Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-09

to be safely leading In the third and deciding
wmmae his Blue opponent suddenly showed @
burst of genius, slipped on three ringers IN q
row. and won out by q count OF "a 70 10
Next came Shorty Hastings. and his match
was q Mutt and Jeff" AFFAIR II there ever was
one, for pitted against him was Hank uhl. the
tallest lankiest boy In the group The Blues
seeing q chance to win two straight horSesnoe
matches and thus tie up the general cOmpeta-
ton with q victory 10 match the base ball
triumph Of the Reds, rode Shorty unmercifNiy
and gave their standard bearer al kinds OF
support But the Reds backed Shorty just as
loyalty and shorty showed that he deserved
tfetr confidence.
Using the highest pair of shoes in camp he
refused to be hurried and tossed every shoe
with care and elaboration Nothing daunted
him. Once, when Hank put on q ringer With
his first shoe and slid the other one tight
against the peg, Shorty's FIRST pitch knocked
Hanks second shoe away, and his second pitch
eopped Hanks ringer. Such sparkling play was
not to be denied, and Shorty won his match
In two straight games by scores Of 81 70 Is
and n 10 10.
Once his own victory was secure, Shorty be-
came the most voluble ''rOotcr" In the Red
ranks.
Come on Johnny, old boy" he howled.
dancing up and down on the sidelines. and
exhortsng his tent-mAte, who was about TO
compete In the final match. Make this bunch
Of Blues bluer than everi We've got 'em ON
the rum, Johnny They are stin up In the cir
from that licking We gave them in the ban
game"
Johnny Galloway. with grin. tossed his
first shoe. 1t slid tight against the peg His
second was only three inches away.
Then Alec Bender, the captain Of the Blue
team, tced the pitching line. There was .
was almost habituaL with nonchalant ease
he skidded shoe on top Of Johnny's first one
His second pitch was leaner Three points
for Alec.
The game was nercely fought, but Alec won.
81 to lS. Johnny, feeling the fun weight OF
the Red hopes on his shoulders. gritted his
teeth.
Come on Johnny" implored Shorty ''You
aren't going TO let me down, are you? won
my match-you've got to win yours You've
just gotta. Johnny Knock the spots on that
bic -"
turned Venomo0s look upon him, and Shorty
decided not to inish the sentence Like most
Of the other boys In camp, Shorty stood in
some awe Of the big and rather ifl-natured
Alec.
Johnny noticed the dirty look that Alec had
given Shorty and he grinned ut his tent-mate.
Don't worry, Shorty" he called. I'm not
licked yet" And the wink that accompanied
his grin showed that Johnny, at least, stood in
no awe Of Alec.
The second game was almost repetition OF
the first but this time the score was reversed.
Johnny. encouraged by Shorty and the other
Reds, threw some beautiful shoes, and led his
opponent by three points at the end. Then
began the final game.
And what camel Johnny got an early
lead and held 1t TO the halfway mark But
Alec, hard man 70 beat, threw . ringer at
this point and forged to the 'front.' 12-11. Then
the lead seeSawed back and forth until they
were tied 10 to 10.
Alec was pitching first His one shoe was
ringer, but It whirled around the peg and
slipped of. His second was against the stake.
Could Johnny beat those two throws?
The boys were suddenly silent as Johnny pre-
pared to pitch. Carefully he poised himself.
measuring the distance with his eye. Amd
then, just as he was ABOUT TO toss the shoe.
Alec, standing beside him, suddenly slapped
violently at q mosquito. Johnny tried TO hold
the pitch, but couldn't and it went Wild