The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-07-23

a sort Of a chance rap. But it's "a regu-
lar thing, eh2"
The feIIers all says yes. and then
they made me stand up, and the Mars
ian champion batter near had a AT as
! he shook hands.
Well, Pleiades Peterlxin. he set down
and told us experiences of his at ball
games in Mars. and said he didn't
doubt it at all that the denied appear
ance of the moon came from some o
my drives havin' hit it occasionally.
| thought he was THROWN il in a bit on
| that, but ne seemed in earnest He
was a nice talker. anyway. an we
F! talked till most mOrnim'. He said civ
ilization had advanced SO IN Mars that
il was now two strikes is out an three
balls take your base. an was sup
prised that we still chung to the old
rules. They had chucked aside the foul
strike rule several seasons back, he
said. When he said he didn't know
what the spit ball was. Reggie Van
Rensselaer, looked pleased and said he
guessed he'd go with Pleiades up to
Mars an start a school for the Mars
ian league pitchers. There'd be money
in 1t, he thought.
You see. Peterkin had made us prom
Use TO go up 10 Mars with him. He
wanted only me at first. but / said il
was the hull Alfalfa outfit or none,
and he had finally agreed, though ne
said it would crowd the autowindile
considerable.
The next day we seen the machine
and put it in the barn, SOS it wouldn't
get rusty. 1t was like a big cigar with
q hole in the top to go in and we seen
1T really would be crowded with twelve
of US. There was sails and a p'peIIer
and big wings and things. But we
was mostly interested in gettin'
Pleiades out onto the diamond TO see
what he cd do. Josh got in durin' the
forenoon, an when he heard o how
the letterin the ball had brung a
Teller clear I'm Mars, he patted him
self on the back an begun to tell us
what a clever manager he was. When
he found there was a disagreement as
to the date on which l had swiped the
mighty sWipe, he declared he'd stamp
the date on every ball hereafter sent
out by my trUSty lead-ended bat like
wise the exact hour an minute an
second the ball was put in play. You
see, with me boOmin' out four an five
homers a day, the simple date wouldn't
be much use If you wanted TO make a
close calculation. And it was in run
min this ball stampin' racket a little
too close that Josh Hapgood missed
an uncommon good trick. as we shall
see
Pleiades Peterkin pranced proudly
out in ball suit with "PlantvilIe'' on
it that afternoon, an We gathered
around to see him work out. And he
ketched everything with one hand, and
when he seen Tar Paper Hennessy field
a drive With two hands he snorted his
disapprovaI.
well, WelIl" says he II thought
you guys was uD to dater than that.
Why, we've had the one-hand rule in
Mars for two seasons back-nObody en-
ketch a ball with two hands but the
ketcher. Wen you told me about the
spit ball l thought you had somethin'
on us, but now 1 guess 1 en- learn you
a bit Wen you come to Mars"
Yes. findin' that we wasn't W to
playin' every play NOne-handed cheered
PIeiades up a hull lot. He was a first
baseman, so Pete Brown, he laid off for
the afternoon to give the stranger a
chance, and he made the most Of it.
We was 70 play an exhibition game
with the RuSSetvilleS-in fact. it was
to be a three game series, winner to
take all the gate receipts-and there
was a lot o. curiosity in town as to how
the new felier'd pan out.
Course you amt got no objection
says he to Josh, IF 1 play the way I'm
accustomed to on first base-One-
handed2'
Not a bit says Josh. go as far
as you like. Play with no hands If you
want to-"
So the game started, an PIeiades
cert'nly made good 4 liner came to
him in the second inning, and he took
it in his mitt on the jump in a way that
made the grandstand rock with cheer
in. He didn't seem to think it anything
unusual, because he was used TO them
kind every day. Wide throws an foul
flies an hot grOunders-everyth thing that
came near him--he gobbIed with one
hand with ease, and we got more an
more interested every minute