Douglas daily dispatch., 1926-05-02

all-night party.
Play begins Young George Leland,
teamed with his father, is beginning
his first tournament against seasoned
players. His binding flashes down
the alley, and his nonstop smashes
bring shame upon the veterans oppos-
ing him. The Lelands win i'll a walk
away.
Jim Patterson is the figure to
watch in the second match. jim, who
ranks we'll up, has gone to steel
racquet He, being a sor1 of Ben
| Franklin, has neither the heart nor
the poclIetbook to buy four or five
! wooden racquets per year as the rest
of us must do in this dry, racquet
! killing climate. Jim laughs at the
! frame cracked gut-frayed collection
of has-been racquets which we ALI
| shamefacedly support in our back
closets, and wonders why a bunch Of
/. I.otherwise intelligent engineers" cam
| not overcome the inertia of custom.
Jim wins his matches, too. i wish
could think of a smart answer when
my own frugal wife points an alarm
ed finger in the general direction OF
the hundred dollars spent for wood
en- racquets last year. Even Ring
Lardner and sam Hellman fail to help
me out, though T. read them every
week for that very purpose.
Just as the dinner gong rings and
the hungstarter thwacks. on the DOR
mitory porch, We humble scribe is
| called for his match. I am teamed
with the virtuous Doc already honor
| ably mentioned. Across the net arr
Joe Branham-who must be Tilden's
original Joe Gettdrn--and Tommy Hig,
man whose chief asset is a horrible
grin imported as personal effects die
rect from Cornwall. That ID grin
has cost his opponents more4spoints
than a large capacity comptometer
could register in a fiscal year. TO
rank beside pace" / respectfully OF
fer face" as tennis attribute.
+ AS we toll under the lpitiless June
sun, we dream vaguely t1aat two snaps
py love sets would take US to the
dish rattling, glass-tInkling lunch
line SO tantalizingly near on the
porch above. And under those sthe
very worst Of circumstances, we swell
ter our way into the local hall on
fame by winningI l16-14 and (14-12,
long after the lunch hour. A vile
curse upon all Joe Gettems, and grin
ming Cornishmen, and lunchless noon
days. Before the ball has had time
to drop from the net on the last poin1
we rush ravenously to the Dorm, past
chicken greasy hands extended in
kegs past empty traps, where hot
rolls had rested in state, to the 6itch-
en- where Chin the heather Chinaman
offers his potato salad and nice ice
water. Doc pleads, with tears in his
eyes, for some one to give him saw
ed-off shotgun.
The last two matches go unani-
mously to Pilares. We of Nacozari
have seen our last OF the Beckett cup. |
But no! Comes stentorian call for
all players to report at Le1and's house. |
Doc, glowering in the showers, vsibly |
brightens, for he has been at Leland's
house before.
There at last we bid our final ten
der farewell to the cup, thankful
that it is honest ~eight- gallon" meas
ure as it passes from hand to hand I
with a bold dew on it's sIved sides
and tinkling ice land a pre-war high
ball filling it to the brin. There is |
a, good-natured roar of protest if it /
remains tilted before any nose in the /
circle for more than the full count of
ten. Amey Mass, the foresighte6, |
takes a strategic position where the
cup must pass twice, Amey was a /
Saturday player.
The Colonel arises and makes a +
r. s1.s4
feated, of the good fortune which has
been ours in taking the prescribed !
course in tennis under his able fac
ulty. Upon this, the eve of our grad I
uation, he hands US our sheepskins |
and welcomes us. as alumni of the |
'Pilares Tennis College"
We descend the mountaingoat I
boulevard to the collar of the shaft, !
where the cage awaits to drop us
back down to the 70O-foot level of I
the mine and so set us supon our way /
home. Pilares, to the last inhabtant, !
has come to see US off amid hearty
handshakes and with enthusiastic !
promises upon our part for our own /
turn at entertaining on sumo future
day.
We are marshalled in true miners /
formation upon the floor of the cage.
The gates clank shut a gong sounds
in the hoist house. AS the sun sinks
slowly behind the serrated skyline. /
we too sink slowly and reluctantly
from sight, and then, gathering speed /
glide swiftly and smoothly down
through, the darkness, in sudden hush
after the din of our departure. We
are happy.