Show 46 t A aji irv 45 ce V 6 U I 1 went to the door and was almost stunned to find a cloud of mosquitoes attacking me from my windward side the inventor by james J montague you have never lived p PERHAPS next door to a genius if such Is the case you havo missed something however wever dont worry about that there are some experiences in life that one may miss with more profit than loss one of them Is being awakening every morning for or a week by explosions plo like those of small dynamite blasts another Is thrusting your face out of the front door to pick up tile the morning newspaper from the porch find and laving having it completely covered with mosquitoes and mosquitoes inoes which have been newly aroused to a high pitch of fury against the whole human ram race but wait a minute and ill tell you about it one autumn I 1 rented a small cottage tn in new england to escape hay fever which makes life unbearable toward the close of the year for a member of my family there were golf courses jo the neighborhood bud and a trout stream close by the cottage stood on the side of a mountain with a range of higher mountains in view it seemed an ideal spot it would have been except for the genius he was a man of ideas in tact fact with so BO many ideas that one could not keep up with them one was a theory that bay fever from which he also suffered could be cured by mosquitoes I 1 do not mean to say that he be thought mosquitoes could go about treating ha hay fever patients as surgeons go about setting bones the most ardent admirer of the mosquito if the mosquito has any ardent admirers would not credit him film with any such powers but it was tits his conviction that it if you would treat with serum made from the pollen that causes bay fever and send them forth to sting people the pollen would be transferred to the sufferer and he be would thus in time lecome become immune I 1 had observed this man from time to time aft ermy arrival bending over a little stagnant pond in his bis back yard I 1 was naturally curious to know what be was doing but having been reared ly by careful parents I 1 did not go over and ask him impertinent questions it could be really nothing to me that be liked this kind of a pastime if such it was buts but one morning when there was a breeze blowing across the pond toward my porch I 1 went to the door to pick up the new york newspaper which the IL P F D carrier had delivered and was almost stunned to find a cloud of mosquitoes attacking me from my windward side amazed and taken aback by this unsuspected assault I 1 stood there for a minute trying to fight the creatures oft off and then backed in through the door many numbers of them fo Dowing me and biting savagely wherever they got a chance ten or fifteen minutes I 1 spent with a newspaper swatting the pests till thy the last of them was flattened out I 1 naturally wanted to go forth again and find out from whence they had come and if possible why but there was a dark buzzing mass of them ou on the screen so I 1 remained indoors after breakfast there was a knock on the door and a kindly faced old gentleman was standing by it when I 1 opened it 11 good morning he said 1 I 1 hope you were not troubled by those insects you see I 1 never thought they would get away but unfortunately I 1 lifted the screen over them carelessly and they escaped I 1 assure you it will not happen happ en again were those your mosquitoes I 1 inquired trying not to betray any indignation in a manner yes it if any of natures creature can be said to belong to a man I 1 was experimenting with them you dont by any chance happen to be a hay bay fever sufferer sul 1 I told him that I 1 was not and was about to say pay that my wife was when I 1 thought it would hardly be wise to let this man know it it 1 I cant say im sorry tor for that said the visitor and I 1 cant say im glad but it would have been a marvelous test if all those mosquitoes or even 10 per cent of them had bitten you and you had survived you would have been immune to hay bay fever forever it t was the largest flock I 1 ever gathered together and if I 1 had not been care less I 1 might have done wonders with them I 1 told him that I 1 WILS was sorry for ills his I 1 loss os s lint but that I 1 could not join in tits his sorrow over the hie escape of his pets I 1 was riot not for easily understandable ren sons tn in A kindly mooil mood nor old did 1 I regret tits ills refusal to come into the lunise house several times after that I 1 met inel him walking along the aronds a distracted took look on oil tits ills face twice I 1 saw him mooning around the golf course with a measuring tape and setting little flags into tin the ground here and there once while lie he wits was thus occupied I 1 almost drove a ball into his shoulder blado blade I 1 went up hurriedly to apologize but he assured me that lie should do the apologizing as lie had no rights on the course but was merely tr trying y ing some little experiments before he made a 8 test what kind of a festl test I 1 inquired 1 I have an idea he said that if this game could be played with small petards small cannon I 1 should say it would be very much more exciting and much less fatiguing than it is at present I 1 have in mind some experiments which I 1 shall put into execution when the governors of the club give me their permission meanwhile I 1 am working out some of my theories at home borne but do not be al alarmed arwed I 1 shall be careful to cause you no such inconvenience ven veni lence ence as you suffered from the mosquitoes qui toes I 1 thanked him as cordially as I 1 could and went on my way tile the next morning I 1 heard an explosion something like that made by a dynamite blast when it has been well covered up my wife and I 1 changed abang ged our sleeping quarters to the rear of the house hous e hut but we got little sleep day after day the noise was repeated four or live deto nations in quick succession we got to waking at daylight to wait for them and were none too easy in our minds I 1 had no idea of how powerful tills this golf gun of his was or when he was likely to hook or slice with it and land a missile in our bedroom then one morning it happened the projectile came in through one window and out the other tile the resistance of the glass not giving it notable pause as it sped along in less than five minutes he was at the front door all apolo apologies agles 1 I suppose he said that this error in direction will result in having to give up my experiments just as I 1 was so near the goal but really sir I 1 cannot continue annoying you thus all the time can I 1 1 I 1 am convinced that you can sir I 1 said politely but I 1 sincerely hope you wont you may be sure of IL lt he said 1 I have given up my efforts in this direction but at the end of the month I 1 hope to have ready an inert gas as which in war time car can be dropped over cities and extinguish the whole population painlessly it will if it succeeds provide a wonderful method of waging a war if you care to I 1 would like to have you come over when I 1 turn loose the first cloud of it from the top of that mountain over there I 1 dont know what became ot of him or his experiment it have worked tor for hed either have passed on or been lo in jail by this time but I 1 took no chances we closed up the house bouse and moved three hundred miles away the next day without leaving any malling mailing address a 0 bell syndicate erndl caf service |