Show tiam 0 adventurers CLUB HEADLINES FROM THE LIVES OF PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF 1 mountain chase by FLOYD flom GIBBONS famous headline hunter H HELLO ELLO now EVERYBODY heres a yarn the like of which not see in another dogs age the simple tale of a country doctor and a country doctors daughter the story of a life at stake and a reputation that might be ruined its a thing that might have happened to any of us yet its got more real terror and anguish in it than many a book written by a pioneer explorer in one of the farthest corners of this old spinning ball we live on the story comes to me from mrs bertle bertie hall warner of brooklyn N Y in it she tells of how in 1912 she was living with her father H R IV hall a country doctor in moundsville Mounds ville W va down on the ohio river bertles berties dad had bad a lot ot of patients who came to him from the outlying hill districts across the river and among these patients was an old fellow named black who showed up every saturday to get a certain powder that doo doc hall prescribed old mr blacks wife usually came with him they lived far out in the hills on the other side of the ohio and saturday the trip into town was their big day but one fine saturday in september they were in a hurry to get back home when they got to doe doc halls office they found the waiting room full of patients it would take an hour or more before their turn came in line so they decided not to wait ile he had taken the wrong powder bertle bertie was her dads helper and she was there in the office when it happened it was a curious sort of accident and heres how she ex plains f it in small towns she bh says ys people soon become familiar with the doctor and all his habits one of my dads habits was to prepare the medicine tor for his regular patients and leave the packages on the bertle bertie never in her life had such a ride table in the main office or waiting room on this occasion mr black decided that he could help himself to his own medicine and be b e on 0 n his way but old mr black made a mistake A little while later when bertle bertie went to look for another mans prescription she find it she did find old mr blacks though and immediately sensed what had happened the old fellow had taken the wrong powder and the powder he had taken was a DEADLY POISON 1 I know what to do says bertle bertie we had no car and mr black and his wife had a long head start on us but somehow we had to stop him before he took one of those powders his own life and fathers reputation as a physician both were at stake I 1 telephoned a store on the other side of the river but they had passed there father was prostrated by the enormity of the situation I 1 ran to the railroad station where a man named henderson enderson II rented cars but lie have one in the place I 1 only had to wait a few minutes before one came iu in but those few minutes seemed hours to me off on a wild automobile ride finally though a car came in and bertle bertie climbed in henderson the owner had a wooden leg but he could drive after a fashion also he knew a lad who knew the people on the other side of the river he found him and took him along they set out at breakneck speed for the river when they got there they ran into further difficulties the only way to get across the river was by means of an old fashioned hand ferry operated by pulling on a cable that stretched from one bank to the other it had broken loose and was ten feet out in the water when they got there but that stop henderson he drove right out into the water after it he got it back drove the car aboard and they started on their journey across the river it was slow going pulling that ferry across the river bertle bertie thought never get to the other side all the way over sinister pictures were eze flashing 1 1 g through her mind pictures 0 of t old mr black reaching his home 0 me in the hills and opening that package e of deadly powders pictures of old mr black riding down from the hills in a shiny black hearse of her fathers reputation being ruined and his practice going to pot while that poky old ferry crawled at a snails pace across the ohio eventually they got to the other side and started up into the hills such a ride bertle bertie never had bad in her life we went over unbroken paths and up runs and creeks she says until I 1 thought I 1 should never see home again we went down bare hillsides hill sides where there even a sign of a trail drove through galleys gul leys until finally we came to a moon shiners place far up the side lit f the mountain and there we stopped A car be made to go any farther into that rough bare mountainous country they got there in time henderson and the lad climbed out of the car and started off alone leaving roe me behind at the moon shiners cabin I 1 was there an hour and I 1 never spent such an anxious hour in my life you know boys and girls its one thing to be doing something to avert a tragedy but its still another to be standing idly by waiting for the outcome for a full hour bertie sat there in an anguish of suspense then henderson and the lad came back again with good news they had reached the black homestead in time to prevent old mr jauk black from taking any of those terrible powders they had the package with them full and unopened A life had been saved and berties i dads reputation as a physician was as good as it ever was service |