119
XV The Bewildered Umpire 128
XVI Putting Them Over 135
XVII "Man Overboard" 143
XVIII One Strike And Out 150
XIX Braxton Joins The Party 155
XX In Mikado Land 164
XXI Running Amuck 175
XXII Taking A Chance 183
XXIII An Embarrassed Rescuer 191
XXIV The Blow Falls 200
XXV The Cobra In The Room 207
XXVI In The Shadow Of The Pyramids 213
XXVII The Signed Contract 220
XXVIII Whirlwind Pitching 227
XXIX The Ruined Castle 234
XXX Brought To Book--Conclusion 240

BASEBALL JOE AROUND
THE WORLD

CHAPTER I

IN DEADLY PERIL

"Great Scott! Look at this!"

Joe Matson, or "Baseball Joe," as he was better known throughout the
country, sprang to his feet and held out a New York paper with headlines
which took up a third of the page.

There were three other occupants of the room in the cozy home at
Riverside, where Joe had come to rest up after his glorious victory in the
last game of the World's Series, and they looked up in surprise and some
alarm.

"Land's sakes!" exclaimed his mother, pausing just as she was about to
bite off a thread. "You gave me such a start, Joe! What on earth has
happened?"

"What's got my little brother so excited?" mocked his pretty sister,
Clara.

"Has an earthquake destroyed the Polo Grounds?" drawled Jim Barclay,
Joe's special chum and fellow pitcher on the Giant team.

"Not so bad as that," replied Joe, cooling down a bit; "but it's something
that will make McRae and the whole Polo Grounds outfit throw a fit if it's
true."

Jim snatched the paper from Joe's hands, with the familiarity born of long
acquaintance, and as his eyes fell on the headlines he gave a whistle of
surprise.

"'Third Major League a Certainty,'" he read. "Gee whiz, Joe! I don't
wonder it upset you. That's news for fair."

"Is that all?" pouted Clara, who had been having a very interesting
conversation with handsome Jim Barclay, and did not relish being
interrupted.

Mrs. Matson also looked relieved and resumed her sewing.

"Is that all?" cried Joe, as he began to pace the floor excitedly. "I tell
you, Sis, it's plenty. If it's true, it means the old Brotherhood days all
over again. It means a fight to disrupt the National and the