davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-07

yes, by the way-and your friend.
Boone. They
Her voice hardened. Tom Boone
was killed. How was he killed?
Where were you?'
That's just it," said Phil lie
was trying a little Of my stuff. FOL
lowed me right into Il mob OF them.
Poor old Tom was Il little slow on the
trigger for that sort OF job. lou
look funny. Marion. Are you HI
NO" she said. Her voice became
soft, although some one else might
have detected an underlying note OF
steel. Listen. Phil. We're the same
age. aren't we? But l think you must
have been raised in an incubator. st.
George! They ought to call you the
Trojan Horse. That was made OF
wood, too Il don't care if you shoot
down the whole German army You
be dead, but for Tom. He saved your
life twice before and again today
because | asked him to. And you----
don't-even know 1t.
She slipped from the bench and
around the table, fastening her cloak
while he watched her. in anazement.
LAS for my loving you. Phil. | WAS
a fool. that's all, fool for a DAY and
fatal day l let Tom Boone go to
his death. unaware that all | am and
have, or hope TO have, is his. 1t VIII
always be his"
Outside, she started running blindly
toward the hospital, murmuring and
sobbing.
She tried to slip by the orderly at
the nurses entrance. but he caught
her arm. "Oh, Marion, you'd better
hurry up to the ward. There's an
int hot
picked up in No Mans Land--or what
was left OF him. They shipped him
here from the dressing station and
you oughta hear him babble about his
lady-and her names Marion. Say,
what goes on here"
No she said. leaning against him,
I'm not going TO faint. just help
me-help me a little up the stairs.
She stopped in the ward Office for
breath and to read the report. She
found 1t. Lieut. Boone. Thomas L..
Air Service. Bullet wounds through
shoulder and lower abdomen. Frac-
tured collar bone. Three fractured
ribs. Bullet Craze on throat. May
recover"
1t was semi-dark in the ward. She
knelt beside his cot and kissed his
forehead and his dry lips and whis-
pereO 10 MN. he held her hdnd
tightly. They thought | was raviu=.
Marion. l only said that couldn't
stay here. because ia promised TO
come to Souilly and tell you pills
gone. Marion. I dd--all could
"Phils safe, Tom" she said "But
that doesn't matter. You've got tn
get well--for me, Tom. | want just
you
He tried hard to smile. He didnt
have to. She could see what il
meant. 'All right. then" he said.
III try. Anything you say Marion.
Aren't they little stingy with the
water in this place."
tCopvright 1927
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-07

it. It's not your fault--if it's true.
Is il true. Alarion?"
She hid her face against his tunic.
II can't say it, Tom. l can't tell
yol"
Lets not lie sentimental" said
Tom II won't pretend this doesn t
knock me for a loop. But | can un-
Icrstaud it. Since | first brought
him Phil has probably been coming
Up here every night, every night |
didn't come myself lie is dashinS
tad You'd heard the stories of his
daring, about our calling him st.
George You see him as st. George
with II flaming sword. He is the
beau ideal pursuit pilot. the hero who
knows no fear. don't blame YOU a
bit Marion :
II can't help it, Tom. It's true. but
Can't-can't help it. You're worth
q thousand of him. You're dearer,
drawer. finer. You're a better pilot.
Oh. I've heard about YOU, too, Tom.
You have brains and imagination
enough to be afraid but YOU go in
anyway. You've saved, his life
everybody told ME"
Everybody, perhaps" he muir
INJURED. but | mysolf-and Phil lie
doesn't know it. Well-let's talk
about something else. Stop your silly
crying, Marion" He called for a
waiter Bring us bottle of ST.
Estephe Let's talk about Paris"
Although he failed to understand
why, that did not cheer her. Paris
was one of their gay memories, but
the mention of it turned her quiet
weeping into sobs He thought again
of the time she had been granted a
weeks leave for Paris and had no
girl friend. no one to go with. Tom
Boone had been due for "a leave of
absence. too. SO he took her to Paris,
as he might have taken a sister.
They had done" the town.
They tried to talk about other
things. her routine at the hospital.
the Squadron, but it was useless.
That uneven. reverberating roll of
Cunfire, so constant in the area Of the
front as to be no more than silence,
stepped up to a higher, more constant
note. Marion stiffened. What is
that3"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-07
TT WAS AT ONCE EVIDENT THAT KNEW ONE ANOTHER

teens? How could l know that they
were children? / answer very simply
that l could not and did not know 1t.
l argued it only as a fair inference
from their appearance.
On the basis thus laid down, | was
able next to name to myself the exact
destination Of my unknown acqualnt-
ances AT the end Of the line is a
well known Summer resort. situated
beside a lake. The train was to so to
this point as it's terminus, and it was
to stop nowhere else in between.
Therefore, the passengers We're going
to this station. This was but logic.
! now set myself to see what fur
Their information could piece together
in regard to the personality. etc, or
the group under observation. Here l
must admit that my conclusions were
hating and more slowly formed. Yet
bit by bit made progress. l observed
that the lady presently took out a
newspaper, and, holding it right side
up. remained for some time with her
eyes fixed upon it. 1 inferred from
this that she could read and write.
Meantime. similar observation OF
her husband convinced me that he
was a lawyer. He sat for some time
reading, or at least observing. a vol.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-07

his wife, and the two little boys, iden-
teal in dress, strongly alike in fea-
lures, were brothers"
Another conclusion followed almost
Immediately, They We're starting on
a Summer vacation. The man, for in
stance, was carrying what l recoS-
nized to be fishing rod; the girl. III
her teens, had under her arm a tennis
racket in a case, and the porter had
carried in for them Il long leather bag
with wooden sticks protruding over
the top, which a little close reasoning
showed to be golf clubs.
This neat piece of deduction carried
with it quite naturally q further con-
clusion. This was to the effect that
their vacation was to be spent on or
near tor under) the water. The two
little hoys each had with him a large
toy yacht. These. l argued. would
only float on water, and hence In the
mountains or on a farin would be OF
no purpose In addition to this, each
had on it's head IA sailor hat with the
legend, II. NJ. S. Resolute. If not
water, the boys would hardly have
been named for ship.
The reader might ask at this point
How can l speak with such confidence
Of child. and children, OF girl In her
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-07
One.Man Power.

Ri means of device invented by n
Swedish mariner. Capt. G. c.
Schmidt, the largest lifeboat. filled
with passengers. can be lowered by
one. man in less than two minutes
Working automatically from the
moment the boat is released from the
clamps by the pull of a lever, the
davit allows even the one who has
started the operation to so down in
the lifeboat and at the same time
control its speed.
The old and dangerous block-and.
tackle arrangement, where twisting
kinks. wet. frozen or sWelled ropes
have so often been responsible for aC-
cldents. is done away with. The boat
descends on even keel all the time
eliminating thereby the danger Of
capsiZing.
The davit consists chiefly of the two
steel frames, bolted TO the deck, in
which two quadrant arms move. AZ
the upper end Of these arms are steel
prongs in which the boat hangs. The
boat is hoisted and lowered by steel
cables, running through pulleys at the
end OF the posts down to deck, where
the cable is wound around a revolving
steel drum.
AS soon as the boat has been hoisted.
1t is securely fastened to it's support
in an instant. by pulling lever. by
releasing this lever. the boat is free.
ana tnen hangs i'll the pronGs at the
end or the quadrant arms. which at
the same time automatically begin to
fall outward. swinging the boat down
over the side OF the ship.
This boat has been installed on Il
number of steamship lines. particular.
~ those owned by German and
Swedish interests. Ice that has formed
on the steel cables will chip off very
easily when the lifeboat is lowered.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-07

tune from the current Casino de
Paris revue. Yes" murmured Tom,
II think you will-quit flying" A
step farther on he said: But won't
we all? What difference does the day
of the month make?' On the way to
his own quarters he was thinking Of
Marion. her bad luck in picking pilots
to fall in love with.
At O'Clock, as they made their
coffee, they could see the moon still
up and shining dimly and coldly
through a mist. The day would be
cloudy. That was bad. TrampinG
across the field to the hangers they
swore at the i'll luck of it. The moon
light was giving way to less silvery
gray, the gray of dawn. and already
they could make out the shapes of
their Spads.
They gathered, and Capt. Baldwin
gave instructions. THE First Pursuit
flies low" he said. The third at $500
meters. We have the ceiling. We
want to get as high over the lines as
we can and as quickly as we can. I'm
taking Il flight of seven, and Lieut..
Boone will lead protecting flight
above us. You will not get into action
unless we need you. Lieut.. Boone.
Good luck, everybody. Circle wide
Wen meet above the clouds
Three dark silhouettes, tails up and
motors roaring, had raced across his
vision into the Frightening air when
Tom Boone TAXED his Spad out of the
line and wheeled into the wind. he
opened the throttle slowly and the
Inv "a al
move gently forward until the tail
came up. Then he gave her the
gun heard the motor roar and felt
the plane trembe. ruddered a straight
course as he shot away, faster and
then faster. The wheels bounded from
Il hummock, touched ground again
gently. He eased the stick--smooth.
the terrific, smooth forward drive into
the air.
remnants of mist streamed by; red
roof in the village of Belrain caught
his eye. The air became thicker and
darker before he was zoo meters up.
He climbed. a bank of low clouds
swept about him. He could see moth
ing save whirls and eddies in an en-
velOping gray. Balance was matter
of feel. He climbed.
Presently q bright spot appeared in
the gray bank, and he climbed toward
that. The gray walls began to recede.
That bright spot was a shaft OF light,
and suddenly lie was free, free in
lofty world of beauty, where the spot
less heaven was four shades bluer and
the sunlight was filtered gold.
At1,200 meters Tom Boone leveled off
and circled wide to the right. Another
Spad appeared behind him, another,
third. He recognized Lieut.. Blocker in
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-07

No. IA, and soon Phil Blanchard's No.
10 dropped into position. All seven
planes were formed in a tight V when
he took up the trail of Capt. Bald
wins flight, formed 500 meters below
and already climbing toward the lines.
Down below the clouds were burn
ing away under the sun, and the dark
green of the Argonne and the mist
filled valleys Of air and the Meuse
stretched away to the north. They
had mounted $500 meters before they
were halfway The captain was fore
ing, climbing fast.
Presently red gashes began to tear
at those wales Of mist down there, and
huge smoke rings floated aloft, the
line of the heavy guns. They passed
over a row of captive balloons that
seemed from their own steadily
mounting height to be no more than Il
few yards off the ground. They passed
another row of balloons. German ball
looms. Tom Boone's altimeter regis
tered $500 meters as they sailed into
the. enemys air over the north end of
the ArgoAne.
1t was a nice plan. If the Fokkers
came into action from the east, where
their dromes We're located, Capt. Bald
wins wide, deep semi-circle would
catch them from behind in the line of
the sun. And as the two flights Of
Spads curved over the BQis de Banthe1
Vile, a formation of nine Fokkers
flew in from the east. They were sur
prised, outwitted and disorganized
when the 18th lower patrol fell upon
their backs.
tom BOONE fioated 500 meters
l. above that fight. He saw the
faint network Of -tracer-bullets and
the black columns of smoke left by
two burning F'okkers in the wake of
their fall Four of them were sent
spinning in the first attack. But he
saw, as well, Spad lurch sidewise
and turn over on it's back. and an
other disappear in burst Of flame.
Il wonder" he murmured, who is
dead"
Phil Blanchard drove down beside
him, gesticulating, frantic to charge
down into the tangle of circling, div
ing, Understanding planes that were
fast spreading out into individual
combats all over the sky.
Tom waved him back to his place.
Get back there" he said. as if the
roar of motors and the rip of air were
silence. and Marfon's st. George"
could hear. Haven't you any eyes?
Do you think those are the only FOX
kers in the SKYE Well. then, look
there-and there-and there" AT
least three large flights of enemy
planes paralleled his course back
along the sector, waiting only the first
loss Of altitude, the first unWary turn
away from the blind spot of the sun.
to close in upon them.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-07

groups have Eut to win il for them.
Our two hundred and fifty fighting
planes will have against them Il con
centiatluu of many famous enemy
squadron>. the fellows with the
checkcrloalds on their wings. You Ne
seen some of them and you know
what they ALE
THEY left the hall and made their
way down the road in groups OF
tWoS and threcs, silent, or talking in
COW tones.
Tom Boone hurried ahead. lie was
going up to SouilIy. There was
supply depot, hospital. an ohserva-
ton squadron drome at Souilly. 10
miles up the Bar lie Duo highway
near NeTdun. That is not all there
was at Souilly. He thought of taking
Phil Blanchard with him again and
waited in the road for him to come
along. lie rather liked ST. George
and it was nice to have company on
the way ND there and back. But he
did not find him. sPerhaps tonight,
this night he would rather be alone
anyway.
At squadron headquarters he asked
for a motor cycle and the sergeant
old him the office machine had already
gone out.
Gone out?" he said. who took
it,"
His frequent use Of the machine
between Belrain and Souilly had made
him feel as though it were his private
property.
The sergeant wasn't sure who had
taken it. "One Of the officers. He
didn't sign the slip either. But can
get you a motor cycle from the
hangers. sir
Please said Tom, And get
sidec8r and Il good driver. | don't
feel like running the thing myself"
He waited impatiently until the ma
chine came suffering across the field.
The great beams of two searchlights
We're crossing each other in the east
arn sky. and he could hear the familiar
DOM oom-oom of the Mercedes and
Maybach motors of the German night
bomberS.
He rested back as comfortably as
he could in the Side-car while, without
lights, they wound down the narrow
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-07
BY STEPHEN LEACOCK.

SUPPOSE that there is nothing SO
fascinating to the human intellect
as the following out Of close
/ chain Of reasoning-the kind OF
thing that is called in detective
stories IAN memorable concatenatioh
of logic" Perhaps it is the detective
story that has made this kind OF thihs
so fashionable in our generation.
Personally ] must say that L IKE
now and then to try my mana AT such
an exercise, and to see what conclu'
sions I can draw in regard to the
casual people whom / meet or see
n stranger observed on train or a
random passenger on street car NO
doubt | am not alone in this. ] mag
inc that the attempt to unraVel tne
mystery of our fellow men in TINS
fashion is favorite pastime with
many OF us. -,
Law no claim to any particular skill
in observation or reasoning power.
But l may at least say that interest
and industry have brought TO me
what might seem a rather surprising
measure of success; so much so that
at times l find myself arguing OUT
the person whom ] see with results
that presently justify each separate
stage Of my reasoning.
X X X
had. no later than last week, a
curious illustration of this. 1t hap
pened that was on train, III
chair car. going north from my own
CITY for a vacation in the woods. Al
such .and.such a station-the name Is
NJ no consequences; il necessary,
though. 7 could furnish it upon re-
ouest--there entered into the train Il
party of five persons. l set mNSelI 10
observe them quietly from behind my
newspaper. IN
II was at once evident that they all
knew one another The fact that they
got on the train together, that they
were all talking together, ana that
one. the senior Of the party, held the
tickets for all, justified this first step
OF reasoning.
OF the party themselves, the oldest
', was a man OF about 80 to ~ years,
the next IA lady perhaps little young
err, then a girl in her teens ana hnalIy
two little boys dressed almost alike
! Here, then, was IL second problem
what was the connection or relation
ship between them? | set myself 10
thinking 1t out. Under what circum'
, stances does a man carry with HIM
two little boys in similar suits! why
should Il woman say TO man. rave
| you got the children's hold-all? Hold
what? And why were they holding II!
The explanation came upon me. as
such things often do, with a sudden
| fash. The 1--WE persons were family.
The man was the father, the lady was
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-07
An Odd Sloping Wall.

A y owner who wanted a wall on a
sloping hillside adopted a novel
method OF securing the structure. Be
cause of the position of the wall be-
tween the curbing Of hillside road
way and a cement gutter some 10
feet above. to have built it of solid
concrete or other material would have
entailed an expense too great for tins
owner, so he proceeded as follows:
At points about every II feet along
thu stretch between the curb and the
gutter. cement piers. IS inches III
width, were built and laid into the
earth. Next. between these posts ordi-
nary chicken wire Of small mesh was
laid, and upon this wire, between the
piers. by inch timbers were laid.
finishing the wall at . very small cost.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-07

and we've lost IA of our II pilots I'm
not urging caution. Just strategy.
common sense, what they tried to
teach you in training, the same kind
Of sense that makes an infantryman
keep his head down in trench"
"St. George" shook his head. Well
| can't see it. I'm going to make
myself an ace tomorrow or l miss my
guess. BY the way, Boone. I'm fed
up with this talk about your saving
my life When l need an aerial nurse
I'll quit flying"
Lieut. Boone left him Whistling a
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-07

Nothing much" he said. "Tomor-
row is the day. that's all. The big
smash You'll be pretty busy in the
hospital. We take off at dawn"
She clutched his arm. And Phil,
too? Tell me- But l know 1t any
way. He's going to be killed. What
are you going to do, Tom? You know
the way he goes. He's sure to be. II
you don't"
He looked at her steadily, strangely.
"If don't WHAT"
Her panic was stabbing him more
deeply than any confession. IF you
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-07
Even Amateur May Forge Chain of Logic
When He Concentrates on the Subject

une which bore the title Law Re
ports" from his pocket there pro-
truded a newspaper or journal with
the heading in capitals, Canada Lee
gal Times" and he carried with HIM
Il bag of the kind commonly known
as d brief case.
SO far, then, my conclusions were
that the party consisted OF IL Weli-to'
do lawyer and his wife well to do
because they rode on the train instead
of walking) going on or proceeding on.
vacation to or in 1.-THE water.
The next step was to try to work
out their names. This l admit is a
far more difficult process Whether a
name can actually be transferred from
mind to mind by intense concentra-
ton Of thought is an open question.
Perhaps it can and perhaps it can't.
At any rate, in this case l failed en-
tirely. in spite of sitting with my mind
intensely concentrated till aroused by
the conductor).
But where internal reasoning fails,
observation may succeed. And SO it
proved. BY keeping my ears open, in
stead of my mind, l was soon able to
educe that the mans name was Henry.
I argued this from the fact that his
wife said, when are we supposed to
get in, Henry" and a little later. You
sent telegram. didn't you. Henry?
The mans answer, Yes" could be
construed as an admission that his
| name was Henry.
The wife's name, | OWNED, or at
least diagnosed, to be either Bessie or
Mum. The man addressed her as
Bessie, the children Mum. Later on it
occurred to me that the word Mum
| was short. or abbreviated, form of
| Mother. Very shortly afterward, also,
I was able to reason that the mans
name was Henry Williams. Stamped
| in black letters on the end Of one of
| the Valises was the legend Fl. VIII
| lams. Could anything be more con-
vincing?
Indeed, just as I concluded this
chain of reasoning. I realized that l
| knew them. In fact, the man
came across the car and sat down
beside me.
How are you?" he said. "Off on
a vacation to the lake. suppose? I'm
just taking Bessie and 5he kids up
there for fortnight"
Then I realized that of course he
was Henry Williams. I've known him
and Bessie Williams for about Is
| years In fact, ! think that one of
the little boys, forget which, is my
godson.
The trouble is that / am often so
| tied up in these chains of logic that
lcopyrisht. 1871
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-07
"Circle Wide-We'll Meet Above the Clouds
By Stephen Auery
BooneN in Friend Well
Ii SWeetea

don't protect him, Tom. Promise me
that YOU will, DO YOU still love me,
Tom? Enough to do that?"
He stood up abruptly. Come on. |
suppose you're on duty early. It's
ridiculous to talk about one pursuit
pilot protecting another. but, if it
means as much as that to you, Ill
do what | can"
They walked down the empty street
to the hospital. AT the nurses en-
trance Marion fingered. You haven't
said what night you were coming up
again" When he made no reply her
eyes began to glsten in the dark
We'll, then. will YOU tell him to come
tomorrow? l shall not breathe until
| know he's safe"
He started to go. but she held his
arm. "Walt. Oh, what have / done
ever hope to know. Would you care
to kiss me-iust once again."
He pushed her roughly toward the
door and stalked away into the dark
ness.
THE trip back was difficult and
slow. Behind them a red sunset
blaZed in the northern sky and the
roadbed beneath seemed to tremble
under the thunderous blast of the
slihs. The bombardment was in full
swing.
The sergeant reported that Lieut.
Blanchard had returned only a few
minutes earlier, and Tom Boone
found him in the barracks. He sat
down on est. Georges" bunk. you're
going to have No. position In my
flight in the morning. Fhil,' he said.
Il wish, just for the one day, you'd be
q little careful Attack when the
flight attacks, pull out when the rest
of us do, stick close on my tail"
A smile touched Phil Blanchards
regular features. He had the face of
an artist and the soul. perhaps, of a
jockey-which may be-who knows
the best kind Of soul for a pursuit
pilot to have. $50 we're going to play
it safe, arc we?" he laughed. us this
life saving station?"
Tom Boone flushed 1.-THE squad
ron's record answers that. In the past
six weeks we shot down SO Germans
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-07

v vE LOOKED ut the hay out
line Of rheims. 30 miles away.
Thirty miles in the opposite
4 direction was Contains, and