J.-U ...
RANCH MYSTERY
A STORY FOR CHILDREN
Not Superstitious, But ! "t, !l
By Paula
lncle Walter, Ron, Tim, and
Aunt Mary live on a cattle ranch
in Nevada. There is trouble there
and many cattle have been stolen.
Uncle Walter is not sure who is
back o this situation, but he eels
sure it is a plan to drive him from
the land. Beth, a niece from the
Bast, comes out to make her
home at the ranch. She learns of
the thieving and that her uncle
was shot in the shoulder during
the last raid. Ron and Tim try to
keep Beth from worrying about
their affairs, but Beth is deter
mined to do what she can to solve
the mystery. She has already
talked to Claude, the mail-carrier,
who told her he had an idea who
was back of the plot.
Chapter 6
BETH stood by the mail-box and'
watched Claude and the rat
tley old rig disappear In a cloud
of yellow dust. She was amazed
at what he had said. "He has an
idea who led the cattle thieves to
Uncle's corral!" she murmured.
. Slowly she turned and walked
up to the porch. She was silent
when she handed the Carson City
paper to her uncle.
"What'd Claude have to say for
hisself, honey?"
Beth found to her surprise she
did not want to tell what Claude
had said. A plan all her own was
racing through her mind.
"He asked me if you knew who
took the horses."
Uncle Walter smiled, "Claude
always was a nosey fellow. I
guess that's natural when you
drive around the country by your
self all day."
Beth hurried with preparations
for lunch. Tim and Ron had
promised to give her a riding les
son in the afternoon and she was'
anxious to begin. Doing the cook
ing for the family was all right,
but she had looked forward to the
Joy of tearing across the country
on a horse, like riders she'd seen
in the movies back home. That
was the way Tim and Ron rode
as if they were a part of the
horse, and It looked like such fun.
At lunch the boys, try as they
would, could not help but speak
about the things uppermost in
their minds.
"Jerry did a little trailin' this
morning early. Dad," said Ron.
"He found a pretty good lead of
hoof -prints near the corral. He
followed 'em far as the dry-wash,
there they got lost in the stubble
on the other side."
"Yea?" the man replied.
Beth felt that her presence
there kept them from discussing
the subject further. She wanted to
say "go on and talk,' I know
about it and I'm not afraid. I
want to help in some way. I'm
part of this family now, so I want
to share your troubles. Don't
think of me as a girl a girl from
the city who is sissy and afraid."
She thought these things, but,
naturally, did not say them. In
stead she asked Tim:
"Do I get that riding lesson
this afternoon? Can you spare
the time?"
Before the boys could answer,
her uncle spoke up. "Better put
her on old Daisy, boys. After all,
we've had one accident this week.
That's enough."
"Yea," grinned Ron, "besides
she's a heck of a good cook and
we need her."
Beth hurried Into her room and
surprised them all when she re
turned dressed in a boy's shirt
and new blue Jeans. It was fun
to see the look of admiration on
their faces.
"Boy, is that swell? Where'd
you get 'em? They look creakln'
new."
"That's a mighty good Idea,"
smiled her uncle.
"You look like a boy," said Tim,
"well, that is, klnda like a sissy
boy."
Beth walked about the room In
long strides with her hands in her
pockets. This was fun she'd al
ways wanted to wear boy's trous-
CLASSIFIED
FEMALE HELP
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Norton
era, but back home there'd been
no excuse.
"Mother bought them for me.
She said they'd be Just the thing
If I learned to ride."
"If you learn? Say, I could
teach why I could teach Claude
to ride a three-legged camel,"
Ron boasted.
"That's one thing about you,
Ron," said Uncle Walter, "you
sure don't brag much very
much!"
Ron's remark about Claude re
minded Beth of another reason
why she wanted to learn to ride.
"Come on," she called, and with
out a thought for the lunch dishes
to be washed she raced the boys
to the barn. How gay she. felt,
how glad she was to be here In
the grand, wide world. She was
going to ride! She was going to
wear boy's Jeans and go tearing
across the country, free as the
wind! And she was going to have
a very private talk with Claude.
She was going to And out Just
what he thought he knew about
the man' who stole her uncle's
Dorses, and why!
The boys saddled old Daisy
( Beth was a little disappointed at
the sight of this patient-looking
animal. She did not look very
much like the horses one dashes
around on).
Ron said, "Daisy isn't exactly
a bronc, but you'd better start
with her. If you get the hang of
it right away though, we'll put
Daisy right back on her pension,
an' you can have Bob to ride to
morrow." '
That was encouraging and Beth
meant to "get the hang of it"
right away.
The children rode for two hours
across the big fenced pasture be
yond the barns. Then around and
around the enclosure. Once Tim
: said, "why don't we get out of
here and ride up the wash?"
"Because," Ron explained, "be
cause, one of us'd have to get
down and open a gate."
Beth laughed, "I'll do it if you
two are as lazy as all that." Be
fore they could stop her she slid
from the round back of Daisy and
ran toward the fence.
The boys spurred their horses
to head her off. But Beth ran like
the wind. Suddenly she stopped
and walked back a few steps. She
picked up a tiny silver wheel.
The boys had beaten her to the
gate and held It open, waiting for
Daisy to amble through.
"Come on Beth, your fiery steed
is about to get away."
"What are ya doin' pickin' wild
flowers?"
Beth slipped the little wheel
into her pocket and walked down
to the gate. She did not answer
because she had decided there
was something about that bright
little wheel. It was not the kind
of toy one found In a rough field,
at least not anything so polished.
It looked as if it had not laid
there long.
As the trio rode down into the
dry bed of the stream Beth lis
tened to the boys' rambling
speech. Once they both got down
and looked for signs of hoof
prlnts in the sand among the
boulders.
Beth did not talk. She was
thinking about the little silver
wheel In her pocket. What was
it? Where had she seen one be
fore? Should she show it to the
boys? Better not, they might
laugh at her for being curious
about something very unimport
ant It was late in the afternoon
when the three riders turned thv
horses Into the corral. While sh
waited for the boys to unsaddle
the three horses, she realized for
the first time that walking wasn't
so easy now, and she wondered if
sitting was going to be difficult,
too, for awhile.
Ron glanced at her, "Wants eat
your dinner standln' up tonight,
Beth?"
Dinner? On, she hadn't even
washed the lunch dishes. What
would Uncle Walter think of her?
Painfully she stepped down
from the barn door Into the yard.
Then she noticed a rig driving
away from the front of the bouse.
"Ron, Tim, come here," aha
called.
The two boys came to the door.
A "yip" went up, and both boys
dashed toward the house. "Com
V
Washington Had Interest Boyhood;
Became Full-Fledged Surveyor at 16
' CANNOT tell a He, Pa; 1
I chopped the cherry tree."
According to a certain Rever
end Weems, the little boy who
was later to become the Father
of his Country, made this brave
confession to his irate father.
Whether the youthful George
uttered those exact words, no one
really knows. But such bravery
and honesty easily could have
been perfectly1 natural In a boy
who was later to show such
strength of character as did
George Washington.
George's childhood was very dif
ferent from that of our other great
champion of freedom, Abraham
Lincoln. Yet both boys grew to
have the same great hopes and to
fight for the same great cause,
freedom.
The first garments of Lincoln
were no doubt Just the simplest,
rough clothes. But the child
George was christened In a robe
of silk and lace. Yet both men
rose through struggle to the
greatest position any man can
achieve, in America, the presi
7
dency.
George's education was limited,
as would be expected In a day
when teachers were few and far
between. The person who taught
George his first lessons In read
ing, writing and arithmetic, was
"a convict-servant, whom his
father bought for a schoolmas
ter." There were many luxuries In
the boy's childhood (he even had
his own personal servant), but
these were luxuries Imported
from England, and a wilderness
of a sparsely populated America
bordered the Virginia plantation.
Since George grew to be a man
six feet three Inches tall and 220
pounds in weight, he must Indeed
have been a large boy for his
years. He loved games of all sorts,
but his greatest enthusiasm was
for horses. He was an excellent
horseman and even as a little boy
was a fearless rider.
Georges father died when the
on Beth, mom's come home!"
Beth tried to hurry, too, a little
ashamed to remember the lunch
dishes that she had left. Her
Aunt Mary would think her a
mighty untidy housekeeper. She
slowed down to a stiff-legged
walk.
The boys banged into the house
shouting back, "Come on Beth,
hurry!"
She couldn't hurry she could
Just barely walk!
(Continued next week)
boy was 11 years old. He left the
bulk of his fortune to two sons by
a former marriage. These young
men were generous with their
step-mother and with their half
brother George.
The half-brother Lawrence took
an interest in George and the boy
spent a great deal of his time at
ML Vernon, which was then the
estate of Lawrence Washington.
In these beautiful surroundings
of culture, the boy acquired the
social and political background
that was so apparent in his later
life.
At Mt. Vernon George met
many heroes of the navy, and at
that time he cherished a great
desire to follow a naval career.
It was arranged that be should
have a midshipman's place, and
he was assigned a place aboard
a man-of-war. At the last moment
his mother changed her mind and
decided she could not give up her
eldest son. Instead he was sent
to school to study mathematics
and military tactics.
It is said George was a really
bashful boy, though he liked the
companionship of girls. Like so
many other lads of tender years,
he was secretly yearning for the
notice of Borne fair young lady.
He even wrote long passages in
hlB boyhood diary about his trou
bled heart, "Ah, woe Is me, that I
should love and conceal, Long
have I wished and never dared to
reveal"
Such expressions prove George
to be very much like any other
boy in the throes of "puppy-love."
When he was 16 years old he
was learned enough to undertake
the work of surveyor for the es
tates of a Lord Fairfax, a neigh
bor at Mt Vernon. With this new
and very serious undertaking, the
sentimental verses to the fair sex
disappeared from his diary, and
George was grown up.
While he was still little more
than a big boy he was made offi
cial surveyor for the government.
Then a life of "roughing It" be
gan. He spent many hours In the
wilderness and unknowingly fitted
himself for the years of soldiering
that were to come.
George Washington was no
great scholar, no sissy, and yet
be studied diligently on the sub
jects that Interested him most
And when he was but 22 yean
of age, he was commander of all
the troops of Virginia.
THE FAIR ARAB
THOMAS Edward Lawrence
was born In England, went to
the great Oxford University, but
he could not enter the British
army because he was too small In
stature. At the beginning of the
war be went to Arabia. He
adopted their dress and manners,
and won the confidence of their
leaders.
He was a brave and clever man,
and so modest that be declined
many honors that were due htm.
Using another name, he Joined the
Royal Air Force. He died while
trying to avoid bitting a child,
who got Into the path of his
speeding motorcycle.
FrefrPiiiif
THE VELVETEEN RABBIT
By Margery Williams (Blanco)
THIS is not a new book, but it
is one no small child should
miss, because it is Indeed a story
to rank with all the children's
classics.
The Velveteen Rabbit was first
seen by the little boy on Christ
mas morning, and it was sticking
out of the top of the boy's stock
ing. Since he was only a velveteen
rabbit he had little attention
from the other nursery toys. As a
matter of fact, the only toy who
was friendly to him at all was
the Skin Horse. The horse was
REAL because so many, many
children who had shared the nurs
ery before the boy was born, had
loved him enough to make him
REAL.
The Velveteen Rabbit wanted
to be real, too, and . . . But I
must not tell you how that mir
acle came about. You must read
the book for yourself, or have it
read to you, if you are a little
fellow.
How you are going to love the
thrilling part where the toy rab
bit met the REALLY ALIVE
rabbits in the field. He tried to
run and leap about, but alas, he
had hind legs like a pin cushion
and he could only SIT, Dear me,
I'm telling the story again, and
I only wanted you to hear a little
part of it.
Gaorga H. Doran, Naw York, publfihad tha
book.
MOZART, BOY WONDER
By Opal Wheeler and
Sybil Deucher
ALL you little boys and girls
who do or do NOT like to
practice your piano lessons should
read and know about the boy
Mozart.
When he was but three years
old his parents were amazed to
see him trying to play the piano.
When he was but four years old,
he learned a minuet perfectly In
half an hour.
When Wolfgang Mozart was
five years old, he composed his
very own minuet A child of rare
talent Indeed was this little boy
born many years ago in an Aus
trian town.
The illustrations In this enter
taining book are a real part of
the story. s
C f. Owtton and Co., Inc., Pwbllihart.
DEAF KITTY
A HITE persian cats are deaf.
. YV That is, all of them that
are bred from pure white cats.
DARK HOUSES
RABBITS grow much faster If
kept In light-colored pens.
This goes for many other animals
too.
LONG JUMP
WHEN a kangaroo wants to
show his ability as a Jump
er, he can make a leap that win
carry him from 10 to 12 feet.
BRAVE FATHER
THE father Rorllla sleeps oa the
ground to guard his family In
the tree, from leopards.
IN the year 1C06 business in
Europe was in rather a bad
state, and those who had money
in invest wanted to be pretty sure
of a return.
In England a group of people
got together and formed the Lon
don company. They gathered to
gether all the people who were
willing, and sent them off to
America to settle and produce
saleable articles there. Then the
people who had Invested In them
would reap a goodly portion of
the profits.
Well, they came, they hoped,
and they got discouraged. Many
of them died. In six months those
that were able to plan at all
started planning to get away.
But the courageous John Smith,
who was a member of the London
company, kept them cheered until
help could come to them from
England. .
The people In England, who had
Invested their money In that little
band of settlers in America, were
pretty anxious. So much so, in
fact they stole people right off
the streets and shipped them to
become members of the London
company. Convicts, and even
children out of orphanages, were
sent. But alas, even that didn't
help.
Now, about this time along came
one John Rolf e, an English gentle
man, who was very much inter
ested in tobacco. - And he had
sampled some of the "weed",
which a sailor had brought over
NAMES. WHY?
ALASKA, comes from the
Eskimo language and really
says, "Great country."
ARIZONA, means "Dry-belt"
in Indian speech.
COLORADO, is a name taken
from the Spanish, meaning "Red."
Ponce de Leon named FLORI
DA "Feast of the Flowers."
GEORGIA, was named for a
king George the Second of Eng
land. IDAHO, is really two words In
Indian language: "Edah Hoe,"
and it means "Light on the moun
tains." IOWA, is believed to be a Sioux
tribal word meaning "Sleepy
ones."
KANSAS, is a Sioux name
meaning "People of the south
wind."
" VIRGINIA, was named by Sir
Walter Raleigh, and he named it
In honor of "the Virgin Queen"
of England.
ALABAMA, is an Indian name
and means "I clear the thicket."
HONEY-MAKERS .
HAVE you ever been stung by
a bee ? No, of course It didn't
feel very nice, but didn't it make
you, for the time being, a little
interested in bees? A little curi
ous about their ways and means?
Well, all In all, they are pretty
clever creatures.
Just put a bit of honey on a
window sill, and If there are any
bees at all near your home, one
will find her way to that sweet
treat. She will buzz with delight
at her new discovery, and help
herself to all she can manage.
Now that she Is ready to seek
the hive ... do you think she will
turn and flit away? No indeed;
she will back off, and look the
location over. (She is going to
remember where that honey came
from, so she can return for more.)
Some bees, like people, are
prone to gossip; others keep their
affairs to themselves. At least,
that Is the way It appears for In
some experiment, the bee who
finds the honey first will return
alone, back nnil forth all after
noon . . . others will discover a
choice bit of aweeta, and will re
turn from their first trip to the
hive with a group of friends.
When they return to the hive,
do you think they mix all that
different flavored pollen? No, In
deed thoy do not Each color and
each flavor la stored alone. They
are oa orderly little raos of
workman, and laziness Is never
tolerste) among too pollen gath
artira. Remember these wonderful
things the next time a be sits
down on your wrist
OTTO THIMK
VBMT THEV DO
from America. John Rolfe thought
it was pretty good, but not half
so good as it would be were it
properly cured. Over he went to
America.
As soon as this enterprising
gentleman arrived, he got the
London company to work on the
tobacco. They planted It every
where, and everyone was very
buBy. The money started rolling
in.
In fact, there was so much to
be done, that there was a great
need for laboring people. The
business of tobacco raising was
booming, and all of Europe was
smoking like a factory chimney.
This great question of labor
started something. Hundreds of
strong, healthy, happy Negroes
were brought over from Africa
and sold as slaves to work the
tobacco ileitis. This shameful year
was 1619.
There was, at this time, a Stu
art king on the throne of England,
and he didn't like it a little bit
that a company of English inves
tors owned all the profits of that
tobacco spot In America. The
Scotch king felt that HE should
be getting some of that money, so
he put an end to the London com
pany. Next he made Virginia a colony
and appointed a royal Governor
to run things and to see that the
king got his share.
Thus tobacco smoking, played
a great role in the pageant of
America, moving on and on!
TAKE. CAPE.
kour-p.lt
BUSTER, A PUP
BUSTER was . a little white
bull-dog . , . well, he was
PART, buli-dog anyway. Bobby
found Buster In his stocking on
Christmas morning.
Now Buster didn't have very
polite manners and he was for
ever chewing shoes, and corners
of the furniture, and the fringe
off the rugs. ,
Bobby's father said, "That pup
had better stay out-of-doors until
he learns how to behave."
The pup heard these dreadful
words and he went and hid
under Bobby's bed. You see, ho
WANTED to be a good puppy,
but the fringe and shoes tasted
so GOOD.
That night Bobby dragged
Buster out from under the bed
and made a cozy place for him
in the garage. Of course, he told
the pup how sorry he was to
leave him there.
At first Buster thought it was
a game Bob was playing with
him, and he waited quietly for
a long time. But Bob did not
come back and Buster started to
howl How ho moaned and
groaned and yipped.
Bobby heard blm and was near
team. Bob's father heard him
too and he was very uncomfort
able. So uncomfortable in fact
that he called In to Bob and said
"I give up. Go got him, Bob, but
put the shoes out of his reach."
After that, Buster slept on
Bob's bed and everybody was
happy , . . especially Buster.
PINE CATERPILLAR
THE caterpillars living In tha
pine trees (which they eat In
the dark ) , are fellows of strange
Instincts. They work down from
their nests In the top of the tree
and eat the pine needles as they
go. While they travel in a toad
like a little army they leave a
silken path or carpet behind
them. The more caterpillars there
are traveling along, the wider the
carpet
Since these little fellows have
no eyes to speak of, they NEED
tills little carpet so they can find
their way back to the nest at the
top of the tree.
IdiSait-
Ffsnms
Anywhere In California Any Sizt
Sd for Cotilofu. Series "B"
or, Consult Your Broker
CALIFORNIA LANDS INC.
4i MoMfomoMji fciMt Saw Frtnciu. CtJ'fernlt
PAGE SEVEN
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