The Key West Citizen Newspaper, December 5, 1952, Page 10

Page 10 THE KEY WEST CITIZEN FLASH GORDON SEA SECRETS Q. How does one distinguish the Friday, December 5, 1952 | By Dan Bari, YOU KNOW IT’S MY RESPONSIBILITY I'M PASSING THAT ) SURE, FLASH! TO SEE THAT NO ONE GETS INTO ITY SURE! I-T'Le By Homer Hatten YOU AGREE TO FIGHT HIM, TO PROVE YOUR FITNESS TOFIGHT THE KING? SIN nN ACS / By Lee Falk and Phil Davis THIS OUGHTA BE GOOD~AND SHOR TOALL SEAFARERS AS ANCIENT NEMESIS OF PIRATES? SAID To BE FOUR CENTURIES OLD “UNABLE TO BE KILLED?” I THE COMMSSIONERS By Lee Falk and Wilson McCoy "POPULARLY SUPPOSED TO WEAR SKIN- OFFICE. YOU WANT TO TALK TOFELIX BLON? BRINGING UP FATHER be AND THATS HIS 006! & Y THAT'S WHAT T FIGURED! sexes of the Florida pelicans? W. S. Hands, Middlesex, England. A. Unfortunately, there is no easy method by which the sexes of these birds may be told from one another, so alike are their plumage and other physical charac- teristics. This applies both to the common brown pelican, Pelicanus occidentalis carolinensis, and the rarer white pelican, P. erythror- bynchus, both of which occur on the Florida coast. The latter bird is noted for the peculiar triangu- lar ridge which develops on the upper surface of the bill of both sexes during the breeding season. Q. What is the natural food of the octopus? A. Octopuses feed on a variety of sea animals, but their favorite bill of fare appears to be crabs and lobsters, as in captivity they will take these more readily than anything else. By means of a rasping tongue located between the horny beaklike jaws, assisted by a powerful digestive fluid, the octopus is able to empty complete- ly a crab’s shell while leaving it more or less intact externally. In laboratory tanks at the oceanarium at Marineland, Fla., octopuses have been observed to capture small fishes by quickly enveloping them with umbrella-like membrane con- necting the bases of their arms. Q. How does the drumfish make its booming sound? A. Fishes of the Fily Scianidae are commonly known as “drum- fish” or “‘croakers” because of the ability of many of thhem to pro- duce sounds ranging with the species from a grunt to a tinny “booming.” This is accomplished by the highly modified swim blad- der, which is capable of being operated as a resonating chamber for the production of sound. A few Scianids, such as the northern king- fish, Menticirrhus saxatilis, com- pletely lack the swim bladder and are therefore incapable of pro- ducing a sound, Q. What sea creature has never been positively classified? A. Planktosphaera, a transparent spherical animal about half an inch long, is occasionally brought up in plankton nets from deep ocean waters. Although this crea- ture has been known for some fifty years, scientists have been unable to assign it to any known group of animals, although in form and structure it hints at relation- ship with several. It is possible that Planktosphaera may be a larval Crinoid, or sea lily (a deep- sea animal related to the starfish), but this has not been established conclusively as yet. Q. What fish builds a nest in floating seaweed? A. The various species of flying fish (Exocoetidae), lay their eggs in masses of floating Sargassum, a brown seaweed that drifts in mats on the sea surface. The “nest” is constructed by sticky threads exuded by the parent fish as it swims round and around a small patch of weed. Attached to the threads are the tiny eggs, which eventually hatch in the warm surface water. The young flyingfish are marked with yellow, brown, and white like the weed and remain in its vicinity for some time for the purpose of: the protective shelter which it affords. |The Veterans | Corner Here are authoritative answers from the Veterans Administration to four questions of interest to former servicemen and their fami- lies: ! { Lf Chapter 7 ae T= coil pees ito swing around be the moaning, ever faster circl were Prelude to the con . ges Clay’s eyes measured him ali S Dex, too, was ready to rena ‘Til take Birgin,” hoarsely, and in aan hen his a tightened on the trig- gt he felt the shock of the recoil susines his shoulder. As he leaped his feet and down the hill he saw that Birgin was on the ground, ane am, nt Uacer fn stopping flipped a shot at one of e dari had been his target collapsed, and he saw and knew that ay thrown away his empty pistol and drawn the long blade of his bowie knife to defend himself. Without checking his charge, Clay flung his own empty pistol straight into his op- ponent's face, and as the man in- now and he the man beside him fall | 2&2in- Dex had fired “Oh, Clay,” she moaned. “Oh, Don Clay!” | He snatched up the bowie knife that lay at his feet and ran across the grass toward her. One swift stroke severed the sling that held her and another slashed the lash- ings about her wrists. He felt her y collapsing against him and he og er up as gently as he might have picked up a child and carried her to a grassy knoll at the — of the clearing. Kneeling, he laid her on the grass, but her arms would not relax their tense grip about his shoulders. Finally she was quiet again, and when he sat up she lay there in the moon- light, ie | up at him with eyes — seem rnally bound to “It's all over, Toni,” he said soothingly. “It's all over and they'll never be able to hurt you a “I know.” It was little more than a whisper. “I know, Don Clay. They can never hurt me again.” E stood up and smiled at her. “Rest a little while. I want to talk to Dex and be sure that ev- erything’s all right. I'll be right here. I won't be out of sight.” They were silent until Dex had finished charging the ins and led one to Clay. x was frowning and it was obvious that rq | Something was troubling him. Gasping, he steadied himself with his hands y the ground, and when he could breathe again he lifted his head to find Dex standing sa ues Bawly, a man craw! ou! a pil lifted himself to his feet, ana os Tl aslaiealaanlaant Her whole body was trembling, and when he turned so that she could see his face her mouth pet into a broken sob of re- drawing monthly disability com- pensation payment from the VA. Would it be possible for VA to deduct the monthly insurance pre- miums from my compensation checks, so I wouldn’t have to bother with the payments myself? A. Yes. You may authorize VA to deduct premium payments from your monthly compensation, pro- vided your compensation is large enough for this purpose. VA Form 9-887, available at any VA office, should be used in authorizing the deduction. Q. Assume that a veteran meets | all the requirements for Korean GI Bill training. May he enroll under this Act even though he has gone back on active duty and is now in uniform? A. No. Veterans on active duty | are not eligible for Korean GI Bill training, even though they | meet all the law’s basic require- ments. 4 Q. A veteran in my family is eligible for extra pension payments because he is so helpless that he needs the constant aid and atten- tion of another person. Is he sup- posed to hire an outsider to attend him, or would it be all right for a member of his immediate family to help him? A. A veteran entitled to the increased payments need not go outside his family to hire an at tendant. Any member of his family may help him. He still would te entitled to the extra pay, so long as he is otherwise eligible. Q. I've just been discharged from service, and I plan to apply for Korean term insurance sometime within 120 days of my discharze Is an application sufficient, must I also pay a monthly pre Q. I hold a National Service | mium? Life Insurance policy, and I’m also | A. An application alone wou'd “I don’t want to butt in none, Clay.” He stopped, searching for words he did not like to speak. “I don’t want to butt in none, but ay an’ Toni—you’re in a right id spot.” “How. do you mean, Dex?” “Well, these fellers was all part of what they call th’ Regulators. That's th’ name they’ve give Mor- fan's men all over th’ nation. mg as they can keep their bluff in they can do pretty much what they please. But if they ever let a feller get away with killin’ off a bunch of ‘em like this, their day’d be just about over.” Clay nodded slowly, his mind [ime See over what he had been told, over what he had known of other lawless gangs in lands. other lawless “And what about — go about Toni?” sai “Toni’s as bad Seein’ that she a thr canter th’ whole mess, they'll treat he! as they would you. I reasonable safe. i got two well: growed boys and quite a passel friends around th’ settlemen They won't figger that it'd be rd healthy to take it outonme.” “Well, that’s that. Would you have any Teal good ideas about: what Toni and I ought to do now?” “All T can see is you'll have to a Te os fast take Toni with 4 whole 2 icmorrow. story'll be out by ay stood up, pull: his trousers up about his eg hi and stamping his feet down int his boots. “You're right, Dex,” he said seriously. “It's time for me to be, on my way. Let's get Toni up and’ rustle up some horses and a little lew to Toni, and he approached she got to her feet. = ee malting for him. As he started to moved forward, ‘smiling st hime | oi} heard, Don Clay. I know ‘hall you must go,” e her eyes unfalteringly oe ami ready ti go with you—if you will take me.” It was almost dawn before all the preparations were ¢ ted and Toni sat her horse i Clay in front of Dex’s cabin. Clay held out his hand to Dex} in farewell. “You've been ! Dex. I'll never forget it.” “Toni can tell you where Eo Clay,” he said slowly. yout \ more frierids in th’ places wl she'll take you. You ain’t alone more, Clay.” “Friends? Friends I don’t/ know—” him and felt her hand tugging a um. an r Kentucky’s bridle rein. “Many fri Don friends ‘oho wal be ce She touched her gan to ride away. Clay. I'll lead you Crossword Puzzle ACROSS 27, Pattern 1, Citizen: abbr. 29, Soft drink 4 Nervous 30. Discount twitching 33, Fish hawk 1. Gaping 35. S 5 53. Female deer e 18, German abven: Sh lee oe 0 * % Turkish de- a as vay the required first premium refore the 120-day deadline (Veterans living in Key West and EINBEAINI Le IE IRISBERIAIGIE |S Mar Solution of Yesterday's Puzzie DOWN F t 2. Becomes less wild 4 i at E 3 roa nr ep Aase the: : FSRSSe PES SF B Pa tion about their benefits should con tact the VA office at 218 Federal Bidg., Key West, Florida.)