The Gate city journal., October 13, 1910, Image 3

Zelda Dameron-
By
MEREDITH
NICHOLSON
C opyright, 1904, h r T k . Bobbs-M «rrìU Co.
p^ER VIII-— ( C o n tin u e d .)
jlr. Balcom z over there,"
larked, casually. "H e sings
does n't he? D on't you th in k
divinely?” a n d sh e looked a t
ddenly, w ith a p ro voking a ir
klnd*to*me."n t,H Ur* ed ° “ Ve' "»
“! f ° dan* er a t all; they're all per-
m anag«"them *"Wl,en J0U k " ° * how ,o
m e n t'nt
,h ‘* " a real ™mpU-
°re he was a De R eszke In u llv, . . T ank* very much. This Is
h
e
re
',
And' Un‘ le H-dney,
5lCr Incarnation," said M orris,
a the star, to whom I expect you
,as Just w h a t I w as thinking, M e^iam °mM.hln“ p artlcu|arly nice. Mr.
jdn't the w ords to e x p re ss It,” “ *r. a : i “ ** M errlam"—and Zeld.t
t h e h ‘\ ° ld gentleman b« w d low
with a m ockery of Joy a t over*
over the hand of his brother's daugh-
¡¡¡y were in accord,
dad, then, th a t we c an agree
“O 'lve M errlam ," said Zelda, "Is my
«nettling, even w hen w e're both cousin and my very dearest friend."
idly wrong."
• live w as not afraid. She smiled at
t like to th in k th a t I can be Rodney M errlam : and there was some-
„id Zelda. "A nd It Isn 't in
veJ[>,1 winning In Olive M errlam ’s
. battering for you to suggest '
Zelda looked dem urely a t her
jinf. I shall h a v e to sp e a k to aunt, who seemed alarm ed lest sum—
di R odney a b o u t you.”
thing unpleasant m ight happen; but
Interest you m ay ta k e In me Rodney Merrlam laughed, half a t find­
appreciated."
ing him self caught, and half a t the
jad crossed th e room , giving sight of Olive M errlam ’s blue eyes, her
I called the c h ee rin g Jolly to g owing cheeks with their furtive dim ­
joung women on th e way, and ples und the fair hair th at Zelda was
^ quickly:
now compelling her to wear In the pre-
our service, M iss D am eron"— vailing mode.
towed Im pressively.
I am delighted; I am proud of you,”
I/l*hton Is crazy a b o u t your he declared, quite honestly.
He Is ju s t w a itin g for a
"I think—I may say th a t I recipro­
9 congratulate you.
B ut he's cate, replied Olive. "I haven't seen
jiappy to -n ig h t.
W ords fall you for a long tim e—L'ncsle Rodney—
And she shook h e r head and except a t a distance."
HO Halcomb's g rin n in g face as
"A ltogether my fault and my loss! I
this were a g re a t g rie f betw een tru st th at the distance m ay be con­
siderably lessened hereafter."
.kind of a Jolly is th is? I say,
A num ber of people were w atching
you look like first und second this by-play with keen Interest. Som e­
ryer done Into one. W e're not thing had surely happened am ong the
Hamlet now. B u t I can tell Merrlams. It had been m any years
- Dameron, th a t w hen B rother since so m any m em bers of the family
-he belongs to m y fra t, hence had been seen together a t any social
¡her—d 1 d H a m le t over a t our gathering.
| slma m ater, the gloom th a t
"T here’s a draft som ewhere," said
doirn on th a t to w n sh ip c o u ll Mrs. Forrest, suddenly. "W e m ust be
mi cut up
in to badges of going. Rodney. And now, Zelda, don't
g enough to h a v e
supplied sta>^>ut all night. Mrs. C arr Is going
'rough h e r little a ffa ir w ith to ti%c you home. You’ll be sure to he
isles. T h a t’s W alt W hitm an sick If you're not careful. And”—Z el­
States.' Do you know, I was da was looking a t her a u n t intently—
ito his H am let, a n d If I do say "Miss Merrlam, I do hope you will
I I was a sw ee t th in g In O phe- come to see me. I never go anyw here,
you know. And please rem em ber me
„'t doubt you w ere, Mr. Bal- to your mother."
aid Zelda.
"And pray rem em ber me, also,” said
i was Just one th in g lacking Rodney Merrlam, feeling Zelda's eyes
Im personation,”
declared upon him.
“you o u g h t to h ave been
"Oh, Zee," said her uncle. In a low
■ In the first scene of th e first tone; “It was all fine; but how did P ol­
ve made It perfect."
lock come to be In the show?—I don't
tlolence, gentlem en, I beg of care to have you know him."
And Zelda h u rrie d a cro ss the
"Of course I shall know him."
"R ut I prefer.”
where H e rr S c h m id t w as as-
"Please don't prefer! I'm having a
j the principals.
. that girl h a s got th e a r t of little fun to-night, and I can 't be se ri­
£ down line. S he seem s to ous a t all. Some other tim e—good­
i going all rig h t. You look like night!"
ftme cents a t a th lrty -c e n t b ar-
“W hat do you think of th a t girl?”
ster. But you ta k e It too hard. asked Mrs. Forrest, when she was
i*'d string m e! T h ey 're never alone with her brother in their c a r­
[Interested a s w hen they throw riage.
“I think she's very pretty, If you re ­
four face a n d give you tho
Itn la. I tell you I’ve had ex fer to Olive M errlam , and has nice
J with the sex all right, and I m anners,” was his reply.
"T here seems to be no way of check­
¡1 remember y o u r flirtations ing Zelda's enthusiasm s. I hope th a t
(girls th a t w a ite d on table a t girl won't take advantage of Zee’s
tie boarding-house. You had kindness,” said Mrs. Forrest, as her
brother left her a t her door.
cheering w ay w ith them ."
I shouldn’t w orry about her if I
b’s eves w ere ru n n in g re st-
ir the g ro u p s of young peo- were you."
p was a p p ra isin g and fixing
"I certainly shan’t; hut you were a l ­
i his mind a s he talked. His ways down on her father."
[being am ong th em —these rep-
I w as alw ays a good deal of a fool,
Jlve young people of the city, too." said Rodney M errlam ; and he re ­
¡•antes he knew well from long fused to be taken home In his sister's
¡gent peru sal of the personal carriage, but walked hom ew ard from
¡ety column of the daily p a ­ her door through High street, beating
rsed L eighton; h u t the fel- the walk reflectively w ith his stick.
Klf-satlsfactlon Irrita te d
him,
At the A thenaeum Zelda was enjoy­
ing herself unreservedly. H er cousin
Jchorus had been drilled a p art, Olive had been presented to a re p re ­
(was the first tim e M orris had sentative M arlona audience In a way
jihe principals sing. He had th a t had comm anded attention, and
[the chorus u n d e r protest, but Zelda was thoroughly happy over It.
Vr had insisted, and w hen he She did not care In the least w hat peo­
[that Zelda w as to he th e s ta r ple m ight say about the healing of old
¡not been difficult to comply, wounds am ong the M errlam s. It gave
her the only unalloyed Joy of her
¡no now one of h e r songs.
(the last n o tes died aw ay, Bal- hom e-com ing to see Olive established
“PPed out a t the directo r's nod socially on a footing th a t was, she
*n the a n sw e rin g song. Bal- told herself, as firm as her own.
Balcomb, who was m uch swollen
•ually am used M orris: b u t the
(truck upon him discordantly, w ith pride by his success In the op­
era,
was talking In his usual b re a th ­
al laughing a t Balcom b’s a n ­
te began to sin g w ith fervor less fashion to a young friend from
[hal sense of th e d ram atic re- the c o untry whom he had asked to
«s. As he n eared the end, w itness his trium ph. Beyond P o l­
-Ida and he sa n g to g eth er tho lock's head Zelda could see Balcom b's
endpd th e first h a lf of the profile, though she could not h ear him.
"She’s a reg u lar piece, th a t girl. I
-Ida put up h e r hands, and he
4m. gazing in to h e r eyes with was scared to death for fe ar she'd
aver-llke air. T h e ir voices soar- throw me In th a t duet—we'd never
the clim ax w ith o u t a break. sung it together—but I carried It
director th re w him self Into through all r ig h t She's th a t stunning
contortions a s he stru c k the Miss D am eron's cousin. She's ra th e r
leading to th e high note stuck on me, I'm a fra id —I’ve done lit­
“ty Rained a n d held perfectly, tle things for her—th e a te r and so on,
ns rehearsal w as fixed for the but I’ll have to c u t It all out. She's
am using, but I can 't afTord to have her
iht
■-Ply can't fa ll!" declared Mrs. m isunderstand my a ttentions. W hen a
p Leighton. "M iss Dam eron fellow finds th a t he's got a girl down
arr>' It alone If every one else fine she ceases to b# Interesting. It's
the p u rsu it th a t's am using: but when
break down."
- 1* altogether tru e ,” said Mor- they begin to expect som ething— C u n ­
[*88 glaring a t Balcom b, whoso ning? well, I should sa y !”
Pollock heard him distinctly, and he
*'ng a m em ber of the c a s t w a s
sh u t his eyes two or th ree tim es in a
'tear.
quick way th a t he had when angry,
though he kept on talking to Zelda
CH A PTER IX.
!Vers E ver" w as presented, about the evening's perform ance.
"I'm afraid you're Jealous of Mr.
®ore delays a n d slips th a n tis-
1,11 am ateur p erfo rm an ces, be- Balcomb. H e got m ore applause than
tudienc* th a t teste d the capac- anybody."
"H e deserved all he got for m aking
r" Athenaeum. It w as a g reat
! for Mrs. C a rr, a s she had un- such a m onkey of him self.”
"H e's a m an of courage; he p ro b a ­
* taken th e D ra m atic Clul)
■life was ebbing fa st and m ade bly thought he could afford to do I t ”
"All of th a t? " said Pollock.
thing of It. S he s a t in the
“A rising young m an," continued
"Ing th e p ro m p t-b o o k and
' for any fate.
Zelda.
* *P*»k to Zee a n d th en es-
"A person, I should say, of m ost
Jjd M errlam to his siste r, as egregious and m onum ental gall”—a n d
' were being pushed back for Zelda laughed a t his earnestness. She
( tho» w as to follow the p!»y had not h” rd Balcom b's r e m ^ v .h o u
- people w ere th ere a n d ehev her cousin, but she knew he had said
Mlttle color*.- by them selves. som ething th a t irrita te d Pollock. T h at
out p re se n tly from
the young officer left her quickly when |
*°m. w ith h e r a rm s full of Leighton cam e up for the dance th a t
™** had been p assed across had now begun.
wbts, and sh e bore O livs M er-
Pollock found Balcomb In * «w m ent.
- her.
The prom oter w as sta n d in g a t the side
J* afraid; not In the least of the hall, his eyes nervously * ^ rc to ­
said to her cousin ss r n , for the girl w ith whom ha had an
oed across tha ball to her
gaged tha dance.
Mela
«ii iiT '
«aid Pollock, a t hie
..., ’ raay J «peak to you a m o m e n t"
' 1,1 Bah ..mb. In hie us-
ual am iable fashion, "only I'm engag-
,
ror this dance and have lost my
partn er.”
"T h u fs my own fix," declared P ol­
i a k , out my errand Is brief. Let us
step out here."
He led the day to a door opening up-
on the main stairw ay of the building
and they paused there. Pollock with
Is back to the door, facing Balcomb.
He carried one glove in his hand and
» a s very trim and erect In his evening
clothes.
Mr. Balcomb, I was g0 u n fo rtu n ate
as to overhear your conversation of a
moment ago— with some one I didn't
kno«,^ but th a t doesn't m a tte r—in
which you referred to a young lady—a
young lady who cam e here to -n ig h t
under your escort. In term s th a t a gen-
tlem an would not use.”
As a confessed eavesdropper I don’t
believe it Is necessary for you to say
anything further," said Halcomb, w ith
heat, and he took a step tow ard the
door of the assem bly-room .
I ollock touched him on the shoulder
with the tips of his fingers, very lig h t­
ly. Balcomb w as half a head taller
and m uch bulkier, but the tips of P o l­
lock s fingers seemed to carry a c e r­
tain insistence, and Balcomb drew
back.
"I shall hold you responsible for this,
you----- "
‘ I certainly hope you will. As I was
saying, you referred to a young lady,
who wus here under your protection, in
term s which r o one but a contem ptible
cur would use of a woman—— "
Balcom b's arm w ent up and he
struck a t Pollock w ith his fist. The
officer stood as he had been, but the
glove in his right hand slapped s m a rt­
ly upon Halcomb's face, and Balcomb
took an Involuntary step backw ard
down the stairw ay.
"In the p a rt of the country th a t I
came from, Mr. Balcomb," Pollock
continued In an easy conversational
tone, "we do very p leasant things to
bright and captivating people of your
stripe"—he took a n o th er step forw ard,
and Balcomb, a little w hite in the face,
retreated a g ain —"but In th is Instance”
—Pollock lifted his left hand to his
shadowy m oustache and gave It a
tw ist; he took an o th er step and Bal-
t'omli yielded before him —“I shall let
you off with u nw arranted leniency.”
Balcomb, forced a nother step dow n­
ward, had grown red w ith fury, and
again stru c k a t Pollock, but w ith tho
result th a t Balcomb stum bled and r e ­
treated two steps Instead of one, re ac h ­
ing a landing. W ith this m ore securo
footing he gained courage.
"You little cur, you little—” he b lu s­
tered, draw ing his face down so th a t
he could glare into Pollock's eyes.
"Yes." said Pollock, calm ly; "I have
been called little before; so th a t your
statem ent lacks novelty. As I w as sa y ­
ing"—and he leaned a g ain st the sta i“-
rail w ith the tips of the fingers of his
gloved hand th ru st Into his tro u sers
pocket, and holding the o th er glove la
■ils right hand— "I h aven't tim e now to
go into the m a tte r further, but I am
alw ays a t your service. It will give ma
g re at pleasure to m ake your excuses to
Miss M errlam , or to any o th er friend*
you m ay be leaving behind yon—owing
to an Illness th a t m ade it necessary
for you to leave—suddenly. Now you
will oblige me by continuing on down
to the coat room—unattended. T here
are probably some gentlem en below
there th a t I should very m uch dislika
to explain m a tte rs to."
Balcom b leaped lightly forw ard as
though to m ake a rush for the door of
the assem bly-room .
“T ry th a t again,” said Pollock, seiz­
ing him by the collar, and throw ing
him back, "and I'll drop you over tho
banister.”
Some men had entered the low er hall
from the sm oking-room , and Balcomb
greeted them cheerily a s he tu rn ed and
went below as though to Join them.
Pollock stood above w aiting for Bal-
eomb to reappear, and as he w aited ho
resum ed his glove and buttoned It
w ith care. T he w altz w as nearly over,
hue he stood there leaning ag ain st tins
s ta ir-ra il and beating tim e to the m u ­
sic with his foot, until he saw Balcomb
come out of the coat room clad for tho
street. W hen Balcom b looked up, P ol­
lock waved his hand to him g ra cio u s­
ly, and tu rn ed and w ent back into tha
ball.
"M iss M errlam .” he said, bow ing b e­
fore Olive, "I very m uch re g re t to p re ­
sen t Mr. Balcom b's com plim ents and to
say th a t he has been unexpectedly
called a w ay —pressing business—and
he asked me to do m yself the honor to
see th a t you don't get lost. T his if
our dance."
(T o be continued.)__
CAUGHT BY IT S TONGUE.
S to ry of n H e n m rk n b le C n p tu re o f a
W ild lle n st In N e b ra s k a .
In the w in te r of 1896-97, says a con­
trib u to r to the W ide W orld. I was de­
pot ag en t a t Duncan. Neb., a sm all
tow n on the m ain line of the U nion Pa­
cific R ailroad, ninety-nine m iles w est
of Omaha. T he w eath er was b itte rly
cold. One m orning sh o rtly a fte r day­
break, w hile a m an I knew , called H e r­
m an E rn st, and his a ssista n t w ere
h au lin g hay a sh o rt distan ce from my
sta tio n , the fo rm er's a tte n tio n was a t­
tracted to a g ra y wolf sta n d in g lie-
tw een th e ra ils on the m ain line, and
as he did not leave the spo- on the ap­
proach of H e rm an 's w agon, he (H e r­
m an) grabbed his fork and ra n up to
th e wolf, w hich had its head close to
the rails, as if in a trap.
A fter k illin g the wolf H erm an to re
th e an im al frem th e ra il and w as as­
tonished to note th a t Its tongue was
left atta ch e d to th e m etals. Subse­
quently I investigated th is ourlou* in­
cident a n d evolved th e follow ing ex­
p lan a tio n :
The m o rn in g passenger tra in had
passed th a t point only a few m in u tes
before H erm an saw fhe w olf and had
ru n over a Jack rabbit, leaving th e
blood on th e ra il. T he wolf had e ith e r
been c hasing th e ra b b it o r h a d h a p
pened by soon a fte rw a rd , and In try ­
ing to lick th e blood from th e ra il
his tongue, ow ing to the Intense cold
of the m etal, froze to It. w hile tn e
saliva from h is m outh becam e a cake
of solid Ice over an Inch th ic k , a t­
tac h in g him to th e ra il aa securely a s
though In a vise.
Ill WAR OK INSECTS
Dr. Howard Kills Crop Destroy­
ers by Scientific Methods.
Parasites Cultivated to Prey Upon In­
jurious Bugs— Washington Hears
Miss Elkins Will Become
Mr«. William Hitt.
W ash in g to n .—T h e h isto ry of crop
fa ilu re s due to th e effect of h a rm fu l
and d e stru ctiv e In se cts Is a well-
known one F or m any y e a rs th e grow ­
e rs of w heat, cotton, fru it and o th e r
produce have been h a ra sse d and even
defied by th ese p a ra site s th a t eke
out th e ir e xistence by d e stro y in g m il­
lions and eveD M iltons of d o lla rs'
w orth of t b j h a rv e s ts of th e coun­
try.
T he d estru ctio n and b lighting of th e
crops caused by harm fu l In se cts h a s
long been m ade a stu d y by th e a g ri­
c u ltu ra l a u th o ritie s a t W ashington,
and the re su lts In th e d irec tio n of rid-
Dr. L. O. H ow ard.
ding the c o untry of such p e sts h a v e
been very favorable in e v ery w ay. Dr.
L. O. H ow ard, head of th e b u re au of
entom ology a t W ash in g to n , th e la rg ­
e st and m ost efficient o rg an izatio n of
Its kind In the w orld, has becom e th e
leading exponent and th e ack n o w l­
edged expert of th e c u lt of se ttin g a n
In sect to kill an In se c t—th e science
of parasitology.
T he method used by Dr. H ow ard Is
to suppress the harm fu l In sects a n d to
fo ste r the useful ones, th a t Is to de­
stroy the d e stro y e rs by a b e ttin g th e
d e stro y ers of th e d e stro y e rs.
T hus
has arisen a new a n d
Ingenious
bran ch of scientific end eav o r, th e ex­
p e rt cu ltu re of in se c t p a ra site s . Al­
read y a num ber of th e m o st Im p o rta n t
pe sts have been red u ced to Innocu­
ou sn e ss by the In se cts of prey w hich
have been se t upon th e
tra il; and
w hile m any o th e rs m u st still be com ­
b ated Im perfectly by artificial m e th ­
ods, re le n tle ss science Is sco u rin g th e
world for th e tin y m any-legged hounds
w hich shall ev en tu ally h u n t th em
down.
T h eo re tic ally ev ery In se ct h a s Its
own specific enem y o r enem ies. T h ese
m ay prey upon it d irec tly as c e rta in
b e etles prey upon th e larv a e of th e
foliage-destroying m o th s; o r th e y m ay
feed upon Its eggs, a s Is th e c ase w ith
m any ladybirds, o r th ey m ay d e p o sit
th e ir own eggs e ith e r w ithin th e body
o r th e egg of th e victim , th ere b y d e ­
stro y in g the Im m ediate o r p ro sp e ctiv e
g eneration. Always th e s e
en em ies
ten d to keep the In sect p e sts w ithin
norm al
lim itations.
D oubtless
In
m any cases the p a ra site would w holly
d e stro y a species w ere It not for th e
ex iste n ce of h y p e r-p a ra site s w hich
prey upon It and keep It from overex-
panslon. In a s ta te of n a tu re th is
b a lan ce betw een th e v a rio u s sp ecies
Is a utom atically preserv ed until m an
w ith his Ignorance of th e ir n a tu re e n ­
te rs and d istu rb s the w hole sta tu s .
In se ct Im m igration has been the
c u rse of A m erican ag ric u ltu re . Of our
72 Im portantly d e stru c tiv e sp e c ie s—
th o se
whose
d e stru c tiv e
pow ers
am ount up to m illions of do llars a n n u ­
a lly —35 have com e to us from o th e r
cou n tries.
T he coddling m oth, th e
c u rse of apple and p ear o rc h ard s. Is
of E uropean origin. T he d re ad e d cot­
ton boll-weevil h a lls from
M exico.
T h e San Jose scale com es from th e
Im m em orial e ast.
T he gypsy m oth
and th e brow n-tail m oth, tw in plagues
of New E ngland tre e s, w ere b ro u g h t
In by accident from th e old world.
As soon as an
Im ported
In se ct
show s signs of becom ing form idable,
e x p e rts tra c e It from c o u n try to coun­
try until th ey find a region w h ere It
h a s been known for a long tim e, but
h a s nev er reached the pro p o rtio n s of
a pest. In such a place they a re p re t­
ty su re to find a p a ra site w hich Is
keeping the d e p red a to r down. If th ey
can acclim atize th a t p a ra site and es­
tab lish It side by side w ith th e Im­
p o rtatio n , the problem Is solved. Such
w as the m ethod In th e case of the
w hite or fluted sca le Invasion of C ali­
fornia. T he scale was Im ported by a
collecto r of p lan ts a t San Jose, p rob­
ably from A u stra lia
In a few y e ars
It had spread enorm ously, and w as
sim ply w iping out th e orange crop
w h e rev e r It gained a foothold. W ork­
ing In conjunction w ith the p ro g re s­
sive s ta te a u th o ritie s of C alifornia the
U nited S ta te s bu reau of entom ology
se n t on e m issary to A u stralia, w here
th e scale w as discovered In w hat wan
th en supposed to be Its original e n ­
vironm ent. W ith th e A ustralian scale,
and preying upon Its eggs, w as found
a sm all red-and-black ladybird, the
N ovlus card ln alls
One h undred of
th e se w ere b rought back to Callfor-
nlt, bred and d istrib u te d To the te r­
rified and sk ep tical orange grow ers
m e re alm m u st nave seem ed m iracu­
lous. W ith in two y e a rs from th e tim e
w hen th e first ladybird began to b re a k ­
fast. on sc a le eggs, th e victory was
co m p letely won. It w as m ore th an
a v ic to ry ; It w as a sla u g h te r. Since
th en th e w h ite scale, w hile It Is not
w holly e lim in a te d and n e v e r will be.
h a s c ea se d to be a n e le m en t of peril
to th e c itru s o rc h a rd s of C alifornia.
O ccasionally a t p ra c tic a lly no cost,
science w ins a v ictory. T h e e x p erts
by tu rn in g th e ir g la s s upon th e clover
seed m idge found th a t It produced
tw o g e n e ra tio n s c o in cid en t w ith the
clover crop. G e n era tio n n u m b er one
w as n e v e r v e ry d a m a g in g
B ut g e n ­
e ra tio n n u m b e r tw o o ften destro y ed
th e w hole second crop. T h is being a s­
c ertain e d , th e fa rm e rs w ere In stru c te d
to c u t th e first crop te n d a y s e a rlie r.
T h u s th e a d u lt m idges w ere laid aw ay
w ith th e c rop before a n y b u t th e
m ost fo reh a n d e d had laid th e ir eggs.
By th is p ro c ed u re th e second grow th
of c lo v er esc ap e d a tta c k .
F ro m a n econom ic v iew point m uch
of th e m o st Im p o rta n t w ork of para-
8itizatlon Is y e t to be done. T h e d is­
covery of a p a ra sitic d e stro y e r of
th e ox w a rb le, for exam ple, would
m ean a sa v in g of $8,000,000 yearly in
th e value of c a ttle w hich com e to the
C hlcako sto c k y a rd s alone. Som ew here
p erh ap s, a form of in se c t Is m issing
Us o p p o rtu n itie s, w hich m ig h t be em ­
ployed In rid d in g
A m erican
g ra in
fields of th e chinch bug, th e re b y sa v ­
ing a loss of a s high a s $60.000,000 In
bad y e a rs. T h e re Is a c ry in g need of
su ccessfu l p a ra s itic ch ec k s upon th e
M e d ite rran e a n flour m oth, th e a rm y
w orm , th e s trip e d c u cu m b er beetles,
th e h o u se -b rea k in g m oth, w hich cor­
ru p ts o u r sto re d c lothing, and th e
peach tre e b o re r, to n am e only a few
fam iliar sp e c ie s w ith exp en siv e appe­
tite s. B u t th e g re a te s t p o te n tia l dis­
covery Is th a t of th e p a ra sitic b ene­
fa cto r w hich should p e rfo rm upon th e
A m erican h ouse fly o r th e m osquito
th e m ira c le of exorcism w hich St. P a t­
rick w ro u g h t on th e sn a k e s of E rin .
In round n u m b e rs $300,000,000 would
not be a n o v e re stim a te of th e conse­
q u e n t sa v in g in h u m an life and e a rn ­
ing pow er, plu s th e In c re a se d value of
re al e s ta te .
MISS E L K IN S TO W ED AM ER ICAN .
DEATH IN HOT SAND
8URVIVOR
TELLS
OF
DEATH«
S T R U G G L E ON T H E D E S E R T .
Find Dead Rattlesnake In Well C cml
talnlng Salty Water— One Man
Diea and Others Are Res­
cued by Auto.
B erkeley, Cal.— H ls condition borde*-
Ing on nervous co llap se and h a rd ly
ab le to te ll th e sto ry of bis te rrib le
ex perience, O. H e rb e rt M a ste rs, a
young m ining en g in e er, w ho w as a
m em b er of a B orax lak e ex p ed itio n in
w hich C h arles S tra c h e r D avidson, a
g ra d u a te of th e U n iv e rsity of C alifor­
n ia M ining college, lost hls life In th e
In ten se h e a t re ce n tly , h a s re tu rn e d to
hls hom e In th is city. H e left five
o th e rs of th e p a rty a t R a n d sb u rg a fte r
th e b u rial of D avidson lu a ru d e d e s e rt
g ra v e on th e sh o re of th e lake, w h e re
he m et his d e ath . All of th e o th e rs
suffered te rrib ly , b u t re a c h e d cam p
a fte r tw en ty -fo u r h o u rs of to r tu r e In
th e bro ilin g sun.
“W e a rriv e d a t R a n d sb u rg and s t a r t ­
ed on o u r trip a cro ss B orax lak e ,”
said M asters. "T h e lak e Is a m ud de­
posit covered by a heav y c ru st. O ur
o b jectiv e point w as an old cam p on
th e opposite Bhore, w here we b elieved
we w ould find p ro sp e cto rs. W hen we
began draw in g our line D avidson was
p ro stra te d w ith th e h eat, w hich was
terrific. A little la te r he collapsed.
T h en he b roke from us, and, ru n n in g
a b o u t fifty feet, fell on hls face. O ue
of th e boys w en t back to him . H e
died sh o rtly a fte rw a rd .
"O ne by one we follow ed a co u rse
to w a rd th e o pposite shore. W hen I
a rriv e d I discovered th a t th e r e w as no
w a ter. A fte r se v e ra l h o u rs w e found
a n old well, b u t th e w a te r w as sul­
p hurous and sa lty and a t th e bo tto m
w as a dead ra ttle s n a k e . T w o of th e
o rig in a l p a rty of seven had gone to
R a n d sb u rg for b a tte rie s w h en we
s ta rte d on th e trip a cro ss th e lak e and
th a t left fo u r of us huddled to g e th e r—
T hom as A. G raves, a m in in g e x p e rt
of O lean, N. Y.; D avid B u n k e rs, N or­
m an S tein and m yself.
“In th e m o rn in g before su n rise we
took a ro u n d a b o u t tra il B k lr tln g th e
lake. W hen h alfw ay a c ro ss w e m et
a n autom obile p a rty and w ere c a rrie d
th e re s t of th e w ay In th e m achine.
" T h a t a fte rn o o n w e w en t on th e
se e th in g m ud lak e ag ain and got th e
body of D avidson. T he boys m ad e a
rough pine box and we g ave G eorge
th e m ost d e c e n t b u rial we could give.
H ls g rave Is o u t th e re In th e su n , n e a r
th e place w h ere he died. T h e o th e rs
of th e p a rty a re used up, b u t th e y w ill
recover. It w as a te rrib le e x p erien c e
and I am th ro u g h w ith th e d e se rt."
W ash in g to n .—T o see m a rrie d th e
g irl It w as th o u g h t w ould be hls bride.
Is th e lu ck of th e duke of th e Abruzzl.
W h at k ind of luck It Is for th e duke
to tell, If h e will.
W illiam F. H itt, w ho se e m s to h av e
m ade a g r e a te r h it th a n bis duk esh lp ,
Is th e lu c k ie r m an, and th e k ind of
luck he Is In Is p lain to a p p rec ia te.
K a th e rin e E lk in s Is th e g irl in th e
case. S he Is th e g irl w hose n am e for
tw o y e a rs p a s t h a s b een linked w ith
th a t of th e duke, and to fo rg e t hls so r­
row In n o t w inning h e r It w as said
he w e n t to A frica to h u n t tig e rs. And
now h e Is com ing to W ash in g to n to SAYS GHOST ATE A BISCUIT
see th e g irl he lo st won by a n o th e r
Former Medium Tells Strange Stories
m an.
of His Experiences at Seanoe
T h e w e d d in g Is p ro m ised fo r th e
of Splrituallata.
e arly d a y s of th e n e x t social season
È
77 1/J JÓìTHEEINZ I L / l N /
here. T h e a n n o u n c e m e n t w as m ade
re c e n tly by frie n d s of H itt a t th e
C hevy C h a se club, a n d s e ttle s th e
s ta tu s of th e frien d sh ip of th e young
coupje, w hich for tw o y e a is h a s p re ­
saged th e ir e n g ag em en t.
T he e n ­
g a g e m e n t will be a nnounced
w hen
M iss E lk in s re tu rn s to A m erica In Oc­
tober.
M iss E lk in s and Mr. H itt form ed
p a rt of th e brM al tab le p a rty a t th e
w edding of M iss M atbildo T ow nsend
to P e te r G oelet G erry of New Y ork,
and th a t th e tra d itio n a l b ouquet of
th e b rid e, a s well as th e piece of cake
to be used “u n d e r th e pillow ,” h a s
re v ea le d th a t th ey w ould be th e n e x t
to p lig h t th e ir tro th .
M iss E lkins, th e ra n k in g belle of
W ash in g to n , Is ab ro ad w ith h e r m o th ­
er. w hile Mr. H itt Is tra v e lin g w ith
hls m o th e r, and both a re follow ing
p ra c tic a lly th e sam e ro u te of tra v e l. It
Is re g ard e d a s c e rta in th a t th e duke of
the Abruzzl will be p re sen t.
S e n a to r E lk in s and ex -S en ato r H e n ­
ry G assaw ay D avis, fa th e r and g ra n d ­
fa th e r of th e bride-to-be. a re ela ted
over th e m atch. H itt Is th e eon of
th e la te R o b e rt R. H i t t
Worse.
Dick—T h e re 's one th in g ab o u t L ou­
ise, sh e n e v e r re p e a ts s to rie s a bout
h e r w om an friends.
E th e l— R e p ea ts! No, Ind eed ; ehe
s ta r ts th e m .— Boston E vening T r a n ­
script.
L ondon.—G h o st s to rie s of a highly
In te re stin g n a tu re to b e lie v ers a n d
sk e p tic s a lik e w ere re la te d a t a m eets
Ing of th e C ity T em ple D eb atin g soci­
ety.
T h e s to rie s w ere told by G eorge
Spriggs, a t one tim e a sp lrltu a lls tlo
m edium , and now th e p re sid e n t of th e
P sy ch o -T h erap eu tic
society.
E v ery
sto ry , he said, w as w ell a u th e n tic a te d .
H ls own conviction w as “ th a t sp irit
com m union is n o t only a possib ility ,
but an a c tu a l and re aliz e d fa ct."
On one occasion, he said a se a n c e
w as held round a ta b le a t th e re si­
dence of R ees L ew is of Cardiff. All
the " s itte r s ,” in clu d in g F a th e r B utch ­
er, a p rie s t, and Rev. D avid Jo n e s,
k e p t th e ir h a n d s on th e top of th e ta-
I ble. In a bout five m in u te s ra p s were
, heard, and on looking u n d e r th e tab le
th e re w ere found sm a ll b u n c h es of
g ra p es, a b ra n c h from an a p p le tree ,
one from a p e a r tre e , b u n c h es of
w h e at and b a rle y and som e peas. O ne
of th e re v ere n d g e n tle m e n e x claim ed :
"T h is Is a s n e a r a m ira c le a s possi­
ble."
D escribing som e of bis experiences
In M elbourne, Mr. S p rig g s sa id th a t a t
one se a n c e a s p irit form , d re sse d In a
w hite gow n and red g ird le, C rank half
a tu m b le r of w a te r and a te a b is c u it
W eighing m ac h in es w ere used to
j a sc e rta in th e d istin g u ish in g fe a tu re s
b etw een th e m edium and th e m a te ria l­
ized form s, "a n d ,” said Mr. S priggs,
“ i found th a t a s a re s u lt of th e se a n c e
I had lost a b o u t th re e pounds In
w eig h t." T h e first s p irit form w ho
step p ed on th e sc a le s tu rn e d th e b e a i)
a t 100 pounds, b u t su b sid e d so ra p id ly
In w eight a s to p re v e n t a su c c esslv a
record being tak en . Indeed, fallin g to
tu rn th e sca le a t 80 pounds, he h u r­
ried ly re tre a te d . R e tu rn in g a g ain , hls
w eight w as re g is te re d a t 104 pounds,
th en 102 pounds, a n d th e n u n d e r 100
pounds.
D octor M ueller, w ho w as p re se n t,
d istin c tly fe lt th e p u lsa tio n of th e
form s, th e m edium bein g show n s it­
tin g on hls c h a ir Im m e d iately a fte r­
w ards. D octor M otherw ell a ls o found
th e b e a tin g of th e h e a r t to be q u ite
n a tu ra l.
O ne of th e " s itte r s ” co n triv ed to
sm e a r hls h a n d s w ith p rin te r's Ink be­
fo re g ra sp in g th a t of th e m a te ria liz ed
form . W hen th e m edium was exam ­
ined, h ow ever, th e sk e p tic w as g riev ­
ously d isa p p o in te d to find no tra c e s
w h a te v e r of th e Ink w hich he had Ina-
pressed upon th e hand of th e form .
A Tinge of suspicion,
" T h a t s p e a k e r alw ays s ta r ts off,
said F a rm e r C orntossel, “by te llln '
w h a t th e c o u n try needs."
" N a tu ra lly and properly."
*T s'poee to. Only I n o tic e th a t
w hen a man goes out of ble w ay to te ll
m e w hat I need I t'i alw ay s so m e th in ’
tn hls p a rtic u la r line o' g ooda.'