Evening Star Newspaper, May 24, 1925, Page 74

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, The Tenant of the Lighthouse BY E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM. Detective Recognizes the Handiwork of Sir Joseph in the Hotel Murder and Then Come Dramatic Incidents. iL Sir Francis Worton, _C. B., D. 8. O., sometimes known as Q 20—the abbre- viated designation of the Home Secret Service Depart- ment, which he had so sucessfully in augurated—stretched himself out in Daniel Rocke’s easy-chair. “Dantel,” he confided, your secretary immensely “You do!” niel exclaimed “I like her manners,” Sir Francis continued, “I like her appearance, I like her taste in clothes, and I adore the way she does her hair.” “Am I to understand you are making me the recipient of these con- fidences,” Daniel inquired. his and wiping them, “‘that you are contemplating ing me for her hand in marria “Don’t be a fool!” was the prompt reply. “In the first place, if I wanted to marry her, T should ask her, and not you. And in the second place, 1 am, as you know, a confirmed old helor. 1 was thinking of inviting to lunch.’ “Why not? Winder; punctilous. He used to ‘without asking me.” Sir Francis was visibly annoyed “Does he want to marry her?” Inquired. “I should he Daniel acknowiedzed His chief made little grimace. “Well, h good-looking fellow- fair income and all the rest of i Why doesn’t she marry him?"’ Daniel stretched out his hand ward the bell hall we have her her?” he sugzested Don’t be a fool!” Daniel relaxed a little. s a matter of fact,” he confided, “I don’t think Windergate or anybody else will have much of a look-in just vet. T remember telling you her his- tory. She is the daughter of the first man whom Londe did away with— the first we know of, that is to sa) She doesn’t think much of any of us for not having brought him to book before t Sir F I admire h ite was ke her out he probably does,” in and s nodded “I am not sure that I : for being a little disappointed,’ observed maliciously. “You've had that fellow cornered two or three times and allowed him to gzet away. Daniel smiled “You have never a lunatic, have you “A lunatie.” Sir “That ought to easier.” “You obviously haven't finer lights of criminolc remarked dryly. “A clever is mad on one point, and 18 the most dangerous in the to_tackle.” “I should certainly accept the chal lenge,” Si Francis declared, with a smile” which only just escaped ing patronizing. | “You can accept it whenever you| Mke,” was the calm reply. “He is staying at the Magnificent Hotel at Shorehorough.” There was a brief pause. failed to grasp the situation. “What do you mean?" he demanded. “Precisely what I have said.” “But If you know that he is there why aren’t you doing something about ®?” “we did blame her he been up against repeated all the neis make it died the . Daniel man, who one only world be Worton something about it each time before,” Rocke reminded hi chief, “and somehow or other we/ didn’t quite get our hands upon Londe. This time we must go more warily. “How did you come by your infor- mation? “Windergate discovered some time ago that Londe will have the Lancet every week, and will have it sent to him direct. He's been on the wrong | track once or twice in hunting down | mysterious subscribers. This time. however, I her think the finger points the right way. The Lancet is being sent to the Magznificent to a Dr. Benson. No such person is known there, vet the paper is always claimed.” “Can’t you have the place watched by a local detective?” Sir Francls sug- gested. “We had that done last week,” Daniel replied, a little wearily. “The Lancet disappeared just the same." Sir Francis held out his hand. *Pass me the time table,” he begged. aking off | less | “It is time I took a hand in the | game.” | Sir Francis made not the slight- | est secret of his visit to the Mag- nificent at Shoreborough. He booked his rooms under his own name. At the end of three days he was prepared to Scoff at the idea of Londe's being, or having been at any recent period, & visitor there. On_the psychological day, however, the Thursday when the Lancet was delivered, there was a dramatic change in the situation. The copy of the paper was surreptitiously removed from the pigeonhole in which it had been placed, notwithstanding the vigilance of three r four people, and the waiter, a young ‘renchman, who had served Sir Fran- cis, was picked up at the bottom of the cliffs, a mile or so out of the town, with a broken neck and sundry very suspicious wounds in the back of his head. Sir Francis telephoned to | Daniel. “T am coming up to town for an hour, by the 11:40," he announced. | “You had better arrange to come | back with me. Windergate is on his way down.” “I will be ready,” Daniel promised. “Pity you seem to have let the fellow | slip through your fingers.” ‘Eleven-forty.” Sir Francis repeated. I'll come straight around to see you tter 1 have called for a moment at my rooms.” Sir Francis, however, neither called {upon Daniel that day nor returned to his rooms, and within 24 hours every | newspaper in London was announcing in prominent headlines: MYSTERIOUS | DISAPPEARANCE OF A WELL KNOWN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL. Worton spent the first of those fever- ish days following his disappearance in pain, discomfort and fear. He had a blurred, but more or less connected, | recollection of his taxicab having been stopped in a block of vehicles at the entrance to the station; of 2 man put- ting his head in at the open window s though to ask a question; of a faint odor, followed by an amazing paralysis of mind and body. He did as he was told weakly and tremblingly. Assisted by his guide he stepped out of the vehicle, entered the station, passed across the bridge to the arrival platform, left the station again, entered a closed motor car and was driven rapidly away. His guide had taken the seat by the chauffeur, and he found himself next to a woman who, even in those blurred minutes, he seemed to realize was beautiful. He found strength to ask her a fal- tering question. She smiled, patted his hand and made an evasive but encour- ng reply. Presently the car left the sad for a narrow lane. They bumped their way across a field with the sea in full view, and stopped before what appeared to be 2 lighthouse—a white- plastered, round building. A light- house! The whole thing was too ridicu. lous. There followed a period of further oblivion s When once more he recovered con- sciousness he was lying on a plain, hard mattress in @ small circular room with white-washed walls, and looking down at him critically was a keen. faced man of powerful appearance. By his ‘F‘I:G stood the woman. ‘Where am I?” Worton 3 What has happened?” o ou are in good hands,” was the calm reply. “Lie still.” The tenant of the lighthouse stooped down and felt the prostrate man’s pulse. Then he turned to the woman. “Most annoying. perfect subject.” Then the whole truth came like a ving flood of horror to the man who lay there powerless. These two could be no others than Londe, the lunatic butcher surgeon, with his lunatic wife. He was in their power. An absolutely “Where am I and what do you want with me?” . “I will explain,” the other replied courteously. “I am Sir Joseph Londe, the Australian surgeon. I saved thousands of lives in the war—I and the lady here, who was my head nurse and who is now my wife. Un- fortunately, although I am a strong man, the strain was too great for me. I went mad.” “Mad! Sir Francis mechanicall “Precisely. One little corner of my brain alone is affected—a matter of discoloration. I need a small transfusion of what is vulgarly called ‘gray matter.’ Yet believe me, my muttered sible thing to find a brain w! afford me just what I wan Sir Francis was slowly recovering his _courage. “My brain,” he declared, ered with red patches.” “I don't believe it,” was the firm rejoinder. “Judith! Can you see anything yet The woman, who had been standing at the window, turned. “Nothing,” she answered. Londe looked down apologetically at his prospective victim. “You resent this delay without a doubt,” he observed. “So do I. The fact is, there has been such a fuss in the newspapers and among the police about a recent subject of mine upon whom I experimented a few days ago that my wife thougkt it as well to conceal my surgical instru- ments for a short time. I have sent for them, however, and they ought to be here at any moment.” “Will you tell me,” Sir Francis asked, “what that accursed stuff is “is cov- IN MID-AIR, ALREADY HALF- WAY DOWN, A MAN WAS DE- SCENDING A THIN ROPE LAD- that you used upon me at the sta- tion?” Londe smiled complacently. “The use of that stuff, as you call it,” he declared, “will, in due course, be proclaimed as the greatest scien- tific discovery of the war era. With a single whiff I can make a baby of the strongest man—ho has no will and very little strength. With a ) double Whiff it becomes a_perfect and marvelous anesthetic. When oper- ating on you, for instance, you will feel nothing—two whiffs and then eternity.” “Most consoling,” Worton muttered. “I have some indifferent implements in an old case” Londe confided. I will examine them. Make ypurself comfortable, Sir Francls, until my return.” * k% X E left the room and the woman turned slowly away from the window. She came to the side of the couch and looked down at her hus- band’s prisoner meditatively. “You can’t mean to stand by and dear sir, I find it almost an impos-)into possession of money lately. h will | appears to have bought a bicycle and see vour husband commit murder,” he pleaded. “I have stood by while he has done his work a hundred times,” she re- plied. “Many died. They did not call it murder then. But wait, I will show you something,” she whispered. She crossed the room and lifted up a plle of sacking which lay in the corner. Underneath was a long black case. She raised the 1id and held out a short but deadly looking knife. “The case of surgical instruments,” she confided. “He thinks I sent them away. I didn't. I hid them here.” A gleam of hope restored Sir Fran- cis’ courage. “Put it back quickly,” he begged. “Your husband might comein.” She obeyed him and replaced the matting. “You do not wish me to be butch- ered, then?" he asked eagerl. “It is not that,” she expl . think that my husband has the right to do whatever he chooses in order to regain his reason, but there is always such a fuss afterward. Every one is against us. Everyone objects. We have to go into hiding and it is so un- comfortable. 1 want a house in the country with a garden where there are a great many rose trees.” She paused irresolutely and looked at him. Notwithstanding his dishev- eled appearance he was a very good- looking man. “You seem to want your life,” she said ,“yet you do not plead with me, you do not try soft words. I let 2 man go free once for the sake of s that pleased me.” ou are very beautiful,” he sighed, “but I am a drugged man. If vou look at me like that I shall not care whether you give my life or not, so long as I have the kiss.” “For one moment,” she murmured, “I will see how it seems to feel your arms around me. If it pleases me— you shall live. Something helped him—a touch of man’s passion for the unusual, per- haps. He held her in his arms and their lips met. A moment later she drew away. Her cheeks were flushed. “I will do my best,” she promised. “You shall live. Almost immediately they heard Londe's footsteps upon the stairs. He came in, bearing an open case in his hand. “I fear that I shall have to apolo gize for my apparent clumsiness,” he said, turning toward his prisoner with a knife in his hand. ‘“These are very inferfor affairs.” The woman laid her hand upon his arm ““You are absurd,” she remonstrated “Don’t you realize that when this man’s body Is found a report will be made on the wounds in his head by an English_doctor—an English doctor, mind! Do you want to lose your grea reputation?” He hesitated for a moment. he threw down the knife. “I wish to Heaven I had never let you send the other case away,” he muttered. He walked up and down the room furfously, his hands in his pockets, pausing every now and then to look impatiently out of the window. He drew nearer and nearer to the pile of matting. Impatiently he gave it a savage kick. The case was disclosed. He threw himself upon it with the cry of a wild animal. Then he turned around, holding it under his arm. He Then woman who watched him. One hand already held the black tube. The fingers of the other were stealing to- ward the fastening of the case. * *x * ¥ "TELEPHONE, telegraph and 60- H.P. motor car worked together for the life of Sir Francis Worton, K. C. B, D. 8. 0. Daniel Rocke and Windergate, Capt. Milton, the chief constable of the county, the manager of the Hotel Magnificent, met together in conference in the latter's office, within a few hours of the time when Worton's disappearance had become an established fact. “The taxicab driver?” was Daniel's first question. “A most respectable man, owning his own cab,” the chief constable de- clared. “He has had an unblemished license for 17 years. But all that he knows is that his fare was spoken to, apparently by an acquaintance, whom he cannot describe, at the entrance to the station; that he must have de- scended without his noticing the fact and that he never saw him again.” “We will accept that,” Daniel de- cided. “Now with regard to the sta- tion officials “They have been thoroughly round- ed up,” the other assured him, “but very little information has been gained. It was a busy time and all we have been able to gather is that the two men probably left the station by the south entrance and entered a car on the other side. We are doing our best to trace all the cars present. that evening.” “Too slow for us, these methods, although they, of course, are neces. sary,” Danlel admitted. “We must begin at the other end. About this young waiter who was murdered? ‘When is the inquest?” ‘Tomorrow,” Capt. Milton replied. “Is there any unusual evidence?” The chief constable nodded. “In a way there is,”” he assented. “The young man had evidently come He a good many new clothes. ride most afternoons.” “Always in the same direction?” Daniel asked eagerly. “Precisely. The direction of West Shoreborough.” “Can we have the headwaiter in?" The headwaiter made his appear- ance. “How many tables had William Morton, the young waiter who was murdered?” “Eight, sir.” “Can you remember any occupant of any of the tables looked after by him, who seemed to take a special in- terest In the young man?" The waliter reflected. “There was a middle-aged gentle- man staying here—I think he must have been a doctor—who used to give ldi:: extra tips and talk to him a great “Name, please, and why did you think he waz . ioctor?”’ Daniel asked. “The gentleman's name was Fox, sir, and I thought he might be a doc- ldor because he read the Lancet a good “Which house agent does the most business on the Western outskirts of the town?” Rocke asked the chief constable. “Fellows & Co.,"” was the wondering reply. ‘““Thesy have a branch office just outside.” “Quick as you can, please, gentle- men,” Daniel begged, leading the way from the room. “We're overdue at that branch office! 7 * * k% 'HE final scene possessed a little drama of its own. As they bumped across the rough road down to the lighthouse, recently let on lease to Mr. and Mrs. Fox, they saw a wild- looking figure stagger from the door- way and make his way to the elge of the cliff. His hair was unkempt, his footsteps unsteady. They tumbled out of the car and rushed toward him. “Thank Heaven, you're safe!” Dan- jol exclaimed. ‘“Where's Londe?” Str Francis pointed downward with He took a moved a step nearer to the man and,| trembling forefinger. On the sands, hundreds of feet below, a woman was standing, looking upward. Behind her, a few yards from land, a power- fully built petrol launch was moving slowly about, and, in midalr, already half way down, a man was desce d ing a thin rope ladder. Daniel's eyes flashed as he pointed to him. ““There’s the man you want, sir,” he cried flercely. ““There’s the man who murdered that young waiter and—-" “And he nearly had me!” Sir Fran- cis interrupted. Capt. Milton smiled. “A clever idea, this escape, I sup- pose,” he said, indulgently, “‘although a trifle melodramatic—more suited for a cinema stunt than real life. They can go off in that launch in whatever direction they lfke and as far as their petrol will take them, but they can no more escape now than if the hand- cuffs were already upon their wrists. Every coast guard station, harbor- master and lighthouse keeper within a hundred miles, will have their descrip- tion within half an hour.” Suddenly a dust-covered sprang from a station taxicab and staggered toward them. It was Ann, breathless and white with excitement. “Where is he?" she demanded. May BY SIDNEY COULTER. MERICA'S participation in_the World War lasted a few days more than 18 months. For 12 months after the breaking of relations with the central pow- ers and the actual entry into the war, no American action took place on the battle front, except the occupation of a sector on two occasions by the Lst Division, and the entry into line of the 2nd, 26th and 42nd Divisions for train- ing ‘purposes. As a consequence, only one date in the whole course of our participation obtained a real oppor- tunity to shine on two occasions, and it is safe to state that, if America were given to naming streets for dates, as do our French friends, May 28 would be well remembered by now in many communities. Two of the really momentous hap- penings of our share of the war fell on May 28. A reversal on either occa- sion would have spelled disaster to our cause, and might have had, would have had, a serious effect on the win ning of the war. The happenings were just 2 year apart, the first event oc- curring in 1917 and the second in 1918. Neither was heralded beforehand, be- cause it was necessary to keep the ad ance information out of the hands of the central powers, and more especial- 1y out of the hands of Germany. On May 28, 1917, Maj. Gen. (as he was then) John J. Pershing, together with about 125 officers, Army field clerk, non-commissioned officers and men, sailed out of New York harbor bound for England, and, eventually, France, the forerunners of the Ameri- can expeditionary force, that force which was to be the deciding factor in the final outcome of the war. The steamship selected was the Baltic, of the White Star Line, and every ef- fort was made to keep the fact of Gen. Pershing’s sailing from the pub- lic. These efforts were successful, and it was not until the vovage had been completed that news of it reached the world. It i8 probable that, had the German high command known of this trip in advance, every effort would have been made to sink the Baltic. And the torpedo that found her as a target would have been 'the most profitable shot of the whole war, for it would have made all of the dif- ference in the world both as to Ameri- ca's participation and the number of troops that would have been sent abroad, and in the actual direction of those troops after they arrived in France. Included in Gen. Pershing's party were some of the foremost fig- ures in the American Army as it took its place on the battle line. A quick review of the personnel that went over on the Baltic reveals the following names of men who are well known in Washington, and who held key positions in the A. E. F.: Maj. Gen. John L. Hines, chiet of staff of the Army, who was then a major and adjutant general (Gen. Hines dur- ing the campaign commanded the 16th Infantry and the lst Infantry Brigade of the 1st Division, the 4th Division and the 3d Corps, the only officer to go from regimental com- mand_to_corps command in the A.E.F.); Maj. Gen. Dennis E. Nolan deputy chief of staff of the Arm: then a major of infantry, destined to become G-2, or the Milifary Intel- ligence of the A. E. F.; Brig. Gen. Fox Conner, who became G-3, or Opera- tions of the A. E. F., and who is now one of the assistant chiefs of staff of the War Department general staff; Brig. Gen. Samuel D. Rocken- bach, now commanding the District of Washington, but then a major, and slated for command of the tank forces of the A. E. F.; Maj. Gen. E. M. Lewis, now in Hawali, and recently the defender of the islands against the attack of the combined sea forces of the United States in the great war game of 1925; Maj. Gen. Andre W. Brewster, commanding general of the 1st Corps Area, with headquarters in figure came inspector general of the A. E. F.; Brig. Gen. Benjamin Alvord, who was the first adjutant general of the A. E. F., and who now lives in ‘Washington, retired from the Army: Maj. Gen. George O. Squier, who was chief signal officer of the A. E. F., and who now lives in Washington, having retired as a major general after four years’ service as chief signal officer of the Army; Maj. Gen. Merritte W. Ireland, then a colonel, Medical Cor who became surgeon general of the A. E. F, and is now surgeon gen- leral of the Army: Maj. Gen. Walter A. Bethel, who became judge advocate general of the A. E. F., and who re- cently retired from the Army after having been judge advocate general of the Army for four years. * x * * WHAT a prize for a German sub- marine to hang up! But the voyage of Gen. Pershing was kept se- cret, not wholly because of the safe- guards placed about the channels of news in those days, but because the distinguished officer, who had recently commanded the punitive expedition into Mexico after Pancho Villa, and who had won his spurs before that in the Philippine Islands, was not re- garded- as being worthy of constant espionage by the multitude of German spies in and around Washington in the early days of 1917. The directors of the spy system had accurately esti- mated the condition of the War De- partment, headed as it was by a man who was counted as a pacifist, and who had as his chief of staff one of the oldest officers in the Army, both in years and length of service. The Germans believed that there were no plans in existence to meet the situa- tion that had arisen; that there would be a great amount of delay due to the more or less confusing ideas known to exist among the officers of the General Staff as it was then constituted; and it was thoroughly believed bythe Ger- mans that no troops could be dis- patched to France for months, if at all. What the spies did not find out, Boston, but then a colonel who be-, MAY 24, 1925—PART 5. THEN THE WHOLE TRUTH CAME LIKE A SWAYING FLOOD OF HORROR TO THE by the arm and Londe was nearly Daniel took her pointed downward. half way. down now. “Why do you stand here and do nothing?"" she cried furiously. ““The handcuffs are as good as upon his wrists,” the chief constable said. Ann gave one glance at Daniel and pointed toward the steel hooks of the ladder, which had been secured to the remains of a wooden bench. Daniel nodded and took a quick step forward. through their indifference to the real situation, was that Gen. Pershing had been directed to select the troops for one division, which, it was contem- plated, he would command, and that he had quietly straightened out many of the tangles in the War Department when he arrived from the border, and had made plans for more than one division. His party went to New York with- out attracting attention, went aboard the ship without securing even pa: ing notice from those directed to watch the departure of individuals from this country, and, as has been stated, arrived in England safely, and a short time later in France, in equal safety. What has happened since that momentous trip is history. And the Baltic trip is forgotten by all except those who made it. They do not for- get, and every year they gather around @ dinner table and renew ac quaintances and reminiscences. This vear the Baltic party will be held at the Metropolitan Club in Washington, and it is contemplated that a perma’ nent organization will be perfected. Just a year from the day that Gen Pershing started for France the first ensive action against the German army by American troops took place. For some months these troops had been in the line, first east of Nancy in what is known as the Sommerviller sector, and then in that sector so often 'styled “the sector north of Toul” by the war correspondents, but which was named the Ansauville sec- tor. They were seasoned, those men of the 1st Division, before May 25, 1918, but they had had an opportunity to take the offensive until it was decided to try them out against the village of Cantigny, which lay in front of the ector that the 1st Division had taken over from the French in April. And thus it was that, on May 28, a day already historic, the 1st Division was to add additional glory to it, and to couple it forever with the pame of a little, obscure village situated in the region known to the anclents as Picardle, but which was now a por- tion of the Department of Oise. Much has been said about Cantigny and the first American effort, and more has been written. But there are still several facts regarding the battle BY PRESTON WRIGHT. N June 12, 1900, a_young lady of Savannah, Ga. became the wife of a_youthful news- paper man of Paducah, Ky. She was Miss Laura Spen- cer Baker. He was Irvin S. Cobb. They went to live in Paducah. Mrs. Laura Baker Cobb spent some three or four years getting an ade- quate low-down on her husband. Then she concluded he had in him the makings of some one worth while— it only he could be gotten into the right environment. Very opportunely Mrs. Cobb heard, about this time, a rumor which, as the wife of a journalist in Paducah, highly interested her. This rumor, which was to the effect that news: paper men in New York City often made salaries of as much as $60 per week, moved her to decide that it was time for her husband to migrate eastward. “I don’t believe it,” said Mr. Cobb. He knew all about newspaper salaries —according to the Paducah standard —and the story didn’t sound plausible. He had no hankering to leave Padu- cah. He had been born there and al- ways lived there. His newspaper ex- perience had been gained there. He had risen to be managing editor of the Paducah News-Democrat and was cor- respondent. of a Louisville paper. He was contributing a humorous column that was giving him some reputation. It was a pretty fair snap, any way you looked at it, and he didn't see how a fellow with a wife and child to sup- port could give up a sure thing to go chasing oft for a chimerical salary of $60 a week. Luckily for him, Mrs. Cobb was of a different temper. Granted that it wasn’t true that you could earn (or get) $60 per week in New York, she argued, still, from all reports, the metropolis was the golden field for newspaper men. “You ought to make a try, at least,” she said. “If 1 had been left to myself,” Irvin Cobb told me, “I would never have left Paducah. But my wife kept after me until I had to go. “I had no money—not a cent. But she attended to that. She financed me herself with a loan of $200, which she got from her father.” When you've got a hustler like that for a better-half you've got to make good. Irvin S. Cobb journeyed to New York, and, having done so, con- quered. But if Mrs. Cobb was the first to size up her husband's real ability, it remained for another person to dis- ability would best show itself. Cobb arrived in New York in 1904, in the month of August, the worst possible season in which to be hunt- ing a newspaper job, ‘although he ididn’t know it then. He spent three weeks trying to break past office boys so he could lay his wares before some impres- sionable managing editor. It couldn’t be done, and a return trip to Pa- ducah seemed in order. Then his irrepressible sense of hu- mor came to his aid. He went to his boarding house and composed and copied off a circular letter, which he mailed to every mgnaging editor in New York. “In the letter,” he says, “I told them Just how good I was. 1 informed them cover in what particular line that The chief constable frowned. “That’s murder,” he protested. it?" was Daniel's vicious com as he flung himself on the ground. “If I had met him face to face 1 should have put a bullet | through him without waiting for ques- tions. As it is—we’ll try a hundred- foot drop onto the shingle.” Daniel wrenched away the grap. pling irons and waited to see the lad- der collapse. ment that have not been told. is this one: Cantigny destined to be known to military mer at least, for it was the site of a co- lossal tactical blunder on the part of the German high command. It was Among them was already not have stopped! Almost on the line between the Krench and British troops, where the armies of the two nations joined hands on the Western front, it was the place which marked the definite break-through of the Ger- mans, when the British fifth army under Hough had been almost “oblit- erated Beauvais nearly 40 kilometers back of Cantigny, and only two hours out of Paris; allied reserves were not present, and at the time the Ger mans stopped there was little but the army permanently defending between the Germans and the con quest of the French capital. But the Germans elected to make their line at Cantigny, and the French brought up sufficient troops to make that de- cision necessarily a permanent one It was here that the Ist Division |composed of tried Regulars, the pick of a {Northwest, and a large number of ational Army men, who had been sent to France and assigned to the |1st Division, the whole composing a group of regiments of Infantry and {Field Artillery which had been se- {lected by Gen. Pershing himself from | Mexican border—selected at a time | When he believed that they were go- |ing to constitute his command when he went to France—was to stage its first offensive. Aot e HE division had been in the Can- tigny sector for a month previous to the capture of the town. During that time the Germans had shelled and shelled, and then had added an extra measure of shelling. For three and one-half hours one night they had subjected one of the infantry regiments, the 1Sth, to the heaviest gassing any American troops suffered during the war. During this time more than 12,000 gas shells, mixed with high explosive and shrapnel, fell on the regiment, and the casualties that for three weeks I had been try- ing to get their attention. This, I said, was the last call. And I added that in failing to hire me they were over- looking the best bet—the best news- paper bet—of the Christian era.” Having posted this epistle, he sat back and waited. He felt very much like a man col- lecting a large jack pot on a busted flush when in due and quick time he received four offers of jobs, one of them from the noted Arthur Brisbane. Tommy Dieuade, managing editor of the Evening Sun, was the man whose offer made the biggest impres- slon on the now ex-Paducahite. It carried with it a weekly emolument of $15 and a promise of something bet- ter soon. At any rate, the Sun was the lodestone which drew all news- paper men of that day. In almost no time Dieuade’s recruit was editor of the Evening Sun's hu- mor section. Within a year Mrs. Cobb came on. Another year and the World grabbed him off as special writer and staff humorist on its evening and Sun- day editions. After that it was only hort jump to magazine and play ng. Before he knew it he was a national celebrity. To an outsider it looks as though Mrs. Cobb and Tommy Dieuade were Irvin Cobb's discoverers, with most of the credit going to Mrs. Cobb. How- ever, Mr. Cobb claims some credit for discovering himself. Also, he says his old nurse and his mother had a hand in the business. “Immediately my nurse saw m he declares, “she said I was a re- markable looking child. The first photos taken of me proved she was right. Nothing has ever happened since to make her out a liar. “Then there was my mother. From tional Guard division from the | | the town ag: Paris | ths the troops under his command on the | It held the town, du, | 18th, MAN WHO LAY THERE POWERLE:! But Londe had caused a second set of hooks to be fastened to iron rings in the great stone, half way down the cliff. These kept the ladder up, de spite Rocke's efforts to dash it with its burden to the ground. Rocke would have liked to pitch Londe to death, but the mad surgeon had planned his escape too carefully. From the ladder Londe climbed into a tree as the group on the cliff above watched. No one seemed able to find any words. Londe was walking to totaled more than %00, of whom only mall proportion suffered from in- tion of the deadly fumes. The rest to the hospitals sufferin burns, an unavoidable re sing—unavoidzble unless the ha were sent from body sult of ga the place where the Germans should | gas service furnishes rubber suits to wear during suck attack. This was the occasion when an inspector for th gas service “inspected” the regiment from a safe ntage point on a hill three miles away, that the heavy losses were due to the extremely poor discipline of the regi- | ment, a report that caused the whole Cavalry patrols had reached |division, starting with Brig. Gen. Frank Parke! hen colonel commanding the and ending with Gens. John L. Hines and Robert E and division commanders respectively to say plain things about inspectors would not brave the proximity of the front lines to see actual con ditions as they were. Cantigny w take for t ed then by ¢ not a difficult town to th Infantry, l.—now Maj. Gen.—Han son E. commandant of the Arm War Coflege in this city. It was, how ever, a much different problem to hold inst the determined cot ter attacks made by the Gern time and n. But the 2§th had never given up a foot of ground in trusted to its care, and it did not pro- pose to give up any ground taken from the enemy. either, and it didn't its trenches and caused heavy losses to every wave that came out of the woods in front of it. And then the Germans, after seven of these counter attack d enough, and the town never into alien hands. The fight was not won without suffering h 1o both of officers and men. 2§th took the town the regiment supported by the other troops of the division and had behind it the great est collection of modern artillery ever assembled for American troops up to that time. This artillery was under command of Maj. Gen.—then Brig.— Charles P. Summerall, now command ing the Second Corps Area, with head quarters at Governors Island, New York Harbor. The artillery was safe hands for the battle of Cantig: for Gen. Summerall has ranked amc Cobb’s Wife His Chief Discovererl the very beginning she knew I was remarkable. “I remember that in 1915, after my return from Europe, where I had been having a private view of the World War, a number of noted per- sons gave a dinner in my honor at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. “My mother came on from Paducah to be present. There was a lot of speaking, with me as the object, and while it was at its height some one went into the box where my mother was seated, taking it all in, and asked: “*Aren’t son is nition?" “‘Not at all’ replied my mother. ‘T've been telling him he was a great man all along and I can't understand why this affair has been delayed so long. He ought to have two dinners like this every night in the week.’ " Anent “being discovered,” Cobb tells one story which may be old, but is worth repeating. “After I became established,” you thrilled to know your receiving such public recog: he vs, “I was so illadvised as to write a musical comedy. The morning newspapers _criticized it brutally. From that day has dated my com- plete aversion for morning papers. “I sat up all night in order to read the reviews as quickly as possible. Just as I was finishing the last one, a wire came from a friend in Savan- nah, my wife’s home town, who did not vet know how my production had been_received. “‘T congratulate you and American public on the fact t have now been discovered,” he said. “I telegraphed an immediate an- swer. ‘I haven't been discovered; T've been exposed,’ I told him.” (Copyright, 1925.) and then reported | Bullard, brigade | command- | in | ward the boat, without unsteadin the woman, movi with slim and effortless grace. A thick-set man, w a southwester pulled over his f ad, held out hand from the boat and She sprar with the light buoyancy of a Londe walked calmly through waves and followed her over the Already the engine was at work. The were heading for the open sea (Copy 1925.) slowly his side was cross the sands 28 Events in the World Contlict the ilier his orders and barr: quoted in French z | for field artitiery. bers of the do not forget their cl and they, too, hold date in Wash tracts former officers and men from all p: s of the country. This year | the 1st Division dinner will be h in the Arlington H nd, foll the custom set last y | party, headed | who also ranks as th of the Division and 2 | in-chief of the A. E. F\ 1st Division, in time prandial exerc It | the Baltic party other diners, number of the officers who were ihun Pershing’s party on the I afterward were in the 1st Divisi la pe Th | natio | Legion | and Charles | Gen. Fra | comprising ! the division, first me commander-; Gen mander James A of the the has called them, The Storage Battery. | EVER since the days ~ quarter of a am Gibh the b the storage bai cqupany and | rights of value, | progress in meth | and quality of g | early date there facturers in for his produ others and a features of trying to show financial backe funds. It w that the chaotic | last and that it thr s infancy an great promise Strange as it m the early da were_somew search for an outle |on the part of the manufacturers that to the developm | vehicle. With vehicle development fairly under way, the battery man cturers found themselves hard pu to it to keep pace with the progressive demand for better batteries. From that day on steady progress has mark ed the path of both vehicle and bat tery. Now each stands wellnigh per fect in its respective field. The storage battery of today bears but scant resemblance to its forebear of 25 or 30 years ago. To be sure, the same materials in great measure enter into its make-up, but the design has been modified and simplified until in | place of the heavy, cumbersome cell, we have a neat, compact, efficient cell | of very much sreater capa The title “electric storage is somewhat of a misnomer. ¢ a converter and storer of v. The electrical enerzy given to the battery during the process of charging is transformed into ¢ enerzy and stored battery is disch -ansformed, thi electrical energ. that form. The principle on which the storaze or secondary battery operates was dis overed by Plante in 1860. He found that if two plates, one of pure lead and the other of lead peroxide, were immersed in dilute sulphuric acid electric current would flow through an external circuit. After a time the sur faces on the plate became charged and the current fell to zero. Upon send ing a current through the cell in the opposite direction the plates were re stored to their original condition and the cell would again give forth cu: rent. This comparatively simple proc ess is then the foundation of the storage battery industry. Many attempts have been made to discover some combination of ele- ments other than lead and sulphuric acid which would prove practicable as storage battery components. Of the numerous combinations found com- mercially successful has been one which employs nickel hydrate and iron oxide for the electrodes and solution of caustic soda for the elec trolyte. Such a battery is known as nickel iron or alkaline battery. than goc Gibbs v irst realized »n could not atened to strangle ind | | i eir product e battery n impetus the electric gave of battery” It is in | time back into and is available in | Power and the Baby. WHE.\' a baby cries it means hard labor for himself as well for his afflicted parent. Drs. J. R Murlin, R. E. Conklin and M. R. March of the University of Rochester have been conducting careful meas- urements of the energy used up by crying babies, and they find that the metabolism, or rate of food use, by crying babies is markedly higher than that of infants contentedly cooing or sleeping in their cribs. Crying 1 per cent of the time increases the use of energy 1 per cent; so that if a baby cried all the time it would double its energy requirements and hence the amount of food it would need. Assuming that a child could keep up such a distressing performance for a day and a night, and, assuming further, that one-fifth of the energy could be transferred into muscular work, the doctors calculated that on this basis this imaginary long-timg squaller could develop enough power to lift himself to the top of the Washington Monumeat.