Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-07-05
But Along Comes a Man Who
Knows the Game and Wins High
grade Popularity.

|
rabble of alley-playing citizens from
six to ten years old and then went in
the house and tried to think he had
! done wonders.
Yes, sir. he's the most unpopular man
| in the whole world.
Man of Another Type.
On the other hand. one of Old
| Grouch's neighbors is pretty near to
being the most popular man in the
world-nay, in the universe. assuming
the stars are peopled with rational al
ley playing humans like old mother
earth. The boys who play alleys in
that neighborhood don't know his
name. They just call him Mister"
while they speak of Old Crouch as "Old
Man Snarly" and have sort of sour
pickle feeling when they think about
him.
Mister" saw what Old Crouch did to
the boys and called one of them over
to him.
There's ene place for alleys around
on the side of my place. he said. You
can play bull ring there. I think"
The boy didn't know what bull ring
was, and said so, but he whooped to
his gang, and in a few minutes they
had a large ring made with nail,
playing six up, with agates for taws.
said Mister"
Gang Called It "Playing Alleys"
The gang didn't have any regular
name for it? They called it playing
alleys"
What's that thing?" inquired Mis-
ter"
That's a ball bearing" replied young
ing able to stick fatter" than any
other alley player in the neighborhood.
Never had anything like that when
was a boy" said the man.
He examined it. The ball bearing"
ball It has the appearance Of being a
scientific and precise instrument.
Mister" took 1t in his shooting hand
and placed 1t carefully in position for
aiming.
What's that called?" he asked
"Cunny thumb" the gang yelled in
derision.
Right" said Mister"
Then he shot it across the ring in ap-
proved manner.
They used to have agate taws when
was boy" he said.
OF course, they don't call them "taws'
in this city. The proper term Is
''taweys." Neither do they call the or
binary little marbles "miggles." as
alleys"
Mister" started in to play with the
gang. but he found he had lost his
cunning. The champion, O'Toole. aged
time. Now. hanging fat or sticking
fat" is an art. When you shoot into
the ring and hit an alley you must
drive 1t out Of the ring to keep It,
in the ring you can keep on shooting.
II you know how to stick fat or hang
fat you will be able to PUNK an alley
in the eye every time and your "tawey"
won't follow it. 1t will stick right
there.
Exploit With a "Bone Alley"
There used to be fellow with a
bone alley" said Mister" who could
clean up hundred alleys from a ring
In one turn. l wonder II they have
bone alleys any more?"
The gang didn't know. There are
glass alleys. with wonderful spirals of
color in them, making the very little
boys wonder how in the world thew
were made, and there are agates and
steel ball bearings. but the bone alleys
seem to have gone out of existence.
They used to play a game with a
little lemon-shaped ring" said Mister
DO they do that now"
Yes. they did. They place their alleys
in an elliptical-shaped ring" and have
to shoot at them from a base. If you
hit your adversary's "tawey" you get
the game and all his alleys, too The
last man to knock an alley from the
ring has the chance Of shooting at his
opponent. The gang said they had no
regular name for that game.
Mister" was much interested in
percy. He said he never knew whether
it was percy" or ''purgy," but that he
always supposed it had some indefinite
and hazy connection with "purgatory"
because of the hole dug in the ground.
One Phrase He Remembered.
Fen knuckle down." was a phrase
he remembered distinctly. 1t meant
that your opponent had stopped you
from shooting on the ground. You had
to stand up and shoot in the air at tho
percy hole. When you hit your op-
ponent you had another shot at the
hole, and were allowed to span"
That meant you spanned with your
right hand all could could stretch lair
ly with your fingers, and could move
reached. The first "tawey' in the hole
won. It was a sort Of putting match.
mister" went to the library and be-
gan a search for the history of alleys
and found that the little Roman boys
played alleys with round nuts. and
there has never been any compilation
of the names used in alleys or the rules
of the game. Every nefghborhood mas
it's names and rules.
But Will any one tell Mister" through
The Star whether or not there are any
bone alleys left?