Beta

“ He was also called Beta as being second in all branches of learning, though not actually first in any. In mathematics he wrote two books On means (Περὶ μεσοτήτων) which are lost, but appear, from a remark of Pappus, to have dealt with “loci with reference to means.” ”

“ The field pilots jetted the small two-seater ships out onto the field and into the launching cradles. When they were readied and equipped, the pilots signaled the Tindars and the Kantons.
"Beta, you and Miss Kanton's dupe take one," Alpha Tindar said. "Miss Kanton will drive me in the other. If there is a preliminary dissipation of one of us, no one will be hurt that way."
Beta nodded and Miss Kanton's dupe grabbed his hand and ran for one of the ships.
"I honestly believe she's been drinking," Miss Kanton murmured, watching her duplicate laughing as Beta helped her into the ship. ”

“ Perhaps the most interesting of these short period variables, at least to the amateur observer, is the star Beta Lyræ, which [214] is easily visible to the naked eye in all phases of its light. It can be readily identified, as it is the nearest bright star to the south of the brilliant Vega, and one of two stars of nearly the same magnitude, the second being Gamma Lyræ. The variability of Beta Lyræ was discovered by Goodricke in the year 1784. ”

“ A good eye sees at once that Alpha is double; but the two stars in Beta cannot be seen without a glass, because one of them is below the sixth magnitude, the minimum visible for the naked eye. Each of the stars in Beta is a telescopic double. The Goat heads westward, and the stars Delta (δ) and Gamma (γ) are in his tail. This constellation has given us our Tropic of Capricorn, because the place of the winter solstice was once within its boundaries, although now we find it far west, in Sagittarius. ”

“ Alpha cried and ran towards it.
"What are the Diggers doing on the surface?" Miss Kanton asked Beta. "They're supposed to be underground."
"Something is all wrong," Beta said. "The Controls are obviously scrambled. Radio guides the diggers, keeps them underground until they're full, then lets them come up to empty."
"Do you think you can fix it?" Miss Kanton's dupe asked.
"If it's external trouble, yes," Beta said. "But if it's inside the seals, we'd never be able to get at it. Everything is sealed against tampering. The controls are in vaults. How they ever got scrambled, I can't imagine." ”

“ There being but one Beta Theta Pi Chapter then left east of Pennsylvania, the members reluctantly sought a release from their obligations, and united in establishing the Williams Chapter of Alpha Delta Phi. The Lambda has recently been established, and will no doubt regain its old position. ”

“ Beta particles (electrons) have a moderate penetrating power, therefore they produce useful therapeutic results in the vicinity of their release, and they can be detected by sensitive counting devices. Gamma rays are highly energetic, and they can be readily detected by counters—radiation measurement devices—used outside the body. ”

“ Currently there is not any attempt to perform the inverse of beta-conversion. This process would be that of locating common subexpressions of some single large expression, making that large expression the body of a LAMBDA-expression of one parameter, replacing all occurrences of the common subexpression by a reference to the parameter, and replacing the large expression by a combination whose function position contained the LAMBDA-expression and whose argument was a copy of the common subexpression. ”

“ Alpha Delta Phi was then the only fraternity in the university, and no doubt much of the similarity which exists between the two fraternities is due to the fact that some of its founders were connected with the older society. The first branch of Beta Theta Pi was, like that of Alpha Delta Phi, established at Cincinnati, and, like it, was transferred to another college. The one fraternity spread East, however, and the other West. ”

“ All men were brothers. But on Beta, where a variant-G sun had already caused genetic divergence, the brotherhood of man was a term that was merely given lip service. Betans were different and from birth they were taught to accept the difference and to live with it. Mixing of Betan stock with other human species, while not actually forbidden, was so encircled with conditioning that it was a rare Betan indeed who would risk self-opprobrium and the contempt of his fellows to mate with an outsider. ”

“ The quartet arrived at Hessing Field a few minutes later and Alpha Tindar went into the Rocket Dispatcher's office to check on the ship. He came back and threw his hands up in the air.
"Another dilemma!" he exclaimed. "No four-seaters. Just those damned two-seaters. We'll have to take two of them."
"Well, get a couple of Armstrongs," Beta said. "They're about the best."
"I'll take a Boison, myself," Miss Kanton said. "Armstrongs have a shimmy when they're a couple of years old."
"The strong-willed woman scientist!" her dupe sneered. "Armstrongs are the better ships." ”

“ The faint stars more likely shine with their own light. Even so, however, these two systems, which apparently have met and are passing one another, at a distance small as compared with the space that separates them from us, possess a peculiar interest, like two celestial fleets that have spoken one another in the midst of the ocean of space.
The star Beta, or Dabih, is also a double star. The com [66] panion is of a beautiful blue color, generally described as "sky-blue." It is of the seventh magnitude, while the larger star is of magnitude three and a half. ”

“ The Alpha has long been in a waning condition, though heroic efforts have been made to infuse new life into it. Its membership has averaged from two to five for the last four years. The Beta declined like the Alpha, and its two senior members graduated in 1878. It will probably be soon revived. The Gamma is also in a poor condition. The Delta is one of the best in the fraternity, and usually has a large number of members. ”

“ Alpha said. "In ten minutes the Corporation is out one asteroid."
They were running up the stairs, pushing into the elevator. Beta shoved the door slowly against the pressure of the blue syrup. He shot the car back to the ground level. Here there was no sign of the fuel which was pouring down a stairs around a turn in the corridor. They ran down the hall to the door, the Tindars each gripping the arm of a Kanton.
"Wait!" Miss Kanton was crying, "wait! The ship. We've only got one! We can only take two persons back. And you ... ”

“ But it’s harder for you to wait so long. I hope you can keep up your spirits, though,” Betty returned wistfully.
“O, Betty darling, don’t worry about my spirits. I don’t mind waiting one mite. It’s not so bad, you know, being blind. It’s really sort of fun when one has such a chum as you. And the thing I am most anxious to see is you in sailor-suits with your hair down your back. And yet, I can imagine even that, for you sound so young and limber now—and so pretty!”
Betty laughed. And somehow Rose knew in her heart how prettily she flushed, too. ”

“ As she gently feels for it, her hand encounters an odd stocking from the unmended pile on which father is lying, and the thought darts through her mind, "Oh, to think I felt things like that to be a trouble this morning!"
Bob is off again to fetch the doctor. Mother is in the room now, weeping, and wringing her hands helplessly. Lucy stands trembling with terror, and perfectly useless. Only Betty seems to know what to do.
Betty really loves her father, and her [55] quick brain and skilful fingers are active in his service. Her love has made her forget herself entirely—for a time. ”

“ Betty pauses a moment. "How very like my experience!" she thinks. "Of course, I have to do different work—mend horrid stockings for Bob instead of knitting them, and sweep and dust instead of spinning; but the effect of it all is just the same, and Bob is exactly like that. I do all I can to please him. I always make the porridge myself, because he says it's 'lumpy' when Clara does it, but never a word of thanks do I get. Why, he couldn't even trouble to remember that to-day is my birthday, and I saved up for weeks and weeks to buy him a nice present on his birthday! It's too bad!" ”

“ Here is word from Betty herself—oh, my darling!” and she fell to kissing the yellow paper, as if it were the face of her child.
“But, Mrs Varian,” Granniss hesitated to correct her but felt he must, “that may not be from Betty, you know. Anybody could send a telegram signed with Betty’s name.”
“Rodney!” Minna’s eyes blazed with anger, “why do you try every way to make me miserable? Why dash every cup of joy from my lips? You seem to hope that we never find Betty! I can’t understand your attitude, but unless you are more helpful,—yes, and more hopeful,—I don’t think we can get along together.” ”

“ The captain and the general paid no particular attention to Bet's manner. They were sorry she was in trouble, but the delight of going off with Hester soon made this dismal remembrance fade from their baby minds. The little party went away, and Bet was left alone in her attic.
Her bridal night!—but what a night! Will lying lonely and forsaken in his prison cell, and she—she, Bet Granger, the poor, but also the honest and upright, about to be unfaithful to the most solemn vow she had ever taken in her life Never mind; love must still be lord of all, and Will must be saved at any price. ”

“ I am interested in humanity, but I sometimes think it is my overwhelming interest in science that dominates me. And this case appeals to me scientifically, I must confess.”
Betty had made rapid calculations which seemed to justify her in making the appointment. She couldn’t, indeed, see ahead six months, but surely she was right in taking some risk. Certainly she would do great wrong to lose this wonderful opportunity.
“Then we will come next Wednesday and every Wednesday,” she said. “You can put us down, Rose Harrow and Betty Pogany, Wednesdays at quarter-past two.” ”

“ So we came here. Well, Betty was terribly anxious for fear the packet should be found, and one night we helped her to climb down from the balcony out of our bedroom. No one saw her go, and no one saw her return, and she put the packet away somewhere—we don’t know where. Well, after that, wonderful things happened, and Betty was made a tremendous fuss of in the school. There was no one like her, and she was loved like anything, and we were as proud as Punch of her. But all of a sudden everything changed, and our Betty was disgraced. There were horrid things written on a blackboard about her. ”

“ Yet once was enough, and Granniss said, “Look here, you people, clear up all the red tape, won’t you? Betty and I want to go home!”
“Run along,” said Wise, kindly. “There’s a train in an hour. Skip,—and God bless you!”
Their arrival at Headland House, heralded by a telegram to Zizi, had no unduly exciting effects on Minna Varian.
Doctor Varian watched her, but as he saw the radiant joy with which she clasped Betty in her arms, he had no fear of the shock of joy proving too much for her. ”

“ Now I call that fortunate," goes on Betty, quietly. "I expect you know how to put it in, don't you, Bob?"
Bob melts still further at this. "Oh, yes; Mr. Wright, one of the teachers at my school, showed me how to put strings in. It's easy enough."
"Ah! but I've heard father say that it's very difficult to get a violin in tune after fitting in a new string."
Bob's face clouds over again; but Betty hastens to add, "Couldn't I help you a bit with the tuning? Couldn't I sound the notes on the piano while you screwed up the string—surely, that is the way people generally do tune violins?" ”

“ Bertha fawned upon Beth from the first, and was by way of looking up to her, and admiring her intellect. She was four or five years older than Beth, but gave herself no airs on that account. She was a dark girl, good looking in a common kind of way, with a masculine stride in her walk, a deep mannish voice; and not at all intellectual, but very practical: what some people consider a fine girl and others a coarse one, according to their taste. ”

“ CHAPTER IX A PLACE FOR EVERY ONE
"Every one has a right place," thinks Betty, when her morning's work is done. "Yes, that sounds true enough, but how am I to manage in our house? I wish Captain had explained more about it.
"Now, let me think—what is my right place? It is my place to be loving and thoughtful, to strive to help every one, that's what Grannie would say. Well, I am trying to do that. 'It is not your place to judge your mother,' so said my dear Captain. ”

“ I told her so, and Betty laughed. Then suddenly she jumped to her feet.
"Look, on the screen, Tom!" She pointed. There was a bright streak half filling the field of the periscope. Betty hurried across the room and I got up as quickly as I could and followed her.
"It must be the Patrol ship!" she cried. "They will have letters aboard, and newspapers!" She was practically dancing with excitement. I wasn't so happy.
We watched her come in. She was a small ship, not much larger than the Aspera, but it was a spectacular sight at that. An atom-jet blast in space is quite a blaze of glory. ”

“ He was much distressed at Bet's agitation, and did all in his power to soothe her; but he could not get himself to believe that Granger or Dent could possibly injure either of them. He had all an honest young fellow's sovereign contempt for these worthies, and he even gently laughed when Bet repeated her assurance that the deep plot they were hatching between them would succeed, and part her and Will forever. ”