Evening Star Newspaper, December 30, 1928, Page 69

STORIES SPORTS The Face at * A Boarding School Mystery Story. BY W. BOYCE MORGAN Barrie Baviess, who has the ambition to e an_smateur detective. rooms With Jack jeymour at Hillside Aeademsy s y. Who attends Miss Vale's School fof . nearby. Is trying for a_scholarship veral times while studying she has been frightened by a mysterious face at her window. Then one night Jack gets i from Miss Vale's school. saying that is sister has been hurt. He and Barrie ush over to the school to find that Kay as been frightened by a white figure that stepped out before her from s balcony one of the carridors of the school, Flec*n from the figure, she falls down stairs and breaks her arm. Barrie gels permission from Miss Vale to try to solve the mystery without summoning the police. INSTALLMENT III Barrie made one request: before leav- ing Kay and Miss Vale, and that was that they conceal from the other girls the way in which Kay had suffered her broken arm. “If my theory about this ‘ghost’ is right,” he said, “the knowledge of this accident would end its appearances and prevent us from catching it." The others agreed, and Barrie and Jack went at once to examine the bal- cony, leaving Kay feeling much better —— 7 2 the Window VKAU you,” grinned Barrie, “Feeling as you do, you'd fly off the handle and spoil everything. I don't blame you for | feeling that way, but if I'm going to | catch this ghost I've got to have a chance to get in some quiet work.” As soon as his classes were finished on the following afternoon, Barrie hur- | ried alone into the village of Lakeside. He dropped into a hardware store that handled automobile supplies and bi- cycles. “I'd like to see some automobile horns” he said to the proprietor. “Something on'the siren osder.” The proprietor scratched his head. “Don’t have a thing except a standard electric horn and these new French [!hlngs that you toot with your hand,” he drawled. Barrie's face was puzzled. “Is there any place in town where I could buy a siren horn?” he inquired. ‘'Why, I don't think so. I had one vele siren, but I sold it last week,” said the man. Barrie pricked up his ears. p b N R . THY SUNDAY BTAR, WASHINGTON, D. U, DECENMBER %, 19%8—PART T. ©4e BOYS and IRLS PAGE Editor's Note—This is the third of a series of articles in which Wal- demar Bonsels, regarded as the most popular author in Germany toddy, relates his adventures as a young man in India. BY WALDEMAR BONSELS. HEN I arrived at Cannanore in the blessed province of Malabar, the Hindu Rameni led me in front of his house, which he wished me to rent from him during my stay there. To | get my first glimpse of it, he and I had to join forces and work our way A ¥ THE GIRL SMILED HER THANKS FOR THE COMPLIMEN and greatly recovered from her bad fright. Moving down the dark corridor of the school, the boys came.to the door from which the “ghost” had appeared. It was a narrow door opening upon a small balcony which gave a view of the lake shore. Stepping out, Barrie turned his flashlight on the railing and ex- amined it, then looked over toward the ground, some 15 feet below. “It would be easy for a man to climb up there,” h2 said, pointing to a strong drain spout which was firmly fastened to a pillar supporting the balcony. “Suppose we go down below and see if we can find any tracks. I don’t think 'we will, because the ground is so hard, but we might as well look.” “Wait!” commanded Jack. He was peering over the edge of the balcony. “There’s something white hanging to the spout abou: half-way down.” Barrie was over the railing at once. He let himself down the drain pipe until he reached the white object, then dropped to the ground. Jack followed him, preferring this quicker means of it to the stairs inside. “It looks like a piece of a bed sheet,” said Barrie, holding=<up & strip of white cloth. “Evidently part of our ghost's costume. It was caught on one of the brackets that hold the drain.” He leaned down and examined the ground, but could find nothing. Then the boys started back toward the sacademy. “I'l have several things to do to- morrow,” announced Barrie thought- fully, “and one of them will be to have 8 talk with Grace Dallinger.” “Why, you don’t think she’s respon- sible for the ghost, do you?” said Jack. “I don’t know, but it seems hardly an accident that Kay should have been imvited to her room tonight, and seen the ghost on the way. And Grace is after -the medal, too, you know. Does Grace ever skate down at the lake?” | said Jack. “I've scen her | aybe I can get a chance to talk to her tomorrow, then,” said Barrie. Before they finally climbed into bed that night, Jack sat looking at Barrie with troubled eyes. “Do_you really think you can solve | this thing, Barrie?” he inquired. “Do you suspect anybody?” | “Yes, 1 do,” said Barrie, answering | the latter question. Jack’s face became | grim. “Well, if I get the person who's been | scaring Sis—! Who do you think it 182" he cried. “That’s just what I'm not going to | have to ask Snorter, as he wants me m“You did?” he said. “Who bought “Some_fellow from the academy, I think. I didn't know his name. He was just a young boy—I think it's his first year here.” “I see. Wejl, maybe I can borrow his. I wanted it for a stunt, you know.” ‘With this word of explanation, Barrie left the store. His head was bowed in thought as he walked down the street. He had been wondering about the siren-like shriek that Kay said the white figure had made on the preceding night. But this clue seemed to lead him nowhere. Any number of the younger boys at the academy rode -bicycles all the year ‘round, weather permitting, and it was not strange that one of them should have bought a siren. He trudged back toward the academy, but turned off just after he passed Miss Vale's school, and went to the lake. A number of girls and boys were skating there under the ever-watchful eyes of instructors from both schools. Casting_his eyes over the ice, he saw Grace Dallinger, and then he uttered a disgusted grunt. “Hm!” he said to himself. “She’s skating with Snorter Parkinson, which doesn’t help my chances of talking to her. After the licking Jack gave Snorter, it wouldn't be exactly healthy for any of Jack's friends to get too near him. Snorter's face doesn't look too well yet.” But Barrie was a good waiter. He sat down on the bank, and after a half hour was rewarded by seeing Grace leave Snorter and come toward him. He got to his feet as the girl approached. “I'm sorry I didn't bring my skates,” said to her with a disarming grin. e been watching you out there, and envying Snorter.” . The girl smiled her thanks for the compliment. Barrie studied her face. It was not a strong face, but he saw little in it to indicate that she might go so far as to injure one of her com- petitors for the university medal. “Maybe I can see you down here some other day, and skate with you,” Barrie went on. “Perhaps,” she smiled. “But you'd to skate with him every time I'm down.” With that she continued on toward the school, and as she left him, Barrie locked after her, while his lips formed an unuttered word of surprise. (To be continued next Sunday.) FLOWERS FROM CANDLES It a candle is weighted at the bot- | tom and placed in a glass of water, | then lighted, irregular formations of | wax will form around the top which | resemble flowers. No two candles will | give the same pattern; in fact, a single | eandle will keep changing, and the sight is interesting to watch. It can be continued until the candle is en- tirely consumed. Use a short candle, not over three | edges will flatten out to resemble flow- upright, and also to keep the top end on a level with the water, use a large tack or small nail, pushed into the bottom as indicated by the dotted lines in the drawing. The amount of weight to use can be determined only by trial. After the candle has been lighted, the wax soon begins to draw away from the center until soon there is a deep cup. As the flame grows higher, and the cup deeper, the wax around the ers. If, when an unusually pretty pat- tern has been formed, you remove the eandle and cut the wick off close, it will make a lovely permanent decora- | tion for any candlestick. 'Let’s All Start New Year Right | perfect score on these five riddles. Do | you think you can? We will have to be shown, but we’ll admit you are clever if you can get them all, 1. If I gave 10 cents to one beggar, 10 cents to another and five cents to & third, what time would-it be? 2. What is it that has teeth, yet never e 3. What tree is of the greatest im- poriance in history? | 4. Why is a bad riddle like a broken seneil? 5. Why is a fly taller than most men? Answers. itrue that I asked a great deal. Start the new year right with a| together through the wild tangle of the garden. It was in the usual style of the European houses in India, a one- storied bungalow with a high-pitched roof, overhanging eaves and a wide ve- randa across the whole of the front. Said Rameni: “This is my dearest possession on earth, I have kept it and tended it carefully, and for seven years no human being has set foot in it. The last ten- ant was Sahib John Ditrey, an English officer of great renown, to whom every soldier drawing near had to do obei- sance.” 1 contemplated the great rooms. They were empty for the most part, and overgrown with a rank vegetation and they harbored a whole world of ani- mals, whose number and variety aroused my highest expectations. “Harmless beasts,” said Rameni ge- nially. “Most of them will probably Jeave; they don't like the society of human beings. But, Sahib, you won't eat your heart out with loneliness. You have brought plenty of company along —a dog, a boy and a cook. And I will let_you have chickens if you want.” Rameni's command of English was 80 remarkable that I positively felt my bair stand on end under my sun helmet. “You are an Englishman, too,” he continued after a lengthy panegyric upon Sir John Ditrey. I told him that I was a German, and he offered ready consolation. “I never heard of Germany before,” he observed, “but its people are said to be generous, and probably it is wealth- fer than the British Empire.” Taking the hint, I inquired what rent he was asking for his house. Thereupon he began to talk so eagerly of other matters that my fears grew. At length, however, I was able to bring him to the point. He began a calculation, adding up with suppressed emotion all the losses he had sustained during the seven years in which the house had stood un- tenanted. Listening in silence, I watched the doings of a tribe of white ants which had skillfully tunneled the joists and boards of the flooring and the timber work of the walls. “I shall not be in your way,” I thought to myself. “Your kingdom shall flourish and reach to heights undream- ed of under my rule, and I will be to you a wise printe and a faithful com- rade.” * ok kX THE morning sunlight streamed in through the thicket of palms out- | side the window as through green veils with jagged patterns. Again I felt that illusive sense of happiness steal over me which had set my heart a-tremble the moment I set foot on the soil of India and breathed in its perfume and warmth and light. “Do not fear, Sahib,” said Rameni, ... he continued making mute account on his outspread fingers, almost beside himself with doubts, hopes and expecta- tions. I told him I was brave, and for the tenth time he raised his hand to add up once more from right to left upon the thin, brown fingers. Then, forgetting everything else, he spoke breathlessly of the rise in prices and the badness of the rice crop. “The first coolie you ask will bear me out in this,” he said. “Shall I call one?” “How much rent do you want?” I asked. Rameni pulled himself together with a great effort, and said the rent was 100 rupees per annum. For the loss of the seven years in which the house had been untenanted he would charge me only a fourth, provided that I would pay him the full rent for three years in advance. ‘When I nodded assent, he turned pale! “Sahlb,” he stammered, ‘“are you making fun of your servant? It is quite Let us forget the seven disastrous years. I shall put up with the affliction decreed, especially since it is over now. If you will really pay me three years’ rent in advance, I shall serve you faithfully for the rest of my days.” I never regretted my ready acqui- escence. Though I stayed only a few months in Cannanore, I was more than repaid for my slight sacrifice, for Ra- meni made it a point of honor to work off the shame I had unwittingly put upon him. Almost every day he sent | me a present of eggs, fruit, fish or poul- {try, and he agreed to ail the repairs and alterations in the house and in the garden that I asked for. Not until after several weeks, when 1 he noticed that I was keeping a live cobra in & glass case, did he shun my company. After that he would not cross my threshold or touch my hand. the deity’s doings through a glass plate. Up to the time of this discovery, my ac- quaintanceship with Rameni remained one of the pleasantest memories of the 10 months that I had been in India. A bullock cart brought my luggage up from the harbor, and we three—my boy Panya, my cook Pasha and myself—set to work to put the rooms with the best exposures in order for the night. Panya was full of the most urgent warnings, but he had come to realize that many of his fears were identical with my hopes. * ok % % WKEN I went on to the veranda to make sure that there was not a window in the house was was not brok- en, Panya was squatting on a box of books, smoking, with my hammock ly- ing across his knees. “It's all in holes,” he said, not rising and not starting to work busily as he had used to do when he saw me coming. “Sahib, that's what comes of using a hammock for a fishing net.” “It was a splendid idea,” I said in excuse. 4 “You didn't catch anything,” retorted Panya. I examined the floor, It had been un- dermined everywhere by the white ants. ‘The flagstones and theé boards shook as one walked, and sometimes one's feet sank in, destroying a whole Sodom and Gomorrah of the ant population. “If you want to see How those crea- tures live, you must not disturb them,” observed Panya sarcastically. “By the way,” he added, “there are rats in the house, and there are cases of plague just outside Cannanore.” “We must get cats,” I decided. “Go to the city tomorrow and buy some, Panya looked at me pityingly. “Pay for a cat? There are cats running loose all over. I'm sure there must be cats in this house.” He was referring to a small variety of cat, of which I had seen plenty in Mala- bar; they are to be found in most old buildings. I decided, therefore, to wait. One had to be careful, since rats are supposed to be the carriers of the plague, and this dread epidemic still hung on, although the rainy season had been over for some time. As a rule, plague dis- appears with the last rainfall at the be- ginning of the Indian Spring, for the plague bacillus only flourishes in the damp. It appears again with the first rain after the hot season. My account of this conversation may have given a false impression of my re- lationship to Panya, and of the general attitude of Europeans toward the serv- ant class in Hindustan. I allowed Panya and every one else who served me a great, deal of personal freedom, but my sacri- fice of authority, even of independence, brought a return which I have always valued more highly than any other of- ferings of human contact. Servility is .synonymous with simula- tion. The Englishman’s treatmerit ol the natives keeps out of sight their traits of character and suppresses their true nature. I admit that the attitude of the ruling caste of white is essential to the maintenance of their position as rulers. But I did not go to India to be ane of its rulers. Sometimes there were exciting scenes between Panya and myself, when we wrestled with one agother for the posi- tion of authority. They ended usually in the overthrow of the slave. And yet my blow and his collapse were phenomena that stood in no relation to one another. Often he broke down before I even touched him, and at the worst he was mostly able, by an artful twist of his body or some other device, to escape with no more serious consequences to himself than the derangement of his turban or his oiled headdress. Nevertheless he invariably went to pleces, , squirmed from one_ corner of the room into another, and howled and wailed over my ingratitude and the re- ward he got for his devotion. But be- fore evening he would take care that the burden of my guilt should not rob me of my night's rest. “Sahib,” he would say, standing erect as a pole in front of me, his features {llumined with a pride and a dignity which did in truth fill my heart with gratitude, “Sahib, how could you forget yourself like that?” His face expressed such sorrow that I could not for the world bring myself to doubt its honesty. I would modestly explain to him the magnitude of his offense and its serious consequences; but in such cases his command of English was too poor to follow me. “You are not getting on very well with your Hindustani,” he would say with some concern, and we were both glad to have found a topic upon which we could resume the footing of our or- dinary intercourse. Then would come times of a happy transformation and beautiful fellowship. While they lasted, Panya's self-renunciation went so. far as to place the whisky bottle on the table without having filled it with water, so that I could tell exactly how much he had stolen. * % % ¥ LONG after Panya fell asleep on this night, I remained on the veranda walting for the moon and coolness to come. From the notionless drapery of i the trees, shrubs and flowers in the garden ‘came a sultry breath, an intoxi- cating mixture of perfumes. Every plant was in bloom and a voluptuous It was not so much that he was afraid. I learned from a trustworthy source that he was sorry he could no longer visit me. But it did not square fnches long, and place this in a glass of water full enough to keep the candle from the bottom. To hold the candle 1. A quarter to three. 2. A rake. 3. The date. 4. It has no point. 6, Be- cause it stands over six feet, with his convictions that any one should |keep 8 god 10 order to watch exuberance of life forced itself upon me, into my very blood. ‘The whole atmosphere, resounding with the chirp of the crickets, was charged with this quiet, mighty urge to Tank burgeoning and Was so still that the light of my candle neves flickered, only quivered as if from the compres- sion of the saturated air. From the galm ,groves somewhere in the distance behind the garden sounded wind instruments in a Hindu temple, mingled with a monotonous leaden jan- gling. The singing that went with the music betrayed the growing inebriation of the priestly chorus. ° I heard strange noises from inside the house, a shuffling and a tapping, a scraping along the walls, small crack- ling sounds among the rafters. At in- tervals I heard the cries of animals, weird war cries or else love plaints. When I went to bed, the moon had fully risen. I was tempted to stroll in the moonlit garden, but the dangers were too great in this strange place that had been left deserted so long. Panya was lying asleep in the Rall on his coconut mat. His snoring reas- sured me; it was the only familiar sound in the seclusion, When I en- tered my bedroom I found my dog, Elijah, curled up on the bed. ‘The woodwork of the windows had rotted and in places was broken; the window panes had disappeared. Here, too, the impenetrable wall of vegetation closed the view to the outside and kept the air from coming in. e flowers in the room spread a strong, almost tangible scent, sweet and noxious, while out in the moonlight erickets shrilled louder and louder. I examined my revojver and moved my bed away from the window. It was hard for me to have to awaken Elijah; I knew that the least disturbance was a grave insult to him, and on this night of uncertainty I did not want my only companion to be in a bad humor. But he merely muttered crossly, without really awakening, and went on sleeping on the floor. I put out the light, as it would draw too many insects, retired within the protection of the mosquito netting and tried to sleep. Outside the noises grew louder and more passionate every minute. ‘The animation of the strange animal world communicated itself to my blood and excited me, so that I felt I should soon have to give up all hope of sleep that night. My thoughts busied themselves with the numerous changes and repairs necessary for a long stay in the house. ‘They put me out of sorts, as trifling practical matters are apt to do when they forcibly replace the contemplation ?‘1 higher and more harmonious rela- ons. By degrees, however, my thoughts lost their grip; outlines became hazy; and through closed lids I had the vague im- pression that the room had grown lighter, and the chirp of the crickets had dissolved intp a sultry and oppres- sive sea of air in which I was drifting lifelessly. I sank into a heavy sleep as it drugged with opium. A gentle pressure at my side awoke me with a start, and I lay rigidly in the position in which I had awakened un- til I recognized Elijah, who had crept under the cover of my bed carrying the mosquito net before him. 5 Had not the fearful din in the roos been even greater than my anger, I should certainly have taught my inno- cent dog an entirely new kind of som- ersault. But in a moment I realized instinctively that it was in sheer terror that Elijah had come to me, He was trembling violently and was whimper- ing in' deadly fear. So I let him be, pressed him to me, and tried to discover the cause of the extraordinary noise which filled the room. * Kk ok 'HE"moon had risen so high in the heavens that the light came into the house over the tops of the palm trees. At first I could not make out anything. The patch of light on the floor and the pale rays athwart the air blinded me. Then I saw that the floor was alive with a swarm of large excited rats, gathered as if for an attack on one side of the room. In the corner, facing them, cowered a family of cats, small long-haired beasts, with their young. It was plain that the cats—there were four or five fully grown and a number of kittens—were hard pressed and greatly alarmed. They were fighting a battle of desperation against the su- perior forces of the rats. There was something wildly terrifying in the menace of their spitting and miauling even to the overmatching strength of their enemies, and their postures re- minded me of an infuriated panther. It was evidently an old feud, which had gone on for a long time in the house, and tonight had broken out in- to a battle, one of very many, perhaps, that had preceded it. The position may once have been reversed. In former days, perhaps, the cat tribe had ruled absolutely, oppressively tyrannizing over the rats, until the rats gained the upper hand, which they seemed to hold now. ‘The rats moved slowly forward, with hideous cries of sanguinary rage. The weird illumination and the well-nigh empty room, with corners shrouded in semi-darkness, strangely distorted my sense of size and distance; .it seemed to me that huge black monsters over- topping me in size were advancing to do battle, and that I was looking on from a distant hill-crest. g One of the cats (an old, experienced tom-cat, it seemed) sprang forward to the defense with a long, low bound—a wild leap that alarmed and thrilled me. ‘The cat did not rely much on, its teeth, :u’budell(é:gow lttex;:;ow with its claws, leftly, stubbornly with fatal pre- cislon. ¢ At first the rats scattered at the leap, save one only, which, struck down by the cat's paw, writhed screaming on the floor and was now left unnoticed. The gleaming eyes of the cat, as it crouched with head close to the ground, - were watching the host returning to the on- slaught. ‘They advanced slowly, with a hideous squealing that voiced both their fear of death and savage rage of battle. But when the cat sprang among them again, it did not effect another panie. The rat singled out for attack fixed its teeth in his'lip. In a transport of pain, he struck out fiercely but devoid of aim, leaped high into the air and twisted about on the floor, while the rat clung tenaciously to the cat's mouth and was Jerked to and fro, up and down. Almost breathless with horror, I watched the shadowy forms of the com- inions of the rat that had immolated tself, for the tribe imbedded their teeth from all sides into the feline fighter. Presently I saw close to the wall an- other troop of rats advancing to attack the cats huddled in the corner. ‘They came forward in a compact mass like a slowly moving shadow; the terrible wail- ing of the dying tom-cat in the center of the room seemed to keep time with their ghostly march like martial music, awesome and challenging. As if upon a preconcerted signal, the shadowy coil hurled itself like lightning upon the cats; and there ensued now a second and equally fierce struggle in the darkness, a struggle that seemed to me all the more terrifying because I could not make out the details in the darkness. * ok kX DAINTY little kitten, hardly real- izing the danger, sprang into the moonlight, gracefully leaping. Two shadows, perceptible only by their fur- tive movements, followed swiftly. At iis heartrending cry of distress, its mother made a desperate effort to come to the Tescue. Now, at the very momeént when, tor- mented with horror and pity, I had made up my mind to put a stop to the battle—when I was reaching for my revolver and anticipating with secret satisfaction the instant effect the crash of a pistol shot would have in clearing the battlefield, there issued from the dark corner behind me a sound more potent and imperious’than a bark from out of the muzzle of a revolver. It was a faint hissing or rather a spitting sound, resembling the ludicrous nofse geese are making when they go to meet an opponent with lowered head. But the effect of this tuneless, repul- sively penetrating voice was anything but ludicrous—it was distinctly terri- ying. I felt the blood congeal in my veins, and the deadly stillness that followed heightened my terror to the point of lifeless petrifaction. Then I heard, in the stiliness of the room, my blood rush to my ears and a hammering of my heart so painful that I had a choking sensation. I saw the animals on_the floor—dark, motionless patches. Even the death-cry of the wounded was silenced for a time. I once heard a fakir declaim these lines in Mahratti: The serpent spoke beneath the heated rocks, Its tuneless song frezes the heart to sn ow, For from its voice protrude the eyes of death, As from expanses of eternal ice. As I took them down at his dicta- tion I learned from him that they were of ancient origin, part of a song much in vogue with the hillmen of the West- ern Ghats. Now, I did not think of the verses at that moment; it was as though the verses thought of me. They took possession of me in my terrible plight, and again I experienced the miracle of that sublime serenity which in moments of anguish sometimes de- scends upon us like a superior and in- dependent power outside of us. saw a huge snake gliding forward. Its narrow head was perhaps a hand's breadth above the floor, and as it en- tered the moonlight I saw its delicate tongue flashing in and out. To my fancy the creature seemed to be smiling. ‘There began now under my very eyes the cruel interlude of the serpent, known to and extolled or accursed by all the nations of the earth. To no other creature has been given that mysterious power of the snake which seems to emanate from a soundless, in- scrutable inferno of evil. Neither strength nor courage, neither good arms nor sturdy resolution are able, as a rule, to imperil the dominion of the serpent, for in addition to its potent magic it has that power of in- :girln: loathing which disarms even e hero. Apart from this power of inspifing disgust and other protective qualities that are of the essence of the snake, its movements radiate a bad charm which fascinates us like a rooted mem- ory of the perpetual triumph of evil. Its furtive creeping is like an evil rite; its beauty suggests subtlety; its power baseness. All the qualities that make for frankness in the strong are in the nmfint alloyed with craft, for the secret satisfaction, as it were, of selfish wick- edness. The elements of water, earth and air seem to forfeit their distinctive pecu- Harities under the influence of serpen- tine twinings—for the movements of CRA FTS JOKES: PUZZLES THE PUZZLE COLUMN o Hidden in the puzzle below is a New Year's greeting to all readers of this page. It is in several words, all of which are found in the horizontal lines. The first word is number eight horizontal, the second is number 10, the third is 18, the fourth is 24, the fifth is 30, the sixth is 31, and the last word is number 36. Spell out the greeting and you'll be a long way toward solving the puzzle. anizy New Year. NG HUd ama dd LEaE N ]| o1 e The definitions are: Horizontal. . A fur neckpiece, 5 . A kind of tree. . Summit. . You and L . A desire. . Slope. . Small ecity. 17. Correct (Abr.). 25. Printer’s measure. 26. A daily journal. 217. To revoke or recall. 30. A skin disease, 32. Measure of length. 34. Knowledge. 37. Weight (Abr.). 38. Electrical Engineer (Abr.). - How many words can you form from the letters in the word TENSE? You should be able to make at least 11. —3— Jumbled Word Square. Pinish off this week’s puzzies with a couple of word chains. Change AIR to ICE in five moves. Change TEST to PASS three moves. —5— A three letter word means to strike lightly, and when it is reversed it has 18. leunglnf to us, . A refusal. ra. Precious_stone. . Those who read. . Belonging to me. Western Union (Abr.). Indefinite article. . Joyful. . A small notch. 35, To gain by labor. . Nineteen twenty-nine. . Expended, . Older. Vertical. . A vehicle. . One who awakes. . Point of the compass. . Hawdilan Islands (Abr.). . Thin leather straps, . A writing tool. . Half an em. . Street (Abr.). . A felled tree. . Anclent Roman garment. . Grief. . A grain. . A kind of nut (PL). . One who mourns. almost the same meaning. Can you guess the word? Answers, 1. Cross Word Puzzle Solution. < READERSEO! [CNEWYE AR [SIP[ENTENE[L[DIER] 2, Ten, tee, tens, e, ens, see, set, sent, net, nets, nest. 3. The words fn the square are vane, arid, Nile and Eden. . AIR—aim—arm—are—ire—ICE, ‘TEST—pest—past—PASS. 5. Tap, pat. ‘When you look at & tempting dish of ice cream, a piece of juicy apple pie or a roasted turkey with cranberry sauce you know, of course, that your mouth™ “waters.” ~ Your tongue and your gums and the entire interior of your mouth” becomes filled with a wa- tery substance and sometimes there is so much of it that you must swallow it. ‘What is the reason for all this and from where comes the fluid and what is it? That part of the head near the jaws contains two sets of glands—baggy pouches—one set on each side. These glands manufacture a transparent and somewhat slimy fluid, which under cer- tain conditions finds it way by means of small tubes, or ducts, to the mouth cavity. The glands near the ear are known as the parotids, the pair just back and SCIENCE IN SALIVA under the tongue are the sub-maxil- larjes and the two forward under the tongue are known as the sub-] als. Eacl of glands furnish a different fluid and the mixture is known as saliva. This saliva pours forth into the mouth all of the time and serves to keep the mucous membranes moist and soft; but when we think of eating or when we do actually eat, additional saliva is poured forth. This saliva is very important for the digestion of food. "It serves to make mastication and swallowing easier. Dry food would be almost impossible to swallow, Saliva also changes starches into sugar and thus makes this par- ticular sort of food ready for absorp- tion into the system. A healthy adult secretes about three pounds of saliva in 24 hours. In Westminster Abbey, which is, as you may know, the 900-year-old church in London and one of the most famous of the world's churches, there is a very old chair. It is a high-backed, curious chair, broken and chipped in parts, deep brown and black in color and giving all the signs of extreme old age. Unless you knew something of its his- tory, you would pass it up with a mere glance to look at some of the more beautiful things contained in West- minster. But if ever you are in this famous cathedral you should give close examination to the old piece of furni- ture, for it is one of the most famous chairs in the world. It is the chair on which most of the kings of England have been crowned for hundreds of years. Directly under its wooden seat is a large stone, a peculiar thing to have under the seat of a chair, but this stone, too, is part of history. It was for rippling of water is associated with the conjurations of the Magi. * K ok X 'HE snake, desisting from its mes- meric dance that casts a spell upon all animated beings, suddenly seized in its colls a wounded rat that was still living and began to swallow its prey. Its indifference and the calm assurance of its action aroused my ut- | most gstonishment. It hardly seemed aware that there could be any hostile power capable of harming it, Every- thing remained quiét in the room, ex- cept that a fine dust rustled down at CORONATION CHAIR many centuries in the possession of Scotland and all the Scottish kiny were crowned while seated upon it. Tradition has it that Jacob used it as a pillow when he had his vision of the angels descending on the ladder. How- ever that may be, it was known as “Jacob’s Pillow,” and was held in rever- ence by the Scots during hundreds of years. King Edward I of England re- moved the stone from Scotland about 1296 and carried it with him to London. He had it placed in the ecoronation chair and there it rests in security, the seat of every English monarch during his hour of coronation. Devil Trees Scare Primitive Children “If you aren't good the devil tree will get you,” or words to that effect, may be the warning given to children by mothers of some of the wild native tribes of Africa, Asia, Java, Madagascar and the back country of Australia. Cer« tain trees are believed to be hewitched, the abodes of devils or evil spirits. Among the trees about which such superstitions have arisen are the silk cottons, a family of many species found in various tropical climes. They are characterized by large leaves which, by a stretch of the imagination such as primitive people are capable of, may be considered to resemble human hands, being divided into four, five or six fin- gers. They have a large showy flower with five petals, sometimes a brilliant red, and capsular fruits full of a cottony or woolly substance which feels like silk to the touch, whence they get their name, It is these peculiarities which maks them feared or worshiped by natives. The trees are of giant size, and from them are obtained a few economic prod- ucts, such as balsa wood and kapok, the latter often used in manufacturing mattresses, cushions and life preservers. A wild story t the existence in Madagascar of a “man-eating tree,” which was believed even in Europe and America, was recently proven baseless by investigations of Dr. mlgl: Linton, leader of the Capt. Marshall Field Madagascar Expedition. PRI Posers. Since this is foot ball season, you ought to be well acquainted with the colleges of the country. But do you know in what cities they are located? Ten universitits are listed below, and the 10 cities In whick théy are found, ‘but the cities are opposite the names of the wrong universities. See if you can straighten out the tangle te intervals from the ceiling, and that the zig-zag patterns of moonlight on the floor showed a slow lateral movement. “The earth continues its rounds,” I thought, “bearing me with it, bearing this predatory snake, bearing all the little dying and dead beasts within the room, and all the persons and things separated from me g; an immense ex- panse of ocean.” Outside Panya snored. Elijah had gone to sleep, nestling into my back. Chary of noise, I reached for the box and took out of it one of those slender Indian cigars which are as brown as it and awaited dawn. was the life of men and beasts on this the it are incom ble to that of ‘any Living creature. In is the simple " peat and as damp as the sod, lighted | sity of Arizona My thoughts | érn at Evanston. rose with the smoke wreaths into the|ton, 'Pa.; Cornell at Ithaca, N. Y. verdant break o’ day, and their subject g‘!.o‘?h‘ Tech at Atlanta, Ga.; Iowa at M each university properly. 1. Yale .... 2. Leland-Stan! 3. University of 4. Northwestern 5. Lafayette .. 6. Cornell ..... 7. Georgia Tech. 8. Towa State. 9. Harvard ...... 10. U. 8. Naval Ac: Answers. Yale is at New Haven, Conn.; Leland= Stanford a: Palo Alto, Calif.; Univere at Tueson; Northweste IIL; Lafayette at Ease Ames; Harvard at Cambridge, “;"xmu "Academy ab AD°