Copyright, 1914, by
GROSSET & DUNLAP, Inc.

All Rights Reserved

Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE
I[Out in the Bush]11
II[Under Cover]18
III[The Man to Pitch]23
IV[The Parson’s Daughter]29
V[A Bad Beginning]35
VI[“Take Him Out!”]40
VII[Himself Again]47
VIII[Steadying Down]53
IX[Some Pitching!]58
X[A Pitchers’ Battle]63
XI[On the Raw Edge]67
XII[The “Squeeze Play”]73
XIII[The Last Strike-Out]78
XIV[After the Game]86
XV[Man to Man]91
XVI[Benton King Awakens]97
XVII[Father and Daughter]104
XVIII[The Green-Eyed Monster]112
XIX[The Agitation in Bancroft]120
XX[Men of Conscience!]128
XXI[A Secret Meeting]132
XXII[Riley Shoots His Bolt]140
XXIII[Lefty’s Fickle Memory]145
XXIV[A Matter of Veracity]152
XXV[The Test and the Denial]157
XXVI[Was It a Bluff?]166
XXVII[The Item in the News]173
XXVIII[The Gage Flung Down]180
XXIX[The Frame-Up]186
XXX[The Letter in the Desk]193
XXXI[Tom, Tommy and Janet]201
XXXII[The Initials]209
XXXIII[King Aroused]218
XXXIV[Given the Lie]224
XXXV[The Photograph]230
XXXVI[Crumbled Castles]236
XXXVII[The Bell Boy]244
XXXVIII[“And Did Not Understand”]250
XXXIX[Bancroft Comes to Conquer]258
XL[Pinwheel Murtel]264
XLI[Gone Wrong]271
XLII[A Sudden Shift]276
XLIII[A Game Worth Winning]282
XLIV[Facing His Accusers]288
XLV[The Forgery]294
XLVI[Cleared Up]300

LEFTY O’ THE BUSH

CHAPTER I
OUT IN THE BUSH

After running his eye over the Kingsbridge batting order, Mike Riley, manager of the Bancroft “Bullies,” rolled the black cigar well into the corner of his mouth, lifted himself ponderously to his feet, and walked across toward the bench of the home team.