PLAYERS.—The players are divided into two parties of equal number. There is no regular formation or disposition of the players over the ground. Each party should select an umpire, whose duty it is to stand at one end of the curtain on the opponents' side, where he can watch the opponents and keep score.
RULES.—The ball is thrown back and forth from one side to the other over the curtain, and should be caught before it can touch the floor. Players will try to deceive their opponents as to the point where the ball is to cross the curtain, and the more rapid the play is the more alert the players will have to be. The great sport of the game consists in the unexpectedness with which the ball may appear at any given point.
SCORE.—Opponents score one point whenever the ball touches the ground. The side wins which first scores twenty-one points.
This game was originated by Dr. Dudley A. Sargent.
DEAD BALL
10 to 60 players.
Schoolroom.
Gas ball; bean bags.
This game may be played with balls or bean bags. If with balls, a light gas ball is preferable, as for all schoolroom games. From one to three balls or bags will be needed for the game. If the class is a large one, only half the pupils should play at a time; if a small class, all may play at once. The players stand in the aisles or between the seats and desks, and should be scattered around the schoolroom.
The teacher puts the balls in play by tossing them one at a time upward, so they will land in different directions in the room. The players, as opportunity avails, without leaving their places on the floor, try to catch a ball and toss it in the same way to some other player. It is not permissible to throw the ball at another player; it must always be tossed in the air. Any player who does not catch the ball, but instead is touched by it, is "dead" (out of the game), and must sit down. Each player tosses the ball upward in some new direction as soon as he receives it. This play continues until only one player remains standing, who is considered the winner.