If, for the beginning of this story, the reader finds himself carried back to the middle of "In the Line," let him not suspect a twice-told tale. The current of school life runs swiftly through its short channel. The present soon becomes the past, the past is soon forgotten. While the hero of to-day enjoys the sunshine of popularity, fondly imagining himself the flower and perfection of schoolboy development, the hero of the future, as yet unrecognized, is acquiring strength and determination for new records and greater triumphs. The scene shifts rapidly; new stories are ever beginning while the old ones are still unfinished.
PREFACE
The author has but a word to say in offering "With Mask and Mitt" to his boy readers. The book follows "In the Line" and precedes "The Great Year" in the sequence of the series. While it repeats no incidents of previous books and covers wholly new ground in athletics, it will be found not dissimilar to its predecessors in its general spirit and character. A good juvenile must be one approved by the parent, enjoyed by the boy, and read with profit by both.
It should, of course, interest and amuse; it should also help the parent to understand the impulses and the mental attitude of the boy, and the boy to accept the ideals of the parent. If "With Mask and Mitt" does not meet these requirements, it has at least been written with a full knowledge of their importance.
Thanks must again be expressed to Dr. E.H. Nichols of Boston for cordially rendered assistance in the technicalities and theory of the game of which he is an unquestioned master.
ALBERTUS T. DUDLEY.
Boston, July, 1906.
PREFACE
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CHAPTER I TWO APPRENTICES
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CHAPTER II HAIL TO THE PITCHER
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CHAPTER III NEIGHBORLY ATTENTIONS
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CHAPTER IV PAYNER THE MARPLOT
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CHAPTER V THE FAVORS OF FORTUNE
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CHAPTER VI THE THIRD STRING
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CHAPTER VII FACILIS DESCENSUS
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CHAPTER VIII THE FIRST PLAGUE
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CHAPTER IX A NEW INTEREST
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CHAPTER X MR. CARLE WANTS TO KNOW
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CHAPTER XI THE RELAY RACE
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CHAPTER XII AN INTERRUPTED EVENING
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CHAPTER XIII A WANING STAR
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CHAPTER XIV A CAPTAIN'S TROUBLES
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CHAPTER XV OUTDOORS AT LAST
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CHAPTER XVI THEORIES AND PLANS
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CHAPTER XVII A SET-BACK FOR O'CONNELL
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CHAPTER XVIII DISAPPOINTMENTS
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CHAPTER XIX A MISFIT BATTERY
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