Argosy All-Story Weekly, May 3, 1924 — page 69: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

SPIKES They worked, that next morning, with sentries posted about their field, and even the ,old man himself was refused admit- tance. It was an odd sort of practice, in- asmuch as it consisted mostly of sliding into the bags. Also, it was punctuated to a remarkable degree by the reports of revolver shots. ‘“‘ Must be feelin’ mighty cocky,’ mused Bassett, after having been turned away by a guard for the second time. “ Hmm. Them boys don’t waste no lead onless they’re feelin’ right joyous and hopeful!”’ Wherein he was right. Could he have but heard Tubby discoursing that night, he might even have placed a bet on his own boys, baseball expert though he was. “ Boys,” the big catcher was saying, “to morrow’s the day. We’re going in there to win that game, and we’re goimg to win it. We're not going to win it just because it’s a game of ball; we’re not going to win it just because we have our money up; we're going to win it because we want to show up that big bum of a Rube Hummer and set Freckles O’Ryan back in the good graces of our Dora. And, boys, I guess we win it. Am I right?” “ You sure are!” TIT. THE next day, at two-thirty Pp. mM. sharp, the Triple Star aggregation strolled out to the field, and no team in the history of the game ever drew a louder or more hearty laugh. The Birds roared; they screamed; they nearly went into convulsions—for the punchers looked about as much like a ball nine as the professionals looked like cow- men. ‘They came out in full regalia, but it was the regalia of the range. They wore ehaps and boots and wide Stetsons, and even their spurs and six-guns were not lacking. ““ Tumpin’ Mexican beans, boys!” cried Old Man Bassett, rushing wildly toward them. ‘ Yuh—yuh don’t come to expect to play ball thataway, do yuh?” “T know it looks funny,” admitted Tubby gravely, ‘“ but I’ve figured it all out. Take our regular clothes from us, and we’d feel so awkward and out of place that we AND STX-GUNS. 859 wouldn’t know what to do. No, sir. probably go plumb to pieces! Why, just the same as the Birds, you might say. Get them in these clothes, for instance—without their spikes, you might put it—and I’ll bet they'd be right at sea, too! Qh, no, don’t you worry, boss. It’s all right!” The Triple Star boys, then, took the field for their preliminary workout. Tubby got busy batting them out, and the bunch performed creditably. In fact, they couldn't help doing so, for the big catcher put no steam whatsoever behind his stick- work. If anything, he seemed to be trying to send the ball along as easily as he pos- sibly could. For fifteen minutes he con- tinued; then very much according to rule, he gave the field to the visitors, while he and Freckles O’Ryan stepped to the side- lines for the warm-up. Freckles went through his task lazily, merely lobbing the horsehide over, and there was still more derisive laughter. Even Dora, sitting close to the bench with her father, this time tittered. As for the Birds, the whole thing struck them so funny that they couldn’t even continue their workout: ‘“* Come on, let’s start the slaughter now, boys,” suggested the Rube, walking off. “You can practice vour alloted time or not, just as you like,” answered Tubby, ‘but this game is scheduled for three sharp and we start exactly then!” At that hour, precisely, the Triple Star boys took up their positions, with Old Man Bassett doing the umpiring. Freckles, un- deniably, had all his speed—but alas for his control. Sadly and briefly, he passed the first two men. The next one, however, he got on three healthy strikes, and there was much cheering. As to the fourth batter, he sent up an easy pop fly—a fly for which the shortstop didn’t have to move. It came right down into his waiting hands, and it went right out again. That was not all. When he recovered the ball, probably with the idea of tossing to third and stopping the runner from second, he sent the sphere somewhere off in the direction of left field, and by the time it had been returned to Tubby two men had crossed the plate and “another was safely resting on the far corner! COMED OOo! We'd. (©