Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1914-01-14

went INTO the steering turret ana
sat down to think it over. 1t certainly
looked as If my gas-tanks were pune
tured and / was doomed to fail. II
New York lost, as they were sure to
do, with Bill pitching that way, there
wasn't much left for me except to
make nice little hole in the water
somewhere near Ellis island and the
Jersey shore. I didn't like water in
those days, so l began to think. My
little job was to figure out how to keep
Chicago bats from colliding with Bills
curves. 1t was something of a job,
the way Chicago was hitting in those
days, and Bill being ordered to serve
them nothing but straight, easy balls.
Did despair? Ha! Little you know
of Captain MacManus of 40 years ago
who ask that question.
When got back to New York city
| hurried up to Yonkers to see Profess
sor Ignatz. the man who knew more
about air-fying, electric currents, mag
nets and SO on than anybody would
believe, and told him how was fixed.
Rest easy, Mac says he. and took
me out to his hangar and showed me
his new invisible, sky-blue, self-balanc
ing aeroplane.
Watch me- says he, and up he
went. In two minutes he was out OF
sight, though when he megaphoned me
could hear him plainly.
"'My own secret says he "Abso.
lutely invisible from the ground Come
here, he says, and he shows me a
tiny searchlight machine. My new
invisible ray he says, and he shows
me how it works
Saved!' / said, and went out and
borrowed some more money to bet on
New York
THAT afternoon 100000 people were
in the grandstands when the Chicago.
New York game was called We used
to think that was crowd in the old
days. Old Bill was in the box. Blink
er was at bat for Chicago. Bill sailed
one over Blinker looked at it in
amazement. 1t was perfectly
straight, slow ball, right where Blinker
could kill it. Blinker pulled down
his cap, set himself and waited, ready
to knock it out of the lot The ball
came over. 1t was the same kind as
before. Blinker swung. But as it
was about to connect with the ball
his bat jumped about two inches and
he missed. He tried it three times
Then he went back to the bench look.
ing puzzled.
THAT was the way it went the
whole game. Bill was serving UP
straight, slow ones right over the
heart of the plate and the Chicagos
were swinging at them, and missing
them because their bats jumped about
two inches just before they met the
ball.
with New York it was just the
other way. They'd swing at ball
way outside the plate and the bat
would shoot over and connect. When
the last man was out the score stood:
Chicago 0, New York 10. And Bill had
pitched as he was ordered.
''You see, the secret was that | was
laying up there in the air right above
the plate in Professor Ignatz's invisi
BILE sky-blue, self-balancing aeroplane
with his new invisible magnetic ray
bearing right on the rubber. The ray
would magnetic and control anything
even a $50 hitters bat. When Chi
cago man would swing l would wait
until the bat was near the ball, Their
Jerk it up and let the ball go by. Wher
It was a New Yorker I'd guide the bal
smack against the ball. That, gentle
men, is how airships and baseball frs
began to mix
There was a long silence.
"What did you do with all the money
YOU won?" asked the young captain.
"Blast your dynamo, you inquisltiv'
cub!" roared Captain MacManus. :
endowed a school for teaching CUB
respect for their superiors.
Copyright. by w. G. Chanman9
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