But the baseball mask bothered him.

The more he attempted to keep his mind on the history the more in his mind's eye he saw the mask resting on the chair and all the games in which it had played its part.
This would never do.

He deliberately placed the book face downward on the desk and walked over to the chair.

With a swift sweep he sent both mask and glove hurtling under the bed, and so violently that he heard the mask rebound from the wall.
Shortly after the Draconian reforms, a war broke out between Athens and Megara-- The mask had rolled back from the wall.

He wondered if it had rolled back far enough for him to see it.