Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 84, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 April 1918 — Page 2

The Birthday Party

By SUSAN CLAGETT

(Copyright. »18. by the McClure Newgpaper Syndicate.) A crunch of feet upon the hard snow; a gurgle of laughter ending in a scream of delight. Blair Henderson lifted his head, a smile upon his lips. He glanced at his desk piled high with work, hesitated, turned toward the window, paused again, then walked across the room, threw up the sash and leaned out. At the moment uo one was in sight; then, amid a gale of laughter, a bobbed came from the end of the house rushing with the fleetness of the wind down the steeply sloping lawn. Blair counted as the sled passed. “Where on earth did the youngster get them ah" he wondered. His gaze followed the children out of sight then came hack to a woman standing near the steps leading up to the house. She did not turn her head and. given the opportunity, he watched her intently noting the wind-blown hair; the brilliant color of the half-seen cheek. He was struck, too, by the perfect poise of his sister’s friend who had been a guest in his home for several weeks. Absorbed In his work he had scarcely noticed her before; had shown her only such courtesy as was dne hfer as a house guest. meeting her only at meal time, and lately not then. He had given this no heed. Now. as he watched her, be idly wondered if she had been away and had just returned. As the thought came to him she ran quickly up the steps and into the hall.

An hour later a very tired little boy crept into Ills uncle’s arms to tell of Ms wonderful afternoon. “You know, It’s my birthday, an’ Mower gave me a party an’ told me I could go out into the *byways and hedges' an’ gather ’em in. I didn’t know just what she meant. Uncle Blair an* I didn’t see no hedges an’ no byways, but I went out on the street an’ found Jimmy .who sells papers an’ Macks shoes. He’s great —and Jimmy told me *bout the apple boy who lives way off from here, an’ we went for Mm an* he told me of Bobby Burns. He has only one leg, but that didn’t make any difference ’cause his crutch walks as fast as the good leg. An’ coming back we met the butcher’s W. and I asked him as nice as I could an’ when we got back Tim was here an’ cook’s boy and girl.” The man laughed. “I hope your mother had enough to eat." . “It was just beautiful. There was ice cream hearts an’ cakes an’ san’wtches an’ Ellen told us stories about St Valentine, ’cause I’m a Valentine baby. Did you know that, uncle Blalrr Blair the elder drew the boy close. •‘‘Surely, the most wonderful valentine I ever heard of. But who is ‘Ellen ?’ ” The boy looked surprised. “Why, you see her every day.” < “I do? Then perhaps I don’t know her by that name. But it sounds familiar." He thought for a moment, diving back into old memories. “I had a little sweetheart by that name. She was just about as big as you and she sent me a valentine every year until after I went to college. I have one of them in the back of my watch where I can look at it now and then.” He pulled out his watch, opened it and gazed at the picture within with a reminiscent smile. “That was the last one she sent me and I never heard from her again. lam always looking for her and sometime I hope? I will find her."The youngster looked at the drawing with interest. “Ellen’s watch has one. too,” he said. “A big boy gave It to her when she was a J little girl. Isn’t it funny both of you’ve got pictures, only hers is lots prettier. Two little birds, she calls them love birds, kissing each other —lots prettier than those hearts with a stick running through ’em." The watch closed with a snap and a look of keen interest crept into the man’s eyes. “I must make the acquaintance of this wonderful lady who tells stories and carries love birds about with her. Where can we find her?*’ Blair looked at his uncle in astonishment. “Don’t you really, truly know her? She’s been here a long ’time. She did go away but came back yesterday, an’ she’s been slldin’ down lilll all morale’. You’re jokin’ Uncle Blair.” “Do you mean Miss Fairbanks? Is she ‘Ellen T ” Blair junior nodded. “An’ now I must go an’ it certainly is nice to have birthday parties." Slipping from his unde’s knees the boy marched from the room leaving the man in a brown Study from which he did not emerge until aroused by the opening of the library door. The girt paused as she was about to enter, then came into the room. Even then she ‘seemed to hesitate, he thought, and watched her Intently as she approached, searching for some resemblance between this woman of graceful bearing and the awkward but lovable child who had grown into his heart when a youth. He offered her his chair and himself stood before the giowing fire. He was unconsdous of the intentmss of his gaze as he searched her iftce and as she did not speak at once, said abruptly: “My nephew has made of my mind j« maze of memories, Miss Fairbanks, nrm you, b* «o good as to push year

hair back a trifle from your left ear. I do not mean to be rude, but 1 want to identify you, aS your name is unfamiliar. I lost a very dear friend • years ago. I have looked for her but have not found her. Today Blair tells me she may have been in my home for weeks past.” From the depths of her chair she looked up at him. There was a little smile about her lips as she replied: “The years have effaced the scar. Mr. Henjiersou, if it is that you have in mind.” “Thank heaven if there is no trace of It. I have always been afraid I disfigured you for life. But without it how am I to know that you are really you?” “Am 1 so greatly changed?” “You have heard of the duckling and- the swan?" “Surely it was not as bad as that, but now that yon mention It I recall that, you named me ‘duckling.’ ” She laughed. “I have been wondering how long it would take you to remember me and when I entered the room I had reached the moment when I-despaired of telepathy. Mr. Henderson. I must have made of your life a burden. Boys do not always care for adoration, and I adored yOu.” “It developes chivalry In the right sort of a fellow.” he answered thoughtfully, as he watched her. have often wondered what became of you; why you should have dropped so utterly from out my life. I was bewildered when I found you gone. I had been so long accustomed to adoration that It was hard to adjust myself to the colder attitude of those about me. You had grown into the very fibres of my being. The duckling was lovable. I missed her and I missed the care I took of her, although the scars did not attest to it. I wanted to die when I saw you lying in the snow with the blood running down your face.” He smiled at the remembrance. “No one seemed to know where your father went aifter your mother’s death. But I made a covenant with myself; to find you. I never thought of you as grown up. It was always as my little sweetheart, which of course was foolish."

“Why, of course." she asked sedately. “Don’t you think a child can retain a memory?” She unpinned the watch hanging upon her breast, opened It and held it so that he could see two little birds drawn upon a scrap of paper. “I can match that.” He snapped his own open showing two hearts pierced by a dart. “But there was something else.” He was showing more of earnestness than the occasion seemed to demand. The girl colored. “I have forgotten.” “Your pardon, but I think not.” She still held her watch, but as he spoke it fell from her fingers Something bright rolled away from it and a slip of paper fell so that a line of writing was visible. Blair Henderson stooped, his color rising as he picked up the trifles. “Why did you say that you had forgotten?” he asked. “Did you believe the boy could know what he wanted and not desire it as a man?” He looked at the tiny ring set with turquoise forget-me-nots; the scrap of paper upon which was written ‘to my wife.’ “Was that the reason?” “Why should I remember anything when for four weeks I have been a guest in your home and you did not recognize me?” “That is over and done with. I know you now, although I yet do not understand your change of name. Are you going to play with me or will you be honest and give me the chance to show you the man is as earnest as the boy once was?” “I think, Blair, the difference between the man and the boy is only a matter of years. He. seems about the same to me." “And the-girl? Has she changed?” “When her father died she was adopted by a very dear aunt and took her name. The years made a great difference in appearance, but otherwise she "did not alter. Old memories were too precious to part with and she still clings to them. I cannot play with you. Blair. I am happy in the thought that boy and man are of the same mind, and if the little ring was not so small I would be wearing it now.” “That is a fault easily remedied,” he returned, as he drew her to him. “You must let me have the measure of your fipger.”

Why the Blue Heron Is Funny.

Did you ever watch a great blue heron fishing? Knee deep he stands in some pool, stream or bay, and no marble statue has anything on him for being immovable, says the Philadelphia Ledger. Presently some member of the finny tribe, perhaps a chap out of class or the whole school even, wanders by beneath the crystal depth and —whack! The combination of long bent neck and dagger bill does a stunt that is both funny and effective and generally gets the fish. The entire aspect is peculiar and hard to describe; It is much like a miniature and plumed clothesrack with a crazy tongs attachment, the latter being lengthened by a released watchspring. You can see it, but merely so; no more than that.

Cross Purposes.

“Brother Hardesty, you believe in the efficacy of prayer, don’t you?” “§ure I do.” “Well, some of us have been praying that we may be able to raise money enough to build a new meeting house this year, you know." “Yes, and some of us has been prayin’ that we may, be able to make the old one last one more year; an’ that’s the prayer. Brother Keepalong, that’s fo*a’ to be answered.”

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND.

MOTOR FOR REMOVING SNOW DRIFTS

The fad of Ice skating is making such a hit among the frozen people of the East that this clever invention has been devised by the superintendent of parks, -Boston, tot' removing snow drifts and enabling skaters to have a smooth surface over which to glide. The blade can be adjusted to any angle, and it makes a clean job of the deepest snow piles. Mr. R. J. Hayden conceived this new method of removing the snow, and he Intends to offer it to the government for use at the army cantonments.

SET OF VALVES OF IMPORTANCE

Few Realize Need of Adjustment of Lifters—They Are Hard to Reach. THEY ARE OFTEN NEGLECTED Best Engine In World Will Lose Power If It la Not Given Attention at Proper Time—Twisting Wrong Nut Is Harmful. One seldom realizes the importance of correct adjustment of the valve lifters, yet the best engine In the world will lose power if these are not properly set. Since they are usually difficult to reach, dirty to handle, and do not force themselves on the driver’s attention, they are neglected until the trouble becomes really serious. Of course if they become noisy the knocking l§Bo noticeable that the owner Is forced to make adjustments immediately. But ordinarily these parts receive scant attention and so the loss of power is attributed to either the carburetor or ignition, until a thorough overhauling of the motor leads to the discovery of the real trouble. As aforementioned, they may become noisy, due to the fact that the space becomes too wide. As they rise they give a hammer blow to the valve stems, causing a knock which may readily be heard. By stopping the motor, removing the valve cover plates end shaking them up and down the ones out of adjustment may readily be located. ■

Examine Adjustment Carefully. Sometimes several are at fault, so, while about it, set all of them. Examine the adjustment carefully to understand it, for much damage may be caused by twisting the wrong nut. One is locking nut, which must be loosened first.* The adjustment nut is then set to the right distance and the locking nut. fastened. The opening should approximate one-sixty-fourth inch for exhaust valves, and three-one-thousandths iiich for inlet valves. Use an ordinary business car as a gauge for the exhaust valve clearance. If possible to have a card the right thickness it is best to do so. This can be readily measured with a micrometer. A piece of notepaper is about right for inlet valve clearance. It will be found difficult to adjust the space correctly unless the following directions are followed: Place the desired gauge in space and screw adjusting nut until it touches. Now unscrew it either one-sixth or one-fourth turn. ’Chen lock the nut that holds it in place. Try the gauge and see if it has just a slight friction. Reason for Unscrewing. The reason for unscrewing the adjusting nut is that the locking-nut pushes it up and so throws the adjustment out of true. If the clearance becomes too great the valves open late and close early. Since they should move exactly as the designer intended, it is evident that the engine will lose power if both ends of a stroke are cut off. If the clearance is too small the engine will lose compression and with it a great deal -of power. This is due to the fact that as the engine heats up the valve stem lengthens. As they grow longer they use the space between valve stem and valve lifter. If the space is too small the valve stem rests on valve lifter. As It lengthens the head of the valve is lifted off its seat in the cylinder, opening the valve and so losing the compression. It will be evident from this that valve clearance is one of the important things about a motor and one that should be borne in mind and inspected whenever one looks for causes of lost power.

Look After Water and Oil.

When you go motoring look after your water and oil first. These, are mon important than your gas supply.

EIGHT SIMPLE RULES FOR SAVING GASOLINE

Suggestions Made Are Principally on Handling Car. Carburetor Adjustment of Great Importance and Should Not Be Attempted by Inexperienced Owner—Oil Is Essential. No matter what the car, or what its size, the driver can save gasoline- if he will follow the simple suggestions made by an engineer of a big automobile concern. Most of them are a matter of handling the car. Here they are—eight of them: Carburetor adjustment is of prime importance. A mixture that is too rich or too lean will cause more gasoline to be used in performing a given amount of labor than a correct mixture. But don’t attempt to adjust your carburetor unless you know how. Economical Speed. Most cars have what may be termed an economical speed. It ranges from 12 to 20 miles per hour. When you get above that speed the amount of gas used per mile Increases. Anticipate slowing up and stops. Close the throttle and disengage the clutch far enough ahead of the place you want to stop so that very little use of the brake will be necessary. Whenever you use the brakes you destroy momentum that has required gasoline to create. Accelerate gradually. It takes less gas to do that than to reach a fast gait quickly. Gas Makes No Showing. Whenever you allow the engine to run with the car standing you are using up gas that doesn’t make any showing on your odometer. See that the brakes are properly adjusted. Tight brakes cause friction and frlctlon takes power, and hence gasoline, to overcome. Good lubricating oil is also essential to gasoline economy. Finally, tires should be properly inflated. Soft tires drag and require more ■ power to propel the car than tires containing correct air pressure.

GIVES DIRECTION OF MOTOR

Visible Signal Provided Mounted to Swing to Either Side—Chauffeur Has Control. \ t In Illustrating and describing an indicator for motor vehicles, Invented by B. M. Takahashi of Harlowtown, Mont., the Scientific American says: The mechanism provided is capable of being attached to existing motor vehicles for indicating to pedestrians, chauffeurs and drivers of other vehicles, traffic officers and the like, the di-

Indicator for Motor Vehicles.

rection which the driver of the motoi vehicle intends to take, to the right, the left, or straight ahead, and wherein a visible signal is provided mounted to swing to either side and normally, occupying a central position, together with controlling mechanism under the control of the chauffeur for swinging the signals. s

WHEN BATTERY NEEDS WATER

Dial Recently Invented by Garage Man, Makes Lack Known—Warning Signal la Given. An instrument, recently invented by a garage man indicates by its dial on the dashboard when the storage battery of an automobile needs water ‘through evaporation or leakage of the electrolyte In any of its cells. The dial is that of a voltmeter installed on the dash and connected to the battery by wires forming a closed circuit When the fluid in the battery reaches a dangeronaly low level, the warning signal appears behind the glass er the dlaL

CONSERVATION IS FASHION KEYNOTE

New York. —The new French fashions give us pause. They have a sudden and peculiar interest for us that we did not expect, observes a fashion authority. There is a Grecian revival of importance. There is the revival of the fashion which was once made so commonplace in this country that It became a joke; the long, straight, corslet frock to the knees, with the pleated flounce headed by a wide sash tied in the back. There are Chinese clothes galore. Chinese embroideries, sleeves, tassels, galloons and tunics flicker all through the first fashions. All that we have prophesied in this country concerning the cut-to-the-bone silhouette came true. Paris not only conserves wool, but evidently considers it necessary tq conserve all other materials.

There is nothing novel in fabrics, except the Egyptian tissues, the use of exceedingly soft patent leather and a new material that has a Roman stripe in It The French Revolution is represented in the broad, striped silks and other fabrics. Black and white stripes are not as much used as beige and blue, red and blue and gold and cream. Two months ago it was rumored that satin was commonplace this spring and not to be included in the best clothes. Either the rumor had foundation at the time, which is probable, or it had no foundation and was given to us in America from Paris without thought as to what It would mean In this country. We were all told to discard our satin gowns, and the reporters of fashion sent the idea through the channels of commerce. As it happens satin is the chief fabric used in Paris for the new gowns, disputing the place with georgette crepe, chantilly lace and weaves of silk net, plain and embroidered. Reviving Primitive Gowns. Possibly, the fact of first importance in the frocks that Paris sends to this country, is the revival of the kind of frocks which were worn by women in the earlier ages of the world. The designers in France who went back to Greece, took the gowns with which we are most familiar and reproduced them for our every-day usage. The most conspicuous of these show the antique lines to perfection. There is the loose decolletage at the top, caught on the shoulders with buckles; sometimes, there is the drapery failing backward from the arms; there Is the gold line at the edge of the flowing tunic and the narrow, limp skirt that is longer than most of the others offered for our choice. We do not think of Grecian costumery in colors; we always visualize it in dead white and gold. But a few of the

This New Spring Dinner Gown Is of Gray Satin, With Deep Girdle Tied at the Side. Over Bare Shouldersand Arms Is a Greek Cape of Gray Chiffon.

French designers have used the Idea and departed so far from white that one sees mixtures of green and gold and golden embroidery; also that curious gray-green that is called Tanagra, and here and there, touches of exceedingly well cut jet_ - Even the designers who go back into antiquity for their models do not sacrifice the fashionable silhouette, which is slimmer than ever. A few gowns and suits seem to have been cut by the same master hand, or directed by the same master mind. They are identical in idea and they will probably ba turned out as uniforms in this country. Otherwise, there is much novelty in the frocks, and the combination of materials which the conservation of wool demands, brings about an appearance of novelty that sometimes fioea het really exist Ike young generation has grown up

in the belief that a gown must be made of the same material, and therefore, whatever deviates in fashion from that accepted principle, is looked upon as a dangerous experiment or as something unique to be instantly accepted. There is no doubFthat the one-piece costume is no longer necessary to fashion or good taste. Danger lies in these piece-meal gowns, of which all writers have warned the public. Yet, the fashion is here and must be reckoned with. What About the Fabrics? The shops over this continent should find joy in the” fact that the French gowns are not built of uncommon and difficult fabrics. What was on the shelf last spring can be brought out this spring and sold to the most fasti-

Sports Suit of White Fiber—Silk Jersey With Sleeveless Blouse Turned Up at Hem to Form Series of Pockets. All Edges Buttonholed With Canary Yellow Worsted.

dious customer. The dressmakers sere not in such good luck, and therefore, not in such high feather. The casual observer, looking over the French display, may say that gowns have changed so little that women need not put their hands in their purses., But the dressmakers and the reporters know that this is not so. Paris has changed everything sufficiently to lure women into renewing their wardrobes. The shops should reap an abundant harvest from this move In Paris. The minor dressmakers should make a great deal of money. As to the exceedingly high-priced dressmakers —those who begin at two hundred and fifty dollars for a gown—they are still nervous. - There is so much lace that we may be dressed, in it every day from four o’clock on. The Chantilly shawl has come back into fashion, and it is an easy prophecy that every woman who owns one will be trying to sell it before this month has turned into April. All the colored woolens, serge, Jersey, Cherult twill, gaberdine, satin, chiffon, and tulle are just where they were last year. What of the New Sults? The American woman has revived, her interest in coat suits. She went on a one-piece frock debauch a year ago and is slowly recovering from It. France turns out an astonishing number of gowns that are delectable, yet the suit is shown more consideration than has been accorded it for two years. In it will be more worn than in France. The tailors should have enough t« ■ do this spring to keep them from financial trouble. On every side smart women and others who are engaged in all kinds of office and open-air rellei work Insist that they need today a slim coat and skirt of wool. They know they can be patriotic enough to keep within the four and a half yard measurement, as the new silhouette does not demand more. They are eagerly accepting the fashion for a checked skirt and a plain coat, for a satin Zouave jacket and « woolen skirt, or the other way around. A vast number are demanding suits of twill gaberdine and serge which are made on severe lines, and this return ! to the early American fashion of a mannish costume for the - open air should be encouraged by every powerful means. In all the suits, no matter what the material or the choice of color or combined -colors, the skirt is narrow, although it need not be tucked tn at the hem, and the jacket is short. It reaches the top of the high girdle, It just escapes the curve of the hips, or it rests on the bone of the hips. (Copyright, IMS. by the McClure Newspaper Syndicate.)

Black Satin Stock.

' One of the new collars consists of a stock of black satin, unrelieved by any white to which is attached a btg jabot of fine meshed cream colored net, edged with lace. The effect is decidedly smart, although the ahrtace of any white la the stock migtU Ml be well borne by soma faces.