated in the
+first row in the stand right behind the players&#8217;
+bench and had overheard the conversation.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not at all,&#8221; laughed Jim. &#8220;It&#8217;s a big compliment
+to Pharaoh to suggest that he would have
+been a baseball fan if he hadn&#8217;t been born too
+soon. It puts him on a level with the President of
+the United States.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_221' name='page_221'></a>221</span></p>
+<p>The teams were playing on the cricket field used
+by the English residents, and not far off the Pyramids
+reared their stately heads toward the sky.
+It was a strange conjunction of the past and the
+present, and all were more or less impressed
+by it.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, I must confess that in my wildest dreams
+of seasons gone by, I never supposed that I would
+be pitching here in Egypt in the shadow of the
+pyramids,&#8221; remarked Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It certainly takes a fellow back to ancient
+days,&#8221; put in Jim. &#8220;Just imagine playing before
+a crowd of those old Egyptians!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, they had fun in their day just as well as
+we have,&#8221; said McRae. &#8220;Just the same, they
+didn&#8217;t know how good baseball is.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;They didn&#8217;t even know anything about yelling
+to kill the umpire when a wrong decision was
+given,&#8221; remarked Joe, with a grin, and at this
+there was a general laugh.</p>
+<p>There was a big outpouring of Europeans and
+visiting Americans, and under the inspiration of
+their interest and applause both teams played brilliantly.
+It was a hammer-and-tongs contest from
+start to finish, and resulted in the first tie of the
+trip, neither team being able to score, although the
+game went to eleven innings.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Still two ahead,&#8221; McRae said to Brennan, as
+they left the grounds after the game.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_222' name='page_222'></a>222</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re gunning for you,&#8221; retorted Brennan
+good-naturedly, &#8220;and we&#8217;ll get you yet. You&#8217;ve
+had all the breaks so far, but our turn has got to
+come.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Tell that to the King of Denmark,&#8221; laughed
+McRae. &#8220;We&#8217;ve got your number, old man.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The party &#8220;did&#8221; Egypt thoroughly, visiting
+Cairo, Thebes and Memphis, climbing the Pyramids,
+sailing on the Nile, viewing the temples of
+Karnak and Philae, the statue of Memnon, and
+countless other places of interest in this cradle of
+the world&#8217;s civilization. And it was a tired but
+happy crowd that finally assembled at Alexandria
+to take ship for Naples, their first stopping place
+on the continent of Europe.</p>
+<p>Braxton was no longer with the party, having
+left it at Ceylon, and others had dropped away
+here and there. But in the main the members
+were the same as at the beginning. Their health
+had been excellent, and only a few things had
+occurred to mar the pleasure of the trip.</p>
+<p>The discomfort that Joe had felt had largely
+worn away with the passing of time. Every day
+was bringing him nearer the time when with the
+opening of the season he would actually appear
+on the diamond wearing a Giant uniform, and thus
+effectually dispose of the slander that had troubled
+him.</p>
+<p>There had just been time enough to receive
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_223' name='page_223'></a>223</span>
+some of the earliest papers from America that
+had been published after the receipt of his denial.
+That denial had evidently produced a great effect,
+coupled as it was with the offer to give a thousand
+dollars to charity if the new league could
+produce any contract signed by him. &#8220;Money
+talks,&#8221; and the paper intimated that the All-Star
+League had the next move and that it would be
+&#8220;in bad&#8221; with the public if it failed to make its
+statements good.</p>
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;ll have a hot time doing it,&#8221; grinned
+Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m wondering how they&#8217;ll dodge it,&#8221; remarked
+Jim.</p>
+<p>&#8220;By getting out a new lie to bolster up the old
+one probably,&#8221; conjectured Joe.</p>
+<p>The latest papers from America had come on
+board just as the steamer left Alexandria, and
+in the hurry of getting aboard and settling down
+in their new quarters it was after supper that night
+before Joe hurried to the smoking room to have a
+look at them.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Got a thousand dollars handy, Joe?&#8221; inquired
+Denton, as Joe came near him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Because, if you have, the All-Star League
+wants it,&#8221; added Larry.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What do you mean?&#8221; asked Joe, all the old
+discomfort and apprehension coming back to
+him.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_224' name='page_224'></a>224</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Read this,&#8221; replied Larry, handing him a paper
+opened at the sporting page.</p>
+<p>Joe read:</p>
+<div class='blockquot'>
+<p>&#8220;All-Star League Calls Matson&#8217;s Bluff. Produces
+Signed Contract. Facsimile of Contract
+Shown Below.&#8221;</p>
+</div>
+<p>And staring right out at him was the photographic
+reproduction of a regulation baseball contract
+and at the bottom was written the name:
+&#8220;Joseph Matson.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Joe stared at it as though he were in a dream.
+Here was the old blow at his reputation, this
+time with redoubled force. Here was what
+claimed to be the actual contract. But it was not
+the body of the contract that held his attention.
+The thing that made him rage, that gave him a
+sense of furious helplessness, that put his brain in
+a whirl, was this:</p>
+<p><i>He knew that that was his signature!</i></p>
+<p>No matter how it came there, it was his. A
+man&#8217;s name can seldom be so skilfully forged that
+it can deceive the man himself. It may get by
+the cashier of the bank, but when it is referred
+back to the man who is supposed to have written
+it, that man knows instinctively whether he ever
+wrote it. Perhaps he cannot tell why he knows it,
+but he knows it just the same.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_225' name='page_225'></a>225</span></p>
+<p>So Joe <i>knew</i> that it was his signature that was
+photographed on that contract. But he also knew
+another thing just as certainly.</p>
+<p><i>He had never signed that contract!</i></p>
+<p>Both things contradictory. Yet both things
+true.</p>
+<p>Larry and Denton were watching him closely.
+Joe looked up and met their eyes. They were
+two of his oldest and warmest friends on the
+Giant team and had always been ready to back
+him through thick and thin. Confidence still was
+in their gaze, but with it was mixed bewilderment
+almost equal to Joe&#8217;s own.</p>
+<p>Before anything further could be said, McRae
+and Robbie joined the group.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, Joe, there&#8217;s the contract,&#8221; said McRae.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It seems to be a contract all right,&#8221; replied
+Joe. &#8220;I haven&#8217;t had time to read what it says,
+but that doesn&#8217;t matter anyway. The only important
+thing is that I never signed that contract.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That seems to be a pretty good imitation of
+your signature at the bottom there,&#8221; chimed in
+Robbie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s even better than that,&#8221; said Joe, taking the
+bull by the horns. &#8220;It isn&#8217;t even an imitation. It&#8217;s
+my own signature.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Both Robbie and McRae looked at him as if
+they thought he was crazy.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_226' name='page_226'></a>226</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t get you, Matson,&#8221; said McRae, a little
+sternly. &#8220;And it seems to me it&#8217;s hardly a time for
+joking. There&#8217;s the contract. You say you didn&#8217;t
+sign it, and yet you admit that the name at the bottom
+is your own signature. How do you explain
+it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t pretend to explain it,&#8221; replied Joe.
+&#8220;There&#8217;s crooked work somewhere that I&#8217;ve got
+to ferret out. Somehow or other my name, written
+by me, has gotten on the bottom of that contract.
+But I never put it there. Some rascal has, and
+when I find him, as I will, may Heaven have mercy
+on him, for I won&#8217;t!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='XXVIII_WHIRLWIND_PITCHING' id='XXVIII_WHIRLWIND_PITCHING'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_227' name='page_227'></a>227</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXVIII</h2>
+<h3>WHIRLWIND PITCHING</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>&#8220;A fellow who would do a thing like that is
+taking long chances,&#8221; said McRae doubtfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And how could he do it?&#8221; put in Robbie.
+&#8220;The name would have to be cut from one
+piece of paper and pasted on another, wouldn&#8217;t
+it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Even admitting that they might get your
+name from a check or letter, I don&#8217;t see how a
+thing like that could stand inspection for a minute,&#8221;
+chimed in Willis. &#8220;Even if it were so well
+done that an eye couldn&#8217;t detect it, a microscope
+would give it away.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And you can bet that the reporters who hunted
+up this thing haven&#8217;t overlooked any bets,&#8221; said
+Brennan. &#8220;They knew that the signature was the
+nub of the whole thing and if there was anything
+phony about the paper they&#8217;d have got next at
+once.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a horrible mixup!&#8221; cried Joe, who felt that
+he was being enmeshed in a net of circumstantial
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_228' name='page_228'></a>228</span>
+evidence which he might find it impossible to break.
+&#8220;Let me read the story first from end to end.
+Then, perhaps, I&#8217;ll find some clue that will solve
+the mystery.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He plunged at once into the reading, but the
+more he read the worse the matter looked.</p>
+<p>He found that a nation-wide interest had been
+excited by his denial and his challenge. The officers
+of the All-Star League had been besieged by
+reporters, who had made it clear to them that
+they must prove their statement that Matson had
+signed with them or else stand convicted before
+the American public, on whose favor they depended
+for support in the coming season, of being
+slanderers and liars.</p>
+<p>Mr. Beckworth Fleming, the president of the
+All-Star League, had shown a little hesitation in
+responding to these demands. This, perhaps, was
+natural enough, since no business organization
+cares to have the terms of its contracts blazoned
+forth to the world, perhaps to the benefit of its
+rivals. Still, under all the circumstances, Mr.
+Fleming had finally decided to permit a photographic
+copy to be made of the contract in order
+to establish the good faith of the new league.
+This had been done and facsimiles had been sent
+to all the leading newspapers of the United
+States.</p>
+<p>There was no question that the contract was
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_229' name='page_229'></a>229</span>
+genuine. It had been submitted to bank cashiers
+who were familiar with Mr. Matson&#8217;s writing,
+and they had pronounced it his signature beyond
+the shadow of a doubt. The paper had been examined
+under powerful glasses and found to be
+a single piece. Everything was in proper form,
+and it was clearly up to Mr. Matson to explain
+what seemed to be explainable only in one way,
+namely, that he had signed the contract.</p>
+<p>There were many worthy charities that could
+find a good use for the thousand dollars that the
+great pitcher had so rashly offered.</p>
+<p>This was the gist of the story in all the papers.
+There were various suggested explanations. One
+paper hinted that men had been known to sign
+papers when they had dined and wined too
+well.</p>
+<p>Another thought that the denial was purely a
+&#8220;diplomatic&#8221; one. Others ventured the hypothesis
+that the whole thing was an advertising dodge,
+designed to set the country agog with excitement
+and stimulate big audiences for the coming season.</p>
+<p>But underneath all the suppositions one thing
+seemed to be unquestioned by the papers, and that
+was that Joe had signed a contract to play with
+the All-Star League and had left the Giants in
+the lurch.</p>
+<p>Joe felt as though the ground were slipping
+from beneath his feet. He was perfectly
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_230' name='page_230'></a>230</span>
+innocent, and yet he already stood convicted in the
+public mind of having done a thing that he loathed
+and abhorred. And the worst of it was that he
+had not the slightest clue to the scoundrel or
+scoundrels who had brought this thing about.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s beyond me, Mac,&#8221; he said at last in despair,
+as he looked up and saw the Giants&#8217; manager&#8217;s
+eyes fixed upon him as though they would
+read into his soul. &#8220;They seem to have a strangle
+hold on me. And yet as black as things look I
+tell you straight, Mac, that you know every bit
+as much about this as I do.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s all right, Joe,&#8221; returned McRae. &#8220;I&#8217;ll
+admit I&#8217;m flabbergasted. Who wouldn&#8217;t be?
+There&#8217;s a plot here somewhere, and the fox that
+planned it has been mighty cunning in covering
+up his tracks. But there never yet was a lie that
+didn&#8217;t have a weak point somewhere, and soon or
+late we&#8217;ll find it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mabel and Clara, as well as Jim, were beside
+themselves with anger at the dastardly trick.
+They racked their brains to find the explanation,
+but every time they came up against a blank wall.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I certainly can&#8217;t understand it, Joe,&#8221; said
+Mabel, for at least the tenth time.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, I can&#8217;t understand it myself, Mabel,&#8221; he
+replied.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Are you sure you didn&#8217;t sign that contract,
+thinking it was something else&mdash;an order for
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_231' name='page_231'></a>231</span>
+something, or something like that?&#8221; questioned
+Clara.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not in the habit of signing anything without
+knowing what it is,&#8221; said the crack pitcher.
+&#8220;If any of those fellows had brought such a thing
+to me to sign, I would have handed it back and
+given the fellow a piece of my mind. No, there is
+something else in all this, though what it is I
+haven&#8217;t the faintest idea.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s too bad we&#8217;re so far away from those fellows
+just at present,&#8221; put in Jim. &#8220;If we were
+close by we might interview them, and find out
+some of the details that are as yet missing. And
+then maybe somebody would get a broken head,&#8221;
+he added vigorously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, Jim! would you break anybody&#8217;s head?&#8221;
+burst out Clara in horror.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I sure would if he was trying to put Joe in
+such a hole as this!&#8221; returned the young man
+promptly. &#8220;Maybe you don&#8217;t understand what a
+black eye this is calculated to give your brother.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, yes, I can understand that well enough,&#8221;
+sighed Joe&#8217;s sister.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s the meanest thing that ever could
+possibly happen!&#8221; burst out Mabel. &#8220;And I don&#8217;t
+wonder that Jim is angry enough to break somebody&#8217;s
+head for it,&#8221; and she looked lovingly at
+Joe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I suppose it will come out all right in the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_232' name='page_232'></a>232</span>
+end,&#8221; answered Joe. But he said this merely to
+ease Mabel&#8217;s mind. Secretly he was afraid that
+he was in for some real trouble.</p>
+<p>It was early spring when they landed in Naples,
+but the winter had been prolonged more than
+usual and it was too cold to play. At Monte
+Carlo and Nice, however, they were able to get
+in two games, both of which were won by the
+All-Americans. This put the teams again on an
+equality as to games won and lost, and revived the
+hopes of the All-Americans that they might still
+come out ahead in the series.</p>
+<p>They made but a short stay in Paris, and the
+weather was so inclement that games were out of
+the question. But it would have taken more than
+bad weather to prevent the shopping and sightseeing
+that all had been looking forward eagerly
+to in the great French capital, and they enjoyed
+their visit to the full.</p>
+<p>In London they met with the greatest welcome
+of their trip. They played at Lord&#8217;s Oval, the
+most famous grounds in the United Kingdom, and
+before an audience that included the most distinguished
+people in the realm, including the king
+himself.</p>
+<p>The American colony, too, was there almost to
+a man, and the United States ambassador lent his
+presence to the occasion.</p>
+<p>It was the most distinguished audience,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_233' name='page_233'></a>233</span>
+probably, that had ever witnessed a baseball game.</p>
+<p>And here it was that Joe did the most brilliant
+pitching of the trip. His tireless arm mowed
+down his opponents inning after inning. They
+came to the bat only to go back to the bench. His
+mastery of the ball seemed almost uncanny, and
+as inning after inning passed without a hit being
+made, it began to look as though he were in for
+that dream of all pitchers&mdash;a no-hit game.</p>
+<p>Brennan, the Chicago manager, fidgeted restlessly
+on the bench and glowered as his pets were
+slaughtered. He tried all the tactics known to
+clever managers, but in vain. It was simply a day
+when Baseball Joe was not to be denied.</p>
+<p>His comrades, too, gave him brilliant support
+and nothing got away from them, so that when
+finally the last man up in the ninth inning in the
+All-American team lifted a towering skyscraper
+that Joe caught without stirring from his tracks,
+a pandemonium of cheers forced him to remove
+his cap and bow to the applauding crowds again
+and again.</p>
+<p>Not a man had scored, not a man had been
+passed, not a man had reached first, not a man
+had hit safe. Joe had won the most notable
+game in his whole career!</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='XXIX_THE_RUINED_CASTLE' id='XXIX_THE_RUINED_CASTLE'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_234' name='page_234'></a>234</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXIX</h2>
+<h3>THE RUINED CASTLE</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>With London as their center the teams made
+flying trips to Edinburg, Glasgow and Dublin. In
+all three places they received a royal welcome, for
+the fame of that great game in London had
+spread throughout the nation and all were eager
+to see the hero of that occasion.</p>
+<p>Under other circumstances Joe would have been
+jubilant, for he was at the very height of his reputation,
+the girl he loved was with him, as well as
+his only sister and his closest friend, but ever in
+his thoughts like the spectre at the feast was that
+matter of the signed contract&mdash;the abominable
+thing that smirched his reputation and branded
+him to the world as false to his word and
+bond.</p>
+<p>Again and again he sought to find the key to
+the mystery. It seemed like some monstrous jugglery,
+something akin to the fakir&#8217;s tricks that he
+had witnessed at Colombo where the impossible
+had seemed so clearly possible.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_235' name='page_235'></a>235</span></p>
+<p>Try as he would he could find no explanation
+of the puzzle and his friends were equally powerless
+to suggest a solution.</p>
+<p>The game at Dublin, which commenced auspiciously
+for the Giants, was turned into a rout by
+a rally of the All-Americans in the ninth. A rain
+of bingles came from their bats and they won
+easily with six runs to spare.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Got it in the neck that time, old man,&#8221; said
+Joe to Jim, after the game. &#8220;But we can&#8217;t always
+win. What do you say to getting a buzz wagon
+and taking a little spin out into the country? The
+girls will be getting ready for that reception at
+the Viceroy&#8217;s castle, and they&#8217;ll be too busy dolling
+up to care what becomes of us.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Good idea,&#8221; said Jim, and the two friends
+made their way to a public garage, secured a good
+car together with a driver, and whirled away into
+the open country.</p>
+<p>They had made perhaps twenty miles through
+the beautiful Irish scenery when Joe called Jim&#8217;s
+attention to a cloud bank forming in the west.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Better skip back, old man,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We&#8217;re
+due for a wetting if we don&#8217;t.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Plenty of time yet,&#8221; objected Jim. &#8220;Those
+look to me just like wind clouds. Let&#8217;s see a little
+bit more of Ireland.&#8221;</p>
+<p>They went on perhaps five miles further and
+then Jim found that his confidence was misplaced.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_236' name='page_236'></a>236</span>
+The clouds grew blacker, an ominous muttering
+was heard in the sky and a jagged flash of lightning
+presaged the coming storm.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You see I was right,&#8221; said Joe. &#8220;In this open
+car we&#8217;ll be drenched to the skin. Turn around,
+Mike,&#8221; he said to the driver, &#8220;and let&#8217;s see how
+fast this old boat of yours can travel in getting
+back to Dublin. Throw her into high and give
+her all you&#8217;ve got.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The driver obeyed and the car fairly purred as
+it sped back toward the city. But fast as it was,
+the storm was faster. Great raindrops pattered
+down, and they looked anxiously about for shelter.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s that place up there, Mike?&#8221; asked
+Jim, pointing to a rambling stone structure on an
+elevation perhaps a hundred yards from the
+road.</p>
+<p>&#8220;&#8217;Tis the castle o&#8217; the last o&#8217; the O&#8217;Brian&#8217;s,
+hivin rist his sowl,&#8221; replied Mike. &#8220;But they do
+be sayin&#8217; the place is hanted, an&#8217; &#8217;tis a brave man
+that would be shteppin&#8217; inside the dhure.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m a brave man, then,&#8221; cried Jim. &#8220;For I&#8217;ll
+face a dozen ghosts before I would this storm.
+Turn in, Mike, and we&#8217;ll wait there till the rain
+is over.&#8221;</p>
+<p>With a muttered protest Mike did as directed,
+and a moment later the young men stepped jauntily
+through the ruined portal, while Mike, shocked
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_237' name='page_237'></a>237</span>
+at their temerity, crossed himself and, throwing
+an oilskin over his head, crouched low in his seat,
+preferring the discomfort of the open to the unknown
+terrors that might lurk beyond the doorway
+of the ruined castle.</p>
+<p>The friends had scarcely stepped inside before
+the rain came down in torrents.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lucky we got here just as we did,&#8221; remarked
+Joe, as they leaned up against the masonry of the
+ruined hall and looked out at the cloudburst.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It surely was,&#8221; agreed Jim. &#8220;I wish we had
+a little more light. It&#8217;s as dark as Egypt in
+here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve got my pocket flashlight with me,&#8221; said
+Joe, reaching toward his hip pocket. &#8220;But listen,
+what&#8217;s that?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t hear anything,&#8221; returned Jim, a little
+nervously, it must be admitted.</p>
+<p>The two ball players kept perfectly still for
+a minute and heard what seemed to be the murmur
+of voices a room or two away.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can it be that the last of the O&#8217;Brians is
+rambling about the castle?&#8221; whispered Jim, with
+a feeble attempt at raillery.</p>
+<p>&#8220;More likely some travelers stormbound like
+ourselves,&#8221; returned Joe practically. &#8220;Let&#8217;s take
+a squint at them.&#8221;</p>
+<p>They tiptoed their way through the hall to a
+room opening on the right. The door, half
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_238' name='page_238'></a>238</span>
+broken from its hinges, was standing open, and
+in the darkness they saw the tips of two lighted
+cigars.</p>
+<p>As this was not at all ghostly and they did not
+care to intrude, they were about to retire as softly
+as they had come, when Joe was startled by hearing
+his own name. Jim&#8217;s hand shot out and
+clenched his friend&#8217;s arm, and they stood there
+like statues.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That was a slick trick you put over on Matson,&#8221;
+said a voice which Joe recognized instantly
+as belonging to Beckworth Fleming. He had
+heard that voice before when he had made its
+owner kneel in the dirt of the road and beg
+Mabel&#8217;s pardon for his insolence.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think myself it was rather clever,&#8221; drawled
+another familiar voice, that of Braxton. &#8220;He fell
+for it like a lamb.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s a pretty keen chap usually, too,&#8221; remarked
+Fleming. &#8220;How is it you caught him
+napping?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I picked out just the right time,&#8221; said Braxton
+complacently. &#8220;And I don&#8217;t deny that luck
+helped me a little. If McRae and Barclay hadn&#8217;t
+gone away just the time they did, it might not have
+worked. But I got him talking about handwriting,
+and the first thing you know he&#8217;d scribbled his
+name on the blank sheet. I took good care that
+only the bottom of the sheet was where he could
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_239' name='page_239'></a>239</span>
+reach it. Then I slipped the paper into my pocket,
+sent it to you to have the contract printed above
+the signature, and you know the rest.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Easy meat,&#8221; chuckled Fleming.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Too easy,&#8221; chortled Braxton. &#8220;It makes me
+laugh every time I think of it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Joe stepped into the room, followed by Jim.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I do a little laughing myself sometimes,&#8221; Joe
+said coldly. &#8220;And this is one of the times!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='XXX_BROUGHT_TO_BOOK_CONCLUSION' id='XXX_BROUGHT_TO_BOOK_CONCLUSION'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_240' name='page_240'></a>240</span>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXX</h2>
+<h3>BROUGHT TO BOOK&mdash;CONCLUSION</h3>
+</div>
+
+<p>There was a gasp of dismay and astonishment,
+as the conspirators jumped to their feet from the
+windowsill upon which they had been sitting.</p>
+<p>At the same instant Joe drew the flashlight
+from his pocket and illumined their startled faces.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t move!&#8221; he commanded. &#8220;Jim, you
+keep them covered.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jim took up his station in the doorway, and in
+the insufficient light the rascals could not see
+whether he had a weapon or not.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What do you mean by this?&#8221; blustered Fleming,
+in a voice that he tried to make brave, but
+that quavered despite himself.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It means,&#8221; said Joe grimly, &#8220;that one of you
+men is in for the licking of his life. Don&#8217;t tremble
+so, Fleming,&#8221; he added contemptuously. &#8220;I&#8217;ve
+already thrashed you once and I don&#8217;t care to
+soil my hands with you again. But I&#8217;ve been aching
+for months to get my fingers on the man that
+made me out a liar and a contract-breaker. I
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_241' name='page_241'></a>241</span>
+have him now,&#8221; he added, with a steely glance at
+Braxton.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Here, Jim,&#8221; he continued, stepping back, &#8220;take
+this flash. I&#8217;ve got some work to do.&#8221;</p>
+<p>With a quick wrench he tore off his coat.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;d better be careful,&#8221; said Braxton&mdash;no
+longer the suave and polished trickster, but pale
+as chalk and trembling like a leaf. &#8220;This is
+assault and battery, and you&#8217;ll answer to the
+law.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Put up your hands,&#8221; said Joe curtly. &#8220;You&#8217;re
+as big a man as I am, but you&#8217;ve got to prove
+which is the better one. And you, Jim, keep your
+eye on Fleming and stand by to see fair play.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Even a rat will fight when cornered and Braxton,
+seeing no alternative, threw off his coat and
+made a desperate rush at Joe. Joe met him with
+a clip to the jaw that shook him from head to
+foot. Then he sailed in and gave the scoundrel
+what he had promised&mdash;the thrashing of his
+life.</p>
+<p>Braxton tried foul tactics, butted and kicked
+and tried to gouge and bite, but Joe&#8217;s powerful
+arms worked like windmills, his fists ripping savagely
+into Braxton&#8217;s face and chest. All the pent-up
+indignation and humiliation of the last few
+weeks found vent in those mighty blows, and soon,
+too soon to suit Joe, the man lay on the floor,
+whining and half-sobbing with shame and pain.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_242' name='page_242'></a>242</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Get up, you cur!&#8221; said Joe, as he pulled on his
+coat. &#8220;I&#8217;m not through with you yet.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re not going to hit him again, are you?&#8221;
+asked Fleming, while Braxton staggered painfully
+to his feet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; said Joe. &#8220;I guess he&#8217;s had enough.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You said it!&#8221; cried Jim admiringly. &#8220;If ever
+a man was trimmed to the queen&#8217;s taste he&#8217;s that
+man.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But I&#8217;m going to nail, right now, the lies you
+fellows have been spreading,&#8221; continued Joe, eyes
+alight with the thought of his coming vindication.
+&#8220;You&#8217;ve got to sign a written confession of the
+part you&#8217;ve played in this dirty business.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;We w-will, w-when we get back to town,&#8221;
+stammered Fleming.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, you won&#8217;t,&#8221; cried Joe. &#8220;You&#8217;ll do it
+right here and now.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;B-but we haven&#8217;t any writing materials,&#8221; suggested
+Braxton, through his swollen lips.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve got paper and a fountain pen!&#8221; exclaimed
+Jim eagerly. &#8220;This light is rather dim, but probably
+Mike has got the automobile lamps going by
+this time and that&#8217;ll be light enough.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come along!&#8221; cried Joe sternly, and his crest-fallen
+opponents knew him too well by this time
+to resist.</p>
+<p>They went out into the open and found that
+the rain had almost stopped. As Jim had prophesied,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_243' name='page_243'></a>243</span>
+the automobile lamps were gleaming through
+the dusk. Like every Irishman, Mike dearly
+loved a scrap, and his eyes lighted with a mixture
+of eagerness and regret as he looked at Braxton
+and realized what he had been missing.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Begorra!&#8221; he cried in his rich brogue, &#8220;&#8217;tis a
+lovely shindy ye&#8217;ve been after havin&#8217;.&#8221;</p>
+<p>With the paper resting on his knee and Jim&#8217;s
+fountain pen in his hand, Joe wrote out the story
+of the trickery and fraud that had been practiced
+in getting his signature. When he had covered
+every important point, he held out the pen to
+Braxton.</p>
+<p>The latter hesitated, and Joe&#8217;s fist clenched till
+the knuckles were white. Braxton knew what that
+fist was capable of and hesitated no longer. He
+wrote his name under the confession and Fleming
+followed suit. Then Jim affixed his name as a
+witness, and Michael O&#8217;Halloran happily added
+his.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now,&#8221; said Jim, as he folded the precious
+paper and stowed it safely in his pocket, &#8220;you fellows
+clear out. I suppose that&#8217;s your car that we
+saw standing a little way down the road. I don&#8217;t
+think either of you will care to mix in my affairs
+again.&#8221;</p>
+<p>They moved away with an assumption of
+bravado they were far from feeling and were lost
+in the darkness.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_244' name='page_244'></a>244</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;And now, Mike,&#8221; said Joe with a jubilant ring
+in his voice, as they leaped into the car, &#8220;let her
+go. Drive to Dublin as if the ghost of the last
+of the O&#8217;Brians were at your back!&#8221;</p>
+<p>And Mike did.</p>
+<p>The two baseball players found the girls impatiently
+awaiting them, and wondering rather
+petulantly what had become of them. Joe seized
+Mabel in his arms and whirled her about the room
+like a dancing dervish, paying no heed to her
+laughing protests.</p>
+<p>Jim would have liked to do the same to Joe&#8217;s
+sister, but did not quite dare to&mdash;yet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Are you boys crazy?&#8221; demanded Mabel, as
+soon as she could get her breath.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said Joe promptly. &#8220;You&#8217;ll be, too,
+when you see this.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He flourished the paper before their faces and
+in disjointed sentences, frequently broken by interruptions,
+told them of all that had happened
+since they had left them after the
+game.</p>
+<p>No need of telling how they felt when the boys
+had finished. There was no happier party that
+night in all Ireland.</p>
+<p>Then, leaving the delighted girls for a few minutes,
+the boys hunted up McRae. They found him
+glum and anxious, talking earnestly with Robbie
+in the lobby of the hotel. One glance at the young
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_245' name='page_245'></a>245</span>
+men&#8217;s faces made the pair jump wonderingly to
+their feet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;For the love of Pete, let&#8217;s have it, Joe!&#8221; cried
+McRae. &#8220;What&#8217;s happened?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Plenty!&#8221; exulted Joe. &#8220;We&#8217;ve put the All-Star
+League out of business!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What!&#8221; cried McRae, as he snatched the
+paper that Joe held out to him and devoured its
+contents, while Robbie peered eagerly over his
+shoulder.</p>
+<p>Then, as they realized what it meant, they set
+up a wild whoop which made the other members
+of the team, scattered about the lobby, come running,
+followed a scene of mad hilarity, during
+which no one seemed to know what he said or did.</p>
+<p>That night the cable carried the news to New
+York, and from there to every city in the United
+States. It sounded the death knell of the All-Star
+League, and it went to pieces like a house of
+cards. The American public will stand for much,
+but for nothing so gross and contemptible as that
+had been.</p>
+<p>The trip wound up in a blaze of glory with the
+Giants just one game to the good in the hot series
+of games that had been played. They had a swift
+and joyous journey home, and when they separated
+on the dock in New York, McRae&#8217;s hearty
+grip of Baseball Joe&#8217;s hand fairly made the latter
+wince.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_246' name='page_246'></a>246</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;Good-bye, old man,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You&#8217;ve stood
+by me like a brick. You&#8217;ll be on hand when the
+bell rings.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Joe will hear other bells before that,&#8221; grinned
+Jim, as he looked at Mabel, who flushed rosily.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s that?&#8221; asked McRae with a twinkle
+in his eye.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Wedding bells,&#8221; replied Jim.</p>
+<div class='ce'>
+<p>THE END</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='ppg-pb' />
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_247' name='page_247'></a>247</span></div>
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:1.4em;'>THE BASEBALL JOE SERIES</p>
+<p>By LESTER CHADWICK</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class='figleft'>
+<img src='images/illus253.png' alt='' title=''  /><br />
+</div>
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p><i>12mo. Illustrated. Price 50 cents per volume.</i></p>
+<p><i>Postage 10 cents additional.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<div class='la' style=' margin-top:1em;'>
+<p>1. <b>BASEBALL JOE OF THE SILVER STARS</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or The Rivals of Riverside</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p>2. <b>BASEBALL JOE ON THE SCHOOL NINE</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Pitching for the Blue Banner</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p>3. <b>BASEBALL JOE AT YALE</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Pitching for the College Championship</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p>4. <b>BASEBALL JOE IN THE CENTRAL LEAGUE</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Making Good as a Professional Pitcher</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p>5. <b>BASEBALL JOE IN THE BIG LEAGUE</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or A Young Pitcher&#8217;s Hardest Struggles</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p>6. <b>BASEBALL JOE ON THE GIANTS</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Making Good as a Twirler in the Metropolis</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p>7. <b>BASEBALL JOE IN THE WORLD SERIES</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Pitching for the Championship</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p>8. <b>BASEBALL JOE AROUND THE WORLD</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Pitching on a Grand Tour</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p>9. <b>BASEBALL JOE: HOME RUN KING</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or The Greatest Pitcher and Batter on Record</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p>10. <b>BASEBALL JOE SAVING THE LEAGUE</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Breaking Up a Great Conspiracy</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p>11. <b>BASEBALL JOE CAPTAIN OF THE TEAM</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Bitter Struggles on the Diamond</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p>12. <b>BASEBALL JOE CHAMPION OF THE LEAGUE</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or The Record that was Worth While</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p>13. <b>BASEBALL JOE CLUB OWNER</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Putting the Home Town on the Map</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p>14. <b>BASEBALL JOE PITCHING WIZARD</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Triumphs Off and On the Diamond</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<div class='ce' style=' margin-top:1em;'>
+<p><i>Send for Our Free Illustrated Catalogue.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='minor' />
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p>CUPPLES &amp; LEON COMPANY, Publishers&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;New York</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='ppg-pb' />
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:1.4em;'>THE BOY HUNTERS SERIES</p>
+<p>By CAPTAIN RALPH BONEHILL</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class='figleft'>
+<img src='images/illus253.png' alt='' title=''  /><br />
+</div>
+
+<div class='ce' style=' font-style:italic;'>
+<p>12mo. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors.</p>
+<p>Price 50 cents per volume. Postage 10 cents additional.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><i>Captain Ralph Bonehill is one of the best known and most popular
+writers for young people. In this series he shows, as no other writer
+can, the joy, glory and happiness of outdoor life.</i></p>
+<div class='la' style=' margin-top:1em;'>
+<p><b>FOUR BOY HUNTERS</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or The Outing of the Gun Club</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>A fine, breezy story of the woods and waters, of adventures in
+search of game, and of great times around the campfire, told in
+Captain Bonehill&#8217;s best style. In the book are given full directions
+for camping out.</p>
+<div class='la'>
+<p><b>GUNS AND SNOWSHOES</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or The Winter Outing of the Young Hunters</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>In this volume the young hunters leave home for a winter outing
+on the shores of a small lake. They hunt and trap to their hearts&#8217;
+content and have adventures in plenty, all calculated to make boys
+&#8220;sit up and take notice.&#8221; A good healthy book; one with the
+odor of the pine forests and the glare of the welcome campfire
+in every chapter.</p>
+<div class='la'>
+<p><b>YOUNG HUNTERS OF THE LAKE</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Out with Rod and Gun</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Another tale of woods and waters, with some strong hunting
+scenes and a good deal of mystery. The three volumes make a
+splendid outdoor series.</p>
+<div class='la'>
+<p><b>OUT WITH GUN AND CAMERA</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or The Boy Hunters in the Mountains</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Takes up the new fad of photographing wild animals as well as
+shooting them. An escaped circus chimpanzee and an escaped lion
+add to the interest of the narrative.</p>
+<div class='ce' style=' margin-top:1em;'>
+<p><i>Send for Our Free Illustrated Catalogue</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='minor' />
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p>CUPPLES &amp; LEON COMPANY, Publishers&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;New York</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='ppg-pb' />
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:1.4em;'>THE JEWEL SERIES</p>
+<p>By AMES THOMPSON</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class='figleft'>
+<img src='images/illus254.png' alt='' title=''  /><br />
+</div>
+
+<div class='ce' style=' font-style:italic;'>
+<p>12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in colors.</p>
+<p>Price 50 cents per volume.</p>
+<p>Postage 10 cents additional.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><i>A series of stories brimming with hardy adventure, vivid and
+accurate in detail, and with a good foundation of probability.
+They take the reader realistically to the scene of action. Besides
+being lively and full of real situations, they are written in a
+straight-forward way very attractive to boy readers.</i></p>
+<div class='la' style=' margin-top:1em;'>
+<p><b>1. THE ADVENTURE BOYS <i>and the</i> VALLEY OF DIAMONDS</b></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>In this book they form a party of five, and with the aid of a
+shrewd, level-headed sailor named Stanley Green, they find a valley
+of diamonds in the heart of Africa.</p>
+<p><b>2. THE ADVENTURE BOYS <i>and the</i> RIVER OF EMERALDS</b></p>
+<p>With a guide, they set out to find the River of Emeralds. But
+masked foes, emeralds, and falling mountains are all in the day&#8217;s
+fun for these Adventure Boys.</p>
+<p><b>3. THE ADVENTURE BOYS <i>and the</i> LAGOON OF PEARLS</b></p>
+<p>This time the group starts out on a cruise simply for pleasure,
+but their adventuresome spirits lead them into the thick of things
+on a South Sea cannibal island.</p>
+<p><b>4. THE ADVENTURE BOYS <i>and the</i> TEMPLE OF RUBIES</b></p>
+<p>The Adventure Boys find plenty of thrills when they hit the
+ruby trail, and soon discover that they are marked by some sinister
+influence to keep them from reaching the Ruby.</p>
+<p><b>5. THE ADVENTURE BOYS <i>and the</i> ISLAND OF SAPPHIRES</b></p>
+<p>The paths of the young jewel hunters lead to a mysterious
+island where the treasures are concealed.</p>
+<div class='ce' style=' margin-top:1em;'>
+<p><i>Send for Our Free Illustrated Catalogue</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='minor' />
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p>CUPPLES &amp; LEON COMPANY, Publishers&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;New York</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='ppg-pb' />
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:1.4em;'>THE BOMBA BOOKS</p>
+<p>By ROY ROCKWOOD</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class='figleft'>
+<img src='images/illus255.png' alt='' title=''  /><br />
+</div>
+
+<div class='ce' style=' font-style:italic;'>
+<p>Price 50 cents per volume.</p>
+<p>Postage 10 cents additional.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><i>Bomba lived far back in the jungles of the Amazon with a half-demented
+naturalist who told the lad nothing of his past. The jungle boy was a lover
+of birds, and hunted animals with a bow and arrow and his trusty machete.
+He had a primitive education in some things, and his daring adventures will
+be followed with breathless interest by thousands.</i></p>
+<div class='la' style=' margin-top:1em;'>
+<p><b>1. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY</b></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>2. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AT THE MOVING MOUNTAIN</b></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>3. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AT THE GIANT CATARACT</b></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>4. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY ON JAGUAR ISLAND</b></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>5. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY IN THE ABANDONED CITY</b></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>6. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY ON TERROR TRAIL</b></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>7. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY IN THE SWAMP OF DEATH</b></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>8. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AMONG THE SLAVES</b></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>9. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY ON THE UNDERGROUND RIVER</b></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>10. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AND THE LOST EXPLORERS</b></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>11. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY IN A STRANGE LAND</b></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>12. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AMONG THE PYGMIES</b></p>
+</div>
+
+<div class='ce' style=' margin-top:1em;'>
+<p><i>Send for Our Free Illustrated Catalogue</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='minor' />
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p>CUPPLES &amp; LEON COMPANY, Publishers&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;New York</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='ppg-pb' />
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:1.4em;'>THE WEBSTER SERIES</p>
+<p>By FRANK V. WEBSTER</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class='figleft'>
+<img src='images/illus256.png' alt='' title=''  /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>Mr. WEBSTER&#8217;S style is very much like that of the boys&#8217;
+favorite author, the late lamented Horatio Alger, Jr.,
+but his tales are thoroughly up-to-date.</p>
+<div class='ce' style=' font-style:italic;'>
+<p>Cloth. 12mo. Over 200 pages each. Illustrated.</p>
+<p>Stamped in various colors.</p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p>Price per volume, 50 cents.</p>
+<p>Postage 10 cents additional.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class='la'>
+<p><b>Only a Farm Boy</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Dan Hardy&#8217;s Rise in Life</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>The Boy from the Ranch</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Roy Bradner&#8217;s City Experiences</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>The Young Treasure Hunter</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Fred Stanley&#8217;s Trip to Alaska</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>The Boy Pilot of the Lakes</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Nat Morton&#8217;s Perils</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>Tom the Telephone Boy</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or The Mystery of a Message</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>Bob the Castaway</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or The Wreck of the Eagle</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>The Newsboy Partners</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Who Was Dick Box?</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>Two Boy Gold Miners</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Lost in the Mountains</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>The Young Firemen of Lakeville</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Herbert Dare&#8217;s Pluck</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>The Boys of Bellwood School</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Frank Jordan&#8217;s Triumph</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>Jack the Runaway</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or On the Road with a Circus</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>Bob Chester&#8217;s Grit</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or From Ranch to Riches</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>Airship Andy</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or The Luck of a Brave Boy</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>High School Rivals</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Fred Markham&#8217;s Struggles</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>Darry the Life Saver</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or The Heroes of the Coast</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>Dick the Bank Boy</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or A Missing Fortune</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>Ben Hardy&#8217;s Flying Machine</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Making a Record for Himself</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>Harry Watson&#8217;s High School Days</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or The Rivals of Rivertown</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>Comrades of the Saddle</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or The Young Rough Riders of the Plains</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>Tom Taylor at West Point</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or The Old Army Officer&#8217;s Secret</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>The Boy Scouts of Lennox</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or Hiking Over Big Bear Mountain</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>The Boys of the Wireless</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or a Stirring Rescue from the Deep</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>Cowboy Dave</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or The Round-up at Rolling River</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>Jack of the Pony Express</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or The Young Rider of the Mountain Trail</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>The Boys of the Battleship</b></p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>or For the Honor of Uncle Sam</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<div class='ce' style=' margin-top:1em;'>
+<p>CUPPLES &amp; LEON CO., Publishers&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;NEW YORK</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='ppg-pb' />
+<div class='ce'>
+<p><i>Everybody will love the story of</i></p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p style=' font-size:1.4em;'>NOBODY&#8217;S BOY</p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p><b>By HECTOR MALOT</b></p>
+</div>
+
+<div class='figleft'>
+<img src='images/illus257.png' alt='' title=''  /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>The dearest character
+in all the literature of
+child life is little Remi
+in Hector Malot&#8217;s famous
+masterpiece <i>Sans
+Famille</i> (&#8220;Nobody&#8217;s
+Boy&#8221;).</p>
+<p>All love, pathos, loyalty,
+and noble boy character are exemplified
+in this homeless little lad, who has made the
+world better for his being in it. The boy or
+girl who knows Remi has an ideal never to
+be forgotten. But it is a story for grown-ups,
+too.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Nobody&#8217;s Boy&#8221; is one of the supreme
+heart-interest stories of all time, which will
+<i>make you happier and better.</i></p>
+<div class='ce' style=' margin-top:1em; font-style:italic;'>
+<p>4 Colored Illustrations. $1.50 net.</p>
+<p><b>At All Booksellers</b></p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='minor' />
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p>CUPPLES &amp; LEON CO.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Publishers &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;New York</p>
+</div>
+
+<!-- generated by ppgen.rb version: 2.55 -->
+<!-- timestamp: Wed Nov 26 18:38:38 -0700 2008 -->
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Baseball Joe Around the World, by Lester Chadwick
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BASEBALL JOE AROUND THE WORLD ***
+
+***** This file should be named 27338-h.htm or 27338-h.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
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+</body>
+</html>
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@@ -0,0 +1,7113 @@
+Project Gutenberg's Baseball Joe Around the World, by Lester Chadwick
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Baseball Joe Around the World
+       Pitching on a Grand Tour
+
+Author: Lester Chadwick
+
+Release Date: November 27, 2008 [EBook #27338]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BASEBALL JOE AROUND THE WORLD ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank, Juliet Sutherland and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: IT WAS A HAMMER-AND-TONGS CONFLICT FROM START TO FINISH.
+_Baseball Joe Around the World_ Page 221]
+
+
+
+
+BASEBALL JOE
+
+AROUND THE WORLD
+
+or
+
+Pitching on a Grand Tour
+
+By LESTER CHADWICK
+
+AUTHOR OF
+
+"BASEBALL JOE OF THE SILVER STARS," "BASEBALL JOE IN THE BIG LEAGUE,"
+"THE RIVAL PITCHERS," "THE RIGHT-OARED VICTORS," ETC.
+
+ILLUSTRATED
+
+New York
+
+CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+BOOKS BY LESTER CHADWICK
+
+THE BASEBALL JOE SERIES
+12mo. Cloth. Illustrated
+
+BASEBALL JOE OF THE SILVER STARS
+BASEBALL JOE ON THE SCHOOL NINE
+BASEBALL JOE AT YALE
+BASEBALL JOE IN THE CENTRAL LEAGUE
+BASEBALL JOE IN THE BIG LEAGUE
+BASEBALL JOE ON THE GIANTS
+BASEBALL JOE IN THE WORLD SERIES
+BASEBALL JOE AROUND THE WORLD
+
+THE COLLEGE SPORTS SERIES
+12 mo. Cloth. Illustrated
+
+THE RIVAL PITCHERS
+A QUARTERBACK'S PLUCK
+BATTING TO WIN
+THE WINNING TOUCHDOWN
+THE EIGHT-OARED VICTORS
+
+CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, New York
+
+Copyright, 1918, by
+Cupples & Leon Company
+
+Baseball Joe Around the World
+
+Printed in U. S. A.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+CHAPTER                                 PAGE
+      I  In Deadly Peril                   1
+     II  Quick As Lightning               12
+    III  The Stranger's Visit             22
+     IV  The Top Of The Wave              32
+      V  Lucky Joe                        40
+     VI  Circling The Globe               49
+    VII  The Gathering Of The Clans       60
+   VIII  The Rival Teams                  67
+     IX  The Under Dog                    75
+      X  By A Hair                        84
+     XI  A Close Call                     93
+    XII  A Dastardly Attack              103
+   XIII  Danger Signals                  112
+    XIV  A Weird Game                    119
+     XV  The Bewildered Umpire           128
+    XVI  Putting Them Over               135
+   XVII  "Man Overboard"                 143
+  XVIII  One Strike And Out              150
+    XIX  Braxton Joins The Party         155
+     XX  In Mikado Land                  164
+    XXI  Running Amuck                   175
+   XXII  Taking A Chance                 183
+  XXIII  An Embarrassed Rescuer          191
+   XXIV  The Blow Falls                  200
+    XXV  The Cobra In The Room           207
+   XXVI  In The Shadow Of The Pyramids   213
+  XXVII  The Signed Contract             220
+ XXVIII  Whirlwind Pitching              227
+   XXIX  The Ruined Castle               234
+    XXX  Brought To Book--Conclusion     240
+
+
+
+
+BASEBALL JOE AROUND
+THE WORLD
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+IN DEADLY PERIL
+
+
+"Great Scott! Look at this!"
+
+Joe Matson, or "Baseball Joe," as he was better known throughout the
+country, sprang to his feet and held out a New York paper with headlines
+which took up a third of the page.
+
+There were three other occupants of the room in the cozy home at
+Riverside, where Joe had come to rest up after his glorious victory in the
+last game of the World's Series, and they looked up in surprise and some
+alarm.
+
+"Land's sakes!" exclaimed his mother, pausing just as she was about to
+bite off a thread. "You gave me such a start, Joe! What on earth has
+happened?"
+
+"What's got my little brother so excited?" mocked his pretty sister,
+Clara.
+
+"Has an earthquake destroyed the Polo Grounds?" drawled Jim Barclay,
+Joe's special chum and fellow pitcher on the Giant team.
+
+"Not so bad as that," replied Joe, cooling down a bit; "but it's something
+that will make McRae and the whole Polo Grounds outfit throw a fit if it's
+true."
+
+Jim snatched the paper from Joe's hands, with the familiarity born of long
+acquaintance, and as his eyes fell on the headlines he gave a whistle of
+surprise.
+
+"'Third Major League a Certainty,'" he read. "Gee whiz, Joe! I don't
+wonder it upset you. That's news for fair."
+
+"Is that all?" pouted Clara, who had been having a very interesting
+conversation with handsome Jim Barclay, and did not relish being
+interrupted.
+
+Mrs. Matson also looked relieved and resumed her sewing.
+
+"Is that all?" cried Joe, as he began to pace the floor excitedly. "I tell
+you, Sis, it's plenty. If it's true, it means the old Brotherhood days all
+over again. It means a fight to disrupt the National and the American
+Leagues. It means all sorts of trickery and breaking of contracts. It
+means distrust and suspicion between the members of the different teams.
+It means--oh, well, what doesn't it mean? I'd rather lose a thousand
+dollars than know that the news is true."
+
+"But perhaps it isn't true," suggested Clara, sobered a little by her
+brother's earnestness. "You can't believe half the things you see in the
+papers."
+
+"Will it hurt your position with the Giants, Joe?" asked Mrs. Matson, her
+motherly instincts taking alarm at anything that threatened her idolized
+son.
+
+Joe stopped beside his mother's chair and patted her head affectionately.
+
+"Not for a long time if at all, Momsey," he replied reassuringly. "My
+contract with the Giants has two years to run, and it's as good as gold,
+even if I didn't throw a ball in all that time. It wasn't the money I was
+thinking about. As a matter of fact, I could squeeze double the money out
+of McRae, if I were mean enough to take advantage of him. It's the damage
+that will be done to the game that's bothering me."
+
+"Perhaps it won't be as bad as you think," ventured his mother. "You know
+the old saying that 'the worst things that befall us are the things that
+never happen.'"
+
+"That's the way to look at it," broke in Jim heartily. "Let's take a
+squint at the whole article and see how much fire there is in all this
+smoke."
+
+"And read it out loud," said Clara. "I'm just as much of a baseball fan as
+either of you two. And Momsey is, too, after all the World's Series games
+she's seen played."
+
+It is to be feared that Mrs. Matson's eyes had been so riveted on Joe
+alone, in that memorable Series when he had pitched his team to victory,
+that she had not picked up many points about the game in general. But
+anything that concerned her darling boy concerned her as well, and she let
+her sewing lie unheeded in her lap as Joe read the story from beginning to
+end.
+
+"Seems to be straight goods," remarked Jim, as Joe threw the paper aside.
+
+"They've got the money all right," rejoined Joe. "They've got two or three
+millionaires who are willing to take a chance and put up the coin."
+
+"One of the names seems to be rather familiar," remarked Jim, with a
+sidewise look at Joe. "Do you remember him?"
+
+"I remember him," replied Joe grimly, "but I'd bet a dollar against a
+plugged nickel that he remembers me better yet."
+
+"Who is it?" asked Clara with quickened interest.
+
+"Beckworth Fleming," replied Joe.
+
+"Rather a pretty name," remarked Mrs. Matson absently.
+
+"Prettier than he was when Joe got through with him," interposed Jim with
+a grin.
+
+Mrs. Matson looked up, shocked.
+
+"Oh, I hope Joe didn't hurt him!" she exclaimed.
+
+"Whatever Joe did was for the good of his soul," laughed Jim. "I can't say
+as much for his body."
+
+"It's all right, Momsey," smiled Joe. "He was insolent to Mabel, and I had
+to give him a thrashing. But that's neither here nor there. He's the
+spoiled son of a very rich man, and he's one of the men behind this new
+league. 'A fool and his money are soon parted,' and he'll probably be
+wiser when he gets through with this than he is now."
+
+"But why shouldn't they start a new league if they want to?" asked Mrs.
+Matson. "I should think they had a right to, if they wanted to do it."
+
+"Of course they have a right to," agreed Joe. "This is a free country, and
+any man has a right to go into any legitimate business if he thinks
+there's money in it. Neither the National League nor the American League
+have a mortgage on the game. But the trouble is that there aren't enough
+good players to go round. All the really good ones have been already
+gobbled up by the present leagues. If the new league started in with
+unknown players, it wouldn't take in enough money to pay the batboys. The
+consequence is that it tries to get the players who are already under
+contract by making them big offers, and that leads to all sorts of
+dishonesty. You take a man who is making three thousand a year and offer
+him six if he'll break his contract, and it's a big temptation."
+
+"They'll be after you, Joe, sure as shooting," remarked Jim. "It would be
+a big feather in their cap to start off with copping the greatest pitcher
+in the game. They'd be willing to offer you a fortune to get you. They
+figure that after that start the other fellows they want will be tumbling
+over themselves to get aboard."
+
+"Let them come," declared Joe. "I'll send them off with a flea in their
+ear. They'll find that I'm no contract jumper."
+
+"I'm sure that you'd never do anything mean," said his mother, looking at
+him fondly.
+
+"There isn't a crooked bone in his head," laughed Clara, making a face at
+him as he threatened her with his fist.
+
+"The contract is enough," said Joe; "but even if I were a free agent, I
+wouldn't go with the new league and leave McRae in the hole. I feel that I
+owe him a lot for the way he has treated me. He took me from a
+second-string team and gave me a chance to make good on the Giants. He
+took a chance in offering me a three-year contract in place of one. I'm
+getting four thousand, five hundred a year, which is a good big sum
+whatever way you look at it. And you remember how promptly he came across
+with that thousand dollars for winning twenty games last season."
+
+"We remember that, don't we, Momsey?" said Clara, patting her mother's
+hand.
+
+"I should say we did," replied Mrs. Matson, while a suspicious moisture
+came into her eyes. "Will we ever forget the day when we opened that
+letter from the dear boy, and the thousand-dollar bill fell out on the
+table? It gave us all the happiest time we have had in all our lives."
+
+Jim, too, mentally blessed that big bill which had brought the Matson
+family to witness the World's Series games and so had enabled him to meet
+Joe's charming sister. Perhaps that vivacious young lady read what was
+passing in his mind, for her eyes suddenly dropped as they met Jim's
+eloquent ones.
+
+Joe flushed at this reference to his generosity, and Clara was quick to
+cover her own slight confusion by rallying her brother.
+
+"He's blushing!" she declared.
+
+"I'm not," denied Joe stoutly, getting still redder.
+
+"You are so," averred his sister in mock alarm. "Stop it, Joe, before it
+gets to your hair. I don't want a red-headed brother."
+
+Joe made a dash at his tormentor, but she eluded him and got into another
+room.
+
+"Come along, Jim," said Joe, picking up his cap. "Let's warm up a little.
+We want to keep our salary wings in good condition, and maybe the open
+air will help to get the bad taste of the new league out of our mouths."
+
+They went into an open lot near by and had a half-hour's practice,
+pitching to each other at a moderate pace, only now and then unlimbering
+some of the fast balls that had been wont to stand opposing batters "on
+their heads" in the exciting games of the season just ended.
+
+"How does the old soup bone feel?" inquired Jim.
+
+"Fine as silk," replied Joe; "I was afraid I might have strained it in
+that last game. But it feels as strong now as it did at the beginning of
+the season."
+
+They had supper a little earlier than usual that night, for with the
+exception of Joe's father, who was busy on a new invention, they were all
+going to a show that evening at the Riverside Opera House. It promised to
+be an interesting entertainment, for the names of several popular actors
+appeared on the program. But what made it especially attractive to Joe and
+his party was the fact that Nick Altman, the famous pitcher of the "White
+Sox" of Chicago, was on the bill for a monologue. Although, being in the
+American League, Joe and Jim had never played against him, they knew him
+well by reputation and respected him for his ability in their chosen
+profession.
+
+"As a pitcher he sure is classy," remarked Joe. "They say that fast
+inshoot of his is a lulu. But that doesn't say that he's any good on the
+stage."
+
+"He's pulling in the coin all right," replied Jim. "They say that his
+contract calls for two hundred dollars a week. He won't have to eat
+snowballs this winter."
+
+"Jim tells me that a vaudeville manager offered you five hundred dollars a
+week the day after you won the championship for the Giants," said Clara.
+
+"So he did," replied Joe, "but it would have been a shame to take the
+money."
+
+"Such a shrinking violet," teased his sister.
+
+"I'm sure he would make a very good actor," said his mother, who would
+have been equally sure that he would make a good president of the United
+States.
+
+The night was fine, and the town Opera House was crowded to its capacity.
+There was a buzz and whispering as Joe and his party entered and made
+their way to their reserved seats near the center of the house, for
+Riverside regarded the famous pitcher as one of its greatest assets. He
+had given the quiet little village a fame that it would never have had
+otherwise. In the words of Sol Cramer, the hotel keeper and village
+oracle, Joe had "put Riverside on the map."
+
+There were three or four sketches and vaudeville turns before Altman,
+who, of course, was the chief attraction as far as Joe and his folks were
+concerned, came on the stage. He had a clever skit in which baseball
+"gags" and "patter" were the chief ingredients, and as he was a natural
+humorist his act went "big" in the phrase of the profession. Knowing that
+Joe lived in Riverside and would probably be in the audience, Altman
+adroitly introduced his name in one of his anecdotes, and was rewarded by
+a storm of applause which clearly showed how Joe stood in his home town.
+
+"You own this town, Joe," laughed Jim, who was seated between him and
+Clara--Jim could be depended on these days never to be farther away from
+Clara than he could help.
+
+"Yes," mocked Clara. "Any time he runs for poundkeeper he's sure to be
+elected."
+
+Joe was about to make some laughing retort, when his quick eye caught
+sight of something that made the flush fade from his face and his heart
+lose a beat.
+
+From the wing at the left of the stage _a tiny wisp of smoke was
+stealing_.
+
+Like lightning, his quick brain sensed the situation. The house was old
+and would burn like tinder. There were only the two exits--one on each
+side of the hall. And the place was crowded--and his mother was there--and
+Clara!
+
+His plan was formed in an instant. He must reach a narrow corridor, by
+which, out of sight of the audience, he could gain the back of the stage
+and stamp out whatever it was that was making that smoke.
+
+He rose to slip out, but at that moment a big bulk of a man sitting two
+seats ahead of him jumped to his feet with a yell.
+
+"Fire! Fire!" he shouted wildly. "The house is on fire!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+QUICK AS LIGHTNING
+
+
+For one awful instant the crowd sat as though paralyzed.
+
+But in that instant Joe acted.
+
+With one powerful leap he reached the frenzied shouter, his fist shot out,
+and the man went down as though hit with an axe.
+
+Up the aisle Joe went like a flash, cleared the orchestra rail at a bound,
+and with one more jump was on the stage.
+
+The audience had risen now and was crowding toward the aisles. Women
+screamed, some fainted, and all the conditions were ripe for a panic.
+
+Above the hubbub, Joe's voice rang out like a trumpet.
+
+"Keep your seats!" he shouted. "There's no danger. I tell you to keep your
+seats."
+
+The crowd halted uncertainly, fearfully, and Joe took instant advantage of
+the hesitation.
+
+"You know me," he cried. "I tell you there's no danger. Haven't you ever
+smelled cigar smoke before?"
+
+The suggestion was a happy one, and the crowd began to quiet down,
+regaining their courage at the sight of that indomitable figure on the
+stage.
+
+Jim had been only two jumps behind Joe in his rush to the front, and while
+Joe was calming the crowd Jim had rushed into the wing and dragged down
+some draperies that had caught fire from a gas jet. In a moment he had
+trampled them underfoot and the danger was over.
+
+The orchestra had seemed to keep its wits better than the rest of the
+throng, and Joe signaled to the leader to strike up a tune. The next
+instant the musicians swung into a popular air, and completely reassured,
+the people settled down into their seats.
+
+And while Joe stands there, exulting in his triumph over the panic, it may
+be well for the sake of those who have not read the preceding books of
+this series to sketch something of his life and adventures up to this
+time.
+
+Joe's first experience in the great game in which he was to become so
+famous was gained on the diamond of his own home town. He did so well
+there that he soon became known in the towns around as one of the best
+players in the county. He had many mishaps and difficulties, and how he
+overcame them is told in the first volume of the series, entitled,
+"Baseball Joe of the Silver Stars; Or The Rivals of Riverside."
+
+A little later on, when playing on his school nine, he had obstacles of a
+different character to surmount. The bully of the school sought to down
+him, but found that he had made a mistake in picking out his victim. Joe's
+natural skill and constant practice enabled him to win laurels for himself
+and his school on the diamond, and prepared him for the larger field that
+awaited him when later on he went to Yale.
+
+As may be easily understood, with all the competition he had to meet at
+the great University his chance was long in coming to prove his class in
+the pitching box. But the homely old saying that "it is hard to keep a
+squirrel on the ground" was never better exemplified than in his case.
+There came a time when the Yale "Bulldog" was hard beset by the Princeton
+"Tiger," and Joe was called on to twist the Tiger's tail. How well he did
+it and what glory he won for his Alma Mater can be read in the third
+volume of the series, entitled: "Baseball Joe at Yale; Or, Pitching for
+the College Championship."
+
+But even at the top notch of his popularity, Joe was restless at college.
+He was bright and keen in his studies and had no difficulty in standing up
+well in his classes. But all his instincts told him that he was made for
+the out-of-door life.
+
+His mother had hoped that Joe would enter the ministry, but Joe, although
+he had the greatest respect for that profession, did not feel that his
+life work lay in that direction. He had been so successful in athletic
+sports and took such pleasure in them that he yielded to his natural bent
+and decided to adopt professional baseball as his vocation.
+
+His mother was sorely grieved at first, and the more so as she felt that
+Joe was "stepping down" in entering the professional ranks. But Joe was
+able to show her that scores of college men were doing the same thing that
+he planned to do, and she had too good sense to press her opposition too
+far.
+
+The opening that Joe was looking for came when he was offered a chance to
+play in the Pittston team of the Central League. It was only a minor
+league, but all the great players have been developed in that way, and Joe
+determined to make it a stepping stone to something higher. How he
+speedily rose to leadership among the twirlers of his league is told in
+the fourth volume of the series, entitled: "Baseball Joe in the Central
+League; Or, Making Good as a Professional Pitcher."
+
+While Joe had been winning his spurs, the keen-eyed scouts of the big
+leagues had not been idle. The St. Louis team of the National League
+drafted him into their ranks and took him away from the "bushes." Now he
+felt that he was really on the highway to success. Almost from the start
+he created a sensation, and it was his pitching that brought his team into
+the first division.
+
+A still wider field opened up before him when after one year with St.
+Louis he was bought by the New York Giants. This had been his ambition
+from the start, but he had scarcely dared to hope that his dream would
+come true. He promised himself that he would "pitch his head off" to
+justify the confidence that McRae, the Giants' manager, had put in him.
+How he came through an exciting season and in the final game won the
+championship for his team can be seen in the sixth volume of the series,
+entitled: "Baseball Joe on the Giants; Or, Making Good as a Ball Twirler
+in the Metropolis."
+
+Of course this brought him into the World's Series, in which that year the
+Boston Red Sox were the Giants' opponents. It proved to be a whirlwind
+series, whose result remained in doubt until the last inning of the last
+game. Joe had fearful odds to contend against since an accident to
+Hughson, the Giants' standby, put the bulk of the pitching burden on our
+hero's shoulders. Unscrupulous enemies also sought by foul means to keep
+him out of the Series, but Joe's indomitable will and magnificent pitching
+won out against all odds, as told in the volume preceding this, entitled:
+"Baseball Joe in the World Series; Or, Pitching for the Championship."
+
+If ever a man had earned a rest it was Joe, and, as we have seen, he was
+taking it now in his home town. Jim Barclay, a fine young Princeton man
+and second-string pitcher on the Giants, had come with him, not so much,
+it is to be suspected, because of his fondness for Joe, though that was
+great, as to be near Clara, Joe's charming sister, who had been working
+all sorts of havoc with poor Jim's heart.
+
+By the time the orchestra had finished the tune, the panic had about
+subsided. But Joe was taking no chances and he motioned for a repetition.
+The leader obeyed, and at the end of this second playing the danger was
+entirely over. The audience was seated, with the exception of the man whom
+Joe had knocked down, who slunk shame-facedly out of the hall holding his
+hand on the place where the blow had landed.
+
+And now that the peril had passed, it was Joe who was panic-stricken.
+Though brave as a lion and quick as a panther in an emergency, he was the
+most modest of men and hated to pose as a hero. He was wondering what he
+should say or do, when Altman solved the problem by coming up to him with
+both hands extended. That gave the audience its cue, and in a moment a
+tempest of cheers swept the hall.
+
+"What's the matter with Matson?" someone shouted in a stentorian voice.
+
+"He's all right!" came back in a roar.
+
+"Who's all right?"
+
+"Matson! Joe Matson! Baseball Joe!"
+
+Men crowded forward, and in a moment Joe was surrounded by his friends and
+fellow townsmen, most of whom had known him when he was in knickerbockers
+and now were more proud of him than they had ever been, even when he
+returned to Riverside crowned with the laurels of his last great season.
+Joe was mauled and pounded until he was almost out of breath, and it was a
+relief when at last he had made his way back to his mother and sister.
+
+They were both crying openly with joy and pride, and the looks they turned
+on Joe were a greater reward than all the plaudits of his friends.
+
+There was no going on with the performance after that. The nerves of the
+audience were too highly keyed by the great peril that had been escaped.
+And they had a more dramatic scene to remember and talk about than
+anything that could be given them from the stage.
+
+In the excitement, a great many of those present had lost track of the
+friends or relatives that had been with them, and from all sides came
+various calls.
+
+"Where is Frank?"
+
+"Did you see what became of my sister Bessie?"
+
+"Oh, Bill! I say, Bill! Where are you?"
+
+Many of the scenes were most affecting. Women would rush into each other's
+arms, crying with joy to find that the lost ones were safe.
+
+"I can tell you it's a grand good thing that panic was stopped so
+quickly," remarked one man to another, as he gazed admiringly at the hero
+of the occasion.
+
+As Joe and his folks were leaving, a tall, well-dressed man stepped up to
+Joe and extended his hand.
+
+"Let me congratulate you, Mr. Matson," he said effusively. "That was a
+splendid thing you did to-night. I never saw anything finer."
+
+"I'm afraid you exaggerate it," deprecated Joe.
+
+"Not at all," said the stranger. "By the way, Mr. Matson, it's a
+coincidence that I came to town with the express purpose of seeing you on
+a business matter. But I didn't expect that my first meeting with you
+would be under such exciting circumstances."
+
+He took a card from his pocket and handed it to Joe.
+
+"My name, as you see, is Westland," he continued. "I'm stopping at the
+hotel, and I would be glad to see you there or at any place that may be
+convenient to you some time to-morrow."
+
+"Suppose you call at my home to-morrow morning," said Joe. "It's only
+about five minutes' walk from the hotel."
+
+"You needn't bother about giving me the directions," said Westland, with
+an ingratiating smile. "Everybody in Riverside knows where Baseball Joe
+lives. I'll be around at eleven o'clock."
+
+He lifted his hat and departed, while Joe and the others walked toward
+home.
+
+"What do you suppose he wants of you, Joe?" asked Clara, with lively
+curiosity.
+
+"Oh, I don't know," answered her brother carelessly. "Some reporter
+probably who wants to get the sad story of my life."
+
+"If it is, he'll have something to write about after to-night," put in
+Jim. "Great Scott! Joe, if that had happened in New York it would be
+spread all over the front page of to-morrow's papers."
+
+"Oh, Joe, I'm so proud of you," sighed his mother happily.
+
+"You're a brother worth having!" exclaimed Clara warmly.
+
+Jim was on the point of saying that Joe was a brother-in-law worth having,
+but checked himself in time.
+
+They had almost reached the house when Clara began to laugh.
+
+"What's the joke?" inquired Jim.
+
+But Clara only laughed the harder until they became a little alarmed.
+
+"No, I'm not hysterical," she said, when she could speak. "I only happened
+to remember what tune it was the orchestra played. I suppose it was the
+first thing the leader thought of, and he didn't have time to pick out
+another. Do you remember what it was?"
+
+They cudgeled their brains, but could not recall it.
+
+"What was it?" asked Jim.
+
+"'There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town To-night!'"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE STRANGER'S VISIT
+
+
+Promptly the next morning at eleven, Westland put in an appearance at the
+Matson home. He was carefully groomed and everything about him indicated
+money. He fairly exuded prosperity.
+
+He greeted Joe with a cordiality that seemed a trifle overdone,
+considering their brief acquaintance.
+
+"By George, Mr. Matson," he said, "this town has fallen for you all right.
+The whole place is buzzing with that affair of last night, and I don't
+wonder. If it hadn't been for you, the coroner and undertaker would be
+busy this morning."
+
+"Oh, I don't know," responded Joe. "If I hadn't got to it someone else
+would. It wasn't much of a blaze anyway, and ten to one it would have gone
+out of itself."
+
+"Modest I see," laughed Westland. "They say that all great men are. But
+you can't get anyone in this town to take such a slighting view of it as
+you do yourself."
+
+"You said last night that you had a business matter you wanted to see me
+about," suggested Joe, in order to change the subject.
+
+"So I have," replied Westland, "and I've traveled over a thousand miles to
+talk to you personally about it."
+
+He lighted a fresh cigar while Joe waited indifferently. He had been
+interviewed so much in the last year or two on all conceivable subjects
+that his curiosity was scarcely awakened.
+
+"Of course, Mr. Matson," began Westland, "you've heard of the new major
+league that has just been organized and----"
+
+Joe's bored feeling vanished and he was wide-awake in an instant. So this
+was what the visit meant! Jim's prediction was coming true sooner than he
+had expected.
+
+"Pardon me, Mr. Westland," he interrupted, "but if this is about baseball,
+I have a friend visiting me who is as much interested in the game as I am.
+In fact, he's a player himself. It's Jim Barclay of the Giants. You've
+heard of him, of course. Hello there, Jim!" he called, as he threw open
+the door into the adjoining room, where Jim was watching a distracting
+dimple come and go in Clara's cheek as they chatted together.
+
+"Really, Mr. Matson," said Westland, visibly flustered, "much as I would
+like to meet Mr. Barclay, I would rather----"
+
+But just then Jim came strolling in, and Joe hastened to introduce him. He
+had used the stratagem in order to have a witness at hand. He was
+determined that no false or twisted version of the interview should be
+given out broadcast in the interest of the new league.
+
+Despite his annoyance, Westland was diplomat enough to make the best of
+the situation, and he acknowledged the introduction graciously.
+
+"Mr. Westland called in connection with the new league we were reading
+about yesterday, Jim," explained Joe, "and I knew that you would be
+interested and so I called you in."
+
+Jim's jaw set a trifle, but he only nodded and Westland went on:
+
+"I'm a business man, Mr. Matson, and so are you. So I won't beat around
+the bush, but come straight to the point. You're the greatest pitcher in
+the country, and we want to secure your services for the new league. We've
+got oceans of money behind us, and we're prepared to let you name your own
+terms. We'll give you anything in reason--or out of reason for that
+matter--if you'll sign up with us."
+
+He delivered himself of this with the air of a man sure of having his
+offer accepted. But if he had expected Joe to gasp with astonishment and
+delight, he was disappointed.
+
+"Well," said Joe quietly, after a moment's pause, "that's certainly a very
+liberal proposition----"
+
+"Oh, we're no pikers," put in Westland complacently.
+
+"But there's one little thing in the way," Joe went on; "and that is that
+I'm already signed up with the Giants for the next two years."
+
+Westland saw that he was in for a tussle and braced himself.
+
+"Of course, of course," he said, with the tolerant smile of a man of the
+world. "I didn't think for a minute that McRae would let his kingpin run
+around loose without being signed up. But you know what baseball contracts
+are. They're so jug handled that no court would uphold them for a minute.
+In fact, McRae wouldn't dare to bring it into court. He may threaten and
+bluster, but that will be the end of it. That ten-day clause alone would
+kill it with any judge."
+
+"Even admitting that I could break my contract with the Giants and get
+away with it," said Joe, leading him on, "what guarantee would you have
+that I wouldn't do the same thing with you if I should want to?"
+
+"The guarantee of your own self-interest," replied Westland, flicking the
+ash from his cigar. "We'd make it so much worth your while to stay with us
+that there wouldn't be any inducement to go anywhere else."
+
+"In other words," said Joe, with a touch of sarcasm, "if you once bought
+me you'd rely on your money to see that I'd stay bought."
+
+"Now, now, Mr. Matson," put in Westland deprecatingly, "there's no use
+putting it in so harsh a way as that. This is simply business I'm talking
+to you, and in this world every man has got to look out for Number One.
+Now I don't know how much money McRae pays you, but I make a guess that
+it's about five thousand a year, a little more or a little less. Now I'll
+tell you what we're prepared to do. We'll hand you twenty thousand dollars
+the day you put your signature to a contract with us. Then we'll agree to
+pay you fifteen thousand dollars a year for a three-years' term. And to
+make the whole thing copper riveted, we'll put the whole amount in the
+bank now, subject to your order as you go along. So that even if the new
+league should break up, you could loaf for three years and be sixty-five
+thousand dollars to the good."
+
+With the air of one who had played his trump card and felt sure of taking
+the trick, Westland from out his pocket drew a fountain pen.
+
+"Put up your pen, Mr. Westland," said Joe calmly, "unless you want to
+write to those who sent you here that there's nothing doing."
+
+Jim brought his fist down on the arm of his chair with a bang.
+
+"That's the stuff, Joe!" he cried jubilantly. "You knocked a home run that
+time."
+
+A look of blended astonishment and vexation came into Westland's eyes. He
+seemed to doubt the evidence of his ears.
+
+"Surely you're joking, Mr. Matson," he said. "No man in his senses would
+turn down such an offer as that."
+
+"I must be out of my senses then," replied Joe, "for that's exactly what
+I'm doing."
+
+"Perhaps you think we're bluffing," said Westland, "but money talks, and
+here is where it fairly shouts."
+
+He drew from his pocket a roll of bills of large denominations and laid it
+on the table.
+
+"There's the signing-up money," he explained. "They wanted me to bring a
+certified check, but I insisted on the actual cash. Count it if you like
+and take it to the bank if you doubt that it's good. There's twenty
+thousand dollars in that roll, and every cent of it's yours if you put
+your name at the bottom of this contract."
+
+He laid an official-looking document on the table beside the bills, and
+leaned back in his chair, ostensibly intent on the end of his cigar, but
+watching Joe keenly from the corner of his eyes.
+
+That pile of crisp yellowbacks was more money than Joe had ever seen at
+one time in his life, except through the bars of a cashier's cage. And all
+he had to do was to reach out, sign his name, and the next minute thrust
+the bills into his pocket. They meant independence. They meant security.
+They meant the power and comfort and luxury that money can give.
+
+But they also meant treachery and dishonor, and Joe never wavered for an
+instant.
+
+"It's a lot of money, Mr. Westland," he agreed, "but it isn't enough."
+
+A look of relief came into Westland's eyes. Perhaps his task wasn't
+hopeless after all.
+
+"If that's the case, perhaps we can raise the figures a little," he said
+eagerly, "although we thought we were making a very liberal offer. But as
+I said before, we're no pikers, and we wouldn't let a few thousands stand
+between us. State your terms."
+
+"You don't understand," replied Joe. "What I meant was that there isn't
+money enough in your whole crowd to make me go back on my word and jump my
+contract."
+
+"Hot off the bat!" exclaimed Jim. "Gee, I wish McRae and Robbie and the
+rest of the Giant bunch could have heard this pow-wow."
+
+Westland evidently had all he could do to contain himself. He had felt so
+serenely confident in the power of his money that he had scarcely allowed
+himself to think of failure. Yet here was his money flouted as though it
+were counterfeit, and he himself, instead of being greeted with open arms,
+was being treated with scorn and contempt.
+
+"Upon my word, Mr. Matson," he said, with an evident effort to keep cool,
+"you have a queer way of meeting a legitimate business proposition."
+
+"That's just the trouble," retorted Joe. "It isn't legitimate and you know
+it. In the first place you're offering me a good deal more than I'm
+worth."
+
+"Oh, I don't know about that," expostulated Jim loyally. "There's at least
+one man in the league getting that much, and he never saw the day when he
+was a better man than you are."
+
+"More than I'm worth," repeated Joe. "Still, if that were all, and you
+were simply trying to buy my baseball ability, it would be your own affair
+if you were bidding too high. But you don't want to give me all this money
+because I'm a good pitcher. It's because you want to make me a good liar.
+You think that every man has his price and it's only a matter of bidding
+to find out mine."
+
+"Now, now!" said Westland, spots of color coming into his cheeks.
+
+"And more than that," went on Joe, not heeding the interruption, "you want
+to make me a tool to lead others to break their contracts, too. I'm to be
+the bellwether of the flock. You figure that if it's once spread abroad
+that Matson has jumped into the new league, it will start a stampede of
+contract breakers. I tell you straight, Westland, it's dirty business. If
+you want to start a new league, go ahead and do it in a decent way. Get
+new players and develop them, or get star players whose contracts have
+expired. Play the game, but do it without marked cards or loaded dice."
+
+Westland saw that he had lost, and he threw diplomacy to the winds.
+
+"Keep your advice till it's asked for!" he snarled, snatching up the money
+and jamming it viciously into his pocket. "I didn't come to this jay town
+to be lectured by a hick----"
+
+"What's that?" cried Joe, springing to his feet.
+
+Westland was so startled by the sudden motion that he almost swallowed his
+cigar. Before Joe's sinewy figure he stepped back and mumbled an apology.
+Then he reached for his hat, and without another word stalked out of the
+house, his features convulsed with anger and chagrin.
+
+As he flung himself out of the gate, he almost collided with a messenger
+boy bringing a telegram to Joe.
+
+The latter signed for it and tore it open hastily. It was from the Giants'
+manager and read:
+
+  "I hear the new league is coming after you hotfoot. But I'm betting
+  on you, Joe.
+
+                                                            "McRae."
+
+He handed it over to Jim who read it with a smile.
+
+"Betting on me, is he?" said Joe. "Well, Mac, you win!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE TOP OF THE WAVE
+
+
+While they were still discussing the telegram, Joe's father came home to
+lunch from the harvester works where he was employed. He seemed ten years
+younger than he had before the trip to the World's Series, which he in his
+quiet way had enjoyed quite as much as the rest of the family.
+
+He greeted the young men cordially.
+
+"I met a man a little way down the street who seemed to have come from
+here," he said, as he hung up his hat. "He had his hat jammed down on his
+head, and was muttering to himself as though he were sore about
+something."
+
+"He was," replied Jim with a grin. "He laid twenty-five thousand dollars
+on the table, and he was sore because Joe wouldn't take it up."
+
+Mr. Matson looked bewildered, but his astonishment was not as great as
+that of Clara, who at that moment put her head in the door to announce
+that lunch was ready.
+
+"What are you millionaires talking about?" she asked.
+
+"What do millionaires usually talk about?" answered Jim loftily.
+"Money--the long green--iron men--filthy lucre--yellowbacks----"
+
+"If you don't stop your nonsense you sha'n't have any lunch," threatened
+Clara, "and that means something, too, for mother has spread herself in
+getting it up."
+
+"Take it all back," said Jim promptly. "I'm as sober as a judge. Lead me
+to this lunch, fair maiden, and I'll tell you nothing but the plain,
+unvarnished truth. But even at that, I'm afraid you'll think I'm
+romancing."
+
+The merry group seated themselves at the table, and Clara, all alive with
+curiosity, demanded the fulfilment of Jim's promise.
+
+"Well," said Jim, "the simple truth is that that fellow who was here this
+morning offered Joe sixty-five thousand dollars for three years' work."
+
+Mrs. Matson almost dropped her knife and fork in her amazement. Mr. Matson
+sat up with a jerk, and Clara's eyes opened to their widest extent.
+
+"Sixty-five thousand dollars!" gasped Joe's father.
+
+"For three years' work!" exclaimed Mrs. Matson.
+
+"Why," stammered Clara, "that's--that's--let me see--why, that's more than
+twenty-one thousand dollars a year."
+
+"That's what," replied Jim, keenly relishing the sensation he was causing.
+"And it wasn't stage money either. He had brought twenty thousand dollars
+with him in bills, and he laid it down on the table as carelessly as
+though it was twenty cents. And all that this modest youth, who sits
+beside me and isn't saying a word, had to do to get that money was to put
+his name on a piece of paper."
+
+"Joe," exclaimed Clara, "do tell us what all this means! Jim is just
+trying to tantalize us."
+
+"Stung!" grinned Jim. "That's what comes from mixing in family matters."
+
+"Why, it's this way, Sis," laughed Joe. "That fellow traveled a thousand
+miles to call me a hick. I wouldn't stand for it and made him take it back
+and then he got mad and skipped."
+
+"Momsey," begged Clara in desperation, "can't you make these idiots tell
+us just what happened?"
+
+"Them cruel woids!" ejaculated Jim mournfully.
+
+"Do tell us, Joe!" entreated his mother. "I'm just dying to know all about
+it."
+
+Teasing his mother was a very different thing from teasing Clara, who was
+an adept at that art herself, and Joe surrendered immediately.
+
+They forgot to eat--all except Jim, who seldom carried forgetfulness so
+far--while he told them about Westland's call and his proposition to Joe
+to break his contract and jump to the new league.
+
+Sixty-five thousand dollars was a staggering amount of money, a fortune,
+in fact, in that quiet town, and yet there was not one of that little
+family who didn't rejoice that Joe had turned the offer down.
+
+"You did the right thing, Joe," said his father heartily; "and the fact
+that lots of people would call you foolish doesn't change things in the
+least. A man who sells himself for a hundred thousand dollars is just as
+contemptible as one who sells himself for a dollar. I'm proud of you, my
+boy."
+
+"I could have told beforehand just what Joe would do," said Mrs. Matson,
+wiping her eyes.
+
+"You're the darlingest brother ever!" exclaimed Clara, coming round the
+table and giving him a hug and a kiss.
+
+The thought of Clara being a sister to him had never appealed to Jim
+before, but just at that moment it would have had its advantages.
+
+For the rest of the meal all were engrossed in talking of the great event
+of the morning--that is, all but Joe, who kept casting surreptitious
+glances at the clock.
+
+"Don't get worried, Joe," said his sister mischievously, as she
+intercepted one of his glances. "Mabel's train doesn't get in until
+half-past two, and it isn't one o'clock yet."
+
+Joe flushed a little and Jim laughed.
+
+"Can you blame him?" he asked.
+
+"Not a bit," answered Clara. "Mabel's a darling and I'm crazy to get hold
+of her. After Joe, though, of course," she added.
+
+Joe threw his napkin at her but missed.
+
+"Sixty-five thousand dollars for a baseball player who can't throw any
+straighter than that," she mocked. "It's a lucky thing for the new league
+that you didn't take their money."
+
+"Maybe I had better take their money after all!" cried Joe tantalizingly.
+
+At these words Clara threw up her hands in mock horror.
+
+"You just dare, Joe Matson, and I'll disown you!"
+
+"Ah-ha! And now I'm disowned and cast out of my home!" exclaimed the young
+baseball player tragically. "Woe is me!"
+
+"I don't believe any decent player would ever have anything to say to you,
+Joe, if you did such a mean thing as that," went on Clara seriously. And
+at this Joe nodded affirmatively.
+
+An hour later, all three, chatting merrily, were on their way to the
+train. But their progress was slow, for at almost every turn they were
+stopped by friends who wanted to shake hands with Joe and congratulate him
+on his presence of mind the night before.
+
+"One of the penalties of having a famous brother," sighed Clara, when this
+had happened for the twentieth time.
+
+"You little hypocrite," laughed Jim. "You know that you're just bursting
+with pride. You're tickled to death to be walking alongside of him. Stop
+your sighing. Follow my example. I'm tickled to death to be walking
+alongside of you and you don't hear _me_ sighing. I feel more like
+singing."
+
+"For goodness' sake, don't," retorted Clara in mock alarm. "Oh, dear,
+here's another one!"
+
+"Were you addressing me when you said 'dear'?" asked Jim politely.
+
+Clara flashed him an indignant glance, just as Professor Enoch Crabbe, of
+the Riverside Academy, stepped up and greeted Joe. He was earnest in his
+congratulations, but his manner was so stilted that they looked at each
+other with an amused smile, as he stalked pompously away.
+
+"I wonder if he believes now that I can throw a curve," laughed Joe.
+
+"He ought to ask some of the Red Sox who whiffed away at them in the World
+Series," said Jim with a grin. "They didn't have any doubt about it."
+
+"Professor Crabbe had very serious doubts," explained Joe. "In fact, he
+said it was impossible. Against all the laws of motion and all that sort
+of thing. I had to rig up a couple of bamboo rods in a line, and get Dick
+Talbot, a friend of mine in the moving-picture business, to take a picture
+of the ball as it curved around the rods, before I could prove my point."
+
+"Did it convince him?" queried Jim.
+
+"It stumped him, anyway," replied Joe. "But sometimes I have a sneaking
+notion that he thinks yet that Dick and I played some kind of a bunco game
+on him by doctoring the film."
+
+"Well, I hope that nobody else stops us," remarked Clara. "It seems to me
+that almost everybody in Riverside is on the street this afternoon."
+
+"It wouldn't be such an awful mob at that," replied Jim. "But it's a safe
+bet that one man at least won't stop Joe to shake hands with him."
+
+"Who is that?" asked Clara.
+
+"The fellow who yelled 'Fire' in the hall last night," answered Jim with a
+grin.
+
+"I hope I didn't hurt him," observed Joe, thoughtfully.
+
+"Perish the thought," replied Jim. "You just caressed him. He was a big
+fellow, and he probably sat down just to take a load off his feet."
+
+"I'm glad he wasn't a Riverside man, anyway," remarked Joe, loyal to his
+home town. "I never saw him before. Probably he came from some place near
+by."
+
+"Oh, then, of course he won't mind it," chaffed Jim.
+
+"Of all the nonsense----" Clara was beginning, when her eye caught sight
+of a figure she recognized on the station platform which they had nearly
+reached.
+
+She nudged her brother's elbow.
+
+"There's the man you were talking to this morning," she said in a low
+voice.
+
+"By George, so it is!" replied Joe, as he followed her glance. "And he's
+talking to Altman. Trying to make him a convert."
+
+"A renegade, you mean," growled Jim.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+LUCKY JOE
+
+
+Westland saw the party coming, and with a scowl turned his back upon
+them.
+
+Altman, however, greeted Joe with a smile and, excusing himself to
+Westland, went over to meet him with extended hand.
+
+"How are you, old scout?" he exclaimed. "You sure batted .300 last
+night."
+
+Joe greeted him cordially, while Jim and Clara strolled on toward the end
+of the platform. It was astonishing what good company those two were to
+each other, and how well they bore the absence of anybody else from their
+conversation.
+
+"I'm feeling fine as silk," was Joe's response to Altman's question.
+
+"Didn't sprain your salary wing, or anything like that?" grinned Altman.
+"You fetched that fellow an awful hit in the jaw."
+
+"I hated to do it, but it was coming to him," laughed Joe.
+
+"Well, if there are any doctors' bills, I guess the Riverside people will
+be willing to take up a collection to pay them," replied Altman. "It's
+mighty lucky for the town that you happened to be in the crowd last
+night."
+
+"I suppose you're off to keep your next engagement," said Joe, to change
+the subject. "By the way, Nick, that was a mighty nifty skit of yours at
+the hall last night. It brought down the house. It ought to pull big
+everywhere."
+
+"I'm glad you liked it," replied Altman. "I'm booked for twenty weeks and
+I'm drawing down good money."
+
+"I suppose you'll be with the White Sox next year, as usual," said Joe.
+
+Altman hesitated.
+
+"W-why, I suppose so," he said slowly. "My contract with them has another
+year to run. To tell the truth, though, Joe, I'm somewhat unsettled."
+
+"Why," said Joe, "you're not going to give up the game for the stage, are
+you?"
+
+"Oh, nothing like that," replied Altman. "I'd rather play ball than eat,
+and I'll stick to the game as long as this old wing of mine can put them
+over the plate. But whether I'll be with the White Sox or not is another
+question."
+
+"Some other team in the American league trying to make a dicker for you?"
+asked Joe.
+
+"Not that I've heard anything about," responded Altman. "But the American
+League isn't the whole cheese in baseball--nor the National League,
+either, for that matter."
+
+"I see Westland has been talking to you," said Joe. "I don't want to butt
+in, Nick, but don't let him put one over on you."
+
+"The new league seems to have barrels of money," replied Altman, evading a
+direct answer. "This fellow Westland seems aching to throw it to the
+birds--he's got a wad in his pocket that would choke a horse."
+
+"Yes," said Joe dryly, "I've seen that wad before. But take a fool's
+advice, Nick, and stick to the old ship."
+
+"That's all very well," said Altman. "But a man's worth all that he will
+bring in any other line of work--and why shouldn't it be so in baseball?
+Who is it that brings the money in at the gate, anyway? We're the ones
+that the public come to see, but it's the bosses that get all the money."
+
+"Lay off on that 'poor, down-trodden slave' talk, Nick," said Joe
+earnestly. "You know as well as I do that there are mighty few fellows who
+get as well paid for six months' work as we ball players do. But, leave
+that out of the question for a minute--don't you suppose the backers of
+this new league are just as eager to make money out of us as anybody
+else? Do you think they're in the game for the sport of it? And don't you
+know that the coming of a new league just now is likely to wreck the game?
+You know how it was in the old Brotherhood days--they did the same crooked
+work then that they're trying to do now--bribing men to jump their
+contracts by offers of big money. The game got a blow then that it took
+years to recover from, and there wasn't a single major league player that
+in the long run, didn't suffer from it. Play the game, Nick--and let's
+show these fellows that they can't buy us as they would so many cattle."
+
+Altman was visibly impressed, and Westland, who had been watching
+proceedings out of the corner of his eye, thought it time to intervene. He
+strolled down toward them and without looking at Joe, spoke directly to
+Altman.
+
+"Train's coming, Nick," he said. "I just heard the whistle. I'll stay with
+you so that we can get seats together in the smoker."
+
+"Well, good-bye, Joe!" said Altman. "I'm glad to have seen you again,
+anyway, and I'll promise not to do anything hastily."
+
+And as Jim and Clara came hurrying up at that moment, Joe had to be
+content with the hope that, at least, he had put a spoke in Westland's
+wheel.
+
+The train was in sight now, and all thoughts of baseball were banished
+for the moment at the thought of what that train was bringing to him.
+
+With a rush and a roar the train drew up at the station. The colored
+porter jumped down the steps of the parlor car to assist the descending
+passengers.
+
+Joe uttered an exclamation, and Clara gave a little squeal of delight as
+two young people, whom a family resemblance proclaimed to be brother and
+sister, came hurriedly down the steps.
+
+In a moment they were the center of an eager and tumultuous group.
+
+"Mabel!" exclaimed Joe,--at least that was all that they heard him say
+just then. What he said to her later on is none of our business.
+
+The girls hugged and kissed each other, much to the aggravation of the
+masculine contingent, while Reggie Varley extended his two hands, which
+were grasped cordially by Joe and Jim.
+
+The romance which had culminated in the engagement of Mabel Varley and Joe
+dated back two years earlier. Joe had been in a southern training camp, in
+spring practice with his team, when one day he had been lucky enough to
+stop a runaway horse which Mabel had been driving, and thus saved her from
+imminent danger and possible death. The acquaintance, so established,
+rapidly deepened into friendship and then into something stronger.
+
+Mabel was a charming girl with lustrous brown eyes, wonderful complexion
+and dimples that came and went in a distracting fashion, and it was no
+wonder that Joe before long was a helpless but willing captive. She, on
+her part, developed a sudden fondness for the great national game to which
+she had hitherto been indifferent.
+
+They had met many times during the season, and with every meeting her
+witchery over Joe had become more potent. He had stolen a glove from her
+during one of his visits to Goldsboro, her home town in the South, and
+during the exciting games of the last World's Series he had worn it close
+to his heart when he had pitched his team to victory.
+
+And when he told her this on the night following the famous game that had
+set the whole country wild with excitement, and told her too, that victory
+meant nothing, unless she shared it with him, she had capitulated and
+promised to become his wife.
+
+Reggie, her brother, had formed Joe's acquaintance earlier than Mabel and
+in a less pleasant way. He was a rather foppish young man who cultivated a
+mustache that the girls called "darling," and affected what he fondly
+believed to be an English accent.
+
+In a railway station he had left his valise near where Joe was sitting,
+and, on his return, found that the valise had been opened and some
+valuable jewelry stolen from it. He had rashly accused Joe of the theft,
+and had narrowly escaped a thrashing from that indignant young man, in
+consequence.
+
+The matter had been patched up at the time, and afterward, when Joe
+learned that he was Mabel's brother, had been forgiven entirely. The men
+were now on the most cordial of terms, for Reggie, despite his
+peculiarities and though he would never "set the river on fire" with his
+intellectual ability, was by no means a bad fellow.
+
+There was a merry hubbub of greetings and exclamations while the men
+arranged for the baggage and the girls asked each other twenty questions
+at once and then the party paired off for the walk to the Matson
+home--that is, Joe and Mabel and Jim and Clara, formed the pairs, while
+Reggie was, so to speak, a fifth wheel to the coach!
+
+Not that this bothered Reggie in the least. He ambled along amiably,
+dividing his talk and attentions impartially, serenely unconscious that
+each pair was willing to bestow him upon the other.
+
+"We ought to have a band playing 'See, the Conquering Hero Comes,'"
+remarked Jim to Mabel, who was walking in front with Joe.
+
+"I know he's a hero," said Mabel, her eyes eloquent as she looked at Joe.
+"I can hardly pick up the paper but what it calls him the hero of the
+World's Series."
+
+"I don't mean a baseball hero," said Jim, "but a real, honest-to-goodness
+hero--the life-saver and all that kind of stuff, you know."
+
+"Yes," joined in Clara, "you came a day too late, Mabel. You ought to have
+seen Joe at the Opera House last night. He was simply great."
+
+"At the Opera House?" Mabel repeated, in some bewilderment.
+
+"Sure," chaffed Jim. "Didn't you know Joe'd gone on the stage?"
+
+"Yes," said Clara, carrying out the mystification. "He made a hit, too."
+
+"There was at least one man in the audience he made a hit with," chuckled
+Jim.
+
+"Don't let them fool you, Mabel," said Joe, tenderly. "There was just a
+little excitement at the Opera House last night and Jim and I took a hand
+in stopping it. They're making an awful lot of a very simple matter."
+
+"You've no idea what a voice Joe has for public speaking," persisted the
+irrepressible Jim. "Last night he was a howling success."
+
+"Clara, dear, tell me all about it," entreated Mabel. "We girls are the
+only ones who can talk sense."
+
+Thus appealed to, Clara told about the circumstances of the night before,
+and, as may be imagined, Joe did not suffer in the telling. If the latter
+had needed any other reward for his exploit he found it in Mabel's eyes as
+she looked at him.
+
+"I thought I knew all about you before," she said, in a half whisper, "but
+I'm learning all the time!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+CIRCLING THE GLOBE
+
+
+When the party reached the Matson home, motherly Mrs. Matson took Mabel
+into her arms as she had long since taken her into her heart. Then Clara
+took her up to her room to refresh herself after the journey, while Jim
+and Joe took care of Reggie and his belongings.
+
+"Oh, I'm so glad that you've got here at last!" exclaimed Clara, as she
+placed an affectionate hand on Mabel's shoulder.
+
+"And you may be sure that I'm glad that I am here," was the happy
+response. "I declare, this place almost feels like home to me."
+
+"Well, you know, we want it to feel like home to you, Mabel," answered
+Joe's sister, and looked so knowingly at the visitor that Mabel suddenly
+began to blush.
+
+In the meantime, Joe had taken Reggie to the room which the young man was
+to occupy during his stay. Joe carried both of the bags, which were
+rather heavy, for the fashionable young man was in the habit of taking a
+good share of his wardrobe along whenever he left home.
+
+"Some weight to one of these bags, Reggie," remarked Joe good-naturedly,
+as he deposited the big Gladstone on the floor with a thud. "You must have
+about three hundred and fifteen new neckties in there."
+
+"Bah Jove, that's a good joke, Joe, don't you know!" drawled Reggie. "But
+you're wrong, my boy; I haven't more than ten neckties with me on this
+trip."
+
+"Say, I'm glad to know you've got so many. Maybe I'll want to borrow one,"
+went on Joe, continuing his joke.
+
+"Of course you can have one of my neckties if you want it, Joe," returned
+the fashionable young man quickly. "I've got a beautiful lavender one that
+ought to just suit you. And then there is a fancy striped one, red and
+green and gold, which is the most stunning thing, don't you know, you ever
+saw. I purchased it at a fashionable shop on Fifth Avenue the last time I
+was in New York. If you wore that tie, Joe, you would certainly make a
+hit."
+
+"Well, you see, I'm not so much of a hitter as I am of a pitcher,"
+returned Joe; "so I guess I'd better not rob you of that tie. Come to
+think of it, I got several new ties myself last Christmas and on my
+birthday. I think they'll see me through very nicely. But I'm much obliged
+just the same. And now, Reggie, make yourself thoroughly at home."
+
+"Oh, I'll be sure to do that," returned Mabel's brother. "You're a fine
+fellow, Joe; and I often wonder how it was I quarreled with you the first
+time we met."
+
+"We'll forget about that," answered Joe shortly.
+
+Naturally the men returned to the living room first, and while they were
+waiting impatiently for the girls to rejoin them, Joe caught sight of a
+letter resting against the clock on the mantelpiece.
+
+He took it up and saw that it was addressed to himself, and that it bore
+the postmark of New York. He recognized the handwriting at once.
+
+"It's from McRae," he said. "The second message I've received from the old
+boy to-day, counting the telegram this morning. Excuse me, fellows, while
+I look it over."
+
+He tore it open hastily and read with glowing interest and excitement.
+
+"The World Tour's a go!" he cried, handing the letter over to Jim. "Mac's
+got it all settled at last. When we said good-bye to him in New York it
+was all up in the air. But trust Mac to hustle--he's got enough promises
+to make up the two teams and now he's calling on us, Jim, to keep our word
+and go with the party. We're all to meet in Chicago for the start on the
+nineteenth of the month."
+
+"Gee!" exclaimed Jim. "That doesn't give us very much time. Let's see," as
+he snatched up a newspaper and scanned the top line. "To-day's the
+sixteenth. We'll have to get a wiggle on."
+
+"Bah Jove," lisped Reggie. "It's bally short notice, don't you know? How
+long will you fellows be gone?"
+
+"Just about six months," said Joe, his face lengthening as he reflected on
+what it meant to be all that time away from Mabel.
+
+"What's all this pow-wow about?" came a merry voice from the door, as the
+girls tripped in, their arms about each other's waist.
+
+"I'm glad we girls aren't as talkative as you men," said Clara,
+mischievously.
+
+"When we do talk we at least say something," added Mabel. "What is it,
+Joe?"
+
+"I'm afraid it's rather bad news in a way," said Joe. "I've just got a
+letter from McRae in which he tells me that he's completed all
+arrangements for a baseball tour around the world. You know, Mabel, that I
+spoke to you about it just before we left New York. But it was only a
+vague idea then and something of the kind is talked about at the end of
+every baseball season. Usually though, it only ends in talk, and the teams
+make a barnstorming trip to San Francisco or to Cuba. But this time it
+seems to have gone through all right. And now Mac is calling upon Jim and
+me to go along."
+
+"My word!" broke in Reggie, "anyone would think it was a bally funeral to
+hear you talk and see your face. I should think you'd be no-end pleased to
+have a chance to go."
+
+To tell the truth, neither Joe nor Jim seemed elated at the prospect.
+Joe's eyes sought Mabel, while Jim's rested on Clara, and neither one of
+those young ladies was so obtuse as not to know what the young men were
+thinking.
+
+"When do you have to go?" asked Clara, soberly.
+
+"We have to be in Chicago by the nineteenth," answered Joe, "and we'll
+have to leave here the day before. To-day's the sixteenth and you can see
+for yourself how much time that gives us to stay in Riverside."
+
+"No rest for the wicked," said Reggie, jocularly. "'Pon honor, you boys
+have earned a rest after the work you did against the Red Sox."
+
+Clara was very far from her vivacious self as she thought of the coming
+separation, but Joe was surprised and the least bit hurt to see how
+lightly Mabel seemed to regard it.
+
+"It's too bad, of course," she said, cheerfully, "but we'll have to make
+the best of these two days at least. It's a pity, though, that it wasn't
+November nineteenth instead of October."
+
+"We could have started a bit later if it were only for the foreign trip,"
+explained Jim, "but we're going to play a series of exhibition games
+between here and the Coast, and we've got to take advantage of what good
+weather there is left. If we can only get to the Rockies before it's too
+cold to play, we'll be all right, because in California they're able to
+play all the year round."
+
+"My word!" exclaimed Reggie, "I don't see why they don't cut out the
+exhibition games altogether. I should think this country had had baseball
+enough for one season."
+
+"Not when the Giants and an All-American team are the players," replied
+Joe. "The people will come out in crowds--they'll fairly beg us to take
+their money."
+
+"And it will be worth taking," chimed in Jim. "Do you know how much money
+the teams took in before they reached the coast on their last World's
+Trip? Ninety-seven thousand dollars. Count them, ladies and
+gentlemen--ninety-seven thousand dollars in good American dollars!" he
+added grandly.
+
+"That sounds like a lot of money," said Reggie, thoughtfully.
+
+"And they'll need every cent of it too," said Joe. "It's the only way a
+trip of that kind can be carried on. The teams travel in first-class
+style, have the finest quarters on the ship, and stay at the best hotels.
+In the games abroad there won't be money enough taken in, probably, to
+cover expenses. Then the money we've taken in from the exhibition games
+will come in handy."
+
+"How many men are going in the two teams?" inquired Clara.
+
+"I imagine each team will carry about fourteen men," replied Joe. "That
+will give them three pitchers, two catchers, an extra infielder and
+outfielder, beside the other members of the team. That ought to be enough
+to allow for sickness or accident."
+
+"How much do you fellows expect to get out of it for yourselves?" asked
+Reggie.
+
+"That's just a matter of guess work," Joe replied. "I understand that what
+is left after all expenses are paid will be divided equally among the
+players. On the last World's Trip I think it amounted to about a thousand
+dollars apiece. But then again, it may not be a thousand cents. All we
+really know is that we'll have a chance to see the world in first-class
+style without its actually costing us a dollar."
+
+"Oh, you lucky men!" said Clara, with a sigh. "You can go trotting all
+over the world, while we poor girls have to stay at home and look for an
+occasional letter from your highnesses--that is, if you deign to write to
+us at all."
+
+"I'll guarantee to keep the postman busy," said Jim, fervently.
+
+"Same here," said Joe, emphatically, as his eyes met Mabel's.
+
+"Do you know just what route you'll follow?" Reggie asked.
+
+"Our first stop will be at Hawaii," replied Joe, consulting his letter.
+"So that the first game we play outside of the States will still be under
+the American flag. We'll see Old Glory again, too, when we strike the
+Philippines. But that will come a little later. After we leave Hawaii, we
+won't see dry land again until we get to Japan."
+
+"I fancy we'll get some good games there, too," broke in Jim. "Those
+little Japs have gone in for the game with a vengeance. Do you remember
+the time when their Waseda and Keio University teams came over to this
+country? They gave our Princeton and Yale fellows all they could do to
+beat them."
+
+"Yes," said Joe, "they're nifty players when it comes to fielding and
+they're fleet as jack rabbits on the bases--but they're a little light at
+the bat. When it comes to playing before their home crowds they'll be a
+pretty stiff proposition."
+
+"Do you take in China at all?" asked Reggie.
+
+"We'll probably stop at Shanghai and Hongkong," replied Joe. "I don't
+imagine the Chinks can scrape up any kind of a baseball team, but there
+are big foreign colonies at both of those places and they'll turn out in
+force to see players from the States. Then after touching at Manila, we'll
+go to Australia, taking in all the big towns like Sydney, Melbourne and
+Adelaide. While of course the Australians are crazy about cricket, like
+all Englishmen, they're keen for every kind of athletic sport, and we're
+sure of big crowds there. After that we sail for Ceylon and from there to
+Egypt."
+
+"I'd like to see Egypt better than any other place," broke in Clara. "I've
+always been crazy to go there."
+
+"It's full of curiosities," remarked Jim. "There's the Sphinx, for
+instance--a woman who hasn't said a word for five thousand years."
+
+Clara flashed a withering glance at him, under which he wilted.
+
+"Don't mix your Greek fable and your Egyptian facts, Jim," chuckled Joe.
+
+"Huh?"
+
+"Fact. Since this trip's been in the wind, I've been reading up. Those
+Egyptian sphinxes--those that haven't a ram's or a hawk's head--have a
+man's, not a woman's, head."
+
+"That's why they've been able to keep still so long, then!" exclaimed
+Jim.
+
+"You mean thing!" cried Mabel.
+
+"Don't lay that up against me," he begged, penitently, "and I'll send you
+back a little crocodile from the Nile."
+
+"Oh, the horrid thing!" cried Clara with a shudder.
+
+"I'm doing the best I can," said Jim, plaintively. "I can't send you one
+of the pyramids."
+
+"That's the last we'll see of Africa," went on Joe. "After that, we set
+sail for Italy and land at Naples. Then we work our way up through Rome,
+Florence, Milan, Monte Carlo, Marseilles, Paris and London. We'll stay
+about a month in Great Britain, visiting Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dublin.
+Then we'll make tracks for home, and maybe we won't be glad to get here!"
+
+The vision conjured up by this array of famous cities offered such scope
+for endless surmise and speculation that they were surprised at the flight
+of time when Mrs. Matson smilingly summoned them to supper.
+
+Of course, Joe sat beside Mabel and Jim beside Clara. If, in the course of
+the evening meal, Joe's hand and Mabel's met beneath the table, it was
+purely by accident. Jim, on his side would cheerfully have risked such an
+accident, but had no such luck.
+
+Joe was happy, supremely happy in the presence by his side of the dearest
+girl in all the world. Yet there was a queer little ache at his heart
+because of the apparent indifference with which Mabel had viewed their
+coming separation.
+
+"You haven't said once," he said to her in a low tone, with a touch of
+tender reproach, "that you were sorry I was going."
+
+"Why should I," answered Mabel, demurely, "since I am going with you?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE GATHERING OF THE CLANS
+
+
+If Mabel had counted on creating a sensation, she succeeded beyond her
+wildest hopes.
+
+For a moment, Joe thought that he must have taken leave of his senses.
+
+"What!" he cried, incredulously, half rising to his feet.
+
+This sudden ejaculation drew the attention of all the others seated at the
+table.
+
+"Land sakes, Joe!" expostulated his mother, "you almost made me upset my
+tea cup. What's the matter?"
+
+"Enough's the matter," responded Joe, jubilantly. "That is, if Mabel
+really means what she said just now."
+
+"What was it you said, Mabel dear?" asked Clara.
+
+"Come, 'fess up," invited Jim.
+
+"I guess I'll let Reggie tell the rest of it," said Mabel, blushing under
+the battery of eyes turned upon her.
+
+"All right, Sis," said Reggie, affably. "Bah Jove, I give you credit for
+holding in as long as you have. The fact is," he continued, beaming
+amiably upon all the party, "the governor asked me to take a trip to Japan
+and China, and Mabel put in to come along. I didn't twig what the little
+minx was up to, until she said we could go on the same steamer that took
+the baseball party. Lots of other women--wives of the managers and players
+and so on--will go along, I understand. So there's the whole bally story
+in a nutshell. Rippin' good idea I call it--what?"
+
+"Glory hallelujah!" cried Joe, grasping Mabel's hand, openly this time.
+
+"It's simply great!" cried Jim, enthusiastically.
+
+"You darling, lucky girl!" exclaimed Clara, while Mr. and Mrs. Matson
+smiled their pleasure.
+
+"Had you up in the air for a minute, didn't it, old top?" grinned Reggie.
+
+"I should say it did," Joe admitted. "I thought for a minute I was going
+crazy. Somebody pinch me."
+
+Jim reached over and accommodated him.
+
+"Ouch!" cried Joe, rubbing his arm. "You needn't be so literal."
+
+"There's nothing I wouldn't do for my friends," said Jim, piously.
+
+Questions poured in thick and fast.
+
+"How can you possibly get ready in time?" asked Clara. "It's the
+sixteenth now, and the teams leave Chicago on the nineteenth."
+
+"Oh, we're not going to make the trip across the country," explained
+Mabel, flushed with happiness. "Reggie and I will join the party in San
+Francisco or Seattle, or wherever they start from. So that will give us
+nearly a month, and I'm going to spend most of that right here--if you can
+stand me that long."
+
+Clara came round the table and gave her an impulsive hug.
+
+"I'd be glad to have you stay here forever," said Mrs. Matson fervently.
+
+Just here a thought struck Joe.
+
+"It's the greatest thing ever that you're going as far as Japan," he said.
+"But why can't you keep on with us and swing right around the circle?"
+
+"You greedy boy!" murmured Mabel.
+
+"We've thought of that too," explained Reggie. "The governor promised
+Mabel a trip round the world as soon as she got through with the finishing
+school. She could have gone last year if she had chosen, but she got so
+interested in baseball----"
+
+"Reggie!" murmured Mabel, warningly.
+
+"Well, anyway," said Reggie a little lamely, "she didn't go, and so I put
+it up to the governor that there was no reason she couldn't go now. He
+saw it the same way--he's a rippin' good sort, the governor is--and he's
+left it to us to make the trip all the way round--that is, if I can get
+through my business in Japan in time."
+
+"If you don't get through in time, there'll be murder done," threatened
+Joe.
+
+In the animated talk that ensued all took a part. But toward the end of
+the meal, Joe noticed that Jim was a little more subdued than was usual
+with him, and that some of the sparkle and vivacity had vanished from
+Clara's eyes and voice.
+
+He glanced from one to the other and knew the reason. He knew how deep the
+feeling was growing between the two and realized what the coming
+six-months' separation would mean to them. A generous impulse came to him
+like a flash.
+
+"Listen folks," he said. "Surprises seem to be in fashion, so here's
+another one. Clara's going along with us."
+
+Astonishment and delight held Clara speechless--then she rose and flung
+her arms impulsively about her brother's neck, and for the second time
+that day Jim would have been willing to let her be a sister to him also.
+
+Jim reached his brawny hand across the table.
+
+"Put her there, Joe, old boy!" he said. "You're the finest fellow that
+ever wore shoe leather."
+
+"Won't it be just glorious!" exulted Mabel.
+
+"There never was such a boy in all the world," murmured Joe's mother.
+
+"But, Joe dear, won't it be too great an expense?" suggested Clara. "You
+know it's less than a month since you sent us that thousand-dollar bill
+that took us to the World's Series."
+
+"That's all right, Sis," reassured Joe, patting her hand. "Remember I
+cleared nearly four thousand dollars extra in the World's Series, and this
+won't put much of a dent in that. You just go ahead and doll yourself
+up--and hang the expense."
+
+And so it was settled, and it is safe to say that a group of happier young
+people could not be found anywhere than those who discussed excitedly,
+until late into the night, the coming trip with all its marvelous
+possibilities.
+
+The next two days flew by all too rapidly. The girls, of course, had
+plenty of time, but Joe and Jim had a host of things to attend to and a
+very limited time to do them in. But somehow, Joe made time enough to say
+a lot of things to Mabel that, to lovers at least, seem important, and
+Jim, though not daring to go quite so far, looked and said quite enough to
+deepen the roses in Clara's cheeks and the loveliness in her eyes.
+
+It was hard to part when the time for parting came, but this time there
+was no long six-months' separation to be dreaded--that is, as far as the
+young folks were concerned.
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Matson had counted on having their son with them throughout
+the fall and winter, but they had been accustomed for so long to merge
+their own happiness in that of their children that they kept up bright
+faces while they said good-bye, although Mrs. Matson's smile was
+tremulous.
+
+A day and night of traveling and the ball players reached Chicago, where,
+at the Blackstone, they found McRae awaiting them--the same old McRae,
+aggressive, pugnacious, masterful, and yet with a glint of worry in his
+eyes that had not been there at the close of the World's Series.
+
+Robbie was there too, rotund and rubicund, but not just the Robbie who had
+danced the tango with McRae before the clubhouse on the occasion of the
+great victory.
+
+But if worry and anxiety had set their mark upon the manager and trainer
+of the Giants, it had not affected the players, who were lounging about
+the corridor of the hotel.
+
+A bunch of them, including Burkett and Denton and good old Larry, gave the
+newcomers a tumultuous welcome.
+
+"Cheer, cheer, the gang's all here!" cried Larry.
+
+McRae clasped Joe's hand in a grip that almost made him wince.
+
+"So the new league hasn't got you yet, Joe?" he cried.
+
+"No," laughed Joe, returning his clasp; "and it never will!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE RIVAL TEAMS
+
+
+Robbie, who had come up just in time to hear Joe's last words, gave him a
+resounding thump on the back.
+
+"That's the way to talk, Joe, old boy!" he cried. "I've been telling Mac
+all along that no matter who else weakens he could bet his last dollar on
+you."
+
+"Not that I needed any bracing up," declared McRae. "I know a man when I
+see one, and I count on you to the limit. I didn't send that telegram
+because I had any doubt, but I knew that they'd make a break for you first
+of all and I didn't want you to be taken by surprise. By the way, have any
+of them turned up yet?"
+
+"A chap named Westland came to see me the very day I got your telegram,"
+replied Joe.
+
+"And he came well heeled, too," put in Jim. "Money was fairly dripping
+from him. He just ached to give it away. It was only up to Joe to become a
+bloated plutocrat on the spot."
+
+"Offered good money, did he?" asked McRae, with quickened interest.
+
+"Twenty thousand dollars right off the bat," replied Jim. "Fifteen
+thousand dollars a year for a three-year contract. And as if that weren't
+enough, he offered to put the money in the bank in advance and let Joe
+draw against it as he went along."
+
+McRae and Robbie exchanged glances. Here was proof that the new league
+meant business right from the start. It was a competitor to be dreaded and
+it was up to them to get their fighting clothes on at once.
+
+"That's a whale of an offer," ejaculated Robbie.
+
+"They've thrown their hat into the ring," remarked McRae. "From now on
+it's a fight for blood."
+
+"There's no need of asking what Joe said to that," said Robbie.
+
+"I wish you'd been behind the door to hear it," grinned Jim. "The way Joe
+lighted into him was a sin and a shame. He fairly skinned him alive. It
+looked at one time as if there would be a scrap sure."
+
+"It would have been a tremendous card for them to get the star pitcher of
+the World's Series," said McRae with a sigh of relief. "And in these days,
+when so many rumors are flying round it's a comfort to know there's one
+man, at least, that money can't buy. There isn't a bit of shoddy in you,
+Joe. You're all wool and a yard wide."
+
+At this moment, Hughson, the famous pitcher who had been a tower of
+strength to the Giants for ten years past, came strolling up, and Joe and
+Jim fell upon him with a shout.
+
+"How are you, Hughson, old man?" cried Joe. "How's that wing of yours
+getting along?"
+
+"All to the good," replied Hughson. "I stopped off for a day or two at
+Youngstown and had it treated by Bonesetter Reese. I tell you, that old
+chap's a wonder. He tells me it will be as good as ever when the season
+opens."
+
+"I'm mighty glad you're going along with us on this trip," said Jim,
+heartily. "It wouldn't seem like the Giant team with you out of it."
+
+"I'm going through as far as the coast anyway," answered Hughson. "More
+for the fun of being with the boys than anything else. But I don't think
+I'll make the trip around the world. I made a half promise some time ago
+to coach the Yale team this coming spring, and they don't seem inclined to
+let me out of it. And I don't know if after all it may not be best to rest
+up this winter and get in shape for next year."
+
+The three strolled on down the corridor, leaving McRae and Robbie in
+earnest conversation.
+
+"How many of the boys is Mac taking along?" asked Joe.
+
+"I think he figures on about fourteen men," replied Hughson. "That will
+give him three pitchers, two catchers, an extra infielder and outfielder,
+besides the seven other men in their regular positions. That'll allow for
+accident or sickness and ought to be enough."
+
+"Just as I doped it out," remarked Joe.
+
+"On a pinch, McRae could play himself," laughed Jim. "No better player
+ever held down the third bag than Mac when he was on the old Orioles. The
+old boy could give the youngsters points even now on winging them down to
+first."
+
+"For that matter, Robbie himself might go in behind the bat," grinned Joe.
+"No ball could get by him without hitting him somewhere."
+
+"It would be worth the price of admission to see Robbie running down to
+first," admitted Hughson, with a smile.
+
+"What kind of a team has Brennan got together for the All-American?" asked
+Joe.
+
+"Believe me; it's a good one," replied Hughson. "He's got a bunch of the
+sweetest hitters that he could get from either league. They're a bunch of
+fence breakers, all right. When those birds once get going, they're apt to
+send any pitcher to the shower. You'll have all you want to do, Joe, to
+keep them from straightening out your curves."
+
+"I don't ask anything better," replied Joe, with a laugh. "I'd get soft if
+they were too easy. But who are these ball killers? Let me know the
+worst."
+
+"Well," said Hughson, "there's Wallie Schalk behind the bat--you know how
+he can line them out. Then there's Miller at first, Ebers at second,
+McBride at short and Chapman at third. The outfielders will probably be
+Cooper and Murray and Lange. For pitchers Brennan will have Hamilton,
+Fraser and Ellis,--although Ellis was troubled with the charley-horse
+toward the end of the season, and Banks may take his place."
+
+"It's a strong team," commented Jim, "and they can certainly make the ball
+scream when they hit it. They're a nifty lot of fielders, too. I guess
+we'll have our work cut out for us, all right."
+
+"Both Mac and Brennan have got the right idea," said Hughson. "Too many of
+these barnstorming trips have been made up of second string men, and when
+people came to see the teams play and didn't find the real stars in the
+line-up they naturally felt sore. But they're going to get the simon-pure
+article this time and the games are to be for blood. Anyone that lays
+down on his job is going to get fired. It'll be easy enough to pick up a
+good man to take his place."
+
+"What's the scheme?" asked Joe. "Are we two teams to play against each
+other all the time, or are we to take on some of the local nines?"
+
+"I don't think that's been fully worked out yet," replied Hughson. "I know
+we're going to play the Denver nine and some of the crack California
+teams."
+
+"Easy meat," commented Jim with a grin.
+
+"Don't you believe it," rejoined Hughson. "Don't you remember how the Waco
+team trimmed us last spring? Those fellows will play their heads off to
+beat us--and they'll own the town if they succeed. They figure that
+they'll catch us off our guard and get the Indian sign on us before we
+wake up."
+
+"Yes. But do you think they can get the Indian sign so easily?"
+
+"No, I don't."
+
+"Of course, those minor teams will play their very best, because it would
+be a feather in their cap if they could take a game away from us. They'll
+probably look around and pick up the very best players they can, even if
+they have to put up some money for the purpose. Just the same, we ought to
+be able to polish them off with these."
+
+"Well, of course, we've got to expect to lose some games. It would be a
+remarkable thing to go around the world and win every game."
+
+"Yet it might be done," broke in Jim.
+
+"I suppose there'll be quite a party going along with the teams, just for
+the sake of the trip," observed Joe.
+
+"You've said it," replied Hughson. "At least half of the men will have
+their wives along, and then there's a whole bunch of fans who have been
+meaning to go round the world anyway who will think this a good chance to
+mix baseball and globe trotting. Altogether I shouldn't wonder if there
+would be about a hundred in the party. Some of the fellows will have their
+sisters with them, and you boys had better look out or you'll lose your
+hearts to them. But perhaps," he added, as he saw a look of quick
+intelligence pass between the chums, "you're already past praying for."
+
+Neither one of them denied the soft impeachment.
+
+"By the way," said Hughson, changing the subject, "while I think of it,
+Joe, I want to give you a tip to be on your guard against 'Bugs'
+Hartley."
+
+"Why, what's he up to, now?" inquired Joe.
+
+"I don't know," Hughson replied. "But I do know that he's sore at you
+through and through. He's got the idea in that twisted brain of his that
+you got him off the Giant team. I met him in the street the other
+day----"
+
+"Half drunk, I suppose," interjected Jim.
+
+"More than half," replied Hughson. "He's got to be a regular
+panhandler--struck me for a loan, and while I was getting it for him, he
+talked in a rambling way of how he was going to get even with you. Of
+course I shut him up, but I couldn't talk him out of his fixed idea. He'll
+do you a mischief if he ever gets the chance."
+
+"He's tried it before," said Joe. "He nearly knocked me out when he doped
+my coffee. Poor old 'Bugs'--he's his own worst enemy."
+
+"But he's your enemy too," persisted Hughson. "And don't forget that a
+crazy man is a dangerous man."
+
+"Thanks for the tip," replied Joe. "But 'threatened men live long' and I
+guess I'm no exception to the rule!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE UNDER DOG
+
+
+"Talking of angels!" exclaimed Jim, giving Joe a sharp nudge in the ribs.
+
+Joe looked up quickly and saw Hartley coming down the corridor.
+
+"It's 'Bugs,' sure enough," he said. "And, for a wonder, he's walking
+straight."
+
+"Guess he's on his good behavior," remarked Hughson. "There's a big
+meeting of the American League here just now, winding up the affairs of
+the league, now that the playing season is over. Maybe Hartley thinks he
+has a chance to catch on somewhere. Like everybody else that's played in
+the big leagues, he hates to go back to the bushes. He'd be a find, too,
+if he'd only cut out the booze--there's lots of good baseball in him
+yet."
+
+"He's a natural player," said Joe, generously. "And one of the best
+pitchers I ever saw. You know how Mac tried to hold on to him."
+
+"I don't think he has a Chinaman's chance, though, of staying in big
+league company," observed Jim. "After the way he tried to give away our
+signals in that game at Boston, the Nationals wouldn't touch him with a
+ten-foot pole, and I don't think the American has any use for him either.
+You might forgive him for being a drunkard, but not for being a traitor."
+
+Hartley had caught sight of the group, and at first seemed rather
+undecided whether to go on or stop. The bitter feeling he had for Joe,
+however, was too strong to resist, and he came over to where they were. He
+paid no attention to Jim, and gave a curt nod to Hughson and fixed a
+malignant stare on Joe.
+
+"All dolled up," he said, with a sneer, as he noted the quiet but handsome
+suit that Joe was wearing. "I could have glad rags, too, if you hadn't
+bilked me out of four thousand dollars."
+
+"Cut out that talk, Bugs," said Joe, though not unkindly. "I never did you
+out of anything and you know it."
+
+"Yes, you did," snarled Hartley. "You got me fired from the Giants and did
+me out of my share of the World's Series money."
+
+"You did yourself out of it, Bugs," said Joe, patiently. "I did my best to
+have Mac hold on to you. I never was anything but your friend. Do you
+remember how Jim and I put you to bed that night in St. Louis when you
+were drunk? We took you up the back way so Mac wouldn't get next. Take a
+fool's advice, Bugs--cut out the liquor and play the game."
+
+"I don't want any advice from you!" sneered Hartley. "And take it from me,
+I'll get you yet."
+
+"Beat it, Bugs!" Jim broke in sternly, "while the going's good. Roll your
+hoop now, or I'll help you."
+
+Hartley hesitated a moment, but took Jim's advice and with a muttered
+threat went on his way.
+
+"Mad as a March hare," murmured Jim, as they watched the retreating
+figure.
+
+"Do a man a favor and he'll never forgive you," quoted Joe.
+
+"Where did he get his grouch against you?" asked Hughson, curiously.
+
+"Search me," replied Joe. "I think it dates from the time when he was
+batted out of the box and Mac sent me in to take his place. I won the game
+and Bugs has been sore at me ever since. He figured that I tried to show
+him up."
+
+"I wonder how he got here?" mused Hughson. "The last time I saw him was in
+New York, and the money I lent him wasn't enough to bring him on."
+
+"Perhaps Mac gave him transportation," suggested Jim.
+
+"Not on your life," rejoined Hughson. "Mac's got a heart as big as a
+house, but he hates a traitor. You see, though, Joe, I was right in giving
+you the tip. Keep your eyes open, old man."
+
+Joe was about to make a laughing reply, but just at that moment Larry and
+Denton came along with broad smiles of welcome on their faces, and the
+unpleasant episode was forgotten.
+
+It was a jolly party that left Chicago the next morning for the trip
+around the world. The managers had chartered a special train which was
+made up wholly of Pullman sleepers, a dining car and a smoker.
+
+It was travel _de luxe_, and the sumptuous train was to be their home for
+the full month that would elapse before they reached the coast.
+
+"Rather soft, eh, for the poor baseball slaves," grinned Jim, as he
+stretched out his long legs luxuriously and gazed out of the window at the
+flying telegraph poles.
+
+"This is the life," chanted Larry Barrett.
+
+"Nothing to do till to-morrow," chimed in Denton. "And not much even
+then."
+
+"Don't you boys go patting yourselves on the back," smiled Robbie, looking
+more like a cherub than ever, as he stopped beside their seats on his way
+along the aisle. "These games, remember, are to be the real thing--there's
+going to be no sloppy or careless work just because you're not playing
+for the championship. They're going to be fights from the time the gong
+rings till the last man is out in the ninth inning."
+
+If Robbie wanted action, he got it, and the first games had a snap and vim
+about them that augured well for the success of the trip. It is true that
+the players had not the stimulus that comes from a fight for the pennant,
+but other motives were not lacking.
+
+There was one game which was a nip-and-tuck affair from start to finish.
+At the end of the fourth inning the score stood 1 to 1, and at the end of
+the sixth inning the score had advanced so that it stood 2 to 2.
+
+"Say, we don't seem to be getting anywhere in this game," remarked Jim to
+Joe.
+
+"Oh, well, we've got three more innings to play," was the answer.
+
+In the seventh inning a most remarkable happening occurred. The
+All-Americans had three men on bases with nobody out. It looked as if they
+might score, but Joe took a sudden brace and pitched the next man at the
+bat out in one-two-three order.
+
+The next man up knocked a pop fly, which Joe gathered in with ease.
+
+"That's the way to do it, Joe!" sang out one of his companions. "Now go
+for the third man!"
+
+The third fellow to the bat was a notable hitter, and nearly every one
+thought he would lace out at least a two-bagger, bringing in probably
+three runs. Instead, however, he knocked two fouls, and then sent a liner
+down to first base, which the baseman caught with ease; and that ended the
+chance for scoring.
+
+"That's pulling it out of the fire!" cried McRae. The showing had been a
+good one, but what made the inning so remarkable was the fact that in
+one-two-three order the Giants got the bases filled exactly as they had
+been filled before. Then, more amazing still, the next man was pitched
+out, the second man knocked a pop fly to the pitcher, and it was Joe
+himself, coming to the bat, hit out a liner to third base, which was
+gathered in by the baseman, thus ending the Giants hope of scoring.
+
+"Well, what do you know about that!" cried Brennan. "The inning on each
+side was exactly alike, with the exception that our third man out flied to
+first base, while your man flied to third."
+
+But that ended the similarity both in batting and in scoring, for in the
+eighth inning the Giants added another run to their score, and held this
+lead to the end, even though the All-Americans fought desperately in the
+effort to tie the score.
+
+"Oh, we had to win," said one of the Giants. "Too many of our folks
+looking at us to lose."
+
+Many members of the teams had their wives or sisters with them, and
+defeat would have been galling under the eyes of the fair spectators.
+
+Then, too, the Giants had their reputation to sustain as the Champions of
+the World. On the other hand, the All-Americans were anxious to show that
+even though they had not been in the World's Series, they ought to have
+been--and it was a keen delight to them to make their adversaries bite the
+dust.
+
+Add to this the fact that there was a strong spirit of rivalry,
+good-natured but intense, between the scrappy McRae and the equally
+pugnacious Brennan, whose team had been nosed out by the Giants in that
+last desperate race down the stretch for the pennant, and it is no wonder
+that the crowds kept getting larger in every city they played, that the
+gate receipts made the managers chuckle, that the great city papers gave
+extended reports of the games and that the baseball trip around the world
+began to engross the attention of every lover of sports in the country.
+
+Joe had never been in finer fettle. His fast balls went over the plate
+like bullets from a gatling gun. His fadeaway was working to a charm. He
+wound the ball near the batters' necks and curved it out of reach of their
+bats with an ease and precision that explained to the applauding crowds
+why he was rated as the foremost pitcher of the day.
+
+Jim, too, showed the effect of his season's work and Joe's helpful
+coaching, and between the two they accounted for three of the games won by
+the Giants before they reached Colorado. Two other games had gone to the
+All-Americans in slap-dash, ding-dong finishes, and it was an even thing
+as to which team would have the most games to its credit by the time they
+had reached the Pacific coast.
+
+The tension was relaxed somewhat when they reached Denver, where, for the
+first time, instead of fighting it out between themselves a team picked
+from both nines was to play the local club.
+
+"Here's where we get a rest," sighed Mylert, the burly catcher of the
+Giant team.
+
+"It will be no trick at all to wipe up the earth with these bushers,"
+laughed Larry Barrett.
+
+"What we'll do to them will be a sin and a shame," agreed "Red" Curry, he
+of the flaming mop, who was accustomed to play the "sun field" at the Polo
+Grounds.
+
+"It's almost a crime to show them up before their home crowd," chimed in
+Iredell, the Giant shortstop.
+
+But if the local club was in for a beating, they showed no special
+trepidation as they came out on the field for practice. If the haughty
+major leaguers had expected their humble adversaries to roll over and play
+dead in advance of the game itself, they were certainly doomed to
+disappointment.
+
+The home team went through its preliminary work in a snappy, finished way
+that brought frequent applause from the crowds that thronged the stand.
+
+Before the game, Brennan, of the Chicagos, sauntered over to Thorpe, the
+local manager, who chanced to be an old acquaintance.
+
+"Got a dandy crowd here to-day, Bill," he said. "We ought to give them a
+run for their money. Suppose I lend you one of our star pitchers, just to
+make things more interesting."
+
+"Thank you, Roger," Thorpe replied, with a slow smile, "but I think we're
+going to make it interesting for you fellows, anyway."
+
+"Quit your kidding," grinned Brennan, with a facetious poke in the ribs,
+and strolled back to the bench.
+
+The gong rang, the field cleared, and the visiting team came to the bat.
+Larry, who had finished the season in a blaze of glory as the leading
+batsman of the National League came up to the plate, swinging three bats.
+He threw away two of them, tapped his heels for luck and grinned
+complacently at the Denver pitcher.
+
+"Trot out the best you've got, kid," he called, "and if you can put it
+over the plate I'll murder it."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+BY A HAIR
+
+
+The pitcher, a dark-skinned, rangy fellow, wound up deliberately and shot
+the ball over. It split the plate clean. Larry swung at it--and missed it
+by two inches.
+
+He looked mildly surprised, but set it down to the luck of the game and
+squared himself for a second attempt. This time he figured on a curve, but
+the boxman out-guessed him with a slow one that floated up to the plate as
+big as a balloon.
+
+Larry almost broke his back in reaching for it, but again fanned the air.
+The visiting players, who had looked on rather languidly, straightened up
+on the bench.
+
+"Some class to that pitcher," ejaculated Willis.
+
+"It isn't often that a bush leaguer makes a monkey out of Larry," replied
+Burkett.
+
+"I've seen these minor league pitchers before," grinned "Red" Curry. "They
+start off like a house afire, but about the fifth inning they begin to
+crumple up."
+
+The third ball pitched was a wide outcurve at which Larry refused to bite.
+He fouled off the next two and then swung savagely at a wicked drop that
+got away from him.
+
+"You're out," called the umpire as the ball thudded into the catcher's
+mitt, and Larry came back a little sheepishly to his grinning comrades on
+the bench.
+
+"What's the matter, Larry?" queried Iredell, as he moved up to make room
+for him. "Off your feed to-day?"
+
+"You'll find out what the matter is when you face that bird," snorted
+Larry. "He's the real goods, and don't you forget it."
+
+Denton, the second man in the batting order, took a ball and a strike, and
+then dribbled an easy roller to the box, which the swarthy pitcher had no
+trouble in getting to first on time.
+
+Burkett, who followed, had better luck and sent a clean single between
+first and second. A shout went up from the Giant bench, which became a
+groan a moment later, when a snap throw by the pitcher nailed Burkett
+three feet off the bag.
+
+The half inning had been smartly played and the Giants took the field with
+a slightly greater respect for their opponents.
+
+Joe had pitched the day before, and it was up to Fraser to take his turn
+in the box. He walked out to his position with easy confidence. He was
+one of the best pitchers in either league, and it was he who had faced Joe
+in that last battle royal of the World's Series and had gone down
+defeated, but not disgraced.
+
+But to-day from the start, it was evident that he was not himself. His
+speed was there and the curves, but control was lacking.
+
+"Wild as a hawk," muttered McRae, as the first Denver man trotted down to
+base on balls.
+
+"Can't seem to locate the plate at all," grunted Robbie.
+
+"He'll pull himself together all right," remarked Brennan, hopefully.
+
+But the prophecy proved false, and the next two men up waited him out and
+were also rewarded with passes. The bases were full without a hit having
+been made, and the crowds in the stand were roaring like mad.
+
+Brennan from the coaching lines at first waved to Fraser and the latter,
+drawing off his glove, walked disgustedly to the bench.
+
+"What's the matter with you to-day?" queried McRae. "You seemed to think
+the plate was up in the grandstand."
+
+"Couldn't get the hang of it, somehow," Fraser excused himself. "Just my
+off day, I guess."
+
+Hamilton succeeded him in the box, and from the way he started out it
+seemed as though he were going to redeem the poor work of his predecessor.
+He struck out the first man on three pitched balls, made the second send
+up a towering foul that Mylert caught after a long run, and the major
+leaguers began to breathe more freely.
+
+"Guess he'll pull out of the hole all right," remarked Robbie.
+
+But for the next batter, Hamilton, grown perhaps a trifle too confident,
+put one over in the groove, and the batter banged out a tremendous
+three-bagger to right field. Curry made a gallant try for it but could not
+quite reach.
+
+Three runs came over the plate, while the panting batsman slid to third.
+The crowd in the stands went wild then, and Thorpe, the manager of the
+local team, grinned in a mocking way at Brennan.
+
+"Is this interesting enough?" he drawled, referring to Brennan's
+patronizing offer to lend him a player.
+
+"Just a bit of luck," growled Brennan. "A few inches more and Curry would
+have got his hooks on the ball. Beside, the game's young yet. We've got
+the class and that's bound to tell."
+
+Hamilton, whose blood was up, put on more steam, and the third player went
+out on an infield fly. But the damage had been done, and those three runs
+at the very start loomed up as a serious handicap.
+
+"Three big juicy ones," mourned McRae.
+
+"And all of them on passes," groaned Robbie. "Too bad we didn't put
+Hamilton in right at the start."
+
+Neither team scored in the second inning, and the third also passed
+without result.
+
+Hamilton was mowing down the opposing batters with ease and grace. But the
+swarthy flinger for the local club was not a bit behind him. The heavy
+sluggers of the visiting teams seemed as helpless before him as so many
+school-boys.
+
+"That fellow won't be in the minors long," commented Brennan. "I wonder
+some of my scouts haven't gone after him before this. Who is he, anyway?"
+
+"I'll tell you who he is," broke in Robbie, suddenly. "I knew I'd seen him
+before somewhere, and I've been puzzling all this time to place him. Now
+I've tumbled. It's Alvarez, the crack pitcher of Cuba."
+
+"Do you mean the fellow that stood the Athletics on their heads when they
+made that winter trip to Cuba a couple of years ago?" asked McRae.
+
+"The same one," affirmed Robbie. "I happened to be there at one of the
+games, and he showed them up--hundred thousand dollar infield and all.
+Connie was fairly dancing as he saw his pets slaughtered. I tell you, that
+fellow's a wonder--he'd have been in a major league long ago if it hadn't
+been for his color. He may be only a Cuban, and he says he is, but he's so
+dark-skinned that there'd be some prejudice against him and that's barred
+him out."
+
+"That's what made Thorpe so confident," growled Brennan. "He's worked in a
+'ringer' on us. We ought to make a kick."
+
+"That would put us in a nice light, wouldn't it?" replied McRae, stormily.
+"We'd like to see it in the papers, that the major leagues played the baby
+act because they couldn't bat a bush pitcher. Not on your life! Thorpe
+would be tickled to death to have us make a squeal. We'll simply have to
+lick him."
+
+But if the promised licking was yet to come, it was not in evidence in the
+next two innings. Alvarez seemed as fresh as at the beginning, and his arm
+worked with the force and precision of a piston rod.
+
+"What's the matter with you fellows, anyway?" raged McRae, when the end of
+the fifth inning saw the score remain unchanged. "You ought to be in the
+old ladies' home. It's a joke to call you ball players."
+
+"It must be this Denver air," ventured Willis. "It's so high up here that
+a fellow finds it hard to breathe. These Denver boobs are used to it and
+we're not."
+
+"Air! air!" snapped McRae. "I notice you've got plenty of hot air. Go in
+and play the game, you bunch of false alarms."
+
+Whether it was owing to his rasping tongue or their own growing resentment
+at the impudence of the minor leaguers, the All-Americans broke the ice in
+the sixth.
+
+Burkett lined out a beauty between left and center that was good for two
+bases. Willis followed with a towering sky scraper to right, which,
+although it was caught after a long run, enabled Burkett to get to third
+before the ball was returned. Then Becker who had perished twice before on
+feeble taps to the infield, whaled out a home run to the intense
+jubilation of his mates.
+
+"We've got his number!" yelled Larry, doing a jig on the coaching lines.
+
+"He's going up," sang out "Red" Curry.
+
+"I knew he couldn't last," taunted Iredell, as he threw his cap in the
+air.
+
+But Alvarez was not through, by any means. Undaunted by that tremendous
+home run which might have taken the heart out of any pitcher, he braced
+himself, and the next two men went out on fouls.
+
+"I thought we had them on the run that time," observed McRae, "but he's
+got the old comeback right with him."
+
+"Never mind," exulted Robbie. "We're beginning to find him now, and we've
+cut down that big lead of theirs to one run. The boys will get after him
+the next inning."
+
+But even the lucky seventh passed without bringing any luck to the
+visitors, and although the major leaguers got two men on bases in the
+eighth, the inning ended with the score still three to two in favor of the
+local club.
+
+"Looks as though we were up against it," said Jim, anxiously, as the
+Giants went to bat for the last time.
+
+"It sure does," responded Joe. "I'll hate to look at the papers to-morrow
+morning. The whole country will have the laugh on us."
+
+"The boys will want to keep away from McRae if they lose," said Jim.
+"He'll be as peeved as a bear with a sore head for the next three days or
+so."
+
+"Now, Larry, show them where you live," sang out Curry, as the head of the
+Giant batting order strode to the plate.
+
+"Kill it," entreated Willis. "Hit it on the seam."
+
+"Send it a mile," exhorted Becker.
+
+It was not a mile that Larry sent it, but it looked so to the left and
+center fielders who chased it as it went on a line between the two. A
+cleaner home run had probably never been knocked out on the Denver
+grounds.
+
+Larry came galloping in to be mauled and pounded by his exulting mates,
+while McRae brought down his hand on Robbie's knee with a force that made
+that worthy wince.
+
+"That ties it up," he cried. "Now, boys, for a whirlwind finish!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+A CLOSE CALL
+
+
+The crowds in the stand, which had been uproarious a few moments before,
+were quiet now. The lead which the local club had held throughout the game
+had vanished; the visitors had played an uphill game worthy of their
+reputation, and now they had at least an even chance.
+
+Denton came to the bat, eager to emulate Larry's feat, but Alvarez was
+unsteady now--that last home run had taken something out of him. He found
+it hard to locate the plate, and Denton trotted down to first on balls.
+
+As no man was out and only one run was needed to gain the lead, a
+sacrifice was the proper play, and Burkett laid down a neat bunt in front
+of the plate that carried Denton to second, although the batter died at
+first.
+
+Alvarez purposely passed Willis on the chance of the next batter hitting
+into a double play, which would have retired the side. Becker made a
+mighty effort to bring his comrades in, but hit under the ball, and it
+went high in the air and was caught by Alvarez as it came down, without
+the pitcher moving from his tracks.
+
+With two out, there was no need of a double play and the infielders, who
+had been playing close in, resumed their usual positions. Iredell, the
+next man up caught the ball square on the end of his bat and sent it
+whistling between center and third. The shortstop leaped up and knocked
+the ball down, but it was going too fast for him to hold.
+
+Denton had left second at the crack of the bat, and by the time the
+infielder regained the ball had rounded third and was tearing like a
+racehorse toward the plate. There was little time to get set and the
+hurried throw home went over the catcher's head. Denton slid feet first
+over the plate, scoring the run that put his team in the lead.
+
+Willis tried to make it good measure by coming close behind him, but by
+this time the catcher had recovered the ball and shot it back to Alvarez
+who was guarding the plate. He nipped Willis by three feet and the side
+was out.
+
+But that one run in the lead looked as big as a house at that stage in the
+game.
+
+"All you've got to do now, Hamilton, old man, is to hold them down in
+their half," said Brennan.
+
+"Cinch," grinned Hamilton. "I'll have them eating out of my hand."
+
+But the uncertainty that makes the national game the most fascinating one
+in the world was demonstrated when the Denver team came in to do-or-die in
+their half of the ninth.
+
+Hamilton fed the first batter a snaky curve, which he lashed at savagely
+but vainly. The next was a slow one and resulted in a chop to the infield
+which Larry would have ordinarily gobbled up without trouble. But the ball
+took an ugly bound just as he was all set for it and went over his head
+toward right. Before Curry could get the ball the batter had reached
+second and the stands were once more in an uproar.
+
+The uproar increased when Hamilton, somewhat shaken by the incident, gave
+the next batter a base on balls, and the broad smiles which had suffused
+the faces of Robbie and McRae began to fade.
+
+"Is Hamilton going up, do you think?" asked the Giant manager, anxiously.
+
+"Looks something like it," replied Robbie, "but he'll probably brace. You
+see Denton's talking to him now, to give him a chance to rest up a
+little."
+
+The third baseman had strolled over to Hamilton on pretense of discussing
+some point of play, but the crowd saw through the subterfuge, and shouts
+of protest went up:
+
+"Hire a hall!"
+
+"Write him a letter!"
+
+"Play ball!"
+
+Not a bit flustered by the shouts, Denton took his time, and after
+encouraging his team mate sauntered slowly back to his position.
+
+But Hamilton's good right arm had lost its cunning. His first ball was
+wild, and the batter, seeing this, waited him out and was given a pass.
+His comrades moved up and the bags were full, with none out and the
+heaviest sluggers of the team coming to the bat.
+
+McRae and Brennan had been holding an earnest conference, and now on a
+signal from them Hamilton came in from the box.
+
+"It's no use," said McRae to Brennan, while the crowd howled in derision.
+"We'll have to play our trump and put Matson in to hold them down."
+
+"But he hasn't warmed up," said Brennan dubiously.
+
+"That makes no difference," replied McRae. "I'd rather put him in cold
+than anyone else warm."
+
+"All right; do as you please," responded the other manager.
+
+McRae called over to where Joe was sitting. The crack pitcher had been
+watching the progress of the game with keen interest, although making
+comparatively few comments. As McRae approached Joe, the crowd howled
+louder than ever at Hamilton.
+
+"Why don't you learn how to pitch?"
+
+"Say, let us send one of the high-school boys into the box for you!"
+
+"Too bad, old man, but I guess we've got your goat all right!"
+
+"I guess you know what I want, Joe," cried McRae. "I want you to get in
+the box for us."
+
+"All right, Mac," was the young pitcher's answer.
+
+"And, Joe," went on the other earnestly, "try to think for the next five
+minutes that you're pitching for the pennant."
+
+"I'll do anything you say," was Joe's reply; and then he drew on his glove
+and walked out upon the ball field.
+
+"Hello! what do you know about that?"
+
+"Matson is going to pitch for them!"
+
+"I guess they've enough of that other dub!"
+
+"Oh, Hamilton isn't a dub, by any means," replied one of the spectators
+sharply. "He's a good player, but a pitcher can't always be at his best."
+
+"But just you wait and see how we do up Matson!" cried a local
+sympathizer.
+
+At a signal the next man to bat stepped away from the plate, and Joe had
+the privilege of warming up by sending three hot ones to the catcher.
+
+"He'll put 'em over all right enough!" cried one of his friends.
+
+"That's what he will!" returned another.
+
+"Not much! He'll be snowed under!"
+
+"This is our winning day!"
+
+So the cries continued until the umpire held up his hand for silence.
+
+"He's going to make an announcement!" cried a number of the spectators.
+
+"Ladies and gentlemen," roared the umpire, removing his cap, "Matson now
+pitching for the All-Americans."
+
+A howl went up from the stands, made up in about equal parts of derision
+and applause. Derision because the All-American team must, they figured,
+be scared to death when they had to send their greatest player into the
+game. Whether they won or lost it was a great compliment to the Denver
+team. The applause came from the genuine sportsmen who knew the famous
+pitcher by reputation and welcomed the chance to see him in action.
+
+The three men on the bases were dancing about like dervishes in the hope
+of rattling the newcomer. They did not know Joe.
+
+Never cooler than when the strain was greatest and the need most urgent,
+Joe bent down to pick up the ball. As he did so, he touched it, apparently
+accidentally, against his right heel.
+
+It was a signal meant for Denton, the third baseman, who was watching him
+like a hawk.
+
+Joe took up his position in the box, took a grip on the ball, but instead
+of delivering it to the batter turned suddenly on his left heel, as though
+to snap it down to first. The Denver player at that bag, who had taken a
+lead of several feet, made a frantic slide back to safety.
+
+But the ball never got to first, for Joe had swung himself all the way
+round and shot the ball like a bullet to Denton at third. The local player
+at third had been watching eagerly the outcome of the supposed throw to
+first and was caught completely unawares.
+
+Down came Denton's hand, clapping the ball on his back, while the victim
+stood dazed as though in a trance.
+
+It was the prettiest kind of "inside work," and even the home crowd went
+into convulsions of laughter as the trapped player came sheepishly in from
+third to the bench.
+
+McRae was beaming, and Robbie's rubicund face became several degrees
+redder under the strain of his emotion.
+
+"Say, is that boy class, John?" Robbie gurgled, as soon as he could
+speak.
+
+"Never saw a niftier thing on the ball field," responded McRae warmly.
+"When that boy thinks, he runs rings around lightning."
+
+"And he's thinking all the time," chimed in Jim.
+
+But the peril was not yet over. The man at the most dangerous corner had
+been disposed of, yet there was still a man on first and another on
+second. A safe hit would tie the game at least, and possibly win it.
+
+Joe wound up deliberately and shot a high fast one over the plate. It came
+so swiftly that the batter did not offer at it, and looked aggrieved when
+the umpire called it a strike.
+
+The next was a crafty outcurve which went as a ball. The batsman fouled
+off the next.
+
+With two strikes on and only one ball called, Joe was on "easy street" and
+could afford to "waste a few." Twice in succession he tempted the batsman
+with balls that were wide of the plate, but the batter was wary and
+refused them.
+
+Now the count was "two and three," and the crowd broke into a roar.
+
+"Good eye, old man!" they shouted to the batter.
+
+"You've got him in a hole!"
+
+"It only takes one to do it!"
+
+"He's got to put it over!"
+
+With all the force of his sinewy arm, Joe "put it over."
+
+The batsman made a wicked drive at it and sent it hurtling to the box
+about two feet over Joe's head.
+
+Joe saw it coming, leaped into the air and speared it with his gloved
+hand. The men on bases had started to run, thinking it a sure hit. Joe
+wheeled and sent the ball down to Burkett at first.
+
+"Look at that!"
+
+"Some speed, eh?"
+
+"I should say so."
+
+"Matson has got them going!"
+
+The man who had left the bag strove desperately to get back, but he was
+too late. That rattling double play had ended the game with the
+All-American team a victor by a score of four to three.
+
+Joe's fingers tingled as he pulled off the glove, for that terrific drive
+had stung. The crowd had been stunned for a moment by the suddenness with
+which the game and their hopes of victory had gone glimmering. But it had
+been a remarkable play and the first silence was followed by a round of
+sportsmanlike applause--though of course it was nothing to what would have
+greeted the victory of the home team.
+
+"Fine work, Matson!"
+
+"Best I ever saw!"
+
+"You're the boy to do it."
+
+"Best pitcher in the world!"
+
+Joe found himself the center of a joyous crowd when he reached his own
+bench. All were jubilant that they had escaped the humiliation of being
+whipped by a minor league team.
+
+"You've brought home the bacon, Joe!" chortled McRae.
+
+"We all did," replied Joe. "But we almost dropped it on the way!" he
+added, with a grin.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+A DASTARDLY ATTACK
+
+
+The tourists' train was scheduled to leave Denver at eleven-thirty that
+night, so that there was ample time after the game for a leisurely meal
+and a few hours for recreation for any of the party that felt so
+inclined.
+
+Some went to the theater, others played cards, while others sat about the
+lobby of the leading hotel and discussed the exciting events of the
+afternoon's game.
+
+As for Joe and Jim, their recreation took the form of long letters to two
+charming young ladies whose address, by coincidence, happened to be
+Riverside. Both seemed to have much to write about, for it was nearly ten
+o'clock before the bulky letters were ready for mailing.
+
+"Give them to me and I'll take them down to the hotel lobby and mail
+them," said Jim, as they rose from the writing table.
+
+"I don't know," replied Joe, as he looked at his watch. "Perhaps the last
+collection for the outgoing eastbound mail has already been made. What do
+you say to going down to the post-office itself and dropping them in
+there? Then they'll be sure to go."
+
+"All right," Jim acquiesced. "It's a dandy night anyway for a walk and I'd
+like to stretch my legs a little. Come along."
+
+They went out into the brilliantly lighted streets, which at that hour
+were still full of people, and turned toward the post-office which was
+about half a mile distant.
+
+As they were passing a corner, Jim suddenly clutched Joe's arm.
+
+"Did you see that fellow who went into that saloon just now?" he asked,
+indicating a rather pretentious cafe.
+
+"No," said Joe, dryly. "But it isn't such an unusual thing that I'd pay a
+nickel to see it."
+
+"Quit your fooling," said Jim. "If that fellow wasn't Bugs Hartley, then
+my eyes are going back on me."
+
+"You're dreaming," Joe retorted. "What in the world would Bugs be doing in
+Denver?"
+
+"Panhandling, maybe," returned Jim. "Drinking, certainly. But it isn't
+what he's doing that interests me. It's the fact that he's here."
+
+"Let's take a look," suggested Joe, impressed by his friend's
+earnestness.
+
+They went up to the swinging door, pushed it open and looked in. There
+were perhaps a dozen men in the place, but Hartley was not among them.
+
+"Barking up the wrong tree, Jim," chaffed Joe.
+
+"Maybe," agreed Jim a little perplexed, "but if it wasn't Bugs it was his
+double."
+
+They reached the post-office and after mailing their letters turned back
+towards the hotel.
+
+"It's taken us a little longer than I thought," remarked Jim, looking at
+his watch. "We won't have any more than time to get our traps together and
+get down to the train."
+
+"This looks like a short cut," said Joe, indicating a side street which
+though rather dark and deserted cut into the main thoroughfare, as they
+could see by the bright lights at the further end. "We'll save something
+by going this way."
+
+They had gone perhaps a couple of blocks when they reached a part of the
+street which had no dwelling houses on it. On one side was a factory, dark
+and forbidding, and on the side where the young men were walking was a
+high board fence enclosing a coal yard.
+
+"Wait a minute, Jim," said Joe. "It feels as though my shoe lace had come
+untied."
+
+He stooped down to fasten the lace, and just as he did so, a jagged piece
+of rock came whizzing past where his head had been a second before and
+crashed against the fence.
+
+Joe straightened up with a jerk.
+
+"Who threw that?" he exclaimed.
+
+Jim's face was white at the peril his friend had so narrowly escaped.
+
+"Somebody who knew how to throw," he cried, "and I can make a guess at who
+it was. There he is now!" he shouted, as he caught sight of a dim figure
+slinking away in the darkness on the further side of the factory.
+
+They darted across the street in pursuit, but when they turned the corner
+there was no one to be seen. Several alleys branched off from the street,
+up any one of which the fugitive might have made his escape. Although they
+tried them one after the other they could find no trace of the rascal.
+
+Baffled and chagrined, they made their way back to the scene of the
+attack. Joe picked up the piece of rock and weighed it in his hand.
+
+"About half a pound," he judged. "And look at those rough edges! It would
+have been all up with me, if it had landed."
+
+"Do you notice that that's about the weight of a baseball?" asked Jim
+significantly. "And it went for your head as straight as a bullet. It
+would have caught you square if you hadn't stooped just as you did. You
+can thank your lucky stars that your shoelace came untied. That fellow
+knew just how to throw, as I said before."
+
+"You don't mean," replied Joe, "that Bugs----"
+
+"Just that," affirmed Jim grimly. "Now maybe you'll believe me when I say
+that I saw him to-night. That skunk thought that I had seen him, and
+slipped into the saloon to get out of sight. Probably he went out through
+a rear door and has been following us ever since."
+
+"But why----" began Joe.
+
+"Why?" repeated Jim. "Why does a crazy man do crazy things? Just because
+he is crazy. He doesn't have to have a reason. If he thinks you've injured
+him he's just as bitter as though you really had. Hughson's tip was a good
+one, Joe. The fellow's deadly dangerous. It's only luck that he isn't a
+murderer this minute."
+
+"It's good for him I didn't lay my hands on him," replied Joe. "I wouldn't
+have hit him, because I don't think he's responsible for what he does. But
+I'd have had him put where he couldn't do any more mischief for a while."
+
+"It gives me the creeps to think of what a close call that was," said Jim,
+as they walked along.
+
+"Don't say anything about it to the boys," cautioned Joe. "The thing would
+get out, and before we knew it the folks at home would have heard of it.
+And they wouldn't have an easy minute for all the rest of the trip."
+
+They made quick time to the hotel, and as most of their luggage had
+remained on the train, they had only to gather a few things together in a
+small hand bag and start out for the station.
+
+Their special train had been standing on a side track a few hundred yards
+east of the main platform. They were picking their way toward it across a
+network of tracks, when, just as they rounded the corner of a freight car,
+they came face to face with Hartley.
+
+They almost dropped their handbags at the unexpectedness of the meeting.
+But if they were startled, Bugs was frightened and turned on his heel to
+run. In an instant Joe had him by the collar in a grip of iron, while Jim
+stood on the alert to stop him should he break away.
+
+"Let me go!" cried Hartley in stifled tones, for Joe's grip was almost
+choking him.
+
+"Not until you tell me why you tried to murder me to-night," said Joe,
+grimly.
+
+"I don't know what you're talking about," snarled Bugs, trying to wrench
+himself loose from Joe's hold on his collar.
+
+"You know well enough," replied his captor. "Own up."
+
+"You might as well, Bugs," put in Jim. "We've got the goods on you."
+
+"You fellows are crazy," replied Bugs. "I've never laid eyes on you since
+I saw you in Chicago. And you can't prove that I did either."
+
+"You're the only enemy I have in the world," declared Joe. "And the man
+who threw that rock at me to-night was a practiced thrower. Besides,
+you're all in a sweat--that's from running away when we chased you."
+
+"Swell proof that is," sneered Hartley. "Tell that to a judge and see what
+good it will do you."
+
+The point was well taken, and Joe and Jim knew in their hearts that they
+had no legal proof, although they were morally certain Bugs was guilty.
+Besides, they had no time to have him arrested, for their train was
+scheduled to start in ten minutes.
+
+"Now listen, Bugs," said Joe, at the same time shaking him so that his
+teeth rattled. "I know perfectly well that you're lying, and I'm giving
+you warning for the last time. You've had it in for me from the time you
+doped my coffee and nearly put me out of the game altogether. Ever since
+that you've bothered me, and to-night you've tried to kill me. I tell you
+straight, I've had enough of it. If I didn't think that your brain was
+twisted, I'd thrash you now within an inch of your life. But I'm telling
+you now, and you let it sink in, that the next time you try to do me, I'm
+going to put you where the dogs won't bite you."
+
+He dug his knuckles into Bugs' neck and gave him a fling that sent him
+several yards away. The fellow kept his feet with an effort, and then with
+a muttered threat slunk away into the darkness.
+
+They watched him for a minute, and then picked up their handbags and
+started toward the train.
+
+"Hope that's the last we see of him," remarked Joe.
+
+"So do I," Jim replied. "But we felt that way before and he's turned up
+just the same. I won't feel easy till I know that he's behind the bars."
+
+"He's usually in front of the bars," joked Joe. "But I'm glad anyway that
+we had a chance to throw a scare into him. He knows now that we'll be on
+our guard and perhaps even he will have sense enough to let us alone."
+
+Jim consulted his watch.
+
+"Great Scott!" he ejaculated.
+
+"What's the matter, Jim?"
+
+"We haven't any time to spare if we want to catch that train."
+
+"All right, let's run for it."
+
+As best they could, they began sprinting in the direction of the railroad
+station, but their handbags were somewhat heavy, and this impeded their
+progress. Then, turning a corner, they suddenly found themselves
+confronted by a long sewer trench, lit up here and there by red lanterns.
+
+"We've got to get over that trench somehow!" cried Joe.
+
+"Can you jump it?" questioned Jim anxiously.
+
+"I'm going to try," returned the crack pitcher.
+
+He threw his handbag to the other side of the sewer trench, and then,
+backing up a few steps, ran forward and took the leap in good shape. His
+chum followed him, but Jim might have slipped back into the sewer trench
+had not Joe been watching, and grabbed him by one hand.
+
+"Gosh, that was a close shave!" panted Jim, when he felt himself safe.
+
+"Don't waste time thinking about it. We have still a couple of blocks to
+go," Joe returned, and set off once more on the run, with Jim at his
+heels.
+
+Soon they rounded another corner, and came in sight of the railroad
+station. There stood their train, and the conductor was signaling to
+start.
+
+"Wait! Wait!" yelled Joe. But in the general confusion around the railroad
+station nobody seemed to notice him.
+
+"We've got to make that train--we've just got to!" cried Joe, and dashed
+forward faster than ever, with Jim beside him.
+
+They scrambled up the steps just as a warning whistle sounded; and a few
+moments later the train drew out on its climb over the Rockies.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+DANGER SIGNALS
+
+
+The travelers were now in the most picturesque part of their journey, and
+the magnificent views that spread before them as they topped the ridges of
+the continent and dropped down on the other side into the land of flowers
+and eternal summer were a source of unending interest and pleasure.
+
+"I'll tell you what, Joe," remarked Jim: "I never had an idea that this
+section of our country was so truly grand."
+
+"It certainly is magnificent scenery," was Joe's answer. "Just look at
+those mountain tops, will you? Some height there, believe me!"
+
+"Yes. And just see the depth of some of those canyons, will you? Say! if a
+fellow ever fell over into one of those, he'd never know what happened to
+him."
+
+"I've been watching this particular bit of scenery for some time,"
+remarked Joe. "It somehow had a familiar look to it, and now I know why."
+
+"And why is it, Joe?"
+
+"I'll tell you. Some time ago I saw a moving picture with the scene laid
+in the Rocky Mountains, and, unless I'm greatly mistaken, some of the
+scenes were taken right in this locality."
+
+"Was that a photo-play called 'The Girl From Mountain Pass?'" questioned
+another player who was present.
+
+"It was."
+
+"Then you're right, Matson; because I was speaking about that film to the
+conductor of this train, and he said that some of the pictures were taken
+right around here. His train was used in one of the scenes."
+
+This matter was talked over for several minutes, but then the conversation
+changed; and, presently, the chums went off to talk about other matters.
+
+Joe and Jim were lounging in the rear of the observation car, talking over
+the stirring events of the night before, when McRae happened along and
+dropped into a seat beside them.
+
+"Some game that was yesterday, boys," he remarked genially. "Those Denver
+fellows were curly bears, but we trimmed them just the same."
+
+"Yes," grinned Jim. "But we weren't comfortable while we were doing it."
+
+"They sure did worry us," acquiesced Joe. "They made us know at least that
+we'd been in a fight."
+
+"It was that ninth-inning work of yours that pulled us through, Joe,"
+declared McRae. "That stunt you pulled of whirling on your heel and
+shooting it over to third was a pretty bit of inside stuff. And there
+wasn't anything slow either about spearing that ball that Thompson hit."
+
+"I'd have let the fielders take care of that," admitted Joe, "if there
+hadn't been so much at stake. My hand stung for an hour afterward. But I'd
+have hated to let those fellows crow over us."
+
+"That fellow, Alvarez, that Thorpe rang in on us was a sure-enough
+pitcher," observed McRae. "I'd sign him up in a minute if it weren't for
+that dark skin of his. But it wouldn't work. We had a second baseman like
+that one time, and although he was a rattling good player it nearly broke
+up the team. It's too bad that color should stand in the way of a man's
+advancement, but it can't be helped.
+
+"By the way," he continued, drawing a paper from his pocket, "here's
+something that may interest you. It's the official record of the National
+League of the pitching averages for this season. It made me feel good when
+I read it and you'll see the reason why."
+
+He handed them the paper, which they opened eagerly to the sporting page.
+
+Joe's heart felt a thrill of satisfaction as he saw that his name stood at
+the head of the list, and Jim, too, was elated, as he noted that although
+this was his first year in a major league his name was among the first
+fifteen--a rare distinction for a "rookie."
+
+"Some class to the Giants, eh?" grinned McRae. "There's sixty names in
+that list and no single team has as many in the first twelve as we have.
+That average of yours, Joe, of 1.53 earned runs per game is a hummer.
+Hughson is close on your heels with 1.56. The Rube, you see, is eighth in
+the list with 1.95, and Jim's eleventh with 2.09. I tell you, boys, that's
+class, and to cap it all we won the pennant."
+
+"Two pennants, you mean," corrected Jim with a smile.
+
+"And neither one to be sneezed at," grinned Joe.
+
+"We sure had a great season," observed McRae. "If we start next year with
+the same team we ought to go through the league like a prairie fire. I
+have every reason to think that Hughson will be in tip-top shape when the
+season opens, and if he is, there won't be any pitching staff that can
+hold a candle to ours. But----"
+
+He paused uncertainly and looked at Joe as though he wanted to speak to
+him privately. Jim saw the look and took the hint.
+
+"I guess I'll go into the smoker and see what the rest of the fellows are
+doing, if you'll excuse me," he said, rising and strolling back.
+
+McRae greeted his departure with evident satisfaction.
+
+"I'm glad to have a chance to talk to you alone, Joe," he said. "You're my
+right bower and I can talk to you more freely than to anyone else, except
+Hughson. I don't mind telling you that this new league is worrying me a
+lot."
+
+"What is it?" asked Joe with quick interest. "Anything happened lately?"
+
+"Plenty," replied McRae. "I've kidded myself with the idea that the thing
+was going to peter out of its own accord. Every few seasons something of
+the kind crops up, but it usually comes to nothing. Usually the men who
+put up the coin get scared when they see what a big proposition it is
+they've tackled and back out. Sometimes, too, they go about it in such a
+blundering way that it's bound to fail from the start.
+
+"But this time it's different. They've got barrels of money behind them,
+and they're spending it like water. There's one of them named Fleming,
+whose father is a millionaire many times over, and he seems to have money
+to burn. They certainly are making big offers to star players all over the
+country. You saw the way they came at you, and they're doing the same in
+other places. There isn't a paper that I pick up that doesn't give the
+name of some big player that they're tampering with. The last one I saw
+was Altman of the Chicago White Sox. I guess though, that is a wrong
+steer, for Altman has come out flat for his old team and denies any
+intention of jumping his contract."
+
+"Bully for Nick!" exclaimed Joe. "I guess I helped to queer that deal. I
+saw Westland talking to him, and he seemed to have him going, but I put a
+few things straight to Nick and he seems to have come to his senses before
+it's too late."
+
+"There's Munsey of the Cincinnatis, he's left his reservation," continued
+McRae. "He's the crack shortstop of the country. They've got a line out,
+too, for Wilson of the Bostons, and you know they don't make any better
+outfielders than he is. In fact, they're biting into the teams everywhere,
+and none of them know where they're at. If I'd known they were going at it
+so seriously, and hadn't got so far in my preparations for this trip, I
+think I wouldn't have gone on this world's tour. It looks to me as though
+the major leagues would be backed up against the wall and fighting for
+their lives before this winter's over."
+
+"It may not be as bad as you think," said Joe consolingly. "Even if they
+get a lot of the stars, there will be a great many left. And, besides,
+they may have trouble in finding suitable grounds to play on."
+
+"But they will," declared McRae. "They've got the refusal of first-class
+locations in every big city of the major league. I tell you, there's
+brains behind this new league and that's what's worrying me. I don't know
+whether it's Fleming----"
+
+"No," interrupted Joe, smiling contemptuously, as he thought of the
+dissipated young fellow whom he had thrashed so soundly. "It isn't
+Fleming. He's got money enough, but there's a vacuum where his brains
+ought to be."
+
+"Then it's his partners," deduced McRae. "And their brains with his money
+make a strong combination."
+
+"Well," comforted Joe, "there's one good thing about this trip, anyway.
+You've got the Giants out of reach of their schemes."
+
+McRae looked around to see if anyone were within earshot, and then leaned
+over toward Joe.
+
+"Don't fool yourself," he said earnestly. "I'm afraid right now there are
+traitors in the camp!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+A WEIRD GAME
+
+
+Baseball Joe was startled and showed it plainly.
+
+"What do you mean?" he asked, as his mind ran over the names of his
+team-mates.
+
+"Just what I say," replied McRae. "I tell you, Joe, somebody's getting in
+his fine work with our boys and I know it."
+
+"Where's your proof?" asked Joe. "I hate to think that any of our fellows
+would welch on their contracts."
+
+"So do I," returned McRae. "We've been like one big family, and I've
+always tried to treat the boys right. I've got a rough tongue, as
+everybody knows, and in a hot game I've called them down many a time when
+they've made bonehead plays. But at the same time I've tried to be just,
+and I've never given any of them the worst end of the deal. They've been
+paid good money, and I've carried them along sometimes when other managers
+would have let them go."
+
+"You've been white all right," assented Joe warmly. He recalled an
+occasion when a muff by a luckless center-fielder had lost a World Series
+and fifty thousand dollars for the team, and yet McRae had "stood the
+gaff" and never said a word, because he knew the man was trying to do his
+best.
+
+"I'm telling this to you, Joe," went on McRae, "because I want you to help
+me out. You've proved yourself true blue when you were put to the test. I
+know you'll do all you can to hold the boys in the traces. They all like
+you and feel that they owe you a lot because it was your pitching that
+pulled us through the World's Series. Besides, they'll be more impressed
+by what you say than by the talk I'd give them. They figure that I'm the
+manager and am only looking after my own interests, and for that reason
+what I say has less effect."
+
+"I'll stand by you, Mac," returned Joe, "and help you in any way I can.
+Who are the boys that you think are trying to break loose?"
+
+"There are three of them," replied McRae. "Iredell, Curry and Burkett, and
+all three of them are stars, as you know as well as I do."
+
+"They're cracks, every one of them," agreed Joe. "And they're among the
+last men that I'd suspect of doing anything of the kind. What makes you
+think they've been approached?"
+
+"A lot of things," replied McRae. "In the first place, I have noticed that
+they are stiff and offish in their manner when I speak to them. Then, too,
+I've come across them several times lately with their heads together, and
+when they saw me coming they'd break apart and start talking of something
+else, as if I had interrupted them. Beside that, all three have struck me
+lately for a raise in salary next season."
+
+"That's nothing new for ball players," said Joe, with a smile.
+
+"No," admitted McRae, an answering smile relieving the gravity of his face
+for the moment. "And I stand ready of my own accord to give the boys a
+substantial increase on last year's pay because of their winning the
+pennant. But what these three asked for was beyond all reason, and made me
+think there was a nigger in the woodpile. They either had had a big offer
+from somebody else and were using that as a club to hold me up with, or
+else they were just trying to give themselves a better excuse for
+jumping."
+
+"How long do their contracts have to run?" asked Joe.
+
+"Iredell has one year more and Curry and Burkett are signed up for two
+years yet," replied the Giants' manager. "Of course I could try to hold
+them to their contracts, but you know as well as I do that baseball
+contracts are more a matter of honesty than of legal obligation. If a man
+is straight, he'll keep it, if he's crooked, he'll break it. And you know
+what a hole it would leave in the Giant team if those three men went over
+the fence. There isn't a heavier slugger in the team than Burkett, except
+Larry. His batting average this year was .332, and as a fielding first
+baseman he's the class of the league."
+
+"You're right there," acquiesced Joe, as he recalled the ease and
+precision with which Burkett took them on either side and dug them out of
+the dirt. "He's saved a game for me many and many a time."
+
+"As for Iredell," went on McRae, "he hasn't his equal in playing short and
+in covering second as the pivot for a double play. And nobody has played
+the infield as Curry does since I've been manager of the team."
+
+"It would certainly break the Giants all up to lose the three of them,"
+agreed Joe. "But we haven't lost them yet. Remember that the game isn't
+over till the last man is out in the ninth inning."
+
+"I know that. You've helped me win two fights this year, Joe, one for the
+championship of the league and the other for the championship of the
+world. Now I'm counting on you to help me win a third, perhaps the hardest
+of them all."
+
+"Put 'er there, Mac," said Joe, extending his hand. "Shake--I'm with you
+till the cows come home."
+
+"Of course, they'll be willing to put up big money, Joe. You know that
+already."
+
+"It doesn't make a particle of difference, Mac, how much money they put
+up," returned the crack pitcher warmly. "There isn't enough cash in the
+U. S. treasury to tempt me."
+
+"I know that, Joe. And I only wish that I could be as certain of the rest
+of the players."
+
+"Well, of course, I can't speak for the others. But you can be sure that
+I'll use my influence on the right side every time. Some of them may
+weaken and break away, but I doubt very much if they'll be any of your
+main-stays. If I were you, Mac, I wouldn't let this worry me too much."
+
+"Yes, I know it's getting on my nerves, Joe, because, you see, it means so
+much to me. But having you on my side has braced me up a good deal," went
+on the manager.
+
+They shook hands warmly, and McRae, evidently encouraged and braced by the
+talk with his star pitcher, made his way back to his own immediate party.
+
+The teams were slated to play in Salt Lake City and in Ogden. In both
+places they "cleaned up" easily, and it was not until a few days later
+when they reached the slope that they encountered opposition that made
+them exert themselves to win.
+
+At Bakersfield, with Jim in the box, the game went to eleven innings
+before it was finally placed to the credit of the Giants by a score of
+three to two. The 'Frisco team also put up a stiff fight for eight
+innings, but were overwhelmed by a storm of hits which rained from Giant
+bats in the ninth.
+
+The game with Oakland was the last on the schedule before the teams left
+for the Orient, and an enormous crowd was in attendance.
+
+Joe was in the box for the All-American team. He was in fine form, and
+held the home team down easily until the fifth inning, but the Oaklands
+also, undaunted by the reputation of their adversaries, and under the
+guidance of a manager who had formerly been a famous first baseman of the
+Chicago team, were also out to win if possible, and with first-class
+pitching and supported by errorless fielding, they held their redoubtable
+opponents on even terms.
+
+At the end of the fifth, neither team had scored, although the Giants had
+threatened to do so on two separate occasions. A singular condition
+developed in the sixth. It was the Giants' turn at bat and Curry had
+reached first on a clean single to right. A neat sacrifice by Joe advanced
+him to second. A minute later he stole third, sliding feet first into the
+bag and narrowly escaping the ball in the third baseman's hand.
+
+With only one out and Larry coming to the bat, the prospects for a run
+were bright.
+
+Larry let the first go by, but swung at the second, which was coming
+straight to the plate. His savage lunge caught the ball on the underside,
+and it went soaring through the air to a tremendous height.
+
+Both the second and third baseman started for the ball. It looked as
+though neither would be able to reach it, and Curry ran half-way down the
+line between third and home, awaiting the result. If the ball were caught
+he figured that he would easily have time to get back to third. If it were
+dropped, he could make home and score.
+
+The third baseman got under the descending ball, but it was coming from
+such a height that it was difficult to judge. It slipped through his
+fingers, but instead of falling to the ground, went plump into the pocket
+of his baseball shirt.
+
+He tugged desperately to get it out, at the same time running toward
+Curry, who danced about on the line between third and home in an agony of
+indecision. Was the ball caught or not? If it were, he would have to
+return to third. If it were not, he must make a break for home.
+
+The teams were all shouting now, while the crowd went into convulsions.
+The third baseman reached Curry and grabbed him with one hand, while with
+the other he frantically tried to get the ball from his pocket and clap
+it on him. But the ball stuck, and in the mixup both players fell to the
+ground and rolled over and over.
+
+Larry, in the meanwhile, was tearing round the bases, but he himself
+wasn't sure whether he was really out or whether he ought to strike for
+home. He reached third and pulled up there, still in the throes of doubt.
+He could have easily gone on past the struggling combatants, but in that
+case, if Curry were finally declared not out, Larry would also be out for
+having passed him and got home first.
+
+On the other hand, if Curry should finally escape and get back to third,
+one of them would still be out because he was occupying the bag to which
+his comrade was entitled. He did not really know whether he was running
+for exercise or to score a run.
+
+It was the funniest mixup that even the veteran players had ever seen on a
+ball field, and as for the crowd they were wild with joy.
+
+The third baseman, finding that Curry was about to get away from him and
+unable to get the ball out of his pocket, finally threw his arms about him
+and hugged him close in the wild hope that some part of the protruding
+ball would touch his prisoner's person and thus put him out.
+
+The sight of those burly gladiators, locked in a fond embrace, threatened
+the sanity of the onlookers, but the farce was ended when Curry finally
+wriggled out from the anaconda grasp of his opponent and took a chance for
+the plate.
+
+Then there was a hot debate, as the umpire, himself laughing until the
+tears ran down his face, tried to solve the situation. Had Curry been
+touched by the ball, or had he not? Had the ball been caught or not?
+
+Players on both sides tugged at him as they debated the matter _pro_ and
+_con_.
+
+"I don't know what that umpire's name is," grinned Jim to Joe, who was
+weak with laughter, "but I know what it ought to be."
+
+"What?" asked Joe.
+
+"Solomon," chuckled Jim.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE BEWILDERED UMPIRE
+
+
+But whatever the umpire's name might have been, he only resembled Solomon
+in one respect. He was inclined to compromise and cut the play in two,
+giving one part to the major leaguers and the other to the Oakland team.
+
+He was not to blame for being bewildered, for the baseball magnates who
+had framed the rules had never contemplated the special case of a player
+catching the ball in his pocket.
+
+Between the opposing claims he pulled out his book and scanned it
+carefully but with no result.
+
+"It's easy enough," rasped McRae. "He tried to catch a ball and muffed it.
+It goes for a hit and Curry scores."
+
+"Not on your life," barked Everett, the manager of the Oakland team. "He
+got the ball and it never touched the ground."
+
+"Got it," sneered McRae. "This is baseball, not pool. He can't pocket the
+ball."
+
+There was a laugh at this, and Mackay, the third baseman, looked a little
+sheepish. The baited umpire suggested that the whole play be called off
+and that Curry go back to third while Larry resumed his place at the bat.
+
+Larry set up a howl at this, as he saw his perfectly good three-baser go
+glimmering.
+
+"Oh, hire a hall," snapped Everett. "Even if the umpire decides against
+the catch it was only an error and you ought to have been out anyway."
+
+"You can't crawl out of it that way," said McRae to the umpire. "A play is
+a play and you've got to settle it one way or the other, even if you
+settle it wrong."
+
+The umpire hesitated, wiped his brow and finally decided that the ball was
+caught. That put Larry out, and he retreated, growling, to the bench,
+while Everett grinned his satisfaction.
+
+"That's all right, Ump," said the latter. "But how about Curry? Mackay put
+the ball on him all right and that makes three out."
+
+"Say, what do you want, the earth?" queried McRae. "He didn't put the ball
+on him. He didn't have the ball to put. It was in his pocket all the
+time."
+
+"Of course I put the ball on him," declared Mackay. "I must have. When I
+fell on him I hit him everywhere at once."
+
+The umpire finally decided that Mackay had not put the ball on Curry, and
+the red-headed right-fielder chuckled at the thought of the run he had
+scored.
+
+"That makes it horse and horse," said the umpire. "Get back to your
+places."
+
+If he thought he was at the end of his troubles he was mistaken, for
+Everett suddenly cried out:
+
+"Look here. You said that Mackay caught that ball, didn't you?"
+
+"That's what I said," snorted the umpire.
+
+"Well, then," crowed Everett triumphantly, "why didn't Curry go back to
+third and touch the bag before he lit out for home? He has to do that on a
+caught fly ball, hasn't he?"
+
+The umpire looked fairly stumped. Here was something on which the rules
+were explicit. It was certain that Curry should have returned to the base
+and it was equally certain that he hadn't. Mackay had caught him half-way
+between third and home.
+
+But McRae was equal to the occasion.
+
+"Suppose he did have to," he cried. "You said that Mackay hadn't touched
+him and he's free to go back yet."
+
+"And I'm free to touch him with the ball," Mackay came back at him.
+
+"But the ball isn't in play," put in Robbie, adding his mite to the
+general confusion. "You called time when you came in to settle this."
+
+"Who wouldn't be an umpire?" laughed Jim to Joe, as he saw the look of
+despair on that worried individual's face.
+
+"The most glorious mixup I ever saw on the ball field," answered Joe.
+
+"'How happy he could be with either were 'tother dear charmer away,'"
+chuckled Jim, pointing to the two pugnacious disputants on either side of
+the umpire.
+
+"Curry's out--Curry isn't out. Love me--love me not," responded Joe.
+
+By this time the crowd had got over their laugh and impatiently demanded
+action. The umpire cut the Gordian knot by sending Curry back to third,
+where he and Mackay chaffed each other and the game went on.
+
+It was not much of a game after that, however, as the laughable incident
+had put all the players in a more or less frivolous mood. It finally ended
+in a score of six to three in favor of the All-Americans, and the teams
+made a break for the showers.
+
+"The last game we play on American soil for many moons," remarked Joe, as,
+having bathed and dressed, the two young athletes strolled toward their
+hotel.
+
+"And every one of them a victory," observed Jim. "Not a single mark on
+the wrong side of the ledger!"
+
+"That game at Denver was the closest call we had," said Joe. "The trip so
+far has been a big money-maker, too. McRae was telling me yesterday that
+we'd already topped ninety-five thousand, and there was ten thousand in
+that crowd to-day if there was a penny."
+
+"I guess Mac won't have any trouble in buying steamship tickets," laughed
+Jim. "By the way, we haven't had a look at the old boat yet. Let's go down
+to-morrow and inspect her."
+
+"Why not make it the day after to-morrow?" suggested Joe. "The girls will
+be here by that time and we'll take them with us."
+
+"That will suit me, Joe."
+
+"I've been thinking of something, Jim," went on the crack pitcher, after a
+pause. "It won't be long now before we leave America. What do you say if
+we do a little shopping, and buy some things for ourselves and for the
+girls?"
+
+"Say, that's queer! I was thinking the same thing." Jim paused for a
+moment. "Won't it be fine to have the others with us again?"
+
+"Yes; I'll be very glad to see Mabel, and glad to see Clara, too. I
+suppose you've been getting letters pretty regularly, eh, Jim?"
+
+"I don't believe I've been getting any more letters than you have, Joe,"
+returned the other.
+
+"Well, you're welcome to them, Jim. I wish you luck!" said Joe, and placed
+a hand on his chum's shoulder. For a moment they looked into each other's
+eyes, and each understood perfectly what was passing in the other's mind.
+But Jim just then did not feel he could say too much.
+
+"I'll be glad to see Reggie again, too," remarked Joe, after a moment of
+silence. "He's something of a queer stick, but pretty good at that."
+
+"Oh, he's all right, Joe," answered Jim. "As he grows older and sees more
+of the seamy side of life, he'll get some of that nonsense knocked out of
+him."
+
+They ate their supper that night with a sense of relaxation to which they
+had long been strangers. For the first time since they had gone to the
+training camp at Texas in the spring, they were out of harness. There had
+been the fierce, tense race for the pennant that had strained them to the
+utmost.
+
+Then, with only a few days intervening, had come the still more exciting
+battle for the championship of the world. They had won and won gloriously,
+but even then they had not felt wholly free, for the long trip across the
+continent which they had just finished was then before them, and although
+this struggle had been less close and important, it had still kept them on
+edge and in training.
+
+But now their strenuous year had ended. Before them lay a glorious trip
+around the world, a voyage over summer seas, a pilgrimage through lands of
+mystery and romance, the fulfillment of cherished dreams, and with them
+were to go the two charming girls who represented to them all that was
+worth while in life and who even now were hurrying toward them as fast as
+steam could bring them.
+
+"This is the end of a perfect day," hummed Jim, as he sat back and lighted
+a cigar.
+
+"You're wrong there, Jim," replied Joe, with a smile. "The perfect day
+will be to-morrow."
+
+"Right you are!"
+
+Yet little did Baseball Joe and his chum dream of the many adventures and
+perils which lay ahead of them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+PUTTING THEM OVER
+
+
+As the two baseball players sauntered down the corridor after supper they
+chanced upon Iredell. He was sitting at a reading table, intent upon a
+letter which had attached to it what looked like an official document of
+some kind.
+
+It was a chance for which Joe had been looking, and he gave Jim a sign to
+go on while he himself dropped into a seat beside the famous shortstop.
+
+"How are you, Dell, old boy?" he said, genially.
+
+"Able to sit up and take nourishment," replied the other, at the same time
+thrusting the document into his pocket with what seemed like unnecessary
+haste.
+
+"Most of the boys are that way," laughed Joe. "There are just two things
+that every ball player is ready to do, take nourishment and nag the
+umpire."
+
+Iredell laughed as he bit off the end of a cigar.
+
+"That poor umpire got his this afternoon," he said. "With McRae on one
+side and Everett on the other I thought he'd be pulled to pieces."
+
+"He was sure up against a hard proposition," agreed Joe. "The next hardest
+was in a play that happened when I was on the Pittston team. A fellow
+poled out a hit that went down like a shot between left and center. A lot
+of carriages were parked at the end of the field and a big coach dog ran
+after the ball, got it in his mouth and skipped down among the carriages
+where the fielders couldn't get at him. It would have doubled you up to
+have seen them coaxing the brute to be a good dog and give the ball up. In
+the meantime, the batter was tearing around the bases and made home before
+the ball got back."
+
+"And how did his Umps decide it?" asked Iredell, with interest.
+
+"He was flabbergasted for a while," replied Joe, "but he finally called it
+a two-base hit and let it go at that."
+
+"An umpire's life is not a happy one," laughed Iredell. "He earns every
+dollar that he gets. I suppose that's what some of us fellows will be
+doing, too, when we begin to go back."
+
+"It will be a good while before you come to that, Dell," Joe replied.
+"You've played a rattling game at short this year, and you're a fixture
+with the Giants."
+
+"I don't know about that," said the shortstop slowly. "Fixtures sometimes
+work loose, you know."
+
+"It won't be so in this case," said Joe, purposely misunderstanding him.
+"McRae wouldn't let go of you."
+
+"Not if he could help it," responded Iredell.
+
+"Well, he doesn't have to worry about that just yet," said Joe. "How long
+does your contract have to run?"
+
+"A year yet," replied Iredell. "But contracts, you know, are like pie
+crust, they're easily broken."
+
+"What do you mean by that?" demanded Joe sharply.
+
+"Oh, nothing, nothing at all," said Iredell, a little nervously, as though
+he had said more than he intended. "But to tell the truth, Joe, I'm sore
+on this whole question of contracts. It's like a yoke that galls me."
+
+"Oh, I don't know," responded Joe. "A good many folks would like to be
+galled that way. A good big salary, traveling on Pullmans, stopping at the
+best hotels, posing for pictures, and having six months of the year to
+ourselves. If that's a yoke, it's lined with velvet."
+
+"But it's a yoke, just the same," persisted Iredell stubbornly. "Most men
+in business are free to accept any offer that's made to them. We can't. We
+may be offered twice as much as we're getting, but we have to stay where
+we are just the same."
+
+"Well, that's simply because it's baseball," argued Joe. "You know just as
+well as I do that that's the only way the game can be carried on. It
+wouldn't last a month if players started jumping from one team to another,
+or from one league to another. The public would lose all interest in it,
+and it's the public that pays our salaries."
+
+"Pays our salaries!" snapped Iredell. "Puts money in the hands of the
+owners, you mean. They get the feast and we get the crumbs. What's our
+measly salary compared with what they get? I was just reading in the paper
+that the Giants cleaned up two hundred thousand dollars this year, net
+profit, and yet it's the players that bring this money in at the gate."
+
+"Yes," Joe admitted. "But they are the men who put up the capital and take
+the chances. Suppose they had lost two hundred thousand dollars this year.
+We'd have had our salaries just the same."
+
+Just then Burkett and Curry came along and dropped into seats beside the
+pair.
+
+"Hello, Red," greeted Joe, at the same time nodding to Burkett. "How are
+your ribs feeling, after that bear hug you got this afternoon?"
+
+Curry grinned.
+
+"That's all right," he said. "But he never touched me with the ball. And
+that umpire was a boob not to give me the run."
+
+"What were you fellows talking about so earnestly?" asked Burkett, with
+some curiosity.
+
+"Oh, jug-handled things like baseball contracts," responded Iredell.
+
+"They're the bunk all right," declared Burkett, emphatically.
+
+"Bunk is right," said Curry.
+
+"What's the use of quarreling with your bread and butter?" asked Joe
+good-naturedly.
+
+"What's the use of bread and butter, if you can have cake and ought to
+have it?" Iredell came back at him.
+
+"Cake is good," agreed Joe, "but the point is that if a man has agreed to
+take bread and butter, it's up to him to stand by his agreement. A man's
+word is the best thing he has, and if he is a man he'll hold to it."
+
+"You seem to be taking a lot for granted, Joe," said Burkett, a little
+stiffly. "Who is talking of breaking his word? We've got a right to talk
+about our contracts, haven't we, when we think the owners are getting the
+best end of the deal?"
+
+"Sure thing," said Joe genially. "It's every man's privilege to kick, but
+the time to kick is before one makes an agreement, not when kicking won't
+do any good."
+
+"Maybe it can do some good," said Curry significantly.
+
+"How so?" asked Joe innocently. "No other club in the American or National
+League would take us if we broke away from the Giants."
+
+"There are other leagues," remarked Iredell.
+
+"Surely. The minors," replied Joe, again purposely misunderstanding. "But
+who wants to be a busher?"
+
+"There's the All-Star League that's just forming," suggested Burkett, with
+a swift look at his two companions.
+
+"'All-Star,'" repeated Joe, a little contemptuously. "That sounds good,
+but where are they going to get the stars?"
+
+"They're getting them all right," said Iredell. "The papers are full of
+the names of players who have jumped or are going to jump."
+
+"You don't mean players," said Joe. "You mean traitors."
+
+The others winced a little at this.
+
+"'Traitors' is a pretty hard word," objected Curry.
+
+"It's the only word," returned Joe stiffly.
+
+"You can't call a man a traitor who simply tries to better himself,"
+remarked Burkett defensively.
+
+"Benedict Arnold tried to better himself," returned Joe. "But it didn't
+get him very far. The fellows that jumped, in the old Brotherhood days,
+thought they were going to better themselves, but they simply got in bad
+with the public and nearly ruined the game. This new league will promise
+all sorts of things, but how do you know it will keep them? What faith can
+you put in men who try to induce other men to be crooked?"
+
+"Well, you know, with most men business is business, as they put it."
+
+"I admit business is business. But so far as I am concerned, it is no
+business at all if it isn't on the level," answered Joe earnestly. "A
+great many men think they can do something that is shady and get away with
+it, and sometimes at first it looks as if they were right about it. But
+sooner or later they get tripped up and are exposed."
+
+"Well, everybody has got a right to make a living," grumbled Curry.
+
+"Sure he has--and I'm not denying it."
+
+"And everybody has got a right to go into baseball if he feels like
+investing his money that way."
+
+"Right again. But if he wants to make any headway in the great national
+game, he has got to play it on the level right from the start. If he
+doesn't do that, he may, for a certain length of time, hoodwink the
+public. But, as I said before, sooner or later he'll be exposed; and you
+know as well as I do that the public will not stand for any underhand work
+in any line of sports. I've talked, not alone to baseball men, but also
+to football men, runners, skaters, and even prize fighters, and they have
+all said exactly the same thing--that the great majority of men want their
+sports kept clean."
+
+There was no reply to this and Joe rose to his feet.
+
+"But what's the use of talking?" he added. "Let the new league do as it
+likes. There's one bully thing, anyway, that it won't touch--our Giants.
+Whatever it does to the other teams, we will all stick together. We'll
+stand by Robbie and McRae till the last gun's fired. So long, fellows, see
+you later."
+
+He strode off down the corridor, leaving three silent men to stare after
+his retreating figure thoughtfully.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+"MAN OVERBOARD"
+
+
+Baseball Joe found Jim waiting for him near the clerk's desk.
+
+"Been having quite a confab," remarked the latter.
+
+"Yes," replied Joe carelessly. "Burkett and Red came along and we had a
+fanfest."
+
+The next day was the first of their real vacation, and they spent the
+morning strolling about the city and marveling at the quick recovery it
+had made from the earthquake. They had a sumptuous dinner on the veranda
+of the Cliff House, where they had a full view of the famous harbor and
+watched the seals sporting on the rocks.
+
+The commerce of the port was in full swing, and out through the Golden
+Gate passed great fleets with their precious argosies bound for the
+Orient, for immobile China, for restless and awakened Japan, for the
+islands of the sea, for the lands of the lotus and the palm, of minaret
+and mosque and pagoda, for all the realms of mystery and romance that lie
+beneath the Southern Cross.
+
+It would have been a wrench to tear themselves away had it been any other
+day than this, but to-day was the one to which they had looked eagerly
+forward through all the month of exhibition playing, since they had left
+the quiet home at Riverside, and they kept looking at their watches to see
+if it were not time to go to the train and meet the girls.
+
+They were at the station long before the appointed time, and when at last
+the Overland Flyer drew in they scanned each Pullman anxiously to catch a
+sight of two charming faces.
+
+They were not kept long in suspense, for down the steps of the second car
+tripped Clara and Mabel, looking more wonderfully alluring than ever,
+although a month before neither Jim nor Joe would have admitted that such
+a thing were possible.
+
+Reggie, too, was there, dressed "to the limit" as usual, and with his
+supposed English accent twice as pronounced as ever.
+
+But Reggie for the moment did not count, compared with the lovely charges
+whom he had brought across the continent. Of course, the boys felt
+grateful to him, but their eyes and their thoughts were fastened on his
+two charming companions.
+
+"I'm awfully glad you've got here at last," cried Joe, as he rushed up to
+Mabel and caught her by both hands. He would have liked very much to have
+kissed her, but did not dare do it in such a public place.
+
+"Oh, what a grand trip we've had!" declared Clara, as she shook hands
+first with Jim and then with her brother. "I never had any idea our
+country was so big and so magnificent."
+
+"That's just what Joe and I were remarking on our trip across the
+Rockies," answered Jim. He could not take his eyes from the face of his
+chum's sister. Clara looked the picture of health, showing that the trip
+from her little home town had done her a world of good.
+
+But if Clara looked good, Mabel looked even better--at least in the eyes
+of Joe. He could not keep his gaze from her face. And she was certainly
+just as glad to see him.
+
+"Ye-es, it was quite a trip, don't you know," remarked Reggie. "I met
+several bally good chaps on the way, so the time passed quickly enough.
+But I'm glad to be here, and hope that before long we'll be on
+shipboard."
+
+"Oh, I'm so excited to think that I'm going to take a real ocean trip!"
+burst out Clara. "Just to think of it--a girl like me going around the
+world! I never dreamed I'd get that far."
+
+"And just think of the many queer sights we'll see!" broke in Mabel. "And
+the queer people we'll meet!"
+
+The girls were all on the _qui vive_ with excitement in their anticipation
+of the delightful trip that lay before them, and there were no pauses in
+their conversation on the way to the hotel.
+
+Here they were introduced to the other members of the party, which by this
+time had increased to large proportions, for beside the ladies who had
+accompanied the players across the continent, many others had followed the
+same plan as Mabel and Clara and joined their friends in San Francisco.
+Altogether, there were more than a hundred of the tourists, of whom
+perhaps a third were women.
+
+All were out for a good time, and the atmosphere of good will and jollity
+was infectious. There was an utter absence of snobbery and affectation,
+and the boys were delighted to see how quickly the girls fell into the
+spirit of the gathering and with their own fun and high spirits added more
+than their quota to the general hilarity.
+
+That night there was a big banquet given to the tourists by the railroad
+officials who had had the party in charge from the beginning and by some
+of the leading citizens of San Francisco. It was a jolly occasion, where
+for once in affairs of the kind the "flowing bowl" was notable for its
+absence. The stalwart, clear-eyed athletes who, with their friends, were
+the guests of the occasion, had no use for the cup that both cheers and
+inebriates.
+
+A striking feature of the table decorations was a cake weighing one
+hundred and twenty-five pounds, on whose summit was a bat and ball, and
+whose frosted slopes were accurate representations of the Polo Grounds and
+the baseball park at Chicago. It is needless to say how pronounced a hit
+this made with the "fans" of both sexes. It was a great send-off to the
+globe-encircling baseball teams.
+
+The next day, Joe and Jim took the girls down to the pier to see the ship
+on which they were to sail. It was a splendid craft of twenty thousand
+tons and sumptuously fitted up. The girls exclaimed at the beauty of her
+lines and the superb decoration of the cabins and saloons.
+
+"The _Empress of Japan_!" read Clara, as she scanned the name on the
+steamer's stern.
+
+"Most fittingly named," said Jim gallantly, "since she carries two
+queens."
+
+"What a pretty compliment," said Clara, as she flashed a radiant look at
+Jim.
+
+"I'm afraid," said Mabel, "that Jim's been practising on some of the nice
+girls in the party."
+
+"Have I, Joe?" appealed the accused one. "Haven't I been an anchorite, a
+senobite, an archimandrite----"
+
+"Goodness, I thought you were bad," laughed Clara. "But now I know you're
+worse."
+
+"Keep it up, old man, as long as the 'ites' hold out," said Joe. "I guess
+there are plenty more in the dictionary. But honest, girls, Jim hasn't
+looked twice at any girl since he came away from Riverside."
+
+"I've looked more than twice at one girl since yesterday," Jim was
+beginning, but Clara, flushing rosily, thought it was high time to change
+the subject.
+
+The next day, with all the party safely on board, the ship weighed anchor,
+threaded its way through the crowded commerce of the bay and then,
+dropping its tug, turned its prow definitely toward the east and breasted
+the billows of the Pacific.
+
+"The last we'll see of Old Glory for many months," remarked Joe, as,
+standing at the rail, they watched the Stars and Stripes floating out from
+the flag-pole on the top of the government station.
+
+"Not so long as that," corrected Jim. "We will still be on the soil of
+God's country when we reach Hawaii seven days from now."
+
+The first two days of the voyage passed delightfully. The girls proved
+good sailors, and had the laugh on many of the so-called stronger sex,
+who were conspicuous by their absence from the table during that period.
+
+On the afternoon of the third day out, Joe and Mabel were pacing the deck
+with Jim and Clara at a discreet distance behind them. It was astonishing
+how willing each pair was not to intrude upon the other.
+
+Suddenly there was a tumult of excited exclamations near the stern of the
+vessel, and then above it rose a shout that is never heard at sea without
+a chill of terror.
+
+"Man overboard!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+ONE STRIKE AND OUT
+
+
+The two young baseball players and the girls joined the throng that was
+racing toward the stern.
+
+A number of people were pointing wildly over the port side at a small
+object some distance behind the ship.
+
+They followed the pointing fingers and saw the head of a man who was
+swimming desperately toward the receding ship.
+
+The steamer, which had been taking advantage of the favorable weather and
+had been ploughing ahead under full steam, found it hard to stop, although
+orders had been given at once to shut off steam.
+
+It was maddening to the onlookers to see the distance increase between the
+giant ship and that bobbing, lonely speck far out in the waste of waters.
+
+With all the celerity possible the great steamer swung round in a circle
+and bore down upon the struggling swimmer, while at the same time
+preparations were made to lower a boat as soon as they should be near
+enough.
+
+"They're going to save him!" cried Mabel, half-sobbing in her excitement.
+"Oh, Joe, they're going to save him after all!"
+
+It seemed as though there were no doubt of this now, for the man was
+evidently a strong swimmer and seemed to be maintaining himself without
+great effort, and it was certain that within the next few minutes the
+boat, already filled with oarsmen and swaying at the davits, ready to be
+lowered, would reach him.
+
+Suddenly Clara, with a stifled scream, clutched at Jim's arm.
+
+"Oh, Jim!" she cried, "what is that? Look, look----"
+
+Jim looked and turned pale under his tan.
+
+"Great heavens!" he cried. "It's a shark!"
+
+The cry was taken up by scores.
+
+"A shark! A shark!"
+
+There, cleaving the water and coming toward the swimmer like an arrow at
+its mark, was a great black dorsal fin which bespoke the presence of the
+pirate of the seas.
+
+The steamer had lessened speed in order to lower its boat, but the
+momentum under which it was carried it within twenty yards of the
+castaway.
+
+Almost instantly the ship's boat struck the water, and the sinewy backs of
+the sailors bent almost double as they drove it toward the swimmer.
+
+From the crowded deck they could see his face now, pale and dripping, but
+lighted with a gleam of hope as he saw the boat approaching. But the
+horrified onlookers saw something else, that ominous, awful fin, that came
+rushing on like a relentless fate toward its intended prey.
+
+Some of the women were sobbing, others almost fainting, while the men,
+pale and with gritted teeth, groaned at their helplessness.
+
+It was a question now of which would reach the luckless man first, the
+boat or the shark. The boat was nearer and the men were rowing like
+demons, but the shark was swifter, coming on like an express train.
+
+There must have been something in those faces high above him that warned
+the man of some impending peril. He cast a swift look behind him, and then
+in frantic terror redoubled his efforts to reach the boat.
+
+"Oh, Joe, they'll be too late! They'll never reach him in time!" sobbed
+Mabel. "Oh, can't we do anything to help him?"
+
+Joe, as frantic as she, looked wildly about him. His eyes fell on a heavy
+piece of iron, left on the deck by some seaman who had been repairing the
+windlass. Like a flash he grabbed it.
+
+It seemed as though the swimmer were doomed, and a gasp of horror went up
+from the spectators as they saw that the boat would be too late.
+
+For now the fin had disappeared, and they saw a hideous shape take form as
+the monster came into plain sight, a foot beneath the surface, and turned
+over upon its back to seize its prey.
+
+Then Joe took a chance--a long chance, a desperate chance, an almost
+hopeless chance--and yet, a chance.
+
+With all the force of his powerful arm he sent the jagged piece of iron
+hurtling at the fiendish open jaws.
+
+And the chance became a certainty.
+
+The missile crashed into the monster's nose, its most sensitive point. The
+brute was so near the surface that the thin sheet of water was no
+protection.
+
+The effect was startling. There was a tremendous plunging and leaping that
+lashed the waters into foam, and then the crippled monster sank slowly
+into the ocean depths.
+
+The next instant the ship's boat had reached the castaway, and strong arms
+pulled him aboard, where he sank panting and exhausted across a thwart.
+
+It had all happened with the speed of light. There was a moment of stunned
+surprise, a gasp from the crowd, and then a roar went up that swelled into
+a deafening thunder of applause.
+
+Joe had reversed the baseball rule of "three strikes and out." This time
+it was just one strike--and the shark was out!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+BRAXTON JOINS THE PARTY
+
+
+The passengers crowded around Joe in wild delight and exhilaration,
+reaching for his hand, pounding him on the back, vociferous in their
+praise and congratulations, until he was almost ready to pray to be
+rescued from his friends.
+
+Mabel, starry-eyed, slipped a hand within his arm and the pressure was
+eloquent. Jim almost wrenched his arm from the shoulder, and Clara hugged
+her brother openly.
+
+Naturally, Joe's great feat appealed especially to the baseball players of
+the party. They felt that he had honored the craft to which they belonged.
+He had justified his reputation as the star pitcher of the country, and
+they felt that they shared in the reflected glory.
+
+"Great Scott, Joe!" beamed Larry. "You put it all over his sharklet that
+time."
+
+"Straight over the plate!" chuckled Burkett.
+
+"Against the rules, though," grinned Denton. "You know that the 'bean
+ball' is barred."
+
+The rescued man had now been brought on board. He had been too excited and
+confused to understand how he had been snatched from the jaws of
+death--and such a death!
+
+He proved to be a member of the crew, a Lascar, whose knowledge of the
+English language was limited, and whose ignorance of the great national
+game was fathomless.
+
+But when he had recovered and had learned the name of his rescuer, he
+sought Joe out and thanked him in accents that were none the less sincere
+because broken and imperfect, and from that time on throughout the trip he
+was almost doglike in his devotion.
+
+A few days more and the ship reached Hawaii, that far-flung outpost of
+Uncle Sam's dominions, which breaks the long ocean journey between America
+and Japan.
+
+The hearts of the tourists leaped as the ship drew near the harbor and
+they caught sight of the Stars and Stripes, floating proudly in the
+breeze.
+
+"I never knew how I loved that flag before," cried Mabel
+enthusiastically.
+
+"The most beautiful flag that floats," chimed in Clara.
+
+"The flag that stands for liberty everywhere," remarked Jim.
+
+"Yes," was Joe's tribute. "The flag that when it has gone up anywhere has
+never been pulled down."
+
+As the ship drew near the shore the beauty of the island paradise brought
+exclamations of delight from the passengers who thronged the steamer's
+rails.
+
+The harbor was a scene of busy life and animation. The instant the ship
+dropped anchor she was surrounded by native boats, paddled by Hawaiian
+youngsters, who indulged in exhibitions of diving and swimming that were a
+revelation of skill.
+
+"They've got it all over the fishes when it comes to swimming," remarked
+Jim with a grin. "Cough up all your spare coin, Joe, and see these little
+beggars dive for it."
+
+They tossed coin after coin into the transparent waters and swiftly as
+each piece sank, the young swimmer was swifter. Every one was caught
+before it reached bottom, and came up clutched in some dusky hand or
+shining between ivory teeth.
+
+"I'll be bankrupt if this keeps up long," laughed Joe.
+
+"Yes," said Jim. "You'll wish you'd joined the All-Star League and copped
+that twenty thousand."
+
+"How do they ever do it?" marveled Clara.
+
+"In the blood I suppose," replied Joe. "Their folks throw them into the
+water when they're babies, and like puppies, they have to swim or drown."
+
+"They're more at home in the water than they are on land," remarked Jim.
+"Those fellows will swim out in the ocean and stay there all day long."
+
+"I should think they'd be afraid of sharks," remarked Mabel, with a
+shudder, as she thought of the recent incident in which that hideous brute
+had figured.
+
+"Sharks are easy meat for them," replied Jim. "You ought to pity the
+sharks instead of wasting it on these fellows. Give them a knife, and the
+shark hasn't a Chinaman's chance."
+
+"Not even a knife," chimed in Joe. "A stick sharpened at both ends is
+enough."
+
+"A stick?" exclaimed Mabel, wonderingly.
+
+"Sure thing," replied Joe. "They simply wait until the shark turns over to
+grab them and then thrust it right into the open jaws. You've no idea how
+effective that can be."
+
+"It's a case of misplaced confidence," laughed Jim. "The poor trustful
+shark lets his jaws come together with a snap, or rather he thinks he
+does, and instead of a nice juicy human, those guileless jaws of his close
+on the two ends of the pointed stick and stay there. He can't close his
+mouth and he drowns."
+
+"Poor thing," murmured Clara involuntarily, while the boys put up a shout.
+"I don't care," she added, flushing. "I'm always sorry for the
+underdog----"
+
+"That's why she's taken such a fancy to you, Jim, old man," laughed Joe.
+
+"Well, as long as pity is akin to----" began Joe, when Mabel, tired with
+laughing, interrupted him:
+
+"But suppose the stick should break," she said.
+
+"Then there would be just one less native," answered Jim, solemnly. "By
+the way, Joe," he added, "speaking of sharks--what's the difference
+between a dog and a shark?"
+
+"Give it up," replied Joe promptly.
+
+"Because," chuckled Jim, "a dog's bark is worse than his bite, but a
+shark's bite is--is--worse than his--er----"
+
+"Go ahead," said Joe bitterly, while the girls giggled. "Perpetrate it.
+What shark has a bark?"
+
+"A dog-faced shark," crowed Jim triumphantly.
+
+"Of all the idiots," lisped Reggie, joining them at the rail. "'Pon honor,
+you know, I never heard such bally nonsense."
+
+The gibe that followed this remark was cut short by the approach of the
+lighter on which the passengers were to be carried to the shore.
+
+They were to spend two days in Hawaii while the steamer discharged its
+cargo, but they would have gladly made it two weeks or two months.
+
+Only one game was played, and that was between the Giant and the
+All-American teams. There was no native talent which was quite strong
+enough to stand a chance against the seasoned veterans, although Hawaii
+boasts of many ball teams.
+
+There was a big crowd present, made up chiefly of government officials and
+representatives of foreign commercial houses from all over the world who
+had established branches on the island.
+
+The contests between the two teams had been waxing hotter and hotter,
+despite the fact that there was nothing at stake except the pleasure of
+winning.
+
+But this was enough for these high-strung athletes, to whom the cry "play
+ball" was like a bugle call. The fight was close from start to finish, and
+resulted in a victory for the All-Americans by a score of three to two.
+
+"That makes it 'even Stephen,'" chortled Brennan to his friend and rival,
+McRae. "We've won just as many games as you have, now."
+
+"It's hoss and hoss," admitted McRae. "But just wait; what we'll do to you
+fellows before we get to the end of the trip will be a crime."
+
+The time that still remained before the steamer resumed its journey was
+one of unalloyed delight. The scenery was wonderful and the weather
+superb.
+
+Jim and Joe hired a touring car and with Joe at the wheel--it is
+unnecessary to state who sat beside him--they visited all the most
+picturesque and romantic spots in that glorious bit of Nature's
+handiwork.
+
+"Do you remember our last ride in an automobile, Mabel?" asked Joe with a
+smile, as she snuggled into the seat beside him.
+
+"Indeed I do," replied Mabel. "It was the day that horrid Fleming carried
+me off and you chased us."
+
+"I caught you all right, anyway," Joe replied.
+
+"Yes," said Mabel saucily. "Only to spend all your spare moments afterward
+in regretting it."
+
+Joe's reproachful denial both in words and looks was eloquent.
+
+They visited the famous volcano with its crater Kilaeua, and watched in
+awe and wonder the great sea of flame that surged hideously and writhed
+like a chain of fiery serpents.
+
+They saw the famous battlefield where Kamehameha, "the Napoleon of the
+Pacific," had won the great victory that made him undisputed ruler of the
+island. They saw the steep precipice where the three thousand Aohu,
+fighting to the last gasp, had made their final stand, and had at last
+been driven over the cliff to the death awaiting them below.
+
+It was with a feeling of genuine regret that they finally bade farewell to
+the enchanting island and again took ship to pursue their journey.
+
+A large number of new passengers had come on board at Honolulu, and among
+them was a man who soon attached himself to the baseball party. He was
+tall and distinguished in appearance, smooth and plausible in his
+conversation, and seemed to be thoroughly versed in the great national
+game.
+
+His ingratiating manners soon made him a favorite with the women of the
+party also, and he spared no pains to deepen this impression.
+
+Reggie liked him immensely, largely, no doubt, owing to the hints that
+Braxton, which was the stranger's name, had dropped of having aristocratic
+connections. He had traveled widely, and the names of distinguished
+personages fell from his lips with ease and familiarity.
+
+"How do you like the new fan, Joe?" Jim asked, a day or two later.
+
+"I can't say that I'm stuck on him much," responded Joe. "He seems to be
+pretty well up in baseball dope, and that in itself I suppose ought to be
+a recommendation, to a ball player especially, but somehow or other, he
+doesn't hit me very hard."
+
+"I think he's very handsome," remarked Mabel, with a mischievous glance at
+Joe, and that young man's instinctive dislike of the newcomer became
+immediately more pronounced.
+
+"He seems very friendly and pleasant," put in Clara. "Why don't you like
+him, Joe?"
+
+"How can I tell?" replied her brother. "I simply know I don't."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+IN MIKADO LAND
+
+
+But if Braxton sensed the slight feeling of antipathy which Joe felt for
+him, he gave no sign of it, and Joe himself, who wanted to be strictly
+just, took pains to conceal it.
+
+Braxton had a fund of anecdotes that made him good company, and the
+friendship that Reggie felt for him made him often a member of Joe's
+party.
+
+"Fine fellow, that Mr. Matson of yours," he remarked one afternoon, when
+he and Reggie and Mabel were sitting together under an awning, which the
+growing heat of every day, as the vessel made its way deeper into the
+tropics, made very grateful for its shade and coolness.
+
+"Indeed he is," remarked Mabel, warmly, to whom praise of Joe was always
+sweet.
+
+"He's a ripper, don't you know," agreed Reggie.
+
+"Not only as a man but as a player," continued Braxton. "Hughson used to
+be king pin once, but I think it can be fairly said that Matson has taken
+his place as the star pitcher of America. Hughson's arm will probably
+never be entirely well again."
+
+"Joe thinks that Hughson is a prince," remarked Mabel. "He says he stands
+head and shoulders above everybody else."
+
+"He used to," admitted Braxton. "For ten years there was nobody to be
+compared with him. But now it's Matson's turn to wear the crown."
+
+"Have you ever seen Joe pitch?" asked Mabel.
+
+"I should say I have," replied Braxton. "And it's always been a treat to
+see the way he did his work. I saw him at the Polo Grounds when in that
+last, heartbreaking game he won the championship for the Giants. And I saw
+him, too, in that last game of the World's Series, when it seemed as
+though only a miracle could save the day. That triple play was the most
+wonderful thing I ever beheld. The way he nailed that ball and shot it
+over to Denton was a thing the fans will talk over for many years to
+come."
+
+"Wasn't it great?" cried Mabel, enthusiastically, at the same time
+privately resolving to tell all this to Joe and show him how unjust he was
+in feeling the way he did toward this generous admirer.
+
+"The fact is," continued Braxton, "that Matson's in a class by himself.
+He's the big cog in the Giant machinery. It's a pity they don't
+appreciate him more."
+
+"Why, they do appreciate him!" cried Mabel, her eyes opening wide with
+wonder. "Mr. McRae thinks nothing's too good for him."
+
+"Nothing's too good except money," suggested Braxton.
+
+"They give him plenty of that, too," put in Mabel, loyally.
+
+"He gets a ripping salary, don't you know," put in Reggie. "And he almost
+doubled it in this last World's Series."
+
+"A man's worth what he can get," returned Braxton. "Now, of course, I
+don't know and perhaps it might be an impertinence for me even to guess
+what his salary is, but I should say that it isn't a bit more than ten
+thousand a year."
+
+"Oh, it isn't anything like that," said Reggie, a little chop fallen.
+
+Braxton raised his eyebrows in apparent surprise.
+
+"I didn't think the Giants were so niggardly," he remarked, with a touch
+of contempt. "It's simply robbery for them to hold his services at such a
+figure. Mr. Matson could demand vastly more than that."
+
+"Where?" asked Reggie. "He's under contract with the Giants and they
+wouldn't let him go to any other club."
+
+"Why doesn't he go without asking leave?" asked Braxton.
+
+"But no other club in the big leagues would take him if he broke his
+contract with the Giants," said Mabel, a little bewildered.
+
+"I've heard there was a new league forming," said Braxton, carelessly.
+"Let's see, what is it they call it? The All-Star League. There would be
+no trouble with Matson's getting an engagement with them. They'd welcome
+him with open arms."
+
+"They've already tried to get him," cried Mabel, proudly.
+
+"Is that so? I suppose they made him a pretty good offer. I've heard
+they're doing things on a big scale."
+
+"It was a wonderful offer," said Mabel.
+
+"It certainly was, 'pon honor," chimed in Reggie.
+
+"Would it be indiscreet to ask the amount?" said Braxton.
+
+"I don't think there's any bally secret 'bout it," complied Reggie. "They
+offered him twenty thousand dollars to sign a contract and fifteen
+thousand dollars a year for a three years' term. Many a bank or railroad
+president doesn't get that much, don't you know."
+
+"And Matson refused it?" asked Braxton, incredulously.
+
+"How could he help it?" replied Mabel. "His contract with the Giants has
+two years yet to run."
+
+"My dear young lady," said Braxton, "don't you know that a baseball
+contract isn't as binding as the ordinary kind? In the first place, it's
+one-sided, and that itself makes it worthless."
+
+"In what way is it so one-sided?" asked Mabel.
+
+"Well, just to take one instance," replied Braxton. "A baseball club may
+engage a man for a year and yet if it gets tired of its bargain, it can
+let him go on ten days' notice. That doesn't seem fair, does it?"
+
+"No-o, it doesn't," admitted Mabel slowly.
+
+"It would be all right," continued Braxton, "if the player also could
+leave his club by giving ten days' notice. But he can't. That's what makes
+it unfair. The club can do to the player what the player can't do to the
+club. So the supposed contract is only a bit of paper. It's no contract at
+all."
+
+"Not in the legal sense, perhaps," said Reggie, dubiously.
+
+"Well, if not in the legal sense, then in no sense at all," persisted
+Braxton. "The law is supposed to be based on justice, isn't it, and to do
+what is right?
+
+"Of course," he went on, "it's none of my business; but if I were in Mr.
+Matson's place, I shouldn't hesitate a moment in going where my services
+were in the most demand."
+
+Mabel felt there was sophistry somewhere in the argument, but could hardly
+point out where it was.
+
+"I wouldn't like to be quoted in this matter, of course," said Braxton,
+suavely. "And it might be just as well not to mention to Mr. Matson that I
+have spoken about it. He might think I was trying to pry into his
+affairs."
+
+As Joe and Jim came up just then from the engine-room of the ship which
+they had been inspecting, the subject, of course, was dropped, and after a
+while Braxton strode away with a self-satisfied smile on his lips.
+
+The travelers were now in the heart of the typhoon region but luckily for
+them it was the winter season when such storms are least frequent and
+although they met a half gale that for two days kept them in their cabins,
+they were favored on the whole by fair weather and at the appointed time
+dropped anchor in the harbor of Yokohama.
+
+Now they were on the very threshold of the Oriental world of whose wonders
+they had heard and dreamed, and all were on tiptoe with curiosity and
+interest.
+
+The sights and scenes were as strange almost as though they were on
+another planet. Everything was new to their young blood and unjaded senses
+in this "Land of the Rising Sun."
+
+The great city itself, teeming with commerce and busy life, had countless
+places of interest, but far more enchanting were the trips they took in
+the jinrikishas drawn by tireless coolies which carried them to the little
+dreaming, rustic towns with their tiny houses, their quaint pagodas, their
+charming gardens and their unhurried life, so different from the feverish,
+restless tumult of western lands.
+
+"Really, this seems to be a different world from ours," was Clara's
+comment.
+
+"It certainly is vastly different from anything we have in America,"
+replied Mabel.
+
+"It's interesting--I'll admit that," said Joe. "Just the same, I like
+things the way we have them much better."
+
+"To me these people--or at least a large part of them--seem to lead a
+dreamlike existence," was Jim's comment. "They don't seem to belong to the
+hurry and bustle of life such as we know it."
+
+"And yet there is noise enough, goodness knows!" answered Clara.
+
+"I think I really prefer the good old U. S. A., don't you know," drawled
+Reggie. "There may be society here, but really it's so different from ours
+that I shouldn't like to take part in it."
+
+"Yes, there is plenty of noise, but, at the same time, there is a good
+deal of calm and quiet," said Joe.
+
+But the calm and quiet that seemed to be prevailing features of Japanese
+life were wholly absent from the ball games where the visiting teams met
+the nines of Keio and Waseda Universities.
+
+The Giants were to play the first named team, while later on the
+All-Americans were slated to tackle the Waseda men.
+
+In the first game the contrast was laughable between the sturdy Giant
+players and their diminutive opponents.
+
+"What are we playing against?" laughed Larry to Denton. "A bunch of
+kids?"
+
+"It would take two of them to make a mouthful," grinned Denton.
+
+"I feel almost ashamed of myself," chimed in Burkett. "We ought to tackle
+fellows of our own size."
+
+"You don't find many of that kind in Japan," said Joe. "But don't you hold
+these fellows too cheap. They may have a surprise in store for us."
+
+The snap and vim that the Japs put into their practice before the game
+seemed to add point to his prophecy. They shot the ball around the bases
+with a speed and precision that would have done credit to seasoned
+veterans and made McRae, who watched them keenly, give his men a word of
+caution.
+
+"Don't get too gay, boys," he warned.
+
+The game that followed was "for blood." The universities had poured out
+their crowds to a man to cheer their players on to victory.
+
+And for the first five innings the scales hung in the balance. The Keio
+pitcher had a world of speed and a tantalizing drop, and only two safe
+hits were made off him. Behind him his team mates fielded like demons. No
+ball seemed too hard for them to get, and even when a Giant got to first
+base he found it difficult to advance against the accurate throwing to
+second of the Jap catcher.
+
+At the bat the home players were less fortunate. They hit the ball often
+enough but they couldn't "lean against it" with the power of their
+sturdier rivals.
+
+They were skillful bunters, however, and had the Giant players "standing
+on their heads" in trying to field the balls that the clever Jap players
+laid deftly in front of the plate.
+
+By these tactics they scored a run in the sixth inning, against which the
+Giants had only a string of goose eggs.
+
+"It's like a bear against a wildcat," muttered Robbie to McRae, as the
+little Jap scurried over the plate.
+
+"And it looks as if the wildcat might win," grunted the Giant manager, not
+at all pleased at the possibility.
+
+"Not a bit of it," denied Robbie sturdily. "A good big man is better than
+a good little man any time."
+
+And his faith was justified when, in the seventh inning, the Giants, stung
+by the taunts of their manager, really woke up and got into action. A
+perfect storm of hits broke from their bats and had the Japanese players
+running after the ball until their tongues hung out.
+
+Five runs came in and it was "all over but the shouting." There was not
+much shouting, however, for the home crowd had seen its dream of victory
+shattered.
+
+But though the Giants won handily in the end by a score of six to two, it
+had been a red-hot game, and had taken some of the conceit out of the
+major leaguers. It was a tip, too, to the All-Americans, who, when they
+played the Waseda team a little later, went in with determination to win
+the game from the start and trimmed their opponents handsomely.
+
+"Those Japs are the goods all right," conceded McRae, when at last they
+were ready to embark for Hongkong.
+
+"You're right they are," agreed Robbie.
+
+"We call ourselves the world's champions," grinned Jim. "But, after all,
+we're only champions of the United States. The time may come when there
+will be a real World's Series and then the pennant will mean something
+more than it does now."
+
+"It would be some big jump between the games," said Joe.
+
+"Lots of queer things happen," said Larry sagely. "The time yet may come
+when the umpire will take off his hat, bow to the crowd and say--
+
+"'Ladies and gentlemen: the batteries for to-day's game are Matsuda and
+Nagawiki for the All-Japans, Matson and Mylert for the All-Americans.'"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+RUNNING AMUCK
+
+
+If Japan had been a revelation to the tourists, China was a still greater
+one. For Japan, however much she clung to the dreamy life of former times,
+had at last awakened and was fast adapting herself to modern, civilized
+conditions.
+
+If Japan was still half dreaming, China was sound asleep. This, of course,
+was not true of the foreign quarter, where the great English government
+buildings and commercial houses might have been those of Paris or London.
+
+But just behind this lay the real China, looking probably the same as
+three hundred thousand years ago. The little streets, so narrow in places
+that the houses almost touched and a carriage could not pass! That strange
+medley of sounds and smells and noises! Here a tinker mending his pans on
+the sidewalk! There a dentist, pulling a tooth in the open street,
+jugglers performing their tricks, snake charmers exhibiting their slimy
+pets.
+
+There was a bewildering jumble of trades, occupations and amusements, so
+utterly different from what the tourists had ever before seen that it held
+their curiosity unabated and their interest stimulated to its highest
+pitch during the period of their stay.
+
+"Everything is so topsy turvy!" exclaimed Mabel, as she threaded the
+noisome streets, clinging close to Joe's arm. "I feel like Alice in
+Wonderland."
+
+"It's not surprising that things should be upside down when we're in the
+Antipodes," laughed Joe.
+
+"If we saw men walking on their heads it would seem natural out here,"
+said Jim. "All that a Chinaman wants to know is what other people do, then
+he does something different."
+
+"Sure thing," said Joe. "See those fellows across the street. They're
+evidently old friends and each one is shaking hands with himself."
+
+"You can't dope out anything here," said Jim. "When an American's puzzled
+he scratches his head--the Chinaman scratches his foot. We wear black for
+mourning, they wear white. We pay the doctor when we're sick----"
+
+"If the doctor's lucky," interrupted Joe.
+
+"They pay him only while they're well. They figure that it's to his
+interest then to keep them well. We think what few brains we have are in
+our head. The Chinaman thinks they're in the stomach. Whenever he gets off
+what he thinks is a good thing he pats his stomach in approval. We put a
+guest of honor on our right, the Chinaman puts him on his left."
+
+"Anything else?" asked Clara laughingly.
+
+"Lots of things," replied Joe. "And we'll probably find them out before we
+go away."
+
+As they passed a corner they saw a man standing there, rigged out in a
+queer fashion. About him was what seemed to be a tree box, from which only
+his head protruded.
+
+"Why is he going around that way?" asked Mabel, curiously.
+
+"You wouldn't care to know that," said Joe, hurrying her along, but Mabel
+was not to be disposed of in so cavalier a fashion.
+
+"But I do want to know," she persisted.
+
+"Might as well tell her," said Jim, "and let her suffer."
+
+"Well," said Joe, reluctantly, "that fellow's being executed."
+
+"What do you mean?" exclaimed Mabel, in horror.
+
+"Just that," replied Joe. "That thing that looked like a tree box is what
+they call a cangue. They put him in there so that he's standing on thin
+slabs of wood that just enable him to keep his head above that narrow
+opening around his neck. Every little while they take one of the slabs of
+wood from underneath him; then he has to stand on tiptoe. By and by his
+feet can't touch the slabs at all, and then he chokes to death."
+
+The girls shuddered and Mabel regretted her ill-timed curiosity.
+
+"What a hideous thing!" exclaimed Clara.
+
+"And what cruel people!" added Mabel.
+
+"One of the most cruel on God's earth," replied Jim. "You see in all this
+crowd there is nobody looking at that fellow with pity. They don't seem to
+have the slightest tincture of it."
+
+"Let's go back to our hotel," pleaded Mabel. "I've seen all I want to for
+to-day."
+
+The games at Hong Kong were interesting and largely attended. There was
+one rattling contest between the major leaguers that after an
+eleventh-inning fight was won by the Giants.
+
+A few days later a second game was played in which a picked team from the
+visitors opposed a nine of husky "Jackies" selected from the United States
+battleships that lay in the harbor.
+
+To make the game more even, the Giants loaned them a catcher and second
+baseman, and a contest ensued that was full of fun and excitement.
+
+Of course, the Jackies were full of naval slang, and sometimes their talk
+was utterly unintelligible to the landsmen. At the end of the third
+inning the Giants had three runs to their credit, while the boys from the
+navy had nothing.
+
+"Say there, Longneck, we've got to get some runs," howled one Jackie to
+his mate. "Give 'em a shot from a twelve-inch gun!"
+
+"Aye! aye! Give it 'em."
+
+In the next inning the Jackies took a brace, and, as a consequence, got
+two runs. Immediately they and their friends began to cheer wildly.
+
+"Down with the pirates!"
+
+"Let's feed 'em to the sharks!"
+
+"A double portion of plum duff for every man on our side who makes a run!"
+cried one enthusiastic sailor boy.
+
+Several of the Jackies were quite good when it came to batting the ball,
+but hardly any of them could do any efficient running, for the reason that
+they got but scant practice while on shipboard. The way that some of them
+wabbled around the bases was truly amusing, and set the crowd to laughing
+loudly.
+
+"Our men don't like this running," declared one sailor, who sat watching
+the contest. "If, instead of running around those bases, you fellows had
+to climb a mast, you'd see who would come out ahead."
+
+The Jackies managed to get two more runs, due almost entirely to the lax
+playing of the Giants. This, however, was as far as they were able to go,
+and, when the game came to an end, the score stood 12 to 5 in favor of the
+Giants.
+
+A visit to Shanghai followed, where only one game was played, and this by
+a rally in the last inning went to the All-Americans, thus keeping the
+total score of won and lost even between the rival teams.
+
+They spent a few more days in sightseeing, and then set sail for the
+Philippines, glad at the prospect of soon being once more under the flag
+of their own country.
+
+"Look at those queer little boats!" exclaimed Mabel, as they stood at the
+rail while the ship was weighing anchor and looked at the native sampans
+with their bright colors and lateen sails as they darted to and fro like
+so many gaudy butterflies.
+
+"What are those things they have on each side of the bow?" asked Clara.
+"They look like eyes."
+
+"That's what they are," replied Jim, seriously.
+
+Clara looked at him to see if he were joking.
+
+"Honest to goodness, cross my heart, hope to die," returned Jim.
+
+"But why do they put eyes there?" asked Clara, mystified.
+
+"So that the boat can see where it's going," replied Jim.
+
+"Well," said Mabel, with a gasp, "whatever else I take away from this
+country, I'll have a choice collection of nightmares."
+
+The steamer made splendid weather of the trip to the Philippines, and in a
+few days they were steaming into Manila bay. Their hearts swelled with
+pride as they recalled the splendid achievement of Admiral Dewey, when,
+with his battle fleet, scorning mines and torpedoes, like Farragut at
+Mobile, he had signaled for "full speed ahead."
+
+"That fellow was the real stuff," remarked Jim.
+
+"As good as they make them," agreed Joe. "And foxy, too. Remember how he
+kept that cable cut because he didn't want the folks at Washington to
+queer his game. He had his work cut out and he wasn't going to be
+interfered with."
+
+"Something like Nelson, when his chief ran up the signal to withdraw,"
+suggested Denton. "He looked at it with that blind eye of his and said he
+couldn't see it."
+
+"Dewey was a good deal like Nelson," said Joe. "Do you remember how he
+trod on the corns of that German admiral who tried to butt in?"
+
+"Do I?" said Jim. "You bet I do."
+
+The party met with a warm welcome when they went ashore at Manila.
+American officers and men from the garrison thronged the dock to meet the
+veterans of the diamond, whose coming had been widely heralded.
+
+Many of them knew the players personally and all knew them by reputation.
+
+The baseball teams went to their hotel and after they were comfortably
+settled in their new quarters, the two chums accompanied by the girls went
+out for a stroll. But they had not gone far before they were startled by
+excited shouts a little way ahead of them and saw groups of people
+scattering right and left in wild panic and confusion.
+
+Down the street came a savage figure, running with the speed of a hare,
+and holding in either hand a knife with which he slashed savagely right
+and left at all that stood in his way.
+
+His eyes were flaming with demoniacal fury, foam stood out upon his lips,
+and from those lips issued a wailing cry that ended in a shriek:
+
+"Amuck! Amuck!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+TAKING A CHANCE
+
+
+There was a scream from the frightened girls and a gasp from the young men
+as they saw this messenger of death bearing down upon them.
+
+They knew at a glance what had happened. A Malay, yielding to the
+insidious mental malady that seems peculiar to his race, had suddenly gone
+mad and started out to kill. That he himself would inevitably be killed
+did not deter him for a moment. He wanted to die, but he wanted at the
+same time to take as many with him as possible.
+
+He had made his offering to the infernal gods, had blackened his teeth and
+anointed his head with cocoa oil, and had started out to slay.
+
+With his eyes blazing, his head rolling from side to side like a mad dog,
+and with that blood-chilling cry coming from his foam-flecked lips, he was
+like a figure from a nightmare.
+
+For a moment the Americans stood rooted to the spot. That instant past,
+Baseball Joe, as usual, took the lead.
+
+"Look after the girls, Jim!" he cried, and started full tilt toward the
+awful figure that came plunging down the street.
+
+Mabel and Clara screamed to him to stop, but he only quickened his pace,
+running like a deer, as though bent on suicide. The Malay saw him coming,
+and for a second hesitated. He had seen everyone else scurry from him in
+fear. What did this man mean by coming to meet him?
+
+It was just this instant of indecision upon which Joe had counted, and
+like a flash he seized it.
+
+When within twenty feet of the Malay, Joe launched himself into the air,
+and came down flat on the hard dirt road, as he had done many a time
+before when sliding to base.
+
+The Malay, confused by the unlooked-for action, slashed down at him. Had
+Joe gone straight toward him, the knife would have been buried in him. But
+here again his quickness and the tactics of the ballfield came into play.
+
+Instead of going straight toward his antagonist, his slide had been a
+"fall away."
+
+Many a time when sliding to second he had thrown himself this way out of
+the reach of the ball, while his extended hand just clutched the bag.
+
+So now, his sinewy arm caught the Malay by the leg, while his body swung
+round to the right. Down went the Malay with a crash, his blood-stained
+knives clattering on the ground and the next instant Joe was on his back.
+
+His hands closed upon the man's throat with an iron grip.
+
+But there was no more fight left in the would-be murderer. The fall had
+jarred and partially stunned him. In an instant Jim had joined Joe, other
+men came rushing up; and the danger was over.
+
+The crazed man was secured with ropes and carried away, while Joe,
+perspiring, panting and covered with dust, received the enthusiastic
+congratulations of the rapidly gathering crowd.
+
+"Pluckiest thing I ever saw in my life!" exclaimed the colonel of the army
+command, who had witnessed the exploit.
+
+"That fall-away slide of yours was great, Joe!" cried Larry Barrett, who
+had come up. "I never saw a niftier one on the ballfield."
+
+"You made the bag all right!" grinned Denton.
+
+"He never touched you!" chuckled Burkett.
+
+"If he had it would have been some touch," declared McRae, as he picked up
+one murderous-looking knife and passed it round for inspection.
+
+It was a wicked weapon, nearly a foot in length, with a handle so
+contrived as to get all the weight behind the stroke and a wavy blade
+capable of inflicting a fearful wound.
+
+"Has a bowie knife skinned a mile!" ejaculated Curry, expressing the
+general sentiment.
+
+Joe hated to pose as a hero but it was some time before the crowd would
+let him get away and rejoin the girls who were waiting for him.
+
+All the plaudits of the throng were tame compared with what he read in the
+eyes of Mabel and his sister.
+
+The baseball teams stayed nearly a week in Manila, making short excursions
+in the suburbs as far as it could be done with safety. Two games were
+played, one between the Giants and All-Americans, which resulted in favor
+of the latter, and another between the Giants and a picked nine from the
+army post.
+
+Many of Uncle Sam's army boys had been fine amateur players and a few had
+come from professional teams, so that they were able to put up a gallant
+fight, although they were, of course, no match for the champions of the
+world.
+
+"But they certainly put up a fine game," was Joe's comment. "They had two
+pitchers who had some good stuff in 'em."
+
+"That's just what I was thinking," returned Jim.
+
+"One of those pitchers used to play ball on a professional team from Los
+Angeles," said McRae, who was standing near. "I understand he had quite a
+record."
+
+"I wonder what made him give up pitching and join the army," remarked Jim
+curiously.
+
+"Oh, I suppose it was the love of adventure," answered the manager.
+
+"That might be it," said Joe. "Some fellows get tired of doing the same
+thing, and when they have a chance to leave home and see strange places,
+they grab it."
+
+While warming up prior to this last game, Joe's attention was attracted by
+a muscular Chinaman, who was standing in the crowd that fringed the
+diamond, interestedly watching the players at practice. He recognized him
+as a famous wrestler who had taken part in a bout at a performance the
+night before and who had thrown his opponents with ease.
+
+"Some muscles on that fellow," Joe remarked to Jim.
+
+"Biggest Chink I ever saw," replied Jim, "and not a bit of it is fat
+either. He'd make a dandy highbinder. You saw what he did to the Terrible
+Turk in that match last night. He just played with him. And the Turk was
+no slouch either."
+
+"Look at those arms," joined in Larry, gazing with admiration at the
+swelling biceps of the wrestler. "What a slugger he'd make if he knew how
+to play ball. He'd break all the fences in the league."
+
+"He sure would kill the ball if he ever caught it on the end of his bat,"
+declared Red Curry.
+
+"I've half a mind to give him a chance," laughed Joe.
+
+"Go ahead," grinned Larry. "I'd like to see him break his back reaching
+for one of your curves."
+
+"He might land on it at that," replied Joe. "A wrestler has to have an eye
+like a hawk."
+
+He beckoned to the wrestler, who came toward him at once with a smile on
+his keen but good-natured face.
+
+"Want to hit the ball?" asked Joe, piecing out his question by going
+through the motions of swinging a bat that he picked up.
+
+The wrestler "caught on" at once, and the smile on his face broadened into
+a grin as he nodded his head understandingly.
+
+"Me tly," he said in the "pidgin English" he had picked up in his travels,
+and reached out his hand for the bat.
+
+"Have a heart, Joe," laughed Larry. "Don't show the poor gink up before
+the crowd. At any rate let me show him how it's done."
+
+"All right," responded Joe. "You lead off and he can follow."
+
+Larry took up his position at the plate and motioned to the wrestler to
+watch him. The latter nodded and followed every motion.
+
+Joe put over a swift high one that Larry swung at and missed. He "bit"
+again at an outcurve with no better result.
+
+"Look out, Larry," chaffed Jim, "or it's you that will be shown up instead
+of the Chink."
+
+A little nettled, Larry caught the next one full and square and it sailed
+far out into right field.
+
+"There," he said complacently, as he handed the bat to the wrestler,
+"that's the way it's done."
+
+The latter went awkwardly to the plate and a laugh ran through the crowd
+at the unusual sight.
+
+Joe lobbed one over and the Chinaman swung listlessly a foot below the
+ball.
+
+"Easy money," laughed Denton.
+
+"Where's that good eye you said this fellow had?" sang out Willis.
+
+The second ball floated up to the plate as big as a balloon, and again the
+wrestler whiffed, coming nowhere near the sphere.
+
+But as Joe wound up for the third ball, the listlessness vanished from the
+Chinaman. A glint came into his eyes and every muscle was tense.
+
+The ball sped toward the plate. The wrestler caught it fair "on the seam"
+with all his powerful body behind the blow.
+
+The ball soared high and far over center field, looking as though it were
+never going to stop. In a regular game it would have been the easiest of
+home runs.
+
+The wrestler sauntered away from the plate with the same bland smile on
+his yellow face while the crowd cheered him. He had turned the tables, and
+the laugh was on Joe and his fellow players.
+
+"But why," asked Jim, after the game had resulted in a victory for the
+visitors by a one-sided score, and he was walking back with Joe to the
+hotel, "did he make such a miserable flunk at the first two balls? Was he
+kidding us?"
+
+"Not at all," grinned Joe. "It's because the Chinamen are the greatest
+imitators on earth. He saw that Larry missed the first two and so he did
+the same. He thought it was part of the game!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+AN EMBARRASSED RESCUER
+
+
+On the long trip to Australia the tourists encountered the most severe
+storm of the journey. In fact, it was almost equal to the dreaded typhoon,
+and there were times when, despite the staunchness of the vessel, the
+faces of the captain and the officers were lined with anxiety.
+
+After two days and nights, however, of peril, the storm blew itself out
+and the rest of the journey was made over serene seas and under cloudless
+skies.
+
+One night after the girls had retired, Joe and Jim, together with McRae
+and Braxton, were sitting in the smoking room. The conversation had been
+of the kind that always prevails when baseball "fans" get together.
+
+After a while Jim accompanied McRae to the latter's cabin to discuss some
+details of Jim's contract for the coming season, leaving Joe and Braxton
+as the sole occupants of the room.
+
+Joe had never been able to overcome the instinctive antipathy that he had
+felt toward Braxton from the first, but he had kept this under restraint,
+and Braxton himself, though he might have suspected this feeling, was
+always suave and urbane.
+
+There was no denying that he was good company and always interesting. In
+an apparently accidental way, Braxton, who had been scribbling aimlessly
+upon some pieces of paper that lay on the table, led the talk toward the
+subject of handwriting.
+
+"It's a gift to write a good hand," he remarked. "It's got to be born in
+you. Some men can do it naturally, others can't. I'm one of the fellows
+that can't. I'll bet Horace Greeley himself never wrote a worse hand than
+I do."
+
+"I've heard that he was a weird writer," smiled Joe.
+
+"The worst ever," rejoined Braxton. "I've heard that he wrote to his
+foreman once, ordering him to discharge a printer who had set up a bad
+copy. The printer hated to lose his job and an idea struck him. He got
+hold of the letter discharging him and took it to Greeley, who didn't know
+him by sight, and told him it was a letter of recommendation from his last
+employer. Greeley tried to read it, but couldn't, so he said he guessed it
+was all right and told him he was engaged."
+
+Joe laughed, and Braxton tossed over to him a sheet of paper on which he
+had written his name.
+
+"Greeley has nothing on me," he said. "If you didn't know my name was
+Braxton, I'll bet you wouldn't recognize these hen tracks."
+
+"You're right," said Joe. "I'm no dabster myself at writing and I can
+sympathize with you."
+
+"It couldn't be as bad as this," challenged Braxton, slipping a pen over
+to Joe, together with a fresh piece of paper.
+
+"No," said Joe, as he took up the pen, "I guess at least you could make
+mine out."
+
+He scribbled his name and Braxton picked up the paper with a laugh.
+
+"I win," he said. "You're bad, but I'm worse. You see I am proud even of
+my defects."
+
+He dropped the subject then and talked of other things until Joe, stifling
+a yawn, excused himself and went to his cabin.
+
+The reception of the party in Australia went far beyond their
+expectations. That remote continent has always been noted for its sporting
+spirit and although of course the English blood made cricket their
+favorite game, the crowds were quick to detect and appreciate the merits
+of the great American pastime.
+
+As a rule they would not concede that the batting was any better than that
+shown by their own cricketers, but there was no question as to the
+superiority of the fielding.
+
+The lightning throws, the double plays, the marvelous catches in the
+outfield and the speed shown on the bases were freely admitted to be far
+and away beyond that shown by their elevens. And the crowds grew larger
+and larger as the visiting teams made their triumphal progress through the
+great cities of Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne.
+
+Inspired by their reception and put upon their mettle by the great
+outpouring of spectators, the teams themselves played like demons. One
+might almost have thought that they were fighting for the pennant.
+
+They were so evenly matched that first one and then the other was on top,
+and by the time they reached Melbourne the Giants were only one game in
+the lead of the total that had been played since the trip began.
+
+Melbourne itself with its romantic history and magic growth proved very
+attractive. But Joe was destined to remember it for very different
+reasons.
+
+While walking with Jim one day outside the town near the Yarra Yarra
+river, they were startled by hearing a cry for help, and racing toward the
+sound they saw a young girl struggling in the water.
+
+Trained by their vocation to act quickly, they threw off their coats,
+plunging into the water almost at the same instant. They swam fiercely,
+lashed on by that frantic wail, sounding fainter each time it was
+repeated.
+
+The race for a life was almost neck and neck until Joe, showing his
+tremendous reserve strength, shot ahead at the very end, grasping the
+struggling figure as it was sinking for the last time.
+
+Jim helped, and together they brought the rescued girl--the long dank
+black hair testified to her sex--back to shore, where a group of the
+native blacks, attracted by the cries, had gathered to welcome them.
+
+Dripping and exhausted, the two heroes of the occasion staggered up the
+bank while willing hands relieved them of their burden.
+
+"Let's beat it," whispered Jim, as the crowd of natives closed around the
+unconscious object of their heroism, "while the going's good. If that girl
+ever finds out that you rescued her she'll want to attach herself to you
+for life. That seems to be the fool custom of these parts."
+
+"She'd find it pretty hard work," said Joe, with a wry smile. "Besides, we
+don't even know that the girl's alive. It would be pretty heartless to
+clear out without learning."
+
+"Oh, all right," said Jim, uneasily. "But remember, if there are any
+consequences you've got to take 'em."
+
+At that moment the crowd opened and the boys saw a remarkably good-looking
+black girl standing dizzily and supported by another native who might have
+been her father.
+
+She looked dazedly from one to the other of the young men and Jim promptly
+"stepped out from under."
+
+"It's him," said Jim, neglecting grammar in his eagerness to shift the
+burden of credit to Joe's broad shoulders. "He did it all."
+
+The girl walked unsteadily up to Joe and said, submissively: "My life is
+yours! Me your slave!"
+
+Joe started, stared, and gulped, then turned to Jim to make sure he was
+awake, and not a victim of some bad dream. But Jim had suddenly acquired a
+peculiar form of hysteria, and with a choking sound turned his back upon
+his friend.
+
+"N-no," stuttered Joe, gently pushing the girl away, "no want."
+
+Another explosion from Jim did not serve to improve Joe's state of mind.
+His face was fiery red, and his voice husky.
+
+"Me slave!" persisted the girl stubbornly.
+
+Then Joe turned and fled, manfully fighting a desire to shout with
+laughter one moment, and groan with dismay the next.
+
+Two very much subdued baseball players crept in at the side door of the
+hotel, and scurried along the corridor toward their rooms, hoping ardently
+to meet no one on the way. It was with a sigh of relief that they slipped
+inside, locked the door, and repaired the ravages that the waters of the
+Yarra Yarra had made upon their clothing.
+
+A few moments later, with self respect considerably improved, they
+sauntered down to the writing room, where they found the two girls looking
+more distractingly pretty than ever, engaged in folding the last of their
+letters.
+
+"Oh, back so soon?" queried Mabel, looking up.
+
+"Goodness, how the time has flown," said Clara. "It seems as though you
+had just gone. Have you another stamp, Mabel dear? I have used mine all
+up."
+
+"Say, you're complimentary," remarked Jim, dryly. "It's great to be missed
+like that."
+
+"Well, we'll miss something more if we don't get a move on," said Joe,
+practically. "How about some lunch, girls?"
+
+After luncheon the quartette sauntered out for a walk up Elizabeth street
+to the post-office. The boys were just congratulating themselves that
+their uncomfortable, though piquant, experience of the morning was a thing
+definitely of the past, when it happened!
+
+Joe felt a touch on his arm, and, looking down, saw, to his horror, the
+black girl.
+
+"Me yours!" she cried, eagerly.
+
+Joe muttered savagely beneath his breath, and held the girl off at arm's
+length, his misery increasing as, with a quick side glance, he saw the
+growing indignation in Mabel's eyes.
+
+"Me yours!" repeated the girl, with the maddening monotony of a
+phonograph.
+
+But just then, when Joe was at his wit's end, help came from an unexpected
+quarter. A big black man, glowering threateningly, elbowed his way through
+the curious group that had gathered about them, grasped the girl by the
+arm, and dragged her away. There was no mistaking the jealousy that
+prompted the action. Joe drew a deep sigh of deliverance, while Jim was
+crimson with suppressed laughter.
+
+Mabel was the only one, except Joe himself, who could not see the joke.
+There were two pink spots in her cheeks, her eyes were very bright, her
+head was held high, and poor Joe had some explaining to do before the
+party left Australia, which they did soon after, and started on their
+journey to Ceylon.
+
+They reached Colombo in Ceylon, the island of spices, the richest gem in
+the Indian ocean, and disembarked late one afternoon. At the hotel in the
+English quarter, while the women of the party went to their rooms to
+refresh themselves and dress for dinner, the men, after a hasty toilet,
+went into the lobby of the hotel where, as always, their first thought was
+to get hold of the papers from home.
+
+Joe's eyes fell on a New York paper and he snatched it up eagerly and
+turned to the sporting page for the latest news of the diamond. He gave a
+startled exclamation as he saw the bold headline that stretched across the
+top of the page:
+
+"_Joe Matson, the Pitching King, Signs with the All-Star League!_"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+THE BLOW FALLS
+
+
+Baseball Joe's first sensation was one of unutterable surprise, followed a
+moment later by fierce indignation.
+
+"What's the matter, Joe?" asked Jim, coming up behind him.
+
+"Matter enough!" growled Joe, thrusting the offending paper under his
+comrade's nose. "Look at this!"
+
+Jim looked and gave a long whistle of surprise.
+
+"What does it mean?" he ejaculated, as his eyes went from the headlines to
+the story, which covered the greater part of the page.
+
+"Mean?" snorted Joe. "It means a stab in the back. It means that those
+skunks are trying to do by lying what they couldn't do by bribery. It
+means that while we're thousands of miles away they are trying to gull the
+public and get other ball players to jump their contracts by a barefaced
+lie like this. I wish I had hold of the fellow who's doing this--I'd make
+him sweat for it!"
+
+"Of course it's a lie," assented Jim, "and a lie out of whole cloth. But
+what beats me is why they should do it? It's bound to be a boomerang."
+
+They sat down side by side and read the paper together, and the more they
+read the more bewildered they became.
+
+For the story was circumstantial. It went into minute details. It embraced
+interviews with the backers of the new league, who confirmed it without
+hesitation. One of the paragraphs read as follows:
+
+  "Nothing in years has created such a sensation in the world of sport
+  as the news just made public that Matson, the star pitcher of the
+  Giants, had jumped the fold and landed in the All-Star League. It was
+  known that overtures were made to this great pitcher at the end of
+  his last season, when his magnificent work created a record in the
+  National League that will probably never be surpassed. It was
+  understood, however, that these offers, though coupled with a
+  tremendous bonus and salary, had been definitely rejected. For that
+  reason the news that he has reconsidered and jumped to the All-Stars
+  comes like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. The major leaguers are in
+  consternation, while the new league naturally is jubilant at this
+  acquisition to their ranks. Matson is a popular idol among his fellow
+  players and it is believed that many stars who have been wavering in
+  their allegiance to the old leagues will follow his example."
+
+The rest of the page was devoted to a recital of Joe's achievements in
+pitching the Giants to the Championship of the National League and, later,
+to the Championship of the World.
+
+The two friends stared at each other in amazement and rage, and just then
+McRae and Robbie, together with a group of other players, came hurrying
+up, holding other papers which, though in different words, told
+substantially the same story.
+
+There was a babel of excited questions and exclamations, and Joe felt a
+sharp pang go through him, as for the first time in his experience with
+the manager of the Giants, he saw in McRae's eyes a shadow of distrust.
+
+"Isn't this the limit?" asked McRae, as he crushed the paper in his hand,
+threw it to the floor and trampled on it in disgust and anger.
+
+"It sure is," replied Joe. "I've had lies told about me before but never
+one that touched me on the raw like this."
+
+"It's a burning outrage," cried Denton indignantly.
+
+"What they expect to make out of it is beyond me," declared Robbie. "They
+ought to know that they can't get away with it."
+
+"But in the meantime it will have done its work," Willis pointed out.
+"What if it is contradicted later on? By that time they'll have a dozen
+stars signed and they should worry. As long as it's believed that Joe has
+jumped, it's just as good for them as though he had."
+
+"That's the worst of it," agreed Joe bitterly. "Of course I'll send a
+cable contradicting it, but the lie has got a head start and a lot of
+damage has been done. What do you suppose my friends in America are
+thinking about me just now?"
+
+"Don't worry about that, Joe," comforted Jim. "Your real friends won't
+believe it, and for the rest it doesn't matter. Nobody that really knows
+you believes you would jump your contract."
+
+"Whoever got that story up was foxy, though," commented Mylert, the burly
+catcher of the Giants. "There are no 'ifs or ands' about it like most
+phony stories where the fellow's trying to hedge in case someone comes
+back at him. It sounds like straight goods. It's the most truthful looking
+lie I ever saw."
+
+"But it's a lie just the same!" cried Joe desperately. "All you fellows
+know I wouldn't throw the Giants down, don't you?" he asked, as his eyes
+swept the circle of fellow players who were gathered around him.
+
+There was a murmur of assent, but it was not as hearty as Joe could have
+wished. If there was not distrust, there was at least bewilderment, for
+the story bore all the earmarks of truth.
+
+"You know it, don't you, Mac?" repeated Joe, this time addressing directly
+the Giant leader.
+
+For a fraction of a second McRae hesitated. Then he threw doubt to the
+winds and gripped Joe's hand with a heartiness that warmed the latter's
+heart.
+
+"Of course, I know it, Joe!" he exclaimed emphatically. "I don't deny that
+for a moment the paper had me going. But in my heart I know it's a lie. So
+just send your cable and then let's forget it. Those fellows are just
+making a rope to hang themselves with. We'll make it warm for them when we
+get back to the States."
+
+"You ought to sue the papers for libel," growled Robbie.
+
+"There won't be any suing," said Joe heatedly. "Just let me have five
+minutes alone with the fellow that started this and that's all I'll ask."
+
+He hurried down with Jim to the cable office and a few minutes later this
+message buzzed its way across the seas:
+
+  "Report that I have signed with the All-Star League absolutely false.
+  Will give a thousand dollars to charity if anyone can produce
+  contract.
+
+                                                    "JOSEPH MATSON."
+
+"That ought to hold them for a while," commented Jim.
+
+"It ought," said Joe gloomily. "But you know the old saying that 'a lie
+will go round the world while truth is getting its boots on.'"
+
+Still he felt better, and by the time he got back to the hotel and met the
+girls, he had so far regained his usual poise that he could tell them all
+about it with some measure of self-control.
+
+"Why, Joe! how could they dare do such a thing as that?" exclaimed Mabel,
+her eyes flashing fire.
+
+"It's about the meanest thing I ever heard of!" cried his sister.
+
+"They ought to be sued for libel, don't you know," broke in Reggie. "If
+you sued them, Joe, you might get quite heavy damages."
+
+"It's a pity you can't put somebody in jail for it," was Mabel's further
+comment.
+
+"Yes, that's what ought to happen!" cried Clara.
+
+Both of the girls were wild with indignation. Although Mabel at one time,
+influenced by the arguments of Braxton that Joe was not really bound by a
+one-sided contract, had spoken to him about it in a guarded way, Joe had
+shown her so clearly his moral obligation that he had convinced her
+absolutely. And now she was angry clear through at the blow in the dark
+that had been launched against him.
+
+"Who could have done such a contemptible thing?" she cried.
+
+"It must have been that horrid Westland!" exclaimed Clara.
+
+"Maybe," agreed her brother. "I rather hope it was."
+
+"Why?" asked Jim curiously.
+
+"Because," gritted Joe through his teeth, "he's a big fellow and I won't
+be ashamed to hit him."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+THE COBRA IN THE ROOM
+
+
+Ceylon was a land of wonders to the tourists. Here they were in the very
+heart of the Orient. Rare flowers and strange plants grew in glorious
+profusion, the air was odorous with a thousand scents, and it was hard for
+them to realize that at that very moment America might be suffering from
+zero weather or swept by blizzards. Here life moved along serenely and
+dreamily, lulled by the sound of birds and drone of locusts, wrapped in
+the warm folds of eternal summer.
+
+"It's an earthly Eden!" murmured Clara, as she and Jim walked along one of
+the main streets of Colombo, followed at a little distance by Joe and
+Mabel.
+
+"Yes," replied Jim with a laugh, "and not even the snake is missing."
+
+He pointed to a group of natives and Europeans on the other side of the
+street who were gathered about a snake charmer.
+
+"Ugh, the horrid things!" exclaimed Clara with a shudder.
+
+"Let's go over and take a look," suggested Jim.
+
+Clara demurred at first and so did Mabel. They were used to seeing snakes
+behind a network of wire and glass, and they did not relish the idea of
+standing within a few feet of the crawling serpents in the open street.
+But curiosity, added to the urgings of the young men, finally conquered,
+and they joined the throng on the other side.
+
+The performer, an old man with bronzed face, was squatting on his haunches
+playing a weird tune on a reedy instrument resembling a flute. Before him
+was upreared a monstrous specimen of the deadly cobra species, swaying
+gently to and fro and keeping time to the music. Its malignant eyes
+looking out from the broad head whose markings resembled a pair of
+spectacles had lost something of their fiery sparkle, and a slight haze
+spread over them, as though the creature were under a spell.
+
+The music continued and two other snakes crawled out as if in response to
+a call and joined their companion in his swaying, rhythmic dance. Then the
+tune changed, the snakes uncoiled, and the performer took them up without
+the slightest fear and put them back in the basket.
+
+"Suppose they should bite him!" exclaimed Mabel.
+
+"He's had their fangs drawn already," returned Joe. "The old rascal's
+taking no chances."
+
+"They say that a man lasts about half an hour after one of those fellows
+nips him," observed Jim. "Somebody was telling me that over twenty
+thousand natives are bitten by them every year."
+
+A little further down the street, another fakir was giving an exhibition.
+He placed a small native boy in a basket that was a tight fit and put down
+the basket cover. Then after making mysterious signs and muttering
+invocations, the fakir drew a long sword and plunged it through the basket
+from end to end. A scream of pain came from within, and when the sword was
+withdrawn it was red. Again and again this was repeated until the screams
+died away. Then the fakir lifted up the cover and the boy sprang out safe
+and sound, and, showing his white teeth in a smile, went around collecting
+coins from the bystanders.
+
+They wandered further among the bazaars, making purchases of curios as
+presents for the folks at home and adding to their personal stock of
+mementos. Jim secured among other things a cane made of a rare Indian
+wood, which while light was exceedingly strong and so pliable that it
+could be bent almost double like a Damascus blade.
+
+But through all the chaff and fun of the day Joe was unhappy and restless.
+What he had read in the paper from home about himself poisoned everything
+for him.
+
+He had always tried to be perfectly straight and honorable in all his
+business relations. His word had ever been as good as his bond. Now, at
+one stroke, he saw his reputation damaged perhaps beyond mending. All over
+the United States he had been pictured as a contract-breaker. He could see
+the incredulity of his friends turning gradually to contempt. He fancied
+he could hear them saying:
+
+"So Joe has fallen for that game, has he? Well, they say that every man
+has his price. No doubt Joe's price was high, but they found out what it
+was and bought him."
+
+Of course he had denied it, but he knew how people smiled when they read
+denials. And months must pass before he could get back to America and try
+to hunt out the author or authors of the story.
+
+He tried to hide his mood under a cover of light talk and banter, but the
+others felt it and sympathized with him, though all refrained from
+mentioning what each of them was thinking.
+
+All through the day his gloom persisted, and when night came and he had
+retired to the room that he and Jim occupied together he felt that it
+would be impossible for him to sleep.
+
+"There's no use talking," said Jim with a yawn, as he set his cane so that
+it rested against the footboard and threw off his coat preparing to
+undress, "sight-seeing's the most tiring work there is. I feel more done
+up to-night than if I had been pitching in a hard game."
+
+"I'm tired too," agreed Joe, "but I don't feel the least bit like sleep."
+
+Jim was asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow. But Joe
+tossed about restlessly for what seemed to him to be hours. The night was
+very warm and all the windows were open to get what breath of air might be
+stirring.
+
+A broad veranda ran all around the building, not more than two feet below
+the windows, and from the ground to the veranda rose a luxuriant tangle of
+vines and flowers.
+
+The moon was at the full and its light flooded a part of the room, leaving
+the rest in deep shadow.
+
+Joe at last dropped off into a doze from which he woke with a start.
+
+He had heard nothing, but he had an uneasy consciousness that something
+was wrong.
+
+He glanced over at Jim who was peacefully sleeping. Then he raised himself
+on his elbow and his glance swept the room.
+
+Nothing seemed amiss in the lighted part, but in a darkened corner the
+shadow seemed to be heavier than usual. It was as though it were piled in
+a mass instead of being evenly distributed.
+
+Then to Joe's consternation _the shadow moved_, reached the edge of
+moonlight, rose higher and higher with a sickening swaying motion. From a
+hideous head two sparks of fire glowed balefully and Joe knew that he was
+in the presence of a giant cobra!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+IN THE SHADOW OF THE PYRAMIDS
+
+
+Joe's blood chilled with horror and his heart seemed for a moment to stop
+beating.
+
+He did not dare to move and scarcely to breathe. He might have been a
+statue, so rigid was his attitude. He knew that the least movement would
+provoke an attack on the part of the deadly reptile.
+
+On the other hand, if he kept perfectly quiet, there was the chance of the
+snake gliding away through the window, which had evidently been its means
+of entering the room.
+
+Whether the serpent saw him or not, Joe could not tell. The head swayed
+for a minute or two, while the glowing eyes seemed to take in every corner
+of the room. Then the coils unwound and with a slithering sound the snake
+began to crawl across the floor.
+
+But instead of seeking the window it was gliding towards the bed!
+
+If he had had a revolver Joe would have had a chance, for at such close
+range he could scarcely have missed. Even a knife to hurl, though only a
+forlorn hope, might have pinned the snake to the floor. But he was utterly
+without a weapon of any kind.
+
+Suddenly he remembered the cane that his chum had leaned against the
+footboard a few hours earlier.
+
+He reached down stealthily and his hand closed upon it.
+
+He did not dare to wake Jim for fear that the latter might leap from the
+bed and perhaps land squarely on the gliding death that was somewhere in
+the room. He had lost sight of it, but he could still hear the dragging
+body and it seemed to be now under the bed. At any instant that awful head
+might rise on either side prepared to strike.
+
+Gripping the cane until his fingers seemed to dig into it, Joe had a
+moment of awful suspense.
+
+The gliding sound had ceased. Then from the side nearest Jim a hideous
+head uprose within a foot of the sleeping man's face.
+
+Like a flash the tough cane hissed through the air with all Joe's muscle
+back of it. It caught the reptile full in the neck and sent it half way
+across the room where it lay writhing.
+
+In an instant Joe had leaped to the floor, raining blows upon the head
+and floundering coils, until at last the reptile straightened out and lay
+still.
+
+"What's the matter?" cried Jim, awakened by the tumult and jumping out of
+bed.
+
+He turned pale as he saw the snake stretched out on the floor and Joe who,
+now that the awful strain was over, was leaning against the wall as limp
+as a rag.
+
+Jim turned on the light and they viewed the monster, standing at a
+respectful distance from the head.
+
+"He seems dead enough, but you can never be sure of a snake," said Joe,
+after in a few hurried words he had told of his experience. "Suppose, Jim,
+you get that Malay's knife out of my trunk and we'll make certain."
+
+Jim brought the kriss, which Joe had kept as a memento of his struggle
+with the maniac, and with one stroke severed the cobra's head from his
+body.
+
+"That knife never did a better bit of work," he commented as he washed it
+off. "Now let's get this thing out of the window and clear up the mess."
+
+They got through the repugnant work as soon as possible and then made a
+careful search of the room.
+
+"That fellow may have had a mate," remarked Joe, "and one experience of
+this kind is enough for a lifetime. I've always felt a little doubtful
+about those stories of people whose hair turned gray in a single night,
+but it's easy enough to believe it now."
+
+"We'll close the window too," said Jim, suiting the action to the word and
+letting the upper sash down only for an inch or two. "That's the way that
+fellow must have crawled in. It's pretty hot in here but I'd rather die of
+heat than snake bites."
+
+They went back to bed but not to sleep, for they were too thoroughly
+wrought up by their narrow escape.
+
+"You must have hit that fellow an awful crack," said Jim. "You sure batted
+.300 in the Ceylon League."
+
+"Broke his neck, I guess," responded Joe. "It's lucky it wasn't a missed
+strike for I wouldn't have had time for another one."
+
+"Don't let's say anything to the girls about it," suggested Jim. "Not
+until we get away from India anyway. They'd be seeing snakes all the rest
+of the time we're here."
+
+It was lucky that neither of them was slated to pitch the next day, for
+they would scarcely have been in condition after their night's experience.
+A game had been arranged between the visiting teams at a date three days
+later. By that time Joe was in his usual superb form and easily carried
+off the victory for his team. This put the Giants "on velvet," for they
+now had a clear lead of two over the All-Americans.
+
+But the satisfaction that this would have usually given Joe was lacking
+now. Victory had ceased to be sweet since the receipt of that newspaper
+from home.
+
+Perhaps it was because of his sensitive condition that he thought he
+detected a subtle change in the conduct of his team mates towards him.
+While perfectly friendly in their relations with him, they did not "let
+themselves go" when in his presence, as formerly. There was no boisterous
+clapping on the back, no jolly sparring or wrestling. There seemed to be a
+little holding in, a feeling of reserve, a something in the back of their
+minds that they did not care for him to see.
+
+This joyous freemasonry of sport had always been especially pleasant to
+Joe and for that reason he felt its absence the more keenly.
+
+But what exasperated him most was that if the old standbys of the club
+were a trifle cool, Iredell, Curry and Burkett went to the other extreme
+and were more cordial than ever before. It was as though they were
+welcoming a newcomer to their ranks. They knew that they were under
+suspicion of planning to jump their contracts in the spring, and the
+apparent evidence that so renowned a player as Joe was planning to do the
+same thing made them hail him as a reinforcement.
+
+Where formerly they had often ceased talking when he approached them and
+made him feel that he was an intruder, they now greeted him warmly,
+although they did not yet feel quite sure enough to broach the subject of
+their own accord.
+
+"All little pals together," hummed Iredell significantly on one occasion
+with a sidelong glance at Joe.
+
+"Just what do you mean by that?" asked Joe sharply.
+
+"Just what I say," replied Iredell innocently. "What is there wrong about
+that? Aren't we Giants pals to each other?"
+
+"Of course we are, as long as we stay Giants," replied Joe. "But that
+wasn't what you meant, Dell, and you know it."
+
+"Now, don't get red-headed, Joe," put in Curry soothingly. "You must have
+got out of bed on the wrong side this morning. Dell didn't mean any
+harm."
+
+"Tell me one thing," said Joe. "Do any of you fellows believe for one
+minute that story in the paper?"
+
+He looked from one to the other, but none of them looked him straight in
+the eye.
+
+"You know that I've denied it," went on Joe, as they kept silent, "and if
+after that you still believe the story it's the same as saying that I
+lie. And no one can call me a liar and get away with it."
+
+He stalked away leaving them dumbfounded.
+
+"Do you think he really has jumped his contract?" asked Burkett.
+
+"I don't know," replied Iredell dubiously.
+
+"He's got me guessing," muttered Curry.
+
+And the trio were still guessing when several weeks later the party
+reached Egyptian soil, prepared to play the most modern of games before
+the most ancient of monuments--baseball in the very shadow of the
+Pyramids!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+THE SIGNED CONTRACT
+
+
+"If old Pharaoh could only see us now!" chortled Jim, as the teams lined
+up for their first game.
+
+"He'd probably throw a fit," grinned Denton.
+
+"Not a bit of it," said Joe. "He'd probably be up in the grandstand,
+eating peanuts and singing out once in a while to 'kill the umpire.'"
+
+"And he'd do it too," laughed Jim. "I'll bet an umpire in those days would
+have had a hard job to get life insurance. It would have been good dope to
+get a tip before the game as to just what team Pharaoh wanted to win."
+
+"I think you men are awfully irreverent," reproved Mabel, who, with Clara,
+was seated in the first row in the stand right behind the players' bench
+and had overheard the conversation.
+
+"Not at all," laughed Jim. "It's a big compliment to Pharaoh to suggest
+that he would have been a baseball fan if he hadn't been born too soon. It
+puts him on a level with the President of the United States."
+
+The teams were playing on the cricket field used by the English residents,
+and not far off the Pyramids reared their stately heads toward the sky. It
+was a strange conjunction of the past and the present, and all were more
+or less impressed by it.
+
+"Well, I must confess that in my wildest dreams of seasons gone by, I
+never supposed that I would be pitching here in Egypt in the shadow of the
+pyramids," remarked Joe.
+
+"It certainly takes a fellow back to ancient days," put in Jim. "Just
+imagine playing before a crowd of those old Egyptians!"
+
+"Well, they had fun in their day just as well as we have," said McRae.
+"Just the same, they didn't know how good baseball is."
+
+"They didn't even know anything about yelling to kill the umpire when a
+wrong decision was given," remarked Joe, with a grin, and at this there
+was a general laugh.
+
+There was a big outpouring of Europeans and visiting Americans, and under
+the inspiration of their interest and applause both teams played
+brilliantly. It was a hammer-and-tongs contest from start to finish, and
+resulted in the first tie of the trip, neither team being able to score,
+although the game went to eleven innings.
+
+"Still two ahead," McRae said to Brennan, as they left the grounds after
+the game.
+
+"We're gunning for you," retorted Brennan good-naturedly, "and we'll get
+you yet. You've had all the breaks so far, but our turn has got to come."
+
+"Tell that to the King of Denmark," laughed McRae. "We've got your number,
+old man."
+
+The party "did" Egypt thoroughly, visiting Cairo, Thebes and Memphis,
+climbing the Pyramids, sailing on the Nile, viewing the temples of Karnak
+and Philae, the statue of Memnon, and countless other places of interest
+in this cradle of the world's civilization. And it was a tired but happy
+crowd that finally assembled at Alexandria to take ship for Naples, their
+first stopping place on the continent of Europe.
+
+Braxton was no longer with the party, having left it at Ceylon, and others
+had dropped away here and there. But in the main the members were the same
+as at the beginning. Their health had been excellent, and only a few
+things had occurred to mar the pleasure of the trip.
+
+The discomfort that Joe had felt had largely worn away with the passing of
+time. Every day was bringing him nearer the time when with the opening of
+the season he would actually appear on the diamond wearing a Giant
+uniform, and thus effectually dispose of the slander that had troubled
+him.
+
+There had just been time enough to receive some of the earliest papers
+from America that had been published after the receipt of his denial. That
+denial had evidently produced a great effect, coupled as it was with the
+offer to give a thousand dollars to charity if the new league could
+produce any contract signed by him. "Money talks," and the paper intimated
+that the All-Star League had the next move and that it would be "in bad"
+with the public if it failed to make its statements good.
+
+"They'll have a hot time doing it," grinned Joe.
+
+"I'm wondering how they'll dodge it," remarked Jim.
+
+"By getting out a new lie to bolster up the old one probably," conjectured
+Joe.
+
+The latest papers from America had come on board just as the steamer left
+Alexandria, and in the hurry of getting aboard and settling down in their
+new quarters it was after supper that night before Joe hurried to the
+smoking room to have a look at them.
+
+"Got a thousand dollars handy, Joe?" inquired Denton, as Joe came near
+him.
+
+"Because, if you have, the All-Star League wants it," added Larry.
+
+"What do you mean?" asked Joe, all the old discomfort and apprehension
+coming back to him.
+
+"Read this," replied Larry, handing him a paper opened at the sporting
+page.
+
+Joe read:
+
+  "All-Star League Calls Matson's Bluff. Produces Signed Contract.
+  Facsimile of Contract Shown Below."
+
+And staring right out at him was the photographic reproduction of a
+regulation baseball contract and at the bottom was written the name:
+"Joseph Matson."
+
+Joe stared at it as though he were in a dream. Here was the old blow at
+his reputation, this time with redoubled force. Here was what claimed to
+be the actual contract. But it was not the body of the contract that held
+his attention. The thing that made him rage, that gave him a sense of
+furious helplessness, that put his brain in a whirl, was this:
+
+_He knew that that was his signature!_
+
+No matter how it came there, it was his. A man's name can seldom be so
+skilfully forged that it can deceive the man himself. It may get by the
+cashier of the bank, but when it is referred back to the man who is
+supposed to have written it, that man knows instinctively whether he ever
+wrote it. Perhaps he cannot tell why he knows it, but he knows it just the
+same.
+
+So Joe _knew_ that it was his signature that was photographed on that
+contract. But he also knew another thing just as certainly.
+
+_He had never signed that contract!_
+
+Both things contradictory. Yet both things true.
+
+Larry and Denton were watching him closely. Joe looked up and met their
+eyes. They were two of his oldest and warmest friends on the Giant team
+and had always been ready to back him through thick and thin. Confidence
+still was in their gaze, but with it was mixed bewilderment almost equal
+to Joe's own.
+
+Before anything further could be said, McRae and Robbie joined the group.
+
+"Well, Joe, there's the contract," said McRae.
+
+"It seems to be a contract all right," replied Joe. "I haven't had time to
+read what it says, but that doesn't matter anyway. The only important
+thing is that I never signed that contract."
+
+"That seems to be a pretty good imitation of your signature at the bottom
+there," chimed in Robbie.
+
+"It's even better than that," said Joe, taking the bull by the horns. "It
+isn't even an imitation. It's my own signature."
+
+Both Robbie and McRae looked at him as if they thought he was crazy.
+
+"I don't get you, Matson," said McRae, a little sternly. "And it seems to
+me it's hardly a time for joking. There's the contract. You say you didn't
+sign it, and yet you admit that the name at the bottom is your own
+signature. How do you explain it?"
+
+"I don't pretend to explain it," replied Joe. "There's crooked work
+somewhere that I've got to ferret out. Somehow or other my name, written
+by me, has gotten on the bottom of that contract. But I never put it
+there. Some rascal has, and when I find him, as I will, may Heaven have
+mercy on him, for I won't!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+WHIRLWIND PITCHING
+
+
+"A fellow who would do a thing like that is taking long chances," said
+McRae doubtfully.
+
+"And how could he do it?" put in Robbie. "The name would have to be cut
+from one piece of paper and pasted on another, wouldn't it?"
+
+"Even admitting that they might get your name from a check or letter, I
+don't see how a thing like that could stand inspection for a minute,"
+chimed in Willis. "Even if it were so well done that an eye couldn't
+detect it, a microscope would give it away."
+
+"And you can bet that the reporters who hunted up this thing haven't
+overlooked any bets," said Brennan. "They knew that the signature was the
+nub of the whole thing and if there was anything phony about the paper
+they'd have got next at once."
+
+"It's a horrible mixup!" cried Joe, who felt that he was being enmeshed in
+a net of circumstantial evidence which he might find it impossible to
+break. "Let me read the story first from end to end. Then, perhaps, I'll
+find some clue that will solve the mystery."
+
+He plunged at once into the reading, but the more he read the worse the
+matter looked.
+
+He found that a nation-wide interest had been excited by his denial and
+his challenge. The officers of the All-Star League had been besieged by
+reporters, who had made it clear to them that they must prove their
+statement that Matson had signed with them or else stand convicted before
+the American public, on whose favor they depended for support in the
+coming season, of being slanderers and liars.
+
+Mr. Beckworth Fleming, the president of the All-Star League, had shown a
+little hesitation in responding to these demands. This, perhaps, was
+natural enough, since no business organization cares to have the terms of
+its contracts blazoned forth to the world, perhaps to the benefit of its
+rivals. Still, under all the circumstances, Mr. Fleming had finally
+decided to permit a photographic copy to be made of the contract in order
+to establish the good faith of the new league. This had been done and
+facsimiles had been sent to all the leading newspapers of the United
+States.
+
+There was no question that the contract was genuine. It had been
+submitted to bank cashiers who were familiar with Mr. Matson's writing,
+and they had pronounced it his signature beyond the shadow of a doubt. The
+paper had been examined under powerful glasses and found to be a single
+piece. Everything was in proper form, and it was clearly up to Mr. Matson
+to explain what seemed to be explainable only in one way, namely, that he
+had signed the contract.
+
+There were many worthy charities that could find a good use for the
+thousand dollars that the great pitcher had so rashly offered.
+
+This was the gist of the story in all the papers. There were various
+suggested explanations. One paper hinted that men had been known to sign
+papers when they had dined and wined too well.
+
+Another thought that the denial was purely a "diplomatic" one. Others
+ventured the hypothesis that the whole thing was an advertising dodge,
+designed to set the country agog with excitement and stimulate big
+audiences for the coming season.
+
+But underneath all the suppositions one thing seemed to be unquestioned by
+the papers, and that was that Joe had signed a contract to play with the
+All-Star League and had left the Giants in the lurch.
+
+Joe felt as though the ground were slipping from beneath his feet. He was
+perfectly innocent, and yet he already stood convicted in the public mind
+of having done a thing that he loathed and abhorred. And the worst of it
+was that he had not the slightest clue to the scoundrel or scoundrels who
+had brought this thing about.
+
+"It's beyond me, Mac," he said at last in despair, as he looked up and saw
+the Giants' manager's eyes fixed upon him as though they would read into
+his soul. "They seem to have a strangle hold on me. And yet as black as
+things look I tell you straight, Mac, that you know every bit as much
+about this as I do."
+
+"That's all right, Joe," returned McRae. "I'll admit I'm flabbergasted.
+Who wouldn't be? There's a plot here somewhere, and the fox that planned
+it has been mighty cunning in covering up his tracks. But there never yet
+was a lie that didn't have a weak point somewhere, and soon or late we'll
+find it."
+
+Mabel and Clara, as well as Jim, were beside themselves with anger at the
+dastardly trick. They racked their brains to find the explanation, but
+every time they came up against a blank wall.
+
+"I certainly can't understand it, Joe," said Mabel, for at least the tenth
+time.
+
+"Well, I can't understand it myself, Mabel," he replied.
+
+"Are you sure you didn't sign that contract, thinking it was something
+else--an order for something, or something like that?" questioned Clara.
+
+"I'm not in the habit of signing anything without knowing what it is,"
+said the crack pitcher. "If any of those fellows had brought such a thing
+to me to sign, I would have handed it back and given the fellow a piece of
+my mind. No, there is something else in all this, though what it is I
+haven't the faintest idea."
+
+"It's too bad we're so far away from those fellows just at present," put
+in Jim. "If we were close by we might interview them, and find out some of
+the details that are as yet missing. And then maybe somebody would get a
+broken head," he added vigorously.
+
+"Oh, Jim! would you break anybody's head?" burst out Clara in horror.
+
+"I sure would if he was trying to put Joe in such a hole as this!"
+returned the young man promptly. "Maybe you don't understand what a black
+eye this is calculated to give your brother."
+
+"Oh, yes, I can understand that well enough," sighed Joe's sister.
+
+"I think it's the meanest thing that ever could possibly happen!" burst
+out Mabel. "And I don't wonder that Jim is angry enough to break
+somebody's head for it," and she looked lovingly at Joe.
+
+"Oh, I suppose it will come out all right in the end," answered Joe. But
+he said this merely to ease Mabel's mind. Secretly he was afraid that he
+was in for some real trouble.
+
+It was early spring when they landed in Naples, but the winter had been
+prolonged more than usual and it was too cold to play. At Monte Carlo and
+Nice, however, they were able to get in two games, both of which were won
+by the All-Americans. This put the teams again on an equality as to games
+won and lost, and revived the hopes of the All-Americans that they might
+still come out ahead in the series.
+
+They made but a short stay in Paris, and the weather was so inclement that
+games were out of the question. But it would have taken more than bad
+weather to prevent the shopping and sightseeing that all had been looking
+forward eagerly to in the great French capital, and they enjoyed their
+visit to the full.
+
+In London they met with the greatest welcome of their trip. They played at
+Lord's Oval, the most famous grounds in the United Kingdom, and before an
+audience that included the most distinguished people in the realm,
+including the king himself.
+
+The American colony, too, was there almost to a man, and the United States
+ambassador lent his presence to the occasion.
+
+It was the most distinguished audience, probably, that had ever witnessed
+a baseball game.
+
+And here it was that Joe did the most brilliant pitching of the trip. His
+tireless arm mowed down his opponents inning after inning. They came to
+the bat only to go back to the bench. His mastery of the ball seemed
+almost uncanny, and as inning after inning passed without a hit being
+made, it began to look as though he were in for that dream of all
+pitchers--a no-hit game.
+
+Brennan, the Chicago manager, fidgeted restlessly on the bench and
+glowered as his pets were slaughtered. He tried all the tactics known to
+clever managers, but in vain. It was simply a day when Baseball Joe was
+not to be denied.
+
+His comrades, too, gave him brilliant support and nothing got away from
+them, so that when finally the last man up in the ninth inning in the
+All-American team lifted a towering skyscraper that Joe caught without
+stirring from his tracks, a pandemonium of cheers forced him to remove his
+cap and bow to the applauding crowds again and again.
+
+Not a man had scored, not a man had been passed, not a man had reached
+first, not a man had hit safe. Joe had won the most notable game in his
+whole career!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+THE RUINED CASTLE
+
+
+With London as their center the teams made flying trips to Edinburg,
+Glasgow and Dublin. In all three places they received a royal welcome, for
+the fame of that great game in London had spread throughout the nation and
+all were eager to see the hero of that occasion.
+
+Under other circumstances Joe would have been jubilant, for he was at the
+very height of his reputation, the girl he loved was with him, as well as
+his only sister and his closest friend, but ever in his thoughts like the
+spectre at the feast was that matter of the signed contract--the
+abominable thing that smirched his reputation and branded him to the world
+as false to his word and bond.
+
+Again and again he sought to find the key to the mystery. It seemed like
+some monstrous jugglery, something akin to the fakir's tricks that he had
+witnessed at Colombo where the impossible had seemed so clearly possible.
+
+Try as he would he could find no explanation of the puzzle and his friends
+were equally powerless to suggest a solution.
+
+The game at Dublin, which commenced auspiciously for the Giants, was
+turned into a rout by a rally of the All-Americans in the ninth. A rain of
+bingles came from their bats and they won easily with six runs to spare.
+
+"Got it in the neck that time, old man," said Joe to Jim, after the game.
+"But we can't always win. What do you say to getting a buzz wagon and
+taking a little spin out into the country? The girls will be getting ready
+for that reception at the Viceroy's castle, and they'll be too busy
+dolling up to care what becomes of us."
+
+"Good idea," said Jim, and the two friends made their way to a public
+garage, secured a good car together with a driver, and whirled away into
+the open country.
+
+They had made perhaps twenty miles through the beautiful Irish scenery
+when Joe called Jim's attention to a cloud bank forming in the west.
+
+"Better skip back, old man," he said. "We're due for a wetting if we
+don't."
+
+"Plenty of time yet," objected Jim. "Those look to me just like wind
+clouds. Let's see a little bit more of Ireland."
+
+They went on perhaps five miles further and then Jim found that his
+confidence was misplaced. The clouds grew blacker, an ominous muttering
+was heard in the sky and a jagged flash of lightning presaged the coming
+storm.
+
+"You see I was right," said Joe. "In this open car we'll be drenched to
+the skin. Turn around, Mike," he said to the driver, "and let's see how
+fast this old boat of yours can travel in getting back to Dublin. Throw
+her into high and give her all you've got."
+
+The driver obeyed and the car fairly purred as it sped back toward the
+city. But fast as it was, the storm was faster. Great raindrops pattered
+down, and they looked anxiously about for shelter.
+
+"What's that place up there, Mike?" asked Jim, pointing to a rambling
+stone structure on an elevation perhaps a hundred yards from the road.
+
+"'Tis the castle o' the last o' the O'Brian's, hivin rist his sowl,"
+replied Mike. "But they do be sayin' the place is hanted, an' 'tis a brave
+man that would be shteppin' inside the dhure."
+
+"I'm a brave man, then," cried Jim. "For I'll face a dozen ghosts before I
+would this storm. Turn in, Mike, and we'll wait there till the rain is
+over."
+
+With a muttered protest Mike did as directed, and a moment later the young
+men stepped jauntily through the ruined portal, while Mike, shocked at
+their temerity, crossed himself and, throwing an oilskin over his head,
+crouched low in his seat, preferring the discomfort of the open to the
+unknown terrors that might lurk beyond the doorway of the ruined castle.
+
+The friends had scarcely stepped inside before the rain came down in
+torrents.
+
+"Lucky we got here just as we did," remarked Joe, as they leaned up
+against the masonry of the ruined hall and looked out at the cloudburst.
+
+"It surely was," agreed Jim. "I wish we had a little more light. It's as
+dark as Egypt in here."
+
+"I've got my pocket flashlight with me," said Joe, reaching toward his hip
+pocket. "But listen, what's that?"
+
+"I didn't hear anything," returned Jim, a little nervously, it must be
+admitted.
+
+The two ball players kept perfectly still for a minute and heard what
+seemed to be the murmur of voices a room or two away.
+
+"Can it be that the last of the O'Brians is rambling about the castle?"
+whispered Jim, with a feeble attempt at raillery.
+
+"More likely some travelers stormbound like ourselves," returned Joe
+practically. "Let's take a squint at them."
+
+They tiptoed their way through the hall to a room opening on the right.
+The door, half broken from its hinges, was standing open, and in the
+darkness they saw the tips of two lighted cigars.
+
+As this was not at all ghostly and they did not care to intrude, they were
+about to retire as softly as they had come, when Joe was startled by
+hearing his own name. Jim's hand shot out and clenched his friend's arm,
+and they stood there like statues.
+
+"That was a slick trick you put over on Matson," said a voice which Joe
+recognized instantly as belonging to Beckworth Fleming. He had heard that
+voice before when he had made its owner kneel in the dirt of the road and
+beg Mabel's pardon for his insolence.
+
+"I think myself it was rather clever," drawled another familiar voice,
+that of Braxton. "He fell for it like a lamb."
+
+"He's a pretty keen chap usually, too," remarked Fleming. "How is it you
+caught him napping?"
+
+"I picked out just the right time," said Braxton complacently. "And I
+don't deny that luck helped me a little. If McRae and Barclay hadn't gone
+away just the time they did, it might not have worked. But I got him
+talking about handwriting, and the first thing you know he'd scribbled his
+name on the blank sheet. I took good care that only the bottom of the
+sheet was where he could reach it. Then I slipped the paper into my
+pocket, sent it to you to have the contract printed above the signature,
+and you know the rest."
+
+"Easy meat," chuckled Fleming.
+
+"Too easy," chortled Braxton. "It makes me laugh every time I think of
+it."
+
+Joe stepped into the room, followed by Jim.
+
+"I do a little laughing myself sometimes," Joe said coldly. "And this is
+one of the times!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+BROUGHT TO BOOK--CONCLUSION
+
+
+There was a gasp of dismay and astonishment, as the conspirators jumped to
+their feet from the windowsill upon which they had been sitting.
+
+At the same instant Joe drew the flashlight from his pocket and illumined
+their startled faces.
+
+"Don't move!" he commanded. "Jim, you keep them covered."
+
+Jim took up his station in the doorway, and in the insufficient light the
+rascals could not see whether he had a weapon or not.
+
+"What do you mean by this?" blustered Fleming, in a voice that he tried to
+make brave, but that quavered despite himself.
+
+"It means," said Joe grimly, "that one of you men is in for the licking of
+his life. Don't tremble so, Fleming," he added contemptuously. "I've
+already thrashed you once and I don't care to soil my hands with you
+again. But I've been aching for months to get my fingers on the man that
+made me out a liar and a contract-breaker. I have him now," he added,
+with a steely glance at Braxton.
+
+"Here, Jim," he continued, stepping back, "take this flash. I've got some
+work to do."
+
+With a quick wrench he tore off his coat.
+
+"You'd better be careful," said Braxton--no longer the suave and polished
+trickster, but pale as chalk and trembling like a leaf. "This is assault
+and battery, and you'll answer to the law."
+
+"Put up your hands," said Joe curtly. "You're as big a man as I am, but
+you've got to prove which is the better one. And you, Jim, keep your eye
+on Fleming and stand by to see fair play."
+
+Even a rat will fight when cornered and Braxton, seeing no alternative,
+threw off his coat and made a desperate rush at Joe. Joe met him with a
+clip to the jaw that shook him from head to foot. Then he sailed in and
+gave the scoundrel what he had promised--the thrashing of his life.
+
+Braxton tried foul tactics, butted and kicked and tried to gouge and bite,
+but Joe's powerful arms worked like windmills, his fists ripping savagely
+into Braxton's face and chest. All the pent-up indignation and humiliation
+of the last few weeks found vent in those mighty blows, and soon, too soon
+to suit Joe, the man lay on the floor, whining and half-sobbing with shame
+and pain.
+
+"Get up, you cur!" said Joe, as he pulled on his coat. "I'm not through
+with you yet."
+
+"You're not going to hit him again, are you?" asked Fleming, while Braxton
+staggered painfully to his feet.
+
+"No," said Joe. "I guess he's had enough."
+
+"You said it!" cried Jim admiringly. "If ever a man was trimmed to the
+queen's taste he's that man."
+
+"But I'm going to nail, right now, the lies you fellows have been
+spreading," continued Joe, eyes alight with the thought of his coming
+vindication. "You've got to sign a written confession of the part you've
+played in this dirty business."
+
+"We w-will, w-when we get back to town," stammered Fleming.
+
+"No, you won't," cried Joe. "You'll do it right here and now."
+
+"B-but we haven't any writing materials," suggested Braxton, through his
+swollen lips.
+
+"I've got paper and a fountain pen!" exclaimed Jim eagerly. "This light is
+rather dim, but probably Mike has got the automobile lamps going by this
+time and that'll be light enough."
+
+"Come along!" cried Joe sternly, and his crest-fallen opponents knew him
+too well by this time to resist.
+
+They went out into the open and found that the rain had almost stopped. As
+Jim had prophesied, the automobile lamps were gleaming through the dusk.
+Like every Irishman, Mike dearly loved a scrap, and his eyes lighted with
+a mixture of eagerness and regret as he looked at Braxton and realized
+what he had been missing.
+
+"Begorra!" he cried in his rich brogue, "'tis a lovely shindy ye've been
+after havin'."
+
+With the paper resting on his knee and Jim's fountain pen in his hand, Joe
+wrote out the story of the trickery and fraud that had been practiced in
+getting his signature. When he had covered every important point, he held
+out the pen to Braxton.
+
+The latter hesitated, and Joe's fist clenched till the knuckles were
+white. Braxton knew what that fist was capable of and hesitated no longer.
+He wrote his name under the confession and Fleming followed suit. Then Jim
+affixed his name as a witness, and Michael O'Halloran happily added his.
+
+"Now," said Jim, as he folded the precious paper and stowed it safely in
+his pocket, "you fellows clear out. I suppose that's your car that we saw
+standing a little way down the road. I don't think either of you will care
+to mix in my affairs again."
+
+They moved away with an assumption of bravado they were far from feeling
+and were lost in the darkness.
+
+"And now, Mike," said Joe with a jubilant ring in his voice, as they
+leaped into the car, "let her go. Drive to Dublin as if the ghost of the
+last of the O'Brians were at your back!"
+
+And Mike did.
+
+The two baseball players found the girls impatiently awaiting them, and
+wondering rather petulantly what had become of them. Joe seized Mabel in
+his arms and whirled her about the room like a dancing dervish, paying no
+heed to her laughing protests.
+
+Jim would have liked to do the same to Joe's sister, but did not quite
+dare to--yet.
+
+"Are you boys crazy?" demanded Mabel, as soon as she could get her
+breath.
+
+"Yes," said Joe promptly. "You'll be, too, when you see this."
+
+He flourished the paper before their faces and in disjointed sentences,
+frequently broken by interruptions, told them of all that had happened
+since they had left them after the game.
+
+No need of telling how they felt when the boys had finished. There was no
+happier party that night in all Ireland.
+
+Then, leaving the delighted girls for a few minutes, the boys hunted up
+McRae. They found him glum and anxious, talking earnestly with Robbie in
+the lobby of the hotel. One glance at the young men's faces made the pair
+jump wonderingly to their feet.
+
+"For the love of Pete, let's have it, Joe!" cried McRae. "What's
+happened?"
+
+"Plenty!" exulted Joe. "We've put the All-Star League out of business!"
+
+"What!" cried McRae, as he snatched the paper that Joe held out to him and
+devoured its contents, while Robbie peered eagerly over his shoulder.
+
+Then, as they realized what it meant, they set up a wild whoop which made
+the other members of the team, scattered about the lobby, come running,
+followed a scene of mad hilarity, during which no one seemed to know what
+he said or did.
+
+That night the cable carried the news to New York, and from there to every
+city in the United States. It sounded the death knell of the All-Star
+League, and it went to pieces like a house of cards. The American public
+will stand for much, but for nothing so gross and contemptible as that had
+been.
+
+The trip wound up in a blaze of glory with the Giants just one game to the
+good in the hot series of games that had been played. They had a swift and
+joyous journey home, and when they separated on the dock in New York,
+McRae's hearty grip of Baseball Joe's hand fairly made the latter wince.
+
+"Good-bye, old man," he said. "You've stood by me like a brick. You'll be
+on hand when the bell rings."
+
+"Joe will hear other bells before that," grinned Jim, as he looked at
+Mabel, who flushed rosily.
+
+"What's that?" asked McRae with a twinkle in his eye.
+
+"Wedding bells," replied Jim.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+                        THE BASEBALL JOE SERIES
+                           By LESTER CHADWICK
+
+             12mo. Illustrated. Price 50 cents per volume.
+                      Postage 10 cents additional.
+
+1. BASEBALL JOE OF THE SILVER STARS
+    or The Rivals of Riverside
+
+2. BASEBALL JOE ON THE SCHOOL NINE
+    or Pitching for the Blue Banner
+
+3. BASEBALL JOE AT YALE
+    or Pitching for the College Championship
+
+4. BASEBALL JOE IN THE CENTRAL LEAGUE
+    or Making Good as a Professional Pitcher
+
+5. BASEBALL JOE IN THE BIG LEAGUE
+    or A Young Pitcher's Hardest Struggles
+
+6. BASEBALL JOE ON THE GIANTS
+    or Making Good as a Twirler in the Metropolis
+
+7. BASEBALL JOE IN THE WORLD SERIES
+    or Pitching for the Championship
+
+8. BASEBALL JOE AROUND THE WORLD
+    or Pitching on a Grand Tour
+
+9. BASEBALL JOE: HOME RUN KING
+    or The Greatest Pitcher and Batter on Record
+
+10. BASEBALL JOE SAVING THE LEAGUE
+    or Breaking Up a Great Conspiracy
+
+11. BASEBALL JOE CAPTAIN OF THE TEAM
+    or Bitter Struggles on the Diamond
+
+12. BASEBALL JOE CHAMPION OF THE LEAGUE
+    or The Record that was Worth While
+
+13. BASEBALL JOE CLUB OWNER
+    or Putting the Home Town on the Map
+
+14. BASEBALL JOE PITCHING WIZARD
+    or Triumphs Off and On the Diamond
+
+                Send for Our Free Illustrated Catalogue.
+
+             CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers    New York
+
+
+
+
+                         THE BOY HUNTERS SERIES
+                       By CAPTAIN RALPH BONEHILL
+
+               12mo. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors.
+        Price 50 cents per volume. Postage 10 cents additional.
+
+Captain Ralph Bonehill is one of the best known and most popular writers
+for young people. In this series he shows, as no other writer can, the
+joy, glory and happiness of outdoor life.
+
+FOUR BOY HUNTERS
+    or The Outing of the Gun Club
+
+A fine, breezy story of the woods and waters, of adventures in search of
+game, and of great times around the campfire, told in Captain Bonehill's
+best style. In the book are given full directions for camping out.
+
+GUNS AND SNOWSHOES
+    or The Winter Outing of the Young Hunters
+
+In this volume the young hunters leave home for a winter outing on the
+shores of a small lake. They hunt and trap to their hearts' content and
+have adventures in plenty, all calculated to make boys "sit up and take
+notice." A good healthy book; one with the odor of the pine forests and
+the glare of the welcome campfire in every chapter.
+
+YOUNG HUNTERS OF THE LAKE
+    or Out with Rod and Gun
+
+Another tale of woods and waters, with some strong hunting scenes and a
+good deal of mystery. The three volumes make a splendid outdoor series.
+
+OUT WITH GUN AND CAMERA
+    or The Boy Hunters in the Mountains
+
+Takes up the new fad of photographing wild animals as well as shooting
+them. An escaped circus chimpanzee and an escaped lion add to the interest
+of the narrative.
+
+                Send for Our Free Illustrated Catalogue
+
+             CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers    New York
+
+
+
+
+                            THE JEWEL SERIES
+                            By AMES THOMPSON
+
+              12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in colors.
+                       Price 50 cents per volume.
+                      Postage 10 cents additional.
+
+A series of stories brimming with hardy adventure, vivid and accurate in
+detail, and with a good foundation of probability. They take the reader
+realistically to the scene of action. Besides being lively and full of
+real situations, they are written in a straight-forward way very
+attractive to boy readers.
+
+1. THE ADVENTURE BOYS and the VALLEY OF DIAMONDS
+
+In this book they form a party of five, and with the aid of a shrewd,
+level-headed sailor named Stanley Green, they find a valley of diamonds in
+the heart of Africa.
+
+2. THE ADVENTURE BOYS and the RIVER OF EMERALDS
+
+With a guide, they set out to find the River of Emeralds. But masked foes,
+emeralds, and falling mountains are all in the day's fun for these
+Adventure Boys.
+
+3. THE ADVENTURE BOYS and the LAGOON OF PEARLS
+
+This time the group starts out on a cruise simply for pleasure, but their
+adventuresome spirits lead them into the thick of things on a South Sea
+cannibal island.
+
+4. THE ADVENTURE BOYS and the TEMPLE OF RUBIES
+
+The Adventure Boys find plenty of thrills when they hit the ruby trail,
+and soon discover that they are marked by some sinister influence to keep
+them from reaching the Ruby.
+
+5. THE ADVENTURE BOYS and the ISLAND OF SAPPHIRES
+
+The paths of the young jewel hunters lead to a mysterious island where the
+treasures are concealed.
+
+                Send for Our Free Illustrated Catalogue
+
+             CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers    New York
+
+
+
+
+                            THE BOMBA BOOKS
+                            By ROY ROCKWOOD
+
+                       Price 50 cents per volume.
+                      Postage 10 cents additional.
+
+Bomba lived far back in the jungles of the Amazon with a half-demented
+naturalist who told the lad nothing of his past. The jungle boy was a
+lover of birds, and hunted animals with a bow and arrow and his trusty
+machete. He had a primitive education in some things, and his daring
+adventures will be followed with breathless interest by thousands.
+
+1. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY
+
+2. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AT THE MOVING MOUNTAIN
+
+3. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AT THE GIANT CATARACT
+
+4. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY ON JAGUAR ISLAND
+
+5. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY IN THE ABANDONED CITY
+
+6. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY ON TERROR TRAIL
+
+7. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY IN THE SWAMP OF DEATH
+
+8. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AMONG THE SLAVES
+
+9. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY ON THE UNDERGROUND RIVER
+
+10. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AND THE LOST EXPLORERS
+
+11. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY IN A STRANGE LAND
+
+12. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AMONG THE PYGMIES
+
+                Send for Our Free Illustrated Catalogue
+
+             CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers    New York
+
+
+
+
+                           THE WEBSTER SERIES
+                          By FRANK V. WEBSTER
+
+Mr. WEBSTER'S style is very much like that of the boys' favorite author,
+the late lamented Horatio Alger, Jr., but his tales are thoroughly
+up-to-date.
+
+             Cloth. 12mo. Over 200 pages each. Illustrated.
+                       Stamped in various colors.
+
+                      Price per volume, 50 cents.
+                      Postage 10 cents additional.
+
+Only a Farm Boy
+    or Dan Hardy's Rise in Life
+
+The Boy from the Ranch
+    or Roy Bradner's City Experiences
+
+The Young Treasure Hunter
+    or Fred Stanley's Trip to Alaska
+
+The Boy Pilot of the Lakes
+    or Nat Morton's Perils
+
+Tom the Telephone Boy
+    or The Mystery of a Message
+
+Bob the Castaway
+    or The Wreck of the Eagle
+
+The Newsboy Partners
+    or Who Was Dick Box?
+
+Two Boy Gold Miners
+    or Lost in the Mountains
+
+The Young Firemen of Lakeville
+    or Herbert Dare's Pluck
+
+The Boys of Bellwood School
+    or Frank Jordan's Triumph
+
+Jack the Runaway
+    or On the Road with a Circus
+
+Bob Chester's Grit
+    or From Ranch to Riches
+
+Airship Andy
+    or The Luck of a Brave Boy
+
+High School Rivals
+    or Fred Markham's Struggles
+
+Darry the Life Saver
+    or The Heroes of the Coast
+
+Dick the Bank Boy
+    or A Missing Fortune
+
+Ben Hardy's Flying Machine
+    or Making a Record for Himself
+
+Harry Watson's High School Days
+    or The Rivals of Rivertown
+
+Comrades of the Saddle
+    or The Young Rough Riders of the Plains
+
+Tom Taylor at West Point
+    or The Old Army Officer's Secret
+
+The Boy Scouts of Lennox
+    or Hiking Over Big Bear Mountain
+
+The Boys of the Wireless
+    or a Stirring Rescue from the Deep
+
+Cowboy Dave
+    or The Round-up at Rolling River
+
+Jack of the Pony Express
+    or The Young Rider of the Mountain Trail
+
+The Boys of the Battleship
+    or For the Honor of Uncle Sam
+
+               CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers    NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+                    Everybody will love the story of
+
+                              NOBODY'S BOY
+
+                            By HECTOR MALOT
+
+The dearest character in all the literature of child life is little Remi
+in Hector Malot's famous masterpiece Sans Famille ("Nobody's Boy").
+
+All love, pathos, loyalty, and noble boy character are exemplified in this
+homeless little lad, who has made the world better for his being in it.
+The boy or girl who knows Remi has an ideal never to be forgotten. But it
+is a story for grown-ups, too.
+
+"Nobody's Boy" is one of the supreme heart-interest stories of all time,
+which will make you happier and better.
+
+                  4 Colored Illustrations. $1.50 net.
+                           At All Booksellers
+
+              CUPPLES & LEON CO.    Publishers    New York
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Baseball Joe Around the World, by Lester Chadwick
+
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