The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1895-08-23
AT The BALL GAME.
wiggicsworth Takes Ills wife and boy to


"Oh, mammal" screamed Willie wieglos-
worth, running into the house. Come
quick Here's pa with o horsc"
Mr.. Wigglcsworth was steering long,
bony animal to the sidewalk, an operation
not unmixcd with difficulty, for the horse
had his own views of how sidewalk
ought to be stccrcd mp to, and they appnr-
entity did not coincide with those of Mr..
Wigglesworth
why, whore arc you going, Ellcry9"
called Mrs. Wigglosworth from the We
randa.
o Whats that got to--whoal you old
fooll-got to do with its' returned Mr..
Wigglcsworth, red In tho face with his Of
forts at the reins "Get on your things
and prance out here, can't you fore yank
the jaw off this miserable boast2'
"Shall take willieS" asked Mrs. Wig
ellsworth, running down tho walk with
her bonnet on one side.
Take himp answered her husband
tartly. "Courso you'll take him."
With Willie's knees doubled up against
the dasher, Mr. Wigglesworth finally shook
out the roins and got his picnic into mo-
tion. As thoy logged on he pulled tho
brindlo horse out of the cutters and curbcd
prediction for involving their carriage
wheels with telegraph poles and rival vo-
hicles. Willie Wigglesworth' eyes fairly
roggled from his head and n shrek of
wonder rose to his lips as they presently
skirted a tall board inclosuro and turned
In at the carriage entrance to tho baseball
grounds.
"Why," cried Mrs. wigglesworth in
surprise, "what place is thisS"
"What place is thisS" repeated her hus-
band. Baseball grounds, of course. What
you think it was-United States patent of
llccS Seemed to you to bo an asylum for
parentlcss orphans likely"
II know what it is, pal" said Willio
Wigglesworth glcefully.
You shut your head" growled his fa-
ther, being at that instant called upon to
twist the neck Of the brindle horse in order
to avoid running over tho legs Of some
strangers, whereupon tho horse gavo
kittenish skip and jammed fat man
against tho fence.
"What you do that for?" yelled the fat
man, aiming blow at Mr.. Wigglesworth
with his cane "Don't they know any bet
ter than to let you out when there's u
Crowd?'
and then led tho brindlo horse to posi-
ton back of tho crowd. The game was
already under way.
"Therc" said Mr.. Wigglosworth, stand.
ing up and looking about, "this is some
thing like it. Our club is in, believe"
In what?" anxiously queried Mrs. Wig
ellsworth gazing toward the grand stand
"Oh, yes" she added 81 seo-in that
Iyi rn IN box In,
lery?'
"Thats the stuff shouted Mr.. Wig
ellsworth, as n robust player in stuffed
pantaloons struck the ball a terrific blow.
"That's good for three bags"
"Three bags Of what2" asked Mrs. Wig
ellsworth, but the boy with peanuts passed
at that moment, and she concluded it
must relate to the traffic he was carrying
on.
Presently tho side went out, and the club
with red stockings came to bat.
That's tho dandy pitcher for you," Mr.
Wigglesworth commented. "Hes got his
curves right on today"
"What arc his curvesf" Mrs Wiggles-
worth wanted to know, land what has he
got them on, ElleryY"
But it needed only glance at the pitch
or, who had twisted himself into n knot pre-
liminary to shooting the ball toward the
striker, to Indicate where his curves were
to be found. Never in her life Mrs. Wig
ellsworth said afterward to the minister's
wife, had she seen q man so full of them.
"Ihreo balls!" declared the umpire.
'WowW howled Mr.. Wigglesworth, in
chorus with the crowd. "What an umpire
The ball was square over the plate"
"Ellery," cried Mrs. Wigglesworth,
turning avid gaze about the grounds and
the bowling, hustling crowd, 81 beg of
you to explain to mep'
"What ails your" snapped Mr.. Wigglcs-
worth, reluctantly turning from tho con-
temptation Of brilliant alteration be-
tween umpire and pitcher and numerous
other players on both sides "Why don't
you watch the game and keep STILL same as
do? What you come out here for anyway,
If you don't want to seer
II do want to see," protested his wife,
"and want to know what 1t means. /
heard that man with the wire trap on his
head say there were threo balls, and 1
can't for the life of me SEQ but one, and
then you said there was something square
over tho plate, and l want to know whore
the plato is, and what they vo got anything
over it for, and'-
"Yow-yow-yow! shouted Mr.. Wig
ellsworth, turning scornfully from his
wife and applauding marvellous catch at
second.
"What was thatP" piped Mrs. Wiggles-
worth, and her husband was just kissing
to her to stop her noise when the second
base shot the ball toward third for double
play. The S,ll flew wild, dashed erratic-
ally through the dodging crowd and
caught tho brindlo horse fairly in the ribs
With four leaps and an equal number Of
snorts the brindlo horse was over in the
diamond with Mr.. Wigglesworth attached
to the reins and pulling up the turf at ev-
cry leap. Mrs. Wigglesworth, left behind
with the carriage set up a scream that
never ceased until the entire act was played
out, whilo Willie, with his neck thrust
through tho wheel, waited patiently for
everybody to como and unravel him.
There were a dozen reporters present,
but none of them was able to explain why
Il was that tho briudle horse could clear
the field so completely and keep it SO, with
nothing but Mr.. Wigglesworth on the end
of pair of reins to do it with. But he
did it.
"Who was that other man?" asked Mrs.