Page:Base-ball ballads (IA baseballballads00rice).pdf/41

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THE CLIMAX OF FAN JOY.

The fans arise and yelp in glee, while hats are thrown in air;
The mighty chorus echoes from the ball yard to the square;
It rumbles down the valley and resounds from peak to peak,
And leagues away it travels on in one discordant shriek.

They stamp and shout in maddened rout; they joyfully embrace—
A smile of perfect happiness illumines every face;
Nor does the tumult quickly die, but, in exultant roar,
It gathers volume like the waves which lash the ocean's shore.

"Then Larry must have made a hit and cleared the sacks," you say,
"Thus winning with a mighty swat the hard-fought, brilliant fray!"
No, Larry didn't make a hit; the cause of all this din,
The inshoot caromed off his bat and cracked the umpire's shin.

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