lied Joe.

"Rather a pretty name," remarked Mrs. Matson absently.

"Prettier than he was when Joe got through with him," interposed Jim with
a grin.

Mrs. Matson looked up, shocked.

"Oh, I hope Joe didn't hurt him!" she exclaimed.

"Whatever Joe did was for the good of his soul," laughed Jim. "I can't say
as much for his body."

"It's all right, Momsey," smiled Joe. "He was insolent to Mabel, and I had
to give him a thrashing. But that's neither here nor there. He's the
spoiled son of a very rich man, and he's one of the men behind this new
league. 'A fool and his money are soon parted,' and he'll probably be
wiser when he gets through with this than he is now."

"But why shouldn't they start a new league if they want to?" asked Mrs.
Matson. "I should think they had a right to, if they wanted to do it."

"Of course they have a right to," agreed Joe. "This is a free country, and
any man has a right to go into any legitimate business if he thinks
there's money in it. Neither the National League nor the American League
have a mortgage on the game. But the trouble is that there aren't enough
good players to go round. All the really good ones have been already
gobbled up by the present leagues. If the new league started in with
unknown players, it wouldn't take in enough money to pay the batboys. The
consequence is that it tries to get the players who are already under
contract by making them big offers, and that leads to all sorts of
dishonesty. You take a man who is making three thousand a year and offer
him six if he'll break his contract, and it's a big temptation."

"They'll be after you, Joe, sure as shooting," remarked Jim. "It would be
a big feather in their cap to start off with copping the greatest pitcher
in the game. They'd be willing to offer you a fortune to get you. They
figure that after that start the other fellows they want will be tumbling
over themselves to get aboard."

"Let them come," declared Joe. "I'll send them off with a flea in their
ear. They'll find that I'm no contract jumper."

"I'm sure that you'd never do anything mean," said his mother, looking at
him fondly.

"There isn't a crooked bone in his head," laughed Clara, making a face at
him as he threatened her with his fist.

"The contract is enough," said Joe; "but even if I were a free agent, I
wouldn't go with the new league and leave McRae in the hole. I feel that I
owe him a lot for the way he has treated me. He took me fr