The Coconino sun., 1927-09-30


merchant who does not advertise sat
sleepily in his mart, watching the IN
dustrious spider spin his web over the
doorway.
1t was also Sunday.
Nine of the strong young men of a
town once warm, but now reduced to
a cinderous forking of roads, called
Ash Fork, came to enter the lists with
our Young men for ioust at base
ball. They were undemonstrative and
wore a 'veni, vidi, vici" kind Of q
smile; also two colored gentlemen
One of the last-named was pieced out
below with wood and wore collapsed
cupola pressed upon his Wrinkled hair;
blue shirt and a yawning smile that
looked like the entrance of tunnel
at night trimmed with electric lights.
He was manager and mascot.
The game was called with the wool
growers combination at bat. The
first resident of the cinderous cross
out a base hit; was doubled at second
on short infield hit; next man up
bumped the bend out Of bad one,
but was given life on tumble. They
drew a goose egg out of the incubator
this inning.
Flagstaff went in to pluck few.
The first man up was benched for
forgetting his lines, then came a base
on a one-lung hit fumbled by the
shortstop. who handled it as though it
was charged with electricity. The UNI
pire caught the pitcher making faces
at the man on first and called balk,
giving the batsman a chance and NOV
ing the man on first to second. The
next fellow was wind d-jammer, who
sat down to wonder how the ball
lodged his three swings. And another
Of our citizens moved to amend by
striking out This inning netted us
chunk of air with ring around it.
Ash Forkers came in. They were
full of horse radish this inning; they
bruised the horsehide on all sides and
fairly beat out the brand on it.
Three men were on bases when Water
bury's handspring slipped and he
soaked the ball at a cloud of smoke
over near the sawmill instead of at
the first basemen. The mascot with
the flat wheel made more noise than
a tugboat whistling for a bridge. The
Forkers pitched four tallies on to the
load during this sitting.
Then our fellows, just to show
they were also a few bottles to To-
basco sauce themselves, went in with
a bucket and dipped up three tallies
that were just as large, only not so
many by one.
The third inning was full. of a
sprained larynx and the air was full
Of hack-drivers' language. Our rep
resentatives seemingly had neglected
to amend the rules of the game to
their liking and insisted on doing it
at this time. This oversight on their
part was reprehensible. The visitors
were unkind and refused to allow the
general rules and constitution of the
game to be patched up, arguing that
it was too early in the season. 1t was
very ungentlemanly Of them, for the
grounds and the grandstand belonged
to US, and our players should have
been. permitted to make the rules as
the game proceeded However, the
Forkers didn't roll the ball for any
thing in this inning.
Flagstaff came in, and picked up a
loop, too.
In the next inning, Midnight Lamp
black, a colored gentleman, came to
bat, and, true to instinct, fowled a
couple.
A lady in the grandstand timidly
said to her escort. "Why, | don't see
any feathers" +"
"Sh," said her escort, "of course
not. This is a picked nine" And the
game went on.
That colored gentleman lammed the
ball down the third-base line, and the
way that streak of midnight leaped
around the circuit was truly splendid
He worked his pedal extremities so
rapidly it was impossible to say
which foot and legs were mates. This
was a home run, if the ball struck
fair, which was questionable, but there
was no dispute on the decision. One
tally for the Forkers this inning. The
Young man with the lovely mustache
in the right field just became a part
of the ball every time it was slapped
up his way. They fell into his mitt
Just like dropping hickory nut into
the Grand Canyon.
Flagstaff had a relapse and their
temperature slumped to zero again.
In the fourth the delegation from
the terminus in the road to Phoenix
had the bases full, when Mr.. Water
bury's escapement broke again, and he
threw the ball at the cemetery, mis-
taking it for the third haseman, and
there was a great raising and putting
down of feet, all from Ash Fork
three tallies. The next man up
tapped cloud over left field, and our
young man, who had been staked out
there, gave life-sized imitation of a
muff, probably owing to worrying
over hole in the veal of his hosiery.
Five tallies for the Forkers.
In Flagstaff's half of the fifth,
with two men on bases, Sliker bumped
up hard foul drive past the left field
foul flag. The umpire decided it foul.
as was the general impression of the
people in the grandstand. Our boys
refused to accept the decision. The
umpire sent the Ash Fork players to
the field, they having come in during
the discussion, and gave our players
time to play ball. They refused, and