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.