they had no actual bases , those boys who had played baseball here ( boys who were all older than the losers , although eddie remembered now that stan uris had sometimes played ; his batting was only fair , but in the outfield he could run fast and he had the reflexes of an angel ) , but four pieces of dirty canvas were always kept under the loading-bay behind the long brick building , to be ceremonially taken out when enough kids had drifted into the back lot to play ball , and just as ceremonially returned when the shades of evening had fallen thickly enough to end further play .