The lad was struggling to free himself but could not, and he did not seem to be able to raise himself to an upright position on the seat, in which case he would have been safe.

"Steady now!" called Joe, and he braced himself for the shock he knew would come.

The next instant, as the car kept on, Joe found himself opposite the lad and reaching forward his right hand he grasped him by the collar, shoving him away so the car would not strike him. Then, holding on in grim despair Joe pulled the youth toward him, aided by the momentum of the vehicle. His idea was to get him aboard the car to prevent his being struck by it, and in this he succeeded.

There was a ripping sound, for some part of the lad's clothing was caught on the seat and tore loose. A shower of boxes and baskets followed the body as it slid forward, and a moment later Joe had the lad on the foot board beside him, safe and sound, but very much astonished by his sudden descent from the wagon seat.

Joe felt an excruciating pain shoot through his arm--his pitching arm.

It was numb from the shock but even yet he did not dare let go, for the lad was on uncertain footing. The pain increased. It was like being kicked by the back-fire of an auto or motor boat. For a moment there was a dull sensation and then the outraged nerves and muscles seemed to cry out in agony.

"There--there!" murmured Joe between his clenched teeth to the lad he had saved. "You're all right I guess. Will--will somebody----"

He did not finish, but turned to the conductor, who had rushed toward him on the running board, ready to relieve him of the lad's weight. But the boy was able to look after himself now, for the vehicle was almost at a standstill, and the motorman had it under control.

"Much--much obliged to you," the boy stammered his thanks to Joe who was slowly making his way back to where Tom awaited him. Joe did not know whether he could get there or not, pa.s.sing himself along by clinging with his left hand to the successive car uprights.

"He saved your life all right," said the conductor, who had hold of the delivery wagon lad.

"That's what!" chimed in several other men from the street, as they crowded up around the car.

By this time the motorman had succeeded in bringing the vehicle to a full stop and Joe, fearing he might fall, for the pain was very severe, got off. Tom hurried up to him.

"Did it strain you much?" he asked eagerly.

"A little--yes; considerable I guess," admitted Joe, making a wry face.

"But it will be all right--I guess." His right arm--the arm he hoped to use in the game on the morrow--the first game with him in the box--hung limp at his side.

Tom Davis saw and knew at once that something serious was the matter. He realized what it meant to Joe, and he lost no time in useless talk.

"You come with me!" he commanded, taking hold of Joe's left arm.

"Where are you going?" demanded our hero.

"To our old family doctor. That arm of yours will need attention if you're going to pitch to-morrow."

"I don't know that I can pitch, Tom."

"Yes you can--you've _got_ to. Dr. Pickett will give you something to fix it up. You can't let this chance slip. I was afraid this would happen when I saw what you were going to do."

"Yes," said Joe simply, "but I couldn't let him be hit by the car."

"No, I suppose not, and yet--well, we'll see what Dr. Pickett says. Come on," and Tom quickly improvised a sling from his own and Joe's handkerchiefs, and was about to lead his chum away.

"Oh, are you hurt? I'm sorry!" exclaimed the lad whom Joe had saved.

"It's only a strain," said the pitcher, but he did not add what it might mean to him.

The lad thanked Joe again, earnestly, for his brave act and then hastened to look after his horse, that had been gotten to its feet. The motorman, too, thanked Joe for, though had an accident resulted it would not have been his fault, yet he was grateful.

"Oh, come on!" exclaimed Tom impatiently as several others crowded up around Joe. "Every minute's delay makes it worse. Let's get a move on,"

and he almost dragged his chum to the doctor's office.

Dr. Pickett looked grave when told of the cause of the injury.

"Well, let's have a look at the arm," he suggested, and when he saw a slight swelling he shook his head. "I'm afraid you can't pitch to-morrow," he said.

"I've _got_ to," replied Joe simply.

"Can't you give him some liniment to rub on to take the stiffness out, doctor?" asked Joe.

"Hum! Nature is something that doesn't like to be hurried, young man,"

responded the physician. "However, it might be worse, and perhaps if that arm is ma.s.saged half the night and up to the time of the game to-morrow, he might pitch a few innings."

"That's good!" exclaimed Joe.

"And it's me for the ma.s.sage!" cried Tom. "Now give us some stuff to rub on, doctor."

Dr. Pickett showed Tom how to rub the arm, and how to knead the muscles to take out the soreness, and gave the boys a prescription to get filled at the drug store.

"Come on!" cried Tom again. He seemed to have taken charge of Joe as a trainer might have done. "I must get you home and begin work on you."

And Tom did. He installed himself as rubber-in-chief in Joe's room, and for several hours thereafter there was the smell of arnica and pungent liniment throughout the house. Tom was a faithful ma.s.sage artist, and soon some of the soreness began to get out of the wrenched arm.

"Let me try to throw a ball across the room," the pitcher begged of Tom about nine o'clock. "I want to see if I can move it."

"Not a move!" sternly forbade the nurse. "You just keep quiet. If you can pitch in the morning you'll be lucky."

At intervals until nearly midnight Tom rubbed the arm and then, knowing that Joe must have rest, he installed himself on a couch in his chum's room, and let Joe go to sleep, with his arm wrapped in hot towels saturated with witch hazel, a warm flat iron keeping the heat up.

"Well, how goes it?" Joe heard some one say, as he opened his eyes to find the sun streaming in his room. The young pitcher tried to raise his arm but could not. It seemed as heavy as lead and a look of alarm came over his face.

"That's all right," explained Tom. "Wait until I get off some of the towels. It looks like an Egyptian mummy now."

Tom loosed the wrappings and then, to Joe's delight, he found that he could move his arm with only a little pain resulting. He was about to swing it, as he did when pitching, but Tom called out:

"Hold on now! Wait until I rub it a bit and get up the circulation." The rubbing did good, and Joe found that he had nearly full control of the hand and arm. They were a bit stiff to be sure, but much better.

"Now for a good breakfast, some more rubbing, then some more, and a little light practice," decided Tom, and Joe smiled, but he gave in and ate a hearty meal.

Once more faithful Tom ma.s.saged the arm, and rubbed in a salve designed to make the sore muscles and tendons limber. Not until then would he allow Joe to go down in the yard and throw a few b.a.l.l.s.

The delivery of the first one brought a look of agony on the pitcher's face, but he kept at it until he was nearly himself again. Then came more rubbing and another application of salve and liniment, until Joe declared that there wouldn't be any skin left on his arm, and that he'd smell like a walking drug store for a week.

"Don't you care, as long as you can pitch," said Clara. "I'm going to the game and I'm going to take Mabel Davis and Helen Rutherford. They both want to see you pitch, Joe."

"That's good," said her brother with a smile.

"Now we'll take another trip to the doctor's and see what he says," was Tom's next order. The physician looked gratified when he saw the arm.