THE HOME COMING
It was the last day of the session, and everyone at the Capitol was
laboring under a great strain. The national legislators, with
characteristic unwisdom, were trying to crowd the work of three or four
weeks into three or four hours.
Several important bills remained to be acted upon. One of these was the
General Appropriation bill, which included among its numerous items, a
provision to pay for the erection of the Naval Repair Station at
Cleverly.
As John Carlton was going into the Capitol with Barry Wynn by his side,
Felix Conway greeted the man and the boy:
"How are you feeling after the battle?" he cried.
"Fine," was the genial response of the Congressman.
"Do you think your bill will go through all right this morning?"
"Sure! It becomes a part of what we call the omnibus bill, and as that
measure provides for a dozen different objects, I think there will be a
general disposition to let it go through without any further change."
Conway shook his head.
"That sounds all right, but if I were you I'd keep my eye on Hudson."
"Oh, Hudson's all right," declared Carlton, "he assured me a little
while ago that he would vote for the bill."
Conway looked puzzled.
"Well, that's funny," he said, finally.
"Nothing funny about it. Why, at the session only last night I voted for
a bill that he was interested in."
The journalist seemed petrified with astonishment. When he was able to
voice his feeling he emitted two startled words:
"You did!"
"Certainly, I did. It was a proper bill and one that should have been
passed. I harbor no resentment against Hudson. He is human, that's all;
only he was a little more human than most people. He thought I had done
him a wrong and he tried to get even with me. I must admit that I do not
particularly admire his methods, but I can assure you that I cherish no
resentment whatever against him."
Conway whistled--his favorite way of expressing unusual emotion.
"What did Hudson say when you voted with him?"
Carlton laughed.
"He came over and thanked me. He did more than that. He said he was
sorry that he had struck below the belt and promised me he would never
do it again."
Conway looked at his friend with undisguised admiration.
"Well," he said, "it's no wonder that you are successful. A man who is
as charitable as you are doesn't deserve to have any enemies."
The trio laughingly separated, and Carlton hurried into the House,
followed by his young friend. He busied himself at his desk for a few
minutes and then said:
"Barry, that omnibus bill will go through in a few minutes and after it
has been signed by the Speaker of the House and the President of the
Senate, I want you to take it in to a gentleman sitting at a desk in
that room yonder."
He pointed to a little doorway leading to an apartment finished in
marble. Barry was about to ask who the gentleman was when his attention
was distracted by a Congressman calling to him.
The greatest commotion prevailed in the House. Everyone seemed to be
doing a different thing at the same time. The Speaker pounded his desk;
the clerk called the roll; members indulged in short, snappy debates,
while the page boys rushed in every direction, tripping over each
other's heels and otherwise adding to the general din and confusion. But
in spite of the appearance of chaos, the members had settled down to
business and were engaged in steadily passing upon bills that yet
remained to be considered. Minor legislation, of course, was out of the
question. Only three or four of the big bills, like the General
Appropriation bill, the Naval programme, the Public Buildings bill, and
the Rivers and Harbors bill, were given a place on the calendar.
The House had been in session about an hour when the Speaker summoned
Barry Wynn to his side. He had a document before him and had just
finished appending his signature to it.
"Barry," he said, in a kindly tone, "take this bill over to the
presiding officer of the Senate and have him place his autograph
directly below my own."
The page boy did as he was told and returned in a few minutes. The Clerk
of the House, who seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, beckoned
to him as soon as he reached the desk.
"Go right into that room," he said, "and get the final signature to this
piece of legislation."
Barry wonderingly followed instructions. He opened the door leading
into the marble room and was greeted by a clerk, who motioned him toward
a pleasant looking gentleman, who sat at a big table, signing bills as
fast as they were handed to him. He told Barry to take a seat and
glanced over the bill hastily. After that he accepted a pen which was
handed to him by one of the bystanders and placed his autograph at the
bottom of the bill. It only needed a glance to tell Barry that he was
once again in the presence of the President of the United States. He
beckoned to Barry. The boy went to his side, and the Chief Magistrate
handed him the pen with which he had signed the bill.
"My son," he said, "take this home with you as a souvenir. I understand
that you have been very much interested in this legislation, and I think
you deserve this little token as a reminder of the success of John
Carlton and yourself."
Barry, beaming with delight, hurried to his patron and friend and told
him what had taken place. The Congressman smiled indulgently.
"He told me he would do it," he said, in a musing tone, "and I never yet
knew him to forget a promise."
Congress sat in session until very late that night, but at the
suggestion of Congressman Carlton, Barry made arrangements to return
home on the first train the following day. Mrs. Johnson helped him to
pack his trunk and he left her home-like boarding house with a feeling
of genuine regret. But when he went to the train he did not go alone. He
took with him his good friend and confidant, Joe Hart, who, after much
urging, had consented to spend a fortnight at the Wynn home in Cleverly.
To the delight of the two boys, John Carlton was on the same train and
with him was his enthusiastic admirer, Felix Conway.
All four were destined to be treated to a surprise when they reached the
little railroad station at Cleverly. The train had scarcely slowed up
when the blare of a brass band was heard, and looking out, the
embarrassed Congressman discovered that almost the entire population of
the city had come to the station to welcome him home and to celebrate
his success in winning the new Naval Repair Station for his native
place.
Barry's mother was on the platform, in the forefront of the crowd, and
he leaped from the train and was soon locked in her arms. In the
meantime the procession was forming; an open barouche, drawn by two
black horses, had been provided for John Carlton, and Felix Conway,
because of his loyalty and devotion to Carlton, was given a seat beside
the Congressman. Daniel Smithers, school teacher and philosopher, was
chief marshal of the procession, an honor that he carried blushingly and
with all due modesty. His assistants were Postmaster Ford and Hiram
Blake.
Chief Marshal Smithers, as if by inspiration, insisted that Barry Wynn
and Joe Hart, should Occupy the other seat in the carriage with
Congressman Carlton and Felix Conway. They climbed in amidst the
applause of the crowd, and in a few minutes the procession had started
on its way, while the band played in quick succession, "Hail to the
Chief," "The Star Spangled Banner," and "There'll be a Hot Time in the
Old Town Tonight."
Up one street and down another it proceeded, the enthusiasm growing more
intense with each passing minute. Presently they passed the home of
Barry Wynn, and at that point the crowd, as if in sympathy with the
significance of the occasion, redoubled its cheers and applause. As the
barouche, containing the four chief persons in the parade, passed on its
way, Barry instinctively turned his head, and the last thing he saw with
his tear-dimmed eyes, was the figure of his dear mother standing on the
edge of the porch, frantically waving a tiny lace handkerchief.
ADVERTISEMENTS
First Volume of the "Camp and Trail" Series
THE YOUNG TIMBER-CRUISERS;
or Fighting the Spruce Pirates
By HUGH PENDEXTER
Author of "Tiberius Smith"
Illustrated by Charles Copeland
$1.20 net; by mail, $1.32
The Camp and Trail Series deals with the adventures of two boys, Stanley
Malcolm and Bub Thomas, in the lumber camps and among the forests of
Northern Maine. Stanley is a city boy and when the reader first meets
him, he is just "learning the ropes," so to speak, among the lumbermen.
He and Bub go off on a timber-cruising expedition with Abner Whitten,
the ablest timber-cruiser of the Maine woods, and Noisy Charlie, a most
interesting Indian, in an endeavor to thwart the efforts of a rival
operator who is seeking to steal a vast tract of timber land. Stanley's
experiences in learning woodcraft and the adventures of the whole party
with Big Nick, a half-breed, in the employ of the rival operator, as
well as with other scalawags, make an exciting story, teeming with
interest for the red-blooded boy, and throughout giving him a vast store
of actual knowledge of woodcraft. No book could be more fascinating
reading than "The Young Timber-Cruisers."
SMALL, MAYNARD & COMPANY
Publishers, Boston
MORE ADVENTURES OF STANLEY AND BUB
THE YOUNG GEM-HUNTERS;
or The Mystery of the Haunted Camp
By HUGH PENDEXTER
Author of "The Young Timber-Cruisers," etc.
Illustrated by Charles Copeland
$1.20 net; by mail, $1.32
In this, the second volume of the Camp and Trail Series, we pursue the
adventures of Stanley and Bub. Few people realize the immense variety of
precious stones to be found in the State of Maine. The story takes the
boys through a series of very exciting adventures in search of beryl,
tourmaline, garnet, fresh water pearls, and other immensely valuable
jewels which have long been found in Maine, but about which the general
public is only lately coming to be informed.
Only brief mention can be made of the remaining volumes of the "Camp and
Trail" Series, now in preparation:
THE YOUNG WOODSMEN;
or Running Down the Squawtooth Gang
Here we see the boys at work with the lumbermen preparing the winter
camp and having a series of stirring adventures with various strange
marauders.
THE YOUNG TRAPPERS;
or The Quest of the Giant Moose
In this volume the boys are shown with the lumbermen engaged in the work
of cutting down the trees. The book bristles with manly adventure.
THE YOUNG LOGGERS;
or The Gray Axeman of Mt. Crow
Here we see the boys engaged in the great work of getting the logs out
of the woods to be ready for the spring drive, and here again we find
them involved in a series of fascinating happenings.
THE YOUNG RIVER-DRIVERS;
or Against Heavy Odds
In this, the sixth and last volume of the Camp and Trail Series, we have
all the exciting adventures connected with the spring drive when after
the ice has gone out of the rivers the logs are launched in the water
and floated down for miles and miles to the mills.
Each of the foregoing volumes will be illustrated. Price, per volume,
$1.20 net; by mail, $1.32.
SMALL, MAYNARD & COMPANY
Publishers, Boston
A STRIKING STORY FOR BOYS
THE SULTAN'S RIVAL
By BRADLEY GILMAN
Author of "A Son of the Desert," etc., etc.
Illustrated by John Cassel
$1.20 net; by mail, $1.32
Here the author of "A Son of the Desert" and other popular books for
boys, gives his readers an exciting story of adventure in the wild
country of Morocco, a book of adventure without brutality, a book which
maintains high standards of morality, a book which can and will be read
with enjoyment by all the members of the family.
A boy's character is greatly determined by the company he keeps; Mr.
Gilman's story gives the reader the companionship of two manly young
fellows in their daring adventures in a wild land among savage races.
For this reason as well as because the story combines a continuous
succession of perils and escapes with fascinating information about a
lawless people and a romantic land, the parent who gives anxious thought
to his children's reading will find the purchase of a copy of "The
Sultan's Rival" a ready solution for his problem.
SMALL, MAYNARD & COMPANY
Publishers, Boston
"I hope this admirable book may have what it deserves: the widest
circulation among the young people of America."
--_Gifford Pinchot._
THE LAND WE LIVE IN
The Boys' Book of Conservation
By OVERTON W. PRICE
Vice-President National Conservation Association
With a Foreword by Gifford Pinchot, President National
Conservation Association
Illustrated by reproductions of 136 photographs
Octavo. $1.50 net; by mail, $1.80
Here is a book that will hold the interest and attention of every really
manly boy--and womanly girl, too--who is anxious to know more about the
natural wealth of "the land we live in" and who as a future voter and
taxpayer has a right to know what is being done today and should be done
tomorrow to take care of what is left.
Says Mr. Pinchot in his foreword, "No people are prouder of their
country than we Americans, but very few of us have any real knowledge
about the three million square miles which we call the United States,
yet there are very few stories so interesting and so well worth hearing
as the story of what there is in the land we live in.... I have never
seen so good a statement of the great conservation problem as this. It
tells but half the story to say that this is an admirable book for boys
and girls. If I may judge from my own experience, it is about as good
for grown-ups also.... This country of ours belongs far more truly to
the boys and girls than it does to us older people. They will live in it
and enjoy it longer than we shall, and everything that happens in it,
every bit of waste and every saving of waste, will affect their lives
more than it does ours. We are only the trustees, taking care of the
country for them until they are ready to take care of it themselves....
It is peculiarly appropriate that Mr. Price should have written this
book. His experience has been exactly what he needed to fit him for the
task. Mr. Price is a forester, and was for many years my right hand in
the Forest Service. Indeed, if credit could be allotted justly for work
done, I believe it would be found that he had more to do with the
success of the Service than I had. In addition to his intimate knowledge
of the whole country acquired in the Forest Service, Mr. Price has been
associated with the Conservation movement from its very beginning. It
was with him that I discussed it first, after the idea had occurred to
me, and from that time to this little has happened in Conservation which
has not profited by his wide knowledge, remarkable powers of
organization and unusual executive ability.... His scientific accuracy
is the guarantee for the accuracy of this book.... I hope this admirable
book may have what it
SMALL, MAYNARD & COMPANY Publishers, Boston
A book of nation-wide interest and importance.
THE LAND WE LIVE IN--(Continued)
deserves,--the widest circulation among the young people of America. All
the boys and girls who read it while they are young will be more useful
to the Nation because of it when they grow up; and unless I am mistaken,
they will thoroughly enjoy reading it besides."
The book is fascinating reading, as the following table of contents and
topics discussed readily suggests: Foreword; Preface; Chapter
One.--America Three Hundred Years Ago: This Country Then; What We Owe
the Settlers; The Indians Then and the Indians Now; A Picture to
Remember; The Journey; Home Again; Chapter Two.--America Today; Another
Journey; The Open Country; We Must Live Within Our Means; Not Only the
Settlers Were Blind; Chapter Three.--How the Forest Is Used, Abroad and
at Home; In Germany; Elsewhere in Europe; In the Southern Pine Belt;
Among the Douglas Fir; Logging in the North Woods; The Same Nearly
Everywhere; We Must Grow Timber or Go Without; Chapter Four.--In a
National Forest; A Busy Job; The Cowboy; The Timber Sale; How the Fires
Start; Fighting the Fire; Brave Ranger Pulaski; Fire not the Only Enemy;
The Forester; Private Forests; Teaching the People; Two Great Tasks;
Chapter Five.--The Farmers' Farms and the Nation's Farm; Cotton and
Corn; Boys the Best Farmers; North and West; We Must Grow What Food We
Need; The Public Domain; The Sheep Herders and the Cowboys; Stock
Followed Buffalo; The Range is Being Wasted; The Work of the Reclamation
Service; Three Great Problems; Chapter Six.--The Treasures Underground;
In a Coal Mine; Waste of Life and of Coal; The Bureau of Mines; Chapter
Seven.--Wild Life: The Roe Deer and the Ranger; A Royal Hunt; The Young
Germans in New York; How the Game Has Dwindled; Predatory Animals Cost
Us Dearly; We Can All Help to Save the Game; Chapter Eight.--The Rivers:
One More Journey; The First Sign of Use; Who Will Control the Water
Powers?; Other Great Uses; Rivers Are Roads; Chapter Nine.--What This
Means to Us; The Merchant's Son; The Farmer's Son; Why Taxes are Higher;
The Nation and the Government; Chapter Ten.--How We Can Help; Knowing
the Game; Learning the Game; Organization Counts; The Railroad; The
Police Squad; We Can All Help; Chapter Eleven.--This is Conservation;
The Ship of State; A Good Fight; Chapter Twelve.--An Inventory of
Natural Resources; Forests; Waters; Lands; Minerals.
The one hundred and thirty-six photographic illustrations are the very
pick of over fifty thousand photographs at the command of the National
Conservation Association, not only in their own numerous collection and
the collections of affiliated societies and individuals, but in the
immense collections of the Government itself.
SMALL, MAYNARD & COMPANY Publishers, Boston
Are you a "fan"? Then this is the book for YOU!
THE BIG LEAGUE
By CHARLES E. VAN LOAN
With a frontispiece and a decorative wrapper in three colors by
Arthur Covey
$1.00 net; by mail, $1.10
Never before has baseball had a portrayer at once so vivid, so dramatic
and so humorous. "A good, honest picture of the game," says Frank
Chance. "A lot of fun. I've read every one of these stories and so have
all the boys on the Detroit team," says Wm. E. Donovan, of the Detroits.
"The best thing of the kind," says Mordecai Brown, of the Chicago
"Cubs." Here is the list:
I THE CRAB. "It was Charley Brydon who christened Henry Gilman 'The
Crab'." He was a great catcher but one day his arm went back on him and
it looked as if he had made his last throw to second. The game of the
year came and "The Crab" showed that his _legs_ were all right--and
showed some other things, too.
II THE LOW BROW. "When they were dealing out foreheads they gave Biff
the lowest one they had in stock. Biff was a low brow, and he never
denied it; but he was also the greatest catcher that ever buckled on a
wind pad, and he never denied that either."
III THE FRESH GUY. "The freshest young thing that a big-league currycomb
ever hauled out of the baseball business"--that was Potts, a pickup from
nowhere, without reputation or standing in the world of baseball. But
watch him play ball!
IV THE QUITTER. "The Gamecocks were specialists, welded by a baseball
genius into the snappiest, scrappiest collection of fence breakers,
umpire baiters, and 'goat-getters' in professional baseball." Then they
imported a "quitter"--a curious kind of "quitter," who piled up surprise
on surprise.
V THE BUSH LEAGUE DEMON. "He's got a yellow streak," said the old third
baseman. "Wait until some one stings him good and hard!" And this tells
how the "Demon" was stung!
VI THE CAST-OFF. Walloping pitchers are rare birds. The man who can wrap
a ball around a batter's neck and also hit a .340 clip from one end of
the season to the other is of the extraordinary type. That's the
"Cast-Off." But one thing he lacked--a sense of humor.
VII THE BUSHER. "Old Reuben Glue's only son" came to town and was
introduced to a Big League training squad as the new man. You would say
he looked like a farmer, on or off the diamond; but looks don't always
tell the story.
VIII A JOB FOR A PITCHER. The Clarksville rooters were delirious with
joy. Every time the stranger whipped a strike over the plate some
Clarksville man was sure to yell: "What did you say his name was?" And
the answer would come like a thunderclap: "SMITH!"
IX THE GOLDEN BALL OF THE ARGONAUTS. Old Tom Carson, the proprietor of
the Golden Eagle Hotel, renews his acquaintance with an old baseball
antagonist and many things surprise the town of Collinsville.
SMALL, MAYNARD & COMPANY Publishers, Boston