Cricket 1890

FEB. 27, 1890. CKICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. 29 A S I NG L E S TUMP . B y A l l is o n G . 0 . P a in . “ N o,” said Ducksworth, “ I ’ve had an uneventful season, nothing worth com ­ memorating. In fact, in some matches I wasn’t put on at all, if you’ll believe me. But if you care for a little anecdote of my childhood------ ” I replied that ihe record of the early years of distinguished men was always deeply interesting, or words to that eifect. Not that I consider Ducksworth a very distinguished man, but I was anxious to extract a few more reminiscences from him—and I succeeded. It seems that when Ducksworth was a boy he used to practise bowling at a single stump. Many boys have doubtless done the same with more or less success, but Ducksworth’s success, even at the early age of ten, was always more. One morning before breakfast, when he was practising in a field that adjoined his residence, and had just knocked the stump down as usual, he became aware that he was not alone, as the old-fashioned romances elegantly phrase it. A gentle­ man- all Ducksworth’s acquaintances are gentlemen—was watching his efforts with intense interest. When he saw the stump knocked down he drew a shilling from his pocket, and said, “ This shall be yours if you will knock that stump down next ball.” Of course Ducksworth did it at on c e! “ Good boy,” said the stranger, “ you will bowl for your school eleven. Now hit it again, and I ’ll give you a sovereign.” Some boys would have been flurried by that offer, but Ducksworth was perfectly calm. Perhaps sovereigns were more plentiful with him then than they are now. Not only did he hit the stump this time, but he sent it clean out of the ground, and the stranger looked at him in astonishment. “ You’ll bowl for your county,” he said this time. But he didn’t give Ducksworth the sovereign ; he pocketed it, and simply said, “ Try ■'nee m ore.” Now as he had already hit the stump three times running, this request seemed rather unreasonable. However, the dauntless youth gave one glance at the stump and another at the stranger, and delivered the ball with terrific speed. It was a very near thing this time ! The ball pitched about a foot wide to leg, broke in, and just grazed the stump not an inch from the top. “ You’ll bowl for England,” said the stranger, perfectly thunderstruck at this marvellous feat. “ What is your name, m y b oy? ” “ George Washington Ducksworth,” said the lad fearlessly (G .W .D . is re­ sponsible for this adverb), whereupon the gentleman wrote something on a curious- looking slip of paper and handed it to him, saying, “ Keep this, my boy, and one of these days you will find it useful.” Ducksworth was so disappointed to find the sovereign withheld, that he put thepaper into his pocket without looking at it, and began to cry as soon as the gentleman’s back was turned, ft was 9001 } after this that Ducksworth senior fell into serious financial diffi­ culties— through no fault of his own, of course, for the honour of the Ducksworths is proverbially stainless— but still, there they were, and what is more, they grew from bad to worse. A t last, one night the distressed parent informed his family that unless they could raise a hundred pounds by the next morning, he was a ruined man. Suddenly Ducksworth bethought him of the stranger’s gift. Drawing the slip of paper from his pocket, he handed it to his father, saying, “ I don’t know if this will be of any use, it was given to me the other day by a gentleman because I bowled well.” The father unfolded the paper and gazed at his son in astonish­ ment. “ Thank heaven ! ” he exclaimed, “ we are saved from ruin.” It was a cheque for a hundred pounds. When Ducksworth got to this point, I quite thought he had reached the climax o f the story. But it seems that I had much underrated his staying power. This was but the opening chapter, other marvels were to follow. The cheque was duly presented and honoured, and young Ducksworth asked to be allowed to keep it as a memento of that troublous time. It is needless to say that from that day his father’s affairs took a decided turn for the better. Years rolled by. Ducksworth with a few friends was spending his usual snmmer holiday in the south of Italy (I think Margate is the most southerly point that he has reached since I have had the pleasure of his acquaintance). Unfor­ tunately, they fell into the hands of brigands, and after a desperate struggle were completely overpowered. The captain of the brigands, who spoke excellent English, demanded a ransom of £10,000. “ Never,” said the dauntless Ducksworth ; “ never,” said the other members of the party. “ Very well then,” said the captain, “ you will die to-morrow. In the meantime you are free to amuse yourself in any way you think proper.” All the others were simply prostrated with alarm, but Ducksworth never lost his nerve. He set up his walking-stick in the ground and offered sixpence to anyone who could hit it with a stone at twenty yards’ distance. Their agitation was such that not one o f them could get within a foot of it. Whereupon, Ducks­ worth picked up a pebble and knocked the stick out of the ground at his first hit. “ That was well done,” said the captain, “ now do it again.” He did it—the captain was delighted. “ Ask me any favour within reason and I will grant it.” I 3 '-* 8 3 “ The life of that boy,” said Ducks­ worth, pointing to the youngest of the party. “ Good,” said the captain, “ now try again.” Five times running did Ducksworth hit that stick, and every time the captain granted him a life. “ Now,” said Ducksworth, “ as all my comrades are safe, let the next throw be for m y own life,1' “ Good,” said the captain, “ but we must make the conditions harder.” He took up the stick and moved it some forty yards further off. “ H it that if you can.” It was, indeed, an anxious moment. Ducksworth shook hands with each of his six friends, said farewell to them, and left a few simple directions about his funeral and the disposal o f his property. “ I don’t expect to do it,” he said, “ but at any rate I have saved you fellows, that’s some consolation.” They all sobbed like children, and announced their intention o f not surviving him if he failed. Ducksworth choae a small, well- rounded pebble and flung it almost at random, so it seemed. But it struck the stick fairly and squarely in the middle ! The six friends immediately fainted away on the spot. The brigands in alarm dropped their carbines and began crossing themselves and muttering Latin. Ducks­ worth’s explanation is that they took him for one o f the saints, whereas it seems more probable that on the contrary, — but no matter. The captain, with the tears running down his face, grasped him warmly by the hand, and exclaimed, “ Brave man ! I give you your life. Only once have I seen that skill equalled. Many years ago in happier days” — the brigand’s voice faltered— “ in your own land o f England—m y land then— I saw a little boy bowling at a single stump, he hit it four times running, and I gave him-------” “ A cheque for a hundred pounds,” interrupted Ducksworth, “ and here it is,” producing a crumpled slip o f paper, almost illegible. The captain seized it, and gazed at him in astonishment. *■How did this come into your posses­ sion ? he demanded. “ Sir,” said Ducksworth, “ / was that little boy." * # * . * * * * At this point, I regret to say, I began to laugh, and laughed so consumedly, that Ducksworth has not spoken to me since. I sent him a written apology, coupled with a request for further particu­ lars, but he returned it unanswered and unopened. I am truly sorry, as I am by no means sure that the story was finished. When a man has saved his family from ruin and rescued six comrades from a violent death, there seems to be no reason why he should not rise to yet higher things. Besides, there are several points in the narrative that require elucidation. Who was the mysterious stranger who carried cheque-book, pen, and ink with him in his early morning rambles, and signed away a hundred pounds in this fine, free­ handed fashion ? How did he sink so low, or rise so high, as to become captain of a gang of brigands in a foreign land ? Above all, how did Ducksworth the cheque after payment or contrive to raise sufficient funds to take him as far as Italy, and how could any sane brigand suspect such a one o f being able to pay £ 10,000 ? All these questions must remain un­ answered, unless I can pacify Ducksworth, which seems unlikely, “ The rest is gilenoe,’’ NEXT ISSUE, MARCH 27,