"I can't climb 'way up there," said Jimmieboy.

"Then we'll let the door down," returned the voice behind the door. Sure enough down came the door. Jimmieboy opened it and walked in, and there was the Merboy only he had become a goldfish in the aquarium in the nursery again, and was swimming around as unconcernedly as if nothing had ever happened.

"Wasn't it queer?" said Jimmieboy, as he told the story to his father.

"Very," said his father, "but queer things often happen to boys who eat as much fruit cake as you do."

Which was the only explanation of his strange adventure that Jimmieboy ever got.

THE END.

[Ill.u.s.tration: INTERSCHOLASTIC SPORT]

Although the inter-city games at the Berkeley Oval, a week ago Sat.u.r.day, were at no time exciting, because of the marked difference in strength of the contesting teams, yet in many instances the contests were exceedingly interesting, and, take it all in all, the occasion was worthy of a greater display of public interest than it received. I was surprised at the small size of the audience present. I had expected to see twice as many spectators as there were at the Oval on the previous Sat.u.r.day, and no doubt there would have been if the games had been properly advertised. As far as I know not a daily newspaper of this city announced, on that morning, that there would be interscholastic games at the Oval that afternoon. This is not the fault of the newspapers; it is the fault of the managers of the Inter-City games, who should have made it their duty to see that the occasion was duly advertised and heralded.

These same managers were so anxious to fill their coffers as to make all contestants pay an entrance-fee into the grounds, like ordinary spectators. If they had spent a few dollars in reading notices in the daily papers, and a few cents in postage on polite notes to the various City Editors, they would have doubled the number of spectators present, and the contestants could have been admitted free--as they should have been in any case. I hope my words on this subject will not be taken as a complaint or as fault-finding, for they are not so intended. Contestants in track games, as in other sports, can do better if encouraged by a crowd, and so I think, in justice to them, no reasonable efforts should be spared to attract a large audience.

Otherwise the games were pretty well managed. The events might have been run off a little faster, but as it was they did not drag, and by five o'clock the programme was at an end. The advantage of having few entries was clearly demonstrated, and a tiresome succession of trial heats was avoided. How much better it would be if the Interscholastics could be conducted on some such plan next year. The programme was a compromise, and a very good compromise at that. The mile walk and the Junior 220 were omitted, and the bicycle race was made two miles instead of one mile. The latter change was commendable, because the inter-collegiate event is two miles, and so it is in almost all of the other interscholastic programmes of the country. The long distance makes a better race, and the fact that New-Yorkers won every place in the event proves pretty conclusively that the N.Y.I.S.A.A. riders can cover that distance as well as they have been doing the mile.

The Long-Islanders started out with a spurt, and earned 22 of their 33 points in the first four numbers on the card. Stevens, the B.L.S.

sprinter, was responsible for 10 of these, and he showed himself a strong runner. He is tall and slim, somewhat resembling Sherrill in his build, and will no doubt equal Sherrill's and the other champions' time before he retires from the track. He ran a dead heat with Hall in the first 100, doing 10-3/5, and on the run off he was victorious by about a foot in 10-4/5. Hall is not strong after his first dash, and seldom does himself justice in the finals. I believe that if he would train hard, however, he could get staying power that would enable him to do as well in the third heat as he now does at his first trial. Whether under any circ.u.mstances he could defeat Stevens is a question, for the Long-Islander showed his mettle by following up his first hard victory, and winning the 220 in the record time of 22-4/5 seconds. He could have done even better if he had known he was so close to these figures.

Fisher, of Harvard School, who holds the scholastic record of 52-1/5 sec. in the 440, was counted on by the New-Yorkers to take that event.

Fisher has been training for it all spring, but since his injury last year he has not been able to get into very fit condition. He started off at a rapid gait and held the lead for about 300 yards, when his wind gave out, and Jewell, who did so much for Adelphi, in Brooklyn, the previous week, pa.s.sed him easily, and came in an easy winner, with Fisher a weary third. His time, 54-1/5, was 1-2/5 seconds better than his winning time at the L.I.I.S.A.A. games. Meehan again had an easy victory in the half-mile, running as strong and pretty a race as he did the week before. In the mile, Tappen did not appear, having gone out of training, but McCord, who ran third in the N.Y. Interscholastics, came to the scratch and won in 4 m. 58-4/5 sec. He is a promising athlete, and this performance is especially creditable, as it is only his second race. Mosenthal, who beat him home the week before, ran second.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Pell.

Harris. Syme.

FINISH IN FINAL HEAT LOW HURDLES OF THE I.-C. GAMES.]

The high hurdles were run in three pretty heats. Beers came home ahead in the first in 16-1/5 sec. with a couple of Brooklyn men upsetting the hurdles behind him, and Vom Baur took the second heat in 16-2/5. Then came a neck-and-neck race between these two. Beers, who won the Interscholastics, ran well, and both men leaped together all the way.

But Vom Baur was a little stronger at the finish, and left his opponent only a few inches behind him. It was an exciting race, and an exceedingly close finish. Syme won the final of the low hurdles easily, after coming in behind Harris in his heat, and Brooklyn was closed out of any points in the event by Harris and Pell. Powell took the lead in the bicycle, and made creditable time, 5 m. 32-2/5 sec. This was doubtless due to the pacing of Ehrich, which was permitted by the mutual consent of the Interscholastic Committees.

[Ill.u.s.tration: POLE VAULT AT THE I.-C. GAMES.

Simpson clearing the bar at 10 feet.]

The field events were more interesting than the track events, especially the hammer, in which the record was broken by two men. Batterman threw first, and landed at 123 ft. 7/8 in. The record is 117 ft. 4-1/2 in., made by Irwin-Martin at the Interscholastics on May 11th. Irwin-Martin did not appear at the Inter-City games. Having made so good a throw, Batterman felt confident of victory, but Ayres stepped up and threw 123 ft. 11-1/4 in. Neither mark was bettered after these two performances.

Baltazzi kept up to his mark in the high jump, and cleared 5 ft. 10-1/2 in. Then he had the bar put up to 6 ft., and tried for a record. He nearly did it, touching only with his ankle-bone, and he did not try again. My a.s.sumption that Baltazzi would represent the N.Y.A.C. in the International games in September has proved correct. Captain Baxter has asked him to become a member of the N.Y.A.C. team. Cowperthwaite jumped half an inch further than he did at the Interscholastics, but came near being defeated by Jewell, who cleared 20 ft. 10 in., then lost his balance and fell back. Jewell is one of the best all-round men in the schools. Simpson's work in the pole vault was of the first order, his best jump, 10 ft. coming within 3/8 of an inch of the interscholastic record established by him the year before. The accompanying table will show the day's record. The names of the Long Island representatives and schools are _italicized_ for convenience of reference.

RECORD OF THE INTER-CITY GAMES, BERKELEY OVAL, MAY 18, 1895.

Winner Event. (Five Points). Performance.

100-yard dash _Stevens, B. L. S._ 10 4-5 sec.

100-yard dash, for Juniors _Robinson, St. Paul's_ 11 2-5 "

220-yard run _Stevens, B. L. S._ 22 4-5 "

440-yard run _Jewell, Adelphi_ 54 1-5 "

Half-mile run Meehan, Condon 2 m. 9 "

Mile run McCord, Dwight 4 " 58 4-5 "

120-yard hurdle Von Baur, Barnard 15 4-5 "

220-yard hurdle Syme, Barnard 27 3-5 "

Two-mile bicycle Powell, Cutler 5 " 32 2-5 "

Running high jump Baltazzi, Harvard 5 ft. 10 1-4 in.

Running broad jump Cowperthwaite, Col. Gram. 20 " 8 1-2 "

Pole vault Simpson, Barnard 10 "

Throwing 12-pound hammer Ayers, Condon 123 " 11 1-4 "

Putting 12-pound shot Ayers, Condon 40 "

Second.

Event. (Three Points).

100-yard dash Hall, Yale 100-yard dash, for Juniors Wilson, Barnard 220-yard run Washburne, Barnard 440-yard run Draper, Cutler Half-mile run _Hollingworth, Poly. Prep._ Mile run Mosenthal, Sachs 120-yard hurdle Beers, D. L. S.

220-yard hurdle Harris, Cutler Two-mile bicycle Mortimier, Blake Running high jump Wenman, Drisler Running broad jump _Jewell, Adelphi_ Pole vault Paulding, Drisler Throwing 12-pound hammer Batterman, Harvard Putting 12-pound shot Bigelow, W. & K.

Third Event. (One Point).

100-yard dash _Stevenson, Poly. Prep._ 100-yard dash, for Juniors Armstead, Berkeley 220-yard run _Underhill, Poly. Prep._ 440-yard run Fisher, Harvard Half-mile run _Van Orden, Poly. Prep._ Mile run _Romer, Adelphi_ 120-yard hurdle Moeran, Berkeley 220-yard hurdle Pell, Cutler Two-mile bicycle Gillespie, Col. Gram.

Running high jump _Gunnison, Adelphi_ Running broad jump Powell, Cutler Pole vault Hurlburt, Berkeley Throwing 12-pound hammer _Fairbank, St. Paul_ Putting 12-pound shot

Points. Points made by Event. N. Y. L. I. Schools.

100-yard dash 3 6 Barnard 21 100-yard dash, for Juniors 4 5 Condon 15 220-yard run 3 6 Cutler 13 440-yard run 4 5 _Adelphi_ 10 Half-mile run 5 4 B. L. S 10 Mile run 8 1 Harvard 9 120-yard hurdle 9 0 _Poly. Prep._ 7 220-yard hurdle 9 0 _St. Paul's_ 6 Two-mile bicycle 9 0 Col. Gram. 6 Running high jump 8 1 Drisler 6 Running broad jump 6 3 Dwight 5 Pole vault 9 0 Berkeley 3 Throwing 12-pound hammer 8 1 Yale 3 Putting 12-pound shot 8 1 Sachs 3 __ __ D. L. S. 3 93 33 W. & K. 3 Blake 3 ___ 126

Next Sat.u.r.day the schools of the Pennsylvania Inter-academic League will meet on Franklin Field, Philadelphia, to decide the championship of the a.s.sociation in track athletics. I expect to see Jones of Penn Charter, who did 10-3/4 in the 100, last year, take the event again this spring, with Hunsberger, his schoolmate, second. Unless some new man develops, Branson of Penn Charter and Remington of De Lancey will fight it out between them for first in the high hurdles. Jones should be heard from again in the 220, and McCarty of Germantown will probably take the quarter. Thackara will push him. Thackara will also have a close contest with Hedges in the half-mile, as both are good men, and Thorpe of Penn Charter will see that they make their best time. Branson has a record of 5 feet in the high jump, and it is doubtful if any one else in the I.A.A.L. can better it. The pole vault is uncertain, but Beasley of Germantown has cleared nearly 8 feet. The running broad will probably go to Remington, whose record is 18 feet 5-3/4 inches, but it will be closely contested by Hunsberger and Shoenhut. As Boyd of Cheltenham M.A.

will not contest this year, the hammer and shot are uncertainties, and will go to new men.

An unusually large number of schools came into the I.A.B.B. League this year, and some good games were the result. Germantown Academy and Cheltenham M.A. defeated all their opponents, and met last Friday to decide which school should fly the championship banner. The game was played too late in the week for me to be able to notice it in this Department, but I shall treat of it next time. The De Lancey School stands third in the race, with two defeats. Cricket is not a regular I.A.A.A. sport; but a cup, offered by the Haverford College Cricket Club, was contested for last year, and has been played for again this year by a number of the schools in the league. In 1894 De Lancey headed the list, with Germantown, Penn Charter, Haverford Grammar, and Episcopal Academy following in the order named. The struggle this spring will be between Penn Charter and De Lancey, neither having yet suffered defeat. Penn Charter has two strong bowlers in Jones and Brown but in my opinion neither one is quite up to Graves, De Lancey's plucky little, all-round cricketer.

The next three weeks will see some hard training among the athletes of the New England schools, for all the princ.i.p.al scholastic track meets in that region come during the first days of June. The first important meeting will be the dual games between Andover and Worcester Academy, which will probably be held in Worcester, on June 1st. Then the Interscholastic games of the New England League come, at Cambridge, on June 15th, and they will be preceded on June 8th by the Western Ma.s.sachusetts I.S.A.A. games at Amherst, and by the Connecticut I.S.A.A.

games at Hartford. At the latter we shall see some records broken, for Beck of Hillhouse High is throwing the hammer (16 lbs.) 111 feet in practice, and is putting the shot (also 16 lbs.) 39 feet. He is sure to add ten points to the New Haven school's score.

At the meeting of the N.E.I.S.A.A., held in Boston, May 2d, the legislators very wisely voted to keep men over twenty years of age out of all interscholastic contests. Cushing Academy and Phillips Andover wanted to change the const.i.tution so that young men over twenty years of age, if at school, could partic.i.p.ate in games held under the rules of the N.E.I.S.A.A. But, as I antic.i.p.ated, they found few supporters, and the motion to refer the question to a committee was promptly defeated, and the subject dropped. Lynn High and Mechanics' High schools applied for membership in the League, and were admitted. The New England a.s.sociation is now the largest interscholastic organization in the country, having twenty-eight schools in its membership.

The dual games between Phillips Andover and Worcester academies will be close, and will furnish an exciting contest. It seems a difficult problem at this early date to name the winner, for there are so many unknown quant.i.ties to consider. Nevertheless, the 100 will probably rest between Senn, P. A., and Bryant, W. A., with Barker, P. A., third; and the winner should certainly cover the distance in 10-3/5. The order of the 220 is likely to be Gaskell, P. A., Barker, W. A., and Woodward, P. A.; but as none of them are crack men, the time will be slow. Laing, P. A., and Fish, W. A., will have a tussle for supremacy in the quarter, and will make good time. Laing is the better of the two, and will probably take the half-mile, with Gaskell and Tyler, both P. A., behind him. Richardson, of the same school, will finish first in the mile, with Milner, W. A., a close second, and Lewis, P. A., behind him. Clare of Worcester ought to get the high hurdles away from Hine, who is Andover's best man over the sticks; but Hine will undoubtedly take first in the low hurdles. Barker, W. A., will push him hard, and Fish should come in third. Lockwood, W. A., will have an easy time of it in the walk, and it is uncertain if Andover has any one good enough to secure better than third place. The bicycle race will also go to Worcester, with Crouse, P. A., possibly in one of the places. Holt of Andover should take the shot event, and he will earn second in the hammer; while Edmunds, W. A., will reverse matters by getting first in the hammer and second in the shot. Andover ought to get third in this last event with Maltby. The broad jump is the most doubtful of any event, as neither school has any very good man for that number on the card. The high jump, however, will stay at Worcester in all three places, the probable order being Johnson first, Edmunds second, and Coelith third. Johnson will also win the pole vault for Worcester, as he can clear 10 feet 8 inches. Lewis, P. A., will come nearest to him.

THE GRADUATE.

RECALLED STORMY TIMES.