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I

HIGH ADVENTURE

by Johnnie BornesCamera's were rolling, flashbulb's

were flashing, and a sea of smiling facesIooked up at us as we stePPed off theplane, I was in my Indian costume, andthe other membels of the American dele-gation were in FCF costume or uni-forms. From the front row of the greet-

ing spectators stepped Will Thorne,Australian Commonwealth Commanderand Dennis Smith, Commonwealth FCFPresident.

With a rousing "Our ya going mate,"and a hardy handshake, we were wel-comed to Australia, This was one of themany experiences the 17 American dele-gates shared who jourrreyed to Austra-lia for their first National Camporama,

January 1977.We had landed the night before in

Sydney for a brief rest and the chanceto get ready.

Because of a special request from theBanana Coast Tourist Association, wedonned our FCF regalia for promotionalshots upon our arrival at Coff's Harbour.

You can imagine the sensation wecaused when we walked into the SydneyAirport, dressed in our costumes toboard the plane to Coff's Harbour, Theofficial's tried to keep their composure,but'you could read the curiosity intheir eyes.

When we boarded the plane, the caP-tain requested that I come forward tothe cockpit to explain who we were' Hebecame so interested that he stepped offthe plane with the group to get in onthe excitement.

After hand-cramps from autographs,and photos, photos, photos, we boardeda special bus to drive to the Camporamasite, 30 miles away, where another wel-come from the Camporama participantsawaited, The welcome we received fromRoyal Rangers from all over Australiawould have warmed anyone's heart,

The Camporama site was located on

the Bellington Fairgrounds in the beau-tiful Bellington Valley, which is con-sidered to be one of the most beautifulspots in Australia,

How do you describe the fun, the ex-citement, the inspiration of an eventsuch as a National Camporama,

On the first evening just as we pre-pared to begin our council fire, the skybecame full of fruit bats. This is a largebat with a wing spread as much as 3feet called "flying foxes." The MC ofthe council fire gave these words of as-surance, "Don't let the vampire batsbother you, they only like Americanblood." We learned later that the batsmade a nightly ritual of flying outfrom an island nearby to feed on thefarmers fruit.

Highlights of the Camporama in-cluded a parade through town, com-plete with a Scottish bagpipe band,colorful morning assemblies, inspiringcouncil fires, kangaroo court with Fred(Hawkeye) Deaver presiding, a 30-station skillarama area, an FCF areafeaturing aboriginal skills and artifacts,plus fun, recreation, and unusual eventsand special music.

There was also news conferences andradio and TV interviews. The Campora-ma made an impact on that section ofAustralia that will not be soon forgot-ten. -'

Both-boys and girls, and both menand women ale involved in Royal Rang-ers in Australia. This gave the Campo-rama an added dimension,

All the American delegation werepleased and grateful for the opportunityof participating in this outstandingevent. We will all remember a numberof things, jumping kangaroos, cuddlykoala bears, bell birds (that sound liketinkling bells), whip birds (that soundslike a cracking whip) the kookaburrabird, "ugh!" (the noisiest bird of all),spectacular scenery, hot, hot weather,fun and humor, singing and worshippingAustralian style. But most of all we willremember the expressions of love andfriendship from the Australian RoyalRangers, O

I

FALL 1977

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total eclipse:by O, J. Robertson

A grand sight will appear in the skyover much of North America, October12, 7977, A total eclipse of the sun willoccur on that day.

What is an eclipse? When one heav-enly body is hidden from vierv by an-other, it is eclipsed.

An eclipse of the sun, or solar eclipse,occurs when the moon passes directlybetween the earth and the sun. For it tobe a total eclipse, the moon must bea neu) moon.

At a certain time, sun, new moon,and earth will be in a direct line. Lightfrom the sun cannot reach the earth;it is blocked, or cut off, by the moon. Ashadow cast by the moon falls uponearth.

A total solar eclipse is an au,e-inspir-ing sight. The earth slowly darkens; theatmosphere seems supernatural. Longago before modern astronomers ex-plained what eclipses are, many peoplethought an eclipse a miraculous eventand were frightened by them.

There is a legendary story that oncewhile Columbus rvas exploring in theNew World he was captured and hislife threatened by unfriendly Indians.Knowing that a total eclipse of the sunwould occur in the evening, Columbustold the Indians that if they harmedhim, a great darkness would spreadover the land.

The Indians, suspicious, but fearfulthat something might happen, delayedthe execution. When the eclipse beganand the earth did darken, the Indianspanicked and let their plisoner go.

Nlodern astronomers acculately pre-dict when and where eclipses will occur,The solar eclipse on October 12 will betotal in some places, mainly over thePacific Ocean. The path of totality willrun from the northrvest part of SouthAmerica to a point southeast of Alaska,For about trvo and a half minutes, thesun r'vill be completely hidden.

But the partial eclipse rvill last muchlonger, and it u;ill ba visible in all 50of the United States and in rvestern andsoutheastern Canada. Check your localnewspapers for exact time in your area.Listen to your radio and TV station forinformation about this strange sky show,

Usually, a total eclipse is televisedduring the occurrence, or for delayedbroadcast on news shorvs. It might besafel to rvatch the eclipse on TV screen.Sometimes the eyes can be damaged bylooking at an eclipse.

An eclipse begins slorvly and endsthe same rvay. It may take an hour,more or less, for the sun to be complete-ly hidden by the moon. Earth rvill slowlydarken, and as the darkness increasesyou may see birds and chickens seek aroosting place. Livestock may leave theirpasture and go into their barns. Auto-matic lights may suddenly come on. Peo-ple may tuln on their house lightsduring a total eclipse.

Chances are the eclipse will be onlypartial in your locality, but partial ortotal, it will be spectacular in most ofNorth America during the afternoon ofOctober 12.

Why not watch for itP You may neveragain have a chance to see such a grandscientific matineel

HIGH ADVENTURE

a dragon eats the sun

' ing the eclipse safely:vlewrAccording to an old Chinese legend, a dragon would

sometimes try to swallow the sun. People of the cillageswould then rush into the streets beating pots, shooting ;fffireworks and making noise to frighte; the dragon iway.Their noisemaking always worked; the dragon would coujhup the sun Ieaving it as bright as it was before,_ Although we know tl:at an eclipse is not a dragon swal-Iowing the sun, the sun can be a dragon that could-eat youreyes. More damaging than the brighteness of the sun arethe ultraviolet rays it emits. Ultriviolet radiation is in-visible but dangerous, it can seriously damage your eyes,It can even cause blindness, Care must be taken to avoidlooking directly into the sun, Viewing the sun through sun-glasses or smoked glass does not protect the eyes from theultraviolet rays, Only professional photographers and as-tronomers rvith a proper set of lenses and filters should at-tempt to make direct observation of the sun,

The safest way to view the partial eclipse is by con-structing a simple peep hole camera. Take a large piece ofcardboard and put a small hole in the center. Raise overconcrete or some other flat surface. On the concrete vouwill see a circular image, This image corresponds to ihesun,

_ Al ul eclipse occurs you will notice the circle of light

slowly being eaten away.

_ Remember, nothing is i.vorth your sight. Be careful! Neverlook directly into the sun!

EARjfH

FALL 1977

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Ihe EBEIIPINIHER HUNT

AN OZARK IAI.E

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MY PAL EB never would havehatched such a freak idea if someonehadnt heard the yowl of a Panther.Naturally, just as soon as it got aroundthat Selzer Pitts had heard a big one,

everyone and his cousin started hearingpanthers, mountain lions, and the like.Some even saw one, and the animalgot bigger and bigger with each sight-ing, until finally he was as big as

grizzly bear, and had eyes the sizethe headlights on our old ModelFord.

6

Eb and I, ornery as we were, justcouldn't resist. We figured if Selzer hadheard or seen it, it wasn't there for sure.The "snake medicine" he drank wouldmake your ears flap like a mule with ahorsefly, and your eyelids go up anddown like window blinds. But, if folksu;anted a panther, we'd be glad to obligeand give them one. We were alwayslooking around for some new prank topull, and this was too good an oppor-tunity to miss.

It was a simple matter to get a five-

gallon oil can. Back in those days weall bought coal oil in five gallon cansfrom almost any grocery store' A can,a big bunch of horse hair from a fiddlebow, and a little resin from Grandpa'sfiddle case, and we were ready, raringto go. The howls set uP bY that con-traption were like nothing else on earth.It was a sawmill, a screech owl, andhog ringing, all in one.

One night we discovered two coonhunters were going out, fellows who, inspite of the reports, still had enoughco.rrage to hunt. We Planned to makebelievers out of them. We carried our"panther" to Jake's timber, barely ableto keep from snickering out loud all the

way. We waited 'til we heard theirvoices close by, sounding low andscared-like, before we let loose withthat hair-raising squall. Those boys gotout of there as fast as greased lightning,and they didn't even slow down for thefences.

This was getting to be more and morefun. One hot evening in July a coupleof fellows decided to go down to theswimming hole to cool off. We crePtdown there with our "panther" and cutloose with the awfullest yowling since

Old Yo' treed the neighbor's tom cat,and he lit on Yo's back with all fourson his way down. Those two swimmersgot out of there so fast theY were drybefore they ran five feet. They sprintedat top speed all the way back to townto wam the folks that the panther was

a-coming!

We rolled and laughed 'til our sides

ached, wondering when theY wouldcome back to get their clothes. Theynever did.

A few months later, we decided it was

time for a little more fun, since some

still weren't convinced there was a

panther. Theg had neither seen it, norheard it themselves, and they were Mis-sourians through and through' But otherswere hearing the panther, especially ondark and stormy nights. Even a few old-timers declared, "It's a panther, thereis no doubt about it, in the world."Eb and I just sat there with 'em bY ourold wood stove, whittling and swappingyarns.

We began to get a little wonied fi-nally, and decided it was time to ridFreemont of this terrible beast and endup heroes doing it. Women wouldn'tstep out on the porch at night to throwout the dishwater. Men kept their live-stock tight around the barn, and calvesin it. A man walking into town wouldcarry a gun in broad daylight, No-body walked into town at night any

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HIGH ADVENTURE

So we figured the time was ripe tobeeome the town heroes. I rounded upfifteen men who allowed they hadenough courage to hunt the panther.

Eb, with his old hound, and the"panther," took a position out in a placewe had picked out for our grand finale,where there was a high bluff and sheerdrop into the creek.

When it was as dark as a blackpanther, I led the posse straight into

the timber, and right up on the creekbank. Nobody could see two feet aheadand when they were right where wewanted them, Eb commenced "scream-ing" the panther, making his houndhowl like a scared banshee.

I yelled excitedly, "Here he comes!"and raced straight for that creek: WhenI got to the top of the bank I stopped,naturally, and stepped behind a tree, Iknew that area like the back of mv

hand. But the others ran at full speed,catapulted over the bank and down intothe creek, Splashing and yelling, theyclimbed out,

Eb and I, we laughed for a week.The panther was never heard again,

We threw away the hair, the resin, andthe can with its tell-tale hole, We got tothinking that if the town folks everfound out that we were behind thewhole thing, they might just form aposse of their own.

Eventually everything cooled downand Pitts didn't hear any more panthers.Fortunately for us, everyone forgot allabout the Great Panther Hunt!

*The descendants of F.S. still liae here-abouts. It seems the part of prudence,therefore, to conceal his identita, inas-much as thi,s account is essentiallg true.And, the panther scare seems to getreaioed eoerg few Eears.

Reprinted with permission from the"Missouri Conservationist."

So, what's a National Camporama?Why, it's just the biggest event in RoyalRangers history. lt's a place to meetRangers from all across the nation. lt'sa placeto participate in handicrafts,obstacle course, archery, swimming, andcanoeing. lt's inspirational eveningprograms with celebrities you won't wantto miss. lt's black powder demonstrations,a frontier village, tomahawk throwing.It's a place to test your physical fitnessand knowledge of Ranger camping skills.It's like nothing you've ever experienced!

Wffiffim97E

WAWM@NAL

GAMP@MffiMAfqrrqg.ut,idohe

luly 25'29FOR MORE INFORIIATION:

CONTACY YOUR DISTRICT COMMANDER

FALL 1977

A life-long dreamwill come true.lf only he can catch

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By E. B. Witter

"I have exciting newsl" called Timo-thy MacDonald, as he flung open thecabin door, The door creaked loudly,for it was new and stiff, The cabin itselfhad just been built on a beautiful hill-side on the Pennsylvania frontier.

"And what is the news?" inquiredMistress MacDonald, She stopped stir-ring the mush which was boiling in thebig black kettle on the hearth, Sheturned and smiled affectionately at hertall son with his serious blue eyes andcoarse, homespun clothing.

"Tell us, Timothyl" demanded Timo-thy's sister Faith, She jumped up fromher plaee at the spinning wheel and ranover to him,

"You have spoken to the captain,"guessed Mr. MacDonald with his usualwisdom.

"Yes!" replied Timothy, and he felt awarm glow at the thought. "I havespoken with Captain Edens, and hesaid he will take me to Boston on thevery Iast stage."

Timothy watched the pleased expres-sions on the faces of his parents and hissister. They were happy about CaptainEdens' promise because they knew thatTimothy wanted to go to Boston wherethere were many boats,

Ever since the MacDonald familvhad crossed the ocean to America, Tim-othy had dreamed of spending the restof his life on a sailing vessel. On thatvoyage he had learned to love the feelof a ship under full sail and the cleansmell of salt air.

I

But the MacDonald's had settled on afarm inland, The place was called CanoeCreek because of the stream which ranthrough the hills near by, Timothy likedto live at Canoe Creek, but he Iikedships more,

Now Captain Edens had come toCanoe Creek on a government missionand had told Timothy that he couldreturn with him,

"Captain Edens said I could be acabin boy on his ship," Timothy went on,

Suddenly his mother raised her handsin suprise. "The last stage leaves CanoeCreek tomorrowl"

"That's right," Faith said, a sad lookcoming into her eyes.

"The settlers say that the roads get sobad after the fall rains that there won'tbe another stage until spring."

"You'll make it, boy," Mr. MacDonaldsaid. "The ride will be a fast one too,The last stage has got to get through,for it carries the mail."

"Twill be a Iong wait 'til tomorrow,"said Timothy, as he joined the excitedfamily at the supper table.

It was a happy meal with much talkand laughter about Timothy's career inthe navy. They talked until the fire onthe hearth burned to embers.

After family prayers, Mr. MacDonaldsaid, "'Tis best we go to sleep. Save thecandle and get a good nightt rest. Timo-thy has a long day ahead,"

Timothy climbed the ladder to theIoft and smiled broadlv as he settledhimself on his sweet-smelling bed ofstraw, "Tomorrow!" he whispered as hedozed off,

There was a flurry of preparation inthe MacDonald cabin the next morning.As soon as daylight peeked over the hill,each member did his share in getting

Timothy ready,Faith fixed a neat package of cookies

and sweetmeats while Mistress Mac-Donald gathered up all of Timothy'sbelongings and tied them carefully in asquare of homespun.

"The stage horses are being fedand watered already," announced Mr.MacDonald, as he squinted throughtle cabin's one window so he could keepa check on the activities in the villagebelow.

Then suddenly Timothy sniffed theair, "Oh!" he cried. "I smell smoke!"

"I do, tool' cried Faith with a scream,The village bell began to clang its

waming, the warning most feared on thefrontier-fire!

There was no time for talk in theMacDonald cabin. There was a job todo,

Mistress MacDonald grabbed a waterbucket and ran to the cistern. Faithquickly took up a bucket and followedher.

"We could make a backfire, Father,"Timothy said quickly, his nerves as tightas the reins of a runawav horse. "Thefire seems to have started near the creek,and it's coming this wayl"

'Right, boyl" replied Mr. MacDonald."Spades-hurry!"

"Here they are, Father," Timothycalled, and his voice sounded hoarseand frightened,

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HIGH ADVENTURE

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"We'll have to dig a diteh across theMiddle of the hill," Mr. MacDonalclshouted, as he began digging withfurious haste.

"And burn a strip of ground along theditch so that when the fire gets this farit won't have any more fuel to bunr onand will have to go out," Timothy addedquickly. He was thinking of the cabin,the new bam, the nice shed, and thechurch nearby. The file must not takeaway all they had worked so hard tobuild. Timothy also remembered thecrops. They would be safe if the firegot no falther than MacDonald's hill.The settlers would starve through thewinter if the fire spread beyond the hill.

All the settlers were soon at Mac-Donald's hill. The women and the girlsformed a long line, Mistress MaeDonalddipped the pails into the eistem, passedthem to the next woman in line whopassed them on until the girls at the,endof the line ran with the water and threwit on the flames.

Though his mother worked on stead-ily, Timothy knew by the wide-eyedexpression on her face she was morefrightened than he had ever seen her inhis life, The sight of her courage in theface of fear gave him strength to workharder and faster,

Rabbits ran from their nests. Tim-othy could hear a coyote bark in the

as she gasped, "Timothyl The stagel"Timothy clenehed his teeth, rolled his

sleeves up higher, and went on digging.The people of Canoe Creek neededevery digger to save them from starva-tion and ruin, Had his father not saidthose very wordsP

"Go, Timothyl" pleaded Faith. "Thisis the last stage, and it will not wait.It carries the mail. It will not wait."

"Go back to Mother," Timothyordered more gruffly than he had in-tended,

Faith began to sob, "Oh, Timothy,you may never have a chance again!"Tears streamed down her face as shemade her way back to the bucket line,

"Dear little Faith," Timothy sighed."Even she does not know how much Iwant to be on the last stage."

But Timothy could not lament long.The crack of burning bush was gettingas loud as a horseman's whip, Timotlydodged a burning branch that camehurtling through the air. The job wasfar from done, He must dig and try tohelp finish the ditch that would chokethe all-consuming fire.

He was so occupied with thesethoughts that he had not heard CaptainEdens' approach and was startled whenhe heard the captain's voice at his side.Captain Edens was saying, "Timothy,the coach is ready."

Timothy managed to hold back thetears that flooded his eyes. He kept hisvoice calm as he said, "I cannot go.Everyone is needed, But I thank yousir, for trying to get me a place in thenavy. Goodby, sir."

the warningon the f rontier

Timothy saw the flames coming closerand closer. The air was now blue withsmoke. Not far away Timothy could seethe angry yellow flames lick and crackaround the tall pines. "Dear God," Tim-othy prayed, "please help us!"

As he lunged into digging with hisspade he heard his fathel say, "Thefire's got a good start. It's a demon, andwe're too shorthanded to fight. We'reneeding every man, woman, and childin Canoe Creek to fight this one!"

FALL 1977

distance. Even the timid deer ran closeby him in its wild frenzy to reach thecreek and safety,

Men wiih spades were digging withall their might, Timothy kept prayingand digging. When he raised up tostretch his aehing limbs for a moment,he looked dorvn toward the village. Thehorses were being hitched to the laststage!

At that moment Faith left the waterline, running and stumbling toward him

"The village bell began to clangits warning;mosf fearedlire!"

"I would very much like to stay andhelp," Captain Edens said, "It is hardfor me not to. But my duty is to makethe last stage. Goodby, my lad."

Timothy felt as if he were sayinggoodby to the sea forever when CaptainEdens turned and walked down the hillto the waiting coach, His heart achedat the realization that his dleam of theopen sea, a life on a fine sailing vessel,would never come true, "This is thesaddest duy I have ever had," hethought.

The fire had come to the ditch now.The men were fighting more desperatelythan ever. The fire fought back with hotvigor. Between spadefuls of dirt, Timo-thy's eyes followed the coach as itwound its way along Canoe Creek roadto Boston.

"Good-by, Captain Edens. Good-by,my beautiful shipl" he cried against thewind.

Hours later the fire was vanquished.Great trees lay in heaps of ashes. Thegrass and brush were gone. Everythingbeyond the ditch looked sad and de-feated as did Timothy himself. But thefarrn buildings were unharmed, Thecrops were saved, and the settlementbelow the hill lay in safety in the noonsun. "Thank you, Lord," Timothy said,"even though I cannot understand,"

He spent the rest of the autumn pick-ing corn and digging potatoes. In thewinter he sorted seeds and sharpenedplows. In the spring he hitched thehorses to the plow and turned over therieh, black dirt. In the summer heweeded the crops. As harvesttime dr:ewnear, he was glad that he had sacrificedhis own desires for the good of others.

But very often his thoughts turnedfi'om his farm wolk to the sea, to Cap-tain Edens and his fine ship. Timothy'slonging for the sea was greater than

Then one day, when the last stagecame once again to Canoe Creek, Tim-othy went out to meet it, HaHway downMacDonald's hill he caught sight of afamiliar, uniformed figure getting out ofthe coach.

He caught his breath at the sight."Captain Edens!" he called. Runningwith the sureness and strength that lifeon the Pennsylvania frontier had givenhim, he made his lvay to the coach.

"Timothy!" Captain Edens greetedhim with a broad smile and handclasp.

"Will you be here long, Captain?"Timothy smiled back at the man whomhe admired above all others except per-haps, his father,

"Until the last stage leaves," answeredCaptain Edens. "I hope to take backsome valuable information for the gov-ernment and also an apprentice seamanfor my ship. I have need of a depend-able lad whom I can trust to do his dutyunder all circumstances,"

"Yes, sir!" gulped Timothy. He wasafraid to believe that Captain Edensmeant him. He didn't want to be dis-appointed again,

"Would you like to be an apprenticeseaman on my ship, TimothyP" TheCaptain spoke the words Timothy hadscarcely dared to hope for.

"Oh, sir! Oh, Yes, sir!" Timothy couldnot hide his happiness. A silent prayerof thanks filled his soul.

As the last stage from Canoe Creekwound its way along the lower road,Timothy and Captain Edens leaned outthe windows to wave their farewells tothe three smiling MacDonalds whowaved back at them from the top ofMacDonald's hill. a

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10 HIGH ADVENTURE

By Grover Brinkman

In today's highly technical world, manis learning a hard lesson that he hasbeen shoving into a corner for muchtoo long.

If he cares to stay alive for anothercentury or more, he must recycle manyof the things that he is now discarding.Suddenly the environment is a problem,and man hasn't solved it.

If one doubts the wisdom of recycling,turn on the tap for a drink of water,That crystal liquid is millions of yearsold, It has been recycled thousands oftimes, and still is the same pure water.

With today's vast store of scien-tific knowledge at our fingertips, this ishard to believe. Nonetheless it is truth.If water had not been constantly re-cycled down through the ages, theoceans would be no more, The earthitself would be a cinder, Life as weknow it would be nil.

So at long last we accept the fact thatwater eannot be destroyed. At first manbelieved it could, The magic word isrecycling.

Water is boiled into vapor but con-denses back to its original form; manpollutes it but nature cleans it up, eventhough the restoration cycle might beextremely slow. Early man had varioustheories about water, but most of themlater proved wrong. He feared, for in-stance, that through man's waste, someday the earth would go bone dry. Butsuch, apparently, will never be true. Inearly scientific evaluation, man's l<rrowl-edge had not progressed to the state thathe could pin down a scientific truth-that water is recycled hydrologically. To-day he realizes this is fact,

Each moment, heat of the sun evap-orates a tremendous amount of surfacewater on the earth. If this were notconstantly replaced, the level of allstreams and bodies of water woulddrop until the oceans tumed into anabyss of yawning canyons.

But water is constantly being returnedto the rivers and seas in the form ofsurface runoff. Water from glaciers andmountain heights is constant. Rains andsnows are part of the hydrological pat-tern of replacement,

FALL 1977

OUR RECYCLED RESOURCE

Today, much as man hates to admitit, he has polluted much of the wateron the land's surfaee. Some of our riversare virtual cesspools. Smaller streams areso polluted that fish kill is a daily oc-currence. Even fish caught far off-shorein the oceans today often show tracesof deadly chemicals in their bodies,making them unpalatable.

Man has turned loose his mine wastes,his industrial sewers, into the rivers.Once where the Indian drank, the wateris so highly polluted it would kill.

And don't forget the millions of tonsof water suspended in the atrnosphere inthe form of fog, mist and vapor.

How much water does our globe con-tain? A rule of thumb might be as muchas 300 million cubic miles. So there isreally no shortage of water on a unitbasis, The trick is to keep it distributedbenefically for all humanity.

Remember, it is our most commonsubstance. And for that reason, if forno other, we take it for granted. Purewater is odorless, colorless, tasteless. Ifyou detect a taste to it when you run aglass from the kitchen tap, it's becauseof some purifying agent added to it tomake it bacterially safe.

How much water do you need eachday? The average healthy adult requiresa minimum of about 2)i pints every 24hours.

Some of this volume comes from thefoods consumed in one's daily diet, mostof which are quite high in water con-tent. A ripe watermelon, for instance, isabout 97 percent water; chicken is 74percent water, Generally, an inidividual'eats' more water than he drinks in thecourse of a day.

Important words are on the tonguesof men today, more and more: Environ-ment, ecology, recycling, preservation.Perhaps at long last man will become afriend of mother earth instead of anenemy.

So pause a moment before you drinkthat glass of water. It is life's most pre-cious fluid. It has been abused downthrough the ages as if it was a heinouscriminal. But it's still here to keep usalive, because nature is the greatest re-cycler of all,

Wise man will fall into step. t

11

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By Evelyn Witter

Jim Robertson's fingers griPPedtighter around the steeling

"vheel as he

steppecl on the gas, and tried to guidehis dad's high-powered sedan thlouglrthe cleep ruts iu tlie windhg roacl, Ilecast a quick glance at Susie to see ifshe too liacl noticed tlie black stormeloud ahead of them.

"Jim," Susie said in her small, softvoice, raising her great brown eyes tohis, "a stolm's comirig, The roncl is mudt0 the axle even in a shower, Weshoulchr't have ttrken the shortcut,"

"Maybe we can beat it," Jim hopedtrloud,

"If we don't, , . ."

Just then the thundel sounded like a

sixguu salute and the sky lvas shotthrougli with dashes of jig-jag silver.

"We'll be stranded on this cowpathof a road and it's getting dark!" Susie

moaned,"Thele's the old apple-house up the

road," Jim tried to console her. Hepressed harder on the foot feed.

"Apple-house!" Susie moaned again,"I'll take the storml"

Jim said nothing. He s,as ashamedof the fact that he didn't look foru'ardto the apple-house any more than Susie

did. He remembered hearing Susie's

dad, rvho was the torvn's t'eal estate agent,besides farming the places next to theRobertson's, tell about the abandonedplace. He had said that everyonethought it was haunted because lightswent on and off in the place night andday and rveird creaking noises came upfrom the cellar. Susie's dad said it wasa good substantial building though, anda good buy for someone who wouldn'tmind the supernatural. His commissionwould be big enough to help Susiethrough college after she graduatedflom Shelton next year, And Susie didwant to go to college,

12

The sky let down with water of fire'hose pressure. Jim felt the rvheels spin.

He kuew tliey were stuck but good."We've got to hoof it, Susie, before

the clay gets like quicksand, If rve stayin the car we may be stlanded folhours, There's a goocl gravel road abouta mile east of the old apple-house andrvhen the lain Iets up we could walkJrome,

"Leave the car'?" Susie liad a quiverln lier voiee,

"Oh, I can pull it out with the tlactortomorrow."

"But I u'as thinking of leaving thenice safe car for that scary oldhouse, , , ." Susie was twisting her hand'kelchief into a tattered rope,

"Come on," Jim ordered, This, Jimsaid to himself, will be something wildto look back on.

Susie stumbled along the grassy sideof the road. The rain shot pellets ofrvater at them and the wind poundedthe rvater into their clothing. It was thelongest mile Jim had ever rvalked in his

life,"Hele vn'e are!" Jim shouted against

the *,ind even though Susie was just a

ferv feet behind him. He held out hishand and she took it eagerly.

He rvas making for the door lvhen a

gust of rvind pushed it open. Suddenlylights went on in the big room beforethem, Dust was everywhet'e. Barrels andboxes, stacked in neat rows were theonly furnishings. Cobrvebs swung likefilmy curtains from the exposed rafters.

Susie grasped Jim's arm, "Oh! I'maflaid, Jim! Please lets not go in there. please. ." Tears mingled withraindrops on Susie's pale face.

Jim braced himself. Susie's fears madehim feel braver and stronger than hewould have thought possible. He gave

Susie what he hoped looked like anangry look. "Come on, We can't stay outin the rain, We won't have to stay herelong. Maybe our folks will figure outvu,Jrere we ale when we don't come homeon time flom the 4-H rally and will setout to look for us."

This possibility seemed to consoleSusie. Her grip on l'ris arm slackenedarrd she took several steps forward, Nosooner had they enteled the room whena gust of wind pushed hard againsttheir bncks like unseen hands forcingtl'rem further into the room,

Bangl rvent the door, The lights wentoff . Susie screamed, And with herscleams came heavy groaning from thecellar. Susie groped for Jim, her armsgoing around his u'aist, Jim stood like a

statue. It seemed that his heart was theor.rlv organ in his body that was working,and it u'as s'orking overtime-poundingagainst his ribs as if it would knock ahole throuqh his side.

'Oh. Jim," Susie cried. "I'm so

scared!" He felt her shaking. A rivetercouldn't have shaken more putting a boltthrough tu,o or three metal plates.

"We're going to be okay, Sue," Iimsmoothed her rvet hair. "We are goingto start a fire and get dry first."

"Don't leave me! Don't leave me foran instant!" Susie sobbed.

Suddenly the lights flickered, thencame on all over the room. The groaningsounded louder in the cellar.

"It's . . , horrible!" Susie gasped. Jimrvanted to agree with her but he knewhe didn't dare. He had to at least lookbrave or Sue would take off into thedriving rain.

"Come on, Sue," he said evenly."While the lights are on let's see if wecan find some matches. I know there'ssupposed to be a kitchen in the back."

HIGH ADVENTURE

Sue's fingernails dug hard into hishand as she walked with him across thesturdy floor. Then they stopped. Thecreaking and groaning had become fasterand louder. Now Jim could distinguish ametallic sound. There was no visiblechange of expression on Susie's face , . .

just blood-draining fear,"It's worse," she whispered.Jim flexed his muscles and forced

himself to continue to the kitchen. Itwas a bare room with a cistern pump bya wooden sink and an over-sizld blackiron cook stove.

"See," he said, his voice sounding asif it had loomed up from a great dis-tance. "We can build a fire in this oldstove with that packing crate stuff andget warm and dry in no time. Let's lookin that cupboard over there. Maybethere's matches."

Jim opened the cupboard door, tryingto ignore the groaning in the cellar. Thehinges added more sound; a rusty,squeaky sound like a flock of disturbedguinea hens, Susie stood right at hiselbow.

"The cupboard is empty," she saidhoarsely. "Now w]rat?"

Before Jim could think of an answer,the lights went out and the groaningstopped. Susie's scream tore through hiseardrum.

"Susiel Stop itl" Jim commanded. Buthis knees had lost their bending abilityand his back felt like it had substitutedan iron rod for a backbone.

Huddled together there in the dark,clinging to each other for life itself . . .

cold, wet, hungry, and frightened beyondall sensibility, Jim wondered if itwouldn't have been wiser to have stayed

in the car and taken their chances.Then he thought of how Coach Fan-

ning has said: "If you've got a problem,running from it won't solve it. The firststep in solving a problem is to face upto it." That bit of advice applied to lifeas well as to football. The problem athand was to find out what or who washaunting the old apple-house.

"Susie," Jim said as calmly as hecould. "The groaning comes from thecellar, rightP Then let's go down thereand find out what's making the groans."

"Not mel" Susie's response was sureand positive.

"Would you rather stay hereP'"No, No, Jim. Please don't leave me

alone here in the dark.""Come on then.""I'll faint, I'll die!""Come on!' Jim insisted and grabbed

her hand. Half pulling, half stumbling,to the cellar door which he had seen atthe north corner of the kitchen, Jimmade his way with Susie in tow, aciossthe barn-like kitchen.

As soon as his hand touched the knobthe groans from the cellar started andthe lights of the apple-house becamealive again,

Susie gasped and Jim heard her drawin air between her teeth. "I'm leaving!"she cried out in complete, unleashedterror.

"Susiel" Jim grabbed his friend's armand held fast. "Be sensible. You can't goout in that storm!"

As if to prove him right, a gust ofwind howled and a volley of rainsmashed itself against the window pane.

_ Half-dazed, Susie let Jim guide herdown the cellar stairs, They were widesteps, strong and thick. Jim thought:It's like Susie said. This is a good build-ing. Too bad haunted house stories haddriven off buyers. Still, who wouldwant _to live in a place where Iightsturned on and off and groarrs camJ upfrom below?

The groans were louder louder. louder. Susie slumped on the stairwhere the turn was that led directlyto the cellar. The groans took on ametallic sound again.

"What's the matter?" Jim asked in awhisper.

Susie's whisper came out hoarse andarguished. "someone is being tortureddown here. . . . I know it, I kiow it.,,

"Sit there then," Jim tried to free hish_and from her vise-like grip. ..I,ll go onalone,"

"Nol Don't leave me!""Okay then. Come on.',There was one dim light on in the

cellar. Bushel baskets werE piled againstthe stone walls and there ivas ,"h;g;cider press at the east end.

cont. next Poge

FALL 1977 13

"Only the mice, ONLY THE MICE!"

Jim squinted into the gloom of thecellar when Susie's scream filled theplace like the eluption of a volcano.The icy fingers of fear gripped his throatin a stranglehold, pinching his voice intohelplessness. He wanted to ask Susiewhat she had seen to make her screamlike that, but he was powerless to makea single sound.

She anslvered his unasked questionbetween gasps. "There's millions of micedorvn there. They're running up thewalls!"

"Oh," Jim was almost relieved.The groaning came to a gladual halt

and the dim cellar light flickered andwent out.

In the darkness, as they huddled to-gether once more, they heard the micescampering to and fro, to and fro. Susie'sknees were buckling. Jim wondered ifshe r.vould faint. As he held her upwondeling what he would do if sheblacked out, the light flickered on againand the groans began.

"Susie!" Jim cried, the exhilaration ofdiscovery revitalizing his whole body."Here's the reason for the groaning."

"The cider press?" Susie asked inastonishment. Then she laughed. Shethrew back her head and laughed whilehappy tears streamed down her face."I'm so glad . , . I'm so relieved, ,""B-but what turns it onP"

"I don't know yet," Jim admitted."And w-what about the lights?" Susie's

voice pleaded into his ear, "I'm afraida mouse might run up our legsplease, Jim, let's go, . . ,"

"If we just knew how the cider pressand the lights get turned on. ." Jimspoke his thoughts aloud,

"Jim-please. . . ."The press and the lights turned on

again before Jim could tell Susie hemeant to stay and find the answer.

"Now, we don't believe in ghosts," hereasoned. "No one is here to turn onthe lights and the press-no one."

"Only the micel" Susie reminded himwith a quaver in her voice.

14

"Only the mice," nodded Jim. "ONLYTHE MICtr! Susie, that must be it!"

Jim quickly scanned the cellar for the

light switch. There it was on the oakbeam that supported the center of thebuilding. As he left Susie, she swayed.Poor Susie!

Testing the light switch, Jim realizedimmediately that it was loose. Jostling ita little the lights went out and the press

stopped. He jiggled it again. The lights*"rt on and the cider Press started.

"It's just this faulty switch, Susiel

It's just this switchl""Oh, Jim, I can't believe it!"Jim toyed with the switch to reassure

himself and Susie once again that herelay the key of the mystery of the flick-ering lights and the groaning sounds.

"But-but-" Susie's small, soft voicer,vas returning to normal. "How did youknow it was the switch and who or whatit was tampering with it?"

"The mice, Susie," Jim grinned."Don't you remember saying no one ishere except the mice?"

I es.

"Well, when they run up and downthis beam they touch the switch andturn the lights and press on and off."

A man's voice suddenly boomed downat them from the kitchen door, "Who'sdown there?"

"It's Dad!" Susie exclaimed, runningup the stairs with her natural surenessand strength,

"Mr. Robertson is here, too," herfather called,

Jim stood right behind Susie whenthey re-entered the kitchen. There stoodtheir dads in raineoats looking drenchedand drawn with worry.

First Susie began sputtering out thestory of the mystery of the old apple-house, and then Jim cut in, and thenSusie, until the whole story was told.The two men looked as astonished as ifthey had heard of the split atom forthe first time.

"But," said Jim's dad when the storywas completed. "How come the lightsweren't shut off when the apple-housewas abandoned?"

"I can explain that," said Susie's dad."The heirs pay the light bill each monthso there'll be lights for my conveniencewhen I show the place. Of course Ihaven't had a chance to show it muchwith all the tales of weird goings-onthat have been told about this place,"

"Will you be able to sell it now?" Jimasked.

"After that switch is fixedl" laughedSusie's dad.

"Now you can be sure of going tocollege," Jim turned to iook down at thesmiling Susie.

"This is earning a college educationthe hard way!" Susie giggled. "But itwas worth it."

"Come on kids," Mr. Robertson said,stamping toward the front door, "We'vegot to get you home and into some dryclothes."

"And mother's got hot chocolate andsandwiches waiting," Susie's dad addedcheerfully.

Just then the lights dimmed and thegroaning stopped,

There were four amused laughs in thedarkness of the old apple-house. o

HIGH ADVENTURE

Two small boys were trying towake up their father, Finally oneof the boys lifted up one eyelid. "Idon't see why he doesn't answer,"the boy said, "He's still in there."

Stan StewartOklahoma City, OK

\\)

Teacher: There will be an eclipseof the moon tonight; perhaps yourparents will let you stay up towatch it.Studentt What channel is it onP

Bradley MonnMont Alto, PA

A cowboy ran out the door of abuilding, jumped high in the airand landed hard on the ground."Hurt yourselfP" asked a by-stander."No, but I'd like to get my handson the man who moved my horse,"

Stan StewartOklahoma City, OK

CitA Girh What do you use thatlong rope for?Cowbog: That's for catching cows.City Cirl: Hey, that's interesting.What do you use for bait?

Arthur Jones ]r.Portsmouth, NH

Flim: My electric toaster brokedown, so I repaired it with partsfrom an old airplane.Flam: How does it work?Flirz: Not badly, except that nowwhen the toast pops up, it circlesthe table twice before coming infor a landing.

Bradley MonnMont Alto, PA

f\ -.-))

al/Question: What did the Martiansee in his frying pan?Ansu;er; An unidentified fryingobject.

Lennie NewNorwalk, CA

Clerk: "Did you kill any mothswith the mothballs I sold you yes-terday?"Customer: "Nope, I couldn't hit asingle one."

Stan StewartOklahoma City, OK

Questi,on: Name the quietest sportknown to man.Answer; Bowling, you can hear apin drop.

Mary Jane MillerLombard, IL

Teacher: Your composition, "MyDog," is word for word the sameas your brother's.Bruce: That's right. It's the samedrg.

Arthur Jones Jr.Portsmouth, NH

,,)

Questi,on: What goes "ZzrblZzub?"Answer; A bee flying backwards.

Arthur ]ones Jr.Portsmouth, NH

Walking down a country road, acity man saw a farmer holding apig up to a tree to gobble applesfrom its branches. The farmer re-peated this with several pigs."Excuse me," said the city man,"but isn't that an awful waste oftime to feed pigs that way?"The farmer caught his breath andreplied, "What's time to a pigP"

Warren BeboutMorro Bay, CA

A hopeful young lady listed herrequirements with a computer dat-ing service. She wanted someonewho liked people, wasn't too tall,preferred formal attire, and en-joyed water sports. The computerfollowed her wishes exactly: it senther a penguin.

Warren BeboutMorro Bay, CA

FALL 1977

bV O. J. Robertson

"Come on! Be a good sPort." Those

words easy to say, but for some teensthey are difficult to live by. No onewants to lose, but there is onlY onewinner in most competitions. Someonemust accept defeat, or at least try to.Someone must also accept the winner's"crown." Surprisingly, some people arepoor sports even in success. The brag-ging, gloating winner is on the sameplane as the complaining, angry loser.

It is easy to be a good sport wheneverything is going well, rvhen thingsare breaking right. The real test comesin a crisis. At such a time one's sports-manship is tested to the limit. Many per-sons who behave perfectly when nothingmuch is at stake, lose their composurewhen the "heat is on."

Take Don, for instance, a young fel-Iow with tennis in his blood, All hisfriends considered him to be a realChristian gentleman and a good sport.But the final rouncis of a tennis matchproved to be quite otherwise.

Don was trailing four games to five,with a 30-40 score against him in thedeciding set. He and his opponent were.driving the ball back and forth in whatis known as the set point. If Don's op-ponent won this point, the match wouldbe his. In a spurt of brilliant play, Don'sopponent made a drive that Don couldnot retum.

The contest was over. The tired win-ner advanced to the net, smilinq, toshake Don's hand. But Don, redfacedand embarrassed, ignored the friendlygesture. He stomped off the court tothe dressing room. He was angrythrougl.r and through. The spectatorswere stunned. He had classified him-self as a poor sport when he could havebeen a good one.

Great players or competitors in anycontest ale almost invariably good losersand modest winners. Thev accept de-feat gracefully and smilingly, eventhough their hearts may be breaking.

't6

Don will go on playing tennis, buthe'll have fewer fans to cheer him on,When he refused to shake hands withthe winner, Don advertised to the spec-tators and the press that he could playtennis but didn't have the tact andcourage to accept defeat graciously.Maybe he'll win his next match. WillDon then extend a hand to the loser?Sometimes it's the Ioser who deservesto be conglatulated because he madeyou play your best.

There may be games or comPetitionswhich you will enter'. You may progressfrom local, to state, to national com-petition. You may win or lose.

If you lose, be a good sport, Con-gratulate the winner. Show that youloved the competition.

If you win, don't forget that Yoursportmanship reveals a great deal aboutthe kind of person you are. Feel proudof your accomplishments and smile-butnot too broadly, O

'*"*:

iil.':''r#&"1

HIGH ADVENTURE