Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1927-07-07, Page 6A RUNAWAY CELEBRATION A Story fiat OM' Boys and Girls of a Celebration that Com- bined Adventure and Fun ' The sleepy little ltamlet•ot Topham "Mean old skinflint!" muttered sear titiorners wasactually going to have a j. oinhzioe Day celebratiou. It was many years since any demon- 'fettatlon in honor of the day had been ttempted, anti now the village boys,, iisgusted by- the apathy and lack- of their elders,were going atriotism of j'o take things in hand. themselves. The contemplated celebration was ' not one of great magnitude. Au old tench mortar that had been stared away in the eeilar under tlIe ' school house since war times, was to Usher in the day, and belch forth sal, Yates at intervals.; the day was to clese I appropriately with a display of fire - "This is what we must do now," he eral of the boys, indignantly. "No patriotism about him," exclaim- ed Ben Lent; "anal he's au old soldier at that!" "Lt's nothing but stinginess," added Fred Bayliss. "He could take a do?,en of us in that big wagon, it he °hese." "Well; it won't do any good to call him names," . continued Jerry. "He's bound to have that sevensty-five cents, and we might as well give it to him. We'll have money sough without, it. Perhaps, he'll be corry„for, his mean nese before the First is over." Here Jerry paused,•and winked slyly as Oscar Mills. w But the proginui seemed quite s•tup- went en, quickly. "If no one else ' to gndoue to the simple tont of Topham ' watuts le go, I'll ow, a any Moses to arners; at least to -the young people, tomorrow,and have Mm Bent the storekeeper down there, Cor the fathers and mothers did not order the things for us. He can get "look favorably on this threatened rup them in four er five days, and when ure or the peace. Moses makes another trip, the day The former predicted the utter des, before the First, two of you other fel• t•ruction of" the village by lire, while lows can the latter hinted at vagus castestro- k with him and bring the hiss, and pictured in lurid rotors the things ba. We'll get two dollars' worth of powder tfor the mortar, and Pillage green strewn with dismember - 1 • hitt the rest of the money into fire - ed legs and arms, •,m,ka‘„ •ld But al; every one shitted the re- Jerry's auggestlons were unanimous- ly on to somebody alae, no favored by Ma companions, and, •positive mandates were Issued against after some chaos and confusion, caused the ,proposed celebration. by every one trying to. talk at once, It would have been difficult, .indeed, the assemblage settled down, to a sob - to lay hands on the power parties, tor, er consideration of the. -ways and as five momentous day drew near, the means of the proposed celebration. )goys became more reserved and close- The boys were resolved that nothing outhed,,.'and nobody knew whether should occur to justify the dismal pro-' they had suoceeded in raising sufflci phectes of their elders. It was agreed ent money for their purpose or not, that the old cannon should be used That is to say, none but the boys with groat caution, and that the shoot - themselves, and they were not in the ing of squibs should be confined to the feast worried over the matter. village green, The fireworks were .to. They smiled when they thought of besetoff from the summit of a hill, on the snug little sum"of six dollars and seventeen cents which their leader, the outskirts of the village. 'Terry Arkel, kept for safety under a After some general remarks, in Hoose board in his bedroom, and as which the behavior of Reeve Penman dos the old trench mortar, that had and Moses Ptclts was ,contrasted with the generosity of Hiram Skinner, the and stored away in a corner of Mr. boys separated and went home. Mills' .barn, arkel accompanled Moses Picks to The boys had collected this money Glenville, and returned late in the by an infinite amount of self-denial evening with the welcome news that and working at odd hours. lir. Bent. would order the things and They bad hoped to have much more, have them ready by the afternoon of for It was their ori.` nal intention to Yhursday, June 30. i eoUcit contributions from their par- ents and friends. leases Mice wee .one of the queer But the unfavorable attitude of the telemeters of Topham Corners, Ida elders nipped this scheme .In the bud, was an odd-luc it,`ng man. He had and the one parson whom the lads served in the Fenian Raid, and, accord - ventured to approach, Reeve Penman, big to his own accounts, had Perform- Iong since been cleaned and polished 18 CANADA'S FIRST GIRL FLIER Miss Aileen Valiiek, 18, of Hamilton, is Canada's vrat girl aviator, and hopes to make a flight across the dominion, as,soon as she receives the pilot's license, for which alae has applied at: Ottawa. She is shown "above with Jack Elliott, proprietor of the Burlington air fort and aviation school. The fireworks had arrived, and the and the short clay pipe' he was smoke boys opened the box to make sure that ing shattered between his teeth like a' the contents were all 'they should be. pair, of castanets. • Then they placed it under the front "I3elp! murder! thieves!" he yelled, seat of tat wagon, without taking the at the top of his voice. precaution to refasten the lid. And, throwing up his arms, he tap - Moses went off to execute the vari- pled backward from the seat and dis- eus coz tseloes that he professed to' appeared In the bed of the. wagon. have, and made the boys undergo a , Ben and Fred began to laugh Immo'& terious wait at the store. • ' erately, aid something verylike a It was exactly six o'clock when he chuckle came from the two highway - returned. He been on his shoulder a men.' Then an amazing thing occur - small wooden box, apparently very red. Frain the dark interior of the heavy, which he shoved quickly under wagon came aria cries for help in On the following afternoon, Jerry I t ththe rich man of the village, gave an ed prodigies of valor, and taken an e rich refusal. aotive part in more battles than he "Na; clear out!" he said, roughly, could enumerate au the fingers of both hhe 'Not a penny will you get from me. If would At the slightest chance they you, set anything en fire with your tom- wered f mt fathmiliar to stories, and they foolery you will repent it, remember were as familiar to the young folks eof r that!" the village as the rhymes of Mother; Choose. After this rebuff the boys fell back Moses had enough money to keep oat their own resources, and one week him without working, and, as has been before the great day their melted sav- shown, he ryas somewhat of a miser. Ings amounted to theAgee-mentioned Ile owned a big covered wagon and an sum of six dallairs and seventielen old horse, which went by the name• of cants. Tramper. 'Whiz this combination, he ho wagon sent, but not before the boys ivioees's familiar voice, and, blended read in black letters on the side, "Mr. with them, a volley of angry lmpreca- John Penman." tions in a totally different key, This It's a little package for the Reeve," . was followed by a tremendous scuffing said Moses, carelessly, "Jump in now, and pounding that threatened to break and we'll be off.' the }wagon apart The boys sprang to the seat, and the Ben and Fred leaped to the ground wagon moved slowly .away, followed and joined the highwaymen, who were by the envious eyes, of a group of none other than Jerry Arkel auu Oscar Glenville boys, end also by another mills, Pair o1 eyes which belonged to a shab- "There's some one else in the wagon by, tramptsh-looking dnilivtdual who with mesas!" cried Ben, excitedly. was leaning against an awning -post in "Do you hear them fighting? front of Mr. Bent's tore. "They'll smash our fireworks all up," The return journey proved long and added Fred. tedious in spite of Moses' war stories. This teri'i ying suggestion moved the Tramper was obstinately slow, and it boys -'to action, and they hurried to- wns past twiligbt when the feat of ward the -rear of the',wagon. The Shooter's Hill was reached, leather hood was partly opened, and, This was a most unusually steep as- with a vigorous pull, Jerry tore it clean cent a quarter of a mile from the vii- op lage. On tho crest was a belt of thick "Drag them 'out! he exclaimed. woods, through which the road passed. "Catch boll of their feet!" Th -e journey up the hill was per- Crock! crack! crack! crack! crack! formed by stages. No less than three' crack! creep! crack! A deafening tines the wagon was stopped and fusilade came from the interior of the But, a great and joyduli surprise added .to his incrome by carrying goods Propped up with stones in order to P s wagon, 'Red flashes and sdtowers of awaited theta when they assembled at afford Tramper a rest. arks lit up the darkness, bluish between Topham Corners and Glen-'; dusk that evening is the orchard back ville. I Then lapses started the horse on the smoke curled cut both ends; and above of Oscar Mills' barn, fourth and last stage to the top, and all the din rang droalse cries of panic Glenville was the nearest point on Jerry Askel was the last to arrive. the railroad, and lay four miles from plunged into another of his famous from the s stared ruse- within. "Hurrah!" he creed, excitedly, reminiscences. Neither he nor the The boys ste'e'l at each other in tis - the village. A mail truck and buses "What do you think Ive got?" Andboys noted that the inclined position may. They 1tnest only daily between the two places, and too well what before any one could respond he open- the boys might have arranged with the °f the wagon had caused the two boxes the rachet meant. Moses' pipe had ed his hand and displayed a sit}}Hing postmaster, or some of the villagers' to slide toward the rear end. 1 ignitnd the box of comhustfbles! five -dollar gold piece. "Old H1sam who'had teams, to bring them thein "The captain o dared us to charge, I Bang! bang! bang! bang! Off dicta Skinner gave, it to ran just now," he their; said Moses, "so up the hill we went on j things; but, as seorecy was an object,!went in rapid succession, varied by a added, quickly. "Fie said we should they considered It more prudent to I a double quick, Just as we reached real light, a blue light, a volley of Ro- spend tt far fireworks and not let his rely on Mases, 1 the trenches the guns began 10 go off; man candies and a skyrocket. wife know that lie gave It to us, He The days mover slang with painful . and down went half of our poor fel- latter rvltizred not Che front of lows, Then the Pentane jumped out at ownsss--to the bo the wagon, l�.vhtg a liar, tela behind June dawned. 1 us with xe bayonets, o t sen 11 But Topham Corners had a glorious Early that morning Jeley Arkel held; or more strong. 'Pat in your best This was to- n) ea Pee even such a First of July celebration, after alt, a secret conclave with Oscar .12111s j licks, Moses!' shouted the ceptaln. 'I horse as Tramp norted with Early in. the• morning Reeve Penman Ben Lent and Fred Baynes, and the! will, cap,' says I, and so 1 til. You terror, pranced .art -legs, and drove down to Glenville and ordered topic under consideration, whatever it just should have se -en me, boys. I then made such .: :.sus dash for- by telegraph a huge box of fireworks 10111, moved them all to violent .an h• whirled my musket around my head, ward that the old and murk -patched of every description. Ler, g anti laid low six of the enemy before harness parted in half a dorso places. Ile reached the village with them Shortly after dinner, Moses 1 tyouhe could say Jack Robinson, Then Away went Tramper for the village at hoon, and during the remainder of ,r oyes fiche the barrel broke off the stock, and as at a two -forty gait, while the libel, the Clay pandemonium and din reign - says he was a boy once and he hasn't sl ye at least—but; fl d b is t v ti ou d forgotten law and he hopes weal stake up the village on Dominion Day." The boys could hardly refrain from cheering the donor of this magnificent gilt, but Jerry finally managed to re- press their exuberance, "We'll find a way to repay his kind nets on the quiet," he said, "It was a mighty generous things to do, for Hiram Skinner isn't worth one- . 1 flung away the pieces tee, big fel- stied wagon moved slowly btcicward ed. supreme, twentieth as much as that mean oldrove slowly through the ciliage, In• lows: made for me at once. I jerked until it gained headway, and then ° "The boys saved my money," •ex- Reeve Penman. But I want to talk to deed, Tramper was rarely known to their bayonets upward, and catching shot madjy down the hill planned the Reeve, "and they deserve you now," he continued: "so keep still, move faster nnan swell, and this fact': one fellow m each arm, I knocked their The bewildered :boys got opt of its to have a good time." t theconveyance rather un apu The First is only a reek off, and I've p heads together till they yelled for path just in rims, and thou plunged This argument none could gainsay; 1 tittle afternoon, and he says he'll take one of us along: when he goes to Glen- ville tomorrow, and when he goes down, the day before the First he'll take two of us. Be won't do it for nothing, though. He won't take less than seventy-five cents for the whole thing, and when I offered a quarter he ''ot quite' crusty about it." thunderous boom of :rickets. , Red, green and bluet9ights" threw theta' re- flections on the scurrying fences ,by the roadside., When the wagon had 'covered a dozen yards in its fiery career, a flam- ing. figure tumbled out' of the front end. - "Help! I'm burning up!" 1t cried, frantically. 1 The boys epeedlly reached the spot. "It's Moses," shouted Jerry. , "Put him out—put him out!"' They rolled him over in the dusty road a few times,heedless ofhia cries, until not a spark was visible, "Look! There's the other one!" shouted Ben. A second figure was dancing about the road a few yards below; but, be- fore the 'boys e-fore.the'boys could reach hint, the Man threw himself in the dust and extinguished the portions of/ his clothes that were on lire, The boys ran on after the wagon, winch was now a mass of flames. Tlie intervening distance rapidly widened, however, until the hind wheels slip- ped into a gully by the roadside, and over went the wagon with a crash. It flamed merrily for a few seconds, and then vanished in a lurid blaze, as a terrific explosion shook Shooters' Hill to its very ••foundations. The bottle of powder -had blown up. The scattered fragments of wood and leather were bursting into flame as the boys reached the spot, followed on a limp by Moses Picks, who seemed to be more geared than hurt. "Good -by to our First of July cele- bration," said Jerry. ruefully. "It will be a cold day when I play, highway- man again." His companions did not reply they gazed sorrowfully on the ruin of their hopes. Moses was just breaking out in a torrent .of angrythreats, when a tum- ult was heard on top of the hill, and down < the elope came a deputation from Topham 'Corners—men, women• and children -headed by eeve enman himself. "Where is my money, you rascal?" criedthe latter, •catclilag hold of Moses. "Where is it—quick?" • Moses was too trightened'to reply, but Jerry Arkel darted suddenly in among the Meting debris, and snatch- ed a charred wooden box, gaping open at the cracks. The squire took it eagerly from Jerry's Ands. "'.rhe contents are all right," he ex- claimed, after a brief inspection. "That box holds eight hundred' dol- lar@ in gold. I had to send to town for the money to pay off my quarry hands, and I thought I might as well get the six hundred dollars in cash that 'I owed John Harmon for his piece of laud. I gob in gold so as to mark our Country's Birthday special- ly. But how did this happen, any- how, boys?" The story was told in disconnected fragments, and when It became clear that a thief had been concealed in the wagon when it was halted by the amateur highwaymen, a search was quickly made for the hapless individ- ual FIe could not have been burned very severely, for no trace of him was found then or afterward. The spot where be had rolled in the dust was examined with interest. "The fellow had the Reeve's box in his a%uns when I fell on him," de- clared Moses. "He must have known what was in it, for I sew him hang- ing around down at Glenville Ulla at- ternoou.' The excitement being over, the wreckage was left to, burn Itself oat, and the whole party marched back to the village, Moses and the boys sad- ly bringiug up the rear. The cherleh- ed anticipation for the •morrow had fled. DEVELOi'E writ. U.S. Invaders Desire Necessary for Cure Says Expert i Tho drunkard, the dope fiend, the degenerate, even such relatively harmless addicts as the, pessimiet and the selfish can all be cured 1f the de -1 sire for cure can be sufficiently awak• ened, pointe out. Dr. Henry .Knight Miller in the. July lseue of "Psychol- ogy Mazagine." "Desire,"; he says, "Is the chief factor in determining be- havior." "Here is a drunkard," Dr. Miller continues. "He decides that he will break the drink habit. He makes a solemn oath to stop drinking. He declares, 'I will never drink again!' But all the while he Is thinking, 'Tido crave the stuff. ado not know how 1 can live without it, I am afraid I shall fail' -and he dome fail Hie imagination triumps over his will." Dr. Miller points out that the power- ful weapon of imagination should re-' enforce his desire and will. "The dr'irnkard should . have forcibly and persistently thought, 'It will be easy for me to stop drinking, for I detest the stuff. 'ft' tastes bad. It is detri- mental to my health, , wastes my money, destroys my prospects, and I have no desire to ever taste, see, or even smell it again.' ". Dr, Miller stresses the point that what the character of your life may be depends upon the nature and validity of your habits. He says, "Self -education' 'consists largely in building up wholesome and construc- tive habits. Selfimprovement is primarily a matter of replacing nega tive and harmful habits with those that are positive and helpful. "The first step in habit conquest is self-analysis. Know your objective first and then plan your campaign for its realization. There can be no im- provement of personality until' one becomes fully aware of . the faults which need to be corrected. Tho next step in the procedure is to rationalize the situation. Consider the evil habit from every Point of view. Formulate a list of all the ways in which it is harmful and every reason for break- ing' its hold upon you. This will strengthen your desire to get rid of it. Then calmly resolve that the next time the conditions arise which might have prompted the undesirable 're- sponse that you will react' differently. You will break the continuity of the subconscious reflex deliberately by conscious volition. Each time you do this you are breaking the power ot the habit to tyrannize over you. Also each time you repeat the different re- action you. are building a new habit. Consider this fact. Rejoice in it. You are actually eouquering. You are becoming supreme, You are growing into the glanthood of mastery." She—"Isn't the view gorgeous?" He—"Naturally. A gorge is bound to. be .gorgeous." Repatriation and Immigration Quebec Action Catholique (Ind,): Immigration should not be converted into an enterprise fo -the importation of unemployed. • Immigrants who speak one o Tether of the two official languages should' have the 'prefer encu; but above al those should be brought here who have both the knowledge' and desire to- farm. It is for this reason that the preference should ' be shown to Canadians who are eager to build up the country once again; it Is for this reason that we are acting contrary' to the national in t:erest to refusing land to those Cana. diens who aro now asking for it. • / Americana to „Explore and Make Topographical and Geological. Survey' of Northern British Columbia Jasper, Alta.—An' expedition into the Met unexplored ice region of the Canadian..., Ibocktes took the • ' trail here late n..June. Three months will be spent' in exploration, survey and mquntain climbing in alas remote hinterland".of the Dominion; Alfred J.`Ostheim'er, Jr., prominent' :� • geographer and alpinist, of Philadel- phia, ,p4 wit head the party, and will be assisted by John de Laittre of Mina neapolis and W. MacLaurin of Bee - ton, 'Mass, ee-ton,'Mass, The main object of the 'expedite is; a complete topographical and g to seal survey of the region Wrap g north of the vast Columbia icefield, the geographical apex of the North, American continent. From this ex.* panse of 110 square miles of ice flow' the Columbia River to the Pacific, the North ' Saskatchewan River, which eventually reaches the Atlantic, and , the Athabaska River to the Arctic Ocean—a tri -oceanic divide., The expedition will ascend • the Athabasca to its source, then arose ,from Alberta into British Columbia and from a forty -day camp will thoroughly cover the Clemenceau let,i field still very little known. yhe the route will turn north over the. Athabaska Pass, which , in most at- lases is flanked by Mountii Brown and Hooker, the legendary 18,000 ft. ,giants of the continent. The pass formed a route for the early fur traders and travelers. The Iroquois, Aasiniboiito and Piegan In- dians had used it for the east -went °reverse earlier. It constituted the chief route for the Northwest Com- pany and the Hudson Bay Company,. trazsacontinental trade. The region has been entered by several other expeditions and some mountaineering attempts . made suc- cessfully, but. scientific data is incom- plete. Phe Alberta -British Columbia boundary ' survey covered a. .,mall strip along the Connie:Mal Divide, 1011-21. The other. main Object of the party - will be to ascend as many of the. Peaks as they can. The regiocon- . tains about 25 unclimbed, mealy there =mimed, peaks over 10,200 feet high,' tate average of the range. Six, days will be spent in an attempt on the Tsar, a difficult and nearly inac- cessible peak well over 11,000 feet, at the south end' of the Clemenceau Held. This southern region is unmapped It is possible that ascents will be matte of the four 12,000 foot. peaks of alt •cam liahs d unac. range, a feat as yet p by any one in the history of Casio dlan mountaineering. ., tar as a transport• Method in His Madness. been making arrangement about get- Lmerty. Them I happened to see the after it in futile pursuit, for, though 11 was manifestly wrong , r ;banes A. i lsidher b ho ed - ting the airings. I saw Moses Phelcs Beyond the first hill out of the vtl -' captain In a mighty had position, and Crack! erackl crack! bang! bang! for the brays to play the ltlghwaytitan • Cap-, C g pP lags, lIceaiS was joined by gas Lent snatching upa musket, T—" ban ! ! elf at 7:>1, Eastern daylight raving • g g Whiz—hiss—boom Eve,- tl'ick on lLoses Ylclts, it was clear as . time. -•Honolulu paper. and Fred Bayliss, who had been depot- The thrilling recital carne to an ab- thing seemed to be going off together, daylight that their act was all that ed by their comrades to bring back the mitt end es two dark forms •sprang and it was a wondrous anti imhree- prevented the thief from getting precious fireworks, from the shadow of the woods into sive sight to see the rickety old away with the box of money. .Mosee enlivened the ride by graphic' aria road and leveled two shiny objects vehicle careening do -vii the hill in a . The rascal must have followed the descriptions of his prowess in battle, at the oncoming wagon halo of inulti-co!ored lire, wagon at. a distance until darkness and Glenville was reached about half- "Stop!" cried the leader, in gruff Squibs, large and small, mingled allowed him to slip in unperceived. past two o'clock. 1 tones. "Stand and deliver!" their din with the hiss of pin wheels, Moses Picks' loss was made good 1 Ma Bent proved true to his promise. The valiant Moses uttered a shriek, the Kettle of omen candles and the by one of the ReeVe's second-hand wagons; but the story of his coward- ice—which the boys allowed to spread. abroad—urate' him an object of ridl flute, and from that time on no more was heard eef Moses' wonderful aaiven- tures during the war. • REG'LA.R FF1.1 •FRS -By Gene Byrnes. Fll 62 THE TELepHoNE IS RINGuO' JIMMie! 1 CAN HEAR IT! 14'1.0 14'40'. tJo MAM! mom's NoT IN! IS THERE ANY MESSAGE, l JUST WANTED To ' BORROW THE. VACUUM s CLEANER, tat Going the Knutnsis`..� . MAYBE 1T5 TOO'4-ATE1 r one: RETURNED. IT. TO MRS DUFFY YESTERDAY. 'All F SHE HABNT TAKEN IT OVER TO. p2EILL" SO. THEY COULC SEND IT TO MRS. LEERY WHO OWNS: IT, WHY YOU. PRO3't- KIN BORRY IT! IlplIll. T m t-- ( i. v e s The Great Year of Aviation Philadelphia Inquirer: The number of major; flying expeditions under- taken or in course of preparation which have a claim on public atten- tion is reaching the point of bewilder- ment for the average citizen. One great achievement seems to mer'•e Into another with a rapidity that tsi well-nigh astounding. Since the be- ginning of the spring we have had De; Pinedo's Belre's and DeBarror's' flights across the South Atlantic, the tragic effort of Saint Romain and Mouneyres. on the same course, the United Stator Army's "good -will"' flight. to South,America, Nungesser and Coli, Lindbergh, Chamberlin and an impressive series of flig�ita from Europe to the Far East which had its latest example in the effort of Costa and Riguot, the French aviators, to reach Tokyo in two long hops. On the Pacific Coast: the next few months hold the certainty of a number of ea forts to span the ocean gap to the Hawaiian Islands, after which .the crossing of the islana chain' to Asia should be a relatively simple matter. Another American project tot ;'the circumnavigation of the earth has been launched, I7p. at Point Barrow; Alaska, Captain Wilkins: and 'the members of his polar exploration ex- pedition are still . fighting to strip the northern ice pack of Its -secrets by means of airplane exploration.. Com- mander Byrd, who flew to the North Pole and back from \Spitzhergen,_is quietly biding his time tor a new and poseibiy epochal flight in the big Fokker plane, America, with' its edai pieta -equipment for air travel miler any conditions that ntay be met. The. British are preparing a 11001 ottheir naw flyizig heats for on expedition front London to Austt'a1ia, which will be watched closely ata a military ease With first importance by world powers W th.little more than five months passed, the year 1921 already seeps the greatest le the history of aviation arhlevcineut • A glance at theliin- mediate Intuit shows so many enter- prises 'which hold promise of still greater sacceei that the prospect is almost beyond imagination. Socrates of the Sticks. From the Moreland (Scans.) Mont- tor: "1 have been criticized quite a little by some of the town"-'sinart- alecks' for using pont grammar. Now I have three good reasons for Lhts, In. the first place, I don't know any heti tor, Second, hall of you wouldn't ma derstand' it if 1 did use, 11, Third, lt I did . speak and write correctly. I i aright be managing some. big New Yorlc paper at a large salary end yell farmers would lose the beat editor.,ln 1 Graham C_ounty."