[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 SERIES12mo. Cloth. Illustrated

BASEBALL JOE OF THE SILVER STARSBASEBALL JOE ON THE SCHOOL NINEBASEBALL JOE AT YALEBASEBALL JOE IN THE CENTRAL LEAGUEBASEBALL JOE IN THE BIG LEAGUEBASEBALL JOE ON THE GIANTSBASEBALL JOE IN THE WORLD SERIESBASEBALL JOE AROUND THE WORLD

THE COLLEGE SPORTS SERIES12 mo. Cloth. Illustrated

THE RIVAL PITCHERSA QUARTERBACK'S PLUCKBATTING TO WINTHE WINNING TOUCHDOWNTHE EIGHT-OARED VICTORS

CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, New York

Copyright, 1918, byCupples & 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 AROUNDTHE WORLD

CHAPTER I

IN DEADLY PERIL

"Great Scott! Look at this!"

Joe Matson, or "Baseball Joe, " as he was better known throughout thecountry, sprang to his feet and held out a New York paper with headlineswhich took up a third of the page. 

There were three other occupants of the room in the cozy home atRiverside, where Joe had come to rest up after his glorious victory in thelast game of the World's Series, and they looked up in surprise and somealarm. 

"Land's sakes!" exclaimed his mother, pausing just as she was about tobite off a thread. "You gave me such a start, Joe! What on earth hashappened?"

"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 somethingthat will make McRae and the whole Polo Grounds outfit throw a fit if it'strue. "

Jim snatched the paper from Joe's hands, with the familiarity born of longacquaintance, and as his eyes fell on the headlines he gave a whistle ofsurprise. 

"'Third Major League a Certainty, '" he read. "Gee whiz, Joe! I don'twonder it upset you. That's news for fair. "

"Is that all?" pouted Clara, who had been having a very interestingconversation with handsome Jim Barclay, and did not relish beinginterrupted. 

Mrs. Matson also looked relieved and resumed her sewing. 

"Is that all?" cried Joe, as he began to pace the floor excitedly. "I tellyou, Sis, it's plenty. If it's true, it means the old Brotherhood days allover again. It means a fight to disrupt the National and the AmericanLeagues. It means all sorts of trickery and breaking of contracts. Itmeans distrust and suspicion between the members of the different teams. It means--oh, well, what doesn't it mean? I'd rather lose a thousanddollars than know that the news is true. "

"But perhaps it isn't true, " suggested Clara, sobered a little by herbrother's earnestness. "You can't believe half the things you see in thepapers. "

"Will it hurt your position with the Giants, Joe?" asked Mrs. Matson, hermotherly instincts taking alarm at anything that threatened her idolizedson. 

Joe stopped beside his mother's chair and patted her head affectionately. 

"Not for a long time if at all, Momsey, " he replied reassuringly. "Mycontract 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 wasthinking about. As a matter of fact, I could squeeze double the money outof McRae, if I were mean enough to take advantage of him. It's the damagethat will be done to the game that's bothering me. "

"Perhaps it won't be as bad as you think, " ventured his mother. "You knowthe old saying that 'the worst things that befall us are the things thatnever happen. '"

"That's the way to look at it, " broke in Jim heartily. "Let's take asquint at the whole article and see how much fire there is in all thissmoke. "

"And read it out loud, " said Clara. "I'm just as much of a baseball fan aseither of you two. And Momsey is, too, after all the World's Series gamesshe's seen played. "

It is to be feared that Mrs. Matson's eyes had been so riveted on Joealone, 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. Butanything that concerned her darling boy concerned her as well, and she lether sewing lie unheeded in her lap as Joe read the story from beginning toend. 

"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 threemillionaires who are willing to take a chance and put up the coin. "

"One of the names seems to be rather familiar, " remarked Jim, with asidewise look at Joe. "Do you remember him?"

"I remember him, " replied Joe grimly, "but I'd bet a dollar against aplugged 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 witha 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 sayas much for his body. "

"It's all right, Momsey, " smiled Joe. "He was insolent to Mabel, and I hadto give him a thrashing. But that's neither here nor there. He's thespoiled son of a very rich man, and he's one of the men behind this newleague. 'A fool and his money are soon parted, ' and he'll probably bewiser 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, andany man has a right to go into any legitimate business if he thinksthere's money in it. Neither the National League nor the American Leaguehave a mortgage on the game. But the trouble is that there aren't enoughgood players to go round. All the really good ones have been alreadygobbled up by the present leagues. If the new league started in withunknown players, it wouldn't take in enough money to pay the batboys. Theconsequence is that it tries to get the players who are already undercontract by making them big offers, and that leads to all sorts ofdishonesty. You take a man who is making three thousand a year and offerhim 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 bea big feather in their cap to start off with copping the greatest pitcherin the game. They'd be willing to offer you a fortune to get you. Theyfigure that after that start the other fellows they want will be tumblingover themselves to get aboard. "

"Let them come, " declared Joe. "I'll send them off with a flea in theirear. They'll find that I'm no contract jumper. "

"I'm sure that you'd never do anything mean, " said his mother, looking athim fondly. 

"There isn't a crooked bone in his head, " laughed Clara, making a face athim as he threatened her with his fist. 

"The contract is enough, " said Joe; "but even if I were a free agent, Iwouldn't go with the new league and leave McRae in the hole. I feel that Iowe him a lot for the way he has treated me. He took me from asecond-string team and gave me a chance to make good on the Giants. Hetook a chance in offering me a three-year contract in place of one. I'mgetting four thousand, five hundred a year, which is a good big sumwhatever way you look at it. And you remember how promptly he came acrosswith that thousand dollars for winning twenty games last season. "

"We remember that, don't we, Momsey?" said Clara, patting her mother'shand. 

"I should say we did, " replied Mrs. Matson, while a suspicious moisturecame into her eyes. "Will we ever forget the day when we opened thatletter from the dear boy, and the thousand-dollar bill fell out on thetable? 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 Matsonfamily to witness the World's Series games and so had enabled him to meetJoe's charming sister. Perhaps that vivacious young lady read what waspassing in his mind, for her eyes suddenly dropped as they met Jim'seloquent ones. 

Joe flushed at this reference to his generosity, and Clara was quick tocover 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 itgets 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 anotherroom. 

"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 openair 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 unlimberingsome of the fast balls that had been wont to stand opposing batters "ontheir 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 inthat last game. But it feels as strong now as it did at the beginning ofthe season. "

They had supper a little earlier than usual that night, for with theexception of Joe's father, who was busy on a new invention, they were allgoing to a show that evening at the Riverside Opera House. It promised tobe an interesting entertainment, for the names of several popular actorsappeared on the program. But what made it especially attractive to Joe andhis party was the fact that Nick Altman, the famous pitcher of the "WhiteSox" of Chicago, was on the bill for a monologue. Although, being in theAmerican League, Joe and Jim had never played against him, they knew himwell by reputation and respected him for his ability in their chosenprofession. 

"As a pitcher he sure is classy, " remarked Joe. "They say that fastinshoot of his is a lulu. But that doesn't say that he's any good on thestage. "

"He's pulling in the coin all right, " replied Jim. "They say that hiscontract calls for two hundred dollars a week. He won't have to eatsnowballs this winter. "

"Jim tells me that a vaudeville manager offered you five hundred dollars aweek 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 themoney. "

"Such a shrinking violet, " teased his sister. 

"I'm sure he would make a very good actor, " said his mother, who wouldhave been equally sure that he would make a good president of the UnitedStates. 

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 madetheir way to their reserved seats near the center of the house, forRiverside regarded the famous pitcher as one of its greatest assets. Hehad given the quiet little village a fame that it would never have hadotherwise. In the words of Sol Cramer, the hotel keeper and villageoracle, 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 wereconcerned, came on the stage. He had a clever skit in which baseball"gags" and "patter" were the chief ingredients, and as he was a naturalhumorist his act went "big" in the phrase of the profession. Knowing thatJoe lived in Riverside and would probably be in the audience, Altmanadroitly introduced his name in one of his anecdotes, and was rewarded bya 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 andClara--Jim could be depended on these days never to be farther away fromClara than he could help. 

"Yes, " mocked Clara. "Any time he runs for poundkeeper he's sure to beelected. "

Joe was about to make some laughing retort, when his quick eye caughtsight of something that made the flush fade from his face and his heartlose a beat. 

From the wing at the left of the stage _a tiny wisp of smoke wasstealing_. 

Like lightning, his quick brain sensed the situation. The house was oldand would burn like tinder. There were only the two exits--one on eachside of the hall. And the place was crowded--and his mother was there--andClara!

His plan was formed in an instant. He must reach a narrow corridor, bywhich, out of sight of the audience, he could gain the back of the stageand 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 twoseats 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. Womenscreamed, 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 yourseats. "

The crowd halted uncertainly, fearfully, and Joe took instant advantage ofthe hesitation. 

"You know me, " he cried. "I tell you there's no danger. Haven't you eversmelled 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 thestage. 

Jim had been only two jumps behind Joe in his rush to the front, and whileJoe was calming the crowd Jim had rushed into the wing and dragged downsome draperies that had caught fire from a gas jet. In a moment he hadtrampled them underfoot and the danger was over. 

The orchestra had seemed to keep its wits better than the rest of thethrong, and Joe signaled to the leader to strike up a tune. The nextinstant 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 maybe well for the sake of those who have not read the preceding books ofthis series to sketch something of his life and adventures up to thistime. 

Joe's first experience in the great game in which he was to become sofamous was gained on the diamond of his own home town. He did so wellthere that he soon became known in the towns around as one of the bestplayers in the county. He had many mishaps and difficulties, and how heovercame 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 adifferent character to surmount. The bully of the school sought to downhim, but found that he had made a mistake in picking out his victim. Joe'snatural skill and constant practice enabled him to win laurels for himselfand his school on the diamond, and prepared him for the larger field thatawaited him when later on he went to Yale. 

As may be easily understood, with all the competition he had to meet atthe great University his chance was long in coming to prove his class inthe pitching box. But the homely old saying that "it is hard to keep asquirrel 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 didit and what glory he won for his Alma Mater can be read in the thirdvolume of the series, entitled: "Baseball Joe at Yale; Or, Pitching forthe 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 upwell in his classes. But all his instincts told him that he was made forthe out-of-door life. 

His mother had hoped that Joe would enter the ministry, but Joe, althoughhe had the greatest respect for that profession, did not feel that hislife work lay in that direction. He had been so successful in athleticsports and took such pleasure in them that he yielded to his natural bentand decided to adopt professional baseball as his vocation. 

His mother was sorely grieved at first, and the more so as she felt thatJoe was "stepping down" in entering the professional ranks. But Joe wasable to show her that scores of college men were doing the same thing thathe planned to do, and she had too good sense to press her opposition toofar. 

The opening that Joe was looking for came when he was offered a chance toplay in the Pittston team of the Central League. It was only a minorleague, but all the great players have been developed in that way, and Joedetermined to make it a stepping stone to something higher. How hespeedily rose to leadership among the twirlers of his league is told inthe fourth volume of the series, entitled: "Baseball Joe in the CentralLeague; Or, Making Good as a Professional Pitcher. "

While Joe had been winning his spurs, the keen-eyed scouts of the bigleagues had not been idle. The St. Louis team of the National Leaguedrafted him into their ranks and took him away from the "bushes. " Now hefelt that he was really on the highway to success. Almost from the starthe created a sensation, and it was his pitching that brought his team intothe 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 ambitionfrom the start, but he had scarcely dared to hope that his dream wouldcome true. He promised himself that he would "pitch his head off" tojustify the confidence that McRae, the Giants' manager, had put in him. How he came through an exciting season and in the final game won thechampionship 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 Twirlerin the Metropolis. "

Of course this brought him into the World's Series, in which that year theBoston Red Sox were the Giants' opponents. It proved to be a whirlwindseries, whose result remained in doubt until the last inning of the lastgame. Joe had fearful odds to contend against since an accident toHughson, the Giants' standby, put the bulk of the pitching burden on ourhero's shoulders. Unscrupulous enemies also sought by foul means to keephim out of the Series, but Joe's indomitable will and magnificent pitchingwon 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 wastaking it now in his home town. Jim Barclay, a fine young Princeton manand 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 wasgreat, as to be near Clara, Joe's charming sister, who had been workingall sorts of havoc with poor Jim's heart. 

By the time the orchestra had finished the tune, the panic had aboutsubsided. 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 wasentirely over. The audience was seated, with the exception of the man whomJoe had knocked down, who slunk shame-facedly out of the hall holding hishand 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 themost modest of men and hated to pose as a hero. He was wondering what heshould say or do, when Altman solved the problem by coming up to him withboth hands extended. That gave the audience its cue, and in a moment atempest 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 andfellow townsmen, most of whom had known him when he was in knickerbockersand now were more proud of him than they had ever been, even when hereturned 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 arelief 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 turnedon 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 theaudience were too highly keyed by the great peril that had been escaped. And they had a more dramatic scene to remember and talk about thananything that could be given them from the stage. 

In the excitement, a great many of those present had lost track of thefriends or relatives that had been with them, and from all sides camevarious 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'sarms, 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 soquickly, " remarked one man to another, as he gazed admiringly at the heroof the occasion. 

As Joe and his folks were leaving, a tall, well-dressed man stepped up toJoe and extended his hand. 

"Let me congratulate you, Mr. Matson, " he said effusively. "That was asplendid 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 acoincidence that I came to town with the express purpose of seeing you ona business matter. But I didn't expect that my first meeting with youwould 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 thehotel, and I would be glad to see you there or at any place that may beconvenient to you some time to-morrow. "

"Suppose you call at my home to-morrow morning, " said Joe. "It's onlyabout five minutes' walk from the hotel. "

"You needn't bother about giving me the directions, " said Westland, withan ingratiating smile. "Everybody in Riverside knows where Baseball Joelives. I'll be around at eleven o'clock. "

He lifted his hat and departed, while Joe and the others walked towardhome. 

"What do you suppose he wants of you, Joe?" asked Clara, with livelycuriosity. 

"Oh, I don't know, " answered her brother carelessly. "Some reporterprobably who wants to get the sad story of my life. "

"If it is, he'll have something to write about after to-night, " put inJim. "Great Scott! Joe, if that had happened in New York it would bespread 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 happenedto remember what tune it was the orchestra played. I suppose it was thefirst thing the leader thought of, and he didn't have time to pick outanother. 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 theMatson home. He was carefully groomed and everything about him indicatedmoney. 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'twonder. If it hadn't been for you, the coroner and undertaker would bebusy this morning. "

"Oh, I don't know, " responded Joe. "If I hadn't got to it someone elsewould. It wasn't much of a blaze anyway, and ten to one it would have goneout of itself. "

"Modest I see, " laughed Westland. "They say that all great men are. Butyou can't get anyone in this town to take such a slighting view of it asyou do yourself. "

"You said last night that you had a business matter you wanted to see meabout, " suggested Joe, in order to change the subject. 

"So I have, " replied Westland, "and I've traveled over a thousand miles totalk to you personally about it. "

He lighted a fresh cigar while Joe waited indifferently. He had beeninterviewed so much in the last year or two on all conceivable subjectsthat his curiosity was scarcely awakened. 

"Of course, Mr. Matson, " began Westland, "you've heard of the new majorleague that has just been organized and----"

Joe's bored feeling vanished and he was wide-awake in an instant. So thiswas what the visit meant! Jim's prediction was coming true sooner than hehad 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'veheard of him, of course. Hello there, Jim!" he called, as he threw openthe door into the adjoining room, where Jim was watching a distractingdimple come and go in Clara's cheek as they chatted together. 

"Really, Mr. Matson, " said Westland, visibly flustered, "much as I wouldlike to meet Mr. Barclay, I would rather----"

But just then Jim came strolling in, and Joe hastened to introduce him. Hehad used the stratagem in order to have a witness at hand. He wasdetermined that no false or twisted version of the interview should begiven out broadcast in the interest of the new league. 

Despite his annoyance, Westland was diplomat enough to make the best ofthe situation, and he acknowledged the introduction graciously. 

"Mr. Westland called in connection with the new league we were readingabout yesterday, Jim, " explained Joe, "and I knew that you would beinterested 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 aroundthe bush, but come straight to the point. You're the greatest pitcher inthe country, and we want to secure your services for the new league. We'vegot oceans of money behind us, and we're prepared to let you name your ownterms. We'll give you anything in reason--or out of reason for thatmatter--if you'll sign up with us. "

He delivered himself of this with the air of a man sure of having hisoffer accepted. But if he had expected Joe to gasp with astonishment anddelight, he was disappointed. 

"Well, " said Joe quietly, after a moment's pause, "that's certainly a veryliberal 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 thatI'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 theworld. "I didn't think for a minute that McRae would let his kingpin runaround loose without being signed up. But you know what baseball contractsare. 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 andbluster, but that will be the end of it. That ten-day clause alone wouldkill it with any judge. "

"Even admitting that I could break my contract with the Giants and getaway with it, " said Joe, leading him on, "what guarantee would you havethat I wouldn't do the same thing with you if I should want to?"

"The guarantee of your own self-interest, " replied Westland, flicking theash from his cigar. "We'd make it so much worth your while to stay with usthat there wouldn't be any inducement to go anywhere else. "

"In other words, " said Joe, with a touch of sarcasm, "if you once boughtme you'd rely on your money to see that I'd stay bought. "

"Now, now, Mr. Matson, " put in Westland deprecatingly, "there's no useputting it in so harsh a way as that. This is simply business I'm talkingto 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 thatit's about five thousand a year, a little more or a little less. Now I'lltell you what we're prepared to do. We'll hand you twenty thousand dollarsthe day you put your signature to a contract with us. Then we'll agree topay you fifteen thousand dollars a year for a three-years' term. And tomake the whole thing copper riveted, we'll put the whole amount in thebank now, subject to your order as you go along. So that even if the newleague should break up, you could loaf for three years and be sixty-fivethousand dollars to the good. "

With the air of one who had played his trump card and felt sure of takingthe trick, Westland from out his pocket drew a fountain pen. 

"Put up your pen, Mr. Westland, " said Joe calmly, "unless you want towrite 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 thattime. "

A look of blended astonishment and vexation came into Westland's eyes. Heseemed to doubt the evidence of his ears. 

"Surely you're joking, Mr. Matson, " he said. "No man in his senses wouldturn down such an offer as that. "

"I must be out of my senses then, " replied Joe, "for that's exactly whatI'm doing. "

"Perhaps you think we're bluffing, " said Westland, "but money talks, andhere is where it fairly shouts. "

He drew from his pocket a roll of bills of large denominations and laid iton the table. 

"There's the signing-up money, " he explained. "They wanted me to bring acertified check, but I insisted on the actual cash. Count it if you likeand take it to the bank if you doubt that it's good. There's twentythousand dollars in that roll, and every cent of it's yours if you putyour name at the bottom of this contract. "

He laid an official-looking document on the table beside the bills, andleaned back in his chair, ostensibly intent on the end of his cigar, butwatching Joe keenly from the corner of his eyes. 

That pile of crisp yellowbacks was more money than Joe had ever seen atone time in his life, except through the bars of a cashier's cage. And allhe had to do was to reach out, sign his name, and the next minute thrustthe 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 aninstant. 

"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'thopeless after all. 

"If that's the case, perhaps we can raise the figures a little, " he saideagerly, "although we thought we were making a very liberal offer. But asI said before, we're no pikers, and we wouldn't let a few thousands standbetween us. State your terms. "

"You don't understand, " replied Joe. "What I meant was that there isn'tmoney enough in your whole crowd to make me go back on my word and jump mycontract. "

"Hot off the bat!" exclaimed Jim. "Gee, I wish McRae and Robbie and therest of the Giant bunch could have heard this pow-wow. "

Westland evidently had all he could do to contain himself. He had felt soserenely confident in the power of his money that he had scarcely allowedhimself to think of failure. Yet here was his money flouted as though itwere 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 knowit. In the first place you're offering me a good deal more than I'mworth. "

"Oh, I don't know about that, " expostulated Jim loyally. "There's at leastone man in the league getting that much, and he never saw the day when hewas a better man than you are. "

"More than I'm worth, " repeated Joe. "Still, if that were all, and youwere simply trying to buy my baseball ability, it would be your own affairif you were bidding too high. But you don't want to give me all this moneybecause 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 biddingto 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 wantto make me a tool to lead others to break their contracts, too. I'm to bethe bellwether of the flock. You figure that if it's once spread abroadthat Matson has jumped into the new league, it will start a stampede ofcontract breakers. I tell you straight, Westland, it's dirty business. Ifyou want to start a new league, go ahead and do it in a decent way. Getnew players and develop them, or get star players whose contracts haveexpired. 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 moneyand jamming it viciously into his pocket. "I didn't come to this jay townto 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 hiscigar. 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 thehouse, his features convulsed with anger and chagrin. 

As he flung himself out of the gate, he almost collided with a messengerboy 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 tolunch from the harvester works where he was employed. He seemed ten yearsyounger than he had before the trip to the World's Series, which he in hisquiet 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 fromhere, " he said, as he hung up his hat. "He had his hat jammed down on hishead, and was muttering to himself as though he were sore aboutsomething. "

"He was, " replied Jim with a grin. "He laid twenty-five thousand dollarson the table, and he was sore because Joe wouldn't take it up. "

Mr. Matson looked bewildered, but his astonishment was not as great asthat of Clara, who at that moment put her head in the door to announcethat 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, " threatenedClara, "and that means something, too, for mother has spread herself ingetting it up. "

"Take it all back, " said Jim promptly. "I'm as sober as a judge. Lead meto 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'mromancing. "

The merry group seated themselves at the table, and Clara, all alive withcuriosity, demanded the fulfilment of Jim's promise. 

"Well, " said Jim, "the simple truth is that that fellow who was here thismorning offered Joe sixty-five thousand dollars for three years' work. "

Mrs. Matson almost dropped her knife and fork in her amazement. Mr. Matsonsat 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 thantwenty-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 dollarswith him in bills, and he laid it down on the table as carelessly asthough it was twenty cents. And all that this modest youth, who sitsbeside me and isn't saying a word, had to do to get that money was to puthis name on a piece of paper. "

"Joe, " exclaimed Clara, "do tell us what all this means! Jim is justtrying 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 thousandmiles to call me a hick. I wouldn't stand for it and made him take it backand then he got mad and skipped. "

"Momsey, " begged Clara in desperation, "can't you make these idiots tellus just what happened?"

"Them cruel woids!" ejaculated Jim mournfully. 

"Do tell us, Joe!" entreated his mother. "I'm just dying to know all aboutit. "

Teasing his mother was a very different thing from teasing Clara, who wasan adept at that art herself, and Joe surrendered immediately. 

They forgot to eat--all except Jim, who seldom carried forgetfulness sofar--while he told them about Westland's call and his proposition to Joeto 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 littlefamily who didn't rejoice that Joe had turned the offer down. 

"You did the right thing, Joe, " said his father heartily; "and the factthat lots of people would call you foolish doesn't change things in theleast. A man who sells himself for a hundred thousand dollars is just ascontemptible as one who sells himself for a dollar. I'm proud of you, myboy. "

"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 thetable and giving him a hug and a kiss. 

The thought of Clara being a sister to him had never appealed to Jimbefore, 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 eventof the morning--that is, all but Joe, who kept casting surreptitiousglances at the clock. 

"Don't get worried, Joe, " said his sister mischievously, as sheintercepted one of his glances. "Mabel's train doesn't get in untilhalf-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 holdof 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 anystraighter than that, " she mocked. "It's a lucky thing for the new leaguethat 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 youngbaseball 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. Andat this Joe nodded affirmatively. 

An hour later, all three, chatting merrily, were on their way to thetrain. But their progress was slow, for at almost every turn they werestopped by friends who wanted to shake hands with Joe and congratulate himon his presence of mind the night before. 

"One of the penalties of having a famous brother, " sighed Clara, when thishad happened for the twentieth time. 

"You little hypocrite, " laughed Jim. "You know that you're just burstingwith pride. You're tickled to death to be walking alongside of him. Stopyour sighing. Follow my example. I'm tickled to death to be walkingalongside of you and you don't hear _me_ sighing. I feel more likesinging. "

"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, ofthe Riverside Academy, stepped up and greeted Joe. He was earnest in hiscongratulations, but his manner was so stilted that they looked at eachother 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 WorldSeries, " said Jim with a grin. "They didn't have any doubt about it. "

"Professor Crabbe had very serious doubts, " explained Joe. "In fact, hesaid it was impossible. Against all the laws of motion and all that sortof thing. I had to rig up a couple of bamboo rods in a line, and get DickTalbot, a friend of mine in the moving-picture business, to take a pictureof 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 sneakingnotion that he thinks yet that Dick and I played some kind of a bunco gameon him by doctoring the film. "

"Well, I hope that nobody else stops us, " remarked Clara. "It seems to methat 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 safebet 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 agrin. 

"I hope I didn't hurt him, " observed Joe, thoughtfully. 

"Perish the thought, " replied Jim. "You just caressed him. He was a bigfellow, 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 hishome town. "I never saw him before. Probably he came from some place nearby. "

"Oh, then, of course he won't mind it, " chaffed Jim. 

"Of all the nonsense----" Clara was beginning, when her eye caught sightof a figure she recognized on the station platform which they had nearlyreached. 

She nudged her brother's elbow. 

"There's the man you were talking to this morning, " she said in a lowvoice. 

"By George, so it is!" replied Joe, as he followed her glance. "And he'stalking 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 uponthem. 

Altman, however, greeted Joe with a smile and, excusing himself toWestland, went over to meet him with extended hand. 

"How are you, old scout?" he exclaimed. "You sure batted . 300 lastnight. "

Joe greeted him cordially, while Jim and Clara strolled on toward the endof the platform. It was astonishing what good company those two were toeach other, and how well they bore the absence of anybody else from theirconversation. 

"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 willbe willing to take up a collection to pay them, " replied Altman. "It'smighty lucky for the town that you happened to be in the crowd lastnight. "

"I suppose you're off to keep your next engagement, " said Joe, to changethe subject. "By the way, Nick, that was a mighty nifty skit of yours atthe hall last night. It brought down the house. It ought to pull bigeverywhere. "

"I'm glad you liked it, " replied Altman. "I'm booked for twenty weeks andI'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 anotheryear 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, areyou?"

"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 themover the plate. But whether I'll be with the White Sox or not is anotherquestion. "

"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 AmericanLeague 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 buttin, Nick, but don't let him put one over on you. "

"The new league seems to have barrels of money, " replied Altman, evading adirect answer. "This fellow Westland seems aching to throw it to thebirds--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'sadvice, Nick, and stick to the old ship. "

"That's all very well, " said Altman. "But a man's worth all that he willbring 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 onesthat 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 Joeearnestly. "You know as well as I do that there are mighty few fellows whoget as well paid for six months' work as we ball players do. But, leavethat out of the question for a minute--don't you suppose the backers ofthis new league are just as eager to make money out of us as anybodyelse? Do you think they're in the game for the sport of it? And don't youknow 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 crookedwork then that they're trying to do now--bribing men to jump theircontracts by offers of big money. The game got a blow then that it tookyears to recover from, and there wasn't a single major league player thatin the long run, didn't suffer from it. Play the game, Nick--and let'sshow these fellows that they can't buy us as they would so many cattle. "

Altman was visibly impressed, and Westland, who had been watchingproceedings out of the corner of his eye, thought it time to intervene. Hestrolled down toward them and without looking at Joe, spoke directly toAltman. 

"Train's coming, Nick, " he said. "I just heard the whistle. I'll stay withyou 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 becontent with the hope that, at least, he had put a spoke in Westland'swheel. 

The train was in sight now, and all thoughts of baseball were banishedfor 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 coloredporter jumped down the steps of the parlor car to assist the descendingpassengers. 

Joe uttered an exclamation, and Clara gave a little squeal of delight astwo young people, whom a family resemblance proclaimed to be brother andsister, 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 sayjust 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 themasculine contingent, while Reggie Varley extended his two hands, whichwere grasped cordially by Joe and Jim. 

The romance which had culminated in the engagement of Mabel Varley and Joedated back two years earlier. Joe had been in a southern training camp, inspring practice with his team, when one day he had been lucky enough tostop a runaway horse which Mabel had been driving, and thus saved her fromimminent 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 complexionand dimples that came and went in a distracting fashion, and it was nowonder that Joe before long was a helpless but willing captive. She, onher part, developed a sudden fondness for the great national game to whichshe had hitherto been indifferent. 

They had met many times during the season, and with every meeting herwitchery over Joe had become more potent. He had stolen a glove from herduring one of his visits to Goldsboro, her home town in the South, andduring the exciting games of the last World's Series he had worn it closeto his heart when he had pitched his team to victory. 

And when he told her this on the night following the famous game that hadset the whole country wild with excitement, and told her too, that victorymeant nothing, unless she shared it with him, she had capitulated andpromised to become his wife. 

Reggie, her brother, had formed Joe's acquaintance earlier than Mabel andin a less pleasant way. He was a rather foppish young man who cultivated amustache that the girls called "darling, " and affected what he fondlybelieved 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 somevaluable jewelry stolen from it. He had rashly accused Joe of the theft, and had narrowly escaped a thrashing from that indignant young man, inconsequence. 

The matter had been patched up at the time, and afterward, when Joelearned that he was Mabel's brother, had been forgiven entirely. The menwere now on the most cordial of terms, for Reggie, despite hispeculiarities and though he would never "set the river on fire" with hisintellectual ability, was by no means a bad fellow. 

There was a merry hubbub of greetings and exclamations while the menarranged for the baggage and the girls asked each other twenty questionsat once and then the party paired off for the walk to the Matsonhome--that is, Joe and Mabel and Jim and Clara, formed the pairs, whileReggie 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 thateach 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 theWorld's Series. "

"I don't mean a baseball hero, " said Jim, "but a real, honest-to-goodnesshero--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 haveseen 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, " chuckledJim. 

"Don't let them fool you, Mabel, " said Joe, tenderly. "There was just alittle excitement at the Opera House last night and Jim and I took a handin 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 theirrepressible Jim. "Last night he was a howling success. "

"Clara, dear, tell me all about it, " entreated Mabel. "We girls are theonly 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 latterhad needed any other reward for his exploit he found it in Mabel's eyes asshe looked at him. 

"I thought I knew all about you before, " she said, in a half whisper, "butI'm learning all the time!"

CHAPTER VI

CIRCLING THE GLOBE

When the party reached the Matson home, motherly Mrs. Matson took Mabelinto her arms as she had long since taken her into her heart. Then Claratook her up to her room to refresh herself after the journey, while Jimand Joe took care of Reggie and his belongings. 

"Oh, I'm so glad that you've got here at last!" exclaimed Clara, as sheplaced an affectionate hand on Mabel's shoulder. 

"And you may be sure that I'm glad that I am here, " was the happyresponse. "I declare, this place almost feels like home to me. "

"Well, you know, we want it to feel like home to you, Mabel, " answeredJoe's sister, and looked so knowingly at the visitor that Mabel suddenlybegan to blush. 

In the meantime, Joe had taken Reggie to the room which the young man wasto occupy during his stay. Joe carried both of the bags, which wererather heavy, for the fashionable young man was in the habit of taking agood 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 haveabout three hundred and fifteen new neckties in there. "

"Bah Jove, that's a good joke, Joe, don't you know!" drawled Reggie. "Butyou're wrong, my boy; I haven't more than ten neckties with me on thistrip. "

"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, " returnedthe fashionable young man quickly. "I've got a beautiful lavender one thatought to just suit you. And then there is a fancy striped one, red andgreen and gold, which is the most stunning thing, don't you know, you eversaw. I purchased it at a fashionable shop on Fifth Avenue the last time Iwas in New York. If you wore that tie, Joe, you would certainly make ahit. "

"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 tothink of it, I got several new ties myself last Christmas and on mybirthday. I think they'll see me through very nicely. But I'm much obligedjust 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 finefellow, Joe; and I often wonder how it was I quarreled with you the firsttime we met. "

"We'll forget about that, " answered Joe shortly. 

Naturally the men returned to the living room first, and while they werewaiting impatiently for the girls to rejoin them, Joe caught sight of aletter resting against the clock on the mantelpiece. 

He took it up and saw that it was addressed to himself, and that it borethe postmark of New York. He recognized the handwriting at once. 

"It's from McRae, " he said. "The second message I've received from the oldboy to-day, counting the telegram this morning. Excuse me, fellows, whileI 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'sgot it all settled at last. When we said good-bye to him in New York itwas all up in the air. But trust Mac to hustle--he's got enough promisesto make up the two teams and now he's calling on us, Jim, to keep our wordand go with the party. We're all to meet in Chicago for the start on thenineteenth of the month. "

"Gee!" exclaimed Jim. "That doesn't give us very much time. Let's see, " ashe snatched up a newspaper and scanned the top line. "To-day's thesixteenth. We'll have to get a wiggle on. "

"Bah Jove, " lisped Reggie. "It's bally short notice, don't you know? Howlong will you fellows be gone?"

"Just about six months, " said Joe, his face lengthening as he reflected onwhat 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 thegirls 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 aletter from McRae in which he tells me that he's completed allarrangements for a baseball tour around the world. You know, Mabel, that Ispoke to you about it just before we left New York. But it was only avague idea then and something of the kind is talked about at the end ofevery baseball season. Usually though, it only ends in talk, and the teamsmake a barnstorming trip to San Francisco or to Cuba. But this time itseems to have gone through all right. And now Mac is calling upon Jim andme to go along. "

"My word!" broke in Reggie, "anyone would think it was a bally funeral tohear you talk and see your face. I should think you'd be no-end pleased tohave 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 ofthose young ladies was so obtuse as not to know what the young men werethinking. 

"When do you have to go?" asked Clara, soberly. 

"We have to be in Chicago by the nineteenth, " answered Joe, "and we'llhave to leave here the day before. To-day's the sixteenth and you can seefor yourself how much time that gives us to stay in Riverside. "

"No rest for the wicked, " said Reggie, jocularly. "'Pon honor, you boyshave 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 comingseparation, but Joe was surprised and the least bit hurt to see howlightly Mabel seemed to regard it. 

"It's too bad, of course, " she said, cheerfully, "but we'll have to makethe best of these two days at least. It's a pity, though, that it wasn'tNovember 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 gamesbetween here and the Coast, and we've got to take advantage of what goodweather there is left. If we can only get to the Rockies before it's toocold to play, we'll be all right, because in California they're able toplay all the year round. "

"My word!" exclaimed Reggie, "I don't see why they don't cut out theexhibition games altogether. I should think this country had had baseballenough for one season. "

"Not when the Giants and an All-American team are the players, " repliedJoe. "The people will come out in crowds--they'll fairly beg us to taketheir money. "

"And it will be worth taking, " chimed in Jim. "Do you know how much moneythe teams took in before they reached the coast on their last World'sTrip? Ninety-seven thousand dollars. Count them, ladies andgentlemen--ninety-seven thousand dollars in good American dollars!" headded 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 atrip of that kind can be carried on. The teams travel in first-classstyle, 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, tocover expenses. Then the money we've taken in from the exhibition gameswill 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. "Thatwill give them three pitchers, two catchers, an extra infielder andoutfielder, beside the other members of the team. That ought to be enoughto allow for sickness or accident. "

"How much do you fellows expect to get out of it for yourselves?" askedReggie. 

"That's just a matter of guess work, " Joe replied. "I understand that whatis left after all expenses are paid will be divided equally among theplayers. On the last World's Trip I think it amounted to about a thousanddollars apiece. But then again, it may not be a thousand cents. All wereally know is that we'll have a chance to see the world in first-classstyle without its actually costing us a dollar. "

"Oh, you lucky men!" said Clara, with a sigh. "You can go trotting allover the world, while we poor girls have to stay at home and look for anoccasional letter from your highnesses--that is, if you deign to write tous 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 underthe American flag. We'll see Old Glory again, too, when we strike thePhilippines. But that will come a little later. After we leave Hawaii, wewon't see dry land again until we get to Japan. "

"I fancy we'll get some good games there, too, " broke in Jim. "Thoselittle Japs have gone in for the game with a vengeance. Do you rememberthe time when their Waseda and Keio University teams came over to thiscountry? They gave our Princeton and Yale fellows all they could do tobeat them. "

"Yes, " said Joe, "they're nifty players when it comes to fielding andthey're fleet as jack rabbits on the bases--but they're a little light atthe bat. When it comes to playing before their home crowds they'll be apretty stiff proposition. "

"Do you take in China at all?" asked Reggie. 

"We'll probably stop at Shanghai and Hongkong, " replied Joe. "I don'timagine the Chinks can scrape up any kind of a baseball team, but thereare big foreign colonies at both of those places and they'll turn out inforce to see players from the States. Then after touching at Manila, we'llgo to Australia, taking in all the big towns like Sydney, Melbourne andAdelaide. While of course the Australians are crazy about cricket, likeall Englishmen, they're keen for every kind of athletic sport, and we'resure of big crowds there. After that we sail for Ceylon and from there toEgypt. "

"I'd like to see Egypt better than any other place, " broke in Clara. "I'vealways been crazy to go there. "

"It's full of curiosities, " remarked Jim. "There's the Sphinx, forinstance--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. ThoseEgyptian sphinxes--those that haven't a ram's or a hawk's head--have aman's, not a woman's, head. "

"That's why they've been able to keep still so long, then!" exclaimedJim. 

"You mean thing!" cried Mabel. 

"Don't lay that up against me, " he begged, penitently, "and I'll send youback 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 oneof the pyramids. "

"That's the last we'll see of Africa, " went on Joe. "After that, we setsail for Italy and land at Naples. Then we work our way up through Rome, Florence, Milan, Monte Carlo, Marseilles, Paris and London. We'll stayabout 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 scopefor endless surmise and speculation that they were surprised at the flightof time when Mrs. Matson smilingly summoned them to supper. 

Of course, Joe sat beside Mabel and Jim beside Clara. If, in the course ofthe evening meal, Joe's hand and Mabel's met beneath the table, it waspurely by accident. Jim, on his side would cheerfully have risked such anaccident, but had no such luck. 

Joe was happy, supremely happy in the presence by his side of the dearestgirl in all the world. Yet there was a queer little ache at his heartbecause of the apparent indifference with which Mabel had viewed theircoming separation. 

"You haven't said once, " he said to her in a low tone, with a touch oftender 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 herwildest 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 thetable. 

"Land sakes, Joe!" expostulated his mother, "you almost made me upset mytea cup. What's the matter?"

"Enough's the matter, " responded Joe, jubilantly. "That is, if Mabelreally 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 underthe battery of eyes turned upon her. 

"All right, Sis, " said Reggie, affably. "Bah Jove, I give you credit forholding in as long as you have. The fact is, " he continued, beamingamiably upon all the party, "the governor asked me to take a trip to Japanand China, and Mabel put in to come along. I didn't twig what the littleminx was up to, until she said we could go on the same steamer that tookthe baseball party. Lots of other women--wives of the managers and playersand so on--will go along, I understand. So there's the whole bally storyin 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. Matsonsmiled 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 goingcrazy. 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 thesixteenth now, and the teams leave Chicago on the nineteenth. "

"Oh, we're not going to make the trip across the country, " explainedMabel, flushed with happiness. "Reggie and I will join the party in SanFrancisco or Seattle, or wherever they start from. So that will give usnearly a month, and I'm going to spend most of that right here--if you canstand 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 promisedMabel a trip round the world as soon as she got through with the finishingschool. She could have gone last year if she had chosen, but she got sointerested in baseball----"

"Reggie!" murmured Mabel, warningly. 

"Well, anyway, " said Reggie a little lamely, "she didn't go, and so I putit up to the governor that there was no reason she couldn't go now. Hesaw it the same way--he's a rippin' good sort, the governor is--and he'sleft it to us to make the trip all the way round--that is, if I can getthrough my business in Japan in time. "

"If you don't get through in time, there'll be murder done, " threatenedJoe. 

In the animated talk that ensued all took a part. But toward the end ofthe meal, Joe noticed that Jim was a little more subdued than was usualwith him, and that some of the sparkle and vivacity had vanished fromClara's eyes and voice. 

He glanced from one to the other and knew the reason. He knew how deep thefeeling was growing between the two and realized what the comingsix-months' separation would mean to them. A generous impulse came to himlike a flash. 

"Listen folks, " he said. "Surprises seem to be in fashion, so here'sanother one. Clara's going along with us. "

Astonishment and delight held Clara speechless--then she rose and flungher arms impulsively about her brother's neck, and for the second timethat 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 thatever 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. "Youknow it's less than a month since you sent us that thousand-dollar billthat took us to the World's Series. "

"That's all right, Sis, " reassured Joe, patting her hand. "Remember Icleared nearly four thousand dollars extra in the World's Series, and thiswon't put much of a dent in that. You just go ahead and doll yourselfup--and hang the expense. "

And so it was settled, and it is safe to say that a group of happier youngpeople could not be found anywhere than those who discussed excitedly, until late into the night, the coming trip with all its marvelouspossibilities. 

The next two days flew by all too rapidly. The girls, of course, hadplenty of time, but Joe and Jim had a host of things to attend to and avery limited time to do them in. But somehow, Joe made time enough to saya lot of things to Mabel that, to lovers at least, seem important, andJim, though not daring to go quite so far, looked and said quite enough todeepen 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 therewas no long six-months' separation to be dreaded--that is, as far as theyoung folks were concerned. 

Mr. And Mrs. Matson had counted on having their son with them throughoutthe fall and winter, but they had been accustomed for so long to mergetheir own happiness in that of their children that they kept up brightfaces while they said good-bye, although Mrs. Matson's smile wastremulous. 

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 hiseyes 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 haddanced the tango with McRae before the clubhouse on the occasion of thegreat victory. 

But if worry and anxiety had set their mark upon the manager and trainerof the Giants, it had not affected the players, who were lounging aboutthe corridor of the hotel. 

A bunch of them, including Burkett and Denton and good old Larry, gave thenewcomers 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 aresounding thump on the back. 

"That's the way to talk, Joe, old boy!" he cried. "I've been telling Macall along that no matter who else weakens he could bet his last dollar onyou. "

"Not that I needed any bracing up, " declared McRae. "I know a man when Isee one, and I count on you to the limit. I didn't send that telegrambecause I had any doubt, but I knew that they'd make a break for you firstof all and I didn't want you to be taken by surprise. By the way, have anyof 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 drippingfrom him. He just ached to give it away. It was only up to Joe to become abloated plutocrat on the spot. "

"Offered good money, did he?" asked McRae, with quickened interest. 

"Twenty thousand dollars right off the bat, " replied Jim. "Fifteenthousand dollars a year for a three-year contract. And as if that weren'tenough, he offered to put the money in the bank in advance and let Joedraw against it as he went along. "

McRae and Robbie exchanged glances. Here was proof that the new leaguemeant business right from the start. It was a competitor to be dreaded andit 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 onit'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 Joelighted into him was a sin and a shame. He fairly skinned him alive. Itlooked 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 ofthe 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 oneman, 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 ofstrength to the Giants for ten years past, came strolling up, and Joe andJim fell upon him with a shout. 

"How are you, Hughson, old man?" cried Joe. "How's that wing of yoursgetting along?"

"All to the good, " replied Hughson. "I stopped off for a day or two atYoungstown and had it treated by Bonesetter Reese. I tell you, that oldchap's a wonder. He tells me it will be as good as ever when the seasonopens. "

"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. "Morefor the fun of being with the boys than anything else. But I don't thinkI'll make the trip around the world. I made a half promise some time agoto coach the Yale team this coming spring, and they don't seem inclined tolet me out of it. And I don't know if after all it may not be best to restup this winter and get in shape for next year. "

The three strolled on down the corridor, leaving McRae and Robbie inearnest conversation. 

"How many of the boys is Mac taking along?" asked Joe. 

"I think he figures on about fourteen men, " replied Hughson. "That willgive him three pitchers, two catchers, an extra infielder and outfielder, besides the seven other men in their regular positions. That'll allow foraccident 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 playerever held down the third bag than Mac when he was on the old Orioles. Theold boy could give the youngsters points even now on winging them down tofirst. "

"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 tofirst, " admitted Hughson, with a smile. 

"What kind of a team has Brennan got together for the All-American?" askedJoe. 

"Believe me; it's a good one, " replied Hughson. "He's got a bunch of thesweetest hitters that he could get from either league. They're a bunch offence breakers, all right. When those birds once get going, they're apt tosend any pitcher to the shower. You'll have all you want to do, Joe, tokeep them from straightening out your curves. "

"I don't ask anything better, " replied Joe, with a laugh. "I'd get soft ifthey were too easy. But who are these ball killers? Let me know theworst. "

"Well, " said Hughson, "there's Wallie Schalk behind the bat--you know howhe can line them out. Then there's Miller at first, Ebers at second, McBride at short and Chapman at third. The outfielders will probably beCooper and Murray and Lange. For pitchers Brennan will have Hamilton, Fraser and Ellis, --although Ellis was troubled with the charley-horsetoward the end of the season, and Banks may take his place. "

"It's a strong team, " commented Jim, "and they can certainly make the ballscream when they hit it. They're a nifty lot of fielders, too. I guesswe'll have our work cut out for us, all right. "

"Both Mac and Brennan have got the right idea, " said Hughson. "Too many ofthese barnstorming trips have been made up of second string men, and whenpeople came to see the teams play and didn't find the real stars in theline-up they naturally felt sore. But they're going to get the simon-purearticle this time and the games are to be for blood. Anyone that laysdown on his job is going to get fired. It'll be easy enough to pick up agood man to take his place. "

"What's the scheme?" asked Joe. "Are we two teams to play against eachother 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 knowwe're going to play the Denver nine and some of the crack Californiateams. "

"Easy meat, " commented Jim with a grin. 

"Don't you believe it, " rejoined Hughson. "Don't you remember how the Wacoteam trimmed us last spring? Those fellows will play their heads off tobeat us--and they'll own the town if they succeed. They figure thatthey'll catch us off our guard and get the Indian sign on us before wewake 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 wouldbe a feather in their cap if they could take a game away from us. They'llprobably look around and pick up the very best players they can, even ifthey have to put up some money for the purpose. Just the same, we ought tobe able to polish them off with these. "

"Well, of course, we've got to expect to lose some games. It would be aremarkable 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 forthe sake of the trip, " observed Joe. 

"You've said it, " replied Hughson. "At least half of the men will havetheir wives along, and then there's a whole bunch of fans who have beenmeaning to go round the world anyway who will think this a good chance tomix baseball and globe trotting. Altogether I shouldn't wonder if therewould be about a hundred in the party. Some of the fellows will have theirsisters with them, and you boys had better look out or you'll lose yourhearts to them. But perhaps, " he added, as he saw a look of quickintelligence 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 youthrough and through. He's got the idea in that twisted brain of his thatyou got him off the Giant team. I met him in the street the otherday----"

"Half drunk, I suppose, " interjected Jim. 

"More than half, " replied Hughson. "He's got to be a regularpanhandler--struck me for a loan, and while I was getting it for him, hetalked in a rambling way of how he was going to get even with you. Ofcourse I shut him up, but I couldn't talk him out of his fixed idea. He'lldo you a mischief if he ever gets the chance. "

"He's tried it before, " said Joe. "He nearly knocked me out when he dopedmy coffee. Poor old 'Bugs'--he's his own worst enemy. "

"But he's your enemy too, " persisted Hughson. "And don't forget that acrazy man is a dangerous man. "

"Thanks for the tip, " replied Joe. "But 'threatened men live long' and Iguess 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 walkingstraight. "

"Guess he's on his good behavior, " remarked Hughson. "There's a bigmeeting of the American League here just now, winding up the affairs ofthe league, now that the playing season is over. Maybe Hartley thinks hehas a chance to catch on somewhere. Like everybody else that's played inthe 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 himyet. "

"He's a natural player, " said Joe, generously. "And one of the bestpitchers 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 bigleague company, " observed Jim. "After the way he tried to give away oursignals in that game at Boston, the Nationals wouldn't touch him with aten-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 ratherundecided 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. Hepaid no attention to Jim, and gave a curt nod to Hughson and fixed amalignant stare on Joe. 

"All dolled up, " he said, with a sneer, as he noted the quiet but handsomesuit that Joe was wearing. "I could have glad rags, too, if you hadn'tbilked me out of four thousand dollars. "

"Cut out that talk, Bugs, " said Joe, though not unkindly. "I never did youout of anything and you know it. "

"Yes, you did, " snarled Hartley. "You got me fired from the Giants and didme out of my share of the World's Series money. "

"You did yourself out of it, Bugs, " said Joe, patiently. "I did my best tohave Mac hold on to you. I never was anything but your friend. Do youremember how Jim and I put you to bed that night in St. Louis when youwere drunk? We took you up the back way so Mac wouldn't get next. Take afool'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 yourhoop now, or I'll help you. "

Hartley hesitated a moment, but took Jim's advice and with a mutteredthreat went on his way. 

"Mad as a March hare, " murmured Jim, as they watched the retreatingfigure. 

"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 wasbatted out of the box and Mac sent me in to take his place. I won the gameand Bugs has been sore at me ever since. He figured that I tried to showhim up. "

"I wonder how he got here?" mused Hughson. "The last time I saw him was inNew 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 ahouse, but he hates a traitor. You see, though, Joe, I was right in givingyou the tip. Keep your eyes open, old man. "

Joe was about to make a laughing reply, but just at that moment Larry andDenton came along with broad smiles of welcome on their faces, and theunpleasant episode was forgotten. 

It was a jolly party that left Chicago the next morning for the triparound the world. The managers had chartered a special train which wasmade 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 forthe full month that would elapse before they reached the coast. 

"Rather soft, eh, for the poor baseball slaves, " grinned Jim, as hestretched out his long legs luxuriously and gazed out of the window at theflying telegraph poles. 

"This is the life, " chanted Larry Barrett. 

"Nothing to do till to-morrow, " chimed in Denton. "And not much eventhen. "

"Don't you boys go patting yourselves on the back, " smiled Robbie, lookingmore like a cherub than ever, as he stopped beside their seats on his wayalong the aisle. "These games, remember, are to be the real thing--there'sgoing to be no sloppy or careless work just because you're not playingfor the championship. They're going to be fights from the time the gongrings 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 vimabout them that augured well for the success of the trip. It is true thatthe 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 ofthe 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 toJoe. 

"Oh, well, we've got three more innings to play, " was the answer. 

In the seventh inning a most remarkable happening occurred. TheAll-Americans had three men on bases with nobody out. It looked as if theymight score, but Joe took a sudden brace and pitched the next man at thebat 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 gofor the third man!"

The third fellow to the bat was a notable hitter, and nearly every onethought he would lace out at least a two-bagger, bringing in probablythree runs. Instead, however, he knocked two fouls, and then sent a linerdown to first base, which the baseman caught with ease; and that ended thechance for scoring. 

"That's pulling it out of the fire!" cried McRae. The showing had been agood one, but what made the inning so remarkable was the fact that inone-two-three order the Giants got the bases filled exactly as they hadbeen filled before. Then, more amazing still, the next man was pitchedout, the second man knocked a pop fly to the pitcher, and it was Joehimself, coming to the bat, hit out a liner to third base, which wasgathered in by the baseman, thus ending the Giants hope of scoring. 

"Well, what do you know about that!" cried Brennan. "The inning on eachside was exactly alike, with the exception that our third man out flied tofirst base, while your man flied to third. "

But that ended the similarity both in batting and in scoring, for in theeighth inning the Giants added another run to their score, and held thislead to the end, even though the All-Americans fought desperately in theeffort to tie the score. 

"Oh, we had to win, " said one of the Giants. "Too many of our folkslooking at us to lose. "

Many members of the teams had their wives or sisters with them, anddefeat would have been galling under the eyes of the fair spectators. 

Then, too, the Giants had their reputation to sustain as the Champions ofthe World. On the other hand, the All-Americans were anxious to show thateven though they had not been in the World's Series, they ought to havebeen--and it was a keen delight to them to make their adversaries bite thedust. 

Add to this the fact that there was a strong spirit of rivalry, good-natured but intense, between the scrappy McRae and the equallypugnacious Brennan, whose team had been nosed out by the Giants in thatlast desperate race down the stretch for the pennant, and it is no wonderthat the crowds kept getting larger in every city they played, that thegate receipts made the managers chuckle, that the great city papers gaveextended reports of the games and that the baseball trip around the worldbegan 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 platelike bullets from a gatling gun. His fadeaway was working to a charm. Hewound the ball near the batters' necks and curved it out of reach of theirbats with an ease and precision that explained to the applauding crowdswhy he was rated as the foremost pitcher of the day. 

Jim, too, showed the effect of his season's work and Joe's helpfulcoaching, and between the two they accounted for three of the games won bythe Giants before they reached Colorado. Two other games had gone to theAll-Americans in slap-dash, ding-dong finishes, and it was an even thingas to which team would have the most games to its credit by the time theyhad reached the Pacific coast. 

The tension was relaxed somewhat when they reached Denver, where, for thefirst time, instead of fighting it out between themselves a team pickedfrom both nines was to play the local club. 

"Here's where we get a rest, " sighed Mylert, the burly catcher of theGiant 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, heof the flaming mop, who was accustomed to play the "sun field" at the PoloGrounds. 

"It's almost a crime to show them up before their home crowd, " chimed inIredell, the Giant shortstop. 

But if the local club was in for a beating, they showed no specialtrepidation as they came out on the field for practice. If the haughtymajor leaguers had expected their humble adversaries to roll over and playdead in advance of the game itself, they were certainly doomed todisappointment. 

The home team went through its preliminary work in a snappy, finished waythat brought frequent applause from the crowds that thronged the stand. 

Before the game, Brennan, of the Chicagos, sauntered over to Thorpe, thelocal manager, who chanced to be an old acquaintance. 

"Got a dandy crowd here to-day, Bill, " he said. "We ought to give them arun for their money. Suppose I lend you one of our star pitchers, just tomake things more interesting. "

"Thank you, Roger, " Thorpe replied, with a slow smile, "but I think we'regoing 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 leadingbatsman of the National League came up to the plate, swinging three bats. He threw away two of them, tapped his heels for luck and grinnedcomplacently at the Denver pitcher. 

"Trot out the best you've got, kid, " he called, "and if you can put itover the plate I'll murder it. "

CHAPTER X

BY A HAIR

The pitcher, a dark-skinned, rangy fellow, wound up deliberately and shotthe ball over. It split the plate clean. Larry swung at it--and missed itby two inches. 

He looked mildly surprised, but set it down to the luck of the game andsquared himself for a second attempt. This time he figured on a curve, butthe boxman out-guessed him with a slow one that floated up to the plate asbig 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 upon the bench. 

"Some class to that pitcher, " ejaculated Willis. 

"It isn't often that a bush leaguer makes a monkey out of Larry, " repliedBurkett. 

"I've seen these minor league pitchers before, " grinned "Red" Curry. "Theystart off like a house afire, but about the fifth inning they begin tocrumple 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 thatgot away from him. 

"You're out, " called the umpire as the ball thudded into the catcher'smitt, and Larry came back a little sheepishly to his grinning comrades onthe bench. 

"What's the matter, Larry?" queried Iredell, as he moved up to make roomfor him. "Off your feed to-day?"

"You'll find out what the matter is when you face that bird, " snortedLarry. "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, andthen dribbled an easy roller to the box, which the swarthy pitcher had notrouble in getting to first on time. 

Burkett, who followed, had better luck and sent a clean single betweenfirst and second. A shout went up from the Giant bench, which became agroan a moment later, when a snap throw by the pitcher nailed Burkettthree feet off the bag. 

The half inning had been smartly played and the Giants took the field witha slightly greater respect for their opponents. 

Joe had pitched the day before, and it was up to Fraser to take his turnin the box. He walked out to his position with easy confidence. He wasone of the best pitchers in either league, and it was he who had faced Joein that last battle royal of the World's Series and had gone downdefeated, but not disgraced. 

But to-day from the start, it was evident that he was not himself. Hisspeed was there and the curves, but control was lacking. 

"Wild as a hawk, " muttered McRae, as the first Denver man trotted down tobase 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 andwere also rewarded with passes. The bases were full without a hit havingbeen 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 thinkthe plate was up in the grandstand. "

"Couldn't get the hang of it, somehow, " Fraser excused himself. "Just myoff day, I guess. "

Hamilton succeeded him in the box, and from the way he started out itseemed 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 sendup a towering foul that Mylert caught after a long run, and the majorleaguers 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 tremendousthree-bagger to right field. Curry made a gallant try for it but could notquite 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 thelocal team, grinned in a mocking way at Brennan. 

"Is this interesting enough?" he drawled, referring to Brennan'spatronizing offer to lend him a player. 

"Just a bit of luck, " growled Brennan. "A few inches more and Curry wouldhave got his hooks on the ball. Beside, the game's young yet. We've gotthe class and that's bound to tell. "

Hamilton, whose blood was up, put on more steam, and the third player wentout on an infield fly. But the damage had been done, and those three runsat 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 putHamilton in right at the start. "

Neither team scored in the second inning, and the third also passedwithout result. 

Hamilton was mowing down the opposing batters with ease and grace. But theswarthy flinger for the local club was not a bit behind him. The heavysluggers of the visiting teams seemed as helpless before him as so manyschool-boys. 

"That fellow won't be in the minors long, " commented Brennan. "I wondersome 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 himbefore somewhere, and I've been puzzling all this time to place him. NowI've tumbled. It's Alvarez, the crack pitcher of Cuba. "

"Do you mean the fellow that stood the Athletics on their heads when theymade 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 thegames, and he showed them up--hundred thousand dollar infield and all. Connie was fairly dancing as he saw his pets slaughtered. I tell you, thatfellow's a wonder--he'd have been in a major league long ago if it hadn'tbeen for his color. He may be only a Cuban, and he says he is, but he's sodark-skinned that there'd be some prejudice against him and that's barredhim 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 babyact because they couldn't bat a bush pitcher. Not on your life! Thorpewould be tickled to death to have us make a squeal. We'll simply have tolick him. "

But if the promised licking was yet to come, it was not in evidence in thenext two innings. Alvarez seemed as fresh as at the beginning, and his armworked with the force and precision of a piston rod. 

"What's the matter with you fellows, anyway?" raged McRae, when the end ofthe fifth inning saw the score remain unchanged. "You ought to be in theold 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 thata fellow finds it hard to breathe. These Denver boobs are used to it andwe're not. "

"Air! air!" snapped McRae. "I notice you've got plenty of hot air. Go inand play the game, you bunch of false alarms. "

Whether it was owing to his rasping tongue or their own growing resentmentat the impudence of the minor leaguers, the All-Americans broke the ice inthe sixth. 

Burkett lined out a beauty between left and center that was good for twobases. Willis followed with a towering sky scraper to right, which, although it was caught after a long run, enabled Burkett to get to thirdbefore the ball was returned. Then Becker who had perished twice before onfeeble taps to the infield, whaled out a home run to the intensejubilation 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 theair. 

But Alvarez was not through, by any means. Undaunted by that tremendoushome run which might have taken the heart out of any pitcher, he bracedhimself, and the next two men went out on fouls. 

"I thought we had them on the run that time, " observed McRae, "but he'sgot the old comeback right with him. "

"Never mind, " exulted Robbie. "We're beginning to find him now, and we'vecut down that big lead of theirs to one run. The boys will get after himthe next inning. "

But even the lucky seventh passed without bringing any luck to thevisitors, and although the major leaguers got two men on bases in theeighth, the inning ended with the score still three to two in favor of thelocal club. 

"Looks as though we were up against it, " said Jim, anxiously, as theGiants went to bat for the last time. 

"It sure does, " responded Joe. "I'll hate to look at the papers to-morrowmorning. 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 orso. "

"Now, Larry, show them where you live, " sang out Curry, as the head of theGiant 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 andcenter fielders who chased it as it went on a line between the two. Acleaner home run had probably never been knocked out on the Denvergrounds. 

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 madethat 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 gamehad vanished; the visitors had played an uphill game worthy of theirreputation, and now they had at least an even chance. 

Denton came to the bat, eager to emulate Larry's feat, but Alvarez wasunsteady now--that last home run had taken something out of him. He foundit 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, asacrifice was the proper play, and Burkett laid down a neat bunt in frontof the plate that carried Denton to second, although the batter died atfirst. 

Alvarez purposely passed Willis on the chance of the next batter hittinginto a double play, which would have retired the side. Becker made amighty effort to bring his comrades in, but hit under the ball, and itwent high in the air and was caught by Alvarez as it came down, withoutthe pitcher moving from his tracks. 

With two out, there was no need of a double play and the infielders, whohad been playing close in, resumed their usual positions. Iredell, thenext man up caught the ball square on the end of his bat and sent itwhistling between center and third. The shortstop leaped up and knockedthe 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 theinfielder regained the ball had rounded third and was tearing like aracehorse toward the plate. There was little time to get set and thehurried throw home went over the catcher's head. Denton slid feet firstover 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 bythis time the catcher had recovered the ball and shot it back to Alvarezwho was guarding the plate. He nipped Willis by three feet and the sidewas out. 

But that one run in the lead looked as big as a house at that stage in thegame. 

"All you've got to do now, Hamilton, old man, is to hold them down intheir 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 onein the world was demonstrated when the Denver team came in to do-or-die intheir half of the ninth. 

Hamilton fed the first batter a snaky curve, which he lashed at savagelybut vainly. The next was a slow one and resulted in a chop to the infieldwhich Larry would have ordinarily gobbled up without trouble. But the balltook an ugly bound just as he was all set for it and went over his headtoward right. Before Curry could get the ball the batter had reachedsecond and the stands were once more in an uproar. 

The uproar increased when Hamilton, somewhat shaken by the incident, gavethe next batter a base on balls, and the broad smiles which had suffusedthe 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. Yousee Denton's talking to him now, to give him a chance to rest up alittle. "

The third baseman had strolled over to Hamilton on pretense of discussingsome point of play, but the crowd saw through the subterfuge, and shoutsof protest went up:

"Hire a hall!"

"Write him a letter!"

"Play ball!"

Not a bit flustered by the shouts, Denton took his time, and afterencouraging his team mate sauntered slowly back to his position. 

But Hamilton's good right arm had lost its cunning. His first ball waswild, 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 theheaviest sluggers of the team coming to the bat. 

McRae and Brennan had been holding an earnest conference, and now on asignal 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 coldthan 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 beenwatching the progress of the game with keen interest, although makingcomparatively few comments. As McRae approached Joe, the crowd howledlouder 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 inthe 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 fiveminutes that you're pitching for the pennant. "

"I'll do anything you say, " was Joe's reply; and then he drew on his gloveand 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 spectatorssharply. "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 localsympathizer. 

At a signal the next man to bat stepped away from the plate, and Joe hadthe 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 nowpitching for the All-Americans. "

A howl went up from the stands, made up in about equal parts of derisionand applause. Derision because the All-American team must, they figured, be scared to death when they had to send their greatest player into thegame. Whether they won or lost it was a great compliment to the Denverteam. The applause came from the genuine sportsmen who knew the famouspitcher by reputation and welcomed the chance to see him in action. 

The three men on the bases were dancing about like dervishes in the hopeof 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, apparentlyaccidentally, against his right heel. 

It was a signal meant for Denton, the third baseman, who was watching himlike a hawk. 

Joe took up his position in the box, took a grip on the ball, but insteadof delivering it to the batter turned suddenly on his left heel, as thoughto snap it down to first. The Denver player at that bag, who had taken alead of several feet, made a frantic slide back to safety. 

But the ball never got to first, for Joe had swung himself all the wayround and shot the ball like a bullet to Denton at third. The local playerat third had been watching eagerly the outcome of the supposed throw tofirst and was caught completely unawares. 

Down came Denton's hand, clapping the ball on his back, while the victimstood dazed as though in a trance. 

It was the prettiest kind of "inside work, " and even the home crowd wentinto convulsions of laughter as the trapped player came sheepishly in fromthird to the bench. 

McRae was beaming, and Robbie's rubicund face became several degreesredder under the strain of his emotion. 

"Say, is that boy class, John?" Robbie gurgled, as soon as he couldspeak. 

"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 hadbeen disposed of, yet there was still a man on first and another onsecond. 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 cameso swiftly that the batter did not offer at it, and looked aggrieved whenthe umpire called it a strike. 

The next was a crafty outcurve which went as a ball. The batsman fouledoff the next. 

With two strikes on and only one ball called, Joe was on "easy street" andcould afford to "waste a few. " Twice in succession he tempted the batsmanwith balls that were wide of the plate, but the batter was wary andrefused 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 boxabout two feet over Joe's head. 

Joe saw it coming, leaped into the air and speared it with his glovedhand. The men on bases had started to run, thinking it a sure hit. Joewheeled 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 wastoo late. That rattling double play had ended the game with theAll-American team a victor by a score of four to three. 

Joe's fingers tingled as he pulled off the glove, for that terrific drivehad stung. The crowd had been stunned for a moment by the suddenness withwhich the game and their hopes of victory had gone glimmering. But it hadbeen a remarkable play and the first silence was followed by a round ofsportsmanlike applause--though of course it was nothing to what would havegreeted 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 ownbench. All were jubilant that they had escaped the humiliation of beingwhipped 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!" headded, with a grin. 

CHAPTER XII

A DASTARDLY ATTACK

The tourists' train was scheduled to leave Denver at eleven-thirty thatnight, so that there was ample time after the game for a leisurely mealand a few hours for recreation for any of the party that felt soinclined. 

Some went to the theater, others played cards, while others sat about thelobby of the leading hotel and discussed the exciting events of theafternoon's game. 

As for Joe and Jim, their recreation took the form of long letters to twocharming young ladies whose address, by coincidence, happened to beRiverside. Both seemed to have much to write about, for it was nearly teno'clock before the bulky letters were ready for mailing. 

"Give them to me and I'll take them down to the hotel lobby and mailthem, " said Jim, as they rose from the writing table. 

"I don't know, " replied Joe, as he looked at his watch. "Perhaps the lastcollection for the outgoing eastbound mail has already been made. What doyou say to going down to the post-office itself and dropping them inthere? Then they'll be sure to go. "

"All right, " Jim acquiesced. "It's a dandy night anyway for a walk and I'dlike to stretch my legs a little. Come along. "

They went out into the brilliantly lighted streets, which at that hourwere still full of people, and turned toward the post-office which wasabout 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 anickel to see it. "

"Quit your fooling, " said Jim. "If that fellow wasn't Bugs Hartley, thenmy eyes are going back on me. "

"You're dreaming, " Joe retorted. "What in the world would Bugs be doing inDenver?"

"Panhandling, maybe, " returned Jim. "Drinking, certainly. But it isn'twhat 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'searnestness. 

They went up to the swinging door, pushed it open and looked in. Therewere 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 hisdouble. "

They reached the post-office and after mailing their letters turned backtowards the hotel. 

"It's taken us a little longer than I thought, " remarked Jim, looking athis watch. "We won't have any more than time to get our traps together andget down to the train. "

"This looks like a short cut, " said Joe, indicating a side street whichthough rather dark and deserted cut into the main thoroughfare, as theycould see by the bright lights at the further end. "We'll save somethingby going this way. "

They had gone perhaps a couple of blocks when they reached a part of thestreet which had no dwelling houses on it. On one side was a factory, darkand forbidding, and on the side where the young men were walking was ahigh board fence enclosing a coal yard. 

"Wait a minute, Jim, " said Joe. "It feels as though my shoe lace had comeuntied. "

He stooped down to fasten the lace, and just as he did so, a jagged pieceof rock came whizzing past where his head had been a second before andcrashed 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 whoit was. There he is now!" he shouted, as he caught sight of a dim figureslinking away in the darkness on the further side of the factory. 

They darted across the street in pursuit, but when they turned the cornerthere 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 theytried 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 theattack. 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 wouldhave been all up with me, if it had landed. "

"Do you notice that that's about the weight of a baseball?" asked Jimsignificantly. "And it went for your head as straight as a bullet. Itwould have caught you square if you hadn't stooped just as you did. Youcan thank your lucky stars that your shoelace came untied. That fellowknew 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 saythat I saw him to-night. That skunk thought that I had seen him, andslipped into the saloon to get out of sight. Probably he went out througha 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 becausehe is crazy. He doesn't have to have a reason. If he thinks you've injuredhim he's just as bitter as though you really had. Hughson's tip was a goodone, Joe. The fellow's deadly dangerous. It's only luck that he isn't amurderer this minute. "

"It's good for him I didn't lay my hands on him, " replied Joe. "I wouldn'thave hit him, because I don't think he's responsible for what he does. ButI'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 wouldget 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 hadremained on the train, they had only to gather a few things together in asmall hand bag and start out for the station. 

Their special train had been standing on a side track a few hundred yardseast of the main platform. They were picking their way toward it across anetwork 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 torun. In an instant Joe had him by the collar in a grip of iron, while Jimstood on the alert to stop him should he break away. 

"Let me go!" cried Hartley in stifled tones, for Joe's grip was almostchoking 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 wrenchhimself 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 sinceI 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 manwho 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 whatgood it will do you. "

The point was well taken, and Joe and Jim knew in their hearts that theyhad no legal proof, although they were morally certain Bugs was guilty. Besides, they had no time to have him arrested, for their train wasscheduled to start in ten minutes. 

"Now listen, Bugs, " said Joe, at the same time shaking him so that histeeth rattled. "I know perfectly well that you're lying, and I'm givingyou warning for the last time. You've had it in for me from the time youdoped my coffee and nearly put me out of the game altogether. Ever sincethat you've bothered me, and to-night you've tried to kill me. I tell youstraight, I've had enough of it. If I didn't think that your brain wastwisted, I'd thrash you now within an inch of your life. But I'm tellingyou now, and you let it sink in, that the next time you try to do me, I'mgoing to put you where the dogs won't bite you. "

He dug his knuckles into Bugs' neck and gave him a fling that sent himseveral yards away. The fellow kept his feet with an effort, and then witha muttered threat slunk away into the darkness. 

They watched him for a minute, and then picked up their handbags andstarted 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 upjust 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 thatwe had a chance to throw a scare into him. He knows now that we'll be onour 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 railroadstation, but their handbags were somewhat heavy, and this impeded theirprogress. Then, turning a corner, they suddenly found themselvesconfronted 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. Hischum followed him, but Jim might have slipped back into the sewer trenchhad 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 togo, " Joe returned, and set off once more on the run, with Jim at hisheels. 

Soon they rounded another corner, and came in sight of the railroadstation. There stood their train, and the conductor was signaling tostart. 

"Wait! Wait!" yelled Joe. But in the general confusion around the railroadstation nobody seemed to notice him. 

"We've got to make that train--we've just got to!" cried Joe, and dashedforward faster than ever, with Jim beside him. 

They scrambled up the steps just as a warning whistle sounded; and a fewmoments 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, andthe magnificent views that spread before them as they topped the ridges ofthe continent and dropped down on the other side into the land of flowersand eternal summer were a source of unending interest and pleasure. 

"I'll tell you what, Joe, " remarked Jim: "I never had an idea that thissection of our country was so truly grand. "

"It certainly is magnificent scenery, " was Joe's answer. "Just look atthose mountain tops, will you? Some height there, believe me!"

"Yes. And just see the depth of some of those canyons, will you? Say! if afellow ever fell over into one of those, he'd never know what happened tohim. "

"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 laidin the Rocky Mountains, and, unless I'm greatly mistaken, some of thescenes were taken right in this locality. "

"Was that a photo-play called 'The Girl From Mountain Pass?'" questionedanother player who was present. 

"It was. "

"Then you're right, Matson; because I was speaking about that film to theconductor of this train, and he said that some of the pictures were takenright around here. His train was used in one of the scenes. "

This matter was talked over for several minutes, but then the conversationchanged; and, presently, the chums went off to talk about other matters. 

Joe and Jim were lounging in the rear of the observation car, talking overthe stirring events of the night before, when McRae happened along anddropped into a seat beside them. 

"Some game that was yesterday, boys, " he remarked genially. "Those Denverfellows 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 thatwe'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 andshooting it over to third was a pretty bit of inside stuff. And therewasn't anything slow either about spearing that ball that Thompson hit. "

"I'd have let the fielders take care of that, " admitted Joe, "if therehadn't been so much at stake. My hand stung for an hour afterward. But I'dhave hated to let those fellows crow over us. "

"That fellow, Alvarez, that Thorpe rang in on us was a sure-enoughpitcher, " observed McRae. "I'd sign him up in a minute if it weren't forthat dark skin of his. But it wouldn't work. We had a second baseman likethat one time, and although he was a rattling good player it nearly brokeup the team. It's too bad that color should stand in the way of a man'sadvancement, but it can't be helped. 

"By the way, " he continued, drawing a paper from his pocket, "here'ssomething that may interest you. It's the official record of the NationalLeague of the pitching averages for this season. It made me feel good whenI 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 atthe head of the list, and Jim, too, was elated, as he noted that althoughthis was his first year in a major league his name was among the firstfifteen--a rare distinction for a "rookie. "

"Some class to the Giants, eh?" grinned McRae. "There's sixty names inthat 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 inthe list with 1. 95, and Jim's eleventh with 2. 09. I tell you, boys, that'sclass, 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 withthe same team we ought to go through the league like a prairie fire. Ihave every reason to think that Hughson will be in tip-top shape when theseason opens, and if he is, there won't be any pitching staff that canhold a candle to ours. But----"

He paused uncertainly and looked at Joe as though he wanted to speak tohim 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 aredoing, 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 myright bower and I can talk to you more freely than to anyone else, exceptHughson. I don't mind telling you that this new league is worrying me alot. "

"What is it?" asked Joe with quick interest. "Anything happened lately?"

"Plenty, " replied McRae. "I've kidded myself with the idea that the thingwas going to peter out of its own accord. Every few seasons something ofthe kind crops up, but it usually comes to nothing. Usually the men whoput up the coin get scared when they see what a big proposition it isthey've tackled and back out. Sometimes, too, they go about it in such ablundering 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 moneyto burn. They certainly are making big offers to star players all over thecountry. You saw the way they came at you, and they're doing the same inother places. There isn't a paper that I pick up that doesn't give thename of some big player that they're tampering with. The last one I sawwas Altman of the Chicago White Sox. I guess though, that is a wrongsteer, for Altman has come out flat for his old team and denies anyintention of jumping his contract. "

"Bully for Nick!" exclaimed Joe. "I guess I helped to queer that deal. Isaw Westland talking to him, and he seemed to have him going, but I put afew things straight to Nick and he seems to have come to his senses beforeit's too late. "

"There's Munsey of the Cincinnatis, he's left his reservation, " continuedMcRae. "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 betteroutfielders 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 itso seriously, and hadn't got so far in my preparations for this trip, Ithink I wouldn't have gone on this world's tour. It looks to me as thoughthe major leagues would be backed up against the wall and fighting fortheir lives before this winter's over. "

"It may not be as bad as you think, " said Joe consolingly. "Even if theyget 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-classlocations in every big city of the major league. I tell you, there'sbrains behind this new league and that's what's worrying me. I don't knowwhether it's Fleming----"

"No, " interrupted Joe, smiling contemptuously, as he thought of thedissipated young fellow whom he had thrashed so soundly. "It isn'tFleming. He's got money enough, but there's a vacuum where his brainsought to be. "

"Then it's his partners, " deduced McRae. "And their brains with his moneymake 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 leanedover toward Joe. 

"Don't fool yourself, " he said earnestly. "I'm afraid right now there aretraitors 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 histeam-mates. 

"Just what I say, " replied McRae. "I tell you, Joe, somebody's getting inhis fine work with our boys and I know it. "

"Where's your proof?" asked Joe. "I hate to think that any of our fellowswould welch on their contracts. "

"So do I, " returned McRae. "We've been like one big family, and I'vealways tried to treat the boys right. I've got a rough tongue, aseverybody knows, and in a hot game I've called them down many a time whenthey'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 beenpaid good money, and I've carried them along sometimes when other managerswould have let them go. "

"You've been white all right, " assented Joe warmly. He recalled anoccasion when a muff by a luckless center-fielder had lost a World Seriesand fifty thousand dollars for the team, and yet McRae had "stood thegaff" and never said a word, because he knew the man was trying to do hisbest. 

"I'm telling this to you, Joe, " went on McRae, "because I want you to helpme out. You've proved yourself true blue when you were put to the test. Iknow you'll do all you can to hold the boys in the traces. They all likeyou and feel that they owe you a lot because it was your pitching thatpulled us through the World's Series. Besides, they'll be more impressedby what you say than by the talk I'd give them. They figure that I'm themanager and am only looking after my own interests, and for that reasonwhat 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, andall 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 thelast men that I'd suspect of doing anything of the kind. What makes youthink they've been approached?"

"A lot of things, " replied McRae. "In the first place, I have noticed thatthey 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, andwhen they saw me coming they'd break apart and start talking of somethingelse, as if I had interrupted them. Beside that, all three have struck melately 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 facefor the moment. "And I stand ready of my own accord to give the boys asubstantial increase on last year's pay because of their winning thepennant. But what these three asked for was beyond all reason, and made methink there was a nigger in the woodpile. They either had had a big offerfrom somebody else and were using that as a club to hold me up with, orelse they were just trying to give themselves a better excuse forjumping. "

"How long do their contracts have to run?" asked Joe. 

"Iredell has one year more and Curry and Burkett are signed up for twoyears yet, " replied the Giants' manager. "Of course I could try to holdthem to their contracts, but you know as well as I do that baseballcontracts are more a matter of honesty than of legal obligation. If a manis straight, he'll keep it, if he's crooked, he'll break it. And you knowwhat a hole it would leave in the Giant team if those three men went overthe fence. There isn't a heavier slugger in the team than Burkett, exceptLarry. His batting average this year was . 332, and as a fielding firstbaseman he's the class of the league. "

"You're right there, " acquiesced Joe, as he recalled the ease andprecision with which Burkett took them on either side and dug them out ofthe 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 andin covering second as the pivot for a double play. And nobody has playedthe 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'tover 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 thechampionship of the league and the other for the championship of theworld. Now I'm counting on you to help me win a third, perhaps the hardestof them all. "

"Put 'er there, Mac, " said Joe, extending his hand. "Shake--I'm with youtill the cows come home. "

"Of course, they'll be willing to put up big money, Joe. You know thatalready. "

"It doesn't make a particle of difference, Mac, how much money they putup, " returned the crack pitcher warmly. "There isn't enough cash in theU. S. Treasury to tempt me. "

"I know that, Joe. And I only wish that I could be as certain of the restof the players. "

"Well, of course, I can't speak for the others. But you can be sure thatI'll use my influence on the right side every time. Some of them mayweaken and break away, but I doubt very much if they'll be any of yourmain-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 somuch to me. But having you on my side has braced me up a good deal, " wenton the manager. 

They shook hands warmly, and McRae, evidently encouraged and braced by thetalk 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 bothplaces they "cleaned up" easily, and it was not until a few days laterwhen they reached the slope that they encountered opposition that madethem exert themselves to win. 

At Bakersfield, with Jim in the box, the game went to eleven inningsbefore it was finally placed to the credit of the Giants by a score ofthree to two. The 'Frisco team also put up a stiff fight for eightinnings, but were overwhelmed by a storm of hits which rained from Giantbats in the ninth. 

The game with Oakland was the last on the schedule before the teams leftfor the Orient, and an enormous crowd was in attendance. 

Joe was in the box for the All-American team. He was in fine form, andheld the home team down easily until the fifth inning, but the Oaklandsalso, undaunted by the reputation of their adversaries, and under theguidance of a manager who had formerly been a famous first baseman of theChicago team, were also out to win if possible, and with first-classpitching and supported by errorless fielding, they held their redoubtableopponents on even terms. 

At the end of the fifth, neither team had scored, although the Giants hadthreatened to do so on two separate occasions. A singular conditiondeveloped in the sixth. It was the Giants' turn at bat and Curry hadreached first on a clean single to right. A neat sacrifice by Joe advancedhim to second. A minute later he stole third, sliding feet first into thebag 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 runwere bright. 

Larry let the first go by, but swung at the second, which was comingstraight 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 asthough neither would be able to reach it, and Curry ran half-way down theline between third and home, awaiting the result. If the ball were caughthe figured that he would easily have time to get back to third. If it weredropped, he could make home and score. 

The third baseman got under the descending ball, but it was coming fromsuch a height that it was difficult to judge. It slipped through hisfingers, but instead of falling to the ground, went plump into the pocketof his baseball shirt. 

He tugged desperately to get it out, at the same time running towardCurry, who danced about on the line between third and home in an agony ofindecision. Was the ball caught or not? If it were, he would have toreturn 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 withthe other he frantically tried to get the ball from his pocket and clapit on him. But the ball stuck, and in the mixup both players fell to theground and rolled over and over. 

Larry, in the meanwhile, was tearing round the bases, but he himselfwasn't sure whether he was really out or whether he ought to strike forhome. 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 thatcase, if Curry were finally declared not out, Larry would also be out forhaving 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 whichhis comrade was entitled. He did not really know whether he was runningfor exercise or to score a run. 

It was the funniest mixup that even the veteran players had ever seen on aball field, and as for the crowd they were wild with joy. 

The third baseman, finding that Curry was about to get away from him andunable to get the ball out of his pocket, finally threw his arms about himand hugged him close in the wild hope that some part of the protrudingball would touch his prisoner's person and thus put him out. 

The sight of those burly gladiators, locked in a fond embrace, threatenedthe sanity of the onlookers, but the farce was ended when Curry finallywriggled out from the anaconda grasp of his opponent and took a chance forthe plate. 

Then there was a hot debate, as the umpire, himself laughing until thetears ran down his face, tried to solve the situation. Had Curry beentouched 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 wasweak 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 Solomonin 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 whohad framed the rules had never contemplated the special case of a playercatching the ball in his pocket. 

Between the opposing claims he pulled out his book and scanned itcarefully 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. "Hegot the ball and it never touched the ground. "

"Got it, " sneered McRae. "This is baseball, not pool. He can't pocket theball. "

There was a laugh at this, and Mackay, the third baseman, looked a littlesheepish. The baited umpire suggested that the whole play be called offand 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 goglimmering. 

"Oh, hire a hall, " snapped Everett. "Even if the umpire decides againstthe 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 isa play and you've got to settle it one way or the other, even if yousettle it wrong. "

The umpire hesitated, wiped his brow and finally decided that the ball wascaught. 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 putthe ball on him all right and that makes three out. "

"Say, what do you want, the earth?" queried McRae. "He didn't put the ballon him. He didn't have the ball to put. It was in his pocket all thetime. "

"Of course I put the ball on him, " declared Mackay. "I must have. When Ifell on him I hit him everywhere at once. "

The umpire finally decided that Mackay had not put the ball on Curry, andthe red-headed right-fielder chuckled at the thought of the run he hadscored. 

"That makes it horse and horse, " said the umpire. "Get back to yourplaces. "

If he thought he was at the end of his troubles he was mistaken, forEverett 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 tothird and touch the bag before he lit out for home? He has to do that on acaught fly ball, hasn't he?"

The umpire looked fairly stumped. Here was something on which the ruleswere explicit. It was certain that Curry should have returned to the baseand it was equally certain that he hadn't. Mackay had caught him half-waybetween third and home. 

But McRae was equal to the occasion. 

"Suppose he did have to, " he cried. "You said that Mackay hadn't touchedhim 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 thegeneral 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 ofdespair 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 ofthe 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 demandedaction. 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 incidenthad put all the players in a more or less frivolous mood. It finally endedin a score of six to three in favor of the All-Americans, and the teamsmade 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 theirhotel. 

"And every one of them a victory, " observed Jim. "Not a single mark onthe wrong side of the ledger!"

"That game at Denver was the closest call we had, " said Joe. "The trip sofar has been a big money-maker, too. McRae was telling me yesterday thatwe'd already topped ninety-five thousand, and there was ten thousand inthat crowd to-day if there was a penny. "

"I guess Mac won't have any trouble in buying steamship tickets, " laughedJim. "By the way, we haven't had a look at the old boat yet. Let's go downto-morrow and inspect her. "

"Why not make it the day after to-morrow?" suggested Joe. "The girls willbe 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 apause. "It won't be long now before we leave America. What do you say ifwe do a little shopping, and buy some things for ourselves and for thegirls?"

"Say, that's queer! I was thinking the same thing. " Jim paused for amoment. "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. Isuppose 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 placeda hand on his chum's shoulder. For a moment they looked into each other'seyes, 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 ofsilence. "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 moreof the seamy side of life, he'll get some of that nonsense knocked out ofhim. "

They ate their supper that night with a sense of relaxation to which theyhad long been strangers. For the first time since they had gone to thetraining camp at Texas in the spring, they were out of harness. There hadbeen the fierce, tense race for the pennant that had strained them to theutmost. 

Then, with only a few days intervening, had come the still more excitingbattle 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 thecontinent which they had just finished was then before them, and althoughthis struggle had been less close and important, it had still kept them onedge and in training. 

But now their strenuous year had ended. Before them lay a glorious triparound the world, a voyage over summer seas, a pilgrimage through lands ofmystery and romance, the fulfillment of cherished dreams, and with themwere to go the two charming girls who represented to them all that wasworth while in life and who even now were hurrying toward them as fast assteam could bring them. 

"This is the end of a perfect day, " hummed Jim, as he sat back and lighteda cigar. 

"You're wrong there, Jim, " replied Joe, with a smile. "The perfect daywill be to-morrow. "

"Right you are!"

Yet little did Baseball Joe and his chum dream of the many adventures andperils which lay ahead of them. 

CHAPTER XVI

PUTTING THEM OVER

As the two baseball players sauntered down the corridor after supper theychanced upon Iredell. He was sitting at a reading table, intent upon aletter which had attached to it what looked like an official document ofsome kind. 

It was a chance for which Joe had been looking, and he gave Jim a sign togo 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 timethrusting the document into his pocket with what seemed like unnecessaryhaste. 

"Most of the boys are that way, " laughed Joe. "There are just two thingsthat every ball player is ready to do, take nourishment and nag theumpire. "

Iredell laughed as he bit off the end of a cigar. 

"That poor umpire got his this afternoon, " he said. "With McRae on oneside 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 hardestwas in a play that happened when I was on the Pittston team. A fellowpoled out a hit that went down like a shot between left and center. A lotof carriages were parked at the end of the field and a big coach dog ranafter the ball, got it in his mouth and skipped down among the carriageswhere the fielders couldn't get at him. It would have doubled you up tohave seen them coaxing the brute to be a good dog and give the ball up. Inthe meantime, the batter was tearing around the bases and made home beforethe 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 ita two-base hit and let it go at that. "

"An umpire's life is not a happy one, " laughed Iredell. "He earns everydollar that he gets. I suppose that's what some of us fellows will bedoing, 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 fixturewith the Giants. "

"I don't know about that, " said the shortstop slowly. "Fixtures sometimeswork 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 longdoes your contract have to run?"

"A year yet, " replied Iredell. "But contracts, you know, are like piecrust, they're easily broken. "

"What do you mean by that?" demanded Joe sharply. 

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all, " said Iredell, a little nervously, as thoughhe had said more than he intended. "But to tell the truth, Joe, I'm soreon 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 begalled that way. A good big salary, traveling on Pullmans, stopping at thebest hotels, posing for pictures, and having six months of the year toourselves. If that's a yoke, it's lined with velvet. "

"But it's a yoke, just the same, " persisted Iredell stubbornly. "Most menin business are free to accept any offer that's made to them. We can't. Wemay be offered twice as much as we're getting, but we have to stay wherewe are just the same. "

"Well, that's simply because it's baseball, " argued Joe. "You know just aswell as I do that that's the only way the game can be carried on. Itwouldn'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 theowners, you mean. They get the feast and we get the crumbs. What's ourmeasly salary compared with what they get? I was just reading in the paperthat the Giants cleaned up two hundred thousand dollars this year, netprofit, 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 takethe 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 thepair. 

"Hello, Red, " greeted Joe, at the same time nodding to Burkett. "How areyour 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. Andthat umpire was a boob not to give me the run. "

"What were you fellows talking about so earnestly?" asked Burkett, withsome 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 Joegood-naturedly. 

"What's the use of bread and butter, if you can have cake and ought tohave it?" Iredell came back at him. 

"Cake is good, " agreed Joe, "but the point is that if a man has agreed totake bread and butter, it's up to him to stand by his agreement. A man'sword 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 littlestiffly. "Who is talking of breaking his word? We've got a right to talkabout our contracts, haven't we, when we think the owners are getting thebest end of the deal?"

"Sure thing, " said Joe genially. "It's every man's privilege to kick, butthe time to kick is before one makes an agreement, not when kicking won'tdo any good. "

"Maybe it can do some good, " said Curry significantly. 

"How so?" asked Joe innocently. "No other club in the American or NationalLeague would take us if we broke away from the Giants. "

"There are other leagues, " remarked Iredell. 

"Surely. The minors, " replied Joe, again purposely misunderstanding. "Butwho wants to be a busher?"

"There's the All-Star League that's just forming, " suggested Burkett, witha 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 ofthe 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'tget him very far. The fellows that jumped, in the old Brotherhood days, thought they were going to better themselves, but they simply got in badwith the public and nearly ruined the game. This new league will promiseall sorts of things, but how do you know it will keep them? What faith canyou 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 nobusiness at all if it isn't on the level, " answered Joe earnestly. "Agreat many men think they can do something that is shady and get away withit, and sometimes at first it looks as if they were right about it. Butsooner 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 likeinvesting his money that way. "

"Right again. But if he wants to make any headway in the great nationalgame, he has got to play it on the level right from the start. If hedoesn't do that, he may, for a certain length of time, hoodwink thepublic. But, as I said before, sooner or later he'll be exposed; and youknow as well as I do that the public will not stand for any underhand workin any line of sports. I've talked, not alone to baseball men, but alsoto football men, runners, skaters, and even prize fighters, and they haveall said exactly the same thing--that the great majority of men want theirsports 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 itlikes. 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'llstand by Robbie and McRae till the last gun's fired. So long, fellows, seeyou later. "

He strode off down the corridor, leaving three silent men to stare afterhis 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 afanfest. "

The next day was the first of their real vacation, and they spent themorning strolling about the city and marveling at the quick recovery ithad made from the earthquake. They had a sumptuous dinner on the verandaof the Cliff House, where they had a full view of the famous harbor andwatched the seals sporting on the rocks. 

The commerce of the port was in full swing, and out through the GoldenGate passed great fleets with their precious argosies bound for theOrient, for immobile China, for restless and awakened Japan, for theislands of the sea, for the lands of the lotus and the palm, of minaretand mosque and pagoda, for all the realms of mystery and romance that liebeneath the Southern Cross. 

It would have been a wrench to tear themselves away had it been any otherday than this, but to-day was the one to which they had looked eagerlyforward through all the month of exhibition playing, since they had leftthe quiet home at Riverside, and they kept looking at their watches to seeif 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 lastthe Overland Flyer drew in they scanned each Pullman anxiously to catch asight of two charming faces. 

They were not kept long in suspense, for down the steps of the second cartripped Clara and Mabel, looking more wonderfully alluring than ever, although a month before neither Jim nor Joe would have admitted that sucha thing were possible. 

Reggie, too, was there, dressed "to the limit" as usual, and with hissupposed English accent twice as pronounced as ever. 

But Reggie for the moment did not count, compared with the lovely chargeswhom he had brought across the continent. Of course, the boys feltgrateful to him, but their eyes and their thoughts were fastened on histwo charming companions. 

"I'm awfully glad you've got here at last, " cried Joe, as he rushed up toMabel and caught her by both hands. He would have liked very much to havekissed 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 handsfirst with Jim and then with her brother. "I never had any idea ourcountry was so big and so magnificent. "

"That's just what Joe and I were remarking on our trip across theRockies, " answered Jim. He could not take his eyes from the face of hischum's sister. Clara looked the picture of health, showing that the tripfrom her little home town had done her a world of good. 

But if Clara looked good, Mabel looked even better--at least in the eyesof Joe. He could not keep his gaze from her face. And she was certainlyjust as glad to see him. 

"Ye-es, it was quite a trip, don't you know, " remarked Reggie. "I metseveral 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 onshipboard. "

"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 theworld! I never dreamed I'd get that far. "

"And just think of the many queer sights we'll see!" broke in Mabel. "Andthe queer people we'll meet!"

The girls were all on the _qui vive_ with excitement in their anticipationof the delightful trip that lay before them, and there were no pauses intheir conversation on the way to the hotel. 

Here they were introduced to the other members of the party, which by thistime had increased to large proportions, for beside the ladies who hadaccompanied the players across the continent, many others had followed thesame plan as Mabel and Clara and joined their friends in San Francisco. Altogether, there were more than a hundred of the tourists, of whomperhaps a third were women. 

All were out for a good time, and the atmosphere of good will and jollitywas infectious. There was an utter absence of snobbery and affectation, and the boys were delighted to see how quickly the girls fell into thespirit of the gathering and with their own fun and high spirits added morethan their quota to the general hilarity. 

That night there was a big banquet given to the tourists by the railroadofficials who had had the party in charge from the beginning and by someof the leading citizens of San Francisco. It was a jolly occasion, wherefor once in affairs of the kind the "flowing bowl" was notable for itsabsence. The stalwart, clear-eyed athletes who, with their friends, werethe guests of the occasion, had no use for the cup that both cheers andinebriates. 

A striking feature of the table decorations was a cake weighing onehundred and twenty-five pounds, on whose summit was a bat and ball, andwhose frosted slopes were accurate representations of the Polo Grounds andthe baseball park at Chicago. It is needless to say how pronounced a hitthis made with the "fans" of both sexes. It was a great send-off to theglobe-encircling baseball teams. 

The next day, Joe and Jim took the girls down to the pier to see the shipon which they were to sail. It was a splendid craft of twenty thousandtons and sumptuously fitted up. The girls exclaimed at the beauty of herlines and the superb decoration of the cabins and saloons. 

"The _Empress of Japan_!" read Clara, as she scanned the name on thesteamer's stern. 

"Most fittingly named, " said Jim gallantly, "since she carries twoqueens. "

"What a pretty compliment, " said Clara, as she flashed a radiant look atJim. 

"I'm afraid, " said Mabel, "that Jim's been practising on some of the nicegirls in the party. "

"Have I, Joe?" appealed the accused one. "Haven't I been an anchorite, asenobite, an archimandrite----"

"Goodness, I thought you were bad, " laughed Clara. "But now I know you'reworse. "

"Keep it up, old man, as long as the 'ites' hold out, " said Joe. "I guessthere are plenty more in the dictionary. But honest, girls, Jim hasn'tlooked twice at any girl since he came away from Riverside. "

"I've looked more than twice at one girl since yesterday, " Jim wasbeginning, but Clara, flushing rosily, thought it was high time to changethe 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 breastedthe 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 fromthe flag-pole on the top of the government station. 

"Not so long as that, " corrected Jim. "We will still be on the soil ofGod's country when we reach Hawaii seven days from now. "

The first two days of the voyage passed delightfully. The girls provedgood 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 deckwith Jim and Clara at a discreet distance behind them. It was astonishinghow willing each pair was not to intrude upon the other. 

Suddenly there was a tumult of excited exclamations near the stern of thevessel, and then above it rose a shout that is never heard at sea withouta chill of terror. 

"Man overboard!"

CHAPTER XVIII

ONE STRIKE AND OUT

The two young baseball players and the girls joined the throng that wasracing toward the stern. 

A number of people were pointing wildly over the port side at a smallobject some distance behind the ship. 

They followed the pointing fingers and saw the head of a man who wasswimming desperately toward the receding ship. 

The steamer, which had been taking advantage of the favorable weather andhad been ploughing ahead under full steam, found it hard to stop, althoughorders had been given at once to shut off steam. 

It was maddening to the onlookers to see the distance increase between thegiant 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 circleand bore down upon the struggling swimmer, while at the same timepreparations were made to lower a boat as soon as they should be nearenough. 

"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 wasevidently a strong swimmer and seemed to be maintaining himself withoutgreat effort, and it was certain that within the next few minutes theboat, already filled with oarsmen and swaying at the davits, ready to belowered, 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 atits mark, was a great black dorsal fin which bespoke the presence of thepirate of the seas. 

The steamer had lessened speed in order to lower its boat, but themomentum under which it was carried it within twenty yards of thecastaway. 

Almost instantly the ship's boat struck the water, and the sinewy backs ofthe sailors bent almost double as they drove it toward the swimmer. 

From the crowded deck they could see his face now, pale and dripping, butlighted with a gleam of hope as he saw the boat approaching. But thehorrified onlookers saw something else, that ominous, awful fin, that camerushing 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, theboat or the shark. The boat was nearer and the men were rowing likedemons, but the shark was swifter, coming on like an express train. 

There must have been something in those faces high above him that warnedthe man of some impending peril. He cast a swift look behind him, and thenin frantic terror redoubled his efforts to reach the boat. 

"Oh, Joe, they'll be too late! They'll never reach him in time!" sobbedMabel. "Oh, can't we do anything to help him?"

Joe, as frantic as she, looked wildly about him. His eyes fell on a heavypiece of iron, left on the deck by some seaman who had been repairing thewindlass. Like a flash he grabbed it. 

It seemed as though the swimmer were doomed, and a gasp of horror went upfrom 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 asthe monster came into plain sight, a foot beneath the surface, and turnedover upon its back to seize its prey. 

Then Joe took a chance--a long chance, a desperate chance, an almosthopeless chance--and yet, a chance. 

With all the force of his powerful arm he sent the jagged piece of ironhurtling at the fiendish open jaws. 

And the chance became a certainty. 

The missile crashed into the monster's nose, its most sensitive point. Thebrute was so near the surface that the thin sheet of water was noprotection. 

The effect was startling. There was a tremendous plunging and leaping thatlashed the waters into foam, and then the crippled monster sank slowlyinto the ocean depths. 

The next instant the ship's boat had reached the castaway, and strong armspulled 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 stunnedsurprise, a gasp from the crowd, and then a roar went up that swelled intoa deafening thunder of applause. 

Joe had reversed the baseball rule of "three strikes and out. " This timeit 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 theirpraise and congratulations, until he was almost ready to pray to berescued from his friends. 

Mabel, starry-eyed, slipped a hand within his arm and the pressure waseloquent. Jim almost wrenched his arm from the shoulder, and Clara huggedher brother openly. 

Naturally, Joe's great feat appealed especially to the baseball players ofthe 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, andthey felt that they shared in the reflected glory. 

"Great Scott, Joe!" beamed Larry. "You put it all over his sharklet thattime. "

"Straight over the plate!" chuckled Burkett. 

"Against the rules, though, " grinned Denton. "You know that the 'beanball' is barred. "

The rescued man had now been brought on board. He had been too excited andconfused to understand how he had been snatched from the jaws ofdeath--and such a death!

He proved to be a member of the crew, a Lascar, whose knowledge of theEnglish language was limited, and whose ignorance of the great nationalgame was fathomless. 

But when he had recovered and had learned the name of his rescuer, hesought Joe out and thanked him in accents that were none the less sincerebecause broken and imperfect, and from that time on throughout the trip hewas almost doglike in his devotion. 

A few days more and the ship reached Hawaii, that far-flung outpost ofUncle Sam's dominions, which breaks the long ocean journey between Americaand Japan. 

The hearts of the tourists leaped as the ship drew near the harbor andthey caught sight of the Stars and Stripes, floating proudly in thebreeze. 

"I never knew how I loved that flag before, " cried Mabelenthusiastically. 

"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 hasnever been pulled down. "

As the ship drew near the shore the beauty of the island paradise broughtexclamations of delight from the passengers who thronged the steamer'srails. 

The harbor was a scene of busy life and animation. The instant the shipdropped anchor she was surrounded by native boats, paddled by Hawaiianyoungsters, who indulged in exhibitions of diving and swimming that were arevelation of skill. 

"They've got it all over the fishes when it comes to swimming, " remarkedJim with a grin. "Cough up all your spare coin, Joe, and see these littlebeggars dive for it. "

They tossed coin after coin into the transparent waters and swiftly aseach piece sank, the young swimmer was swifter. Every one was caughtbefore it reached bottom, and came up clutched in some dusky hand orshining 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 coppedthat twenty thousand. "

"How do they ever do it?" marveled Clara. 

"In the blood I suppose, " replied Joe. "Their folks throw them into thewater 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 ashudder, as she thought of the recent incident in which that hideous brutehad figured. 

"Sharks are easy meat for them, " replied Jim. "You ought to pity thesharks instead of wasting it on these fellows. Give them a knife, and theshark hasn't a Chinaman's chance. "

"Not even a knife, " chimed in Joe. "A stick sharpened at both ends isenough. "

"A stick?" exclaimed Mabel, wonderingly. 

"Sure thing, " replied Joe. "They simply wait until the shark turns over tograb them and then thrust it right into the open jaws. You've no idea howeffective that can be. "

"It's a case of misplaced confidence, " laughed Jim. "The poor trustfulshark lets his jaws come together with a snap, or rather he thinks hedoes, and instead of a nice juicy human, those guileless jaws of his closeon the two ends of the pointed stick and stay there. He can't close hismouth 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 theunderdog----"

"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 withlaughing, interrupted him:

"But suppose the stick should break, " she said. 

"Then there would be just one less native, " answered Jim, solemnly. "Bythe way, Joe, " he added, "speaking of sharks--what's the differencebetween a dog and a shark?"

"Give it up, " replied Joe promptly. 

"Because, " chuckled Jim, "a dog's bark is worse than his bite, but ashark'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 thelighter on which the passengers were to be carried to the shore. 

They were to spend two days in Hawaii while the steamer discharged itscargo, but they would have gladly made it two weeks or two months. 

Only one game was played, and that was between the Giant and theAll-American teams. There was no native talent which was quite strongenough to stand a chance against the seasoned veterans, although Hawaiiboasts of many ball teams. 

There was a big crowd present, made up chiefly of government officials andrepresentatives of foreign commercial houses from all over the world whohad 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 ofwinning. 

But this was enough for these high-strung athletes, to whom the cry "playball" was like a bugle call. The fight was close from start to finish, andresulted 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 youfellows before we get to the end of the trip will be a crime. "

The time that still remained before the steamer resumed its journey wasone of unalloyed delight. The scenery was wonderful and the weathersuperb. 

Jim and Joe hired a touring car and with Joe at the wheel--it isunnecessary to state who sat beside him--they visited all the mostpicturesque and romantic spots in that glorious bit of Nature'shandiwork. 

"Do you remember our last ride in an automobile, Mabel?" asked Joe with asmile, as she snuggled into the seat beside him. 

"Indeed I do, " replied Mabel. "It was the day that horrid Fleming carriedme off and you chased us. "

"I caught you all right, anyway, " Joe replied. 

"Yes, " said Mabel saucily. "Only to spend all your spare moments afterwardin regretting it. "

Joe's reproachful denial both in words and looks was eloquent. 

They visited the famous volcano with its crater Kilaeua, and watched inawe and wonder the great sea of flame that surged hideously and writhedlike a chain of fiery serpents. 

They saw the famous battlefield where Kamehameha, "the Napoleon of thePacific, " had won the great victory that made him undisputed ruler of theisland. They saw the steep precipice where the three thousand Aohu, fighting to the last gasp, had made their final stand, and had at lastbeen driven over the cliff to the death awaiting them below. 

It was with a feeling of genuine regret that they finally bade farewell tothe enchanting island and again took ship to pursue their journey. 

A large number of new passengers had come on board at Honolulu, and amongthem was a man who soon attached himself to the baseball party. He wastall and distinguished in appearance, smooth and plausible in hisconversation, and seemed to be thoroughly versed in the great nationalgame. 

His ingratiating manners soon made him a favorite with the women of theparty also, and he spared no pains to deepen this impression. 

Reggie liked him immensely, largely, no doubt, owing to the hints thatBraxton, which was the stranger's name, had dropped of having aristocraticconnections. He had traveled widely, and the names of distinguishedpersonages 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 bepretty well up in baseball dope, and that in itself I suppose ought to bea recommendation, to a ball player especially, but somehow or other, hedoesn't hit me very hard. "

"I think he's very handsome, " remarked Mabel, with a mischievous glance atJoe, and that young man's instinctive dislike of the newcomer becameimmediately more pronounced. 

"He seems very friendly and pleasant, " put in Clara. "Why don't you likehim, 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 forhim, he gave no sign of it, and Joe himself, who wanted to be strictlyjust, took pains to conceal it. 

Braxton had a fund of anecdotes that made him good company, and thefriendship that Reggie felt for him made him often a member of Joe'sparty. 

"Fine fellow, that Mr. Matson of yours, " he remarked one afternoon, whenhe and Reggie and Mabel were sitting together under an awning, which thegrowing heat of every day, as the vessel made its way deeper into thetropics, made very grateful for its shade and coolness. 

"Indeed he is, " remarked Mabel, warmly, to whom praise of Joe was alwayssweet. 

"He's a ripper, don't you know, " agreed Reggie. 

"Not only as a man but as a player, " continued Braxton. "Hughson used tobe king pin once, but I think it can be fairly said that Matson has takenhis place as the star pitcher of America. Hughson's arm will probablynever be entirely well again. "

"Joe thinks that Hughson is a prince, " remarked Mabel. "He says he standshead and shoulders above everybody else. "

"He used to, " admitted Braxton. "For ten years there was nobody to becompared 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 tosee the way he did his work. I saw him at the Polo Grounds when in thatlast, heartbreaking game he won the championship for the Giants. And I sawhim, too, in that last game of the World's Series, when it seemed asthough only a miracle could save the day. That triple play was the mostwonderful thing I ever beheld. The way he nailed that ball and shot itover to Denton was a thing the fans will talk over for many years tocome. "

"Wasn't it great?" cried Mabel, enthusiastically, at the same timeprivately resolving to tell all this to Joe and show him how unjust he wasin 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'tappreciate him more. "

"Why, they do appreciate him!" cried Mabel, her eyes opening wide withwonder. "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 almostdoubled it in this last World's Series. "

"A man's worth what he can get, " returned Braxton. "Now, of course, Idon't know and perhaps it might be an impertinence for me even to guesswhat his salary is, but I should say that it isn't a bit more than tenthousand 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 touchof contempt. "It's simply robbery for them to hold his services at such afigure. Mr. Matson could demand vastly more than that. "

"Where?" asked Reggie. "He's under contract with the Giants and theywouldn'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 hiscontract 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 beno trouble with Matson's getting an engagement with them. They'd welcomehim 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 heardthey'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. "Theyoffered him twenty thousand dollars to sign a contract and fifteenthousand dollars a year for a three years' term. Many a bank or railroadpresident 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 hastwo years yet to run. "

"My dear young lady, " said Braxton, "don't you know that a baseballcontract isn't as binding as the ordinary kind? In the first place, it'sone-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 mayengage a man for a year and yet if it gets tired of its bargain, it canlet 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 couldleave his club by giving ten days' notice. But he can't. That's what makesit unfair. The club can do to the player what the player can't do to theclub. So the supposed contract is only a bit of paper. It's no contract atall. "

"Not in the legal sense, perhaps, " said Reggie, dubiously. 

"Well, if not in the legal sense, then in no sense at all, " persistedBraxton. "The law is supposed to be based on justice, isn't it, and to dowhat 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 serviceswere in the most demand. "

Mabel felt there was sophistry somewhere in the argument, but could hardlypoint 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 Ihave spoken about it. He might think I was trying to pry into hisaffairs. "

As Joe and Jim came up just then from the engine-room of the ship whichthey had been inspecting, the subject, of course, was dropped, and after awhile Braxton strode away with a self-satisfied smile on his lips. 

The travelers were now in the heart of the typhoon region but luckily forthem it was the winter season when such storms are least frequent andalthough 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 timedropped anchor in the harbor of Yokohama. 

Now they were on the very threshold of the Oriental world of whose wondersthey had heard and dreamed, and all were on tiptoe with curiosity andinterest. 

The sights and scenes were as strange almost as though they were onanother planet. Everything was new to their young blood and unjaded sensesin this "Land of the Rising Sun. "

The great city itself, teeming with commerce and busy life, had countlessplaces of interest, but far more enchanting were the trips they took inthe jinrikishas drawn by tireless coolies which carried them to the littledreaming, rustic towns with their tiny houses, their quaint pagodas, theircharming 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'scomment. 

"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 likethings the way we have them much better. "

"To me these people--or at least a large part of them--seem to lead adreamlike existence, " was Jim's comment. "They don't seem to belong to thehurry 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, " drawledReggie. "There may be society here, but really it's so different from oursthat I shouldn't like to take part in it. "

"Yes, there is plenty of noise, but, at the same time, there is a gooddeal of calm and quiet, " said Joe. 

But the calm and quiet that seemed to be prevailing features of Japaneselife were wholly absent from the ball games where the visiting teams metthe nines of Keio and Waseda Universities. 

The Giants were to play the first named team, while later on theAll-Americans were slated to tackle the Waseda men. 

In the first game the contrast was laughable between the sturdy Giantplayers and their diminutive opponents. 

"What are we playing against?" laughed Larry to Denton. "A bunch ofkids?"

"It would take two of them to make a mouthful, " grinned Denton. 

"I feel almost ashamed of myself, " chimed in Burkett. "We ought to tacklefellows of our own size. "

"You don't find many of that kind in Japan, " said Joe. "But don't you holdthese 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 gameseemed to add point to his prophecy. They shot the ball around the baseswith a speed and precision that would have done credit to seasonedveterans and made McRae, who watched them keenly, give his men a word ofcaution. 

"Don't get too gay, boys, " he warned. 

The game that followed was "for blood. " The universities had poured outtheir crowds to a man to cheer their players on to victory. 

And for the first five innings the scales hung in the balance. The Keiopitcher had a world of speed and a tantalizing drop, and only two safehits were made off him. Behind him his team mates fielded like demons. Noball seemed too hard for them to get, and even when a Giant got to firstbase he found it difficult to advance against the accurate throwing tosecond of the Jap catcher. 

At the bat the home players were less fortunate. They hit the ball oftenenough but they couldn't "lean against it" with the power of theirsturdier rivals. 

They were skillful bunters, however, and had the Giant players "standingon their heads" in trying to field the balls that the clever Jap playerslaid deftly in front of the plate. 

By these tactics they scored a run in the sixth inning, against which theGiants had only a string of goose eggs. 

"It's like a bear against a wildcat, " muttered Robbie to McRae, as thelittle Jap scurried over the plate. 

"And it looks as if the wildcat might win, " grunted the Giant manager, notat all pleased at the possibility. 

"Not a bit of it, " denied Robbie sturdily. "A good big man is better thana good little man any time. "

And his faith was justified when, in the seventh inning, the Giants, stungby the taunts of their manager, really woke up and got into action. Aperfect storm of hits broke from their bats and had the Japanese playersrunning after the ball until their tongues hung out. 

Five runs came in and it was "all over but the shouting. " There was notmuch shouting, however, for the home crowd had seen its dream of victoryshattered. 

But though the Giants won handily in the end by a score of six to two, ithad been a red-hot game, and had taken some of the conceit out of themajor leaguers. It was a tip, too, to the All-Americans, who, when theyplayed the Waseda team a little later, went in with determination to winthe game from the start and trimmed their opponents handsomely. 

"Those Japs are the goods all right, " conceded McRae, when at last theywere 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 therewill be a real World's Series and then the pennant will mean somethingmore 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 comewhen 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 andNagawiki 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 greaterone. For Japan, however much she clung to the dreamy life of former times, had at last awakened and was fast adapting herself to modern, civilizedconditions. 

If Japan was still half dreaming, China was sound asleep. This, of course, was not true of the foreign quarter, where the great English governmentbuildings and commercial houses might have been those of Paris or London. 

But just behind this lay the real China, looking probably the same asthree hundred thousand years ago. The little streets, so narrow in placesthat the houses almost touched and a carriage could not pass! That strangemedley of sounds and smells and noises! Here a tinker mending his pans onthe sidewalk! There a dentist, pulling a tooth in the open street, jugglers performing their tricks, snake charmers exhibiting their slimypets. 

There was a bewildering jumble of trades, occupations and amusements, soutterly different from what the tourists had ever before seen that it heldtheir curiosity unabated and their interest stimulated to its highestpitch during the period of their stay. 

"Everything is so topsy turvy!" exclaimed Mabel, as she threaded thenoisome streets, clinging close to Joe's arm. "I feel like Alice inWonderland. "

"It's not surprising that things should be upside down when we're in theAntipodes, " 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, thenhe does something different. "

"Sure thing, " said Joe. "See those fellows across the street. They'reevidently old friends and each one is shaking hands with himself. "

"You can't dope out anything here, " said Jim. "When an American's puzzledhe scratches his head--the Chinaman scratches his foot. We wear black formourning, 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 hisinterest then to keep them well. We think what few brains we have are inour head. The Chinaman thinks they're in the stomach. Whenever he gets offwhat he thinks is a good thing he pats his stomach in approval. We put aguest 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 wego away. "

As they passed a corner they saw a man standing there, rigged out in aqueer fashion. About him was what seemed to be a tree box, from which onlyhis 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 Mabelwas 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 whatthey call a cangue. They put him in there so that he's standing on thinslabs of wood that just enable him to keep his head above that narrowopening around his neck. Every little while they take one of the slabs ofwood from underneath him; then he has to stand on tiptoe. By and by hisfeet 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 thiscrowd there is nobody looking at that fellow with pity. They don't seem tohave the slightest tincture of it. "

"Let's go back to our hotel, " pleaded Mabel. "I've seen all I want to forto-day. "

The games at Hong Kong were interesting and largely attended. There wasone rattling contest between the major leaguers that after aneleventh-inning fight was won by the Giants. 

A few days later a second game was played in which a picked team from thevisitors opposed a nine of husky "Jackies" selected from the United Statesbattleships that lay in the harbor. 

To make the game more even, the Giants loaned them a catcher and secondbaseman, and a contest ensued that was full of fun and excitement. 

Of course, the Jackies were full of naval slang, and sometimes their talkwas utterly unintelligible to the landsmen. At the end of the thirdinning the Giants had three runs to their credit, while the boys from thenavy had nothing. 

"Say there, Longneck, we've got to get some runs, " howled one Jackie tohis 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, gottwo 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 thatthey got but scant practice while on shipboard. The way that some of themwabbled around the bases was truly amusing, and set the crowd to laughingloudly. 

"Our men don't like this running, " declared one sailor, who sat watchingthe contest. "If, instead of running around those bases, you fellows hadto climb a mast, you'd see who would come out ahead. "

The Jackies managed to get two more runs, due almost entirely to the laxplaying 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 theGiants. 

A visit to Shanghai followed, where only one game was played, and this bya rally in the last inning went to the All-Americans, thus keeping thetotal score of won and lost even between the rival teams. 

They spent a few more days in sightseeing, and then set sail for thePhilippines, glad at the prospect of soon being once more under the flagof their own country. 

"Look at those queer little boats!" exclaimed Mabel, as they stood at therail while the ship was weighing anchor and looked at the native sampanswith their bright colors and lateen sails as they darted to and fro likeso 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 thiscountry, I'll have a choice collection of nightmares. "

The steamer made splendid weather of the trip to the Philippines, and in afew days they were steaming into Manila bay. Their hearts swelled withpride as they recalled the splendid achievement of Admiral Dewey, when, with his battle fleet, scorning mines and torpedoes, like Farragut atMobile, 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 hekept that cable cut because he didn't want the folks at Washington toqueer his game. He had his work cut out and he wasn't going to beinterfered 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 hecouldn't see it. "

"Dewey was a good deal like Nelson, " said Joe. "Do you remember how hetrod 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 theveterans 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 comfortablysettled in their new quarters, the two chums accompanied by the girls wentout for a stroll. But they had not gone far before they were startled byexcited shouts a little way ahead of them and saw groups of peoplescattering 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 rightand 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 menas they saw this messenger of death bearing down upon them. 

They knew at a glance what had happened. A Malay, yielding to theinsidious mental malady that seems peculiar to his race, had suddenly gonemad and started out to kill. That he himself would inevitably be killeddid not deter him for a moment. He wanted to die, but he wanted at thesame time to take as many with him as possible. 

He had made his offering to the infernal gods, had blackened his teeth andanointed 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 waslike 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 theawful 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 infear. What did this man mean by coming to meet him?

It was just this instant of indecision upon which Joe had counted, andlike 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 timebefore when sliding to base. 

The Malay, confused by the unlooked-for action, slashed down at him. HadJoe gone straight toward him, the knife would have been buried in him. Buthere 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 ofthe 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 swunground to the right. Down went the Malay with a crash, his blood-stainedknives 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 hadjarred and partially stunned him. In an instant Jim had joined Joe, othermen 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 enthusiasticcongratulations of the rapidly gathering crowd. 

"Pluckiest thing I ever saw in my life!" exclaimed the colonel of the armycommand, who had witnessed the exploit. 

"That fall-away slide of yours was great, Joe!" cried Larry Barrett, whohad 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 upone murderous-looking knife and passed it round for inspection. 

It was a wicked weapon, nearly a foot in length, with a handle socontrived as to get all the weight behind the stroke and a wavy bladecapable of inflicting a fearful wound. 

"Has a bowie knife skinned a mile!" ejaculated Curry, expressing thegeneral sentiment. 

Joe hated to pose as a hero but it was some time before the crowd wouldlet 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 theeyes of Mabel and his sister. 

The baseball teams stayed nearly a week in Manila, making short excursionsin the suburbs as far as it could be done with safety. Two games wereplayed, one between the Giants and All-Americans, which resulted in favorof the latter, and another between the Giants and a picked nine from thearmy post. 

Many of Uncle Sam's army boys had been fine amateur players and a few hadcome from professional teams, so that they were able to put up a gallantfight, although they were, of course, no match for the champions of theworld. 

"But they certainly put up a fine game, " was Joe's comment. "They had twopitchers 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 LosAngeles, " said McRae, who was standing near. "I understand he had quite arecord. "

"I wonder what made him give up pitching and join the army, " remarked Jimcuriously. 

"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 samething, 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 bya muscular Chinaman, who was standing in the crowd that fringed thediamond, interestedly watching the players at practice. He recognized himas a famous wrestler who had taken part in a bout at a performance thenight 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 fateither. He'd make a dandy highbinder. You saw what he did to the TerribleTurk in that match last night. He just played with him. And the Turk wasno slouch either. "

"Look at those arms, " joined in Larry, gazing with admiration at theswelling biceps of the wrestler. "What a slugger he'd make if he knew howto 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 reachingfor one of your curves. "

"He might land on it at that, " replied Joe. "A wrestler has to have an eyelike a hawk. "

He beckoned to the wrestler, who came toward him at once with a smile onhis keen but good-natured face. 

"Want to hit the ball?" asked Joe, piecing out his question by goingthrough the motions of swinging a bat that he picked up. 

The wrestler "caught on" at once, and the smile on his face broadened intoa 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 beforethe 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 towatch 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 insteadof the Chink. "

A little nettled, Larry caught the next one full and square and it sailedfar 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 crowdat the unusual sight. 

Joe lobbed one over and the Chinaman swung listlessly a foot below theball. 

"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 thewrestler whiffed, coming nowhere near the sphere. 

But as Joe wound up for the third ball, the listlessness vanished from theChinaman. 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 werenever going to stop. In a regular game it would have been the easiest ofhome runs. 

The wrestler sauntered away from the plate with the same bland smile onhis yellow face while the crowd cheered him. He had turned the tables, andthe laugh was on Joe and his fellow players. 

"But why, " asked Jim, after the game had resulted in a victory for thevisitors by a one-sided score, and he was walking back with Joe to thehotel, "did he make such a miserable flunk at the first two balls? Was hekidding us?"

"Not at all, " grinned Joe. "It's because the Chinamen are the greatestimitators on earth. He saw that Larry missed the first two and so he didthe 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 severestorm of the journey. In fact, it was almost equal to the dreaded typhoon, and there were times when, despite the staunchness of the vessel, thefaces of the captain and the officers were lined with anxiety. 

After two days and nights, however, of peril, the storm blew itself outand the rest of the journey was made over serene seas and under cloudlessskies. 

One night after the girls had retired, Joe and Jim, together with McRaeand Braxton, were sitting in the smoking room. The conversation had beenof the kind that always prevails when baseball "fans" get together. 

After a while Jim accompanied McRae to the latter's cabin to discuss somedetails of Jim's contract for the coming season, leaving Joe and Braxtonas the sole occupants of the room. 

Joe had never been able to overcome the instinctive antipathy that he hadfelt toward Braxton from the first, but he had kept this under restraint, and Braxton himself, though he might have suspected this feeling, wasalways suave and urbane. 

There was no denying that he was good company and always interesting. Inan apparently accidental way, Braxton, who had been scribbling aimlesslyupon some pieces of paper that lay on the table, led the talk toward thesubject of handwriting. 

"It's a gift to write a good hand, " he remarked. "It's got to be born inyou. Some men can do it naturally, others can't. I'm one of the fellowsthat can't. I'll bet Horace Greeley himself never wrote a worse hand thanI do. "

"I've heard that he was a weird writer, " smiled Joe. 

"The worst ever, " rejoined Braxton. "I've heard that he wrote to hisforeman once, ordering him to discharge a printer who had set up a badcopy. The printer hated to lose his job and an idea struck him. He gothold of the letter discharging him and took it to Greeley, who didn't knowhim by sight, and told him it was a letter of recommendation from his lastemployer. Greeley tried to read it, but couldn't, so he said he guessed itwas all right and told him he was engaged. "

Joe laughed, and Braxton tossed over to him a sheet of paper on which hehad written his name. 

"Greeley has nothing on me, " he said. "If you didn't know my name wasBraxton, I'll bet you wouldn't recognize these hen tracks. "

"You're right, " said Joe. "I'm no dabster myself at writing and I cansympathize with you. "

"It couldn't be as bad as this, " challenged Braxton, slipping a pen overto Joe, together with a fresh piece of paper. 

"No, " said Joe, as he took up the pen, "I guess at least you could makemine 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 ofmy defects. "

He dropped the subject then and talked of other things until Joe, stiflinga yawn, excused himself and went to his cabin. 

The reception of the party in Australia went far beyond theirexpectations. That remote continent has always been noted for its sportingspirit and although of course the English blood made cricket theirfavorite game, the crowds were quick to detect and appreciate the meritsof the great American pastime. 

As a rule they would not concede that the batting was any better than thatshown by their own cricketers, but there was no question as to thesuperiority of the fielding. 

The lightning throws, the double plays, the marvelous catches in theoutfield and the speed shown on the bases were freely admitted to be farand away beyond that shown by their elevens. And the crowds grew largerand larger as the visiting teams made their triumphal progress through thegreat cities of Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne. 

Inspired by their reception and put upon their mettle by the greatoutpouring of spectators, the teams themselves played like demons. Onemight 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 inthe lead of the total that had been played since the trip began. 

Melbourne itself with its romantic history and magic growth proved veryattractive. But Joe was destined to remember it for very differentreasons. 

While walking with Jim one day outside the town near the Yarra Yarrariver, they were startled by hearing a cry for help, and racing toward thesound 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 wasrepeated. 

The race for a life was almost neck and neck until Joe, showing histremendous reserve strength, shot ahead at the very end, grasping thestruggling figure as it was sinking for the last time. 

Jim helped, and together they brought the rescued girl--the long dankblack hair testified to her sex--back to shore, where a group of thenative blacks, attracted by the cries, had gathered to welcome them. 

Dripping and exhausted, the two heroes of the occasion staggered up thebank while willing hands relieved them of their burden. 

"Let's beat it, " whispered Jim, as the crowd of natives closed around theunconscious object of their heroism, "while the going's good. If that girlever finds out that you rescued her she'll want to attach herself to youfor 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, wedon't even know that the girl's alive. It would be pretty heartless toclear out without learning. "

"Oh, all right, " said Jim, uneasily. "But remember, if there are anyconsequences you've got to take 'em. "

At that moment the crowd opened and the boys saw a remarkably good-lookingblack girl standing dizzily and supported by another native who might havebeen 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 theburden of credit to Joe's broad shoulders. "He did it all. "

The girl walked unsteadily up to Joe and said, submissively: "My life isyours! Me your slave!"

Joe started, stared, and gulped, then turned to Jim to make sure he wasawake, and not a victim of some bad dream. But Jim had suddenly acquired apeculiar form of hysteria, and with a choking sound turned his back uponhis 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 withlaughter one moment, and groan with dismay the next. 

Two very much subdued baseball players crept in at the side door of thehotel, and scurried along the corridor toward their rooms, hoping ardentlyto meet no one on the way. It was with a sigh of relief that they slippedinside, locked the door, and repaired the ravages that the waters of theYarra Yarra had made upon their clothing. 

A few moments later, with self respect considerably improved, theysauntered down to the writing room, where they found the two girls lookingmore distractingly pretty than ever, engaged in folding the last of theirletters. 

"Oh, back so soon?" queried Mabel, looking up. 

"Goodness, how the time has flown, " said Clara. "It seems as though youhad just gone. Have you another stamp, Mabel dear? I have used mine allup. "

"Say, you're complimentary, " remarked Jim, dryly. "It's great to be missedlike 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 streetto the post-office. The boys were just congratulating themselves thattheir uncomfortable, though piquant, experience of the morning was a thingdefinitely of the past, when it happened!

Joe felt a touch on his arm, and, looking down, saw, to his horror, theblack girl. 

"Me yours!" she cried, eagerly. 

Joe muttered savagely beneath his breath, and held the girl off at arm'slength, his misery increasing as, with a quick side glance, he saw thegrowing indignation in Mabel's eyes. 

"Me yours!" repeated the girl, with the maddening monotony of aphonograph. 

But just then, when Joe was at his wit's end, help came from an unexpectedquarter. A big black man, glowering threateningly, elbowed his way throughthe curious group that had gathered about them, grasped the girl by thearm, and dragged her away. There was no mistaking the jealousy thatprompted the action. Joe drew a deep sigh of deliverance, while Jim wascrimson 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, herhead was held high, and poor Joe had some explaining to do before theparty left Australia, which they did soon after, and started on theirjourney to Ceylon. 

They reached Colombo in Ceylon, the island of spices, the richest gem inthe Indian ocean, and disembarked late one afternoon. At the hotel in theEnglish quarter, while the women of the party went to their rooms torefresh themselves and dress for dinner, the men, after a hasty toilet, went into the lobby of the hotel where, as always, their first thought wasto get hold of the papers from home. 

Joe's eyes fell on a New York paper and he snatched it up eagerly andturned to the sporting page for the latest news of the diamond. He gave astartled exclamation as he saw the bold headline that stretched across thetop 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 amoment later by fierce indignation. 

"What's the matter, Joe?" asked Jim, coming up behind him. 

"Matter enough!" growled Joe, thrusting the offending paper under hiscomrade'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 tothe story, which covered the greater part of the page. 

"Mean?" snorted Joe. "It means a stab in the back. It means that thoseskunks are trying to do by lying what they couldn't do by bribery. Itmeans that while we're thousands of miles away they are trying to gull thepublic and get other ball players to jump their contracts by a barefacedlie like this. I wish I had hold of the fellow who's doing this--I'd makehim sweat for it!"

"Of course it's a lie, " assented Jim, "and a lie out of whole cloth. Butwhat 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 theyread the more bewildered they became. 

For the story was circumstantial. It went into minute details. It embracedinterviews with the backers of the new league, who confirmed it withouthesitation. 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 inpitching 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 thenMcRae and Robbie, together with a group of other players, came hurryingup, holding other papers which, though in different words, toldsubstantially the same story. 

There was a babel of excited questions and exclamations, and Joe felt asharp pang go through him, as for the first time in his experience withthe 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 neverone 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. "Theyought 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 dozenstars signed and they should worry. As long as it's believed that Joe hasjumped, 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 acable contradicting it, but the lie has got a head start and a lot ofdamage has been done. What do you suppose my friends in America arethinking about me just now?"

"Don't worry about that, Joe, " comforted Jim. "Your real friends won'tbelieve it, and for the rest it doesn't matter. Nobody that really knowsyou believes you would jump your contract. "

"Whoever got that story up was foxy, though, " commented Mylert, the burlycatcher of the Giants. "There are no 'ifs or ands' about it like mostphony stories where the fellow's trying to hedge in case someone comesback at him. It sounds like straight goods. It's the most truthful lookinglie I ever saw. "

"But it's a lie just the same!" cried Joe desperately. "All you fellowsknow I wouldn't throw the Giants down, don't you?" he asked, as his eyesswept 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 havewished. If there was not distrust, there was at least bewilderment, forthe story bore all the earmarks of truth. 

"You know it, don't you, Mac?" repeated Joe, this time addressing directlythe Giant leader. 

For a fraction of a second McRae hesitated. Then he threw doubt to thewinds and gripped Joe's hand with a heartiness that warmed the latter'sheart. 

"Of course, I know it, Joe!" he exclaimed emphatically. "I don't deny thatfor a moment the paper had me going. But in my heart I know it's a lie. Sojust send your cable and then let's forget it. Those fellows are justmaking a rope to hang themselves with. We'll make it warm for them when weget 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 fiveminutes 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 thismessage 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 liewill 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 thegirls, he had so far regained his usual poise that he could tell them allabout 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. "Ifyou 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 furthercomment. 

"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 aone-sided contract, had spoken to him about it in a guarded way, Joe hadshown her so clearly his moral obligation that he had convinced herabsolutely. And now she was angry clear through at the blow in the darkthat 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'tbe 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 veryheart of the Orient. Rare flowers and strange plants grew in gloriousprofusion, the air was odorous with a thousand scents, and it was hard forthem to realize that at that very moment America might be suffering fromzero weather or swept by blizzards. Here life moved along serenely anddreamily, lulled by the sound of birds and drone of locusts, wrapped inthe warm folds of eternal summer. 

"It's an earthly Eden!" murmured Clara, as she and Jim walked along one ofthe main streets of Colombo, followed at a little distance by Joe andMabel. 

"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 thestreet 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 snakesbehind a network of wire and glass, and they did not relish the idea ofstanding 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 haunchesplaying a weird tune on a reedy instrument resembling a flute. Before himwas upreared a monstrous specimen of the deadly cobra species, swayinggently to and fro and keeping time to the music. Its malignant eyeslooking out from the broad head whose markings resembled a pair ofspectacles had lost something of their fiery sparkle, and a slight hazespread over them, as though the creature were under a spell. 

The music continued and two other snakes crawled out as if in response toa call and joined their companion in his swaying, rhythmic dance. Then thetune changed, the snakes uncoiled, and the performer took them up withoutthe 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'staking no chances. "

"They say that a man lasts about half an hour after one of those fellowsnips him, " observed Jim. "Somebody was telling me that over twentythousand 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 downthe basket cover. Then after making mysterious signs and mutteringinvocations, the fakir drew a long sword and plunged it through the basketfrom end to end. A scream of pain came from within, and when the sword waswithdrawn it was red. Again and again this was repeated until the screamsdied away. Then the fakir lifted up the cover and the boy sprang out safeand sound, and, showing his white teeth in a smile, went around collectingcoins from the bystanders. 

They wandered further among the bazaars, making purchases of curios aspresents for the folks at home and adding to their personal stock ofmementos. Jim secured among other things a cane made of a rare Indianwood, which while light was exceedingly strong and so pliable that itcould 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 everythingfor him. 

He had always tried to be perfectly straight and honorable in all hisbusiness relations. His word had ever been as good as his bond. Now, atone stroke, he saw his reputation damaged perhaps beyond mending. All overthe United States he had been pictured as a contract-breaker. He could seethe incredulity of his friends turning gradually to contempt. He fanciedhe could hear them saying:

"So Joe has fallen for that game, has he? Well, they say that every manhas his price. No doubt Joe's price was high, but they found out what itwas and bought him. "

Of course he had denied it, but he knew how people smiled when they readdenials. And months must pass before he could get back to America and tryto hunt out the author or authors of the story. 

He tried to hide his mood under a cover of light talk and banter, but theothers felt it and sympathized with him, though all refrained frommentioning what each of them was thinking. 

All through the day his gloom persisted, and when night came and he hadretired to the room that he and Jim occupied together he felt that itwould be impossible for him to sleep. 

"There's no use talking, " said Jim with a yawn, as he set his cane so thatit rested against the footboard and threw off his coat preparing toundress, "sight-seeing's the most tiring work there is. I feel more doneup 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 Joetossed about restlessly for what seemed to him to be hours. The night wasvery warm and all the windows were open to get what breath of air might bestirring. 

A broad veranda ran all around the building, not more than two feet belowthe windows, and from the ground to the veranda rose a luxuriant tangle ofvines and flowers. 

The moon was at the full and its light flooded a part of the room, leavingthe 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 somethingwas wrong. 

He glanced over at Jim who was peacefully sleeping. Then he raised himselfon his elbow and his glance swept the room. 

Nothing seemed amiss in the lighted part, but in a darkened corner theshadow seemed to be heavier than usual. It was as though it were piled ina mass instead of being evenly distributed. 

Then to Joe's consternation _the shadow moved_, reached the edge ofmoonlight, rose higher and higher with a sickening swaying motion. From ahideous head two sparks of fire glowed balefully and Joe knew that he wasin 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 stopbeating. 

He did not dare to move and scarcely to breathe. He might have been astatue, so rigid was his attitude. He knew that the least movement wouldprovoke an attack on the part of the deadly reptile. 

On the other hand, if he kept perfectly quiet, there was the chance of thesnake gliding away through the window, which had evidently been its meansof entering the room. 

Whether the serpent saw him or not, Joe could not tell. The head swayedfor a minute or two, while the glowing eyes seemed to take in every cornerof the room. Then the coils unwound and with a slithering sound the snakebegan 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 closerange he could scarcely have missed. Even a knife to hurl, though only aforlorn hope, might have pinned the snake to the floor. But he was utterlywithout a weapon of any kind. 

Suddenly he remembered the cane that his chum had leaned against thefootboard 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 thebed and perhaps land squarely on the gliding death that was somewhere inthe room. He had lost sight of it, but he could still hear the draggingbody and it seemed to be now under the bed. At any instant that awful headmight rise on either side prepared to strike. 

Gripping the cane until his fingers seemed to dig into it, Joe had amoment of awful suspense. 

The gliding sound had ceased. Then from the side nearest Jim a hideoushead uprose within a foot of the sleeping man's face. 

Like a flash the tough cane hissed through the air with all Joe's muscleback of it. It caught the reptile full in the neck and sent it half wayacross the room where it lay writhing. 

In an instant Joe had leaped to the floor, raining blows upon the headand floundering coils, until at last the reptile straightened out and laystill. 

"What's the matter?" cried Jim, awakened by the tumult and jumping out ofbed. 

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 limpas a rag. 

Jim turned on the light and they viewed the monster, standing at arespectful 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 strugglewith the maniac, and with one stroke severed the cobra's head from hisbody. 

"That knife never did a better bit of work, " he commented as he washed itoff. "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 acareful search of the room. 

"That fellow may have had a mate, " remarked Joe, "and one experience ofthis kind is enough for a lifetime. I've always felt a little doubtfulabout 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 andletting the upper sash down only for an inch or two. "That's the way thatfellow must have crawled in. It's pretty hot in here but I'd rather die ofheat than snake bites. "

They went back to bed but not to sleep, for they were too thoroughlywrought 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 missedstrike for I wouldn't have had time for another one. "

"Don't let's say anything to the girls about it, " suggested Jim. "Notuntil we get away from India anyway. They'd be seeing snakes all the restof the time we're here. "

It was lucky that neither of them was slated to pitch the next day, forthey would scarcely have been in condition after their night's experience. A game had been arranged between the visiting teams at a date three dayslater. By that time Joe was in his usual superb form and easily carriedoff the victory for his team. This put the Giants "on velvet, " for theynow had a clear lead of two over the All-Americans. 

But the satisfaction that this would have usually given Joe was lackingnow. Victory had ceased to be sweet since the receipt of that newspaperfrom home. 

Perhaps it was because of his sensitive condition that he thought hedetected a subtle change in the conduct of his team mates towards him. While perfectly friendly in their relations with him, they did not "letthemselves go" when in his presence, as formerly. There was no boisterousclapping on the back, no jolly sparring or wrestling. There seemed to be alittle holding in, a feeling of reserve, a something in the back of theirminds that they did not care for him to see. 

This joyous freemasonry of sport had always been especially pleasant toJoe and for that reason he felt its absence the more keenly. 

But what exasperated him most was that if the old standbys of the clubwere a trifle cool, Iredell, Curry and Burkett went to the other extremeand were more cordial than ever before. It was as though they werewelcoming a newcomer to their ranks. They knew that they were undersuspicion of planning to jump their contracts in the spring, and theapparent evidence that so renowned a player as Joe was planning to do thesame thing made them hail him as a reinforcement. 

Where formerly they had often ceased talking when he approached them andmade 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 oftheir own accord. 

"All little pals together, " hummed Iredell significantly on one occasionwith 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 aboutthat? Aren't we Giants pals to each other?"

"Of course we are, as long as we stay Giants, " replied Joe. "But thatwasn't what you meant, Dell, and you know it. "

"Now, don't get red-headed, Joe, " put in Curry soothingly. "You must havegot out of bed on the wrong side this morning. Dell didn't mean anyharm. "

"Tell me one thing, " said Joe. "Do any of you fellows believe for oneminute that story in the paper?"

He looked from one to the other, but none of them looked him straight inthe eye. 

"You know that I've denied it, " went on Joe, as they kept silent, "and ifafter that you still believe the story it's the same as saying that Ilie. 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 partyreached Egyptian soil, prepared to play the most modern of games beforethe most ancient of monuments--baseball in the very shadow of thePyramids!

CHAPTER XXVII

THE SIGNED CONTRACT

"If old Pharaoh could only see us now!" chortled Jim, as the teams linedup 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 wouldhave had a hard job to get life insurance. It would have been good dope toget 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' benchand had overheard the conversation. 

"Not at all, " laughed Jim. "It's a big compliment to Pharaoh to suggestthat he would have been a baseball fan if he hadn't been born too soon. Itputs 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. Itwas a strange conjunction of the past and the present, and all were moreor less impressed by it. 

"Well, I must confess that in my wildest dreams of seasons gone by, Inever supposed that I would be pitching here in Egypt in the shadow of thepyramids, " remarked Joe. 

"It certainly takes a fellow back to ancient days, " put in Jim. "Justimagine 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 awrong decision was given, " remarked Joe, with a grin, and at this therewas a general laugh. 

There was a big outpouring of Europeans and visiting Americans, and underthe inspiration of their interest and applause both teams playedbrilliantly. It was a hammer-and-tongs contest from start to finish, andresulted 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 afterthe game. 

"We're gunning for you, " retorted Brennan good-naturedly, "and we'll getyou 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 Karnakand Philae, the statue of Memnon, and countless other places of interestin this cradle of the world's civilization. And it was a tired but happycrowd that finally assembled at Alexandria to take ship for Naples, theirfirst stopping place on the continent of Europe. 

Braxton was no longer with the party, having left it at Ceylon, and othershad dropped away here and there. But in the main the members were the sameas at the beginning. Their health had been excellent, and only a fewthings had occurred to mar the pleasure of the trip. 

The discomfort that Joe had felt had largely worn away with the passing oftime. Every day was bringing him nearer the time when with the opening ofthe season he would actually appear on the diamond wearing a Giantuniform, and thus effectually dispose of the slander that had troubledhim. 

There had just been time enough to receive some of the earliest papersfrom America that had been published after the receipt of his denial. Thatdenial had evidently produced a great effect, coupled as it was with theoffer to give a thousand dollars to charity if the new league couldproduce any contract signed by him. "Money talks, " and the paper intimatedthat 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, " conjecturedJoe. 

The latest papers from America had come on board just as the steamer leftAlexandria, and in the hurry of getting aboard and settling down in theirnew quarters it was after supper that night before Joe hurried to thesmoking room to have a look at them. 

"Got a thousand dollars handy, Joe?" inquired Denton, as Joe came nearhim. 

"Because, if you have, the All-Star League wants it, " added Larry. 

"What do you mean?" asked Joe, all the old discomfort and apprehensioncoming back to him. 

"Read this, " replied Larry, handing him a paper opened at the sportingpage. 

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 aregulation 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 athis reputation, this time with redoubled force. Here was what claimed tobe the actual contract. But it was not the body of the contract that heldhis attention. The thing that made him rage, that gave him a sense offurious 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 soskilfully forged that it can deceive the man himself. It may get by thecashier of the bank, but when it is referred back to the man who issupposed to have written it, that man knows instinctively whether he everwrote it. Perhaps he cannot tell why he knows it, but he knows it just thesame. 

So Joe _knew_ that it was his signature that was photographed on thatcontract. 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 theireyes. They were two of his oldest and warmest friends on the Giant teamand had always been ready to back him through thick and thin. Confidencestill was in their gaze, but with it was mixed bewilderment almost equalto 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 toread what it says, but that doesn't matter anyway. The only importantthing is that I never signed that contract. "

"That seems to be a pretty good imitation of your signature at the bottomthere, " chimed in Robbie. 

"It's even better than that, " said Joe, taking the bull by the horns. "Itisn'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 tome it's hardly a time for joking. There's the contract. You say you didn'tsign it, and yet you admit that the name at the bottom is your ownsignature. How do you explain it?"

"I don't pretend to explain it, " replied Joe. "There's crooked worksomewhere that I've got to ferret out. Somehow or other my name, writtenby me, has gotten on the bottom of that contract. But I never put itthere. Some rascal has, and when I find him, as I will, may Heaven havemercy on him, for I won't!"

CHAPTER XXVIII

WHIRLWIND PITCHING

"A fellow who would do a thing like that is taking long chances, " saidMcRae doubtfully. 

"And how could he do it?" put in Robbie. "The name would have to be cutfrom one piece of paper and pasted on another, wouldn't it?"

"Even admitting that they might get your name from a check or letter, Idon'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'tdetect it, a microscope would give it away. "

"And you can bet that the reporters who hunted up this thing haven'toverlooked any bets, " said Brennan. "They knew that the signature was thenub of the whole thing and if there was anything phony about the paperthey'd have got next at once. "

"It's a horrible mixup!" cried Joe, who felt that he was being enmeshed ina net of circumstantial evidence which he might find it impossible tobreak. "Let me read the story first from end to end. Then, perhaps, I'llfind some clue that will solve the mystery. "

He plunged at once into the reading, but the more he read the worse thematter looked. 

He found that a nation-wide interest had been excited by his denial andhis challenge. The officers of the All-Star League had been besieged byreporters, who had made it clear to them that they must prove theirstatement that Matson had signed with them or else stand convicted beforethe American public, on whose favor they depended for support in thecoming season, of being slanderers and liars. 

Mr. Beckworth Fleming, the president of the All-Star League, had shown alittle hesitation in responding to these demands. This, perhaps, wasnatural enough, since no business organization cares to have the terms ofits contracts blazoned forth to the world, perhaps to the benefit of itsrivals. Still, under all the circumstances, Mr. Fleming had finallydecided to permit a photographic copy to be made of the contract in orderto establish the good faith of the new league. This had been done andfacsimiles had been sent to all the leading newspapers of the UnitedStates. 

There was no question that the contract was genuine. It had beensubmitted to bank cashiers who were familiar with Mr. Matson's writing, and they had pronounced it his signature beyond the shadow of a doubt. Thepaper had been examined under powerful glasses and found to be a singlepiece. Everything was in proper form, and it was clearly up to Mr. Matsonto explain what seemed to be explainable only in one way, namely, that hehad signed the contract. 

There were many worthy charities that could find a good use for thethousand dollars that the great pitcher had so rashly offered. 

This was the gist of the story in all the papers. There were varioussuggested explanations. One paper hinted that men had been known to signpapers when they had dined and wined too well. 

Another thought that the denial was purely a "diplomatic" one. Othersventured the hypothesis that the whole thing was an advertising dodge, designed to set the country agog with excitement and stimulate bigaudiences for the coming season. 

But underneath all the suppositions one thing seemed to be unquestioned bythe papers, and that was that Joe had signed a contract to play with theAll-Star League and had left the Giants in the lurch. 

Joe felt as though the ground were slipping from beneath his feet. He wasperfectly innocent, and yet he already stood convicted in the public mindof having done a thing that he loathed and abhorred. And the worst of itwas that he had not the slightest clue to the scoundrel or scoundrels whohad brought this thing about. 

"It's beyond me, Mac, " he said at last in despair, as he looked up and sawthe Giants' manager's eyes fixed upon him as though they would read intohis soul. "They seem to have a strangle hold on me. And yet as black asthings look I tell you straight, Mac, that you know every bit as muchabout 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 plannedit has been mighty cunning in covering up his tracks. But there never yetwas a lie that didn't have a weak point somewhere, and soon or late we'llfind it. "

Mabel and Clara, as well as Jim, were beside themselves with anger at thedastardly trick. They racked their brains to find the explanation, butevery time they came up against a blank wall. 

"I certainly can't understand it, Joe, " said Mabel, for at least the tenthtime. 

"Well, I can't understand it myself, Mabel, " he replied. 

"Are you sure you didn't sign that contract, thinking it was somethingelse--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 thingto me to sign, I would have handed it back and given the fellow a piece ofmy mind. No, there is something else in all this, though what it is Ihaven't the faintest idea. "

"It's too bad we're so far away from those fellows just at present, " putin Jim. "If we were close by we might interview them, and find out some ofthe details that are as yet missing. And then maybe somebody would get abroken 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 blackeye 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!" burstout Mabel. "And I don't wonder that Jim is angry enough to breaksomebody's head for it, " and she looked lovingly at Joe. 

"Oh, I suppose it will come out all right in the end, " answered Joe. Buthe said this merely to ease Mabel's mind. Secretly he was afraid that hewas in for some real trouble. 

It was early spring when they landed in Naples, but the winter had beenprolonged more than usual and it was too cold to play. At Monte Carlo andNice, however, they were able to get in two games, both of which were wonby the All-Americans. This put the teams again on an equality as to gameswon and lost, and revived the hopes of the All-Americans that they mightstill come out ahead in the series. 

They made but a short stay in Paris, and the weather was so inclement thatgames were out of the question. But it would have taken more than badweather to prevent the shopping and sightseeing that all had been lookingforward eagerly to in the great French capital, and they enjoyed theirvisit to the full. 

In London they met with the greatest welcome of their trip. They played atLord's Oval, the most famous grounds in the United Kingdom, and before anaudience 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 Statesambassador lent his presence to the occasion. 

It was the most distinguished audience, probably, that had ever witnesseda baseball game. 

And here it was that Joe did the most brilliant pitching of the trip. Histireless arm mowed down his opponents inning after inning. They came tothe bat only to go back to the bench. His mastery of the ball seemedalmost uncanny, and as inning after inning passed without a hit beingmade, it began to look as though he were in for that dream of allpitchers--a no-hit game. 

Brennan, the Chicago manager, fidgeted restlessly on the bench andglowered as his pets were slaughtered. He tried all the tactics known toclever managers, but in vain. It was simply a day when Baseball Joe wasnot to be denied. 

His comrades, too, gave him brilliant support and nothing got away fromthem, so that when finally the last man up in the ninth inning in theAll-American team lifted a towering skyscraper that Joe caught withoutstirring from his tracks, a pandemonium of cheers forced him to remove hiscap and bow to the applauding crowds again and again. 

Not a man had scored, not a man had been passed, not a man had reachedfirst, not a man had hit safe. Joe had won the most notable game in hiswhole 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, forthe fame of that great game in London had spread throughout the nation andall were eager to see the hero of that occasion. 

Under other circumstances Joe would have been jubilant, for he was at thevery height of his reputation, the girl he loved was with him, as well ashis only sister and his closest friend, but ever in his thoughts like thespectre at the feast was that matter of the signed contract--theabominable thing that smirched his reputation and branded him to the worldas false to his word and bond. 

Again and again he sought to find the key to the mystery. It seemed likesome monstrous jugglery, something akin to the fakir's tricks that he hadwitnessed at Colombo where the impossible had seemed so clearly possible. 

Try as he would he could find no explanation of the puzzle and his friendswere equally powerless to suggest a solution. 

The game at Dublin, which commenced auspiciously for the Giants, wasturned into a rout by a rally of the All-Americans in the ninth. A rain ofbingles 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 andtaking a little spin out into the country? The girls will be getting readyfor that reception at the Viceroy's castle, and they'll be too busydolling up to care what becomes of us. "

"Good idea, " said Jim, and the two friends made their way to a publicgarage, secured a good car together with a driver, and whirled away intothe open country. 

They had made perhaps twenty miles through the beautiful Irish scenerywhen 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 wedon't. "

"Plenty of time yet, " objected Jim. "Those look to me just like windclouds. Let's see a little bit more of Ireland. "

They went on perhaps five miles further and then Jim found that hisconfidence was misplaced. The clouds grew blacker, an ominous mutteringwas heard in the sky and a jagged flash of lightning presaged the comingstorm. 

"You see I was right, " said Joe. "In this open car we'll be drenched tothe skin. Turn around, Mike, " he said to the driver, "and let's see howfast this old boat of yours can travel in getting back to Dublin. Throwher into high and give her all you've got. "

The driver obeyed and the car fairly purred as it sped back toward thecity. But fast as it was, the storm was faster. Great raindrops pattereddown, and they looked anxiously about for shelter. 

"What's that place up there, Mike?" asked Jim, pointing to a ramblingstone 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 braveman that would be shteppin' inside the dhure. "

"I'm a brave man, then, " cried Jim. "For I'll face a dozen ghosts before Iwould this storm. Turn in, Mike, and we'll wait there till the rain isover. "

With a muttered protest Mike did as directed, and a moment later the youngmen stepped jauntily through the ruined portal, while Mike, shocked attheir temerity, crossed himself and, throwing an oilskin over his head, crouched low in his seat, preferring the discomfort of the open to theunknown terrors that might lurk beyond the doorway of the ruined castle. 

The friends had scarcely stepped inside before the rain came down intorrents. 

"Lucky we got here just as we did, " remarked Joe, as they leaned upagainst 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 asdark as Egypt in here. "

"I've got my pocket flashlight with me, " said Joe, reaching toward his hippocket. "But listen, what's that?"

"I didn't hear anything, " returned Jim, a little nervously, it must beadmitted. 

The two ball players kept perfectly still for a minute and heard whatseemed 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 Joepractically. "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 thedarkness they saw the tips of two lighted cigars. 

As this was not at all ghostly and they did not care to intrude, they wereabout to retire as softly as they had come, when Joe was startled byhearing 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 Joerecognized instantly as belonging to Beckworth Fleming. He had heard thatvoice before when he had made its owner kneel in the dirt of the road andbeg 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 youcaught him napping?"

"I picked out just the right time, " said Braxton complacently. "And Idon't deny that luck helped me a little. If McRae and Barclay hadn't goneaway just the time they did, it might not have worked. But I got himtalking about handwriting, and the first thing you know he'd scribbled hisname on the blank sheet. I took good care that only the bottom of thesheet was where he could reach it. Then I slipped the paper into mypocket, 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 ofit. "

Joe stepped into the room, followed by Jim. 

"I do a little laughing myself sometimes, " Joe said coldly. "And this isone of the times!"

CHAPTER XXX

BROUGHT TO BOOK--CONCLUSION

There was a gasp of dismay and astonishment, as the conspirators jumped totheir feet from the windowsill upon which they had been sitting. 

At the same instant Joe drew the flashlight from his pocket and illuminedtheir 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 therascals could not see whether he had a weapon or not. 

"What do you mean by this?" blustered Fleming, in a voice that he tried tomake brave, but that quavered despite himself. 

"It means, " said Joe grimly, "that one of you men is in for the licking ofhis life. Don't tremble so, Fleming, " he added contemptuously. "I'vealready thrashed you once and I don't care to soil my hands with youagain. But I've been aching for months to get my fingers on the man thatmade 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 somework to do. "

With a quick wrench he tore off his coat. 

"You'd better be careful, " said Braxton--no longer the suave and polishedtrickster, but pale as chalk and trembling like a leaf. "This is assaultand battery, and you'll answer to the law. "

"Put up your hands, " said Joe curtly. "You're as big a man as I am, butyou've got to prove which is the better one. And you, Jim, keep your eyeon 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 aclip to the jaw that shook him from head to foot. Then he sailed in andgave 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 savagelyinto Braxton's face and chest. All the pent-up indignation and humiliationof the last few weeks found vent in those mighty blows, and soon, too soonto suit Joe, the man lay on the floor, whining and half-sobbing with shameand pain. 

"Get up, you cur!" said Joe, as he pulled on his coat. "I'm not throughwith you yet. "

"You're not going to hit him again, are you?" asked Fleming, while Braxtonstaggered 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 thequeen's taste he's that man. "

"But I'm going to nail, right now, the lies you fellows have beenspreading, " continued Joe, eyes alight with the thought of his comingvindication. "You've got to sign a written confession of the part you'veplayed 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 hisswollen lips. 

"I've got paper and a fountain pen!" exclaimed Jim eagerly. "This light israther dim, but probably Mike has got the automobile lamps going by thistime and that'll be light enough. "

"Come along!" cried Joe sternly, and his crest-fallen opponents knew himtoo well by this time to resist. 

They went out into the open and found that the rain had almost stopped. AsJim had prophesied, the automobile lamps were gleaming through the dusk. Like every Irishman, Mike dearly loved a scrap, and his eyes lighted witha mixture of eagerness and regret as he looked at Braxton and realizedwhat he had been missing. 

"Begorra!" he cried in his rich brogue, "'tis a lovely shindy ye've beenafter havin'. "

With the paper resting on his knee and Jim's fountain pen in his hand, Joewrote out the story of the trickery and fraud that had been practiced ingetting his signature. When he had covered every important point, he heldout the pen to Braxton. 

The latter hesitated, and Joe's fist clenched till the knuckles werewhite. Braxton knew what that fist was capable of and hesitated no longer. He wrote his name under the confession and Fleming followed suit. Then Jimaffixed 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 inhis pocket, "you fellows clear out. I suppose that's your car that we sawstanding a little way down the road. I don't think either of you will careto mix in my affairs again. "

They moved away with an assumption of bravado they were far from feelingand were lost in the darkness. 

"And now, Mike, " said Joe with a jubilant ring in his voice, as theyleaped into the car, "let her go. Drive to Dublin as if the ghost of thelast of the O'Brians were at your back!"

And Mike did. 

The two baseball players found the girls impatiently awaiting them, andwondering rather petulantly what had become of them. Joe seized Mabel inhis arms and whirled her about the room like a dancing dervish, paying noheed to her laughing protests. 

Jim would have liked to do the same to Joe's sister, but did not quitedare to--yet. 

"Are you boys crazy?" demanded Mabel, as soon as she could get herbreath. 

"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 happenedsince they had left them after the game. 

No need of telling how they felt when the boys had finished. There was nohappier party that night in all Ireland. 

Then, leaving the delighted girls for a few minutes, the boys hunted upMcRae. They found him glum and anxious, talking earnestly with Robbie inthe lobby of the hotel. One glance at the young men's faces made the pairjump wonderingly to their feet. 

"For the love of Pete, let's have it, Joe!" cried McRae. "What'shappened?"

"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 anddevoured its contents, while Robbie peered eagerly over his shoulder. 

Then, as they realized what it meant, they set up a wild whoop which madethe other members of the team, scattered about the lobby, come running, followed a scene of mad hilarity, during which no one seemed to know whathe said or did. 

That night the cable carried the news to New York, and from there to everycity in the United States. It sounded the death knell of the All-StarLeague, and it went to pieces like a house of cards. The American publicwill stand for much, but for nothing so gross and contemptible as that hadbeen. 

The trip wound up in a blaze of glory with the Giants just one game to thegood in the hot series of games that had been played. They had a swift andjoyous 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 beon hand when the bell rings. "

"Joe will hear other bells before that, " grinned Jim, as he looked atMabel, who flushed rosily. 

"What's that?" asked McRae with a twinkle in his eye. 

"Wedding bells, " replied Jim. 

THE END

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