The spring the twins were ten years old was an exciting time in the Lowell school, which they attended. It seemed as if all the boys in the town had gone ball mad, and each room in each school had its own team. The different schools had played each other, and the Lowell fifth-grade team, of which Joe was a member, had only to beat the Whittier ' school fifth-graders to become town champions. Better still, the winning team was to go to Meridian, six miles away, and play a match game there. An uncle and aunt of the twins, who lived in Meridian, had been visiting in their home, and heard all about the excitement.

“If your team wins, Joe, and comes to Meridian, Aunt Emma and I will invite you all to a chicken dinner. And mind you, even if you don’t let Josie play ball, she shall come and sit at the head of the table. Eh, Josie?”