By Mary Schumann
Copyright by Macrae Smith Co
WNU Bervice
CHAPTER XIII—Continued
De
She left him to look over the side
of the vessel. “They're coming in
a stream now--hundreds of them,”
she said returning.
“I hadn't realized until this
moment what a wrench it is to see
you both go.”
“I'll miss you, too."
A half dozen tourists from St.
Louis gathered beside them, oh-ed
and ah-ed at the river, pointed to
the ferry boats, to the tug which
was to take them out, then moved
on.
“You'll be lonely, I'm afraid,
with your mother gone.”
“Oh, don’t worry about me. 1
have my business.”
“Yes,” she mused,
content if they have
ness.”
He heard the deep blast of a
whistle, and a good-sized vessel,
brightly lighted, went down-stream.
“What was that?"
“Some sort of passenger boat.
Too small for an ocean liner.”
“Sailing at eleven,” repeated El-
len. “It seemed a century away
this morning, yet here it is al-
most upon us. Did you ever have
that feeling of waiting for a day
or an hour—half afraid it would not
come—because it means some-
thing definite? Yet it comes and
is gone so quickly.”
He nodded. Numbly he felt that
there was something he wanted to
say, that Ellen might say, yet
they bandied these inanities back
and forth. The moments were
passing. He folded his arms on the
rail and stared at the gray water,
lighted by flickering gold. The con-
suming passion he had had for
Dorrie sprayed its vitriol over his
mind. He didn't have anything to
say. Nor did she. It was the pale
moon, the April night, the romance
of the river which stirred magic
impulses, whispered to his imagi-
nation. It was the loneliness of El-
len and himself which accounted
for it—a mood which would pass.
Ellen touched him. “Come, we
must go.”
Moving through the thronged
deck, they went back to the lounge.
“I'll stay here a half hour while
you talk to your mother. Then it
will be time for you to get off.”
She came to the stateroom when
the bell rang for visitors ashore.
Fluvanna's face, tear-wet, held a
soft radiance. Hugh kissed her
good-by. He extended his hand
to Ellen. Good-by—don't forget
to write occasionally."
“I won't forget.” Unexpectedly
she kissed him wit
warmth.
Hugh stood stock still; a brief ex-
alted emotion throbbed
“men seem
that—Dbusi-
y shouldn't.
to his
and said mechanically,
mother again
yey
ble when you get there?
four times!’ protested Fluvanna.
“And I'll write from the boat, and
also as soon as we are located in
Paris. You'll be deluged with mail!
And remember, a letter a
week from you! I'll be miserable if
I don’t have at least a line or two
from my boy.”
“I'll promise to send three lines.”
“Now get off or they'll be pulling
up the gangplank.” She patted,
kissed him again, and pushed him
out of the door.
He stood on the pier, his limbs
oddly shaky, watching them at the
rail, Fluvanna and Ellen. His
mother did not look excited; she
was gently smiling. Mother was—
mystical looking; that was the
word! Ellen was trying to say
something to him; her lips formed
words he could not hear. He shook
his head. She tried again. The
ship was moving . . . sliding al-
most imperceptibly. Ellen resorted
to gestures. ‘‘You,” she motioned,
“over there!’ She meant he would
be coming {or them. He nodded
his head in assent.
Over there . . . But they were
leaving him! It came upon him
with a pang of desolation. There
would be an ocean between. Ellen
had kissed him. . . . The revela-
tion was blinding . . . Ellen! Why
hadn't he seen it before? Not mo-
mentary impulse, but love direct-
ing him. Ellen—he—their desti-
nies intermingling. He saw it as
mreey
Unexpectedly She Kissed Him
With Clinging Warmth,
clearly as if a directing finger
pointed. And she did—she would
love him. Her kiss had told him.
Wait! . Stop the ship! They
mustn't go!
He struggled through the crowd-
ing shoulders, hurried down the
pier to be opposite them again.
They watched him intently, He
formed the words “I love you' to
Ellen. She looked puzzled, shook
her head, put her hand behind her
ear. He tried again. “I love you."
Joy broke over her face and he
could see the color sweep clear to
her brow. She turned to his moth-
er. He could see her say, ‘He
says he loves me!”
Fluvanna nodded at him delight-
edly. Why, Mother wanted this too!
Ellen's eyes were
could see her mouth tre
stretched out her arms.
Once mor
this time more tir
“You—over there.” She threw
He watched
until ti deck
came a dark blur of fi
10
igures
of the pier, swung into the river.
He would follow—no, he couldn’t.
But he would go in a few weeks.
Things were better. Go home; get
things in order; perhaps the last of
May—June . He stumbled along
the wharf. At the street a plead-
ing derelict asked him for a dime.
He put a dollar in his hand. While
he waited for a taxicab, he looked
up at the heavens. In the pow-
dered sky, one star shone more
brightly than any of the others.
Bright star—steadfast and endun
ing.
THE END
THE
CASE
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ROR ari
BLAST KILLS 300
IN TEXAS SCHOOL
Search Debris for Mangled
Bodies of Children, Dead
and Dying.
New London, Tex.—Workers
are still searching the wreck-
age of the London Consolidated
school for more bodies to be
added to the toll of the worst
school disaster in the world’s
history.
Hundreds of students were
literally blown to bits in a gas
explosion which demolished the
richest rural school in America
ten minutes before the boys
and girls would have been dis-
missed for the day. Estimates
500.
Gov. James V. /
declared martial law,
state highway patrolmen to
scene, which is 12 miles north of
here. National Guard troops were
ordered out as the entire populace
of the neighborhood thronged about
the school hysterically waiting for
the bodies of their loved ones to be
dragged forth. President Roosevelt
promised every aid from the fed-
eral government,
At the time of the mighty blast
fifty or more mothers were attend-
ing a Parent-Teacher association
meeting in the school gymnasium,
a separate building several hundred
feet away from the main structure.
Hearing the rumble of the blast,
they rushed to the windows in time
to see a hail of debris flying through
the air and the big building collaps-
ing upon their children.
Mothers Race to Aid.
and sent all
ers raced
with
the
across the and
bare
campus
hands
their
reach the children whe
be heard from bene
structure,
of which
se cries could
Nearby
could be
school grounds, shut
frantic workers rushed
rescue those
alive.
The
tion
the
and
from
down
seen
who still remained
force of
mangled
like they were rag dolls. The brick
walls were blasted out.
gling humanity. Bricks were hurled
more than a quarter of a mile.
Dismembered bodies lay all
around on the school lawn. Some
were decapitated. Others had limbs
were alive.
extreme confusion. Hysterical wom-
en fainted, shrieked, and prayed,
kneeling on the grass.
Many parents, the women either
screaming hysterically or silently
sobbing, ran frantically from one
body to another, seeking their loved
ones. There were gasps of horror
and occasionally a woman slump-
ing to the ground in a faint, indicat-
ing she had found what she had
fearfully hoped she wouldn't.
Mutilation of the bodies made
their tragic task increasingly diffi-
cult. One couple hovered over the
form of a little boy, his face and
body so mangled and bloody they
couldn't be certain if he were their
“Must Be Jim,” Mother Cries.
"0, it's Jim, it must be Jim,”
sobbed the woman. Picking up one
“ry
band. “See,
she cried.
it's his tennis shoes,”
“I remember he asked
‘No, no,” her husband replied, al-
“Jim changed into
his other shoes when he came home
for lunch.”
“0, merciful God, he may still be
alive then,” the mother cried as
they got up and hurried away to
scan other little bodies.
For a few minutes after the roof
caved in, leaving jagged remnants
of wall standing like the ruins of a
medieval castle, flames shot out
above the wreckage. But the build-
ing was of fireproof construction
and the blaze, having almost noth-
ing to feed upon, soon died out. It
was well that it did, for nearby
communities have only small fire
fighting forces.
The narrow roads to the school,
situated between the oil field com-
munities of London and New Lon-
don, unincorporated hamlets, soon
were clogged with a stream of ve-
hicles.
More than 15,000 persons assem-
bled at the scene in the next few
hours, either anxious over the fate
of their relatives, to help in the res-
cue work, or sightseeing.
Call Doctors and Nurses.
Every available ambulance, doc-
tor, and nurse in all surrounding
towns were summoned by telephone
and radio. As far away as from
Shreveport, La., came doctors and
nurses by airplane, sent by the
American Red Cross.
Thirty doctors and seventy-two
nurses, twelve of them from the
companying them were twelve am-
bulances, twenty-five embalmers,
and five hearses.
All sorts of
trucks, private cars, ambulances,
and were used to carry
away. But, with no one in author-
up to a frenzy, many of
soon were entangled in a
snarl.
Because of this situation,
Allred ordered all state
opeless
Gover-
high-
mand.
All available Texas Rangers and
highway policemen also were being
rushed there from Dallas, Houston,
Austin and Tyler.
tifying the bodies,
school children having been finger
printed.
Find Few Survivors.
Five hundred workers from the oil
fields arrived at the wrecked build-
ing soon after the explosion and
leaped into the ruins. But there
were few survivors for them to res-
cue, and their main work was car-
rying out bodies.
Later an additional
went to work on the debris.
early stages they passed up
bodies o W
whom there
might be Lif
Three hundr
taker
and every
Hendy
and bodies
sixty
conveyance
Troup, Longview, and Tyler.
While waiting for
sufficient vehicles to move
W ” term} os
the arrival of
long rows on the lawn.
Mothers and fathers dragged the
school gymnasium until the vehicles
came back nore loads. There
the children and their teachers lay,
side by side, many of them unidenti-
for
Few Injured Will Live.
school disintegrate before his eyes,
the building, not more than 100 es-
caped death. Many of the injured
who were removed from beneath
the tons of steel and concrete, he
said, were so badly injured that
they could not live.
Most of the younger children, at-
tending the nearby grammar school,
had been dismissed before the disas-
ter occurred and were out of harm's
way. Some were playing about the
yard, however, and saw the school
building collapse.
Mrs. Evelyn Hooker, a weifare
worker for Rusk county, in which
the school is located, and a friend,
Mrs. William C. Roberts, were driv-
ing past the school at the time the
explosion occurred.
“I looked up,” said Mrs. Hooker,
“just in time to see the top of the
building suddenly rise in the air.
It seemed that the whole building
moved up and the walls were flung
out. A black pall of smoke appeared
to hover over the building.
Clothing Torn Off.
“Then we saw the children. O, it
was terrible. Some of the smaller
ones, who must have been plaving
in the yard or were in the entrances
of the building, ran into the streets.
They were bleeding and crying hor-
ribly. Their clothing had been torn
off many of them.”
A. W. Waldrop, physical educa-
tion teacher at the school, was con-
ducting a class in physical educa-
tion on the grounds shortly before
the blast, He left the class momen-
tarily to enter the building. At
that moment the explosion oc-
curred.
One of the first to reach the scene
was R. K. Carr, an employee of
the Tidewater Associated. He
dashed into the wreckage and car-
ried out the body of a little girl. It
was his daughter.
Stricken School
Was U. S. Richest
Located in the Heart of East
Texas Oil Fields.
Henderson, Tex.—The London
Consolidated school, wrecked in
the horrible explosion which
blotted out the lives of hun-
In the heart of
the East Texas oil fields, it is
The blast itself is believed to have
been caused by explosion of natural
gas from the seven oil wells on the
school campus
The school compasses
some thirty with an
assessed valuation of 16 million dol-
lars. The com
owing the dis.
covery of one of the most productive
1
Quickly Paid For.
With “black gold” flowing from
no difficulty in raising the several
t is not only debt
tiplied many times.
In 1831, when wealth gushed out
of the ground for the communities
the
two villages
schools serving the
trict set up.
The school lies midway between
the two communities.
The site of the disaster scene can
in the district, to Henderson.
1,500 in Eight Grades.
The wrecked school had
iment of 1,500 students, from the
Ir
h grade to the third year of high
an en-
0
p first of which was built
} pleted structure
30 classrooms and an au-
large enough to accommo-
date half of the total enrollment.
Equipped to teach stenography,
ic, manual training, and sew-
as well as academic subjects,
that its
munity
institution was as
At one side of the main building
stood the gymnasium, and at the
other stood a grade school for chil-
dren from the kindergarten to the
fifth grade. The home of the super-
itendent also stood on the school
grounds,
All Are Fireproof.
All of the buildings were of fire-
proof construction and ample size.
The grade, or grammar school, was
a two story brick building about 100
by 125 feet.
The main building had a two story
unit in the center, about 50 feet wide
and 60 feet deep, which housed the
auditorium and various laborato-
ries, and wings on either side.
These wings, each 30 feet deep and
65 feet long, gave the building a
frontage of 180 feet.
From a high window of the school
one could look out across a plain
dotted almost solidly as far as the
eye could reach by oil derricks.
Thousands of these rear their smut-
covered skeletons from 50 to 100 feet
in the air.
Smooth Dirt Roads.
Broad dirt roads, of the sort listed
on road maps as first class C grade,
are the main highways here. They
are almost as smooth as glass, and
at this time of the year are dry.
Ditches are three feet deep on each
side and the shoulders, in some
cases, are edged with asphalt or
gravel.
Under the scorching sun that
beats down with stifling force nine
months out of the year, the houses
and other wooden structures are
like tinder boxes, dry as dust and
ready to burst into flames at the
slightest spark.
Practically no building is more
than two stories high. Many of the
office buildings, stores, and even
the banks in the villages are only
one-story affairs.
Despite the dirt roads and bare
earth, nearly everyone in the school
district is well-off financially be-
cause of the oil.
The people ride in expensive cars,
for the most part, to their
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Law Is Action
Remember you have not a sinew
whose law of strength is not ac-
tion; not a faculty of body, mind,
or soul, whose law of improve-
ment is not energy.—E. B. Hall
- - . ——
TO RELIEVE NEURITIS
PAINS FAST
Nt”
Demand and Get Genuine
BAYER ASPIRIN
Judged by Conduct
A man's worth is estimated In
this world according to his con-
uct.—La Bruyere.
Do something about
Periodic Pains
Take Cardul for functions! pains
of menstruation. Thousands of wom-
en testify it has helped them. If
Cardul doesn’t relieve your monthly
discomfort, physician,
Don’t just go on suffering and put
off treatment to prevent the trouble,
Besides easing certain pains, Car
dul aids in bullding up the whole
system by helping women to get
more strength from thelr food.
Cardul is a purely vegetable medicine
which you can buy at the drug store and
take at home. Pronounced “"Card-wudi.”
consult =a
Our Allies
Good manners and
have brought many
thing to pass.—Aesop.
soft words
a difficult
Is surprising how many have heart
burn. Harried eating, overeating, heavy
smoking, excessive drinking all lead w
heartburn, When it comes, heed the
warning. Your stomach is on a strike,
EJ