10 THE SUNDAY OKEGQyiA"N, PORTLAND," AUGUST 23, 1908. .
dt f nm wfe r - . . . - a
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WHAT'S the use of travelin'. when
there's more fun stayln' homer
Scenery? Say, the cenery that
suits me best la the kind they keep lit up
all night. There's a lot of It between
Fourteenth street and the park. Folks?
Why. you etand on the corner of Forty
second and Broadway long enough and
you won't miss aeeln' many of 'em.
They most all get here sooner or later.
Now. look at what happens last even
In'. I was Just, leanln' up against the
street door, real comfortable and satis
fied after a good dinner, when" Swifty
Joe comes down from the studio and says
there's a party by the name of Merrlty,
been callln" me up on the phone.
"Merrlty?" says I. ''That sounds kind
of joyous and familiar. Didn't he give
any letters for the front of it?"
Ayr v.
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T,
LOT OF FOLKS WAS TREATED
A
'Nothln' but Hank." says Swifty.
"Oh. yes." says I. gettln" the clue.
"What did Hank have to say?"
' "Said he was a friend of yours, and if
you didn't have -nothln' better on the
hook he'd like to see you around to -the
Wlstoria." says Swifty.
With that I lets loose a snicker. Hon
est. I couldn't help It.
"Ah, che:" says Swifty. "Is 'It a
strlr. or not? I might get a laugh out
of this myself."
"Yes. and then again you mightn't."
savs I." "Maybe ifd bring on nothln' but
a brain storm. You wait until I find out
If It's safe to tell you."
With that I starts down towards Thirty-fourth
street to see If It was really
so about Hank Merrlty; for the last
glimpse I got of him he was out in Colo
rado, wesxin' spurs and fringed buck
skin pants, and lookin' to 1e as much of
a fixture there as Pikes Peak.
It was while I was trainln" for one of
my big matches that I met up with Hank.
We'd picked out Bedelia for a camp.
You've heard of Bedelia? No? Then
you ought to study the map. Anyway. If
Baths for Feminine Beauty
THE satin bath is the most popular
now and also the most expensive.
But It could be taken at home at
little expense. Its merits are that It re
duces the weight and makes the skin lika
aatln. sayi tha New York Sun.
"The idea of the satin bath is as old as
the hills," said the owner of an estab
llihment which gives aaUn batha. "The
beauties of the Nile have taken them
since before Moses was found In tha bul
rushes. But it is only within a few
years that tha prescription has reached
the Western world.
"We give them in regular order, one
day one kind of bath, the next day an
other, until the patient has been through
the course. Then we begin and give them
all over again.
"The results are highly satisfying. Tha
patient goes away pleased, pink and
smiling. And In a few days her friends
begin to arrive, all asking for the same
treatment.
"Our materials are inexpensive. W"a
use very finely powdered pumice stone
and fine sandpaper, plenty of very rough
brown bath towels and quantities of
brushes of all kinds. These are to smooth
the skin. We also iron It.
"Most women these days are bothered
with rough elbows. Tha trouble is that
the elbows are exposed and they become
hard and shapeless. For these there is
nothing but fine sandpaper.
"We sandpaper the elbows until they
axe smooth. They may be red after tha
proceis, but we massage them with cocoa
butter and we cover them with silk to
keep them aoft until the skin has had
time to recover. If wfll treated the el
bows will never become hard again.
"For a tired out skin and soft muscles
w Have a pumice stona bath. The patient
you'd been followln' the eportln' news
reg'lar a few years back you'd remember.
There was a few days about that time
when more press dispatches was filed
from Bedelia than from Washington. And
the pictures that was sent Bast; "Shorty
Ropln' Steers" "Mr. MeCabe Swingln" a
Bronco by the Tail." and all such truck.
Tou know the kind of stuff them news
paper artists strains their imagina
tions on.
Of course. I was top busy to bother
about what they did to me. and didn't
care, anyway. But it was different with
Hank: Oh. they got him, tool You see.
he had a ranch about four miles north
of our camp, and one of my reg'lar fore
noon stunt was to gallop up there, take
a big swig of mountain spring water
better'n anything you can buy in bottles
chin a few minutes with Hank and the
boys, and then dog trot it back.
That was how the, boss of Merrlty s
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TO THE GENUINE ARTICLE.
ranch came to get his picture in the
eportln' page alongside of a diagram of
the four different ways I had of peelln" a
boiled potato. Them was the times when
I took my exercise with a sportip.' edi
tor hangin' to each elbow, and fellows
with drawln' pads squattin all over the
place. Just for a josh I lugged one of
the papers that had a picture of Hank
up to the ranch, expectin' when ha saw
it he'd want to buckle on his.runa and
tart down after the gent that did it.
You couldn't have blamed him much If
h had; for Hank's features wa'n't cut
on what you might call classic lines. He
looked more like a copy of an old master
that had been done by a sign painter on
the side of a barn. Not. that he was eo
mortal homely, but his color scheme was
kind of surprisin'. His complexion was
a shade or two lighter than a new saddle,
except his neck, which was a flannel red,
with lovely brown speckles on it; and his
eyes waa sort of buttermilk blue, with
eyebrows that you had to guess at. His
chief decoration, though, was a lip
whisker that was a marvel one of these
ginger-colored droopers that took root
way down below his mouth corners, and
looked like It was there to stay.
takes a soft complexion brush which ha
been soaked in warm water over night,
until It Is very pliable, and with this she
scours her - skin. It takes off the dead
complexion and wakes up the muscles.
"We also give the English beauty baths
which were much used in the Princess of
Wales set some 15 years ago. They are
simply massage baths, but the massage Is
given with rough towels. They are of
the brown sort and tbey are rough dried
and left to hang in the sun to become
rough and thoroughly seasoned.
"With one of these towels a woman
massages her skin until sha Is as bright
as a peach in sunny weather. She feels
the Invlgoration ot this treatment for
hours afterward.
"The wire brushes are for the nerves.
There are women whose nerves are so
irritable that it is almost Impossible to
keep them in shape. The wire brush
dipped in soap to make a lather will rest
the nerves. There is something so in
vigorating about the wire that the vic
tim of nerves forgets that she felt nerv
ous, and so her nerves are cured.
"The satin beauty baths are taken by
women of much social activity when they
have an ordeal before them. A woman
who knows that she must stand for hours
at a reception will take a satin bath and
coma back In two hours feeling as trim
as possible. Her muscles will be firm
and her skin will be rosy. Perhaps also
she wUl take a violet bath, which is very
stimulating to the nerves.
. "The violet bath is mora and more In
demand among society people. We put 10
drops of ammonia In a ti)b of boiling hot
water. Then we stir in a teaspoonful of
powdered borax and to this wo add nearly
a cup of home-made violet perfume. This
gives the famous violet bath which soci
ety women are taking. Its mixture Is
usually kept secret, but is simple when
you know it.
"If the patient asks for a violet and
milk bath we add a little benzoin to tha
water, which makes it sweeter, softer
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But up on the ranch and down In Be
delia I never heard anyone pass remarks
on Hank Merrlty's lopks. He wa'n't no
bad man, either, but as mild and gentle
a beef raiser as you'd want to see. He
seemed to be quite a star among the cow
punchers, and after I'd got used to his
peculiar style of beauty J. kind of took to
him. too.
The picture didn't r'ile him a bit. He
sat there lookin' at it for a pood five
minutes without sas'ln' a word, them
buttermilk eyes just stsrln. kind of
blank and dazed. Then he looks up, as
pleased as a kid, and says, "Wall, I'll be
cussed! Mighty slick, ain't It?"
Next he hollers for Reney that was
Mrs. Merrlty. She was a good-sized,
able-bodied wild rose. Reney was; not
such a bad looker, but a little shy on
style. A calico wrapper with the sleeves
rolled up, a lot of crinkly brown hair
wavin down her back, and an old pair
of carpet slippers on 'her feet was
Reney's mornln' . costume. I shouldn't
wonder but what It did for afternoon and
even In' as well.
Mrs. Merrlty was more tickled with the
picture than Hank. She stared from the
paper to him and back again, actln' like
she thought Hank had done somethln'
she ought to be proud of,- but couldn't
exactly place.
"Bho, Hank!" says she. "I wIsMt they'd
waited until you'd put on your Sunday
shirt and slicked up a little."
He was a real torrid proposition when
he did slick up. I saw him do it once,
a couple of nights before I broke train
In', when they was goln' to have a dance
up to the ranch. His idea of makln' a
swell toilet was to take a hunk of sheep
tallow and grease his boots clear to the
tops. Then he ducks his head Into the
horse trough and polishes the back of his
neck with a bar of yellow soap. Next he
dries himself off on a meal sack, uses
half a bottls of scented hair oil on his
Buffalo Bill thatch, pulls On a striped
gingham shirt, ties a red silk handker
chief around his throat, and he's ready
to receive comp'ny. I didn't see Mrs.
Merrlty after she ftot herself fixed for
the ball; biit'Hank told me she was goln'
to wear a shirtwaist that she'd sent clear
to Kansas City for.
Oh. we got real chummy before I left.
He came down to see me off the day I
started for Denver, and while we was
waltin' for the train ha told me the story
of his life: How he'd been rustlln' for
himself ever sinca he'd graduated from
an orphan asylum In Illinois; the differ
ent things he'd worked at before he
learned the cow business: and how, when
he'd first met Reney ellngln' crockery in
a railroad restaurant, and married her on
eight, they'd started out with a cash cap
ital of one five-dollar bill and 38 cents in
change, to make their fortune. Then he
told ma how many steers and yearlings
he owned, and how muoh grazln'. land
he'd got inside of wire.
"That's doln" middlin' well, ain't it?"
says ha
. Come to figure up, It was, and I told
him I didn't see why he wa'n't in a fair
way to find himself cuttin' lnt the grrape
soma day.
"It all depeqda on the" Jayhawker,"
says he. "I've got a third lnt'rest in
that. Course, I ain't hollerln' a lot about
it yet, for it ain't much more'n a -hole 'in
the ground; but if they ever strike the
yellow there maybe we'll come on and
take a look at New York."
"It's worth it," says 1. "Hunt me up
when you do." ;
"I shore will," says Hank. "Good
luck!"
And the last I see of him he was stand
In' there in his buckskin pants, gawpin' i
at the steam cars.
"Now, I ain't been spending my time
ever aince wonderln' what was happenin'
to Hank. You know how it is. Maybe
I've had him in mind two or three times.
But when I gets that 'phone message f
didn't have any trouble about callln' up
my last view of him. So, when it come
to buttln' Into a swell Fifth-avenue hotel
and askln' for Hank Merrlty, I has a
sudden spasm of bashfulness. It didn't
last long.
"If Hank was good enough for me to
chum with In Bedelia," says I "he ought
to have soma standln' with ma here.
and milkier. W also have a plain milk
bath, which is liked by most patients.
"We take a little flbur and water and
mix It together in & paste to which we
keep adding cold -water until there is
half a pint of the mixture. To this
we add some rose perfuma until it
smells very sweet. We stir this slow
ly Into a tub of hot water, adding
twenty drops of bennoln and stirring
until the water cools sufficiently to
permit tha patient to taka a bath. The
skin is very fine after this bath, which
is followed by a" massage with cream
of milk.
"Satin baths clear the skin and give
the complexion a chance to glow. Tha
woman whose face is sallow will be
surprised at results If she will take a
hot satin bath, using a stiff- complex
Ion brush and very heavy soap lath
er. We make a soap jelly out of a
shaved aoap and when It is stiff we
perfume It heavily. A tablespoonful
of this perfumed jelly In a tub of water
will give a scented bath which one will
remember all day.
"The beginning of the popularity of
tha satin bath was the sheath skirt.
When this skirt came in style women
realized that they must be slender.
"Tha woman who is In earnest can
lose seven pounds a week with these
baths, and in her own home, too. But
she must follow a certain regimen.
"She must have bathroom scales to
tell her how she is progressing. As
well try to cook without a clock to
time your oven as to try to gat thin
without scales to tell you how you ara
getting along. You may be getting
fatter instead of l thinner. You may
ba eating something that is fattening
and your scales will tell you of this
fact at once.
"In Vienna they Insist upon a spray
bath. Many women now have such
baths in this country. The apparatus
Is easily fitted up. A spray is connect
ed with tha bathtub faucet, and Instead
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THE NEXT THING HE
There wa'n't anything I could have asked
that he wouldn't have done for me out
there, and I guess If he needs some one
to show him where Broadway Is, and tell
him to take his pants out of his boot
tops. It's up to me to do it.
Just the same, when I gets up to the
desk, I whispers it confidential to the
clerk. If he'd come back with a hee
haw I wouldn't have said a word. I was
expectin' somethln' of the kind. But
never a chuckle. He don't even grin.
"Hank Merrlty?" says he. shakln' his
head. "We frave a guest here, though,
by flie name of Henry Merrlty Mr.
Henry Merrlty."
"That's him." says I. "All the Henrys
are Hanks when you get west of Omaha.
Where'll I find him?"
I was hopin' he'd be up in his room,
practicin' with the electric light buttons,
or bracln' himself for a ride down in the
elevator; but there was no answer to
the call on the house 'phone; so I has to
wait-whje a boy goes-out with my card
on a silver tray, squeakin', "Mis-ter Mer
rlty! Mister Merrlty!" Five minutes
later I was towed through the palms into
the Turkish smokin" room, and the next
thing I knew I was lined up in front of a
perfect gent.
Say, if It hadn't been fer them butter
milk eyes, you never could have made
me believe It was him. Honest, them
eyes -was all there was left of the Hank
Merrlty I'd known in Bedelia. It wa'n't
Just the clothes, either, though he had
'cm all on op're lid, four-button white
vest, shiny shoes, and the rest it was
what had happened In his face that was
stunnln' ma.
The Hp drooper had been wiped out
not just shaved oft, mind you, but
scrubbed clean. The russet color was
gone, too. .He was as pink and white and
smooth as a roastln' pig that's been
scraped and sandpapered for a window
display in a meat shop. You've noticed
that electric lisht complexion some of
cur Broadway rounders gets on? Well.
Hank had It. Even the neck freckles had
got the magic touch.
Course, he hadn't been turned into any
he Venus, at that: but as he stood, cos
tume and all, he looked as much a part
of New York as the Flatiron Bulldln'.
And while I'm buggin' my eyes out and
holdin" my mouth open, he grabs me by
the hand and slaps me on the back.
"Why, hello. Shorty! I'm mighty glad
to see you. Put 'er there!" says he.
"Gee!" says I. "Then it's true! Now
I guess the thing for me to do Is to own
up to Maude Adams that I believe in
fairies. Hank, who did it?"
"Did what?" says he.
"Why, made your face over and put on
the Fivth-avenue gloss?" says I.
"Do, I look it?" says he, grlnnin .
"Would I pass?"
"Pass!" says I. "Hank, they could use
you for a sign. Lookin" as you do now,
you could go to any one-night stand in
the country and be handed the New York
papers without sayin' a word. What I
want to know, though, is how it hap
pened?" "Happen?" says he. "Shorty, such
of taking a bath immersed in water
one takes a spray or shower bath.
"For the thinning bath, if taken as
in Vienna, many things must be pro
vided. There is the jar of pumice, for
Instance, which must be large and tha
pumice fine. By its side,' encased in a
glass jar, is the flesh complexion brush.
The brush Is moistened, dipped In tha
pumice and rubbed on the skin until
the flesh is awake. This is the first
step in tha satin bath.
"A bottle of peroxide of hydrogen is
kept handy for bleaching the skin.
There is the little tin containing cocoa
butter, there is the big open-mouthed
Jar of skin food, and there are all the
massage creams. Milky lotions must be
made fresh every day.
"The woman who takes tha satin
baths for reduction purposes must have
plenty to do. She is reducing not by
vigorous exoiclse or any outdoor work,
but simply by the satin baths. ; And
she must devote as much time to the
work as though she were in a gymna
sium with two or three hours a day of
steady exercise before her.
"The matter of diet makes little dif
ference. The patient can eat all sha
wants. But she must take no candy.
If she craves sweets she can eat loaf
sugar. She must not drink a drop with
her meals. And she must not eat more
than three times a day.
"If sha can get along with these re
strictions tha path will be smooth be
fore her. She will find that she loses
flesh. Most women who diet make a
point of eating little at their meals.
"Ironing the skin is another process
In the satin bath. After the patient
has been rubbed down with the roller
and has taken her pumice bath, fol
lowed by her perfumed dip, she is
ready to be ironed. A heavy flannel
la placed upon the skin and a hot iron
is passed over it. This acts like maglo
in getting rid cf superfluous flesh.
"Tha satin-skinned woman is the
direct result of the satin bath. When
you see a woman with, skin pink and
thin, fragile as a rose leaf and as deli
cate as a breath, a skin so soft that
the blush shows raedily through it.
you will know that here is a woman
who takes the satin batn."
M-aTJ --'"A'.',VJ
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HOLLERS FOR RENEY.
things don't came by accident. You buy
'em. You go through torture for "em."
"Say. Hank." says I. "you don't mean
to say you've been up against the sonolo
gists?" Well, he had. They'd kept his face In a
steam box by the hour, scrubbed him with
pumice stone, electrocuted his lip fringe,
made him wear a sleepln' mask and done
everything but peel him alive.
"Look at that for a paw!" says he.
"Ain't it ladylike?" . ,
It was. Every fingernail showed the
half-moon, and the palm was as soft as
a baby's.
"You must have been makln' a busi
ness of it," says I. "How long has this
thing been goln' on?"
"Nearly four months." says Hank,
heavln" a groan. "Part of the time I
put In five hours a day; but I've got 'em
scaled down to two now. It's been awful.
Shorty, but it had to be done."
"How was that?" says I.
"On Reney's account," says he. "She's
powerful pert at savvyin's things, Reney
Is. Why, when we struck town I was
wearln'. a leather-trimmed hat and eatin'
with my knife'-Just as polite as I knew
how. We hadn't been here a day before
she saw that something was wrong.
'Hank.' says she, 'this ain't where we
belong. Let's go back." "What for?" says
I. 'Shucks.' says she. 'Can't you see?
These folks are different from us. Look
at. 'em.' Well I did. and it made me mad.
'Reney,' says I. 'I'll allow there Is some
thln' wrong with us. but I reckon it ain't
bone deep. There is such .a thing as
burnln' one brand over another,- ain't
there? " Suppose we give it a whirl?'
That's what we done, too, and I'm be
ginnin' to suspicion we've made good."
"I guess you have. Hank." says I; "but
ain't it expensive? You haven't gone
broke to do it, have you?"
"Broke!" says he, smilin'. "Guess you
ain't heard what they're takin' out of
the Jayhawker these days. Why. I
couldn't spend it all if I had four hands.
But come on. Let's find Reney and go to
a show somewheres."
.Course, seein" Hank had kind of pre
pared me for a change in Mrs. Merrlty;
so I braces myself for the shock and tries
to forget the wrapper and carpet slippers.
But you know the kind of birds that roost
along Peacock Alley? There was a dou
ble row of 'em holdin' down the arm
chairs on either side of the corridor, and
lookin' like a livln' exhibit of Spring mil
linery. I tried hard to imagine Reney
in that bunch; but it was no go. The
best I could do was to throw' up a pic
ture of a squatty female in a Kansas
City shirtwaist. And then, all of a sud
den, we fetches up alongside a fairy in
radium silk and lace, with her hair
waved to the minute, and carryln' enough
sparks to light up the subway. She was
thet star of the collection, and I nearly
loses my breath when Hank says:
"Reney. you remember Shorty McCabe,
don't you?"
"Ah, rully!" says she, liftln' up a pair
of gold-handled eye glasses and takin' a
peek. "Chawmed to meet you again, Mr.
McCabe."
We'll All
CRUDE as was the balloon, pure and
simple, it has fulfilled its mission.
The big, helpless gas bag that rose
or fell at tha turn of temperature or
shift, of wind proved so much which be
fore its advent had seemed lmpossibla
that for all its Inutility It commands re
spect, as do all pioneers, no matter how
uncouth they may be. Thus writes Cap
tain Homer W. Hedge, founder and for
mer president of the Aero Club of Amer
ica, in the Boston Globe. Remove tha
motive power from the greatest ooean
liner afloat and it becomes as helpless
as the balloon and is equally at the mercy
of shifting currents of wind and wave.
From the days of Darius Creen, or
thereabouts, the possibility of man's do
minion over the unseen, intangible realm
of air was a demonstrated fact. Failure
to improve on it in no wise affected the
fact Itself. Failure in experimentation is
ever the' stepping-stone to success. Fail
ure is one form of discovery. This is
the day aad generation of cumulative in
vention. Modern ingenuity profitB by the
labors, failures and discoveries of former
thinkers. The very dreams of dreamers
are turned to account, as witness the
submarine, conceived in . the fanciful
brain of Jules Verne.
Seeing that the leading nations of the
world have entered into rivalry to eolva
the question and that positive and con
vincing proofs of achievement are daily
recorded from all sections, it is no won
der that the United States of America
has stepped to the front, with a deter
mination to win the lead. And New
England, the cherished seat of science
and of learning, should be the first to
issue some such notice as: "From Boston
to any point, regardless of wind or
weather, at tha uniform rate of 50 miles
per hour, with advantages even over the
road of anthracite."
Lack of money has been the great
hindrance. It takes money and lota of
it to experiment, and experimenters have
-rvr--
"M-m-me. too," says L It was an the
conversation I had ready to pass out.
Maybe I acted some foolish; but for
the next few minutes I didn't do any
thing but stand there, stzln" her up and
inspectln' the Improvements. There hadn't
been any half way business about her.
If Hank was a good imitation. Mrs. Mer
rlty was the real thing. She was it. I've
often wondered where they all came from,
them birds of Paradise that we see float
in' around such places; but now I've got a
line on 'em. They ain't all raised in New
York. It's pin spots on the map like
Bedelia that keeps up the supply.
Reney hadn't stopped with takin' courses
at the beauty doctors and goln' the limit
on fancy clothes. She'd been plungln' on
conversation lessons, voice culture and all
kinds of parlor tricks. She'd been keep
In' her eyes and ears open, too. takin' her
models from real life; and the finished
product was somethln' you'd say had
never been west of Broadway or east of
Fourth avenue. As for her ever doln'
such a thing as juggle crockery, it was
almost a libel to think of it.
"Like it here in town, do you?" says I,
flrln" it at both of 'em.
"Like it!" says Hank. 'See wat it's
costin' us. We got to like it."
She gives him a look that must have
felt like an Icicle slipped down his back.
"Certainly we enjoy New York." says
she. "It's our home, don'cha know.-
"Gosh!" says I. I didn't mean to let
it slip out, but. It got past me before i
knew.
Mrs. Merrlty only raises her eyebrows
and smiles, as muh as to say. "Oh.
what can one expect?"
That numbs me so much I didn't have
life enough to back out of goln' to the
theater with 'em, as Hank had planned.
Course we has a box, and It wasn't until
she'd got herself placed well up in front
and was lookin' the house over through
the glasses that I gets a chance for a few
remarks with Hank.
"Is she like that all the time now?" I
whispers.
"You bet," says he. "Don't she do it
good?"
Say. there wa'n't any mistake how the
act hit Hank. "You ought to see her with
her op'ra rig on, though tiara, and all
that." says he.
"Go reg'lar?" says I.
"Tuesdays and Fridays." says he. "We
leases the box for them nights."
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5 'WV '
"AH, RULLY," SAYS SHE, "CHARMED TO MEET YOU AGAIN."
Tk.f a-ata ma nnHntis tf know how they
puts in their time, so I has him give me
an outline. It was somethln' like this:
Coffee and rolls at 10:30 A. M.; hairdress
ers, manicures and massage artists till
12:30; drivln' in the brougham' till 2; an
hour off for lunch; more drivln' and shop
pin' till 6: nap till ; then the maids and
valets and so on to fix 'em up for dinner;
theater or op'ra till 11; supper at some
swell cafe; and the pillows about 2 A. M.
Then the curtain goes up for. the second
act, and I see Hank had got his eyes
glued on the stage. As we'd come in,
late, I hadn't got the hang of the piece
before, but now I notices It's one of
them- gunless Wild West plays that's hit
Broadway so hard It was a breezy kind
of a scene they showed up. To one side
was an almost truly log cabin, with a tin
wash basin hung on a nail Just outside
the front door, and some real firewood
stacked tip under the window. Off up
the middle was mountains piled up, one
on top of the other, clear up Into the
flies.
Fly in a Few CJears
no tlma to make money. But until the
man of money has positive proof that
"there is something in it." mere theory
will not lure forth his capital. While
balloons could only "go," with no posi
tive "return," they did not appeal to the
man of dollars and of sense. Now that
the "open sesame" or "proof" has been
given, the purse strings are loosened
and inventors, always longing to pry
apart the world's secrets with their wits,
but unable to put Ideas into practice
without means, are stirred by enthus
iasm, and still further stimulated by
competition.
The Wrights were right, and our Gov
ernment is right, to keep the knowledge
gained by experiment secret until abso
lute success Is assured, but already more
Is known by the few than is dreamed of
by tha many. "
It was not the mere delight of balloon
ing which interested me in the study of
aerial navigation, but its practical side.
What it will mean in time of war the
simplest mind can grasp, but, in the time
of peace, think of its possibilities! So
much has been proven that none will be
much older before seeing its accomplish
ment. I firmly believe that most of us
will live to coma to think as lightly of it
as wa now do the telephone. And the
man who worked that modern miracle.
What fear of falure Is there when by
his name we can inscribe such names as
Wright brothers, Farman, Delagrange,
Herring, Ludlow, the late Langley and
of Beachy, Knabenshue. Stevens and
Baldwin the last four being dirigible bal
loon enthusiasts? Speaking of dirigible
balloons naturally suggests Zeppelin. His
latest airship, built under the auspices of
the German Government, is 445 feet long,
has motors aggregating 400 horse power
and carries 12 people. Further, it is
equipped with apparatus for wireless
telegraphy.
While the aeroplane will undoubtedly
become practical, though with what car
rying capacity none can say at present.
The thing didn't Btrike me at first, un
til I hears Hank dig up a sigh that sounds
as if it started from his shoes. Then I
tumbles. This stage settin' was almost
a dead ringer for his old ranch out north
of Bedelia. In a minute in comes, a bunch
of stage cowboys. They was a lot cleaner
lookin' than any I ever saw around Mer
rity's. and some of 'em was wearln' mis
fit whiskers; but barrln' a few little
points like that, they fitted Into the pic
ture well enough. Next we hears a
whoop, and in bounces the leadin" lady,
rlRged out In beaded lgglns, knee length
skirt, leather coat, and Shy Ann hat, with
her red hair flyin' loos
Say, I'm a good deal of acome-on when
It comes to the ranch business, but I've
seen enough to know that If any woman
had showed up at Merrlty's place In that
costume, the cowpunchers would have
blushed Into their hats and took for the
timber line. I looks at Hank, expectin'
to see him wearln' a grin; but he wa'n't
He's most starin' his eyes out, lookin' at
them painted mountains and that four
piece log cabin. And would you believe
it. Mrs. Merrlty was doin' the same! I
couldn't see that either of 'em'moved dur
in' the whole act, or took their eyes on?
that scenery, and when the curtain goes
down they just naturally reaches out and
grips each other by the hand. For quita
some time they didn't say a word. Then
Reney breaks the spell.
"You noticed it, didn't you. Hank?"
savs she.
"Couldn't help it, Reney," says he,
huskily.
"I expect the old place Is looking aw
ful nice just about now," she goes on.
Hank was swallowln' hard Just then, so
all he could do was to nod. and a big
drop of brine leaks out of one of . them
buttermilk blue eyes. Reney saw It.
"Hank." says she. still grippln' his
hand and talkin' throaty "let's quit and
go back!" '
Say, maybe you never heard one of
them flannel shirts call the cows home
from the next county. A lot of folks
who'd paid good money to listen to a
weak imitation was treated to the genuine
article. ,
We-e-e-ough! Glory' be!" yells Hank,
jumpln' up and knockln' over a chair.
It was an earsplitter. that was. Inside
of a minute there was a special cop and
four ushers makin' a rush for the back
of our box.
.fet! - , V
' . I -1
: H i
"Here, here, now!" says one. "You'll
have to leave." '
"Leave!" says Hank. "Why. gol durn
you white-faced tenderfeet. you couldn't
hold us here another minute with raw
hide ropes! Come on, Reney, maybe
there's a night train!"
They didn't go quite so sudden as all
that. Reney got him to wait until noon
next day, so she could fire a few maids,
and send a bale or so of Paris gowns to
the second-hand shop; but they made m
sit up till most mornin' with 'em. whilo
they planned out the kind of a ranch da
luxe they was goln' to build when they
got back to Bedelia. As near as I could
come to it, there was goln to be four
Chinese cooks always standln' ready to
fry griddle cakes for any neighbors that
might drop In. a dancehall with a floor
of polished mahogany, and not a bathtub
on the place. What they wanted was to
get back among their old friends, put on
their old clothes, and enjoy themselves
in their own way for the rest of their
lives.
the dirigible balloon is likely to lead
mora quickly to success. Ultimately
there will be as many methods of .air
travel as there now are on the surface,
from bicycle to electric motor engine,
from push-cart to flyer. Mark this, that,
differ as they may, there are all depen
dent on the wheel. From the rowboat
to the ocean liner, vessels are dependent
on the one principle of shape. So with
a thousand familiar Instances, there Is
abundant proof that the dominant prin
ciple of any of the great, every-day me
chanical aids to man's comfort Is ex
tremely simple.
The problem Is so nearly solved that,
as a close observer and student of the
subject, and as an associate of the lead
ers of the movement, I confidently pre
dict that within two years aerial naviga
tion will be an accomplished fact. There
will then be a thousand minds at work to
every one at present, and modifications
and Improvements will soon bring to per
fection the first successes. In war, su
preme, almost to the abolishment of warl
In peace, delightful beyond conception I
Inhalation of the rarefied air of th
upper stratas will prove to be one of t!n
greatest blessings to suffering humanity
Think of transportation through tin
free, pure air; the realm of absolute lib
erty; no tracks, no franchises, no need
of thousands of employes to add to th
cost; and of the swiftness, the gloriout
exhlllratlon; and last, but by no meant
least, of Its broadening effect on th
mind! Every drifting balloonist knows
what I mean. I am certain there la no:
one who has not been uplifted In avers
sense 'of the word, and who has not real
ized more fully, more surely, the Im
measurable greatness of the aH-powerfu!
Creator of the universe.
The moral Influence which will be ex
erted over all mankind by aerial naviga
tion Is beyond compute. Conquest of th
air is coming, is almost here, and most
of us will be here to tee and enjoy U
when it comes.