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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance Times, 1926-10-21, Page 6WINGRAM ADVANCE -TIMES Thursday,'October est z926 USINESS CARDS LINGTON MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE CO. Established 1840, Head Office, Gu'elplai Qnt, Risks taken on all classes of insure tce at reasonable rates, BNER COSENS, Agent, Wingham J. , DODD Office in ChisholmBlock FIRE, LIFE, ACCIDENT AND HEALTH --- INSURANCE — AND REAL ESTATE P. 0, Box edo Phone 240 INGHAM, - ONTARIO DUDLEY 1.4 ,t1 LMES BARRISTER, SOLICITOR, ETC, Victory and Other Bonds Bought and sold Office -Meyer Block, Wingham R. VANSTONE. BARRISTER, SOLICITOR, ETC, Money to Loan at Lowest Rates tes Wingham, - Ontario J. A. MORTON BARRISTER, ETC. Wingham, - Ontario .DR. G. D. ROSS Graduate Royal College of Dental Sgnse o ur Graduate University of Toronto Faculty of Dentistry Office Over I]. E, Isard's Store. W. R. DAMBLYI B,S., M.D., C.M. Special attention paid to diseases of Women and Children, having taken postgraduate work in Surgery, Bact- eriology and Scientific Medicine. Office in the Ii.err Residence, be- tween the Queen's Hotel and the Bap- tist Church. All business given careful attention. Phone 5 . P. O. Box ug. Dr. Rob,. C. Redmond M.R.C.S. (Eng.) L.R.C.P. (Load.) PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON Dr. Chishohn's old stand. "BEAU ESE By Percival ,Christopher .Wren THE GREATEST MYSTERY STORY EVER WRITTEN FIRST READ THIS Major Henri de Beaujolais on are riving at the lonely fort at Zinderneuf, finds the entire company dead. The commandant had been stabbed throu- gh the heart with a French bayonet. In hi shand is a note, signed by Mich- ae IGeste, admitting :the theft of Blue \\rate," a valuable sapphire, Later, the body of an ofifcer found next to the commandant, disappears and that night, when dye Beaujolais' men are in. camp outside the fort, shots are heard from the desert and the fort suddenly bursts into flame, NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY It was useless to detail a poinpier squad to put the fire out. We don't have hose and hydrants in the desert as you know. When a place burns, it burns. And, mon Dieu,how it burns in the dry heat of that rainless desert! The place would be gone, even if the men would enter it, by the time we had our teaspoonfuls of water from the oasis. And, to tell you the truth, I did not care how soon or how completely it did go. This fire would be the funeral pyre of those brave men. • It would keep any fools from the suicidal mutiny. . It would purge the place of mystery. In- cidentally it would savemy life and military reputation, and the new fort that would arise in its place would not be the haunted, hated prison that this place would henceforth have been for those who had to garrison it. I gave the order to face about, and then to stand at ease. The men should watch it burn; since nothing could be done to save it. Perhaps even they would realize that human agency is required for setting a build- ing on fire—and moreover, whoever was in there had to come out or be cremated.They shouldsee him come. But who? Who? The words Who? and Why? filled my mind. All stood absolutely spellbound. Suddenly the spelt was broken and back we came to earth at an old fa- miliar sound. A rifle cracked, again and again. From the sound the firing was to- wards us. The Arabs were upon us! Far to the right and to the left, more shots were fired. The fort blazing and the Arabs. upon us Bullets whistled overhead and I saw one or two flashes from a distant sand -hill. No one was hit, the fort being between us andthe enemy, . In Tess time that it takes to tell I had the men turned about and .making for the oasis—au pas gymnastique—`at the double,' as you call it. There we should have cover and water, and if we -could only hold the devils until they were nicely between us and St. Andre's Senegalese, we would avenge the gar- rison of that blazing fort. They are grand soldiers, those Le- gionnaires, George. No better troops in our army. They are to other.. infantry, what my Spells are to other. cavalry. It warmed one's heart to see them double, steady as on parade,. back to • the darkness of the oasis, ev- ery man select his cover and go to ground, his rifle loaded and levelled as he did so. . Our camel vedettes rode in soon after Two of then had had a des- perate fight, and two of them had seen rifle-flashesand fired atthem, before returning to the oasis, think- ing .the Arabs had rushed the fort and burnt it. In a few minutes from the first burst of fire, the whole place was still, silent, empty and apparently de- serted. Nothing for an enemy to see but a burning fort, and a black brooding oasis, where nothing mov- ed. How I hoped they would swarm yelling round the fort, thinking to get us like bolted rabbits as we rushed out of it! Itisnot liketheArabs to make a night attack, but doubtless they had been hovering near, and the fire had brought them down upon us, Had they seen us outside the fort? If so, they would attack the basis in the morning. If they had not seen us, anything might happen, and the oasis provq a guet-apens, with the no attack until dawn. u. fort a burning' or 'burnt o t o rt as the bait of the trap. What were they doing now? The firing had ceased entirely, Prob- ably making their dispositions to rush us suddenly at dawn, from behind the nearest sand -hills. Their game would be to hill Its into, a sense of security ,throughout a peaceful night and come down upon us at daybreak,like a whirlwind, as we slept., And what if cur waiting rifles caught fieri at fifty yarde, and the survivors turned to flee --ori to the int vela of the Senegalese? DR. R. L. STEWART. Graduate of University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine; Licentiate of the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons. Office in Chisholm Block. Josephine Street. Phone 2p. Dr. Margaret C. Caldeir General Practitioner Graduate University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine Office --Josephine St., !two doors south of Brunswick Hotel: Telephones: Office 281, Residence 151 F. A. PARKER OSTEOPATH All Diseases. Treated Office adjoining residence next Anglican Church on eentre Street. Sundays by . appointment Hours -9 a. m, to 8 p. in. Osteopathy . Electricity Telephone 272. to A. R. F. E. DUVAL CHIROPRACTIC, SPECIALISTS Members C. A. O. Graduates of Canadian Chiroprac- tic College, Toronto, Office in Craw- ford Block, four doors north of Post Office, c, Hours 2 to 5; 7 to 8.30 p, rn. and by appointments. Special appointments made for those coming any distance. Out of town and night calls re- sponded to. Phones:—Office, 300, Residence le on 601. J. ALV1N FOX DRUGLESS PRACTIONER ClIrIZOPRACTIC AND. DRUGLESS PRACTICE ELECTRO -THERAPY Phone' rex. ours t0,42 a.m., 2-5, 7-8 p. m. or by appointment. D. 11. Me1NNES CHIROPRACTOR ELECTRICITY Adjustments given for diseases of all kinds, specialize in dealing with olildreii. Lady attendant. blight Calls tesponded to. Office on Scott St., Wingham, Ont Telephone x o. ,ee eneerie YYdiYd„,Y,iYd,eneYet,Yi,eNe,te nee,Y,d,,,16, erg,, e Pllones: Office zo6, Res%d. ua4 x. Ao, Jo WALKER FURNITURE x"'i: ALER »arid - b FUNERAL I}/RECTOR h otdn Equipment - ONTARIO WINGHAM, �`Y ” tiilY e dd �. dua,/#ii edeniwii YYYPYttd .: - dliutui fYi.i ei Yl{YWee(tYeiiieM,Al It was another impressive scene in that wierd drama, George, A lig fire, by moonlight, in the heart of the Sahara, a fire watched by silent mo- tionless men, breathlessly awaiting the arrival of other players on the stage. After gazing into the moonlit dis- tance until my eyes ached, expecting to see •a great band of the blue -veil- ed, mysterious Silent Ones suddenly swain over a range of sand -hills T bethought me of getting into "coin- inunication with St. Andre. I had ordered him to follow by a forced march, leaving a suitable gar- rison at Tokotte when I dashed off with the; `always' ready' emergency detachment on camels, preceeding by an hour or so the 'support' emergency detachment on mules with water, ra- tions, and ammunition. These two detachments are more than twice as fast as the best infan- try, but I reckoned that St. Andre would soon be drawing, near. It was • quite possible that he might. run into the Arabs, while the latter were watching the oasis—if they had seen us enter it, or their skirmish- ers established the fact of our pres- ence. So far, we had not fired a shot from the oasis, and it was possible that our presence was unsuspected. ' This might, or might not be, the same band that had attacked the place. If they were the same, they might be . hanging about in the hope of ambushing a relieving force. If St. Andre arrived while the fort was burning, they would have no chance of catching him unawares. If he came after the flames died down, he might march straight into a trap. There would certainly be a Targui Scout or two out in the direction of Tokotu, while the main body did bus- iness at Zinderneuf. Anyhow I must communicate with St. Andre if possible. It would be a good man that would undertake the job successfully :for both skill and courage would be required. There was the track to find and follow, and there were the Arabs to face. To lose the former was.to die of thirst and starvation; to find the , lat- ter was to die of tortures 'indescri- able. On the whole it might be better to send. two. Twice the chance of any message reaching St. Andre.' Poss- ibly more than twice the chance, really, as two men are braver than one, because they hearten each oth- er. ' I went round the oasis until I found the Sergeant-Major, who was going from. man to man, prohibiting any fir- ing without orders, any smoking or making any noise; This was quite sound and I commended him, and then asked for 'a couple cif men of the right stamp for my job. I was not surprised when he sug- gested two of the men who had been into the fort with rue, and passed the word for the two Americans. He recommended them as inert who could usethe stars, good scouts, brave re- sourceful, and very determined. They would, at any rate, stand a chance of getting through. the Arabs and giving St. Andre the information that would turn him from their vic- tion into their scourge, if we had any luck. When the big slow giant and they little quick man appeared and silent- ly saluted, I asked them if they would like to undertake this important duty. They were more than ready, and as a'in the explained 1 myplans for tr I ea cried n n� g Arabs between two fires, I found them. of quick intelligence. Both were able to repeat to me, with perfect lucidity, what "I wanted to say to St. Andre, that he 'night be able to attack the attackers at dawn, 'just when they were attacking me. The two left the oasis on camels, from the side opposite the fort, and after they had disappeared over a sand -hill, you may imagine with what anxiety I listened to the firing. But all was silent, and the silence of the grave prevailed until morning. After two or three hours of this unbroken soundless stillness, the fire having died down in the fort, I felt perfectly certain there would be At length, leaning against the trunk of a palin tree and longing for a cigarette to smoke and some hot cof- fee to help keep me awake, I faced the east and watched for the paling of the stars, As I did so, my mind grew clearer as my body grew weak- er, and I decided to decide that all' this was the work of a madman, con- cealed oncealed in the fort, and now burnt to death. He had, for some reason,murdered the sous -officer with a bayonet (cer•.. tanily he must be mad or he would have shot him); and he had, for some reason, silently killed the trumpeter and hidden" his body -fall, in the few minutes that elapsed before I follow- ed the trumpeter in, (Had the mur- derer used another bayonet for this silent job?) He had for some reas- en removed the sous -officer's, and the other nlan's,ibody and concealed those too, and, finally, he had set fire to the fort and perished in the flames, But where was he while I; searched the place, and why had he not killed me also when I entered the fort alone? The luancy theory must account for these hopelessly lunatic proceed- ings -abut it hardly accounts for the murdered sous -officer having in his hand a confession signed, 'Michael Geste,' to the effect that he had stol- en a jewel, does. it, my old one?" "It does not, my son, and that, to me, is . the most interesting and re- markable emarkable story." replied Lawrence. 'Well, I decided, as I say,to leave it at that—just the mad doings of a madman, garnished by the weird co- incidences of the paper,' continued de Beaujolais, "and soon afterwards the sky grew grey in the east. Before a rosy streak of dawn we silently stood . to arms, and when the sun peeped over the horizon we be- held St. Andre's Senegalese skirmish- ing beautifully towards us! There wasn't so much as the smelly of an Arab for miles. No, St, Andre had not seen °a living thing -not ev- en the two scouts I had sent out to meet him. Nor did anyone else ever All who were not on the duty of outposts -by -night slept, and I strolled silently round and rotted the oasis, waiting 'for the first hint of sunrise and thinking over the incredible ev- ents of that marvellous day ----certain- ly unique! in my fairly wide exp'eri- encs of hectic days, I went over it all again from the moment when Z first sighted the ac - urged fort with its flag flying over its unsealed: walls and their dead de- fenders, to the moment when my ey- es refused to believe that the place was an fire and blazing merrily see those two brave fellows. I have often wondered what their fate was- Arabs or thirst. I soon learnt that one of St. An- dre's mule -scouts had ridden back to him, early in the night, to' say that he had heard rifle shots in the direc- tion of Zinderneuf, St. Andre had increased his .:pace, alternating the quick march and the pas gymnastique until he knew he must be' near his goal. All being then perfectly silent he decided to beware of an ambush to halt for the hest of the night, and to feel his way forward, attack for matron; at dawn. sous.,officr, whom he ;may have sworn to kill at the first opportunity. Some fancied or real injustice, when he was under this man at Sidi-bel-Abbes or elsewhere, The sight of his enemy the sole survivor, alone, rejoicing in his hour of ;victory and triumph, may have further maddened a brain already mad with cafard, brooding, lust of vengeance, I know not what of des-, peration.' 'Possible,' I said, and thought over this idea, 'But, no, impossible, 'my friend, Why had not the sous -offi- cer rushed to the wall, or up to the. look -out platform when I approached: I fired my revolver six times to at- tract attention and letthem know that relief had come, and two answer- ing rifle -shots were fired! Why was. he not waving his kepi and shouting for joy? , Why did he not rush down to the gates and throw them open?' 'Wounded and lying down,' suggest- ed St. Andre. He had done well, and my one re- gret was that the/Arabs who had cau- sed the destruction of Zinderneuf were not between me and him as he closed upon the oasis. t While the weary troops rested, I told St. Andre all that had 'happened, and asked for a theory— reserving mine' about the madman. He is a man with a brain, this St. Andre, am- bitious, and .a real soldier. :Although he has private means, he serves Fran- ce where duty is hardest, and life !east'attractive. A little dark pocket- Hercules of energy and force, z 'What about this, Major?' said he, when I" had finished my account, and, having fed, we were sitting, leaning our weary backs against a fallen palm trunk, with coffee and cigarettes at hand. 'Suppose your trumpeter killed the sous -officer himself and deserted then and there?' 'Mon Dieu!' said I; 'that never oc- curred to nie. Blit why should he, and why use his bayonet, and leave it in the body?' 'Well—as to why he should,' replied St, Andre, 'it might have been re- venge. This may have beenthe first, time he had ever been alone with the DR. G. W. HOWSON DENTIST Office Over John 'Galbraith's Store Make your home brighter with Del co Light. The dependable faril Electric Service. , y easy Get our new low price and terms. HENRY JOHANN Delco Light Dealer Glennannan Ontario. GEORGE A. SIDDALI. $rdker Rhone 73. Luekndw, Ontario. !Money to lend on first and second mortgages on farm and other real es- tate properties at a reasonable rate of interest, also on first Chattel mortga- ges on stoeit and on personal notes. A 'few farms on hand for sale or to Ma on cagy tertns.- 'He was not wounded, my friend, said I. 'He was killed.' That bayonet, and nothing else, had done his bus mess. `Asleep,' suggested the Lieutenant,, 'absolutely worn out. SIeee:ing like the dead—and thus his enemy,; the trumpeter, found him, and drove the bayonet through his heart as, he slept. He was going to blow the sleeper's brains out, when he remembered that. the shot would be heard and would have to be explained. Therefore he used the bayonet, drove' it through the man, and then, and not till then, he realized that thebayonet would be- tray him. It would leap to the eye instantly, that murder had been com- mitted—and not by one of the garri- son. So he fled.' 'And the ,evolver, with one cham- ber -fired?" I asked, 'Oh—fired during the battle, at some daring Arab who rode round the fort, reconnoitring, and came sud- denly into view.' 'And the paper in the left hand?' 'I do not know.' 'And who fired the two welcoming shots?' ' 'I' do not know: 'And howdid the trumpeter vanish across the desert—as conspicuous as a negro's head on a pillow—before the eyes of my Company?" 'I do not know.' - 'Nor do I, I said. And then St. Andre sat up sudden- ly. 'Mon 'Commandant,' saitt he, the trumpeter did not escape of course, He murdered thesous-officer and then' hid himself. It was he who re- moved, the two bodies when he again found himself alone in the fort.. He may have had some ideaof removing the bayonet and turning the stab in- to a bullet -wound. He then meant to return to the Company with some 'tale' of cock and bull. But remem- bering that you already had seen the body, and might have noticed the, bay- onet, he determined to set fire to the fort, burn all evidence, and rejoin. in the confusion caused, by the fire. He could. swear that he hadbeen knocked on the head from behind, and only recovered conciousness in ,time to escape from the flames kindled by whoever it was who clubbed hire.. This is all feasible—and if improbable,_ it is no more improbable than the ac- tual facts of the case, is `it?" .'Quite so, mon Lieutenant, I agreed. 'And why did he not rejoin in the con- fusion with, his tale of cock and bull, Well --here's a theory. Suppose tbesous -officer did shoot at him with the sous -officer did shoot at him with verely that by the time he had corn pleted his little job of arsqn he was too weak to walk. He fainted front.• Toss of blood andperished miserably inthe flames,.that he himself had kind- led.' Truly ;a splendid example of poetic justice.' `Magnificent,' I agreed. 'The Greek Irony, in effect. Hoist by his own petard. Victim of the mocking Fat- es and so forth. The only flaw in the beautiful theory is that we should have heard the shot, — just as we should have heard a rifle -shot had the trumpeter used his rifle for the murder. • In that brooding heavy sil- ence a revolver fired on . that open roof would have sounded like a sev- enty-five.' 'True; agreed St. Andre, a little' crestfallen,. 'The man was mad then. He did everything that was done, and then committed suicide oe was burnt alive.' 'Ali, my friend,' said r, `you have' come to the madman theory, eh? So had' I . It is the only one, But now 1 will tell you something. The. trumpeter did not do all this, He did riot murder the sous -officer, for that unforttitiate bad been dead for hoare, and the trumpeter hadriot been in the place ten minutes!' 'And' that's -' h ''s t is •h t,' said S. Andre, 'Let's try again' And he tried again JAS. GILMOUJR • Agent `or--. iLROSS FIRE ICNSUfANC nUte in a Oood Sound Company'' 467 WitagharnOnt, o r bC 216 r Increasing Farm Production NjOrITII complete banking facilities specially adapted to farm business, this Bank is ever ready to render practical assistance in furtbering agricultural 'interests. We 'encourage farmers to strive for bigger and better productionby extending loans for the pur- pose of sound development.. Consult our local manager.' ITN A. M. BISHOP, , mommommimir WINGHAM BRANCH, 11 ' Manager. 'mor ■laaaaosa'N.anamaxim aa.inaa niiiasammIs ■ • ■ /, / ••i„ ■ COnteSt. ■ • ■ / �- very ingeniously too. But he , could :put forward no theory that he himself did riot at once •ridicule. We were both, of course, •weary to death and more in need of twenty.. four limits' sleep than twenty -fort' - „ nundrttins but I d:o four !lours con., , - 1111Q1a17•lIl11lhi111aII(alllalll/111001I11llllrlh1l!(IIIIIM(I1M(Ila(I(wlll11III111111A(I(>wlll>gI11111lllall1!!C 1 NI■ II■ i • ■ \ .. ■ •: ■ ■ ■ „. e ■., ■ or how ■. ■ "How many votes have you got 'in the Pony Contest /! ■ near the top is your favorite. The boys 'and girls are making a ■; 1 wonderful' showing and the list is changing' every week. ■! ■ ■ You girls and - boys who have, of entered yet—lots of room ■ ■ for you, both from the town'and country, and♦you friends will ■. /i .� be glad to help you to win. Don't wait any' longer. Start to -day.° ■. ■ Ballot -box at the' Lyceum Theatre.” /a • ■{ 0 H. E. ISARD & CO., Dry Goods, Ladies' Wear and Men's Cloth- r. 1 ' ing and Furnishings. Ili ® GREERS,The Good Shoe` Store) ■` NII (■, ■ R. A. CURRIE, Furniture. T. H. GIBSON, Central Bakery : .1 ■ • ▪ RAE & THOMPSON, Hard're. NORTH END GROCERY. ■l Mt 11111 W. C. REID, Garage. ABELL'S MUSIC STORE ® RUSH MILLINERY STORE. ■;, ■ McKIBBON'S rDRUG STORE, Druggists. ■ THE ADVANCE -TIMES,' Newspaper Subscriptions. /" ■ s" UI*IRIO1�l•1IRRRURis�llliII'TiIIOO$lfifillt 111111 ;w , in he Pony not know that I have done much bet- ter since. And as I rode back to .Tokote, with my record go of 'fever, in head op- ened with a tearing wrench and clos- ed with a shattering bang, at every stride: of my camel, to • the tune ;of, 'Who killed the Commandant, and why, why, why?' till I found I was saying.' it aloud. . I ^ am' saying it still, George" Passengers by the Appall, from La- gos to Birkenhead, were interested in two friends, who sat side by side in Maderia chairs, or walked; the prom- enade deck in close and constant coin- pany. (To Be Continued) CHANGE IN MOTOR MARKERS The design ofOntario ,motor mark- ers for 1927 is featured by a slight 'reduction in the size of the figures,.., which will nevertheless be as readily- distinguishable eadilydistinguishable as formerly, owing to' the new design. The figures which are black, will.lre on a cream back- ground. The design of these figures will be considerably improved. Form- erly„ the threes andnines could be... - changed into eights, but now that. will be`almost impossible. The newly• designed figures, which should act as. a deterrent to automobile thefts and: changing ofmarker numbers, ;> are. very legible despite their altered' size. The name of the province, instead 'of' being abbreviated to Ont., is printed! in full, the idea being to make . the' province known by those who might not identify it by the abridgment, and will thus give the province better ad- vertising. illill11A1111111.I11111ou i lamesi aI piln111Al1111111N111111111111um 1a1 al1iauflalamil!IA!,t,fl WhoWill Win 1 Tie Pony? The Advance -Times with3other°business men will of the town ill give away FREE . -P. A FINE SHETLAND PONY i For each new yearly subscriptions 3000 •. .. for each year paid in advance ...... / ■ VO':�E�Y A g Send in your subscriptions and watch the I standing Y of .out favorite climb. - la`t /'� = For each renewal subscription for :2 nry IJVC c . . . ... . . . s each year paid in Ativan a VOTES : i 111 _ lir Get Surey Ear r i If You Want To Win The PONY• a