KY

oming, and with a scowl

le and, excusing himself to Westland, w

" he exclaimed. "You sur

the platform. It was astonishing what good company those two were to each oth

ilk," was Joe's respon

ing like that?" grinned Altman. "You fetc

ut it was coming to

be willing to take up a collection to pay them," replied Altman. "It's m

e subject. "By the way, Nick, that was a mighty nifty skit of yours at the

ltman. "I'm booked for twenty week

th the White Sox next y

n hes

ract with them has another year to run. To tell

ot going to give up the ga

I'll stick to the game as long as this old wing of mine can put them over t

can league trying to make a d

"But the American League isn't the whole cheese in bas

said Joe. "I don't want to butt in, Nick

ding a direct answer. "This fellow Westland seems aching to throw it

at wad before. But take a fool's adv

of work-and why shouldn't it be so in baseball? Who is it that brings the money in at the gate,

eager to make money 43 out of us as anybody else? Do you think they're in the game for the sport of it? And don't you know that the coming of a new league just now is likely to wreck the game? You know how it was in the old Brotherhood days-they did the same crooked work then that they're trying to do now-bri

ings out of the corner of his eye, thought it time to intervene. He strol

eard the whistle. I'll stay with you so th

glad to have seen you again, anyway, and

ment, Joe had to be content with the hope that,

of baseball were banished for the moment at th

ation. The colored porter jumped down the steps of

delight as two young people, whom a family resemblance procl

the center of an eager

l that they heard him say just then. What he

ion of the masculine contingent, while Reggie Varley extende

, in spring practice with his team, when one day he had been lucky enough to stop a runaway horse which Mabel had been driving, and thus saved he

distracting fashion, and it was no wonder that Joe before long was a helpless but willing captive. She, on

e had stolen a glove from her during one of his visits to Goldsboro, her home town in the South, and during the e

whole country wild with excitement, and told her too, that victory meant nothing,

leasant way. He was a rather foppish young man who cultivated a mustache that the gir

that the valise had been opened and some valuable jewelry stolen from it. He had rashly accused Jo

been forgiven entirely. The men were now on the most cordial of terms, for Reggie, despite his peculiarities

ked each other twenty questions at once and then the party paired off for the walk to the Matson home-that is,

ly, dividing his talk and attentions impartially, serenely uncons

e Conquering Hero Comes,'" remarked Jim t

s she looked at Joe. "I can hardly pick up the paper

ut a real, honest-to-goodness hero-the life-

ate, Mabel. You ought to have seen Joe at the

?" Mabel repeated,

"Didn't you know Joe'

ing out the mystificatio

n in the audience he made

little excitement at the Opera House last night and Jim and I took a h

lic speaking," persisted the irrepressible J

," entreated Mabel. "We girls are

s may be imagined, Joe did not suffer in the telling. If the latter had needed a

fore," she said, in a half whisper