would n't have, either, if it had n't been
for Fred. He wished Fred would n't fumble so. He could hold a hundred
difficult balls in succession, but when a critical point came, he 'd let
go of even a dewdrop. He 'd have to send him out in the field and bring
in Jones to first base. Only Jones was so excitable. He could hold any
kind of a ball, no matter how critical the play was, but there was no
telling what he would do with the ball after he got it.

Joe came to himself with a start. A pretty way of studying history! He
buried his head in his book and began:

Shortly after the Draconian reforms--

He read the sentence through three times, and then recollected that he
had not looked up the Draconian reforms.

A knock came at the door. He turned the pages over with a noisy flutter,
but made no answer.

The knock was repeated, and Bessie's "Joe, dear" came to his ears.

"What do you want?" he demanded. But before she could answer he hurried
on: "No admittance. I 'm busy."

"I came to see if I could help you," she pleaded. "I 'm all done, and I
thought--"

"Of course you 're all done!" he shouted. "You always are!"

He held his head in both his hands to keep his eyes on the book. But
the baseball mask bothered him. The more he attempted to keep his mind
on the history the more in his mind's eye he saw the mask resting on the
chair and all the games in which it had played its part.

This would never do. He deliberately placed the book face downward on the
desk and walked over to the chair. With a swift sweep he sent both mask
and glove hurtling under the bed, and so violently that he heard the mask
rebound from the wall.

Shortly after the Draconian reforms, a war
broke out between Athens and Megara--

The mask had rolled back from the wall. He wondered if it had rolled back
far enough for him to see it. No, he would n't look. What did it matter if
it had rolled out? That was n't history. He wondered--

He peered over the top of the book, and there was the mask peeping out at
him from under the edge of the bed. This was not to be borne. There was
no use attempting to study while that mask was around. He went over and
fished it out, crossed the room to the closet, and tossed it inside, then
locked the door. That was settled, thank goodness! Now he could do some
work.

He sat down again.

Shortly after the Draconian reforms, a war
broke out between Athens and Megara respecting
the island of Sa