Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-02-08
At the End Of the Rainbow.
TALE OF TERROR.
BY WALT MASON.
BY WALT MASON.

| The kitchen roof has been leaking a
long time said Mrs. Turnover. and
now that it is dry YOU might go ND and
| fix it, but | suppose it's useless to ask
YOU to drop that foolish novel and do
something useful
Your observations are in cxecrable
taste, my dear, replied Turnover, Ian
guidly. Your sweeping condemnation of
| the literature | read is entirely unjusti-
fled Whenever YOU see me with book
and it is rash TO jump to conclusions in
such manner This is the first volume
of the Tin Star series of detective stories
an entirely new series. which will in
clude the best works of our most popular
authors.
This initial number is by the author
of the HaWkshaw Hemingway series, and
| ii could have no greater recommendation.
| 1t is. indeed. noble story. In the first
chapter a remarkable crime is described.
! \ gentleman puts his head out of the
window to see what the weather is like
and "a scimitar. welded by an unknown
| hand. slices that head off, just above the
Adams apple. Who was guilty of this
nefarious deed? The police admit that
the mystery battles them. and the news
paper men are equally in the Clark. There
| is no VeStiSe OF a clue anywhere. AS Il
last resort. Timothy Tantrum the great
| man hunter, is called in
| .'Oh. for mercy'S sake, do forget your
/ Timothy Tantrum and tell me what YOU
are going to do about the kitchen roof.
/ Il am not going to do anything about
! it. my beloved. ii the kitchen roof Of
/ fend thee cut it off and cast it from thee
/ How often. oh, how often, in the day
/ thai have gone by have | explained to
YOU that | am not blacksmith, plumb
OF. a carpenter. Il butcher. baker, or can
dlestick maker? If the roof must he half
| SOlpd engage some artisan who makes a
speciality Of that sort of work. and who
/ has children crying for bread The al
| loWance / hand YOU every week is ample
! to cover all such expenses, yet whenever
anything goes wrong YOU want me 20 fix
| il. At least You say YOU want me tC
| fix il. but believe it merely worries YOU
! to mo seated comfortably with n
| helpful book and YOU invent these chores
| for the sole purpose of disturbing me.
| When | was young ! enjoyed fixing
| roofs. Whenever ! bad few pennies &c
spare ! used 20 diff, TO the top of th'
house and nail down. a few shingles and
| / dreamed of the time when could de
vote all my energies To such work | was
boarding with Mr.. Cordage who was {;
ma gniiicent man He never knew an idle
moment. He was always repairing some
thing. always looking for something t.
do. His wife used to urge him to 81
down and rest and read good books. thu:
! storing his mind with useful knowledge
even as | do now. Strange it ma,
appear my dear, there are women VIII,
actually like to their husbands enjoy
ing themselves by the fireside, and Mrs
Cordage was of that character.
"Onc day Mr.. Cordage went into TIN
house and found that the kitchen roo
was leaking. lie said that such a stat
of affairs could not be endured for mo
ment and he would fix that roof at once
His WIFE urged hint let it alone. Sh
had already sent word to the carpenter +
come she said. II would have been wei
foi. him had he listened to her. but h
was "a headStrOng man So he got a ham
mcr and nails and shingles and went II
to the roof. 1t was steep roof. %oo
deal like those Alpine precipiccs YOU rea
about Moreover, it was slippery, and
circus acrobat would have been kept bus
negotiating it.
THE unfortunate man had driven il
one nail MASKING his finger in the proc
ess, and then he lost his foothold, am
the way he slid down that roof was as
ItOniehing He landed against Il tree abou
fifteen Yards from the house, so Srea
was his momentum, and the bark flew il
every direction when he hit il with hi
head. ] helped to gather him up an
carry him into the house, and | made u
my mind then that I'd never take a SINH
lar method of making my wife widow
. Now. where are you going, my DEAR?
I'm going TO fix the roof myself.