player tagged must change places with the
one who is It.
FOR THE SCHOOLROOM.--This game may be used in the schoolroom by
vaulting over the seats. When played in this way, it is not allowable
to reach across seats or desks to tag a player. The tagging must be
done in the same aisle in which the tagger stands.
FIRE ON THE MOUNTAINS
_10 to 30 or more players._
_Playground; gymnasium._
[Illustration diagram: FIRE ON THE MOUNTAINS]
A number of stools are placed in a circle with considerable space
between them, there being two stools less than the number of players.
If played out of doors, a stone may be used to sit on in place of a
stool, or the players may stand, each on a spot or base marked on the
ground. One of the odd players is a leader, and sits or stands in the
center; the remainder are circle men and take each his place on a
stool or base, the other odd man standing anywhere in the circle
between the bases. The object of the game is for the circle men to
change places on a signal given by the leader, each player trying to
secure a stool and avoid being the odd man. The longer the distance
between stools or bases the greater the sport. The running must be
done in a circle outside of the bases, and no crosscuts through the
circle are allowed. The player in the center repeats in rapid time the
following lines:--
"Fire on the mountain, run, boys, run!
You with the red coat, you with the gun,
Fire on the mountains, run, boys, run!"
At any time, at the close of the verse, or unexpectedly, by way of
interruption to it, the center player will call "Stool!" or "Base!"
when all of the players must change bases. There will thus be one odd
player left out. This player then steps one side and is out of the
game, taking with him a stool belonging to one of the players, so that
the number of stools is reduced by one; if bases are used, one is
crossed out to show it is out of the game. The center player, who
remains caller throughout, then repeats the verse and the signal for
changing.
For each round of the game one player and one stool are taken out of
the circle, until but two players and one stool are left. These two
finish the game by circling the stool and some objective point a
couple of yards away; when the signal to change is then given, the
last one of the two to reach the stool becomes the leader for the next
game.
VARIATION.--This game may be played without eliminating a playe
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