RANCH MYSTERY
A STORY FOR CHILDREN
By Paula
There had been trouble brewing
'or months on the Nevada ranch
nhere Tim and Ron and their
parents lived.' Numbers of their
attle had been stolen, and the
tight Beth came out from the
Bast to regain her health on her
Uncle's ranch, that uncle was
hot in the shoulder during a new
raid on his horses. Beth, infer
red in trying to solve the plot,
found a little silver wheel in a
'ittle-used pasture and kept it as
ier own special secret. She
'nought it might be some clew to
the identity of the men seeking
!o discourage her uncle in the
raffle-business and to run him off
is land. Beth obtained a promise
from Claude, the mail-carrier, to
take her into see the little West
9rn town not many miles away.
Chapter 8.
IT WAS two weeks before Beth
had an opportunity to make the
trip with Claude. There was
much for her to do on the ranch,
and, too, she stayed with Aunt
Mary when the boys and her
uncle took the cattle to the rail
road. When that was over, the men
started looking for a new loca
tion to drill a well.
The location for the new well
was a long time being decided
upon, but at last Beth and
Claude drove oft in the mall car
rier's rig with Bob, Beth's new
horse, hitched on behind.
As the carriage neared the
little Western town, Beth pulled
the star-shaped wheel from her
pocket.
"Claude," she said, "what ts
this?"
The man took the shining wheel
and turned It over and over tn
his rough hand. "Why, miss,
that's a rowel. And In case yon
don't know what a rowel la. It's
the business-end of a spur . . .
the part you Jab a horse with to
make him step out."
While Beth thought her own
private thoughts. Claude lapsed
Into a long dissertation on the
possible cruelty In using spurs.
All Claude needed was a subject,
and he could make a twenty
minute speech about It
Beth put the wheel back In her
pocket So THAT was what It
was I
"Where do you wanna' start
seeing the town first, miss?
Shall we start at the depot?"
asked Claude.
"Yes, that suits me."
There were two or three groups
of people standing on the station
platform, so Beth knew there
must be a train due soon. A new
kind of people they were to her,
too . . . suntanned and gaunt men
in jeans and wide, dusty hats . . .
women with wlnd-burried faces
and tired eyes.
The mall-carrier and Beth'
walked out on the platform. She
knew from the eager expression
on his face that seeing a train
come in was a joyous experience
for Claude.
While Beth busied herself
looking around, Claude walked
boldly up to two men and greeted
them with friendly respect. One
was a tall gray-haired man wear
ing a wide black hat. The other
man. who was introduced to
Claude, had a city-look about
him.
Both found the men Interesting,
and since no one addressed her
directly she stood back a bit and
listened. It was all so different
from the Eastern city that had
been her home. Here there was so
much tl'at was interesting, al
most lik'! a scene in the movies.
She n-jted the dress of the men
with whom Claude was exchang
ing remarks. The younger man
was dressed in a well tailored suit
of whipcord and wore brown
leather boots. His horn-rimmed
glasses gave him a studious look
MANUSCRIPTS WANTED
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Norton
His handbag was marked with
the initials F. G. S. Beth puzzled
over this. What could those let
ters mean? They weren't hie
name; that was written above.
The older man's clothes were
well made, too, but in a loose easy
style, and his boots were short
and not very shiny.
Suddenly Beth noticed a strange
thing! The man in the black hat
was wearing spurs , . . silver
spurs . . . and the rowel was
missing from the spur on the
man's left boot!
Timidly, Beth leaned around
into the very center of the group.
"You've lost the little wheel off
one of your spurs, Mister," she
said.
The man turned and looked at
her, smiling. He had not noticed
her before. "Well, you're Just
right, sister. I did do that, and
I've sent to San Francisco for a
new one. They're darned good
spurs, and I wouldn't put 'em
aside for just a lost rowel."
Claude suddenly awoke to his
duties and introduced Beth. "This
is Walter Chaney's niece. She's
out from the East visitin' her kin,
and I brought her in today to see
a real city." Then he laughed
heartily.
"Well, now, that's right nice,"
beamed the man In the black hat.
"How do you like this wild and
woolly country, sister?"
"I like it fine," smiled Beth,
but her heart was beating like a
trip-hammer. "I like living on my
uncle's ranch." Then she heard
herself asking, "Do you know my
uncle?"
"Sure I know your Uncle
Walter. Been friends with him
for years." ,
"Have you been out to the
ranch lately?" NOW she'd done
it!
The man smiled tolerantly
down at her and said, "No, ma'm.
I ain't been out to your uncle's
place for many a long month.
Been too busy on my own place."
It seemed a little strange that
he did not mention the "trouble"
they'd had at the ranch.
Driving back through the Main
street Beth asked, "Who are
those men, Claude?"
"Well, the fella with the glasses
Is a stranger in these parts. I
ain't never seen him before . . .
must have been atayln' at Mort
Russet's place. That's the old
fella . . . Mort Russel."
"Tell me about him."
"Well, I'll swan, If you ain't the
curiousist one," laughed Claude.
"He's one of the richest men In
these parts. Ain't been here long,
but everything that man touches
turns to gold, as the sayin' goes
Smart too, he is."
Riding back to the ranch alone
Beth turned the silver rowel over
and over in her hand. Shr
thought "Hasn't been on the
ranch for many a month?" Ther
she smiled to herself and said . .
"Yes, he's smart . . . and torn"
thing of a story-teller."
The rest of the way home sh
tried desperately to think jus
what those initials after the nami
on the hand-bag at the depot ha
meant.
(Continued next week)
MAKING A FISH POND
If you're planning to make a
fishpond In your yard . . . and Iff
a mighty nice Idea . . . here are
some of the things you must be
sure about. Be sure the pool is
water-tight, so that a small in
flow Is quite enough. Have one
part of the pool as shallow as
from 18 to 20 Inches deep. Thlf
is a place where the fish can
spawn. Then have a much deepei
area where the fish can go for
winter quarters. Be sure there is
enr.uRh fertility on the bottom of
the pond so plants will grow.
CLEAN AQUARIUM
If you have an aquarium ii.
vour home and you notice
babbles on the top of the water,
that water lacks oxygen. You had
hotter clean out the thank and
put n fresh water.
I
MILE LONG WORDS
THE words aviators write In the
sky require a deal of travel
ing A two-word name requires
between 10 and 15 miles of flying.
I
HELLO, fellows! That goes for
you air-minded girls, too.
Here's a new corner for a weekly
hunk of gossip, news and so on
about the flying world. The editor
says it better be interesting and
you can help make It so by drop
ping us a line.
Lots of things happening to
chatter about these days. Air
ports just getting ready for the
best months of flying. One thing
about model building you can
write off weather worries.
Speaking of weather, this past
couple of months have seen some
pretty swell stuff done by pilots.
They've conquered blizzards, fog,
storms of all kinds. It's a pretty
good Indication of how fast things
move in this present-day world of
ours ten years ago no radio
beams - were available to guide
"lost" ships; no blind flying train
ing equipment was available.
Wonder what they'll be doing ten
years from now?
Every evening on our way home
from a hard lot of desk flying, we
have the chance to watch sea
gulls, ducks and other sure fliers
in action. Not a bad notion, this,
for all of us. The study of bird
flight brought about the first glid
ers. Every pioneer Otto Lilien
thal, the Wright brothers, Octave
Chanute, John J. Montgomery
got his Ideas from birds. And it's
a funny thing, but there is still a
lot to learn! Noting the camber
of bird wings, the dihedral for
stability, the use of tall surfaces
is a darn good lesson in flying!
As a matter of fact it has only
been recently that we discovered
the secret of soaring flight: rising
columns of air, and where and
when they occur. Birds knew It
all the time. Too bad parrots
couldn't tell us about It Instead
of popping out with the usual,
"Polly wanta cracker"!
When those early-day students
were trying to build flapping-wing
flying machines, they didn't know
that their eye were kidding them.
No matter how carefully they
watched, they couldn't see FAST
enough to discover that birds
don't flap their wings straight up
and down! Nope, the motion when
a bird rises Is upward-backward;
downward-forward. In other
words, the wings rotate In semi
circles. It took speedy cameras
to prove this; no wonder the old
timers missed their calculations!
We sort of wandered off the
airplane subject there a little bit
but if you're interested enough,
we'll dig up some more dope on
the first fliers for you maybe
some action photos.
Talking about those old days
brings up Hie thcupht that you
model plane builders are missing
an Interesting yep. maybe profi
table, too lot of fun when you
stick to present-day and war
time jobs.
We'd like to see large flying
models of the first Wright Broth
ers' ship; Glenn Curtiss' "June
Bug"; an early Bleriot; a box
winged Farmnn; an Antoinette
Don't forget that authentic mod
els of the old sailing ships arc
highly prized and cost plenty,
too. Dig up some specifications
Bull Fighting In Peru Offers
Exciting Pastime For Tourists
IN SUMMER months famous
bull-fighters from Spain invade
Lima, Peru ... at salaries that
compare with those paid opera
stars. Although Peru is not noted
for punctuality, a bull-fight be
gins on time.
A bugle blows, a large iron
door swings open. A big black
and white bull rushes into the
ring . . . head down he plunges
far the nearest bull-fighter. An
other catches the bull's, eye . . .
waving his cloak. The bull is
kept running until his breath is
exhausted.
Then a torero flicks his cape
. . twists It about the bull's
head. The beast Is bewildered; it
hesitates. A picador advances
with outstretched lance, mounted
on an old horse which is bandaged
over one eye. The bull charges
the blind side of the horse, and
lifts both horse and rider into the
air. Attendants help the rider up
. . . and the main performance
begins.
The chief bull-tighter plays the
out of your local libraries, and
let's hear what luck you have.
By the way, here's an item
about those early ships: Ever no
tice that the Bleriot and other
pioneer monoplanes supported the
wings with a cabane strut? (If
you don't know you probably do
a cabane strut is usually a
pyramidal framework above the
fuselage with landing wires run
ning from it to wing tips.) Well,
the late Boeing P-26A has the
same arrangement.
Sort of going back to the old
stuff, eh? Dn't pet the idea that
all the early Jobs were unsound
plenty of advanced Ideas were in
use along about 1910 and 1011,
believe It or something. Saw a
photo a short time back of the
1B09 model Demoiselle racing
monoplane that did 51 miles an
hour top speed and was a trim,
neat Job. Of course it didn't have
the structural strength and me
chanical features of today's ships,
but it LOOKED good. And Tony
Fokker says that one of the best
ways to Judge a ship is by its
looks. (Back to birds again the
speediest fliers, you Know, are the
trimmest, neatest birds. Look up
a photo of the Swift the little
fellow who has been timed around
200 miles an hour.)
SOME Records:
Lewln B. Barringer set up an
American gilder record of 160
miles last April in 6 hours, 45
minutes.
Claimant to world's gliding rec
ord is Ludwig Hoffman of Ger
many, who soared from Wasser
kuppe, Germany, to Oskovice.
Czechoslovakia, about 300 miles.
First flight across the English
Channel was made by Louis Ble
riot July 25. 1009 37 minutes for
the 25 miles from Calais to Do
ver. (That's the crossing that
always makes ship passengers
seasick, incidentally, and the
cross-channel steamers take two
hours for It, even today.)
Glenn Curtiss, whose name still
carries on in the Curtiss ships of
today, called his first job the
"June Bug." and on July 4, 1008,
Thirsty? Not Much!
serious business of the muleta.
This Is a red cloth stretched over
a stick. The bull-fighter plays the
tired bull about the ring his
drawn sword in his hand. The
bull charges again and again
Each time the man deftly steps
to one side. One misstep and his
life is forfeit. According to his
skill, the bull-fighters reputation
is enhanced or ruined.
The bugle blows for the coup-de-grace.
The muleta is held in
the bull-fighter's left hand; with
the right he darts his sword at a
spot on top of the bull's neck.
The bull charges at the red rag
the man leans forward, thrust-
ing his sword to the hilt in the
bull's body. He leaps swiftly back
and to one side.
Hesitating, dying, the beast
stumbles. Legs weaken, and it
fulls.
Whistles, rounds of applause, a
shower of straw hats greet the
forero. He strides about the great
ring accepting the cheers with a
wave of his hand.
T"
TAKE. CAPE
MOLR-PtT
YOUNG FLYERS
If there 1b a nest of young birds
near your house, why not pretend
they are your pets? Put crumbs
near en6ugh that the mother bird
may find them.
Get to a place where you can
see Into the nest If possible, and
yet not frighten the birds. You
will be fascinated with the sight
of the little fellows. The first two
weeks they will keep the mother
busy filling those ever-open beaks.
Then, when the two weeks are
up you are pretty likely to see a
lesson In flying. There will be no
parachutes and If a "cadet" loses
control during the flight, he is
pretty likely to do a forced land
ing. Be Interested In the birds in
your neighborhood. Learn their
names and their songs. See that
they have food and water bandy
. . a bird-house Is real fun, too.
at Hammonds port, he won the
Scientific American trophy for a
one-kilometer flight at the breath
taking speed of 39 miles an hour.
There's a "Flying Flea" comipg
Into popularity now. Here are
some of the early-day names de
signers and filers hung on their
crates: Red Wing,' White Wing,
Silver Dart, Golden Flyer, Bird
of Prey, Yellow Hen, Red Devil,
Tin Goose. (And then there was
our own Jenny.)
Over the Captain's Coffee Cup
l'rotvl Tales from fcVtryu'iere
by Whit W.llm.n
CURIOUS, uncanny things
have happened since the
world began. Because no one
knew their cause, they were at
tributed to the supernatural. A
man saw something extra
ordinary. It became a legend or
a miracle. He didn't deny his own
experience. He admitted the exist
ence of things he couldn't under
stand. Ignorance, once upon a
time, did not limit a man's belief
... or stop his faith in marvels.
Until scientists came along to
muke a cult of science, the unex
plalnable did not mean the false.
Today it's different A strange
occurence pops up in the news
papers. Scientists Investigate.
Failing to find a reasonable ans
wer, they decide it didn't happen
Such men deserve pity. Being a
scientist is not an imaginative
career. Nor an easy life. When
you're asked to explain things
you can't measure and test and
weigh (file in cubby-hole X-319-899
for future reference), it gets
discouraging.
TAKE SEA-SERPENTS
for one thing. They haven't been
classified as to species dr habits
or anything else. Just a hoax.
Sailors are notoriously credulous,
and people like to believe queer
tales. No sea-serpent has been
caught and examined.
So it's annoying when evi
dence piles up. A date: 1919. J.
Mackintosh Bell on August S
went fishing off the. Orkneys.
Thirty yards from his boat rose
a long neck with a head like a
dog. On the head were black
whiskers. The beast's neck was
six feet out of water, as thick as
an elephant's leg. Bell aimed his
camera, but the shutter did not
snap. The townspeople of Brims
Walls had seen the same animal
annually for several years.
Another date: the last of
April, 1920. The Third Officer of
the Tyne, sailing past St. Paul's
Rocks along the coast of South
America bound for Rio . . . saw
a huge creature keeping up with
the ship. It's head was like "an
umbrella handle." If followed be
sloe the vessel for five minutes,
then curved down and sank. The
Captain refused to enter this in
the Log; the wine bills might be
stopped.
In August, 1923 : The survey
ing ship Kellett was operating in
the Black Deep, Thames Estuary.
The sun was shining. Close to the
ship (about 200 yards) a ser
pentine neck jerked up ten feet
from the water. The snake-like
body that followed the neck was
thought o be eighty feet long.
The head Itself was hard to dis
tinguish because of its swaying
movement. It's Interesting to note
that Black Deep had been closed
to navigation since the beginning
of the war leaving eight years
for monsters to congregate.
1935: The serpent of Loch
Ness, Scotland and . the shy
monster seen In Puget Sound,
Oregon.
NO SCHEDULED ECLIPSE
Is the cause of historic dark
hours In various parts of the
world. One place was Oshkosh,
Wisconsin. March 19, 1886. The
day was light, a little cloudy.
Suddenly a wave of total dark-
DID you think we were through
with that old, old argument
about a trade route to the Indies ?
Well, you're wrong.
It was over a century since Co
lumbus first sailed away from
Spain, and the search was still
going on. Oh, the Europeans
knew HOW to get to the Indies,
but the competition between the
various countries for the exclu
sive right to trade there was
keen.
Pirates roamed that seaway to
the Indies, and the Spaniards
were driven off their course by
the Dut' h everyone wanting his
share ( that meant the biggest
share) of the Indies trade.
Thon the Dutch decided to find
still another route to the East
ind keep It just for themselves.
They sent to England and hired
one Henry Hudson, who already
hud a reputation for exploration
This gentleman they fitted out
with a ship and a crew of sailors
and ordered him to go to the
North i'ole to find a new way to
I he Indies!
Well. Henry started north all
ight, but It wns too lnt in the
season for him to make his way
through the Icy seas. So, back hr
turned and decided to try a trip
through America Inntead of
around It. He'd heard about the
big waterways that Champlaln
had spoken of!
He sailed up a great swift
river, and he was hopeful. There
wsa game and vegetation on every
side. (On your geography map
lilts Is the Hudson River.)
The next year, Henry started
ness swept down over the town
There was panic. Some people
prayed, some ran about franti
cally. Scientists offered no ex
planation. There was no eclipse at Wim
bledon, England, on April 17,
1904 no thunder, no rain, no
clouds. But for 10 minutes it was
dark as midnight.
If you go looking tor odd
events, you'll find them all too
easily in supposedly scientific
magazines, authentic reports of
actual happenings.
PHENOMENA, ENDLESS
and fascinating, if you like to
puzzle for reasons. This column
has told of red rain that tell In
Australia a few weeks ago. la
November, 1902, mud rained
down on Tasmania. If It came via
a whirlwind, why was the mud
dropped In one place only? Not
long ago a heavy red rah.
covered the south of England,
swept to Ireland, and reached the
Canary Islands ... leaving a
thick layer of orange-red dust
Chemists collected the substance,
said It camu from the Sahara.
Some said it came from English
country roads. These were opin
ions, based on the fact that dust
storms had occured on the great
desert However, such storms are
always occuring. And , . . one
chemist reported the substance to
be 36 per cent organic matter.
No satisfying reason is given.
NOT MANY YEARS AGO
anyone who believed that stones
fell from the sky would have been
laughed at or locked up. No
stones were tn the sky. How
could they fall?
It's less difficult to believe
things which happen fairly close
to home, rather than across the
world Europe, Asia, India.
A Signal Service observer .
made a report to the Monthly
Weather Review that in Bis
marck, North Dakota, a heavy fall
of sharp stones broke windows
Fifteen hours later the fall wa:
repeated. There was no winj, and
the stones fell straight from the
sky rattling against the bouses
Further away At Poorhundur,
India fiat pieces of ice have
fallen. Some weighed several
pounds. The sky was clear, but
something was happening high
overhead. Thunder was heard.
And Ice descended.
NO ONE BELIEVED MUCH
In radio before It was discovered, .
or In the telephone, or 14-passen-ger
planes. Or that a great clip
per ship of the air would take off
from the Alameda air port for
China. In the last fifty years
there's been more mechanical
progress than In the previous
thousand or more.
It was impossible fifty years
ago to fly 'round the world. In
terplanetary space will one day
be conquered in the same way
by children or grandchildren at
men who doubt today.
HAVE YOU COME
across a sea-serpent recently or
odd experiences that baffle good
common sense , . . events that
scientists don't explain to your
satisfaction? Write to "The
Captain," Five Star Weekly, Mills
Tower, Ban Francisco, California.
for the North Pole passage again,
but his crew didn't fsncy going
with him. As a matter of fact,
they took things In their own
rough hands and dumped poor
Henry Hudson Into a little boat
with a handful of ailing sailors
and Hudson's young son. (It all
sounds rather like "Mutiny on the
Bounty," but Hudson didn't fare
so well as the wicked Captain
Blythe.) He was never heard of
again.
The men who sent Hudson
searching for a northern route
to the Indies didn't give a hang
about his reports of the treasures
to be had In furs on the Hudson
River. But many people already
In America were Interested, and
men from several European coun
tries traded with the Indians '
there.
With this going on, the Dutch
did get interested enough to set
tie New Amsterdam, at the moutl
of the Hudson River i Then, be
cause thov ivrntnl nir-e thst
anything to raise augnr down Ir
Guiana, they traded whnt is now
New York for s m"r"hy llttN
hunk of South America!
ennms
Anywhere In California Any Silt
Send for Catalogue, &tri "ft"
or. Consult Your Brokt
CAUTORNIA LANDS INC.
4JI r1Mtmrr hratt
PAQE SEVEN