Page:Baseball Joe on the School Nine.djvu/18

 at Joe's style and did his best to beat him, but could not.

"I ate too much dinner to-day," said Hiram finally, as an excuse, "so I can't throw well," and though there were covert smiles at this palpable excuse, no one said anything. Then came other contests, throwing at trees and different objects. Finally Hiram and Luke took themselves off, and everyone else was glad of it.

"He's only a bluff, Shell is!" murmured Peaches.

"And mean," added George.

"Joe, I wonder if you can throw over those trees," spoke Tom, pointing to a fringe of big maples which bordered a walk that ran around the school campus. "That's something of a throw for height and distance. Want to try?"

"Sure," assented our hero, "though I don't know as I can do it."

"Wait, I'm with you," put in Peaches. "We'll throw together."

They quickly made a couple of hard, smooth balls, and at the word from Tom, Joe and Peaches let go together, for it was to be a sort of contest in swiftness.

The white missiles sailed through the air side by side, and not far apart. Higher and higher