Evening Star Newspaper, February 3, 1925, Page 25

SPORTS. HE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3 National League Opens Golden Jubilee | LD BOYS GATHER . AT'CRADLE’ AGAIN Five Men Who Played in First Games Back in 1876 Are BY JOHN B. FOSTER. on Hand in New York. EW YORK, February 3.— There are only a few of the N old boys left, but those who [ ? ; ctame to the opening celebration df the National League’s golden jubi- s certainly had a grand “old home week.” Five men were present who played in the opening games of the Jeague back in 1876—George Wash- ington Bradley of St. Louis, who pitched the first no-hit game of base ball; Jack Manning of Boston, Alonzo Knight of Philadelphia, Tom York of Hartford and Tom Bond of Hartford and Boston. there was Jim Mutrie, the old manager, who does not go back far, but who, nevertheless, s of the league 1 Bradley are old friends. 1. George, 1 used to hit against remember it,” asked Mutrie. t it?" retorted Bradley, Jim. T used to quite do, You out.’ weren't telling their ages, chaps, but there was not under 70 years old and were crowding 80, but ed hale and hearty al- igh a little creaky in the joints. By comparison such famous old also present, as Christy Arthur Devlin, Johnny and Kitty Bransfield, who also had their day and have passed the disca vouths. ne of Founders Present. eds came to the National opening party where only dozens were expected. It was fitting qhat it should be held within the cien walls of the old Broadway Hotel, where, on that day, 49 vears before, the National me into being. It was men. ed as a regrettable fact that not of the organizers”was there to join in the celebration dent Heydler told members who sat around also the visitors that the luncheon was only the forerunner of the good times they expected to have all Sum- mer, because the celebration is to be continued through the season tional League city is to have a celebration of some kind. Perhaps it will be on the opening day. KEach v s to have its own little pennant, t00. The pennant will be of the same 1or as that of the city, because is ghe old days of base ball all cities had their colors. Probably every city will have a parade or some sort of a blowout similar to the parades they had in the old times whenever a visiting team would come to town for a series of sames. It is probable that on one day at least the players will dress at thelr hotols and ride out to the ball grounds as they did vears ago. That trip be- tween the ball ground and the hotel was one of the most momentous oc- currences while the ball season was on Messages of Old-Timers. Perhaps the best sentiment of \he meeting yesterday will be gained from extracts of what was said in the addresses and letters of old-timers _unable to attend, Christy Mathewson, game's greatest pitchers ‘Those who founded base hall build- ed well. My love for the game is just as profound now as on the first day that I took the wrappings from a base ball and smelled the horsehide.” John A, Heydler, president of the tional League: “On thls same spot where the pio- neers of bas ball pledged them- selves to make base ball respectable and honorable we can say te their memory that we have not faltered in their trust.” Charles H. Ebbets, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers: “I believe your speakers will overlook the old-time magnat er men of '76, part to make the game, forget, allow me to a word for a few: H. Spalding, Young, Father Chadwick, Mor- Burkely, A. 8. Mills, Al Reach, Bob Ferguson, Tim Murnane, Cap An- =on, Harry and George Wright, Jack “hapman, Billy Barnie, Bobby Mat- thews and Joe Stait." George Wright, one of the founders of the game 1 would tmportant o the backing have callow ~ Hund League's Central exact League Pres the club one of the N not play who but that one of the most nges of the game was up of the umpire, making him’ master of the fleld. As a result, he Is now respected by the players as well as the publie. And I would rank with this change in importance that of placing Judge Landis at the head of organized ball. The public has confidence in this man. FULTON RECEIVED $6,000 FOR LOSING TO FUENTE| Calif,, February 3.—| SLE Fult man ht Fulton LOS AN How Fred boxer Winsor. heavywe ing after by Fue at Culve vea Minnesota plaster- 000 from Fred the Mexican ente, the morn- “knocked ou of fighting ar here, last Novem- d'in Superior Court yes- k Reddy, Fulton's man- was released from a violating the California and thus put in posi- f to turn State’s evidence. Reddy, Fulton, Winsor and jointly eharged with violation of prize fight law as a result of the eged “fr up” bout at Culver ty. Fulton pleaded guilty last week nd was fined $500. Fuente and Win- still remain to be disposed of. was seconds Ja after prize fight terday ager, the sor SCHWARTZ IS BATTERED. PHILADELPHIA, February 3.—Carl Tre Cleveland bantamweight, was ded the judges' decision last ni over Joe Nelson, Philadelphia, at the end of a 10-round bout In the semi-windup, Benny Bass, Philadelphia, won a technical knock- out over Joey Schwartz, Baltimore, in the sixth round. Schwartz was outclassed, and the referee stopped the fight to save him from further punishment. Bass weighed 128; Behwartz, By the Assoclated Press. t. Louis National League including veterans and voungsters, are signed to contracts 1gr 19 The big business of sign- ¥z Roger Hornsby will be under- daken soon. aiitchener, Ont., hoasts of a crack hockey team made up of seven broth- #55, , seemed to be mere | | Ruel, him and | Each | Fuente | 1923, and I became roommates. D closed the matter. I was named field captain of the club, an empty title in base ball. But the responsibility, as I took it, meant & more intense study of the plavers and the game Itself. I played my hardest that year. My batting aver- age went up to .282. 1 held my own in fielding. The club just squeezed |inte the first dlvision We had to beat the Red Sox to turn the trick 1 got a three-base hit off Fullerton, with two on. The drive won the game for Washington. I learned that season why the out- standing stars of the game reached and held places at the top. They had natural ability in the first place. To this they added the grace of work- ing hard, without which no one can gain a lasting succ Furthermore, they used their h They didn't know what the word loaf meant while on the ball field. They were full of fighting spirit. Ability, hand- work and headwork, along with cour- age and confidence, make an almost unbeatable combination. ds. Severe, but Just, Critics. The fans love to see these qualities on the ball fleld. They may jeer the sluggers wh they strike out. They may hoot the star base runner when he is caught. They may boo a top- notch infielder or outfielder when he makes an error at a critical time. But always they are liberal with ap- plause for a good play on attack or defense. Close followers of base ball take the game seriously. This is es- pecially true of the men and boys who sit in the bleachers. They are the backbone of the game. They are severe critics, but invariably just one: Players like Ruth, Cobb, Collins, Sisler, Heilman, Williams Rice, Judge, Ward, Dugan, Scott, Ger ber, Peckinpaugh, Goslin, Jamieson, Schalk, B: ler, Johnson, Fa- ber, Coveleskie, Shocker, Thurston Pennock, Whitehill, Rommel, Sewell and Kamm, to mention a few in the Amerclan League, are prime favor- ites with the fans because, in addi- tion to being great players, they are fighting for every advantage. They can generally be depended upon to deliver in the pinch. The fan wor- ships the player who is at his best in a tight place. Not all playvers are great who come through in the pinch. But no player can reach the heights ot stardom unless he has the abilit to do his best work in an emergency I learned before I bec ager the danger that always lurked in the bats of men like Ruth, Cobk Speaker, Collins and Sisler. Ruth, of course, was the hardest hitter of the lot. Cobb and Collins were the most scientific. An infleld would have to play deep for Ruth. If he topped a ball and hit a slow one in- stead of a long clout, the chances were he would reach first safely. Like the others mentioned, he was light- ning fast on the base path. Keep Inficlders Hustling. Cobb, Speaker, Cellins and Sisler always kept an infleld on its toes. They were not essentially right-field balls in the old days. It read: [ If the pitcher repeatedly failed to deliver a fair bail to the striker the umpire was notifled to call one ball land if the pitcher persisted in such action—it will be noted that the rules made it appear that the pitcher might be a contrary cuss—the umplre was instructed to call two and three balls. It three balls were called the striker could go to first without being put out. No unfair ball was called on the first all dellvered. The reason for this was in the fact that the pitcher was supposed to have one chance to got the range between home plate and the place from which he let the ball go. The fair balls were those which cere delivered to the bat, “high” or low,” as the batsman called for them and which were not delivered by an overhand threw or by a round-arm throw, as in cricket. If the ball was delivered by the pitcher to the striker and accidentally hit the bat of the striker it was a dead foul. There are fouls in these days, but most of them are lively ‘When the striker took his position he was compelled to stand astride the line of home base and one foot away from ¢he base. If he Infringed upon |the conditions of the rule the umpire could call a foul strike, and If three foul strikes were called the striker was out. The men who stood at the plate in those days with their bats over their shoulders had to watch pretty carefully to see that they were astride of the line of home plate. The practice of pounding home plate with the bat, which continues to this day, was largely the result of the striker in the old times making sure that he was properly lined up opposite the plate and that he would not be likely to &tep over the Imaginary line when he swung at the ball. There were more rulings on foul strikes than there were on unfalr balls, to tell the truth, because every umpire was de- termined that the striker should not gain any advantage over the bitcher, who had to work hard with his un- derhand delivery against the big fel- lows who lined up against him. The striker could call for either a high or a low ball.. The former was from the waist to the shoulder and the latter between the knee and the waist. Three strikes were out on the bound, as well as on the fly. No strike was called upon the first ball delivered unless the striker swung at the ball. Here was one of the oddest of provisions in the strike rule: "No strike shall be called when the ball is struck at for the purpose of wilfully striking out.” Imagine a plaver of these days walking to the bat to strike out with malice aforethought. The striker was privileged to use his own private bat exclusively, and the rules said that no other player should have the right to use such a bat unless it was by the permission of the owner of the bat. 1 Speaker, | | | | | MINE BOY TO MANAGER Depicting His Meteoric Rise in Base Ball to Leadership of the World Champions. BY STANLEY (Bucky) HARRIS. Chapter 30—Some Secrets of Greatness. ONIE BUSH succeeded Clyde Milan as Washington's manager in He came to the club as a player the previous year. That was a big jump for the youngster whose eyes had almost popped out of his head in watching Bush per- form in an exhibition game in Wilkes-Barre 10 years before. tinued to room together while Bush was in charge of the club. reported in Tampa, I suggested we change the arrangement, might not look good for a player to room with his bass. “If I don’t worry about it, why should you?” was all Bush said. That He We con- ‘When I I thought it the case with They could, and left and center. I had to play them. This hitters, as is often left-handed batters, often did, hit to found a second baseman closer to the bag for gave them the percentage. If they hit hetween first and segond, the second baseman would have to hustle to field the ball. If they hit to left, the third baseman or shortstop would have a lang throw to first and a fast man to beat with the ball. They seldom hit at bad balls., Washington pitchers were instruct- ed never to groove one for Ruth if he came up With men on the bases They would work on him in an effort to make him bite at bad balls. A hitter of Ruth's type is more apt to swing on a bad ball than a choke or slap hitter. 1f Ruth has any real batting weakness no one has dic- covered it vet. He fs apt to break up a game with a long hit any time. QGoslin is a hitter on the Ruth order. He may give the Babe a race for home run honors this year. If Rutl: came up with no one on last year, our pitchers would piteh to him as to any other dangerous batter. They would gamble with him, in other words. Cobb isn't quite as dangerous a hitter as when I first came to the American League. His age is begin- ning to tell on him, if only slightly. But he still is to be feared at any time and by any pitcher. He always will be as long as he can swing a bat. His clubmate, Harry Heilmann, is the most dangerous right-handed hitter in the league. Like all great Latters, he seldom bites on a bad ball. Lively Ball Helps Batt The lively ball has helped batting averages, no doubt. The records show an increase in the number of .300 hitters, since its introduction. The great batters, however, would be great and their averages high no matter what sort of a ball was used. The so-called lively ball helps the normal .250 hitter most, It makes for longer hits. The fans enjoy seeing a ball hit hard, far and often. They love a free-hitting game. A real pitchers’ battle is a treat to some. From a scientific standpoint it is wonderful. F m that of the average fan it is about as exciting as a_race between snails. He gets his thrills when the hits keep rattling off bats— those of the home club, of course. The lively ball improved my extra < nitting in 19 T watherea 21 doulles, 13 triples and 2 home runs. I stole 23 bases, less than in 1922 and 5 less than 1921. All told, I had a good year. Griffith told me at the end of the season that he was pleased with my work. He asked me if 1 would be satisfied to switch to third ase the next season if he should land Eddie Collins as manager. “Certain I answered. “I'll pla anywhere or do anything you want me to.” (Copyright, 1925.) Tomorrow: A Big League Manager at Fifty Years of Base Ball One of a Series of Articles by John B. Foster Commemorating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the National League This Year. LIV—Changes in the Rules—Calling Balls in the Old Days. T was an odd sort of a rule that they had by which the umpire called ‘All balls delivered to the bat which are sent in over the striker's—there wasn't any term batter—head, or on the ground in front of the home base, or on the side opposite to that which the batsman strikes from, or which hit the striker while he is standing in his proper position, or which are sent within a foot of his person, shall be considered unfair balls, and every such unfair ball must be called in the order of its delivery, after the first ball has been delivered, the first ball to each striker alone to be excepted. In the old times bats were just as precious as they are now. (Copyright, 1925.) Next—The days when it was not necessary for a fielder to hold a ball after.touching a runner. DEMPSEY VS. GIBBONS VICTOR FACES WILLS By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, February 3.—The Yankee Stadium undoubtedly will be the scene of the heavyweight title battle between Champlon Jack Demp- sey and Tommy Gibbons of St. Paul early in the Summer. Gibbons, with whom Tex Rickard came to an agreement yesterday, Is reported as desiring a bout where a decision can be given rather than in Bovle's Thirty Acres, In New Jersey. It is planned to stage the Dempsey Gibbons bout fn June, with the win- ner to meet Harry Wills in Septem- ber. Wills already is under contract with Dempsey. RENZO WHIPS WARD IN A TAME CONTEST Italian Jack Renzo, “the wild bull of Ninth street,” whipped Al Ward, the pride of Fort Myer, in their 10-round bout at the military post last night The bout, as fights go, was rather uninteresting and tame. Ward took the first, third and sixth, while the remainder went to Renzo. In the latter rounds Ward assimilated severe punishment, but only once appeared to be iIn distress, and then Renzo falled to follow up his advantage. Al Forum, the fighting musician of the post, had easy salling with Eddie De Simon, press-agented as the light- welght ampion of the Fort De Simon did not show a thing and ap- peared ready to quit before Forum caught him one flush on the point. The referee had no trouble in count- Ing the fatal 10. The best bout of the evening was staged between Harry Groves, United States Naval Reserves, and Jack Cody of Fort Myer. The boys went at it hammer and tongs and at the end of the four rounds Cody had the edge. Willie Ptomey, the Rosslyn Thun- derbolt, met a mere novice in Steponl of the 3d United States Cavalry. The novice, however, proved quite a tar- tar and the slight shade going to Ptomey was due to his greater ex- perience. The curtain_raiser showed Jimmy rdner of Washington and Kid Bolin of Fort Myer in four rounds of lively battling, with the latter pointing the way. The bout between Young Bowen of Washington and Kid Jullian of Baltimore was cancelled owing to the death of the former's father at New Castle, Pa. Joe Turner of Washington and Harry Nixon of Fort Myer gave an interesting half-hour ehibition of wrestling. Harry Sheehy (Kid Sullivan) took care of the preliminaries, while Col. Erickson officlated in the main bout M'GOWAN, NEW A, L, UMPIRE, BUT 29 NOW By the Associated Press, CHICAGO, February 3.—William A McGowan, latest addition to the um- piring staff of the American League, was 80 young when he broke into the game it was necessary for him to add on a few years to his age in order to get his first job. He celebrated his twenty-ninth birthday January 18, the day President Johnson announced his appointment to his oficial family. This will be McGowan's tenth year as a professional arbiter. McGowan, uniike most youngsters, craved the job when he was a kid He threw away his glove and bat and was one of the few youngsters of his time who had an umpire’s indicator. He became ‘“officially” recognized about 1812, when he became &n um- pire in an Independent league in Phil- adelbhia. The following year he um- pired exhibition Bames between major and minor league clubs. The next year he was chosen to officiate In college games in the East In 1915 McGowan drew his first reg- ular assignment as a member of the staff of the Virginia League. He signed at the age of 20, and was the only arbiter to start and finish the season in that league that year. Since then McGowan's progress has been steady. He went to the Blue Ridge League, the International, the New York State and the Southern Associa- tion, from which he passed to the American League. CHICAGO, February 3.—Max Flack, outflelder, with the St. Louls Cardinals, has filed application for reinstate- ment with Commissioner Landls, He was sent to the Oakland, Calif,, club last season, but refused to report, and was suspended. MY GREATEST THRILL IN SPORT An Interview With SANDY GRISWOLD America’s Oldest N all our great land no man stands out in the sporting world as a greater flgure than that fine old sportsman, Sandy Griswold, sporting editor of the Omaha World- Herald and known Wwherever sports are read. He has been at more ringsides than any living man. Besides being an ardent follower of hoxing, base ball, foot ball and sports of _ this character, Sandy has been an out. doors man all his life. He has hunted big and little game; has camped on many of the greatest spots of the country and knows as much about game and outdoor life as_any professional guide. But, when it came to trying to decide hix greatest thrill, he says he is sure that it came back on that ever memorable night of September 1, 1892, down in dear old New .Or- leans, when John Lawrence Sullivan was given his downfall at the hands of James J. Corbett. In speaking of it Sandy says: SANDY GRISWOLD. “T'he passing of Sullivan and the victory af Corbett wasx in many ways the most remarkable event in the hixtory of sport, and if 1 live as long as the eldest of biblical characters I will never have u greater thrill than I had that mnight. The pilcture is as vivid mow as it has always been. Thousands of the bext known followers of sports from all parts of the world were on hand, and when the two men were in the center of the ring it looked silly even to think that wuch a strip- ling kid ax the 180-pound Corbett could whip big, terrible hitting John L. “In the start Sullivan went after Corbett like @ lion, but Jim backed Sporting Editor and danced and sidestepped away from his blows »nd the second ronnd started with Corbett being hissed with cries ot ‘sprinter.” third, Corbett stepped Sullivan a terrific blow his nose. L, i out and hit whieh breke “The erowd went wild and whe Cerbett bocked John L. into his own corner, men stood om chalrs, hatx were thrown wildly about and pundemonium reigned. “All this made Sullivan only more determined and ho fought like a roaring lion in the next round with- out dolng any damage whatsoever. But Corbett danced around him like a wralith, jabhing and slashing away, but always keeping out of range of John L.'s great right. “Finally, the twenty-first and last round came, with the big fellow tottering on the verge of the abyss and Corbett looking as good and as fresh as ever. His footwork was marvelous and his general artistry something that fairly dismayed even thie oldest of the ringsiders. “He came from his corner with a hound, light as Arlel, flerce ax a tiger, detcrmination glinting from lh.deep-ER eves like rays of greem Eht. “Sullivan looked liké a drunken man and he fell an easy prey. “With an avalanche of rights and lefts, all hard and bone-cvus| ing blows, swung from all angles, Jim never oeased his terrific ax- anult until the paxse old gladiater crumbied beneath his blows to the biack river sands of the old Olympic ring, ome of the mont pitiful objects I had ever beheld. “The scenes which followed truly beggar description. But already 1 had experienced the greatest thrill, in a sporting way, of my life—not exactly satisfactory at the time, be- cause I was with the crowd, and the crowd, to a man, was with Sulllvan.” Temorrow-—Charlie White. ACopyright, 1925, by Public Ledger Compang.} 1925. The Ark of thovenant‘ A Story of Mystery and Adventure BY VICTOR MacCLURE. Copyright, 1924, by Harper & Brothers. (Continued from Yesterday's Star.) , “We take an offering of freedom to our brother man. Our gifts to him can be large. On the other hand, we may end by shattering him and the world he has known Into fine particles of matter—for I dare not prophesy what the fate of the world will be if we are forced to use the helght of our power. This we undoubtedly will use, before we brook that the smallest fraction of the freedom we offer mankind shall be negatived. “I have had so many such a revealing experience, of the high courage that animates every single man of you, that I am certain not one of you will falter in stead- fastness to the last—even if that last should mean oblivion. But my faith is that our cause will prosper, that the League of the Covenant will triumph, “Gentlemen, I salute you! With & deep pride I hail you a band of brothers worthy of their cause! And 1 tell you with that certainty which often comes to & man whose course is almost run that you cannot fail!” That was all he said, with no at- tempt at eloquence or rhetorical ef- fect. in that level, clear, unemotional voide of his. I thought they would have cheered him, but as he finished something like a sob—or half a sigh —went up from the assembled men. 1 suddenly understood. It was the first time that the little chief had acknowledged the drain on his vi- tality from the great wounds on his frail body. To see him there, so gentle, so still and so lovable, and with the knowl- edge that his every minute was one of terrible agony. tugged at the heartstrings and brought a lump to the throat. It was easy to see why the men who faced him were ready to follow him to the death. It came close to 9 o'clock. The master had becn going round the men, shifting from group to group, talking to them quietly. He rose to his feet. “Come, gentlemen,” se said simply. “We must start on our voyage." With Milliken, I was close to him when he spoke, and I turned to him on an impulse. r,” 1 sald, my seaplane? that 1 won't betray— He stopped me with a gesture of his one hand. “Please, Boon, please!” he know you would never betray. It is not that. 1 know, believe me, that a4 man can come to love a machine as he might a gallant horse. But the end is not yet, Boon. The League of the Covenant will win—and in case you will see your Merlin again. 8he may even do a last service examples, “may I follow you on You have my word d. ol to| the League of the Covenant. I have in my mind a use for your plane Trust me—will you, James Boon?" “I'll trust you, sir,” I sort of gulp- ed. And—and if 1 can say it in honor, sir—I'm hoping—I'm hoplng——" 1 broke oft stammering, and he put his hand under my arm with an in- finite kindness. “Why, that's well,” he said. “I am glad that we are not enemies. Come —you shall sail with your friend Dan Lamont and myself on our ship—and Milliken, too.” The men were trooping silently out of the blg recreation cave, and Seton and the master, Dan, Milllken and 1 followed at the rear down to the hangar caves. The Merlin, looking very tiny against the mass of the big ships, lay on a ledge between the two airship caves, and as we passed her Milliken shook a float strut as In farewell, an example 1 had to follow “Hell!" whispered Milliken she just fine!” And, with a shrug of his big shoul- ders, my mechanic began to climb the ladder to the airship's gangway I followed him, and, in spite of the chief's assurance, 1 felt sad to leave my bus Seton was in command of one ship with half the men as crew, and the other was in charge of the chief him- self, with Lord Devonridge as nav- igator. Milliken and Dan and I were with the chlef as he had promised Seton's ship led the way, and when “Isn't her hull had passed through the main | mouth of the great cavern, our mup #ot under way. When we wre, he- yond the big gates, Seton was zeforre with a small party of men (o ciose them. We saw the lights fu the ca ern go out and the big flaps ot the door swing to. We mounteA high, and below us hovered the silvar hull of seton’s ship. At the mouts of the cave some one ran by ths basin's edge with an electric torch —Seton, 1 took it to be. Then even that light vanished, and presently in the dim light of dusk and the stars we saw the hull below us come up. Seton's volce came, casuul millar, through the chief's sensitive radio phone: “All aboard, sir!” very well, then Seton, tne chief said quletly. “Fall astern as we go. Everything as arranged. “Ave, sir!” A gesture from the chief to Devon- ridge and the great ship gathered speed. Into the night we sped—on to Washington CHAPTER 1V. The Laxt Raid, 1 and fa- highly The airships flew at a great height that |a height I had never imagined would have such a low been possible for cubic dirigibles of capacity. We were | shells high above e i) A R A A A RO breathing compressed air, all aper- tures being closed. No sign of earth lay below us, and, except for the barely perceptible throb of the en- gines and the roll of that wonderful navigating globe, nothing indicated the high speed at which we were traveling. No lights were shown ex- tesnally, but the glow of the stars in the tropical night was enough dimly to fliumine the shape of our sister ship astern, a little to the side to escape the backwash of our six propellers. After a steady progress of about seven hours, the sflver hulls were tinted by the first flush of dawn, while the sea of cloud far below us still lay unlit and Inky. We were approaching Windyard Passage, be- tween Cuba and Haiti. Jamaica, though we could see nothing of it or of the sea, lay on our port bow ahead. Quickly the light grew, and the clouds under us, now paling to delicate green, began to break up into patches and to disperse. Then In a flash of time we saw through a break in the vell of cloud an arc of bright, scintillating spots against the dark blue of the sea. The spots were planes, no doubt thrown out to in- tercept the passage of alrships should they approach that way! At a word from the chief, one of the men turned a little wheel, and almost at once both ships floated in a thick vapor that soon dispersed in the alr behind them, while a mass of it yet scemed to cling about the hulls. From below the effect must have been as of two slight wisps of extremely high cloud. We could not sce the planes, nor apparently had they seen the airships, for half an hour passed and we picked up no radio or slgn to indicate that we were pursued. The vapor was turned oft. Day grew, and the ships were safl- ing In a cloudless sky. Below, the masses of Cuba and Haiti faded dim- Iy into the west and southeast. Ahead, the Bahamas dotted the ce- rulean sea. The toe of Florida loom- ed up on the horizon, a biue smear to the north on our port bow. It was 6 o'clock, and we had been crulsing nine hours. At the present speed we were still six hours off Washington Here and there op the sea below us the black dots of steamers were to be seen. One of these, almost gray in tone, sped faster t and even at the distar to sce th it was easy t she was a ship of war. White vapor suddenly wreathed the | gray dot, and under the airships, too far below for harm, there mush- roomed the saffron puffs of bursting shells. Then the open receiver of our ship's ordinary radio sung to the long-short of Morse “Four-fifty meters, the special radlo at once, “Jam!” Pester jumped for the key and be- gan to rattle nonsense on It. The warship below still was partly en- veloped ia vapor, and the air under us was dotted with shell-bursts Then, when we passed over her and she got the angle for guns of greater callber, she opened fire with heavier armament, throwing the big the airships Devonridge,” said trouble them to “Full chief. the range. Devonridge touched the control and the ship leaped to the access of pow- the find speed, “We'll UNITED STATES TIRES ARE G Signed, Sealed USCO Cord e ir standard low. cord. Trpssnaidan 33x4 and 34x4 Inch straighe side. ROBABLY a million car owners during the last year or so have had some dealer try to sell them a tire that he said was just as good as a Royal Cord but lower in price. If a maker’s name was on the tire it was probably an unfamiliar one. If it was not, the dealer perhaps explained that it was made by . some tire makers who did not want to put their name on it because they sold it cheaper than their reg- ular line. The United States Rubber Coin- pany puts its name and trade mark United States Rubber Company - n the others, | this | | { | the chief said|of apprehension, to & man called Sam Pester, and into | You dead straight | back sudaeniy er. The warship was left far behind, still throwing futile shells. “That will do, Pester,” the chief #aid to the man who whs still rattiing the radio key. Then quletly Into the special phone, 1 don’t think we need trouble to jam further wireless messages. The result of any message wil only be to bring air machines Into our path, and 1 would rather we met them speedily than not. We shall have to send them down in any case, and I prefer that they should come down in the sea. You follow?" “Entirely, sir,” came the cool voice of the commander. “But even so some of the pilots may be killed by drowning.” “We must take what measures we can to prevent that,” the chief made answer. “Let us hope there are ships about if we fight.” Now the radio of the warship be- gan to speak unhampered, giving the position and course of the two air- ships. . The result of the broadcast was almost immediate. Milliken touched my arm and point- ed down “A Merlin, Mr. Boon,” he sald Ahead of us and far below a bright silver speck was swooping up at an angle possible only to a Merlin. But I knew that she could not reach us, even if her cabin were alrtight. It was far from certain that she would find the necessary resistance for fly- ing In that extremely thin atmos- phere about the airships. “One of your planes, chief crussed over to say. 1 think.” “Yes, sir,” 1 agreed, perhaps a trifle gloomily. “A Merlin." “We must deal gently with her. he said quietly Just then a over the phone “Ark ot the Covenant, ahey! sald. “What's been done to Lamont Boon,” the “A Merlin voice hafled the ship | and Boon?" It was unmistakably Dick Schuyler. in fnquiry 5 “Answer him for yourself,” the lit- tle leader said softly “We're all right, Dick,” I cried iato the transmitter. “We're both here- Milliken, too—and all well. ‘Good for you, Jimmy,” Dick's voice came cheerily ‘Excuse me if 1 attack, will you?" “Dick,” cried Dan earnestly, attack, for God's sake! a ghost of a chance!” “Hello, Dan!" Dick hailed the matter with you—got lies?” “Dickie! the volce of I turned to the chief don't You haven't “What's the wil- cried Dan, in an agony “I'mgiving it to You can't attack unless airship absolutely lets you.” Shucks!” came the answer. Where are you—how or after cabin? I don't want Lo hit you if I can help jt—- Ray D, Thetford—carefully,” the chief sald, loud enough for his voice to carry into the transmitter, and a slight little fellow by the hatch ma- nipuluted an {nstrument We saw Dick Schuyler's Merlin sit on her tail, and then fiip over easily into her hovering descent. If Dick was piloting he knew his bus distinctly well the (Continued in Tomorrow's Si U.S.RoyalCord he industry’s leading tire, Mads and Delivered on all U.S. Tires. It believes the U. S. Royal Cord, made of Latex-treated Web Cord, to be the finest tire in the world. The USCO Cord has been built to meet the requirements of car owners who want a good low-priced cord—a tire that is fully warranted and will deliver a full money’s worth of dependable service. The makers of Royal and USCO Cords are proud to put their trade mark on the side wall of these tires as a sign and seal of their delivery of an honest value.