The Penn's Grove record., 1912-05-17
Emmanuel Catty's Radish
By B. L'ESTRANGE

| middle of the radish root; and only
when the radish walls were thick
around them did they venture to con-
tinue their downward path.
At last n day, when Catty was
leading as usual. he again struck his
pick through the radish wall. He ut
tered a cry of dismay, fearing a sec c
ond thrush of the sea. But instead
light and fresh air flowed in, grateful
indeed to those who had lived so long
in a radish-steeped atmosphere.
eve have arrived" cried Catty,
grasping his companions hands.
This is the end!"
Eagerly they enlarged the aperture,
and crawled cautiously out. Behold,
On every hand was the sea! The rad
ish root had emerged somewhere to
the south Of India, and they were rest
ing on a little island Of radish In the
midst of the Indian ocean. At first
they were terrified, but Catty encour
aged them.
we can remain here a little time"
he said. mo doubt a ship will come
to take US off,"
His words were brave, but the sus-
pense was great. The radish tip af-
forded but a slippery resting place;
they were in considerable fear Of the
sharks, which they could see some
times through the clear waters; and
the radish here and there, ~enfeebled
by the borings, crumbled, and they
saw large bits Of it swept off by the
waves. One day the piece on which
Emmanuel Catty was standing broke.
His comrades only seized him just in
time to prevent his being washed
away.
What shall we do?" they cried.
How can We support life here?"
Emmanuel leant forward suddenly.
nearly falling into the water again.
"a sail" he cried. "a sail! We are
saved!"
AS a matter of fact, it was a trail Of
smoke; but it issued from the tunnels
of a British steamer, and the captain
took them off. He was a Scotsman,
and his name was Macallister, and he
otNC44J NSSllACu " pGllShS LII SdlI1 .
story.
"a radish!" cried Macalister, point
ing to the root contemptuously. I'm.
possible! 1t is an island, and l shall
take possession of it in the name of
the British empire" And he hoisted
the union jack accordingly.
Meantime, in America a close watch
had been kept at the mouth Of the
mine. Five thousand seven hundred
and e~ighty-two reporters we're contin-
ually on the watch for news of the
bold a~dventurer, Catty. When word
came Of the action of Captain Mac
allister the excitement was intense.
The radish had been planted in Amer
lean earth; it had drawn it's nutriment
from America; it was Americas by
all the sacred laws of ownership. The
English said that might be as it
would; but they claimed the radish
tip by right of discovery. 1t had been
found and seized upon by Captain
Macallister, and was i~rrevocably Eng
l1th.
PASSION on both sides ran high.
TIE newspapers rang with denuncfa-
tiSn of American greed and English
t~r~achery. The American ambassador
WIS directed to withdraw from Lon
don, when the news spread that the
radish tip had disappeared. A Brit
ISL trading vessel, cruising near the
place marked On the chart, could find
nc trace of it.
The excitement grew tenfold. Spe-
cial commissions e n out from Eng
land and America only confirmed the
fact of the disappearance. For a mo-
ment both excited parties were in
clined to turn to Germany, and de-
clare that she must have been guilty
of some diabolical plot for the destruc-
ton of the radish.
But meantime Emmanuel Catty had
directed the attention of various sci
entists to the matter, and a little in
Vest1gation showed that the disap-
pearance was perfectly natural. The
great heat through which the radish
had passed, the tunneling through its
heart, the action of the sea. had been
too much for it; it was fad
ing and whitening away. In a few
months the only traces left of the pbe-
were the enormous mining
works-the largest in the world-so
complete was the decay of Emmanuel
Catty's radish.
There was a considerable demand
for Catty's manure; but the cost of
its manufacture vas so great that It
could not be sold at a profit. Perhaps
it was Just as we'll.