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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1926-07-01, Page 7THE• TWINS Billy 'and Bobby Clawsonwere twin The country was a good one for sons of Samuel A, Clawson, who many hunting, and it was no unesyal -thing years ago lived in a "sparsely -settled to hear guns and to see tire dogs dile district: ing .amolig the trees and through the Thetwins were between nine and undergrowth. ten years of age, when they became The 'raft was found under the bank, involved in an occurrence which both tied to a tree by a piece of rope that remember vividly to this day. bad been filched from the clothes=line; The elder Clawson owned a saw and. a minute later each of the twins mill, which was running all day and had caught up a pose andP- ushed off frequently far into the night, dor lune from the shore. ber was plenty, and the demand for it The two, as,I have said, were learn was not only great, but continually ing to swim, and their attainments' in increasing. that respect were about equal. They He charged cniy, a moderate price could robabI` swim dozen twenty _., P y or twee for the work and found it ammo profit- strokes, at theend of which time they able than anything else he could do, were quite certain to go down like a and consequently he gave every hour stone, unless there was some support possible to it, leaving his wife to take at hand, oharge of the house, assisted by Sallie, Their custom Wee .r to disrobe, sobs', leaving who was thirteen, and a good and in their clothes :upon the` raft, while they -dustrious daughter, swam and floundered near it, keeping The, twins were too young to be of so close that, when necessary, they any particular account, and so they could catch hold of it. Thus it made were Ieft pretty much to themselves no difference in what portion of the When not attending the country school, pond they bathed!, they were9 quite safe a couple of miles away. -- against accident. Such an arrangement is always very Their clothing was maid nicely away agreeable to a lad who -is fond of play, in the middle of the raft, while Bobby and the boys improved their time in and Billy were soon splashing'around thatrespect, well knowing they were the boards and slabs, shoutingand fast approaching the period when laughing and enjoying themselves to their, strength would be utilized by the highest bent their parents and their days of sport They had chosen a place near the and •amusement would be practically middle of the pond, and knowing the ended. water as well as they did, they selected The water supply of the saw -mill a spot where it was fully a dozen feet was an unfailing one. The wheel was deep. , that most extravagant of all kinds— When they had made several cox- the undershot:—which spun around cults of the raft, they found they could with gfeat spitefulness, sending the not touch bottom anywhere—a discov- water flying. in all directions, and ery which was a joyful one to them, wasting fully one-ha1f.After this it for it seemed• so much more like swine - .owed onward through"a swift creek ming, even though they took good care a dozen feet in width, and not very not to get further than an arm's deep. length beyond the mass of slabs and Further down it became-deeper,and boards, a quarter of a mile away it spread "I tell you, Bobby," said Billy, out into a pond severalacres in ex- "we're learning to swim like—like all tent. This had a depth varying from creation." a foot to fully four or live yards: The "Yes, that's so; next summer, if we bottom was covered with rocks and learn as fast, we'll swim across Lake boulders, and the deepest portions Erie to China—" were not in the middle, so that a great Just then Bobby's head dipped deal of care was required in roving under, and he swallowed such a pro - about the pond. digious mouthful of water that he had If a man went in bathing, he was to catch hold of the raft and hold him likely to be Walking in watee scarcely self while he coughed, strangled` and reaching to his knees, when all at once vomited' until matters were righted he would drop into a hole that was again. like a wea.,Struggiing and strangling "I think I must have lowered the to the surface, he would probably bee pondl two orthree inches," he said, gin' swimming, and would go along somewhat faintly, when he had partly splendidly, until he suddenly struck recovered, "from the water I swell-. a rock which reached within a few eyed." - inches of the surface. "You know you've, got an awful big For this reason the pond was not a mouth, Bobby," said his brother; "and favorite one for men, either`, for fish- when you're in the water you musn't ing or bathing purposes, while for tho open it so wide." same reason, undoubtedly, it was very "I should! like to know how a feller popular with urchins, and especially can talk without opening his mouth?" the twins, "Don't talc, then; that's all. There • As Mr. Clawson was well supplied wasn't any need of you're saying any- with boards and slabs, his two sons thing after I spoke." were allowed to bind a number of There was.no feeling inthis sort of them together in the form of a raft, bandinage, as a hearer might' have using withes for the purpose, until suspected, . and the twins continued there was enough buoyancy to float floundering and sporting with their the twins over any and every portion ` of the pond. They were cautioned by -their par- ents to he careful. Lilco all buys, they usual vim, and, as the raft was not anchored, of course it continually shifted its position. This was a matter of small conse- promised, ..or like the large majority quence, and neither noticed that they of boys, they forgot their promise en- were gradually working over toward tirely before they were out of sight the eastern shore. of home. Suddenly, both heard a snort close One afternoon, the twins sauntered to them, and turning their•theads, saw down to the pond for the purpose of the front cf some animal coming di - having some fun with their raft.They rect:y°toward them. were just learning to swim and were "What's that?" asked Billy, catch - more eager thaw ever to enter the ing hold of the raft to support .him - water, self, while his brother did the same. Looking in the direction of the saw- "It looks like a dog—" mill, they could descry the big saw "It isn't a dog -it's a ;beard" broke bounding up and down with such fierce in his terrified companion; "and he's swiftness, while it rapidly ate its way coming strsiight for this raft, What into the log, and the rasping sound shall we do?". - carie to the lads faintly through .the "Swim ashore." distance, "My gracious! we can't do that; it's They could see nothing of their too far off." -- father', but they knew he was able to Both assertions were facts. A bear take care of himself, and theboys con was within a'hundred feet, and stead- tinued on in the direction of -the lake, ivy swimming toward thein. or pond, asit was more.,generaily The shot which the 'brothers had called. '' heard was doubtless the one that Just before they reached the water wounded Bruin, who had entered the they heard the report of a gun in the pond for the purpose ofewimming to woods to their left, but scarcely paid the other shoes, but" most likely had any attention to it.. •, felt the effects of his hurt to the'ex- ,. Visitors to Jasper Ptirlc ou May 24 sugage in snowballing conflict, The -battle bas halted for a moment on the Mount Edith Cavell glacier, But snow- balling is warmwork: tent that when he caught sight of the raft, he turned toward it Merely for the purpose of resting awhile, Being wounded, no doubt he was un- usual/1y fierce, and would snake short work of the twins. the moment he got. within striking distance. Although the raft was quite an ex- tensive and buoyant one, it was not enough to support two healthy boys and'a wounded bear. At the seine time,; the urchins saw that the shore was too' far away for them to reach with their limited skill in swimming, : together with the fact that they were pretty well tired out already. "Jingo!" exclaimed Billy, after one glance .at the enormous snout plowing through the water like a steamboat; "I'd rather drown than be chewed by such an awful creature. Here goes!" With which he left the raft, and re- solutely struck out for shore, which was a good long swim off, though there was a chance of soon striking shallow water; but the alarm of the boys was too great to 'allow them to stay in the vicinity of the bear if they could possibly get away. Bobby was only a second or two be- hind his• brother in abandoning the raft, and his feelings were terrible enough when he looked at the green woods which seemed further than ever away, conscious as he was that neither he nor his brother, try as much as they might, could swim more than half way to them. Their only hope was in finding shall low water, or some support until they could rest awhile. The pond, as I have shown, was of a very irregu_ ti and treacherous bottom, and there was fair ground for hoping this. In a few minutes the twins were side by side, and looking over their shoulders, they saw that the bear had reached the raft and was resting with his forepaws on it, the head and upper portion of his body being visible, while one side of the raft was depressed -end the other side correspondingly elevat ed. . Avery brief time had passed, when athrill of terror went through Bobby Clawson, for he fele his strength go- ing, and dropping his feet he could not begin to reach bottom. "I can't go any fel—the—el" he called in distress to his brother. "Can't you help hold me up, Billy?" "I can't swim ten feet mere myself! It's all up. Oh, dear— Hello! here's a rock!" Joy, indeed! He had touched one of those broad -topped boulders, which reached within a foot of e t top,and h upon which they could rest ae easily as if stretched- out under the shade of a tree. They were barely able to clam- ber upon it, and to recline -with theie panting heads above water. They had no more than begun, to rest themselves, when Bobby uttered a despairing exclamation: ".There! the bear conies!" It was the fact. . He had 'left the raft -and was swimming powerfully for the boys, probably incited to this unusual course by a stupid belief that they were responsible for his grievous hurt. At this moment of supreme terror, when the twins were oh• the point of plunging off the rock, with the abso- lute certainty of being immediately drowned, someone called from the hore: s "Keep stills and hold your heads low! He's pretty` near in .range, with you, but I'll fetch him." There stood a hunter on the edge of the pond, with his rifle it his shoul- der, and leveled at the bear. 'The distance was a fair one, and when, the nett instant, he pressed the trigger, the ball went crashing through the thick skull of Bruin, who made a spasmodic plunge half -way out of the water, fell back, splashed fiercely for_ -a•minute, and then quietly expired• , The twins were saved, but all will admit that the escape was a narrow one. 9 Rio de Janeiro. ,It seemed to .sue as we slowly crept up the bay That the pilot had lost his course, and steered the ehip Into no earthly harbor, but back through time To some old city of legend, where the ogre dip Lazily in the . water, •heedless of bent, And the stars are not other planets but mere twinkles Set in the dome of silence, that we went Daringly into magic lands in wonder- ment. And it seemed to me that the domes and turrets were never built Laboriously, one bye one, but that some god With a wave of hie hand, or a cry, cr a turn of the eword'hiit Had called them to be and left them here in the dusk. . . , And not till I stepped to the shore,. touched the trees, heard the !roof of a horse, Spoke to fair folk to the avenue, royal with Iight, Was I sure that the pilot had not for getten his course And taken us back through time • to some perilous 1te`ind Of mermen and magi, and little black witches of night. And golden -roofed palaces, rising like flames in the sand. --Rupert Croft Cooke, in The London Mercury. He—"Darling, your pearls," She—"Pearl who?' Beth are like • Let Cat Out of Bag. Mrs. Newlywed (proudly) -"Only just think. Charles has- gone to ad- dress a gathering:" Friend—"I didn't know he was a speechmaker: ' Mrs, Newlywed—"Nor I; but hetold me he'd been called upon to make a statement before a meeting of his creditors," One other way of ,educing the sum total of -bate in thewor:d is to remeni- ber,that. the other fel:ow also thinks he is right. FLYING IN THE LONG AGO. In these days of circumnavigation, monkeys and benne which bad helped super -Zeppelins, and luxuriou'e air Mc- him in bis expedition to aocompanY presses, one regalia:,with a smile the h'tm end hie wife no fellowpessengers, earliest seruggles,.ot the human mind When the 'Paine passed ever the to devise wan"; of travel by air. capital of the monkery king, Site. beg: The first airman waa the mythical get her husband to'etop'amid .picke,u:p Daedalus, who, according to an an- the monkeys' -'wives, and invite them dant fable, lived three centuries be- to A.yodhya, 'This wasp done, acrd one Pore the Trojan Weeelee built in Crete can more easily Imagine than describe the famous. labyrinth, the astonishment and joy of the wel- Being imprisoned with his, son, Itaaa'• come given to the royal 'parr, when at us, by King Minae; he iuvegte'd rostra- length they reached • eiYedhya"'. and rents of flying,: the wings being fas. glided down to the beflagged streets tened on with wax. The old record To the Hindu aviationis not a, new says that this caused'. the of departure, In view of this ancient' le; Icarus, who flew .so high that the heat gend it is rather a redtecovery. The of the sun melted the wax and the idea has been working in inn's minds wings' dn'cpped off. Daedalus hi£ieelf from remote antiquity. A.laddih's pall- got to Sicily. King Minos meat have ace, firing from one country to an - been surprised when his prisoner es- other, wonderfully anticipated the carped by air! modern air vessels, even as the con - There is an old. Indian legend which oeptions of Julee Verne foreshadowed rune thus: Rama, King of Ayodhya, other scientific discoveries•, in the north of India, had been exiled In a Tetter "of Dr. Samuel Johnson, along with his lovely wife, !Sita; to the dated 1784, he says: ''We have a dar- jungles of the Deccan. The demon ing projector who, disclaiming Rahe monarch of Ceylon, Ravana, abdueted help of fumes and vapors, is making better than Daeda than wings',' with which lie will master the balloon, as en eagle masters; a goose. Four thous- and ddJJlars has been raised fol' the workmanship of iron .wings. The monkey king built a aeries of "The whole is said to weight 200 stepping -stones over which the aven- pounds --no specious preparation eta gees marched on to the island, There flying, buttbere, are those who expect Rama slew Ravane, and rescued his to Bee him in the eky." In Samuel llady alive and unhurt. ,The problem Johnson's novel, "Raseelas," occurs then wallow to get hack to Avadhya.' this passage: "The maker appeared on A great air machine was fitted out, a little :promontory, furnished for. according to the story; and so caked.- flight. He waved his pinions awhile ous was It that it contained splendid to gather the air, then leapt from his rooms, furnished with seat' and cus- stand and in an instant dropped into Mona. Rama Was able to invite the the lake." Site while she was wandering in the forest and carried 'her off to his island home. Rama, with the assistance of the monkey king, =trolled south to avenge the outrage, The Best Seller. In an age when neglect of religion is one of the chief indictments that is being levelled against this and every other country in the world, it ie in - tweeting to note that every year brings an ever-tnereasing demand for copies of the Bible. More Bibles were sold' last year by the Britleh and For- eign Bible Soolety than in any previ ous twelve months, slays an English writer. No fewer than 610,60 English Bibles and 366,800 English New Testa- ments were sent out. At house and abroad 1,744,600 volumes have been circulated among British people. Since 1920 the society's annualdistribution of the Scriptures in the home lang- uages has increased by nearly a mil- lion copies ,and the total number of complete Bibles, New Testaments, and separate .books in all languages has now attained to well over-theeten mil- lion mark. This figure is more than double that reached ;•twenty-five years ago, and dhows an Increase of 412,158 for the year. It is remarkable, indeed, that at the beginning of the century, when church -going and religion gdueealdy were so nmcli, more in vogue than they axe to -day, there, should live. been a smaller demand for the Old Book than there is now. At the moment the British and For- eign Bible Society inlets: the Scrip- tures in 679 languages, Seven new ones were added last year, four of them being African dialects. Other languages are constantly being added as the demand arises, several others being already in contemplation. The cost of translating, zee ting special founts: of- type, distributing In out-of- the-way spots, etc., is enormous, the society's expenditure being well over $2,000,000 annually. At Forty. I hope I shall never lose The sense of your nearness to me, That it goes. forever with me, A -singing, through and through me. When I walk alone in the garden, You walk there by my aide, Ae though'in flesh and person, e And cannot be dented. I know you are far, far distant, But your soul is here with. me, And the sense of your nearness lingers As tonic a's' breath of the sea, Oh, I pray I may never lose The sense of your nearness to me, Dear self of any youth, a-thrtIling And a -singing through and through me. —George Elliston. Paraffin rubbed on woodwork with a soft clothwill quickly remove all dust and dirt. The GardenSong. Oh, see how the rambler seises your •dress Ae you go trotting by, With her :long, green arms in a pretty arch Over your curly head! The rose didn't stop you, little girl. To swatch you or make you cry— She 'wanted you near, to see what made Your little mouth so red! And when .you fell, an hour ago, Over .the larkspur-stalk— 'Twas only a little trick of his! He thought it would be so wise To study your face quite close at hand, As you skipped down the walk— To match, if he could, in his flowered crown, The shade of your deep -blue eyes' And if the sun should come down, some day, Right into our garden -place, We'd set the doll -table with cups for three And give him a welcome there, For we'd know that he came, like a lover of old, Beseeching, with earnest face, To carry .back to the sky with him A dock of your golden hair! —George Raynor iGarrett In Youth's Companion, Wood Song. I heard a wood thrush in. tho dusk Twirl three notes and make a star- 1VIy heart that walked with bitterness Came back from very far. Three shining notes were all he had, And yet they made a starry mal— t caught life back against nip breatst And kissed it, scars and all. —Sara Teasdale, in "Love Songs," Hadn't Moved. "Mary," said a woman to ber new maid, -"I'm tired andi am going to lie down for an hour. If jI happen to drop off, call me at five o'cbock9" "Yes, ma'am," replied Mary. The woman then :reclined on the set- tee, closed her eyes, and was soon in the land of dreams. She slept on. peacefully until the clock struck six, when she awoke and cried out Indig- nantly: "Mary, why didn'•t you call me at five *Week, as I told you to do?" "Well, ma'am, you told me to call you if you happened to drop off. I looked in at five o'clock and. you hadn't dropped off at all. You were lying on the settee in the same phos, fast asleep," The Monopoly. "I see where Henry Ford is buying up old fiddles." "Yes; lie probably' wants to get a monopoly of all the squeaks in the world." REG'LAR FELLERS -By Gene Byrnes. IF Yoi) CO15LD BE aleaSODY You WANTED To SE WHEN Y00 GRow UP, WNO WOULD BE? Gu[110 To-NteIT aviZeb Jac v'bW,1,6 3 -tor IVRATHER BEPOtSgtHOO Bump Hudson Puts the Others to Shaine slOtYRE ALL MERV to RATHER BE SAWN CLAUS! Ate - (Copyright, 1026, by The 9ejl. avndieate. IneJ� _ :1 I. - BRIGHT SAYINGS OF CHILDR.EN As the superintendent was In debt, the superintendent got up an excur Mon, one object of whish was to make enough money to pay the bills. The excursion was successful, At the next meeting, the superintendent said: "Now, children, we are out of debt -what shall we do?" "Get in again!" piped up a ehrhil' voice from a , small boy on the front sea t. • * * * _ * "If you saw a poor, half-starved boy In the street, wouldn't you give him a piece of your Dake?" asked a kind- hearted little girl of her brother. "No, fie," wase the reply; "but I would be willing to give him a piece of youres" * * * * He wasn't a very bright boy. When the family were making preparations to go to the West Indies, he asked his fatter -whether he was going to bay a fireproof safe "Why should I buy a fire -proof safe?" asked his father. "For ue all to get into if the vessel should burn up," was 'the answer.ei * h * * "I'm not proud of the way you are getting along in school," said a father to his son. "There's Johnny Smart— he's way ahead of you." "I know. The teacher said Johnny had Learned all there was to learn ie that room, and so I concluded there wasn't anything Left for sale to learn," * One day Carrie, aged, sox years, was doing some trifling thing that her mother thought she should not do. "Why, Cheeriel" she exclaimed, "how could you do that?" "Other girls do so" replied Carrie. "But that doesn't make It right, does it?" "No; answered Carrie, slowly; "but it makes it a good deal more comf'- able." * * * * Among the passengers in a bus in the White Mountains was a lad of five years. The coach was quite full, and. so that boy sat in the lap of another passenger. While on the way some- thing was said about pickpockets. The gentleman who wee holding the boy, remarked: "laly fine little fellow, how easily I could pick your pocket-" "No, you couldn't," said the boy; "I've been looking out for you all the time!" * 5 * 5 "Tommy, dear," said a fond mother to a lad of seven summers; "you must not interrupt me when I am talking with ladies. You must wait until we step, and then you can talk." Tommy was overheard to remark as he went out into the hall: "Thr trouble is they never stop." * * * 5 A gentleman recently asked a mite of a girl how old she was. "Old!" exclaimed the child, lifting her eyebrows in surprise. "Old! I'm not old at all. I'm quite new. Grand- ma is old." Two children were playing in a gar- den. The sister said to the brother: "Whish would you rather be—a lit- tle flower or a little bird?" The boy thought a moment, and thou remarked: "A little bird. Because it eats!" * 5 5 * "Who Is Lucifer?" asked a teacher of a class of .little folks. "I know," spoke up Katie, aged five years. "Tell me, Katie," said the teacher. "Why, Lucy's for Mr. Spriggs, who has a funny little mustache, and he comae to our house to see Lucy every evenin', and—" "That will do, Katie,'" said the teacher ---"that will dol" * * * * A Sunday school teacher who had grown eloquent in picturing to his putts the beautiee of heaven, Really asked: ' "What kind of little boys go to'heav- en?" A lively little four-year-old boy held up bda hand: "Well, you may answer," said the teacher. - "Dead ones!" the little fellow shout- ed. • - "Adam'sAdam's Apple." The Adam's' apple, which is a pro- jection or enlargement on .the ;forepart of the throat, received its name from the oil belief that when Eve gave - Adam the forbidden fruit, which was supposedly an apple, a portion et it lodged in his throat. This theory was all the more plaus- ible from the fact that the Adam's ap• ple is visible on men, but rarely no- ticeable on women, and then usually only late in life. • According to the superstition, the lump cause& by this piece of apple in Adam's throat was transmitted to his descondauts and became a characteris- tic of the human race. The projection is produced by the thryroid cartilage of the larynx. Detachable Collar Century Old. Detaohable collars wore invented in 1826,• after a careful housewife had ob- served that the collar of a shirtbe- came soiled • more quickly than the ' shirt itself. To keep potatoes white, do not use the saueepan in which they are boiled' for any other purpose.