688 
THE RURAL NEW-YORICER 
OCT. n 
THE PIE HUNTER’S PROFIT. 
A TALE OF PLUNDER. 
Being an account of the Farmers' Movement of 1S90- 
1900, viewed from the standpoint of a citizen of 
America, A.D. 1930. 
CHAPTER i. 
U 
On Board the Electra, A.D. 1 930. 
W ELL, Mary, the Electra leaves New York at 
nine o’clock. It is now half-past eight. Are 
you ready ?” 
“Almost, John. The roll of baggage went down the 
tube five minutes ago. It’s only 92 miles, you know. We 
can enter the tube at station 1,496 and be on board in 
15 minutes.” 
“ All right. No umbrellas or useless duds in these days, 
such as we were reading about in that old diary. Your 
ventilated, waterproof dress is a beauty and suitable for 
any journey or a visit to your uncle.” 
“Here’s the station. Let me adjust the air-box. Just 
like one of those old-fashioned sachels or traveling bags, 
Isn’t it, John ?” 
“ Yes, indeed I Now we’re off. Whew 1 How we go I 
Extra speed on to day, I guess. We’ll reach New York a 
minute ahead of time.” 
By this time our friends had reached the pier. They 
stepped from the electric tube directly upon the Electra, 
which was held firmly to the iron pier by means of huge 
magnets. They had hardly time to settle themselves 
when the captain shouted “ All aboard 1” and touched an 
electric button in his office. The magnets at once released 
the ship, the gang plank curled itself up, giving the pier a 
final push which sent the ship away from it, and the 
Electra glided out into the river. Before John Broadhead 
and his wife came up from their stateroom the ship had 
passed the Battery and was pushing straight for the 
Narrows. 
“An ocean voyage is a pleasure nowadays” said John 
as he touched a button and brought an electric chair flying 
to his side. “ In those old steam canoes that used to cross 
the ocean, life must have been a positive torture. What 
with smoke and cinders in your eyes, steam whistles shriek¬ 
ing and blowing, and the whole ship shaking and totter¬ 
ing with the force of the engine, traveling must have been 
a perfect nightmare. I tell you this electricity has made a 
new world. How did our old ancestors ever make out to 
live in that curious age of steam ? Possibly they thought 
they lived in a fast age i What would they have thought 
of that, eh f ” 
They were passing the Status of Liberty as he spoke. 
The gigantic figure remained motionless until they were 
abreast of it. Then the great hand that was not holding 
the torch, with a gesture that sent the air stirring, raised 
itself and threw a most majestic kiss towards the steamer. 
It then went back to its place at the statue’s side with a 
clang that could have been heard for a mile. 
“Great conception that, sir ?” said John, politely, to an 
elderly gentleman, who stood leaning over the ship’s side. 
“ Yes, indeed ! I remember well when that statue was 
put up. I never expected to. see that.” 
“But you see,” explained John, “people of our gener¬ 
ation do not believe that Liberty ought to stand still and 
do nothing ! When a fellow leaves his native land a kiss 
is a great deal better than a fixed stare to take with him. 
So when it became necessary to fix that statue it was a 
very easy matter to put a hinge in her arm and fix the 
whole thing so that it would run like clock work.” 
While the two men were talking, Mary left her husband, 
and went down stairs. She found herself in one great 
room, reaching almost the entire length of the ship. Wish¬ 
ing to use her state-room she called a porter and gave him 
her number. He stepped to one side of the room and 
touched a button. A large bundle, so decorated that it 
looked like part of the ceiling, immediately unrolled 
until, on reaching the floor it formed a good sized room, 
containing a bed, two chairs, a washstand, and a table, all 
made of some flexible material, that could be rolled back 
into the small bundle again. As dinner was nearly ready 
to be served, the steward at that moment entered the 
room and touched a button near the stairs. Three long 
tables immediately dropped from the wall and stood wait¬ 
ing for the dishes. In the mean time the Electra had 
passed out of the harbor, John and his new friend watch¬ 
ing eagerly for the last glimpse of land. 
“ One thing that troubles me,” said the old gentleman, a 
little sadly—he had introduced himself as Mr. Duncan by 
this time—“ is that all the heroes and noted men of former 
times are never held up before the boys of to-day. Now, 
take Watt, the steam man, what a picture that was of him 
sitting before the fire watching the steam in the tea-kettle 
lift the cover. In my day, every boy had that picture in 
mind. Now, nobody seems to think of it.” 
“ That’s because we have a more remarkable thing for 
our ideal,” said John earnestly. “ Our picture is Edison 
sitting on the deck of an ocean steamer that goes bumping 
along with a steam engine. He sat there and watched the 
waves dashing against the sides of the ship I There was 
all that wonderful power wasted. Then he thought what 
it cost not only in money but in human energy to produce 
the power needed to move the ship through the slow process 
of deriving the heat from coal. How he must have fretted 
at his inability to harness the power of the waves. Now 
look at the result of his ideal” and John pointed down 
over the side of the ship. 
Thin plates of steel were fitted all along the side of the 
ship so loosely that they moted with the force of the waves. 
From the center of each plate a fine wire ran to a storage 
battery in the ship’s hold. Every ounce of the tremendous 
force of the waves was thus captured and held without 
loss, to be used afterwards in any way the ship’s captain 
might direct. The ship thus dispensed with coal, furnaces, 
steam, boilers and all. The force of the waves dashing 
against her was far more than enough to drive her across 
the ocean. Indeed, in storms, when the waves were un¬ 
usually fierce and strong the supply of force was so great 
that the surplus was stored away for future use. It was 
estimated that the ship had stored away in her hold force 
enough to carry her across the ocean 20 times. 
“There,” continued John, “ that was the discovery that 
changed civilization. That simple matter of the direct 
transmission of power, without all the expense of labor, 
fire and machinery, has made our civilization what it is. 
Steam did a great thing ; but steam wasn’t large enough. 
Man could handle steam; in time it became a slave, and 
then a few rich folks turned it to their advantage and 
monopolized manufacturing. Now this new principle 
makes power so cheap that everybody can run a machine. 
Why, on my farm in New England I get all the motive 
power I use out of a little brook-” 
“ Excuse me, dear,” said Mary, from the top of the 
stairs, “ but Jerry wants to talk to you about the silo.” 
“ All right, my dear—come and talk to Mr. Duncan 
while I go to the telephone.” And John, after introducing 
his wife to the old gentleman, hurried to the telephone. 
At the stern of the ship a large reel of remarkably fine 
wire was rapidly unrolling. It was thus possible, by 
means of a long-distance telephone, to remain in communi¬ 
cation with the people on shore all through the voyage to 
Africa. 
John’s foreman in Massachusetts wanted some instruc¬ 
tions regarding the filling of the silo, and the two men 
discussed the matter through the telephone quite satisfac¬ 
torily. As John said “good bye” and turned from the 
telephone, he noticed two young men who stood eyeing 
each other quite suspiciously. Both glanced at the in¬ 
strument as he left it and then at each other; but though 
they evidently wanted to talk to somebody, they hesitated. 
As John passed out of the office, one of the young men fol¬ 
lowed him, still keeping the corner of his eye on the tele¬ 
phone. 
“ Excuse me, sir, but would you do me a favor ?” 
“ Certainly, sir, if I can do so,” said John politely. 
“ Well, just see if you can engage that fellow in con¬ 
versation so as to give me a chance to talk through that 
telephone. There’s a young lady, you see. that—ah ! ah ”— 
and the young man began to stammer and blush so vio¬ 
lently that he turned abruptly on his heel and walked 
away as if ashamed of himself. 
“That’s curious business,” s-id John to himself, as he 
went in search of his wife. 
He found Mary talking earnestly with Mr. Duncan. 
She started up eagerly at the sight of her hushand. 
“Just think, Johnl Mr. Duncan’s grandfather must 
have been one of those pie-hunters I ” 
“What? You don’t mean it I” And John shut one eye 
and whistled softly to himself. 
“ I did not know before that there was any pie-hunting 
in my pedigree; all I know is that my grandfather went 
to California in 1849 with the Hawk Mining Company. 
He came back two years later with the money which laid 
the foundation of our family fortune.” 
“ The Hawk Mining Company ? That’s it exactly. My 
father’s uncle went in the same ship; of course you know 
all about the way your grandfather made his start ? ” 
“ No, he said very little about it. From all that I can 
learn our family could find but little in the way of records. 
Somebody in that company kept a complete record.” 
“And that record is in my possession,” said John, glee¬ 
fully. “ I consider that old blank book the most valuable 
volume I have in my library. My father’s uncle, you see, 
was secretary of the company. Here, Mary, run down and 
get that old diary, won’t you ? I brought it along to show 
to father.” 
Mary knew just where the book had been placed. It was 
an easy matter for her to find it. As she came up-stairs 
she nearly ran into a young man who had turned his head 
to look back in the direction of the telephone office. As 
Mary stopped to apologize, she noticed that the young 
man seemed troubled and worried. Her pleasant smile 
seemed to give him confidence, for he raised his hat and 
said, after some hesitation : 
“ Pardon me, Madame, but may I not ask your assist¬ 
ance in a matter of great importance to me ?” Then he 
added rapidly, as though the matter were all settled : 
“ Won’t you please engage that young man out there in 
conversation ? No matter what you talk about, only keep 
him occupied while I am at the telephone. You see there 
is a young lady—that is to say, I—good morning, Madame,” 
and he turned abruptly and walked briskly away. 
(To be continued.) 
Womans Work. 
do this better. An excellent housekeeper whose elderberry 
pies can be eaten even by those who abhor this fruit, tells 
me that she first scalds the berries slightly, then coats them 
with sugar by stirring a very small quantity thoroughly into 
them. She then dries them “until they rattle;” and makes 
them into pies without previously cooking them. She 
makes them very sweet, and they are always pronounced 
good. But it is a little too late now for any one to follow 
this plan, while any one who has a supply of dried elder¬ 
berries, can try my way if she likes. I always use either 
very sour grapes (usually green) or else rhubarb, with this 
bitter fruit. I take about half berries and half grapes or 
rhubarb, and make the pies very sweet. Prepared in this 
way, they taste so much like blackberries that it would take 
an expert to tell the difference. Some use vinegar to qual¬ 
ify the bitterness; but they are usually prepared in this 
way in their season, and put away in jars until needed. 
Grapes will need to be put up in every possible way, if we 
are to have fruit enough to last until strawberries come. 
To can grapes well is not a short process, though simple 
enough. The grapes must be “ pulped,” or slipped out of 
their skins, and skins and pulp must be cooked separately. 
The latter cooks very easily ; it must be strained through 
a sieve or colander in order to remove the seeds, and set 
aside until the skins—which have meanwhile been cooking 
in a little water—are tender. Sugar in generous quantity 
is then to be added, and both skins and pulp heated to¬ 
gether to the boiling point and placed in self-sealing cans. 
A tart filling is made by thickening grape pulp with 
breadcrumbs. Used with a crust made of oat-meal, and 
baked in gem-pans, this is a strictly hygienic confection, if 
it can be called by such a name at all. Another hygienic 
idea is to stew equal parts of grapes and sweet apples, 
strain and thicken'with a little flour. This maybe used 
for tart fillings, or for a sauce for puddings. No sugar is 
used. Dates and grapes should also make a useful hy¬ 
gienic table sauce. 
Not quite so hygienic, yet much relished by many, are 
grape pickles, and, of late, grape catsup, to eat with meats. 
A nice grape pickle can be made by packing bunches of 
seven or eight grapes each, closely in a can lined with 
grape leaves, and covering them with spiced or sweetened 
vinegar, which has been boiled and allowed to cool before 
using. The object of this is to avoid cracking the grapes, 
so that they may retain their natural form and color. The 
grape leaves help to keep them firm. A sweeter, soft 
grape pickle, which would be better pleasing to some 
tastes, is made by pouring the hot spiced vinegar (four 
pounds of sugar and one quart of vinegar to eight pounds 
of fruit, with spices to suit,) over the grapes while boiling 
hot, and repeating the process for three or four days in 
succession. 
A formula for catsup is nine pounds of grapes, with five 
pounds of sugar, one quart of vinegar, two table-spoonfuls 
of cinnamon, and half as much each of allspice and cloves. 
The pulp only is used, and it is to be passed through a 
colander as in canning, after which sugar and spices are 
added, and it is boiled 15 minutes. The cold vinegar is 
then added, and the catsup bottled or canned at once. 
Grape jam is made by adding brown sugar in equal 
quantity to the pulp, and boiling slowly for half an hour. 
PENNY WISE. 
* * #■ 
The Berkshire News, which, no doubt, is excellent au¬ 
thority on the subject, gives a recipe for “ Stomach Cake ” 
which can be prepared at short notice in emergencies. It 
consists simply in lining a small boy with green apples 
and cucumbers. Perhaps, after all, the News means to be 
a little sarcastic or funny, for it adds a recipe for Calves’- 
Foot Jelly, as follows: Get trusted for a Chicago calf— 
they have the largest feet—cut off the calf which can be 
used for making hash or chicken salad; wash the feet, 
thicken with glue, add a few molasses, strain through a 
cane seated chair, pour it into a blue bowl with red pict¬ 
ures on it, set it in the shade to get tough. Then send it 
to a sick friend. 
£tti.orcUunci>u$i gUmtis’injj, 
In writing to advertisers, please mention The R. N.-Y. 
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Hard, cracked 
and sore hands 
FRUITS OF THE SEASON. 
H AVE you thought what they are? Let me say rather, 
in this abnormal year have not you racked your 
brains and studied every device new and old in order to 
make a variety and have any sauce at all ? Elderberries 
and grapes! That is just what it amounts to, is it not ? 
Perhaps you had peaches enough for “ a taste.” Possibly 
you succeeded in getting enough plums to fill half a dozen 
cans. Oh 1 yes, you did have some pears, but they sold so 
high this year that you felt as though you must sell all the 
good ones, for there was so little else to bring in any cash. 
Well, elderberries. Do you know that they sold in some 
places this year at the stores just like cultivated fruit ? 
Never heard of such a thing in your life, before, did you? 
At least, I never did. And, although you “can’t bear” elder¬ 
berries, you have been obliged to make use of them this 
year, There are two theories about elderberries ; one is 
that their bitter quality must be counteracted by making 
them excessively sweet; the other that something acid will 
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