RANCH MYSTERY
A Story For Children
By Paula
When Beth corn out West to
upend a few month on her
Uncle's cattle ranch the expected
things would be pretty dull. In
stead she found herself helping
her Uncle and his sons, Ron and
Tim, to find the gang of men who
had been raiding the ranch and
stealing cattle.
It looked, for awhile, as though
Uncle Walter was to be driven
from his land. Then Beth dis
covered that the very man who
was urging her Uncle to sell and
get out, was the man who had
come on several secret trips to
the ranch. (Beth found a rowel,
lost from his spur, in a pasture.)
The very deadline day for the sale
(and Uncle Walter was tempted
to be rid of the hard-luck ranch),
oil was discovered in the pasture
where drillers had been seeking
water.
Chapter 12
AFTER the discovery of oil on
Uncle Walter's ranch, no one
seemed to settle down to normal
living:. Ron and Tim couldn't be
dragged away from the activity
at the well. They had to see all
the "doings" and they asked a
mllllon questions and had to be
forced to do the chores at the
barn.
Ranchers came from far and
near and the town people kept
the road dustclouded. The place
was filled with the rumble and
rattle of cars.
At the end of the second week,
however, the excitement died
down, and one night the family
sat at the table long after supper
was over. Beth had had a letter
from her mother that day.
"I think your mama misses you
a lot, honey," said Uncle Walter.
"Would you like to go back
now?"
"I like it here so much, Uncle,"
said Beth. Everyone looked at her
and they noticed for the first
time that she was a very different
girl from the Beth who had come
to them only a few months ago.
She had filled out and she was as
tan and healthy looking as either
of the boys.
Beth didn't exactly like the
prospect of leaving all this great
country that she had grown to
love. She changed the subject.
"Funny about those initials in
the Almanac, wasn't it? Fellow
of the Geological Society, huh?
No wonder Mort Russell knew
there was SOMETHING on this
ranch besides sage brush."
"Did Claude have anything to
say about Mort today?" asked
Ron.
"Yes," answered Beth. "He said
Mort left the day the oil came in
SHELL MOUSE TRAP
THERE was a strange case of
mouse-catching in Perry, N. Y.,
the other day. It seems Silas Stev
ens left some oysters in his cellar
to keep cool. One of those oysters
must have been pretty active, for
when Stevens returned to the cel
lar to get his oyster supper, he
found one oyster had caught two
mice. The mice were dead, caught
In the oyster shell.
SHIPWRECK
We all know the old saying,
"Rata will always desert a sink
ing ship." But such was not the
case with a little crew of three
cats aboard the Greek steamer
Strfanos Costnmenis.
When the sailors were ready to
leave the smklng ship, they looked
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Norton
and he told his foreman he'd write
to him from the East."
"That's okay with us." mur
mured Tim. "We'll be here when
he DOES come back."
All this while Aunt Mary had
been watching the girl. Now she
leaned across and took her hand.
"Beth . . . would you like to go
back and bring your mother out
here? Don't you think a little
vacation would be good for her,
too?"
Beth was speechless with happi
ness. She did want to see her
mother, yet she hated having to
leave the ranch. But, the thought
suddenly occured to her, It would
cost a great deal for such a trip
and mother needed all the little
she made.
"I know what you're thinking,
Beth," smiled her uncle. "You for
get we ain't poor ranchers any
more. We'll fix you up with
money, and THAT, by the way, is
the nicest speech I ever made."
BETH flew around the table
and elapsed her brown arms
around the man's shoulders.
"You're the very best man In the
whole world, Uncle Walter." She
could think of nothing that ex-
pressed her feeling more truth
fully. '
Three days later Beth waved
good-bye to her Aunt and Uncle.
Back she rode along the same
road she had traveled with Tim
and Ron. on that first far distant
morning. Tim and Ron were with
her now and there was no shy
nessr rather there was a flood of
rambling chatter. Plans were
made for Beth's return, plans for
her mother, plans for the things
they'd do for Claude (maybe buy
him a new horse and rig). Ron
suggested a mail-plane for him,
but he was hooted down.
When Beth boarded the train,
happy to leave because she knew
she would return soon, happy to
feel the secure feeling of the
money her Uncle had given her
(carried in a little bag around her
neck).
As she climbed up the steps of
the pullman car, she turned to
Tim and said, "This time I'll eat
every meal in the dining car, and
if there Is any boy or girl travel
ing alone on the train I'll take
them in to eat with me." She still
remembered the flatness of the
box lunch on her trip out.
She ran to the rear platform
of the train and waved until the
little station and the boys were
tiny specks in the distant haze.
She did not have the lonely feel
ing she had had when she left the
East, because she was coming
back, soon.
(The End)
for their cat mascots. They could
not be found. The cats hid some
where on the vessel and went
down with the craft.
POLICE DOGS
The headquarters for trained
police dogs is In Munich, Ger
many. The rings are really shep
herds. Captain Max von Stephan
itz formed the Society of German
Shepherds 31 years ago. Now
there are branches of this society
all over the world.
FIREFLIES
Fireflies are not Just a pretty
sight In the summer twilight In
Japan and China. There they are
an important industry In them
selves. Expert firefly catchers are
hired, and some of these workers
have been known to catch as many
as 3000 in a night The flies are
used In the manufacture -of drugs
In the Orient. Firefly grease Is
used to make bamboo wood rigid.
BUTTERFLIES
We associate butterflies with
flowers and warm days In a gar
den, but these beautiful creatures
have been seen as far north as
the extreme Arctic regions. There
Is a species of little butterfly liv
ing in Ecuador at 18.500 feet elevation.
Oregon s Highways Lead toVariedVacation Lands
Dm-"- -v
By way of magnlfioent Oregon hlgnways, tourists Journey to the unexcelled playgrounds of the
Northwest. Above are two typical Oregon scenes. Top, skiing on Mount Hood. Lower, horseback
riding along Cannon Beach at Haystaok Rook. This is one of the renowned Oregon publlo beaches.
PAPUA MEDICS
N"
EW GUINEA recently wel
comed home a group of
native doctors 18 medical stu
dents who completed their medi
cal courses at Sidney University,
Australia. Educated, scientific,
these children and grandchildren
of wild head hunters, formed
themselves into the world's first
Medical Scout Troop. In their
regulation Scout uniforms, they
will Invade the tropical New
Guinea jungles, bring modern
medical knowledge to their race.
Which is only fair: when civi
lization takes disease to the primi
tive tribes, it can do no less than
cure it '
CONTACT CLUB
- Ry Don Roberts
HI, HIGH fliers how are all
your happy landings ?
Just looking over a couple of
issues of "Plane Talk," the little
weekly publication of the U. S. 8.
Saratoga the aircraft carrier, in
case you get It mixed up with
some ordinary run-of-the-mlne
battle wagon.
Here's a table explaining the
Navy's way of marking her air
planes from "Plane Talk." Maybe
it will come In handy In Identify
ing a squadron some day:
V is for Heavier than Air
H la for Ambulance
O Is for Observation
F Is for Fighting
T is for Torpedo and
Bombing
S la for ScouUng
P is for Patrol
N is for Training
B is for Bombing
R is for Transport
v
VH
VO
VF
VT
VS
VP
VN
VB
VR
- Army Identification Initials dif
fer considerably from those of the
Navy, so don't get them mixed
up. -
BEING in pretty much of a
spring feverish mood today,
we'll shirk too much work and
dig up some dope:
Well, first thing on the list
seems to be an item that came
to mind while we were scanning
some old photos the other day.
Everyone hangs "pants" on the
undercarriage these days to cut
down wind resistance through
streamlining. But it's not a new
stunt, as usual!
The 1911 model of the G as tarn -bide
and Mengln Antoinette mon
oplane had "pants," in addition
to complete enclosure and Inter
nally braced wings. It was pro
duced for the French Military
trials and we Imagine, just off
hand, that all the wise lad
hooted at it.
And then here's another curi
osity from Russia the folding
glider. Yep. the lads simply lug
a lot of nsMorted bundles to the
nearest hill, stick the hinged fu
selage, wings, etc.. inside a flock
of fabric and take off. And did
you know they have two-plare
gliders?
Let's see now- hm, how about
looping? Pilots do It to get In
.'l'ajfr
o4?
. VIENNESE SYMBOL
THROUGH revolution and hard
ship, Vienna folk keep their
joy In living. A short street car
ride from Vienna takes you to
Grinzing, where every season the
making of new wine is an excuse
for a festival. Wine growers are
privileged to sell wine without
licenses in their own gardens,
without interference of whatever
government may be in power. To
indicate the elixer of life which
they offer, a small bush is fas
tened to the door of the home.
Viennese say of this quaint sym
bol, "Die Herr Gott steckt die
Hand Hieraus" or, "The Mr.
God puts His Hand about Here!"
shape for breakfast nowadays.
The spectators nearly dropped
dead in September of 1013 when,
at Issy, France, Pegoud made the
first Intentional loop. Shortly aft
erward, Anthony Fokker became
the first German to do the trick.
It's really easy and quite a safe,
as well as useless, maneuver.
In Los Angeles, the, Cornelius
"free wing" experimental mono
plane is flying all around the
place. The ship has no ailerons;
wings are hung to the fuselage
in such a way that they rock
back and forth, thereby keeping
themselves and the ship on an
even keel.
Germany Is now testing her
newest Zeppelin, designed for
regular trans-Atlantic passenger
flights, and soon will start con
struction on a "sister" for the
same purpose. (But the United
States still has the only helium
gas available In commercial
quantities. )
While United States airlines
did an about-face by cutting
down the size and shape of com
mercial liners, as well aa the
number of motors, foreign coun
tries still go in for three and four
motored jobs. We were lucky
enough to get a close-up view of
the Junkers all-metal transport,
"Von Hlndenburg," in Berlin.
Double wheels on the landing
gear are a couple of feet taller
than a six-foot man. Four mo
tored, It carries 50 .. passengers.
(But has considerably less speed
than, say, the Boeing, Douglas,
etc., In use here.)
IN MEXICO, none but Mexican
born pilots may fly the airlin
ers. That put a iot of American
pioneers out of work but It's
government order.
Do you know what Is meant by
"pulling up to 9 G's" In speaking
of testing an army or navy ship?
The "G's" represent, the force
nf gravity, and at nine "G's"
there's nine times more weight on
the wings than In normal flight
It's no rlnch. that test piloting.
Milita.-y Jobs sre dived to "ter
minal velocity," whlrh means,
simply as fast as they'll go, then
pulled out sharply until the "9
G" mark Is reached. It's some
strain on the plane- and plenty,
too, on the pilot.
, s Cs
Over the Captain's Coffee Cup
Travel Tales from Everywhere
By Whit Wellman
rHIS spinning earth you live
I on is an interesting planet-
full of variety, full of obscurities,
So much about it is still un-
known, and explorers will be busy
forever stumbling Into new dls-
coveries every year.
You can mock at eoloo-lsts-
say that they tell the age of fos
sils by the age of the rock con
taining them, and the age of the
rock by the eon when the fossil
flourished. Like other professions,
the study of the comparatively
new world is also new we're
continually finding uncomfortable
facts to blast old theories.
THEORY VS. FACT
are the basis of a grand argu
ment. One excellent theory ac
counts for the formation of moun
tain ranges: our two-billion year
old earth cooled off and grew
solid on the outside. As the In
side became cooler and cooler, It
contracted, leaving a vast and
fairly thin crust a kind of sus
pended arch without pillars to
rest upon. Simple figuring showed
that this crust cracked wide open
from time to time settling down
to relieve the strain. The process
happened again and again, until
once more it collapsed. Some
seven great crumbllngs have been
traced, which left in their wake
mountains and valleys. So eas
ily and satisfactorily are heights
and depths accounted for in the
ory. But facts have a habit of be
ing stubborn In this case the
fact of the Pacific Ocean, cover
ing about half of the earth's sur
face. Its size doesn't fit at all
neatly with the "contracting
crust" theory. It Isn't always wise
to doubt accepted text-book laws
but here goes! Why Is almost
all of the land pushed Into one
hemisphere? One school insists
that the great Pacific depression
was left when the moon was
dragged out of It flung Into the
heavens to dangle a few million
miles above. If so, the earth was
solid when this happened, and
mathcmntlclnns say "No!" The
moon, they say. only moved to Its
present distance very gradually.
Once It was closer to us or to
our ancestors. Its capacity to
raise tides Is estimated to have
caused tides three miles high,
which made deeper the already
deep Pacific basin.
Wa still aren't loo sure what
made the mountains, or the Pa
cific around the edge of which
live millions who take Its exist
ence for granted. But let's spec
ulateif we don't solve anything.
A SOUTHERN WRITER
demands "in the name of Nrp
liine and his sons, and his seven
choir of memvilds, a full page
- a blue page, to celebrate the
doings of a great navigator, and
his visit to the Pacini- Coast In
1.W7." Its a note from Frnnk
Marlln of Ran Dirgo, a sailing
master who has crqlsed nKire
New Nasturtium Strain,
'Gleam', Brings Renewed
Prominence to Flower
Break From Old Types Improves Plants, Increases
Their Beauty and Even Gives Them Perfume I
By Cecil Solly "
DURING the last four years,
the advent of a new member
to the nasturtium family has
brought this
much-used, but
much-abused,
plant Into
prominence
again.
This new
strain, com
monly known
as "Gleam." Is
a distinct
break from the
types that our
grandfathers
and great
grandmothers knew.
It is most
Cecil Solly
amazing that such a break could
have been made all at once, the
way it has. Just study the de
scription of this new type. Every
color that the nasturtium family
' knows Is now found in the varie
ties and hybrids that are fast be
coming fixed. The flowers are in-
" tensely doubled. They stand well
above the foliage, an advantage
which alone would mak It well
worth while. Added to their won
derful form and attractiveness Is
the fact that this new strain is
quite strongly perfumed. If you
can compare its odor with that
of the older types you will realize
how good It la
What a plant to suffer the harsh
treatment that is usually meted
out to It! Who ever thinks to
study where and how nasturtiums
should be planted ? No! Just drop
than a hundred thousand leagues
In all classes of vessels. He sends
eight Interesting stanzas descrlb-
lng the return to England of Sir
V Francis Drake in the good ship
Golden Hind . . , "completing the
circumnavigation of the globe,
" " "X
Queen Elizabeth." Marlln'a' verse
is well done, and here are the
opening lines:
"From far 'and near, to either
shore,
Such throngs as never seen bo
,fore Had come to see what they had
never
Beheld on their historic river
A homebound ship, that bravely
stems
The lanquld current of ' the
Thames:
Home, from the longest cruise yet
known I
Had circumscribed the earth
alone." A WANDERING FRIEND
of early days has been down on
Manga Reva for the last few
years living among the panda
nus trees and green parrots,
swimming In the lagoons. He was
walking along a road near the
shore last month and saw an old
Chinese come toward him a very
ancient old fellow In tattered
clothes which hung about him
like a sack.
My friend greeted him, but the
old man Ignored him. The an
cient's eyes seemed to look right
through him, as he passed. My
friend "turned after him, watch
ing him walk slowly up the
shadowed road. Suddenly the Chi
nene was not there. He'd disap
peared aa if the early mist had
swallowed him. I went back to
the village and asked questions."
' He was told there were no Chi
nese on the Islands -had not been
for many years, that Is no old
ones. Two young ones ran a lit
tlo store. What he'd seen, the na
tives assured him, was Parqul
tala, ghost of a once all power
ful magician who tended a pagan
altar until the - i!r n'onaries car.ie
Then he grew dls:ournged and
died but his bent form still
roamed the Islands of his youth.
"He is seen." my friend writes,
"ever so often about once or
twice a year. Being a skeptic my
self, I don't know what to be
lieve. I did see the fellow, but no
one ha seen him since. Odd
things happen down here that we
don't even try to explain."
IF YOU'RE BORED
with cmiviled cities, those forgot
ten Islands are a good place to
go. Climate makes clothes unlm
poilanl The native men wear a
shnit p:iriii nnile of the bsi k of
the hresilfnilt tree. If a girl
grows tired of an old dress she
goes out and makes a new one
from the leaves of the tl plsnt. A
necklace of orange blossom and
a crown of hibiscus - and the cos
tume Is complete.
Natlvo pearl divers have an
In the seed and a satisfactory re
sult Is Invariably obtained.
Do we realize how good-tempered
and handy this plant Is, giv
ing us the dwarf or bush varieties
with both green and red leaves
for borders, edgings or beds; and
the pole types, also with the two
color leaves quickly covering
porches, arbors, and. last but not
least, the unsightly garage?
USEFUL CLIMBER
Of the climber not much has
even been written, but what a
great aid it is to us In covering
up bare places! It will grow well
If planted with other kinds of
climbers in almost any situation
and is especially adapted to plant
with climbing plants which have
an open or bare stem near the
ground. It fills these blanks in
and avoids bareness such as is
exhibited by the climbing rose.
One of the great uses "on the
othor side" is to plant dwarf and
climbers together along the bank
of a river, especially If the bank
is of stone or concrete. A most
beautiful effect is obtained by a '
big elongated bed of the dwarf
ones with the climbers nearer the
water and trailing down and
touching the stream or river. One
of the most lovely sights seen by
the writer was at Canterbury,
England, the Cathedral City,
where there la a stretch of all
colors of nasturtiums every year.
Window boxes overhanging the
river are planted with them, also.
Mirrored In the river, a most
pleasing effect is obtained.
When this flower becomes again
more popular here we will use it
more and more for our window
boxes and hanging basket.
On the Pacific Coast, ganjen
and community clubs have been
working for years to beautify the
highways, using all kinds of flow
ers In profusion for this purpose,
but they seem to have forgotten
this nasturtium. Its one groat ad
vantage la that It self-seeds most
productively and would volunteer
In great quantity every year and
keep down most of the weeds.
AS A RELISH
In Europe the nasturtium often
Is used as a vegetable. Seeds are
picked, full size, while yet green
and pickled in vinegar. It is a
most tasty relish, being known
there as Indian Cress.
The leaves, while young, are
delicately pungent and are a very
fine addition to the mixed salad,
usually served chopped with
other greens, and they also make
a tasty dish boiled.
The cultivation of the nastur
tium is so very simple, to line
the words of an old country gar
dener, "Just poke 'em In anywhere."
In colors, the nasturtium can
produce flowers from puro white
through all the shades of cream,
pink or orange to scarlet und
crimson and also shows some de
cided lavender and mauve shades,
but no blues..
A not nor of the great assets of
this plant la Its practically total
Immunity from insect pests and
diseases, only being troubled by
a few aphis and leaf eaters. Aa
a ground cover crop It ha few
equals. Imagine, for Instance, a
bed of the dwarf varioty In a
bright cerise color with many
spike of a lovely bright lavender
gladiolus like Charlos Dickens
spaced In It.
8eeds planted early In the year
In the tulip or hyacinth bed will
fill in the brown spaces quickly
and leave a ground cover under
.which unsightly dying bulbs may
be tucked In May or June.
Idea that constant motion In the
water frighten away the sharks
that they will not attack a
moving object. Sometimes It
works, sometime It doesn't
sharks do not always observe the
rules, and tragedies occur when
leaat expected.
IF YOU HAVE
questions to ask about far-away
places, drop a line ... or If you
want to see one of your own ex
perience In thla column, write to
The Captain, Flva Star Weekly,
4S0 Mill Tower, San Francisco,
California.
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PAGE SEVEN'S