
In the opening chapters we meet three sophomore friends at Randall College—Sid, Tom, and Phil—who spend their days nursing a shared love of baseball while the relentless rain keeps them confined to an indoor batting cage. Their banter and camaraderie reveal a tight‑knit group eager to trade the stale air of the dormitory for the fresh scent of a real outfield. As they watch the storm pour against the windows, the promise of open‑grass practice becomes a distant, almost mythical goal that drives their restless energy.
A sudden, cryptic note arrives for Sid, bearing the name “Mr. Zane” and a challenge that hints at an upcoming test of skill and character. The message pulls the trio into a new, unanticipated pursuit that could shape their season and their futures. With humor, youthful optimism, and the crack of a bat echoing through their small world, the story captures the excitement and uncertainty of college athletics in its earliest, most hopeful stage.
Language
en
Duration
~5 hours (345K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2012-10-28
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1873–1962
Best remembered as the name on the lively Baseball Joe books, this pen name belongs to the world of early American series fiction. Behind it was a hugely productive children's writer whose stories mixed sports, adventure, and the upbeat energy that kept young readers turning pages.
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