MR. PIKE
88
By R. H. WILKINSON
©. Bell Syndicate.—WNtl Service.
IT HAD rained the night before.
The grass on the common was
not yet wholly dry. though the
hour was close to nine in the
morning, and the precipitation had long
since ceased.
The sun occasionally looked from he
hind scudding clouds.
Mr. Pike, gentleman of the streets,
member of that vast and ever-increas
ing army of unemployed (but by
choice) paused at the edge of Ills fa
vorite grass plot, stretched, yawned,
gazed judicially up at the weather,
stooped and frisked the spears of green
with a flattened hand.
A look of doubt and annoyance re
placed the usual complacency of Ids
expression.
The morning was well advanced;
8:45 was the accustomed hour flint Mr.
Pike stretched out full length in the
warm sunshine of his favorite grass
plot and gave himself over to slumber.
Still bearing the look of annoyance.
Mr. Pike took n few tentative steps off
the cement sidewalk and stood Irreso
lutely in the damp grass, trying to de
cide whether or not he could resist the
luxury of his habitual mld-mornlng
snooze, or risk the possibility of n rack
Ing cold by succumbing to It.
To the right and left of him other
Gentlemen of the Streets reclined in
various positions.
Some few. like Mr. I’ike, stood erect
with doubtful expressions; others, the
less fastidious, the less particular and
apparently the less susceptible to rack
ing colds, were already stretched on
their backs, indifferent to the damp
ness.
A third group tiad spread forth news
papers as a protective measure.
Toward tills latter group Mr. Pike
cast envious glances.
It was a pity, he thought, that a man
didn’t have 2 cents In his jeans to buy
a newspaper.
There were so many uses to which
one could put a newspaper.
Kven one of tire tabloid editions
wouldn't go amiss.
Mr. Pike sighed heavily and wished
for the hundredth time that the day
might come when his finances would
permit ttie purchase of a morning news
paper.
After a while he sighed ugaln. and
sat down.
The dampness, he told himself, wasn't
as bad as he thought.
And the scudding clouds had nearly
all dispersed
Mr. Pike yawned, lay hack on his
elbows, yawned again, reclined full
length, tipped Ills battered felt hat for
ward and slept.
It was past noon when Mr. Pike
awoke.
The sun was radiating heat from a
clear sky, and from its position Mr
Pike could tell that he had overslept.
Somewhat perturbed, he got hurried
ly to his feet, paused only long enough
to stretch and carefully brush from his
tattered Jacket the spears of grass tha*
hod gathered there, and moved with a
slightly better than shuffling pace to
ward the nearest cement walk.
No one paid Mr. Pike a great deal
of heed as he threaded his way along
the crowded walks; but the indiffer
ence of fellow human beings had long
since ceased to bother him.
In fact, to have been accosted, would,
at the moment, have proved extremely
annoying.
Mr. Pike crossed Tremont street and
headed east.
Shortly he turned Into a less trav
eled thoroughfare, later turned again
and so presently came abreast of a
building In front of which n line of
dowdy looking males made halting
progress toward the entrance.
Mr. Pike fell in at the foot of the
line, and found various spots along the
building’s side a comfortable lounging
place.
Eventually, Mr. Pike found himself
Inside the building, and was served a
steaming bowl of soup and three crack
ers.
He found n place toward the end of
a long table.
He ate with a certain amount of
leisure, unhurriedly, relishing each
mouthful.
His attitude was that of a man con
templating weighty problems while con
suming luncheon.
And, Indeed, Mr. Pike was contem
plating a weighty problem.
He was perturbed, annoyed nnd ex
tremely worried.
For, despite the brightness of that
noonday sun, perceived by Mr. Pike on
awaking 30 minutes before, he knew as
the result of many previous scrutinies
of that same sun that before the next
night was ended It would tigiln rain.
And If It rained, Mr. Pike's favorite
grass plot would, on the morrow, un
doubtedly be even damper than on this
day.
Mr. Pike returned to the common via
the same route, walk'ng slowly, men
tally laboring with his problem.
He found an empty se:it on a bench
and sat down, wholly Ignoring the
movement of nn extremely well dressed
gentleman, who edged away from the
proximity of Mr. Pike's dowdy figure.
For more than an hour Mr. Pike sat
on the bench slowly turning over and
over In his mind the matter of tomor
row morning’s dampened grass plot.
The well-dressed gentleman, nfter
ten minutes of waiting, tint] departed
and In passing had cast a wholly re
pulsive glance toward the contempla
tive Mr. Pike.
But the glance went begging; for
Mr. Pike had Ids own private opinion
of men who could afford to sit on park
benches in mid-day with never a prob
lem to consider.
The afternon waned and Mr. Pike
exchanged ids bench scat for another,
one more fully exposed to the rays of
tlie declining sun.
After a while lie dozed, awoke toward
five o’clock and immediately took up
again the consideration of Ids I in me
diate problem.
At 5:30 Mr. Pike stood up and saun
teded Idly toward ’Fremont street and
the soup kitchen.
lie arrived in time to gain fourth
position in the line of waiting men.
The man ahead turned and spoke
throntlly about nothing more impor
tant than the weather, yet Mr. Pike
fairly jumped at mention of ttie sub
Ject and looked so strangely toward
the speaker that that worthy turned
back without waiting for a reply.
At <5:45 Mr. Pike had returned to the
common.
But now. Instead of sitting down, he
began a systematic patrol of the net
work of walks.
It was tiresome work, but Mr. Pike
did not for a single Instant waver.
Uis mind was set; his problem, to he
solved, demanded action.
Providence must have guided Mr.
Pike’s footsteps, for during the hour
when daylight merges Into dusk and
dusk into darkness, his ever searching
eyes fe” upon a dull gleam beneath one
of the park benches.
Stooping, he picked up a silver coin,
a 10 cent piece that had evidently full
en from a bench-sitter's pocket.
Mr. Pike held the tiny bit of silver
in bis hand and looked at it. conscious
of n warm glow of satisfaction, con
scious, too, of a feeling that conies to
a man who has labored and received
his reward.
Pocketing the coin, Mr. Pike sighed
heavily, contentedly, ami slouched on
to the nearest bench.
. . . The rain did not cense till
early morning.
At nine o'clock the sky was still over
cast. the ground beneath still spongy
ns a result of the heavy precipitation.
Mr. Pike approached his favorite
grass plot and unhesitatingly stepped
from the concrete walk.
The hint of a smile played about his
mouth as he felt the dampness through
the thin soles of his shoes.
(leaching what he estimated was a
spot likely to receive the first rays of
the soon-to-appear sun, Mr. Pike paused
for a moment to stare triumphantly
about him.
He saw others of his class standing
erect, or squatting on bits of stone or
reclining on the scanty protection of
fered by a dn.v-old newspaper.
For a moment Mr. Pike stood thus,
warmly conscious of envious glances
thrown In his direction.
Then dramatically he removed from
beneath his tattered coat a great bulk
of newspaper and began spreading one
thickness after another atop the damp
grass.
And as each thickness went down,
the look of triumph and utter content
ment became more pronounced on Mr.
Pike’s face.
For the day was Sunday and Mr.
Pike had purchased with Ills find of
the night before a Sunday edition,
which provided enough thicknesses to
withstand most any dampness..
Red Light for Growth
Remarkable results concerning the.
elTect of different colors on the growth
of plants have been obtained at the
Rose Research Institute at Calcutta,
says the Montreal Herald. An Ini
portant feature Is that the expinna
tion suggested is Independent of the
characteristic action of light in build
ing up tlie coloring matter of plants,
and may, therefore, he applicable to
other forms of life. It lias been found
that red light, directly applied, causes
plants to grow more rapidly, although
blue light has a retarding Influence
It was also found that when white
light was allowed to fall on a plan:
only at some distance from the grow
ing areas the rate of growth was in
creased.
To Preserve Jrushe*
Good paint brushes deserve goon
treatment. Never leave your brushes
In the paint pot. While painting ses
sions are on, keep the brushes in an
old can filled with turpentine, but
when the painting Is finished, wasr.
the brushes well in soap and water
Much of the paint can lie squeezed
out first with the hands, covered with
newspaper. Very thorough washing is
necessary; the hairs may have to be
well worked or massaged in hot soapy
water before till the paint is removed.
Then brushes should he dried thor
ouglily.
~-rr«y
Let Our Motto Be
GOOD HEALTH
BY DR. LLOYD ARNOLD
Professor of Bacteriology and Preventive
Medicine. University of Illinois,
College of Medicine.
HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
We hear so many people speak of
high blood pressure as If It were a
disease that per
naps it would be
well to state that
high blood pressure
is not a disease.
People do not die
of high blood pres
sure. But high blood
pressure Is a symp
tom that something
Is wrong with the
health of the body.
The blood circu
lates within a closed
system of vessels
in the body. The
neart is the central pumping mechan
ism. The Inrge outbound vessels from
the heart are called arteries. These
gradually become smaller In diameter
the farther they get away from the
heart, until they finally end In smnll
thread-like capillaries. There are many
hundreds of these capillaries branch
ing ofl’ like the limbs of a tree from
the small arteries in the skin, muscles
and organs.
The capillaries are the distributing
agents. As the blood in the large arter
ies leading from the pumping station,
the heart, is under considerable pres
sure in order to insure a proper dis
tribution of blood, the walls of the
arteries must be able to bear the load.
So the larger the artery, the heavier is
the load.
After tile blood passes through the
capillaries It returns to the heart
through the veins. These veins begin
ns very small vessels close to the capil
laries and increase gradually In size
ns they approach the heart. Hut the
walls of the veins are never ns thick
as those of the nrteries, for the blood
Is not under very much pressure In
the venous system.
The volume or amount of blood In
the body remains relatively constant.
The absorption of water and other
fluids and the excretion by the kid
neys and the sweat glands maintain a
constant blood volume or balance. In
case of high blood pressure, the ca
pacity of the vascular system Is usual
ly decreased. Hence the pressure In
creases because the volume of blood
remains constant. The capacity of the
vascular system decreases In most In
stances because the arteries become
hardened and hence cannot dilnte and
Increase In size with each heart beat,
ns they should. This Inability to di
late and increase In size normally Is
called arterlo-sclerosis or aging of the
arteries.
Certain forms of heart disease also
play a part In high blood pressure.
High Mood pressure In older adults
Is due many times to injuries of the
heart nnd the kidney during child
hood or adolescence, caused by some
infectious disease. The primary dam
age Is done at that time and the
gradual development of sear tissue
finally uses up all the reserve power
of either the heart or the kidney and
an elevation in blood pressure is mani
fested in later life.
The Important factors to determine
in high blood pressure then are (1)
the state of the arteries, (2) the size
nnd efficiency of the heart, (3) the
state of the kidneys. The fact that
one has higli blood pressure is usually
brought out ns the result of a phys
ical examination made by a physician,
and the control of It, after it has de
veloped. necessitah>s frequent medical
examination and intelligent co-opern
lion with the physician. Other factors
than the state of the blood vessels,
llie heart nnd the kidneys may be
involved too.
The best time to begin treatment
for high blood pressure is the time
when it starts to rise.
The individual with high blood pres
j sure, after determining the cause and
following the physician’s direction,
should guard against strenuous physi
j cal exercise as much as possible.
Strong contractions of the muscles
! >f the arms and legs always increases
hlood pressure by decreasing the vol
ume of hlood In the muscles while
they are contracted, and hence there
is rapidly Increasing blood pressure
1 for a short ime. Tbit may lie disas
trous to an individual with high hlood
pressure. Worry and overwork, sleep
lessness and physical exhaustion, will
also increase the hlood pressure above
the normal, and should be guarded
against.
l.o\v hlood pressure Is usually as Im
portant a danger signal for the older
individual as high blood pressure, how
hlood pressure in many instances Is
due to a decrease in the efliclency of
the heart muscle. There Is decreased
pumping force of the heart and hence
a lessened pressure within the arterial
system.
Tlie individual wltii high blood pres
sure or low blood pressure should not
delay in consulting ■ physician.
©. Western Newspaper Union.
BEAR
Prepared by the National Geographic Society
Washington. D. C.— WNU Service.
IF AN imaginative child could be
transported from a visit to nn
American toy simp to the midst
of on Australian eucalyptus for
est, and there shown for the 'first time
die Australian native bear, or Koala,
climbing among the brandies and nib
bling the leaves, lie would be hard to
convince that the teddy hears lie had
been inspecting had not been brought
magically to life; for tlie Koala, with
his round roly-poly body, short arms
and pointed nose, is the living proto
type of the Jolly toy bear that helps
make Christmas morning merry in
many nn American nursery.
Koalas are found In eastern nnd
southeastern Australia, hut do not oc
cur on any of the neighboring islands
nr in the western half of the continent.
They were probably once t lie most
common animals in the Australian
bush, but about 40 years ago a wide
spread epidemic overtook them and
they died by thousands.
they also were hunted extensively
for the sake of their warm, thick fur,
and ns a result are now extinct In New
South Wales. A few hundred are still
to be found In Victoria, In carefully
protected localities, nnd a fair number
remain In Queensland. I.lttle Is known
af the nature of the disease that so
nearly exterminated them, but study is
being given the subject now, with a
view to preserving the remnants of
this formerly numerous species.
The Konla Is one of the most Inter
“Stlng of Australian animals. He has
a thick, grayish-colored fur, a proml
nent black nose, and stands about two
feet high. A good specimen weighs
about 30 pounds. He Is one of the
aiost Inoffensive animals Imaginable,
doing no harm or damage to anyone or
anything.
He Lives in Trees.
Essentially an arboreal and mainly
nocturnal animal, he spends his time In
the branches of certain species of
eucalyptus trees, where he feeds at
night upon the tender young leaves.
If npproached, he will sit and stare
at the intruder with a surprised expres
sion, and only If danger threatens he
will climb to the topmost branches.
He Is rather Inactive, especially In
summer, and often sits In the fork Of
1 tree, sleeping the daylight hours
away. The adult males are fond of
perching themselves on n dead limb at
the top of a tall tree, from which they
appear to enjoy their survey of the
surrounding landscape.
They have five toes on each foot,
and each toe Is armed with n curved,
needle-sharp claw. The toes are In
groups of twos and threes, the two
claws being In the form of a double
thumb. They are thus enabled to climb
easily and also to grasp the branches
of a tree and pull them down for the
purpose of feeding on the leaves.
Kven an Iron telegraph post offers no
obstacle to their climbing powers, and
they have been seen sitting among the
wires on top of one, although it Is dif
flcult to say what motive took them
Into such a position. A tall flagstaff
seems to present an Irresistible temp
tation. and even on the windiest of
days they climb such posts to perch on
the top.
The leaves of certain kinds of the
Australian eucalyptus (gum tieesi
form their stnple diet, although occa
sionally they feed on the barks of cer
tain trees and on sphagnum moss, per
haps as s tonic or medicine. They
never drink water in a state ol nature
but are apparently able to obtain
enough moisture from feeding on the
Juicy gum shoots from which the com
mercinl eucalyptus oil is extracted.
Make Delightful Pete.
Koalas are such quaint and attrac
tive little creatures that they are much
in demand as household pels. The\
are very easily tamed, but as they
grow older they are careless of the
fact Hint their claws have a needle
like sharpness which will easily pene
trate the thickest and strongest cloth.
Although when living In the bush
they take no liquid, In captivity they
quickly ac quire a tnste for weak sweet
ened tea and starchy foods. This de
pravity Is the cause of their undoing,
for If given such tilings In mistrtken
kindness they soon lipgin to lose con
dition nnd in n few months die from
Indigestion. Kven when fed only on
eucalyptus loaves, they are dlfllcult to
keep alive in captivity.
ltecnuse of their unique Interest and
the dllllculty of keeping them alive In
confinement, and bemuse of their now
decreased numbers, the Victorian gov
ernment strictly forbids their capture.
Uut, In order that they may be seen
under normal conditions, they are grnd
ually being established In suitable
places, where there is an 'hundance
and vifWety of tlielr natural foods.
It is now possible, within < two hour
run of Melbourne, with Its more than
a million inhabitants, to see the Koula
in his native gum trees, and ;i Is hoped,
through the exercise of strict protective
measures, to preserve this Interesting
little nnimnl for posterity.
“Joey” Reared In Pouch
The Koala is 11 marsupial, having a
pouch In which the single cult—“Joey,”
in the language of the hash—after
birth In a very immature state. Is shel
tered and fed for some months. When
about six Inches in length. It gradually
leaves (he pouch Htid spends its time
in Us mother's arms, not clasped by
the mother, because she needs nil her
toes for hanging onto the trees, but
clinging to her thick fur by means of
its own snarp little claws. This is the
usual position of the young until It is
big enough to look after itself; but If
danger threatens, necessitating active
climbing on the part of the mother the
youngster quickly clumbers around up
on her back, so ns not to hamper her
movements. There it hangs on secure
ly while she climbs to safety.
Koalas are, as a rule, silent, but
when frightened or annoyed will cry
very much like a child, in some of
their habits they closely resemble hu
man beings. A mother hear has been
seen t«» cufl her little one. probably for
some transgression of bnsli law. until
it cried ns If broken hearted.
Contrary to what one might think.
I he bears are very unsociable among
themselves. It Is e-tremely rare to
find more limn one in a tree, unless It
he a very large tree. Even where they
are fairly abundant they seem to pre
fer a solitary life.
A few years ago a number were
placed on an Island for their better pro
tection, and when visited later had
scattered over the whole extent of the
place, none being closer than 2(10 or
1100 yards to another.
South'* Wartime P. O. Stamp*
The suddennesg uith which the
southern states seceded in 1S01 found
their post offices with only the stumps
of the regular United States Issues.
These were declared Invalid hut ns the
Confederate government had none to
take their place, the postmasters were
obliged to make their own arrange
ments. Consequently there followed n
scries of provisional Issues from
many of the southern post ollices.
White Stationery for Mourning
White stationery of good quality Is
correct for the correspondence of per
sons In mourning. Stationery with a
narrow border of black is also frequent
ly used, hut It is tint as good taste as
white stationery. Cards of acknowl
edgmciit may he *ent to all frlenils
anil acfluaintances who have s"nt con
dolences, but a personal note la much
more appreciated.