By Dan Beard
Fig. 11.
The Long Ring.
About eight beyond the taw line, make a ring composed of two parts of a circle crossing each other at the ends (Fig. 11), a fish-shaped ring with its head toward the taw line. Draw a straight line through the center of the long ring to lay the marbles on. If only two boys are playing and each lays in a duck, one marble should be at each end of the ring. If more than two play, or if more than one duck apiece is laid in, then they should be placed along the line in the center of the ring.
When number one shoots, if there are only two marbles he generally "sneaks," that is he bowls, as some call it, or shoots his marble with just sufficient force to cause his taw to roll slowly along and come to a rest as near as possible one of the marbles in the ring.
In doing this number one runs the risk of being killed by number two, whose turn it now is to shoot, and if there are only two in the game, and number two kills number one, this gives the game to number two, but if there are more in the game it puts number one out, and number two has another shot at the ducks in the ring, and continues to shoot until he misses. Then number three shoots, or if number one is net dead, and only two are playing, number one shoots from the spot where his taw ties.
Any player can sneak whenever he thinks he dare risk it. Of course a sneak is a shot and he must run the chance of being killed; but if he is killed he can, when his turn comes around, lay in as many ducks as he did at first, and then placing another duck near the taw line, knuckle down and shoot, hitting the near duck on one side so as to cause his taw or shooter to fly down toward the ring. It often happens that in this way he can make up for what points he lost by being killed. If he makes a miss he leaves his taw where it rests, and the next player takes his turn.
