davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1928-11-25
Feeber Again Indulges in "Sport of Missing Men

| thicker every moment. and there was 6
smudgy, autumnal odar in the air.
u smell something burning" ] an
nouneed.
Leaping up suddenly he began slapping
himself on the back, but without con-
gfatulations. "ft'th mel" he exclaimed
A plume OF smoke eurled up from the
| thatch OF straw about his waist There
was no doubt about it; spark of burn
ing powder had ignited Mr.. Feeber's
blind. Having fred a salute to the
ducks, he seemed about TO make bon
fire of himself in their honor. He
| wrtthed and contorted like hula dane
er in grass skirt, tearing off shoulder
ing fragments of his quaint disguise and
stamping on them frantically.
n # *#
THEN, to my horror, saw wisp OF
flaming straw curl itself about the
box of cartridges. THE shells" !
shouted, Jump for your life"
simultaneously Mr.. Feeber and I
plunged into Lake Patootie, As went
down into the icy water ! heard roar
as If railroad train were crossing an
overhead trestle. and the lake itself
qulvered like q gigantic gelatin dessert,
Rubber boots and leather jacket are
not the ideal swimming costume, and It
was several aeons later that struggled
to the surface and took q look around
The scene was peaceful one, A haze
OF black smoke hung In the air, and On
the bosom Of Lake Patootie fieated bit
OF driftwood that had once been boat.
But from behind me came tho sound
of violent splashing, and looking over
my shoulder beheld Mr.. FEEDER pad
ding toward me like an old lady with
water wings. He had pneumatic de-
coy under each arm and q toothless
smile en- his lace,
Grab yourthelS q rubber duck" he
called eheerilV, showing one toward me,
With favorable weather We ought TO
make port by thup-doVn."
1t was slow going, even with the help
or the deeoys, and when We finally
reached land we were half frozen, Mr.,
FEEDER was shiyeFing so energetieally
that no locked like Q composite photo,
graph was chilled to the marrow and
listened to them nervously Lucky
thon.ot-a-gunl" he llsped,
But by the time we had built q fire
and dried. our dripping clothes his
spirits had revived and he began to
make plans for another hunting eXpe.
ditlon. He would get new boat and
new gun and he would come back 10
Lake Pateotie next year at Thanksgiy-
ing time,
Good heavensl" I ,groaned. Haven't
we had enough9"
"oh, mol" said Mr.. .FeebeF, "thith
wath 1utht practIth. You wait till
nextht year. Then the fun will begin"
And that little boys and girls, Is why
your Uncle Wiggley beats his wife and
kicks the cat and takes pennies away
from widows and orphans. He has to
50. duck hunting with Mr.. FEEDER again
this year.
Later Bulletin: Mr.. FEEDER Just
called up TO say that he won't be able
TO get away az he has TO have some
dental work done this week. Which goes
TO show that there Is q Santa Claus,
and It's a pretty good old world, after
all, and ! only hope that every one viii
have as much to be grateful for on
Thanksgiving day rs have.
OF course, it's too bad that we can't
go up to Lake Patootle for little shoot
Ing. The ducks will miss US. But not so
much Is we would miss them, II We
went. J
Evening star., 1928-11-25
Sorts Diamonds.

WHEN iaborers descend into q
diamond mines at Kimberley tht
blast and pick out the hard cart
which contains diamonds and place
in wooden tubs that are hauled o.
stout wires to the surface. where tn
earth is spread over the ground
undergo for several months the soften
ing influences Of heat and cold. Wht
II Is soft enough it is shoveled into tn
washing machines. where the dirt
known as concentrates"
II was formerly necessary to so care
fully over these concentrates TO pio
out the garnets and many other for
eign substances, Until nothing remained
but the rough diamonds. This was
slow and laboFious operation, but 10 waf
an essential part OF the mining industry
until IT was superseded not 80 many
years ago.
among the employees In the sorting
room was a youth by the name Of
Kersten, who went quietly TO work 70
find way to separate the diamonds
from other stones much more quickly
and easily than could be done by the
slow process OF hand picking. He was
NV Nt0SOUAo o6SN ny Aias many 1hllufbh VI
tlnd that way.
One day. by the merest chance, the
boy made the discovery that he was
seeking. A rough diamond and a gar
net happened to be lying on q small
board ON the bench where he was work.
ing, He raised one end Of the board,
The garnet slipped of, but the diamond
remained, He found that there was
coating OF grease on the board that
retained the diamond, but not the
garnet, The boy procured . wider
board. coated the side Of IL with
grease and dumped few handful6 Of
concentrates on II, Then he found that
BY holding the board In Q slightly In
clined position and vibrating II oil
the concentrates except the diamonds
moved to the lower end. and fell of,
while the diamonds remained In place,
Then the boy invented q machine by
which his discovery might be utilized.
Considerable study was required TO per-
feet II, but at last the machine was
completed and the diamond nagnates
were invited to witness the new method
OF separating diamonds from the rest
OF the concentrates,
The Invention was al entire success
A more simple and complete device for
saving time, labor and loss Of diamonds
could not be imagined. The entire
work is now done by machinery, hand
picking has been wholly superseded and
both the inventor and the mine own
ers have profited handsomely by the
labor-Saying macbines
Evening star., 1928-11-25
Guards on Routine Duty Constantly Walk With Death

ward and with nothing to gain except
the sense of having done ones duty,
these men. singlehanded and alone.
often exhibit a splendtd bravery. Hun
dredS of such illustrations could be
given. Let me cite just one, OF Char
acter which, while it may seem extraor-
dinary to the uninitiated, Is not at
all unusual:
At the Great Meadow Prison at Com
stock, New York, Clarence Dubrey,
guard. was on duty as a picket. The
prison at that time did not have wall.
Each picket was furnished with a pass
list containing the names OF men who
were allowed outside his lines. one
morning at about $3.50 long-term prls-
oner approached Dubrey and informed
him that he had a pass for one OF the
farm colonies outside the lines. Duorey
went into his little guardhouse TO sec
If the prisoners name was actually on
the list While his back was turned
the prisoner struck him on the head
with an iron bar. knocking him down
and cutting large cash In the scalp
When Dubrey went down he lost con-
troll Of his gun. The weapon, however,
was also out of reach Of the convict
The prisoner started for the rife, and
Dubrey, weak and dizzy. rose and pre-
pared to oppose his progress. There
upon the prisoner pulled out dagger
about 6 inches long, fashioned from a
table knife, and started for Dubrey
DaZed and weak as he was, the guard
threw himself on the prisoner and
knocked him down.
Overcome by the very audacity Of the
attack, the prisoner did not use the
knife. Shaking the guard OF, he arose
and started for the hills and wooded
country. But Dubrey had now got his
gun. He fired a half dozen shots, one
OF them striking the prisoner In the
heel. The latter dropped at the edge
Of the clearing and was captured. Du-
brey spent some time In the hospital.
1t is q curious fact that despite the
Evening star., 1928-11-25

murderous Tombs affair in 1925, when
three desperate criminals. pretending to
be sick, had themselves brought down to
the doctors office, located just a few
feet from the front gate.
With smuggled guns carefully con.
cealed In their blouses, the three sick"
men came slowly down the stairs fight
ing to keep their excitement from show
ing, As they reached the center Of the
hall they whipped out their guns and
ran toward the gate, commanding the
guard there TO open 1t or forfeit with
his life. There Is some conflict with
testimony concerning just exactly what
this guard debut one thing he did
not do, and that was to open the gate.
He evidently ran into one OF the Of
fices opening into the corridor, Dis"
concerted and infuriated, the three
raced into the yard, not, however, until
they had fred two shots at Warden
Mahlon. who had come running out of
his Office, The warden died the follow
ing day,
Once in the yard. the prisoners
rushed to small wooden shack
near the van entrance. But Murphy.
the guard ordinarily In charge of the
gate, was attending to some business
elsewhere, while OConnor, his partner,
was inside the prison building, . Both
men had their keys with them, Baf-
fed in this. the prisoners ran behind
big coal pile in the yard, AS O'Con.
nor and Murphy came running out
into the yard the prisoners opened
Are. wounding O'Connor, Murphy got
inside the little house neer the gate
and began to return the prisoners tire.
Then one of the latter taking careful
aim. sent q bullet crashing into his
brain,
with a yell of triumph, the three
conspiraters ran to the PROSTATE guards
and began feVerishly to search them
for the keys. But In the meantime
other guards and police who had been
hastily summoned began to fire from
various angles and forced them again
hAhind the coal pile. Then, taking
Evening star., 1928-11-25

lack OF desire, but to the presence of
stoolpigeons who keep the officers In
formed of these plots In time to check
mate them, Hundreds Of such plots are
broken up each year In this manner,
|, Naturally the knowledge Of narrow
escapes does not make the guard feel
any more secure, and tends to intensity
the atmosphere OF furtive suspicion, the
aura of some dread danger Just around
the corner. which Is as much q part OF
every big penal institution as bars and
bolts, No visitor or outsider" can ever
sense this,
The average policeman Is In no such
danger. He is surrounded to very
large extent by lawsabiding citizens in
sympathy with the authority he repre-
sentS He may call upon citizens to
assist him IN emergencies, and to this
fact many policemen owe escape from
death or serious injury.
But even when emergencies do arise
they are not usually OF such Q spon-
taneous nature that 1t IL impossible for
him TO prepare to meet them. The
average policeman has only one or two
emergencies during his entire career in
which he does not have time to draw
his gun, And do not lose sight of the
fact that he has gun TO draw. Nor
does the policeman have the constant
strain. on his nerves due to the im-
niinent presence OF danger,
This strain consists very largely In not
knowing where the lightning is going
TO strike, In prison. danger comes from
the most unexpected quarter, and al
ways with suddenness, Experience has
taught the ofsicials, Of course, that Ger.
tain things must be watched with
particular care, But the prisoners are
constantly springing q new one.
Experience, for instance, has taught
prison guards that care must be taken
to see that desperate inmates who were
pals on the outside or have become such
on the inside do not get together on
sick call or at other times for the pur-
pose OF making some kind Of q rush
This Is exactly what hRnnened In the
Evening star., 1928-11-25
Abnormal Stature

THE development and the form of
the human body depend closely
upon the growth Of the skeleton or beny
structure. Before birth the bone stFuer
tIHe Is devoid OF everything like cal-
caFeous tnerustatien; 1t is In the car
tiiagineus state, similar TO the state
Of fishes, whose nauseles are supported
by eaFtiiages instead OF bones, Little
by little the peaFiy, transparent
substance called cartilage begins TO
show hluiRh-white opaque spets-spets
Of easiflaatien. At a certain period in
development each of the bones may be
called an end-tesend assemhlage OF
three Regments, the most important
pieee being ia the center, The eartis
lage Of eanjugation interpesed between
the eeggnepts does the chief work OF
heaashuslding because II enits bone
material from Its under and upper
sides until the bones have developed
If from any cause the cartilage which
eTnits new bone becomes etfephied the
emission Of bone material must cease,
the kene ceases TO grow. Ana, ~ the
inverse case, II the same cartilage ABB
normally increases the rate OF its pros
duetl0n, the bone structure develops TO
excess until the skeleton Is the frame
At giant,
A few OF the worlds pygmies were
dwaFte at birth. and despite q pro.
peFtionsiiy rapid growth, they have re"
NAMED uHuatuTally small, But the
dWaFfs at birth are few In number,
DWarfa who have been dWarfed after
birth are of two classes, those Of nor
NAL proportion and those who are de.
formed, There are few children whose
growth ceases Wben they are SO small
that throughout life they remain far
below the size of their contemporaries,
OF this number. some came into the
world puny and below normal size,
but they were strong enough TO deyel-
Qp to the age of adolescence, Another
class, victims Of the disease called in-
fantilasfB, remain throughout life es
small rs very young children, Their
early childhood. The cause OF infans
ttikn is the jnsuflcieney of action OF
an organ situated IN the neck, the thy
roid substance Were there no thyroid
gland the bones would not develop, and
the arrest OF the development would
include the mind as well as the body
SCIENCE has found means TO increase
ths siEa OF dwaFfs and TO fiFe q spark
of inteIIigenee In the mind OF the idiot
by the grating of the thyroid gland
OF an enImai In the human neck where
the thyroid function has ceased, Whefe
the thyroid gland Is missing or by the
mare awailoWing Of = daily dose el
Thyroid extracts.
Giants derive their stature from thu
oVeFpFoduetion or the excessive activity
of the thyFeid gland, er TO the excessive
activity OF gland which Is an appen'
dix of the base OF ths brain, the pltul'
saTy body.
Evening star., 1928-11-25

steadied the barrel against the edge of
the boat, and took careful aim, Then,
holding his breath and closing his
eyes, he Aired. There was an ear-split-
ting roar, the boat rocked eonvulsively
and everything was hidden In blue
smoke,
Presently through rift In the smoke
] could see the rosy face Of Mr. Feeber,
like q eheFuh In cloud. "AFe you all
Fight9" ] asked.
"Yeth," Mr.. FEEDER smiled Vaeantly,
but I thighted with my left eye in
thead Of with my right, and the gun
kicked me In the fathe."
But why the bahy-talkP" in
quired.
my bridgewcrk ith gone" he ex-
planned But never mind, What I
want TO know ith, where are the
duekth9"
wait till the smoke clears away"
replied II can't see."
But the smoke did not clear away
II fingered, Indeed, 1t seemed to grow
Evening star., 1928-11-25

greater hazard of the prison guard q
Job compared with that Of tiaA poliees
man, to say nothing Of the more aydll-
ous and trying duties OF the former, the
latter invariably receives considerably
greater compensation than does the
guard. This Is true In practically every
section Of the country. The situation tn
New York City is typical Here tht
minimum salary of prison guard !!
81, $50 per annum; the maximum
5000; whereas policemen receive
minimum Of si.T69 and a maximum
$4,000, City ofiicials are Just baglnnin
to realize the injustice of this diserep
aney, In New York, as well as In sever
other large cities, determined efgor
now are being made to give guards
fair and adequate compensation. Ricl
ard g. Patterson, jF., commissioner
correction of New York City, recent
stated that he considered the incFee
OF guards salaries to q level of that
policemen most important probe :
The question naturally arises: II t.
work Of prison guard Is so hazafde
and he Is so poorly paid, why does /,
stay IN It? OF course, there is no sine
answer to this question. Many OF
men are not of the "go-gettev" tyl
They lack sufficient initiative to Sc
other jobs There are various 9th
minor reasons. But, In the opinion
the writer, the chief cause is the pow
and authority which the position ca
fles with It, Few men in such poor
paid positions can guide the destinit
even temporarily, of such a large nun
ber OF their fellows, and this pow
acts as a compensation for the hare
ships and dangers OF the position. 81
whatever the cause. the fact renal
that most OF them do stick for yea
and they deserve much more from I
public than they ever receive.
Evening star., 1928-11-25
Boiled Intentions.

of one who Is witnessing a miracle
Get under eover-they'fe headed this
WayI"
As my host, Mr.. Feeher offered me
the first shot, 100 ahead" he urged
handing mo the gun with charming
old-world politeness, give EN- both
haMels."
"Oh, no." I protested, "you take the
fifst shot, It's your party
After YOU" he insisted, with a
eeurtly bow that wasn't as eourtly as
1t might have been owing to the fact
that he was lying on his stomach. you
are my guest"
Reluctantly ! took the gun, aimed
II In the direction Of the alleged ducks,
and pulled the trigger. To my relief,
nothing happened II was the old story;
HE didn't know II wasn't loaded"
Just q second" said Mr., Feeher
apelegetieally' "I'll give you some
shells"
mo" ! replied, 1--WE had my chance
You try II now"
Mr.. FEEDER loaded the gun cautiously
Evening star., 1928-11-25

A-hunting We will go,
A-hunttng we will CO.,
Tentatively, tentatively, tentatively
A-hunttng we will so.
THI6 is e,Klnd.to.Anlnal Week
turkeys excepted, In other
words, this Is the week when Mr..
l. Feeber and are scheduled to
go UP to Lake Patootie for what
he DESCRIBES medestly as 70 little shoot
ing" AS human recreation, Mr.. Feeb-
ers duck hunting expeditions rank with
the Sunday afternoon excursions OF the
East Teabone Nature Study Class The
only difference is that Mr.. Feeher car
ries a shotgun instead Of a pair OF
Put Mr., Feeher among the clay pipes
and glass balls in a shooting gallery,
and he Is fairly good maFksman; he
peppeth enc Of three, But glass balls
do not q dinner make nor pipes OF clay
q duck. And nohody wants to look at
snapshots Of a man standing proudly,
gun in hand, with one foot on a pile Of
broken pinestemg labeled "A Good
Days Bag at the Sixth Avenue Penny
Arcade
Nevertheless, Mr., FEEDER persists in
the deluslon that he is direct descend
ant Of old Nimred himself. Personally,
suspect that he Is calendar con-
scteus," to borrow phrase from the
psychologists In the advertising depart
rnent, Various business houses send
him calendars every year, and, instead
of giving them to the janitor as q sensi-
bic man should, ne hangs them IN his
once.
Sometimes these calendars are deco
rated with portraits OF tevsrish, young
ladies gFlnning at lilies, Compliments
Of the Quality MaEket-"We Butcher
Our Own Hags,"l Bat usually they de-
p!et out.otsdeeF scenes In which
hfawny huntRmen stand knee-deep In
purple water and shoot at flying geese
siiheuetted against crimson sunset,
Compliments Of the Inevitable Life In
sufanee Go. Every Wife Potential
WideW,"l
One year MIR, Feeher got q calendar
with picture OF bunch of dead ducks
on 1t, and 1t delighted him SO that he
framed 1t and hung it over his desk, On
humid Summer afternoons, gazing at
these dead ducks, he would feel soma
primitive urge stirring within him-the
lust to kill, Then he would stroll rest
lessiy to the window, swat few flies
and begin making plans for his annual
duck-huntlng expedition,
you can tAIk all you please about
golf and tennis and double canfield, "
he would say TO me oontemptuously
but for real sport give me a boat and
gun and handful of shells"
This was merely rhetorical request
he already had boat and q gun and
handful Of shells--as every one know
who had ever eonversed with him for
more than Ave minutes. The boat was
an eight-fcet duck boat modelled after
kayak, the gun was q l2-gauge
double -barreled hammerless with auto
matte etector, and the shells were No
% short string progressive burning
Snaekeless. Mr.. FEEDER talked about them
so much that 1 used to dream about
them at night. They became a leg
endary trinity, like Wynkep, Blynken
and Nod, or Ales, Wines and Liquors
| y
TT was not until last November thai
actually saw them, For years Mr.
Fsesef had urged me to go up to Lake
Pateetie during the Thanksgiving heli'
days and help him eXteTHinate q few
ducks, but ] had usually been able te
think of q plausible excuse for stayine
al home. Last year, however, my pow
Evening star., 1928-11-25

Are they coming Sister Aane7" /
asked.
mo" he said.
well, we've certainly fooled those
ducks haven't Weq" ! chuekled, "I'll
bet they don't even know we're here"
I'VE ought to 60 out nearer the de-
coys," said Mr. FEEDER, displaying that
uneanny sixth sense which dis"
tlnguishes old woedsmen and interior
decorators, Taking the oars, he pro-
PEELED our floating ambush out into
the lake.
"LookI" ! cried suddenly, pointing TO
they're ducks; it's too cold for mesaui-
toes"
Mr.. Feeber dropped the oars. "They
are ducks" no said IN the hushed tones
Evening star., 1928-11-25
the Of Two Mighty Hunters Who Looking
Ducks but Found only DukneA Trip the Lake With Hard
Boiled

ers Of invention failed. As q result !
found rnyseif standing on the shores OF
Lake Patootie In the chill Novemhef
dawn while the rest OF the world stu
lay in bed and dreamed OF Thanks
giving dinner.
Ducks are noterieusly early Users,
and 1t had been necessary for US TO
drive all night in order to reach our
happy hunting ground before their
breakfast hour Apparently We were ~
plenty OF time, There wasn't q duck
In sight. II was q holiday and they
must have been sleeping late,
This was just as well. Ior. we mac q
great deal 10 do and our activities were
hampeFed somewhat by cur hunting
costumes, which consisted OF hiphoots,
corduroy hreeehes, game bags, Ieathar
jackets and canvas hunting caps WIN
earfiaps which tied over tho top. These
caps had visers fore and aft so that
the ducks would be unable to tell
whether we we're coming or going,
The first thing we had TO do was 10
set the stage for our hunting scene,
Mr., FeNbeF arranged his deeoys with the
, care Of Beiaseo, They. were eneu"
matte deeeys made OF rubber ana IN"
hated like foot balls, Mr., FEEDER was
quite proud Of them; They're muea ndsN, neI,
VSS&Sfs
ones" he eenfided, y tried them out
| in the hathtub at hons and they
hoated In very life-like manner"
After we had padded around on Inc
lake for halt an hour distributing the
pneumatic deeeys we returned TO the
| shore and Mr.. Feeber began gathering
a quantity of hulrushes, dry grass and
| straw,
"Ah," I said eagerly, rubbing my
hands, "a bonfire, eh9"
mo" replied Mr.. Feeber, "a blind, y
, He dumped the rubbish into the boat
and then climbed In and began cover
| ing himself with II, First he plated me
straw and dFaped 1t about his waist,
Then he stuck bulrushes In his collar
and dry grass under his cap and
eFeuched naotionless In the bottom OF
the boat,
"Feeher," I said, looking him In the
eye lthe other eye being hidden pes
| hind the shFubhery), "aFe you afraid et
these dueksP II you are, say So It's
nothing TO be ashamed OF. We all nave
our little phobias,"
"I'm not afraid of them" he assured
me, but don't want them TO see me,
II they see me they'll ny away before
can shoot them"
IF they see YOU. you won't nave %
shoot them" replied, They'll laugh
themselves TO death"
"Youd better get under cover your
| self" Mr., FeebeF advised neryeusIy.
"They may be along any minute now. )"
followed his example, garnlshins
myself with weeds and wisps OF straw
until I locked and felt like dfypoint
etching. Then ! took my place beside
Mr. Feeher In the bottom OF the boat
and waited for the ducks Just babes In
the woods we were, nesting under the
leaves.
| n u ~
| A r The end of two hnurs Mr.