GE

The next practice ball Joe sent in went cleanly over the plate, and
landed with a thud in the catcher's glove. Russell nodded at Joe, to
indicate that was what he wanted.

"Play ball!" directed the umpire, and the batter moved up closer to the
plate.

Stooping low, and concealing his signal with his big glove, Russell
called for a straight, swift ball. Joe gave it, and as it was in the
proper place, though the striker did not attempt to hit it, the umpire
called:

"Strike--one!"

Indignantly the batter looked around, but it was only done for effect.
He knew it was a strike.

"That's the way. Now we've got 'em!" cried Boswell from the coaching
line.

"Ball one," was the next decision of the umpire, and Joe felt a little
resentment, for he had made sure it went over the plate. But there was
little use to object.

A curve was next called for, and Joe succeeded in enticing the batter
to strike at it. But the stick missed the horsehide cleanly. It was two
strikes.

"Pretty work! Oh, pretty work!" howled Boswell.

A foul next resulted, and Russell missed it by inches. The batter had
still another chance. But it availed him little, for Joe fooled him on
the next one.

"Good!" nodded the catcher to the young pitcher, and Joe felt his vision
clearing now. He looked over toward where Mabel was sitting. She smiled
encouragingly at him.

The New Yorks got one hit off Joe that inning, but, though the man on
first stole second, after Joe had tried to nip him several times, the
other two men struck out, and a goose egg went up in the first frame.

"Well, if you can do that eight more times the game is ours, if we can
only get one run," said Manager Watson, as Joe came up to the bench,
smiling happily.

"I'll try," was all he said.

But the Cardinals did not get their run that inning, nor the next nor
the next nor next. The game ran along for five innings with neither side
crossing home plate, and talk of a "pitchers' battle" began to be heard.
Joe was pitching remarkably well, allowing only scattering hits. The
Giants could not seem to bunch them.

Then, as might have been expected, Joe had a bit of bad luck. There had
been hard work for him that day--hard and nervous work, and it told on
him. He was hit for a two-bagger, and the next man walked, though Joe
thought some of the decisions unfair.

Then the runner attempted to steal third. There was a wild throw, and
the man came in, scoring the first run.