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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (June 26, 1924)
Compare Champions A cbftiparison with other spark ’plugs readily reveals Champion (Superiority of design and finish, ft new Champion in every cylin der means more power and speed and a saving in oil and gas. Champion X is 60 cents. Blue Dor 76 cents. Champion Spark Plug Co. Toledo, Ohio • «• - . CHAMPION v tor tout £«(•■• Oregon Farm—Oregon Climate A gsmlemun's farm of 217 acres; fine sell, beautiful creek, group of new modern build ings having electric light, pressure water system. fireplace and all bultt-lns. Including sill stock equipment, tractor, truck and auto. Oood location, wonderful mild climate, no ■torma or rutroii.eH In the beautiful Willa mette Valley. Priced loss than cost at $28,000, one third cash. Write for detailed description, pictures (.IBMOX Si AI.VIN I.elninoii "The f.nnd Men” Oregon SIOUX CITY PTC. CO., NO. 26- 1924. Keeping Him In "Confound a cuss flint’ll leave his cistern uncovered go’s another feller falls In 1" yelled Gabo Glggery, who at that moltent was In Mr. Johnson’s cis tern. "As soon as l get out I’ll whip you on less ground than a two-dollar bill will cover!’’ "Good thing for me, and tnehby you, that you mentioned that fact before I fished you out,” replied Gap Johnson of Rumpus Ridge. "I’ll Just let you •tay lu there till you don’t.’’ Animals Not Only Pets In the rush of signing up for the pet parade, n youngster went Into the Irvington branch library and naked whether she might enter the contest. When questioned as to whut klud of • pet she was going to take, she re plied : "I haven’t any pet, hut another lit tle girl wants to know If she can take her baby brother."—Indianapolis News. Removing Rust Spots Rust spots on metal should be rubbed with a cork that has lieen dipped In pu ratlin. A cork moistened with pa ratlin Is also splendid for re moving marks from hearth tiles. Couldn't Shake Papa And did her father follow them Whan they eloped?’’ "Sure; lie’s living with them yet.” Ladders have been built In the flume of a western hydroelectric power plant to assist deer that have fallen Into the tlume. Probably Lot’s wife passed some other woman and turned to see what nh« had on. tfoy Scout Saved Brother Just ns his seven-year-old brother who had fallen through the Ice on o pond near Kalamazoo, Mich., was being drawn under the surface by the cur rent, fourteen-year-old Scout Carl Johnson, at peril of his own life, plunged Into the ley water and, securing a hold on the littue fellow, pulled him to safety. The scout then extricated himself from the water’s grip and the broken hole, nnd promptly hustled ids small brother home to recuperate from the ice bath. Application for an honor inednl for the youthful hero has been made to the national court of honor by the local council. Quebec Planting Trees A contract for planting 10,000 trees on the Montreal-Quebec highway was awarded to a Poliette nursery by the provincial department of highways and roads. Half of these trees were to be planted this spring and the other hulf next fall. This number Is In addition to the 2,000 trees to be planted by the lands and forest de partment for the account of the roads department. A total of 200,000 plants will be necessary to Improve the scenery along the principal high ways In the western section of th« province. Uncle Joe Stands Pat "Speaking of Mr. Cannon," writes E. S., “would you care to know Uncle Joe’s creed? It Is a striking one and I copy It for you from my scrapbook: ‘I believe the Almighty organized this big corporation known as humanity, Issued all the capital stock nnd Is re sponsible for Its maintenance at par value; nnd I’ll be hanged If I’ll part with my holdings.' ”—Hogtot Tran script. Penalty of Negligence “MIzzus Tnrpy just told me that I-uin Gawky fell dead a spell ago while chopping stov-i wood,” excitedly cried Mrs. Johnson, upon her return from a neighborhood cull. “Goodgoddler jlghty!” ejaculated Clap Johnson of Rumpus Ridge. “That pore feller might hav. been alive right now If he had begun breaking his wife in to do her work when they wks first married.”—Kunsas City .Star. Grades of Society Fair- Visitor—Here, my poor man, are some roses for you. Wlmt can I do to muke you comfortable? Prisoner—Guess you're making a mistnke, lady. Fair Visitor—Mistnke—how? l’rlsoner—I’m only here for porch climbin'. Yer'll find the guy that killed Ills wife In th* nex’ cell.—Cleveland Plain Dealer. Her Gentle Hint Percy—So your “puter" asked yon did I know the value of u dollar? What a question? Ethel—Yes; I told him that yon never bought mo over 30 cents' worth of chocolutes nil at once.—Boston Glob* True Enough “What’s a fairy tale?” “That depends on which way i ferry's going.” Often the Case “Is Algy really engaged to an actress?" “The critics differ.” ‘“| Why don't girls employed In match factories get married sooner than other girls? Will blind confidence lead you to physical disaster at age 31: ■ra— This is the experience of the average American, United States Life Tables, 1920, indicate ♦ % , f v. •> ■ .■* ' aah*' + . _ _ Por the avwragd person, health— physical freedom ana fall vigor—ex dead* only from age 18 to 81. Then *he slump. After 40, earnings fall off nrapidly. What do these startling facts peahen from the United States Life Tables, 1020) mean for youf It is time to eheck up. It is time to take Stock of the present, and face the future with open eyes. Blind faith in the power of the human body to absorb punishment has failed miserably. Un wise eating, stimulated nerves, sleep lessness; disregard of the simplest laws of health: the lashing of the overwrought body to new exertions by tbs use of drugs—physical decay bo ginning at age 811 This is the tragic chronicle. Nature provides a danger signal— fatigue—to warn when the body needs rest. Certain drugs have the power to deaden the fatigue signal. One of the most common of these drugs is caffein —a drug classified as a poison. The average cup of coffee contains from to 3 grains of caffein—a dose equal to that often administered by physicians in eases of heart failure. Caffein, by deadening the danger signal of fatigue, appears to give new strength. Actually, this strength la robbed from the body’s own reserve, stored up for life’s emergencies. Coffee contains no nourishment. Iti only virtues ns a beverage, are its warmth and flavor. A good, hot, drugless drink is a benefit with every Millions enjoy sneh a drink in Postum. A drink made of wholi wheat and bran, skillfully roasted with a little sweetening—nothing more A drink with the rich, mellow, full bodied flavor of this wholesome grain. Every member of the family can drink it every meal of the day, enjoy its delioiousness, crave it, knowing there isn’t a sleepless hoar, a headache or a taut nerve In It. For the sake of your years follow ing ago 81, we want you to try Postum for thirty days. Too can’t ex pect to overcome the effects of a habit of years in two or three days, or even a week. To make this a sporting proposition, we will give you a week’s supply of Postum free. Enough for a cup with every meal for a week. But we want you to carry on for the full i I f Ragged Edge j I by 1 1 Harold MacGrath I 1 § “No. Sometimes we had the Illustrated London News and TiT-Bits. Sailors would leave them at the trader’s.” “Alice in Wonderland!” cried Prudence, perhaps a little en viously. “Oh, I’ve read that!” Spurlock had heartT'distinctly enough all of this odd conversa tion; but until the spinster’s reference to the family album, no phrase had been sufficient in strength of attraction to break the trend of his own unhappy thoughts. Out of an old family album: here was the very com parison that had eluded him. His literary instincts began to stir. A South Sea island girl, and this was her first adventure into civilization. Here was the corner-stone of a capital story; but he knew that Howard Spur lock would never write it. Other phrases returned now. like echoes. The beachcomber the lowest in the human scale; and some day he would enter in to this estate. Between him and the beach stood the sum of six hundred dolars. rJut one thing troubled him, and because of it he might never arrivo on the beach. A new in explicable madness that urged him to shrill ironically the story of his coat—to take it off and fling it at the feet of any stranger who chanced to be nigh. “Look at it!” he felt like screaming. “Clean and spotless, but beginning to show the wear and tear of constant use. I have worn it for weeks and weeks. 1 have slept with it under my pil low. Observe it—a blue-serge coat. Ever hear of the djinn in the bottle! Like enough. But did you ever hear of a djinn in a blue-serge coat! Stitched in!” Something like this was al ways rushing into his throat; and he had to sink his nails into his palms to stop his mouth. Very fascinating, though, trying to analyse the impulse. It was not an affair of the conscience; it was vaguely based upon in solence and defiance. He wonder ed if these abnormal mental activities presaged illness. To be ill and helpless. He went on munching his water-chestnuts, and stared at the skyline. He hated horizons. He was always visualizing the Hand whenever he let his gaze rest upon the horizon. An enormous Hand that rose up swiftly, blotting out the sky. A Hand that strove to reach his shoulder, relentless, soulless but lawful. The scrutiny of any strange man provoked a sweaty terror. What a Godforsaken fool he was! And dimly, out there somewhere in the ' South Seas—the beach! Already he sensed the fascina tion of the inevitable; and with this fascination came the idea of haste, to get there quickly and have done. Odd, but he had never thought of the beach un til this girl (who looked as if she had stepped out of the fami ly album) referred to it with a familiarity which was as aston ishing as it was profoundly sad. The beach: to get there as quickly as he could, to reach the white man’s nadir of abasement and gather the promise of that soothing indifference which comes with the final disintegra tion of the fibres of conscience. He had an objective now. CHAPTER IV The tourists returned to the Sha-mien at four o’clock. They were silent and no longer obser vant, being more or less exhaus ed by the tedious action of the chairs. Even Ah Cum had re sumed his Oriental shell of re serve. To reach the Sha-mien— and particularly the Hotel Vic toria—one crossed a narrow canal, always choked with rock ing sampans over and about which swarmed yellow men and women and children in varied shades of faded blue cotton. At sunset the swarming abruptly ceased; even the sampans ap peared to draw closer together, with the quiet of water-fowl. There is everywhere at night in China the original fear of dark ness. From the portals of the hotel —scarcely fifty yards from the canal—one saw the blank face of the ancient eity of Canton. Blank it was, except for a gate near the bridgehead. Into this hole in the wall and out of it the native stream flowed from sunrise to sunset, when the stream mysteriously ceased. The silence of Canton at night was sinister, for none could prophesy what form of mob might sudden ly boil out. No Cantonese was in those days permitted to cross to the Sha-mien after stinset without a license. To simplify matters, he carried a coloured paper lantern upon which his license number was painted in Arabic numerals. It added to the picuresqueness of the Sha-mien night to observe these gaily coloured lanterns dancing hither and yon like June fireflies in a meadow. Meantime the spinsters sought the dining room where tea was being served. They had much to talk about, or rather Miss Prudence had. //-r^ . i • .1_II _• J IDUL sue IS tt UCOl, oaiu Angelina, timidly. “I’ll admit that. But I don’t understand her; she’s over my head. She leaves me almost without comparisons. She is like some character out of Phra the Phoenician : she’s been buried for thirty years and just been exca vated. That’s the way she strikes me. And it’s uncanny.” “But I never saw anybody more alive.” “Who wouldn’t be lively after thirty years’ Bleep? Did you hear her explain about beachcombers? And yet she looks at one with the straightest glance I ever saw. Sill, I’m glad she didn't accept my invitation to join us. I should n’t care to have attenion con stantly drawn to us. This world over herel Everything’s upside down or back-end-to. Humph!” “What’s the matter?” “Sh!” Spurlock passed by on the way to the bar. Apparently he did not see his recent com panions. There was a strained, eager expression on his face. “Going to befuddle himself between now and dinner,” was the comment of Prudence. “The poor young man!” sigh ed Angelina. “Pah! He’s a fool. I never saw a man who wasn’t.” “There was Father,” suggest ed Angelina gently. “Ninny! What did we know about Father, except when he was around the house ? But where is the girl ? She said some thing about having tea with us. I want to know more about her. I wonder if she has any idea how oddly beautiful she is?” Ruth at that precise moment was engaged by a relative won der. She was posing before the mirror, critically, miserably, de fensively, and perhaps bewilder ly. What was the matter with the dress? She could not see. For the past four weeks mirrors had been her delight, a new toy. Here was one that subtly mock ed her. Life is a patchwork of impres sions, of vanishing personalities. Each human contract leaves some indelible mark. The spin sters—who oa the morrow would vanish out of the girl’s life for ever—had already left their im print upon her imagination. Clothes. Henceforth Ruth would closely observe her fellow wo men and note the hang of their skirts. Around her neck was a little gold chain. She gathered up the chain, revealing a locket which had lain hidden in her bosom. The locket contained the face of her mother—all the family album she had. She studied the face and tried to vis ualize the body, clothed in the dress which had created the spin sters’ astonishment. Very well. To-morrow, when she returned to Hong-Kong, she would pur chase a simple but modern dress. Anything that drew attention to her must be avoided. , She droppe.d the locket into | its sweet hiding place. It was precious for two reasons: it was the photograph of hc.7 beautiful mother whom she could not re member, and it would Identify her to the aunt in Hartford. She uttered a little eaculative note of joy and rushed to the bed. A dozen books lay upon the counterpane. Oh, the beautiful books ! Romance, adventure, love stories! She gathered up the books in her arms and cuddled them, as a mother might have cuddled a child. Love stories 1 It was of negligible importance that these books were bound in paper; Romance lay unalterably writhin. All these wonderful com rades, henceforth and for ever hers. She would never again be lonely. Les Miserables, A Tale of Two Cities, Henry Esmond, The Last Days of Pompeii, The Marble Faun . . . Love stories 1 Until her arrival in Singapore, she had never read a novel. Pil grim’s Progress, The Life of Martin Luther and Alice in Wonderland (the only fairy story she had been permitted to read) were the sum total of her library. But in the appendix of the dictionary she had discover ed magic names—Hugo, Dumas, Thackeray, Hawthorne, Lytton. She had also discovered the names of Grimm and Andersen; but at that time she had not been able to visualize “the pale slender things with gossamer wings”—fairies. The world in to which she was so boldly ven turing was going to be wonder ful, but never so wonderful as the world within these paper covers. Already Cosette was her chosen friend. Daily contact with actual human be ings all tho more inclined her toward the imaginative. Joyous, she felt the need of physical expression; and her body began to sway sinuously, to glide and turn and twist about the room. As she danced there was in her ears the faded echo of wooden tom-toms. Eventually her movements carried her to the little stand at the side of the bed. There lay upon this stand a book bound in limp black leather—the Holy Bible. Her glance, absorbing the gilt Jitters and their significance, communicated to her poised body a species of paralysis. She stood without motion and with out strength. The books slid from her arms and fluttered to the floor. Presently repellancc grew under the frozen mask of astonishment and dissipated it. “No!” she cried. “No, nol” With a gesture, fierce and in tolerant, she seized the Bible and thrust it out of sight, into the drawer. Then, her body still tense with the atoms of anger, she sat down upon the edge of the bed and rocked from side to side. But shortly this movement ceased. The recollection of the forlorn and loveless years—stir red into consciousness by the unexpected confrontation—bent her as the high wind bends tha water-reed. “My father!” she whispered. “My own father!’' Queerly the room and its ob jects receded and vanished; and there intervened a series of men tal pictures that so long as she lived would ever be recurring. She saw the moonlit waters, the black shadow of the proa, the moon-fire that ran down the far edge of the bellying sail, the si lent natives: no sound except the slapping of the outrigger and the lowr sibilant murmur of water falling away from the sides—and the beating of her heart. The flight. How she had fought her eager ness in the beginning, lest it re veal her ignorance of the mar vels of mankind! The terror and ecstasy of that night in Singa pore—the first city she ever seen! There was still the im pression that something akin to a miracle had piloted her suc cessfully from one ordeal to another. The clerk at the Raffles Hotel had accorded her but scant in terest. She had, it was true, ac cepted doubtfully the pen he had offered. She had not been suf ficiently prompted in relation to the ways of caravansaries; but her mind had been alert and re ceptive. Almost at once she had comprehended that she was ex pected to write down her name and address, which she did, in slanting cobwebby lettering, per haps a trifle laboriously. Ruth Enschede, Hartford, Conn. The address was of course her desti na-iion, thousands of miles away, an iiifinitefhnal sjmt k. % tyrri fying apace. She conld visualise the picture she had presented, particularly the battered papier-mache kitbag at her feet. In Europe or in America people would have smiled; but in Singapore—the half-way port of the world— where a human kaleidoscope tumbles continuously east and west, no one had remarked her. She would never forget the agony of that first meal in the great dining room. She could have dined alone in her room; but courage had demanded that she face the ordeal and have done with it. Every eye seemed focussed upon her; and yet she had known the sensation to be the conceit of her imagination. The beautiful gowns and the flashing bare shoulders and arms of the woman had disturbed and distressed her. Women, she had been taught, who exposed the flesh of their bodies under th# eyes of man were in a special catagory of the damned. Almost instantly ahe had recognized the fallacy of such a statement. These women could not be bad, else the hotel would not have permitted them to enter! Still, the scene presented a riddle: to give immunity to the black women who went about all but naked and to damn the white for exposing their shoulders I She had eaten but little; all her hunger had been in her eyes —and in her heart. Loneliness —something that was almost physical: as if the vitality had been taken out of the air she breathed. The longing to talk to someone! But in the end had gone to her room without giving in to the craving. Once in the room, the door locked, the sense of loneliness had dropped away from her as the mists used to drop away from the mountain in the morn ing. Even then she had under stood vaguely that she had touched upon some philosophy of life: that one was never lone ly when alone, only in the midst of crQwds. Another picture slid across her vision. She saw herself be gin a slow, sinuous dance: and stop suddenly in the middle of a figure, conscious that the dance was not impromptu, her own, but native—the same dance she had quitted but a few min utes gone. She had fallen into it naturally, the only expression of the dance she had ever seen or known, and that a stolen sweet. That was odd: when young people were joyous, *hey had to express it physically. But native 1 She must watch out. (TO BE CONTINUED) 8ELF, NEIGHBOR AND COMPANY "Neglect not the gift that is in thee."—I Timothy 4:14. "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”—Matthew 22:39. If we have no real self, no thoughts, no feelings, no personality of our own, we are not persons at all. We are mere parts of a machine. If, on the other hand, we are ruled only by solf-will, Belf-Interest, we are sure to injure other people, and in the end to destroy our own happi ness. We become objectionable members of the community, nuisances, if not criminals. The most difficult problem in the conduct of life is the harmonizing of these two principles, 8o that they will work together. Every one is born an Individual, a self; and that self has the right (which is also a duty) to live and grow. Every one is likewise born a neigh bor, with ties and obligations and duties which spread out on all sides. Which has the higher claim? Or are they equal? In theory, it Is easy to find an ans wer sounding well enough. But in practice, when there ars only two partners in the firm, they often come to a deadlock and stand bickering in a grievous desperation betwixt the devil of Egoism and the deep oe<» of Altruism. Her Sensitive Point. From the Argonaut. “My, yon’s a great place.” said Sir Harry Lauder recently, of a north country town he had been visiting, “and I had a great reception there. Everything was Just great and the women, too—some of them. In one street while I was there a trumcar collided with a milk cart, and two milk cans were upset into the road, the milk splashing across the street. Soon a crowd gathered. A very short man—Just a wee bit smaller than myself—was standing behind a very stout lady, so that he couldn’t veiy well see what was happening. When at last he did get a glimpse of the milk flowing in the street, he ex claimed, ‘Lunrme! What a waste!* The stout lady turned and glared at him, ‘Mind your business.’ ” The All-Important Trousers. The Boston Transcript credits this to an Indiana exchange: "The dress of the groom, best man and ushers was an Innovation and added to the charm of the wedding. The two former were dressed entire ly in white serge ana the ushers wore dark blue coats, with trousers." On May *, 1888, the first commercially successful overhead trolley car ap peared In this country. It was In Richmond, Virginia. More than 1,000,000 boys and girls at tend the Sanday schools of Canada,
