The
Bayou Bridge
By NELLIE CRAVIE GILMORE
— -a
(Copyright, 1918. by McClure Newspaper
Syndicate.)
*
With head bent and Hps tightly com
pressed, Matilda hurried swiftly past
the camp, down a steep clay road and
on to the bayou bridge that led to
r, *ral delivery box No. 33, on the other
fide.
It was a gusty, disagreeable day. At
intervals, the rain whipped down in
sheets, alternately slackening to a
blleky, penetrating drizzle. The wind
tore at the willow branches that dip
ped Into the stream, and the waters
of the bayou writhed under its vio
lence.
Half way across the bridge an ag
gressive gust suddenly seized the
g'rl's umbrella and Hung it viciously
into the turbulent black water. Turn
ing Involuntarily, with a futile grasp
"at the flying parachute, Matilda ab
ruptly twisted her foot sideways,
catching the heel of her boot in a
crack between the planks. Just then
an angry cloudburst broke relentlessly
upon the unprotected head of the hap
less prisoner, and with hands tightly
gripping the railing of the bridge, she
waited, with all the patience she could
command, for its fury to subside.
Presently the wind ceased, the rain
shrank back into the clouds, and t.h<
lead of the sky broke up in patches of
Liue and silver. With renewed hope,
Matilda scanned the road from east t<,
west. And then, glory of glories! a
man was just heaving Into view on the
brow of the hill opposite. She watched i
hlra eagerly, thankfully. But as he
came nearer, near enough for her to i
tecognize the broad, straight shoulders
and the massive head under the drip
ping Panama, her eyes widened and ,
*he blood began to pound in her
throat and temples. Mallory Cheatham
—the very last person on earth she
wanted to encounter!
In her hand was the still unposted
letter, addressed to him. It contained
rnly a few lines, but It had taken her
half the night to make up her mind
what to say, and the other half how to
say It. She had refused him, firmly
and finally.
When he was almost up to her, Ma
ti'da's face grew scarlet with blushes.
Held like a criminal In the pillory, she
returned his look of consternation with
one of belligerent silence.
After Cheatham comprehended the
situation, a smile struggled through his
astonishment.
"I was beginning to grow impatient
of your answer, dear."
"Do get me out of this!" she inter
rupted petulantly, flinching with pain
as she gave her foot an impatient
twist.
Full of solicitude, Cheatham stoop
ed, and with a few deft manipulations,
sreeeded in loosening the Imprisoned
heel.
"And now," said he, rising and look- !
ing ardently down into Matilda's de- 1
c'dedly cross face, "don't I deserve
something for that?" He eyed the let
ter covetously.
But the girl said nothing, and she
did not yield up the letter, either.
"It's addressed to me, isn't it?"
urged Cheatham in a crestfallen
tone.
"Yes, but —Oh!" Just at thai junc- j
ture an accommodating zephyr lifted
the envelope from her fingers and
tossed it out on the water, where a
8 till more accommodating current
bore it swiftly Into the eddies.
Cheatham thrust his hands Into his
P'wkets and stood staring at her,
mingled curiosity and alarm showing
In his good-looking face.
"You —you've changed your mind,"
he said at last, very gravely, after his
recent exuberance.
The guilty crimson flushed over Ma- i
t'ida's face, and without a word she ,
turned and began to retrace her steps
back toward the camp.
As they came in sight of the camp
ers' tents, Cheatham paused and look
ed sternly Into the face of the girl at
his side.
"Mallory!" The exclamation was
f-harp, indignant, but Matilda's eyes
1.-fted their sober curtains long enough
to emit a lambent little flash that was
nothing if not contradictory.
"If you care to come Into the camp
until I can change these rags," she
said demurely, "I think —I think we
"an talk better."
Cheatham divested himself of his
raincoat and left it on a bench in the
yard. Inside he roamed about the
lirtle "reception parlor" of the tent,
waiting, like a caged lion, for the girl
to make her appearance.
She came in at last, gowned in some
diaphanous white thing that Chea
tham thought made her look exactly
like a star floating In a gauzy silver
cloud. She was smiling, and her eyes.
a& he held them in his own, were soft
and dreamy with their subtle confes
sion.
Cheatham reached forth eager arms
to draw her into them, bjit the apolo
getic entrance of an ebony-faced in
dividual caused him to reconsider for
a moment.
"I begs pardon, but somebody wish
to speak to Miss Driscoll on de
'phone."
"Be good enough," said Cheatham,
"to tell the gentleman that Miss Dris
coll is—is engaged."
When the door had been closed, huin
b!y and obsequiously, he turned to
Matilda for corroboration.
The next minute lie was holding the
white cloud against his breast, and
ihe star seemed to have no objection ,
to its new firmament. I
HUN BOOBY TRAPS
Left When Armies Were Driven
From France.
Detection of Contrivances Which Had
No Part in Civilized Warfare Was
Made Work of Special
Organization.
Detection by British army investi
gators of German "booby traps" saved
the lives of many an officer or man
of the British armies during the period
when the Germans were retreating
from France.
"I am convinced," says one oflicer,
"that we nipped many of the Hun's
favorite plans by capturing near Bray
a little factory where he made his
'booby traps.' When we occupied it
we learned much from the partly com
pleted traps we found lying about the
place.
"One of them was an iron plate.
This the wily Hun dropped in a road
way so that it would likely be trod
upon by soldier or horse of our ad
vancing troops. The plate was iu
two parts, with a spring inside, am!
usually contained a detonator connect
ed "aitli a lu-iivV charge of explosive.
V'!; ;> tli i weight of the foot was re
moved the spring slipped into place
and exploded the detonator, and the
damage was done.
"These spring detonators were the
Gei mans' specialty. They consisted of
a tul/e containing a little spring with
a hook at one end. Attached to the
hook was a string or wire connecting
with the explosive charge. Any ar
rangement by which the spring could
be distended and then suddenly con
tracted served to jerk the string, and
the charge was exploded.
"One night I received a call from our
lieutenant colonel who had spent the
day directing movements from a re
cently captured German dugout. He
told me he was nervous, and believed
he was associating with a 'booby,' and
asked me to send him a squad of engi
neers to look it over. I went myself.
"The colonel sat in the dugout, about
ten feet down, on a chair by a table.
Directly in front of the chair was a
petrol can, and it was the can he
feared. He had noticed It early in the
morning when the dugout was first oc
cupied, but had no time to examine it
until evening. Then he found nothing,
but he had a 'hunch' that it was a
trap and wanted expert assistance.
"I dug a little trench around the
can, but could find no wires, and then
tapped it, but received no sound other
than that which might come from any
old empty can. There was nothing to
do but open it, and, borrowing the
colonel's can opener, I went at it as
gingerly as I could.
"It was partly filled with about eight
pounds of one of the most deadly
powder explosives knowm to science.
This I removed very carefully, and in
the bottom of the can found the spring
detonator. It had been fastened to the
bottom of the can in such a way that
if the can had been lifted from the
floor of the dugout the charge would
have exploded, and the colonel and his
party would have been blown to bits.
"The colonel paled a little when I
showed him just what he had been as
sociating with all day, and very fer
vently thanked himself for obeying his
'hunch' to let that can alone."
Jet.
If you have made the trip to the
bottom of a coal mine and have seen
how the black lumps are made ready
for use, perhaps you know that jet,
the shiny black substance that yon
see so often, made into pretty orna
ments, beads, buttons, etc., Is closely
akin to coal. The history of the for
mation of jet is much like that of
coal. Thousands of years ago, masses
of wood were carried down Into the
sea by the rivers, and. there water
logged, it sank and became embedded
In the mud. Pressure and heat and
the salt water wrought the change in
the wood. Even now traces of the
wood structure can be detected In the
jet itself. In years gone by Jet used
to be found in lumps off the coast of
Yorkshire, the jet incased in shale
known as jet-rock, washed up by the
sea; but now that supply Is not suf
ficient and jet has to be regularly
mined. In Whitby, Yorkshire, the best
Jet is produced, but there are also
Important mines in France and Spain,
and America, too. has quantities of
the shale, though it is not systemat
ically mined.
General Pershing's Religion.
General Pershing was understood to
be a Presbyterian, but according to
published reports, he has later been
confirmed as a member of the Protest
ant Episcopal church. The Living
Church, an organ of that faith, states
that the confirmation service took
place In France, and was conducted
by Rt. Rev. Charles H. Brent, bishop
of western New York. It is said that
General Pershing desired to unite with
the Episcopal church in memory of hi<?
wife, who was of that faith. She and
their three daughters lost their lives
in a fire at the Presidio military build
ings at San Francisco, August 27,1915
Not Walking.
"Do yotir troubles make you walk
the floor?"
"Xo," answered the irascible man.
"That's the worst of It. My principal
trouble is gout."
Real Philosophy.
"Can you see any reconciling fac
tor at all in this increased tax on In
comes?"
"Oh, yes; that I have an Income to
tax."
She Followed the Line
We Sent Over the Rhine !
I I
ifl;? .
! <•. -= • - -• 5
■■■ ■ i
I ' . I
.... y !
*.v : i
; . .. .. •..*•" !
' v; * ■ •'
i 1 1
Th, .. .iiiar figure in blue uniform and poke bonr>et is back home to serve,
after four y.ars in khaki with tnt boys ''Over There." Saivatidn Army lassies
served eld fashioned American doughnuts in the front line trenches, and now
that the war is over they will be found agaip in the slums and dark places of
our great cities, ready to give a helping hand to men, women and children • ho
are on the down grade. The Salvation Army Home Service Campaign for
| 3,0C0,0C0 opens May 19. to last one week.
IN THE NIGHT
■
By JACK LAWTON.
Marcia, ready to turn out her light
for the night, paused again, at sound
of a strange, haunting cry. Regularly
for three nights it had come echoing
: through the stillness. What could it
: be?
There was no other boarder upon
the third floor of the boarding house.
She had come to the city in a spirit
of courage with "a heart for any fate,"
determined to do her best to become
an Illustrator.
Clad in her blue apron, sketching,
and singing the while, she was more
content in the big room on the empty
third floor. But that cry left her
vaguely troubled. Last night she had
been sinking off into sleep when it
sharply aroused her. Mrs. Shannon
assured her in the morning that there
were no boarders in the house beside
those seen at table, yet Marcia could
-see that the question confused the
1 landlady.
Now she determined to investigate
: the low moaning sound. Marcia found
J a small inner chamber, in the center
of which, upon a crumpled bed, lay a
child, blinking at her in surprise. He
was a beautiful boy with dark, tear
stained eyes and golden curls.
"Oh!" he said, "you'd better shut
the door quick before Mrs. Shannon
comes. Or maybe you'd better go out.
I've had the sickness that's catchin',
you know, an' she put me up here, so
the boarders wouldn't get scared an'
go. Now —" the child's voice broke
off in a wall, "the sickness has done
something to my ear, an' it pains."
"You poor little thing," cried Marcia,
the candle was on the old dresser now,
and she was smoothing the boy's head.
"Who takes care of you, son?"
"No one," the child answered re
signedly, " 'cept Mrs. shannon when
she has time. They's a good many
stairs to climb, you know, an' Mrs.
Shannon's pretty fat. When she can,
she comes up. Now she's gone to bed."
"I never heard of such a thing," in
dignantly murmured Marcia; quilt and
all she lifted the lad in her arms,
rocking him gently In a broken arm
chair.
"Who are you, dear?" she asked,
"and how do you come to be here?"
"I'm Ted," the boy replied. With a j
little grateful sigh he cuddled against j
her cheek. "My mother's in heaven. |
Father don't like me because she had i
to go when I came here. So he left
me with Mrs. Shannon. Mrs. Shannon ,
used to work for my mother." Ted ex
plained, "before I came into the
world,,"
Marcia held him closer to her heart
tears filled her eyes.
"Oh!" she breathed, "the pity of it 1"
But Ted was rambling on.
"I've a nice daddy," he said; "he ;
comes up here even when I'm sick.
An' he brought me things, an' tomor- 1
row he's going to bring a good doctor
who doesn't scare little boys and who ;
I brings them candy."
"Indeed!" answered Marcia her
caustic tone escaped the child—"he ,
does then have some idea of responsi
bility.
"What is daddy's name, Ted?" she
asked.
"It's Mr. Langley," Ted responded. !
"Mrs. Shannon says daddy's her best
boarder."
Marcia was staring straight ahead
in the candle light. "Mr. Langley!"
she gasped, and for a long time the
! two sat still. It was so hard to be
lieve. Why—she had not known of
John Langley's marriage—much less
of his little neglected son. He, who
had seemed to the lonely girl in the
city so kind and manly, was but a poor
thing after all.
"Mrs. Shannon's best boarder." A
3iab of -rain jfhQt .tji.ro,ugh JVf&rcja.'s
heart. She had been so "strange and
diffident among them all, and In so
many ways he had helped her. Later,
those evenings at the theater or the
opera in his company had become her
one looked-for pleasure.
Mrs. Shannon, who had vouched so
emphatically for his worthiness, had
forgotten to mention the fact of his
injustice to his own child and the loss i
wh'ch had embittered him. And only
last night—before the awakening of ;
the cry which had led her to the truth,
John Langley had asked Marcia to be
his wife. She had not given him an
answer, she wanted to wait —and
make sure for them both. Sadly Mar
cia planned that answer. And then
the candle flared as the bedroom door
was softly opened.
Before her stood John Langley him
self, he whom Ted's loyal heart had
called his nice daddy.
"You 1" the man exclaimed, his eyes
lighted joyously. "So you found him
Ma?cia, the poor little waif. He doesn't j
know that he is to undergo an opera
tion tomorrow upon his ear. I'm go
ing to stay and see Ted through.
Motherless, with a heartless father
roaming around the globe, he is In j
need of friends. I came on him quite
accidentally and we've had secret [
meetings up here ever since. I was go
ing to tell you about him, Marcia."
"But you—" murmured the girl per
plexedly, "he -alls you his daddy."
John Langley laughed. "It pleased
Ted to adopt me," he explained. " 'Fa
ther doesn't like me,' Ted said, 'so 1 :
don't like father. You'll be my j
daddy.'"
Gently Marcia put her sleeping bur
den back in his bed, then she turned ;
to the man with outstretched hands. j
"John," she said, "you and I, w€
must both see Ted through."
ICUMurrtcbt- IfIUL hv Waatarn Xawsuujiar UnlamJ
Getting Ready to Work
My son tells a story of when he
was at Camp Logan. He is a
nographer, and part of his duties were
to carry dally reports from camp to ;
brigade headquarters, and from his let
ters at the time, was kept pretty busy.
Along his route were civilian mechan
ics and laborers working, one of whom
always seemed to be getting ready tc
work, usually measuring a piece ol j
pipe or looking at it.
One day the soldier stopped and
looked on. The workman noticed him,
and after laying the piece of pipe care
fully on the edge of the ditch said,
"Well, young feller, they keep you
humpin', don't they? How do yon like
the army so far? Yon don't get much
time to loaf, do you?"
The soldier answered, "I like this
army all right, but the next army I
Join I'll tell them I'm a plumber."—
Chicago Tribune.
Minor Consideration.
"You are mispronouncing the names
of places where these battles oc
curred."
"That's all right If our boys had i
stopped to argue about the pronun
ciation they might not have won the
battles so quickly."
Country Board.
"I'm tired of canned beef," complain
ed the summer boarder. "Some fish
wouldn't go bad."
"That's easily fixed," responded the
genial farmer. "Ezry, open a can of
eardines."
The Difference.
"That man is telling of the most
wonderful exploits he accomplished
when he was on the firing line."
"Wars he ever overseas?"
"Well, he might have been half seas
over."
Page Mr. Hoover.
First Suburbanite — I understand he
was arrested by the government.
Second Suburbanite —What for?
First Suburbanite—He cast his bread
upon the waters and later found out It
was a wheatless oar.
ARROW COLLARS
IN~LAUNDERED OR SOFT /?'
V THE BEST THAT YOU l
\ CAN BUY .-.AT THE I' /v 0 J)
PRICE YOU PAY
MONROE Cluett, Peabody A Co.. Inc.. Troy. .V. Y. SOFT
J _ | "HOLD-TIGHT" HAIR NETS ENJOY AN ENVIABLE
SVVV* 4 NATIONAL REPUTATION AND THE FRIENDSHIP
ill/S \ OF MILLIONS OF WOMEN—
"HOLD-TIGHT" HAIR NETS ARE MADE OF THE
V /A OET>Si FINEST REAL HUMAN HAIR. ALL SHADES.
S FOR STi CV EVERY "HOLD-TIGHT' HAIR NET GUARANTEED
ia>U.TC no OR MONEY REFUNDED. ORDER AT YOUR FAVO
WW It OR GRAY ZSCfcALM RrrE STORE IF THEY CANNOT SUPPLY YOU
CAPorFRINGE SHAPE WRJTC STATE COLOR AND SHAPE.
URTD I ADOLPH KLAR
U I 211-4',-AVCNUE NEW YORK
s i 1
\ \ % k? m i *
i Jmpw
( ;
- ' 4/> . I
-0m i a Good i
'V • • [ v
I
| | Photograph
I GEM STUDIO ;i
| 730 Phila.[Street, • - Indiana, Pa. t
S Opposite Moore Hotel
Can't sleep! Can't eat! Can't even digest what little you do eat!
* A One or two do:^
ARMY & NAVY
yMM DYSPEPSIA TABLETS
will make you leel ten years
younger. Best known remedy
.■P for Constipation. Sour Stomach
and Dyspepsia.
'25 cents a package at all Druggists, or
sent to any address postpaid/ by the
U..S. ARMY & NAVY TABLET CO.
~ / 260 West Broadway, N. Y. *
1 1
jj*
WHAT YOU SURELY NEED
is a healthy, active, industrious lirer. Small doses of these pills
taken regularly Insure that. You may also need a purgative
! sometimes. Then take cne larger dose. Keep that in
It will pay you rich dividends in Health and Happiness.
Genuine ,/7 /J- — . Small Pill
bears S Small Do»i
signature J? I Small Pric®
CHFFJCS or HEALTHY COLOF .ndicatea Iron In the Blood. Pale or g
face* usually ihow its absence.' °A con- Q 4 '"ITER'S IRON PILLS I
Disapproves Old Adage.
In spite of the old adage to the con
trary, some things done by halves are
done most satisfactorily, as for exam- j
pie the much-used Quinsigamond
bridge at Worcester, Mass. Here traf
fic suffered a minimum of interruption
by completing and putting into use
one longitudinal hnlf of the new struo
ture before the other half was built.
Little Things.
Life i> made up of little things. It is
hut once in an age that occasion is of
fered for doing a great deed. True
greatness consists in being great in
little things.
Grandmother's Economy.
Another reason why your dear old
grandmother think she could
afford silk stockings was because she
thought she ought to wear six or seven
petticoats. —Dallas News.
To Kill Plant Lice" •
To kill injects on a cactus plant
■ • ray it with a very weak solution of
alum —1 li to 2 per cent. This solution
is said to be perfectly harmless to the
plant but to kill the plant lice.
The First Gas Respirator.
The first apparatus to enable per
sons to enter a noxious inflammable
atmosphere was called an "aerophore"
and was the invention of M. Denayr
rouse, a French Inventor and scientist
It was first tested at Chatham, Eng
land, 44 years ago, and was reported
successful. Vast Improvements on
this device, which comprised an air
pump, lamp and flexible tubing, have
since been made and these have saved
the lives of hundreds In mine accident®
and other disasters where rescue work
would be Impossible without their use.
The Village Stocks.
The curious old habit of punishing
offenders by placing them In the pub
lic stocks seems very far In the shad
» owy pa«t, yet a number of these old
wooden machines may still be seen in
England. Usually they stand, or they
stood, on the village green, near the
chnrch: and it is not such a long while
since stocks ceased to be used In th«
land.
- is ciivided It
r- vr.V