"Oh, I'm so excited to think that I'm going to take a real ocean trip!" burst out Clara. "Just to think of it--a girl like me going around the world! I never dreamed I'd get that far." "And just think of the many queer sights we'll see!" broke in Mabel. "And the queer people we'll meet!" The girls were all on the _qui vive_ with excitement in their anticipation of the delightful trip that lay before them, and there were no pauses in their conversation on the way to the hotel. Here they were introduced to the other members of the party, which by this time had increased to large proportions, for beside the ladies who had accompanied the players across the continent, many others had followed the same plan as Mabel and Clara and joined their friends in San Francisco. Altogether, there were more than a hundred of the tourists, of whom perhaps a third were women. All were out for a good time, and the atmosphere of good will and jollity was infectious. There was an utter absence of snobbery and affectation, and the boys were delighted to see how quickly the girls fell into the spirit of the gathering and with their own fun and high spirits added more than their quota to the general hilarity. That night there was a big banquet given to the tourists by the railroad officials who had had the party in charge from the beginning and by some of the leading citizens of San Francisco. It was a jolly occasion, where for once in affairs of the kind the "flowing bowl" was notable for its absence. The stalwart, clear-eyed athletes who, with their friends, were the guests of the occasion, had no use for the cup that both cheers and inebriates. A striking feature of the table decorations was a cake weighing one hundred and twenty-five pounds, on whose summit was a bat and ball, and whose frosted slopes were accurate representations of the Polo Grounds and the baseball park at Chicago. It is needless to say how pronounced a hit this made with the "fans" of both sexes. It was a great send-off to the globe-encircling baseball teams. The next day, Joe and Jim took the girls down to the pier to see the ship on which they were to sail. It was a splendid craft of twenty thousand tons and sumptuously fitted up. The girls exclaimed at the beauty of her lines and the superb decoration of the cabins and saloons. "The _Empress of Japan_!" read Clara, as she scanned the name on the steamer's stern. "Most fittingly named," said Jim gallantly, "since she carries two queens." "What a pretty compliment," said Clara, as she flashed a radiant look at Jim. "I'm afraid," said Mabel, "that Jim's been practising on some of the nice girls in the party." "Have I, Joe?" appealed the accused one. "Haven't I been an anchorite, a senobite, an archimandrite----" "Goodness, I thought you were bad," laughed Clara. "But now I know you're worse."