WORLD HAPPENINGS
OF CURRENT
Brief Resume Most" Important
. Daily News Items. .
COMPILED FOR YOU
Emitrof' Noted People, Governments
and PaWfic Northwest, uid Other
" .V: Things Worth Knowing.
Six men convicted of, having .vio
lated the California syndicalist law
were sentenced Tuesday to serve from
one to 14 years In San Quentin prison.
Vllhjalmur Stefansson, Arctic ex
plorer, announced from Kansas City
Tuesday night that a party he had
sent .from, Nome, Alaska, to Wrangel
Island, about 100 miles north of Siber
ia, to establish a base for what he said
would be a huge British exploring par
ty into the north,had. arrived safely
at Its destination.
The volcano Bulusan, In Sorsogon
province, is In eruption, according to
reports received In Manila, P. I. The
volcano Is pouring out a colunm;pf
vapor and ashes and leaving adeposit
of ashes several Inches deep over sur
rounding territory. '-.
The death Monday night of Mrs.. J.
W; Lee, wife of a Banwell county",
South Carolina planter, was the fourth
la the family within the past week, as
a result of an alleged poisoned well
on the farm. Mr. Lee was reported
In a critical condition. , . . .
The treaty of peace between Austria
and the United States became effective
Tuesday wjth the exchange of ratifi
cations by the two governments be
tween Austrian Chancellor Schober
and Arthur Hugh Frazier, American
commissioner In Vienna.
Mrs. Emma C. Bergdoll, who has
been "ordered to vacate "Bergdoll cas
tle," which the government maintains
Is owned by her son, Grover C. Berg
doll, draft evader, has Bent the gov
ernment a bill for $10,000 a year for
her services as caretaker.
Appropriation of $16,200,000 as a
loan to continue development of au
thorized reclamation projects was pro
posed In a bill Introduced Monday by
Senator McNary, republican, Oregon.
He and other western senators said
funds were needed urgently.
The era of high shoe prices Is prac
tically ended and in the near future
good shoes can be purchased for (3.50
and $4, I. Q. White, president of the
I. N. White Shoe company of Bridge
water, Mass., told the state board of
conciliation and arbitration Tuesday,
Known casualties In Kentucky's
ejection Tuesday night stood at 11
dead and seven wounded. Seven men
were killed In two affrays In Breathitt
county; a man and a woman were
wounded in Louisville, and one man
was killed and two others seriously
wounded in Estill county.
Three hard rock workmen at the
Hou8er construction camp on the John
Day highway, Oregon, between May
vllle and Condon, were killed by a
premature blast of giant powder at 10
o'clock Monday. Only ono of the bodies
was found. It had been' blown 200
yards from the scene ofthe explosion
The American Legion soldier bonus
bill passed the senate In Jefferson
City, Mo., lato Tuesday by unanimous
vote of the 28 senators present and
was taken to the house and given Its
first reading there. The measure pro
vides for the Issuance of $10,000,000 In
bonds to cover rash payments to for
mer service men and was authorized
at the last general election.
The Pekln government has taken
steps to recognize all Its foreign obli
gations and to Insure prompt payment
of all Its foreign loans, It was stated
In an official reply Tuesday to the
recent message from Charles Evans
Hughes, American secretary of stute.
calling attention to the serious situa
tion created by China's failure to meet
her overdue loan of the Continental A
Commercial Trust t Savings company
of Chicago.
With orders to shoot to kill If neces
sary to prevent mall robberies, 1000
marines were ordered to duty Tues
day at guards of mall trains and
trucks and at postofflces In 15 cities.
The men will be armed with pistols
and sawodoft shot guns, Postmaster
General Hays announced after a con
ference with Major-General Lejeuno,
commandant of the marine corps. The
marines are to be replaced eventually,
he said, by a special force recruited
from the postal service.
WEEK
NGLAND ACCEPTS IN PART
Elastic Replacement Program for Nav
ies Is Said to Be Desired.
Washington, D. C Great Britain
Monday announced its acceptance in
principle of the American proposals
for Jimitation of naval armament The
acceptance, as it will be laid before
the conference, will be based on what
are described as "certain definite mod
ifications."
Japan's acceptance, "in principle" at
least, has been forecast by statements
by Baron Admiral Kato and pthers of
the Japanese delegation.
Great Britain's stand contemplates
an alteration of the plan in several
important details.
Great Britain's reservations are sub
stantially described this way:
Instead of a flat ten-year holiday,
Great Britain wants the replacement
programme to be an elastic one
spread over a period of years.
Great. Britain would like to see the
submarine outlawed from naval war
fare. Failing this, she wants to see
their tonnage and equipment distinct
ly limited. She feels that the sub
mersible fleets allowed by the Amer
ican programme are too great. She
has never had so large a submarine
fleet as the proposals would allow her.
The United States, Great Britain
feels, would have her at a disadvant
age in airplane-carrying ships, under
the American proposals, because,
while Great Britain has an equipment
of these craft, the United States would
have to build new the number allotted.
They would be of later design and of
superior improvements, while British
ships would be obsolete.
Great Britain wants the replacement
programme spread over a period of
years, because, British naval experts
argue, the programme could be carried
on with a small equipment of building
plant at a small scale, probably a ship
at a time. It a flat ten-year holiday
were to be declared, they say, facili
ties for making a wholesale replace
ment after ten years would have to be
kept in organization, and, although
great fleets of warships might be con
signed to the junk pile, facilities for
replacing them still would exist.
Such a programme, the British naval
experts say, does not go to the root
of the question. Therefore they will
propose, that, for Instance, a one-ship
production equipment be left to each
nation to' fit in with a replacement
programme extending over a period
of years, and that the immense prop
erties, equipment, technical staffs and
other organization which would have
to be kept in readiness to take up a
replacement programme In ten years
be dispensed with.
SCRAPPING TO COST
U. S. $500,000,000
Washington, D. C. Actual cost to
the United States for the scrapping of
the present naval building programme,
naval officials estimated Monday,
would be between $400,000,000 and
$500,000,000, exclusive of any Balvage
plan. In his statement to the confer
ence Secretary Hughes said that the
work already done had cost $330,000,
000, but these figures do not Include
costs incident to abandonment of the
ships under construction.
Assistant Secretary Roosevelt said
that the American programme would
Bave the government about $200,000,-
000 In naval expenditures. The figure
is the difference between the total
cost of completion of the ships, about
$000,000,000, and what scrapping would
cost. Included In the scrapping costs
are allowances for reimbursement of
contractors for work they have been
compelled to do In their yards In prep
aration for building the huge craft. .
There Is no Intention by the govern
ment to stop work on the new ships
until an agreement actually is. reached
by the conference and ratified by the
governments.
Army Transport Raided.
San Francisco. A customs raid on
an army transport was made Monday
for tbe first time In the history of the
port, according to customs officials,
who gathered In 134 bottles of liquor
concealed in doubled wulls of the en
gineers' quarters on the transport
Logan on Its arrival from the far east.
Seizures on the Logan and two Stand
ard Oil company taukers netted more
than $11,000 worth of liquor, customs
officials fluid.
Diplomats Dodge Post.
Berlin. The question of German
dlplomatlo representation at Washing
ton Is still unsettled, the cublnet not
yet being able to find an eligible pol
itician willing to undertake the ex
pense at the present rate of exchange.
A cabinet official Saturday permit
ted the Inference to be drawn that the
Wlrlh government still hopes that
Washington will dispense temporarily
with the naming of a full-fledged ambassador.
WORLD
IS
10
S
Conference Delegates Stunned
- By. Drastic U.S.. Plan .....
10-YEAR HALT URGED
Reduction Would Be Started Within 3
. Months After Agreement Hughes
Gives Out Programme.
Washington, D. C More drastic and
far-reaching than, the most ardent ad
vocate of disarmament dared hope,
America's proposals were suddenly
laid before the arms conference Satur
day at its first session by Secretary
Hughes.
A ten-year naval holiday Is the pro
posal, and the United States, Great
Britain and Japan shall scrap 66 cap
ital ships aggregating 1,878,043 tons.
Within three months after the con
clusion of an agreement, the United
States would have 18 capital ships.
Great Britain 22 and Japan 10. Ton
nage of the three nations, respectively,
would be 600,650, 604,450 and 299,700.
Ships when 20 years old might be
replaced and the replacement scheme
is 5Q0.000 tons for the- United States,
500,000 tons for Great Britain and
300,000. tons for Japan. No replace
ments could exceed 35,000 tons.
The United States would scrap 30
capital ships, aggregating 943,740 tons;
Great Britain 19, aggregating 683,375
tons, and Japan '17, aggregating 448,
928 tons.
The figures include old ships to be
scrapped, ships building or for which
material has been assembled.
Characterized by Baron Kato, chief
Japanese delegate, as "very far-reach
ing," but probably suitable as a basis
for discussion, and by Mr. Balfour,
head of the Brititsh delegation, as "a
statesmanlike utterance, pregnant with
infinite possibilities and most hojeful
of satisfactory results," the American
proposal, concrete and detailed, fell on
the opening moments of the great con
ference like a bombshell. Foreign del
egates were stunned.
The principal features of the Ameri
can plan propose:
That for not less than ten years
competitive naval building cease as
between Great Britain and the United
States and Japan.. -1
That all .capital ships building or
planned be scrapped and. a few recent
ly nlaced iii the water be destroyed
within three months of ratification of
the agreement.
That the older ships also be destroy
ed, reducing the British force to 22
battleships, the American to 18 and
the Japanese to 10, each ship to be
retained being named. '
That during the agreement no cap
ital craft be laid down except under a
detailed replacement scheme Included
in the proposal which would provide
for ultimate equality of the British
and American fleets and for a Japan
ese force at 60 per cent of the strength
of either of the two.
That all other naval craft be Bim'l
larly provided, for in the same ratio,'
specific figures for aggregate jtonnage
In each class being laid down.
That naval aircraft be disregarded
in the scaling down processes as a
problem Incapable of solution owing
to the convertibility of commercial air
craft for war purposes.
' That no naval building be under
taken In any of the three countries on
foreign account during thq agreement
That no capital ships hereafter laid
down exceed 35,000 tons.
That the life of a battleship shall
be fixed at 20 years and that' ships to
be replaced be destroyed before the
replacement vessel is more than three
months past completion. . .
That no battleship replacement
whatever be undertaken for 1.0 years
from date of the agreement ' '
That no combat craft 'be acquired
except by construction .and none be
so disposed of that it might become
part of another navy. . -
Church Support Urged.
Atlantle City, N. J. The executive
commission of the Presbyterian gen
eral assembly was urged by Dr. Robert
Brown, general secretary' of the board
of foreign missions, to support the
Washington conference. He, also made
a plea for $3,824,000 to carry on the
work of the board next year. Dr. It
C. Swearlngen of St Paul, the moder
ator, expressed doubt about the ag
gregate budget's reaching the total of
last year, $12,000,000.
ASKED
B
NAVE
"VCDKCJUa
OtFTHE
copypr&rr. 792.0 ' ltttls.b&o
CHAPTER IV.
13
Snowbird felt very glad of her Inti
mate, accurate knowledge of the
whole region of the Divide. In her In
fancy the winding trails had been her
playground, and long ago she had ac
quired the mountaineer's sixth sense
for traversing them at night She had
need of that knowledge now. . She
slipped into her free; swinging stride;
and the last beams from the windows
of the house were soon lost in the
pines behind her. It was one of those
silent, breathless nights with which
no mountaineer is entirely unacquaint
ed, and for a long time the, only sound
she could hear was her own soft
tramp In the pine needles. The trees
themselves were motionless. That
peculiar sound, not greatly different
from that of running water which the
wind often makes in the pine, tops,
was entirely lacking. Not that she
could be deceived by it as stories
tell that certain tenderfeet, dying of
thirst In the barren hills, have been.
But she always liked the sound; and
she missed it especially tonight. .
She felt that if she would stop to
listen, there would be many faint
sounds In the thickets those little
hushed noises that the wild tilings
make to remind rilght-wanderers of
their presence. But she did not In
the least care to hear , these sounds.
They do not tend toward peace of
mind on a long, walk over the ridges.
The wilderness began at' once.
Whatever Influence toward civiliza
tion her father's1 house had brought to
the wilds chopped, oft as beneath a
blade In the first fringe of pines. This
Is altogether characteristic of the Ore
gon forests. They are much too big
and too old to be tamed In any large
degree by the presence of one house.
No one knew this fact better than
Lennox himself who, In a hard win
ter of four years before, had looked
put of his window to 'find the wolf
pack ranged In a hungry circle about
his house. Within two hundred yards
after she bad passed through her fa
ther's door, she was perfectly aware
that the wild was stirring and thrott
ling with life about her. At first she
tried very hard to think of other
things. But the attempt wnsn't en
tlrely a success. And before she had
covered the first of the twelve miles,
the sounds that from- the first had
been knocking at the door of her con
sciousness began to make an entrance.
If a person lies still long enough, he
can usually hear his heart beating
and the flow of his blood in his
arteries. Any sound, no matter how
fulnt, will mnke Itself heard at last,
It was this way with a very peculiar
noise that crept up through the silence
from the trail behind her. She
wouldn't give It any heed ut first. But
in a very little while indeed, It grew
so Insistent that she could no longer
disregard it
Some living creature was trotting
along on the trail behind, keeping ap
proximately the same distance be
tween them.
Foregoing any attempt to Ignore It
she set her cool young mind to think
ing what -manner of beast it might be.
lis step was not greatly different from
that of a large dog except possibly a
dog would have made slightly more
noise. Yet she couldn't even be sure
of this basic premise, because this
animal, whatever It might be, had at
first seemingly moved with utmost
caution, but now' took less care with
its step than Is customary with the
wild denizens of the woods. A wolf,
for Instance, can simply drift when It
wishes, and the silence of a cougar Is
a name. Yet unless her pursuer were
a dog, which seemed entirely unlikely,
It was certainly one of .-these two. She
would have liked very much to believe
the step' was that of Old -Wolf the
bear, suddenly curious as to what this
dim light of hers might bej but she
couldn't bring herself to accept the
lie. Woof, except when wounded or
'cornered. Is the most amiable crea
ture In the Oregon woods, and It
would give her almost s sense of se
curity to have him waddling along
behind her. The wolves and cougar,
remembering the arms of Woof, would
not. be nearly so curious. But unfor
tunately, the black bear had never
done such a thing In the memory of
man, and If he had, he would have
made six times ns much noise. He
can go fairly softly when he is stalk
ing, but when he Is obliged to trot
as he would be obliged to do to keep
up with swift-walking human figure
he cracks twigs like a rolling log.
She had the Impression that the ani
mal behind had been passing like
smoke at first, but wnsn't taking the
trouble to do It now.
1 The sound was a soft pat-pat on the
trail sometimes entirely obliterated
t. . .1....... ctn wl 1, , .ho. Hnfrnn
to believe that she had only fancied
Its presence. Sometimes twig, ruin
soaked though It was, cracked beneath
heavy foot, and again and again
she heard the brush crushing and
rustling as something passed through.
Sometimes, when the trail was cov
ered with soft pine needles, It was
practically Indistinguishable. ,
The animal was approximately one
hundred feet behind. It wasn't a wolf.
she thought. The wolves ran In packs
this season, and except In winter were
more nfraid of human beings than any
other living creature. It wasn't a lynx
one of those curiosity-devoured lit
tle felines that will mew all day on a
trail and never dare come near. It
was much too large for a lynx. The
feet fell too solidly. There were no
dogs In the mountains to follow at
heel ; and she had no desire whatever
to meet Shag, the faithful hybrid that
used to be her guardian in the hills.
For Shag had gone to his well-deserved
rest several seasons before.
Two other possibilities remained. One
was that this follower was a human
being, the other that It was a cougar.
Ordinarily a human being Is much
more potentially dangerous to a wom
an In the hills nt night than a cougar.
A cougar is an abject coward and
some men are not. But Snowbird felt
herself entirely capable of handling
any human foes. They would have no
advantage over her; they would have
no purpose in killing from ambush ;
and she trusted to her own marks
manship Implicitly, While it Is an ex
tremely difficult thing to shoot at a
cougar leaping from the thicket, a tall
man standing on a trail presents an
easy target. Besides, she had a vague
sense of discomfort that if this animal
were a cougar, he wasn't acting true
to form. He was altogether too bold.
The animal on the trail behind her
was taking no care at all to go silent
ly. He was simply pit-patting along.
She Heard the Steps Again.
wholly at his ease. He acted as If the
fear that men hnve Instilled in his
breed was somehow missing. And
that Is why she Instinctively tried to
hurry on the trail.
The step kept pace. For a long
mile, np a barren ridge, she heard
every step It mode. Then, as the
brush closed deeper around her, she
couldn't hear It at all.
She hurried on, straining to the
silence. No, the sound was stopped.
Could It be that the animal, fearful at
last, had turned from her trail? And
then for the first time a gasp that
was not greatly different from a de
spairing sob caught at her throat She
heard the steps again, and they were
In the thickets just beside her,
Two hours before Snowbird hnd left
the house, on her long tramp to the
ranger station, Dan had started home.
He hadn't shot until sunset as he had
planned.
He rode one of Lennox's cattle
ponies, the only piece of horse-flesh
that Bill had not taken to tbe valleys
when he had driven down the live
stock. She was a pretty bay, a spir
ited, high-bred mare that could whip
about on her hind legs at the touch of
the rein on her neck. She made good
time along the trail. And an hour be
fore sunset he passed the only human
habitation between the marsh and
Lennox's house the cabin that had
been recently occupied by Landy Ull
dreth. He glanced at the place as he
passed and saw that It was deserted.
No smell of wood smoke remained In
the sir. Evidently Lnndy had gone
down to the settlements with his
precious testimony In regard to the
arson ring. Tet It was curious that
no word had been heard of him. As
far as Dan knew, neither the courts "
nor the forest service had taken ac
tion. '
He hurried on, four miles farther.
The trail entered the heavy thickets,
and he had to ride slowly. It was as
wild a section as could be found on
the whole Divide. And Just as he
came to a little cleared space, three
strange, dark birds flung up on wide
spreading wings. - -
He knew them at once. All moun
tnlneers come to know them before '
their days nre done. They were the ...
buzzards, the followers of the dead.
And what they were doing In the
thicket Just beside the trail, Dan did
not dare to think. '
Of course they might be feeding on
the body of a deer, mortally wounded
by some hunter. He resolved to ride
by without Investigating. He glanced
up. Tbe buzzards were novenng in
the sky, evidently waiting for' him to . -
Then, mostly to relieve a curl-
ous sense of discomfort In his own
mind, he stopped his horse and dls-
mounted. ,
The twilight had started to fall, and
already Its first grayness ' had begun
lo soften the harder lines of forest
and hill. And after his first glance at
he curious white heap beside the
trail, he was extremely glad that it
had. But there was no chance to mis
take the thing. The elements nd
much more terrible agents had each
wrought their change, yet there 'was
grisly evidence In plenty to show what
had occurred. Dan didn't doubt for
an Instant but that it was the skele
ton of Landy Hildreth.
He forced himself to go nearer. The
buzzards were almost done, and one
white bone from the shoulder gave un
mistakable evidence of the passage of
a bullet. What had happened there
after, he could only guess.
He got back quickly on his horse.
He understood, now, why nothing had
been heard of the evidence that Landy
Hildreth was to turn over to the
courts as to the activities of the arson
ring. Some one probably Bert Cran
ston himself had been waiting on the
trail. Others had come thereafter.
And his Hps set in his resolve to let
this murder measure In the debt he
had to pay Cranston.
The Lennox house seemed very si
lent when, almost an hour hiter, he
turned his horse Into the corral. He
had rather hoped that Snowbird would
be at the door to meet him. The dark
ness had just fallen, and all the lamps
were lighted. He strode Into the llv.
Ing room, warming his hands an In-.
stant beside the fireplace. The fire
needed fuel. It had evidently been
neglected for nearly an hour.
Then he called Snowbird. His voice
echoed In the silent room, unanswered.
He called again, then went to look for
'her. At the door of the dining room
he found the note that she had left
for him.
It told, very simply and plainly, that
her father lay Injured In his bed, and
he was to remain and do what he
could for him. She had gone for help
to the ranger station.
He leaped through the rooms to Len
nox's door, then went In on tiptoe.
And the first thing he saw when he
opened the door was the grizzled
man's gray face on the pillow.
"You're home early, Dan,". he said.
"How many did you get?"
It was entirely characteristic.
Shaggy old Woof Is too proud to howl
over the wonnds (hat lay him low, and
this gray old bear on the bed had par
taken of his spirit
"Good Lord," Dan answered, "now
badly are you hurt?"
"Not so bad but that I'm sorry that
Snowbird has gone drifting twelve
miles over the hills for help. It's
dark as pitch."
. And It was. Dan could scarcely
make out the outline of the somber
ridges against the sky.
They talked on, and their subject
was whether Dan should remain to
take care of Lennox, or whether he
should attempt to overtake Snowbird
with the horse. Of course the girl
had ordered him to stay. Lennox, on
the other hand, snld that Dan could
not help him In the least, and desired
him to follow the girl.
'Tm not often anxious about her,"
he said slowly. "But It Is a long walk
through the wildest part of the Di
vide. Some way I can't bar accidents
tonight I don't like to think of her.
on those mountains alone."
And remembering what had lain be-'
side the trail, Dan felt the same. He
had heard, long ago, that any animal
that once tasted human flesh loses its
fear of men and Is never to be trusted
again. Some wild nnlmnl that still
hunted the ridges had. In the last
month, done just that thing. He left
the room and walked softly to the
door.
The night lay silent and mysterious
over the Divide, ne stood listening.
The girl hnd stnrted only an honr be
fore, end It was unlikely that she
could have traversed more than two
miles of tbe steep trail in that time.
Although the horse ordinarily did not
climb a hill more swiftly than a hu
man being, he didn't doubt but that
he could overtake her before she
went three miles farther. But where
lay his duty with the Injured man
In the house or with the daughter on
ber errand of mercy In the darkness?
Then the matter was decided for
him. So fnlnt that It only whispered
at the dim, outer frontiers of hearing,
a sound came pricking through the
darkness. Only his months of listen
ing to the faint sounds of the forest
and the Incredible silence of the night
enabled him to hear It at ill. But he
knew what It was, the report of
pistol. Snowbird had met an enemy
In the darkness.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)