 sort, there was a glut of it, always, around Arthur. You
couldn't throw a brick in any direction and not cripple a king. Of course I
couldn't get these people to leave off their armor; they wouldn't do that when
they bathed. They consented to differentiate the armor, so that a body could
tell one team from the other, but that was the most they would do. So, one of
the teams wore chain-mail ulsters, and the other wore plate armor made of my new
Bessemer steel. Their practice in the field was the most fantastic thing I ever
saw. Being ball-proof, they never skipped out of the way, but stood still and
took the result; when a Bessemer was at the bat and a ball hit him, it would
bound a hundred and fifty yards, sometimes. And when a man was running, and
threw himself on his stomach to slide to his base, it was like an ironclad
coming into port. At first I appointed men of no rank to act as umpires, but I
had to discontinue that. These people were no easier to please than other nines.
The umpire's first decision was usually his last; they broke him in two with a
bat, and his friends toted him home on a shutter. When it was noticed that no
umpire ever survived a game, umpiring got to be unpopular. So I was obliged to
appoint somebody whose rank and lofty position under the government would
protect him.
    Here are the names of the nines:
 
BESSEMERS. ULSTERS.
King Emperor
Arthur Lucius
King Lot King
of Lothian Logris
King of King Marhalt
Northgalis of Ireland
King King
Marsil Morganore
King of King Mark
Little Britain of Cornwall
King King Nentres
Labor of Garlot
King Pellam King Meliodas
of Listengese of Liones
King King of
Bagdemagus the Lake
King Tolleme The Sowdan
la Feintes of Syria
UMPIRE - Clarence.
 
The first public game would certainly draw fifty thousand people; and for solid
fun would be worth going around the world to see. Everything would be favorable;
it was balmy and beautiful spring weather, now, and Nature was all tailored out
in her new clothes.
 

                                   Chapter 41

                                 The Interdict

However, my attention was suddenly snatched from such matters; our child began
to lose ground again, and we had to go to sitting up with her, her case became
so serious. We couldn't bear to allow anybody to help, in this service, so we
two stood watch-and-watch, day in and day out. Ah, Sandy, what a right heart she
had, how
