"I SPY" AND LEAP FROG, THE EVER-POPULAR GAMES
Like tag, "I Spy" needs no apparatus and no great study. Any boy with
keen eyes and nimble legs can play the game better than a man four
times his age. Of course, "I spy" is not a game of solitaire. It needs
at least two boys, but it will be more exciting if there are five or
six times that number; the more the better.
You know how to select who is to be "it." This done, and a goal or
home selected, "it" remains at the goal and counts up to one hundred
as fast as he can, and this is usually so fast as to eclipse the
lightning calculator whom Barnum charged an admission to see and hear.
While "it" is counting, with his eyes closed and his head bent, his
companions start off and conceal themselves in the neighborhood as
best they can. When the count is up, and it is all too soon for the
half hidden boys, "it" goes out to find them. Any hider who can run
and touch the goal before "it" shouts: "In free," and he is free. But
if "it" spies a boy, then shouts the boy's name and reaches home
first, that boy is caught.
The game continues till all are free or caught. If "it" fails to catch
any, then he must be "it" again for the next game. If he is
successful, then the first boy caught is "it."
The best time to play "I spy" is in the evening, for the dusk is the
best time to hide, and in the dim light it is harder to recognize the
boys. If "it" calls a boy by another's name, then he is free for that
game. To deceive "it" the other boys often change hats or turn their
coats--an act usually frowned down on, but quite permissible in this
game.
If the last hider gets in undetected and shouts "Freeings!" all go out
for another hide, and "it" stays in his old position.
There are some varieties in this game, but they are not so different
from the one given as to make them worth describing.
LEAP FROG
is distinctly an athletic game, but it nevertheless requires that
quality of brains called "judgment." The boy who does not know leap
frog has something good to learn, and it is for him I am writing this.
One boy turns his back to the player and, bending his head low, rests
his hands on his knees. This is called "Giving a back." The other boy
places his hands on the first boy's back and leaps over him, by
straddling his legs wide apart on each side like a frog. The second
boy then assumes the stooping posture, and the third boy leaps over
the first and second, and the fourth over all three, one at a time, of
course.
This goes on until there is no boy left who is not stooping. Then the
first boy's back straightens up and he goes leaping over his fellows
and again gives a back, while the second follows, and so on until they
are all tired and the game ceases.
FOOT-AN'-HALF
The foot mentioned in this title is not the foot marked on a United
States standard rule, but a boyish foot enclosed in a rusty shoe and
owned by the leader in the game. The boy who is "it" is known as First
Back. He stands in the proper position at a taw.
The leader tells the First Back how and where to stand, then lays his
hands on the stooping shoulders and straddles over When the leader
strikes, he makes a mark to show the place, and the First Back takes
his place on this line. All the other boys must clear First Back from
the taw line, not always an easy task if the leader is a good jumper.
When the leader's turn comes around again he marks a new taw line
about a foot and a half--he uses his own foot for a measure--about
eighteen inches or "foot-an'-half" in advance of the old one. On the
second jump he marks where his heels strike, and the First Back moves
to that place, and the others make the leap.
So the game goes on till a player fails to clear First Back, a failure
that usually results in tumbling both over. The player who fails is
"it" for the next game, which begins at once.
A variation of this game is known as "Foot-an'-half," with a Leader
and a "Foot-an'-half."
In this game the First Back, who must always select the leader, picks
out, instead of the best, as in the former case, the very poorest
jumper. He chooses for Foot-an'-half a better player. His object in
doing this is to have Foot-an'-half, who is his ally, set tasks that
are beyond the ability of the boy chosen as leader.
When all is ready First Back takes a position, with one foot on either
side of the taw line and his side toward the players. Foot-an'-half
is the last to jump, and knowing what is expected of him, he leaps as
far as he can. Where his heels come down another line is drawn. To
this line First Back moves, placing a foot on either side. Now comes
the test of the leader. He can now take a foot and a half, using his
own foot for a rule, and jump from that point, but if any other boy
can make the leap from the old taw line, the leader becomes "it" and a
new game is started.
SPANISH FLY
I have been unable to learn where the boys got this name. It is
started just like the preceding game. Some player, usually one who has
confidence in himself, shouts as he makes the leap, and just before
his feet touch the ground: "Spanish Fly!"
At once the fun begins in wild earnest. The boy who just shouts is
regarded as leader. The second time he makes the leap he cries:
"Torchlight" and makes the jump with only one hand on First Back's
shoulders, while he waves his hat in the other.
The player that fails to follow the leader's example becomes "it." On
the third turn the leader shouts: "Hats on deck," and he places his
cap on First Back's shoulders and goes over without knocking it off.
The next player places his cap on top of the leader's and goes over.
If there are many boys the hats pile up and the last jumper has a hard
proposition to face, but if he succeeds he has a second try when he
removes his own hat or cap without knocking the others off; and so it
goes on till all the hats are removed.
If this trick is successfully completed, and it rarely ever is, the
leader goes over again, this time shouting: "Hats full of water." As
he leaps, he turns his hat so that it rests upside down on his head.
If all the players succeed in doing this without losing their hats,
the next cry is "Hats in the water." As the leader goes over he shakes
his hat off and all the others must follow his example.
When the hats are all in the water the leader must jump over First
Back and alight on one foot without touching the hats. Then, without
touching his raised foot to the ground, he must hop to his own hat,
and kneeling down, pick it up with his teeth, turn his back to taw
and, with a head toss, throw the hat over First Back.
If any error should be made, the one making it becomes "it." Each
player must take his turn at every change made by the leader.
There is good sport in this game, if it is played in the right spirit.
Sometimes boys with the rowdy element in them make it rough,
boisterous and even dangerous.
Let me advise: Never play any game with any boy who tries to boss and
bully weaker boys.