Evening Star Newspaper, December 16, 1928, Page 105

The Face at the Window A Boarding School Mystery Story. BY W. INSTALLMENT I It was almost midnight. More than an hour before all the lights in the Hill- BOYCE MORGAN has been studying awfully hard. Com- petition among several of the girls is very keen, and it all depends on the THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. %e BOYS and GIRLS PAGE C.,, DECEMBER 16, 1928— PART T P | This is the Christmas shopping sea- | son, and we have a pocketbook here | that you can carry to the stores. Don't | spend all your money! The Pocketbook. WITH THE PUZZLE EDITOR. g CAN YOU GUESS THESE FOUR FARM PRODUC'3? | grades thay get between now and the |end of the term. Every day's work | counts, you know, so it’s a constant | strain. side Academy for Boys were supposed to have been extinguished. But five min- utes later, a small portable electric lamp had clicked on in the room occupied by Barrie Bayliss and Jack Seymour. ‘The person who lighted the lamp evi- | dently felt the need for great secrecy. The shades on the windows were tight- ly drawn. The entire room was in dark- ness, except for the circle of white light in Barrie Bayliss’ bed. and that was partially hidden by ‘the sheet, which d been fastened to the hcad of the bed, like a tent, to afford concealment. Underneath {his shelter, the lone occu- pant of thé room lay with a book before him, his eyes glued to the pages, his body rigid with attention.. And when- ever a ‘board creaked somewhere in the big building, or the inter wind whistled wildly outside, the eyes of ihis boy in the bed shifted nervously. Not only was Barrie Bayliss breaking the “lighis out” rule of the academy, but he was reading a mystery “thriller,” and it was so exciting that every sound startled him. Jack Seymour, his m- mate, was out for th: cvening. Jg':‘k's sister ‘'was a student at a neighboring institution, Miss Vane's Select School for Girls, and Jack had permission to visit her there one night each week. ‘Thus. alone in the room, Barrie was enjoying the gripping tale to the ut- most. The detective hero of the story was | trapped. In a cave far below the earth's surface, masked figures had jumped upon him. They were about to tor- ture -him, much to Barrle’s . chagrin. when suddently the boy sat bolt upright in bed, his hair prickling along his scalp. What had he heard? It wasn't just the wind this time. No! There were stea'thy footsteps in the hall out- side his door. Barrie remembored with a sinking fecling that the door was not locked. He watched the knob with fascinated eyes as the quiet, ominous tread came closer and closer. ‘The knob turned, the door slowly opened and Barrie's room- mate, Jack Seymour, entered quietly. “Oh-h-h-h!” Barrie sank back into the bed with a sigh of relief. The other boy, who was taller than the oc- cupant of the bed, and unusually well built, grinned at him. “Breaking rules again, are you?” said the newcomer, throwing off his sheep- #kin coat. “Reading another thriller, too, You look scared half to death. “I was,” admitted Barrie. “Boy, this book is & peach! I'll never go to sleep until I finich 1t.” “That s0?" said Jack. “Well, suppose you throw aside your mystery story while I tell you about a true mystery that is just sbout as baffling as any you | | | my black eye.” | black eye. | tably a fight ensued, and it was dur- “Well, some funny things have been happening over at the school during the past two weeks. It started a week ago last Sunday night. I usually see Kay over the week end, but you'll remem- ber that I wasn't over then because of Barrie ‘nodded understandingly.’ There was quite a story behind that It had been one feature of the bitterest fist fight that the Hill- side School had witnessed in years, a fight that had come as the climax to months of enmity between Jack and “Snorter” Parkinson. Snorter, as his nickname implies, was a loud, boast- ful boy with a mean disposition. Jack had earned his disfavor during the foot ball season by beating him out for a berth on the school team, and the feud thus siarted had been carried on by the other boy, although Jack. did his best to bz friendly toward him. Snorter stooped to several mean tricks | to get Jack into trouble, but with lit- | tle success. Finally, on the Saturday to which Jack referred in his talk to EBarrie, the boys were skating on the lake and Snorter intentionally jostled Jack, knocking a “hot dog” that he was cating, out of his hand. lnevi-l ing the fight that Jack received his | black eye. Incidentally, Snorter re- quired the services of a local doctor and dentist before he could appear in pub- lic, and the beating that Jack had given him delighted all who had wit- nessed it. “But what has your .sister Kay got to do with this mystery you were go! to tell me about?” inquired Barrie. “I'm coming to that,” sald Jack. “Kay had a good lead toward winning the prize, you know, but, as I said, she’s been working awfully hard, and she’s rather nervous, as a result. Well, a week ago last Sunday night she was studying late for an exam on the fol- | lowing day, when a horrible face ap- | peared at the window of her room. Kay was frightened halt to death, and as a result she flunked the exam the next morning.”. “That's a shame,” exclaimed Barrie hotly. “What kind of a face was it that frightened her?” “Well, it was pretty horrible, T guess. But that's not all. The same thing ms appeared two nights since then, d each time it hes been before some sort of exam or Something. As a re- sult, Sis is almost a wreck, and her scholastic record is shot to pieces. I was. helping her tonight with some math, on which she has a test in the morn- THE PANTHER WAS IN FRONT OF ME. THERE CAME A SOUND THAT MADE MY BLOOD RUN COLD. Waldemar Bonsels is a great lit- erary figure in modern Germany. As a young man he spent a long period in India, not roving from place to place, but settling for months at a time off the beaten path of travelers in city and country dwellings. From these hz worked far into the jungles. Disregarding traditions of race prestige, he made | | | 2 collapse and the feeling as if dark wings were brushing her temples. It must have been a thorn. Then had come giddiness, swinmjng in the head, failing pulse. The hands were cramp- ed, and by degrees all the limbs, as if there were glassssplinters in the blood, tearing the vessels. At length the dread certainty found vent in a cry: “The Queen of Darkness!” The jungle was filled with this cry, rice and fruit from the nearest jungle | village. ‘The natives had realized that we were dependent upon their aid, and conss | quently my . ore of money was rapidly | melting away. Panya was outraged by these cxactions. He muttered impre- | | cations against the extortioners, and | more than once he vowed that he would | burn their village over their heads. My equanimity led him to take me seri- ously to task. ‘Sahib, you are a great lord. You can do whatever you please, but you do nothing. The days pass one after | another like waves breaking on the |ehore. They lcave no trace, and each |day is like the one before. When we | were in Anantapur you used to mock |at the Brahmins for lying in the sun lall day and eating the temple rice, as |they are privileged to do. Now you |are as idle as they.” ‘The green wilderness of the jungle |in the plains steamed in the'morning | sunshine, and was often veiled in mist that were crouching on branches; but never again, even when the danger was lessness. An inadequate protection will often. make us far more anxious than the certainty of having to face danger without any protection at all—and this not only where panthers are conoefl_'ncd! * x ok X IN the twilight of morning we found the slaughtered panther among the aloes. The ground had been trampled and torn in his death agony. But the great beast now lay quiet, looking al- most peaceful, and with no obvious sign of injury. On close examination, I found that he had been hit by only one of the bullets, which had entered behind the car, traversing the neck and breaking the spine. The eyes were closed, which is rare in a slaughtered beast. The muzzie, beautifully moulded, had a far greater, did I feel anything like |* | my present sense of horror and help- The definitions are: Horizontal. . Recollects. . Sun-dried brick. . At. . Southern State (abr.). . L . Supplied with food. . Boy Scouts (abr.). . One who makes a purchase. . To rip. . Simple. . By. . Indefinite article. Purses. Vertical. . Railroad (abr.). . A Spring month. . Boys’ nickname. . Legal tender. . A kind of small shot. 2 ir;lkl!-llke fish. . To exist. . A college degree. A sl 5 3 logan. . Animal’s hair. . Democrat (abr.). . To voice. . Financial institution. . City in Nevada. . Apostle (abr.). A pronoun. . North side (abr.). | 5 s | In a four-word square, the first is| a Winter vehicle, the second is a girls’ | name, the third is to grudge and the fourth is periods of time. Form the square. Each of the following words is a boy’s name, jumbled up. Rearrange each line, then rearrange the lines so that the first letters form still another . Cross word puzzle solution. [RIEM/EIMIBIEIR IS | (RIJAIDIOBIEMNOC [OMlBIL N E] [TIEJAIR] Do 0 B0 Q0 FEEEEUEOREE 2, The words in the square are sk, Lena, envy and days. 3. W-heat, c-lover, butter and poui- try ipole tree). 4. The names are Ivan, Daniel, Wal- ter, Elmer and Norman. thelr first letters form Edwin. TIN CAN BUILDINGS. @re reading.” friends among natives of all castes. |at once a cry of veneration for the deity untll noon. In the fresh hill air I ruBlum"d thntml: rvommntre’mx‘nr- wly, and saw € was no > Jack's face was, in fact, very sem’)l“xi Harging up his sweater, he drew a| heavy bathrobe from' the closet and pus it on. Then h> sprawled on his own bed. a few feet from Barrie's. “We'd better be quiet, or we'll have Mr. Havre up - here giving us ths dickens,” he said. “But I've got to tell you about this, Barrie. You think you're . the school's- prise- detective, and maybs you m;:. Anyway, here’s a chance to Tove LA 3 Barrie had reluctantly shoved his ook under the bed. y 1t 50h 0 e Euod 1 vou sumees 10 keep 'S gof you expe: me away from that book. Let's hear your mystery.” % For a moment Jack said nothing. ..Deep wrinkles' showed in his forehead below the curly yellow hair, and his eyes had & puzzled, worried expression. Barrie, watching him out of his own lvely black eyes, could easily believe that he was about to hear something worth listening to. Then, while the wind from 'the lake whistled mourn- fully about the Corners of the building, Jack began to speak. x:B‘atfle," he said, “I'm worried about v “About Kay?” Barrie's interest was immediately increased by th> mention of Jack's pretty sister. “But and Jack was on his feet, undressing. Thers was a knock on the door, which was pushed open at once. “But this face business,” persisted Barrie. “Just how—" He never finished the sentenee, for at that moment Jack suddenly held up a hand commanding silence. Listen- ing, the boys xnd footsteps coming along the corridor outside. “Mr. Havre!" whispered Jack. “He's heard us!” Like a flash Barrie was under the covers, snoring loudly, *“Hello, expression. “Sorry to keep you from bed, but I heard you come in from seeing your sister, and thought you'd st be up.” paused for a mo- ment, while Jack regarded him ex- pectantly, then went on. “Don’t be alarmed, but Miss Vane just called up from her school, and asked you to run over there at once. Something has happened to your sister, and she wants you, but I think she's out of danger now.’ 5 Jack's face went pale. Like a flash he threw off his robe and reached for his sweater. At the same instant the covers of Barrie’s bed were thrown back, and forgetting that he was sup- ~ flwbeulnep,'.heboylupedw e floor. “Yes. You know, she's dead set on winning this university medal for scholarship over at her school, and she “I'm going with you, Jack!" he cried. (To be continued next Sunday.) EL COMANCHO’S STORIES. Wild birds and animals talk to one @nother, just a5 human beings do, but they do not use words because that is not necessary. Wild are inter- ested in getting the food that they like, and plenty of it. They are ever alert, living in constant fear of attack by many enemis They are sensitive to ‘weather changes. and hunt shelte from storms. They have to have wi ter and know how to find it. things they do not need words, but they do’'need some sort of lan- y wild * things post guards to keép watch while tha flock or the herd is feeding. These guards warn their fellows of any approaching danger in plenty of time for escape. Geese, cranes and ‘nearly all other birds that travel in flocks, do this, as do antelope and other animals that travel in herds. They all have a limited language of their own ameng themselves, and they “talk” by using the same sound to mean the same thing every time. Every one of their sounds, or calls, is distinc- tive, and éach stands for a whole ide: and not for just one word.. Thus they talk a sort of “sound shorthand.” One call means “Here is food:" an- other stands:for “Look out! Danger!” and conveys the idea of caution, of. be- ing ready to flee. By a particular way if the danger is very mear. A differ- ent accent is used if the danger is at 2 distance. When the call of close danger comes, the whole flock or herd gets away at once, without stopping to look around or investigate the nature or location of the peril. Still another call means “Here is water,” while another stands for “Time to go,—follow your leader.” When a storm is brewing, all birds and ani- mals are very restless and active, and make many calls. One means “Where are you?” while a second answers “Here I am.” Others say “Time to rest,” “Time to hunt food,” and so0 on through the short list of calls given by Individuals of each species to cover their need of communicating ideas to their fellows. Moreover, the danger calls of each species are known and understood by all other species. A bluejay, snooping about like a little blue ghost among the trees, will see a man, perhaps a hunter, moving about in the timber, and he will give the bluejay's danger call. - Instantly all the wilderness crea- | tures will run cr fly away, and they stand the bluejay’s signal. Stady the noises and calls of the wild things at your every opportunity, of accenting the danger call they warn and see how much you can learn about them. EXCITING LEAF RACE ‘The leaf race is more difficult than you might suppose. The players are each provided with two large leaves. ‘These are placed down and taken up ‘at each step, and the racers must walk only upon them. Even though the dis- tance to be covered is only fifty or sixty feet, it will call skillful balancing and manipulation of the leaves. Cne of the secrets of speed is to put the leaves far cnough ahead each time to Insure rapid progress. ‘Water lily leaves or linden tree leaves are best. Choose a smooth stretch of ground and make two parallel marks ihe required distance apart. The ref- eree oversees this laying out of the course and also checks each runner.|curately not more than two or three |rible doom: she had stified her fears’labor and of I8 a runner stoos from a leaf or any for a lot of | part of the foot touches the ground he is disqualified. For this reason be sure | to obtain leaves which are large enough. | 'The runners line up back of the) ‘stamng line, each standing upon two | leaves.” At the starting signal one foot is raised and the leaf available is pick- | ed up and put down on2 stride ahead and in line with the opposite goal. The raised foot is then placed upon the front leaf and the other leaf picked up and put ahead. Some very amusing and often ridiculous actions will in- variably take place, much to the amuse- i thousands of years been subject to strict rule. gers to any one whose will keep going because they under- |p His adventures were fraught with mystery, danger and beauty. This is the first of a series of articles in which, with a fresh view- point and a vivid sense of drama, he gets close to the heart of India. BY WALDEMAR BONSELS. HE perils of India have little to do with the indigenous popula- tion, for the "inhabitants are peaceful and kindly, show no lust for slaughter, and have for Apart from the passions fomented by political fanaticism and from the crimes resulting from revenge, hatred and the craving for power, in the greater part of the peninsula Euro- pean travelers are in no danger from tives. Lh'en?: perils of India, its influences, and its secret powers, belong to a lati- tude of existence very different from that in which kn“xen do}' pfli’lml 1}'.';5(:‘;5‘1:‘! woe. a offers - S sy dema;'ld}f lgutmn gln nd the preservation of ransi- z:l?; life; b\lx’t the daemonic spirit of India touches the very marrow of the soul where it is endeavoring to salve the great problems of existence and to storm the heights of human conscious- ness. ‘With the incomprehensible tranquil- lity of its heavenly triumph, the ancient spirit of the eternal realm of God par- yzes all the fierce zeal of struggle and research, all youth fighting for knowl , and the vigor of all spiritual ac- uv\é{:il is, has been. 1 was traveling in the jungle by the waters of the Valarpattanam Lagoon, accompanied by my Hindu attendant, Penya, and my Mohammedan cook, Pasha. We had pitched our tent near a village and I was asleep in the night when & loud cry awakened me. In the thick darkness outside of the tent, nothing was visible beyond the tree stems close to the fire and reflect- ing fts light. They gleamed with a fantastic air of unreality, resembling limbless monsters with shapeless heads formed by the foliage, crowding into a narrow red-lighted room. Pasha was beside the fire. “A woman is crying out in terror of eath,” he said. 5 Coming forth from the tent, I could see torches moving in the forest, and could discern the dusky forms of sav- ages. My heart was racked by a wom- an’s wail. Rarely have I heard so piteous an expression of grief and des- pair. It was an animal cry of pain, and yet voiced the misery of the hu- man spirit. I felt as if a ghost were walking in the night, and I had re- peatedly to pull myself together to keep my energies from being paralyzed and to avold succumbing to a sense of | | 0rTOr, “Make a light,” I shouted. * Kk % ¥ A CLOUD of yellow smoke enveloped us, and then a tall red column flickered in its midst. A cluster of naked figures appeared, timid and yet eager, carrying a recum- bent form upon a stretcher improvised out of branches. A woman with black locks streaming across her face, gesti- culating wildly, called to me something unintelligible. . Despite her intense ex- | citement, despite the urgency of her errand, she did not venture close to me, | but I could now make out that her ex- | pression was, one of mingled dread and hope. | On the stretcher lay a girl of 12 or! 13, ‘scantily covered with a parti-col- ored strip of cotton. Beneath this her slender form was contorted. “The cobra,” said Panya. “The moth- | er_has come to you for: help.” My heart bled under the glances of the old woman, a touching and pitiable figure as she stood before me in her pain and hideousness. Her lamenta- tions had ceased, for now she was dumb with expectation; craning for- ward she peered into my face, seeming o believe that at my pleasure I could give death or life to her daughter. With the other villagers, the girl had becn prowling around our camp to catch sight of the strange man from a foreign world, from.a world that lay beyond the sea and was full of myster- fes and wonders. In her eagerness for the novel and the incomprehensible, | she had 'forgotten the caution that is indispensable in the jungle, the caution | that had been impressed on her from carliest childhood. Amid the gloom, she had felt the | m-nt of the onlookers. To keep check on the runners ac- l.shanld compete at ona timae, 3 little prick which at the outset her heart would not believe to be the ter- notwithstanding the sudden anguish of | | and a cry of horror and lamentation. It was too late. I lanced the wound, which was no mora than a needle prick on the foot, with blackened margins. The cautery is only of use in the first instant after the bite, and in any case I could never have brought myself to add a fresh torment to those from which the little frame was already suffering. Let the child die in peace, exclaimed a voice within me. last privilege on earth. Often we remained encamped for a considerable time in one spot, my goal and the passage of time forgotten. K The green eyes of the jungle and the silvery breath of the night air in' the open country put a spell upon me; thought gave place to reverie; day was an indefeasible certitude of the joy of life, and night a formless dream. ‘The vigorous, tranquil and patient growth of the plants that claimed every corner of the earth, gradually robbed my mind of the consciousness of its own right. Cradled in wonder and animated by the will of another ex- istence than my own, I moved onward as it walking in sleep: and yet at the same time vigilant and profoundly per- meated with a glowing faith in the sacredness of being. But as the days passed, I began more and more to feel that something was wrong with me. I tried all kinds of remedies except the only one that could have helped me—fiight from the swampy jungle. A * It is her | | * ox X 'Y home had vanished from memory. Europe had become a noisy and unpleasant dream, full of needless bustle. I smiled compassionately when I recalled the fuss that I had made over the petty happenings of my rest- less past. My imagination ran‘riot in colorful dreams. Life was clouded with visions. At length I seemed to awaken in a new existence. My limbs were weight- ed as with an infinite fatigue, while my eyes were unsteady and stupefied. Suddenly I caught sight of my hand lying on my knee. ‘It looked like a foreign object, emaciated and quite white. I tried to raise it, and it obeyed me. I sighed profoundly, and distinctly recall saying out loud: “This cannot be the old life.” ‘Thereupon Panya appeared. He looked extraordinarily unreal, as if he were floating in the air. My thought was, “Hullo, there is a brown man with a white turban!” “Sahib!” he cried, as he looked into I asked my eyes, “Sahib, speak “Where are we, Panya?” feebly. “What’s happened to the time, Panya?” e The boy stared at me uncomprehend- ingly. A fresh anxiety was obvious in his face, but this waned as he continued to look at me. “Sahib, speak good words to me.” he ?elglged, at once dublously and hope- ully. ‘Then I realized that my questions had been in German, so I repeated them in English. Instead of answering, Panya uttered a loud cry, fell upon his knees and em- braced mine. Sobbing, he stammered: “Sahib, you will live!" “Where have we got to, Panya?” Panya rose with a happy laugh, moved to one side and said: “That is the sea. We are high in the hills, and you are looking down on the sea. We carried you here from the swamps, marching for two days and two nights without stopping to sleep, and hardly resting at all until we reached the fresh air and quiet. Look around. Look at the forest! This is the abandoned bungalow of an English | | farm. We had to drive out the donkeys | which had taken possession of the house.” | He paused and looked at me’ once| more. Then he went on: “Oh, Sahib, now you have come to yourself again. Sense has returned to your eyes and your words, and joy has returned to my breast.” As I watched Panya weeping, I un- derstood that he was speaking the truth, and that, from the realm of fever poisons, my spirit had come back into the world of reality. * ok ok ok MANY of the necessities of life were lacking to us. The white ants have wrought havoc among our food supply. Still, there were not many mouths to feed. Besides myself, Panya and Pasha, there were only two porters from South Canara. ‘These latter, with great expenditure of ften at the hazard of their lives, would from n‘ms to time procure { whether T shouldered it at the last in- ) flecing before the hunters. found it difficult at times to under- stand how I could have endured the air at the lowland for so long. At night a paither would occasion- ally prowl even on the veranda, driven by hunger out of the arid uplands of the neighborhood. ‘The wild beasts in general had with- drawn into the jungle from the parched open country, and when in the after- noon, gun on shoulder, I left the wood- land to walk over the bare hills the only animals I encountered were jacks als and hyenas. But they always slunk away out of range. One moonlit night Panya came into my room and called me, Behind stood Pasha, tall and straight. Besides the moonlight, there played on his figure from beneath the light of the fire that was burning in the inclosure. “Sahib,” said Panya, “the panther is so hungry that he is eating the fire. We can’t drive him away, and it is im- possible to get any sleep.” The news was welcome. I took up my gun and told Panya to quench the flames. The porters were away in the piains, having gone t> buy rice and fowls. I loaded both barrels with ball and vlaced my revolver handy. There was no glass in the window, which was protected merely by thick'staves. Some of these had been removed by Panya, but they would nbt have withstood a serious attack. ' I took up my position in the shadow and we waited. Pasha lay down in the corner of the room, and soon I heard him snoring. Panya remained close by me, haying armed himself with the longest knife in our cutfit, and with a bill-hook. He brandished it as if he were an Indian chief. grinning with excitement, and then beg:m&o admirable an imitation of the bleatihg of a goat that for the first time I fully realized that we were waiting here for the great beast of prey. PERHAPS an hour had slipped away, and I was beginning to lose patience, when suddenly the moonlight was eclipsed. Strangely enough, the last thing I thought of for a time was the panther, especially since all was now still, for the beast mush have got wind of uts when he made his last move- ment. At length, T perceived the huge cat Jjust in front of me. Big as he was, he was smaller than I had pictured him, and in that light almost colorless; bu: I could distinctly make out the supple vigor of the beautifully curved back, and I could see the splendid cat-like head, which was turned toward me with half-open mouth. At this moment there came a sound that made my blood run cold. It was a hissing snarl, loud and clear, express- ing mingled anger and dread—a sound that paralyzed the will I remembered that I had heard this hideous and terrifying snarl at the zoo- logical gardens in my childhood, when one of the keepers had passed close by the bars of tg: tiger's cage. It was true that now Hkewise I was separated from the beast of prey by a grating; but the fierceness of his voice made him seem so close that even the strongest iron bars would hardly have inspiroed me with confidence. I cannot now recall whether I al- ready. had my gun at my shoulder, or * ok ok K stant, but I know that I took aim with- lont feeling the slightest confidence in the effect of the harge. I fired be- | tween the beast's eyes, which I could | plainly distinguish, relying more upon | the natural tendency of my arms to | give the right direction to the, barrels, | than upon the sight. I fired both barrels II‘I brief and perhaps too rapid succes- on. I heard a noise on the floor of the veranda, as if {ha beast had leapt down from the roof. An instant later, one of the staves in the window snapped like 2 pipe-stem ‘beneath a terrible blow from the creature’s paw. Then all was still on the veranda, as we listened to, the echoes of the shots reverberating from crag to ' crag and rolling nlong the valleys, to die away finally in the distance of the moonlit night, like the clamor of two brothers After this, th> first definite sensation that brought me to myself was a pain in the hand with which I was grasping my revolver as firmly.as if life de- pendad on it. I could not re lect hav- ing taken it up; but now, drawing a deep breath, I relaxed my grip, and reslized that I was shaking all over as if in the cold stage of fever. pained and almost tender expression, the jaws being slightly paried, as if in a last sigh. The thorny, bluish-green leaves of the aloes contrasted with the yellow tint of the panther's fur, the scolor-scheme being strangely harmon- jous, and seemingly peculiarly appro- priate to these Indian surroundings. I shall never forget the picture, which is so strongly impressed upon my mind | because now for the first time I felt that I' had fully grasped the indescrib- able charm of India, which in.all its significance and ty can be con- veyed neither by the brush of the painter nor by the words of the poet. Panya was silent all the 3 great lord of the hills was dead. (Copyright, 1928.) « The Kitchenette HELEN. BY AUNT How about an old-fashioned taffy pull for one of these crisp winter evenings? They are loads of fun, and you can di- vide the boys and girls into teams which compete for the honor of mak- ing the best taffy. Candy made from the receipe below is delicious. ‘TAFFY. Two cups molasses, three tablespoons butter, :;1: teaspoon vinegar, one pinch king soda. Mix ingredients and cook until it forms a hair-line string when allowed to run from a spoon. Pour into buttered pans until cool enough to pull. Butter your hands and pull taffy until white and stiff enough to be cut into pieces with greased scissors. Posers. Let's explore some of thé dusty places in our think-tanks and see if we can answer a few questions. You ought to know four or five of these, at least. 1. What body of water lies between England and France? 2. What city in the United States is a center of the steel industry? 3. What famous aviator is at zresent on an expedition to the Antarctic? 4. To what food is the name “the staff of life” commonly applied? 5. What grain is produced in great quantities in Western Canada? 6. How many years are there in a decade? 7. What was the original name of New York City? 8. Who was the general who sur- rendered at Appomattox Court House? Answers. 1. The English Channel. 2. Pitts- burgh, Pa, 3. Comdr. Richard E. Byrd. 4. Bread. 5. Wheat. 6. Ten. 7. New Amsterdam. 8. Gen. Robert Picture Puzzle Poem. ALLEGIANCE. Stand up straight, throw out your Andctre; 0. look your very best, For you have every right to brag ‘When you salute your country’s— ) (Note: The picture is composed of the | letters which spell out a word com- pleting the rhyme above. Can you find | them?) i . Some rainy afternoon you can have | a lot of fun with some old tin cans and solder. You can make a whole farm- stead or a village. A round baking can with a cone for the roof becomes a silo. With a rectan; can with one side cut away and the ends shaped as shown, and with a sheet of tin also shaped for the roof, you have a barn to go with the silo. A shallower box with the sides cut step-down fashion and a sheet of tin for the roof becomes a small general store. A part of a smaller can—just one edge in fact—becomes the porch for the store. Buildings such as the poultry house and hog house are made by cutting Afw of the | Fer2 con ard solaer-buld i7gs youcan make away one side of a rectangular box and then soldering on a flat sheet of tin. Openings are cut in the front for win- dows while the door is fashioned by making one right angle cut in the end for the door. This should be bent to stand out as shown. Going still further with this interest- ing fun, you can work out anything wanted, from a water tank for your town by using a small tin can, sup- ported by four braced, right-angle, tin strips, to & pretty realistic boat made from a sardine can. For the seats, solder in tin strips. These buildings and fixtures should be put in hot lye water, then rinsed and dried before paint is applied. Then it will be sure to stick. You are acquainted with the taste and . appearance of salt which ap- pears on your table at home, -but do you know what it really i Do you know of what it is “made"? For salt is not merely “just salt,” but com- posed of several things which when brought together by nature or by man produce the white material so useful in the preparation and the seasoning of our foods, a substance essential to men and to animals and plants. Table salt, queer as it may seem to you, is composed of a metal called sodium and ‘a gas known as chlorine. Sodium is a silvery metal but as soft as putty; chlorine is a greenish-yellow gas, extremely poisonious and irritating to the mucous membranes. . It may seem strange that such a substance as salt should be composed of a metal and a poisonous but it is even so. For if a very small plece of sodium be dropped into a flask containing chlorine a violent: explosion will take place and in examination of the bottle will dis- close small quantities of salt. or srdium chloride, as it is known. And it will be ‘the samesort of salt your mother has on hkel' H{fhfi:‘ glhuhl!s. G Sache To, make sal .way is rather -emmm and so we' are fortunate in having large deposits of this val : 'Solve the Puzzle. Just Dropped Himself. Little Bobby was playing on the second-floor porch, and stepping back- ward fell down the stairs. His mother, hearing the noise, came to the door and called down to sce what the bumping was. Bobby picked himself up and called back, happened, I just dropped myself. _-It‘Mlgl;_Bc. Subsequently, in Canara and Mysore, I shot many panthers; some in rice- fleldy, some in rocky ravines, and some | s’usb—“wul you join me in & cup cf ey . tea? Sammie—*“Ah, thank wouldn'eit be & Wit crowded?” e 2 pe) you, but dot 1 to dot number 2, then %0 on, and complete ‘r pic ‘What is this animal trainer with th> wicked mustache, waving his finger at? Some kind of animal, but just what is ‘Take your pencil, draw a line from e | factured by nature i THE STORY OF SALT. substance all over the “earth, manu- millions of years ago, but of the same substance man uses when he makes it in a chemical laboratory. Salt is one of the most abundant of minerals. There is an unlimited supply of it deep underground in many places of the world; in some regions it is even on the surface and the ocean waters are just full of ite Most commercial salt 1s mineq; chat is, it is taken from underground sur- faces much as is coal, and in large lumps, or it is forced up through wells in the form of brine. In regions where the waters are very salty, these may be sluiced off into pans and be allowed to evaporate. In all cases, however, the salt obtained must be purified, since many foreign substances are generally found in its company. “;hen Wrni; I:ldf “Hurrah! Five dollars for my latesd story.” “Congratulations. young man. From whom did you get the money?” “From the express company. They lost 1t.” Poor Taste. “Mamma, if you had met Col. Lind- hergh before you met Pop, would you 1ave married him instead?” “Why, no, dear, of ccurse not.” “My goily, you're dumb, Ma!" PenI of the P_rc_g:um. “Here, young man, you shouldn't hit that boy whon he’s down.” t03,4and! “Gwap! What d'yer think s ture: down £er?” 3 Tet