Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1910-07-23
In the interim while our cntcher and

pitcher batted Billy patronlZingIy
youchsafed to me for my future well
fare Information as to the wonderful
'in" and "out" curves of the terrible
"Twister" as well as of the up
shoots" and down drops that be
worked" now and then for variety.
All Of which was evidently intended
to allay any misgivings might have
entertained as to facing the terrible
Tommy. But so fraught with fearful
eyes and awful mods was the descrip-
ton that 1t had quite the opposite ef-
feet, and by the time 1t came my turn
to bat the former frowsy headed little
lad had assumed proportions mon
strous.
Fearfully l advanced to the plate as
the cry of ITS the mans bat smote
upon my ears. Our catcher and short
stop had made outs; the pitcher and
Billy were on base. the former on
third and the latter on first
Limo 'er out, old man" was Billy's
enthusiastic injunction. but his ardor
quickly cooled as ! struck wildly at
the first two balls pitched
"Git boardw he now advised sar-
castically. while the man on third sug-
gested Shovel as probably more
effective, but the advice came too late.
as l had already used the bat in fu-
tile attempt to hit the third pitch.
The jeers this unfortunate event
ELECTED from my companions dlscour-
aged me so visibly that even the unre-
sponsive heart Of my captain was
touched by pity. for he tried hard to
sEile-the attempt could scarcely have
been considered a success-as we took
our positions and offered as consola-
tion a CHEEKY That's all right, old
man; you amt got yer eye yit."
The next few innings. however. left
little time for brooding, as they were
full Of action. two things Of great i'm
port to me happening, one hit for
two bases which | made, calling forth
many encomiums from the lips Of my
astute manager and raising me to the
highest pinnacle attained in my brief
baseball career, the other-truth de-
mands that | chronicle it-dragging
me from that great eminence and ter
minating In my being publicly dis
graced.
Tommy the Twister" had reached
first. /, determined not to repeat my
former mistake, waited close to my
base in order to be there when the
runner arrived. had not long to wait.
Almost Immediately Tommy and the
ball were coming toward me from diff
ferent angles at about the same rate Of
speed. Soon it became serious ques-
ton In my mind as to which would
arrive first. On came The Twister"
as II endowed with wings. while the
ball seemed to pause and hover in
midair between the catcher and my
self
Dear reader you must Imagine, l
cannot describe the perplexities of that
awful moment What eye could judge,
what mind decide. the outcome of such
race?
Add to these perplexities the fear
that at the crucial moment you might
not properly perform your duty and to
all superadd n deep consciousness Of
being on trial before eight cold blood
ed critics who would measure your
performance without due regard to
mitigating circumstances and you may
realize family In proportion as the
contemplative Is ever less vivid than
the active mood the terrible strain un-
der which l labored. Is 1t to be won
dered at that under such circumstances
my nerves trembled. twisted and ut
terly collapsed and that in the excite
ment l put out my foot instead of my
hand to catch the ball? | think not.
No. No one but a man blinded by a