Richmond Hill High School - Archway / Dome Yearbook (Richmond Hill, NY)

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, THE DOME Page 13 The day of the Blairstown game came at last. St. John's looked at it with dread. Hack and Hank were so docile in the dressing-room that the coach wanted to shake them. Both had for- gotten how to smile, and they found no cause to learn in those Iirst few innings. Blair scored twice, and St. John's was being held helpless before superb pitching. As the Scarlet and Silver nine came in for the last half of the Hfth, the Head strolled over to the bench and sat down between Hack and Hank. Beaten? he asked. Looks so,,' confessed Hack. The old brows went up. Wlhafs the matter? 'J Can7t hit their pitcherf, You can't if you think you can't. Doin' our best, sirf' No, you're not, you7ve quit under fire. That's kinder hard, sir,'7 growled Hank. Possibly it was meant to be, Cadet. T have not much sympathy for quitters. What are you C6 C6 cc CC 46 on the nine for? To play ball.'7 The Head looked at him keenly. You're doing itf' he stated, with about as much enthusiasm as you roll a hoop. The trouble with you two is that you lack a sense of proportion. You rolled hoops for your own good, you're supposed to be playing ball for St. John's. Don't talk hoops! groaned Hack. I dream of 'emf' Tha't's because your sense of humor is out of proportion too. You two can lay a joke, but you don't seem to be able to take one. Or, it may bef' he added thoughtfully, that my own sense of humor is faulty? Would you call being guyed by the whole school funny? exploded Hank. You found amusement in poor Beard, shot back the Head. See here, I would have been justihed in expelling you two a hundred times. I like you, I admire your originality. Instead of disciplining you by the old methods, l7ve tried to give you a taste of your own medicine. It has evidently made you sick. You're the two l'm counting on for next year. You're going to be of no use to me or to yourselves if you keep on this way. l'm ready to sign a peace treaty. We're sick all right, all right, acknowl- edged Hack with a wry grin. What do we do? 7' Play the gamef' How? The old man looked from one to the other. Why not, he suggested, play as you think we three would play it? '7 You mean you're with us? gasped Hack. Aren't you with me? 7' You bet we are! gulped Hank. But weire all for the school ! W added the Head. Now get out there and win this game.'7 They went out to begin the sixth with their long-lost confidence in themselves restored. Once again they knew they were good,- couldnlt be beaten. The Head was their ally, not their en- emy. Hack, overwhelmed with joyous relief, began to chatter. Graham, at first, looked at him in amazement. A Colonel Scott looked at the Head. Hope you didn't wait too long,77 he said. Fm playing for more than a ball gamef' came the sober answer. The rousing notes of St. John, - Men of St. John, we call to thee! Men of St. John, onward! on to victory! N came Hoating across the Held from the stands. The Scarlet and Silver held Blair, and came dashing in to overcome that two-run lead. You're up, Hank,'7 called Graham, captain. Hank raced to the plate. He was playing for the Head now,- for the Head and those twin strands of Silver and Scarlet that floated in the breeze at the top of the grand-stand. He let two wide ones go by. The next he caught for a clean single. As Hack ran to bat, he caught the sig- nal. St. John was cheering again. He heard his name re-echo across the diamond. He heard the call to the Men of St. John? He wanted to

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Page 12 THE DOME the Penf' Yet this was a sacred privilege of the Sixthis. The Head paused. 4 ul thought you were hoth in the Fifthj, he said. 'LWe are, sirfi M Does the Sixth permit you to assume its childish prerogatives? H 'L It hasn't told us not tof, retorted Hack, with a grin. '4Uml Rather thought you two had more originality. See l shall have to help you. Sup- pose you start a little custom of your own. Send downtown and buy a pair of hoops, and roll them on the parade grounds tomorrow afternoon. 'C But- 7' I believe you heard me, Cadet, broke in the Head, then walked on. H And here,', groaned Hack, 'C is where we get the laugh from the whole blamed school. Boll hoops! Oh, sufferin' snakes, they'll guy us to deathf' A So roll hoops they did. It was worse than they had expected, and they had not lacked vis- ion. They finished the term with heads down. They began the spring term the same way. H This has got to quit, declared Hank. H We will go out for the ninef' uHe'll make us roll those blamed hoops 'round the bases! protested Hack. 'cWisli l could go to another school,- or die,- or do somethin'. 'T Play ball, then. That's doing somethin? for St. ,lohnisfi N More apt to be doing something for Blairs- town,', growled Hack. I'l1 'try anything once, thoughf' The next afternoon they rolled their hated hoops diamondward. The Head, who loved base- ball almost as much as he loved his boys, heard the'welcoming chorus as they approached and went to meet them. 'tlf you're really trying for the ninefi he said, 'E leave those things in your room tomor- row. We canlt have practice interrupted by your playfulnessf' They looked at him with grateful eyes, but did not speak. They went out to field ground- ers as if their very lives depended upon their success. uYVish that pair had come out last year, said Colonel Scott, the coach. N They look pro- mising, and seem in earnestf' 'almagine they arefl said the Head dryly. 'L Don't be afraid to work them. Hack and Hank worked. There was no ques- tion about that. Freed from the humiliating hoops, they were ready to try anything. And, more to their own surprise than to the school's, they made the nine,- Hack at short and Hank at second. But they played like well oiled ma- chines. Colonel Scott had looked for brilliant plays from them. Their reputations warranted it. But they clung to the obvious and expected. All they wanted was freedom from those hoops. They came down through the season with average records both at bat and in the Held. The 'team turned out to be a crack outfit. La Salle, Cornwall, Ohio, Culver, Staunton, Penn Hall, all went down before the Scarlet and Sil- ver bats of St. John. The team neared the end of the season. They played Kiski, and walloped them for the hrst time in eight years. Still the impending shadow of Blairslown hung over the St. John's nine. True, they were winning games, but the Blair Academy crowd was doing the same, and doing it more impressively. What the New York team needed was pep and life. The coach tried to get Hack and Hank on the coaching lines, but he could not. They had had their till at being gladsome at someone else's expense. All they wanted was peace-and a world without hoops. Because the key of its inheld played without inspiration, the nine was mechanical. lt worried the Colonel. He wanted to beat Blair, and he knew that, playing dead, his team couldnit. And as the day of the great game approached he talked it over with Beard, but that worthy promptly refused all invitations to take a hand. Scott, desperate, went to the source of all knowledge. The Head listened in silence.

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Page 141 THE DOME hit, to show that he too could play the game. Orders were orders. He laid down a bunt, send- ing Hank to second by sacrificing his own hit. Graham came up, teeth set. It was St. .lohn's first real chance to score. The Blairstown pitcher took his time. He wasted a couple, then tested the outside corner. 'C Strike one! 7' Graham missed the next one. He believed the pitcher would try to tempt him. He saw him wind up, and pitch. ln a Hash he understood they were trying to outguess him. With all his might he crashed into the fast one which had been intended to groove the plate. Hack started with the crack of the bat. He heard the roar of the stand, and headed for third. cl Plenty of time! '7 yelled the coach. The ball had sped out into the street, over the wall, for a home-run. The score was tied, two all. Hank went out to begin the seventh whistling with all his old-time nonchalance. The Blairs- town batter singled. Fine and dandy! chortled Hank. if Herels where we get famous for a double-playfi Hack grinned. N Have it your own wayf' he agreed. 'cl don't mind working for a change. The Blairstown runner heard and smiled. He had no intention of furnishing that sort of ex- citement. Hank saw the smile, while the batter plugged at the ball. 'C Look out, Hack! he warned, and on the dead run started toward the pitcher's box. Hack understood. He was on second before the bunt had gotten a chance to roll. Hank was on top of the ball. He swooped it, fielded it, wheeled and threw to second. Hack caught it, slammed it down to Graham, and the play was completed. Hlf that batter had hit, said the Colonel, we'd be out of the runningf' N But he didn't, remarked the Head. And thatis those two chaps? chief charm. When in action they think about two seconds faster than the other fellow. If they were that way in their classes, everything would be fine. A long fly to center ended the inning. St.,lohn could not get a man on base during its half. Nor could Blair break the tie in their half of the eighth. But it was different in the last half. An error, a Hy, and a hit gave St. ,lohn a three to two lead, and Hack and Hank did a dance in front of the bench. W7ith the game as good as won they went out to begin the ninth, the school howling with glee. 'G Play safe! '7 urged Scott. But Blairstown never quit until her last man was called out. It was victories like the one she intended to score now that had built her tradi- tion. A ground-ball danced along toward third base, and the batter was put out by only a slight margin due to a poor throw from the hot cor- ner to the first sack. Then Hack edged over to third in an effort to reinforce the position. A screaming single between short-stop and second rewarded his efforts. Graham started to say something, but thought better of it. H Rotten work! 7' comforted Hank. c'You've got us in a nice hole.'7 Quite truef' agreed Hack placidly. Hank grinned, content. He had been sure his pal had not been rattled. He had merely Wanted to prove his faith. c'We7ll get this guy, he said. CIPZUQV the game! 'P For a second their eyes met. The order was so like an echo they both began to laugh. The game it isf' announced Hack. at On your toes! W He glanced at the batter, and edged out. H Hit an! run play, Hank! 7' H Sure, itls a buntf' called Hank. I got it, toof' He saw the runner on first take a longer lead. He wondered what Hack had in mind. Before he could decide, the ball was pitched. He had seen the Blairstown runner start with the throw, saw his head was down, heard the crack of bat meeting ball. He raced for second, but, even as he started, he saw the batted ball go arching out to right field. To his right he heard a warning shout which rose above the Blair cheers. Hack was on the move. His gloved hand went out as if to stop a ball. He grabbed, recovered, whirled. Hank guessed the trick. at Hurry that throw! '7 he yelled as he rushed to second. He saw the run-