Above the hubbub, Joe’s voice rang out like a trumpet.
“Keep your seats!” he shouted. “There’s no danger. I tell you to keep your seats.”
The crowd halted uncertainly, fearfully, and Joe took instant advantage of the hesitation. 13
“You know me,” he cried. “I tell you there’s no danger. Haven’t you ever smelled cigar smoke before?”
The suggestion was a happy one, and the crowd began to quiet down, regaining their courage at the sight of that indomitable figure on the stage.
Jim had been only two jumps behind Joe in his rush to the front, and while Joe was calming the crowd Jim had rushed into the wing and dragged down some draperies that had caught fire from a gas jet. In a moment he had trampled them underfoot and the danger was over.
The orchestra had seemed to keep its wits better than the rest of the throng, and Joe signaled to the leader to strike up a tune. The next instant the musicians swung into a popular air, and completely reassured, the people settled down into their seats.
And while Joe stands there, exulting in his triumph over the panic, it may be well for the sake of those who have not read the preceding books of this series to sketch something of his life and adventures up to this time.
Joe’s first experience in the great game in which he was to become so famous was gained on the diamond of his own home town. He did so well there that he soon became known in the towns around as one of the best players in the county. 14 He had many mishaps and difficulties, and how he overcame them is told in the first volume of the series, entitled, “Baseball Joe of the Silver Stars; Or The Rivals of Riverside.”
A little later on, when playing on his school nine, he had obstacles of a different character to surmount. The bully of the school sought to down him, but found that he had made a mistake in picking out his victim. Joe’s natural skill and constant practice enabled him to win laurels for himself and his school on the diamond, and prepared him for the larger field that awaited him when later on he went to Yale.