'Well, anyway, I was halfway
between him and the number one--you know, where they run right after
they hit the ball?'
"'You mean first base?' I asked.
"'I don't know,' he said. 'I don't know what they call it. I was sitting
in the middle there.'
"'How many ball games have you seen since I became a ballplayer, Dad?' I
wanted to know.
"'This is the first one,' he said.
"Well, he stayed in New York with me for a few weeks, and we had a
great time. Finally, he had to go back to Cleveland. After he'd left,
the newspapers heard about my Dad and they wanted to know his address
back home. So I gave it to them, and doggone if they didn't send
reporters and photographers to Cleveland to interview him.
"They took his picture and asked him a lot of questions. One of the
things they asked him was whether he had ever played very much baseball
himself.
"'Oh,' he told them, 'of course I did, when I was younger. I used to
love to play baseball. I used to be a pitcher, just like my son
Richard--I mean, like my son Rube.'
"'Are you proud of your son?' they asked him.
"'I certainly am,' Dad said. 'Why shouldn't I be? He's a great baseball
player, isn't he?'"
The group of Ozites was silent for a few moments as the Forest Monster
carried them along toward Yoraitia.
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