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The Seaforth News, 1954-03-25, Page 7Upon The Road To Avignon! A Complete Story by O. L. Jaeot .Beyond the level-oroasing the mountain road dipped and curved eharpiy, and front there you could watch for traffic heading along the main road for Cannes. Pegoud was watching for the ltghtu ahead that would herald the approach Of a car. The velvet Mediterranean dark - nese was unbroken. But beyond the grey rocks you could hear the soft thud and hiss of the surf, and the night was full of the corky squeaking of frogs. Earlier that night Pegoud hacl broken into a villa that had ,veered empty and likely to af- ford a night's sleep, but there had been an old man there - a light aleeper — and he had a handy sporting gun. Jean-Marie Pegoud was barely eighteen and he picked up his education in the reform schools and on the streets during the German occupation, He did not believe in old men with shot- guns. • Traffic at this hour of the early morning was sparse but with the Italian frontier not far away there was bound to be a car now and then. Pegoud craved a lift to- wards Marseilles -- anywhere away from this part of the coast, A faint spread like a (else dawn showed over the crest — the headlights of a ear approaching fast. .As they swept up Pegoud stepped out into the centre of the road. Re knew enouglie not to turn yet, 50 he trudged on with the long shadows streaking gro- tesquely over the concrete before him. The bite of the tyres sounded behind him now and he turned Showing the white of his face in the beam of light. This Was Luck The oncoming car braked, and he hurried up to it. "Monsieur," Ile said, with just the right - ount of urgency in his voice. `A thousand pardons for stopping rou like this, but my mother—" While he told his story, he•ran quick eye over the inside of e$te car. It was a big .American Sob, nearly new, and the middle - egged driver looked prosperous— e new grey hat, Overcoat of camel -hair, doeskin gloves and a sand -painted tie — which show- ed he was no Englishman. " She works in a cafe in Marseilles and a message came through to us in the village from the priest that she is ill, Mon- sieur—" "Climb in," the driver said. 1'I'm not going as far as Mar - !tellies but I can take you as Par as Avignon." The youth climbed in and the hint car spurted ahead again. You Fuld hear nothing but it moved Under you with irresietabia Pores a magnificent job. Ilia was luck! And one of these rich chaps, to whom money moans nothing. YOu can spin .theta any yarn and they'll take it. It was going to be an easy Much! Ile knew that the driver had been studying him good-humour- edly in the back of the wind- shield. He had no fear about that. Ile would get by on his looke any day. "If it was the priest she would be dangerously ill, perhaps?'" "My mother is a religious wo- man, Monsieur, The priest would look after her, But to send a message to the Abbe at home in aur village--" "She'll be all right," "I hope so, Monsieur. I have no father and I did not wish to take any chances," "With whom do you live?" "I am apprenticed to nzy uncle and I live with him in the hills back there. The perfuming busi- ness, Monsieur," The mountain road was blurr- ing by' as the big car ate up the kilometres. Soon they were twist- ing through the streets of Cannes, empty at this hour, and the driv- er took the lower coast road, They seemed to be going fruiter than ever. When the plan carne to Pegoud he could not say. It was envy that spurred him on — envy of the other's clothes, his rich and ele- gant way of life, and magnifi- cent car. It crystallized into a plan, though, when the man at the wheel offered a cigarette from his gold case. This was the real thing, with initials in small diamonds in the corner. If You Only Knew Pegoud had the know-how not to accept the smoke. Instead he pressed the dashboard lighter switch and handed the glowing disc to his companion. "A. long way come and a long way to go," the older man quoted in French, "Perhaps you could drive later?" "I believe I could, Monsieur, I - have driven this type of car—but never one so elegant, naturally," Pegoud at that time had already decided that he would be driving this car soon, but with this man no longer beside him. He would be in the ditch with a bump on the back of .his head, "Where is your mother work- ing?" Pegoud came to with a jerk, "At a cafe, Monsieur, As I said -- in Marseilles." "You will have a job to pick up another lift at this time of night." "I can always walk until morn- ing." "You certainly clo not lack re- solution, any young friend, It would be better for France if Out To Beat The Record — A French Navy FNRS III depth boat le lowered into the water 20 miles off Dakar fora test dive. Capt. Nicolas Houot, of the French Navy, and Henry Wtlm, a marine engineer, plan to challenge Prof. Auguste P)ccard's record of 10,344 feet. The duo will make the attempt 120 miles off the Dakar coast in French West Africa. more of her young sons had your determination." If you only knew! Pegoud was smirking, There was an opulent portfolio on the seat and this might contain anything—even bank notes! The man's pockets and what he could find in the rest of the car before he aban- doned it when the gasoline ran out . , , this was incredible luck, The car ran through a pine- wood and crossed by the bridge e over railway lines. St, Raphael, where the Americans landed in the late war—as Napoleon had done before them. The boy knew it was about time to think of action. Of working his arm over the back of the seat . . . then bringing it up and down. The car would swerve ... it must not be going too fast so that recovery was impossible, or too slow so that he could see what was coming... . In fact, Pegoud struck his com- panion down while the car was waiting at a level crossing, hit him a savage blow over the temple with the tire -lever he had secreted some time since in his sleeve. The boy changed seats neatly and sat unperturbed waiting for the freight to pass. Then he drove on. High in the mountains he dragged the body out of the car, emptied the pockets and took the overcoat, before rolling it into the ditch. Auto rC o bEnesorshi and Comfort The drive-in church is proving to be a great success. Several "auto churches" are now oper- ating in various parts of the country. The new Whitfield Estates Presbyterian Church in Sarasota, Fla„ is the first to be designed specifically as an out- door place of worship. There, loudspeakers are provided each car. Deacons pass among the autos with collection "plates" -- usually cardboad cartons since high winds would whisk checks' and folding money our of con- ventional plates. In photo at right, the Rev. B. L. Bowman is shown delivering the opening sermon at the Sarasota drive- in church. Below, members of the Earl Annis family attend ser- vkes, with 12 -year-old Richard adjusting the loudspeaker while his mother and 10-year.old brother Ronald sing in the front seat. Sharon, 3, rind Ann, 5, shore the back seat with o r°'• net ;'ch«t;;. Big Shot But it was when he opened up the case in the car that he could scarcely believe his luck. The case was full of bank notes --,- thousands and thousands of francs. A curious psychological change began to show itself in Pegoud. The overcoat, the cigarette case, the beautiful car, the fortune in ready money—there wasn't a fel- low as fortunate as he in the whole of France. Anything was possible to a chap who had all this. Ditch the car? Leave it by the roadside? Not likely! Not with enough cash to buy all the gasoline in France at that morn- ent! Pegoud drove on through Ar- pasin, where he treated himself to the best dinner he had ever had. Then he took the road for Marseilles again. It' was full daylight now and he felt like a god, Had these others in their broken-down twos seaters and on their bicycles ever aeon a car like this? Or a camel- hair overcoat like the one he was wearing? Or a cigarette case of pure gold? A few kilometres outside the town a Citroen, parked at the side of the road, suddenly pulled out of a lay-by and came after him like a scalded cat, Pegoud at once slackened 011, thinking he was being tinted over a stretch for a speed limit offence. The Citroen edged him to the road- side. Before he had time to real- ize it a policeman appeared at each window beside him. "Ile so kind as to descend," the sergeant ordered. He held a car- bine in his hands. "What's all this about:" Peg. oud demanded, The second policeman ran hands over hint, then pushed him towards the Citroen. "You had a nerve driving in broad daylight through tate town, parking practi- cally outside the police ctctiou, then driving off cowl as you I eerie a ,.-s',.rtu1 what yrou mean." "With half the police in France looking for your car!" "Looking cur—this car?" "Stu one you gut away its from the Customs leen at Ventimiglia when ,you rut and ran for it. The Italians have sot your pal tale enough -.in Inc. you're interest- ed. Didn't .you know they would wise ahcnd rt description oI how you :ere Ureaeed whets you bolt- i,d and left him in the lurch' If you had any Metes' you'd have ditched the env end ,'h'nneed your 'Jr' lie:1." The etegcet,t ui:e r;. eerie, trap cn.tnel-hair coat. ,.Yon vnrrettar, -stun(#e.lut, I,z shete' Thinii you own 1)10 ouuu- try, Of: Well, you're going to Sind out what jail reels- like Wi- n urn (damp. Citet moving, bis shot!" "Irti ;,11 to rtii,.1 k -'' 1'neeud shouted, "Save it tor the judge, int friend," the sateeart1 snapped, and they pirsh'ed him into the Citroen and drove hath htt.n the towtt. From " Take 0 short rut nem time oil Washts b_,t.lIr,,' , e aril• end inneeei, them t iirar - with Acair. from the shower ere Thinn lu•ii!:: lessen the dirt. and will ni;,lu, the job much ea:;ie•r. ulnen ,gin) that';i required time is a lieltt: ribelev n With a ((stilt cc Ulric So SPoli•te. lie :,tar let Von-. 11•tr bathroortt fhnrou lily .iter tpunitint 110 wrllr fat pro-. 1r1'1 Ilse Paint Pruni +curliAlSeo 61nain. I,UP IN PIERSX .Almost a fourth of the Persian people are still nomads who feel even lest than the villagers the pressure of Western ways. Our nomads are lot like the usual nomads. They do trove with the (crass, they do pitch their black tents where their flock% can drink and graze, but still they are different. There are places in the world where herdsmen move from une oasis to another, seldom returning to the. same spot. In Persia the move is up arid down. They live in the valleys and on the plains in the winter and climb to the mountains in the summer. People in America tell me that stack and sheep raisers in their country do much the same thing, moving to the high government ranges in the summer and back to the lower feeding areas in the winter. But in Persia the life is different. The Persian herdsmen do not go with their animals leaving their wives in town tor the children to finish the school term, to attend church, to see each Friday a picture show. They take the whole family, even the children and the feeble old peo- pie, though they have to cross angry spring -rivers in hung -in - dated sheepskin rafts. These nomad tribes have always resisted central government. Each man Is a person, worth as much as be can show he is worth. The nomadic life is imporeant to my country's moral fiber because each man carries in his heart the seed of democracy, Persia has art everlasting frontier in its moun- tains, an everlasting fountain Of freedom in the hearts of the mountain people. There is always one question asked me about my country. "Is there caste in Persia as there is in India?" I am proud to answer, "No. We have no caste." Social class, yes, but that is different. since a man may climb by his own effort from one class to another. Reza Shah himself rose from a private in the army to become Shah of Shahs.-- From "Persia Is My Heart," told by Najmeh Na,iafl to Helen Hinckley, Drive With Care Economic And Political Collapse Now Threatening Post -War Japan By :EDWARD R. KENNEDY NEA Special Correspondent TOKYO. --Japan is entering her second year of post-war sov- ereignty threatened with econo- mic and political collapse. That is the opinion of both Jap- anese and foreign observers here studying the easily discernible signposts of a shaky financial structure and a Diet more noted for shenanigans than stability. Signs are easy to spot. The av- erage Japanese household -re- quires an income of about $90 a month for a family of five on the rice standard. The average income is about half of this. The result has been an endless cycle of borrowing to make ends meet until even the thousands of pawnshops have been forced to change their security require- ments in anticipation of complete collapse. No longer does a house - wile use the back door to the pawnshop—she walks in un- ashamed and gossips with other women about the high cost of living. e t. 4 The black market in rice is flourishing as government rations remain at a quota that feeds a family et five for only about 11 days of the month. Those who have earnestly tried to substitute bread and wheat products are discouraged at the soaring price of hard -to -find butter that makes bread palatable to them. Behind these obvious signs is a sleek facade of post-war re- construction that fools no one. Ie has been accomplished by easy bank credits that are finally reaching the point of no return. This dismays the Japanese who did not build modern productive industries, but erected plush office buildings and restaurants, bought high-priced cars and threw lav- ish parties to entertain customers for non-existent merchandize. Japanese laments are loud. They blame prohibition of trade with Red China, They blame no• cupation reforms. They blame the war and they blame the gov- ernment. They do not blame themselves for not re-establishing induetries On a modern baste, "Before the war, Japan used to export, a mass of inferior goods at cheap prices•" One husinese man commented retentive "Now we are trying to flood the -world's markets with inferior mercbit- dine at treniendnus pries tend the wot'Id's buying none of Tluoug'hout einitl•isiast tresis e well. Ina.1 ,- , ,t zoT., lo.ot m! , trt on contracts for steel mills, stcel and heavy equipment because of the successful competition of British, American and West Ger- man firms. Confused econontc conditions go hand in hand with political crises here, "Democracy" has been used as a camouflage phrase for irresponsibility, corruption and inefficiency on the part of politicians. The people them- selves use "democracy" to sup- port any cause from the length of students' haircuts to the re- peal of taxes. With each election, Prime Min- ister Shigeru Yoshida has found it more difficult to maintain his control and has been forced to make deals which weaken his government's strength. And it is reported that the Geisha house proprietors' lobby still swings . more influence in the government than any political party. The bubble of sovereign pros- perity and stability may burst about six months from now for several reasons: Lack of rice—natural disasters have depleted this last year's crop and there will not likely be any reserve stocks for the period be. tween May planting and late summer harvesting. Lack of U.S. procurcme:nt orders—cessation of Korean hos- tilities caused a sharp drop in armament orders and contracts are now tapering off to end in the late spring. Unemployment will be even more widespread. Lack of bank credits — over- extended banks are worried about the unsecured loans now out and if there is a Socialist - inspired vote of no confidence in the government, loans will be quickly called in. Lack of trade balanec -Jong. nese exports are not increasing, yet the need for imports in 1934 is greater than ever. Lack of a balanced budget the government has made rosy promises of a balanced budget for the next fiscal. year, which be- gins in April, despite the obvious trend of inflation that has de- valuated the yen 10 per cent in the last eight months. But they also talk about tax reductions and other inflationary measure,. With these uncheerful pros- pecte ahead, the -Japanese marc in the itz•eut sucks in his breathe cerise hie head to the side and i.'rothes out. 'Ale en. me Iter• intta. byword that Means ?refer ah001 1 anything yuu v: ani it to nv:r No r.. L bn 4; 1 ,cc sicr{I In Poky., lice, coseeree.s, Lit fie ,dcei tot 1,1 1,1 x, a )e;s inoy Can find it on the black ntttrite:f.