Twice again the twinge, the skip. He had no idea where he was until the lights of the Caledonia space board shone below. [Illustration] With a weariness that lay almost beyond the limits of thought, he threw his mind back into rapport with the pin-set, fixing the Lady May s projectile gently and neatly in its launching tube. She was half dead with fatigue, but he could feel the beat of her heart, could listen to her panting, and he grasped the grateful edge of a thanks reaching from her mind to his. THE SCORE They put him in the hospital at Caledonia. The doctor was friendly but firm. You actually got touched by that Dragon. That s as close a shave as I ve ever seen. It s all so quick that it ll be a long time before we know what happened scientifically, but I suppose you d be ready for the insane asylum now if the contact had lasted several tenths of a millisecond longer. What kind of cat did you have out in front of you? Underhill felt the words coming out of him slowly.
There are some irregularities which are peculiar to straight bridge that would not apply to auction. These are fully covered by the following description of the game, all other matters, such as the correct card to lead and the manner of combining the hands, have been fully described in connection with auction. _=MAKING THE TRUMP.=_ This is the chief peculiarity in bridge. The trump is not turned up, but the suit is named by the dealer or his partner, after they have examined their cards. In order properly to understand the considerations which guide them in making the trump, one should first be familiar with the values attached to the tricks when certain suits are trumps. The first six tricks taken by one side do not count; but each trick above that number counts toward game according to the following table:-- When Spades are trumps, each trick counts 2 points. ” Clubs ” ” ” ” ” 4 ” ” Diamonds ” ” ” ” ” 6 ” ” Hearts ” ” ” ” ” 8 ” ” there is no trump, ” ” ” 12 ” Better to understand the importance of this variation in value, it should be noticed that the game is 30 points; so that if two partners won 3 by cards with no trump, or 4 by cards with hearts for trumps, they would win the game in one deal. On the other hand, if either of the black suits were trumps, they could not lose the game, even if a slam were made against them. It will thus be evident that two considerations influence the player whose privilege it is to make the trump: First, to win as much as possible, if he has the cards to do it.
In the course of a century the English aristocracy have run the gamut of Quadrille, Ombre, Whist, Écarté, Bézique, Piquet, Rubicon, and Bridge; while the middle classes have stuck steadily to Cribbage for nearly two hundred years. Six of these popular games are strikingly typical of the national character, both in their construction, and in the manner of playing them. These are: Skat in Germany; Cribbage in England; Piquet in France; Conquian in Mexico; Calabrasella in Italy; and Cassino in America. All these are excellent games, and have deservedly survived much more pretentious rivals. With the exception of Skat, little is known of the exact origin of any of these games, although most of them may be traced by their resemblance to more ancient forms. Skat is the most modern, and to-day the most popular, many persons thinking it superior to Whist. The game seems to have originated among the farmers of Thuringia, a province of Saxony, and was probably a variation of the Wendish game of Schapskopf. The first mention of Skat that we can find is in an article in the “Osterländer Blättern,” in 1818. Thirty years later Professor Hempel of Altenburg published the rules and principles of the game under the title: “Das Skatspiel, von J.F.
=_ The player to the right of the dealer has the first say. If he proposes to take a partner as in Solo Whist, he says, “Je demande,” at the same time placing one of his cards face downward on the table. This card must not be shown or named, but must be of the suit which he proposes to make the trump. He is not allowed to announce the suit, so that any player accepting him as a partner does so in ignorance as to whether he will play in belle or in petite. If the demand is accepted, the proposer and his partner make no change in their positions at the table, but must make eight tricks, just as in Solo Whist. If a player cannot propose, he says: “Je passe,” and each of the others in turn from right to left have the opportunity to make a proposal. When any player proposes, any player in turn after him may accept, although such a one may have already passed. If the fourth player proposes, the three others having passed, and no one will accept him he is bound to play solo against three such weak adversaries, and must make five tricks, either in belle or in petite. He is not allowed to play in a plain suit if he has made a simple “demand.” The only solo bids allowed are those for six, eight, or nine tricks, which outrank one another.
This is a very general game amongst schoolboys. Half-Hammer The game of Hop-step-and-jump, Norfolk. This game is played in the west of Sussex, but not in the east. It is played thus by two or more boys. Each boy in his turn stands first on one leg and makes a hop, then strides or steps, and lastly, putting both feet together, jumps. The boy who covers the most ground is the victor.--Halliwell s _Dictionary_. Han -and-Hail A game common in Dumfries, thus described by Jamieson. Two goals called hails, or dules, are fixed on at about a distance of four hundred yards. The two parties then place themselves in the middle between the goals or dules, and one of the players, taking a soft elastic ball, about the size of a man s fist, tosses it into the air, and, as it falls, strikes it with his palm towards his antagonists.
This is risky unless there are one or two small trumps with the A K Q. On the other hand, two Pedroes, with Jack and Low, are not worth bidding more than five on; because it is very unlikely that you will save more than one of the Pedroes, if that. The very fact that you bid five diminishes your chances, for you betray the fact that your only hope is to save a well-guarded Pedro. Long experience with players who bid their hands correctly will give a player a very good idea of what the bidder has in his hand. To the partner this is a great point, for it enables him to judge when to give up points himself, and when to play for his partner to throw them to him. The number of cards asked for by each player should be very carefully noted; for it will frequently happen that the entire trump suit can be located by this means. It is useless to keep anything but trumps, for tricks, as such, have no value, and every card you draw increases your chances of getting another trump. The most important point in the game is to _=cinch=_ every trick in which an adversary plays after you; that is, to play some trump higher than a Pedro, if the Pedroes have not been played, and you do not hold them yourself. Examples of cinching will be found in the Illustrative Hands. If your partner leads a certain winning trump, such as the ace, or the King if the ace is gone, give him the best counting card you have; but if you have two, one of them being Low, give up the lower card first; you may catch something with the Jack or Ten.
=_ Both players having discarded for the crib, the non-dealer cuts the remainder of the pack, and the dealer lifts the top card from the portion left on the table, turning it face up. The two portions being again united, the turned card is placed face up on the pack, and is known as the starter, because it forms the starting-point in the count for every hand and crib. At least four cards must be left in each packet in cutting for the starter. If the starter is found face up, there must be a new deal. If the starter is a Jack, the dealer immediately pegs two points _=for his heels=_. If he does not peg these two holes before he plays a card the score is lost. If the Jack of the same suit as the starter is found in the hand or crib of any player, it is called _=his nobs=_, and when the hand is reckoned up after the play is over, one point may be scored for it. If the dealer exposes more than one card after the pack has been properly cut, his adversary may choose which of the exposed cards shall be the starter. In order to understand the motives which govern the players in discarding, and the influences which the starter has upon the value of the hands and crib, it will be necessary to describe the objects of the game, before giving the method of play. _=OBJECTS OF THE GAME.
Some lead 10 from Q J 10; 4th-best from K J 10. To the adversaries these leads are often of value, as they are frequently enabled to place the cards very accurately from the information given by the lead itself, regardless of the fall of the cards from the other hands. For instance: Second Hand holds A J of a suit in which King is led; Third Hand plays the Four; Fourth Hand plays the Nine. The leader remains with Q 3 2; Third Hand still has 8 7 6 5; and if he has also the 10, Fourth Hand has no more. Again: The leader shows a suit of six; Second Hand holding two only. If the suit is led a third time it is a doubtful trick, and with four trumps the Second Hand should pass. If the leader shows the exact number of the suit originally led, and then changes to a four-card suit, the adversaries know at least nine of his cards. So obvious is this that it is an almost invariable rule for a player, on quitting his suit, to conceal the length of the second suit led by leading the highest card of a short suit. If it were allowable to exercise some judgment in using these leads, they might not be open to so many objections; but they are worse than useless unless the partner can depend on their being uniformly adopted. _=The Minneapolis Lead.
, till the favoured individual is reached, when it is changed to But you! and his or her shoulder lightly touched at the same time. The first player then runs round the ring as fast as he can, pursued by the other, who, if a capture is effected (as is nearly always the case), is entitled to lead the first player back into the centre of the ring and claim a kiss. The first player then takes the other s place in the ring, and in turn walks round the outside repeating the same formula.--_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 212; Penzance (Mrs. Mabbott). In Shropshire, as soon as the player going round the ring has dropped the handkerchief on the shoulder of the girl he chooses, both players run _opposite ways_ outside the ring, each trying to be the first to regain the starting-point. If the one who was chosen gets there first, no kiss can be claimed. It is often called Drop-handkerchief, from the signal for the chase. The more general way of playing (either with or without words), as seen by me on village greens round London, is, when the handkerchief has been dropped, for the player to dart through the ring and in and out again under the clasped hands; the pursuer must follow in and out through the same places, and must bring the one he catches into the ring before he can legally claim the kiss.
There should be some intelligible system of proposing, so that the players may understand each other. The eldest hand should not propose except on strong trumps, and this should be a warning to other players not to accept him on trump strength alone. Four trumps with two or three honours may be called strong; or five trumps, even without an honour. Five trumps with two or more honours is great strength. Any player other than the eldest hand should propose on general strength and the player accepting him should do so on trump strength. Some such distinction should be clearly understood, in order that there may be no such contretemps as two players proposing and accepting on trumps alone and finding themselves without a trick in the plain suits after the trumps are drawn. If the eldest hand is strong in trumps, but has not four sure tricks, he should pass, which will give him an excellent opportunity to accept a player proposing on general strength in the plain suits. If the proposal should be accepted before it comes to his turn, the eldest hand should be in a good position to defeat it. If any player, other than the eldest hand, has sufficient trump strength to justify a proposal, he will usually find that he can risk a solo; or by passing, defeat any proposal and acceptance that may be made. _=Accepting.
He saw his own face, handsome and masculine, shining out of her mind. He saw himself very far away and he saw himself as she hated him. She hated him in the secrecy of her own mind. She hated him because he was--she thought--proud, and strange, and rich, better and more beautiful than people like her. He cut off the sight of her mind and, as he buried his face in the pillow, he caught an image of the Lady May. She _is_ a cat, he thought. That s all she is--a _cat_! But that was not how his mind saw her--quick beyond all dreams of speed, sharp, clever, unbelievably graceful, beautiful, wordless and undemanding. Where would he ever find a woman who could compare with her? --CORDWAINER SMITH [Illustration] * * * * * End of Project Gutenberg s The Game of Rat and Dragon, by Cordwainer Smith *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GAME OF RAT AND DRAGON *** Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renamed. Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S.
Sometimes several may agree to hide the article, and only one to be the finder. In the Penzance game one child is blindfolded, other children hide something, then shout the words. Search is then made for the hidden object: when found, the finder in his turn is blindfolded. There appears to be some mistake in the description of this game. Hinch-Pinch The name of an old Christmas game mentioned in _Declaration of Popish Impostures_, 1603. Hinmost o Three A game played on village greens.--Dickinson s _Cumberland Glossary, Supplement_. Hirtschin Hairy The players (boy or girl) cower down on their haunches, sit doon curriehunkers, and hop round and round the floor like a frog, clapping the hands first in front and then behind, and crying out, Hirtschin Hairy. It is sometimes called Hairy Hirtschin. In Lothian the players try to knock each other over by hustling against one another.
Instead of making the whole back line available for the Blow at the Rear, the middle or either half may be taken. (3) In the Defensive Game, a force, the defenders, two-thirds as strong as its antagonist, tries to prevent the latter arriving, while still a quarter of its original strength, upon the defender s back line. The Country must be made by one or both of the players before it is determined which shall be defender. The players then toss for choice of sides, and the winner of the toss becomes the defender. He puts out his force over the field on his own side, anywhere up to the distance of one move off the middle line--that is to say, he must not put any man within one move of the middle line, but he may do so anywhere on his own side of that limit--and then the loser of the toss becomes first player, and sets out his men a move from his back line. The defender may open fire forthwith; he need not wait until after the second move of the first player, as the second player has to do. COMPOSITION OF FORCES Except in the above cases, or when otherwise agreed upon, the forces engaged shall be equal in number and similar in composition. The methods of handicapping are obvious. A slight inequality (chances of war) may be arranged between equal players by leaving out 12 men on each side and tossing with a pair of dice to see how many each player shall take of these. The best arrangement and proportion of the forces is in small bodies of about 20 to 25 infantry-men and 12 to 15 cavalry to a gun.
His ears were half chewed off from the first fights in which he had engaged. He was a serviceable fighter, nothing more. Woodley grunted. Underhill glanced at him oddly. Didn t Woodley ever do anything but grunt? Father Moontree looked at the other three. You might as well get your Partners now. I ll let the Scanner know we re ready to go into the Up-and-Out. THE DEAL Underhill spun the combination lock on the Lady May s cage. He woke her gently and took her into his arms. She humped her back luxuriously, stretched her claws, started to purr, thought better of it, and licked him on the wrist instead.
II. In games of this description each party is bound by the move dispatched; and in this connection the word move refers to what is intelligibly written, or delivered _viva voce_. In any game the announcement of a move which does not include the actual transfer of a man from one square to another, shall be considered as a move not intelligibly described within the meaning of this section. III. Each party must be bound by the move communicated in writing, or by word of mouth, to the adversary whether or not it be made on the adversary’s board. If the move so communicated should prove to be different from that actually made on the party’s own board, the latter must be altered to accord with the former. IV. If either party be detected in moving the men when it is not their turn to play, or in moving more than one man (except in castling) when it is their turn to play, they shall forfeit the game, unless they can show that the man was moved for the purpose of adjusting or replacing it. V. If either party has, accidentally or otherwise, removed a man from the board, which has not been captured in the course of the game, and made certain moves under the impression that such man was no longer in play, the moves must stand, but the man may be replaced whenever the error is discovered.
He blushed, clear to the top of his bald head. A subtle, nasty operator, he said gruffly. And he s had the gall to stick it in me pretty badly, Wally. What Sime says is true. Well, this we wouldn t stand for. I didn t give a care if every gambling house in Nevada went broke. But Smythe was in the Lodge. And it finally made sense that the Lodge had sent me to bail him out. I gave old Maragon my mental apology. The Grand Master wouldn t stand still for _anybody s_ making a fool out of the Lodge.
[Then follow verses beginning--] Whose nuts shall we gather away? We ll gather [Minnie Brown s] nuts away. Whom shall we send to fetch them away? [And the final verse is--] We ll send [Johnny Cope] to fetch them away, Fetch them away, fetch them away, We ll send [Johnny Cope] to fetch them away, On a cold and frosty morning. --Newbury, Berks (Mrs. S. Batson). VI. Who will go gathering nuts in May, Nuts in May, nuts in May? Who will go gathering nuts in May, At five o clock in the morning? --N.-W. Lincolnshire (Rev. ---- Roberts).
Some judgment is necessary in deciding whether or not to draw before closing. If a player is allowed to draw, he may get a trump, or a guard to one that you suspect he has. Suppose he has exchanged the Nine for the Ten, and you have Ace and royal marriage; it is very likely that the Ten is unguarded, and if you close without drawing you may catch it, which will make your three trumps alone good for 68. This also shows that the player should not have taken up the Ten until he wanted to use it. Nothing is gained by closing, except compelling the adversary to follow suit; because if you close to make him schwartz, and he gets a trick, you count two only; if you close to make him schneider, and he gets out, you count one only. If you fail in the first case, he counts three, and any failure will give him two points. THREE-HANDED SIXTY-SIX. This is exactly the same as the ordinary game, except that the dealer takes no cards, but scores whatever points are won on the hand he deals. If neither of the others score, either through each making 65, or one failing to claim 66, the dealer scores one point, and the others get nothing. The dealer cannot go out on his own deal.
For instance: Several discards have been made, and each player suspects the other holds three trumps, with three tricks to play. The Queen is led, and the adversary holds K A 7. If he could pass this trick, he must lie tenace; but as he has to win it with the King, he gives tenace to his adversary, who evidently has J and another. When the dealer is four, the player may stand on much weaker hands. It is usually best to lead from guarded suits, in preference to single cards. Lead the best of a suit if you have it. If the third trick is the first you win, and you have a trump and another card, lead the trump; but if you have won two tricks, lead the plain suit. _=THE DEALER.=_ When the player asks for cards, the dealer knows that his adversary probably does not hold a jeux de règle. The dealer must not be too sure of this, however, for proposals are sometimes made on very strong hands in order to try for the vole, or to make two points on the refusal.
This game has been very popular among schoolboys in all ages. Mr. Micklethwaite, in a paper on the Indoor Games of School Boys in the Middle Ages (_Arch. Journ._ xlix. 322), gives instances of finding figures of this game cut in the cloister benches of Gloucester Cathedral and elsewhere, and there are several on the twelfth century tomb at Salisbury, miscalled Lord Stourton s, and also at Norwich Castle. For the date of these boards, Mr. Micklethwaite says for the last three centuries and a half cloisters everywhere in England have been open passages, and there have generally been schoolboys about. It is therefore not unlikely that they should have left behind them such traces as these play-boards. But if they are of later date they would not be found to be distributed in monastic cloisters with respect to the monastic arrangement, and we do find them so.
=_ Seats and deal are cut for, the lowest cut having the choice, and dealing the first hand. The Ace is low, the King high. _=Stakes.=_ Each deal is a game in itself, and the loser pays one counter for it. If the game is a tie, called a _=tableau=_, each puts up a counter for a pool, and the winner of the next game takes the pool, in addition to the counter paid by his adversary. If the next game is also a tableau, each player adds another counter to the pool, and so on until it is won. _=Dealing.=_ Ten cards are dealt to each player in five rounds of two at a time, and the twenty remaining in the stock are laid upon the table face down, between the players, but a little to the left of the dealer. The stock may be slightly spread, to facilitate the process of drawing cards from it. _=Objects of the Game.
Bets may also be _=strung=_ behind odd or even cards on the side next the dealer. These show that the player bets the next case card that comes will win if it is an even card, and lose if it is odd; that is, if he places his string behind an even card. If the player thinks a card will win, he bets it _=open=_, that is, with nothing but his counters. If he wants to play a card to lose, he _=coppers=_ it, by placing a checker or button on his chips. If a player wishes to reach two cards widely separated, such as the deuce and Seven, and has not money enough to bet on both; he can ask the dealer for a _=marker=_, which is a flat oblong piece of ivory. This is placed on the card to be played with the same money, and the dealer may either trust his memory for the bet, or place another marker on it. After the dealer has waved his hand preparatory to pushing the top card from the box, no bet can be made or changed. After the turn is made, the dealer first picks up all the bets he wins, and then pays all he loses, after which he waits for the players to rearrange their bets for the next turn. Between each turn a player may make any change he pleases. A lookout sits on the right of the dealer to see that he pays and takes correctly, and to watch that no bets are changed, or coppers slipped off, during the turn.