* ¢ a THE DAILY BRITISH WHIG FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 192 | "THE THIEF OF BAGDAD" BY ACHMED ABDULLAH Based on Douglas Fairbanks' Fantasy of the Arabian Nights, Eiton Thomas nN br / He had not been there very long when a commotion caused him to look down. Around the corner, surrounded by a crowd of men and women and children, he saw an Indian sorcerer swinging with a majestic stride. The man was immensely tall, emaciated, bearded, and naked but for a scarlet loin-cloth. By his side tripped a young boy, while two attendants followed, one carrying a grass-woven basket and a bundle of swords, the other a coiled rope. Arrived just below the balcony, the Hindu stopped and 'addressed the crowd. "Moslems," he said, "permit me to introduce myself. I am," he annbunc- ed without the slightest diffidence, "Vikramavata, the Swami, the Yogi, the greatest miracle-worker out of Hindustan! There is none in the Sev- en Known Worlds who approaches me in the mastery of either white or black magic! I am a vast sea of most excellent qualities! I am--so I have been assured by truth-telling and dis- interested persons in China and Tar- tary and the lands of the dog-faced Mongols--a jewel of pure gold, a hand- ful of powdered rubies, an exquisite tonic for the human brain, the father and mother of hidden wisdom!" He motioned to his attendants who put basket, swords, and rope on the ground, and went on: "If you like my sorcery, stay not the generosity of your hands | For"--in flat and shame- less contradition to his previous state- ment-- "I am but a poor and humble man, with seven wives and seven times seventeen children, all clamoring for food!" He bent; opened the basket. "Heo!" he shouted at the young boy who thereupon jumped into the basket where he curled up like a kitten. The Hindu closed it, picked up the swords and thrust them through every part of the basket with all his strength, while the crowd looked on, utterly fascinat- ed. Up on the balcony Ahmed, tno, wat. ched. He was pleased more than ever with himself and the world at large. Why, he had money, a few choice jew- els, an abundance of food--here he helped himself to another liberal fist- ful--and now a show: all free of charge fan for the asking and taking! "Hayah!" he said to himseli, sitting yn the balcony rail and chewing lux- uriously, "life is pleasant--and he who works and strives is a fool!" . q CHAPTER IL Down in the Square the Hindu con- tinued his sorceries. He put a dry mango seed on the ground for all the world to see. Thrice he passed his hand over it, murmur- ing mysterious Indian words: "Bhut, pret, pisach, dana, Chee mantar, sab nikal jana, Mane, mane, Shivka khahna . . . and the mango seed burst --it grew-- it shot in the air--in bloom--in fruit. Again he waves his hand and--behold' --the mango was gone. He asked the boy to approach, He whispered a secret word and, suddenly, a glistening Khyberee sword flashed in his right hand. He lifted it high above his head. He struck with all his might. And the boy's head rolled on the ground; blec? squirted; while the onlookers were aghast, sucking in their breath like little lisping babes in the dark. Then he waves his hands again, and there was the boy, his head on his neck where it belonged, a smile on his lips. So trick followed trick while tae crowd applauded and shuddered and laughed and chattered and wondered until finally the Hindu announced the greatest of all his tricks: the trick of the magic rope. "A rope," he explained, uncoiling it and whizzing it through the air with a sharp noise, "woven from the hair of a purple-faced witch of the keft-hand- ed sect! Never in all the world was there such a rope! Look, O Moslems!' Swish!--he threw the rope into the air, straight up, and it remained there standing, without support, erect, lithe, like a slim tree, its upper end parallel with the balcony rail and directly in front of Ahmed's eyes, who could hardly control his itching palms. Why--he thought--to possess this magic rope! What a help for the Thief of Bagdad! The Hindu clapped his hands. "Hayah! Ho! Ho!" he yelled; and suddenly the boy disappeared, vanish- ed into the nowhere, while the spec- ENGLISH HELICOPTER MATCHES The new Berliner helicopter, invented by a Washington man, will be entered in the heli- copter tests at Farnborough, Eng., next spring. Oemicher, French helicopter expert, also is entering a machine in the event. The planes will vie for $250,000 in prize money. tators gaped with open mouths. "Hayah! Ho! Jao!" the sorcerer re. peated; and a quivering shout of awed wonder rose from the crowd as they saw there, high up on the rope, come out of the nowhere into which he had disappeared, the boy clinging like a monkey, The next moment he had slid down and was going the round of the audience, asking for bakshish that was contributed generously; and even Ahmed was on the point of ob- eying the impulse and had already reached into his baggy trousers for a coin, when a throaty, guttural cry of rage caused him to turn quickly. There, like a plum-colored, obese god- dess of wrath, stood the Nubian cook who had come from the interior of the palace. She saw the bowls 'of food; saw that impious hands had toyed with their contents; saw the munching, chewing Ahmed; and, put- ting two and two together, went for him, brandishing her~heavy iron stir- ring ladle like a Sarazene battle ax. Ahmed considered and acted at the same fraction of a second. He launch- ed himself away from the balcony rail- ing; leaped straight at the magic rope; clutched it; and so there he was, swing ing in mid-air, the cook calling down imprecations from above, the Hindu echoing them from below. And be it mentioned---in Ahmed's favor or to his shame, exactly as you prefer--that he replied to both, impartially, vitupera- tively, enthusiastically, insult for insult and curse for curse. "Come back here, O Son of a nose- less Mother, and pay for what you stole!" yelled the cook. "Come down here, O Camel-Spawn, and be grievously beaten!" demanded the sorcerer. "I shall do neither!" laughed the Thief of Bagdad. "It is airy up here and pleasant and most exclusive! Here 1 am, and here I shall remainl" But he did not. For at last the Hindu lost his pati- ence. He made another magic pass, whispered another secret word, and the rope gave, bent, flicked from side to side, shot down to the ground, and sent Ahmed sprawling. Almost imme- diately he was up again, his agile fin- gers clutching at the rope. But the Hindu's hand was as quick as Ah- med's, and so they stood there, tug- ging at the rope, with the crowd look- ing-on and laughing, when suddenly from the distance, where a Mosque peaked its minaret of rosy stone over. laid half way up with a faience tiling of dusky, peacock-green sheen, a muez zin's voice drifted out, chanting the call to mid-day prayer, stilling the tu- mult: "Es salat wah es-salaam aleyk, yah consumption. d--Dust--Germs family 'use it or are you satisfied to take whatever new and untried mixture that may be offered to you? Medicine for coughs and colds should be selected with just as much care as medicine for any other serious and dangerous disease, for there is scarcely a limit to the ailments to which a neglected cold may lead. : The best time to use Dr. Chase's Syrup of Linseed and Turpentine is when you begin to feel a dryness or tickling in the throat. You can then head off the trouble before it reaches the bronchial tubes or lungs. ; HE swirling fall winds stir up the germ-laden dust. The delicate mucous linings of the nose and throat bécome irritated until inflammation is set up and it only requires sudden changes of temperature to start a cold. With many people this means more or less trouble all winter, and besides there is always a considerable propor- tion of colds that develop into bronchitis, pneumonia or Bronchitis is the test of what a treatment for colds Dr. Chase's Syrup of Linseed and action, and for keep Dr. Chase's auwel khulk Illah wah khatimat rus- sul Illah--peace be with Thee and the glory, O first-born of the creatures of God, and seal of the apostles of God! Hie ye to devotion] Hie ye to salva- tion! Prayer is befter than sleep! Prayer is better than food! Bless ye God and the Prophet! Come, all ye faithful!" "Wah khatimat russel Illah " mumbled the crowd, turning in the di- rection of Mecca. | They prostrated themselves, touch- ing the ground with palms and fore- heads. The Hindu joined them, chant- ing fervently. So did Ahmed, though not so fervently. Indeed while, mech. anically, automatically, he bowed to- ward the East and while his lips form- ed the words of the prayer, his roam- ing, lawless eyes noticed the magic rope, between him and the Hindu. The latter, occupied with his devotions, was paying no attention to it. A moment later, watching his chance, Ahmed had picked it up and was away, fleet-foot- edly, across the bent backs of the wor. shipers. He ran at a good clip through the wilderness of little Arab houses. He increased his speed when, not long afterwards, he heard in the distance the view-halloo. of the man-chase as the Hindu, rising from his devotions, no- | ticed that his precious rope had been stolen. "Thief! Thief! Catch thief]" the shout rose, floated, stabbed, spread. He ran as fast as he could. But his pursuers gained on him steadily, and he felt afraid. Only the day before he had watched a thief being beaten in public with cruel rhinoceros-hide whips that had torn the man's back to crim- son shreds. He shuddered at the recols lection. He ran till his lungs were at the bursting point, his knees ready to give way under him. He had turned the corner of the Street of the Mutton-Butchers when his pursuers came in sight. They saw him. (To Be Continued.) | WHY THE WEATHER? wn. CHARLES #§. BROOKS Secretary, American Meteorolegionl Bectety. Tells dew, How Our Atmosphere Is Warmed And Cooled. The sun's rays pass through our atmosphere in much the same way that they pass through a pane of glass: --that is, any portion of the atmosphere is heated very little by the passage. But they beat down upon the ground with quite the op- posite result. Since the soil is a good absorber of heat, its tempera- ture rises rapidly during the day. The air directly over it is heated in just the same way that air passing over a hot stove is heated, by con- tact with the hot metal, and by ab- sorption of the dark heat rays com- ing from the stove. As this lower air is heated it expands and becomes lighter than air not so heéated. As a result colder air will displace the warmer, usually forcing it upwards, and will in turn become warm and be displaced by other colder air, Thus, a vertical circulation contix- ues as long as the earth ng heated by the sun. Such @ circula- tion, ¢dlled convection, while more obvious in hot weather than in cold, 'nevertheless, occurs to some extent even on the coldest clear days of winter, as is often evident from the daytime appearance of cumulus, or wool-pack, clouds at no great eleva- tion. The warmest part of the day, com- ing usually at about 2 in the after- noon, is later than the time of inten- sest sunlight, because the ground One Reason Why "SALADA" GREEN TEA is used more than any other brand is because the delicious flavor never varies. -- Try it, FREE SAMPLE of GREEN TEA UPON REQUEST. "SALADA"™ MONTREAL ~ EF [TT hao To enjoy your later years in comfort, you should pro= vide yourself with a certain and independent income, free from the hazards of speculation or even of minor fluctuations. acquiring such an The easiest and surest means of income is to buy a CANADIAN GOVERNMENT ANNUITY. EASIEST--because on very easy terms you may day a Government Annuity of any amount from $50 to $5,000 a year, commencing at any age you ohoose and lasting as long as life. There are plans of purchase under which you may protect the interests of your wife or dependents for a term of years certain. No medical examination is required. SUREST---because there is no safer Investment than a Canadian Government Annuity. The Annuities sys tem is maintained by the Government to encourage the people of Canada to provide for their old ages You owe it to yourself to take advantage of it. These Annuities cannot bs seized for debt, cannot be , forfeited, and are free from Domidion Income Thx For full particulars fill out and mail this Coupon, Mail This Coupon--No Postage Needed Department of Labour, Annuities Branch, ,., Ottawa, Please send me the "Handbook of Information" sad full Cenadian Gevermment to cost of a years. Ont. rr ab ah Dray wae shesemmIIEV se ene and, in turn, the air, being relative- 1y cool, cannot respond immediately to.the full effect of the sun's rays. The coldest part of the night, how- ever, usually at about sunrise, must come at the time when, so to speak, ' heat is turned on in the morn- after uninterrupted cooling all night. Charleston Briefs. Charleston, Nov. 19.--Mrs. Lati- mer is able to be dround again after her illness. Mrs. Halliday is visit- ing in Toronto. Mrs. R. Foster spent a few days la<t week at Soperton with Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Ward. A number here attended. the dance at Athens on Monday evening last and also one at Elgin on Friday evening. Mrs. W. R. Green received the sad news on Saturday that her sister, Mrs. Dixie, of the Dobbs Bettlemeat, had passed away the. night before. Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Green and Mrs. Mulvenna attended the funeral on Sunday morning at New Dublin, On !trequent visitor et J. Linkiater's. Friday evening Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Webster entertained the former rec tor's of Christ church, Athens, who were here to attend the fortieth an- niversary of its opening for worship, Members from Trinity church, Oak Leaf and Christ church, Athens, numbering fifty-five were present and a most pleasant evening was spent. At Lake Lake Opinicon, Nov. 20.--~The weather is quite wintery, having had two snow storms in the past week. The lake has frozen over. The mica mine is still in operation. The hunt- ers have secured a fair supply of wild ducks. W. Kerr has moved to Chaf- tey's Locks. The Ladies' Ald met at Mrs. J. Linklater's, with a fair at. tendance. H. Austin bas gone to Buffalo for the winter, having secured loyment there. Miss Mc« |Lean spenti-a couple of days with Mrs. EL Austin. D. J, Hugheon is q your Washing Machine WASHING machine is made to clothes wash your without rubs bing or boiling -- and it succeeds just in proportion to the value of clothes naturally, met of Purity io supe | | of Sunlight Soaps, PR org yee ef 4