The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-05-16
BY ZANE GREY

1 Gil MIN m gong to the
game today to choose the best one.
II he loses the game"
She left the sentence unfinished In
my state of mind | doubted not in
inc least that she meant to marry
me pitcher who won the game. and
SO l told the Rube. He made one
WHO upheaval of his arms and sbouJ-
oers' like an erupting volcano. which
proved to me that he believed it, too.
"hen l got to the bench that af-
Iternoon l was tired. There was
oie crowd to see the game: the
Weaiher was perfect; Milly sat lin in
lhe Dox and waved her score card At
me; Kaddy and Spears declared we
nag the game; the Rube stalked To
ana iro like an implacablc Indian
Snlei-but | was not happy in mind
oaIaniity breathed in the very air.
me game began. Mccall beat ou,
ount' Ashwell sacrificed and Strineer
aa.en one OF his beautiful triples
against the fence. Then he scored
on nigh fly. Two runsl Worces-
Rnh. uotted out into the field. The
E hupe was white with determination:
fs,, Hu tne speed OF bullet and per-
49, o, control of his jump ball and
,ho put Providence hit and had
.he luck: Ashwell fumbled. Greg
s snle" "iid. Providence tied the
The game progressed, growing
more ana more OF a nightmare to
me me. II was not Worcester's dav
me umpire could not see straisht
me boys grumbled and fought among
themselves; Spears roasted the nm,
pre- ana was sent to the bench. Re-
gart ripped, hurting his sore ankle
and had to be taken out. Hender,
sons slow, easy ball baffIed INV
players, and when he used sneed
they lIneC 1t straight at a Providence
In the sixth, after desperate rail-
ly, We crowded the bases with only
one out. Then Mullaney's hard ran
to lett Seemingly good for thrcr
bases. was pulled down by Stone with
ono hand. 1t was a wonderful catch
and he doubled up a runner at sec.
ond Again in the seventh we had
chance to score, only to fail on
another double play, this time by the
inficld ~ 'i'
When the Providence players were
at bat their luck not only held good
but trebled and quadrupled. The lit
tie Iexas-league hits dropped safely
Just out of reach of the infeIderS
Ny boys had an off day in fielding
What horror that of all davs in y
season this should be the one for
them to make errors!
But they were game. and the Rube
was the gamest OF all. He did NOT
seem TO know what hard luck was
or encouragement. or poor support
ne kept everlastingly hammering the
pail at those lucky Providence hitters
what speed he had! The ball streak
ed IN, and somebody would shut his
eyes and make safety. But the
Rube pitched on, tireless, irresistibIv
hopeful. not forgetting to call a word
OF cheer to his felders
1t was one of those strange games
that could not be bettercd by anv
labor or daring or skill. | saw il was
lost from the second inning, vet so
deeply was | concerned. so tan,,I.
izingly did the plays reel themselves
Off, that | groveled there ON the
bench unable to abide by INV base
ball sense.
ne ninth inning proved beyond a
shadow OF doubt how baseball fate
IN common with other fatcs. loved 10
balance the chances, to lift I'D one.
ihen the other, to lend deceitfui
hope only to dash it away.
. Providence had almost three time.
enough to win. The team let I'D in
that inning or grew over-confident or
careless, and before we knew what
had happened some scratch hits. and
bases on balls, and errors. gave ms
three runs and left two runners on
bases. The disguised bleachcrs came
out OF their gloom and began to
whistle and thUmp. The Rube hit
safely, sending another run over the
plate. Mccall worked his old trick
beating out slow bunt.
Bases full, three runs to ticl With
Ashwell up and ono out, the nois,
IN the bleachcrs mounted to a high
shrill, continuous sound. T
got up and yelled with all my might
and could not hear my voice. Ash
well was dangerous man in a pinch
The game was not lost yet. A hit.
anything to get Ash to frst-and
then Stringer!
rs" idushcu at henderson, tainted
HIM, shook his bat at him and dared
nm to put one over. Henderson did
not stand under fire. The ball he
pitched had no steam. Ash cracked
IT square on the line into the
shortstop's hands. The blcachers
ceased yelling.
Then, Stringer strobe grimly to the
plate. 1t was hundred to one. in
that instance, that he would lose the
ball: The bleachers let out one
deafening roar, then hushcd. would
rather have had Stringcr at the bat
than any other player in the world.
and ! thought OF the Rubc and Nan
and Milly-and hope would not die.
Stringer swung nightly on the
first pitch and struck the ball with a
sharp. solid bling. 1t shot toward
center, low, level, exceedingly swift.
and like dark streak went straight
into the fieldcr'S hands. A rod to
right or left would have made it a
home run. The crowd strangled a
yell. came out of NV
trance. for the game was over and
lost. 1t was the Rube's Waterloo.
] hurried him into the dressing
room and kept close to him. He .
looked like man who had lost the ;
one thing worth while in his life. I
turned deaf car to my players, to
and hustled the Rube ont
II - Oh. hotel u-,nt,J -