In vain he protested "Trial ball," his own side were in agreement, and he was invited to leave the crease. Little Dan said he was there, and there he meant to be.
Unfortunately at that moment a Danite, rigged out as an inspector of police, pulled out a whistle and blew it shrilly. The whole field followed him, and, kicking, blowing, and raving against umpires and their decisions, the hero of the hour was borne forcibly from the field.
A wave of deep distress came over the spectators as Dan Leno was carried out. All felt that, in view of his unexampled performance, he ought to have carried out his bat.
Nobody can say the Danite XI. were not good sportsmen. They all stuck to the wickets till they were carried off.
Harry Randall made a brave show of sticking, but the odds were overwhelming.
Mr. Eugene Stratton's left-handed batting elicited the warmest approval by reason of its novelty. This may be accounted for by the fact that he is an American, and prior to this occasion had never played any game but baseball.
Bowling is Mr. Harry Randall's strong point. His delivery is unique, and the sight of him should be of practical value to aspiring trundlers.
ONE OF THE BROTHERS MACNAUGHTON BATTING. MESSRS HARRY RANDALL AND EUGENE STRATTON IN THE SLIPS.
At lunch time all the Danites were out. Then came the rub. Owing to various eccentricities on the part of the players, a detailed score had not been kept. Captain Leno was appealed to. He said he didn't actually know how many they had made. The runs were so numerous he couldn't keep up with them. However, he observed that his side "felt" as though it had made at least 275 runs. They had probably made twice as many. Accordingly the first innings was closed at that, to the entire satisfaction of everybody, including the spectators, who cried with laughter at this new method of settling off old scores.