WITH MASK AND MITT BOOKS BY ALBERTUS T. DUDLEY Phillips Exeter Series Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth. FOLLOWING THE BALL. MAKING THE NINE. IN THE LINE. WITH MASK AND MITT. THE GREAT YEAR. THE YALE CUP. A FULL-BACK AFLOAT. THE PECKS IN CAMP. THE HALF-MILER. Stories of the Triangular League Illustrated by Charles Copeland. 12mo. Cloth. THE SCHOOL FOUR. AT THE HOME-PLATE. THE UNOFFICIAL PREFECT. THE KING'S POWDER. LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON. [Illustration: Coy was nailed as he scrambled back to the base--and the game was won.--_Page_ 293.] _PHILLIPS EXETER SERIES_ WITH MASK AND MITT BY ALBERTUS T. DUDLEY AUTHOR OF "FOLLOWING THE BALL," "MAKING THE NINE," AND "IN THE LINE" _ILLUSTRATED BY CHARLES COPELAND_ [Illustration] BOSTON LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO. Copyright, 1906, by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co. Published, August, 1906. _All Rights Reserved._ With Mask and Mitt. Norwood Press J.S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. TO MY FRIEND HENRY W. ANDERSON TO WHOSE INITIAL SUGGESTION THIS SERIES OF BOOKS IS DUE PREFACE The author has but a word to say in offering "With Mask and Mitt" to his boy readers. The book follows "In the Line" and precedes "The Great Year" in the sequence of the series. While it repeats no incidents of previous books and covers wholly new ground in athletics, it will be found not dissimilar to its predecessors in its general spirit and character. A good juvenile must be one approved by the parent, enjoyed by the boy, and read with profit by both. It should, of course, interest and amuse; it should also help the parent to understand the impulses and the mental attitude of the boy, and the boy to accept the ideals of the parent. If "With Mask and Mitt" does not meet these requirements, it has at least been written with a full knowledge of their importance. Thanks must again be expressed to Dr. E.H. Nichols of Boston for cordially rendered assistance in the technicalities and theory of the game of which he is an unquestioned master. ALBERTUS T. DUDLEY. Boston, July, 1906. CONTENTS CHAPTER I PAGE Two Apprentices 1 CHAPTER II Hail to the Pitcher 11 CHAPTER III Neighborly Attentions 23 CHAPTER IV Payner the Marplot 35 CHAPTER V The Favors of Fortune 43 CHAPTER VI The Third String 55 CHAPTER VII Facilis Descensus 66 CHAPTER VIII The First Plague 74