Baseball Joe on the School Nine; or, Pitching for the Blue Banner

to cross the campus to where the little group of lads awaited him-anxious waiting it was too, on the part of Joe and Peaches. And in that minute and a half, before

ll Joe of the Silver Stars," need no introduction to our hero. Sufficient to

achinery and other apparatus, and had been employed by the Royal Harvester Works of Riverside, which was located on the

ouse back of him. Joe became interested in the Silver Stars, the Riverside amateur nine, an

box for the Stars, and was finally given a chance. But he had incurred the enmity of Sam Morton, the regular p

Holdney, the latter once a friend of the inventor, determined to get certain valuable patents away from Mr. M

e last moment, word came that Mr. Matson had seemingly lost everything, Joe hid his own feelings and went off to

his money through the taking away of his patents there would be no chan

e and hot one. He won, making the Stars the champi

that at the last minute unexpected evidence had won the pa

Davis prevailed upon his parents to send him. So Joe and Tom went off together to atte

erm, and had spent the Winter, with the exception of the Christmas holidays, at the institution. They liked it very much, and made a n

their room they played over again, in imagination, some of the stirring games of the Silver Stars. As yet, however, there had been no baseball activity at Excelsior, and Joe was w

warrior, and because he was always holding him up as a pattern of some virtues to his pupils. Dr. Enos Rudden the mathematical teacher was one o

tely termed "Sixteen and a Half" or "Sixteen" for short (because of the number of feet in a r

odd, now I will go back to where we left him approaching the gr

d to know. Look at my hat! Look at it, I say!" and that there might be no dif

t with considerable force, had driven it down over his brow. H

ded Professor Rodd, and this time he managed t

a throwing contest," explained Tee

two balls struck me, and I demand to know who threw them. Or shall I repo

you, Professor," pu

ne of voice he used in the classroom, when some luckless lad was stuttering and stamm

" faltered Joe. "I t

ed out Peaches. "But it w

ident!

over the trees. Instead of throwing primus, secondus, and tertius as we might have done, Joe and I threw together-um-er-ah conjunctim so to speak," and Peaches managed to keep a straight face even while strugglin

r, and the trial of his life was to know that most of his pupils hated the study-indeed as many boys do. So when the teacher found one who t

the fair-cheeked lad repeated, very pr

in Joe, "and I'll pay for

onjunctim," mu

" admitted Professor Rodd. "They do credit to your studying, Lantfeld

e dictionary, Profess

ticking his battered hat back on his head, began to quote and translate and do all manner of things with the dead language, to show Peaches where he had made his errors. And Pea

us. However, I am glad to see that you take an interest in your studies. I wish more of the boys

g off into his classroom tones.

ispered Teeter hoarsely. "Leg it,

to pay for it," objected our he

hat-say, forget it and come on. He'll never mention it again. Peaches knows how to handle him. Peaches is the best Latin lad in the whole sch

es!" murmur

his duty and he done it nobly, as the novels say. When Sixteen gets through with him we'll

he boys filed into the big dining hall, and talk, which had begun to verge around

he door of the room that Tom Davis and Joe Matso

e?" asked J

atical answer. "The coast is clear-open you

the portal, and the hero of

so much dry Latin in my life. My throat is parched. Don't tell me that all

left for the gentleman of thir

as fastened to the sill. On the end of the string

Do the uncorking act, Tom, and we'll get busy. You can go to sleep,"

glass. "Now I can talk. I came in, Joe and Tom, to see if

ts' sake, who wi

iling for on

as thinking we could get a lot of fellows together, make a fort, and have a re

o myself,"

y, burying his nose in his ginger a

king," resumed Pe

e. With one sweep of his arm Joe noiselessly collected the bottles, while Joe spread a paper