OCR Text |
Show "Won in the Ninth" abaseblstory y r v hub vum m r mm mum m BY ouristy MATHEWSON COPYRIGHT, 1910, BY R. J. BAJDMER OO. 1 ' CHAPTER XXI. Returning Home. At midnight tho Lowell special started on tho return trip, with another special bearing tho Jefferson team and her faithful faith-ful rooters trailing them. The celebration after tho gamo had been glorious, but pretty strenuous, a.nd tho boys wero tired. They all tumbled Into their berths and wont promptly to sleep. Early in tho morning, however, thoy wero awakened by the nolso of cheering, cheer-ing, and looking out of the windows of tho car they could seo they had stopped at a station crowded with an enthusiastic enthu-siastic mob giving tho Lowell yell and calling on tho boys to get up and show themselves. Tho train pulled out boforc they could do this, but they got up and dressed and had an early breakfast. Then they prepared themselves for the all-day ride to tho east. Presently they stopped again. A still larger crowd was at-the station with the familiar fa-miliar green lings and banners. This time tho boys went out on tho platform and Joined the chorus of Lowell songs and yells. So It went all day. Wherever they stopped there wero chcoring crowds and songs and yells. Every once In a while they called on Hughlo for a speech, and ho would do his best In reply. It was almost the kind of a ride which tho president presi-dent makoa on his occasional swings around tho circle. Certain it is that no president ever got a moro enthusiastic reception than did the Lowell boys that day. During the course of the morning, when there was about an hour's run to the next stop. Johnny Evorson and Arthur Ar-thur Devlin found Ty Robb in the far corner, writing busily. "Writing to tho folks?" asked Johnny. '.'Don't bother me," said Ty. "I have an inspiration." So thoy lot him alone, but presently he came up to where I-Iughie. Larke and Evorson wore silling and talking things over, and said: "I've- made a brief report of tho gamo for the boys at home. I saw a peach back thcro at the last station, and whenever when-ever I see a peach I think of Gene Field's llttlo poem." Then he started to sing. A baseball team out at Jefferson grew, A pretty good team It was they drew, Managod by Church, and captained, too. It grew. It grow. Listen to this tale of woe. They challenged the team of tho emerald hue That had beaten the eastern teams very blue. They wero captained by Larke and managed man-aged by PI ugh. Too true. Too true. Listen to tho tale of woe. The Lowell boys came on tho fast choo-choo. choo-choo. They began to play tho gamo at 2 to 2:00. And soon the troublo began to brow. Mon Dleu! Mon dlcu! Listen to their talc of woe. Then Tommy came along with his mind in a stew, And placed to his credit a bagger-two. While Sammy brought him home, and Black began to rue. But they were through. Llston to their wall of woe. Johnny got his base, and Larke got two. This was In tho sixth, and brought Johnny John-ny through. Tho eighth saw Cap make another ac-crue Scoro two. Scoro two. Listen to our talo of woo. Tho rest of tho Innings showed us nothing new. Each side to bat and each side withdrew. Tho batters the pitchors couldn't subdue, lllp hurroo! Hip hurroo! Listen to that talc of woo. What of the team that Jefferson grow, Licked by Lowell of emerald hue? Another game and its mission is through They 1. We 2. Wait for the next tale of woe. As Ty sang tho other boys gathered around him and as mo3t of them knew the tune they wero presently crowding close, looking over his shoulder at the words and joining in. Then they made copies of it and sent them by the porter into the other cars of tho train. Pretty soon everybody on the train cither had a copy or had learned tho thing by heart, and whenever they stopped at a station thoy would get out on the platform plat-form or lean out of tho windows and Introduce In-troduce tho new song to the crowds at tho stations, always leaving a few copies behind. By tho time they reached Lowell Low-ell early In tho evening Robb's doggerel song had been sung from Cleveland to Lowell and found Its way the next day Into most overs' big paper In the country, coun-try, so that almost every Lowell man in tho land know It within twenty-four hours after It was composed. Presently the train pulled into tho station sta-tion at Lowell. Tho boys looked out at the mob there was there to welcome them. Hal and Hans thought of the former for-mer return to Lowell when Hans had brought him back. This was a different kind of home-coming. There was no walking or riding in carriages that night. It was shoulders for the team, surely, and thoy prepared for It. The crowd at the station was singing tho Lowell songs and yelling and cheering, cheer-ing, but presently, as tho team and tho others on the train appeared, the latter began singing Robb's "Peach Song" again, and tho crowd stopped to listen. They heard It. they seemed to drink It In, they learned It all at once. It scorned, for presently they wero all singing this rather dirgo-IIko chant of a Lowell victory. vic-tory. Hughlo tried his best to got tho team away from the crowd, for they had a hard game ahead of them next day, but he gavo It up finally, saying only: "All right, boys. Do as you please with us, but don't hurt us; we've got to lick them again tomorrow." Then they grabbed Hughlc. lifted him upon strong shoulders, corralled the rest of the boys In a similar -way, and through the streets of the old college town they took thorn, a happy, joyous procession, tho band In front playing and the horns blowing. Finally, they wero let go to their homes, where they could get another an-other refreshing sleep in preparation for tho second and perhaps final struggle, which would take plnco on the morrow. The crowd that welcomed Jefferson, which arrivod an hour later, was not so large, but it gavo them a rousing welcome wel-come just the same. They know that Jefferson had fought hard and bravely, and it had been no easy . task to beat them, but Lowell had won, and they could afford to give the losers a generous welcome. They let the Jefferson team ride In carriages, however, contenting themselves with singing a few of the Jofferson songs, mingled with their own loved ones. They didn't sing Ty's peachy song, but Jefferson had heard it all along the route and thoy were determined to mako Lowell sing an entirely different one before another twenty-four hours had passed. |