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The Exeter Times, 1924-11-6, Page 2THE WEB His footsteps must 'have been heard, 1, for the door •opeeed betereie reached the bell. - "Ob 1 thought it was the doetor!" said the girl. "No, it I," said 1.11aete,rtoe. "What hes eappeeed'?. . Can, I be ot any see: A, man and a girl. lingered in an Es- sex lane and talked of' trivialities. And "My weele is ill." She beekoned Idea While they talkedthe girl's heart was and 'eloeed the d.00t again. Is heart Asking: "Will lie, befo-re he goes?" Anti is weak, and he reeeived a letter this ; the man was telling himself:e I dare got! She would loathe me if she leiew A Y010Q Call0c1 from one of the bed - the truth" So he kept $tleueb• reenley and elie left him. •• "He would like to speak to you," she The bell in the 'Meer office rang, and said presently from the landing. I Masterton went In. Illunaett was lean- Masterton went up. The old man, ing back in his chair. He raised his le a elrbby dressing -gown, was on a slatey-grey eyes 'slowlycouch by the fire. He saw masterton "Where did you spend your last heeitate, and beekcined imperiously. i holida,yer I "Come in! Listen! I've had an "At 'Bellingham, Mr. Huneett." 1 other communication from that villain "Well, you'll be given an opportunity Hunnett. He talks of sending someone of Paying a, seeond visit. 'You'll go down here --the one thing 1 reared, If • straig-ht down to -morrow. There's a you could stay--" tool there named. Fellowes"—a chin He broke -off, panting. touched klastertoe's heart ----"who bor- "Yes, I'll stay," said Masterton, rowed a hundred a feav months back,Other footsteps sounded outside. It I've had to write pretty stiffly, - and was the doctor. Masterton went down now he Won't answer the letters- He's to the library. He could hear pacing to got to be taught that 1.'n1 net a pleas- ,aea fro overhead: the nuirmur of ant man to deal with when a client vetoes,. At last the doctor departed. gets on the high horse! It's the first It was theee o'clock before Margaret job of the kind I've given you, and 1 came in. The look on her face shocked don't e-xpect you to boggle it. I'll give and chilled him. 1 you all the figures betore you leave to"Is—is your uncle night. That's all!" 'He is still living, and still ignorant - " Masterton slept little that night—a of the worst. He hasn't guessed all. decent man sometimes finds it difficult There are eome phases of human vile - to sleep when he is a moneylender's ness that he's incapable of suspect- oonfidential clerk, and knows that re- ingee signation means the resumption of a The unutterable scorn in her eyes hopeless search for work. But he was told him that she knew. at Ushinghare next morning. I A few moments ago," she continued The Pomegranates, Foillowes' haause.1 in a level voice, 'this arrived." She was some fifty yards from. the stop- I held up a telegram. "It is from the ping -place. With his heart thudding, ! man Hunnett, asking if his representa- he walked up to the gate. : tive is here. The same man, it 'ap- "Is Mr. Fellowes at home" Master-' pears, was sent on Friday. Hun,nett ton asked. But before the maid could; even furnishes a description—'medium answer a girl appeared and held out height,' and so forth. You, of course, are the man?" "Yes." "You came first to spy, then to threaten, to bully—" ''Before Heav-en.„nol" "I say you did! You deoeived us from the beginning. You have been a despicable, contemptible fraud!" He might have argued, pleaded, ex- plained. But the contempt in those steady eyes held him dumb. "My uncle trusted you, confided in you. Now—" She checked herself and led the way to the door. He stumbled out. For half an hour he went blindly- forward; then, by Us hingham." . sheer chance, carae to a station, and "Masterdon dropped into a chair. caught a London train, "It is merely a business visit," he With no plans, nothing beyond a said mechanically, and was grateful blind instinct to break from the web beyond measure when Fellowes went that enmeshed him, he made his way on to discuss his own literary work. to Hunnett's fiat. But presently the old ma.n said: "Is Mr. Hunnett in?" he asked the "I would like your advice on a busi- lift attendant. nese matter," he said. "I—I haven't The man stared. :many intimate friends here." "Mr. Hun/lett was run down in the "I hope I may be able to help you." fog- as he was leaving his oftice this said Masterton huskily. evening. He died before they got him "The facts," said Fellowes, "are to the hospital." these. Some time ago I borrowed . ,money from a so-called corporation, kIasterton went to the funeral. When which proves to be a private concern! the little group about the grave broke directed by a Mr. Jason Hunnett. I, up, a clean-staYen man beckoned him signed certain documents which I! , aside. read, I fear, perfunctorily. I was very , I "My name is Rousdell," he said, and unwell and worried at the time. I' i produced a card. "The late Mr. Hun - won't go into details over the corres- pondence which followed my failure to pay the extortionate interest de- manded. I need only show you this." He extended a letter. Masterton read it. He had dispatched many simi- lar. "Probably," Fellowes continued, "you've never met that particular brand of Shylock before You'll note that be refers to immediate and dras- tic steps. What steps can he refer to?" Masterton shook his head. "I'm hardly qualified to offer advice." "I'd defy the vermin to do his worst if it weren't for Margaret. He's not likely to come down in person, I sup- pose, or to send. anyone." Masterton made a halting allusion to the family lawyer. .It was an un- fortunate remark. Fellowes' solicitor, It appeared, was at present serving three years' pencil servitude for em- bezzlement. "Seventeen thousand of the money he embezzled was mine," said the old mau. "That may help you to under- stand why I'fell back on this scoun- drel." ' her hand with a quick gesture of wel- corae. , "Have you come down here for a holiday?" "A—a sort of holiday," he stammer- . . "Will you be staying long?" "Only for the day," "Come in and talk with my uncle. You'll lunch with us, of course?" He followed her helplessly into the big, shabby library. An elderly man looked up from a desk near the win- dow. "This," he said, "is plleasant Sit dawn and tell us what brings you to nett was my cousin, and I am his executor." I "Masterton nodded, waiting. "There's nothing to be gained by dis- cussing his methods of business. I'll only say that they never appealed to me, and that I don't propose to can- tinue them. You, I understand, were his clerk and in his confidence?" "I was, to a certain extent" "Then I've a proposition to make. I want the whole thing wound up. But every case mast be gone into on its merits. And that's going to be your job. Interest limited to five per. cent., and repayment made where a client has been harshly treated. We can set- tle the details later. The point is, you'll drayithree hundred 0 year while the winding -up process is going on, and I'll do my best to find you a berth afterwards." He held -out his hancl. Masterton, dazed, could only mutter his thanks. It was a month later when the door of •I-Iunnett's office opened and Mar- garet Fellawes came in. Masterton saw that she was in deep mourning-. "I have called," she began levelly, "to say that I-1 amgrateful for all you have arranged." 1-lunnett was in a bad temper on the following morning, and greeted Mas- terton with a scowl. "Did you make the old fool under- stand what would happen if he didn't "I-Ie—he can't pay. He's been rob- bed. His solicitor " ' Hunnett flung himself back in his chair, glaring. . "What's at the back of this?" he de- manded. And when, Maaterton was silent: "A woman, as unual, I sup- pose?" "We were discussieg Mr, FellOwes." "We'll discuas w -hat I choose to dis- elate. Bet you can go beak to your room for the present. You've made a hash of the business, but I'm willing to give y-oli a second chance. YOu'll go •'down to the limise again on Monday, tell-seliaaves exactly what you're in- estructed, to tell him, and wire the re - ;sill ff igiceici•Taf4iP-ar ter the intery e w. iaeloyptillribia- sacked at once :Tern -Mitt references, Understand?" Went, He ',`Good-bye for the present, then!" ;.11',.;,,•Fitqa.iihi4i,stalfand she said, Yet saw no avon1i6 Of edaape. -Diellifes- Her eyea avoided his, but he caught al would mean anotheta•ligeniehardet- elle shadowy smile on her tips, and • cent Into the pit of (lea-W.116'cm his heart glowed, On liabliday he Was agairi at fishing- He had nO need now 10 a,sic forgive - m. As he se II:3,g)),1)8,A 1,4 ea iseie„eaaa eves. f1 foreasoav a day, not very far g to Felt owtelj1sij oth, s tap clad: en 11j mighi ask an even , ern of flealfiglit et sm upper windeav, greate..lt thlxig eeseleseeeee 1. se.. • "Any thanks are due to Mr. Rows - dell. The final decisibn was his." "I've already seen and thanked him." She paused, her hand on the back of the chair Masterton had wheeled for- ward. He saw that she was trembling. "When---when-you made him your con- fidant, and told him the thing you did, suppose it didn't occur to you that anyone else might be iriterested enough to ask questions?" A dull color crept in Masterton's cheeks. He shook his head, "We had a long talk this morning. At the end ha told me that your welt here was practically finished, and that yen Were taking ep a post with an en- gineering firrn—a post with real pos- sibilities. There Were other 'things he told me --things T hadn't dreamed of before, 111 I've been cruel or unjust -- she paused ' to steady her voice—"I want you to make allowances. If ever you care to call and see "Care!" ...-•••• .—AINUYTF-r WORST IS YET TO COME The Aeroplane. The morning washed the wind with by Sunlight. Easter Island Folk 1 ell Time April rain . And there were eagles on the noon- day blue, With none to take the paths on' which they flew. Now as the world's unhappy voices wane Great wings are on the loneliness again, And ere it home from out the crim- son west, A weary bird returning to the nest, Into the sunset drifts the aeroplane. A mote in that magnificence, it dies, Fading upon the barren, splendid skies That fade in turn, closing their courts of light. Darkness and then a tremor high and far: Are those your wings, gray condor of . the night, • • Seen and then lost below the setting star? • —George Sterling panion. Easter Lsland which recently vanished 'in a still waves its Captain Alfred trierte Zeitung" its peculiarities. "In former times," the captain writes, "the tribes and clans on the island lived in constant warfare with each other. The captives were eaten. Many human bones still lie about in the caves of the island. The original Kanakas had a very queer cult, for which they built gigantic statues of lava. The biggest of these statues is that of the thunder god. It is twenty- one meters long and seven meters wide and weighs twenty tons. Whether thes-e stone monuments were idols- or the statues of famous island person- alities cannot be ascertained. "Some of these monuments carry a mysterious heiroglyphic script. There In Youth's Coin-, are about 555 of- these giants, the tokens of former' civilization. In 1863 the island was discovered by Peru slave dealers, Who,caught themajority of the Kanakas aria took them by force to the I'"erunic Guano islands, where they died of epidemics. • "The island people own wild chick- ens and pigs. The chickens fly like pheasants and stay at night in the trees. The owners identify their chickens by a Out on the toes. Wild," cats are the Duly game on Easter Is- land. Daytime is determined by the position of the sun. Tobacco plants grow on, the islands. The natives use banana leaves as cigarette paper; they always carry a provision of banana leaves at their belt. "I could never quite find out how • , in the South Pacific, was reported to have submarine convuleion, fronded palms in air. Kling sends to "Mils - an account of some of • Too L u' the Sheet. Old Gent—"HeY, boy, I don't want this sheet! It don't cover the news!-" Newsie—"Dere ain't no sheet goin' to cover de news to -day, miter, it's too big! Uxtree! Here yer are!" Salted ..Babies. Salt plays a curious part in christen- ing ceremonies in some countries. The Armenians cover a new-born infant's skin will finely powdered salt. After being left on one for three hours-, the salt is washed off with warm water. A mountain tribe of Asia Minor leaves the baby covered in this way for, twenty-four hours. The Greeks sprinkle their babies with salt at the christening, a custom that also marks the naming of child- ren in some parts et Germany. In countries Where the custons per- sists it is believed that the practice en- dows a child with health anti strength and that it also wards off evil, in- fluences-. A scientist has calculated that the eyelids of the average Irian open and shut four millisn times in a year. Liondon. Rem4uee': has . set her Ceatle ehere, ,.• 'Where beets The heart, of Eleglands hither no wins*. bjciw -But eiefi of Yeethe long since the Bells of Boar' Called Whittington; here Mi4on, Lamb • • 'AndXPItt.s, ()hoe bowed the.itoee, to, her'; and .110 that' zesete Ia son ie a41,1e cInWn tlytt gallayt bend keow , see•re't;. anIy Shakespearelong. '4,go Left Stratferd for the beauty of p.r- ,sttreets. marital conditions- were on the island. I seemed- to me that marriage among members of the Same 11611SehOla was • prohibited. A violation of this law was punishedby putting both offend- ers to death. Otherwise there was •oomplete pre -nuptial •freedam. Cauti- ous fathers- shut their daughters up." A Likely Story. While three Irishmen were rowing on a river, writes a contributor, their boat upset. Only- one of them could swim, and he promptly made for the neafest bank, lea,vingehis cFmpanions clinging to the bottom of the capsized craft. Soon, however, the swimmer returned and one by one rescued his imperrillecl friends. When they were all safe on the bank one of the men inquired of the res- cuerer, SMullaney, why- didn't ye take wan of us the -first trip ye made to I Shore 'stead o' goin' empty-handed?" "Sure, an' didn't 1 have to save me own life first?" dem-anded the ocute Mullaney. Still when the moth of twilight flutters down . poets, and kings and sages long eresee dust - • Leave learaclise, to gather a,t her -gate; These gave theirlive.s, as jewels, for her crown, Left cis this Landon as a ,holy trifst, Bidding us keep their faith. inviolate. —Lucy Malleson se- . Ants That Eat Forests.. There is .a large part of Northern Australia where wooden houses never last long, for if they are built they are eaten. The whole of the woodWork is chewed to pulp from the inside by „white ants, and the house beti`omes a mere shell, with walls ese thicker than paper. When a storm Comes it falls fiat. Nothing ehert of sheet iron is safe from thee pests. Furniture, rafters, floor boards, door poste—the ants eat them all. The white ant, which is not really an ant at all, but e'termite, is the most terrible of insect plagues. It lives in hills the size of which conepared with the proportions of the insect itself is simpry'eaggering. Fif- teen to eighteen feet is the average height. But some 6 -ever 10 twenty-five or even thirty feet! These hills are usually irregular cones with, odd little pinnacles, but there es ono sort of termite called the "eneridisnal," which builds hills about five times as long as they are wide. The most extraordinary 'feint about these strange dwellings is that the op- posite ends point with perfect precis- ion to he magnetic Poles. To -day there are hundreds of square miles of country dotted all over with these hills. Each hill marks the spots where a tree once grew, a tree now eaten away to its very roots, for the, termite, not content with the destruc- tion it works above ground, will bur- row sixty -feet down into the earth in search of moisture. Pulling Light to Pieces. An as-tronomer studies the stars by pulling their light to pieces. This pro- cess enables him to discover their com- ae9.tion Two methods are used to break up , starlight. The elder is to pass the I light through a triangular glass prism. The ,other, which is, in some respects a superior method, is to employ a "dif- fraction grating," a plate of glass ruled with an enormous number of fine, ac- curately -spaced lines. _The ruling of the lines is the most delicate work imaginable. It is found that gratings ruled with about 15,000 lines to the inch give the best results.. This is done by a marvellously con- trived machine. It consists of a car- riage which is moved along by a tiny screw. This screw is probably the , mos -t accurate in existence. Attached I, to the carriage is a cutting instrument carrying a diamond point. Each time I the carriage passes acros•s the work I the diamond scores a line in the-glase, The crew ensures: the perfect spacing of• the lines, which is essentialtothe success of the grating. The diamond point which cuts the lines must be perfectly foemed, for should it develop the slightest chip the work would get ruined. The ma- chine must be kept at a constant! tem- perature and for this. reason it is 10 - stalled underground. Crickets Are Harmful. Scotland's Stone Thf) proPQsai made by a Scottish member of Parliament recently that the sthne of leestiny should be re- moved from its resting -place -beneath the seat of the coronation Chair, in Westrnina'ter Abbey, to Holyrood Pal- ace, Edinburgh, recalls a number of • quaint old legends. Ace,ording. to the oldest if these, it was this, Stofie which was Jacob's at Bethel. Afterwards was in the possession of the Pharaohs or Egypt. ", Then 'it came 'to Ireland, where it was on the Hill of Tara in the year 700 • - , AJitimately,the stone was presented , by a legate of the Pope to Kenneth ' MeAlpin, as a reward for -having con- verted- Scatland to Christianity, and 1 wee, beonght to- England by Edward I. as a sort of security for Scottish [ good behavior. , Anether legend regarding the -origin' of the stone states that it eras in the possession of ehe ecote, liefOre their converston' to Chritianity. The god Odin, according to this version, ,threw the stone •at the head of anothel diety who had annoyed him. Odin seems to have been a bad marksman, because the stone fell, net upon the offending divieity, but. among the Scots, who held it in re.verenee ever afterwards, One interesting point. about the ore 'gin of the stone thus diversely account- ed for is that it was examdned some time ago by the late Lord Bryce and an expert mineralogist. They found that the stone, which is of red sand- stone, did, not at all -correspond with specimens -of sandstone procured from • &come. While the Stone of Destiny was at Scome the Kings of Sc‘etlancl, were crowned on it, and an old Latin prophecy, the origin of which is as mysterious as that of the stone itself, became current: 'This prophecy, trans, lated, reads,: "Unless the fates are faithless found and visions, merely dream, Where'er this, stone be on the ground the Scots shall reign supreme," It was this traditional couplet which gave to the stone its name of the Stone of Destiny. And the phopliecy -appeared to be fulfilled when James VI of Scotland became James I. of Great Britain ane Ireland. This might have been thought com- pensation enough for the loss of the stone, but it has always been a griev- ance in the Northern kingdom. At one time, so strong was this feeling, a number of young -Scotsmen, mostly students, formed ea plan to steal the stone froth -Westminster and smuggle It back to Scotland', The plan, how - What the Thurnii- Revco The short thtimb ruleitlip cording to Henri. Rem, th arms French scientist. It is the thumb of tOlerance, indicating an individuality but slightly developed, a feeble will, fuck of •initiative, inability to resist, an impulsive, changeeble, weak and .careleSs being, Who allows.hirneelf to ' be led terward good as easily as to- ward evil. 1' This la the thumb of the "naive artists like Albrecht Durer, tyrannized over by his wife. It is the thumb of Monaigne, the skeptic; -of La Fon- taine, the teller of fables; 01 Louis XVI., the type of indecision; of Alex- - aeder Dumas, the elder, who when he, Wrote made hime,elf laugh and ended by believing that what he had dreamed or writen had really happened. In the case of the long-hunthecl per- son the head rules. It is the thumb of the exclusive. It indicates a firm will, a decided personality in general, a thinking being whose will is' informed with firmness, tena-city and persever- ance. The'leng, very large and very strong thumb shows the dominating will .power of men of initiatiye, who are pergevering, tenacious, horn to com- mand, and who feel the need of ruling others. It is the thumb of the ambiti- ons, of those who "arrive," of the Inas- s' tors of men, the heads of cults whose will power ie immense. Since in the long thumb it is the head which dominates, and in the short thumb the heart, the long thumb should .be the Attribute of man and the short thumb that of woman. Mis is not always the case ,however, aoeording to the famous French scien- tist. Therefore we find that in emarried life the wom,an with long thumbs, al - always wishes to control and direct everything. If the husband, too, has a long , thumb, then a state of wa.rsreigne• in ' the home., There is strife, separation and divorce': In marrying, a long -thumbed man should select -a short -.thumbed woman. And a long -thumbed woman should select a, short -thumbed man, for in that case she will -have a docile com- panion and a humble servant who avill submit to her will and, her caprices. • A cricket en the hearth is 0 -pleas- ant thought, but an entomologist says that a cricket that gets into the house will eat holes in clothing and laee cur- tains. It is hard to believe that the "cricket on the heaith," the emblem of cheerfulness and homely comfort, would do a thing like that, but the etatomologists probably know- more I about it than the writers. Through a silken chute, -hea.ci fir ,4i:;;;; this firo-trapik, vittim 1ss slid to.safe meciern of fire escapes. 'The tube is ot bailee:1 silk encased in heavy netting. • in a demonstration of the most ever, came to nothing. The present agitation may, of course, have no more practical result. In- deed, -according to' a cynic, Scotland's real grievance ia not that the ,stone is in Westminster --there are now more Soots in London than in Edinburgh— bat that any one who wishes to see it must give six ,peece. Might Not Be a Safe Breed. Mrs. Arigtah Kratt—"And; of course, we will have several pergolas in the garden." Mrs. Nurich "But, my dear, I wouldn't get a stran.ge breed—those dogs '11 bite somebody as sure as you Dick Whittington's "Cat." The word "cedes," meaning dainty food, is prbba.bly never used except in poetry, and seldom there, yet we call the person who caters for our food a caterer and in tha.t form the word is of everyday occurrence. It has come into some prominence lately in connection with the fifth cen- tenary celebrations of the famous Dick Whitington, whose fame rests- more solidly on his possession of a cat than upon any municipal honor which came There have been all manner of learned; discu-ssions as to Whitting - ton's cat, one of which pointed to the probability ,that this city merchaet had a ship 'called the Cat. But the late Professor Rowley of Bristol, England, was perfectly sure that 'cat"..was an abbreviation, of this old English word "cate," meaning provisforie, which sur- vives, even in English geography, in I the Cate River at Plymouth, I es - Garden -Village. A French garden -village is planned exclusively for writers, painters, sculp- tors and. musicians. It will occuny a beautiful wood on the outskirts of Paris and may sontewhat relieve the housing problem. The, village Con- tains a hundred houses and a number Of studios, all of which rent for a low price. The government, whicb owns the -weed, has oontributed nearly four , francs toward th•e project and has stipulated that every resident , must have at least three children and I an income le sa than twenty thousand francs a year. .The place is to be named for that groat artist Sarah Bernhardt. , vlarieuerades were created in the sixteenth century by an Italian, it as said, Sunlight -Health. • Every soldier who has beeu in one of the government hospitals which ac- commodate, patient sufiering from tuberculosis knows avhat is meant by "en the roof." It is on a part of the roof specially d-esigned for the purpose that the patients,enjoy the healing and invigorating qualities, of outdoor air and sunshine. , e"Outcleor air and sunshine!" Not only do they help to cure -those who are ill.but they preserve the health of thos-e who' are well. Sunshine and fresh air -are Nature's best tonics. Sunlight helps to keep us in health. It improves physical condition and gives a mental benefit. In fact,- the effect on our feelings does as much as the condition of the' air. Happiness 'and- sunshine somehow go together. Sunlight cures- some diseases and is of great benefit in others. Sufferers from.. tub-erculosis ,,and 'rickets find in sunlight their best medicine. Like other forms of treatment, sunlight must be taken with care and discres tton. When a pdtient is given a sun - cure the exposure during the first treatment may be only the arms and feet for ten minutes. The next day a little more of t -he body is exposed and for a longer period. Thus the dose Is gradually increa,sea until after a month the whole body may s -oak in sunlight for several hours a clay. The reason why sunlight works slich won- ders fer these sufferers is not well un- ,derstocid but the benefits are remark- - able. Sunlight is one of the best germ killers. Many germs are kilied quick- ly by sunlight. For instance, in a gloomy room on the north side of a house, tuberculosis germs may remain alive for. half a year. In a bright sun- ny roam on the south side of the same house, they may be killed in half an hour. For disinfecting a roem after O commu-nicable disease, sunshine and soap seid•s are a winning team. Shah a room may be made safe for use by a thorough housecleaning and ect•ubbing, followed. by a sun bath' with windows open for a ,couple -ofhda.ys. • Disease ,gerrne lurk in dirt and darkness but suds and sunshine kill them quickly. To 'Enrich Science. The British mean to have another try at Everest in 1926. By that time it may be possible to hop by plane to the world's- loftiest summit. But that Is not the way the mountainee-rs of the Alpine club and the Royal Geogra- phical Society intend to -take. eThey feel that they owe ji to the picneens who died in the previoes attempts, 10 follow in their steps- over the crevas- ses •and along- the ridges, in order to prove that men can live and move in tenu-ous atmosphere 'depleted of its oxygen. For this climb es meant to enrich, science; it is not simply a dr seceding exercise. WcSe the aacent nothing better than a gyntaae-tic feat, It would not justify the money spent upon tho deteihnined siege ot "the Roof of the World." Sad is the clay for any man wiesai he becomes absolutely eatisfied with the life he is living, the thoughts that he is thielcing and tho deeds that he is do- ing; when there ceases to be forever beating at the doors of his eteul a eire to do something larger whick he feele and knows he was, meant and ins tended to (la—Phillips Droojek 11,10eteeele, •