Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1895-07-24
Chapter I.
THE NAME AND FAME OF BANGS.

left field. The color of the stone was
blue. It's position was exactly right
and the grass was just long enough
to conceal it. These details had beer
arranged by fate with her usual care
and foresight. If the stone had not
been round it would have been use
less; and if the grass had not been
carefully nourished by rain and sun ii
would not have concealed the stone, and
somebody would have thrown it away.
The decisive game between Harvard
and Yale had progressed as far as the
last half of the ninth inning. Yale
needed two runs to win. Two of her
men were out, and two were on the
bases. Jack Bangs was at the bat and
a responsibility larger than two full
moons rested upon his shoulders. No
body who has not been in a similar
situation can know how he felt.
If an individual with horns and a
tail, and carrying blue flag as an evil
dence of good faith, had risen beside
Jack Bangs with the presidency of the
United States in one hand and base
hit in the other, Bangs would have
struck him over the head with his bat
for insulting him with the suggestion
of choice. But that individual did
not rise beside Bangs. Perhaps he was
out in left field watching the little
blue stone.
The Harvard pitcher tried to re-
member short Latin prayer which
had once struck him as good thing to
use in desperate emergencies. Fail
ing in this he made several good reso-
buttons. Then he launched the ball.
He impaired to it peculiar rotary mo-
ton which caused it to leap up about
foot just before it got to the batter.
This was done for the purpose of de-
ceiving Bangs so that he would either
strike under the ball or send it up into
the air. Bangs bat encountered the
ball with a sound like the crack of a
rifle. The sphere scared aloft. A
dreadful din of voices rising after it
seemed to buoy it up. ALI the pretty
girls in blue cried yale, Yale!" But
as many of their brothers as knew the
game were silent and their hearts were
like lead.
The Harvard pitcher felt strong
spasm of relief. His rise had done
the work. Bangs had batted a high
dy. The odds at that moment were
thousand dollars to cent against
Yale, for that fly would drop into left
field, where "Infallible" Lee kept
guard for Harvard. The pitcher was
as sure that Lee would catch the ball
as he was that it would not stay up in
the sky.
Lee had to run in little way to get
under the descending ball. He was
perfectly sure Of it. The game was as
good as won. Already the cry of
''Harvard!' seemed to be drowning the
cry of s'Yaler In. the tempest of
shouting he distinguished his own
name with remarkable clearness. It
had rung out like that before in many
similar emergencies and a great cheer
had always followed it. He remem-
bered suddenly that he would never
hear that thrilling call again. This
was his last effort in any college con-
test. He had borne the red HI on his
breast for four glorious years, and this
was the end. Well, though it must
come, it could not come better. He
was very glad of the final opportunity.
He could think of all these things as
he ran, for the time seemed as long as
a dream.
And then he trod upon the little blue
stone. 1t caught the metal plate on
his shoe and rolled like a wheel on the
hard ground. He plunged forward and
the ball went over his head.
Every body in the world cried:
''Yale!" The two blue-legged runners
crossed the plate. The game was lost
and won.
In an instant the crowd swept over
peared nine figures borne upon the
shoulders of their friends. Each was
surrounded by a cheering, struggling
mass, and the biggest and the widest
was around Jack Bangs.
But out in the left field, alone, fig
ure lay upon the ground. 1t was the
infallible Lee who had failed just
when there was no hope of retrieval.
They say he sobbed like child. And
he was SIX feet and one inch tall, and
could lift load of hay. Well, there's
a loser for every winner, though we do
not hear so much about him.
In the grand stand, meanwhile, the
had been enormous. The
vast crowd was upon it's feet yelling
like mad people. Pretty girls perched |
upon the seats and screamed aloud.
Some of them knew that Yale had won
being told; but most of them
didn't and they just yelled because
they couldn't help it. Among those
who saw and understood was particu-
Larly pretty girl named Florence
Lorne. She had kept full score with
her own fair hand and had every point
with few extra errors for
the Harvards. For Florence was q
Yale girl through and through and
wore half cables length of blue rib
bon on her dress.
When it was all over she trembled to
think how near she had come to miss i