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About The Maupin times. (Maupin, Or.) 1914-1930 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 1916)
?2C251ICHAIU PARKER, T- 3J2oi cooper, megxii: 3rS- This Is a ttory of the European war. It la a tale of aplea of love and Intrigue among them; of patriotism and sacrifice; of war's horrora and demands. It la not a plea for preparedness or 2 for anything else. The great eon. T fllct across the water will pro- duce some great literature such T as the American Civil war and the Franco-Prussian war and the T Napoleonic wars produced and 5 much trash. Metropolitan crit- T Ics unite In saying that "Under 4 T Fire" makes a bid for lasting T I popularity. Read It and Judge 5 T for yourself. . l T ,.fltf,,,tM,lf,kf,f,f,lf,i,;f,f.l,,.l..fMf.fMflflllf. CHAPTER I.' Just a Hint of Scandal. Gedrgy Wagstaff anuntered Into Miss Ethel Wllloughby's sitting room, at tired Id tbe daintiest and fluffiest of Bummer costumes. Georgy was the daughter of Sir George Wagstaff of the British admiralty. She found the room deserted, except for her father's admirable butler, who was at the mo ment In the act of placing a tea-tray upon Miss Wllloughby's table. "Oh, BrewBter is Miss Willoughby In?" she Inquired. The correct Brewster Immediately straightened himself up In his best manner, "No, miss! I think not," he replied. Georgy strolled to the window. "I dare say Ethel'll be here directly," she said to herself as much as to the butler. "I'll wait." "Yes, miss," Brewster acquiesced. And with a bow of the utmost cor rectness he went out, closing the doors softly, behind him. Georgy Wagstaff stood Idly looking out of the window upon the view of the Thames. It was an August after noon and the river shimmered allur ingly In the slanting sunlight. But Ethel had asked her to meet a few friends; and Georgy was fond enough of Miss Willoughby not to be repent ant for having foregone the delights of a perfect summer evening out of doors. As she stood there In the win dow her governess entered. "Oh! Hello, Georgy! Am I late or are you early?" Miss Willoughby called as she saw that one of her guests was already waiting. "Both!" said Georgy with a smile. "I did want two minutes with you be fore the others came. May I bother you now?" "Of course!" the older girl replied. "But It's no bother," she assured her. She sat down on one end of a long settee and began to remove her gloves; whereupon her younger charge perched herself at the other end of the seat and regarded her admiringly. Miss Wllloughby's fair hair had just the hint of red In It that was at the same time Georgy's despair and delight. And Ethel was far enough past the schoolgirl age to have lost that angu larity which Georgy still possessed and loathed. As for coloring, they both showed the healthy glow which Is the distinguishing mark of young Englishwomen of the upper class. "You see," said Georgy, "I'm afraid I'm going to be awfully presumptu ous" "Nonsense!" Ethel Interrupted. "You couldn't be that when you and your father have been so very good to me. . . . Come on! Out with It!" It was true that Ethel Willoughby felt that she was deeply In the debt of the WagstaEfs both father and daughter. Before entering their house hold as Georgy's governess she had known them upon a footing of social equality. But fortune had frowned upon her. And when circumstances had become most pressing Sir George had come to her relief with the pro posal that she undertake the guidance of his somewhat difficult daughter. It was not that Georgy was greatly dif ferent from other girls of the Impres sionable age. But Sir George's public duties left him little time to devote to tbe upbringing of his motherless child. And It had Bti-uck him that Ethel Willoughby was a person who at the same time would be able to sympathize with Georgy's Impulses and direct them Into the proper channels. "What's on your mind,. Georgy?" Miss Willoughby asked again, as the girl still hesitated. "It's about your past," Georgy be gan In deadly seriousness. Ethel laughed at her tragic manner. "Have I a past?" she Inquired lightly. But the romantic Georgy was not to be diverted from her mood. "That's just the question," she com mented. "You know I shouldn't mind It In the least If you had. I believe In people living their own lives, in their own way." Georgy prided her self that she was "advanced." She considered the ordinary insular atti tude toward what Is termed morality to be stodgy and Victorian. Indeed, aha quite fancied the more free-and-easy continental view of life. "What on earth are you talking about?" Ethel demanded. If the truth were known, she felt the leaat bit un comfortable beneath the frank stare of her young friend. "You remember a month ago, when you said you went to Brighton?" Georgy continued relentlessly. "When I said I went to Brighton? When I went to Brighton," Miss Wil loughby corrected her coldly. But the chill of her remark was lost upon ber patient cross-examiner. Georgy. was too intent upon uncover ing the romance that she thought she had stumbled upon to be so easily discouraged. Well, today at lunch Hugh Middle- ton said you couldn't have been in Brighton that week " She paused to watch the effect of her bombshell. "Did he? Really?" Miss Willough by replied with well-feigned Indiffer ence. But beneath her cold calm her heart was beating furiously. She felt for all the world like some wild thing, trapped, at bay. And she turned away to hide the alarm that she feared must reveal Itself in her face. "Yes! He was In Farls, and" "Paris!" Ethel echoed with a faint start. Youth Is ever cruel; nnd Georgy had no thought of sparing her compan ion. Her sole idea was that if Ethel were biding some secret liaison she wanted to share the romance with her. "Yes!" she went on relentlessly. And he saw you there twice that week, and both times with Henry Streetman." "But that's impossible!" Ethel pro tested. . "But Mr. MIddleton seemed very positive," the younger girl said some what doubtfully. "It's too absurd!" Ethel cried, forc ing a laugh. "I was at Brighton, as I can very easily prove." 'Well that's settled!" Georgy ex claimed, with an air of relief In aplte of her hopes. Her feelings bad, as a matter of fact, been somewhat com plex. "Of course I'd only admire you for being brave enough to defy the conventions. But father wouldn't " "But I haven't defied conventions Ethel insisted, placing both her bands over Georgy's as if to emphasize the truth of her statement "Oh, I don't care if you have," Sir George's daughter told her callously, "But you ought to care," Ethel pro tested. "And as your governess I can not condone such an attitude on your part. Really, Georgy, stupid as con ventions may appear sometimes, nev ertheless there Is a bitter penalty ex acted from people who break them." Miss Wagstaff rose abruptly, as If impatient with the views of her gover ness; and, crossing the room, she seat ed herself nonchalantly upon the arm of a chair that was drawn up at one side of the tea table. "Oh, pooh!" she exclaimed. "All that narrow-mindedness is old-fash ioned." The older girl regarded her reprov ingly. "What silly book have you been reading?" she inquired. After her ad vent into the Wagstaff home it had not taken her long to discover that Georgy's literary tastes had developed along lines that would scarcely have met with Sir George's approval. Miss Georgy did not even deign to reply to Ethel's question. They had had numerous discussions more or less heated upon the subject of her reading, which Georgy regarded as both footless and absurd. She had openly rebelled at reading the books that Ethel recommended to her. Jane Austen and Mrs. Gaskell were, in her opinion, hopelessly behind the times. "I'm glad you haven't had an affair with Henry Streetman," the younger girl remarked. "I don't like him.' "Don't you?" said Ethel, relieved that Georgy was at last convinced that her suspicions were groundless. "No! Every time he comes into the room my back sort of goes up, just like Rowdy when he sees a cat." Row dy was Georgy's Scotch terrier, whose antipathy to cats was proverbial. "Mr. Streetman has been very kind to me," her governess observed. "Oh, don't defend him!" Georgy cried impatiently. "I know inside that you agree with me." Miss Willoughby did not care ' to continue the discussion. And with an air of dismissing both Mr. Streetman and her relations with blm from her own mind as well as Georgy's, she rose from the wide seat, and as she glanced at her watch exclaimed with surprise: "Heavens! It's after five. I must fuss up a bit for the party." " But Georgy would not be put off so easily. "Well, forewarned Is forearmed," she said sententlously. It was clear that she did not intend to be squelched like a child. If Henry Streetman were still In her mind, she saw do reason why she should dissemble in order to please Ethel or anybody else. "There's nothing to be forewarned about," Miss Willoughby observed, as she paused at the door that opened Into her boudoir. "You surely have no right to put such a construction upon my acquaintance with Mr. Streetman. I can't let you say things of this sort to me. It'i not fair to ma. It's not' even fair to yourself." While she was spo-klng the door opened and Brewster, the butler, stepped Into the room. Mr. Streetman Is calling," he an nounced In well-modulated tones. Oil, show him up!" Miss Willough by ordered. And as soon as Brewster had vanished she shot a swift amllo at her companion. "Speak of the devil" she aaid good-naturodly. "Ob, he Isn't the devil," Georgy re plied. "More of a snake, I think." There was certainly no reason to doubt her extreme dislike of the gentleman who was at that moment waiting be low. Ethel's hand was on the doorknob; but she hesitated long enough to say to Georgy: "I won't bo five minutes. Stay and amuse him there's a good girl!" Not I!" Miss Georgy doclared. "If he wants to be amused he can read I'lMich." And as she spoke she slipped off her perch on the chulr-arni and started for the door through which Brewster had disappeared. Don't be rude to him, please, Georgy!" Miss Willoughby entreated. She knew that Georgy and Mr. Street man must meet; nnd she could not re frain from trying to smooth the way for her guest. 'Oh, I'll bo polite enough In my own way," Georgy replied grimly. She was well aware that she was an enfant terrible; and sho often took a mischievous delight in shocking people by some unconventionally, Ethel Willoughby had already closed her boudoir door behind her; but Georgy had not yet reached the hall before Brewster returned to usher in the caller, who was close upon his heels. Henry Streetman, handsome, well- groomed, slightly foreign In appear ance, bowed with extreme affability as be came face to face with Georgy Wagstaff. But Georgy was decidedly cold to him. She could be frigidly haughty when she chose. "How do you do!" she said, hardly pausing In her hasty exit from his dis tasteful presence. "Ethel's dressing," she told him hurriedly. "She'll be In in a miuute. Goodby!" And hold ing up her bead In undisguised scorn, she promptly left Streetman to his own devices. - CHAPTER II. For the Fatherland. Henry Streetman turned nnd stared after Georgy with raised eyebrows. A blind man could not have mistaken the animosity that the girl felt toward him. But that did not trouble Henry Streetman. He was not a person whose feelings were easily hurt He had hardly strolled to the center of the room when the butler reap peared and paused just inside the double doors that led Into the passage. "Close those doors!" Streetman com manded, quite as If he, and not Sir George Wagstaff, were Brewster's master. And while Brewster promptly "All That Narrow-Mlndedness Is Old Fashioned." executed his order, Streetman himself stole quickly to the door that led, as he knew, to Miss Wllloughby's dress ing room. He stood there, silent, for a few moments.'llstenlng. And then be returned to the waiting butler. "What news, Herr Roeder?" he In quired. "Nothing, meln Herr!" Under Street man's brisk questioning the man had suddenly become metamorphosed. His manner of a most correct English but ler had fallen off htm like a cloak. And now he saluted his interrogator in a fashion unmistakably military and German, at that. It was as if the fel low had two personalities. Streetman came nearer to the fel low and bent his cold eyes upon him. "You have searched Sir George's desk?" he demanded. "I have searched everywhere," Brewster or Roeder declared, still standing at attention. An onlooker could not have mistaken the fact that Streetman was the hutler's superior in rank. "But I can find no trace of any papers about the navy such as yon described." "Have you trld-hls office?" his con federate ventured. Henry Streetman nodded. "Witheut rtesult!" he replied, some what gloomily, "But somewhere be must have o copy of the admiralty Instructions to the fleet These would bo In his department; and we must know at once what orders have been given to the ships at Splthead where they ar going when this review is over," The epy, Roeder, saluted again. "I have done my best" he said apol ogetically. "I am sure you have," Streetman re plied. "We know the Wllhelnistrasse does not lightly overlook stupidity in one of Its servants," he observed grim ly. And then he motioned toward the double doors that led Into tbe hall. "See If anyone's coming," be said. Roeder or Brewster opened the doors and peered down the length of the passage. "No one is in sight; nnd I hear noth ing," he reported. "Now lock that door!" Streetman commanded, poluting toward the one behind which he knew that Miss Wil loughby must be dressing. The butler regarded him In alarm. 'Tardon, meln nerr but Is it safe?" he ventured. "She Is a wom an" "Do not be alarmed," Streetman re assured him. "Miss Willoughby is easily handled. She believes that I work for the French secret service." "Then she Is a fool," his subordinate declared. "No, no!" Streetman protested. "We must not criticize the tools that serve us." And as he spoke he went to the telephone In a corner of the room. Picking up the instrument, he paused and turned, to the butler with a look of amusement "Sir George Wagstaff Sir Georgo of his majesty's navy would be rather surprised if he knew that from his house we were communicating with our friends, tbe Germans," he observed. "Rather!" his henchman responded, with a gleam of humor in his eyes. "Now lock that door!" Streetman ordered once more. "And now to re port to headquarters again!" be ex claimed, when the butler had turned the key noiselessly in Miss Wlllough by's door. "Hello! City, 4225!" he said in a low but distinct voice. Meanwhile the butler hovered near by. "You think, meln Herr, there will be war?" he asked respectfully. "I do not know. Cut we are ready. And if war does come, it will be Ger many's hour the day at last!" He turned to the telephone once more, and began speaking into the transmitter. "Hello! City, 4225? Hello! Are you there? Who is speaking . . Twenty-six fourteen? . . . Hello! I am thirteen seventeen," he said, giv ing the number by which he was known i the German secret service. "Yes! We have no news of the Eng lish fleet; we have tried everything. . . . Very well! Goodby!" He put down the instrument, and a look of annoyance as well as per plexity was upon his face as he wheeled about. "What is it, meln Herr?" his com panion asked In an anxious voice. "Is It bad news?" He had long worked in conjunction with Streetman, and he was quick to detect signs of trouble upon him. "They say they must know tonight, without fall, the destination of the English fleet," Streetman replied. . . . He cast a quick glance toward Ethel Wllloughby's boudoir. "So, Miss Wil loughby, you have some work to do!" he muttered, to himself more than to his confederate. "Now, unlock that door!" he ordered. "Ah! that Is done, and we were not Interrupted," he said In a relieved voice, when the deft Brewster bad once more succeeded In turning the key silently in the lock. To expedite his prowllngs about the house at nil hours of the day or night, Sir George's butler had seen to it that such things as hinges and locks whether upon doors or desks were well oiled. It was his genius for de tails of thnt sort that had led to his assignment to his present duty. Henry Streetman dropped upon Miss Wllloughby's settee In nn atti tude of relaxation that revealed some what the marvelous strain which at tends the performance of exploits in separable from his profession. "Dangerous work, eh, Herr Roeder? And poor pay!" be vouchsafed In a sudden burst of good-fellowship. For the moment he seemed almost human. nerr Roeder pulled himself together stiffly. "It Is not for the money that I am here," he answered proudly. "It is for the Fatherland!" Despite the guarded tones in which he spoke, there was an earnestness born of sincere patriotism that made Ills words ring convincingly. One look at the man's face, aflame with an almost fanatic zeal, showed blm to be the sort to whom a country may well trust her secrets. There Is a hint that young x Georgy Wagstaff, hating the 4 sight of Streetman, suspects him Instinctively and has watched T him and the butler. What do you 2 say? ? X 4, (TO BE CONTINUED.) 8he Couldn't Have It. A small boy who was sitting next to a very haughty woman in a crowded car kept sniffing In a most annoying manner. At last the lady could bear It no longer and turned to the lad. "Boy, have you got a handkerchief?" she demanded. The small boy looked at her for a few seconds, and then, in a dignified tone, came tbe answer: "Yes, I 'avo, but I don't lend it to strangers." London Chronicle. . , HERE'S ONE OF REASONS WHY EVERS HATES UMPS Captain of Braves Tells About Run in Hs Had With Official In Game t 8t Louis Several Years Ago. Johnny Evers tells about a run-in he had with Umpire Rlglcr at St. Louis some years ago. "The fans In St Louis always rode me there," said Evers, laughing. "They never seemed to let up od me. They'd call me a crab and all that. It was a bit an noying, but I paid no attention to them. "Finally, one series, we were play ing our lust game with the Cards. It came to the ninth inning and wo Cubs were ahead something like seven to one. It was easy going for us, but still those fans continued to ride me. Johnny Evers. "Two were out and none on base In that ninth when I came to bat O'Con nor was catching for St. Louis and Rlgler was behind him, umpiring. "I turned toward those fans and, lu an undertone said: 'You big stiffs, you.' "Like a flash Rlglcr was on me. 'Get out of the game,' he ordered. I was amazed. "O'Connor tool: off his mask. 1 say, nobody heard that but you and me, Rlgler,' he said. "'Can't help It,' said Rlgler, 'he can't get away with that stuff when I'm around.' "Out I went to the clubhouse, al though two were out and we hud the game cinched a mile. As I strolled awny I heard those fans yell Joyous ly: 'Aha. So you got It at last, eh? Aha !' " Although Evers closed his story here, it was evident that this was merely one of the many reasons why he has little use for umpires. Plants Have at Least Three Senses, Declares Botanist. James Rodway, who Is the curator of the British Guiana museum and an eminent botanist, declares that plants h,ave at least three of our five senses feeling, taste and smell and that certain tropical trees smell water from a distance and will move straight toward It. But trees not In the tropics can do as well. A resident of an old Scottish mansion, says a writer In the Scots man, found the waste pipe from the house repeatedly choked. Lifting the slabs in the basement paving he discov ered that the pipe was completely en circled by poplar roots. They be longed to a tree that grew some 300 yards away on the opposite side of the house. Thus the roots had moved steadily toward the house aud had penetrated below the foundation nnd across the basement until they reached their goal, the waste pipe, 150 feet away. Then they had pierced a cement joining aud had worked their way In. There seems something almost humun In such un erring instinct and perseverance in surmounting obstacles. The Flag of Denmark. The flag of Denmark Is a plain red banner bearing on It a white cross, and is the oldest national flag now In existence. For over 300 years Norway and Sweden were united with Den mark under this flag. In the year 1219 Kind Waldemar of Denmark, when leading his troops to battle against the Livonlans, saw or thought he saw a bright light In the form of a cross In the sky. He held this appear ance to be a promise of Divine aid, and pressed forward to victory. From this time he had the cross placed on the flag of his country and called It the Dannebrog the "strength of Den mark." The Difference. Among the many things we admire In woman, says an Ohio paper, is the way she can dine once a year at some fashionable hotel and use the finger bowl with the utmost sang frold, whereas her husband counts himself remarkably fortunate If be doesn't ac tually knock the thing off the table. -& n FAMOUS OLD PORT MARSEILLES A POINT OF IMPOR TANCE FOR CENTURIES. French City, Older Than the Country Itself, Is Now the Naval Base of the Forces of the Entente Allies. "Marseilles, the unwearied contes taut for Mediterranean trade during 20 centuries, and the city .wherein the earliest naval traditions of Franca were formed, whence fleets were sent before Rome's day of power to chal lenge the great Mediterranean port city, Carthage, is today the principal naval base for the allies upon the Mid dle ocean; and, with the shifting of the stress of the wortd-wnr toward the eust, to the Bnlknns, to Turkey-ln-Europe, to Syria nnd Mesopotamia, It Is become a place of first strategic con sequence, while, from Its harbor, a steady stream of the 'sinews of war fare' Is pouring into the vltnl fields bordering the Eastern seacoast," be gins the primer on war geography Is sued today by the National Geographic society. "Marseilles has been an important city through all of Europe's historic ages. It has been In competition for the commerce of Its inland sen from earliest times; has seen its competi tors, one by one, reach their zenith and decline, while It still remains a foremost Mediterranean port, Its ri vals today are of the younger set of cities, Genoa, comparatively youthful, and Trlest, a newcomer Into the fold of contending world-ports. "Genoa, though of about equal age with Marseilles as a harbor, first came Into commercial fame during the early middle ages. Sldon, Tyre, Athens, Co rinth, Carthage, Ragusa, Pisa, Venice and a host of other cities have at one time nnd another fought a bitter rival ry with Marseilles, and of some of these even the history of their efforts Is forgotten, while their one-time rival has passed through several declines to ward an even greater future. "Tracing Its descent from early Phenlcian times, the fortunes of Mar seilles have fluctuated with the for tunes of civilization upon the Mediter ranean coasts. The Thoceans, a Greek people whose trading Instincts carried them beyond the confines of the known world of their day, came after the Phenlcians, took Marseilles from them and made it the New York of the ancient world. Due to their en terprise Marseilles became the first of trading cities, and, during the Punic wars, Its aid saved Rome. "Sltunted In the center of things Mediterranean on the Gulf of the Lion, enjoying the advantages of an excel lent harbor, well equipped, together with a rich and productive hinterland, Marseilles has again become the first port on the inland sea, the first port of France, the second city of the re public nnd one of the wealthiest com munities In Europe. It lies 534 miles south-southeast of Paris, with which it is connected by the Parls-Lyon-Medl-terranee railway. The manufacturing city of Lyons lies 219 miles to the north upon the River Rhone, whose princi pal channel reaches the Mediterranean sen, 2,r miles west of Marseilles. "While Marseilles possesses few ar chitectural extravagances, it Is well and solidly built and thoroughly mod ern. It has preserved no Interesting rem.v'ns from ancient times; for the modern spirit, which has characterized Its long life, has left It little appetite for reminiscence, and the wars that have swept over It have destroyed much of Its heritage. The public Works of the city and its conveniences, however, are on a par with those of the best-administered municipalities of today. "The port does n vast export and Import in peace times; buying cattle, coffee, raw cotton nnd silk, hides and grnln, nnd selling cotton and woolen goods, ribbons, soap, silk, sugar, grain, fruits, wine, oil and perfumes. Its shipping business Is carried on along 12 miles of model quays, where 2,500 vessels cun be accommodated at one time." Lightning's Freak. Lightning recently at Spartansburg, S. C, snapped around the premises of J. Y. Cuntrell. Ills two children, sit ting In a swing fastened to one of two trees situated close together, had their dresses scorched by a bolt of light ning which struck the tree, tearing the bark off In places but not hurting the children In the least. Four mules hitched to a wagon In tho road Just op-. poslte the tree were knocked down, one being killed. A fence 40 feet far ther down the road was set on fire. A single bolt of lightning performed the whole feat. Besides knocking down the four mules hitched to the wagon In the road the lightning made a hole us large us a water bucket Just behind the wagon. The bolt set the fence of a hogpen afire which was on the oppo site side from the two trees, and at least 40 feet down the road. Prussian Cities Buy Milch Goats. ' A number of German cities have ta ken practical steps to solve the milk problem, width still Is very serious In the large centers of population. Twelve of the largest Prussian municipalities have bought 75,000 goats in Switzer land. The animals have been turned over to the owners of small farms in the suburbs of the cities on condition that they deliver 70 per cent of the milk obtained from the goats to the relief stations, where it is distributed among poor families with small chll jdren. The goats furnish 200,008 quarts of milk a day. ,