TIIE SUNDAY OKEGONIAN, PORTLAyD, JUNE 2, 1913.
he Piycholo&y of . Pilchin
HT J A MKS . HAMMOND.
RCSSELL FORD, known among baae
ball playere and fana alike aa
"that myeterloua pitching marvel,"
waa apparently applying Borne new anrt
of ftve-flnger exercise to an old. well
nigh Inraparlatcd ball when I entered
the clubhouse at the New Tork Ameri
can League plant. I wanted to cat a
cloao rtnft look at thla wonderful box
man Kemeula of Tyrua Cobb. John
Franklin Baker and Trlataln Speaker,
the batting- prldea of the Ban B. John
aon organization, and aak him what
ha had to aay about hla many pitching
triumph.
Ford la ona of that claaa of slab
blata who poaaea something more than
the aklll of a strong right arm. He
carrlea a strange mental fore to the
corner of the diamond with him when
ever he go In to pitch feeling per
fectly "right" that geta on the nervea
of the greatest battera more effectively
than hla puaallng rurvea and a hoot a.
I have heard many of them aay so
with pronounced evldeneea of dlscom
flture, aa If confirmed In the belief
that there la aomethlng occult In the
peraonallty thla man Ford uaea to an
noy them with when they face him at
the plate.
Aha! I thought to myaelf. when I
flrat heard theae aolemn expressions.
WRECK OF THE UNDINE A GRAPHIC STORY
John Welsh Narrates Thrilling Adventures of Wreck in Pacific and Isolation on Desolate Island How
Joka Welsh la llvlag ta Liverpool, Bag.
. laad. It la 53 year alar Captala
Cbarlea Adams, af Plattamoatb, Nebt,
rat heard him tell ( th loa f th
t adlM, hat m arreet aa Imsireaalow
did It mak that h rememhere th
story almost word for veerd. II haa
heard It taaay tlmea alar. It waa la
th alala little slttlag-room f th
Wlla-tret Bailors Haa. where
Joha Welsh waa boarelag . I IMO,
that th tee me a met.
Hello, Joha. where have yea bee r
aaked Adaaaa.
eyea he taraed t hla frlead were
Ihoa f eae eld la eatlerlag.
"Where have I heea f" he mattered.
"Where have I beear
Thea he told thla story aa thagh It
faselaatcd hiss.
WE cleared from Liverpool In 1151.
That'a what th log aald, but
that'a only two yeara ago. I
tell you It muat be agea alnca the Un
dine, with canvaa wlnga spread, awept
down the widening Mersey, out Into the
Irish Sea, and the old light at Birken
head paled and disappeared.
It waa yeara ago. friend, even If the
log did aay '58. With our cargo of gen
eral merchandise for China and th
Indies, we beat down the. coast, mostly
against head winds, till we rounded the
cape, then we struck our first gale.
Lord, how It blew! We reefed down
and scudded along under leaa canvaa
than you'd need to awing an awning
over the quarter deck, and the atout
old masts groaned and spars creaked as
though spirits were about.
There waa no danger of wreck, but
the ahlp waa straining all the time.
We never had a chance to ease up on
timbers and stays that were bearing all
they'd atand. Every time I went be
low for a little rest. I waked up hoping
th wind had dropped, but always there
were the great aeaa teetering all about
us. When we were on the crest, the
horlxon looked as though th rim of
th earth and been scalloped with a
giant knife.
I waa ateerlng one night and Captain
Wllllama and Mr. Clark, the mate, were
talking near me.
"Thla can't go on much longer," aald
th captain. "It lan't In tha nature of
timber and cable to atand It."
"No," aald Mr. Clark, "and there la
that heavy machinery down In the hold.
If that geta loose with this rolling and
pitching. It'll atove a hole In the aide
quick aa greased lightning."
"Mr. Clark." said th captain. "I don't
Ilka It any way you look at It. Sound
the well every four hours. I've never
seen such nasty weather for ao long a
time at stretch. As soon aa one gale
blowa out, another starts."
That set ma thinking. The captain
was worried and so wss the mate, and
they war old on th sea. Every four
hours from than on th well waa sound
ed. Each time the lead waa dropped
our heart a went down with It, n(1
there. waa almost an audible sigh of re
lief when It was pullel up and showed
no more water In the hold than uaual.
Three weeka of that weather w had.
and then, very gradually and very
gently, the gale blew Itaelf out. Th
sea looked so warm and kind you were
ashamed of yourself for ever fearing It.
The rigging swarmed with men shaking
out the canvaa and we pounded along
with all sail aet. That night I lay down
for the flrat good, untroubled Bleep I'd
had In many a day.
It waa ararce sun-up when the third
mat stuck hla head down th hatch
y- w
here la material for a true psycholog
ical baaeball atudy. There muat Indeed
be aomethlng atrange and deeply Inter,
eating about thla unique baaeball
celebrity, and aa Boon aa the oppor
tunity waa afforded me. I aet out to
Investigate It. filled with keen en
thuaiaam for a phenomenon ao Interest
Ing and out of the ordinary.
"What are you trying to do with that
hall?" waa the flrat queatlon I aaked
Mr. Ford, although I waa a trifle dls
turbed by the Inquiring glance he
turned and kept upon me. the while he
continued to apply fancy flngerwork
to the little apherold he waa handling,
without offering a alngle word of
greeting. Hla manner waa moat un
uaual, but waa explained by hla flrat
remark.
Why, doea It dlaturb you?" he re
aponded pleaaantly. with a aharp ex
change of queatlon for queatlon tha.
had a marked combative ring In It
and which gave me the flrat Inalght
Into hla pronounced mental chaxac
tertatlca. "Oh, no. not In the leaat," I replied
with an effort at compoaqre which I
muat acknowledge I didn't quite feel.
"It atruck me aa a rather unuaual pro
cedure and I wondered If it Involved
any apeclflo object or meant only a
little toyeomeneaa, just to paaa the
time away."
Ruaaell Ford amlled blandly at the
alight tinge of acrimony he muat hare
and yelled, "All handa below man th
pumps!"
There waa hardly any motion to th
ahlp. and the sea waa quiet, but tha
atrain of the heavy weather had been
too much and the Undine had aprnng
a leak.
All that day we worked over tha
pumps. By evening we were Teady to
drop where we atood and tha water
waa no lower than when we had flrat
taken to the pumps. The carpenter
and his men had been working In wa
ter over their ankles, but they could
not atop the leak.
The captain saw it waa only a matter
of hours and some of th men were
set at getting ready to abandon. At
about eight belle In the morning watch,
while th captain was by th pumps,
cheering up the men, the carpenter
hurried to him and reported another
aeam aprung. There waa no time for
further preparation. Th water waa
already within a few feet of the main
deck.
Tha boats were lowered away and all
hands piled In exoept Captain Williams,
who ahoated that ha would get Into
the aecond mate's boat aa aoon as he
had taken aomethlng from hla cabin.
I waa In tha flrat mate'a boat and we
rowed about a cable' length from tha
hip and lay on our oara alongside th
third mate'a boat, waiting for the cap
tain to come up the cornpanlonway
again. The ship lay there Ilk a great
aodden log and we watched her Jn fear,
wishing that tha captain would hurry.
Suddenly the stern plunged down and
the bow reared almost out of water.
We shouted to the men In the aecond
mate'a boat They saw what waa com
ing, but they waited juat a aecond to
aee If the captain wouldn't come. It
waa a aecond too long. With a gurg
ling that reached almoat a shriek, the
I'ndlne aucked down out of eight. In
the very act of rowing frantically
away, the men In the waiting boat
were twisted and thrown from their
seats, the boat spun round and cap
slsed. Then all disappeared.
Our oars bent aa we pulled to where
the ahlp had been, hoping that aome
of tha men might rise, but the auction
had claimed them all. Not so much
aa a cap was there to ahow that our
comrade bad ever lived. They had
been good ahlpmates. thoae poor
drowning men, and while the two boats
bobbed on the gentle waves, the mate,
Mr. Clark atood up and said a little
prayer. - Then It waa buaineaa again.
The captain had taken the bearing
that morning but had not told them
to the mate before the I'ndlne aank.
We did not know where we were. Mr.
Clark waa poaitlve that there waa a
small Island to the westward, but he
did not know how far. There was a
light breese out of the esst. so we
stepped masts, and aet little leg-o'-mutton
aalla and bore 'away for th
Island. '
Th aecond night we encountered
fog. Long aa we could hear them we
ahouted to the men In the third mate'a
boat, and when their aaawera began
to aound dimmer and dimmer we
changed our courae to bear In the di
rection from which their weakening
crlea aeemed to come. Despite that,
fainter and fainter grew the calls and
at last there waa no sound aave the
lapping of water agalnat the sldea of
our boat, the creak of our row-locks,
and our own frenxled calling.
Wei never sighted the other bost
again and I have never seen nor heard
of any of the men. We counted the
nights, though they meant nothing to
us. It waa Juat one drear apace of
RUSSELL FORD ON NERVE
felt hla aharp retort had occaaloned me
to employ, and uttered the following
explanation with unqueatlonable af
fability: (
I waa practicing a new clutch which
hae auggeated Itaelf to me and prom
laea greater accuracy and higher apeed,
aa I auppoae my automobile frlenda
would put It. It meana grlpplag- the
hall along the rough aeame Inatead of
taking hold of It any old way."
lllate a Pltrhlag.
There could be no queatlon of the
highly developed Intelligence of young
Mr. Ford. I aaaured myaelf of thla de
duction by the time he had explained
to me that new grip on the ball which
I found him ao studiously practicing
when I entered the clubhouaa. He die
played no marked mannerlam, but, on
the other hand, 'there waa nothing of
the commonplace In hla demeanor. I
waa pleaaed to find him the quiet, lm
preaatve atrateglat I had expected to
meet.
The conventional human being would
probably have mad the cuatomary die
play of welcome greeting and aaked
me what he could "do for me," but Mr.
Ford did neither. Hla attitude placed
me at eaae and commanded me to pro
ceed with the object of my appear
ance In hla preaence to my entire sat
lafactlon without the uae Of worda.
"Mr. Ford," I began. "I am aura you
do employ aomethlng more than a
atrong arm and puxsllng bendera In
your pitching trlumpha. Tell me what
are your thoughta Immediately after
being assigned to pitch?"
"Flrat. I get a mental picture of the
batting order of the oppoalng team."
"And then T"
I recall the .faces of the men who
are to confront me In the box."
"Next In order V
"All their Individual batting charae
teriatlca are brought up In my mind,
one after the other. In the order they
are to appear before me at the plate."
"How do you feel about having all
theae men face you one after another
with a baaeball aort of murderoua In
tent upon your choaen meana of liveli
hood?" "How do I feel? It la like a warning
of being brought face to face with
many designing and powerful enemlea.
Sometlmea I'd rather be the famoua
pugiliat who haa the nerve to enter a
prise ring for the advertiaed purpose
of meeting 'all comera' on a, certain
aet occasion."
"Suppose all or moat of the string
of battera who are about to come before
you for their rival bualness or profes
suffering. One of tha men died at the
end of a week. All we could do waa
throw the body overboard and keep
on Into th west ourselves. I felt a
little envy of th man who had left It
all. Our provisions only lasted six days.
When the sun shone we sweltered and
when it waa dark the cold gnawed
Into our bones. Sometlmea we rowed
and sometimes we sailed. It waa all
mechanical In a nightmare world.
We sighted land on the 1 1th day. It
waa just a little blank bummock on
the horlxon at first. Then It grew Into
a curving aurfao and t!ie rontour
showed out plain against the aky. My
tongue waa awollen ao that my mouth
would acarcely hold It. A furnace heat
parched and tortured my akin. But
every time I turned and glimpsed that
growing land, my tired muscles took a
little more punishment and I managed
to drag my oar through th water.
When we were so near w could see the
palms, straight and rigid, we felt that
comfort, and water, and food waa with
in our very reach, and yet It aeemed
that not another atroke could we pull.
When the boat beached, alx haggard,
tottering men stumbled into the sand.
Some threw themselves to tha ground
groaning or panting. Others started In
search of water, but Mr. Clark stopped
them and roused the others. There waa
danger that the tide, might carry away
the boat and he drove the men to pull
It high and dry before leaving It.
There waa but little beach and th
Island rose ateep from the. narrow plain
that aklrted th shore. Up what seemed
mountainous heights we climbed before
we found a pool of brackish water.
None waited. Each man. scrambling to
the) pool, lay face downward and gulped
the lukewarm liquid. When I had
drunk I felt a great heaviness and fell
Into thai first sound sleep I had had
since we left the ship. It was night
when I awoke and after drinking more
realised again the pangs of hunger.
Three of the- other men were asleep at
the very edge of the poof.
I did not wake them, bat wandered
off In search of food and the other two
men. Th heights which we had
thought mountains In the climbing
proved to be only rocky ridges rising
perhaps 50 or (0 feet above the level
of th sea.
Very aoon I had startled a flock of
sea birds Into flight, and In'the moon
light found their nesting place. Hun
dreds of the fowl swooped about me.
shrieking and flapping, but I was heed
leas of them and swallowed egg after
egg. raw and dirty. Just as I found
them. I think at first I did not even
crack the ahells. but at tha whole
PORTRAITS OF THE MONA
er son, of a family beneath tier own
exalted poaitlon.
Anne conquered her aorrow. She
waa the flrat woman to wear a bang.
At It years of age she led the styles;
but that Is nothing. Every department
of art, literature and gentle living waa
her province, and the bric-a-brac mer
chanta from Italy showed her their
goods before submitting them to, th
King himself.
Among many old pictures brought to
her from Italy, aha took a fancy to a
portrait of an earlier generation. It
represented a mournful youth of tha
Beritkhelll family, whose doleful ex
preaalon and atrange attitude aroused
the curiosity of Ducheaa Anne. Why
did he pull the engagement ring from
the third finger of hla left hand?
She aent out Inqulrlea to learn th
hiatory of thla portrait and Its orig
inal. Newa came to her that the fam
ily vai extinct; the youth had never
married; and, bit by bit, ahe learned
that, .pulling the ring from hla finger,
she had there before her the rejected
fiance of the Fair Klrnonetta, cynosure
of the court of Lorenso the Magnifi
cent. Slmonetta had loved young Ber
xlCheUL but, yielded to pressure of ber
AN INTERVIEW
sional purpose happen to be acquaint
anrea or valued friends In private lifer
"I wouldn't allow myself to consider
them aa anything other than designing
rivals. They have become my enemlea.
It la like boon companiona sitting down
to a little poker game 'here'a where
friendship ceaaea' la the decree of old
Iame Fortune, and oftentimes the par
ticipants are heard to announce thla
aentlment orally and with no mild evi
dence of meaning Just what the worda
exprees."
"Do you affect a facial expression
calculated to disturb the natural con
fidence of each batter aa be faces you.''
"Fes. I auppoae I do. Sometlmea I
find occasion to mix a few vocal In
shoots in with the best of my arm
work."
"Which of the famoua American
League battera, all of whom have faced
you ao often, display the moat confi
dence when they come up to bat?"
"Cobb, Lajoie, Colllna. Speaker.
Baker and. in fact, all of the 'three
hundred and over' battera like to make
the pitchers feel they are going to line
out anything offered to them. Cobb af
fects the moat confidence. He haa a
habit of talking-to the boxmen, tell
ing them to 'put up the beat they got
and watch him kill It."
"How do you go back at hlra when
he hurls that kind of badinage at
you?"
"I don't notice It and that aeema to
bother him more than any of the 'come
back' atuff I might cut loose."
"Do you actually prepare youraelf
to look, the flrat man directly In the
eye and get bla 'goat' by paychic In
fluence It you can?"
"I exert all the mental force I can
gather up In an effort to dlaturb the
batter'a confidence and sometlmea I
really eeem to feel It take effect."
'Just what cornea up In your mind
when you catch the batter'a ever
"I find myaelf endeavoring to read
hla Intentiona and If the mental con
nection appear to be effective I try
to exert an Influence over hla actions."
"Did you ever try to make a batter
awing on a bad ball that ha had no
chance of hitting by thla system of
mental euggeatlon?"
"Tea. and It haa often aeemed to
work, but I tried It on Lajoie once and
he knocked out a clean home run. You
aee I hadn't counted upon Larry'a
preference for wild onea. Hla marked
characteristic la to let the good onea
go by and pound out safe hlta on the
bad onea."
"Do any of the battera ahow a
marked degree of nervouseneas when
their eyea meet your eyes?"
mess, crunching the shells and swal
lowing them. How long they had been
lying there I do not know. Judging
from later experience many muat have
been bad, but I knew It not, nor waa I
made sick from eating the filthy mess
that first time.
The Island seemed nowhere to be
higher than the point at which we had
found water and waa about ten acres
In extent: ten acres of ragged, tinted
coral rock, with here and there a, clump
of palma. and all around, water, green
and aparkllng.
Soon after my meal I encountered
Mr. Clark and Tom Colllna. one of the
aeaman. They had alao eaten raw eggs
and had collected many for the next
meal. In the morning when the aun
was atrong. we kindled a fire by meana
of aome dried aeaweed and the mate'a
watch crystal. By roasting the eggs on
a flat atone they were made more
palatable and after the edge had worn
off our hunger, we were careful to use
only the good ones. There were many
shell fish along the beach and at low
tide we could alwaya pick up enough
for aeveral meals. Some of them made
us sick at first when we ate them raw,
but we aoon learned to distinguish the
harmless ones. The others seemed not
ao bad when roasted.
We made rather a happy little colony
there at first, the six of us who hsd
been snatched from the very Jawe of
death, but aa time wore on the mono
tony and desolation began to pall and
we spent hours at a time searching
from th pinnacle of our island for
the speck of a sail which might spell
rescue. It did not come and the food
and the solitude oppressed us more
and more. One of the men. Dave
Brlcket. took to trotting about the
Island like a wild animal In a cage, al
ways slinking around over the rocks
and trotting up and down the beach.
He muttered to himself all the time
things that none of us understood and
he would never explain. We treated
htm the kindest we knew how, and
always provided for him, but one
morning when we woke there was no
Dave Brlcket to be found.
If a big winged creature had swooped
down over the island during the night
and snatched him away, he could not
have disappeared more completely.
Rill Dawson and Joe Bell had been
ailing for some time and tha loss of
Brlckett affected them terribly. It
seemed to sap the vigor right out of
them. Instead of fighting off the weak-
ness and the disease that seemed to be
eating away their strength, they Just
gave In.
"What'a the use said Dawson to
CONTINUED FROM PACE 2
family and married tha elder brother
of Amerigo Vespucci from whom our
country takes Its name. The rejected
lover, ao the report ran. had caused
thla souvenir of his unhapplnesa to be
painted; and Slmonetta, touched by
pity, had originally stood by his aide
In It, while he pulled the ring off. Who
had cut her out of It? Doubtless the
Vespucci family. But to Duchess Anne
who bad a painful memory of her
own It seemed a punishment of Fate
for Slmonetta, refuaed tha right to
atand beside her wronged love, even In
a picture!
So Duchesa Anne developed a cult
for the portrait. Did ahe aubatltuta
herself for Slmonetta? Both had
reached the acme of admiration and
esteem, and if the greatest homage a
woman can win Is to become the col
lective dream of an entire people, both
Slmonetta and Anne could testify Its
vanity, rn face of a sacrificed love.
Kad f Prlmr Path,
Of Slmonetta, pride of Florence, they
said she wss "the Kenalsaanre - made"
woman," the antique nymph found
again, running, walking and apeaklng
a new language of fancy and liberty.
In a wonderful period when, every
where, In a marvelous renewing of
tf2
WITH
IN BASEBALL
"Some of them get to looking away
Until I start to deliver the ball."
"Have you noticed that any of them
actually try to avoid your eyea?"
"Tea, I am pleaaed to note that It
annoya lota of them."
"Have yon ever felt any effort on
the part of the battera to get your
mental 'goat In the name way?"
"I certainly have. The beet of them
caat a aharp eye on the pltchera aa If
trying to impresa them that they are
reading their Inmost thoughts and get
ting a true angle on what la coming
up to the plate before each delivery.
Baker alwaya assumes this sort of
psychic attitude at hat."
"Can you recall an Instance of such
an experience with Baker?"
"Tea, many Instancea. One In par
ticular. John Franklin had me In the
'three and two hole and he did hla
heat to get a line on my next delivery.
I gave him a drop plumb over the
center and he lined out a two-baae hit.
He gave me the Impression of expect
ing to be passed and I' believe he
wouldn't have awung on that drop bad
It gone up lower and over the Inside
corner Instead of cutting the good
nsone In half right about where he
wanted It."
"Do you allow youraelf to go ao far
with thla effort In mental telegraphy
that you assume you actually do read
the thoughts or Intentions of battera
when they face you?"
"I often find myself doing ao quite
unconsciously, the habit haa become
so ordinary with me."
"Do you figure that any of the bat
tera endeavor to read your mind in
thla fashion?"
Drvclopaaeat af rsyrholagy.
"I try not to give the slightest
thought to what mental extraction
they may have working on me. But
I auppose some of them are keen to
the same undertaking."
"Then you atoutly believe there la
aomethlng much more aubtle to the
duel between batter and pitcher than
the commonplace guessing conteat
view of It?"
"Why certainly. I feel eure of It."
"Have you considered the wonderful
possibilities a greater development of
thia mental phenomena ahouid bring
about?"
"Surely I have. I believe the day
will come on earth when men will not
be able to 'cloak and diseemble' their
real dolnga or Intentiona aa they do
now. I don't presume that our minds
are going to become like open books,
but 1 do have a feeling that the pres
ent evidences of the power of mind
me. one night. "I don't want to live
only to die like poor old Dave did.
I'd rather dl In my senses."
"Now you Jut cheer up." I said. "It's
the poor victuals and the sameneae of
thlnga that alia you. I'm going to have
a feest for you tonight. Bill."
lilll Just amlled a little arid said I
waa mighty kind. I went out deter
mined to bring back aom kind of dif
ferent food for that man. It gave me
almost an uncanny feeling when, walk
ing on the beech. I saw two big turtles.
They had come ashore and made sort
or a nest which was filled with eggs.
I ran down and managed to turn both
of them on their barks. When I
yelled. Mr. Clark and Tom Collins csme
running and We killed the reptiles.
Right there we made a fire and cooked
the meat and the ergs, then went to
get the other two men for the feast,
our hearts warm with pleasure.
Bill Dawson was lying cold dead.
Bell waa sleeping near him and I
guess he didn't know of his mate'a
death. We waked Bell, but he was so
weak he couldn't sit up. The turtles
and the eggs were forgotten while we
worked over Bell aa best we could. He
never got up from the ground and we
burled the two of them, side by side,
off in a little corner of the beach at
the opposite side of the Island.
That left three of us, and a mighty
lonely three we were. There was but
little wood on th ialsnd and the boat
had been smashed for kindling. Moat
of that had been burned and w were
often forced to eat th eggs and
molluscs raw. Th pool, too, was very
low. and we feared a water famine If
It did not rain soon.
Ood knows I would gladly have died,
but life aeemed tenacious In me, and
when the mate and Tom Collins be
came 111 I was able to tend them, pro
viding and cooking all the food, when
I dared use any wood for a Are. I kin
dled only enough to make the food pal
atable and digestible for them and ate
everything raw myself. They were eo
111 that they could not walk about or
rise from the rough bed of palm leaves
I made, and a great fear began tugging
at my heart that they might never get
up again. Because I was afraid to
face the fact, I fought off the thought
that I might be left alone.
tine afternoon the surf was booming
and roaring against the coral reefs
and the aand. That meant that there
would be fish washed up on to tha
beach and I harried down to the water.
Tom Collins wss desperately weak and
that noon had eaten nothing. He
could scarcely speak, but I knew that
hla stomach had revolted against the
LISA SISTERS
things, forgotten beauty seemed to be
born again. When she appeared, all
marvelled. "Merely to see her pass."
said Prince Cosmo, "waa a benedic
tion." And the great Lorenso said.
"When ahe la In the room I feel the
world leaa wicked." She really created
beauty around her. and aa long aa she
waa there it was not an Illusion.
It lasted five years. During these
five years she waa the one of whom
the Florentine world dreamed. For
her. the poets rhymed their verses. Of
ber. the painters made their Madonnas.
And she ended, like all such creature1
too ardent and hurried to live because
they feel that they have only a short
time. Fair Slmonetta died, one April
dawn, in Florence, just as the stars
were going out. punished for having
been too happy. She waa only 24 years
old.
When Duchess Anne collective
dream of the French world of her epoch
came to thla part of the story, she
used to smile with bitter Incredulity.
She did not die at 24. She lived on to
be the leader of the Fronde, wonderful
old woman. She always kept the por
trait of tha mourning fiance, and often
told Ita story.
"But I do not think that Slmonetta
died of happiness,"-aa always added.
0 WjT
over mind will develop greater mental
surprises."
"Do you know that a great many
ballplayers aay they don't see how you
get' away with that eaay atuff you
pitch?"
"Of cotirae I do. That'a a common
remark for them to make, but you
may depend upon It those who aay It
don't believe It themselvea. Just like
some of them will tell you they can
hit anything.
" 'They all look alike to me, you
know,' la a common saying In baseball
circles, but the records fall to back
It up."
'Van you remind me of any question
BASED ON FACT
He Alone Survived.
acurvy diet on which he had been
eking out existence. He hsd to have
reel food.
My legs were so weak under me thst
I fell, more than anything elae, down
the rocky slopes to the wntur. Twice,
snatching at the shiny, flipping bodies
on the sand. 1 mlsaed end plunged
headlong into the wet, soft surface.
There was still sun enough to start
a fire and I roasted one of the flah.
Before it wae done a Scotch miat blew
In from the ocean and chilled ma to
the marrow. Everything land and
sky and aea looked grey. The only
live color waa In the em ber a of the
miserable Are. They glowed and shone,
blood red, until the dank mist ate into
their life, too, and the red coals became
duller and duller, finally crumbling Into
earth-grey ash. Just like the sea and
sky and the mist.
I don't know how long I stayed there
thinking, I don't know what; some silly
stuff about the coals of life, up there
by the spring, thst were fading and
fading, and In the dying embers of the
fire I seemed to aea the faces of Mr.
Clerk and poor Tom Colllna.
When I roused myself the fish was
nearly chilled and I upbraided myself
for carelessness. Scrsmbllng up the
bank. I hurried with It to Tom. Ha
was stretched nut on bis back, his arms
open aa though he were about to em
brace aome one. There was really a
little smile on hla lips, but itts face
his fsce wss grey, grey as the mist and
the sea.
The flah dropped from my handa un
heeded. I knew that he waa dead be
fore I felt over hla heart and pressed
my fingers to his wrist. There was
the smile on his lips and I did not pity
him. only felt aorry for myself thst I
could not go with him where there
were thlnge at which to smile.
The mate was asleep. I waa too
weak and crushed to move Tom'e body.
At laat I had to face the fear that I
would be alone. For houra I aat
hunched on a Jagged rock loat In a
world of grief and terror.
Unknown to me. the miat blew away
and left the black sea to reflect the
cold, hrlght star. Aa though I 'es
watching from another world. I saw
the upper Hp of the moon Jut above
the horizon and grow and grow.
The mate called to me I had to
lean close to his ear to hear him.
"Water." he whispered.
The edge of the tin cup srrsped the
bottom of the rocky pool as I scooped
the water. I held it to the mate's lips.
Just a swsllow he took, then turned
his head aside. He tried to lift a hand,
but could not. With hleyes he beck
oned me closer and I leaned fsr over,
almost tottering on my bends, so weak
were my arms.
"John." he whispered brokenly. "In
my pea coat there there is a pack
age." For a few seconds he gathered
strength, then went on:
"Take It to my mother--lf you are
spared."
I preened his hand to let him know
that I understood.
There were no words that I could
speak, end If there had been my throat
would have refused them. Down my
cheeks hot tears coursed. The moon
climbed the blue heavens snd lighted
the face of the man suffering there,
and amidst all that cruel beauty, the
old mate slipped his cable.
And, my Uod. friend, then t was all
alone. Alone with two dead men In
that palm-tufted, coral helL. There, on
the top of the world, the only world
that I could see, I stood and cursed.
I cursed the moon and all the beauty
of the acene that mocked my misery,
until I fell from sheer exhaustion and
lay until daylight.
With my first realisation of life came
a burning thirst. I lay flat by the tepid
pool and drank and drank. With tot
tering atepa I dragged the two poor
bodies to the beach. Thtre I scooped
a little shallow snd laid them side by
side, covering them with sand at tha
expense of my last ounce of strength.
Hiack thoughta crowded Into my
mind. I do not know what I might
have brought upon myself. I cursed
all tliic gs auid, rebelled against my
or questions that I had In mind and
have failed to ask you?"
"Hardly. That would be a test In
mind reading. I wouldn't undertake
to look Into one'a brain for mislaid
articles, and to be perfectly frank, I
don't think you have mlsaed any. Now
tell me. haven't you used up the stock
of questions you prepared for me?"
Well. I waa forced lo admit that I
bad. Ho I exchanged a pleasant good
bye handshake with young Mr. Ford,
the pitching psychologist, and passed
out of the Highlanders' clubhouse
feeling that I had met and talked with
an extremely Interesting personality.
maker, and then I remembered the
smile that hsd come to the Hps of
Tom Collins at th last. That brought
to mind the packet In the mate's pea
coat. I found It tied with a bit of
marlln. and addressed in a wide.
sprawling hand to his old mother.
It was pitiful, the poor little packet,
with the honest, careful writing on It,
and as I stood there, tinning It over
In my hands, a great grief surged Into
my soul. Friend, I sst down and wept
like a little child, with my face burled
In my arms and the mate'a packet
clutched faat In my hand. I wept and
aohbed, and grief for the men I had
come to love aa hrothera ahook my
frame, and It saved my life. Terhapa
it saved my aoui.
1 uaed my last bit of wood to Carv
one mean little headpiece for the four
graves on the beech. On night when
the mist waa blowing In from the sea.
dank and gray aa the aahea of the fire
or the face of old Tom Collins had
been, 1 set the woeden grave piece deep
in the sand, snd while I prayed there
the miat blew away, and the moon.
cold and beautiful, peeped up over the
edge of the world at me and climbed
the sky.
After that I don't remember. It
seems as though I slept for years, snd
yet 1 dimly recall running about the
Island and talking to old Dave Brlcket
who had disappeared. I felt no stir-
prlae st seeing him snd never even
thought to aak him where he had been.
Tom and the mate never came to talk
to me, though I think I called to them
often, down there by the little wooden
headpiece.
Then, one morning, I remember wak
ing, and standing by me were two neat
ly clad sailors, well fed and brawny.
and I thought they muat be gods. I
did not remember thst men ever looked
like thst. t didn't know men could be I
ao beautiful. They seemed to be speak
ing, hut 1 could hear nothing. Juat a I
they were fading Into nothingness, one
of them reached down and slipped hla
arms about my body. I aeemed to be
floating somewhere, then 1 thought II
died.
The next time I wsked there wss a I
medicine smell In the rshln In which I
lay. Itlglit away I thought some of the
hoys might be sick, but when I tried to
get up I waan t shle to move and I
knew It muat be me. so I turned over
and slept some more. When I became
rnnscloua. there waa a man standing
heeldo me with some hot broth snd
after I had taken soma of It I began to
remember all that had happened.
That's shout all, my friend. It was!
a yacht that had picked me up, the cer
tain having spied me through his glaea.
We put into Auckland, New Zealand.
end the British Consul sent me back to I
Liverpool. But I never want to be I
alone, friend. When there's no one I
near. I can hear the devilish howling I
of the gale that drove u round thtl
Cape, and I ran see a lone, stsrved
man, fighting there to preserve a feeble I
Utile flicker of life In that desolation
of water and palma and rock.
(Copyright, 1912. by the Associated Lit
erary rress. )
A Happy Disposition.
It la to be taken for granted that I
most girls are anxloua to be charm
ing. True charm of manner often I
cornea from a happy temperament, a
pleasant dlaposltlon. There Is no doubt
that charm may be cultivated by true I
pollteneaa. a alncere wish to please, in
unwillingness to hurt another personal
feelings by word or act. Tha cultivation!
of good manners refines, aweetena am'
strengthens the rharscter, makes on I
thoughtful and considerate of other-
unselfish In doing little klndne
firm In determination to live up to hla1' I
atandards of conduct. Mannera must al
ways be the outgrowth of chars. ;or
the real polish which Is the result i f I
care, not a thin veneer, which is mere
ly superficial. It Is In the power uf
every girl to form her manners so Urn' I
she may he a nobler woman. with ai
Influence thst Is far-reaching, and b-
her sincere politeness, true klndneaa am:
fine Ideals or life, make the world a I
pleasant place for thoae ahe meets on I
umt way. mruugu 11. iaiea world