CHAPTER IV
JOE LEARNS SOMETHING
Joe Matson had been in fights before. Some had been forced upon him, andhe accepted the challenges for sufficient reasons, and had given a goodaccount of himself in the battles. Other fistic encounters had been ofhis own seeking and for excellent reasons he had generally come outahead.
The prospective fight with the bully was very sudden. Joe had seen whathe considered a mean trick on Hiram's part and had thrown on the impulseof the moment. He rather regretted his hasty action, but it was too latefor regrets now, and he was willing to accept the outcome.
"I'm going to make you wish you'd never come to Excelsior Hall!" criedHiram, and with that he expected the blow which he had aimed at Joe toland on the countenance of our hero.
But, like the celebrated flea of history, who, as the Dutchman said,"ven you put your finger on him, dot flea he aind't dere!" so it waswith Joe. He cleverly ducked, and then waited for what would happennext.
Something did happen with a vengeance. Hiram had rushed up the slippery,sloping, inner wall of the fort to get at Joe, and pummel him forsending the snowball smashing into his face, but when Joe turned aside,and Hiram's fist went through the air like a batter fanning over a swiftball, the bully was unable to recover himself.
He overbalanced, clawed vainly at the atmosphere, made a grab for Joe,who took good care to keep well out of reach, and then Hiram Shell wentslipping and sliding down the outside wall of the snow fort, turningover several times ere he landed at the bottom, amid a pile of the whiteflakes.
HIRAM SHELL WENT SLIPPING AND SLIDING DOWN THE OUTSIDEWALL OF THE SNOW FORT.]
In his descent he struck several lads who were swarming up to theattack, and these Hiram bowled over like tenpins, so that when hecame to rest he was in the centre of a pile of heaving bodies, andof threshing and swaying arms and legs, like a football player downedafter a long run.
"Get off me, you fellows!" yelled Hiram, when he could get his breath."I'll punch some of you good and hard for this!"
"And you'll get punched yourself if you don't take your feet out ofmy face!" retorted Peaches, who was one of the few pupils not afraid ofthe bully.
"Where's that Joe Matson? I've got a score to settle with him," went onHiram, as he struggled to his feet, and disentangled himself from themass of snow-warriors.
"You'll have one to settle with me if you knock me down again!" criedTeeter Nelson, as he tried to shake some snow out from inside hiscollar. It was melting and running down his back in little cold streams."What do you mean by playing that way?" demanded Teeter, who had notseen the impending fight between Joe and Hiram. "Why don't you stayinside your own fort, and not make a human battering ram of yourself?"
"You mind your own business!" snapped Hiram with an ugly look. "Islipped and fell, or else Joe Matson pushed me. Wait until I get holdof him."
With a look of anger on his face, Hiram turned and went swarming up theouter wall of the fort. At the top stood Joe, waiting, and the lad'sface showed no signs of fear, though he was a trifle pale. Though Hiramwas larger, and evidently stronger than Joe, our hero was not afraid.He was debating in his mind whether it would not be better to rush tothe ground below, where he would have a better chance if it came to anout-and-out-fight. Yet Joe had a certain advantage on top of the snowwall, for he could easily push Hiram down. Yet this was not his idea ofa contest of that kind.
"I'll fix you, Matson!" muttered the bully. "I'll teach you to push medown! You might have broken my arm or leg," he added in an injured tone.
"I didn't push you!" retorted our hero. "You tried to hit me and missed.Then you fell."
"That's right!" chimed in Peaches, amid a silence, for the generalsnowball fight had ceased in anticipation of another kind of anencounter.
Hiram balanced himself half way up the white wall.
"What did you smash me in the face with a snowball for?" he demanded."We made it up that no one was to aim at another fellow's face at closerange, and you know it."
"Of course I know it," answered Joe. "But that rule applied to hardballs, and I didn't use one. I threw a soft ball at you, and you knowwhy I did it, too. I'll let Luke Fodick have one, too, if he does itagain."
"Does what again?" sneered the bully's crony.
"Use icy balls. I saw you and Hiram take some frozen ones from thatbox," and Joe pointed to the secret supply of ammunition. "Some of ourfellows were hit and that's why I threw in your face, Hiram. Now, if youwant to fight I'm ready for you," and Joe stood well balanced on top ofthe wall, awaiting the approach of his enemy.
Somehow the fighting spirit was oozing out of Hiram. He felt sure thathe could whip Joe in a battle on level ground, but when his opponentstood above him, and when it was evident that Joe could deliver a blowbefore Hiram could, with the probability that it would send the attackersliding down the wall again, the bully began to see that discretion wasthe better part of valor.
"Do you want to fight?" demanded Hiram, in that tone which sometimesmeans that the questioner would be glad to get a negative answer.
"I'm not aching for it," replied Joe slowly. "But I'm not going to runaway. If you like I'll come down, but you can come up if you want to,"and he smiled at Hiram. "You only got what you deserved, you know."
"That's right," chimed in Teeter. "You hadn't any right to use frozenballs, Hiram."
"Sure not!" came in a menacing chorus from Joe's crowd of lads.
"Well, they weren't frozen very hard," mumbled Hiram. "I only threw afew, anyhow, and you've got more fellows than we have."
"Because we captured some of yours--yes," admitted Joe.
"Well, all right then," answered the bully with no good grace. "But ifyou throw at my face again, at such close range, Joe Matson, I'll giveyou the best licking you ever had."
"Two can play at that game," was Joe's retort. "I'm ready any time youare."
"Why don't you go at him now, and clean him up?" asked Luke Fodick,making his way to where Hiram stood. "If you don't he'll be saying hebacked you to a standstill. Go at him, Hiram."
"I've a good notion to," muttered the bully.
He measured with his eye the distance between himself and Joe, andwondered if he could cover it in a rush, carry his opponent off hisfeet, and batter and pummel him as they rolled down the fort walltogether.
"Go on!" urged Luke.
"I--I guess I will!" spoke Hiram desperately.
Then from the outer fringe of the attacking crowd there arose a cautiouswarning.
"Cheese it! Here comes old Sixteen!"
Professor Rodd was approaching and the lads well knew that he wasbitterly opposed to fights, and would at once report any who engaged inthem.
"Come on! Let's finish the snow fight!" cried Teeter. "Get back in yourfort, Hiram, and the rest of you, and we'll soon capture it."
"All right," said the bully in a low voice. Then looking at Joe he said:"This isn't the end of it; not by a long shot, Matson. I'll get squarewith you yet."
"Just as you choose," answered Joe, as he rallied his lads to the attackagain.
Then the snow ball fight went on, with Professor Rodd an interestedonlooker. Joe's boys finally won, capturing the fort; but the real zesthad been taken out of the battle by the unpleasant incident, and theboys no longer fought with jolly good-will.
"Ah, that is what I like to see," remarked the Latin professor, as thelads, having finished the game, strolled away from the fort which hadbeen sadly battered and disrupted by the attack on it. "Nothing likegood, healthy out-door exercise to fit the mind for the classics.I'm sure you will all do better in Latin and Greek for this littlediversion."
"He's got another think coming as far as I'm concerned," whisperedTeeter to Joe. "I haven't got a line of my Caesar."
"This is certainly what I like to see," went on the instructor. "No hardfeelings, yet I venture to say you all fought well, and hard. It is mostdelightful."
"It wouldn't have been quite so delightful if you'd have come alo
ng afew minutes later and seen a real fight," murmured Peaches. "Would youhave stood up to Hiram, Joe?"
"I sure would. I was ready for him, though I don't want to be unfriendlyto any of the fellows here. But I couldn't stand for what he did. Oh,I'd have fought him all right, even at the risk of a whipping, or ofbeating him, and having him down on me all the while I'm here."
"I guess he's down on you all right as it is," ventured George Bland."And it's too bad, too."
"Oh, I don't know as I care particularly," spoke Joe.
"I thought I heard you say you wanted to play ball when the Springseason opened," said George.
"So I do, but what has Hiram Shell got to do with it?"
"Lots, as you'll very soon learn," put in Teeter. "Hiram is the headof the ball club--the manager--I guess you forgot that, and he runsthings. If he doesn't want a fellow to play--why, that fellow doesn'tplay--that's all. That's what George means."
"Yes," assented George. "And Hiram is sure down on you after what youdid to him to-day, Joe."
The young pitcher stood still. Many thoughts came to him. He felt astrange sinking sensation, as if he had suddenly lost hope. He dwelt fora moment on his great ambition, to be the star pitcher on the schoolnine, as he had been on the nine at home.
"Well, I guess it's too late to worry about it now," remarked Joe aftera bit. "I'm sorry--no; I'm not either!" he cried, with sudden energy."I'd do the same thing over again if I had to, and if Hiram Shell wantsto keep me off the nine he can do it!"
"That's the way to talk!" cried Teeter, clapping Joe on the back.
Baseball Joe on the School Nine; or, Pitching for the Blue Banner Page 4