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and asked if his valises could be brought up. The man said he's send them up immediately and have"the fire lit for him at the same time. Crossley took off his heavy tweed coat and hung it up. Then he went over to the window window that overlooked George Street and chuckled to himself. "Perfect," he said, "just Then he decided to try out one of the chairs and there he lay back and relaxed, his long legs stretching almost fire grate. a few moments there was a knock at the door. He- called, '.'Gome in," thinking Welcomed Guest by Aden Baylie It was November 1898, Crossley Barranger followed the porter from Charing Cross station to an awaiting hansom cab. An American writer in England on assignment assignment for the New York Globe, Crossley wrote articles articles on everyday life in countries across the world, A small scar he had received from Afghan rebels marred an otherwise good looking face and he walked with a slight limp as a result of a riding accident in Argentina. A traditional London fog swirled about them as he descended the steps. The driver opened the door for him and inquired about his destination. "I'm looking for a small comfortable hotel in a nice neighbourhood - can you suggest one." "A gent like you should be staying at the Langham," he ., said. "f don't like big hotels", he replied "You don't get to meet the natives in ' big hotels." "There ain't no natives at the Langham Hotel that's for sure, unless sonje African Prince is visitin' or somethin', if you wantin' , natives you should stay right ; here at* the Charing Cross Hotel, its» full of Turks, Chinamen and all kinds of . foreigner^." Crossiéy was in no mood'.to. explain what he meant by ■ natives, - and so he tipped the porter and instructed the, driver to proceed into the hotel district and he would select one. The driver wiped his nose on his sleeve, closed the door of the cab, climbed into his seat and off they trotted. trotted. ' Following alongside the Embankment Gardens they turned up George Street and a few doors up there was a. delightful little private hotel called the Buxton. "This will do," he yelled to » the driver, who promptly brought his horse to a halt in the middle of the road. "This will do very nicely," he repeated to himself as he opened the door to the cab. "Do yuh wanna go and look at the rooms first while 1 wait 'ere for yah wiv yuh luggage?" luggage?" asked the driver. "No, I'm quite happy with this place. 1 travel all over the world' in my job and I've developed a second sense when il comes to seeking out good' accommodation," he said with authority. '"Suite yuself guv," sniffed the driver and took the two valises from tile luggage rack and threw them onto the ; sidewalk. Crossley paid him and gave him a handsome tip, which seemed to surprise him, as he had judged his passenger to be a cheapskate. When he opened the door of the hotel he smiled with self satisfaction. He had indeed indeed found a gem. It was beautifully kept and had a unique atmosphere. The lobby lobby was totally done in rough white plaster only broken by massive oak beams that divided the walls into segments and continued overhead to support the ceiling. ceiling. There was, a profusion of china plates displayed on a shelf that ran entirely around the room, and over the front desk were three fine landscape landscape paintings depicting some mountainous region of 1 England. i Behind the desk there was a man about forty. His hair xyas thinning at the front and he . sported a large black moustache. He smiled as the' American walked in, "Can I help you sir?" he asked, placing placing both hands on the desk and leaning forward. "I'm looking for a good comfortable room for a couple couple of weeks," said Crossley. . "Ah you'rfe in luck sir, I've just had a very nice room oh the first floor vacated. A businessman from Burnley had it - very, nice class of geptlemdn. Would that in 1 terest you sir?" "Yes, ebuid I have a look at it?'" "Right away sir," and with this the desk clerk took the key from a hook and asked Crossley to follow him up a winding oak staircase to the first floor (or second floor as they'd call it in the Americas)', At the top of the stairs .to the left he opened a big oak door which lead to the room and Crossley stepped in. It was perfect, a rather low ceiling ceiling but a good sized room about twenty feet by fifteen. •There was a colossal old four poster bed, a dressing table, washstarld, a writing desk and what really impressed him - a couple of "comfortable looking winged- leather chairs by a big open fireplace. He stressed his satisfaction to the clerk (who h*.' didn't realize at the nine 'was the landlord) it was his valises, which indeed indeed it was, but he was shocked when after some fumbling at the latch, the door burst open and a petite young, girl with â valise in each hand staggered in. "My goodness," he cried leaping up from the chair, "let me help you" and he bounded Over to grab the luggage luggage from her. "Oh, it's alright sir," she curtsied, "I'll used to it," but inspile of her protest 'he took the cases away from her and placed them by the dressing dressing table. "Thank you sir," she curtsied, curtsied, "I'll unpack them for you later. Now I'll make the fire." She bent down before the fireplace and he stood feeling rather uncomfortable as he watched her scraping out the grate and rearranging the kindling. "She's an attractive girl," he thought, for she had a very pretty figure evên in her black maids uniform; and when she turned and looked up to him he noticed her fine features and big brown eyes. "It won't take long to burn up sit,'-' she said, and got up to leave. ■ He. reached into his pocket to pull out a coin but she shook her head shyly as he handed it to her. "I'm sorry I can't accept gratuities sir. My father doesn't allow it." •'^he left before he could question her but it did seem awfully strange. "Surely," he thought, "part of her wages must be made up of tips. You would think her father .would be grateful ' for the extra money? Then he shrugged a"hd put the mbney back in his pocket. It had just turned noon by the pendulum clock on the mantel and so he decided to walk down the street and find a little restaurant to dine in. He gave in his key to the desk and was about to leave, then turned to face the desk clerk again and mentioned the maid, refusing a tip saying he felt rather guilty not being able to reward the girl for a good job. "I don't allow Millie to take tips sir," he said. "She might get silly ideas if she had money and go off somewhere and get into trouble." "I don't understand," said Crossley. "She said it was her father who wouldn't let her take them." "I am her father sir, 1 own this little place. Well its kind of a partnership really - me and Millie, gives us a home and a living.»' Crossley was a little surprised, surprised, to hear this,hut'realizing this,hut'realizing it was none of his business, bid the man good day and stepped out into the street. He eventually took lunch at the Hotel Cecil after a good walk along the embankment. embankment. It was a large elegant place covering a whole block - the kind of place at which* the cheeky cab driver would have liked him to stay. The lunch was excellent, but spoiled somewhat by the visions visions of what he assumed to be a wicked father using his daughter as some kind of slave. "I could be mistaken," he thought as he left the restaurant. "Maybe he has a good reason for his actions." He thought no more about it and proceeded to poke and probe around the streets that were situated between the Embankment Gardens and ' the Strand. A good hour was spent at Somerset House, where he enquired, about information information for making a, speech of his Brit is h ancestors and then he walked halfway across Waterloo Bridge and gazed down the • river towards Blackfriars. It was almost six when ITc arrived back at the Buxton. There was a new man at the desk who introduced himself , as Hobbs. Crossley enquired if he could order any kind of food in the hotel and was told they could provide bread and cheese with beer, tea or coffee. coffee. The idea of a jug of ale with some bread and cheese sounded appealing so he ' ordered some to be sent tip to his room. When he got upstairs the fire was burning brightly. He didn't turn up the gas light, but just sat there and watched watched the shadows dancing on the wall. The walk must have* tired him out for in a few minutes he whs asleep and the next thing he knew he was being being awakened by ■somebody gently shaking his arm and a voice saying, "Your food'sir -your food." He opened his eyes and there in the. flickering firelight he saw a lovely face, hovering over him. Realizing that it was the maid, he sat up quickly and apologized for being asleep. "Oh that's all right sir," she answered him and pointing pointing out that his bread, cheese and ale were on the table by his arm, she started to leave the room. Suddenly Crossley realized it was the owner's daughter. "Wait a minute," he said, "You're Millie aren't you?" "Millicent if you please sir." Oh I'm sorry, your father called you Millie this morn- . ing, I didn't realize you objected objected to it," he stammered: . • "He does call me that -but," she faltered, "my real father named me Millicent" and with that she turned quickly and left the room before he could say another word or ask any more questions. questions. He pondered as he ate supper. The girl worried'him, he'd always been' the sort to sijck up for the underdog. But as* he thought of lier, his eyes began to gel heavy and t he settled back in his chair 'once more'an,d fell asleep. "... • , (Continued next week) Orono Weekly limes, Wednesday, August 17, 1985-7 How high do birds fly? WOODS, WATER ; ■ know is that their lungs' differ AND WILDLIFE .considerably from those of by Arlin Hackman - Feder- 1 mammals. Among other ation of Ontario Naturalists . things," birds' lungs have extra While the flight attendant in "bags" hanging on the outside the pressurized plane cabin of organs.. These extra air sacs explains how to engage the 1 may increase the area of ven- life-saving functions of the' ox- tilation, giving the blood ygen mask, you may look out stream more points at which it the window and see a bird fly may pick up oxygen, by. 1 just did. In addition, birds function . Birds have been known to well even when the amount of reach altitudes of 26,000 fêet. oxygen in the arterial blood Although the plane I was tak- stream fails to a level that ing reached a final, cruising would distress a mammal, altitude of 35,000 feet,, at The heart of a bird beats about which even the hardiest of three times as fast as a mam- birds would find it difficult to Trial's heart, thus the distribu- breathe without assistance, we lion of available oxygen humans would have difficulty through the bird's system is being active on our own at much swifter, more than" 20,000 feet. Only Even though birds are a few of us have managed to equipped with these special experience the ratified at- features, it remains that only a mosphere of 28,000 foot Mt. . f ew fly at great heights eve'n in Everest, don't forget, and migration, unless of course we've needed oxygen tanks to • they need to cross mountain do .it. barriers, Many common Recent interest in the soar- species migrate at lower than ing heights of birds has in fact free-top level and the average been sparked by such ven- bird flies at some altitude bet- tures of our own. In 1963,' a ween 3,000 and 5,000 feet. British plane flying at 21,000 So you needn't take your feet collided with a. mallard. binoculars along on every duck. Sir John Hunt, while plane trip. # climbing Mount Everest in , 1953, noted birds flying at 26,000,feet. * Just ds we need'more oxygen oxygen when we-run, birds need more oxygen when they fly. Experiments indicate that the average, bird requires eight times more oxygen when flying flying than when at rest. Scrhow do they survive at altitudes of 20,000 feet, in an atmosphere that has half the density and about half thé oxygen of air at sea level? This question is even more perplexing when you consider that birds may require even 'more oxygen and exert even more effort to keep airborne in thinner atmospheres. atmospheres. The answer . remains a mystery I'm afraid. Exactly how birds accomplish greater oxygen consumption in an oxygen-poor environment isn't fully known. What'we do I ORONO WEED CONTROL , GOVERNMENT LICENSED LAWN SPRAYING WEEDS INSECTS - FERTILIZING (CIL) DRIVEWAY SEALING Work Completed By Licensed Professional * FREE ESTIMATES „ PHONE BOB 983-5267 BOX 277, ORONO Old Tyme Fiddlers' Contest i at the • Orono Fair ■ Thurs., Sept, 8 at .8:30 p.ra. ' Phone 983-5689 or 983-5214 55 5 55 1 jHwy 115 1 X Rahm's Garage Station St. Craft Place , HOURS: Tues.-Sat. 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