■ ¥ ' 1 =■ J A Clever I Friend By ALVAH JORDAN GARTH ■ =■ (Coprrigtat, 191*. br W«t«ra Nawtpsper Unloa.) He was not her lover —she wished he was—only so far a pleasant, friend ly acquaintance. If he cherished the past as did Nellie Aicott, then Ransom Drury thought of her very often. She was expecting to see him again that day, and Nellie flushed consciously as she comprehended that she had taken unusual pains to look her best She expected him any time after 10 o'clock, and surely before noon, for It was vital that he should appear between those hours. Nellie was In charge of the office of John Drake, who conducted a real estate, loan and insurance office. In addition to this he did some private banking, and had just put in a safety deposit vault. Mr. Drake was absent for the day, and Nellie was alone In the office. Ransom Drury had left Hopedale two months previous to settle up a claim in the far West. Mr. Drake had received a letter from him the day previous, stating that he was en route for home and would reach there the morning of the seventh. It was now the seventh, and it was now eleven o'clock, and Nellie began to worry— with a good reason! And this was the reason; The uncle of Ransom had died and had left him what estate he possessed. It included bonds, mortgages and some scattered claims. There was no cash, and to defray the expenses current with his death and cover the necessary western Journey, Ransom had borrowed one thousand dollars from a grasping money loaner named Jasper Thrall. The loan was for sixty days, due by noon on the seventh. High interest rates had been charged and the col lateral security had been placed In trust with Mr. Drake. Nellie was well aware of the fact that Jasper Thrall was just the man to take snap judgment on the loan, were opportun ity offered, which meant that he would be able to fasten his mercenary clutches upon sftcurities worth ten times the amount of the loan. Sud denly the telephone rang. Nellie near ly dropped the receiver and her heart began to beat tumultously. "This Mr. Drake's office?" came the challenge from the other end of the line. "Yes? All right—this is Ran som Drury. Say, train stalled at Bor den, I've got to take the trolley. It won't bring me to Hopedale before half past twelve. I have the money to meet the Thrall note. At all haz ards, protect It." Protect It! How willingly would "Nellie have discounted her salary for the rest of her life to do that! She paled at her helplessness. Twenty-five minutes of twelve! Oh! if Jasper Thrall should come to demand his pound of flesh! Alas! Nellie turned pale and shuddered. A glance into the hall outside showed the money shark approaching. Nellie thought hard. Had the thoy sand dollars been in the money drawer she would have unhesitatingly employ ed it to defeat this bird of evil omen. Forty minutes required by Drury to reach Hopedale, and within twenty Thrall would make his demand! An Inspiration came to Nellie. "Have you seen the new safety de posit compartment, Mr. Thrall?" she asked with elusive sweetness. '•Why, no," came the reply, with another glance at the dock. "Let me show it to you," and Nellie led her prospective victim through a little passageway and stood aside as she reached a door made of iron bars. "Well! well! this Is quite an Im provement." "Oh. dear!" cried Nellie, as the door clanged shut, locking Itself. "The key! Mr. Drake has one." "I say, let me out!" ordered Thrall. "I must serve this legal notice." But Nellie fled. She closed the cor ridor door, she sank into a chair well night to the point of collapse. "Oh. what a dreadful thing have I done!" she gasped. Then she counted the minutes. There came to her shrinking hearing the dull echoes of shouts and the shaking of the metal barrier. The town bell boomed out twelve hoarse strokes. Five, ten, fif teen, twenty minutes after twelve! A step she recognized, and, brisk, smil ing. tanned with travel, but bright eyed as ever, Ransom Drury crossed the threshold. He shook hands with Nellie with a more than brotherly ardor. He was all business. Then! "Am i In time?' At his first question Nellie, excited, trembling, told him of the situation. "Leave the money," she fluttered. "Oh, you jewel!" exulted Ransom, and his eyes snapped with apprecia tive admiration, and as he departed Nellie went to the vault compartment and unlocked Its door. "Fine work, this!" growled the old money grabber. "Long time In finding the key, It appeafs to me. Here, accept this paper and hand me the Drury eol lateral," but Nellie, instead, tendered a package of bank bills. "What's this!" fairly yelled ThralL "Oh, Mr. Drury has paid In the note money," said Nellie, without a quiver or further explanation, and the dis comfited Thrall went his way, never suspecting the trick that had been played upon him. M I need Just such a clever little busi ness woman to guard and bless my life!" Ransom Drury declared, when he saw Nellie home that same after noon, and, she was glad and proud be cause he said It GREAT EVENT FOR MOSLEMS Qala Day When the "Procession of the Holy Carpet" Leaves Cairo for City of Mecca. Always picturesque, Cairo Is never more fascinating than during the "Pro cession of the Holy Carpet." In the bazaars we watch the barefooted workmen embroidering, holding the cloth in their toes, which appear to be prehensile, or watch them go to the nearest mosque to bathe five times a day. As many times a day also from the minarets of mosques the ir.uezzins are reminding the natives of the approaching festival, and that "God Is great, there is no God but God, and Mohammed Is his prophet. Come to Prayer." Howling dervishes are dancing in the mosque near the Square of Sutten Hasan, while devout Moslems are en gaged In eventide prayer on their housetops. Water carriers are on the way to the yellow Nile for water, or are bearing wine in their goatskins the same as in Biblical times, while aged men in the mosques are appareled ex actly as in Abraham's day. The streets are filled with soldiers, while thousands of civilians attend the ceremonial held in the sncred prophet ic inclosure in the great square near the citadel. The enclosure is a pyra midal wooden struoture covered with embroidered stuffs emblazoned with gold embroidery and quotations from the Koran. Here the people receive the blessings of the prophet, together with Ipecial dispensations and sacred talis mans. The khedlve and his dignitaries ar« all present to formally start the cara van and Its military escort toward Mecca, In far-off Arabia. The people press forward to touch the sacred In closure, kissing it with fervor. Wom en let down their shawls and face veils from the windows, as the procession at last starts. Following it are the pilgrims who will accompany the car pet to the sanctuary In the mosque at Mecca, and who will return later with the same caravan to Cairo, bearing the carpet of the previous year. Marriage in Bulgaria. Since Bulgaria's unconditional sur render to the allies the men of her armies have been straggling homeward and many weddings are being cele brated in consequence. Bulgarian methods of entertaining before the wedding do not differ ma terially from those of other nations except that the bride instead of hav ing her trousseau carefully put away in the "hope chest," from which she only takes it for the privileged few, hangs it up on cords which are stretch ed across the main room of the house. Here it is viewed on the Friday before the wedding by all the matrons of the town, while the bride and the maidens dance before the door and remain there until the matrons have given their full criticism of each garment, and If they disap prove of them the girls must help the bride make them over until "suit able." Instead of rice, corn as an emblem of plenty, is showered over the bride and grooin, who are escorted to their home with many ceremonies and they are virtually imprisoned within its doors. New Uses of Raw Products. The Weltmarket directs attention to new uses of some raw products. In Holland a useful gum or paste is being made from garlic. The bulbs are pressed and the juice or fluid matter so obtained is thickened by inspissa tion. A good substitute for cork Is ob tained from certain fungi, which are dried and ground, mixed with cement Und consolidated by pressure. lii Nor way a process has been patented to tnable carbide to be used for driving motors. In Denmark a company has t>een floated to make briquettes from Heather. These have a higher heat ralue than peat. Experiments are be ing made to use chalk marl, especially that which comes from the Limburg mines, as a manure. Typhoon Hurt Coconut Trees. The Christmas typhoon which swept aver the southern Philippine islands Sid considerable damage to the coco lut plantations. Trees, especially those Hong the seashore and places most Dpen to the wind, were either blown down or weakened to such a degree that unless the affected groves are cleaned up and taken care of, the trees Kill standing are doomed, but for an other reason, says the bureau of agri-« culture. The fallen trunks will be come breeding places of all manner of beetles, borers and other coconut de stroying pests and diseases. The weakened trees, unable to fight tlrese odds, will sooner or later succumb and thus the farmers will suffer more losses. Got Him at Last He was a large, dapple-gray, sensi ble-looking horse. It was his task to pull a baker's wagon from house to house In a district on the North aide, as the driver dodged In and out of the houses with his basket of bread and cakes. "Fritx," called out the driver aa he ran down the porch steps. Intending that as a notice to his faithful friend to move on down the street The horse did not move. "Charlie," spoke up the driver again, and the old dapple-gray stepped off promptly.—lndianapolis News. Uncle Eben. "Owln' to de way smarter men dan I Is has got mixed up !n arguments/ said Uncle Eben. "whenever anybody '■plains de league o' nations tu me. I Jes' says 'yessir' an' goes on "bout my business." I A Wild I Adventure By WALTER JOSEPH DELANEY i (Oopyrlfbt. 1819. t>r W*«t*r» Nawtpaper Cmlon.j About once a year Nancy, wife of Aleck Forbes, had "a tantrum." Looking back over a full decade, Aleck could recall many of these fit ful spells. For a day or two Nancy was unmanageable, complaining, nag ging. Suddenly the spell would dis appear and Nancy would be "good as pie!" She never expressed penitence, and the renewed sun of her graclous nesc made Aleck forget to allude to he? spasm of 111 nature. "I don't dare to face her!" he grcaned. "She's due for her regular ou'hreak. If not. what I have done will hasten it. Oh. dear! The loss of the two hundred dollars worries me but when I think of what Nancy wili say about it I'm scared!" This had happened: Aleck had col leered two hundred dollars. Nancy knew all about the transaction and was to have half of the sum to buy a nev/ set of furniture. About four o'clock Aleck had come home, found her absent and had loitered about towi. Returning, he had made an appall ing discovery. He had lost the money! Hastily he retraced his way but found no trace of the missing roll of baik notes. His heart sank to his boots. He dared not face Nancy. A new suggestion came to him. He would take the first train for Adrian, where lived a brother who might loan him two hundred dollars, but the last lOCHI for the day was gone when he reached the railroad station. As he passed the village garage he recognized a farmer just ready to start out The man could take him as far as the cross roads, four miles from Adrian. The automobile was an open roadster, the evening was chilly and Aleck had felt his chronic hoarseness coming on by the time he reached the cross roads. He was stiff and shiv ering as he started on his long walk. Thic side of Adrian, about two miles, Aleck made out the lights of the little town of Leesville. He started a short cut In the dark, got mired in a swampy stretch, fell over a great log and lay Insensible for nearly half an hour. When Aleck regained consciousness he could not find his hat, he limped from a sprained ankle, he could feel a great abrasion on one side of his face and, a thoroughly wretched and nerve racked being, he reached the road to be nearly run down by an automobile containing some wild spirits bound in the opposite direction. He had not proceeded half a mile when he came across a hat, evidently blown off the head of one of the hilarious crowd. It was a soldier's hat, with the regu lation band about it. Aleck was glad to put it on. Then he made for the gleaming village lights. With chat tering teeth and shaking limbs he made for a brightly lighted room at the rear of what seemed to be the town billiard parlor. Half a dozen young fellows stared at him as he bolted In upon them, craving warmth and well nigh exhausted. Aleck must have fainted away-, for when he again opened his eyes some one was pouring a powerful stimulant down his throat. A sen.se of rare relief and comfort came over his be fogged consciousness. "He's a soldier," spoke an unsteady voice, "you can see that by his hat. Say, fellows, our expected chum from the front hasn't shown up. We'll show the honors of war to this hero, eh? Here, old fellow, we're going to banquet you. See? Up to the groan ing table with the victim," and Aleck was carried to a chair before a bewil dering supper layout. He tried to speak. He could not. Only a hoarse monotone responded to the effort. His old ailment was upon him, he had tem porarily lost his voice. "Hey! give me a text for a speech." nudged the lively young fellow be side him, amid the jangling of glasses. "Voice gone, my, friends, evidently from exposure in the trenches. Here, write something," and given pencil and paper, Aleck wrote: "Treated rough." "An! my friends." cried the orator grandiloquently, •'they treated him rough over there!" "Lost In a swamp, crippled!" "Think of his sufferings In behalf of his beloved country! He's getting another chill. Prime him up with an other dose!" Now Aleck could never remember now he got back home, but, carrying the banquet bouquet, he entered the bouse the next morning. Nancy st«red at him, astonished. "Flowers for you," croaked Aleck. "'You've been drinking!" said Nancy seriously. "They poured It down me. I wasn't responsible. I lost that $2OO " "Well, I found it in the kitchen. Fve taken my sffare, yours Is In the clock. Now give an account of your self." sobered Aleck. It delighted him to hear the merry laughter of Nancy as he detailed his adventures. "So you were afraid of me!" she said. "Well, after this, when I feel a spell coming on, Til go and stay with my Bister till It's over. You poor man I To fall In with that bibulous crowd of reckless roisterers. You must sign a pledge as an evidence of good faith, and next time you feel afraid of me eome and tell me your ridiculous itory over again, and its very fun oinass will make me good natured!" THAT ROCKING-CHAIR SHRINE Place Where Mother Sat Is Forever Sacred in the Memories of Her Children. By the window in the sitting room stood the old chair. It was "moth er's chair" —otherwise it would have been just a chair. With mother In It, however, It became a shrine to which flocked her devoted little worshipers. In the rocker, as we sat on moth er's knee or at her side —for the chair was generously made —the bumped head and the bruised heart were ! healed, says a writer in the People's Home Journal. Frightened, we found there a safe retreat, a refuge from ev ery harm. At night the bedtime story was told to the rhythm of its soothing swing. Joys, sorrows, all were brought to its encircling arms. Mother's chatr, rocking, rocking, rocking by the win dow. The old chair, we think, had a hand in the making of character. Maybe It was more effective in this service than we realize. Seated in It, we watched the needle In quick, nimble fingers, glinting in and out among the frayed edges tirelessly; we heard our childish perplexities explained over and over again, with no hint of vex ation ; we sang the songs which taught us some of the beauty of life; we lis tened to stories of bravery and truth. Industry, patience, beauty, courage, honesty—they can be traced back through a golden pathway straight to mother's chair. The old chair has seen valiant serv ice. Old-fashioned, scarred and worn, It still stood in the familiar place by ! the window. Why is it not refinished I —the scars smoothed out, the worn ' places covered? What! Cover the marks which little hands have made, the worn spot where mother's tired head rested, the scars made by tiny, restless feet? Such a question came from one who did not understand. To him the old chair was mere wood and paint —Just a piece of furniture, not a shrine. We do not say it aloud —our great est longings are not spoken —but some times when life gets tangled we find oureelves going again to the old chair ! to have the knots untied. When grief i comes we sob it out there. When joy j comes we run to tell It there. When we fall, when we win, our thoughts take us to the old chair. And at night the little lisping prayers come beg ging to be said, and we send them, along with our grown-up petitions, up to heaven by way of that sacred shrine. Simple Resistance Unlta. To a British firm goes the credit for Introducing a very simple type of resistance unit which possesses nu merous and important advantages. The wire or strip member Is supported | on a single rod passing through the center section of each leg of the zig zagged wire or strip. Among the spe cial advantages claimed are: Very large radiating surface for a given ca pacity; small weight for a given ca pacity ; absolute freedom for expan sion; owing to the large surface and small bulk of metal they cool very quickly; they are absolutely unaffect ed by vibration or jolts; units can be run red-hot without danger of sagging; repairs can be effected on separate units; tapping can be taken off any where along the center clamp; the number of units being small compared with a grid resistance of equal capae- Ity, there are not many joints to cause trouble. —Scientific American. Congress Shoes Come Back. There has been a very decided reviv al of the old "congress gaiter," with its elastic insert at the sides, which were very generally worn more than a quarter of a century ago. The explan ation rests in the fact that American shoes are now being extensively worn by the natives of Japan. The more rapid adoption of the western styles of lace and button shoes is made difficult by the native custom that requires that shoes be removed before a person en ters a home or inn. In some cases it Is even required that the shoes he re moved or at least covered with cloth protectors before entering shops, thea ters and similar public buildings. This custom has led to the quite general adoption of the old-fashioned hut con venient "congress" boot by those who wear occidental footwear during busi ness hours. Danger in Imported Earth. For a long time a great many ships coming from Europe into the port of New York have been dumping earth ballast along the shores of East river, Hudson river, and elsewhere around the bay. This Is a source of risk of the entry of undesirable plants and plant pests, In the opinion of the Unit ed States department of agriculture, and an inquiry has been started to de termine the extent of this risk and to provide safeguards against it. There is q. possibility of the introduction of soll-lnfectlng diseases, injurious nema todes, and hibernating Insects, any of which, unless preventive measures were taken, might spread over the country or considerable parts of it. National Forest Area Reduced. The president on February 25, 1919, signed a proclamation eliminating 31,- 779 acres from the Helena national for est, Montana. The lands affected are situated along the exterior boundaries of the forest and a large portion of the lands excluded are already in private ownership. This action is based on the recom mendation made by the secretary of agriculture as a result of the land clas sification done by the forest eervlce. It was found that the lands had prac tically no t»Um for national forest ' purposes. I The I Helpers By T. B. ALDKRSON 1 I (Copyright, lilt, fcy >t«»p«9«r Uataa.) The young man at the drug store window stood gazing reflectively out upon the rain-swept street. It was a wretched locality and those hurrying by were manifestly of the poorer class. He was Adrian Howard, a lawyer of five years standing, and he had wan dered casually to the neighborhood be cause he had been named as a candi date for the judgeship on a new reform ticket A survey of the field had convinced Adrian Howard that the opposition controlled a large majority in the dis trict For all that he had become in terested in viewing the conditions about him. Idleness and crime went hand in hand and poverty and hunger haunted the great rows of cheap fire trap tenements. A little girl, ragged and unkempt and dripping with rain, her broken shoes soaked, hugging close a tattered shawl and chilled and shiv ering, attracted his attention by her forlorn appearance. She handed a slip of paper to the druggist and sat down wearily upon a stool to await the prep aration of a prescription she had brought. When the clerk appeared from behind the case with a bottle, she voiced weakly: "Please, sir, it's for Mr. Gray, who is very sick, and Miss Arline says she'll pay you next week." The druggist drew back the extend ed bottle. "You'll have to find the cash for this prescription," he said crossly. "Yes, sir, please, sir, but Mr. GraV 1 is very sick, and Miss Arline will sure ly pay you." "Well, let some of his friends pro vide the money. He's done enough for them when he was well." The little child began to cry, bound by strands of loyalty and love to the sick man. Adrian stepped forward, asked the charge, paid it, and the little one directed at him a grateful glance, seized his hand in an impetuous way and kissed it. The druggist looked half-shamed and said apologetically: "Don't think me hard-hearted, but If you should see my books you would understand that I am well near to bankruptcy from trusting these unfor tunate people about here. The Grays deserve a heap, but I have done my limit In helping them out. Old William Gray has been a kind of world father to the poor and distressed, but I fancy he and his daughter have fallen on hard lines. "Walt," spoke Adrian, as the child gathered the rag of a shawl over her shivering shoulders, "maybe I am go ing your way and you can share my umbrella." It was thus that Adrian Howard came to know the Grays, father and daughter. It was thus that for the first time in his life he got down to the core of the problems of the poor and unfortunate. The little girl had led him to a tenement in the poorest part of the district, and in two clean but poorly furnished rooms he found an aged man, feeble, fevered and wasted away, and his daughter, a girl of about twenty, hovering over him like some ministering angel. The scenes Adrian had passed througfh in reaching the place had placed heart sympathy and an open purse at any call that might arise, but he dared not even suggest charity to the dignified old man or his daughter, in those faces he traced the evidence of undoubted gentility. Adrian awk wardly told of a passing Interest In the rain-beaten child, asked if he could be of any assistance, and de parted reluctantly, the sweet, patient face of Arline Gray indelibly im pressed upon his memory. He found an excuse for gazing upon It again, and In cementing a closer ac quaintance with Mr. Gray. The latter was the idol of the more sedate class of workers In the district His skill as a fair artist had decreased as he grew older, but he received occasional orders, and until he fell ill he had managed to earn a living, his daughter co-operating with some pastel work for the big city stores. Arline did not resent the offer of some sickroom delicacies for the inva lid, and the old artist was prevailed upon to accept a small loan as against a sum owing him from a slow client. Adrian, as Mr. Gray grew stronger, brought him some paying commis sions from friends. He learned that the old man was guide and adviser to several humble neighborhood clubs and his word went very far with his loyal following. For two weeks Adrian did not see much of the Grays. He was engrossed in his campaign among voters In higher circles. The slum wards his friends had little hope of, and he him self was fairly astounded when, the morning after election, he read hit name among the successful judicial candidates. M And the slum wards did It," an nounced a friend. "Why, half the dis trict went for you." William Gray had done it and Ar line, and little Maggie Casey, aad her friends, and theirs. In his quiet force ful way the old artist had convinced his following that the upright young lawyer was a man of and for the people. There were better days In store for the poor and lowly, for Adrian How ard became their champion, and brighter days for the old artist, for Adrian saw to It that he was provided with a studio, and happier days for charming, faithful Arline, for -she be came mUlfees of his home and heart. ROADS IN NATIONAL FORESTS New Law Makes Available for Expend iture $9,000,000 for Roads and Trails. (Prepared by the United StatM Depart ment of Agriculture.) The development of the national for est road systems is given great impe* tus by the terms of the post office ap propriations act which the president has signed. Besides increasing by $200,000,000 the total fuud available under the federal aid road act the pew law makes available for expendi ture by the secretary of agriculture $9,000,000 for roads and trails. The law also authorizes the secre tary of war to transfer to the secre tary of agriculture, material, equip ment and supplies suitable for high way improvement and not needed by the war department. While most of this will be distributed among the high way commissions of the states for use on federal aid road projects, not to exceed 10 per cent may he reserved by the secretary of agriculture for use in 1 uilding natural forest roads or other roads constructed under his direct su pervision. The $9,000,000 fund may be used for maintenance as well as survey and construction. The new legislation, like the federal aid road act, authorizes the building of roads and trails necessary for the use and development of na tional forest resources or desirable for the proper administration, protection, and Improvement of such forest, or co-operative local contributions can be obtained, but in addition it contains a new feature of much importance. This new feature permits the seere of agriculture without the co-operation of local officials to build and maintain "any road or trail within a national forest which he finds necessary for the proper administration, protection and improvement of such forest, or which in his opinion is of national importance." In the view of forestry officials this law is the most important step ever taken for rapid development of national forest roads system, and will be of inestimable benefit to the local public. "The measure gives us much broader scope for a fully developed program than we have had before," says Henry S. Graves, chief of the forest service, in commenting on the new law. "Un [• Gcod Road in One of Our National Forests. oer the federal aid road act we had for roads within or partly within the forests, XI ,(MM>,(HH) a year, available un til expended. Owing to war. which practically halted the work, we have an accumulated balance of $2,r»00,000 unexpended and another $1,000,000 which will become available July 1. "This legislation will not only make it easier to protect the forests with out costly expenditures to fight bad fires in inaccessible localities, but will also help enormously the many small communities and scattered settlers In and near the forests who now suffer for lack of roads. It will also en able the construction of important trunk-line roads crossing the moun tains, with suitable provision of sub sidiary roads. One result unquestion ably will be a marked development of recreational use of these great national playgrounds with their wealth of too little known attractions. Altogether, the opening up of thf forests to more complete and varied use by the pub lic, which Is the fundamental object of their administration, will be tremen dously advanced." Under the law preference is given to the employment of honorably dis charged soldiers, sailors and marines for the required labor. KEYSTONERS VOTE FOR ROADS Out ef 504,029 Vote* Recently Cast 384,710 Were In Faver of $90,000,- 000 B»nd Imu*. Out of 504,029 votes cast In the re cent Pennsylvania election on the $50,000,000 bond issue for good roads, 384,780 were In favor of the bond Is sue. Pennsylvania la over two to one for proper, permanent highways, aai. is willing to pay for tkem.