Page:Baseball Joe on the School Nine.djvu/225



" cheers for the Excelsiors!" cried the visiting captain, swinging his hat around in the air as a signal to his crowd, after the excitement had somewhat calmed. "Three good cheers, boys! They beat us fair and square! Three big cheers!"

And how they rang out! And how also rang out the return cheers, which Joe and his mates rendered. Never had applause sounded sweeter in the ears of our hero, for it seemed that the school nine had now begun to live in better days, since the dismissal of Hiram and Luke.

Joe kept at his pitching practice, and he himself knew, even had others, including Tom, not told him, that he was doing well.

"You're better than when you pitched for the Silver Stars," said Tom, "and you were no slouch then."

"Yes, I think I am more sure of myself," admitted Joe. "And I've got more speed and better