Tloud QM6*ts'
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB
HEADLINES PROM THE LIVES
OF PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELFI
“Behind the Curtain"
YOU know, boys and girls, Old Lady Adventure has some
funny ways of sneaking up on a guy. Sometimes she
just comes up behind your back, and sometimes she drops
on you from above. And there are times, too, when she
comes walking right up to you from the front, and you don’t
try to get out of her way because she is in disguise and you
don’t recognize her.
That’s the way it was with John Hoven, New York city.
You know, John started his adventuring career as a sailor
before the mast, and every sailor has half a dozen or more
adventures he can tell you about. But the one John remem
bers best is his first one—a thrill he got in 1894, and still
remembers.
It happened when John’s ship called at the port of San
Lucar, Spain, to take on a cargo of lead. It was the 18th of
November when they arrived there, but the weather was still
warm and balmy. In the evening, most of the crew went
ashore to see the sights of the town, John went too—and that's when Old
Lady Adventure walked up and grabbed him.
You know, I said that the old girl with the thrill bag sneaked up on
John in disguise. She did. She came in the clothes customarily worn by
another lady known to the world as Little Rosie Romance. And John
never knew the difference until it was too late.
On their way into town, the sailors from the ship stopped to
watch a group of Spanish senoritas and senors dancing their native
dances. John says he thinks the dance they were doing was the
fandango. Anyway, it was the sort of dance in which a senorita
who wants a new partner, just throws her shawl around the neck
of some bird on the sidelines who looks good to her. John was
standing pretty close to the platform where the dancing was going
on, and the first thing you know a shawl was looped around his
neck.
John Adds Fandango to His Accomplishments.
Now John says he never was much of a dancer, and fandangos
were way out of his class. But this girl was a beauty, and one look
from her big round eyes had John feeling that he’d dance in a barrel of
red hot nails if it would please her any. “I got away with the dance
On that bed lay a dead man, his throat slashed, and blood dripping
all over the floor.
somehow,” he says, “and then she left the platform and motioned me to
come along. She led me to a little cafe—a two-story building with a lot
of tables and chairs out in the open and a big canopy sloping down the
side of the wall. There was a big bay window above this canopy and a
small side entrance led to the room above.”
The girl led John into that side entrance. He followed her up the
stairs and into a big room on the second floor. “She spoke to me in
Spanish,” John says, "but I couldn't understand a word. However, I
said, 'Si, Si,’ to everything she said. She smiled, and so did I. Then she
opened a cupboard, brought out some wine glasses and an empty bottle
and made a motion meaning that she was going to take the bottle and
have it filled. Then she left the room.”
John could hardly believe his luck. When the girl was gone
he began to look around the room. There was an alcove at one
end, with portiers drawn across It. He walked over and peeped
through those curtains—and right there John got the shock of his
life. In the alcove was a bed, and on that bed lay a dead man,
his throat slashed, and blood dripping all over the floor!
“I felt a chill run up my spine," he says, "and for a minute I was so
stiff I couldn’t move. I turned away from the grisly sight in the alcove
and ran toward the door. I turned the knob, but the door didn’t give.
It was locked!”
John ran to the window—and what he saw there made the
hair stand straight up on his head. Down below in the street was
the girl, coming back—and with her were two big husky Spanish
policemen. John says that thousands of thoughts ran through his
head then, but the principal one was the realization that he was
the victim of a frame-up. That girl had killed a man and was
going to put the blame on him!
Says he: "I knew my only chance lay in getting out of that room.
The girl and the policemen were almost to the door now. I waited
until they were all in the hallway, and then I threw open the window.
They would be opening the door of the room at any moment, and I had
to hurry. Swiftly climbing through the window. I slid down the canopy
i below if.
John Finds Dagger in Coat Pocket.
It was only a drop of about ten feet to the ground, and the minute
I felt earth under my feet I ran like a deer for the waterfront. I reached
it all out of breath, for I had never stopped running the entire distance
of almost a mile. I went aboard ship and sneaked below. Once in
the forecastle I stopped to catch my breath again. I was still shaking
like a leaf. I started to remove my coat and felt something in the
pocket. I took it out. It was a double-edged dagger, about eight inches
long, with a hollow groove in the middle."
Just another link in the chain of evidence against John. The
| girl had planted that knife In his pocket to make the case against
him all the stronger. He hid the thing under his mattress and
tried to calm his Jumpy nerves. And Just then one of John’s ship
mates came into the forecastle. “Say, what’s the matter with
you?” he wanted to know. "You look pale as a ghost, and I saw
you running.”
Well sir, John says he knew he could trust this pal of his so he
.„ blurted out the whole story. And his shipmate laughed. "Why," he
^aid, "you just fell for an old swindle. I thought it had been played out
lo*gago in these parts. That was only a dummy you saw in the room,
ancf4he blood was probably catsup or something. The police were fakers,
and liVthey wanted to do was make you give them all your money to
keep tj. 'uiquiet. Don t play around with any of those Spanish senoritas
You’re piling with fire if you do.”
'• lReleased by Western Newspaper Union.)
150-Year-Old Paintings Found Under Wall Paper
Murals apparently painted in the
days just after the American Revo
lution have been uncovered in an
old Rockport, Mass., home. Buried
under four layers of wallpaper for
several generations, the murals,
quaint in design and of antiquarian
value, were found when decorators
cleaned the walls preparatory to re
papering.
Mrs. Marian J. Cooney, whose
family owned the house for many
years, was unaware of the murals’
presence. The stock of new wall
paper she had selected to cover the
parlor’s walls never will be used.
Identity of the artist who created
the work is not known, although
Mrs. Etta S. Moore, 80 years old,
recalled that the builder, George
Knowlton, had a daughter who was
artistically inclined.
The paintings were believed to
have been executed about 150 years
ago as the two flags crossed over
an apple tree and a brace of doves,
contained 13 stars and 10 bars each.
Figures in this mural and those on
the other three walls are stiff, but
attractive.
Most interesting of the panels is
one depicting a farm worker at a
well who lifts an oaken bucket to
bts lips as a small blue dog looks on.
I Guess It’s—No It Isn’t!
Artificial Christmas? You might call it that, for modern chem
istry has pulled all sorts of synthetic rabbits out of industry’s hat
for this year’s gifts. In fact, today’s fashionable miss will find in
her Christmas stocking enough synthetics to keep her busy from
morning 'til night. Give a look!
M Jjfc
The morning tub with mountains
if suds and a generous-sized bath
tponge! What, not a sponge? No,
this “sponge” is made of paper, but
it works just as well.
Sorely there are no synthetics in
this picture. Guess again. The
bristles in that tooth brush never
had a speaking acquaintance with
any animal.
Something new in hats. This
smart little number is made of plas
tics and wood. Everything from Af
rican mahogany to New England sil
ver birch goes into feminine head
gear.
Miss 1940 steps forth on a rainy
day in her smart ensemble, water
proofed by a new substance made
of coke, limestone and salt, which
chemical science has made into a
magic material called koroseal.
This Christmas' costume jewelry
all comes from the chemist’s lab
oratory.
As does this tricky vanity with a
tiny light at the top for better
makeup.
When milady retires, her tradi
tional hundred strokes with the
brush are accomplished with a com
bination brush-comb made of plas
tics.
• —ii mini .—1^———IM
More chemical magic: A pack of
playing cards of synthetic paper; a
cigarette lighter which looks like
meusl but was really made of plas
tlos.
Glass backgammon board? Not a bit . . . it's also plastic.
I
How Other
Lands Mark
Christmas
A melting pot of the world, Amer
ica has created its Christmas traditions
from countless customs brought across
the seas from foreign lands. In these
far-auay places the Yuletide symbols
of bygone ages still endure. Here are
a few of them:
ENGLAND:
Christmas to rural Englishmen
means not only the observance of
Christ’s birth, but also a parting of
the ways between the old year and
the new. Preparations are started
for the next year’s farm work, which
begins right after Christmas
Throughout the island such trap
pings as the holly and mistletoe re
main undying traditions, nor is any
Christmas complete without the
Yule log burning. On clear frosty
nights the carol singers raise their
voices over the countryside. To
many Englishmen’s despair, such
American customs as the turkey din
ner are gaining a foothold.
GERMANY:
Two years ago storm troopers in
Berlin lit bonfires in the public
squares as a revival of the pagan
custom of celebrating the winter
solstice. But this distraction will
not stop the Christmas-loving Ger
mans from decorating their trees in
every town and village, and joining
in the famed Christmas hymn,
“Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht.”
ITALY:
Most Italian families celebrate
Christmas eve and spend the follow
ing day quietly in their homes. Here
it is a feast more for grown-ups
than for children, whose merry
making day comes 12 days later, on
January 6. On Christmas eve fami
IN ITALY—Children of the
Italian Alps at Christmas Time,
praying before a wayside shrine.
lies gather around the “ceppo” or
Christmas log blazes. At nine p. m.
begins the “cenone,” or big supper,
at which no meat may be served.
Gifts for children, which come on
Epiphany, are brought not by Santa
Claus but by an ugly witch whose
name is “Befana.”
FRANCE:
Exchange of gifts comes not on
Christmas but mostly on New Year’s
day, which in France is the big
family day for reunions of cousins,
aunts and uncles. Santa Claus is
"Pere Noel,” who leaves his gifts
in wooden shoes. Christmas eve is
not spent at home but in revelry
and feasting.
BELGIUM:
Neither Santa Claus nor Pere Noel
visit children here—but St. Nicholas
makes the rounds, surprisingly, on
December 6! A quaint Belgian cus
tom is the putting up the chimney
of a few carrots for the little donkey
on which St. Nicholas makes his
visits.
RUSSIA:
This anti-Christian nation forbids
celebration of the Yuletide but no
longer compels foreign residents to
import their own Christmas trees
Making an about-face, the Soviet
government uses this emblem of
childhood for its New Year’s cele
brations when Dadja Moroz, or Un
cle Frost, appears with gifts for
good children.
POLAND:
This Christmas celebration lasts
until February 2 and is preceded
by fasting which is not broken until
the first star appears on Christmas
eve. In all homes the tablecloth is
placed over a layer of fragrant hay
in commemoration of the manger.
HUNGARY:
St. Nicholas leaves boxes of candy
for children early in December, aft
er which the youngsters must be on
their good behavior. They write let
ters to the angels, who, they be
lieve, bring the presents. If they
find bits of tinsel on the floor, they
claim this is angel's hair and proof
that the angels are everywhere, ob
serving which boys and girls are
good.
HOLY LAND:
Nhere it all began nearly 20 cen
turies ago, worshipers reverently
hail each Christmas at the church
of Nativity which is built over
Christ’s traditional birthplace. It has
remained unchanged more than
1.500 years. There pilgrims gather
from all over the world to intone
‘Glory to the New-Born King.”
Santa Claus
Gets Around
• Busy Kris Kringle
doesn't fight modern inven
tions—he uses them!
Down Florida way where the
chambers of commerce require
that- everything be different,
Santa goes to work on an aqua
plane.
Donner and Blitzen cant fly
through the air like a plane, so
old St, Nick tries a new wrinkle.
Here he pops up in a railroad
engine—
Then, again, he abandons his
toy bag and travels in an auto
mobile—
But in the end he goes back
to reindeers. Can’t get along
without ’em!
3 Christmas Islands,
Harhor, Cove, Sound,
Are Found in Atlas
Not one, but three Christmas is
lands will celebrate the Yuletide this
year, all of them under the British
Rag. The first is located in mid
Paciflc and is really a submerged
mountain 15,000 feet high with only
its top above water. The second,
in the Indian ocean, is forest-cov
ered and had a population of 40
when the last census was taken in
1898. The last Christmas islands is
near Cape Breton in the maritime
provinces of Canada.
France has a Christmas harbor on
Desolation cr Kerguelen island
about 2.000 miles southwest of Aus
tralia. The United States has a
Christmas cove near Boothbay har
bor. Maine, which is a summer re
sort.
There is also a Christmas sound
near the southern tip of South Amer
ica about 120 miles northwest of
Cape Horn and located in an island
belonging to Chile.
1939 Toys Sprout Wheels
As Kids Imitate Parents
Today’s civilization-on-wheels has
revolutionized the Twentieth century
toy industry. Several decades ago
children played with paint sets and
cut-out dolls. Now girls and boys
want wheel goods. The desire to
have an automobile like dad’s is so
great that toy auto manufacturers
must change their designs as soon
as new models appear Velocipedes
must be streamlined, scooters must
have pneumatic tires, and doll car
riages must be of the latest babv
buggy designs.
Live Stock Commission
BYERS BROS&CO.
A Real Live Stock Com. Firm
At the Omaha Market
Strange Facts
f 8-Year Salvage Job I
Nurses Out of Sky
* Pontiffs Train Shy
The greatest salvage job in his
tory, to which the British navy
devoted eight years, making more
than 5,000 dives, was the recovery
of $24,800,000 worth of gold from
the wreck of the White Star liner
Laurentic, which struck a mine
and sank in 120 feet of water off
the north Irish coast in 1917.
France now has a volunteer
corps of approximately 200 “flying
nurses,” women skilled in para
chute-jumping as well as nursing
who are ready at a moment’s no
tice to be flown and dropped, with
their medical kits, at points where
their services are urgently needed.
The only Pontiff of the Roman
Catholic church who ever rode on
a railroad train while pope was
Pius IX, who reigned from 1846 to
1878.—Collier’s.
§TAWP.A.'/VIAKIN'S' I
^CIGARETTES ARE S()l
EASY ON THE TONGUE-J
k SO MILD, YET RICH 1
ANP TASTY TOO. OF J
f COURSE RA. SMOKES I
L cooler! ^ m
In recent laboratory
"smoking bowl" tests,
PRINCE ALBERT burned
30
II
COOLER
than the average of the 30
other of the largest-selling
brands tested ... coolest
of all l
Is there a difference,
“makin’s” fans, in the
COOLER-SMOKING
TOBACCO — Prince
Albert? Try it for rich
taste, without parching ex
cess smoking heat! PA’s
choice, fully ripened
tobaccos are “no-bite”
treated — smoke full
bodied, yet easier on the
tongue! Prince Albert
pours right, rolls faster,
draws better. That famous
PA. “crimp cut” is right to
home in “makin’s” papers.
Get Prince Albert today.
(So mild in pipes too!)
Copyright, 1939. R. J. Reynolds
Tobacco Co., Winston-Salem, N. C.