the best readers whose rates are midway between the slowest and the most rapid in the class.

3. Draw four large links in a chain and write in them titles for the main incidents of this story.

4. Think of the chief trait of each dog. What one adjective would you use to characterize each of them?

5. Is the title of the story well chosen? What was the law of club

and fang"? Suggest another title for the story.

6. Compare the last paragraph on p. 288 with "The Taming of Animals," p. 45. Would Mitchell regard Buck's change as development upward or downward? Tell the class about dogs which learned to do various tasks or tricks. What other uses of dogs have you read about in your geographies or other books? 7. Make a list of words the meanings of which you cannot guess from the story. Look them up in the glossary.

2.

8. Volunteer reading. Read London's The Call of the Wild to see how Buck and Spitz became mortal enemies and fought to the death: how Buck was brutally treated, almost killed, and saved by a friend; how Buck repaid his friend's kindness; how be became as wild as his ancestors, and the leader of a pack of wolves. ADDITIONAL READINGS. — 1. "The Sagacity and Courage of Dogs," E. H. Baynes, in National Geographic Magazine, 35: 253-275. "Mankind's Best Friend," E. H. Baynes, ibid., 35: 185–201. 3. My Life with the Eskimos, V. Stefansson. 4. Adrift on an Ice Pan, W. T. Grenfell. 5. A Wilderness Dog, Clarence Hawkes. 6. Rab and His Friends, John Brown. 7. Bob, Son of Battle, Alfred Ollivant. 8. A Dog of Flanders, Louise De la Ramée. 9. Famous Dogs in Fiction, J. Walker McSpadden. 10. Stikeen, J. Muir. 11. Lad, A Dog, Albert Payson Terhune..

CLASS-LIBRARY READINGS

OLD-FASHIONED JOURNEYS

I. "The Story of the Motorcycle," Wonder Book of Knowledge, 52–58. 2. "The Growth of the Motor Truck," ibid., 481-489.

3. "The Carriage," Stories of Useful Inventions, 168-189.

4.

"The Platte and the Desert," F. Parkman in The Promise of Country Life, 31-43.

5. "How Our Ancestors Traveled," Book of Knowledge, 19: 6105-6112. 6. "Man's Most Faithful Friends," Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia,

3: 1018-1025.

7. "The Father of the Steam Boat," ibid., 4:1381-1382.

8. "The Four-Footed Ship of the Desert," ibid., 2: 588-590. 9. "Picture Story of Transportation," ibid., 10: 3998.

Find the writer's purpose in writing this imaginary story. Determine whether he accomplishes his purpose.

"What's that? What's that?" Bob Sanderson, New York office manager of the Flick Rubber Company Ltd. nearly dropped the telephone receiver in his excitement. "Say that again, Mac."

Back over the wire came the voice of the Western manager in his Chicago office: "I say, old man Steiger tells me that the big Thompson rubber contract is to be awarded to-morrow morning at a special meeting of the Continental Trust. Now get this and in a hurry, too. Either the chief or you must be in Chicago to-morrow. Better both come."

"Can't be done, Mac. Chief is at his place at Norwalk." "It's got to be done. There's millions in this contract. Mr. Flick must be on hand to present our case. Meeting's at ten, room 717, Exchange Building. See that he gets the Twentieth Century Limited. It's now 2:32 Eastern Standard Time. The Century leaves New York at 2:45. You can get a cab and catch it. It stops at Harmon for five minutes to leave the electric engine and put on the locomotive. You've got an hour and a quarter to get him from Norwalk to Harmon and thirteen minutes to make it yourself. Rush it."

Sanderson hung up the receiver and things hummed in the New York offices of the Flick Rubber Company. In two minutes the senior partner was acquainted with the situation over the private telephone that connected his country home at Norwalk with his New York City office. In five more his chauffeur was driving the big roadster out of the garage. Questions thrown at the chief concerning important business matters of the day were answered by a short, "I'll wire you what to do from the Century. Stay near the telephone all day, and keep in touch with Western Union. I'll relay everything to you."

Five minutes later the automobile was eating up the twentyfive mile stretch to Harmon, and when the Twentieth Century Limited pulled into the station, Mr. Flick was waiting at the platform.

"Close connection, sir?" asked Sanderson as he boarded the train.

"Yes, but we made it easily. Couldn't have done that twenty years ago. Good long-distance service, private wires, sixty horse-power motor, fine roads, and trains absolutely on time- that's what good transportation is, Sanderson. Now we've got nineteen hours to get ready to sell Thompson our rubber to-morrow morning in Chicago. Let's get to work in my stateroom. Tell me all you know about this and we'll get in touch with Mac in Chicago by wire."

He chuckled as he settled down to work. "It's rather giving the slip to old Joe Telford. He's expecting me to speak at a Chamber of Commerce dinner in New York, this evening. I sent word that I had an important errand out of town. Guess he'll think so when he finds out what it was. He's the only rubber man I'm afraid of, with Gorham out in California on a vacation."

The next morning at breakfast on the train Flick read an item in the paper mentioning Telford's speech and his own absence from the New York dinner. Sharply at 9:45 the Century rolled into the La Salle Street station at Chicago; the two men

stepped into a waiting car that MacLean, the Chicago manager, had ready, drove quickly to the Exchange Building, and, to the astonishment of their Western competitors, appeared at the offices of the Continental Trust.

But a moment later it was Mr. Flick's turn to be surprised, for as he greeted the business men in the room he was amazed to receive a smiling handshake from the man he had left behind him.

"The Twentieth Century of the New York Central, or the Broadway Limited of the Pennsylvania may be fast-but let me tell you something that's faster, John Flick,” said Telford.

"How did you get here?" exclaimed Flick in the midst of a chorus of laughter from the group around the table. "Sanderson said he was positive that you were at a meeting in your office when the Century left, and I have just read the mention of your speech last night."

"That's right, I made it — and it was right there that I heard about this meeting. But I'm here anyway. Want to know how I did it? You thought you'd steal a march on me. Well, you forgot just one thing - the airplane service from Long Island, New York, to Grant Park, Chicago. I caught the tubes under the river to the flying field on Long Island at 10:20 last night, bought the rights in an airplane, practically had to kidnap an air pilot, and just got out of his machine over in the park five minutes ago. Eleven hours and fifteen minutes on the way, and lost time at that. Fine ride, though. Had motor trouble near Cleveland and had to come down for what seemed like a week. Fog bothered my pilot, too. And now, gentlemen, will you let me tell you why you should buy Telford Rubber for your tire plant, and not my old friend Flick's product?"

"We'll be glad to hear from you both," said the presiding officer, "but it's only fair for you to know that you'll have to make better terms than we think you can, to beat the offer that John Gorham made us before either of you got here."

"Has Gorham been telegraphing from the Coast?" asked Mr. Flick.

"No," was the answer. "Gorham is up-to-date as well as you gentlemen. He's been talking to us by radio. We have our own amplifier in the room, and he certainly made us a convincing speech. Now we are ready to hear from you, and we'll listen to you in the order of your arrival."

CLASS ACTIVITIES

1. To test your reading, see if you can make a list of the events which concern each man separately: Sanderson, Flick, Telford, and Gorham. Check and correct your list after a second reading. 2. What means of communication are named in this selection? Name those you have used yourself. Which have been used by people you know personally? Which have you seen but not used?

3. Make a set of questions to bring out the purpose for which this selection was written.

4. What new information have you gained from this reading? Go back and get one definite fact about travel or messages from each part of the story.

ADDITIONAL READINGS. I. "Darius Green and His Flying Machine," John Townsend. 2. "The First Air Voyage," Sidney Lanier, in The Book of Bravery, Second Series.

2. THE FIREMAN

ANONYMOUS

There is one feature of this story which is probably not true to actual life on a railroad. Find what that improbability is. Then decide whether it spoils the tale as a story.

On the payroll of the M. C. Railroad, he was plain Charles Gannet, Fireman, but he was destined to get a great opportunity to "make good." This is how it came about.

The two termini of the road, now grown to be "sixth" cities, demanded ten-hour trains instead of the twelve-hour expresses that had previously been their pride. Five new Pacific type locomotives of superb dimensions had been pur