“Not a bit of it, Momsey,” exulted Joe, “though it wouldn’t be surprising if I had. I’ve been traded to the New York Giants!”
[CHAPTER VII]
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
If a thunderbolt had fallen it could hardly have created more astonishment.
“What’s that?” cried Clara, who had come into the room just in time to see the last of the mad dance and hear a fragment of what Joe was saying.
“The Giants, Sis!” exclaimed Joe. “The class of the National League! I’m getting right to the top of the ladder! I’m going to play with the finest team in the biggest city on the most famous grounds in the United States! How’s that for a jump?”
“Oh, Joe, that’s splendid!” exclaimed his sister, throwing her arms around his neck. “I’m so proud of this big brother of mine!”
“Will it mean such an awful lot to you, Joe?” asked his delighted mother, who could never get quite clearly in her mind the working of the great national game.
“I should say it would,” returned Joe. “It’s a big advance in a hundred ways. It’s the thing that every player in the country dreams about. There are men who would almost give their eyes to have my chance. It’s getting into the blue-ribbon class. It’s like riding in an automobile after you’ve had to put up with a buggy. It’s like getting a speaking part in a play after you’ve carried a spear as one of the Roman populace. It’s like——”