Show the fusilier giants under fire sergeant arthur guy empey author of over the ton first call etc 0 0 0 mr empens expert teen Months in line trenches of the british army in france by clr we were sitting on a fi in the front line trench it was bright and bunny and we were bubbling over with gofir humor there were two reasons for this first our battalion was to be relieved at nine that night and we were going bacal for a two weeks rest second it was spring we could smell it in the air even the wind blowing from the german trenches in bur direction had a sweet and springy about thirty yards down a communication trench to the left was an orchard the trees were scarred from bullets and fragments of shell but even these battered trunks could not resist the feel of spring because here and there on the twigs and branches could be seen bursting buda rutting around were numerous birds chirping and sometime wrangling among them pelves to me it seemed odd that birds could accustom themselves to war occa elo nally a german shell or perhaps one of ours would go screaming over the orchard the birds did not seem to mind the noise just carried on with their nest building in our company was an american named alexander stewart naturally be and I 1 were very chummy stewart and J were the chief amusement promoters in the company the commies tommies constantly leoung to us for some new diversion in the english army a tommy seems to have the idea that an americans chief vocation la the united states Is to invent and to keep on inventing of course stewart and I 1 did not in any way try to dissipate this idea in fact we encouraged it and took great pride in being cooled up to la this way but believe me it us hustling to beep the commies tommies amused it was getting too warm for soccer football and we knew as soon as we got into rest alueta that the issue would be put right up to us how are you going to amuse us while behind the lines we were americans and red blooded spring was in the air and our thoughts turned to what every american boy Is thinking of upon the arrival of spring baseball I 1 turned ray eyes to the muddy rear wall of the trench and fixed my gaze on a fragment of german shell embedded in the mud pretty soon this fragment seemed to change into a baseball bi player with mask protector and catchers mitt he was crouching behind the home plate and signaling to the pitcher just then stewart said say emp I 1 wonder f we could teach the commies tommies how to play baseball I 1 immediately turned in bis direction w lie waa also staring at that fragment of shell I 1 answered did yoa ever try to teach a chinaman bow to speak french he got it right away and a dejected look spread over his countenance and be let out a long drawn sigh A tommy sitting on my right butted in with did you sye baseball by yank why I 1 saw a gamo in london and it Is absurdly easy to but I 1 cahnt eye I 1 fawney alt with a look of disgust stewart turned to me and said 1 I guess youre right emp it would be easier to teach the chinaman french that night we were relieved and went behind the lines the next afternoon after parade we were bitting in an orchard drinking C tea about a month before stewart S and I 1 had taught the commies tommies how to j pitch horseshoes there was great rivalry among the different squads L each squad having a team just then corporal catuns came over to us and asked where are the t orso shoes I 1 cahnt find cm another tommy answered strafe r me pink where are your heyck cahnt you bloomin ln well see the hof bleers usan cm beland abit billet over there mime me always the gyme sure enough the officers were using our horseshoes stewart with a boote of depression on hla face turned to ane and said i well here goes emp steve brodle took a chance so I 1 might be able to get away with this then turning to the commies tommies Tom mies be eald did any of you blokes ever hear of john mcgraw three of the commies tommies answered yes A sunny smile and a look of hope flirted flitted across stewarts face and be breathlessly asked who Is he the K three to answer at once but stuwart wart majestically extending his brind palm forward said get in alno one at a time now perkina Perk lna who Is john pekina answered why val a ladica corporal in the koyal irish at to ste aarts look that toro ay should have immediately dead to the ceat ho said curly tor the love v mike who Is he curly with a knowing look answered B run the kings arms public ouse down rye lane alth a piteous look stewart glanced my way and I 1 jerked my thumb in the direction of the other tommy who seemed to be bursting with suppressed eup pressed eagerness stewart looking at him ejaculated spit it out before you choke this fellow with a superior air turned la the direction of the two dejected commies tommies Tom mies and answered john macgraw why everybody knows am e was the fellow in the london scottish who clicked crucifixion for stealing the rum issue at wipers E was a lad not arf he A hissing noise issued from stewarts lips and he seemed to collapse like a punctured toy balloon after a few seconds he straightened up and a look of determination came into bis eyes addressing the commies tommies Tom mies be exploded you blokes are enough to mae billy sunday take to drink now listen here and let it sink in deep john mcgraw Is the manager of the new york giants he Is a baseball player get it A baseball player A guy what manages a baseball team and any fellows who cant make good on his team or in the bush leagues he sends cm a cricket bat with their name inscribed on it and pays their kissage to england get me several commies tommies took exception to this and said that they had followed cricket all their lives lut had never heard of any american cricketers crick eters being sent over by a mr mcgraw at this I 1 exploded and stewart went up in the air standing up and turning to the bunch under the trees pointing his finger in their direction be let out now listen this is good tm going to send down to the ordnance corps and get a dozen giblets gimlets and some funnels alth these giblets gimlets im going to bore holes in your and using the tunnel I 1 m going to pour into those garrets of jours a little brains then after youve acquired gray matter im going to teach you the great american gmo of baseball and then when through teaching you I 1 m going to retire to the old soldiers home as physically and mentally tin fit because I 1 know the job wll put me there the commies tommies did not take exception to his pointed remarks about their lack of brains they overlooked this because they were very eager to learn how to play baseball A chorus of go to alt yank what e want something new out ere in this bloody mess of mud and booties cooties co oties stewart said that we would have to talk the matter over and beckoning to me went u the direction of the billet I 1 followed he then outlined his scheme were to form two baseball classes stew art in charge of one I 1 the other on the plaster of the billet we carefully scratched out a baseball diamond and then called the commies tommies in they sat around little children in a school eagerly intent for two hours we explained the game to them when we got through they all anew how to play baseball on paper we dismissed them telling them another class would be held the following afternoon that night stewart and I 1 around the stump of a candle went into details for organizing two teams everything appeared rosy and we were highly jubilant A tommy eased over in our direction and inno cantly asked 1 I eye yank it necessary to ave baseballs byse balls and clubs we cahnt very well pi y without em this was a bombshell to us in our eagerness and excitement we had quite forgotten that bats balls and gloves were necessary I 1 thought stewart was going to burst letting out a well be I 1 which nearly blew the candle out ha turned a silly look in my direction and I 1 looked just as cheap at last the commies tommies bad stumped as and we aoud see our reputation fading into nothing A dead silence reigned for over fire minutes then stewart started madly to open his haversack I 1 thought he had suddenly gone crazy I 1 reached my band in the direction of my bayonet fearing that be waa looking tor a mills bomb when he drew his hand out hanging to his alst was a writing pad I 1 let go of my bayonet borrowing a pencil from me stewart was always borrowing he started writing I 1 thought perhaps be was going to commit suicide and was writing a farewell letter home and aked him what was up he whispered to me emp were two bloody fools not to have thought 0 this long ago all weve got to do Is to write home to one of the new york papers asking the readers to send out baseball stuff to us and it will only be a matter of a few weeks when we will have enough to equip two teams I 1 offered to write the letter and with stewert bending over me I 1 eagerly wrote an appeal to the readers of a new york newspaper and turned the letter over to the mail orderly we then explained to the commies tommies that equipment was necessary and that wa had written home but while waiting for the baseball stuff to arrive we would carry on with our instruction classes the next day stewart and I 1 made a woolen baseball out of an old puttee fixed up a temporary diamond and showed the commies tommies abo en engral cral run of the game their antics were awful it we had used a regular baseball I 1 dont think there would have been a tommy in the squad without a black eye did you ever watch a girl trying to catch a ball well the girl s team alongside of some of these commies tommies would have looked like the winner in our worlds series it was hard work keeping their interest up two later we went ap into the front line then came back again tor another rest the interest in baseball was dying out and we were at our ali s end time passed and we figured out that we ought to be bearing from our appeal but nothing came then once again we went into the front line trench the commies tommies were very and every time baseball wag mentioned they would gaze in our direction with a sneering look athla completely got our goats one evening we were sitting in a dugout of the support trench it was raining like the mischief and we were cold and downhearted pretty soon the rations came up the ration party generally brings the rations down into the dugouts dug outs but the two men carrying our dixie set it down in the and of the trench and almost shot the chutes down the entrance to the dugout they were breathless with excitement cit ement one of them yelled out yank theres a limber full of parcels down in th reserve dugout all addressed to you hempey and from america stewart let out a shout and I 1 felt warn nil over how we corded lorded it over those poor commies tommies Tom mies that night we were to be relieved and go back to rest billets we could hardly wait for the time the next morning was sunday and after church parade we made a mad rush to the orderly room to get our mall ahe quartermaster sergeant was waiting for me and behind him stood every officer in the company trying to disguise the expectant look on their faces every eye was turned in the direction of a heap of parcels I 1 thought the quarter never would start even the captain could not stand it and giving way to his eagerness said sergeant you had better issue the coall stewart and I 1 were all anxiety then stooping down the sergeant took up a parcel and read off empey no and threw it over to me I 1 caught it on the fly the sergeant dept on reading out ampey and parcels came through the air like a bombardment the first parcel I 1 picked up was stamped passed by censor and con contained twelve brand ne baseballs talked twelve brand new baseballs or at least eleven and the remains of one this twelfth ball was stamped opened by censor but search aa I 1 could I 1 could find no stamp reading dewed up by censor we did the sewing up but that ball looked like a ducks egg when we had finished stewart and I 1 roundly cussed the cen sor later we both cussed the inventor of baseball there was a reason the readers of the newspaper appealed to had nobly responded to our appeal there were enough gloves and balls for two teams and even a chest protector and mask the mask was an article of great curiosity to all some of them thought it was a bomb protector every one in turn tried it on and every one upon le arring that the catcher was to wear the mask wanted immediately to eign up or the position stewart and I 1 could have been elected to parliament right there if these commies tommies coula have had their way the next afternoon the candidates forty in all and the whole company turned out en masse on the baseball field which we hail laid out during our previous stay in brebt billets from that day on sichart and I 1 led a dogs life though on ppe everything looked bright and the candidates were letter perfect in the game or thought they were on the field they were dubs of the worst caliber regular bonc heads it mcgraw of the giants had had that mob wished on him he would have chucked up his job and taken the stump for woman suffrage BO you can appreciate our fix stewart wag a really good pitcher plenty of curved stuff having played ecal pro ball in the united states it was my intention to catch for him and fill in the other positions with the most likely candidates this scheme did not work in with the slon a little bit oat ot the forty trying for the team twenty eight insist td on being catcher they minted to weir hat mask if there had been a camera each of the forty have had a photo taken of himself wearing the wire cage here was a great tl lemma at that time I 1 was only a private and there were sergeants corporals and even an officer who wanted to catch stewart again came to the rescue calling me aside be said i leave it to me emp III clr cm try out each one in turn let them wear the mask and ill send in some curves and when the ball cracks them on the shins a couple of times you pay em to put on the cage the commies tommies were strange to curved balls and stewart had speed it did my heart good to see him dampen their ardor and dent their anatomy at the same time the commies tommies would see the ball coming to them and would reach up their hands to get tt then the ball would break and bit them on the shin or knee after five or six had retired rubbing sore spots and bussing cussing stewart out no one else wanted to catch and abo situation was saved tommy Is a natural born soccer player and clever with his feet but stupid with bis bands when it comes to baseball several of them had a bad habit of stopping grounders with their feet especially our shortstop he see a hot grass eater coming his way then instead of using his hands be would put his foot in front of it the ball would climb his leg and get him on the chin or in the eye after receiving a puffed up up and a beautiful black eye he flatly refused to play unless I 1 would let him wear the mask americans picture a shortstop wearing a catchers mask and then sympathize with stewart and me the shortstop was a sergeant and through diplomatic reasons I 1 gave the mask to him at this e cry infielder wanted to wear it stewart solved the problem by putting in another shortstop and giving me the mask in england they have a game called in which you are supposed to hit the base runner with the ball to put him out this Is generally a tennis ball and does not hurt very much well those commies tommies had a habit of lamming the baseball with all their might at the unfortunate runner many an early practice was broken up this way because the team would lose interest in baseball ba sebal when they had a chance to view a fight between a giver and a receiver after about ten days practice we had picked two pretty fair teams and arranged for a scrub game stewarts side won due to his pitching then as Is usual in baseball things began to |