FIND THE CORPSE &B By R. H. WILKINSON ®. Bell Syndleate ~WNU Service. spector Joe Warren, “but to find the corpse.” “That won't be so difficult,” volunteered the young nan in the tweed knickers, who was idly watching Warren, “The river's not deep here, but the current’s rather swift. Just below our property there is a sharp bend. Nine chances out of ten, Uncle Raymond's body is lodged there, And if not, the river empties into a small pond be- low the bend. If the pond is dragged —" He ended with a significant shrug. “ls REMAINS now,” sald In- Detective Jim chief aide, who composed the third and iat member of the group nodded ap- provel. work, inspector. Let's go home.” He moved, as if to follow in the foot- steps of the young man in the tweed in the direction of the house, But Warren remained standing un- der the tree. “Wait a minute, Jim. be something to this” As he spoke, Warren stooped and up something from among the and leaves of the fact that the old man weighed pretty close to 200 pounds, I'd say that the man who killed him would want to keep him near the river. It would lessen the work when it came to carry- ing him to the water.” “And to boil it down still further,” Warren agreed, “the murderer would likewise spare himself the effort of re- moving the body far from the scene of the murder for the same reason. And {f the scene of the murder was right here . . Bradley turned completely around and let his eyes sweep the immediate vicinity. The nearest hiding place, it seemed, was the grove of aspens, where now sat young Barnes, He made as If to start in that direc- tion, but Warren halted him, “Let's just suppose,” sald the Ingpeec- tor, “for the sake of argument, that young Barnes is the murderer. Look at him. He can't weigh over 130 pounds, and he looks pretty weak to me. Frankly, 1 don’t suppose he could earry a 200.pound dead man 10 feet.” “So what?" said Dradley, Warren's eye dropped to his hand, which still held the screw with Its splotch of blood, “Jim.” he sald quietly, “the most log- teal and convesient place for young is right over our heads, amid the thick branches of this tree. He used a block and tackle to hoist the body up there, A screw must have been loose, and dropped out. 1 guess we'd better climb 1 a hunch we'll not only find old man iote block and tackle, which the youngster Intend using to lower the corpse into the river 18 eyes wen trier tail orag ing iii KTASsS here was the : in his blue eyes. iis left ear, a cer th his mind. “Suspect the kid? bluntly “Maybe,” said Warren. Bradley gestured. drag it. And there's no place else around here to hide a corpse—at least for any length of time.” me, “wall. there's no one else to suspect ight now. Look!” Warren suddenly i leaves won screw, Bradley became a trifle sarcastic This wasn g and it was said, your hand Warren shook his nead impatiently “Why not say what's a screw doing her. under a pine tree, far from any building? And only one?” “It's driving me screwy,” said Brad- ley. still sarcastic. “There's blood on it,” sald Warren. “Blood? “Sare. Look!” Bradley bent forward, and suddenly became alert. He knew Warren well somewhere, “Well? he said “1 wonder,” mused Warren, deliber. ately changing the subject, “why young Barnes wanted us to drag the river?” “S80 we'd find the body,” Bradley of- fered. Warren shook his head “Rather.” he disagreed, “because he knew we wouldn't find the body. Why didn’t he want as to find it? Whe? “I'll bite,” said Bradley with quick: ening interest, “Why? Warren tugged at his earlobe and frowned. Once more his eyes wandered to the waiting figure in the aspen grove. Suddenly he started. It was not enough of a start to at tract the attention of young Barnes, a hundred yards away. jut Bradley saw and became curious. “Well?” he asked for the second time, : “Jim, I've got it! Young Barnes wanted us to drag the river at once because he knew we wouldn't find the body and we'd give up. Then after we'd gone away, began looking else where, possibly for the corpse, he'd remove his uncle's body from its pres ent hiding place and dump it in the river, The river is the only logical place to dispose of a dead man. And Barnes knew that after we got through dragging, it would be the only safe place” “Fine,” Bradley agreed. “Now, all we have to do, Is look for the body, or drag the river and then lie in wait for young Barnes." Warren began to grin. “Use your head, Jim. Where would be the logical piace far the young mar to hide the body until he could dum it in the river?” Bradley frowned. Things were beginning to develop and if possible he wanted a share ol the credit for solving the mystery, “Why,” he sald at length, “in view Under Hi s Own Kitchen fi Sail CelAr ut was the Merle Kessey home at Victor, © . : enough to be of much use, and fr : Kessey wi nted a full-sized base Kessey wanted to please his wife And that why the Kesseys now have a gold mine—under their home Almost directly under the Kitchen stove, Kessey, theater owner and dep € vein of gold ore, worth all the way He removed all the ore he could find ings under the bathroom. Indications were that he would be under the bedroom shortly. What will happen to the house when and If he continues his operations re mains to be seen, If it doesn't fall Into the excavation, Kessey may have to move his far i out and convert it into a mine ofiice Thus far Kessey has removed more is piled beside the house, and he in tends to start shipments to the mill shortly. He has leased adjoining prop- erty, even obtaining control of mineral rights under the street, on which his The vein has been identified as the old Spicer vein of the Rexall mine, which has not been operated since 1916, Precancels and Cachets vocancels are stamps which have been canceled at the post office before being affixed to envelopes. Thus they do not bear a date, They are exien sively used in business and facilitate the handling of mail at the post office. First day covers are new Issues of stamps which have been sent to cer tain favored post offices several days in advance of the time where they be cote obtainable at all stations. Cach- ets are pletures printed or hand stamped on stamps fo commemorate an event such as an initial air flight or the like. Effects of Salt If your ancestors ate salt you prob- ably are fair skinned, according to a theory discussed by Dr. Thomas GU. Orr, professor of surgery at the Uni versity of Kansas. Blond races, says the theory's sponsors, invariably come from the north where sait has been available for centuries. Darker and black skins, on the contrary, are as gorted to be derived from ancestors native to intermediate countries such as China, Korea and India, where sait formerly wasn't so plentiful Southern Lights Aurora polaris is the name given to these atmospheric displays. When seen In the northern hemisphere they are known as the aurora borealis; If in the southern, aurora australis. It is belleved that they are caused by electric discharges originating with or induced by the sun—Pathfinder Maga- zine, Mountains Named for Mineral The Dolomites, favored by mountain Jimbers, are the only mountains on cnrth named for a mineral. The min. ernlogical form of the mountains Is alelum and magnesium carbonate which 18 known as magnesium lime stone or dolomite, Play Ball for Rain In the Sahara native tribes play » ame called “kKoura” with a ball made if palm wood as a charm against pro- juring play that it Is supposed to frighten the drouth devils away, 4 By ELMO SCOTT WATSON 8 EVERY one knows, George Washington "vas a man who had two osirthdays, He was born on Febru- ary 11, 1732, but Eng- land's adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1752 changed the anni. versary of his birth from February 11 to February 29, the date on which we now honor his memory. Considering the fact that Wash ington’s birthday is one of only sev- en days In the year observed in all states and territories of the Union, an honor accorded to no other American, It 18 noteworthy that Washington himself pald little at tention to the anniversary—perhaps -— ead Tr - PCR EULA even less than the average person does to his own. At least, that Is the impréssion one gets from his diaries, journals, account books and other manuscript records, and they shed little light on the question of whether Washington regarded Feb ruary 11 or February 22 as his birthday. True, in a letter dated May 2 1792, answering a request from Sir Isaac Heard, Garter King of Arms 1 London, for the genealogical rec ord of the Washington family, he wrote that he was “born February + been someth present” for Hamsburg, or his penilous J West to warn the French vious day gesses had “Resolved Treasurer be directed to of the public Monles in his Hands the sum of Fifteen Pounds to Major George Washington to testify our Approbation of his Proceedings in his journey to the Ohlo” There is no special record In con. nection with the date until fifteen years later, although his twenty seventh birthday In 1708 must have been a happy one. For he had just been married to Martha Parke Cus tis and during the months of Feb ruary and March of that year he was honeymooning with his bride burg. There he was en- s dances and other social routs.” Washington calls colonial capital before going to his career as master prosperous Virginia diary for February 22 in both the years 1760 and 1770 are curiously alike Both record the fact that he "Went to Court (at Alexandria) and returnd Home { Mount Vernon) at Night.” For February 22, 1775, the entry reads “Went with Mrs. Washington to Mr. Digges' and Dind.” but if this was a “birthday dinner” In honor of the man w ho wag 80 soon to be elected commander in chief of the Continental army, the brief entry in the diary gives no hint of the fact, The next six years were to be the most event. ful in Washington's life. He would repeatedly taste the bitterness of heart-breaking defeat and utter discouragement, fightened only by occa sional moments of well-deserved success and vic. tory before Yorktown should bring the ultimate triumph to his efforts in behall of his country. No doubt, some of those moments of bright hope and black despair came to him on his birthday, but. if so, there is no record of his commenting upon them in connection with the anniversary What was perhaps the frst “Washington's Birthday celebration” In our history-—a meager one. albeit—took place during that time. John C. Fitzpatrick in his “George Washington Him. self-A Common-Sense Blography Written From His Manuseripts” (published in 1933 by the Bobbs-Merrill company) tells of it as follows: “The army knew that he liked music and this knowledge carried Procter's artillery band (it was nothing but a drum and fife corps) tramping through the jce and snow of that dreary winter in 1778, In Valley Forge, to serenade thelr Gen. eral on his birthday. It was a gesture of affec- tion which brought the ragged musicians some of the very few silver coins left tn the purse of the Commander-in-Chief." Three years later there was another celebra- tion by his comrades In arms, only this time it was inspired by a foreigner, Count Rochambeau, the Frenchman. He was in the habit of honoring the birthday of his king, and, as a graceful ges. ture toward his allied commander, ordered a parade of the French troops and the firing of a salute on February 22. How deeply Washington, harassed by the difficulties and discouragements which immediately preceded the victory at York town, appreciated this courtesy may be seen from the letter he wrote Ilechambean from New Wind 1 dare not attempt to express my gratitude, 1 pret my feelings for this, and for the obliging manner in which you are pleased to announce ®" His great task ended at the close of the Revolu- roots as could well be obtained. . . . 1 also re moved from the Woods and old fields several young Trees of the Sassafras, Dogwood and Red- bud to the shrubbery on the No. side of the grass the Revolution cele planting trees! was his celebration of the United “Monday, February about removing ny furniture to my new hu Two of the gentie men of the family had their beds taken there and would sleep there tonigl Thi “new home” was the first Executive Mansion, the McCombs houses on Broadway, just below Trinity church, in New York dity, and the mind of the first resi ident of the United States on that historic birth day was occupied, not with the affairs of state, but with the homely details of placing and ar ranging furniture. However, there Was evidently a reception of some sort in his honor at that time for he records, somewhat naively, on Febru- ary 23: “Few or po visitors at the Levee today, from the idea of my being on the move.” Although Washington was tonth to encourage any celebration of his birthday, since it might smack of homage to royalty, his people were eager to honor him on that occasion. Especially was this true after the seat of government was moved from New York city to Philadelphia. In 1795 a ceremonious function was held in the Capital in honor of the President's birthday and the following year an even more elaborate one was given. Fitzpatrick says of it: “The church- bells rang. the light horse, artillery and light infantry seized the opportunity to turn out in full strength, to show off their new uniforms, and artillery salutes were fired. Congress, the state officials, the clergy and others visited the President to pay their respects and in the eve ning the Assembly gave a ball, which the Presi. dent and Mrs. Washington attended, which was, Dunlap's Advertiser reported, ‘the most brilliant display of beauty, perhaps, ever exhibited in this city.” But the socialites of the nation's Capital were not the only ones who celebrated Washington's birthday at that time. Out on what was then the Western frontier there was another celebration, of a somewhat different sort but nonetheless sincere. In the library of the United States Mill tary academy at West Point are preserved the orderly books of Gen. Anthony Wayne, kept dur. ing his campaign against the Indians in 1702.95, and of his successor, Gen. James Wilkinson. In them appears this entry during the year 1706: “Head Quarters Greenville (Olio) February 21 “Tomorrow being the Anniversary of the Birth of George Washington, the Illustrious President of the United States; The Auspicious Day will be Distinguished by a display of the flag from the Citadel at Sun rise and a federal galute from the Park at 12 o'clock—All Fatigues are to cease—The troops will draw an Extra Gill of Whiskey, and The Officers oft Duty are Requested to Dine at Head Quar- tera.” No doubt the soldiers, enjoying both the fact that “All ¥atigues are to cease” and that they would “draw an Extra Gill of Whiskey,” were quite willing to wish their commander in chief “many happy returns of the day"! Soon after the Revolution closed and even be fore Washington became President, his Virginia friends instituted one celebration of his birthday which last for many years, This was the “Birthnight Ball”. first held In Alexandria and attended by the hero of the Revolution whose diary betrays his great fondness for “routs” and who never failed to attend one of these func tions until almost the end of his days. Washington's last birthday, in 1700, was marked by the marriage of his beloved adopted daughter, Nellie Custis, who requested him to wear the splendid new uniform of General of the Armies of the United States, an office that had been created for him the previous year. Instead, the general presented her with the magnificent white plumes from the uniform and appeared at the wedding clad in the uniform in which he had won his greatest fame-—the old Continental buff and blue. Beneath his arm was a faded cocked hat with a simple ribbon cockade, a reminder of those stirring days when he was waging his fight for the liberties of his country. Just as gimple and unassuming as this gesture was his comment in his diary for this, his last birthday. He merely wrote: “The Revd Mr Davis and Mr Geo Calvert came to dinner and Miss Custis was married adt Candie light to Mr Lawrence Lewis.” Credit for the nation-wide observance of Washington's birthday as a day of commemora- tion after his death is due more, perhaps, to a Boston woman than to any other individual She was Mrs. Harrison Gray Otis, who also had a part in preserving historic Mount Vernon as = pational shrine, Born in Boston in 17968 Eliza Henderson Bord- man, even before her marriage into the famous family of Otises, had wealth and social position, A widow at-thirty with five children, she took them abroad to educate them. Returning after mne years in Europe with her patriotism and pride of country stronger than ever, she decided to commemorate Washington's birthday by a pub- jie reception in her mansion at 41 Mount Vernon street In the Massachusetts capital. In those days the gulf between the socialiy-elect and the “common people” was wider than it is today and, although her society friends had regarded her as “daring” and “eccentric” before this, they were much scandalized at the idea of her throw. ing open her home to all-comers, even for such a purpose as honoring the Father of His Country. Bat she did It and she treated the common folk who came with the same gracious courtesy ace corded to her soclety friends, most of whom came more out of curiosity than through any approval of her idea. But the first reception, held on February 22, 1842, was such a success and won so much commendation from all who attended that she continued them each year from that time on to her death in 1876 In the meantime, largely due to her influence, governors of the commonwealth began holding informal receptions on Washington's birthday, although these semi-official functions occupied second place to Mra Otis’ reception, in the esti mation of the citizens of Boston. It was her influence also that resulted in February 22 bee coming a legal holiday in Massachusetts. Other states followed its lead until now the anniversary 1s thus observed in every state in the Union © by Western Newspaper Union,
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