The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1931-05-01

OIdll6C ACdS OC OuO Ill Sd4l4O4 LILO w
the major player crowd; , .,,.. g,
using my right name, for the secret
"'Ben Ridley minor league
hurler, proves to be kid brother
Of Harry Rushe, the home-run
king" was the way one paper
had it.
And the stories about the spank
They were laughable enough.
Dolly DawSOn'S letter vas Jolly.
The old show was still running, but
going to close before long. It had
paid we'll. My little investment had
been a corker. I got reports every
few months from my New York
lawyer. I had him handle my
share, check up on box office re-
ports and the like.
I had to stand for quite q lot Of
kidding because OF the newspaper
Mavis Merrill was back after a
visit with Frisco friends.
Size jollied me about the news
paper stories.
"W'.,1: told my friends that it
was not only all true, but that I
saw it, they were aStoniShed. They
always believed that such stories
we're mere fiction" she said.
We chatted for q while. She
asked me il I intended to go back
East during the winter
II didn't know but what I would
take up fruit growing In a serious
baseball IS ali that you could be
serious about, Bert" she declared.
you'd be SurpriSed-I could be
awfully serious about you"
What q terrible effect I have on
you!"
She was laughing at me.
handed out q line or two and been
quite at ease, but not with MaviS.
I was so much in love with her that
I was afraid of her.
II might study fruit growing" I
tips now and then"
Il shall be in Europe" she told
me.
And that took all the Joy out Of
everything. The first thing I
thought Of was that Thornton Fos-
dick was somewhere in Europe. I
put two and two together and made
about a million out Of it-that is,
I imagined she was going there to
meet him.
The Queen Valley boys lost two Of
their best men. One got into
trouble and had to disappear. The
other was In a al accident and out
OF the game for the rest of the sea-
son, at least. The result was that
they dropped to fourth place very
speedily. The DanvilleS came up
but it left us with the Avaldas as
our nearest contestants and at the
close of the season they were de-
cidedly too near for comfort.
Perhaps 1t vas because they had
q new and clever manager, coupled
with the fact that Fosdick was aWay
and couldn't mess things up, for he
didn't know any more about han
ding a baseball outfit than a fish
knows about shoes.
MI. Merrill was worried again.
For some time he had felt sure
Of winning the championship Of the
league. This would have been his
first time, and the first time that
any other than the Avaldas had
won 1t. Now there was q big chance
that the same old team would carry
OIL LIE 0OuOTS.
Nor was I feeling any too happy.
I had q sort OF bunch that de-
spite Mayis Merrill's friendliuess-
despite the way she laughed over
my spanking of Fosdick, she was
rather fond Of him, or perhaps Of
his million.
It distressed me to think that.
But the big goof was abroad,
forced over there by Mavis' own
uncle because Of the crazy way he
tried to trouble us and to queer me.
And MaviS was going over!
Undoubtedly they corresponded.
I imagined all sorts OF things, and it
didn't help me IN the least.
Finally 1t came to q tie camel
That is. our last game of the sea-
son would decide whether once
again the .Avaldas got the seasons
championship banner. or whether
good Sam Merrill would finally
realize his fond hopes and win with
his San Guardo team.
I was feeling blue. I was think
ing that life was queer, when one
pretty girl almost proposed and an
other girl I was mad1y In love with
seemed to have no use for me.
On the morning Of the final
same Sam Merrill seemed dis
gusted.
"Rotton news!!" he said.
Don't tell me that Fudge
Waters or Jim Crowley 10 laid
up!" I exclaimed. With either
gone we'd lose, for sure.
"Oh, NO, but the sap Is back"
The sap-you don't mean the
DishonorabIe Mister Thornton
Fc *SSa. ota:s, s:!2Psd'
"Hooray!" I yelled.
Sam Merrill looked at me with
mingled surprise and disgust.
"You have q heck Of an idea Of
something to cheer about" he
I couldn't tell him that I was
happy because the return of Eos.
dick meant that the going to Eu-
rope Of Mavis, his niece, had
nothing whatever to do with Fos-
dick. I had to give some excuse.
why not cheer?" I asked.
mo. why not cheer-heM be here
to e his team walloped as 1t wa
never walloped before!"
I spoke with confidence.
I felt confident. I was so re-
lieved that ! felt that I could fan
my own brother.
"Well, Bert. If you feel that way
we have q chance"
"You bet we have q chance"
! stopped to chat with Mer.
rill's brother, John, after I was In
uniform. Mavis came along lust
then.
II WONDER" I said, IT I couldn't
learn lot about fruit growing
II am sure you could" she said.
and her eyes were laughing at me.
III It wasn't that they cannot grow
fruit over there In the winter Z
cept very far south"