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.