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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1961-12-07, Page 7Chane From Pets To Crdl•1'1e4."0-fitters The night shift bad just start- ed. Men were hurrying in and out of the dark cavern of the process sheds, up and down the staging of tall cooling towers. But the dog, who knew the factory and all its staff well, seemed uneasy. Something dark moved on a high platform, level with the top of a huge still fu11 of boiling chemicals, Without waiting for a word of command, the dog was off, slithering up the wet stairways. "Stay!" yelled the handler, doubting his dog for the first time ever. A dark figure stepped off the narrow ledge to a still narrower metal rim that ran round the glass still, clinging as best he Could. The dog followed, cau- tiously now, Every roan on the ground looked up, held his breath. Why had the guard dog taken a sud- den dislike to Old George? The man moved an arm and the dog inched nearer, caught the loose cuff in his mouth and held on to it. . After a nightmare minute or two when it seemed that man and dog must plunge to certain death from their slimy perch, both whre brought down to safety, It was only when a torch was shone on the man's face that the rescuers realized it was not Old George, but a notorious local lead -thief who had got into the works, after having heard that Old George would not be at work that night. Such incidents are becoming increasingly common as, all over Britain, guard dogs are patrol- ling more factories, warehouses, and military depots every clay. Each in the care of a trained and •experienced handler, the dogs are helping watchmen and security officers faced with the tough and dangerous job of pro, lecting property against thieves and hooligans, Mr, Peter Olohan, of Widnes, Lancashire, is an experienced dog:handler, a seasoned securi- ty officer and a man of ideas. He sees a big future for the four - footed detective, He knows that dogs are powerful deterrents to criminals. - Once it is made known that guard dogs patrol the premises, petty crimes of al] kinds drop sharply, The dogs used for this type of work are mostly pedigree Alastians and a few Dobermann Pinschers. But breeding isn't everything. It is only one dog in many that proves suitable for training in guard duties. Duchess, a bitch Alsatian own- ed by Mr. Olohan, is in every way a lovable pet, But at night it becomes e vigilant hunter, relentlessly searching out wrongdoers with- in the territory it has been given to guard. Only one man can control it — its handler. The training of a guard dog does not involve brutality or. starvation to spur it to extra ferocity. A -properly trained guard dog is a highly disciplined animal, acting only on the word of com- mand of its regular handler. It costs about $6 a week to feed one of these clogs. Once trained, the average dog requires three or four, weeks to become used to a new site. Once it knows its way around and is familiar with any regular em- ployees who may be on night shift, it can be let. loose safely. It can gain access quickly to places beyond the reach of most men. With its unrivalled sense of smell it can scent out the sweat of fear given off by a guilty man. This smell, which comes from adrenalin entering the bloodstream, can be detected only by an --animal nose, HIGHROAD TO ADVENTURE — Taking a "roudabout" way to the swimming pool, these De- troit boys pass over a group of'men working an the city's expressway expansion program. The boys are cm a spiral ramp which leads to a pedestrian overpass on one of the major highways, A well-trained guard dog — like Mr. Olohan's Duchess — has been known to catch a thief who, under cover of darkness, mingled with a crowd of regular employees disguised as one of them. Ill-behaved children often make nuisances of themselves at. road works and building sites. At weekends a group may come to loot and plunder building materials or to throw a brick into a piece of machinery. Costly plant at the mercy of mischievous children can be ruined overnight and properly trained dogs can be relied upon to chase off these youngsters, and will always stop just short of touching them. 1 Some of the tougher kids seem to enjoy being chased by the more savage -looking dogs. To them it's just another dangerous game, like playing "last across" on a busy road. Mr. Olohan, in introducing his new service of dog patrols to Merseyside, believes that it will release many security men to serve in other capacities beyond the scope of canine intelligence. Wherever vandalism is rife, the guard dog can help. Mr. Olohan is offering , his services to British Railways both for the patrol of trains and the railway track where so much damage is now being done. Dogs and their handlers may become as familiar to train travellers as ticket inspectors and wheeltappers. Notices an- nouncing that dogs are patrolling might deter those who amuse themselves by slashing uphols- tery, wrecking carriages, jam- ming switches and hurling rocks at train crews. It takes four or five months to train one of these dogs and the only reward for a lesson well learnt is a pat on the head. In fact the guard dog is taught never to touch food without the handler's permission. as a precaution against poison- ing. But however well , trained, clogs remain dogs. And their enthusiasm can be misplaced sometimes, Passing a lonely rail- way siding on the way to a warehouse, a new handler found his dog interested in one of the empty freight cars. There had been rumours that a thief was hiding his loot in these cars until he could collect is safely. The handler felt this was his big chance. He let the dog loose and him- self clambered up the sheer sides of the car and peered over the top. Yes, he was right! In one corner crouched a man. No, he was wrong! There was a girl there, too, They jumped up white faced and scared — just a young couple who thought they had found privacy! WHERE'S HE RUSSIAN? High stepping Russian dancer exe- cutes one of the precision routines which delighted the 10,0.01 who came to see and hear the Red Army Dancers and Choi while they were in Winnipeg, Manitoba, The group made Triumph offer triumph as it toured Canada. Foiled By a Sudden Twist Of Fate A Complete Story by DESMOND TARRANT Octavius Gregory Jones was essentially mild and gentle. But he had- one overwhelming. ambi- tion, Yet, -like everyone else, he wanted. to survive. So for many years he had lived a life of com- promise, He kept his real self locked deep inside •him while outwardly he seemed as normal and as res- pectable as his •neighbours, But he never relinquished his secret ambition — to run away with his own wife and be himself. He had three children, a mother-in-law, and a partially - mortgaged, semi-detached house filled with efficacious; boons and blessings — a refrigerator, tele- vision set, vacuum cleaner and many other conveniences of modern bliss, With one thing and another, he seemed well -anchored. But as the days passed and Octavius punctually went to his bank, raising his hat here, step- ping aside there, and being everywhere courteous and con- siderate, he schemed. Between calculating the for- tunes of others, he checked re- peatedly his own financial state. His aim was a small villa in southern Italy. But always the answer was the same — not enough money. Octavius realized that if he did not do something soon he was a doomed man,' Short of dressing up the children as monkeys and apprenticing his mother-in-law to an organ grinder, he could think of nothing. So one day he completed a rough sketch of the bank's vaults. But this scheme he eventually declined as being in the worst possible taste — after" all, they had paid him regularly. Besides, he needed only a few more thousands — whereas a bank robbery might involve him in much more. He resisted the temptation. Then suddenly he thought of the answer. Why not •go to Switzerland, buy a thousand watches and sell them at three - hundred per cent profit here in London? In the abstract the beauty and sheer simplicity of the idea overwhelmed him. Why had he failed to think of it be- fore? Month by month he cautiously drew extra money from his sav- ings until he had enough to buy the watches. Then he impressed his- wife considerably when he told her he was attending a three-day conference in Paris. fflext, he 'phoned his bank to say, in an appropritely husky voice, that he would be off for a day or two with 'flu . . Seated luxuriously in his 'plane at twenty -thousand feet, Octa- vius sighed blissfully. t.His traveller's cheques secure, he foresaw nothing but success. To -day his nerves were iron, These had on occasion given a little trouble. Was he strong enough? Did he have feet of clay? Several times his wife had caught him before the mirror thrusting out his chin in chaste defiance, "What has come over you these days, dear? You never used to be so vain — you're not flirting. with' some little minx at the bank, are you?" "No, no — of course not!" he had smirked, proud and self - deprecatingly. He was merely developing a strong jaw -line Mussolini, that's who he was , , . But he kept his secret, How much better to present her with the finished article — freedom in the sun! • Octavius chose the watches carefully, All Were impressive and, he ensured, all were guaran- teed. He bought them a few at a time in many shops in both Geneva and Zurich, • Octavius packed themcarefully in 'the linings of his suitcase, zipping the silk over them and casually replacing his personal belongings. He was relying not on con- cealment but on his years of well-trained docility — safety first, he felt sure, was written all aver him in large letters. On his third and last evening away, Octavius carried his case oa board the shining airliner along with the other comfortable - looking passengers for the short flight to London. The formalities at Geneva were purely routine. As they swung away into the night sky. Oetavius experienced an un- deniable and increasing tense- ness. He studied his fellow passen- gers. Soon he would be a genuine part of this sleek and pleasant world of heavy over- coatsscented furs, the sheerest stockings and the right shades of lipstick. Transferring his attention from. the women to the man be- side him, he glowed with pride, Here, surely, was a veritable Titan, with an astrakhan -collared black overcoatcasually tossed on to the luggage rack and the' firmest of jutting blue -jowled chins. Soon, after dropping steadily into the pool of London's lights, the airliner touched down, As he watched the lights of the terminal looming up, Octa- vius had not bargained for such a terrible constriction in his stomach. Outwardly, he was confident and appeared to be an ordinary businessman as he Walked from the giant aircraft. Within a few moments he was standing still alongside his blue - jowled hero, before the Customs officials.. Cards were held up; assur- ances were given, here and there were unlockings and openings of cases. Octavius nonchalantly unlock- ed his case, too. A Customs offi- cer approached and stopped first in front of blue -jowl, holding up the Customs declaration warning. "Good -evening, Mr, Zapparelli — had a good trip?" Blue -jowl just scowled, "All right, Mr. Zapparelli, we want to have a little look this Lime — open up, please," Blue -jowl looked surprised. Thein suddenly, he picked up Octavlus's case, which was ad- jacent to his own, placed it on its side, released its locks, and opened it• Octavius was caught right off guard. The thought flashed that he dare not claim the case now that attention had been drawn to it. While he hesitated, the offi- cer's fingers quickly and skil- fully rustled through its con- tents, Within moments Octavius, petrified, saw all his beautiful watches, his precious savings, drawn forth and poured in their abundance on to the bench. Gasps, of horror arose - from all sides. Blue -jowl stared aghast, He turned wide, unbelieving eyes on Octavius. Then he blus- tered: "I say — this case isn't mine! I've picked up another by mis- take!" A roar of jolly laughter rose from the. Customs officials who had gathered round. "Come now, Mr, Zapparelli — after all these years! You've beeh getting over -confident!" Blue -jowl was led away, curs- ing. An officer laughingly put a cross on the case before Octa- vius. "We've been after him for a long time, sir." Octavius managed a feeble smile. Then, somehow, he walked out with blue -jowl's case. He signalled a taxi at the ter- minal's entrance and within minutes had transferred to the suburban -line train that would take him home. During the agonizing forty - minute journey Octavius sat with the case poised above him in the rack like the sword of Damocles, Why had blue -jowl switched it? There .. could be only one answer — it must have some- thing very valuable in it. With the last shreds of restraint snapping, Octavius, carried the case up his garden path, brush- ed aside his amazed, wife and shot up to their bedroom. Feverishly prising off the locks, he opened the case and ransacked its contents, Out came violet pyjamas, many - hued shirts, silk underwear, soft socks, hard brushes, and bright black shoes. But nothing else. Octavius sank at last like a torpedoed liner. In frustrated fury, overcome by the thought of all the lost years of. thrift, he hurled the case across the room. It struck a bed post which ripped open the case's side. Staring wildly, Octavius saw five -pound notes protruding and fluttering. He jumped on the case again and ripped it completely apart. Then, with- quick strides, he locked the door. Once more serene, Octavius been to count, When he haul finished, he knew that, at ion* last, be had more than enough;" Fancy not thinking of falai! sides! The Customs man woul have been onto that in a flash, Now he sits in the sun on the veranda of a villa in southern, Italy enjoying, with his family, the benefits of his many years of hard labour. Never again has he surprised his wife with such unprecedented behaviour, And always he has, with some small change, a kind word and a smile for the organ grinders! — From "Tit -Bits". Costs Real Money On This .Railway Montmartre, t h e colourful, world-renowned artistic quarter of Paris, famous for its painters and for the magnificent Sarre Coeur, the mosque -like church which dominates this village in the heart of Paris has another claim to fame, For it possesses the shortest— but most profitable — railway system in the world. The little funicular relic, ay which runs between the Place Saint -Pierre and the Sarre Coeur is well known to thou- sands of visitors to Paris, What is not so well known is that it is twice as profitable as the Paris bus system, and three times more profitable than the • Metro, Although the funicular han- dles only 1,594,150 passengers a year — compared with the Me- tro's 3,500,000 a day — its annual receipts are about $75,000. For it is cunningly placed. By the time tourists have puffed and creaked half -way up the hill of Montmartre to visit the Sacra Coeur, they are more than ready to make the last stage of the climb by funicular. The journey from the Place Saint -Pierre to the Sacr4 Coeur is about 124 yards, takes seven- ty-five seconds and costs abuut six cents. This works out at about '75 cents a mile, but most people prefer to travel by funi- cular rather than climb the 144 steps of the rue Foyatier, which has a one -in -three gradient. The funicular is a twin -track system with a car on each line, Each car has a capacity of fifty passengers. As one goes up, the other comes down, At the height of the tourist season the cars make around 200 return trips a day, leaving every five minutes between 6:45 a.m. and midnight. The funicular railway war first built in 1901 and run hy- draulically, But with the craze for speed, this system, was found too slow. The line was electri- fied in 1935 and the speed of the cars was stepped up to a brisk three and a half miles an howl SALLY'S SALLIES "Imagine me meeting THE Mr. Shakespeare! Have 3•ou written any plays, lately?" IIS "41(11,1, 14 UNDER THE GUN — Newsmap above shows what Soviet Russia's 7,5004mile-long missi,}a .!hots en the central Pacific range mean to the reef of the world. A line drawn from the impact area around the globe would encircle every major country, Shaded aria en Nowsmap inµ eludes all points which could be reached from only the ono launching point, near the C.. plan Sea, from which the test missiles were fired. (distortion is result of mop prolectioniy On July IT, 14610 the U.S.• fired on Atlas ICBM for 9,04 miles, possibly the world's record..