Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 1917)
The Protector of Finance Talcs of Resilius Marvel, Guardian of Bank Treasure By WELDON J. COBB THE GiRL WHO VANISHED ' % ill! '• U< wiiufe Murvel. head of lAf itar Faited Bankers’ hWOTlr* Wf ■«*•> iaU»a. amw Into our in & .u that moraine. I noted I f»«; he -untie the round* of the olfi | <■*«■» de>** mure Uke a nuin of leisure i tUu a ;>er*uti summoned on un urgent »o<l important ease where his keenest pmfrtsitsal skill would k required. ’ A* secretary to the president and as In* uw intimate friend anti ardent ad mirer, 1 was first to greet him as he came past the railinged space I led him ato the private office A tingle individual possesses only a hauled scope." was bis first re mark. he see* only as one mind • eral itd:i.duals with a multiplied •cope s» * as several minds Hence a fitting word or two along the line, mj fr. nd and some details from you. which you always put intelligently.” "Thanks I bowed, drawing to ward* jar as envelop* marked War ner t’iay” Tew see all that" added Marvel, "may be resultant of a double check, for tne mission of a bank and its aid- - i* to see that an asset may not io*r what it possesses. and that it aik» find its right place ” Thirty thousand has found Us wrong place just at present." 1 ob served So I understand A forgery. I be lieve Go on " Kesliius Marvel fixed his eye on me and then upon the envelope which 1 had opened, out of which I drew a •trip of paper. This is check SS.i. dated May 2S. draws upon our back and signed by Warner Olay." I stated "It is made out is iavor of Miss Geraldine Farrar Vaner Clay is a wealthy man. • • -.dower a client of our ber.k for •Dine years Miss Farrar is. t believe, a distant relative and a sort of ward of his She has lived at his home, has acted as his amanuensis and stenographer and when he has been ill baa attended to many details «f his t-usiaeea. She is known t» the paying teller. A to C section to whom •he has presented check* a* high in an. uni as |1M.(MM< She has been A tt- re c&ixed accredited agent cf I Mr Clay at all times A week agi ■ when she presented that check, it was I cashed without the hesitation of a ■ moment" Kesiiiu* Marvel turned the check over to scan the neat feminine iu dorec. at on the reverse side • June 2. at la customary." I went m. hat check and all other May checks were mailed to Warner Clay, with a statement of his account to date as to all other clients of the Institution Yesterday Mr. Clay came to the bank in a condition of some ex- temecT and pronounced the check a forgery " Marvel arose rather summarily. Show aae the signature book." he directed We iff to the cage where the registers were kept He had retained possession of the check 1 waited while Marvel compared the signa ture* I watched w 'h interest as he employed his magnifying glass I wondered as he fel* gently with one forefinger not only the front but a*so the reverse surface of check aud signature page alike "What rise"" I inquired as we stroiW back to the private office "> letter introducing me to Mr. Clay as the representative of the bank I must investigate that end Oh. trust me to make no complica tions by giving offense to a good ctis renter of its- Itaok. ! su|>|«e his annouae* men’ that the check mas a forgery was accepted by the bank with the usual urbane complacency'" Of coj'-- Our policy is to accept the word of a profitable client un equivocally. Just as we correct a - laimed shortage without a quibble Mr ('lay was informed that 'the tnfiing irregularity' would be reme died according to our role." 'Thai u after the formality of di rectorate sanction the $30,000 would be recredited to his account?" - Exactly ~ • Very fine—that gives us thirty dan " Wktt for*" I asked In my blunt, stupid way—as 1 learned afterwards. ‘ Oh a number of reasons. re spcad«d Marvel tightly, but under the sartu. ► j c tec ted the merest shadow of a smile, and again I noted how he cananed the sps< e given to the signa tare of the check, as If that portion of tt held mem especial fascination for fels seen sense of touch "In the fir* place though—what does this Miss Farrar say’" •Oh that's the trouble." I blurted •at—"Miss Geraldine Farrar is not tn be found Ab indeed?" observed Marvel, very sof*^ This is getting lnter wstmg" "Tes." I harried on. trying to make amends '• t my negligence in not ap prisicr him of this feature of the caa<- at the start. -H was the dis tress i • V - Clay when he appeared «t the bank to announce the forgery that caused us to conceal aDy doubt •s u> the Justice of his claim He was appalled at the fact that a trust ed and betowed relative could pi^p to rob him He was cut to the heart, be said to realise that the girl he had pro’ »d-d for through so many years to whom he had given a horn,-, had so uncratefelly repudiated his alaaost fatherly love On the morn ing of May :S Mias Farrar cashed the ttSjfiae check Mr Clay has not seen her since nor anyone else, so far as w« have been able to discover. At the moment when the young lady pnseed out at this bank she passed into ohaeur.ty. Our floor detective tae made some casual Investigation. TV has found no trace of the move neat# of Miss Farrar later than 11 a. m. May fS. to dew nor hint of a clew as to her present whereabouts. She has vanished completely.” The letter 1 asked for." said Mar vel briefly, in his mandatory, decisive ®a>. and when I had prepared and deli-, ered it he left the bank without another word, his thoughts envelop ing him in a silent, baffling mood I knew his habits too well to intrude upon The loss of $30,000 was not mcch for an institution of our financial in tegrity, and so far as he was person ally concerned our president would ordinarily have been content to charge it off to profit and loss ac count. However, when Resilius Mar vel entered a c ase he was certain io bring to light “the goods." or at ica=t som- development that express ed lucidity and satisfaction. The bank was just closing that aft ernoon when my friend reappeared. As he came into the private office the president was just putting on liis gloves preparatory to taking his au tomobile for the club. He paused with his usual genial nod to Marvel, and stepped within the room and lin gered for a moment. 1 presume it is a plain case, and the bank is $ 10.000 out?" he observed "Hurdly," was the prompt response. The case, however, calls for some attention possibly several thousand miles from here.” Then there is a chance?” was sug gested hopefully. "1 shall want the best man in the bank and my good friend." replied Marvel, placing his hand on my shoul der That is foregone, since you say it,” smiled our president "It's the girl. I suppose—the forger?" "It is the girl, yes." assented Mar vel "As »' fer being the forger— 1 doubt What's that'" demanded the pres ident. with a rtart You don't mean to say-” “I mean to quote from the commer cial agency patter: 'considerable con servation should be exercised in deal ings with—' “Warner Clay’"' “Take it so." “Is that a warning?" "You might act on that basis until you hear again from me." said Mar vel. tou amaze me! The president depart'd thoughtful ly drawing on a glove, an awakened distrust in his bearing that indicat ed a shock. “Now. then, you and I will thrash this thing out," he began "First, though make your arrangements to bear me company.” "How far?" ! inquired, sorting over my short and long distance traveling satchels in my miDd. “Galveston—first. You will hsve time for preparations. The train leaves at 8. I only want half an hour just now. That is Miss Farrar.” He t aid. and drew a card photo from his pocket "The young lady—" I ventured. “Is at Galveston, or thereabouts. 1 saw your esteemed bank client, this Mr. Warner Clay I found him as I had pictured him: an elfish, miserly b- :ng with no thought outside of his money and getting more. The man is a financial pervert and sly and shrewd as a fox He positively wel comed me. Then he lied to me and I had him. I left him so well satis fied that his word was gold with the bank, and that my brief visit was a cursory and superficial bit of routine, that he will gloat over his fancied success for a week to come. When I stated that we wanted to go over his returned checks as a matter of business system, he landed them down on cse with a frank willingness that was almost painful. I even got him to give me several samples of his handwriting. By the way. did you ever notice his right hand forefinger and thumb?” or course i nad not. perhaps the paying teller had. and I said so. 'Sometime and somehow our Mr. Clay has slipped the upper joint of that forefinger out of plumb,” nar rated my informant. ‘It does aot trouble him in eating, or cutting cou pons. or flipping over Interest money. Nor when he writes a screed with straight-going letters does he expe rience any difficulty. A lower loop, however, is his Nemesis." ■'Nemesis?" I repeated vaguely. 'Not too strong, that, in this case. The lower loop is the pit 1 dug for him. and he fell into it. To be plain, when Warner Clay signs his name it is plain sailing. Even when he makes that downward stroke to form the y ir bis last name, he is all right. Where he comes to turn, however, call it looping the loop'—that mis placed joint in his forefinger jars the nerve. If he let the pen have free play it would wander and scribble ail over the paper. By study and train ing. however, he is enabled to in stantly stop the pen by pressing down upon it. give his lame joint a rest and a twist, get a new start and wind up the y quite creditably. Only—" Resilius Marvel drew from his pock et check 953, also a sheet of paper on which he had the recent handwriting samples from our client, also the re turned May checks. He p aced them before me. Feel of those signatures." he di rected. No. not that way—catch the signature space between vour thumb and forefinger. Do you notice any protuberance in the lower surface?" “N no." I was forced to admit, and called attention to the usual calloused condition of a bank man's finger tips. "Take the magnifying glass then," ordered Marvel. "Now. then?" I saw what he intended I shoa’rd see. Minute, scarcely perceptible to the naked eye, there was almost a bole through the check surface wher ever the loop of the y in Clay was inspected, and on the reversed side, • naturally, a tiny protuberance corre sponded. “Nobody but Warner Clay ever did that." declared Marvel. It Is the test infallible. As on the returned checks so on the one claimed forged—the writer depressed the pen point to get a momentary staying power. Those checks were signed by the hand of ’ Warner Clay, all of them. 953 includ ed.” "In other words,” I exclaimed, “our client is his own forger!” "You have it,” assented Resiliu3 Marvel, “precisely. We shall not have to retraverse or fortify that con clusion. unless we are forced into a court of law. The point of interest now is Geraldine Farrar.” “The girl cashed the check—why was she given it? She left the city at once—what impelled her? She went into obscurity, leaving no trace be hind her—why?” challenged Marvel. The man's rare humanity spoke out in his questioning, determined face. Viewed in a cold-blooded way. the bank’s interest ceased at the discov ery of a method of saving its money. A new strain had come into the case—mystery, maybe misery. Cun ning or foul play. Resilius Marvel. I saw, was determined to go to the bot tom of the proposition. “When I questioned Clay about nis missing ward." resumed Marvel, "his sorrow was touching! He plainly in dicated that she had seized an oppor tunity to acquire a fortune at one deft stroke ot the pen. She had no friends, no other relatives than himself, he averred She had seemed to share his lonely life for the sake of com fort and home. She had had some very distant relatives once, he be lieved. in far western Canada. Oue thing I noticed: he was sure in his mind that she could not be found. Circumstances or his own plans were placing her at a sure distance. I in sisted on visiting her room He did not demur. It was a miracle of good order. I found nothing to inspire m« in my search—he had prepared for all that—nothing except a scrap ot crumpled-up paper lying where he fellow, suggesting the South Amer ican. He would scan every person who went aboard, and then, as he evi dently found not what he sought, would take an eager sweeping survey of the wharf, and even beyond it. at pedestrians and vehicles as though In a torment of expectation and sus pense. Finally the last bell rang. Some belated passengers got hurriedly aboard, the gangplank was dropped, and the little dark man stood in pro found dejection, evidently suffering under the weight of a severe disap* pointment. "The lady is still in Galveston. She was to have gone on that steamer,” Marvel advised me. ‘We should have gone with her. As it is—” Just then the wiry foreigner gave a start, a jump. He ran forward, his eyes fixed on an automobile that had come up to the wharf. And then my own glance was riveted upon the ma chine as well. The chauffeur had evidently just learned that they were three minutes too late for the steam er. His passengers looked sorely disturbed. They were two; a tall dark man with great mustachios and a scarred warrior-like face, and a young lady. This was Miss Geraldine Farrar, and I knew her at a glance. There was a change in her manner since 1 had last seen her. and in her face as well, as compared with the photo graph Marvel carried in his pocket. Her eyes expressed animation, her whole pose was one of energy. Her face was deliciously flushed with ex citement. She spoke rapidly to her dignified escort, and then to the chauf feur. The latter received some hur ried instructions. He seized the wheel and at once the machine sped away from the wharf. The wiry foreigner who had seem ingly been watching for just this ar rival ran forward, looked about for another auto, found none for hire, and sped on the trail of the speeding ma chine at a gait worthy of a crack pr> fessional sprinter. "This way!" spoke Marvel, seizing my arm and directing a swift dash W£ WERE NOT MENACED, ONLY STARED AT AS WE CAN ASHORE had not discovered it. half way under her writing desk. Nor did he see me secure it. There it is.” It was a mere fragment of note paper. Penciled upon it were these figures: “$19.80," “$4.50.” and this one word: “Separamos.” I fancied this valueless. “That and concurrent discoveries gave me a new focal point,” explain ed my companion. “It is Greek to me," I acknowledged helplessly. “The word is Spanish." said Mar vel. “It means ‘separate,' or ‘separa tion,’ or something of that sort Clay had tried to divert me north.' For that reason my mind was fixed south I analyzed ‘$19.80’ and ‘$4.50‘ and 1 made up my mind it appertained co some meditated personal investment. I fixed upon the girl’s calculation as to railroad fare. I found that a first class railway ticket to Galveston is exactly $19.80, and the sleeper tariff exactly $4.50. I did not arrive at this decision until I had gone over a good many time tables, and then confirmed rnv selection at the railway ticket office. I was not sure of my ground even then, until I had got a line on the letter carrier who delivered mail at the Clay home. The information he gave me was very agreeable to my course of reasoning. Miss Farrar had only one correspondent that he knew of. About every six weeks regularly she received a letter, and its post mark invariably was Galveston. I learned also from a stray remark of Clay that once she had gone to Texas for six weeks, settling some land bus iness for him. The letters were di rected in a masculine hand. A lover? At least, and at once—Galveston. On the 8 o’clock train. Be ready.” It was late in the afternoon of our third day at Galveston, and I was read ing a newspaper in the lobby of the hotel, when Marvel entered on the jump. “Wait for nothing,” he advised me. and simply kept on going back to the street, myself following, brisk and willing and hopeful. I had a lively time of it keeping up witb Marvel. Every time he consult ed his watch he took a new spurt. \V( finally reached a wharf where a s>»amer advertised for a run to Ha vsma was just getting ready to cast away. Marvel drew partly within the shadow of a pile of freight and I un obtrusively took my position behind hilu. My companion was not watch ing the passengers as they went aboard, but I soon discovered that he wis watching a man who was. This latter stood by the gangplank. He was a lithe, swarthy, keen-eyed for a cab. “Keep that machine in view.” he ordered the driver—“double pay.” It was a wild rush, this triple race The auto did not make towards the , city center, but along the wharves. Suddenly, at a spot where a trim yacht was getting ready to leave shore, the automobile came to an ab rupt stop. Miss Farrar jumped gracefully to the ground. Her austere escort followed her. He carried two satchels. She taking one of these, they ran to the yacht and clambered unceremoniously aboard. There seemed to be some discussion with the one man in charge. Then he went about his duties and the pretty craft made for the offing. We were getting so near now that 11 could read the came of the yacht in gilt letters aX her stern: “The Ar row.” The little pursuer of the auto mobile leaped toward the yacht as she pushed ofT. but Colonel Aloa Gaspard. a revolutionary South American, and present convoy of Miss Farrar lifted a stake from the bottom of the yacht, dealt him a blow and sent him hurling back into the water. It was done so quickly that by the time we came to the spot where the craft had been moored she was lost in the dim sea mists, and the wiry for j eigner stood rubbing his aching head. Marvel gave me a quiet direction to return to the hotel and took the strang er in tow. When he put in an ap pearance at our rooms several hours later he briefly stated: “The man who got the ducking was a Venezuelan spy, who it seems has been watching Gaspard aud our young lady for a week, and, learning this, he was my selected pHot, with the de nouncement as you have seen. Again he asserts that those two satchels carried by the parties who have skip ped us contained dynamite. Marvel did not seem to worry any ! over the uncertain shape affairs had . taken. He kept busy in his own way. I knew he did a lot of cabling and even used the wireless. The sec | oud morning he ushered into our room a stranger 'This is the gentleman who took charge of our friends on his yacht, 'The Arrow.' " explained Marvel. We bowed, and I saw that the man was a gentleman. 'The promised story, my friend,” intimated Marvel in his effective way. "Why. when that young lady and her military escort bounced aboard my boat two evenings ago,” stated the man. “I had just taken a queer commission from the police authori ties of Galveston. Know me as Adam Butler, unsuccessful business man. *n valid of good repute and mild habits. combining the quest of health with a moderate income easily earned through running a pleasure yacht, and you will discern that nothing could be so far fetched as piracy, or police interference, or affiliation with anything criminal or revolutionary. And yet you will soon see that unwill ingly 1 was made an agent in a stir ring episode that may turn out san guinary. sensational and fairly inter national in its scope." The speaker chose good language, and was clear and direct in his nar rative. "The sky was dull and lowering, the bay chopping and streaked with yellow splotches, when a flat boat came creeping along the shore in a way that told me she was crippled In some part of her running gear. This was the afternoon of the day you gentlemen saw me. There were four men in police uniform aboard. One of them I observed wore a captaincy button, and as the unwield* craft came nearer I recognized him. “ ‘Hello.’ he hailed, ‘I know you.’ and he smiled and waved his hand in a friendly fashion. Remember?’ “ 'Captain Discoll, I believe.’ “ ‘Father of the bride whose party you took down the coast last week,' added the official. ‘You not only' know your business, my friend, but you take such good care of your pas sengers that they have none but the pleasantest memories. By the way—1 “A sudden idea seemed suggested to my official friend as his eye rested on my trim and natty craft. He spoke some words to his companion and the police boat was soon alongside. “ See here. Mr. Butler,’ he said to me. drawing me to one side, ‘you would guess a long time before you fixed on what we've got in the hold of that old tub.' “ ’Yes?’ i tniDK so Contraband expresses it. in a way. We have four big boxes loaded to the brim with fire arms, weapons and burglar tools confiscated from prisoners. Once a year we load them on a boat, run out a few miles and sink them. We started todav, but the boat has gone afoul. Again, we are ordered past the ten-mile lim it this time, as some of the plunder has been fished up in the past.' " ‘I see. I observed. “ It would be a speedy job for you. What do you say—would you let us transfer the rubbish to The Arrow and take our task off our hands—for a consideration, of courseT “ ‘Gladly,' I answered. “ ‘I know I can trust you. Just at tend to it right and come to head quarters tomorrow with vour bill and I’ll O. K. it * To make a long story short. I was i all ready to start on my cruise when that man and girl came aboard. Her escort offered me $500 to make a di rect run for a point in the Caribbean. It was a temptation, and I agreed. We reached destination on a fast run. foul as the weather was. When we landed the man made another offer— $3,000 for the yacht. I was so dazzled with all that money that he was in command and away with the craft and the girl before I realized what I had left aboard of the yacht. That is all except that I do not intend to send in any bill to the Galveston po lice department.” "There is a trifle more to add.” re marked Marvel, after the man had left. “The two satchels those people had were swept overboard. From what the yachtsman learned they were bound for Separation Island—a reminder of that word penciled on the slip of paper—remember?— 'Sep aramos.’" Resiiius Marvei was a quick think er and never slow in action Behold us the very next day. a steam launch at our disposal and a man ia charge who knew the Caribbean like a book. Resilius Marvel would not have been what he was had he started on the cruise unaware of what he was running into. Separation Island was one of those innumerable dots on the water north of Venezuela, sometimes an appurtenance of the state, some times ceded to a corporation, often sold to individuals. For fifty years it had been a bone of contention among varied claimants. It was in dispute now. as we were soon to learn. I think I shall never forget the scene that greeted our eyes the morn ing we reached the island. One end ran up into a bold promontory that was a natural fo>tress. The remain der of the island, famous for large deposits of a silica nature of sound commercial value, was quite level. Grouped on that portion in the bril liant sunlight was a small army of about one hundred men. As we neared them we stared and wondered. Never was a coterie of apparent warriors so equipped. There was scarcely a man who had not at his belt half a dozen weapons. They car ried knives, daggers, stillettos, pis tols. revolvers, sawed-off guns. Then I guessed what had happened—they had discovered that fearful armament aboard The Arrow and had utilized it to the limit. We were not menaced, only stared at as we ran ashore. The first man to greet us officially was Colonel Aloa Gaspard. When he knew that we knew of The Arrow and of its contraband load, he was open, smiling and friend ly. He was about to do some labori ous explaining, when a gun boomed from the pro jontory and a white flag was w avt-q from that natural rock battlement. "It is all settled—ah; the dread ar ray of our troops, veritably armed to the teeth, did it! That, and the cash." declared one host. “Gentlemen, your missions and you shall be seen to grandly by Senor Rodney Vincent, who vi.’i be at your service.” And just then the mysterious one, "the girl wno had vanished.” ap peared. “I have come to see Miss Geraldine Farrar,” explained Resilius Marvel, and her wondering eyes were soon gazing inquiringly into his reassuring ones. A plain man, Resilius Marvel told a plain story, to witness incredulity, then horror, then grief steal over the expressive face of the young girl. She was white truth itself, as she explained that Warner Clay had been her guardian for an estate in the south. A month before the present time she had attained her majority. The estate was worth over |100,000, but could not be readily tarn ad into cash. "I needed money,” she confessed— blushingly. ”1 was engaged to Mr. Rodney Vincent, who owns, this is land, who has just been negotiating with a false claimant who stole all our weapons and preserved posses sion of the fortress. Mr. Clay paid me $30,000 cash for my property. The deed on record in Baldwin county. Alabama, will verify that fact. He knew that I would be practically out of the world on this lonely island, and trusted to the impulse of greed to cover my name with a crime, think ing I would not be located. ' W e found Mr. Rodney Vincent a most estimable young man who wor shiped the ground that Kfiss Geral dine Farrar trod on—the fair young girl who had brought her fortune to his rescue. The dynamite was a thought of the sanguinary Colonel Gaspard. who wanted to blow the in truders clear off the island. I have pleasant memories yet of ilie sight of celebration we passed Separation Island. We went fi the next day. prepared to clear the fair name of Warner Clay’s ward nf all reproach. When Resilius Marvel, arrived at home, went to confront our bank client with the evidences of his per fidy, I never saw a man turn so craven—nor so yellow. The man left the city as soon as he could sell his property—“flagged" to every bank within the clearing house. USE HATS AS LUNCH BOXES In the Island of Sardinia Headgear Is Employed for a Multiplicity of Purposes. Sardinia, that large island which lies directly south of and very close to Cor sica. and about a day's steamer journey from Sicily, is so filled with romance, picturesque scenes and odd customs that know so many nations, one won ders whether he’s still in the present or wandering the past of medieval days. For every nation that held as cendancy over the Mediterranean left in Sardinia some trace of its day. In deed. the population of this island re tains in its speech and customs vivid memories of nearly every conqueror. Having a strong regard for woman kind. the Sardinians are among the most polite of peoples. As you pass along the roads you find them invari ably courteous and hospitable. Every one wishes you to stop and break bread with them, and if you hurry by the women, the children and the old men sitting by the doorways rise and cheerily cry after you, ‘“Buon viag gro.” Vigorous, hardy and grave, they are a fine race of mountain people, and, like many another race brought up under similar climatic conditions, they are suspicious of every inno vation. This is one of the reasons why their fields are still worked in the an cient ways. Harvesting machinery is rarely to be seen, and the grains are reaped with the sickle. Odd as is the costume the average Sardinian wears, it is upon file cap the men wear that attention first centers. This head dress is. indeed, one of the few things in Sardinia unique to that island. Xot only does it serve as a protec tion against the weather, but in its capacious depths the wearer carries his lnntfi when he works in the fields. And when he sleeps outdoors, and often when at home in his own bed, his only pillow is that cap deftly roiled up for service or sometimes stuffed with wayside grasses to furnish a soft place on which to rest his weary head. Never Turned a Hair. “Well 7” "1 have here,” begun the traveler, “a patent electric hair brush—’’ “Can't you see I'm bald as an egg?” snapped the man at the door. “Your wife, perhaps, might—" “My wife wears a wig. She is as bald as I am.” “Possibly you have a child who—" “I have. Two mouths old, and still bald.” “Ah—but maybe you have a dog. 1 can recommend this brush equally for man and beast." “Look here, my good man. ours is a Mexican hairless dog. Good day.” The traveler gently replaced the brush in his bag. and fumbled in an other corner of it. “Permit me,” he murmured, in hon eyed accents, “to show you the latest thing in fly-killers.” Sculptor's Masterpiece. The famous statue of St. Bruno at Rome wqs made by the great master of French sculpture. Houdon < (1741 1S28). At the imitation of Franklin, Houdon visited America in the year 17S5 and took casts for the statue of Washington, now at Richmond, Ya., said by Lafayette to be the best like ness obtained of the “American Pa triot.” St. Bruno belonged to the or der of Trappists, whose chief law was silence. Pope Clement XVI, on see ing the statue of St. Bruno, exclaimed: “He would speak did not the rule of his order forbid.” Tablecloth Tempted Deer. A tablecloth ornamented with a de sign of green leaves until recently graced the board of a farmhouse in Dark Mom mad, back of AUnmuchy, X. J.. and was the particular pride of the farmer's wife. Mrs. William Crawn. One morning lately Mrs. Crawn hung it on a clothesline, and in half an hour was surprised and pained, according to the New York Herald, to see three deer eating it greedily. Trees Only Need Proper Care. We hear much these days of tree surgery, but a late bulletin of the Mis souri Botanical Gardens calls attention to the fact that If trees are properly planted, and cared for. there would never be need of tree surgery for dis ease. etc., but only for the necessary pruning to be done each year. Stomach Needs Occasional Rest The lv.ss of a meal occasionally will not hurt you. and if your stomach “gets out of order” the very best thing you can do is to fast for a day or two or eat only a fruit diet until your tongue loses its yellow coating. IN AFRICAN JUNGLE British Aviator Relates Experi ence of Four Days. Forced to Abandon Machine, He Had to Make His Way Through Almost Impenetrable Bush, in Con stant Fear of Death. Horrible experiences of a British aviator who came down in an East African Jungle are described by him in a letter just received by a relative at London. The aviator, Lieut. G. Gnrrood. went up to bomb a German ambush on the Ituflji river, but through engine trou-. ble had to descend in the bush, the machine landing with broken propeller In a bog. It took him four days to make his way to a place of safety. He tells how in the dusk he was confronted with an ugly black animal about four feet high with vicious tusks. He climbed a tree and pre pared to put in the night there. Later he opened his eyes and saw something like two green electric bulbs about 30 feet from the tree. They moved around in a circle. This continued for 4"> min utes. He says : “The tension was unbearable. I wanted to scream, shont and yell nil in one. but instead I hurst out with ‘The Admiral's Broom,’ and with a full-throated bass I roared out the three verses. No applause, but a re ward—the leopard slunk away. Why had I not thought of it before? “I went through my repertoire. I laughed as I finished Two Eyes of (Irey.’ It seemed so ridiculous. Then I got on to hymns, remembered four verses of ‘O God. Our Help in Ages Past,' and sang the ‘Amen,’ too. The whole thing had its ludicrous side." Next morning while swimming a river he passed seven yards from a crocodile’s month, hut just reached the hank in time. Without food, or arms—his only weapon of defense his nails scissors—his progress through the awful bush was about 100 yards an hour. His clothing was in ribbons, and his ilesh exposed to the thorns, sword grass and flies. He swam seven more rivers that day and sank down exhausted against a tret1. He could hear a lion roaring about 500 yards away, and, somewhat nearer, the grunting of a hippopota mus. He continues: “Being exhausted. I more or less lost consciousness for perhaps half an hour or so. Nothing short of a hippo charging could have made me climb a tree. Am afraid life had little to offer about that time.” It was while lyfng here that the lieutenant had the annoying experi ence of surveying two large babboons, the size of a small man, quarreling over his trousers, now in threads, and among the tops of 40-foot trees. It was nor until he hud passed an other horrible day and equally terrible night in the hush that he at last wus picked up by some natives. “Their eyes seldom left me,” he adds. “Undoubtedly I was a strange sight—my legs bare and bleeding, ray short vest sodden, dirty and torn, no trousers, of course, just a dirty sun helmet, a short stick in my right hand and with four days’ growth of beard on my dirty face." Real Meaning of “Mam." The word “Mara,” attached to the nmne of every Japanese merchant ship and commonly accepted as meaning “ship,” has no especial meaning, ac cording to Captain Tukeshima of the Japanese steamship Hudson Maru, re cently captured and released by a Ger man raider in the South Atlantic. Cap tain Takeshinm said that the word Is the survival of a Japanese custom cen turies old. He explained the origin as follows: “There are two opinions as to how the custom originated. One of the stories, which I believe is the correct one, is that in ancient times the Japanese attached ‘maru’ to the name of anything precious or highly prized, as a sword or a baby. It was first applied to a ship's name about 2, 000 years ago. when the Empress Jingo sent an expedition to Korea. She add ed the word to the name of the ship that transported the troops to Korea. Ever siuce then ‘Maru’ has been part of the name of every steamship or sail ing vessel. It is never used with the name of a warship.” Use of Barbed Wire in War. The part that barbed wire has play ed in the war is reflected to some ex tent by the foreign commerce reports, observes the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. This is peculiarly an American prod uct, the Blidden invention having been utilized on a large scale by John W. Gates at St. Louis. The descriptions from the front show the effective use made of this simple invention, which the late Sena tor Ingalls said was suggested by the manner In which milch cows avoided bramble bushes. It was woven and twisted Into a barrier that seemed im pregnable until the British developed the use of artillery in such amazing fashion. The study of fortifications has been followed from the beginning of human history, and it is a singu lar fact that a simple fencing device, designated for an untimbered country, should surpass every other obstacle to the progress of a modern army. Art of Egypt. Art history, particularly in the. branch of painting, has undergone some radical revisions in the last quar ter of a century, as a direct result of Egyptian archaeological research. Fainting, as we know it today, is at least 3.000 years old—and we have found the originals to prove it. The site of ancient Thebes, now represent ed by the modem villages of Karnak and Luxor. ha> been one of the richest quarries worked by modern scholarly excavators of various nationalities. Ten years ago the New York Metropoli tan museum's expedition established at Thebes a special school or atelier for the purpose of copying and recording the brilliant-painted scenes ami inscrip tions uncovered in the royal tomb chap els of Egypt's rulers of more thun thirty centuries ago.