RANCH MYSTERY
A Story For Children
By Paula Norton
It begins to look as though
Beth, wlu is visiting her Uncle
and Aunt and their two boys, on
a Western ranch, has at last hit
upon the identity of tlie man who
is leading the raids on the ranch.
Mart Russell lost a rowel from
one of his spurs and Beth found it
in the pasture where Uncle Walter
now has drillers trying to find
water, Mort came out to the
ranch, which he claimed he had
not seen for several months, and
offered to btiy the place for spot
cash. Uncle Walter was tempted
to sell, but Beth told about the
spur and the obvious fact that
Mort had paid a secret visit to
the place. He must have some
very good reason for wishing to
buy the land. Uncle Walter post
poned the sale until he'd had time
to think it over.
Chapter 11.
THE DAY after Mort Russell
made his offer to buy the
ranch, Claude, the rural postman,
hitched his horse to the post of
the mail box and ambled out to
the pasture.
Since he had a letter to deliver,
he had an excellent excuse to see
how the drilling was progressing.
The family, even Aunt Mary,
wan gathered in a little group
around the drillers. Uncle Walter
looked more downhearted than
ever. Beth clearly read in his face
the conviction that he should have
taken up Mort's offer.
Tim and Ron had been unable
to find an explanation, in the
school dictionary, for the initials
on the stranger's suitcase. Yet
Eeth still thought about them and
wished with all her heart that she
had been able to solve that little
part of her suspicions.
"Hello, Claude," she called as
she saw a the awkward figure
ambling toward them.
"How does the well-drilling go,
Walter?" the postman asked.
"Any signs of water, yet?"
Uncle Walter looked around.
"No signs yet, -Claude, and we're
down pretty far."
There was an air of dejection
about the whole family as they
stood staring at the drill and the
dry earth around it.
"Well, I wouldn't give up. Oh,
gosh, I near forgot. Here's a note
for you," and Claude handed an
envelope to the rancher. "Mort
Russell asked me to bring it out."
EVERYONE looked up with a
new Interest. Uncle Walter
tore open the envelope and read
the note carefully. He looked up
at the curious eyes upon him.
"It's another offer from Mort.
He says this is my last chance to
sell."
Before anyone else could speak,
Claude burst forth, "Say, you ain't
almin' to sell to Mort Russell, are
you?"
"Maybe. Why?"
"Well, doggone," Claude was
wide-eyed and earnest. "It ain't
any of my business, but I'd sure
look into a deal with Mort before
I did sell. Mort Russell don't buy
nothln' unless it's goin' to bring
in plenty of easy money to him."
"That's about the way Beth
and Mama and the boys feel,
Claude. But me . . . well, I don't
know. He made me a good offer."
"Has he looked your land
over?" Claude asked. He was in
his element now, having a part in
someone else's life and affairs.
"Well, no, not exactly."
"Do you mean to say he's buy
In' it sight unseen?" asked
Claude.
Beth felt an urge to tell Claude
what they all, at least she and
the boys, suspected.
"Claude. I think he's been on
this land when none of us knew
about It Remember the rowel I
showed you the day we went to
town ? Well, that's Mort Russell's
rowel, Claude. I found It here In
the pasture."
"Well, I'll be a howling coyote."
And the lanky mail-carrier slap
ped his thigh In amazement. "I
don't know Just why. but I always
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had a sneakin' feelin' that Mort
had somethin' to do with the raids
you've had out here, and now I
know it."
"Sleuthing Claude, eh?" grin
ned Ron.
"Well, he's always asking ques
tions about this place lately, and
twice I saw him outside Dobble's
Saloon talkin' to Juan, that Mex
you run off. And Mort ain't got
no business with Juan except
crooked business."
SILENTLY the family turned
back to the drill once more.
They all felt the hopelessness in
each other. Monotonously the drill
went on . . . and on.
The sun crept up the sky. It
beat hot upon their heads. Aunt
Mary knew It was lunch time,
and she looked at her husband.
His worried face moved her to
put her work-worn hand on his
arm.
"I'll go get lunch, Pa," she said.
He nodded.
The' drilling held everyone's at
tention. It seemed all-important
to all of them. Then suddenly one
of the drillers leaned down to the
earth as if he were listening.
Everyone strained toward him.
The tense expression on his face
w&s mirrored in their own. The
man's hands felt of the gravel
that suddenly bubbled from the
drill.
"Sir, I think you've got water,"
the man said as casually as that.
Ron jumped into the air and
shouted. Aunt Mary turned back
and hurried to the group.
"What is it, Pa? Have they
reached water?" she shouted.
Beth grabbed Tim by the arm
and held her breath.
THEN like the hissing of a valve,
the strangest of noises steamed
up from around the drill. Every
one stood looking puzzled and
frozen in their tracks.
"Listen, what is that noise?"
shouted Uncle Walter. "Water
don't come up like that! It sounds
like, gas! . , ."
The men at the drill stepped
back. The children stumbled aside.
Everyone shouted, "What la it?
What Is it?" No one could ans
wer, and the drillers only looked
as amazed as the rancher him
self. The gas - like hissing grew
louder and louder . . . and In
stinctively the group moved back
as from the hissing wick of a
cannon. All eyes were on the
bubbling hole. All ears noted the
noise growing louder and louder
until with a roar and a rush a
great black stream of muddy
liquid sprang Into the air ... a
geyser ... a black geyser of
sand and ....
"Oil! Good heaven, man, It's
OIL!" shouted both drillers.
And oil It was. It shot higher
and higher Into the heat-laden
air. It covered the fence, and the
people who were too dazed to
move away. It splattered their up
turned faces and deluged their
clothes. It fell in sandy splotches
into Ron's wide open eyes and
open mouth. He coughed and
sputtered and choked. Then, and
only then, did the little family
grab and clutch at each other and
exclaim and shout No one listened
to anyone else. Aunt Mary ran to
her husband and throwing her
arms around him shouted, above
the noise, "What does it mean,
Pa? What DOES It mean?"
"Honey, It means we ain't sell
in' this ranch . . . not by a jug
full!" The boys and Beth yelled like
young Indians. Claude had stayed
long enough to witness the
miracle.
"Walter," he shouted above the
roar, "Here's a dang good reason
why Mort Russell wanted your
land. But how did he know about
this stuff beln' here?"
. Beth came to her senses with
start at the mention of Mort Rus
sell. Without a word she grabbed
Tim by the arm and dragged him
toward the ranch house.
"What's the big Idea." yelled
Tim. "I wanna stay and watch."
The Idea la . . . have you an
almanac at the house? I have an
idea the Initials on that stranger's
handbag may be In the Almanac
Besides . . . you'd better ride to
to KB as fast as you can and get
somebody that knows about oil
wells to come out here , . . quick!"
(Concluded next week)
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WELL, fellows, let's talk about
long - distance flying and
flights today, just by way of
bringing up some interesting
facts.
European airlines, you know,
have some long stretches to cover
to reach their far-flung posses
sions. There's a British service to
Cape Town in Africa, from Lon
don; to India, also. Holland has
a service to Java and Borneo,
and so on. The story of the first
attempts to establish an airway
through Africa is a pretty inter
esting one, and It gives a good
idea of the sort of going the early
birds had to face.
Just a short while after the ar
mistice was signed In November,
1918, surveying parties went Into
Africa to lay out a chain of land
ing fields. A year later, 23 air
ports and 19 emergency landing
fields were completed, covering
8206 miles, from Cairo, Egypt, to
Cape Town. If you'll get out the
map of Africa, you'll see that It
was SOME job cutting through
that wild jungle.
An experimental flight was or
ganized In England at once and
a Vlckers-Vlmy two-motored bi
plane was obtained. This was the
same type ship, you see, which
first flew the Atlantic non-stop
a converted bomber powered by
a pair of 350-horsepower Rolls
Royce motors.
FIVE men a scientist, two pi
lots, a mechanic and a rigger
left Brooklands (England) Jan
uary 24, 1920, but the real start
of the trip' was made February 6
from Hellopolls, for there was
nothing ahead at that point but
pioneering and jungle.
Well, trouble popped up right
off. Heat started It ell. Because
the motors were water oooled,
they began to spring leaks In the
cooling system. The ship m fol
lowing the Nile and reached Lux
or, still in Egypt, when the first
leak showed up.
Two more leaks in the next
two days made forced landings
necessary, and still the party
wasn't even well Into Africa. And
a day later, passing over a region
of craters of volcanic origin, a
motor "froze" tight from over
heating due to ft leak, but the
pilot set It down safely along the
Nile.
February 9 the ship was serv
iced again, and on the 10th took
off for Monzalla, on the upper
reaches of the White Nile. In two
hours the party reached Jebeleln,
where fu'jl was obtained and
ANOTHER leak wu stopped. Off
at 11 a. m., they landed in a dry
swamp with a bum magneto, In
two hours. Next day they re
turned to Jebeleln for three days
of repairing.
SO IT went with the water
Jackets springing leaks all
ovr the place and the heat so
Intense It nearly blistered the face
of anyone foolish enough to poke
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LEAP YEAR EVERY YEAR
AMERICA'S Leap Year is 1936,
but an ancient medieval cus
tom of French Provencal girls al
lows them to "pop the question"
whenever they like. . The young
lady bakes a Provencal cake called
a "fougasse." She places It with
a jar of wine outside her home.
When her sweetheart arrives, he
eats the cake, drinks the wine,
and leaves a silken scarf beside
the wine jug . . . which means,
"Will you marry me?" The fol
lowing Sunday she answers
simply by wearing the scarf to
church .. . and soon the wedding
bells ring out Old customs are
often beat!
SINKING VALLEY
SINCE 1015 the fertile Santa
Clara valley south of the
lower end of San Francisco Bay,
has sunk more than five feet.
Geological studies show that it
sinks about one foot every four
years. Dr. C. F. Tolman, of Stan
ford university, Is trying to dis
cover whether or not it is a "float
ing valley" riding on a large
body of underground water. If so,
a water conservation program
will be undertaken to "refloat"
this rich district.
AFRICAN TOLL BRIDGES
Swollen rivers along Congo car
avan routes can hold up an entire
party for days. At these points
shrewd natives have constructed
great vine bridges, strung across
a river torrent with rattans,
creepers and vines. O.'er these
fairly safe bridges pass the cara
vans, careful not to tumble Into
the stream below. At the end of
the vine bridge are camped the
bridge makers, to exact nominal
toll. The longer the bridge, the
higher the tax.
his head out of the cabin, the
party started on a 538-mlle hop.
They had rigged up a pumping
arrangement to replenish water In
the leaking jackets, but even that
ran out and presently they were
down In another hunk of jungle.
They had to fly the ship over
to a spot where there was some
water, and that night, while a
native was hiking for gasoline,,
the men slept (or tried to) on the
wings of the ship dodging croco
diles! Next day they flew the few
miles to Mongalla and spent five
days fixing up the damage.
BY FEBRUARY 27, the expedi
tion had reached (with three
or so forced landings) Tabora, in
Tanganyika territory more than
half way through their long trip.
But here the toughest luck of all
hit them. A motor quit shortly
after the takeoff and the Vlckera
sat down In brush among great
ant-hills, busting things up so
badly that the ship couldn't be
flown any more.
The fuselage of that ship, so
they say, is still at Tabora, serv
ing as a pavilion for a club.
Later, ship with a radial mo
tor spanned the whole African
continent and returned without
engine trouble proof that water-
cooled motors just didn't belong
In darkest Africa.
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By Franl King
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AU),GEE
uJtlllUKERs!
INCA RUINS
VISITORS to Peru are taking
deep interest in the still mag
nificent remains of huge Inca
buildings, which are continually
being excavated. Sharp zig-zag
fortress walls surround each ruin
made of great boulders weigh
ing as much as ISO tons each.
How these were raised Into place
is unknown. Each rock is per
fectly fitted, and no mortar is
used. Spanish conquerors called
these palaces the "ninth wonder
of the world."
The Incas had no written lan
guage, and the story of the past
must be learned from the study
of ruins and legends left by the
Spanish invaders.
AMERICA GROWS
k MOW that we have the Quakers
settling into the pioture of
the new America, let's take a
peep-show squint at the other
colonies.
Spain, France and England
were pretty conscious by now of
the possible Importance of hang
ing on to the lands In America
that were theirs by right of dis
covery. But, they must populate
these lands In order to claim them
for themselves alone.
Then the real squabbling began.
Spain stood up and shouted that
she owned all of North America
and part of South America. No
one was particularly Impressed
with Spain's declarations, and
she had to give In to the claims
of the English and the French.
(Now you get out your map of
North America and play "See the
Lands Claimed hy Europe." ) The
English said, "All the land from
Kennebec to the Savannah be
longs to us."
Spain said, "In the south, every
thing as far north as the Savan
nah is mine."
France claimed the grett
stretches of land north of the
English line.
This was the beginning of the
colonies. It is easy to see how dis
putes, quarrels and border trouble
brewed.
The lands claimed by France
were often claimed by England,
too, and as a result of this differ
ence of opinion these two nations
were constantly at each other's
throat.
New England grew and pros
pered and reached out for more
territory; so the French and their
Indian pals ground their teeth In
rage and envy.
Disputes then arose In the colo
nies themselves. The people argued
heatedly with their new gover
nors, and the governors were or
dered around by their royal bones
In Europe.
The people In the colonies said
to their governors, "You give us
more privileges or we won't pay
Over the Captain's Coffee Cup
Travel Titles from Everywhere
By Whit Wellman-
ROMANCE of the sea is as
endless as the pounding surf
on the blue and red rocks of Point
Lobos. near Carniel ... or the
small creeping waves of Monte
rey Bay. Stories of ships go back
beyond recorded history . . . leg
ends of sailors who explored the
unknown, frightening seas before
the voyages of Marco Polo, and
came home with tales of marvels
and strange countries.
THE FIRST SHIPS
probably went to sea among the
islands of the western Pacific,
rather than in the Mediterranean,
as was lately supposed. (Some
say they were Celestial junks off
the south China coast, but we
hold with the Pacific theory.)
There's a good reason. Look at
a map of the Pacific, see how a
great part of what was a conti
nent ages ago must have been
flooded. Onl a few Isolated high
spots remained. Sumatra, New
Guinea, Australia, Java , . . Bor
neo. No one is sure where the in
. habitants came from, but they
didn't swim. How they came is
perhaps the story of the earliest
"ocean-going" boat. Some genius
among these seamen had an in
ventive turn of mind, and created
one of the simplest and most
practical Improvements the world
ever knew. It made travel of hun
dreds and thousands of miles pos
sible. He attached a strip of wood
running parallel to his canoe
and sailed to sea In the first "out
riggor" canoe. It was almost un
slnkable. POLYNESIANS
still go out to sea in these pic
turesque boats, and in the even
steadier double ennoo two large
canoes fastened together by a
raft-like structure In the center.
But these are passing from the
Pacific. White men have come
with steam, canned salmon ... a
thousand pleasant and lazy mod
ernisms which make primitive ef
fort unnecessary. One day mu
seums will display "outriggers"
as a special attraction, and the
first ships known to man will be
relics of the past. Whalers, mis
sionaries, adventurous pearl-divers
went south, and within a few
short years the culture of the
Polynesian world began to die.
WHALES ARE ANCIENT
creatures, and tales about them
almost as old. There's the yarn
of the Florida Indians, who
leaped upon a whale's back and
plugged up one nostril with a
wooden peg. They went to the
bottom with him, and when he
rose again, they calmly (if some
what out of breath) plugged up
the other nostril which stopped
your salary." Then, Indeed, the
colonists had started a great step
toward self-government.
As the eighteenth century drew
to a close, the English colonists
had grown In knowledge of gov
ernment, and the French and the
Indians prowled their borders.
Yes, the little colonics were
growing up Into strong colonies
with Ideas of Independence and a
desire to govern themselves.
But there, I speak of the people
in the New World cities. There
were many hundreds of people
who had come to America that
they might till the soli, grow their
food and make a new home far
from European bosses.
Those were the brave hearts and
strong bodies (they had to be
strong to survive) that struck out
to find the land they were willing
to clear and farm. They did not
want to run a city or make a
law. They wanted homes, and
homes meant land. They started
west.
They were told they oould not
go farther wont than the border
of English territory. They were
free In this country, according to
their own opinion, so west they
went!
Of course, the French tried to
stop them. There were battles and
tragic deaths, but the natural will
to move on was strong In their
sturdy hearts, and more and more
of these home seekers came
warming westward. The block
houses of the French soldiers
could not stop all of them . . .
border lines made by stuffy kings
In a distant Europe couldn't stod
them. . . . America moved on . . .
and on I
OLYMPIC MARATHON
THE first Olympic games of
modern times were In Athena,
196. A Marathon race waa held
ever the course of the original
tun. In 480 B.C., from the famous
battlefield where Greeks defeated
Persians, to the Athens stadium,
a distance of 40 kilometers, or 24
miles, 149S yards. It waa won by
the Greek peasant, Luis.
the show, and was the finish of
Mr. Whale.
A clever method Is still used by
the Eskimos, who are a lazy race
of whalers, and make the Job
easy. A fleet of kayaks surrounds
a whale, and the natives proceed
to toss harpoons Into the monster.
The trick of It is that huge blad
ders of sealskin are attached to
the harpoons, and these balloons
prevent the animal from sound
ingbeing slaughtered at leisure.
A REAL OLD-TIMER
Is Thomas Tansley, master of
sailing ships, who drops us a line
occasionally. "I've had some won
derful experiences In following
the old wind-jammers to their ex
tinction," he writes. "When I first
went to sea there were one nun
dred sailing vessels to one steam
er. When I quit there were Just
a few left, mostly in the Alaska
fishing and I've atored in my
memory some happenings which
shiver me when I look back,
others laughable. But my love of
the old sea songs feels more en
joyable to me than some of this
crazy Jazz they dish out today."
CAPT. LAWRENCE ABER
is one If the Northwest's inter
esting men. Writer, lecturer (au
thor of "The Islander") he sailed
among the islands for IS years as
mate and master of trading
schooners. During the war he
served In the Navy, and waa tor
pedoed three times. He com
manded one of the Navy mystery
ships, and was aboard the Hamp
shire when she went down with
Lord Kitchener In the North Sea.
After the war he went back again
to the Islands of the west' Pacific,
where he found "more beach
combers in the islands since the
war than ever before. Every trad
ing schooner is having trouble
with them. For more than five
years I kept picking them up In
Borneo and Sulu, and carried
them to Manila where they could
get transportation home through
officials. Among them ... a large
number of American girls. Pos
sibly 90 per cent of these tropical
tramps are American citizens."
COLD CAN KILL
not only tropical fish . . . but
shoals of mullet as well, accord
ing to the log of Captain L. W.
Long, commander of the Haiti
which sails between Caribbean
porta. A white mass 20 miles long
was sighted off the coast of South
America. It turned out to be a
vast shoal of dead mullet For
mile after mile the ship sailed
through tightly massed corpses as
thick as the sea weed of the Sar
gasso Sea. A few were brought
up In buckets and examined by
the ship's surgeon. They had died,
apparently, from the change In
temperature when they left the
Oulf stream. But no record of a
. similar occurrence In that part of
the ocean la known.
THE NORTH POLE
was discovered by Admiral Peary
... or by Dr. Cook, but who will
decide? A white-haired man of
70, Dr. Cook Is again asking for
recognition ... for a "full and
Impartial Investigation" of his
story by the American Geographi
cal Society. The Royal Geographic
Society of Denmark gave Dr.
Cook medals and honors . . . the
American Society examined
Peary's evidence that he had
reached the pole . . . but did not
go Into Dr. Cook's reports.
Dr. Cook la tired of being the
"forgotten man" of Arctto explo
ration, and want something done
about It But . . . time and public '
Interest waits for no man. His
claims (whether true or false)
were news a generation ago, but
no one cares much today whloh
of the fur-clad adventurer! first
stood on top of the world.
DO YOU KNOW
adventure yarns, old sea songs . , .
something you'd like to see In this
column? Send them to The Cap
tain, Five Star Weekly, 400 Mills
Tower, San Francisco, California.
TRHVCL
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PAGE SEVEN-B
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