"Is your arm lame?" asked Mrs. Matson, noticing that her son favored his pitching member a trifle.
"Oh, I can finish out the season," said Joe. "The remainder will be easy—only a few more games."
"And then what?" asked Rad.
"Well, a vacation, I suppose, and then get ready for another season with the Cardinals."
But Joe was not destined to remain with the Western team. The horizon was widening, and those of you who wish to follow further the adventures of our hero may do so in the succeeding volume, which will be called "Baseball Joe on the Giants; Or, Making Good as a Ball Twirler in the Metropolis."
In that we shall see how Joe rose to even higher fame, through grit, hard work and ability.
"Well, you turned the trick, old man!" declared Manager Watson, when, a few days later, the team was on the way back to St. Louis. "You did it. I felt sure you could."
"Well, I didn't, at one time," was the rejoinder. "My arm started to go back on me."
"Well, there's one consolation, Shalleg and his crowd will never get another chance at you," went on the manager. "Now take care of yourself. I'm only going to let you play one game—the closing one at St. Louis. We won't need our stars against the tail-enders."
And the Cardinals did not, winning handily with a number of second string men playing.