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THE DESTROYING *ANGEL By LOUIS JOSEPH VANCE •*r? '.,v' $ QUEER LUCK « -- Did you ever have • piece of really good luck--for instance, help from an entirely unexpected source when you wen in deep trouble? Luck, good or bad, is certain­ ly on the trail of Hugh Whita­ ker. You remember, a corps of eminent surgeon* gave him just six months to live. So he found a girl In trouble, married her'to' save her good name and disap­ peared Immediately. Five years later he reappeared in New York from Australia, happy, healthy and prosperous, and started out to find the little girl he married. He discover* her wtten he goes to the theater--she's Sara Law, great actress. Mutual recogni­ tion across the footlights stops the play and creates wild ex­ citement among the audience. What next occurs is told in this installment. Go to it I !. "Mr, WW taker 1* «- <V<- Be bowed. ' *1 am, Mrs. Secretari; stWettd of Miss Law's. She has asked me to say that she begs to be excused; at least for tonight And I am further Instruct­ ed to ask If you will be good enough to leave your address." "Certainly: I'm stopping at the Rits- Carlton; but"--he demurred--"I should like to leave a note. If I may-!-?" Mrs. Seeretan nodded an assent. "You will find materials in the desk there," she added. Indicating an critoire.' Thanking her, Whltaker sat down, and, after some hesitation, wrote a few lines: Please don't think I mean to cause you the slightest Inconvenience or distress, shall be glad to further your wishes In any way you may care to. designate, Please believe in my sincere regret . Signing and folding this, he rose and delivered It to Mrs. Seeretan. Be found himself In the street, with his trouble for all reward for his pains. He wondered what to do, where to go, nest. The driver of the taxi cab was holding the doofr for him, head bent to catch the address of the next stop. But his fare lingered still in doubt Dimly he became aware of the vio­ lent bawllngs of a brace of news ven­ dors who were ramping through the street, one on either sidewalk. At the spur of a vague wonder if the papers were already noising abroad the news of the fiasco at the Theater Max, Whit- aker purchased a paper. "Ther'yare, sir. 'Orrlbie molder . . . Thanky . . .** The man gal loped 4on, howling. But Whitaker stood with his gaze riveted In horror. The news Item so pointedly offered to his attention was clearly legible In the light of the cab lamps: * LATEST EXTRA " " l l • y . • . ! i ; ' \ ll * CHAPTER V--Continued. "V:\ --7-- •Where's Miss Law?" he asked. "I dunno--go ask Max." •Where is he?* "You can search me; last I saw of ftftai he war tearing the star dressln' ceom up by the roots." Whitaker hurried on just in time to Me Max disappearing in the direction of the stage door, at which point he caught up with him, and from the manager's disjointed catechism of the doorkeeper garnered the information that the star had hurried out of the building while Max was making his Announcement before the curtain. Max swung angrily upon Whitaker. "Oh, it's you, is It? Perhaps you can explain what this means? She was looking straight at you when she dried Up! I saw her--" "Perhaps you'd better find Miss Law and ask her," Whitaker interrupted. "Have you any idea where she's gone?" - "Home, probably," Max snapped In return. * "Come on, then." Passing his arm through the manager's, Whitaker drew him out into the alley. "We'll get a taxi before this mob--" "But look here--what business've you got mixing in?" "Ask Miss Law," said Whitaker, shortly. It had been on the tip of his tongue to tell the man flatly: "I'm her husband." But he retained wit enough to deny himself the satisfaction of this shattering rejoinder. "I know her," he added; "that's enough for the pres­ ent" At the entrance to the alley m«t paused to listen to the uproar within . his well-beloved theater. "I'd give five thousand gold dollars if I hadn't met you this afternoon!" lie groaned. "I always knew that wom­ an was a Jonah!" "You were calling her your mascot two hours ago." "She'll be the death of me, yet" the little man insisted gloomily. He •topped short jerking his arm free. "Look here, I'm not going. I've got my work cut out for me back there"--with a Jerk of his head toward the theater. Whitaker hesitated, then without re­ gret decided to lose him. It would be as well to get over the^lmpending in­ terview without a third factor. "Very well," he said, beckoning a taxlcab in to the curb. ^What's the address?" _ Max gave It sullenly. "So long," he added morosely as Whitaker opened the cab door; "sorry I ever laid eyes on you." Whitaker settled back in the cab and, oblivious to the lights of Broad­ way streaming past, tried to think. It suddenly presented itself to his reason, with shocking force, that his attitude must be humbly and wholly apologetic, ft was a singular case: he had come home to find his wife on the point of marrying another man--and she wa* lhe one entitled to feel aggrieved I Vtrange twist of the eternal triangle! Far too soon the machine swerved toto Fifty-seventh street; slipped half­ way down the block, described a wide arc to the northern curb and pulled up, trembling, before a modest modern residence between Sixth and Seventh •venues. Reluctantly Whitaker got out and. Mi suspicion, told the chauffeur to Wait Then, with all the alacrity of S. condemned man ascending the scaf­ fold, he ran up the steps to the front door. A man-servant answered his ring without undue delay. Was Miss Law at home? He would TRAGIC SUICIDE IN HARLEM ' RIVER. Stopping his automobile in the middle of Washington bridge at 7:30 p. m., Car­ ter S. Drummond, the lawyer, aad fiance of Sara Law, the actress, threw himself to his dMtli In the Harlem rl\p The body has not yet been recovered, CHAPTER VII. A History. Whitaker consulted a telephone book without finding that Drummond had any private residence connection, and thenx tried at random one of the clubs of which they had been members in common in the days when Hugh Whit­ aker was a human entity in the knowl- Whitaker Stood With Hi* eted in Horror. Gaze Rlv- ;.-V • This Indicated that she was at home. Whitaker tendered a card with his sur­ name penciled after that of Mr. Hugh Morten in engraved script. He stared round him with pardon­ able wonder. If this were truly thdl home of Mary Ladislas Whitaker--her property--he had builded far better than he could possibly have foreseen with that Investment of five hundred dollars six years since. Soft, shaded lights, rare furnishings, the rich yet delicate atmosphere of exquisite taste, the hush and orderly perfection of a home made and maintained with con­ summate art: these furnished him with dim, provoking intimations of an Indi­ viduality to which he was a stranger less than a stranger--nothing. . . Almost Immediately he became •Ware of feminine footsteps on the staircase--there entered to him a lady well past middle age, with the dignity Mid poise consistent with her years, her to* irontfui* Jwltv •J** ••*"" • . , .V ? edge of the town. Here he had better luck--luck, that is, in as far as it put an end to his wanderings for the night; he found a clerk who remem­ bered his face without remembering his name, and who, consequently, was not unwilling to talk. Drummond, It seemed, had lived at the cluh; he had dined alone, that evening, In his ropm; had ordered his motor car from the ad­ jacent garage for seven o'clock; and had left at about that hour with a small handbag and no companion. Nothing further was known of his actions save the police report. The car had been found stationary on Wash­ ington bridge, and deserted, Drum- mond's motor coat and cap on the driver's seat. Bystanders averred that a man had been seen to leave the car and precipitate himself from the bridge to the stream below. The body was still unrecovered. The club had noti­ fied by telegraph a brother In San Francisco, the only member of Drum- mond's family of whom it had any rec­ ord. Friends, fellow members of the club, were looking after things--doing all that could and properly ought to be done under the circumstances. Whitaker walked back to his hotel. There was no other place to go; no place, that is, that wooed his humor in that hour. He was, Indeed, profoundly shocked. He held himself measurably responsible for Drummond's act of des­ peration. Next to poor Peter Stark, whom his heart mourned without ceas­ ing, he had cared most for Drurfmond of all the men he had known and liked in the old life. Now . . .. he felt alone and very lonely, sick of heart and forlorn. There was, of course, Lynch, his partner in the Antipodes; Whitaker was fond of Lynch, but not with the affection that a generous-spir­ ited youth had accorded Peter Stark and Drummond--a blind and unreason­ ing affection that asked no questions and made nothing of faults. The ca­ pacity for such sentiment was dead in him, as dead as Peter Stark, as dead a s Drummond . . . . ' it was nearly midntght, but the hour found Whitaker in no humor for bed or the emptiness of his room. He strolled into the lounge, sat down at a detached table In a eorner, and ordered some­ thing to drink. A page, bearing some­ thing on a salver, ambled through the lounge, now and again opening his' mouth to bleat, dispassionately: "Mis- ta Whitaker, Mista Whitaker!" The owner of that name experienced a flush of exasperation. What right had the management to cause him to be advertised in every public room of the establishment? . . , But the next instant (Us resentment evsp«r> a ted, when he remembered that he re­ mained Mr. Hugh Morten In the man* gerlal comprehension. He lifted a finger; the boy swerved toward him, tendered a blue envelope, accepted a gratuity and departed. It was a cable message; very prob­ ably an answer to his to Grace Pettlt. Whitaker tore the envelope and un­ folded the lnclosure, glancing first at the signature to verify his surmise. As he did so, he heard his name a second (lme. ' "Pardon me; this Is Mr. Whitaker?" A man stood beside the little table --one whom Whitaker had indifferent­ ly noticed.on entering as an equally lonely lounger at another table. Though he frowned Involuntarily with annoyance, he couldn't well deny his identity. Yes," he said shortly, looking the man up and down with a captious eye. Yet it was hard to find much fault with this invader of his preoccupation. He had the poise and the dress of a gentleman: dignity without aggressive­ ness, completeness without ostentation. He had a spare, not ungraceful body, a plain, dark face, a humorous mouth, steady eyes : a man easily forgotten or overlooked unless he willed it other­ wise. "My name is Ember,".he said quiet­ ly. "If you'll permit me--my card.** He offered a slip of pasteboard en­ graved with the name of Martin Em­ ber. "And I'll sit down, because I want to talk to yon for a few min­ utes." Accordingly he Sat down. Whltaket glanced at the card, and question!ngly back at Mr. Ember's face. I don't know you, but . What are we to talk about, please?"^ The man smiled, not unpleasingly. "Mrs. Whitaker," he said. "Mrs. Whitaker didn't send you to me? Then how-- What the deuce-- I" I happened to have a seat near your box at the theater tonight," Mr. Em­ ber explained coolly. "From--what I saw there, I Inferred that you must be --yourself. Afterwards I go( hold of Max, confirmed my suspicion, and ex­ tracted ^our address from«him." I see," said Whitaker, slowly. Who the devil are you?" he demanded bluntly. v "I was," said the other slowly, "once, private detective. Now--I'm a per­ son of no particular employment, of In­ dependent means, with a penchant-- you're at liberty to assume--for pok­ ing my nose into other people's busi­ ness. Mrs. George Pettlt once em­ ployed me to find her sister, Miss Mary Ladislas, who had run away with a chauffeur named Morton." Just a minute," said Whitaker sud- denly--"by your leave-- Ember bowed gravely. For a thought longer Whl taker's gaze bored Into his eyes In vain effort to fathom what was going on behind them, the animus un­ discovered by his words; then, remem­ bering, he looked down at the cable message In his hand. "Murtln Ember (It ran) private agency 1435 Broadway, Grace Pettlt." Whitaker folded the paper and put It away in a pocket. "Go on, please." he said quietly. "In those days," Mr. Ember resumed, "I did such things Indifferently well. I had little trouble In following the run­ aways from Southampton to Green- port. There they parted. He was want­ ed for theft in a former position, was arrested, convicted and sent to Sing Sing; where he presently died, I'm glad to say. . . . Miss Ladislas had registered at the Commercial house as Mrs. Morton. She was there, alone, under that name, for nearly a week before you registered as Hugh Mor­ ten, and in the space of a few hours married her, under your true name, and shipped her off to New York." "Right," Whitaker agreed steadily. "And then--?" „ "I traced her to the Hotel Belmont, where she stopped overnight, then lost her completely; and- so reported to Mrs. Pettlt. I came into a little money about that time, and gave up my busi­ ness: gave it up, that Is, as far as placing myself at the service of the public was concerned. After some time Mr. Drummon* sought me out and begged me to renew my search for Mrs. Whitaker; you were dead, he told me; she was due to come Into your estate--a comfortable livlqf for an In­ dependent woman." BIG UfpABING CRANE USED IN STORAGE YARB UkW For handling large quantities of coal, stone, sand, and similar materials in its storage yard, a western railway has erected a giant crane that operates along a 1,000-foot track. As an indication of the size of the great machine," the cantilever truss measures 62% feet from its outer edge to the center of rotation. This distance corresponds to the radius of the circle that the crane is capable df describing when in use. The rails on which the machine is mounted are 16 feet apart and imbedded In heavy concreff. Electric power is employed for operating purposes, and every movement of the machine is under the ready control of one man. The "clamshell" will hold about five tons of s a n d . -- P o p u l a r M e c h a n i c s M a g a z i n e . . ' - . r v , ' ANIMALS AT WORK TArt'8 EFFECT UPOU LABOR CCN-DITIONS IN ENGLAND. f STOPS THE SMOKE CNOilNES U8ING PULVERIZED COAL ABATE NUISANCE. _ >u think Ember? Is he on the he a smart rascal design* on Whitaker? (TO BK CONTINUED.) PERSONAL WASTE HEAVY TAX Standard Oil Would Soon Go Bank* rupt on "System" That Most Americans Follow. How many mornings does your cook spoil the toast? You don't know. Nor do you keep tabs on the 50 oth­ er apparently trifling things of every day. From the moment you draw an un­ necessary amount of water for your morning bath until you have touched the push button and stopped that tire­ less electric meter at night and retire to rest it is waste plus "don't know" all along the line, writes "Girard" In the Philadelphia Public Ledger. If Standard Oil was as careless with Its pennies as a man making $10 a week is with his, it would be bank­ rupt before Christmas. But you know well enough that you've got to be wide awake to snatch even one cent from J. D. R. And here is President Rea'/i rail­ road, which has. run passenger trains 3,000,000 miles without killing a pas­ senger. 'Why? Because he has made in three and one-half years 2,500,000 tests to see that his trainmen observe the rules of safety. | But, heigh-ho, yon never test any­ thing in your smaller affairs to see how many little spigots are pouring out pennies needlessly. Just the same they are taxing you a great deal more than your ebuyeb pew. , Device Thoroughly Tested in Active 8ervice by Leading Railroad, and i 8hows Marked Saving In Fyei Consumption. ^ In spite 'of ordinances designed to reduce the great tonnage of soot that descends annually upon our cities, few manufacturing municipalities can yet claim to have secured marked relief from the "smoke nuisance." But re­ lief is apparently la sight, and from a totally unexpected source. We refer to the successful development of the process of burning powdered coal for generating steam in locomotive and other boilers, Engineering and Con­ tracting says. Pulverized till 85 per cent of it passes a screen having 200 meshes to the inch, "soft coal" gives an almost smokeless flame when blown Into a fire box with air. The quantity of air is automatically regulated by the quan­ tity of powdered coal, so that careless firing, such as is now inevitable with hand stoking, can not occur. Between Chicago and Milwaukee, a railroad placed in service, a year ago, a passenger locomotive equipped for burning pulverized coal. It has been thoroughly tested In active service, and has demonstrated a marked saving in fuel. According to tests published in the Railway Age Gazette, this loco­ motive evaporated 13 per cent more water per pound of coal and consumed 18 per cent less coal on the runs be­ tween Chicago and Milwaukee than was required with a similar locomo­ tive fired with lump coa{ in the ordi­ nary manner. Moreover, a much cheap­ er grade of coal was used cm the lo­ comotive burning pulverized coaL In firing up the cold locomotive only 750 pounds of powdered coal were re­ quired, as against 1,700 pounds of lump coal. But an even greater point in fa­ vor of powdered coal is the ability to shut off the fire entirely while standing still. Thus the fire can be entirely shut off for about half an hour, yet in five minutes after it Is started again the boiler is up to full pressure. This saving in fuel while standing idle makes powdered coal particularly de­ sirable for switching locomotives. The Switching engines in the freight yards of cities and the engines that are getting up steam or standing with banked fires, cause a very large part of the "smoke nuisance" which has been BO greatly deplored In all large cities. It would seem now that, as far as loco­ motives are concerned, this nuisance need no longer be tolerated. We go further and predict that all large steam power plants In cities will eventually use powdered coal, not only because It wilk prove to be more economical, but because a smokeless city can be se­ cured in this way. Bringing Sunken Ships to 8urface. The new method of raising sunken ships developed by Dr. S. P. Portella of Rio de Janeiro is claimed to be ef­ fective at any depth divers can reach. A speclallytdesigned tender Is provided with various folded floats of water­ proof material, and these are attached by divers to different parts of the in­ terior and exterior of the sunken vesa sel. As air is forced through hose con­ nected to the tender, the floats expand into spheres, cylinders, and other forms thought to be best adapted to their places. Their buoyancy gradu­ ally increases as they displace water in and about the wreck, and when it becomes sufficient they float the load to the surface. Occasionally Useful. We all "of us give the farmers a mighty lot of advice, but the most at them don't mind it; sometimes there** a bit of it they can use. * Now the Paper Spoon. Under the title, "sanitary spoon," a New York Inventor has just taken out a putent-'fQFa spoon made of stiffened, paper/ivhich will doubtless meet with demahd from Ice cream saloons, soda fountains and similar places. As it is full size it is more convenient than the miniatu^ tin spoon now in vogue at most pleasure resorts. It will also be much cheaper to manufacture. The paper spoon hfes a blank for the bowl, which is pressed into the proper con­ cave shape, while the paper above it is rollted to give the requisite stiffness to the handle.' No Fear. "Some women would be willing to moke a husband stay at home and do the cooking." "Henrietta wouldn't," replied Mr. Meekton. "She wouldn't Intrust me with anything so Important" A True Fan. • "How much does a motion picture itor get??" "I don't know. But I don't see why she should need it She can see all the motion pictures she wants to for noth­ ing." BAIL SCHOOLS IN RUSSIA Immense Sums Appropriated to Train Both Technical and Adminis­ trative Officials. The Russian minister of ways of communication has just approved a project for railroad technical educa­ tion, Involving an initial expenditure of 25,000,000 rubles. 'This/Is the larg­ est railroad education project that has ever been undertaken by any country in the world. aFhe unprecedented rapidity with which new railroads are being con­ structed throughout Russia and Sibe­ ria has resulted in a marked shortage of railway engineers and technicians, and an equally great number in the administrative and commercial lines. Moreover, railroads building plana for the future contemplate the forma­ tion of a network of lines, extending in every direction throughout the empire. Russia has perceived the advantage of rapid transportation as a primary means to commercial prosperity. The Moscow Institute of Railroad Engineers and the Petrograd Institute of Railroad Engineers are co-operating witlrthe minister of ways of commu­ nication in the organization of this stupendous plan. The two institutes are to be considerably enlarged. The Moscow institute, as the commercial and railroad center of Russia, will ex­ pend the sum of 5,000,000 rubles on new buildings and extension of equip­ ment. The Petrograd institute, of im­ portance because of its relation to gov­ ernment questions, will expend the sum of 1,000,000 rubles to the same end. Railroad engineering institutes are to be established in the principal cities of the empire, especially in the South. It is hoped that Odessa, Kiev and Khar­ kov will be among the first. The project also includes the train­ ing of all classes of subordinates in railroad work. Twenty secondary rail­ road schools are to be organized imme­ diately, as well as 40 lower railroad schools for the training of railroad mechanicians. NOT NOW AS IT USED TO BE Forty Millions to Be 8pent for New Depot for Road That Paid 8mall Salaries. ?Ailiei4 cans are so used to swallowing great sums of money at a gulp that no amount daunts them. Here is the Pennsylvania railroad planning to spend $40,000,000 to get into Detroit, Girard writes in the Philadelphia Led­ ger. Do any stockholders object or talk about deposing President Rea for ex­ travagance? Not a murmur. But once things were otherwise. William C. Patterson, who was the second president of the Pennsylvania railroad, lost his position because he paid $260,000 for the Powelton tract In West Philadelphia, which was need­ ed for a station and other purposes. The land Is now worth many times that, but stockholders yelled "profli­ gacy" and started a campaign to elect J. Edgar Thomson president. Thomson won, and a telling argu­ ment made in his favor was that he would combine the office of chief en­ gineer with that of president, and thus save the former's salary of $5,000. That was the wages paid to the man wh*> had surveyed the route for the Pennsylvania across the Allegheny mountains! * Makes Quicker 6top. New airbrakes that have been adopt? ed by a large eastern railroad reduce by 600 feet or more the distance in which a heavy train running at €K) miles an hour can be stopped. I^fe of Freight Cars. There are two and a half millions of freight cars in the country, and their uverage life is somewhere about twenty years. Electrification. Electrification of steam railroads In the United States last year brought the total of such equipment uft to about 2,500 miles. * . The Thrust Femlnln*. "I have a killing dress of electric blue." "Yes, I should think, with your com- plexlon, the shock would be fatal." Playing 8afe. > "Whom are you Aeering for f "I don't know yet," replied the man with his ear to the ground. "I'm ob­ serving the election to see how it works out and ril announce my opin­ ions tonight." Good idea/ "I have, a commission to depict the patron pofl p* thrift. How would yon tepr^ei^t him?" '"After wfe of these Buddhist deities, as four-handed»M--iiOUisvil!ej Qpurlei* Journal. Novel Experiments Have Proved Safe , lafactory, a* in the Case of Store­ keeper With Hi* Parrot--Els* phant Replaces Horse. Many Strange and unexpected cases are on record in which animals and birds have proved themselves useful to mankind, very often serving their mas­ ters more reliably than many human beings would do under similar circum­ stances. • • ... At times of stress like the present, sych dumb servants have proved them­ selves particularly useful, a good in­ stance in point being provided by the case of a gentleman in the west of England who recently lost his garden­ er through the man enlisting. His mas­ ter was confronted by the problem of his lawn, about which he had always been very particular, for the grass quickly threatened to make his once trim grounds look very much like ti wilderness. Then he hit upon a brilliant idea. Wlrirife off the ground, he turned in a dozen guinea pigs, who promptly proceeded to nibble away at the grass as evenly and neatly a? any mowing machine could have done, much to the master's delight , Similarly, an East End tradesman lately found himself short-handed ow­ ing to the war, and after some thought, this man hit upon a solution of the problem. He happened to possess a pet par­ rot, and this bird he placed in the out­ er part of his shop and trained it to call "Shop!" whenever anyone en­ tered by way of the street door. The parrot very quickly learned its lesson, with the result that its« master was no longer obliged to spend all his time on the lookout for customers, but could attend to other matters, knowing he could count upon his new assistant to warn him of anybody's ap­ proach* The intelligence of dogs is known to everyone, but a dog as a golf cad­ die is somewhat of a novelty, you will admit. Nevertheless, the animal Is no imaginary character, but a real cad­ die, who works on the links of a cer­ tain widely known course. Besides carrying clubs, this dog proves him­ self very useful In the matter of dis­ covering lost golf balls, nosing about until he is successful. But the war has made one strange spectacle possible In England, In Sheffield an elephant may be seen drawing heavy loads along the streets, It is claimed for this particular anf-- mal that he can empty a nine-ton wagon of coal in two journeys. Camels have also been employed .by the same firm, but as draft animal^ cannot be compared with the elephants.--London Answers. Troubles Never Come Singly. A resident q£ Boothbay, Me., was told by a neighbor that his son's cow was out in another pasture, and start­ ed to bring her in. He found a cow loose and set out in chase. For an hour or two he chased one of the most obstinate and disgusting animals ever born into the cow breed. And at last he caught her and brought her out to the road and was leading her triumphantly home, when he met a neighbor who asked him what he was doing with another neighbor's cow. And so it proved. Far the original strft'y cow was still in the wrong pas­ ture, but tied securely to a tree. The other cow had had a perfect right to it grazing ground. The exasperated gentleman then set out again and this time found the right strayed cow and took her home. When he arrived at his son's place with his son's cow he found one of his own cows in his son's field >'.Qd eat|m; up the son's cabbages. Kings Who Reigned Briefly. Sixty-eight years is a long time to wear a crdlvn. Many other monarchs have hardly had time to get comfort­ ably settled upon their throne?, be­ fore death or abdication overtook them., ' . John I of France has to his c^jdlt a reign of only five days. For brevity that Is hard to match. Napoleon was emperor the second time for 100 days, and then started for St Helena. Louis XVHI, whom he so rndely deposed In March, 1815, had oc­ cupied his throne less than one year. Francis II ruled but a year, Louis X two* years and Louis VIII three yeata. Russia has also witnessed some lightning changes in the house of Ro­ manoff. Katharlhe I was czarina but two years and Ivan VI for a year. Pe­ ter II was czar of all Russias for only three years. " ; ~~ " / White Eskimos. Vilhjalmur Stefansson Is having a difficult tiipe with his "blond Eski­ mos" and Vby this time doubtless wishes that they were more brunette and ordinary. They hold up his men and rob them of everything removable, and utterly decline to consider the ex­ plorers a superior race. Yet when they are„visited by an epidemic of in­ fluenza they attribute their misfor­ tunes to the witchcraft of the strangers. Hitherto newly discovered peoples have been greatly impressed by the white skins of tlie discoverers. The civ­ ilized races of Peru and Mexico re­ spected the complexion of the Span­ iards as much as they feared their firearms. A pallid physiognomy is one of the greatest assets of the white man who penetrates to regions where white skins are unknown. In the Theater Anyhow. Chorus Girl--How's your little hoy getting on, Mr. Judd? Mr. Judd--Very well, indeed. He's entered the theatrical profession, too, now. Chorus Girl--Oh! What partfls he taking? Mr. Judd--Well, he' ain't exactly taklif a part, but]h».fetches tbt scene sh i f t er ' s d inne r . • • • ' - LOOK OVEB CABS CAREFULLY ! David Harum Had Nothing on the Men ̂ Who Make Practice of Selling Second-Hand Autos.- Many dozens of places arte n6w ofcfe*- ating second-hand motor car bad­ nesses, and while some of them are quite reliable, It is still a sad fact that "faking" cars is a common occurrence, observes the Scientific American. One purchaser of a ao-caiied rebuilt car in New York paid $200 for a ma­ chine which is no longer built. It was guaranteed to be in running order, «nyf worked fairly well on the way home, a distance of ten miles. The follow­ ing morning he was unable to crank the car, and tipon removing the cylin- • ders he discovered a very unique hard­ wood piston in the front cylinder. The car being out of date, the dealer had been unable to obtain a piston for it, and had improvised one. The oil and heat of the cylinder combined to warp the wood and make the motor stick. The wood had evidently been treated with some heat-resisting compound, as the- charring on the surface which had been exposed to the heat of comhos- tion was not severe. ^ : ' In another case, a purchaser of t second-hand runabout detected a most peculiar noise in hia timing gears, which in that model were mounted on the front €>f the engine. Removal of , the gear Case revealed the fact that the gears had been packed in heavy grease in which was mixed chopped cork , and sawdust The bearings of the gears were badly worn and thef im­ perfect meshing which resulted made them very noisy. The cork" and saw­ dust effected a temporary rem^Jy, '* A third purchaser of the -"running order" gamble found that after he had driven his car a dozen miles, three leaks developed In the cylinder cast­ ing. In the pan he found three pieces of dried chewing gum that exactly fit­ ted the holes. Among sonfle of the other features of such "bargains" are cast iron ball bearings, papier-mache radiator, hose covered with aluminum paint, steel breaker points in magneto instead of platinum, window glass in wind shield, and cracks in erank case filled with putty painted over. In view of all this, who can wonder what has be­ come of the good old-fashioned, horse trader? ^ , Custom Had Origin In For many centuries plague was a menace to all Europe. At intervals' it would spread like wildfire, wiping out Whole populations. In its ordi­ nary, or "bubonic," manifestation, it depended f6r its distribution upon rats. But after a while It was Uabl» to assume the "pneumonic" fohn, at# tacking the lungs. In this form the malady spreads' with frightful rapidity. The plaguo germs are in fefte air. People acquire* the infection by breathing. The af­ flicted scatter the germs by coughing and sneezing. It will be understood, then, how it came about that people, centuries ago, adopted the precaution of shield­ ing the mouth by turning away the head when coughing, sneezing, or yawning. Today we continue to do the same thing, for the sake of polite­ ness ; but in reality the custom is a survival of the days when the common prevalence of plague made it a neces­ sity. > -- -- - NNot to Be Caught. ul think children are not so-observ­ ing as they used to be," said a mefcber of the school board to a teacher whose class he was visiting. "I hadn't noticed it," said the teactK "I'll prove it to you," said the school officer, pompously. Turning, to the class, he said: "Someone give me a number." "Thirty-seven," said a little girL e a g e r l y . * * 2 He wrote "73" *on the hoard. Uoth* lng was said. "Well, someone else give me a ber." "Fifty-seven," said another child. "He wrote '75' and smiled knowingly at the teacher when nothing was SS1<L' He called for a third number, and fair­ ly gasped at the indignation manifest­ ed by a small, red-faced urchin, who said: "Seventy-seven, and see if you can ohange that."--Harper's Magaalne. Venice Has Electrical Ears. . According to ft newspuper corp©^ spondent who recently visited Venice, the Austrian airmen have mjide more than thirty raids on that famous city. The observation station there is pro­ vided with sensitive electrical micro­ phones, which are said to detect the noise of the motors on the Austrian planes the moment they leave Triest, some silty miles away. Electric si­ rens are immediately sounded to warn everyone of the approach of hostile air­ craft which cover the distance be­ tween the cities in something like forty minutes. Thus ample time is afforded for completing the antiaircraft ar­ tillery preparations before the first Aus­ trian airman heaves in sight.--Scien­ tific American. Women in Educational Positional Women hdld many executive edirtfl^ tional positions in the United Statea. Of the 12,000 conspicuous- positions,, largely of an administrative character,; 2,500 are held by women. They lncluda college presidents, state and county! superintendents of education, directors; of industrial schools, heads of depart­ ments In colleges and universities, di­ rectors of schools for afflicted, and librarians. Twenty-four out of 622 colleges and universities are presided over by women. Of the nearly 3,000 county superintendents, 508 are wom­ en. Of the 70 institutions for tjpt| blind 15 are directed by women. His First Close Shot at Wolf. ^ **I have hunted wolves as a businitaa for more than thirteen years, and never had a close shot at a wolf before," says a South Dakota "wolfer," In the National Sportsman, after confessing that he missed this one chance of his <?areer. Though bewailing his bad luck in thifs case, the hunter was con­ soled by ^finding seven pup wolves la the den fran which the cunning ar wolf successfully escaped. ' ;• „• •'* -J *£ " , -xT-' I - •• \ ^ "V-