CHAPTER XXVI

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;