XXI A QUEER MESSAGE 175

XXII IN DANGER 182

XXIII A LAME ARM 191

XXIV A TIGHT GAME 201

XXV IN NEW YORK 208

XXVI ADRIFT 217

XXVII THE RESCUE 223

XXVIII MOVING PICTURES 229

XXIX SHALLEG'S DOWNFALL 234

XXX THE HARDEST BATTLE 240

BASEBALL JOE IN THE BIG LEAGUE

CHAPTER I

TWO LETTERS

"Whew!" whistled Joe Matson, the astonishment on his bronzed face being
indicated by his surprised exclamation of:

"Well, what do you know about that, Sis?"

"What is it, Joe?" asked his sister Clara, as she looked up from a
letter she was reading to see her brother staring at a sheet of paper he
had just withdrawn from an envelope, for the morning mail had been
delivered a few minutes before. "What is it?" the girl went on, laying
aside her own correspondence. "Is it anything serious--anything about
father's business? Don't tell me there is more trouble, Joe!"

"I'm not going to, Clara. It isn't trouble, but, if what he says is
true, it's going to make a big difference to me," and Joe looked out of
the window, across a snowy expanse of yard, and gazed at, without
consciously seeing, a myriad of white flakes swirling down through the
wintry air.

"No, it isn't exactly trouble," went on Joe, "and I suppose I ought to
be corkingly glad of it; but I hadn't counted on leaving the Central
Baseball League quite so soon."

"Oh, Joe! Have you lost your place?" exclaimed Clara. "And just after
you have done so well, too; and helped them win the pennant! I call that
a shame! I thought baseball men were better 'sports' than that."

"Listen to her--my little sister using slang!" laughed Joe.

"'Sports' isn't slang," defended Clara. "I've heard lots of girls use
it. I mean it in the right sense. But have you really lost your place on
the team, Joe?"

"Well, not exactly, Sis, but I'm about to, I'm afraid. However, I guess
I may as well make the best of it, and be glad. I sure can use the extra
money!"

"I certainly don't know what you're talking about," went on Clara, with
a helpless look at her big, handsome brother, "and I suppose you'll take
your own time in telling me. But I _would_ like to know what it all
means, Joe.