he crazed man was secured with ropes and carried away, while Joe,
perspiring, panting and covered with dust, received the enthusiastic
congratulations of the rapidly gathering crowd.

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

"That fall-away slide of yours was great, Joe!" cried Larry Barrett, who
had come up. "I never saw a niftier one on the ballfield."

"You made the bag all right!" grinned Denton.

"He never touched you!" chuckled Burkett.

"If he had it would have been some touch," declared McRae, as he picked up
one murderous-looking knife and passed it round for inspection.

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

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

Joe hated to pose as a hero but it was some time before the crowd would
let him get away and rejoin the girls who were waiting for him.

All the plaudits of the throng were tame compared with what he read in the
eyes of Mabel and his sister.

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

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

"But they certainly put up a fine game," was Joe's comment. "They had two
pitchers who had some good stuff in 'em."

"That's just what I was thinking," returned Jim.

"One of those pitchers used to play ball on a professional team from Los
Angeles," said McRae, who was standing near. "I understand he had quite a
record."

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

"Oh, I suppose it was the love of adventure," answered the manager.

"That might be it," said Joe. "Some fellows get tired of doing the same
thing, and when they have a chance to leave home and see strange places,
they grab it."

While warming up prior to this last game, Joe's attention was attracted by
a muscular Chinaman, wh