In this game of leap frog various tricks are attempted by the leader,
as in the game of “stump master.” Each of the boys following is
expected to do as the leader or to drop out and become “down” himself.
“Torchlight” is to jump with one hand only, using the other to wave
his cap as if it were a torch. In “hats on deck” each jumper in turn
is supposed to leave his cap on “down’s” back. Naturally the last one
over may have a large pile of hats to clear. If he disturbs any of
them or knocks them off, he is “it.” “Hats off” means for each jumper
in turn to take his own hat without knocking off any of the others. In
all games of leap frog it is considered proper for the jumper to
direct “down” to give him the kind of a “back” he desires.
Consequently he will say high or low back, depending upon whether he
wishes “down” to stand almost upright or to bend close to the ground.
SQUASH
This game is similar to racquets, but is less violent or severe on a
player. It is played in a court 31 feet 6 inches wide. The front wall
must be 16 feet high. The service line above which the ball must
strike on the serve is 6 feet from the floor. Below this line and 2
feet from the floor is the “tell tale,” above which the ball must
strike in play. A squash racket is similar to a tennis racket, but
slightly smaller.
In squash, a game is “fifteen up.” At the score of 13 a player may
“set the score” back to 3 or 5, after which the player first winning
either 3 or 5 points, or aces, as they are called, is the winner. The
object of this is to endeavour to overcome the advantage that the
server may have.
In a regulation squash court the spectators’ gallery is above the
walls of the court, and the game is played in the pit below the
gallery.
STUMP MASTER
In this game one of the players is chosen master. It is usually the
one who first suggests the game by saying. “Let’s play stump master.”
He then leads the line of players, going through various “stumps,” or,
as we should call them now, “stunts,” such as climbing fences and
trees, turning somersaults, crawling through narrow places, or
whatever will be difficult for the rest to copy. The game is capable
of all sorts of variations.
SUCKERS
This can scarcely be called a game, but the use of the sucker is so
familiar to most boys that a description of it is surely not out of
place in this chapter. A piece of sole leather is used, three or four
inches square. It is cut into a circle and the edges carefully pared
thin. A hole is made in the centre and a piece of string or top twine
is knotted and run through the hole. The sucker is then soaked in
water until it is soft and pliable. The object of the sucker is to
lift stones or bricks with it. This, too, is of especial interest in
New England towns, where there are brick sidewalks. The sucker is
pressed firmly on a brick by means of the foot, and it will be found
to adhere to it with sufficient force to lift it clear of the ground.
TETHER BALL
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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