Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1892-05-21

l%unatic. "Wcll, l put you down on my
visiting list, and now we'll have a game.
What shall it be, Rumble? Do you know
Frogs in the Poole"
"Oh, not Frogs in the Pool" my
lord protested the servant, in evident
alarm.
81 will have 'Frogsi in the Pool,m cried
the mailman, raising his voice and glar-
ing, whereupon he drew from his pockets
a copy of the Daily Telegraph and a glass
sherry flask with a cork stopper, "Now
come and sit opposite me, all three OF
you," he added. "Rumble, you shall be
pool, Tumble will be the COW and my
servant Jones will play the calf"
"Please do what he tells you, gentle
men!h whispered Jones to the hesitatin5
director and his friend. Aud the two
gentlemen, %grimacing with pardonable
uneasiness, took their seats facing the
madmau and watched his doings.
He had torn up his Daily Telegraph
and was converting the paperinto good
sized pellets. When he had manufac-
tured twenty he stopped and removed
the cork from his flask, asking Jones for
a light. Jones struck n match and the
lunatic carefully charred the end of his
cork. Then, with the pellets in the palm
of one hand and cork between the inger
and thumb of the other, he sid:
"Now we'll begin. You, Rumble,
will open your mouth wide and l shall
take shots at it with these pellets. The
pellets are frogs and your mouth is the
pool. All the frogs that get into your
mouth you'll swallow; those that fall on
your lap or on the seat will be eaten by
Tumble, who IS a COW and will below
'Moo-oo.y" al the while; those that
drop on the floor will be for Jones, the
calf, who will have to bleat."
A clammy perspiration broke out on
the foreheads of Rumble and Tumble.
The lunatic was quite close to them, his
hot breath and wild eyes almost touched
theirs as he gave his explanations, and
those hugh hands of his looked as if they
could strangle both of them if they re,
sisted. They felt an inclination to resist,
but dared not. He meantime counted
over his pellets and continued:
"Now about the scoring. Ill draw a
circle round your cain with the burnt
cork, Rumble, and that will marx the
boundaries Of the pool. Every pellet
that falls within the circle or inside your
mouth will count one to me, and those
that miss will be scored to you three. If
[ lose I'll sing a song for you with my
mouth full or tobacco; if l win we'll
have hot pancakes all round. Well mark
the points on your cheeks, Tumble"
concluded he, laughing; ''they're pudgy
cheeks, like dumplings, by George!"
Having said this the lunatic stopped
and laid y fist heavily on Rumble's chest,
approaching the burnt cork to his nose.
The shock of a galvanic battery would
not have effected the unfortunate direc-
tor more fearfully. He turned pale as a
stone and trembled, while the ~lunatic,
intent on his work, drew a broad, black
circle round his upper lip and the high
est fold of his double chin. Rumble had
not the courage to stir; but when the
circle was traced he felt the indignily
was too much to be bourne. Tumble,
fer all his fears about himself, could not
help smiling at the figure which Rumble
cut with his smudged face, and the luna
tic laughed outright.
Greatly, sir-my lord-this is to-om-
foolery," suffered Rumble, Indignantly,
as he felt for his handkerchief. But
the lunatic Immediately ceased laughing
aud scowled;
"What, have you got into the train on
false pretenses? If l thought so, l would
fling you out on the linel'
'No, my lord; the gentleman will
play all right" interviewed the servant
Jones, in a furry; and under his breath
he repeated; "For heavens sake, gen.
tlemen, do as he tells you. He is like a
mad ball when he gets into a passion
"Well, don't get making difficulties
again" growled the l%unatic, eying the
now Mortified Rumble with mistrust.
"Take off your hat, sir, and rest your
head on the back of the seat, then open
your whole mouth as wide as it will go.
That's not wide enough. Yes, that will
about do. Now we'll begin"
The game began-and how to describe
it2 Jones, the servant, bleated with
frenzy, and Tumble, by his directions,
dill likewise. 1t was ever fine to hear
the way in which Tumble beloved
"Moo-oo-o!" putting his whole soul into
it and keeping his eyes fix on the luna
tic IN abject fear of offending him. Rum
BILE meantime, leaning back with his jaws
agape, remained passive while the luna
tic took shots at him. Every time a
pellet fell into his mouth he was obliged
with what wry contortions heaven
knows.-to swallow it, and the mailman
with his burnt cork marked a line on
Thumble's right cheek. When the pei
let's fell it was either Tumble or Jones
who guIped them down, and then Thum-
ble's left cheek received the scores.
This delightful pastime lasted as far as
bennington, but the train did not stop;
it sped on and on, the lunatic raising
shrieks of laughter and throwing his pei
lets each time with greater force. Al
last the pellets were exhausted, and il
turned out that Rumble had swallowed
eleven pills of Daily Telegraph, anc
Tumble and Jones nine between them,
so the lunatic had by his rules won the
game. He clapped his hands and yelled
sim winner; now we'll have hot pan.
cakes all round!'
mo, my lord, not hot pancakes,
9rayed Jones, who had probably had
taste of these dainties before and remeul
berei them.
"Yes, yes, hot pancakes" insisted thu
lunatic, with maniacal glee. ''Rumble
Ill slap your face; you'll pass the slal
on to Tumble; Tumble to Jones, anc
Jones to me, Wen bit ~ hard and a
fast as VIC car till we've done clever
slaps, whica is the plumber Of my score
Now, look alivel" W-Whsck:
And before Rumbls could oven &C.
what was coming he received on tn
cheek, with all the NIGH CT the ~lrnatic'
brawny hand, a slap which seemed t,
loosen all his teeth in their sockets
Roaring with pain and fury he jumped
up, but the lupatic was standing, too