The herald. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1905-1953, 1913-02-27
How His Acre
Was Captured
By F. a. Mitchell

Gallatly as ch,ll was one OF those
infant phenomenal Who aStouish every
body. His mind ran in a phi!osophIc
groove, and ut twelve years Of age he
had found errors IN the reasoning Of
Aristotle that bad escaped the notice
Of Lord Bacon. His parents sent him
TO college, but he amused himself ask
ing the professors questions they were
unable to answer. then answered them
himself In his Junior year it became
evident that he was wasting his time
at a university, aud he left 70 enter
upon original research on his own ac-
count.
Young Gallatly was so absorbed In
his Investigations that ne could not
bear any interruption. He was an oh
iect OF curiosity, especially among
young persons OF his own age, who
were constantly taking up his time
simply TO crafty desire to gaze upon
such a wonder. Girls especially an
noyed him by trying to attract his at
teution. Consequently when he en-
tered upon his life work and his father
built him house for the purpose the
young man had 1t constructed as
sort of tower. with only one opening
on the ground floor, the main doorway.
Notwithstanding many such OBJ
stacles thrown In the way of persons
who desired to take up his time TO no
purpose, Gallatly was driven from the
bottom to the top OF his building ny
successive stages till, finding the top
not high enough he added three sto-
ries and did all his work in the one
under the roof. Various ruses having
been practiced upon him to effect an
| entrance through the door on the main
! floor, he built directly under the roof
one Of those little pulley sheds com
mon In old mills and had his supplies
sent up on a sort Of lift.
These precautions so discouraged the
curious that at last Gallatly was left
entirely alone. Indeed, he might have
pursued his studies for a lifetime and
given some new and wonderful phil0s-
ophy to the world had it not been for
q chit of a girl who for no other reason
I'm the world than that she couldn't get
at him made up her mind that she
would. She was neither pretty nor In
tellectual Indeed, almost any medium
for breaking in upon the phenomenon
studies might be expected In prefer
ence to q freckle faced red headed
girl.
But, though Mehitabel Smith was not
intellectual, fate favored her. Her IA
Their was a builder of aeroplanes. Me
hitabel saw in this fact that what was
denied to beauty, TO intellect, TO win
ming ways, had been given to her
namely, an opportunity to get at the
phenomenon. While others were re-
strlcted to making attacks from the
ground, she might sail in the air and
hover about the windows Of the great
thinker, and how was he going TO get
away from her? Only by going below
to meet q more numerous force.
There was an outpost for Mehitabel
to capture before she could take the
stronghold. This was her father. She
must induce him to allow her to learn
TO manage one of his aeroplanes She
did this in the same way she proposed
to bring down Gallatly-when she got
at him. She put her arms around her
fathers neck and kept them there Till
she secured the promise she wanted
This faculty in women Is not greatly
esteemed by men, but has never been
known to fail. Mehitabel took rides
in an aeroplane beside an operator till
she learned how to manage one herself.
Then, after some practice, she was
ready to put her scheme Of conquest
into operation.
One morning when Gallaty was
struggling in his aerie with new d.
e mension he heard whirring without.
: which he at first mistook for some
e great bird beating the air with It's
g wings. He was too intent on his stud
! les to notice it till the light was inter
a fered with. when he looked up and
saw
5 What2
= A red headed, freckled girl.
: She threw at him the only missile
e nature had provided her with for her
: purpose-a pleasant smile.
:, Gallatly sighed. Here was a point
= of attack that he had not calculated
upon. 1t would be impossible for him
to build his tower so high that an
aeroplane could not reach the top. He
o could draw down the shade, but he
$ couldn't study in the dark. He leaned
4 back in his chair and looked at the
/ girl resignedly. That was all she
n wanted-for that time. She gave him
n another smile and sailed along on her
/ way. Gallatly didn't know but that
/, her appearing before his window had
q been a matter of chance. Her going
q away without trying to effect an en-
trance disposed him to this view. Per
haps she would never come again.
But she did come again. just to smile
at him and go away. After awhile ht
- began to look for her coming, anC
!. when she missed a periodical visit ht
was disappointed. She didn't give hin
time to forget her, not by any means
y and every time she came she hoveret
longer.
One day after Gallatly had been ex
pecting her for several days withou
her coming he descended from hi
W o. h. h.1fU