Evening Star Newspaper, January 25, 1931, Page 82

ri2° THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHING The Devils Slide —A Desperate Battle A Thrilling Story of a Troupe of Tight Rope Walkers Who Dared Their Perilous Stunts on a Thin Thread of Steel Stretched Between the Upper Floors of Skyscrapers—And of a Feat of Herculean Strength and Undaunted Courage That Cheated Death. Illustrations by Armstrong Sperry. OURELLA WILSON climbed out through the open window of the law offices of Meek, Holcomb & Gansevort on the tenth floor of the Mechanics’ Bullding and The private secretary of the hit some wrong keys on her type- s A s she watched Lourella ing inside also, closed his would go, then picked up put some wrenches in his started out to the hall. “Is that all?” asked Mr. Gansevort. *“That’s all till 2 o'clock,” said Lourella, “will a man walk across on that wire?” asked the secretary. hat, “That was my wife over ”» “barryymwfle?"uwthehwnrinmn- t. men! “Aren’t you afraid?” asked the secretary. “What's there to be afraid of?” said Lou, getting into his coat. “It's like takin’ candy from a baby—unless somebody monkeys with that wire.” He opened the door to the hall “Oh,” he said, turning in the doorway, “don’t Jet anybody touch that riggin’ outside of my manager, Bud Lawson—will you? He might be in.” “Bud Lawson?” repeated the secretary. *Yeh,” said Lou. “If anybody else monkeys Wwith it I might get a bad fall.” “Good land!” exclaimed the secretary. “Good-by,” said Lou, going out. “That's an awful way to make a living, isn't it—Mr. Gansevort?” said the girl “Oh, 1 don't know,” replied the lawyer. “Sometimes I think people like that get more out of life than we do.” He took his hat from his desk and put it on. “I’'m going over to the law library.” Mr. Gansevort had been gone less than & minute when his senior partner, Meek, came in. “What is this?” asked Mr. Meek of the secretary, who was standing at the window Jooking at the taut wire and shuddering. “You don’t say!” exlaimed Mr. Meek. Then, ¥Where's Mr. Gansevort?” She told him. #Then I'll have to ask you to take this writ over to the Surrogate’s Court, Miss Livingston.” # - handed her a document. “Who gave these people the right to put this wire up from our offices?” he asked. ,” said Miss Livingston. “Mr, here . Meek in turn stood wire and then at Y few of the busy people in the street had even noticed Lourella Wilson and his wife, Dot, fixing their rigging. But Maloney had. Maloney was the traffic ‘Then he saw the wire. - the devil is this?” said Maloney. " goin’ on about my business,” replied the “You'll be goin’ to the station house with me,” said the cop, “if you do any more of this jay-walkin’. Watch them lights.” “I guess you don’t know who I am,” tipsy individual, appearing very indignant. *“I am The Great Lamar.” “You don’t say!” said Maloney. “Then I'm certainly after beggin’ your pardon,.but who might The Great Lamar be?” “I'm a stunt man,” said the bleary-eyed one. dives and tricks like that.” “That s0?” said the cop, blowing his whistle and waving his arms for the up-and-down traffic to go on its way. “I'm a stunt man my- self.” “You are?” said the man. “Sure,” said Maloney. “What do you do?” “Oh, I walk across the street on a wire. See that wire up there?” He called the man’'s at- tiention to the wire stretched between the high above them. “My brother and sister is just fixin’ it up for me.” The drunken man looked. “That’s the Wilsons,” he exclaimed. “The who?” asked the cop. - “The Castin’ Wilson,” said the man. “They been puttin’ me outta business.” “And who might the Castin® Wilsons be?” asked Maloney, becoming interested. “Lourella Wilson,” went on the tipsy Lamar, “js the man who hired my manager away from me and has been gettin’ all these advertisin’ stunts to do that I ought to get.- He carries his partner across on that wire. He’s goin’ to do it this afternoon -and he’s gettin’ a lot of dough for it—and that's the job I should have instead of him.” “I wouldn’t be advisin’ you to walk across any wire this afternoon or any other,” said Ma~ loney, “unless you lay off that red-eye.” “Oh, you wouldn't, eh?” said The Great Lamar. “Well, I'll walk acrost it and do it better'n he does.” “Come on,” said Maloney. “You better be walkin’ across this street on the flat. You'll be gettin’ this traffic all tied up in & knot in & minute.” He blew his whistle again as the colors in the signal posts changed. The Great Lamar lurched and wobbled across the street and Maloney watched him until he was sure he was safe on the sidewalk, then he looked again to see the blonde head in the window, but she had gone, and the man also. “I wonder if they got a permit for that” he said to himself. “Come on, come on, step on the gas!” he yelled at a taxi driver. The Great Lamar staggered along through the Suddenly Lamar gave a curse, lost his balance, and fell side ways. The wire swayed Lamar made toward him and the boy dis- appeared in the crowd. ‘The operator in one of the elevators of the Mechanics’ Building called out, “What floors, on “What floor is Meeks, Holcomb and what’s- his-name on?” said a thick voice from corner of the car. tenth,” said the operator. “Gimme that,” said The Great Lamar. Mr. Meek was busy reading when the door opened and The Great Lamar entered, He noted the man’s condition instantly.. Dropping his book on the desk, he lookéed at him. “Is this the office of—is this the office?” asked Lamar. “This is my law office, yes,” sald Meek. “What did you want?” “You are sittin’ in that chair,” said the visitor, dropping into a seat, “lookin’.at The Great Lamar.” “So,” said Mr. Meek. “Are you he?” “I am he, heigh, ho, hum,” said the intruder, “Well, have you any business here?” said Mr. Meek, beginning to get angry. “I have,” said The Great Lamar. “I am here to inspect my riggin’.” He waved his hand toward the windows. “Your rigging!” exclaimed Mr. Meek in amazement. “My riggin’,” answered the bleary-eyéd Lamar. “I want to see if my assistant put it up right before I walk acrost this afternoom from your office to them offices on the other side of the street.” “Do you mean to say,” ejaculated the aston- ished lawyer, “you are going to attempt a feat like that in the condition you are in?” “What's the matter with my condition?” asked Lamar. Mms LIVINGSTON, the secretary, entered the office at that moment, having delivered the writ. ; “Now I'll just look over the riggin’,” said Lamar, rising unsteadily, Mr. Meek watched him. Lamar walked" to mflndo'.mdlt,lookedoutlndmfiu “Mr. Meek,” said the secretary quietly, “is that Mr. Lawson?” - “He said his name was The Great Lamar” answered the lawyer. “Then he hasn't any right putting his hands on that contrivance,” said she breathlessly, “The man who put it up said the only one who could touch it was Mr. Bud Lawson, his man- ager.” ; “You'd better go right down on the street and call an officer,” said Meek hurriedly. “I'll remain here and watch this fellow. I don't like his looks.” Miss Livingston slipped quietly from the office. The Great Lamar drew his head in and, feel« About Freak Brains Continued from Sixzth Page superior advantages in their surroundings. Not all of the sons of eminent people are, however, 1 successful. A favorable heredity is undoubtedly an asset. BUTMMthgenim!nmthemflaorm music, there is some special combination- of related traits in most instances that leads to eminence. Voltaire, famous philosopher, wrote verses almost as soon as he was able to talk. Coleridge, famous poet and author, read a chapter from the Bible when he was 3 years old. Mozart, among the most eminent of composers of music, composed a minuet when he was 5 years old. Goethe, greatest of German minds, when he was 8 years old could speak several languages and produced literary work better than that produced by most adults. Garibaldi, courageous Italian leader, saved a - woman from drowning when he was 8 years old, and at the age of 12 saved several boys whose boat had capsized. The famous Austrian , Haydn, beat time for music at the Balzac composed comedies before he was 8 years old. A high degree of intelligence in childhood is, of course, of the greatest importance in achiev- . . Granduca Madonna at 21, Beethoven was ap- pointed chamber musician to the king at 18, Newton had developed his views of light and colors before he was 20. Bacon wrote a philo- sophical work before he was 20, Montesquieu had sketched his “Spirit of Laws” at a similar age, and the Englishman, Jenner, even before 20, had thought out the processes that led to his discovery of vaccination. . . : NO’I‘ all the members of the same family may have the gift which reaches a high de- velopment in one member of it. This applies as well to geniuses as to the “idiot savants.” A famous mathematical calculator named Inaudi was able to capitalize his ability to such an extent that his brothers got the idea that they might as well get in on a good thing them- selves. They thereupon tried to set themselves up in the same business, but all of them failed. Though they were blood brothers, the unusual ability of one was not common to any of the others. Various explanations have been advanced with the hope of explaining the reasons why human brains develop in such a curious one- sided fashion. Certain psychologists claim that such prodigies are the result of strange psycho- logic states, causing them to compensdte for weaknesses by special attention to mem- some other faculty. Such an explana- might be attached to the case of one boy is at 19 a characteristic mental defectiye,