FROM THE WATCH TOWER

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 690, 15 June 1929, Page 8

FROM THE WATCH TOWER

By “THE LOOK-OUT MAN." SCHOOL'S IN “I cannot understand them playing poker with only uinepence in the pool.”—Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M. The Jack-pot's open—ninepence in — A ' '(teener" ancl a nimble " tvuy' : ; A. fortune here to lose or win ... Who’s going to scoop the pool today! Excitement waxes, fingers twitch, I’ll go four, and you'll go he! Pulses tingle, eyeballs twitch . . . Here's the best of luck to me! Who will earn the price of sinThe “deener” and the nimble "tray.” What a Kitty! Ninepence in The Jack-pot's open—let vs pray! Squid, BE. THE SPECIFIC One, William Minty, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment at the Supreme Court yesterday, it is in moments like these that one needs a minty. CATCHING "CATS” The police seem to be having as much trouble catching the “cat’’ burglar as Mr. Suburbs has in silencing a serenading Thomas at night with spare hoots. PONDO The name Pondo bestowed on the immature water-loving pachyderm or hippopotamus that is such a popular exhibit at the Auckland Zoo causes the idly curious to wonder what system is followed by the authorities in naming such assets. The question assumes a larger importance in view of the City Council’s recent discussion on the suitability of Maori names, and it might be possible to induce Mr. J. R. Lundon to propound a Maori name that would titillate without being actually improper, or Councillor Alice Basten to offer the name of some eminent divine. There seems no adequate reason why a City Council that can have happy discussions over street names should not be able to apply its nimble fancy to the council’s zoological properties. Followers of the turf might approve a system by which, as in racing calendars, the antecedents of the animal could be laid bare at a glance. Failing something like this, Pondo seems a very satisfactory name, especially since the proprietor spends most of his time in a pool. It has one serious drawback, that there is no rhyme to it, or at least, only one, the word rondeau. And a rondeau is such a complicated verse form as to deter even the most enthusiastic jingler. A rondeau on that theme would be more than even Pondo is worth. THE LONELY HEIGHTS

Alone with his kodak, that indispensable adjunct to modern travel, a venturesome American engineer has perished on the unsealed crest of Kinchinjunga, the third highest mountain in the world. Many a solitary climber has given up his life trying to penetrate the secrets of great peaks, hut few have done so at such a height as this daring alpinist attained. Last seen at an elevation of about 25,000 feet, he was within 3,000 feet of majestic Kinchinjunga’s untrodden summit. The tragedy of the British expedition which assaulted Everest is recalled. Its equipment was the most modern possible, its organisation the most elaborate, but this could not save two of the party from death amid the snows. Though a few hundred feet lower in height, Kinchinjunga is even better known than Everest, as from the border settlements of civilisation it appears as the most conspicuous height of the stupendous Himalaya range. The two great peaks are within 70 miles of each other, but the other of the great ones, Goodwill Austen, second only to Everest, is hundreds of miles to the west in the secondary range of the Ivarakorams. Long known mysteriously as K2, or Dapsang, Godwin Austen is still perhaps the most inscrutable height of all. PLUS TOOTHBRUSH The question of ivhen is a lodger not a lodger has exercised great minds before today, particularly since it has a direct bearing on the ancient human tendency to absorb moisture on occasion. The advice of Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., is that hotel licensees should be suspicious of would-be lodgers who arrive without luggage, and particularly if, not only without a clean collar, they also lack a toothbrush. The ability to travel light, is of course a boon, but we never leave out toothbrush behind except by accident. There was an All Black footballer of a former day who went to Australia on tour with his belongings wrapped up in a red handkerchief, but that was in the age before footballers acquired polish, and even the curious habit of wearing dinner suits. Then again, it was not so long ago that men of the rugged type regarded a toothbrush as a sign of effeminacy. It is still possible that survivals of that picturesque breed may present themselves before horrified booking dlerks. In which cases licensees must be mindful gf ihe magisterial dictum, and stand oy to repel boarders. ■