The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-12-08

pitching was of the cricket order. In vain
| did my best to show how Rusie or his
equals pitched This chap was a "tosser."
We let that go: and | then concentrated
my mind on getting the Arabs to field
In the ball: but after two days | gave
up hope of developing any fielding abil-
ity. While the cricket bats were in use
the ball was hit almost every time. but
if a fly was knocked the 1.-the. athletic
Arabs in the field would watch it with
admiration, failing to get under it. They
could not be induced to start for the
ball until too latel
There was one man on the Gizeh nine
who had carried message 100 miles in
"a hours during the Kitchener campaign
in the Sudan; and yet l couldn't make q
base runner out of him.
The second Scotch cricketer did very
well behind the bat. He imagined he was
in rear of wicket and the mental illu-
sion never left himl But, after the ball
had slipped through his hands several
times he looked as If he had been in a
prizefight without gloves. His nose was
bleeding, lump had formed on his fore
head half as large as an egg and his
hands were very sore. / could only i'm
agne how he would have felt had he
been stopping" the twjrling of a real
pitcher.
The All-Scotch mine" was drawn from
wv bdltdiiOnS VI IliS at the par
racks near the great Nile bridge. They
were whipped into a sort of shape of
three days, and they gave promise of
easily defeating the gray-sllinned ma
tives. They broke all the cricket bats,
however, during practice. They couldn't
understand how It happened but / knew
the hardness of baseballs ] was in a
dilemma about clubs, but over the bar
room at the hotel I found discarded
table, and sawed off it's four round legs.
They made excellent clubs. except for
their weight-being of oakland short
ness.
Only One Ball
After weeks coaching day was
| fixed for the game. The condition of the
only ball in our possession gave to me
anxiety. 1t had obviously known hard
service before it came abroad, and now
threatened to make its escape from the
leathern cover.
The eventful day arrived.
| had written out series of rules on
the backs of two menu cards, and they
had been gone over many times None
of the fine points of Sacrifices double
plays, and so on, had been limited at.
My Scotch friends insisted that the
game was too bloomin' easy'-and they
We're right!
AS captain of the Arab team had ex-
pected to play either shortstop or first
base, but when the two teams got to-
gether they insisted that as l was the
only one who understood the game |
| must act umpire, In vain | pleaded
that my decisions might be thought to
favor my own mine
That did not impress even the canny
Scots.
The iGizehs won the toss and went to
the bat-here is where the account Of
that game ought to STOP
Th.. h l.,tt IL
knitting yarn Most of them struck ou.
and the few who happened to collies
with the ball had to be told by the UNI,
| pire to run for first" I didn't knos
more than dozen Arabic words and !
misused the word 'imshi," the expletive
used to beggars, meaning go away" for
the urgent Injunction to 'go it." |
| tha1ked heaven the Philadelphia profes-
sor had gone up the Nile to see the grea
dam.
The Scotchmen made home runs every
time they walloped the ball.
Fly Ball Fascinates
have mentioned the fascination q
| fly ball appeared to have for the ma
| tives-the fielders merely stood and gazed
at the spheroid until it struck ground
! then ran for it lively enough, but always
tossed 1t to the pitcher.
| Not one of them could master the
thought of fielding the ball to one of the
bases, even though they saw a player
running toward it,
Before two innings had been PLAYED.
| the umpire was coaching two teams.
as well as rendering decisions | have
forgotten the score at the end of tho
third inning, when I arbitrarily called
the game. 1t was something like II home
runs for the Scots to two for the Arabs
the latter made by persistent urging and
gesticulating on the part of the um-
pre.
Had those hatsmen faced pitchers like
Mathewson, Bender or Marquard, there
would have been lot of them In the
hospital. actually pitied the SLIM
legged Arab who played shortstop He
hadn't the faintest conception of his op-
portunities, was In deadly fear of the
ball, assumed that his duty was to keep
out of its way, and on one occasion. threw
himself prone to escape a swift one from
Lieutenant Sandy McPherson's bat.
AS 7 stood treat for the players on
both teams after we returned to the
! Mena house, ! blessed Mohammed, whu
forbade the use of spurious liquors to
all true believers.