CHAPTER XX
IN MIKADO LAND
But if Braxton sensed the slight feeling of antipathy which Joe felt forhim, he gave no sign of it, and Joe himself, who wanted to be strictlyjust, took pains to conceal it.
Braxton had a fund of anecdotes that made him good company, and thefriendship that Reggie felt for him made him often a member of Joe'sparty.
"Fine fellow, that Mr. Matson of yours," he remarked one afternoon, whenhe and Reggie and Mabel were sitting together under an awning, which thegrowing heat of every day, as the vessel made its way deeper into thetropics, made very grateful for its shade and coolness.
"Indeed he is," remarked Mabel, warmly, to whom praise of Joe was alwayssweet.
"He's a ripper, don't you know," agreed Reggie.
"Not only as a man but as a player," continued Braxton. "Hughson used tobe king pin once, but I think it can be fairly said that Matson has takenhis place as the star pitcher of America. Hughson's arm will probablynever be entirely well again."
"Joe thinks that Hughson is a prince," remarked Mabel. "He says he standshead and shoulders above everybody else."
"He used to," admitted Braxton. "For ten years there was nobody to becompared with him. But now it's Matson's turn to wear the crown."
"Have you ever seen Joe pitch?" asked Mabel.
"I should say I have," replied Braxton. "And it's always been a treat tosee the way he did his work. I saw him at the Polo Grounds when in thatlast, heartbreaking game he won the championship for the Giants. And I sawhim, too, in that last game of the World's Series, when it seemed asthough only a miracle could save the day. That triple play was the mostwonderful thing I ever beheld. The way he nailed that ball and shot itover to Denton was a thing the fans will talk over for many years tocome."
"Wasn't it great?" cried Mabel, enthusiastically, at the same timeprivately resolving to tell all this to Joe and show him how unjust he wasin feeling the way he did toward this generous admirer.
"The fact is," continued Braxton, "that Matson's in a class by himself.He's the big cog in the Giant machinery. It's a pity they don'tappreciate him more."
"Why, they do appreciate him!" cried Mabel, her eyes opening wide withwonder. "Mr. McRae thinks nothing's too good for him."
"Nothing's too good except money," suggested Braxton.
"They give him plenty of that, too," put in Mabel, loyally.
"He gets a ripping salary, don't you know," put in Reggie. "And he almostdoubled it in this last World's Series."
"A man's worth what he can get," returned Braxton. "Now, of course, Idon't know and perhaps it might be an impertinence for me even to guesswhat his salary is, but I should say that it isn't a bit more than tenthousand a year."
"Oh, it isn't anything like that," said Reggie, a little chop fallen.
Braxton raised his eyebrows in apparent surprise.
"I didn't think the Giants were so niggardly," he remarked, with a touchof contempt. "It's simply robbery for them to hold his services at such afigure. Mr. Matson could demand vastly more than that."
"Where?" asked Reggie. "He's under contract with the Giants and theywouldn't let him go to any other club."
"Why doesn't he go without asking leave?" asked Braxton.
"But no other club in the big leagues would take him if he broke hiscontract with the Giants," said Mabel, a little bewildered.
"I've heard there was a new league forming," said Braxton, carelessly."Let's see, what is it they call it? The All-Star League. There would beno trouble with Matson's getting an engagement with them. They'd welcomehim with open arms."
"They've already tried to get him," cried Mabel, proudly.
"Is that so? I suppose they made him a pretty good offer. I've heardthey're doing things on a big scale."
"It was a wonderful offer," said Mabel.
"It certainly was, 'pon honor," chimed in Reggie.
"Would it be indiscreet to ask the amount?" said Braxton.
"I don't think there's any bally secret 'bout it," complied Reggie. "Theyoffered him twenty thousand dollars to sign a contract and fifteenthousand dollars a year for a three years' term. Many a bank or railroadpresident doesn't get that much, don't you know."
"And Matson refused it?" asked Braxton, incredulously.
"How could he help it?" replied Mabel. "His contract with the Giants hastwo years yet to run."
"My dear young lady," said Braxton, "don't you know that a baseballcontract isn't as binding as the ordinary kind? In the first place, it'sone-sided, and that itself makes it worthless."
"In what way is it so one-sided?" asked Mabel.
"Well, just to take one instance," replied Braxton. "A baseball club mayengage a man for a year and yet if it gets tired of its bargain, it canlet him go on ten days' notice. That doesn't seem fair, does it?"
"No-o, it doesn't," admitted Mabel slowly.
"It would be all right," continued Braxton, "if the player also couldleave his club by giving ten days' notice. But he can't. That's what makesit unfair. The club can do to the player what the player can't do to theclub. So the supposed contract is only a bit of paper. It's no contract atall."
"Not in the legal sense, perhaps," said Reggie, dubiously.
"Well, if not in the legal sense, then in no sense at all," persistedBraxton. "The law is supposed to be based on justice, isn't it, and to dowhat is right?
"Of course," he went on, "it's none of my business; but if I were in Mr.Matson's place, I shouldn't hesitate a moment in going where my serviceswere in the most demand."
Mabel felt there was sophistry somewhere in the argument, but could hardlypoint out where it was.
"I wouldn't like to be quoted in this matter, of course," said Braxton,suavely. "And it might be just as well not to mention to Mr. Matson that Ihave spoken about it. He might think I was trying to pry into hisaffairs."
As Joe and Jim came up just then from the engine-room of the ship whichthey had been inspecting, the subject, of course, was dropped, and after awhile Braxton strode away with a self-satisfied smile on his lips.
The travelers were now in the heart of the typhoon region but luckily forthem it was the winter season when such storms are least frequent andalthough they met a half gale that for two days kept them in their cabins,they were favored on the whole by fair weather and at the appointed timedropped anchor in the harbor of Yokohama.
Now they were on the very threshold of the Oriental world of whose wondersthey had heard and dreamed, and all were on tiptoe with curiosity andinterest.
The sights and scenes were as strange almost as though they were onanother planet. Everything was new to their young blood and unjaded sensesin this "Land of the Rising Sun."
The great city itself, teeming with commerce and busy life, had countlessplaces of interest, but far more enchanting were the trips they took inthe jinrikishas drawn by tireless coolies which carried them to the littledreaming, rustic towns with their tiny houses, their quaint pagodas, theircharming gardens and their unhurried life, so different from the feverish,restless tumult of western lands.
"Really, this seems to be a different world from ours," was Clara'scomment.
"It certainly is vastly different from anything we have in America,"replied Mabel.
"It's interesting--I'll admit that," said Joe. "Just the same, I likethings the way we have them much better."
"To me these people--or at least a large part of them--seem to lead adreamlike existence," was Jim's comment. "They don't seem to belong to thehurry and bustle of life such as we know it."
"And yet there is noise enough, goodness knows!" answered Clara.
"I think I really prefer the good old U. S. A., don't you know," drawledReggie. "There may be society here, but really it's so different from oursthat I shouldn't like to take part in it."
"Yes, there is plenty of noise, but, at the same time, there is a gooddeal of calm and quiet," said Joe.
But the calm and quiet that seemed to be prevailing feature
s of Japaneselife were wholly absent from the ball games where the visiting teams metthe nines of Keio and Waseda Universities.
The Giants were to play the first named team, while later on theAll-Americans were slated to tackle the Waseda men.
In the first game the contrast was laughable between the sturdy Giantplayers and their diminutive opponents.
"What are we playing against?" laughed Larry to Denton. "A bunch ofkids?"
"It would take two of them to make a mouthful," grinned Denton.
"I feel almost ashamed of myself," chimed in Burkett. "We ought to tacklefellows of our own size."
"You don't find many of that kind in Japan," said Joe. "But don't you holdthese fellows too cheap. They may have a surprise in store for us."
The snap and vim that the Japs put into their practice before the gameseemed to add point to his prophecy. They shot the ball around the baseswith a speed and precision that would have done credit to seasonedveterans and made McRae, who watched them keenly, give his men a word ofcaution.
"Don't get too gay, boys," he warned.
The game that followed was "for blood." The universities had poured outtheir crowds to a man to cheer their players on to victory.
And for the first five innings the scales hung in the balance. The Keiopitcher had a world of speed and a tantalizing drop, and only two safehits were made off him. Behind him his team mates fielded like demons. Noball seemed too hard for them to get, and even when a Giant got to firstbase he found it difficult to advance against the accurate throwing tosecond of the Jap catcher.
At the bat the home players were less fortunate. They hit the ball oftenenough but they couldn't "lean against it" with the power of theirsturdier rivals.
They were skillful bunters, however, and had the Giant players "standingon their heads" in trying to field the balls that the clever Jap playerslaid deftly in front of the plate.
By these tactics they scored a run in the sixth inning, against which theGiants had only a string of goose eggs.
"It's like a bear against a wildcat," muttered Robbie to McRae, as thelittle Jap scurried over the plate.
"And it looks as if the wildcat might win," grunted the Giant manager, notat all pleased at the possibility.
"Not a bit of it," denied Robbie sturdily. "A good big man is better thana good little man any time."
And his faith was justified when, in the seventh inning, the Giants, stungby the taunts of their manager, really woke up and got into action. Aperfect storm of hits broke from their bats and had the Japanese playersrunning after the ball until their tongues hung out.
Five runs came in and it was "all over but the shouting." There was notmuch shouting, however, for the home crowd had seen its dream of victoryshattered.
But though the Giants won handily in the end by a score of six to two, ithad been a red-hot game, and had taken some of the conceit out of themajor leaguers. It was a tip, too, to the All-Americans, who, when theyplayed the Waseda team a little later, went in with determination to winthe game from the start and trimmed their opponents handsomely.
"Those Japs are the goods all right," conceded McRae, when at last theywere ready to embark for Hongkong.
"You're right they are," agreed Robbie.
"We call ourselves the world's champions," grinned Jim. "But, after all,we're only champions of the United States. The time may come when therewill be a real World's Series and then the pennant will mean somethingmore than it does now."
"It would be some big jump between the games," said Joe.
"Lots of queer things happen," said Larry sagely. "The time yet may comewhen the umpire will take off his hat, bow to the crowd and say--
"'Ladies and gentlemen: the batteries for to-day's game are Matsuda andNagawiki for the All-Japans, Matson and Mylert for the All-Americans.'"
Baseball Joe Around the World; or, Pitching on a Grand Tour Page 20