Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-30

was not his fault. He very pleasant and
companionable person On the premises there was
what had once been bowling alley. 1t
single alley, and it was estimated that it had been
out of repair for sixty years.-but not the balls
the balls were in good condition. there were forty
one of them and they ranged in size from grape
fruit up to a lignum vitae sphere that you could
hardly lift
Higgins and played on that alley day after day
At first. one of us located himself at the bottom
end to set up the pins in anything should hap
pen to Them but nothing happened The surface
of that alley consisted of rolling stretch of eleva-
lions and depresSionS. and neither of could. by
any art known to us. persuade ball to stay on the
alley until it should accomplish something Little
balls and big the same thing always happened
the ball left the alley before it halfway home.
and went laundering down alongside of it the rest
of the way and made the gamekeeper climb out
and take care of himself.
No matter, perSeVered. and were rewarded.
We examined the alley noted and located lot of
its peculiarties. and little by little we learned how
to deliver ball in such way that it would travel
home and knock down pin or two. BY and by
succeeded in improving game to point
where able to get all of the pins with thirty
five balls. So made it thirty-hve-ball game
If the player did not succeed with thlrty-hve, he
had lost the game. [ suppose that all the balls.
taken together, weighed five hundred pounds, or
maybe a ton along there somewhere; but any
way it was hot weather. and by the time that a
player had sent thirtyfive of them home he was IN
a drench of perspration and physically exhausted.
Next. we started cooked hat; that is to say;
carded. In this game we used the three smallest
balls, and kept delivering them until we got the
three pins down. After day or two OF practice
we were able to get the chief pin with output OF
four balls; but it cost us a great many deliveries
to get the other two. But by and by we succeeded
in perfecting our art.at least we perfected it to
our limit. We reached a scientific excellence
where could get the three pins down with twelve
deliveries of the three small balls, making thirty
six shots to conquer the cooked hat
Having reached limit for daylight work. we
set up couple of candles and played at night. As
the alley was fifty sixty feet long we couldn't see
the pins; but the candles indicated their locality
We continued this game until we were able to
knock down the invisible pins with thirty-sx shots.
Having reached the limit of the candle game.
changed and played it left handed We con-
tnued the left handed game until we conquered
it's limit, which ffty-four shots. Sometimes
we sent down a succession of fifteen balls without
getting anything at all
We easily got out of that old alley five times the
fun that ANYBODY could have gotten out OF the best
alley in New York.
~ officer of the regular army appeared in den
and introduced himself He was about thirtyfive
years old we'll built. and mtarly erect and straight.
and he Theoretically sealed up in the uniform
of that ignorant old day.-a uniform made OF heavy
material, and much properer for January than July
When he saw the venerable alley, and glanced from
trough, his eye lit with desire, and we judged that
he was our meat We politely invited him to take
a hand and he could not conceal his gratitude;
though his breeding and the etiquette of his pro-
fession made him try. We explained the game
to him, and said that there were forty-one balls.
and that the player was privileged to extend his
inning and keep on playing until he had used them
all up-re peatedly.-and that for every ten-strike
he got prize. We didn't the prze.-it
wasn't necessary as prize would ever be needed
or called for
He started a sarcastic smile: but quenched it.
according to the etiquette of his profession. He
merely remarked that he would like to select a
couple of medium balls and small one, adding
that he didn't think he would need the rest.
Then he began-and he astonshed man.
He couldn't get ball to stay the alley. When
he had fired about fifteen balls ard hadn't vet reached