OCR Text |
Show IFLOYD FLOYD GIBBONS GIBBONS"The GIBBONSC GIBBONSAdventurers C \ > r Adventurersr a u f Adventurers ' club ClubN Cluba N \ a F " vcy \ r r"The - . : . "The The " 1\Ian 1 Ian Man Uan \ Fi Fiom Fl0m vm the West " By FLOYD GI GIBBONS GIBBONSFamous GIBBONSFamous BBONS Famous Headline Hunter . 7'OU 7OU ' OU know now , . boys and acid girls , somewhere somcwhere in these United Statcstherc's Statesthere's States Statcs YOU Y . there's theres therc's thercs ' a big , . soft voiced vOlccd Texas Te\.as Te.as Te .as as " \ . cowboy , andIf and if ) } ou know knowanybody knowanybody knowanybody anybody hJ.e'that hJ.ethat hJethat like'that likethat like . ' ' that , , tell ten him thatVllllflCd thattmified that \ Wmified \VllllflCd VllllflCd \\tmified tmified \ McEvoyIS 1fcEvoyis McEvoy 1fcEvoy is looking 100J.mg 100Jmg . forhim forhim for forhim him . , No-don't No don't dont No - - don't dont ' get me wrong nowVimfred now . Winifred \Vimfred Vimfred Wfinifred \ isn't isnt ' looking for forthat forthat"guy forthat'guy forthatguy that that"guy thatguy ' " ' " guy to collect a bill , , or to bawl him himn out for that tough cut cutof cutof cutof of Texas TChas beefshe beef she got from the butcher botcher shop last 'Yo Yo ' veek \ eek cek She She'vants Shewants Shewants 'vants vants wants ' to thank that tbat cowpuncher for a little Uttle favor he did liei hel het once-a once a once - - a littlc little littlcfavor littlefavor littlefavor favor tint th'1t th1t that ' she will wlll ne\ ne never neer \ er forget as long as she lives 11\es 11 es lines linesAnd livesAnd \ _ And nd back bac1 . of that favor lies a storJ-an storJ an story-an story stor - an adventure ad\"enture ad "enture enture \ " story of the first firstwater firstwater firstwater water water . This yarn goes back to 1924 , when Winifred , with her hus hus- husband husband - band and her three year old baby boy , was living in England At Atthat Atthat Atthat that time , a bunch of American cowboys were staging a rodeo at atthe atthe atthe the Crystal Palace In London , and they had the whole doggone doggoneconservtIve doggoneconservative doggoneconservative conserv\tIve conserv tIve conservative ' \ town talking about the capers they cut up and the themonkeyshlnlng themonkeyshlning thernonkeyshlning monkeyshlnlng monkeyshlning they did , at hours when the show was all over overand overand overand and they were supposed to be In bed for the night nightThose nightThose nightThose Those cowpunchers rode down the busiest stl stieets streets eets In London , on horse horsebac1 horseback horseback bac1 back . , . al at full gillop g'llIop gllIop gallop ' , , letting out ' 'ilps ilps ' J yips Ips ' ' and "whoopees whoopees " " until untll the Londoner Londoners Londoner'ears : . 'ears ears ' ears rang . They lassoed the time hits h'l.ts hl.ts hlts lints ' . off of London cops , and dropped theIr theIrlarIats theirlariats theirlariats larIats on the necks of London gentlemen , wrInl wrinkling lIng their Imm'lcul'lte Immlcullte immaculate Imm'lcul'ltecollars immaculatecollars immiculitecollars ' ' collars and nnd discomposing dlscomposmg them most horribly hornbly , bah Jove I ' Winifred MCLVOY McEvoy MCLVOYthought McEvoythought McEyoythought thought they were a bunch of roughnecks-and roughnecks and roughnecks roughnecl s-and s and - and so they were . . . I mean , It IttaL.es ittakes ittakes taL.es taLes takes . a n roughneck to reason " with "lth lth a regiment of cows Few rew college pl0 pro pl0fessors professors piofessors fessors have hare evci erel ever made a success succcss of ot itCowboys it itCowboys Cowboys Were Wild Wlld and Fearful Creatures to Her Her.Winifred HerWinifred . Wimfred Winifred never expected to meet one of these cowboys CObOJ coiiboys CO\\ CO \ \ bOJ s face to face faceIt faceIf faceIf It If one of ot them diem had bad come up and rung her front door bell , she'd shed shc'd shcd ' h'l\ h'l hl hive h'le have ' . \ e run runscreamIng runscreaming runscreaming screamIng for the police That's Thats ' how scared sheas slie she \ was \\as as of those wild and andwooy andwoolly andwoolly wooy woolly ] \ westerners esterners But Dut one dav day da she did tlid meet one-and one and one ol1E - and .and . she has ne\ ne neer never neverhad neverhad \ er erhad had anJ any an } cause to regret ItNow itNow it itNow Now It so so'happened sohappened 'happened happened ' happened that the whole McEvoy family were werepretty werepretty werepretty pretty keen on aviation . . Winifred's Winifreds ' ' husband had been an officer officerIn officerin officerIn In the Royal Air Force and had flown a sky buggy all through the theWorld theWorld theWorld World war . And after this thing I'm Im ' going to tell you about had hadhappened hadhappened hadhappened happened , he said that he'd hed ' often been scared during the war , . but buthe'd buthe'd buthe'd buthed he'd hed ' never run across anything In the line fine of fright like the terrorhe terror terrorhe terrorhe he felt Just a second or two before that big Texas cowboy went wentInto wentinto wentInto Into action . There ' was 'o o ' as a big aeronautical exhibition staged at Hendon , in July July,1924 July1924 , 1024 1923 , , and the l\IcE\ l IcE \ McEvoys lIcEOY8 McEyoys \ OY8 went up to see it At that time , Hendon was just justa a big field , with no modern facilities faclllt1es for safeguirding safegu'1rding safegu1rding safeguarding ' the crowds that thatcame thatcame thatcame came to see the exhibition e\hlbitlon e hlbitlon " \ : Nothing but a rope separated the spectators spectatorstrom spectatorsfrom spectatorsfrom trom from the field , . alld and Winifred 1VnJfred ) and her husband were stan standing lng at that rope ropewell , well up In the front of the crowd cro'i\-d cro'i croi d ' \ - . . Interestin * ' Doin's Doins ' Take Their Minds From Baby Baby.They BabyThey . They had their little boy with them , too-WInifred's too WInifred's WInifreds too-Winlfred's Winlfred's Winlfreds too - - Winifred's Winifreds ' ' husband was washolding washolding washolding holding him In his arms , . . The little HtLle fellow didn't didnt ' like 111.e 111e . that very much , . f _ n ni nR i R - - _ _ "I I " 1 Saw a Rope Settle Down Around That Baby Form . " . though He kept hept saving saying sa lng : "Want Want 'Want " ' to sit down , . " and after a while "hIle hIle " , Wini Wlni Wini- Winifred Winifreds . - fred freds s husband set him on the time ground between him and his wife Then Thenhe Thenhe Thenhe he became absorbed in the eslilbltlon exhibition agaInWinIfred againWinifred again againWinifred Winifred was absorbed In that exhibition , too . She , . herself herselfhad , had been attached to a flying unit during the war , and she was wasas wasas wasas as interested in aviation as her husband . Planes were zoomIng zoomIngand zoomingand zoomingand and stunting all over the field , landing and taking off so fast you youcoutd youcould youcould coutd could hardly keep count of them . And the next thing WInifred WInifredknew Winifredknew Winifredknew knew , . she looked down to where her baby should have been- been beenwhere beenwhere been - where she could have sworn he was-and-well-he was and well he was - - and - well - he just lust wasn't wasnt wasn'tthere wasn'tthere wasn'tthere wasntthere ' there . 1 b < I ; riobtened rIhtened ribtened . , , Winifred cast a quick quid glince ghnce glance out across the field And there thereshe thereshe thereshe she saw something that ' . filrly f'l.lrly fl.lrly fllrly fairly made her heart stop beating A plane had hadjust hadJust hadjust just landed andas and was \\as as \ taxiing to a stop fifteen or twenty feet away from fromthe fromthe fromthe the ropes behind which she was standing And toddling across the field fieldright fieldright fieldright right Into the path of the plane was-her was her was - her little bov boy bo ) . Youngster Wanders Into Jaws of Sudden Death Death.Says DeathSays . Says Winifred Wnifred [ : 'I I ' I was terrified terrltled In one horrible second , I could see seethat seethat seethat that tiny , belo beloved . , ed figure cut to pieces by the whirling wblrlIng propeller blades . I Iknew Iknew Iknew knew I couldn couidn t get to my baby In time to do any ood-and ood and good-and good good - and the roar ot of otthe ofthe ofthe the plane would prevent preHmt present even my voice from reaching him"Crying him"Crying him him"Crying "Crying Crying " my husband's husbands ' name , . I attempted to clamber under underthe underthe underthe the ropes , when I heard a quietly compelling voice that even evenreached evenreached evenreached reached my hysterical understanding . The voice said : 'Don't Dont ' ' get getexcited getexcited getexcited excited , Ma'am Maam Ma'am/ Ma'am Maam Ma'amand ' / , ' and then I saw something happen that 1 I dIdn't dIdnt dIdn'tthink didn'tthink didn'tthink didntthink ' think possible . "I I " felt a jeiklng jeiking jell lng movement beside me , heard a swishing swisliing sound and andsaw andsaw andsaw saw a rope settle down don do\\ do \ \ n around that baby form In a fraction of a second secondhe secondhe , he was pulled to the ground and diagged dwgged to safety , out from un under er th the thewhirling thewhirling whirling blades of the propeller . A Life-Line Life Line - Floats in From Heaven . "It It " all happened so swiftly swlfUy that the crowd ( who were crania cranliio cranlJlt > , lhl'1r lhl1r their lhl'1rnecks theirnecks llicirnecks ' necks at a particularly partlculary ] daring exhibition up nbo\ nbo above nboe \ e ) didn't didnt ' renll reall/e reall e realize / what whathad \ whathad \ bat bathad had occurred As I reached for my baby bab ) , . tlie the time rope . was .as as deftly defUy licked flicked lickedfrom flickedfrom ! flickedfrom from around bis bls his body . . He lIe Ile was slightly disheveled , but quite unhurt unhurtAnd . . And by the tho time my husband and I real1 realized d that we really bad had a son sonour , our CO\\ CO cowboy COboy \ \ boy friend'o friend \'o 'o o \ was ' as gone . . . stronghands "I I " had a hazy recollection of a very large Stetson , strong hands on a rope , . and a wonderful vOice-but vOice but voice - but we were never able ableto ableto ableto to publishedthat find our baby's babys ' rescuer . I hope-if hope if hope - If this thl story Is i < ever published -that that - that that quiet voiced man will see it , and I know that he has hasthe hasthe hasthe the constant prayers and gratitude of a widowed mother , who whohas whohas whohas has now only the son he saved for her . " givehim glvehim So , bois bos boys , } and girls , . it If you iun tun 1 un across that Texas cowpuncher co\\puncher co puncher \ \ , just give glve him that th.1t th1t . message messagc from Winifredwiu Winifred WinifrederW2U Winifredc er-W2U er W2U c ( - > -wiu wiu - VVIsU ' , Servlco servloo service . |