Beatrice Fairfax Episode 10: Play Ball!

Summary

In this thrilling installment, the high-stakes world of New York City baseball collides with a sinister plot hatched by Martin O'Day, a desperate professional gambler. Having wagered a fortune on the Yankees, O'Day finds his illicit financial empire imperiled when star Giants pitcher Bert Kerrigan, previously thought incapacitated, is announced to play. Driven by avarice, O'Day orchestrates a diabolical scheme to kidnap Kerrigan, exploiting the pitcher's engagement to Rita Malone. He crafts deceitful letters, one to Rita accusing Kerrigan of infidelity and luring her to a hotel for 'proof,' and another to Kerrigan, alleging Rita's unfaithfulness and directing him to witness her supposed betrayal. Their separate journeys to the specified hotel culminate in a meticulously staged deception: Rita is seized and kissed in a room, the spectacle tragically misinterpreted by Kerrigan from the street below. Rushing to confront the perceived betrayal, Kerrigan falls into O'Day's trap, captured and bound. Meanwhile, the astute Beatrice Fairfax, alerted by a distraught Rita, dispatches her intrepid associate, reporter Jimmy Barton. Jimmy, already investigating O'Day's suspicious betting, intercepts a crucial note revealing Kerrigan's capture. With remarkable quick thinking, he disarms and imprisons O'Day, then races to the hotel. There, he skillfully liberates the imperiled couple. A breathless, police-escorted dash across the city ensues, culminating in Kerrigan's dramatic arrival at the Polo Grounds mid-game. With the Giants trailing, Kerrigan, donning his uniform, delivers a heroic performance, striking out three consecutive batters and securing a stunning comeback victory. The episode concludes with the unraveling of O'Day's machinations, ensuring both justice and the preservation of a love story, as Beatrice and Jimmy prepare to immortalize the sensational events for their readers.

Synopsis

Martin O'Day, professional gambler and saloon-keeper, has bet heavily on the New York Yankees winning from the Giants in the deciding game between the two clubs for the championship of New York City. O'Day has been led to believe that Bert Kerrigan, star pitcher of the Giants, will not be in condition to play. At the last moment, however, McGraw, to the consternation of the Yankee backers, announces that Kerrigan will pitch. Realizing that he stands to lose many thousands of dollars, O'Day decides to kidnap Kerrigan. The pitcher is engaged to marry Rita Malone, and has already furnished an apartment for his bride-to-be. O'Day sends an anonymous letter to Rita, warning her that Kerrigan has another girlfriend, and that if she calls at a certain hotel at 9 o'clock the morning of the game, she can get proof of his duplicity. He also sends a letter to Kerrigan, telling him that Rita is untrue and visits the hotel. Kerrigan is told to watch a certain window of the hotel at 9:30 the next morning. Rita, greatly worried, writes to Beatrice Fairfax, who confides in Jimmy Barton, the newspaper reporter. Jimmy is already working on the story of the ball game, and has had several interviews with Donovan, of the Yankees, and McGraw, of the Giants. He knows that O'Day is betting heavily on the Giants and goes to see him. Meantime Rita and Kerrigan have separately gone to the hotel. Rita is escorted into a room, the window of which Kerrigan is watching. She is seized from behind and her face is covered with kisses. From the street it seems to Kerrigan that she is returning the caresses. He rushes up to the room, is trapped, captured and bound. One of the gang then sends a note to O'Day, telling him that Kerrigan is trapped and being held. The note arrives, while Jimmy, feigning drunkenness, is talking to O'Day. Jimmy sees its contents and covers O'Day with a revolver. Then he makes the gambler write a note to his subordinates, telling them to obey orders from Jimmy, after which he locks O'Day in a vault. Jimmy hurries to the hotel, presents the note and secures possession of Kerrigan and Rita. It is then afternoon and the ball game is on. Beatrice has just arrived at the hotel too. The four leap into an automobile and there is a wild race through the city streets to the Polo Grounds, in which several policemen take part. The fifth inning is being played when they finally reach the crowded grounds, and the score is 2 to 0 in favor of the Yankees. The Giants bat and score three runs in the sixth, giving them a lead of one. The Yanks come back in their half and the first three men up get on bases. Kerrigan has hurried to the clubhouse and at this stage of the game appears on the field in uniform. "It's up to you to save us, Bert," says McGraw to Kerrigan, "there's three on and nobody out." Kerrigan goes on, strikes out the next three and holds the Yankees safe for the remaining innings, the Giants winning, 3 to 2. It is not until after the game that Kerrigan can explain his mysterious absence to Manager McGraw. Then, too, Rita and Kerrigan explain their presence at the hotel and Jimmy tells of O'Day's attempt to wreck their lives to accomplish his end. While the great crowd is surging from the grounds, Beatrice and Jimmy hurry to their offices to write the story.