MYC FRIEND
^ '■7'W A 1
MARY OHARA j
THF STORY SO FAR: Tea-year old
Ken McLaughlin ran ride any horse on
Ms family's Wyoming ranch, bni he
wants a colt of his own. His father, a
retired army officer, refuses to give
him one until his school grades Improve
and he learns to take responsibility.
Ken's mother trie* to protect him from
Hie stern discipline of his father and the
youthful bullying of his older brother,
Howard, who always manages to do
things right. Nell convinces her hus
band that the colt may he Just what
Ken needs, so In spite of the fact that
he has not been promoted. Ken Is to
have a eott. But he Is having a hard
uiue (uOOiiiui BBE.
Now continue with the story.
CHAPTER V
There were two miles of winding
road with a fine hard-packed surface
of reddish decomposed granite; then
a sharp turn under the big sign that
said GOOSE BAR RANCH, and out
onto the Lincoln Highway.
'‘Dad," began Ken.
"Yes?"
“I hate the gelding.'*
"I do too, son, but it’s got to be
done.**
Ken sat thinking about it. Espe
cially about the race horses that
were gelded and still were big and
powerful, still ran races.
His spirits were rising. He felt
that he was catching something of
his father's attitude about it He
could even think back to what hap
pened in the morning without sharp
stinging feelings in the palms of
his hands. All the same—"Dad, I've
decided to take a Ally instead of a
horse colt.” .
McLaughlin laughed. "O K. But
don't take it too seriously, Ken.”
Ken sat thinking about his colt.
He had a week to choose. He would
ride up to the Saddle Back every
day, look over the yearlings—
"Something I want to say to you,
Ken."
Ken looked up. The man-to-man
way his father spoke to him made
him feel thev were almost friends.
"It’s this, Ken. I'm giving you a
colt. Any colt you want. And yet,
I’m not satisfied with the perform
ance you've given this spring. You
know that. Maybe you think it's
funny I give you the colt when what
you deserve—for flunking all your
exams and pulling that stunt yester
day—is a good hiding.”
Ken's face sobered, and he looked
straight ahead.
McLaughlin continued. “I don't
want you to think I’m letting you
oft. I'm not I haven't gone soft—
don't get that into your head. I
expect just as much of you as I
ever did. And this isn't any re
ward. because you haven't won a
reward.”
“What is it?”
”Ifs a partnership. I'm going to
need the help of both of you boys,
and you have to be trained so you'll
know how to give it. You're going
to train the yearling. I’ll give you
a little help just with the first break
ing, but you’ll train her, and she'll
train you. I want you to make a
good pony out of her. I want her
to make a man out of you. Get me?"
“Yes, sir." Ken looked up with a
wide smile lighting his face.
"But that’s not all." said his fa
ther. “You’ve got other duties. You
can give some time to your colt—not
all your time. You've got two of
these foals to halter-break—”
“Yes, sir."
"You’ve got to help exercise four
horses for the Rodeo; run the geld
ed colts every day for half an hour
for this whole week; help with all
the ranch work the way you always
do. I don’t want to find you welch
ing on work because you're off
playing with your colt—”
“No, sir."
"This giving you the colt is a kind
of bargain between us. I give you
the colt, you give me more obedi
ence. more efficiency, than you ever
have in your life before. Is it a bar
gain?”
“Yes, sir.”
McLaughlin slapped his hand on
Ken’s knee, and a flush colored the
boy's cheeks.
As they arrived at Tie Siding,
there drew up from the opposite di
rection a sample of the type of con
veyance which is to be seen on ev
ery mile of the western highways.
It was a Ford sedan, bulging and
sagging like an old washerwoman.
The top of it was piled with mat
tresses, chairs, tables, bedding. The
rear end was festooned with bun
dles and boxes tied on with knotted
lengths of clothes line; an old rusty
stove, half covered by a bed quilt,
was roped to one fender. Humani
ty of all ages packed it from floor to
roof, and poured out when the door
opened.
Mrs. Olsen, wife of the man who
ran the combination Post Office and
store, came hurrying out in her
neat white pknts and jacket.
,‘Hello,,, she said cheerfully.
She had a trim, close-cropped
black head, a great deal of rouge
on her cheeks and lips, and a quiet,
efficient way of going about things.
“I'll take two gallons,” said the
tall, oldish man who had climbed
out of the sedan, and he stood over
Mrs. Olsen as she put the hose into
the tank and the gas began to pour.
Others of the family scattered
around both sides of the store to
the rest rooms. Several of the chil
dren crossed the road to stand
watching a pair of brown bears that
were in a big cage of woven steel
wire. Ken and his father got out of
the car and went to the store, in
which a number of men were mak
ing purchases or sitting about.
Other cars were stopping for gas,
and Mrs. Olsen came running in and
out to make change.
Old Reuben Dale, their neighbor
on the west, asked, "Any sign of
mountain lions on your ranch this
summer, McLaughlin? I've lost two
calves out of the pasture on my
place down near your Castle Rock
Meadow, and I've got a notion it's
a lion. Bert heerd a cat scream
the other night when he went out
to bring the cows in.”
"Cats,” said McLaughlin slowly.
"No. I haven't seen any. Haven’t
heard any either, but I think I'm
short a colt—”
“They love horse meat," said
Reuben, grinning.
As Ken and his father left the
store with the mail and the yeast
and tobacco and three lollipops and
a peppermint patty for NeU, Ken
looked up at his father. “What colt.
Dad?"
McLaughlin didn’t answer, and
they got into the car. Ken asked
again, “What colt are we short?"
“Rocket’s. 1 think she had a foal.
She hasn’t got it now. Before I
drive her out of the Stable Pasture.
I'm going down to Castle Rock
Meadow to take a look around.”
Ken felt excited. He thought of
the aspen grove, of Castle Rock, as
big as a hotel, with all the caverns
and passages and tunnels under*
GENEK.
Humanity of all ages packed it
from floor to roof, and poured out
when the door opened—
neath it. and the skeletons and bones
that lay in them. Wildcats—
McLaughlin was driving a little
faster. Kennie glanced at him and
saw that he had something of his
hard angry look. His father was
worried.
“What gun will you take. Dad?”
McLaughlin didn’t answer for
quite a long time, then said, "I’ll
take the Winchester. But I won’t
use it, Ken. The time you come on a
wildcat is the time you haven't got
your gun with you.”
The week that followed during
which Ken was to choose his year
ling was a busy one for everybody.
It rained every day out of one big
purple cloud which drifted away at
night, so that the mornings came in
hot and clear, but by noon it was
over the ranch again, and would
start to rumble, then shiver and
crack with lightning; then the down
pour of rain, while the horizons all
around were calm and blue, with
fleecy white clouds motionless upon
the hills.
Nell called it the Goose Bar sprin
kling system. It brought out the
strong, fresh colors of the flowers;
dark salmon geraniums in the ultra
marine blue window boxes, and red,
pink, purple and white petunias in
the flower border. The roofs of the
buildings were red and clean, with
no dust on them, and the grass as
green as a billiard table.
The boys were riding Lady and
Calico and Buck and Baldy, the
horses that were being trained to
rent for the Rodeo.
“When you're hunting for Rocket
and looking over the yearlings and
chasing the geldings you might as
well be training these plugs," said
McLaughlin.
“Which shall we ride?" asked
Howard.
McLaughlin, stretched out in a
chair on the terrace with his pipe
just before supper, gave this care
ful thought. “Now, let’s see. Lady’s
nervous and she runs away. Went
over backwards with Tim last week.
Baldy, stubborn brute, argues with
you but he’s always right. More
sense than a man. Calico, a run
ning fool. Never knows when to
stop. Wears himself out. Howard,
you take Calico, and don’t forget
for a moment that he hasn’t got
sense. He'll be in a lather over
nothing. Too willing. His mouth's
hard. Don't encourage him to lean
on the bit. Hold him in but don’t
carry his head. Talk to him a
lot He'll quiet down for the voice
better than anything else. Ken, you
take Lady. I’m giving her to you
because most of the time you don’t
know where you are. You sit like a
sack of meal, almost forget to hold
the reins—she’ll not know you're on
her back. I've noticed when you^e
on her, she’s never gathered. Goes
about as if she was grazing. It’s
a good thing. Good for that mare,
anyway. Eases her down. But watch
out for her running away. Just don’t
let her get going too fast When
she does, it suddenly comes to her
that she'll take the bit and run
away; kind of goes to her head. I
want to break her of that habit this
summer. She’s a fine horse.”
*T11 help with Lady too,” said
NelL "She always behaves well i
with me. I love to ride her. We
understand each other.”
"O.K. As a matter of fact, you
could ride any of them, and it would
be a good thing to change about. Any
of you could ride Buck and Baldy.
No use telling you what to do with
Baldy, he'll do what he pleases,
but it'll usually be the right thing.
He won’t object to orders unless !
they're unreasonable. And Buck 1
needs a lot of suppling and he’s not ;
as bridle-wise as he should be. Take
them down into the practice field
and do figure eights on them for an
hour every other day. Just get
them a bit quicker at answering the
aids; more up and coming. Prac
tice starts on the trot and the can
ter. Use saddles. Groom them be
fore and after. Now remember,
boys, this will be a daily duty for
you, don’t forget it, or neglect it,
and I don’t want to have to watch
you or bother about it You can
keep the four of them in the Calf
Pasture, they’ll be handy to get at
and won't get mixed with the other
horses. Give them all the riding
you can.”
A Colorado buyer, Joe William*,
came to see if McLaughlin had any
horses to selL He came once or
twice every year, collecting horses
that he afterwards sold at the local
auctions; but the prices he offered
were so low that his appearance at
the ranch was always the signal
for Rob McLaughlin to lose his tem
per.
Williams offered thirty-five or for
ty dollars for an old brood mare
with her spring colt; twenty or thir
ty for an old gelding broke for
saddle and work provided his teeth
were good enough to keep him in
flesh; but as he paid cash down,
and the only other way of getting
anything at all for horses that were
not fit for good markets was to ship
them to the glue factory in a car
load of old plugs and wild broncs
dragged in off the range, McLaugh
lin, after hours of argument, loud
words and insults, usually made a
deal with him. Nell always urged
him to. “After all,” she said,
“they're only getting older, and it’s
hard to keep them in condition, and
he can get eight or ten of them
into his truck, and even at his
prices, that means a couple of hun
dred dollars.”
On this occasion McLaughlin said
that he'd get in some horses that
were useless to him from his out
lying pastures, and they'd make a
deal; and Williams drove away,
promising to be back inside of a
week with his truck.
The really big event of the week
was that McLaughlin engaged a
bronco-buster to break the three
year-olds.
Ken saw the man first when they
were coming down from the sta
bles just before supper one eve
ning, and the bronco-buster was
standing on the Green talking to
NeU.
He was very smaU and neat. His
legs were thin and bowed in tight
blue jeans that were rubbed to light
blue inside the thighs and on the
seat. His waist was not much larger
than Ken's and was belted snug. His
smaU face was bright red and blank
looking. His blue eyes were so di
rect they made other eyes seem
shifty.
Nell Introduced him, just saying
that this was Ross Buckley who was
going to ride in the Rodeo and had a
couple of weeks of free time right
now, waiting for the Rodeo, and
thought he would put it in breaking
some horses.
“I heerd you-all had some hot
bloods up here,’* said Ross In a
pleasant, drawling voice. "Thought
I’d like to have a try at 'em, il
you’ve got any that need breaking.”
Nell said, “Come on, Howard and
Ken—time to clean up for supper,”
and walked away with the boys,
leaving McLaughlin there talking to
Ross.
Ross had arrived in a Ford se
dan piled to the roof with saddles
and bridles and blankets and lariats,
and when Nell had talked to him
and found out what he wanted, she
kept him there until McLaughlin
came dowm from the stables.
McLaughlin engaged him, and took
him up to the bunk house and intro
duced him to Gus and Tim, and ev
ery day since he had been working
in the corral at the broncs.
And In addition to all this, hours
had been spent every day, looking
for Rocket; but no one had seen hide
nor hair of her.
Ken had not yet been able to de
cide on his colt.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
FIRST-AID
AILING HOUSE
br Roae: B V.. r -nn
Roger B Whitman—WNU Features.
Tea may not be able le replace worn
or broken hooseholg equipment. This Is
war. Government priorities tone Bret.
So take earo of wbat yes bare . . . aa
well as yon possibly can. This eolamn
by tbs homeowner's tries* tells yes how.
Colored Concrete Floor
Question: In coloring a concrete
floor for a sun parlor, is it best to
mix powdered coloring with the con
crete when the floor is made, or to
wait until the floor is finished and
then paint it?
Answer: If the right kind of color
ing is used, powdered color mixed
with the concrete when the floor is
made is permanent and will not
wear off. However, the color should
be of a special kind that is proof
against the effects of lime in the
cement. Lime-proof colors are on
sale and should be insisted on. They
should not be used in a greater pro
portion than 10 per cent of the
weight of the cement For a floor
that is not in contact with the earth
and therefore permanently dry, col
or can be had with ordinary top
quality floor enamel. The manufac
turers’ instructions should be care
fully followed. A penetrating dye
made for the purpose can also be
had.
Damp Walls
Question: My house is stucco on
hollow tiles. The wallpaper in many
places shows wet spots the shape
of the tiles. What can I do about it?
Answer: The inside plaster is evi
dently applied directly to the tile,
instead of being applied on lath on
furring strips. The plaster therefore,
becomes as cold as the tile, and the
wet spots are due to condensation.
The only real way to cure the trou
ble is to replaster the house, using
lath on furring strips, or a form of
insulating board, to be had at a
lumber yard, to be applied over your
present walls. No form of paint or
any outside treatment will do, for
neither one will provide the insula
tion that is necessary.
Broken Birdbath
Question: What will mend a bro
ken birdbath? The bowl cracked
in the frost What will stick it to
gether so that it will hold water?
Answer: Bring the bowl into the
house so that it will dry out. Then
coat both sides of the break with
white lead paste and bind the parts
tightly together. After hardening,
which will take three months or so,
the joint will be watertight. If you
do not want to wait as long as that,
and a yellowish tinge of the cement
makes no difference, make a cement
powdered litharge and ordinary
glycerine. This acts quickly and is
thoroughly waterpoof when dry.
Removing Wallpaper
Question: Can wallpaper be re
moved from plasterboard?
Answer: That could be done by
soaking with water, but using no
more water than will be needed. If
you use too much, you may toak off
the paper finish of the plasterboard.
At best, the plasterboard surface
will be left rough. To smooth it,
put on a coat of shellac, which in
drying, will stiffen the paper surface
of the board, which can then be
rubbed smooth with sandpaper. It
is then ready for papering.
Sagging Floor
Question: In an old house that is
to be remodeled, the floors are sink
ing and buckling, apparently from
crumbling foundations. How can
they be strengthened? Is the situa
tion hopeless?
Answer: The trouble may start
with poor foundations, which can be
renewed by a good mason. Trouble
may also be from the rotting of sills,
beams, and other wood parts, or
from termite attack. The case is
by no means hopeless. Consult any
good contractor.
Porch Floor Supports
Question: In a stucco house the
frame and stucco porches are sup
ported on piers even with the sur
face of the ground. Wood under the
stucco touches the ground and has
begun to rot. J.f the wood is re
placed by concrete, must the founda
tion be deep? The piers now extend
below the frost line.
Answer: Evidently the piers are
made of concrete or masonry, and
could be used as supports for beams
of concrete. Foundation walls would
not be needed.
Waxed Floors Get Dull
Question: What is the best way
to care for my waxed floors? They
lose their shine so quickly after
being waxed and polished with an
electric polisher.
i Answer: Perhaps you have used
i too much wax. Remove it, then ap
ply two thin, even coats, polishing
j each one well after hard-drying. Fre
j quent waxing should be necessary
only at doorways. For the rest of
the floor, twice a year is enough.
Frequent use of the electric polisher
will keep the floors looking well
Released by Western Newspaper Union.
WHY TEETH DECAY
At the beginning of the last war
the regulations regarding teeth were
so strict that I had a sergeant ex
amine the mouths of the recruits be
Dr. Barton
fore they were in
spected by the medi
cal officer. The sim
plest requirement
was that the man
must have one upper
molar (grinding)
tooth immediately
above one lower
grinding tooth, on
one side of his
mouth, yet about 7
in every 20 could not
meet this require
ment.
In this war medical officers are
finding just as many men with in
fected or missing teeth as in the
last war, but with an adequate den
tal corps men are taken into the
army and the defects corrected.
What causes decay of teeth? Has
the cause ever been discovered?
In the Journal of the American
Dental Association, Robert G. Kesel,
D.D.S., M.S., Chicago, states that
237 investigators report that dental
decay begins with the destruction
of the enamel by acid. This Is not
a new idea as a writer in A.D. 1530
stated that decay of teeth was due
to decomposed food and acid mois
ture.
There appear to be two factors in
tooth decay, the exciting or immedi
ate cause, and the predisposing or
underlying cause.
The immediate or exciting factors
are organisms on the tooth surface
capable of destroying tooth sub
stances, and material Hood particles
clinging to the teeth) miich are con
verted into substances harmful to
the tooth. Without the organisms
and tooth particles there likely
would be no decay.
Yet, Dr. Kesel points out “that
all living individuals have organisms
on the tooth surfaces and most of
them, at times, have upon their
teeth materials that could form ac
id.” Why then do not all teeth ^ie
cay?
Teeth do not decay in some indi
viduals despite the presence of or
ganisms and acid forming material
on the teeth, because these individ
uals do not have the predisposing or
underlying conditions that enable the
organisms and acid-forming materi
als to start the process of decay.
• • •
Six Pointers on
Neurosis Prevention
While the curing of mental ail
ments has reached the highest point
in history, nevertheless it must be
remembered that many mental
cases are not cured by our present
methods including the shock treat
ment
Why should there not be some
method of preventing the develop
ment of mental ailments or pre
venting those with a tendency to
ward mental ailments becoming
mental patients?
Today we see smallpox, diphthe
ria, scarlet fever, pernicious ane
mia, typhoid fever, diabetes pre
vented or controlled. Why cannot
mental ailments be prevented, par
ticularly in the young, just as diph
theria and scarlet fever are pre
vented?
In an article in Boston Number of
the Medical Clinics of North Ameri
ca, Dr. Merrill Moore, in pointing
out what psychiatry can do to pre
vent neurosis—patients whose odd
behavior symptoms are not due to
any organic cause, no change in
brain structure—says:
1. Parents should not overexcite
their children.
2. Children should be taught to
relax and to concentrate (put their
minds intently on a.subject) when
necessary.
3. Parents should remember that
children are not their playthings to
be poked and tossed about.
4. Children are assets; raising
them is a serious business.
5. Parents should give their chil
dren a sense of security in the
child's own small world.
6. All along the production line
the parent should guide the child
and try not to let him go off the
track of normal development. For
example, it is important for a boy
(or girl) to keep abreast of his
group and be able to do what his
friends can do—in school, play
ground, or elsewhere—even if a lit
tle extra coaching is necessary. This
prevents an inferiority complex. If
a child does not hold his own in his
own world, he may slink off on the
sidelines and become critical or de
structive. He may then more easi
ly become a neurotic or an alcoholic.
w w w
HEALTH BRIEFS
Q—Can you suggest a treatment
for a painful buzzing in the ears?
A.—From your description it looks
as If the eustachian tubes get
blocked. Ask your physician about
blowing them open. Special diet
might help, but “you’re in the army
now” and must eat what is served.
Q.—What is nux vomica?
A.—Nux vomica is the parent drug
of strychnine. It is a stomach tonic,
increasing breathing power and
stimulating nerves.
/CROCHETED accessories gaily
^ team up with your tailored
clothes this season. This jiffy cro
chet beret and purse set is color
ful, becoming and so economical
to make up in straw yarn. Both
pieces are done in just one long
strip of crochet.
1 ASK Me
\ ANOTHER f j
l A General Quiz " l
The Questions
1. What is a funicular railway?
2. The tragic Children’s Crusade
to the Holy Land took place in
what year?
3. What proportion of all radio
entertainment consists of music?
4. What is the percentage of il
literacy in India?
5. Where is the largest U. S.
navy mess hall?
6. Which is the most northern
town in the United States?
7. What is meant by quid pro
quo?
8. What distinguished English
poet died while fighting with the
Greeks against the Turks?
The Answers
1. A railway operated by cable.
2. In 1212.
3. Two-thirds.
4. Eighty-five per cent.
5. Treasure Island (San Fran
cisco) where an average of 6,000
men can be fed in 40 minutes.
6. Penasse, Minn.
7. Something of equivalent value
in return.
8. Byron.
Pattern 560 contains dlrccttona for beret
and purse; illustrations of stitches: list
of materials required.
Due to an unusually large demand and
current war conditions, slightly more time
Is required in Ailing orders for a few of
the most popular pattern numbers.
Send your order to:
Sewing circle Needlecraft Dept.
M Eighth Ave. New York
Enclose 15 cents (plus one cent to
cover cost of matting) for Pattern j
No.
Name...
Address .
Largest Bible Weighs
Over Half Ton; of Wood
I wonder if it is mere coinci
dence that the largest Bible in the
world was made by a carpenter?
Aided by his wife, he construct
ed it at Los Angeles, and the job
took them two years exactly.
This gigantic volume measures
43% inches by 34 inches and is 34
inches thick.
Weighing 1,094 pounds—approxi
mately half a ton—when open it
spans 8 feet 2 inches, has 32 sep
arate sections, and contains 8,048
pages.
And it was all done on a hand
stamping machine!
Enclosed Tips
In Japan, small envelopes are
made expressly for the purpose of
enclosing tips for waiters, barbers,
porters and other public servants.
When such persons are given a
gratuity without this covering, they
are insulted because it shows that
the donor has no consideration for
their feelings.
Languages in India
More than 200 languages are
spoken in India.
fi SAID GOOD-BYE]
I TO CONSTIPATION
1 Harsh, medicinal laxatives j
jt only griped me-and never i
■ really stopped my constlpa
■ tlon. It always came back.
§ Then I found out why. I
I Just wasn’t taking on enough
I ‘‘bulk”-forming foods. So— i
■ I started eating kellogg’s
j all-bran regularly and
I drinking plenty of water.
ft And—I "Joined the Regu- j i
I lars!”
1 That’s because kellogc’s
■ all-bran gets at the cause
J of constipation like mine
1 and corrects It—by helping
to form a soft, bulky mass i
■ In the Intestines.
I If your trouble is what
I mine was, why not try
A KELLOGG’S ALL-BRAN? It’S
■ made by Kellogg’s in Battle
^ Creek and tastes swell. p
* IN THE NAVY *
they say:
"BELAY"f0„t0p
"CHOP-CHOP"for hurry up
STEW for commissary officer
CAMEL* for the Navy nun’s favorite cigarette
you eer^^
I GO FOR
CAM ELS-THAT 4
SWELL FLAVOR
AND EXTRA
MILDNESS CANT
a6E6EAT!
FIRST M
IK IKS SERVICE
With men in the Navy, the
Army, the Marine Corps,
and the Coast Guard, the
favorite cigarette is CameL
(Based on actual sales
records in Canteens and
Post Exchanges.)
KXamZ
COSTLIER TOBACCOS