THE SMITHS TAKE THEIR BOW. RIDDLES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 22, 26 January 1935, Page 3 (Supplement)

THE SMITHS TAKE THEIR BOW.

RIDDLES.

(Sent in by Peter Hunter. Thames; nge 12.) Q: What flies without wings? A Time. Q : What goes up hill aiul down hill and never moves ? A.: A road-

(By Frances Kelly, 3S, Queen Mary's Avenue, Epsom, 5.E.3; age 14)

June hung over the gate and watched enviously as Margaret Layng tapped up the road oil her dainty, high-lieeled shoes. She looked down at her own dirty sandshoes, with the holes in the toes, and wished that her daddy was as rich as Mr. Layng, though of course he was the best daddy in the world.

"Why, hello June," Margaret said, and straightway plunged into the details of the party she was going to have at Christmas, while June listened eagerly to hear her say that she was going to invite the Smiths, but no such invitation came, and Margaret at length walked olf, pleased to know that she had impressed her little friend with all the details of the party.

Meanwhile, June walked slowly towards the orchard, where she could hear the cries of Gordon, Barry and Iris as they played hide and seek among the trees. Gordon was the first to notice the big tear that fell slowly down her check, and when lie heard the reason he was in favour of running after Margaret and pushing her in the pond. The others thought of the consequences, and shook their heads vigorously.

"No; I'll tell you what, let's have a party of our own," suggested Barry.

"What about a concert?" said Iris. "That would be much easier than a party, and we can make people pay threepence to come in." (She was of a practical frame of mind.)

This motion was carried unanimously and secret preparations went on in fine style. A length of rope and some canvas disappeared miraculously from the toolshed. The girls seemed to be always down in the old shed at the bottom of (he garden, and upon investigation it was found that all the rubbish had been moved to one corner, and that the dust had all been swept up into a neat little pile. "Now what?" said mummy, but she was not kept long in suspense, for the next morning notices were posted around the house and. on the gate, re-

quite a few co-operating in thi3 way. If you have a plan that has been asked for, and would also perhaps like to write to a brother enthusiast, the best way is lo put the plans and covering letter in a plain stamped envelope. Send this to me and I will be pleased to forward the plan. I have to acknowledge the following letters re plans wanted. 11. C.H., Tolaga Bay, sends along a Curtiss Wright Coupe plan for J.1.M., Ngongotaha, and Edwin Hill, and H. H. Alcock, of North Auckland, send down communications for R.C.H.

E.J.H., of North Auckland, has a number of plans that he would like to exchange with other readers. What have you? He has just finished the Gipsy Moth flying scale model and likes it. The joystick is pulled backward to bring the nose of a 'plane up. All the motions are natural. Joystick forward, means the nose will go down; joystick to right depresses the right wing, etc. In competitive work on scale models it is always well to leave some of the working parts uncovered, or the judgo might miss all the good work inside. T.L., of Gisborne, wants plans of tliu Lockheed Altair.

H.H.A., of North Auckland, wants a copy of the plans of the Nieuport 17-Cl, and the C3O Autogiro, also plans of the Altair and the Hawker Fury. No, I have never published the plans of the Hawker Fury, but may do so one of these days. There are so many 'planes that I want to put in that I cannot possibly give you them all. However, I certainly hope to publish plans of the Douglas DC2 some time soon. If you have 2G good plans collected and only been going twelve months I think you are not doing so badly.

N.J., of Hornby, South Island, has plans of the SOB, Waco Cabin, CurtissWright Coupe, Vought Corsair, Cygnus, Fokker D 7, and he will exchange any three of them for the following: Boeing Fighter, Sopwith Snipe, Hawk PGE.

Beginner, Rotowaro, wants to know how balsa can be bent in a simple way. Well, thin strips or sheets can be bent dry by pulling the wood through the tightly gripped thumb and forefinger, coaxing the curve in gradually. More acute bends may be made by wrapping damped balsa sheets round a bottle filled with hot water, binding the balsa into place and drying in a warm oven. Always use tape for binding in cases like this, because string will cut through the soft balsa and leave deep marks that are almost impossible to get out.

questing the attendance of "anyone who cared to come." While in the corner a very small "3d each" was displayed.

The actual concert was given on the afternoon before Christmas Pay. Chairs were arranged in the shed. One end was partitioned off with a piece of canvas, through the many holes of which an eye could occasionally be seen. The first item to which most interest was attached was the collapse of the box office. This had been constructed by Gordon, and consisted of a number of butter boxes covered over with a piece of sacking. This last, however, made the "office" become so stuffy that Cordon began to fidget round, and this caused the catastrophe. He was extricated, and then the show began.

June started with a piece of recitation but, being somewhat nervous at being the first on the list, she forgot the lines and had to be prompted off stage. She finished after much stammering, hesitation and blushing. Then she and Iris were to give a dance.

Gordon, who was not a bit crestfallen by the incident mentioned a little earlier, explained that the scene was meant to be a fairy glade and that June and Iris were two .fairies dancing to the music of a pixie piper—in other words, Barry, who, being too shy to appear in person on the stage, was detailed to whistle a tune from behind the curtains.

Just as they were in the midst of the dance June stood still and gazed at the door. There was daddy! He had stayed at work in the afternoon and had brought home a friend to tea. Seeing the notices posted conveniently about the house, they had hurried down to the shed and walked in. In spite of many midges from Iris. June felt as if she could not move, and though Gordon gesticulated and whispered from behind the curtain, she did not move. Unsuspecting, Barry trilled on with little sharps and trebles, and at last ended on a high note which had meant to be the conclusion of the dance.

Somehow everyone felt it. There was a burst of applause. In the silence the notes had seemed to have come from nothing but the throat of a bird. Silvery and sweet, they seemed to belong to a nightingale. Then suddenly, as the applause was at its height and Gordon was working industriously at the side of the stage, the curtains came down with a crash! They had not been securely fastened, and as the dust rose from the floor a head stuck up in the middle of the pile. Then another and another. Crimson-faced Iris, June and Barry jumped up and dashed out of the door. The friend laughed uproariously. The three congregated in the orchard afterwards, and were soon joined by Gordon.

"I say," he cried, "after you went I heard daddy and that man "talking together and do you know what? He said that he had a big engineering job waiting for daddy and that lie thought daddy would be the best to have it, because he must be pretty decent to have kids with such spirit as we have! He was going to it to Mr. Layng, but he went to the party this afternoon and lie didn't like Margaret!"

All of which proved that he was a very eccentric man, but what did that matter so long as daddy got the position; and as mummy remarked, "it was the best Christmas present they had had for a long while."