"

They sat down side by side and read the paper together, and the more they
read the more bewildered they became.

For the story was circumstantial. It went into minute details. It embraced
interviews with the backers of the new league, who confirmed it without
hesitation. 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 in
pitching 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 then
McRae and Robbie, together with a group of other players, came hurrying
up, holding other papers which, though in different words, told
substantially the same story.

There was a babel of excited questions and exclamations, and Joe felt a
sharp pang go through him, as for the first time in his experience with
the 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 never
one 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. "They
ought 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 la