Jumping Meridians
Bj LINTON WNLLS and NELS LEROY JORGENSEN
ti
Jo his demand that he be
faced with some knowledge of
his accuser, he was blandly in
formed that such a proceeding
*ras impossible: .Agents of the
G. P. U.—that dread secret
Service which has replaced the
iold Tsarist Cheka—had been
Informed in some wav of his
Arrival, and they had discov
ered enough to justify his
•eizurc and a search of his ef
fects.
As to the rest—.Timmy’s
hopes of communicating with
Moscow were suddenly blast- i
jtd. One of the soldiers
•traiglitened up from an exam
ination of his hag and laid
upon the commissar’s desk a
thin sheet of paper, carefully
(traced with indelible ink.
Jimmy gasped, wide-eyed :
(with astonishment. The man j
Returned, and he watched him
flit open a pocket in the bag
which Jimmy had scarcely
policed before. From it, he
lextricatcd several sheets of
finely written script in a hand
.that was startlingly like his
Jown—yet he had never seen
githcr of the documents before.
The assistant commissar’s
^unvc coolness vanished.
“These things, monsieur,
seem to justify investigation. I
do not suppose you will read
Ito me what is written in F.ng
lish here.”
Jimmy bent down over the
papers that were thrust across
the desk toward him. The
handwriting was baffling, hut
;the content—!
The economic condition
of the peasantry is out
rageous. . . . Wives and
babies arc thrown into
vile prisons when frost
ruins their crops, left to
rot in Siberia’s cold, while
husbands . . .
Jimmy read no more. Star
tled, he found himself looking
up into the cold eyes of the of
ficer. “I’ll read it, if you wish
but T did not write those
things!” he protested. “What
Is on the maps!”
The assistant commissar
shrugged. “I do not know—
yet.” He stood up with a short,
disbelieving nod. “1 will have
the papers read,” he said
briefly. “You need not add
perjury to your other charms.
In the meantime ...”
With a brief gesture to the
soldier in charge, he turned
away. The latter nodded,
pave a swift command in Rus
sian; and a few minutes later.
.Jimmy Brandon found himself
on<*c more a prisoner in the
orange-lighted room, with two
guards pacing carefully out
side the barred doors. This
time, there would be no escape.
Rut what did it all meant
For a long time he remained
iBtunned by the significance of
bis plight. Obviously, some
one had planted those papers
Inside his hag. What was the
map? He had no way of
knowing; it would probably be
Unimportant, he guessed—
merely enough to furnish a
good reason for fit"!h»r search
and an examination of the pa
pers. As a newspaper man,
for him to write t’13 things
which the assistant commissar
would find on those thin
sheets was considerable of a
crime.
With a start .Timmy suddenly
recalled the incident at Omsk,
when he had returned from
pacing the station platform to
find that his eomnurtnv'nt had
born entered. 11* had almost
forgotten that. \ow—oh, it I
Was suddenly all pitilessly !
clear! What a 'fool lie lnd i
been! He had looked to s*e j
4? anything were stolen. In- j
stead, those damning doru- i
ments bad been secreted inside !
bis bag. in the bring where he
bad never kept anything nr 1
where he had uatnrally not
searched, there to re>» until
V Win ('MUfd b* I.!e*
r.jtn Oiiiu Barbara n>*j
No ore whose n: :iiory run.i bi tk
to thr World war will quest: on th*
a
t»v Arthur Pooaonby a mem’*- of
the Brtttah hours cf warvn» in
Ms took. •'Falsehood in W. rttir.?”
that lies are Ov ■'tuff of w itch
a. * i.i largely rr. ie
At leart they are an Important
•lenient In faimlun Utf flame i an-1
kf-r!M popular senturirnt at f.tver
hra* po«*f>dy H I* not l.-ueh
to *av that if a.’ lie fa ta h i
been told frankly Uvu-e wjiUI not
ba*e been a World war.
Thia author »tn i experience
CUiU 6a«k far bey uj the World
they became his mute accus
ers!
He pulled back the portiers
before his barred windows and
commenced to pace the floor
restlessly. It was difficult to
light a cigaret, but a tiny alco
hol lamp contained a small
flume. At this, with his hands
behind him, he was forced to
light the tobacco.
The ininutps ticked by.
What were they waiting for?
he wondered. Surely it was
time for him to be in prison.
Possibl yit was the commissar
himself whose presence was
needed before they dealt with
him finally. He dared not
think of the trip, nor of all he
had lost. When he did, he
thought, too, of that elusive
figure in black, and the haunt
ing perfume that came with a
vision of the woman who had
helped him.
A far-away vision it was
coming to be now; and yet—
there was a certain hope in the
thought of her. She had been
so loyal, so good a comrade; he
wished she were here. Sur
prisingly, his thoughts revert
ed not once to Frances. In this
hour of need it was the mys
terious hdy of nareisse noir
whom he wished for mutely.
Food was brought him but
he ate with little relish. At
last, he pushed the remainder
of it away and permitted the
guard to light his eigaret and
replace t.lie handcuffs. Then,
slouching deep in a chair, he
gave himself up to a passive
brooding, his eyes roving mi
seeingly out through the
barred windows over the low,
silent roofs of Viatica, somno
lent in the darkness.
The trip was lost—his gal
lant gesture a failure!
Jimmy Brandon’s lips twist
ed into a bitter smile. When
all this was over—what thcnT
Frances was lost lie knew.
'Hie thought did not hurt him
so deeply as it might. He re
called Olson’s words that
night on the steamer; he could
almost hear the big seamon as
he had spoken them, hesitant
ly, groping for his English, his
voice rumbling with sincerity:
“And then . . . then,
whether he wins or loses, she
loves him for himself—just be
cause he tried . . . for
her . . . “
That was not Francos. It
never could he. He was be
ginning to understand that,
and all its imputations. But
the other; the woman lie did
not know, and who had helped
him for his own sake—would
it matter to her—failure? Or
would slje, as the master of the
Adrienne had suggested, love
him because he had tried?
With a start, he jerked him
self loose from these reflec
tions. lie had lost, he accused
himself, and because he bad
lost, he had already given up
Frances, to whom his loyalty
was pledged. This other wo
man, he had never even seen
her face to face, and vet he
had dared to think of her in
this fashion.
“Fool!” he muttered
through clenched teeth, and
fell to pacing the floor again.
It was 11 o’clock when this
infuriated, agonized pacing
was interrupted hv quick foot
steps which halted outside his
door, the sentry’s short chal
lenge, and the clash of the bolt
as it was drawn back. He
stood very still in the center of
the room and waited.
Were they corning for him at
list? Was the final act of the
comedy to be completed?
It was the same soldier who
had arrested him late that af
ternoon who appeared on the
threshold when the doors
swung open. Jimmy decided
ft'at he was officer of the day.
He waited.
The man’s manner, which
had been the reverse of polite*
i wir know* well that faalehood wax
no accidental or incidental element
of the wae. It was a part or the
or.sniiwd propaganda, elaborately
pr pared sni carried out tn re
mirkable detail.
Ito’ks we re prepared with ela
> borate plCiurrx showing alleged
atrocities. Horrible details were gir
Ttt in affidavit form in which the
nemaa of distinguished men ware
used.
Thew books were prepared to
arctiae the spirit of hate in Prince.
Kntriand and the United states
They were used to stir the people
to save food and to buy bonds.
And yet when the w was ovar
ness following Jimmy’s escape,
was subtly altered, lie stood
very straight when he said in
li is faultless French, “Will
monsieur be so kind as to ac
company me!”
Jimmy decided that he could
afford to be that kind. “To
the jail!” he murmured.
“Mais oui!”
The two sentries fell in be
hind them when the lieutenant
went out by his prisoner’s side.
They marched in silence down
the long feorridor which Jimmy
had traversed three times be
fore, turned at the point where
he had collided with the com
missar’s secretary, and entered
the latter’s office. The young
old man was seated behind his
desk, waiting impatiently ;and
even as he crossed the thresh
old, Jimmy’s sharp eyes had
fallen upon the three newly
opened telegrams spread be
fore him. He smiled.
The assistant commissar got
to his feet. “This is most dis
tressing, Monsieur Brandon,’’
he said. “It seems you are not
a spy .at all, b a gentleman
of whom our comrades in Mos
cow speak in the highest
terms. I am at a loss to discov
er how they knew you were
here.”
Jimmy was equally at a loss,
for that matter; but he did not
choose to reveal the fact.
“I was expected,” he re
plied briefly. “And I could
have told you all you know
now some hours ago. What
does all this meant”
It was not exactly a per
emptory manner that he took ;
but all his dignity and annoy
ance came to the surface with
a realisation that he held the
upper hand at, the moment,
and that, if he could play this
thing through, a chance still
remained to him.
“It is distressing, mon
sieur,” the commissar’s sub
ordinate repeated. “You are
an American journalist, I un
derstand; your detention here
__ * f
“Was most unfortunate,”
Jimmy put in. “Especially in
view of the fact that I’m in a
hurry, and this delay has cost
a great deal of money. Those
papers you found in my bag
were forged, but they’re mild
compared to what I’m going
to write—for publication in
American ami Russia—about
this treatment!”
“But, monsieur-”
Jimmy shook his head impa
tiently. “Have somebody re
move these handcuffs,” he or
dered; and then: “Do I un
derstand that I’ve got a clean
ticket!”
The assistant commissar
looked paint'd, at a complete
loss. In his chief’s absence he
had used highhanded measures
which were proved distinctly
out of place. Jimmy knew his
predicament, but he was in no
mood to sympathize. He ipust
keep control of the situation in
order to put through the plan
which was formulating in his
mind even as he spoke.
“Ah, oui, monsieur—yoi\
are at complete liberty. But I
—I have detained you. 1 am
desolate-”
“So was our friend here!”
Jimmy interrupted cryptically.
“You’re desolate and I’m in a
merry hole. Also, you’re go
ing to help me to get out of
it.”
He was beginning to under
stand the situation. Wisely, he
had refrained from demanding
to know the authors of the
telegrams; he had acted as
though they were to be ex
pected from the highest sourc
es, as, no doubt, they were,
from the officer’s appar
ent chagrin. But the top one,
it was easy to see, was from
Wallace Harvey—“Chuck”
Harvey, who had come from
New York two years back to
take Jimmy’s place as Eastern
European and Russian corre
spondent for the newspaper
syndicate to which both owed
allegiance.
In some way, Harvey had
S been advised, and he had act
ed ns promptly as only he
could. How or by what man
in*r news of the V’iatka inci
dent had reached him, Jimmy
and the Investigation of the war
Crimea began. it wan demonatrat'd
that moat of thrv tales wife the
work of the too active imaginations
of the authors The booka were
monumentala takes.
Of course there were Inhuman
crimes during the war but thev
were not confined to one nation and
they were latgely the work of in
dividuals
But the Ilea were a deliberate
part of the war making and pro
motion machinery.
Mr Ponaonby doe* not aspect to
are the elimination of lies aa an
element of war. In fact, he think*
could not guess. But he knew
his own acquaintance in Mos
cow, and he knew it to be pow
erful. That wras enough.
There was time later for check
ing up.
He took a quick, nervous
step forward, and his manner
was brusque. He spoke rap
idly in French.
“If you want me to forget
the injustice of my reception
here, and also to file a com
mendation in your favor with
the Narkomindel, Monsieur le
Commissar,” he said distinct
ly, “then see that I get out of
this town tonight—by air
plane!”
CHAPTER XIX
The assistant commissar
stared blankly for a moment,
and his lieutenant joined him.
.Jimmy stood quietly, awaiting
the reaction he anticipated. He
had asked for an airplane, and
he had every reason to believe
that there was only one in
Viatka, and that a govern
ment plane.
“But, monsieur—what you
ask is impossible!” the offi
cial gasped at last.
“Not at all,” .Jimmy re
turned smoothly. “You’ve got
me into this—now get me out.
I’ve got to have a plane for a
flight to Moscow tonight.
“But there is only one air
plane in the city,” the assist
ant commissar protested. “It
is an army plane from Moscow
and it could not possibly leave
before morning.”
“Whether I leave with one
plane or a whole Escadrille,”
the American reiterated,“ I’m
getting out of here tonight.”
“But the pilots, monsieur
“I’ll pilot it myself!” Jim
my was firm, but he had lost
none of his calm. It was this
confident, cool firmness which
was making an impression on
his hearers. “The regular pi
lot can go with me and s leep
till I hit Moscow. Then lie
can bring it back tomorrow if
that’s necessary.
The assistant commissar
stared; stared, apparently, be
cause he could not find words
with which to express himself.
These mad Americans!
“It’s got to be fast work,
too,” Jimmy mused coolly.
“Time is running right
along.” lie looked at the
watch on his wrist and then
lighted a eigaret, standing
there as though waiting for
the other to make up his mind.
At last the assistant commis
sar, with a despairing look at
his lieutenant, shrugged his
shoulders and surrendered. “I
will do my best,” he agreed.
Dawidoff, go to the field and
bring back a pilot.”
The lieutenant dashed off.
A moment later, Jimmy heard
a loud, protesting Ford get un
derway and go rattling off
across the cobblestones of the
courtyard at a pace such as
had never been intended for it.
He dropped uninvited into a
chair and waited, while the of
ficial stared at him.
A little later, the car drew
up again under the windows,
and the officer of the day
rushed in, a man at his heels.
The situation was explained—
several times.
Jimmy listened. Finally,
they all turned to him, and the
conversation became a thing
impossible to understand. Ev
eryone gesticulated wildly and
shouted rapidly in several dif
! ferent brands of French inter
mixed with Russian; and in
the intervals, Jimmy’s dose
clipped syllables reiterated to
the assistant commissar the
narrow choice he had.
These syllables made them
I selves felt after several min
I utes. The pilot agTeed after
only a slight hesitancy to the
American’s plan. The assistant
commissar finally turned to
Jimmy and declared himself in
agreement with conditions.
(TO B» CONTINUKD)
LEAF TUCKS
One of the loveliest d-^oorativ
touches this spring are the tucks
girdle portion tucked in oak leal
pattern and the edges ol the top
flounce repeat the design,
called "nervures" by the French
that outline a pattern. A rose chif
fon afternoon dress has its entire
that they are Inevitable. The only
way of reforming war U to atop it.
— -»
it ST LIK A KID
Young‘town. Ohio.-When a
itranger told Palay Cinqu-grano
tiut he’d surely get rich and haw
a lot of diamonds when he grew up
Patey wanted to show off. ~I got
| diamonds. ’ Patsy said, and ran into
the house and get hta sister’s. It
waa a good d.amond. and the
stranger thought it so good that he
put on tits running shoes and beat
it—with the diamond.
Electric Cable Will
Guide Ship in Fog
A device that would enable a blind
folded helmsman to steer a ship safely
into harbor was described at the an
uual meeting of the American Insti
tute of Electrical Engineers by Robert
H. Marriott, consulting engineer of the
federal radio commission.
An electric cable lying on the sea
bottom is the guide. Two coils of
wire are hung over each side of the
vessel. They pick up electric im
pulses in the cable by Induction and
transmit them as sounds through head
phones worn by the helmsman.
When t he keel is over the cable,
the intensity of sound is equal in each
ear. But when the sound volume be
gins to diminish in one ear it Is an In
dication that the ship is slipping olT
Its course in the direction of the faint
sound side. Kog doe3 not affect the
operation of the cable.
Quart of Water
Cleans Kidneys
No man or woman can make a mis
take by Hushing the kidneys occasion
ally, says a well-known authority.
Eating too much rich food creates
acids, which excite the kidneys. They
become overworked from the strain,
get sluggisli and fail to filter the waste
and poisons from the blood. Then we
get sick. Rheumatism, headaches,
liver trouble, nervousness, dizziness,
sleeplessness and urinary disorders
often come from sluggish kidneys.
The moment you feel a dull ache in
the kidneys, or your back hurts, or if
the urine is cloudy, offensive, full of
sediment, irregular of passage or at
tended by a sensation of scalding, be
gin drinking a quart of water each
day, also get about four ounces of .Tad
Salts from any pharmacy; take a
tablespoonful in n glass of water be
fore breakfast and in a few days your
kidneys may act fine.
Tills famous salts is made from the
acid of grapes and lemon juice, com
bined with litlila, and has been used
for years to flush and stimulate the
kidneys; also to help neutralize the
qcids in_the system, so they no longer
cause irritation, thus often relieving
bladder weakness.
Jad Salts Is inexpensive; makes a
delightful effervescent lithia-water
drink which everyone should take
now and then to help keep the kid
neys clean and active and the blood
pure, thereby often avoiding serious
kidney complications.
In some Alaskan streams salmon
have at times appeared in such massed
numbers ns to make it seem that the
channel was almost solidly filled with
fish. Tliis, however, occurs only dur
ing brief periods at the height of the
annual runs or migrations of adult
salmon from I tie sea to streams for
spawning purposes.
Children's handkerchiefs often look
hopeless when they come to the laun
dry. Wash with good soap, rinse In
water blued with Red Cros3 Ball Blue.
—Adv.
Woman (on train with woll-grown
boy)—Do I have to pay for tlie child?
Conductor — Well, you needn’t,
ma’am, if you don’t mind some pas
sengers sitting on him.
Take a Little Salts If Your
Hurts, or Bladder is
Troubling You
Salmon in Million*
Conditional
SAME PRESCRIPTION
HE WROTE IN 1892
When Dr. Caldwell started to practice
medicine, hack in 1875, the needs for •
laxative were not as great as today.
People lived normal lives, ate plain,
wholesome food, and got plenty of fresh
air. But even that early there wore
drastic physics and purges for the relief
of constipation which Dr. Caldwell did
not believe were good for human beings.
The prescription for constipation that
he used early in his practice, and which
he put in drug stores in 1892 under the
name of Dr. Caldwell’s Syrup Pepsin,
is a liquid vegetable remedy, intended
for women, children and elderly people,
and they need just such a mild, safe
bowel stimulant.
This prescription has proven its worth
and is now the largest selling liquid
laxative. It has won the confidence of
people who needed it to get relief from
headaches, biliousness, flatulence, indi
gestion, loss of appetite and sleep, had
breath, dyspepsia, colds, fevers. At your
druggist, or write “Syrup Pepsin,"
Dept. BB. Monticello, Illinois, for freo
trial bottle.
Robinson Crusoe Et Al
At a recent showing of “Robin
Hood’’ at an East side moving picture
show, a five-year-old hoy who was un
able to read, kept asking questions of
his older brother. He evidently could
not follow the theme of the story or
the activities of the various charac
ters. At a tense moment the little fel
low was heard to exclaim, “Oh, look!
There's Ileblnson Crusoe with a goof*
er feather in his hat.”
FIND “FRIEND
fN NEED”
Mother and Daughter Praise
Vegetable Compound
Johnson City, N. Y. —“My daughter
•was only 20 years old, but for two
years she worked
in misery. She was
all run-down, nerv
ous, had aches and
pains and no appe
tire. I was taking
Lydia E. Pink ham'a
Vegetable Com
pound with good'
results so she do>,
cided to try it. Be>-!
fore she had taken
tw~ bottles her ai>-i
T", j petite was better,;
she was more cheerful and was able to*
work. I cannot praise your medicine,
too highly. It is wonderful for mother*
and for daughters. It’s surely ‘m
friend in need’.’*—Mas. L. E. Hau*
223 Floral Avenue, Johnson City, N. Y.
Cheaper
Highbrow—Does a certain sublimat
ed and objective altruism ever move
you?
Lowbrow—No, I usually hire a
truck.—Pathfinder.
ACHI
OINTS
IF you ever have rheumatism,
lumbago or other pains that
penetrate to the very bones and
joints, Bayer Aspirin offers
quick relief, and such complete
comfort that it’s folly to suffer.
Keep these tablets handy in
the house; and carry them in
your pocket. Then you need
never suffer long from any
attack of neuralgia, neuritis,
rheumatism, or even from a
hail headache. Bavcr Aspirin
is a marvelous antidote for all
pa'ii and has no effect on the
heart, rroven directions lor
many valuable uses in every
box of genuine Iiaycr Aspirin.
AH druggists.