food Falls Like Manna from Heaven
U. S. Trooj >s Depend on
Air Delivery for Daily
Rations in Maneuvers
Early in April Uncle Sam sent a
platoon of 32 men into the desert
near Valentine, Texas, without food.
But these men probably fared bet
ter than the average soldier on the
march, for Uncle Sam was solici
tous about sending daily provisions
by airplane, delivered via parachute
to the hungry men below. Fresh
meat, rushed from the cooler,
dropped from the skies in a test ap
plication of what will probably be
come common practice in military
work.
Large packages of meat, bread and other rations employed as “delivery wagons.’* Their aim was
were dropped to the “lost platoon” four successive usually good and none of the soldiers went hungry be
days during the maneuvers. Huge army planes were cause of spilt milk or prematurely scrambled eggs.
Fresh meat for supper! A hungry
soldier unpacks cool frankfurters
from the parachute package.
TONIGHT'S BEDTIME STORY
By THORNTON W. BURGESS
If you should meet with Mr. Toad
You scarce would give him half the road.
I wonder if you'd be more fair
If you should meet with Buster Bear?
DROBABLY you would. Indeed, I
1 suspect that you would give him
all the road. And the funny part
is that it is quite likely that Buster
would be quite as polite and would
give you all the road. The fact
is that, big as he is and strong as
he is and fierce as he looks, Buster
Bear is very shy and bashful. Little
as Old Mr. Toad is be would hardly
more than hop out of the way of
your feet, while big as Mr. Bear is
he wouldn’t even let you see him if
he saw you first.
That is one difference between
Old Mr. Toad and Buster Bear, and,
of course, as you know, there are
a great many other differences. But
in one thing they are very much
alike. Yes, sir, Old Mr. Toad and
Buster Bear are very much alike in
one thing. Can you guess what it
is? Well, it is in their fondness for
ants. Old Mr. Toad is just as fond
of ants as Jimmy Skunk is of fat
beetles. So is Buster Bear, and
that is how it happened that Buster
He was watching a little ant hill
and snapping up every ant that
came along.
Rest and Soothe the Eyes
With Boric Acid Applicat ion
r
Too much sun or wind? It’s hard on the eyes and there’s no cure
like a cold boric acid pack. Apply with saturated cotton. Posed by
Cecilia Parker.
WiMIMiTiHiliMBlIFill' .. .!■
Bear came to invite Old Mr. Toad
to dine with him.
Buster had that lonesome feeling
again and was wishing he had some
one to talk to him when just ahead
of him he saw Old Mr. Toad watch
ing something very intently. Every
once in a while he would lean for
ward, run his long tongue out like
a flash, and then smack his lips
as if something tasted oh, so good!
He was so busy with what he was
doing that he didn’t see Buster Bear
and he didn’t hear him. You know
Buster, big as he is, can walk with
out making the teeniest, weeniest
sound. Buster tip-toed a little bit
nearer until he could see just what
Old Mr. Toad was doing. He was
watching a little ant hill and snap
ping up every ant that came along.
Buster nodded his head approv
ingly.
“I’m glad to see that you have
such good taste, Mr. Toad,” said he
in his deep, grumbly-rumbly voice.
Old Mr. Toad gave a frightened
little scream and fell right over on
his back, kicking his legs feebly in
the most foolish way. lie looked so
funny that Buster Bear just had to
laugh. He couldn't help it. And be
cause his laugh was grumbly
rumbly like his voice Old Mr. Toad
was more frightened than ever.
“Seeing you eat makes me hun
gry, too,” continued Buster. This
sent cold shivers all over Mr. Toad,
for he was sure that Buster meant
to eat him.
“How would you like to dine with
me today?” went on Buster, pretend
ing not to notice how frightened Mr..
Toad was. “It must be very slow
work catching ants one at a time.
What do you say to taking dinner
with me?”
Old Mr. Toad struggled to find his
voice, for he felt that he must be
polite.
“I—I—I don’t feel hungry any
more,” said he faintly. “I—I think
if you will excuse me, Mr. Bear,
I’ll be moving along.”
“Than I will go along with you,”
said Buster, who was just aching to
have some one to talk to.
Poor old Mr. Toad! This was too
much for him. He didn’t have
strength enough to turn over and
get on his feet again. He was sure
now that Buster Bear meant to eat
him when he got ready. Perhaps
Buster would be better pleased if
that invitation to dinner was accept
ed. It was of no use to even try
to run away, and as for trying to
hide under anything—why there was
nothing to hide under that Buster
Bear could not pull over and catch
him.
“I—I’ve changed my mind; I’ll
be very pleased to dine with you,
Mr. Bear," said Old Mr. Toad in a
voice he meant to sound very
brave, but which was so faint that
Buster Bear cocked his head on one
side in order to hear better.
©T W. Burgess.—WNU Service.
Quaker Squirrels
Like ’Em Roasted
New Castle, Pa.—Some of this
city’s squirrels have lost almost all
of their fur and resemble Mexican
hairless dogs—because they like
their peanuts roasted.
This roasted peanut diet is the
cause of the rash which is making
the squirrels lose their natural
clothing, City Forester Owen P. Fox
declared.
He appealed to persons who have j
been feeding the squirrels to cease
feeding roasted peanuts and instead
to give the animals raw “goobers.”
The squirrel-feeding problem is a
bit complicated by the fact that the '
animals have become accustomed
to the roasted peanuts and prefer
them, he admitted.
Especially the squirrels in Gaston
park, a municipal recreation center,
have been going “bald all over,” he
said.
Coolie Influence
mill m iiiiiiiinifnnwi iiimimii 1 t .v” I ;
Down a country roadway there’s
no outfit so gay as this. The hat is
a colorful yellow pancake straw af
fair with under-the-chin tic of black
satin ribbon. The coolie influence is
also carried out in a brilliantly flow
ered cotton jacket, savoring strong
ly of the Orient. The tailored slacks
are of white sharkskin. Posed by
Gale Sondergaard.
__
Holing Through
Vehicular Tunnel
New York.—While traffic poured
through the south tube of the new
Lincoln tunnel between New York
and Jersey City, engineers “holed
through” on the north tube, just a
few feet away. It was formerly be
lieved that a tunnel could not be
bored under such circumstances,
without disturbance to the existing
or companion tube.
ADVENTURERS’ CLUB
HEADLINES FROM THE LIVES
OF PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELFI
“ Death by Proxy **
By FLOYD GIBBONS
B Famous Headline Hunter
ELLO EVERYBODY:
There’s only one thing I know that’s less profitable
than being a burglar, and that’s just posing as one. And
Distinguished Adventurer Willard G. Stanton of Bloomfield,
N. J., ought to agree with me there. Once upon a time,
when Bill was a youngster of sixteen, he tried that little
stunt. Not purposely, of course. Bill’s intentions were per
fectly O. K. But it doesn’t make any difference what your
intentions are. If you look like a burglar, or if you act like
a burglar, first thing you know somebody is going to think
you ARE a burglar and treat you accordingly.
Back in 1907, when this adventure happened to Bill, he lived in an old
fashioned apartment house in Brooklyn. At least it would look old
fashioned today. At that time it was probably the last word in apart
ment houses. It had a stairway running up the center of the building,
and there were two apartments to the floor. The doors of the living rooms
opened on the stair landing, and the outer doors were fitted with ground
glass panels. The glass was opaque. You couldn’t exactly see through
it. But when you were on the inside looking out you could tell when some
one was at the door, because you could see a shadow of a human figure
against the glass.
Remember those panels. They’ve got a lot to do with the story.
Burglars Alarmed the Old Ladies.
Bill’s family had an apartment on the fourth and top floor of that
building. Across the hall lived two old ladies—retired school teachers—
one of whom was slightly deaf. Remember that deaf old lady, too.
%
Bullets Whizzed Over Bill’s Head.
Between her and the glass panels. Old Lady Adventure managed to cook
up quite a thrill for Bill Stanton.
About three o’clock one November morning. Bill was awakened out
of a sound sleep by a loud, insistent pounding. As he came out of a
half-doze, he realized that the pounding came from the wall, on the other
side of which the two old ladies slept. Something was wrong in their
apartment! Bill jumped out of bed and went into his own living room.
Then he saw what the trouble was.
On the ground glass panels of the door leading to the hall he could
see two shadowy figures. They were over by the door of the old ladies’
apartment and they seemed to be trying to jimmy the lock. So that was
it! Burglars, trying to get in next door! The old ladies had heard
them and pounded on the wall to attract Bill’s attention.
Bill called out, “Who’s there?” and began rattling the door
knob. The two figures moved noiselessly to the stairs and be
gan to descend. Bill was sixteen, and impetuous. He ran out of
his apartment and started to follow the two men down the stairs.
“Right there,” he says, “is where my adventuring career
started.”
Bill Was in a Tight Place.
Bill followed the crooks down two flights of stairs, but they were too
fast for him. He was in pajamas, and he couldn't very well dash out into
the street after them anyway. Not on a cold night in November. He
turned around and went slowly back up the stairs.
Bill got to the top and put his hand on the doorknob. The door was *
locked. In his haste to follow the two men he had slammed it behind
him. In his pajamas and without a key in his pocket, it looked as if
he was going to have some trouble getting back in. He stood for a
moment considering his plight, and then, suddenly he heard a voice
coming from the next apartment.
It was one of the old ladies—the deaf one—and her tone was omi
nous. "If you don’t go away,” she yelled, “I’ll shoot.”
All at once Bill realized what a tight situation he was in. The old lady
could see his shadow through the glass door and thought he was one of the
departed burglars. He knew she kept a gun in her apartment and didn’t
have any doubt that she would do just what she threatened to do.
Shot At by a Deaf Woman.
“I thought I had a good pair of lungs,” says Bill, “and I
screamed back: ‘Don’t shoot. It’s me.’ But I didn’t count on
that old lady being deaf. Before I had a chance to get in an
other word I heard a loud report and a bullet came crashing
through the door. It was followed by two more. Then I dropped
flat on the floor, and while I lay there, three more shots imbed
ded themselves in the wall over my head.”
The shots stopped then, but Bill lay right where he was, afraid to
stir lest the slightest motion bring more of that hot lead his way. Then,
inside his own apartment, he heard his mother open a window and
start screaming for the police. Still Bill stayed where he was. Courage
is one thing, but when a panic-stricken old lady starts blazing away right
and left with a revolver, there isn’t any sense in giving her a mark to
shoot at.
Bill lay right where he was until the police came. Then he got up
again. He looked himself over and was relieved to find that he hadn’t
been hit by any of those wild bullets, but he found an ominous little
hole in the sleeve of his pajamas that showed just how close he had *
come to having a funeral instead of just an adventure. “And now- "
adays,” says Bill, “when there is any burglar hunting to be done, I do
it by telephone.”
Copyright.—WNU Service.
Finland’s Name
The name Finland has nothing to
do with the fin of a fish, as one
might be excused for thinking at
first glance. True, the country has
a long seacoast bordering on the
Baltic, but inland there are many
lakes surrounded by marshes and
connected by glistening streams
and canals. Many years ago re
gions like this were called fens.
Thus the little country in the north
ern part of Europe became known
as fen-land, or marsh-land, and, as
the years passed and people spoke
carelessly, its name changed to Fin
land.
El Templete in Havana
El Templete in Havana dates
from 1827 and commemorates the
landing at Puerta Caranas of Don
Diego Velazquez in 1519. An obe
lisk bears an inscription commemo
rating the mass sung at the town
meeting held at the time in the shade
of a giant siba tree. A tree shading
El Templete is believed to be a slip
from the original tree, cut down in
1753.
I
Brides Sold by Weight
In some gypsy villages in Yugo
slavia girl brides are sold by
weight, the sale being held when
the girls reach a marriageable age,
says Pearson’s London Weekly. The
average price is between 2 pence
and 3 pence a pound, the higher
price being paid for girls who can
dance and sing as well as cook.
To prevent cheating, the gypsy chief
keeps the weighing scales under
lock and key. The sale of girl
brides is a recognized practice in >
Yugoslavia, but only in gypsy vil
lages are their values assessed by
weight.
- »
Caterpillars Can Hear
This statement has been made be
cause experiments have shown that
these insects have the ability to
hear; for certain sounds result in
sudden movements of the body.
Hairs that absorb sound are pro
vided in place of ears. In experi
ments, when these hairs were coat
ed with shellac and noises were
made, the caterpillar did not re
spond.