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About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (May 24, 1917)
TRY AS HE WILL TO CONCEAL HIS EXPERT KNOWLEDGE OF ENGINEERING. MEADE FAILS AND PROMOTION COMES TO HIM RAPIDLY AT THE DAM g iin • p- • of ,*t great bridge which his father, a noted eng ■ r hud planned, and the old man's sudden death from disgrace awl shark. Hertrani Meade takes the Meat for the disaster which cost n.ni.j and th'iippenrs from his home in New York. He goes to j ,l s-.uthw.-st. gets a job under the name of Huberts on an irrigation dan: project and make* good. Meanwhile Helen Illingworth. Meade's ■Vertheart, and Rodney, an old friend, are quietly working to clear the t .ling mail'* name and to learn his whereabouts. They are par ti . srly anxious to get |(obsession of a letter written by the elder M* . !<• .e r»-»i">nsil»IUty for the accident. This paper is secret ly hold by dhurtliff. who hud hath the old man's devoted private sec retary for many years. CHAPTER XII—Continued. “I lnHirn* jcti are right," said Kod ncy. leaning hack In hi* chair and •taring at !w*r through hi* glasses. “If »e <-an only make hitn speak— But Where ta her* "Working f**r my father.” “What do you mean?" "I rncau that 1 suspected hitn from the first, and as there was an ojiening far a private confidential man. who un derstood ei.gtneeriug—a vacancy made by tie- |*romotton of my father's pri vate secretary—I prevailed ills'll him ta give the |»-Ition to Slmrtliff. Fa ther hates the name of Meade, hut he worships efficiency and he knows that Khurtliff ia the very incarnation of the particular kind of ability that he do oms. so he is with my father con stantly and I have him nlwuys under my eye. When we go away in the cor, he goes along." "What are you going to do?” "Win his confidence, his affection if I can. appeal to him. and—" “By Jove," said ltodney, “I believe you can do It. You can't drive that old man" "I know it." said the woman. “You haven't t«*|il him that you thought It was his fault?” "Bo" “I couldn't do anything with a man like Khurtliff. You can. Y'ou can win his devotion, you can let him see how mnch 'he reinstatement of Bert Meade In b<iu.>r again means to you. Y'ou can do It." "Meanwhile you will help me, won't you?” “In any way. In every way. Po you know where he has gone?” “I haven't the slightest idea. He might !>c In Africa, or South America, or out West, or up North. Do you see th<>se flower*?”—she jtoiiited to a great bunch of American Beauty roses, who* had been forced for her appar ently. and whirh she had received on that very day—“thirds, you know, the If a<tisoo avenue florist, sends me a box of 111a gill fi'-ent blossoms—roses, vio lets. orchids, always different—every' wee*. They speak to me of him.” “Have you ever tried to trace them?" "Xu. 1 know whence they come and that is all. We will hear from him •o«*e day. somewhere. somehow. If can while we will work. work, work!” “And you will allow me to say be fore I go that since I have had this conversation with you I do not set how even love for his father or his family name would have led Meade to do It." Thm't soy anything against hitn.” Oald Helen Illingworth quickly. “He wa* mad with anxiety, shame, regret. Whatever he did. I love him just the CHAPTER XIII. Working Up. The autumn went by as a dream. Winter, warm und mild in that fur oou'l'-rn clime, was at hand before Mmole realized it. All ordinary engl « .. C " — — » V---1 He Had a Natural instinct for Topog raphy. ■eel of half the ability of Bertram Meade, so suddenly reduced to the ranks, would have chafed against the poaidou of subordination and would have resented the bumble dudes with which he was charged. But Meade was happy to be following, even in this extremely modest way, the profession that he loved. And be did his unim portant work with seal and care, it is IV"* much to say. but he was the •ost efficient of the Junior engineering ftinr-i ran th#» dlilfl. It was not because Meade was un aodi-i that be kept to himself—not at <11 From his own galvanized-iron quarters he used to sure longingly at tin* men grouped around tlie big camp fires. fur the nights were growing chill, smoking and laughing, exchanging ex periences and telling stories. Nothing would have pleased him better than to have joined in. and he could have told stories and related experiences that would have been unique even in that gay crowd of young adventurers. But lie di<l not dare. He feared to betray himself. What he wanted above ev erything was to preserve his incognito. It would be fatal to his chances of ever working up to anything worth while if they found out who he was. And he had a tremendous pride to sustain him. They respected him now. As a matter of fact, they put his with drawal of himself down to vagaries of temperament or causes they could not imagine, and they grew rather to like him even as they left him alone. And a few of the men of the humbler sort to whom he had been kind on occasion, and helpful, were stoutly devoted to him. The idleness of an aimless life ditl not appeal to him even in his off-duty periods. Doing nothing hail no attrac tion. lie could not get relief that way. Even rambling alone about the hills would not serve. So quick and active a man. so vigorous and buoyant a spirit, so strong a body and mind were not calculated for aimless wandering. Meade was a very accomplished en gineer indeed. There was no branch of the art about which lie did not know a little, although hydraulics and struc tural steel were the things that most apt»ealed to him. He got relief in the duality of his affections for these brunches of his profession. Neither one of them ever palled on him liecause he • lid not work monotonously at either of them. He had a natural instinct for topography, and instead of purpose lessly strolling uhout the country, he made a careful inspection of the valley which was to be eonverted into a huge reservoir by tlie dam. The dam itself was, perhaps, an eighth of a mile long at the bottom and touched the receding hill on one side and the spur of Spanish mesa on the other at the top—a huge mound of earth with a clay core extending from side to side at tlie narrowest part of tiie valley. When completed it would be 125 feet high above the old river bod, with a roadway 20 feet broad on top of it. Below the dam and on tlie low ground between the mesa and Baldwin's knob the camp, with its gal vanized iron shops, bunkhouses, dining hails, kitchens and officers’ quarters, had been erected. The configuration of tlie ground was such that, although it was unusual to put them there, con venience had rendered it desirable in this case. it was intended to complete tile dam before the early spring of next year, which was, if any time in the country couhl be so characterized, the rainy season. Of course. Just as soon as the dam had begun to rise, the flow of the Picket Wire below it laid been stopped, except when an occasional freshet had been allowed to pass the undersluice. It was known that the run-off of the river in the rainy season of some years was so small us scarcely to till the res ervoir, and it had been decided to store ail the flow of the autumn and winter so that even if the spring rainy season were deficient, the beginning of the next summer would find the reservoir full aud the new irrigation system could commence operations success fully. Vandeventer, like the lost Abbott of the International, was also a driver, who spared neither his men nor him self. The work had proceeded with as tonishing rapidity, although this was partially accounted for by the fact that the spillway, which should have occupied their attention, had as yet been only partially excavated. Now, to those ignorant of engineering, an earth dam may seem a temporary ex pedient, although most of the great ir rigation dams of the world are of that character; and everybody knows that if the water should rise high enough to overflow an earth dam it would not last longer than it takes to describe its utter giving way. A flood would sweep it out of the way at once. The device whereby possible floods are controlled and such dangers avert ed, consists of a broad channel at one side of the dam, and at such a dis tance below its crest that if, through any mischance or natural happening, such as the failure of the sluice gates, excessive rains, cloudbursts, or floods, the height of the wnter is increased until it promises to overflow the dam, tills opening will carry off the surplus harmlessly. An earth dam without a spillway would presage almost certain destruction to all who lived in the val ley below it. In the case of the Picket Wire dam, the spillway had to be cut and, in part, I'lasted out of the mountain side—that | is, through the spur of the mesa, which reached down from its high wall , towards the narrows. There had been ii a series of blunders and mishaps, which included the explosion of a ship ment of dynamite on the railroad, with very disastrous consequences to accom panying rock crushers and mixers, and other machinery. The spillway had not been completed. Its opening should have been about twelve feet below the level of the dam. Vandeventer was not responsible, of course. The chief engi neer had fumed and protested, but had been directed by headquarters to go ahead with the other work and tackle the spillway later. There was, indeed, little reason to hold up the building of that particular dam because of the noncompletion of the spillway. That was a country, so the most de voted inhabitants freely admitted, in which it was always safe to bet that it would not rain, no matter how threatening might be the appearance of the sky; for in ninety-nine times out of a hundred the negative would win the bet. Said inhabitants did not say the hundredth time might compensate for all the other failures. The weather was like the little girl with the pro verbial curl—when it did rain there was no doubt in anybody's mind as to the fact. Sometimes the fountains of the great'deep, which, in Holy Scrip ture at least, extended overhead, would be broken open and the violence of the fall and the quantity of it. and sudden ness of it, would be such that the West erners would graphically call it a “cloudburst,” which, indeed, it seemed to be. Outside the rainy season cloudbursts were unheard of, and even in that sea son extremely rare. For the valley of the Picket Wire and in the plain beneath carefully tabulated reports of the rainfall for years had been consid ered by the engineers. They had cho sen the right season for the building of the dam, but when its crest began to rise above the designed level of the spillway the delay in opening the chan nel gave cause for some alarm. It is not the probable or certain that Is feared. An old version that, of “omne ignotum pro magnifico”—it is only the unknown of which men are afraid, or only the unknown to lie-feared! Still there was nothing Vandeventer could do but obey orders and go ahead. The danger, after all, was trilling. Another consequence of the waiting was that in his inability to work on the spill way, he had more hands to devote to the dam and it rose the quicker. Tlie shape of the country behind it was such that when the Picket Wire ilowed with sufficient volume to fill it, a long lake going back through the val ley, or canyon, and twisting among the hills for some miles would result. In other words, the dam would make a beautiful artificial sheet of water bor dered on one side by a high range of hills, on the other by the dam, and on the third by the hills and the low hog back above Spanish mesa, which sepa rated the Picket Wire valley from the Kicking Horse gorge up which the rail road ran. Buried in liis own thoughts, com muning with himself, considering cease lessly his position, dreaming of the woman he loved, planning a new ca reer, Meade yet explored every foot of tlie valley and ravine. He climbed to the top of Spanish mesa, and from its height the whole country clear up the valley to the main range was visible to him. He could look down into the deep ravine of the Kicking Horse, and note the marvelous beauty and airiness of the arch bridge for all it so solidly carried the heavy freight trains of the railway. He could see far up and around tlie crooked course of the Ticket Wire. The big grass-covered, but otherwise bare uud treeless hogback, that ran from the upper end of the stone island of the mesa was equally visible to him. As it was the low tide of the new res ervoir, he descended to it and studied it carefully. On another occasion, hav ing said nothing to anyone about his excursion, he took advantage of a half holiday to go out and inspect the hog back and ascertain its elevation with relation to the dam. Of course the en gineers who planned the great irriga tion works had done that, but he want ed to do it for himself. At one place, where the distance between what might be called the edge of the valley and the head of the ravine was narrow est—indeed, he estimated after pacing it that it measured not over twenty feet across—he discovered that the rounded earth crest was slightly lower than the intended level of the top of the dam. When he returned to the office, he found on examining the construction drawings that an earth dike wns planned to run along the hogback so that the top level should be higher than that of the dam. This dike would be only a hundred and fifty feet long and a few feet high, and could be built In a few days’ time. Work on the main dam being more important, nothing had as yet been done on the dike. Meade had been promoted toward the end of the fall and in a rather unusual way. One of the transit men, a young engineer, got a better job and left his instrument. Vandeventer called Meade before him. “Roberts,” he said, “there’s a va cancy for a transit man. You've done such good work so far and shown such familiarity with fieldwork, that I’d give it to you if I had any idea that you knew anything about handling in struments.” “I think I may be trusted with one, sir,” answered Meade, his eyes bright ening. “Yes, perhaps; but I have watched you in odd hours. The young men around here are constantly practicing with the transits. I’ve never seen you put a hand to one. How about it?” “I’m not exactly a youngster, Mr. iovwi hoNntlfnl nr»«f»ntfr Vandeventer,” returned Meade, “and I really didn’t think it necessary to practice, but if you trust me with one I believe I can manage it.” Old Vandeventer leaned back in his chair in the office and looked care lessly away from Meade to all appear i ances. He clasped his hands back of ' his head and seemed lost in thought. Suddenly he began humming a little scrap of verse about another college : which Cambridge men sing with zest: I'm a physical wreck. From the grand old Tech'. But a h- of an engineer! He stopped abruptly, whirled about in his swlngchair, and shot a quick glance at Meade. It was a trap. And as he sprang it Vandeventer surprised the ghost of a smile, repressed quickly hut there, on Meade’s lips. The chief engineer was satisfied. Before this, little things had betrayed a fellow j alumnus, or at least a fellow student i of the old Lawrence Scientific school. ; Vandeventer was pleased at his adroit j ness. He did not, however, refer to It “There’s a new transit in that box on the floor there,” he said, resuming ids indifferent manner. “I’ve had the ease opened, but I haven’t taken It out. Get it, and we’ll go outside and see •’ what you can do with it.” Now a transit, for all it is used in rough fieldwork, is one of the most expensive and delicate of instruments. It is capable of the most accurate ad justment, and if it is to be of any real use, the refinement of these ad justments must not be impaired in any degree by unskilled and reckless pack j ing. The boxes in which the instru ments are shipped are very carefully I constructed in accordance with the principles winch experience nas snown to be necessary, and each one is espe cially fitted to the particular instru ment to be contained therein. The ! box is a complicated thing and the transit cannot be taken out or replaced except in one way. With a knowledge of the combination, so to speak, it is comparatively simple to take a transit from the box; without that knowledge, which none but an expert transitman, or the packer himself can have, it is rather difficult without running a risk of ruining the instrument. This command was another of Van deventer’s tests, therefore. Meade knew this as well as his superior. In spite of himself, he would have to be tray his familiarity. Well, he had brought himself to the conclusion that he could not continue his work with out very soon disclosing the fact that he had been an engineer. And in case of the inevitable, the sooner the bet ter. So long as he had to betray him self, he would have all the advantages as well as the disadvantages. He un I locked the door of the box, slid the ; instrument out quickly, accurately, without a moment’s hesitation, and rapidly unscrewed the head from the .slide-board, and screwed it carefully on the tripod. Vandeventer’s eyes sparkled. “Come outside," he said, leading the way to the side of the hill, “and set it up there over the tack in that stake and level It.” Beginners have been known to take ten minutes to get a transit set up, leveled and centered. It is good work if It is done inside of a minute; thirty seconds is very fast. In forty-five sec onds Meade reported, “all ready, sir.” He could have done it in less, hut he was a little out of practice, he said to himself. “Look here,” said Vandeventer, “yon can't pull any more bluff on me, Rob erts; you're an engineer, all right.” “I know something about the practi cal side of it, sir,” answered Meade, turning a little pale and wondering how far Vandeventer would press his questions and what he would learn. But the engineer was a man. “Practical, yes, and theoretical too, I’ll be bound, but I don’t seek to pry into your antecedents. It’s enough for me if you do good work for me here.” “I’ll do my best, sir.” Good; the instrument is yours." That was the first step and the next step came very shortly after, when, having further demonstrated his ca pacity in other ways, Meade was giv en charge of the work on the east end of the dam. “I dop’t care who he is,” said Van deventer to his chief subordinate, “he knows what lie’s about, and if you watch him you’ll see. He’s keen on handling men. The other section fore men will be hard put to keep up with him. He keeps watch on himself. He’s got some secret he won’t betray. He doesn’t mingle with the crowd, but every once in a while something slips out. What he doesn’t know about en gineering nobody needs to know. I’ll wager.” “How do you account for his being out here?” “Oh, it’s the old story, I suppose; he’s come a cropper somewhere— down and out and wants to begin again, and can’t do anything hut this. It’s not our business, Stafford; he does good work for us and we’re satisfied.” CHAPTER XIV. The Former and the Latter Rain. The work on the dam was progress ing splendidly. Vandeventer, driving his men hard, shared in all their furi ous efforts. He was not only their leader, but tlieir inspiration. He had surrounded himself with a body of able assistants, and liis teamsters and workmen had been culled until they had become a small army of picked men of which to be proud. Among all these Meade stood very high. In the four months he had been with Vandeventer he had shown such a grasp of things, such an ability to hundle men, in one or two.instances when, with intention to try him, the resident engineer had given him charge of some special work, that Vandeventer unconsciously looked to him in any emergency. He actually found himself consulting Meade on occasion. He had accompanied the younger man on one of those rambles which he had hitherto taken alone. He had not broken down Meade’s reserve, but he had won his admiration and regard. Vandeventer was not unknown in en gineering circles. In earthwork he was by way of being an authority. His experience had been varied and extensive. Meade’s reserve and reti • snnscrme tor me rsonnwesieru. cence rather hurt the older engineer. He had invited confidence and had even given his affection. He intimat ed delicately that if the other were under a cloud Vandeventer might be in a position to help him. It was fortunate for Meade's pur pose of concealment, for liis incognito, that most of his engineering work had been done abroad and that he had been out of touch with American en ! gineering for practically the whole of his career. Vandeventer was a Har vard man. too, and that made it espe cially hard for Meade to keep from betraying himself. As a matter of 1 fact, the younger man actually longed to make a clean breast of It, but he could not quite bring himself to do it yet. That might come later. Three months ought to see the com j pletion of the dam and the long canal, I which was to carry the stored water to the irrigation ditches below. Van deventer was already making plans j for another big job, and he had de I cided, in his own mind, that among the i subordinates whom he would take ! with him the newcomer should have the first chance. Vandeventer felt , proud and satisfied when he surveyed He Had Accompanied the Younger Man on One of His Rambles. the work that had been accomplished in the six months of labor. To be sure the delay in the completion of the spillway disquieted him a little. The dam had reached the spillway level a fortnight before, and had now passed it. Indeed, on the fifth of Jan uary the dam builders were within five feet of the top; that is, the crest of the dam was 120 feet above the level of the valley. They had planned to run the spillway around the east ern end of the dam. The rock drills and dynamite which had been ordered had finally arrived in December, and by putting as many as possible to work on the spillway Vandeventer had succeeded in opening it for its entire width to an average depth of about seven feet below the intended top of the dam; that is, it was now about two feet deeper than the actual crest of the dam, but it still lacked five feet of its designed depth. The rainy season, an inspection of the records hud shown, was not due for a month and a half yet. That would give him ample time to com plete the dam and the spillway. This year, however, there had been some very unusual rains during the fall and the water back of the dam was now 98 feet deep, which made it 22 feet below the level to which the dam had risen and 20 feet below the spillway. This was much more water than anyone had dreamed would be in the reser voir at that time, and was perhaps more> than should have been allowed. Still there was a safety margin of 22 feet, which Vandeventer was sure would be ample. The financial promo ters of the project were very anxious to have the reservoir full when the irrigating season opened, and the en gineer’s judgment had been influenced by their eagerness to get it working. The broad- sheet of water ran back into the valley for many miles. In fact, the dam had transformed the country into a beautiful lake. Some t'rnes it rained in the mountains when it did not rain down in tlib valley, and there was a constant, if very small, rise in the level. Vaudeventer personally carefully gauged the water every day. Naturally he had noted that it rose gradually, but as the dam rose proportionately more rapidly, he was not uneasy. Yet, as a good en gineer, he was watchful and largely because of the unfinished spillway he urged the men to the very limit. The weatherwise from the town, who sometimes rode up to inspect the work, assured Vnndeventer that it could not possibly rain before March, and the mere fact that so much water had. fallen rendered it more improb able that any more would come down. | But at three on the afternoon of Jan uary sixth it suddenly began to rain hard without warning and with no premonition on the part of anybody. It was not oue of those terrible down pours known as cloudbursts, but it was an excessively hard, steady rain. The heavens over the range were black with clouds and so far as any one at the dam could see, it was rain ing from the crest of the mountains down. There were some anxious dis cussions in the dining room of the res ident engineer and his American as sistants. At four o’clock it was decided to open the undersluice gate about half way, but when this was done the vol ume of -*et»r It nybble of dis charging was too small to help very much, and on opening It to its fullest extent the velocity of the water rush ing through was so great that the river bed was rapidly scoured out. For fear of undermining the toe of the dam it was necessary partially to close the sluice once more. The water was rising, first at the rate of three or four inches an hour then half a foot, and finally nearly a foot. By six o’clock that night it had risen two feet. It was still rain ing hard at that hour, although not quite so furiously as it had been If it did rain until morning at the pres ent rate, there would still be a mar gin of safety of perhaps fourteen or fifteen feet ut dawn. Although the situation required watchfulness and was somewhat alarming, it was not desperate. The men were advised t> put in all the time in their hunks so as to be good and ready for the hard battle which might come in the morn ing, and as they were all tired out with their day’s work the little group soon broke up and each man went to his quarters. Vandeventer. however, could not [sleep. xThe rain kept up steadily all ! night. The resident engineer finally got up and dressed himself, ’and pro tected by high rubber hoots and a cowboy slicker and a sou’wester, left his quarters and went out to inspect the dam. He carried a lantern, of course, for it wTas pitch dark and, if possible, the rain dropping from the black sky made it more difficult to see. He was surprised when he gotrto the dam to see on the other side another lantern. Closing the slide of his own lantern to prevent observation, and be ing on familiar ground, he went straight toward the other side. The I noise of the rain subdued any sound i that he made, and he was able to come quite close to the other light without | being noticed. How young Roberts, the mys terious engineer, uses his talents and knowledge to good advan tage is told in the next install ment—he gets the opportunity to wipe out all disgrace, real or fancied. (TO BE CONTINUED.) SCENE OF NATURAL BEAUTY — Setting of Montmorency Falls Near Quebec Resembles the Imaginative Conception of an Artist. The Impressiveness of any bit of scenery depends not on how large it looks. Thus there are few persons who would estimate the width of the Grand canyon at more than a tenth of what it actually is. Niagara fails, when seen at a distance, Is not im pressive, and when you are close to it you cannot get a complete view'. It is for this reason that many of the smaller bits of scenery really give more pleasure to persons who have an eye for natural beauty. Montmorency falls, on the river of that name a few miles from Quebec, is an excellent ex ample of this fact. It consists of a stream about 40 feet wide dropping somewhat more than 200 feet over a sheer cliff just above the juncture of the Montmorency and the St. Law rence. This cliff forms part of a high amphitheater of rock, its jagged out lines crowned by a forest of juniper and spruce, and opening upon the wide blue expanse of the St. Lawrence. Above the falls the stream is known as the Fairy river because of the weird beauty of its dark waters, which wind between sheer granite walls festooned with very old, gnarled trees. It seems more like some artist’s imaginative conception than a work of nature. “Take the Step." A story is told of a rivival held in a town not a thousand miles from th« national capital. A man of mark in the place for many years and for evei so long a vestryman in one of the old est of the churches, was interested lr the work of the evangelist and attend ed the services. He was impressed by the earnestness of the preacher and his good faith. One night when the mourners were called this godly men for years the pattern of high senti ment and correct conduct in hi! church, was shocked into almost vio lent speech, when he was approached by a converted bartender and urged: "Colonel—take the step!” The very idea was revolting to his sense ol propriety, as for a quarter of a cen tury he had been living in the beauty of holiness, and he could hardly hav« been blamed for feeling Just a bll embarrassed by the plea of the con verted barkeeper. Hot Shot for Daddy. Jane had been much interested in th« preparations her young aunt had beet making all week for the big charitj ball. She asked her father so manj questions about this affair that at lasf he said they would play they were go ing to the ball. Jane was all excite ment while mother dressed her for tin ball. Then she was whirled off in tin make-believe auto, of which daddy was , the chauffeur, to the make-believe ball j room. They had a regular ball. Jane’s car was called, she tripped out as big ns you please, climbed up In the big arm chair, and nestled down among the cushions for the ride home. “Alf right, baby; it’s sleepy time now; conn and kiss daddy good night,” said liei father, and to his great surprise thf little lady threw her head up and said “Kuh, ladies don’t kiss their chauf feurs good night." Daddy was squelched. - | Alexandria. There are few cities that can look hack to a past like that of Alexandria, and fewer still with such a past thal can contrive to keep up with the times and look forward to the future. Tin relics of 25 dead centuries of Alex andrian history have to be looked fot in the guide books. In the city itsell they are covered up by the latest mod era improvements. A few erudite Alexandrians may argue about the real nationality of Cleopatra, but most ol them are talking about the price ol cotton and the latest project for dredg ing the harbor. Wanted Joy Distributed. Marion was given a beautiful ring i Christmas eve. She was overjoyed, but changed it from one finger to the other all evening. No one noticed It that evening, but she kept it up the next morning. Her mother, fearing Marlon would lose the ring, said; “Why don’t you put your ring on one finger and keep 1# there, Marion?’' "Well, I don’t like to be mean. When I keep It on one finger I pity the oth ers.” Seeking Artificial Rubber. Artificial rubber as a by-product ot the manufacture of steel may be a possibility, as English scientists are experimenting with Its production from coke-oven gases. A Valuable | Aid To 11111111 ^ HOSTETTER’S Stomach Bitters It is excellent in cases stomach or bowel ailment PARKER'S HAIR BALSAM A toilet preparation of r. -r Helps to eradicate dandr . rf. For Restoring Color and Beauty to Gray or Faded Hair. ___&0c. and $1.00 at I tc - • P M TCMTP Wation E.roleman, f fl I f|l Ip Pa'-'tit Lawvtr v. a n w D. C Advice and » Rates reasonable. Highest references. B - <**> TEST OSTRICHES BY SPEED Buying Agents Select Swiftest B rds. as This Is Good Indication of Their Health. In selecting ostriches for men _• s j or zoological gardens the swift, -t -a chosen, not because it will he ie sary for them to mu ir tln-ir imu ■[ ; ters, hut because swiftness is a _ I Indication of health and robust m -- A buying agent visited a pen • : - trlches in Africa. At hi3 call tw. tiful birds came up to him. He _ sirous of testing their speed, ranged with the keeper that should run a race. So he cares birds and showed them a hamlful of figs, of which they are very fond The ostriches were held whlli the visitor walked to a certain distal. At a signal they were set free and l»‘ gan to run for the figs. They came bounding along at a terrific rate, tak ing twelve or fourteen feet at a stride. They ran neck and neck for more than half the distance, their wings working like arms and making a gr. at sound. Presently one drew ahead, and. lock ing behind, ns you may have no- 1 a boy in a foot-race do. to see win re bis rival was, and finding him bent, the winner slackened his pace and gently trotted up for the prize of tigs. —Exchange. Electric Outboard Motor. An outboard motor which can be at An outboard motor which can be at tached in five minutes to a canoe or rowboat and that is driven by an •-me tric motor has just been put on lie market in Chicago. The motor is a top of the main driving shaft, and tl ■* is in a vertical telescopic tube. '1 propeller is driven through a inoditi. ! worm gear. It is operated on tv.n storage batteries of six volts, 120 am pere hours each. Keeping Honey. Many housekeepers do not know ti e right place in which to store laa • > and unthinkingly put it in the c>k -.r or a dark, cool place. On the con trary, honey should always be kept in a dry, warm place, even at 100 degrees. If kept in a damp place the “cappings" of the comb become watery anil the honey oozes through, but if the comb is kept where the ai^ is warm anil dry it will remain in more perfect condi tion. What Gallon of Gasoline Wiil Do. A single gallon of gasoline will d > wonders almost anywhere, but no where hns it been applied to better pur pose than on the farm. Here are some of Its stunts: It will milk 3*to cows, bale four tons of hay, mix yards of cement, move a ton truck 11 miles, plow three-fifths of an acre of land and make enough electricity to keep eight lights going in a farmhouse for 30 hours. When a man Is twenty he expects ••> get rich, and by the time he is forty he hopes to avoid the poorhouse. According to modem etiquette, t?.*’ amethyst is the only stone which i. be worn during mourning. WHAT! 1 NO SLEEP I I LAST NIGHT? T; I If coffee was 1 the cause g ! change to POSTUM I and sleep! I I “There’s a Reason |