Evening Star Newspaper, October 30, 1921, Page 72

] What Happened on This T the side of & muddy, shell- torn road stood a man, in the garb’ of an American Army captain, gazing down upon a figure seated upon an ammunition case, gingerly manipulating her left @ankle. She—for the figure was that ©f a young woman—wore a knee-length skirt of khaki, exposing legs in spiral * puttees. A motor coat of yellow leather was about her shoulders, and in her Lands a visored cap. But most striking was the head, a head with abundant yellow hair; keen, clear, light-biue eyes looking out from a face tanned leathery brown. She would have been recog- nized by any service man as a mem- ber of a French automobile corps, even had not an overturned ambu- lance lain near by. It was not France; it was a s THE ' SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, OCTOBER 30, 1921—PART 4. The Girl Who Took the Bumps BY LAWRENCE PERRY ILLUSTRATED BY C. D. BATCHELOR. “Location” Was Not in the Movie “Continuity”—A Tale of Atmosphere, Action, Thrills and Love. g “Sure 1 do." Then be nice.” ‘You be nice. Upsetting me in the middle of a picture this way! Let's see—" He glanced at a sheet of manuscript. “Miss Bell, we want to shoot that scene where Aileen drops from the second-story window with the Frenchwoman's baby after a shell sets the house on fire." Hester Dane walked away to her touring car. The fifteen-foot jump was so flaw- less, and 8o realistic, that Hanes for an instant forgot his artistic in- stincts In the fear that the girl had broken her neck. But she sat up, blinking, when the German soldiers had reglstered a capture. There were two sides to the art of | Hester Dane—Hester being one side, and Nathalie Bell the other. Hester never got very far from the drawing room, the bed chamber, the limou- sine or the country-club veranda. The knock - down - and-drag-out features which had contributed no small ele- | ment to her fame were supplied by Nathalie Bell, the girl who “took the stopped. The horseman clattered up, gesturing with his revolver. “Run your car up the side of the hill. Quick! Cloudbu Following the man's gesture, the party saw up the arroyo, roaring, boiling, crested with foam and drift- wood, an elght-foot wall of water bearing down upon the car with the fury of elements unleashed. There was no time to bother with the stalled motor. Phinney Hanes leaped to the ground and hauled Hester Dane out of the seat while Sheridan, throwing his photographic apparatus, high and clear, followed her. And the next instant Nathalle Bell sprang lightly from the tonneau to the back of the mustang, where she clung to the cowboy's shoulders as the animal loped up the side of the canon. The torremnt caught the car, upended it and swept it away like a peach crate. It soused the hoofs of the mustang and tugged at the ankles of all. An instant later every one was safe. Hanes shook his head solemnly. He had the imagination to picture in of-the-Mohicans outfit. On the level, do I look all right?” = She turned to Nathalle Bell. “I saw you making eyes at him." She laughed. “Arnold ly! And you jumped onto that mustang with a strangle hold around his neck as though he were Jesse James. Nathalie, gazing into the starlit desert whither the horseman had vanished, made no reply. The headlights of Tully's car came plunging and tossing down the trail in something more than an hour after his departure. The driver alighted, helping Hester Dane Into the front scat while the others climbed into the tonneau. It was not until the car had left the mountain and rolled out upon a rutted ore-rozd that Tully uftered anything more than a mono- replied she went on you're much conversationally, Alv. Tully, more of a strangzer to m “ANY ONE WHO WON'T FOLLOW A WOMAN,” SHE SHRILLED, “STAY BEHIND.” f the Essential Film Company's plant In California—and the Army offic was Courtney Raile, Hester D ‘s leading man. «__“If you hurt your kle that time, Miss Bell,” he said, “I think we can ut off aking this number until to- “morrow. .. “Who sald could, Raile? How long since you've been running this jcture?” Phinhey Hanes, ~Miss Blnn‘! director, fumed inarticulately, while Raile discreetly withdrew. Nathalie Bell ro slowly to her » feet. “Oh, I'll do it again.” . © ““You bet you will," barked the di- : pector. “And I want you to keep that ) hat lower over your eyes and your ’ face turned away more. Remember, you're Hester Dane, not yourself. iss Bell. Sink your Come on now, teeth into thi: So the ambulance was placed upon its wheels, and Nathalie climbed to the wheel, and backed the car to its starting-point around the corner Bombers and men with smoke-pots concealed themselves in the canvas roofs of the buildings. The ambu- lance lumbered und the corner, came on at full speed, turned sudden- ly and skidded, while unseen hands, hauling upon ropes attached to the ! top of that side of the car away from the camera pulled the car over upon its side, the driver springing clear as * it fell. She landed In a heap. “Iie there! Turn heavily on your face. Throw out your arms wide,’ bawled Hanes. “That's it. Now the soldiers! Pick her up, you men, her face away from the camera. In(n‘.(heI house on the run. That's it. Fine! Dig _out the wounded. Right! shrill whistle blew, and the camera off. c“l!t was the last scene but one of the “continuity” to be taken in the plant; on the morrow the cast would move to the open. ‘With everything thus on schedule, the director be- came _ solicitous ~ about Nathalie's ankle. But more important than & merely personal attitude was the necessity of the girl's appearance in rough stuff lying immediately ahead That, by the way, was Hester Dane's sreat appeal—the blending. of the Atlcet and delicate with the intrepid and strenuous. A play that did not jnvolve sharp contrasts of this na- ture was not a Hester Dane play. * * NATHALIE glanced at the direc- tor. “I merely twisted it the firat time I jumped. It's quite all right” “Well, if you say so——" Hanes hesitated, then turned away abruptly to greet a young woman who was walking down the war-torn street. Her wealth of yellow halr was crowned by a sea-green plcture hat, and her charmeuse gown, stockings and elippers were of a color to match. Her eyes were blue, but not such a steel bius as Nathalie’s. “Hello, Phinney,” she drawled lan- suldly. “Good mmorning.” The director regarded her dublously. “You knew there was nothing for you today.” “Sure knew; I wouldn't work tot if there was. The party didn’t b up until § o'clock this morn- ing."” er eyes rolled heavenward. “What & night! The director gestured toward Na- thalie. “The production nearly went flooie & while 2go; she caught her foot as she jumped out of the am- bulance—thought she’'d broken it.” Hester Dane turned and surveyed Nathalie with an impetious stare. “She’s always doing something.” Suddenly she flushed. “So the show would have gone floole, eh! That's the way it hits you! What do you think I am in this copipany?’ Her voice rose stridently. “If you can't find fifty roughnecks willing to take falls for a hundred a week, I can. You give me any more of that flooie stuff, Phinney, and you'll be flooie with me; do you get me?" “I'll be flooie with you!” The di- rector flailed his hands. “I—I—who —who took you when you were nothing but a —" “Be careful. Phinney!” “Careful! The hell with careful! What _do _you think I am? I'm through. I—" Hester giggled. “Such & tem Den't you love me "any more, Phinney?” bumps” for the brightest star of the Essential Film Company's galaxy, Nathalie was the daughter of a gentleman stock-raiser, himself no less a thoroughbred than his horses. But a loyal tendency to back the horses he bred. combined with a thor- oughly sportsmanlike but utterly ruinous system of operation in the stock market, had eventually brought about an exchange of his blue-ana- white racing colors for the red flag of the sheriff. He did not long sur- vive the blow. Nathalle at the tim. of his death being eighteen. Nathalie came to New York and year in a school of art con- ducted by a famous American lan scape painter. In the European war she enlisted as a Y. attached to the first diviaion of regu- lars, serving through thick and thin until the armistice was signed, when she returned to America. An advertisement of the Essential Film Company,in quest of a “young woman of action” attracted her at- tention. She most certainly seemed to fill the bill. She was a splendid rifie and revolver shot. a tennis champlon and could ride anything that wore hoofs. A better double for Hester Dane could not have been born—which fact was speedily made clear. But for some strange reason she did not register attractively on the film; she was simply fine, swinging, healthy girl whose air of breeding and poise came of blood that had flowed through the veins of proud Kentuckians for more than & hundred and fifty years. Hester Dane was the daughter of a Brooklyn motorman. Her golden hair had a ripple; her lips curled. and her cheeks dimpled in a wonder- ful baby smile: she had the faculty of being able to register practically feelin ghe had acquired a veneer, but un- derneath all she was common; and aside from a certain native shrewd- ness, she had the intellectual depth ullet. o'H.erv beauty was of the thin, breakable, porcelain type. depending for effect upon artificial embelish- ment. Nathalie's good looks were of the wholesome, outdoor sort: her lips required no paint, her cheeks mo enamel, her eyes no belladonna. Pr oisely and tersely, one was a lady; the other was not. * X % & HE sun was beginning to sink be- hind the hulking shoulders of the distant Bradshaw mountains; the hills In the middle ground were turn- ing blood red. The scene was one ot utter desolation. To the eastward hung a dark cloud, indieative of rain somewhere among the mountains. Phinney Hanes' dark, thin, sensitive face was settled Intently ahead. Clouds were the least of his worries as he turned the touring car into an arroyo and stepped on the accel- erator. “You may be the original Wisen- heimer, Phinney, but you've got to Hester Dane settled down ecies of grim composure, - when a shout sounded from the other side of the canon. A man on horseback, a cowboy appar- ently, was urging his steed across the little valley at a gallop, his obvi- ous intention being to intercept the party. A note of triumph played about Hester Dane’s deeper note of apprehension. “You knew the road. Sure! So you lose us, and now you've run us into a highwayman! ‘Well, I hope he gets your roll.” “Duck!” Sheridan, the camera man, dived to the floor of the car. The horseman had ceased attempting to ride ahead of the car, and was drawing his revolver. “My God!" Hester Dane snuggled down among the levers below the dashboard. Nathalie Bell sat leaning forward, motionless, a gleam in her gray eye: She saw whither the man was aimin —at the tires. He proved second per- The car skidded, instant sesmed on the verge of turning turtle, then M. C. A. worker, | all jts details the fate from W h they had been delivered. Reaching out, he placed his hand upon Hester Dane's shoulder, but she shrugged it off impatiently; her eyes and thoughts were upon the cow-puncher. He was an interesting type, tall, lithe, finely shouldered and clear-eyed. Obviously he was finding Nathalie Bell easy to Ilook at. The girl had swung herself to the ground and was smiling up at m. He and Nathalle were forming a remarkable picture, and it was not in Hester Dane's_nature to permit any one but herself to do the big scenes in anything. She moved forward in her most alluring manner, her lips drooped engagingly. 11 “You did something great for us,’ she cooed. “I am sure I am very grateful.” The man nodded negligiently. “We's all out gunning for Mexican I. W. W.s—mine-workers most of them, who've been hell-raising here- abouts lately. There was a_ cloud- burst up the valley—always danger- ous in this country in the spring. Saw you going up the gulch. Thought I'd better warn you.” i “It Wi certainly bully of you. Hanes began. “My name is Hanes, of the Essential Film Company. We were out on location an [!nt lost when we tried to return. guess Courtney Raile and the rest of the crowd got in right. We've been doing a comprehensive thriller—ac- tion ranges from France to the Wild West. But this beats anything we've filmed.’ e The man slipped down from his horse and dropped the reins over the animal's head. “You came off pretty well, I should say. These torrents catch strangers every once in a while—they don't ever talk about it much afterwards. er . “I think,” interrupted Hester, pout- ing prettily, “that Mr. Hanes mig] introduce me. I am Hester Dane, of the Essential.” * k x K uoH * The man- stepped toward around here, her. “You're rather popular lighted to know you. Miss Dane. I'm de- a stranger; we have every one of You're hardly your pictures shown at the mess hall in the mine as soon as it comes out. I've always wanted to meet you.” «“That's awfully nice” glowed the star. “And now W'hhl are we going to do?®™ . wYou can't go to Mayer tonight; that's certain.” 1 “Mayer does seem a long way Off. Hester smiled pathetically. The man gestured. “I¢ yowll work around the hill be- hind us,” he said, “we'll come to & trail. Tl leave you there and ride over to the Tully mine and come back for you a _car. It's only about eight miles. In the morning I'll run you over to Mayer.” “Bully for you!" Hanes walked up to the man. ‘Might I ask to w':xun we are indebted Tor our timely rescue?” shead with Hanes, and the rest trudged in the rear. Springing upon his horse at the head of the trail, he galloped away into the starlit darkness. Hester Dane crept up to Hanes' side. Do know who that guy is, Phinney?” “Certainly I do; Tally. “Oh, you nut! “Eh!"" Hanes stared at.the girl. “You nut, 1 said. That fellow’s Arnold Tully, son of the biggest cop- per magnate in the country. Arnold Tully—don't you get it, ridiculous? He owns the particular mine we're going _to. I knew all about him in New York. A queer chap! Spends most of his time out here, but when he comes into the big town things certainly hum-—I mean in a swell way. He's the real, simon-pure soclal-register goods. Gee, I'm cer- tainly tickled at the chance to meet that guy.” She pauysed, giggling. “T guess I'm excited, eh! Talk about real life! You get us los comes up. and then who but Mr. Gold-dust Tully? a flood shes in oh! ft, Just my luck to have on this last- A r b ‘my name's Tully.” He strode|™ than you said I was to you. Jimmy Darreil has talked to me a lot about immy Darrell, eh?" “Yes. Jimmy and I are old friends. He came out to Los Angeles this win- ter just to see me—at least he said 80." “That 0" Tully swung the car to the left into a canyon, one side of which was dotted with the buildings of the mine. For the most part the camp structures were merely vague blurs against the dark. At a creek they had passed a man armed with a rifle, and as the |car stopped in front of the company's office. a guard similarly armed came up. Hester glanced about uneasily; then, noting the figures of other ‘armed guards, she laughed, reassured. “And they said the war was over!" “The war with these people,” said Tully quietl; as just begun. It's rather a stiffish climb to my shack. he said. “I hope you'll.find it worth while. He took Hester's arm, assisting her up the rugged pathway, the rest trailing in the rear. They left the mine buildings behind, climbing in silence up the mountain, behind | which, as they neared the top, could ibe seen a higher mountain with the 1 electric lights of the shaft buildings | gleaming some quarter of a mile be- low the peak. “We haven't got to climb that, too, have we?’ asked Hester, who was breathing heavily. “No.” Tully laughed, pointing to & low, vague structure, & single ligh showing in one window. “Here it is." Turning from the trail, he pushed open a rustic gate behind which were a flight of stone steps leading up to the house—a long, low building of the Mission .type. “My word!” Hester Dane darted ahead of the party and threw herself into one of the great wicker chairs that lined the broad veranda. “Have 1 ever sat down before in my life?" The interior of the house, which | was handsomely furnished, had rooms upon the four sides, opening upon a plazita, or open court, in the center of which a fountain’ tinkled musi- cally. Carpeted with firm turf, dia- mond stars ahove, lights of a well- appointed dining room flowing softly from under crimson shades, this peaceful and beautiful spot appealed with a subtle charm. “1 !uppoll,"w‘sal\,i‘dtgn"y. “you lost all our luggage e car.” YOlWe left It in the hotel at Mayer, ly,” exclaimed Hanes. doesn’t do you much good Tully surveyed the party seri- “I can give you two men any- thing_you want. I'm afraid—" “If T can get this dirt it will satisfy me” “That is, if you don’t mind. “You never looked more picturesque or attractive in your life” declared the host, gazing admiringly at the actress’ cowgirl outfit. “By the way.” he added, “I wish some one would introduce me to your friend." “Why, of course; I'm 80 8OrTYy. Hester ~ gestured toward Nathall “This is Miss Bell, our bump artist.” “Bump artist?" you know, she does the gh stuff in our pictures.” Something seemed to have struck the man; he gazed curiously at Nathalie and then at t the women— He shrugged. my face, Hester. Hester. Finally his eyes rested upon Nathalle exclusively. “She means that you—" “T am delighted to meet you—for- mally, Mr. Tully,” id Nathalle quietly. « o s NeT quite an hour later the party were seated sround as perfect & table as stranded wayfarers could possibly have desired. Hester sparkled and glowed at Tully’s right; Nathalle, more quiet yet more serene, sat at his left. Her hair gleamed! It ran from light to shade, like new corn silk. Hester's hair fluffed and massed on top of her head, with ringlets falling down her cheeks. The meal could not have been better done. The soft-tooted Yaquis pat- tered in and out with dishes well worth the consideration of an eploure. nd the champagne was & vintag mainly a golden memory in ays. ou smoke, of course,” sald Tully, giggled. T offering a cigarette ca “I—I—" " The_ girl never have. But I think tonight I'd like to begin. They say it's so sooth- that is these di ing.” Whereupon e smoked one, end thereafter several additional cigarettes, with savoir faire that Was not to be concealed. halie did not smoke. Nathalle did not talk much. Some time after midnight Nathalle, unable to s d, On all sldes mountain peaks hulke into the night with its close white stars and that silence of vast moun- L aces. It was as though the girl were a part of it all. So still was the night, so submerged her mood, that Tully’s voice came to her from 'around the corner of the house as though from gnother world. She did not move. “I'm sort of a-queer chaj ne Sia e n’t hear Miss Dane's reply. “‘Oh, I really am,” he went on. “Live pretty much alone out here. Go east ::vlh"e summer, but here's the place 1 e “The funny part of it is that I fell hard for Hester Dane.” He paused again. “I mean, of course. in the pictures. I had never met her—you, but she meant more to me than any Eirl I had known in the flesh. I sup- pose I'm talking like a f00] No, you're not, Mr. Tull ‘You don’t mind my saying that it wasn't_your baby-doll stuff I cared for? You see, I'm frank. And the social stuff didn't stand out—" ‘What d1d?" There was a note of asperity in Hester's voice. ‘Well, your scenes in action; your Ssweep, your horsemanship, your poise in the welter of action. There was a girl for you! In my room I have two portraits; one is of Hester Dane in an evening gown; the other is of Hester Dane in—well, in just the clothes you are wearing now. “How Interesting!" Isn't {t! Time and again I've stood In front of those two portraits, the one in evening gown, full-face, the other with head turned so that you could only see the fine line of neck and chin; it was enough, the polse was_there, the stance. 1 could be satirical about the ballroom portrait, but in the other I h: faith. What I want to know is thls: which is the real Hester Dane?” Hester Dane's peal of laughter had a metallic cadence. “This {8 serious.” Tully spoke with grim patience. ‘Two months ago I wrote you a letter asking you that question. You never answered it.” “If 1 answered all the letters I got! lever see a quarter of them.” 'All right, answer now. Which is the real you?"' h, you! How should I know?" Vill you give me the opportunity of knowing you better so that I can decide? 1 have never had anything interest me so much.” “I am going to New York next week. I'll send you my card. Love to have you come around when you're east—except I may be married, then. There are two men back there that have been bothering me to death, one pretty old, the other young. Both rich, of course. What shall I do? Do you want me to walt, just because You're interested?” o you love either?” ‘What is love? Name it. What's that got to do with it, anyway?" There was another pause. “Well—nothing, I suppose,” he said, at length. His volce changed. “Tell l.!'le“!ol’snelhlnl about that girl, Miss " he was C you see hanging around a movie % en better days. Don't here Phinney Hanes picked her up. Nathalle Bell had sprung to her feet when from the valley —below three came a startling fusillade of shots, followed almost instantly by a serles of tremendous _explosions; many of the buildings below broke suddenly into flames. Tully and Nathalie almost collided at the door leading into the house. The man's face was set. “Those Mexican devils have jumped the camp,” he sald. “They're licking us. See, the battle is coming up the trail. We'll have to get out of here.” It was a_ running statement which led into the hall, into a closet, into which Tully dipped, throwing out rifles, revolvers and belts filled with ammunition. Hanes and Sheridan, half dressed. were in the hall. Hester Dane stood faltering in the doorway. Nathalie, who had picked up a bandolier of rifie cartridges from the floor was ad- justing it about her shoulder. “That's i{t.’ Tully glanced at her admiringly. “You chaps grab guns and t on these belts. Come on— hurry. 5 “Where are we going?’ Hester Dane cowered as a bullet crashed through the transom. sending a shower of glass about her. “Up the trail. Follow me. We can't defend this place—too easily sur- rounded and burned.” He seized the shrinking girl by the arm and half led, half dragged her out the door to the trail. Two of the mine guards came up the trail, firing as they retreated, just as the party from the house came down the steps. “They've scattered the rest of us. 1d one of the guards to Tull “Don’t know how many they've kille r hurt.” : “All right. Go on up to the shaft. You fellows keep firing. We'll save our bullets.” “I gan't walk one bit furthe: Hester Dane hystericall T've been shot. They times can't feel it until you or something.” She sat in the tr weeping and uttering hysterical im- recations. P Without a word Tully turned back, handed his rifle to Nathalie, and slung the actress over his shoulder. =~ “Hutry on, up to the shaft” h eried to the rest. “I'll follow you.” ‘But Nathalie Bell seised him by rm. 'h'e‘Y:u can't do that, Mr. Tully. They're gaining on us every second. Give per to me." * ¥ ¥ X ATHALIE literally pulled the girl to the ground, shaking her until the star's teeth rattled and her curls stralghtened out over her head. “You'll walk—do you understand!” said Nathalle in & low voice. “You'll walk, you dlsgusting little coward— or well leave you here for these Mexicans to handle.” And the actress, cowed and fright- ened, turned and fled up the trail as halle released her with a push, o tricken wraith of the " cried know you some- drop dead night. "‘l guess,” Tully sald coolly, “we'll have to fight back a bit to cover the retreat. We've lost too much time.” think s0.” Nathalle settled upon her knee and sent three shots dewn the trail. There came a shrill cry of pain from below, then curses. “Gogd work! That was real shoot- nig. Come on, Miss Bell,” he cried. “I think we can make the bridge. The others will be there and over in a minute.” So up toward the bridge they made their way, while bullets whipped the air about their heads, or ricocheted among the rocks. Suddenly the open void of the canon loomed before them, & chorus of dismayed outcry came to them from above. One of the guards, working his way down, clo to the ground, met them. “The bridge is down,” he =maid, “Some of the yellow devils blasted out supports on both sides at the me time they jumped the ca We can’t get down the side; it's a sheer T see. They wanted to m sure they'd get me, as they've threatened,” replied Tully quietly. “They haven't T" ou ya& Tully,” said Nathalle crisply. nt ing, she fired again at the advancing flame spurts. Tully, leaning down, seised the girl by the arm. “No, mot yet they haven't. Come on. Hurry.’ They found the party crouched at the edge of the precipitous heights alternately gazing at the wreckage of the bridge, or down the trail whence the volleys of bullets were whining with increased fury. Hester Dane was lying Dprone, motionless: the guard who had remained with the party qwas kneeling, waiting for the trail to be cleared before firing. “Every one has to fight now. Tully peered down at the two men. “Where e, s henas ek eas” eonfessed {1 couldn’t help hearing. 1 l “Never could shoot, anyway.” grabbed de camera and dropped it groaned Sheridan. “Call me & dam fool; I sm one, all right, ail ®¥ou wers in France, Mr. Tully Nathalle's voice was cl “Did you never hear of emergency Intrench- ments?’ “My God, gifl!” Tully swung around. “Here, Sheridan, and Hanes, coms up out of that and give & Hanes. hand.” He turned to the two guards .fl:'lldngt'? Nathalie. “You three keep Hastily the three men dragged rocks into position, and, while the enemy stood at bay, firing, an effec- tive breastwork of solid rock was reared. But it was not done without cost. Sherian dropped with a bullet through his shoulder, and one of the guards had a shattered right arm. The Mexicans pressed on up the trail until, to their cost, they discov- ered the nature of the obstacle. Fol- lowed a period of silence, broken only by the occasional crack of a rifie. The idea, apparently, was to wait for re- inforcements. Nathalle, who had some skill as a nurse, occupied the lull in attending to the wounded men. Then walting, watching, the night went on, illum- ined finally by the splendid conflag- ration of Tully's house, which the at- {acking party, after looting, set on re. Hints of dawn became established through a rift in the easterly moun- tains.” Presently a vast arm, like the shaft of a searchlight quivered through the mountain fastness and lay across the canyon. It lightened a picture that would have been prized by any flim-studio in the land. Nath- alie Bell was standing erect, her rifle in the hollow of her arm, watch- ing the effect of a shot. The light of the dawn was in her corn-colored hair; it touched her indomitable face, threw into relief her resilient, beauti- fully poised figure. Sheridan pointed to her, wanly. “If we had dat camera, Mr. Tully!" And Tully nodded solemnly. “I'd give a hundred thousand dol- lars if I had it,” he sald. “By George, they're coming up again—more than twenty of them.” Tully gestured. “You're the only one who can_pick them off at that distance, Miss Bell" Nathalle sighted her weapon and fired four times, forcing the enemy to take cover as they advanced. “They'll have to rush us to beat us out,” muttered Tully. “And they're enough of them to do that if they smiling dare try.” That they did dare was made mani- fest shortly when the Mexicans sprang up the trail at a crouch, tak- ing advantage of every opportunity for cover. * ¥ ¥ x TTHE weapons_of the defenders, pumping shots with deadly rapid- ity, were hot in their hands, and of the ammunition one full belt was ail that remained. The enemy, not 300 vards away, were evidently consoli- dating on the trail; there was an in- terruption In their advance that pre- saged a final rush. “Mr. Tully,"—Nathalie turned, her face glowing—"I think If we should suddenly burst out of here and charge right down upon those men, we'd make them break. They're cowards. think they could be bluffed. Our am- munition is low; they'll overpower us here. What do you say?” As Tully glanced at the others, hesitating, Nathalie, with & cry, leaped over the stone barricade, veri- tably a girl gone mad. ““Any one who won't follow a Woman," she shrilled, “stay behind.” With that she started down the trail, firing and shouting as she went. With a_plercing cowboy yip, Tully joined her: so did Matthews, the guard, while Oliver, the guard with the shattered arm, fell into the charge, discharging his revolver with his left hand. Ppinney Hanes leaped to his feet, and seizing a handful of stones, joined in the attack. The Mexicans, caught off their guard, sprang from cover and fell in twos and three before the well di- rected shots of the girl and the three men. The next instant the surviving Mexicans turned and fled. And, as they ran, came a volley of shots directed at them from a belated posse of citizens and rangers in the valley below. shots which caused some to leap in the desperation of blind fear over the side of the trail into the treacherous depths of the canyon below. while others - sought concealment on the bare face of the mountain. For a moment Nathalie stood mo- tionless, her lips parted, her eyes staring upon the scene below. Arnold Tully came to her. “Miss Bell.” he said, “in my room before the house was burned I had two photographs of Hester Dane. One of them “I know.” Nathalie's voice caught. “I heard vou telling it to Miss Dane. T was on the veranda. I am awfully sor—" “I asked her to tell me which was the real Hester Dane—the Hester Dane I could worship, could—" She held out her hand. “Did you believe what she said about—about—about me?” He swept the question away with age gesture. 1 asked her to tell me which was the Hester Dane who had filled my life with something, something—oh, what's the use! Nathalfe Bell!"” His hands were on her shoulders, his eyes searching hers. Suddenly her head fell forward upon_his breast. She was weepin Arnold Tully looked up at the mors ing sky and smiled. Copyright, 1921, with ail rights reserved. F church organs could talk, there is one at the National Museum that could settle the question whether or not George Washing- lon nepped through Sunday sermons in Christ Church. The dzcision could be strictly relied on, for the reason that the organ was there at the time. Unfortunately for history. the tall and somewhat grandfather-clokish in- strument is dumb in every key of its five octaves, though to any mathemati- cianable to put two and two together and make filve of it, its dim mahogany and tarnished gilt speaks for the prosperity of our ancestors, two Ien- turles back, who could afford to im- port luxuries until a war came along and gave us liberty and home made melodeons. “The George Washington organ,” was brought from England in 1700, but was not placed Ip the Alexandria edifice until it had served in the cholr of & church in another part of Vir- ginia After an uncertain stay in Christ Church (so far as the label will divulge) its adventurss took it to Shepardstown and later to Han- coak, Md., where it remained until the vestry donated it to the museum, where it now heads a collection of musical instruments which vary in from a rattle to a grand piano and represent every world-period, from Pan’'s pipes to jass. Even a casual survey of the cases that belt the vast and silent room prove that musio must have been born with the earth and that it is as nat- ural for humankind to make rhythmio sounds as it is for a cat to purr or for a bird to eing in summer. It shows, too, that, though harmony seems to have been unknown to Eu- ropeans until the tenth century, sav- age peoples were making music of one sort or anothes while etill in -a state of nature: their sound-making instruments being mostly the result of accidental contact with the mate- rials that made their environment. The exhibit of horns gives evidence that those tribes who lived near the sea made their instruments of shells; nomads of the interior made them o size | National Museum Contains Unique Musical Instruments g Falconry a Famous Sport Of Kings in Years Gone By ALCONRY was one of the most fashionable sports or customs of other times, falconry being the training of certain birds to chase others. Some nine species of hawks and falcons were employed, and we hear of the sport being pursued early as four hundred years before Christ, 20 that it s one of the most ancient large estates, where it has b petuated simply because old custom of the family in the six- teenth or the sevent when falconry reached the zenith of its popularity. haps from the expense of maintain- ing so large an establishment, and it may be that the growing sensc of humanity has something to do with At any rate, it is not known to- in Europe except on certain ver en P it was an nth ntury. As stated abov. It may still be on record. witnessed {n Persia, and in It is still in vogue in the vicinity of | clties of India and China men seen In the streets carryig hawks € Abasheher, in Persia, the Bedouins of Sahara capturing large numbers of birds to sell for this purpose. The extent to which the sport pre- vailed in olden times inay be Imagined d 1290 Kubla Khan, that famous Tartar prince. owned no fewer than ten thousand tame birds (falcons). When hunting he rode an elephant, his men |55 fiers” forming a great circle, so that Kubla Khan could enjoy the flight of the birds as they darted after their vic- upon their wrists ir ance as vears part id a thousand Z0. For the most the birds em- ployed in the sport are members of the falconia family, those of the when It is learued that in the year|classes of birde that recognized are, first, the and e genus falco alconers oble birds.” long-winged, dark-cyed falcons, that rose to great helghts and struck their prev with a single rush: and. second- y, ta: “ignoble bivds " or shurt-winged The noble birds were taught (o rise above the hunter and hover in the air until the quarry. often u cran: was started, while the ignoble birds were thrown from the hand the mo- tims driven Into the air by the beaters In the seventeenth century ome of employed and tak ment the game was discovered wks At were times very small i 1 in the the kings of Persia was a famous|thrown violently, fike a quarry. vast n falconer. He owned at least 800 |terms were rmployed in : finely trained birds that were edu-|upon which it is not necessary to cated to follow game of large siz as wold boars, asses, antelopes and foxes. to train, a task that could he plished in two or three weeks dwell in this connection Some trainers took the you 8o thoroughly did these birds know [other trainers preferred t the work required of them that when | wild birds, which were often « following a large animal they in-|more highly, although the period of variably struck at its eyes, unde: standing that by blinding it the hu- man hunters could more readily effect & capture. The subject of falconry was 80 im- portant that the strictest of rules the time of Edward III of England 80 stringent were tite laws that a person who killed a falcon was put to death, the law showing what a demand there was for the birds by royal sportsmen. Falconry, or hawking, as it was sometimes called, is known to have been practiced in China as long ago as 600 B.C., and probably, according to some authorities, it was known one thousand years earlier than that. It| was not, however, introduced into Europe until about the middle of the ninth century, and for the seven or eight centuries following it was ex- | clusively a royal sport popular in the extreme. The birds were in the greatest de- mand by monarchs and knights, and even ladles paid vast sums for famous | birds possessing exceptional records in_the sport, It would seem to have been a very cruel sport, but it was probably not more so than our modern method of hunting with dogs, and, in this rela- tion, it may be pointed out that some | of our hunting dogs have been valued as high as $5.000. The game killed was yot wasted, And to train the birds and capture them gave employment to thousands of poor persons, who obtained their | living directly from the sport. The falcon trainer was quite as im- portant a personage then as the horse trainer or driver of today, and| u a a P B) dertook charge of a bird, the firae son being to render it perfectly ta in confinement matter. as is evidenc were formulated to govern it, and in|perience of an American hun shot a small hawk in the Si mountains, days the little creature w that it would rest upon h feed without attempting to wound the ren with {ts bill or talons. were quite tame “hood.” that completely head, was put on and not taken off under any circumstances the bird was feeding. until the cre ture had become perfectly accustomed to wore a wristlet for the purpose this time a cord being the bird's leg. and food given the bird away, and slowly it was taug’ the moment it was unhooded it would rise above its trainer's head and hover in the air. on the lookout circle about. ing on.” started up it pounced upon the quar- ry. killing at the first blow training was longer. Generally speaking. one person un This was by wh rra Macio Th o breaking its wi =0 tame hand and ‘Wild-caught falcons t first in the dark, an a_ cap, covered the excent whe it. Then it was taught to pon the wrist of the trainer. rest attached increased eral fo to fiv ‘This line graduall as greater distance. until fina mile and_return was made Then the falcon was tried igeons released from the hand radually treated to birds of vari kinds. until after a time it becam an adept at the chase. ‘When the bird arrived at this stae or perha This was called “w: and the moment the game As a rule the hungry falcon wouli® these men devoted thelr entire lives|Altack any bird but cat'hing the to the business and often accumulatea | BETOR oT jcrane gave the finest A large _fortunes, the profession being | R, °f f¥ine. which e ob handed down from father to son fer generations. How these persons were appreciated | we learn in history. ] “In the court of the King of Wales, says the historian. “there were only three officers of his household above | the master of the hawks. This per- son occupled the fourth place from the soverelgn at the royal table, but he was prohibited from drinking more by .| o i its victim like an frightened heron pointed beak upward. hoping. perhaps, to im to reach a feature of the sport. The falcon. afte: circling above the heron that had een started up from the river brink r marshy pool, rushed down upon arrow. while th. jts sharp ale its enemy. The larger bird made every attem high altitude. =oarinz now than three times, lest he should be2rcund and around in circles, plunging down to avoid the repeated come intoxicated and neglect his | Pusnes of its Wily enemy. bul ever ot only had he the management | i5inE higher and if. by reason of its olr the hawks and of the people em- :;i’,“;’,':‘;;‘;fabnw (popen the Mo ployed in the sport. but when he had | ¢ "nus o tace for the Bpper DOSi- been very successful in it the king ‘was accustomed to rise up and re- ceive him on his entrance, and oven on some occasions to hold his stirrup.” In France the grand falconer was an officer of great importance. His salary was 4,000 florins, and he was attended by fifty gentlemen and fifty assistant falconers. Besides this, he was allowed to keep 300 falcons for his own benefit, and to make every vender of hawks in the kingdom pay a license, and, moreover, to pay him a fee on every falcon sold. The king never rode out unattended by this officer. In the time of Henry VII the taking of an egg of a hawk or falcon was punishable by imprisonment for a “ye and a day and a fine at the king's pleasure.” even If the eggs or birds were on the offender's own land. No one but the king or queen could use the peregrine falcon, a yeoman the goshawk, a priest the sparrowhawk, and a servant or at- tendant was obliged to confine him- self to the kestrel. From this it will be seen that the sport was most popular, and dffered much study to its devotees. It grad- ually fell into disfavor, however, per- e b P! h: o hi tion. and should the was doomed. r;htlon. to note that during the w the tactics of the falcon in trying to a4 more than a rice affair. throwing it, the guests eat it. and they are married. custom makes American father of a reception-giv- ing bride might envy the Chinese father of the bride. tributes something and very little. alcon gain th fter a prolonged struggle. the her 1t is interesting. in this fighting airmen employed 1 ose of its enemy. Weddings in China. the Chines: her wedding day N o bride is clad in red and carried in a sedan chair covered with red Any person who wishes may turn ack the chair curtains and have a look at the bride. Hayseed takes the lace of rice and confetti. The bride's air is elaborately oiled, and so when the girls throw hayseeds at her they stick. When she has reached the end f her journey she has come to the home of her husband and must bear the candid criticism family. of the whole is mothing Instead of The usband-and-wife-to-be eat rice from The wedding ceremony each other's bowl, then mix the rice and both eat from the same bowl— Of course there is a feast, but the it such that the Every guest con- s0 it costs the horns of animals, while those who lived near bamboo forests utilized see- tions of pith-cleared stalk. Among the ancient specimens is a shofar from Egypt, made of a twisted ram's horn—an instrument used in the sacred ceremonies of the Hebrews and which modern members of that ancient race blow each year on the Jewish New Year, As this horn is sounded with the samw rhythm all over the world, it offers presumptive evi- dence that the call is the same today s in the time of King David. The horn in the exhibit is a pot- ol of st an elephant tusk fashioned by an African jungle. Another case {lluatrates the drum beats have been heard around the world. The largest and clumsiest in the lot is an African water-drum, which sclentifically pounded may be heard a mile away. It is merely a worm-eaten log scooped into & trough, but it has a convvincing air of having had a day when it was quick with sap | and red with the blood of battle. Other crude, but clever methods made by the native African for obtaining sounds both for revelry and mourning show that the slaves of the old south came honestly by their love for music. 8ir Samuel Baker, when speaking of his campaign in the Shooll country in 107& tells that an organ grinder could wal rica and be follawed by enthusiastic natives—so long as he turned the crank, and that on t:e occasion, when he was about to attacked by a horde of warriors he started the band to playing and turned the enemy into an admiring swarm while the music lasted. smallest and most curious specimen s from India, and consists of a disk of skin to be attached to the forehead and which the wearer beats with a small stick. ‘The exhibit of stringed instruments comprises the entire viol family, and shows hte best work of ancient and modern Europe. The oldest bow in- strument known, and which may be called the Eve of fiddles, is a gigan- tic thing to be sawed with a one- string bow six feet long. Another ancient bow from India is shaped like a pipe the bowl covered with snaki The smallest specimen viol is the “kit,” which old English dancing masters used to play while teaching pupils the Intricacies of their art. ‘The collection of open and vibrating strings includes many queer designs |d. —one decorated with a lively ‘nnk"‘l: a o P b4 of o b £'dragon is a “seh” from China—a bi painted thing that looks like the jid of a mummy case. ment needs to be placed on the floor and its multitudinous strings picked Jus 0dd example that suggests the huil, ing upward to a single curved m is a “soung” from Burmah, which said sounds. gin with the most primitive musical tones collected in Africa and N America, the instrument of the country being found only some native musician in the wilds of gections that were formerly under the influence of the Spaniards, who, incidentally, theirs from the Moors. stringed instrument, is of particular ‘ interest to the student of music, sin it is the duplicate of the one on whi Mozart composed “The Magic Flut clent enousn that Athenian who played an ini the drug collection is|tion of a storm, he liked it. o frankly admitted, he had seen better® storms in & cup of boiling water, a flute, doubtls the eollection are wh e skin and the stem «of bamboo. | Tar This huge instrus n one side of the bridge with ad- ble ivory finger nails. Another ¢ a small vessel, with strings slant- ' to produce sweet, wind-like These open picked Instruments be- Northi in those seem to have received A clavioord, the oldest known key- The minstrel of medicval romance is recalled by lutes. daintily fash- joned and inlald with pea. one of which still carries a faded ribbon, which the visitor likes to think some gallant troubadour slung over shoulder to serenade his lady love under her castle casement. his The lyre also has a fair showing, . ne looking old enough to have been. icked in the days when the Greeks . lay before retiring, nmolaated through darkest Af- | tr oo toen soule Ia tuns. Flutes set their souls in tune. Fiutes, too, are shown of every age and kind. Two countries, where cast prevents one of | higher rank touching witn his lips. anything that has been defiled by une are “nose flutes” from Asiatic on. Another seems an- t lower & to have belongel one evening 4,00 ears ago, and asked a llstensr how; And, as the listener very" prompted the orlgin © in a Teapot,” that® t that “T we like to think we made up our- lves. In their various places throughout les, flageolets, cymbals, gongs, bells and It is admitted that this collection, wned by the government, does mot in importance to that in New Metropolitan Mseum of Art, the average visitor the exhibit ce every musical in- ratties. ork's ut to ems to emb! trument of every nations, and of all times, starting with the Marine Band and marching back to the primeval hen Music, Heavenly Mald, was NANNIE LANCASTER.