boys own paper may 24, 1913

8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper May 24, 1913

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N O . 3 4, V O L U M E X X X V . ] S A T U R D A Y , M A Y 2 4 , 1913. P r i c e O n e P e n n y .[ALL R I G H T S R E S E R V E D . J

' T o a n d f r o t h e y s t r u g g l e d , t h e m e m b e r s o f t h e c r e w s t a n d i n g r o u n d in a s t o n i s h m e n t . "

(See next instalment, p . 5 5 7 . )

rnHK setting su n turned th e distant

hills to purpl e and gol d and a welc ome

breeze stirred the parched tree tops as Bo b

Burt on rode s lowly along the home trail.

He was feeling very well pleased with him

self, for he had that da y attended th e trial

of the bushrangers wh o held up the Big

Snake go ld wagg on, and the jud ge had

complimented him upon the smartness of

hi s capture.

He reached the barracks and went at

o n c e to the Chief's ro om . In the rack was

a not e addressed to him . He unlo cked the

case and to ok it out. The Chief had be en

called aw ay and had loft instruct ions.

B o b was to remain in charge of the stationunt i l his return.

B y this time Bob knew the routine of

his dutie s, and for som e day s the wo rk went

smooth ly on .

The troopers were good fellows and they

gave no trouble to their young corporal.

The blacks of the district, how ever , had been



530 The "Boy's Obvn Paper.

gett ing troublesome of late and complaints

came in with alarming rapidity. The men

were kept continually on the m o v e an d

their ordina ry patrols had to be aban done d.

B o b hims elf spen t hours each da y in th e

saddle making the rounds that lay near

headquarters. He had established a system

of points where one of the native troopers

c o u l d find him in case of eme rge ncy .

H e wa s compel led to leave the office inthe charge of an ex-a rmy man wh o acted

as caretaker to the barracks. Jim my

Muldoon was quite a character in his way.

H e was general fact otum and had quite

a squad of blacks under his charge and,

although the Chief remonstrated with him,

he used to drill them int o som eth ing like

mili tary discipline.

It so happe ned that one evening, when

B o b wa s going the round s and was abo ut to

call at the last run before turning home

ward, one of Mul doo n's squad, as they were

called, cam e loping along the trail . The

fe l low had d one the fifteen miles in record

time and as he halted

he pulled a note f rom

his belt and h and ed it

to Bo b. It was ad

dressed in the Chief's

handwrit ing, and

Burton quickly tore

the envel ope open and

read the contents.

' ' Bring every avail

able man to Hobs on's

R u n . Full marching

order and plen ty of

ammuni t ion. L o c k

up the off ice ."

B o b whistled. He

c o u l d guess what it

meant. The Chief had

ridden out to Hobson's

Run a fortnight before

t o gather news of abi g gang of bush

r a n g e r s that were

reported to be forming

in the hills. Fo r a

mo me n t he was at a

loss . There were no

t r o o p e r s at the

barracks. I t was true

that th e Chief had

half a dozen men with

him, but the rest were

scattered.

" Here, Sa mm y, catc h hold of my s t i r rup

and step out ," he cried. The black sprang

t o his side and they were soon heading

fo r th e nearest homes tead. Here Bo b re

quisitioned a dozen blacks and sent them off

at o n c e with a few words in cip her to the

places where he knew the troopers were

staying. Then he turned to Mr. Gibson.

" Can you let me have a couple of horses ? "

he asked.

" Certainly, corpora l ," replied the squat te r

as he led the wa y to the stables. " Here

y o u are, t ake your p i ck . "

With in half an hou r Bo b and the b lack

were in the saddle riding hard to the barracks.

T h e y arrived there at dusk and Bo b shouted

fo r Muldoon.

" Here, Ji mmy , has anythi ng further

c o m e in ? No ? The n let's hav e supp er as

s o o n as possible. I ' m thinking there'l l

be som e use for you r black squad no w, so

parade 'em to-morrow at d awn. "

A t intervals through the night the troopersrode in and b y sun- up a doz en had muste red.

B o b called M u l d o o n aside.

" See here, Ji mm y, it 's against t he re

gulations, but y o u ' v e got to wink at them

sometimes . Just l o o k after the office

while we're awa y. There are a few old

carbines you can g i v e the bla cks , and there'll

be one or two native troopers coming in

presently. Ke ep 'em together. Fro m what

I can make out there 's big work ahead and

these 'rangers might give us the slip and

c o m e alo ng here. It would just be fun

fo r th em to ride in and bai l up the

barracks during our absence."

M u l d o o n saluted. " Righ t, corpo ral ,"

he grinned, " yo u can bet yo ur boots that

if a n y b o d y c o m e s round here loo king fortrouble me and the boys ' l l give 'im a g o o d

recep t ion ."

B o b laughed, and then lie and the troop ers

swung into their saddles and rode off to the

hills.

H o b s o n ' s Ru n lay abou t forty miles north

east of Charville, and the y mad e good t ime.

B y te n o ' c l o c k they rode into the padd ock

and found the Chief awaiting them. He

called B o b in while the troop ers wat ered

the horses.

" L o o k here, Burt on ," lie said, as the y

were seated, " w e ' v e got a tough jo b on.

I 've found out that there 's a gang forming

W A R S H I P S OF OLDEN DAYS.

M o d e l o f H . M . S . " B r i s t o l " ( 1 7 th C e n t u r y ) .

(Royal Kaval College, Greenwich,)

T h e " Bris tol , " of 50 guns and G70 tonna ge, was built at Por tsm out h Doc kya rd in 165 3 and

reb u i l t at Dep t f ord in 169 3 . S h e was d es ign ed by Mas t er S h ip wr igh t T ip p e t t s , an d h ad

a co mpl em ent of 240 men . Th e " Bristol " was ca ptured and sunk bv the French on A p r i l

2 5 , 1 7 0 9 .

up yon der . I t 's Big Barnes. He's only just

finished a lo ng ter m of im pr iso nm en t and

n o w he 's taken to the hills. Ther e have

been about th i r ty horses stolen in the neigh

bourhood within the last three months .

That means that at least fifteen men are

there. I 'm rather inclin ed to think he has

more than t h i r ty . At any rate I ' m going

to smash him b efore he can form an organised

ban d. If we o n c e let him get well in han d

there'l l be no holding him. By the way, ho w

di d you leave the office ? "

B o b told him.

" G o o d ! " repli ed the Chief. " W e l l , I ' l l

send Hend y and Sims back to-m orro w.

W e ' v e go t fifteen me n, and the squat te rs

ar e going to lend me so me of their s t ockmen .

I think I can get th i r ty men together.

Meanwhile , I want you to do a bit of scouting.

Tak e anyb od y you l ike and see what y ou

can find out."

That evening Bo b set out f rom the farm

accompanied by two blacks who wereemployed as cattle men. Very caut iously

he made his way to the hills and encamped

in the heart of a dense grove of acacias.

iBefore sunrise he was up and wormed his

w ay to the summ it of a lo f ty crag. There

bene ath him in the early da wn stret ched

a desolate valley, overgro wn with the thi ckly

growing brig alow scru b. Thr oug h his glass es

he c o u l d see, a mile or so away, a large camp

with a mob of horses bunched together on

the edge of the clearing. Th e ca mp was in a

slight depression, so that unless one was

at a great hei ght it was poss ible to pass

within a quarter of a mile of the place

without locating i t .

B o b laughed as he noted these facts and

ca lmly sket che d a plan of the valley. Witha sharp command to one of the blacks he

hand ed the sket ch and a not e to him. The

black t o o k the pac kag e and silently dis

appeared into the w o o d s .

" No w, my son," said Bob to the remain

ing boy , " just step lively. W e ' l l pay these

fellows a visit."

With great difficulty they lowered them

selves to the valley b e l o w and stole cautiously

through the scrub. All that day they hid

up in the dense unde rgro wth ab out three

hundred yards from the outlaws' camp, and

at sunset Bo b disp atch ed the remaining

black to guide the Chief an d Ii is troopers to

the ca mp . All un

conscious of danger,

Big Barnes and his

gang took their ease,

and as the m o o n rose

B o b became anxious,

until a warnin g " sh "

sounded by his side

a n d h i s messenger

crouched beside him.

" H i m boss , 'e say

all right, 'nd send

blackfellow all along,"

the boy whispered.

" Whe re ? " asked

B o b .

" H i m blackfellow.

he wait all 'long back

o b t rees."

B o b nodded, and

softly they crept towhere some half-dozen

blacks were crouching

in readiness. Bo b lay

down with them and

gave them minute

i nst r uc t ions. T h e y

were cattle men on

H o b s o n ' s farm and

were not far inferior

t o the white stockmen

in their horsemanship.

Making sure that they

under stood his instructions Bo b worked his

w ay rou nd to the south of the ca mp to a

small gully where the Chief and his troopers

lay concealed.

" It ' s all right, sir, " he whispered as he

crouched d o w n with them. "T h e blacks

ca n be depended upon."

" G o o d , " mutt ered the Chief. " Wh at do

y o u suggest ? ' '

" I f we get a b it nearer and then rush them

we shall s t and a g o o d chance."

Cautiously they crept forward and the

t roopers extended outwards until the camp

wa s surr ound ed. In the centre the bush

rang ers la y ro un d the fire while on e of their

numb er no dde d drowsily on sentry go.

Then the Chief gav e the signal and B ob

sent a loud " Coo-oo-e e " ringing across the

silent bush . Wi th a shout Big Barnes sprang

t o his feet and blaz ed aw ay in to the darkne ss.

" Ha nd s up ! " yelled the troop ers from al l

sides, but by th is time the bushrangers were

on their feet ." T o the h orses ! " ye lled Barnes.

Before they c o u l d reach the a nimals,

however, the wait ing blacks had m ounted .

Cutt ing the te thers they galloped through

the ca mp , sendin g the out laws flying by the

suddenness of the ir charge. 'Then they

wheeled and tore ba ck, and, handling the



The Schooner's Male. 531

m ob of horses as only the stockmen can, they

disappeared into the scrub.

Then the troope rs dashed for ward and a

withering volley la id many of the desperadoes

l o w . Barnes seemed to bear a cha rmed

life. There he s tood towering amon g his

followers, keeping up an incessant fire from

his revolvers , and then, when all was hopel ess,

he turned and with a defiant yell plunged

into the woods .

Th e remaining outlaws poured in a final

volley a n d then gave in. Durin g the last

rush the chief of the police had fallen,

shot thro ugh the shoulder . At once B o b

was beside him.

"I t ' s a ll r ight, Bur ton, " he gasped.

" Fol low Barnes. Here, take these," and

he thrust a bundl e of note s int o B o b ' s

hands. "Br ing him back, dead or alive.

Th e boys will rope in these fellows an d

col lect the horses in the m or ni ng. "

" But you , sir, what will yo u do ? " a sked

B o b anxiously.

" I shall be all right. It's noth ing serious,

only get the scoundrel."

Still Bo b would have s tayed, but the Chief

became quite angry.

" G e t Ba rn es !" he ordered sharply, and

reluctantly Bob turned and p lunged in to

th e woods.

As B o b followed hard upo n the outlaw 's

trail his tho ught s were upon the difficul ty

of his task. He saw at once t ha t it would be

a tough jo b. It is one thing to follow a man

throu gh the bush when one is well m oun te d

and provisioned, but to trail a man on foot

is a serious business. As luc k wo uld hav e it,

he met with the blacks who had succeeded

in rounding up the horses and were waiting

fo r the dawn. Wh en he cam e up with

them they were all ta lking excit edly . He

rapped out a quick comm and and one fellow

to ld their s tory . The chief of the bushran gers

had but a few minut es be fore dashe d amo ngst

th em and , seizing a horse, had ridd en off

bare backe d with only a halter to contro l

the animal.

Wi th out a wor d Bo b selected one of the

horses and sent a bla ck ba ck to the cap tur ed

c a m p with orders to bring a saddle and

bridle. B y morn ing the fellow arr ived and

Bur ton saddle d up. Bid din g the blac k to

a c c o m p a n y him, he rod e off upo n Barnes 's

trail.It was eas y to see that the fugitive had

r idden hard, and as they got farther and

farther into the bush the s igns became

clearer , and with set lips Bo b deter mined to

fo l low to the last gasp . B y noon they

struck a l ow range of hills and cautio usly

ma d e their way to the summ it. Here they

part ook of a hasty meal, for Bob wou ld

al low no fire to bo lighted.

F o r three da3~s he hun g u po n the trail, but

trj* as he might he cou ld not c o me up with

his quarry. At last he struck the Darlin g

D o w n s and foun d himself within the pr ecincts

of civilisati on. On the morni ng of the fourth

da y he rode into the house of a large sheep

run.

" Wel l , Corpora l ! " c r ied the owner ,

" you ' r e jus t c o me hand y. W e had a vis it

f rom a sundowner last night. He' s lif ted

a horse, but he left a broken-down sorrel

in exchange ."

" I ' m after hi m, I th ink ," r ep l ied Bob,

" but I 'm just about don e. I ' ve been

on hi s trail for the last three d a y s , " a n d

he told the squatter of the fight at the

c a m p .

" Wh at will yo u do ? "

" Can you lend me a suit of clothes ? "

" W h y ? "

" Wel l , I ' l l never get m y man in these

things. He 'd spot me at o n c e . "

" I see the wh eez e. Yo u ' l l try and c atch

hi m n a p p in g . "

" That 's it ," replied Bo b. " I ' l l just take

(To be concluded next week.)

m y paper s. Bi g Bar nes is a to ugh an d I 'll

p r o b a b l y want help, so if you' l l lend me

a st ock man 's rig out an d a fresh hor se I 'll

l eave m y things here with the black and

ge t on his tr ack. "

Wit hin a couple of hours Burt on was in

the sadd le. He had an idea that Barnes

would mak e for the co ast and he rode straight

on .

As he rode into T o o w o o m b a he kep t hiseyes ope n. He had never been there before,

but he soon found his way through the tow n.

He dismounted and t o o k his horse to a

hotel. Aski ng to see the propr ieto r he

left the horse in his char ge and hur ried to

the stati on. H e was jus t in ti me, for a

train was then leaving for Bris bane. As he

j u mp e d aboa rd the engine shrieked, and-

with a roar th ey pic ked up speed and were

soon rushing for the coast .

Ar r i v e d at the terminus B o b craned his

neck out of the w i n d o w. Eagerly he scanned

the c r o wd of alighting passengers , but nowhere

cou ld he see his quar ry. Th en a tho ugh t

stru ck h im and he dart ed to the oth er side

of the carria ge. He was just in ti me to see

the figure of a big ma n sneaki ng off amid st

the s tanding trucks. As he made to follow

another train cam e in and drew up snorting

before him, and he returned baffled to the

p la tform.

T h e y were r ight close to the docks and

B o b lost no tim e. He quick ly fou nd the

police station and at once saw the super

intende nt. He show ed his ident ity paper

and exp lain ed the facts of the case.

" The n yo u' d best s leep here," cr ied the

officer. " W e ' l l send a descr iption of your

man round and if he tr ies to get away from

the s tation we'll have him . There ' s just

the poss ib i l i ty that he'll get away to sea on

the nex t t ide ."

" I f he does I 'll fo l low him," sa id Bob

shortly, and turned in .

J9*

W H E L M F O O T B A L L I S O V E R :

H o w S o m e W e l l - k n o w n P l a y e r s K e e p in F o r m .

E A G U E

matches have

l e n g t h e n e d

out the foot

ball season,

but, of course,w h e n A pr il

comes , with it we

ma y be supposed

to have finished

with footbal l. A

fe w players may

ye t be engaged

( lucky fellows) in

the final fight for the F.A . Cu p, and s om e ma y

have s till a League match or two depending

on their efforts, which may influence their

club's stopping in this or that League for

nex t year or disapp earing fro m it. But

the mass of footb aller s, wheth er of Soccer or

R u g b y stam p, have had eno ugh of the g ame

by the time the calendar marks March 31,

and are only too ready t o go in for a chang e

of sport.

No w the ma n who wishes to keep fit m ust

not let himself get too stout, too stiff, too

lazy durin g the off-season. He may t ake

things considerably easier than he did

during the s trenuous time dating from

September 1 to March 31, and doubtless he

By GEORGE WYNN(Manchester City F.C., and Welsh International).

will. But he cannot afford to allow his

l imbs to lose their suppleness, to permit his

b o d y to bo too idle, or to risk the dan ger of

finding himself ser iously handicapped, or

altogether out of form, when the football

period shall again come , as it certainly willa few months later.

H o w then does the wi ly and resolute

exponent o f Rugby and Soccer keep his

body in subjection , his mil d at ease, and his

whole being ready an d fit for the fray whic h

next season's appro ach will br ing ? Eac h

man has of course his own favourit e met hods ,

which must necessar ily be individualis tic

and to some exten t character is tic of himself .

Fo r every player learns by stern exper ience ,

b y const ant pra ctice, by special fanc y, the

f inest m etho d, the most advan tage ous and

at the same time enjoya ble way , of keeping

himself in for m duii ng what we ma y t erm

the " off-season."

E d g a r Mobbs , of Nor th ampton , manages

to pass very pleasantly the four or five

month s of summ er by putt ing in a fair

nu mb er of hour s, when free after the day 's

work, with the tennis-r acquet and the golf-

sticks. He is also very fond of cr ic ket, and

indeed amuses himself with most outdoor

sports that are really health-giving and

recreative for mind and b o d y during the

warm weather . Bu t his pr incipal delights ,

as I have just said, are tennis and golf, and

Mr . M o b b s plays a fair game at each.

I rather f a n c y t ha t the summ er hob bies of

another famous three-quarter in the Rugby

gam e—I speak of Mr. F. E. Steinthal, of York shire —are like those of Mr. Mobbs . H e ,

t o o , goes in s trongly for cr ick et, tennis , and

golf , when foot ball is out of the q uestion,

and he finds those sports give him all the

recreation, cha nge, and pleasure he needs

after a tryi ng course of scholasti c work.

A n d such wor k is trying ind eed for most me n.

M y ow n favouri te sport for the sum mer

mon ths does not appeal to all footballers

belonging to noted teams of Ru gb y and

Soccer . I should say t ha t the greater

propor tion of famous- players in bot h types

of the winter game find their f avour i te

summ er recreation in cr icket . Certainly

the f inest Rug by players have done s o ;

T need only instance M r. A. 0. Jon es, Mr. E.

W . Dil lon , Mr . Reggie Spooner as examples.

A n d it is a matter of c o m m o n k n o wle d g e

t ha t ma ny celebrated Associ ation footballers ,

such as Iremonge r , of No tt s ; Duc at, of

As t o n Viil a ; Le ac h, of Sussex ; Shar p, of

Eve rto n, etc . , have chosen football foi

winter , and cr icket for summer, as their

chief way s of earni ng a l ive l ihood. I might



532 The Boy's Otern Paper.

add such instances, too , as those of Mr.

C. B. F ry , H. Makep eace , and H. W.

Hard ing e, t o s trengt hen m y lis t of footb all-

cr icketers of not e ; but further remarks upon

this point are not needed. Cricket is

par excellence the favour ite way by whic h

mo s t football ers kee p fit during the summ er

mo n th s .

Ho we v e r , there are other meth ods, to o,

and those ver y numer ous and varied . Wh at

d o other great footballers do in summer,

men whos e names are quite unkn own to the

world of cri cke t as bein g of any r eput e in

t ha t sport ? Let us take a few of the m, and

we shall see.

Tha t pr ince of Internat ionals , Wil l ie Mere

dith, of Mancheste r Unit ed, has confessed

t ha t he is extremely fond of r abbi t - shoot ing

during the mo nths w hen he is not required

to be delicately turn ing and manipulating

the ball a t Cottonopolis . Meredith is a

good shot, and he likes noth ing better af ter

the season is over than to get down to his

favourite Chirk, and have a good t ime

with the rabbits . He th inks t ha t the keen

use of eye and hand, as well as the activity

one has to display with foot and b o d y n o w

and then w h e n thus shoot ing, are veryvaluable factors for keeping a player in

form during the off-season.

On the other hand, I believe that ce lebra ted

R u g b y three-quarter, John Birke t t , o f

Harlequin fame, is very fond of a bit of

soldier ing, and likes nothi ng better than going

into camp, or acting as officer in an amateu r

c o m p a n y , and generally enjo ying the outd oor

life. Well, certainl y one gets enough activ ity

b y such a met hod of spendi ng the summe r,

and wh en foot ball again calls him to the

fray, the man w ho has gone thro ugh four

months of amateur soldier ing will be ready

fo r the battle , y ou ma y be sure.

I know more than one no ted foo tba l le r

who likes to spend the sum mer months in

fishing. S o me of these good fellows prefer

the quiet waters of lak e and strea m ; other s

c a n n o t rest unless th ey are o n " the sea,

the d ee p blue sea ! " One of tho latter is t ha t

excel lent Soccer player f rom Manches te r ,

Char l ie Rober ts .

T h e Manches te r United exper t goes b y

steam trawler to his recreation, and finds it

o n the breezy b o s o m of the broa d Nort h

Sea. Charles ackno wled ges t ha t for a time

it gave him some trouble to get used to the

new sphere of a ction ; t ha t he had a long

bout of s ickness ; t ha t his time was chiefly

spent in watchin g other men pull in t he

laden nets . But patience and resolve over

c o me most things, and Charlie R obe rts

is not easily beaten, as those well know who

have seen him play at foot ball . In due time

he passed wha t he terms " the sufferingstage, " and began actually to pursue the

sport, and really to f ind enjoym ent in deep-

sea fishing.

An d , once y o u d o feel at ease on the blue

d e e p , w h y , there's noth ing on earth makes

y o u so healtny, so hungry, or feel so much

a ma n. As to keep ing fit! Th e fellow w h o

goes to sea on a Grimsby trawler for a

for tn ight o r so need have no fear abou t

t h a t ! The skipper and the crew will take

care he doesn' t get fat f rom being c o d d l e d ,

o r fro m loung ing abou t lazily ! There 's

alw ays plenty of work to do .

It is surpri sing w hat a nu mb er of the best

players of to- day in the Ru gb y gam e f ind

their summer recreation and work—if I

may couple the tw o toge ther thus—inmili ta ry du t ies . Amo ngs t those good folk

y o u have Mr. J . A. Py m, the Bl ackhea th

half : Lieut. Wo deh ous e, the Unit ed Services

f o r w a r d ; a nd t ha t r edoubtab le cap ta in ,

in more senses t han one , Mr. Craven. Of

course you may say that the soldier 's life is

really the actual busines s of these m en,

and so in truth it is. Bu t, non e the less, that

is the met hod by whic h the y chiefly k e e p

the mse lve s fit and well dur ing the off-season

a t foo tba l l . And their splendid services

to the game from September to March

would appear to p rove t ha t you will have

to go a lo ng wa y to find any finer me th od of

preparing you rself for such severe d eman ds

as football makes t han what soldier ing

affords y o u .

N o mor e pleasant me tho d of spending

the summ er can well be imag ined, I should

say , than gardening, if one really loves such

wo r k . And manual labour in a decent

garden, to o, is splend idly calculated to ke ep

a foot bal ler fit and re ady for the fol lowing

winter 's games. There are several noted

players who stron gly favour gardening as the

best of all exercises for our off-t ime. B u t

the most celebrated football-gardener is

a lmos t ce r ta in ly McBride , till la tely the

f a mo u s goal-keeper of Presto n North End.

G . A . W y n n .

His gar den is (so I am to ld by those wh o

k n o w) a perf ect thing of bea ut y, and the

number of prizes he has taken for fruit,

vege tabl es, and flowers of his ow n gro win g

should constitu te a record for such amo ngstthe fraternity of footbal l-gardener s . Fr om

morning to night, every available hour that

Peter Mc Bri de can spare from other necessary

duties during the summer, he spends in his

gar den ; and wha t he doesn ' t know about

plants , seeds, and grow ing ma y well be lef t

out, even by the professional tiller of the

ground !

The name of Stephen Bl o o me r is so- well

k n o w n in Soccer circl es, and the great

In ternational and mem ber of Der by County

still c o me s before the public almost as

prom inen tly as he ever did in exciting

League matches , t ha t I need not apologise

fo r speakin g of his curious ho bb y in this

connect ion . Bloomer has a way of his own

fo r keepi ng in proper tr im and excellenthealth during the summe r-ti me. He is a

d e v o t e e of baseball, that sport which the

Un i t e d States so greatly favours , but which

has made little progress in our own country,

b e y o n d be ing taken up by a few noted

publ ic schools for gir ls .

Still , though Bl o o me r is perhaps the only

v e r y fam ous foot ball er wh o is a great

a d v o c a te of baseball, yet his unique experi

ence and his outstanding talents in Soccei

have been so pre-eminent for many years ,

that he must be accepted as an excellent

judge of what is best for keeping a man in

good for m when footbal l is over . An d base

ball ma y accord ingl y be reco mmen ded foi

a trial to those who have found cr icket,

gardening, and other things uncongenial.

Gardening is my favourite hobby during

the summer and , together with a ga me of

c r icke t occasi onall y, I manage to keep

myself in fair condit ion for the coming

season.

Of course many well-k nown footballers ,

especially Ru gb y men, are very keen on golf

during summe r-ti me, whils t several others

find equal pleasure and pastime in walking.

There is more than one very celebrated player

of the wi nter spor t wh o avers that , after

all, nothing equals walking long dis tances

fo r keeping a man fit and well. One of the

greatest advoca tes of this form of exercise

fo r th e off-period is James Ashcroft, the

goalie whose magnif icent performances for

Blackburn Rovers last season raised th em

to the proud position they won by theirman y and notab le tr ium phs in League and

Cu p Tie games. Enliv ened by a little easy

cricket with local clubs, Ashcroft 's off- time

is chiefly occup ied with walks varying from

si x miles to ten. An d he alwa ys says to all

and sundry inquirers , "T her e ' s nothing to

boat my form of recreation."

So you see there is a wide choice for you

y o u n g fellows who are keen on football in

win ter, and wan t some equa lly tine spor t or

game in summer, by which you may keep in

proper tr im for the ensuing season. Yo u

can garden ; y ou can take long walks ; you

can play cr ic ke t; yo u can amuse yourself

with bas ebal l; yo u can go soldier ing ; you

can pra ctise sho oti ng in the open fields ; y ou

can go sea-fishing i n a Gr ims by trawler ; ory o u can cli mb the Alpine hills, like Adri an

S t o o p (of Harlequi n fame) does when he

wants a chan ge of exercise.

?C 3C

THE FELLOW WHO WINS.

fTlHERE are f e l lows ga lore of all ages ,

S u cces s t h ey a r e h o p i n g to gain ;

A n d i n s p o r t o r E x a m s , o r i n b u s in es s ,

T h e m e t h o d is a l w a y s t h e s a m e ;

T h o u g h you 're " d o w n e d " d on ' t g ive u p a t t h e o u t s e t

J u s t s cram b le a g a i n t o y o u r p i n s ;

F o r suc c e ss after failure is swe e te s t ,

"Tis gr i t i n a f e l low t h at win s .

Th ere ' s t h e f e l low w h o s t ar t s t h e race swif t ly,R e l y i n g o n s p e e d to be f i r s t ;

Th ere ' s th e f e l low w h o h o p e s t o b e lu ck y ,

A n d w i n a t t h e las t wi t h a " b u r s t " ;

B u t t h e f e l low w h o ' s done some real training,

A n d n o t s i m p l y o n e o r t w o spins ,

W i t h j u d g m e n t a n d p a c e li e l a s t s o u t t h e race,

A n d t h a t i s the f e l low w h o wi ns 1

Th ere ' s th e f e l low w h o m e a n s t o d o won d ers ,

H e t ack le s h i s w o r k w i t h a r u s h ;

For a t i m e h e m a k e s j o l l y good progress

A n d l e ave s fa r b eh in d al l the c r u s h ;

B u t t h e m o m e n t t h at ob s t ac le s m ee t h i m ,

T o los e h ear t a t o n c e h e b e g i n s ;

H e t h r o w s u p t h e s p on ge , t h e plodder creeps u p ,

A n d t h a t i s the f e l low w h o wi ns J

Th ere ' s th e fel low t h a t n o o n e calls c lever,

T h e s m a r t chap just s n eers at his c h a n c e ;

T h o u g h h e ' s s low he i s earn es t a n d cheerful,

A n d tr ies hi s good n am e t o e n h a n c e ;

W h e n he s t u m b l e s a n d g e t s b a d l y s h ak en ,

H i s lesson is l earn t , h e b u t grins .

I t i s clear that reverses can't daunt h i m ,

A n d t h a t i s the f e l low w h o w i n s !

HAROLD DORN^NQ.



533

T h r o u g h A f g h a n

Or , L»ari Kha n oT t he D ia mo nd S ta r.

By J. CLAVERDON WOOD,

Author of " Sinclair of the Scouts"

" Jeffrey of the White Wolf Trail," etc.

A B e l o o c h e e W a r r i o r .

N hour or so

l a t e r t h e

B e l o o c h e e s

b e g a n t o s h o w

t h e m s e l v e s .

B o b coun t ed

more than a

hundred upon

the hills on

the other side

of the river,

and had no

d o u b t that

another fifty

were lying

c o n c e a l e d

among the

rocks above

the ir heads .

He had had very little practice with the rifle,

and feared very muc h that his skill would

not be of muc h servic e if the bandi ts

made a rush. He knew that he cou ld do

better with his pistol s. A mr an Ali and

the servants, like all Afghans, were ac

customed from infancy to the use of weapons,

and were exp ert shots with the jezail, a

long gun which cou ld throw a bullet four,

or even six, hund red yard s. In the hands

of a c ool mark sman it was an ad mirab le

weapon , far superio r to the ordin ary EnglishBr o w n Bess, then used in the British service.

• As Bo b lay in his shelter, he tried to

calculate the distan ce of various rock s on

the hill-side opposite, taking advantage

of any white mark which sh owe d. H e

practised the mo ve men t of the trigger

finger and held his brea th when he was on

the poi nt of pressing it do wn to discha rge

the weap on. He carefully marke d the

sight on the end of the rifle, so that his eye

caught it on the ins tant he raised the weap on

to his shoulder.

" I don't like those rocks, Amran," he

said, poin ting to the bould ers which lay

in the path before them. " W e need a

clear space in order to pick off the Beloochees

as the y charg e upo n us. D o yo u th ink we

could venture out an d try to roll the m into

the riv er ? "

" No , Lari K ha n; if we tried to do so,

the me n on the cliffs abo ve us would have

us at the ir mercy , and would shoot us down

in a very few minute s. Th ey must stay

where thev are until nightfall, and then

CHAPTER X .— TH E FIGHT IN THE PASS.

perhap s we mig ht mak e an a t t e m p t to

clear them a way. "

A Be l o o c h e e show ed himself on a roc k

on the oppo sit e side of the river. He ha d

a dirty white rag in his hand and waved it

energeti cally. The n he cried ou t: " Ho ,

there, in the ca mp ! Hear me, you ha ve

kil led our leader and wou nde d some of

our friends. Y o u r posit ion is hopeless.

W e have two hundred me n all aroun d yo u,

fighters t ra ined to the warfare of the hills.

Give up your g o o d s , and surrender . W e

will spare yo ur lives, and pr omis e yo u safe

c o n d u c t ou t of the Pass. If yo u do no t

a c c e p t this offer within an hou r, we will

rush your camp, and kil l 3'ou or make you

prison ers. The n we will tor ture y o u until

y o u cry out for mer cy. D o yo u hear ? "

" B e ca re f ul , A mr an , " s a id B o b ; "d on ' t

show yourse lf. I 'll do the sho uti ng. Is it to

be surrender and death—for these vil lains

will promise anything to get us into the ir

clu tch es—o r fight to the bi t te r end ? "

" Fight ! " growl ed Amran , shaking his

fist vengefull y in the di rect ion of the Beloo

chee ; " we have ple nty of a mmun ition ,

and death is sweeter in fight than in cap

t i v i t y . "

" Rig ht you arc, Amran, here goes ! "

B o b put his hands to his mouth and bawled

o u t : " C o m e and take what yo u want. Wecan fight all the Be loo che es in the Bol an

Pass if the y will not let us alo ne. Wh at

we have do ne to you r leader we can do t o

y o u . Ou r g o o d s and live s are our own,

and we know ho w to defend t hem ."

A how l of rage was the onl y verb al re ply,

and a hot fire was op en ed up on the ca mp .

" Steady, m en ," said Bo b, " let there be no

has te . Pick your ene my and aim carefully."

He lay behind his l oopho led defence, and

kept a sharp look-out. Presently he saw

a figure glide rou nd a ro ck ab out two

hund red y ard s awa y. He to ok a careful aim,

drew a long brea th , and gent ly pressed the

trigger. He saw the man thro w up his arms

and collapse. Amra n and the P atha nswe re

n o w bu sy, and after the first few min ute s

the ir aim became deadl y. The ins tant a

Beloochee showe d himself he was dro ppe d by

a quick shot.

A whistle was heard a l i t t le later, and

a c r o wd of the ene my detac hed themselves

and came running do wn the mounta in.

Th e y splashed th roug h a ford , and beg an

crawling up the road abou t eighty yards

f rom the ca mp . It was no t eas y to mark

the m, but the defe nder s rose and stoo d at the

brea stwor k, and beg an to pic k the m off.

S o me ten of the boldest of the at tackers

s tar ted to rush the ca mp . Th ey shouted to

their com rad es as they be gan to race towa rds

the barricade.

" N o w , A mr an , " shou t ed B ob , "d on ' t

waste a sh ot ; it is life or deat h. Ke ep yo ur

pistols till the }' are on us ."

On e of the men screa med out at the

mo me nt and spun round , colla psing finally,

and lyi ng, an iner t mass, at Amran's feet .

He had bee n sho t thro ugh the head as he

incautiously raised himself too high above the

breas twork.

For the next few minutes B o b cou ld n o t

hav e told what was hap pen ing. It was all

like a hid eous dream of firing and lo adin g,

s mo k e and noise. He worke d like a mad

man, and saw t ha t his comrades were

fighting with like spirit . So me of the bold es t

among the enemy ran to within pistol-shot

of the camp , but then their courage fai led,

and they scutt led back into shelter. Tw o

men found refuge under the bould ers whic h

lay on the road. Fortu nately they had

dr opped their jezails in the exci tem ent of

the charge , for the Afgh an always prefers the

knife for a hand -to- hand str uggle, and is aptto east away his gun as an encu mbra nce .

Al l day the irregular sniping continued,

effect ively on the par t of the defen ders, bu t

uselessly so far as the ban dits were con cer ned .

A s dusk was fal l ing, Amran noti ced a m o v e

me nt on the roa d. Th e men sheltered by the

boulders had become tired of their posit ion

and showe d by their m o v e m e n t s t ha t they

desired to join the ir comr ades .

" Le t them al one , Amr an , till they feel

conf iden t t ha t we have not discerned them.

T h e y will rise to the ir fee t after a time, and

t ha t wil l be your oppor tuni t y ."

Amr an was watching the road l ike a tiger

ab ou t to spring . B o b had his eye glued to

th e l oopho le , and his rifle was as steady as a

rock . T he ins tant the men rose to a

standing posit ion there were two sharp

cracks, and both bandits fell.

" G o o d , " grunted Amran, as he bit

another cartridge, "t he y came for our

g o o d s , they have got the best of i t—ammu ni

tion ; and w e wo n' t ask them to return it ,

the thieves ."



534 The "Boy's Otsrn Taper.

A meal was hastily prepared, and Bob

marvelled at his appetite and that of the

men. Figh ting in the keen mount ain air

gave an edge to their hunger, and they ate

as tho ugh they were famished. Bu t as the

darkness rolled d o wn upon the camp Bob

felt that their chanc es of escape were wort h

little.

H e at first thought that it woul d be wisest

t o leave their goods an d take to the mou ntains, trusting to Provide nce to open the wa y

to some conceal ment. Amra n laughed at

the idea of escapi ng from men who knew

every goat -trac k on the hills. The n he

suggested trying to break through in order

to retrace their way to Dadur, al thou gh he

knew well that th e Beloochees would almost

certainly consider that to be their most

feasible course, and take steps to forestall

them.

Amr an sho ok his head. " There is

nothing for it," said he, " but to go straight

on throug h the Pass. A kajila may bo

coming through from the Shawl Valley, and

t be Beloochees, thieves of Shaitan as the y arc

— m a y Allah make their hands rot !—will

probably leave us, to attac k the caravan .

T h e y will alway s try to get plen ty of boo ty ,although the death of their leader at our

hands will make th em anxio us to be reven ged

upon us. If we could get away from this

defile we migh t travel swiftly throug h the

dark hours."

" But in that case we should be obliged to

leave the pa cks ," said Bo b, " and the

ammunition would be a treasure, indeed, to

these mountai n thieves. Ho w do yo u

like the idea of buying ammunition for

Beloochee thieves, Amran ? I can tell you

that I do not like it, and rather than see

it fall into their hands I would blow it all

u p . "

T h e ment ion of the packs steeled Am ran 's

heart, for, like all the Afghan s, he was gree dy,

and wou ld not give up anything which hadcost mon ey out of his own pocket.

" If we hid the stuff," cont inue d B ob , " it

would only be for a short time, for the

Beloochees kn ow every hole in the Pass, and

search parties would soon dig it up. No ,

Amr an, it will ha ve to be use, lose, or keep,

and , so far as I am co nce rne d, I say use and

keep. "

" So let it be ," said Amran, grindin g his

teeth ; " i f we must de cid e one way or the

other I am with you, but by Allah, it will be

a costly use for the Beloochees."

Meanwhi le a sharp look-out was kept.

There was not a star showi ng, and the Pass

w i s as bla ck as a mine . It was difficult to

se e anything beyo nd a yard or so.

" Amra n," said Bo b suddenly, " where

do yo u think they are kee ping the mules ?

Would they take them up the mountains

or down the Pass ? I sho uld say that they

would stable them som ewhe re near the river,

in order to avoid the troublo of carrying

wate r up the hills. If we had the mules we

might wrap felt about their hoofs, and load

them up quietly, and then make a push for a

place farther up the Pas s."

" Yo u would never reach them, Lari K han,

and if you did, the Beloochees woul d not let

us through. Ab o u t a mile from this place

the road goes throug h a roc ky gate not mor e

than three yards wide. A b o v e the gateway

there are paths, on each side, from which

boulders wou ld be thrown . The river is too

deep and strong there, to be forded . If the

thiev es cau gh t us in the defile we sho uld b e

killed with out be ing able to strike a blow in

return. The re is not hin g for it but to wait

till the mo rni ng, and kill as ma ny of the

attackers as we can, and trust to Allah to

send some relief."

" Allah w ill help those who help them

selves , Amr an ," said Bo b, as he examined

the prim ing of his pistols j " if we do no thin g,

the end will soon c o m e , fo r five men cannot

d o mu ch against a hun dred . I am goi ng

to see if something cannot be done to give us

relief."

W h i l e he spok e, Bo b was busy wr apping

some thic k felt around his bo ot s in ord er to

make his steps noiseless. Amr an watche d

him, without saying a word.

" Here goes , Am ra n, " he said at length ;" keep a str ict look -out . Whe n I return I

will coo like a d o v e , but don ' t stir from th e

c a m p , what eve r happ ens. I shall be all

right . I will take my riile, and plenty of

ammuni t ion. Give me som e brea d an d

grain. I ma y be awa y long er than I

e x p e c t . "

H e pressed Amran's hand, waved a

farewell to the man next him, and glided out

of the cam p like a serpen t. Tho river

roare d on his left hand , and, on the r ight,

the huge roc ky mounta in sto od enshroud ed in

the blackest darkness. He crawled along

until he came to the boul ders on the road .

There was nothing stirring. A b o u t a quarter

of a mile d o wn the road he heard a Beloochee

speaking to some outp ost . " Kha mia b, " said

the voice , " are you there ? "

" Wh o speaks- ? " was the answer.

" It is I, Maz ar Al i ; w e at ta ck o n the first

gl impse of daylig ht. Dervi sh Kha n left the

Shawl Val ley this mor nin g with fifty me n.

H e is ten mile s awa y, but will mar ch at

dawn. We must capture this cam p, and be

a wa y with the spoil before the ar my of Akba r

Khan c o me s up. Ho goes to watch the

Feringhees coming f rom Ferozepore . Syed

Ma h o me d Khan has left Herat and goes to

Ka b u l . W7

ho watches the mules ? "

" Malmul the Afrecdee, and Shadian Ali;

Karki the Usb eg lies in tho ro ad wa y as an

ou tp os t. Is all well on the hill ? "

" All is we l l ; we hold a counc i l shortly after

midnight to deci de whether i t woul d not be

wdser to b lock Akbar Khan in the Pass, untilwe have settled with these traders. If the

N a w a b c o me s he will take all the spoil—I

k n o w Akb ar Kha n. Farewell , Kha miab , I

will see if Malm ul and Ka rki are on the

aler t . "

Th e sound of his retreating footsteps died

a wa y , and B ob was left , with Kh ami ab

crouching in the darkness somewhere near

h i m. Concerning the exa ct posit ion of the

guar d, B ob had little idea, but he kne w that ,

if he meant to go beyond this point ,

Kh am ia b mus t first be disp osed of. Taki ng

a pebb le, he thre w it gently where he jud ged

the ma n to be. He heard a jezail rattle, as

tho ugh it had been lifted s udde nly, and a

voice said : " Wh o is there ? Spea k, or I will

fire into the darkness," and ho knew that th e

weapon of Kha mi ab was being presented tofire. A lo w chu ckl e came to the ears of the

sentinel, and then a hoarse voice said :

" T h o u f o o l , Khamiab, son of a foolish

mot her ; art t hou afraid of sha dow s ? "

" A h , " cried Kha mia b, " art thou at thy

tricks again, dung- picke r of the Usbeg

camel-men ? Th ou villain, I see the e."

" Nay , thou canst not , Khami ab , thou art

t oo mu ch afraid. Bu t fear not , Ka rki will

protect thee ."

Ag a i n th e irritating laugh and chuckle

were heard. Kha mi ab had not the gentlest

of tempers, and this offer of protection, on

th e par t of a despised Usbeg camel-man, was

more than he cou ld sub mit to. He laid his

jezail on the ground, and, drawing his keen

knife, bounded towards the spot whence thelaugh had proceede d. Bo b, mov ing noise

lessly, fou nd and pic ked up the jezail, and

d r o p p e d it into the river.

" T h o u d o g , " grow led Kha mia b, as he

g r o p e d abo ut in the darkness , " where art

thou ? "

" Here, wait ing for thee, on a smooth

piece of ground beside the river. Come,

K h a m i a b . "

T h e Beloochee needed no further invita

tio n. He walk ed swiftly towa rds the voice .

So swift ly, that he tripped over the leg Bob

had stuck out, and the next ins tant K hami ab

wa s face downw ards , with two strong hands

clutching his nec k. He wriggled, and got

one hand free, and with it stabbed viciously

upwards. Bo b missed a deadly wound by themerest shave . The n he seized the wrist of

his opp onen t, and wren ched the knife

aw ay, and again grappled with the Beloochee.

It was a quiet struggle, but a determ ined

one . Gradually Khamiab's hold relaxed,

and his head fell forward. He was chok ed

into insensibil i ty. Bo b unw ound the sense

less man 's sash, an d boun d and gag ged

him with it, leaving him under a huge

rock by the river-side. He then hurried

a l o n g the roadway, keeping a sharp

l ook-ou t for Kar ki the Usb eg. As he turned

a cor ne r of the Pas s, he saw a fire gleami ng

on the walls of a hollow in the roc ks. A

ma n was seated by it, and from the interior

of th e cave , Bo b heard the sound of stamping

hoofs . Evidently the mules had been stabled

in this natural s t ronghold.

T h e man was wrap ped in his hea vy felt

cloak, and Bob could see that the Usbeg was

n o d d i n g drow sily at his pos t. The war mth

of the fire, and the s oo thi ng nois e of the

river, ha d made the man sle epy, and. the

abs olut e stillness of tho night, apar t from

th e rush of tho stream, seeme d to make

him careless.

B o b lay for a few minut es, study ing the

situation, and saw that by noiseless mo v e

ments he might slip past the man and get

a m o n g the mul es. He did this, after a few

minutes , and lay in the darkness of the ca vern .

Bu t the Usbe g had quick ears, for he notic ed

that some of the mules were beco min g restive.

Bo b ' s presence had alarmed t hem.

Muttering curses on the beasts, Karki rose,and lumbered towards them. He was a

h e a v y , stupid-lo oking man, and came up to

the mul e whic h sto od at the extrem e end

of the l ine. Bo b cou ld not see his face, but

he heard him mutt erin g. Clenchin g his fist,

he struck Karki a heavy b l o w on the chin.

H e skin ned his knuc kles, but the Usbe g

went d o wn as if he had been shot. Bo b

pinioned him, and wrapped his face up ,

gagging hi m effect ively with his sash.

Taking the hea vy felt cloak from th e

shoulders of the prostrate man, he cut it

into strips, and, whispering quietly in the

ears of each animal , bega n to fasten the

felt abou t their hoofs . There were twelve

mules , and the w ork was not easy, and ,

before he was half-w ay thr ough his task,

B o b realised that he woul d need more felt.

Bu t time was pressi ng and he dare d no t

risk a longer stay. Ty in g the mules hea d

and tail, so that they for med a long line, Bo b

flung the sac ks of bar ley acro ss their backs ,

and f astened e ach sack securely, and leavin g

the fire still burning, he led the animals into

the dark road way . An hour afterwards

Am ra n Ali heard the l ow co o of a d o v e , an d

soon after this th e t rain of mules stood

within the barric ade.

" B y Al lah ! " cried Amr an, lifting up

his hand s in aston ishme nt, " thou ai t a

wizard , Lari Kh an ! "

" S i l e n c e , Am ra n; we must load , and be

off. At dawn the Beloochees will attack .

A n o t h e r chief, Ak ba r Khan , is ten miles up

the Pa ss with a large party of men . If he joins the ba ndits there will be no hope of

ou r escape . "

" Akb ar Kh an ! " excla imed Amra n ;

" praise be to Al la h; if it be he, we are sa ved .

H e is thy b rother, Lari Kh an, tho ugh on e of

the greatest chiefs amo ng the Afghans. If

we can but r each his cam p, we are safe ."

[ As



A T A L E O F A N A E R O P L A N E .

(Drawn for the " Boy's Own Paper " by ARTHUR GILL.)



536 The "Boy's Otvn Taper.

As he spok e, Amr an was lifting the sacks

from the mu les, and prepar ing to pack the

amm uni ti on eases. His men assisted, and

in another hour all was ready for the start.

Amran, with two men, went forward,

leaving Bo b and the other to drive the

mules. They had a start of some three

hundred yards.

C H A P T E R X I .

TH E BEARD OF DERVISH KHAN.

I T t o o k so me persuas ion to get the mules

mo v i n g at all qui ckl y, but at le ngth the defile

was traversed, and a wider glen mad e th e

going easier. An d yet the pace seem ed a

s low one to the anxious drivers. Th e hour

before the dawn would soon arrive, and

then th e Beloochees would discover the loss

of the mules and tho emp ty cam p, and

would pursue hotfoot for revenge.

As Bo b urged on the hindmost mules he

heard a yel l far behind him. It was like

th e dis tant yapping of wolves. Some shots

were fired, and then a great shout re-echoed

through the Pass. Bo b lashed the mules, and

bawled to Amran and his servant to force

the animals into a gallop. As the way was

c o mp a r a t iv e ly smooth, the train broke into

a trot. A b o u t half a mile ahead, Am ran

knew that there was a rocky gateway,

formed by tw o inaccessible granite peaks.

It was only three yards or so across, and

cou ld be b locked by boulders and defended,

fo r a time, by resolute men.

H e yelled at the mules, and lashed t hem

with his whip, until they dashed forward

in a wild gallop. The men ran with all

their might, striving to keep up with the

beasts, for they knew that if they were not

careful the terrified animals would bunch

together, and block the Pass. A s the y rushed

into the gateway, they heard shots behindthem, and the shouts of the pursuing bandits

procla imed the fact that in another quarter

of an hour the fugitives would be overtaken.

" Amr an, " gasped Bo b, " let the man

go on with the mules. W e mus t stay here

t o defend the gate way. He can halt in half

an hour or so and pile some stones up so

that we can retreat into a little fort. Ro l l

those boul ders into the passage, and get the

rifles ready."

Amran explained to the man what he had

t o do , and then helpe d B ob to make a fortress

of the gate way. It was no w near daylight,

and in the gray haze objects cou ld be distin

guished a good distanc e away . There was

an open space of some five hundred yards

before th em, and the grad ual rise gav e theattacked some advan tage. Th ey laid the

rifles on the gr oun d besid e them , and pre

pare d to fire at four hun dre d yard s.

Presently a com pa ny of some t went y

Beloochees emerged f rom th e g loom of the

Pass . Amr an ope ned fire, and th e leader

tumbled over. The rest raced on without

a pause. As rap idly as poss ible , and yet with

coolness , the tw o men kep t up a dea dly fire.

W h e n the survivors reached within a

hun dre d yards of the gate way , the y flung

themselves on the ground, and began to

return the shot s. Thei r fire was ineffe ctive,

altho ugh the bullets splashed on the granite

a b o v e Amr an' s head. Bo b leaped to his

feet an d t o o k a long aim o v e r the top of the

boulders . Standing thus, and well-sheltered,

he was enabled to pick the men off with

sureness till none remained in sight.

" W e are all right no w, Amr an, unti l th e

main b o d y arriv es. The se were the swiftest

runners, the rest will be some distance

behi nd. Wh at shall we do , re t reat on the

next post or defend th is place ? "

" We are but tw o, Lari Kh an, and a

rush will ove rpo wer us. Stay, what are

y o u abo ut to d o ? "

Hi s vo ice rose to a shriek as Bo b slipped

rou nd the boul ders and ran wi th all speed

towards the prostrate Beloochees . Amran

saw him grabbing the hive-shaped felt hats

wh i c h lay beside the dead men. He re

turned with his arms full. Flinging the m

d o wn , he raced b ack and seized some jezail s.

" Co me on, Amr an ," he said, " stick the

jezails in tho ground so t ha t they will s tand

upri ght. Put a hat upo n each . Let them

show over the boulders. No w, go outside

a few yard s away , and tell me how the v

l o o k . "

" By Allah ! " g rinned Amr an, w hen he

returned, " thou hast thy father's he ad.

T h e y look like warriors keeping a fort . If

they c o u l d but sho ot, they w ould keep

b a c k these dogs for us."

" No w, Amr an, " said Bob , " I can run

quicker than yo u can . Get off after the

mules and choose another fort, five miles or

so up the Pass. I will stay here unti l th e

Beloochees come . They will think t ha t

we have received assistance f rom some one,

and will not attac k wit hout a g o o d deal

of preparation. Wit h luck I ought t o

keep them at bay for an hour or mor e. "

" Allah prot ect thee, Lari Kh an. I am

lot h to lea ve thee by thj'self, bu t t he plan

is a g o o d on e. May Alla h guard the e ! "

W i t h th is brief farewell Amran waved

his hand and darte d up the gorge . With a

beating heart Bo b lay at his post, his eyes

fixed u p o n the open space before him. In

a short tim e he heard shout ing, and the

Beloochees dashed into the open.

T h e y stopped when they saw the bodies

of their com rad es, and be gan to shou t to

each other, and poi nt to the gat ewa y. A

q u i c k successio n of bullets made t hem rush

fo r shelter. Th e main b o d y drew back,

and presently half a dozen skirmishers

were sent forward. Bo b was prepared fortheir c o mi n g , and soon showed them t ha t

a g o o d mark sman was lying behin d the

boulders . Som e long- distanc e shots made

th e c r o wd dra w back into shelter.

Half an h our passed before they made

their reappearance. They were rolling

s o me good-s ized boul ders before them, and

B o b sa w t ha t they meant to provide shelter

fo r themse lves before they ventu red on

another assault . He watched them closely ,

takin g every oppor tun ity of firing at any

man wh o exp ose d himself. His practice

was becom ing mor e dead ly with ever y shot,

and the Beloochees were evidently re

luctant to c o me t o close quarters. Presently

the survi vors left the stones, and scuttle d

b a c k into shelter.

A S t o r y w i t h o u t W o r d s !

B o b now began to fire over the breast

work, from the pl aces where' the h ive-

shaped hats had been pla ced, for he re

me mb e r e d t ha t so far he had only shot

through the loopholes near the ground, and

he , of course, wished the bandi ts to think

t ha t the men w h o m they imagined were

stan din g were also firing. As rapid ly as

he cou ld he poured in his fire, and then, re

loading his weapons, began to get ready

t o depart. For more than an hour he had

kept the foe at bay, and felt sure that they

thought t ha t at least twel ve men were

holding the gateway-

H e gather ed up his weapo ns and ran as

quickly as he cou ld after Amra n Ali . It

was a mos t toi lso me run. Th e Pass as

cended with a considerable amoun t of steep

ness, and it wa s no easy task. He was

almost exhaus ted w hen ho came into ih e

little fort erected by Amran and his man.

It was cunning ly placed , with a space of

about fifty yards clear ground before it,

where the cliffs offered a very precipitous

ascent on either side. Bould ers had been

fixed across the roa dwa y, and, at the corne r

which led to the place, Amran had fixed

two pieces of white clo th, abou t the level of a man' s shoulders. Ho had paced th e

distance, and knew exactly the range and

height at whi ch to fire, The man had

prepared some food , and Bo b now partook

of som e hot tea and war m b read.

" Let the man press on with the mules,

Amr an, " said Bo b, as lie enjo yed the food.

" Th ey will not be along for an hour or so

unless something very unexpected has

happ ened. I gav e them the impressi on that

a doze n men were holdin g the Pass, and I

expect it will be som e time bef ore they mak e

up their minds to rush the position. When

they discover that ho shots are being sent

into them , they will think that the men are

preparing some surprise, and will be cautious.

As soon as they come up here we will tr y th esame game on them, so far as the shooting is

concerned, and when they hesitate to come

on , you can rush off as before, and build

anoth er fort up the Pass. "

" Na y, Lari Kha n, " said Amran , " the

Beloochees will not bo taken a second time

with the same snare. Wh en the y ha ve

broken into the gateway and discovered that

they were held back by a few empty jezails

and Afghan hats, the y will unders tand that

at the most only two or three men were

defending the place , and this time they

will come straight on. If yo u are fit

fo r it, I advise leaving this little fort and

hurryi ng after the mules. We had bette r

reconcile ourselve s to the loss of the ammun i

tion and let the Beloochees have the boo ty

they cove t , if by the sacrifice we can escape

with our lives."

It was with a great effort that Amran Ali

sjioke in this way, and Bob realised that the

peril was dire to cause the Afghan to calmly

consider the loss of the ammun iti on and

mules.

" I' m hange d if I do , " he replied, smackin g

his fist in the pa lm of his han d. " Th e

Beloochee scoundrels shall not have a single

item of my property. We have scored

so far, and when the push comes something

will turn up to enable us to circumvent

them. They know our faces, for the y had a

good look at us while we sat r oun d the fire

when Hassa n was killed, but I fanc y I can

manage to have a few words with them.

What do you think of this ? "

As he spoke, Bob took out the thick bla ck

beard and pu t it on. Pulli ng off his felt ca p

he wound the folds of his turban round his

head and fixed the Diamond Star in the front.

" When they turn tho corner we will

pepper them as hard as we can, and then I

shall ju mp up and speak with them. Th ey



Through Afghan Snobets. 537

do not know that we kno w anything abou t

Akbar Kha n and his men being at the Sh awl

end of the Pass. I am no w an officer of

Akbar Khan , Amran, my brother, and when

they hear mo spea k they will think that an

army is at my back. Y ou must tell me

something about this Akba r Kha n when I

am parleyin g with them, an d it will go hard

with us if I do not make them retreat ."

" By Allah ! " e xclai med Amran , " thouhast a head of wisdom, Lari Kha n. Th y

tong ue will save thee when thy h and fails,

but b eware , the Beloochees are cunning as

tho serpent, and m ay bite before thou hast a

chance to speak ."

" Wo shall see, Amra n ; mean while , let us

be watchful ."

Th e y lay for more than an hour before any

Bound cam e up the Pass. The n the y heard

the sound of running feet, and the Beloochees

swep t round the corner. Agai n tho rillcs

snap ped out, and men began to dr op .

Th e bandits came to within twe nty yar ds

of the barricade, but halted when a c o m

man din g figure st oo d up in full v iew. On

its turban there blazed the Diam ond Star.

A strong voice called on the Beloochees to

halt. The y hesitated and fell back . A few

shots from Amran made them seek shelter.

" What seek ye f rom tho men of Akbar

Kha n '! " shouted Bo b. " Thiev es and dogs

of the mountains, hav e ye none other enem y,

t ha t ye seek to slay the soldiers of a great

chief ? Bac k to you r kennels, eve ry man of

y o u . "

A Beloochee, holdin g up emp ty hands andbowing , cried ou t: " Wh o is it t ha t speaks ?"

" Wh o am I, Amr an ? " whispered Bo b.

" Give me a name , quickl y. Wh o was t ha t

chief who was said to be in the Pass ? "

" Say Derv ish Kha n ; he is like thee, and

a close an d trusted friend of Akb ar K ha n. "

" Dervish Khan, thou blind camel,"

shouted B ob . " A m I so unk nown am ong

the mountains that I mus t cry my nam e to

e v e r y fool wh o asks it ? Aga in, I say, what

seek ye ? "

" S o me traders, with a train of twelve

mules—they have killed our leader, Kilah

Ersari, and stolen tho mules out of our

keeping. Much b l o o d has be en spilt, and

ou r knives are th irs ty for reven ge. Stand

(To be continued.

aside. O Dervish Khan, friend of Akbar

K han , t ha t we ma y pursue and capture

t hem."

" Naj-, Beloochee , shall tho wren take th e

prey f rom tho talons of tho eagle ? Wh en

Akbar K h a n enters tho Pass he know s ho w

to l evy t r ibute. Retu rn to thy nests and

seek t raders when we have taken what is our

right and have d epa rted ."

" Whe re is the Sirdar, the father of Akba rKha n, my lord ? "s ai d the Be l o o c h e e ; " we

seek to al ly ourselves with his caus e."

" W h o s e son is Akbar Khan supposed to

be , Am ra n ? Hur ry up, he will susp ect

someth ing if 1 de la y, " whispered Bob .

" Say Dost Moha mmed Khan, and that he

is hold ing his men toge the r in Ka bu l, and has

sent A kb ar , his son, to mee t the acc urse d

Feringhees who are even now marching from

Shikarpore to tho Bolan Pass," whi spered

A mr an .

B o b shouted ou t the message, and the

leader replied ; " Pard on, 0 Dervis h Khan , I

must speak with my comr ade s, " and with

these wo rd s he b o we d , and disappeared

round the corner.

O W T OB E C O M E

A "W I R E L E S S

"O P E R A T O R .

A Pr of es si on -thai: Off ers M a n v A t t r a c t i o n s .

By T. MICHAEL POPE.

HIS course at t he training school having

been com ple ted , the wireless opera tor

is generally sent to sea as a second operator

before being allowed to take charge of an

installation on board ship.

A wireless oper ator signs on with the ship's

crew, and he is almos t invar iably rank ed

as a junior officer, being, of course, subject

to the usual regulati ons of the ship. His

posit ion is a responsible, one , thoug h the

extent of his duties is apt to vary . Whe re,

for instance, the ship carries two ope rator s,

a continuou s watch is maint ained , but where

only one opera tor is carried, the hou rs of

duty are somewhat l ong . As a balanc e to

this disadvantage, ver y little dut y is required

of him while the v essel is in p or t.

His duties are generally limited to looking

after the wireless business, and, as a member

of th e crew, he is not ex pec ted to mi x with

the passengers. Things are mad e ve ry

pleasant for him, howev er, so long as he

conduc ts himself prop erly , and, sho uld the

vessel touch at a foreign port, the ope rato r

will have no difficulty in obtain ing leave

from the captain to go ashore.

No w comes the question of pay . TheMarconi operator, i t should be remembered,

receives a considerably higher wa ge than th e

railway telegraphist. The operator will

have to serve his appren ticesh ip at se a;

afterwards, if prope rly qualified, he m ay

receive promot ion to some shore appoint

men t. Th e junio r telegraphi st wh o has

obtained his certificate of profic iency from

the Postmaster-General begins with £1 per

week , and this is fo l lowed by an annual

increment of 2s. 6d. per week to £1 10*.

Before this max imu m is reached, the opera •

tor, if he has disp laye d sufficient intellige nce,

will pro babl y bo appo inted as a " senior

telegr aphis t," in which case he will receiv e

£1 15s. a week , rising by annual increments

of 5*. per week to £2 15s. , while on b oar d

ship ever yth ing is " fou nd " f or h im. Effi

c iency an d g o o d - c o n d u c t are the two certain

avenues to promot ion.

Th e nature of the w ork is some time s

varied, and always responsible. The necessity

for an unremi tting dilige nce is illustrated by

th e fol lowing anecd ote which appe ared

in the Octo ber, 1911, issue of " T h e

Marcon igraph " :—•

" A few mon ths ag o tho writer was in

conv ersa tion wit h one of the engin eers of

a carg o ship (wh ich was totally burnt at sea

during 1910), wh o. with half the c rew, spent

four or five days in an open boat, the re

mainder of the crew taking to another boat ,

which was sighte d and pic ked up by a

L e y d e n liner. The rescu ed men informe dthe captain of this Leyden l iner t ha t th e

oth er bo at was lost sight of dur ing the first

night after leavi ng the wrec k, and wa s,

p r o b a b l y , still missing.' The captain, by

mean s of the Mar con i syst em, notified all

othe r ships with whi ch his ship co mm un i

cated that another boat containi ng members

of the crew of the burnt car go ship was at

sea. Thes e ships kep t a special loo k-o ut

fo r the bo at, and a Cuna rd liner was suc cess

ful in sighting the missing boat and rescuing

the me n, wh o, by lon g exp osu re, were in a

v e r y bad s tate. This engineer s tated ver y

definitely that had it not been for tho Marconi

system they wo u l d not have been rescued

a l i v e . "

A story of this sort helps one to realise

the responsibili t ies of the M arconi operato r,

and to understand someth ing of the value

of the services which he is enab led to

render.

W e hear a great deal now aday s abou t

" d e c a y i n g industries." W e l l , wireless

telegraph y is certainly not among them. On

the contrary, the Marco ni opera tor is in

greater dema nd every year. Fiv e or six

years ago tho operati ng staff was confin ed

to a mere handful of men ; to -d ay there ar e

probably not fewer than two thousand.

The re is no royal road to succes s, and the

a x i o m is part icularly t rue with regard to

wireless tele gra phy . Th e business has go t

to be learned, and learned thor ough ly. I t

is not a profess ion for the me re idle dilettan te. Intell igence, application, a steady

head and a c ool nerve,—these are indispen

sable requisit es. But for those who possess

them the life of a Ma rconi operator is one

that is full of ind uce men ts. An d succe ss in

th is profession is a ver y tangible thing

indeed.



538 The "Boy's Otetn Taper.

Do You Want

to Pl ay for Yo ur County ?A Se ri es o f Ei gh t Art ic les Spe cia l ly Writ te n Tor th e " B.O.PV'

By W ILFRED RHODES(The famous Yorkshire and England Cricketer).

CHAPT ER V. SOMETHING ABOUT BOWLI NG, BUT NOT A LESSON.

T J f 3

as bowling

is concer ned,

it is never

very wise to

i n t e r f e r e

w i t h a

y o u n g s t e r ' s

o w n natural

m e t h o d s .

Y o u c a n

teach a boy

h o w t o

make a g o o d

s t r o k e i n

batting, but

to a t temp t

to teach him

h o w to de

liver a ball

llfeA^— is beyond

a n y b o d y ' s

power . Let

him perse

vere in his own wa y and go on for a ti me

until he has got his swing and run. The n, if

there are any little faults, they must be

corrected ver y careful ly lest in doin g so yo u

upset the whole of the machi nery.

Encou rage a boy to cultivate a g o o d

length, and then if he has developed any

special qualif icati ons in the s hape of swing

or break, they can be gradually ad ded t o

afterwards. There is a great tenden cy to

o v e r b o wl amongst youngsters, and I would

warn them not to bowl too long at a stretch.

Bo y s will seld om adm it being fatigued, and

so it is necessary to keep a strict watch over

this very simple po in t; for overdoing one

self is far- reachin g in its evi l effects a nd

is likely to d o a subtle d ama ge which few

people can estimate.

I hav e ver y frequ entl y heard men say,

" A bowler is born, not mad e." There may

or may not be something in these words, but

I am quite sure in my ow n mind that , be a

youth ever such a naturally gifted bowler,

ho will requi re years of pra cti ce befor e he

will be worth his salt in first-class c rick et of

to-d ay. There are thousand s of bowlers

wh o have g o o d deliveries, accu rac y of pitch,

and wh o are able to imp art a cer tain

amo un t of break to the ball, who will n ever

make first-class trundlers. They have never

tro ubl ed to cult iva te to a fine art the

natural apti tude they already possess, and

are perfec tly satisfied to go on, da y after day ,

bowl ing a decent ball, when, with a little

enterprise and practic e, those ordi nary balls

cou ld be turned into something better.

A large numb er of the you ths one sees

performi ng in secon d and third rate

cricket seem to have an idea that physical

strength alone is the one thing needed to

mak e a successful bowler . It is quit e a

c o m m o n thing to see in our public parks

y o u n g me n tearing along to the wicket with

a sling which savo urs of a throw, and

sending d own balls that pitch half-way

d o wn tho wic ket , and either g o high up over

the batsm en's heads or are stopp ed by some

personal part of the gent leme n who are

supposed to wield the willow. If a few

runs are scored against men of this tear-

away type, it is more by luck than g o o d

judgment, and one can only wonder why

there are not more serious accidents.

Ther e are fast bowl ers of the tear -awa y

type wh o are not only naturally dangerous

b y reason of their deliveries and inability

to bowl anythi ng lik e a length, but who

purp osel y try to injure ba tsme n after the

latter have shown their contempt by

hit t ing them to the bound ary once or

twice. This fact r emin ds mo of a cer tain

match in which I was playing some time

ago .

A fast bowl er was on at one end and

t wo men were in who had both top ped the

century. At last the fast bow ler go t cross

when he saw his best deliveri es goi ng to the

boun dar y, and in a stage whisper said,

" No w, he's go t to go if I ha ve to kill hi m ! "

He then deli bera tely bow led at the bats man' s

b o d y , catchi ng him inside the knee. Run

ning up to the v ict im he apol ogised most

profusely, and the poor chap, after limpi ng

about for two or three minutes, went on

with his innings.

" Well , of all the che ek ! " uttered the

blac kgua rd bowl er as ho passed me. " He

w o n ' t go after that ! I must give him one

on his skull! "

N o w this is an instance of blackg uard ly

behaviour which some would say is merely

all in the gam e. It is not in the game, and

I do hope my you ng bowli ng friends willnever be guilty of endeavouring to gain an

advant age by method s that are unsports

manlike.

It is generally said that fast bowlers

depend upon their pace to beat bats men; and

no matter where the ball pitches, the bowler

with a strong arm will find plenty of victi ms.

No w, whilst fully recognising the force of

such remarks when applied to cricket of

that order which is played upon rough and

uncared-for wickets, I cannot for one

moment agree that pace and pitch alone

will work havo c amongs t great batsmen

on present-day plumb wickets.

Of course, I am fully aware that a very

fast bo wler is apt to make a mist ake and

drop a ball somewhat short occasionally.

The b owler, no matter whether fast, medium,

or s low, would be a marvel if he could go on

fo r ever without making a mis tak e; but

I am quite sure that tho ball with which the

fast bowl er gets wic kets is not a short one.

It may be over-p itche d—if oneca n over-pitch

a ball—but in the majority of cases batsmen

fall to the deliv ery which has become

k n o wn as the one of good length.

Bu t good length alone will not bring

success on the perfect wicket s to whic h we

are getting so accus tome d to-day . The

y o u n g bowler must use his brains, always

end eavo uri ng to find a bats man' s weakness,

and, if possi ble, read his thou ghts . A good

length is an essential, for wit hout it you can

d o nothi ng. It is really the key not e of

all g o o d bowl ing ; but at th e same time,

although by a perfect length you may keep

d o w n th e rate of scori ng an d have the cr edit

of bowl ing a numb er of maidens , it will be



Do you Want to Tlay for your County? 539

more by the devilment that y ou attach to

your ball in the wa y of break and pace that

you will co mma nd success. There are a

good many bowlers in first-class cricket of

to-day who by their wonderful accuracy

of length ar e very useful to their sides, and

do a l ot of good work, if only to go on

whilst the other bowlers ar e being rested.

T o al l batsmen there is a fascinationabout the mere sensation of forward play,

an d one cannot get away from th e fact of

its be ing loss certa in w hen th e bowler is

getting break on, consequently th e slow

bowler ' s object should be to keep th e

batsman pla ying forward at the ext reme

end of his reach , and a catch at point or mid-

off may result at any moment .

That ball just outside the off-stump is so

well known as a snare that al l first-class

batsmen leave it severely alone; but there

comes a time when a man forgets caution,

an d is tempted to " have a g o . " Let him

do so. Yo u have four or five men behind

the wicket wh o are eagerly awaiting th e

mis-hit, and sooner or later it is just on

the cards that a catch results.

As a bowler you have ten other men in

the field who ar e eager to help you . Then

why bowl stuff which th e batsman is just

able to stop but not score off ? Dece ive

hi m if you can, but tempt him all you know

ho w to " have a g o , " and, so sure as the

night follows the da y, he will eventually

make a mistake and get himself out. I

spoke of knowing a man's weakness. Wha t

ca n be more simple, if you know that a

certain batsman is fond of having a good

hit in the direction of long-off, than to put

a ma n with a safe pair of hands in that

position an d bowl up tho kind of ball th ebatsman is anxious to get ? He may score

tw o or three fours off you , but sooner or

later he falls into the t r ap of his own making.

Variation of pace does more to deceive a

batsman than anything else, an d in recom

mending this method to the young reader,

I do not mean that one should endeavour

to bowl six different kinds of balls in every

over . That would be an act of madness.

Neither would I adviso a fast bowler to

pu t on an extra spurt to g et one in a bit

faster. Nothing is more likely to " take

it o u t " of him. But if, without any

apparent change in delivery, a fast bowler

can send up one which is a little slower and

which hangs in the air a fraction of a second

longer, he is fairly certain to get valuable

wickets .

I have known one or t wo first-class

bowlers who were absolut ely marvello us

at this art of deception, and quite one half

of their wickets were secured b y deliveries

which were rather slower than usual. In

all these cases there was the same run, the

same action, th e same elevation ; an d so

sure were th e batsmen of gett ing th e same

paced ball that they either played far too

soon or were comp letel y beaten. The late

George Lohmann was particularly clever in

this deception, and it was almost astonish

in g to see the number of really great

cricketers who got out through playing at

the ball either r idicu lous ly early, or " hour s ' '

t oo late, simply through his magnificent

^iiguise in pace.

Although, in the course of a season, w'e see

adreds of bowlers, I doub t if we can

point' to any two and say that their styles

and method s thorough ly agree. Each ha s

his o w n stylo of delivery, and imparts

perhaps one little peculiari ty, which turns

a very ordinary-looking ball into a terror.

Ye t , if yo u asked him how to get that extra

bi t of pace directly after the ball leaves

the pitch, or that little bit of " kick " which

makes th e batsm an almos t afraid to playforward, he will probably tell you, if he is

truthful, that he doesn't kno w. Therefore

the bowler cann ot be made who will have

sufficient " d e v i l " in his deliveries to be

styled a really first-class man.

I have not the slightest intention of

crying down perseverance and energy in

this department of the game ; for although

the natural born bowler takes to bowl ing

much in the same way as a duck takes to

water, it must not be forgotten that it is

on ly b y very great perseveran ce and hard

work with muscle and brain that he will

ever make a reputation worthy of the gift

he possesses.

Of course, gettin g break on a ball, and,

at the same time, keeping anything like a

length, requires seasons of practice before

the combination can be anywhere near

perfect, bu t it is one of the greatest mistakes

in the world to make a ball " d o " t o o

much. I t will generally be found that th e

amount of break imparted to a ball is

governed by the pace at which it is

delivered.

On e frequently hears of So-an d-so bow ling

at a t remendous pace and gett ing yards of

break on . This is absolutely ridiculous !

Pace and break seldom g o together, and

however clever a really fast bowler is, he

cannot hope to retain his pace and impart

break at the same time. As a rule, th e

fast bowler who makes a ball c o m e back

an inch or t wo cou ld not do otherwise. His

break is th e most natural th ing in the worldand he canno t poss ibly plead guil ty t o

t rying for it. It comes with his arms.

Slow and medium-paced bowlers get most

work on the ball. I am afraid, if they

didn ' t , our capta ins wou ld onl y want tho se

with pace.

M r. Schwarz, the great " googl ie " bowler

of the South African team, openly boasted

of his unsuccessful efforts when he first

a t tempted to imita te Mr. Bosanqu et 's style.

For weeks he persevered in the nets of the

Wanderers ' Club at Johannesburg wi thout

gett ing a ball within yards of the wicket.

Other cricketers used to assemble in order

to play off their latest jokes at him. But

it made no difference —Mr. Schwa rz kept

on and , so he says, when a ball did go

inside the net he was cheered to the echo .

In the summer of 1907 he proved himself

not only the finest " googl ie " bowler in the

wor ld , but the most successful bowler of

all kinds.

H o w much easier it should be for an

under-hand bowler to get pract ice and

acquire a certain amount of proficiency than

it was for Mr. Schwarz and his " googlies " !

The next article in this series will be entitled,

" S O M E ADVICE UPON FIELDING."

X X X

T h e S o n of* an

A n a r c h i s t :A T a l e o f S t r a n g e M y s t e r y

Wild A d v e n t u r e .

By W. A. B. CLEMENTSON, M.A.,

Author of " .4 Couple of Stamps," etc.

and

CH AP TER xix.—[continued}

EEING the men

c o m e on un-

checked , with a

yel l of mingled

rage and fear,

R o n a l d a n d

Bobb ie both tired

blind ly at the

c rowd . The two

scouts were nicely

cornered, for the

anarchists were

c lose upon them,

cut t ing off all

escapo in t ha t

direction. Sud

denly R o n a l d

thought of the

window behind them overloo king the pond.

" Q u i c k , B o b b i e ! " he cried. " Ou t of

the w ind ow ! J u m p ! "

B o b b i e , who had been trained to o b e y

orders, promptly cl imb ed into the w i ndow ,

— A MIDNIGHT MEETING.

shut his eyes and j umped , fo l lowed hastilyby R ona l d and another wild volley from the

anarchists. With a splash they both fell

into the water, which wa s fairly deep, and

struck out for the oppo site bank. The y were

not yet out of danger, for the men were

still firing from tho w i ndow ; but neither

of them thought of that .

"Spl ash ! Splash ! Splash ! " T he anarchists

were fol lowing their example and plunging

into the pond !

" They must b e very anxious to take

us alive ," though t Rona ld. " T hey cou ld

easily shoot us f rom the w i ndow ."

B y no w the t wo scouts had emerged

dripping from the water, and s tar ted to run

towards the en d of the l i t t le valley in which

th o ruin stood, heedless of the shots from the

automatic pistols, and heedless, too, for the

moment , of the man they had tried to save.

Presently Ronal d noticed that the anarch

ists were not pur suing them and t ha t the shots

were being fired in quite a different direc-




tion . Som e of the anarchists were making a

wild dash for libe rty, but the men seeme d to

be divided among themselves, for a few were

still stan ding in the wi nd ow of the ruin and

round the edge of tho pon d. But what

astonished the boys mos t of all was to see

Luigi free and unharm ed appar ently talking

amicably with his late foes.

The two boys paused for breath in theshadow of a tree as so on as the y saw t hey

were not being fo l lowed . Was it possible

that the y had escape d not ice after all and

that th e anarchists had lost sight of th em

in the co nfu sion ? If so the y mig ht still get

r

away safely. Then Ronald thought of

L u i g i ; they must do something at once t o

save him.

Afte r talking i t o ver quietly with Bobb ie

he dec ide d to find a safe hiding -pla ce first of

all, wher e the y migh t wait till the y h ad

fo rmed som e satisfactory plan of action .

T h e y were abou t to mov e on, when they

were startled by an unexpected sound from

th e anarchists in the ruin—the blast of a

policeman's whistle.

Sudd enly an i dea came to Ronal d— The

men in possession of the building were not

anarchists at all, but policemen in plainclothes, wh o had lain in amb ush an d

surprised tho scound rels, thus dr iv ing

them to seek safety b y jum pin g from the

window. He communica ted h is suspic ion

t o B o b b i e , who with his usual impetuos i ty

suggested that they shoidd creep quietly

back and watch the men without themselves

being seen.

So the two daring youngsters crawled

back among the bushes till they were within

earshot of the group of men with whom

Luigi stoo d. Luigi was tell ing them some

thing and on e of the me n was mak ing notes

in a pocket -boo k. Rona ld soon heard

enough to confirm his theory and set their

doubts a t r es t ; so the t wo boys rose up a nd,

walking forward, made their presence known

to the m en.

Luigi recognised them at once .

" Ah , my tw o scout friends," said he ,

" yo u ha ve arriv ed just in time to hear an

exci ting sto ry. I ca me here, as I told yo u I

should, and found it was an anarchist trap.

Luck i ly , how ever , my friend here, Inspe ctor

Rivers of Scotland Yard, was before them

and had posted his men in hiding-places all

round the ruins, so the trappers were

themselves ent rapped. "

" But, unforl unately, we have not captur ed

any of the m," said Inspector Rive rs, wh o

was standing near. " Th ey all ju mpe d

from the wi ndo w into tho water and got

away . I fan cy, howe ver, we must havewo u n d e d so me of them . I wish I ha d

caught that dwarf . I hav e an old sco re to

settle with him. But what mad e yo u tw o

boys c o m e here ? "

" W e saw the noti ce in the pape r, sir,"

{Tn be continued.)

said Ro na ld . " An d, as the boy who is missing

is a fellow scout of ours, we thought we'd

c o m e here on the chance of finding where he

was , and so we hid in that wi n d o w. ' '

" I n that win dow ! Then you must have

been here all the tim e ''. " said the asto nish ed

officer.

" Yes, and Bobbie fired the first shot."

"I couldn ' t s tand that beast ly dwarf any

longer," said Bobb ie apologeti cally. " I

heard all he said to yo u, Mr. Costa, and I

only wish I had killed him."

" W e l l , " said Rive rs, when he had heard

the whole story , " yo u bo y scouts seem to

have pl enty of plu ck; what with

carrying dy namit e bom bs and

layin g ambus hes for anarohists,

y o u ' v e given the police a hard

job to kee p up with you . But if

you' l l take my advice you won ' t

c o m e on an exp edition l ike this

again without telling some one in

authority. W e might have shot

y o u ourselves in mistake fo»

anarchists."B y no w the other men ha d

assembled at the ruin in answer to

the inspector's whistle ; there were

eight in all, for the boys had only

seen a few of them arrive.

T h e y confessed that the anarch

ists had eluded them for the

pres ent; but Rivers , after re

ceiving the repo rt of each man as

I he ca me in, gav e them all clear

j, instruc tions for a thor oug h search

I to be ma de ever3'where for Pa ol o

!!

and his captors . Meanwhile, he

I decided to make the rain hi s

| headquarters for the present, so

i that if anything should be

discovered by the search -party it

might be at once reported to

him.

The Inspector then sent Luigi,

Rona ld an d Bobb ie to a neigh

bouring cottage with his official

card and a request that they

might be made comfo rtable t i l l

the morning. The tenant of the

cot tage , a game-keepe r, brought

the m in to his kit che n and l it a fire,

while his wife made them some hot

tea, whi ch cheered th em gre atly ;

and after this the two boys rolled

themselves up in a rug on the floor

and Luigi fell asleep in his chair.

No n e of them wo ke till the sunlight

was strea ming in at t he win dow and the

keepe r was begi nnin g his breakfast .

Jus t then there wa s a kno ck at the door

and one of Inspe ctor Rivers ' men appeared

with a note, which he said a little boy had

g iven him, for Luigi. Luigi started up and,

taking the note, opened i t nervously, for he

thou ght he recognised the writ ing.

" Luigi Costa," said the letter, " once more

you have betrayed us. Therefore, by the time

you receive this letter, your son Paolo will be

dead. S . G . L . "

Luigi gave a hoars e c ry , staggered an 1

raised his hand to his head ; and as he d'd

so , somet hing fell from the letter a n d

fluttered t o the gro und . It was a lock if

Pao lo ' s b r o wn hair !



C Y C L I N G F O R T H E A ^ O N T H •. M A Y .

A P a g e f o r t h e " B . O . P . " W h e e l m a n .

T O S T cyc l is ts

ar e fond of

compar ing no tes

as to their experi-

e n c e s . A n d ,

talking with ma ny

of the youngerriders, I have

frequently heard

s o me of them

compla in t ha t

they can never

get really c o m

for table when

seated in the

saddle . Now that ,

of course, is some

th ing that ought cer tainly to be remedied

at once. For , as one may say, if yo u are

not comf ortable when r iding, whate ver is

th e use of cont inu ing to cycle at all,

seeing that you cannot poss ib ly be t ru ly

enjoying yourself when so doin g ? Beside s

which, an uncomfor tab le cyc le saddle may

be quite dangerous to you from a health

point of view. S o this is, we see, quite a

serious question, and one that well warrants

our inquiring into it.

Th e impor tan t thing to r ememb er in

connect ion with your cycle saddle, is t ha t

the rider's weight is int ende d to be born e

b y the broad part of the saddle, and that th e

peak of the saddle is int ende d ma in ly for

steadying purposes. A bicycle saddle is

not a mere perch, for you are meant to sit

fairly and squarely upon it, just the same

as you do on a chair, ex ce pt t ha t th e fore

part of the se.it is, as it were, cut aw ay to

allow your legs to go straight dow n to the

pedals, and this it is t ha t forms the peak

o f the saddle. If yo u had no need to balance

the bicycle when r iding it , you might,indeed, use a saddle t ha t was all broad part

only, and had no peak, thou gh t ha t wo u ld

certainly not be so conv enie nt for pedalling.

And yet, not a few riders there are who

alw ays sit on tho peak of the s addl e, hun g

o u t there, it has been said, like a clothes-peg

on a line, whic h descr ibes it beauti fully .

Y o u can generally identify these individual s

b y remarking spots of mud upon the leather

of the rear part of their saddles . The bac k

wheel has thrown up mud, and this mud has

fallen upon the leather of the br oad part of

the saddle whil e the rider was sitting " hung

o u t " on the peak. Ha d he been sitting

properly on the saddle those mu d spots

would have been on his jac ket inste ad.

Sitting upon the peak of th e sad dlecauses you to feel

al l, the slightest

shocks and all the

vibration of travel

ling over the un

e v e n surface of the

road, which jarring

and bumping is

thus communi

cated direct to

y o u r body . An d

d o not forget this,

t h a t when hung out on the pe ak, yo u are

practically r iding upon one saddle-spring

only , instead of upon three saddle-springs

as have been provid ed for you , and s o are

actu ally throwing awa y two-th irds of theseadvantages . N o wonder t h a t so many

fe l lows, wh o sit on the peak, gr ow l that

cycl ing is hard work and all t ha t sort of

thi ng. Th e fault is their own, and to r emedy

it, they should " get back a b i t " in their

seats when awheel.

If yo u should feel any pressur e fro m the

By RAYMO ND RAIFE.

peak af ter y ou have been r iding som e time

on the saddle, a remedy may often be found

in rais ing the peak s lightly. Tha t seems

ra ther cur ious , docs it no t ? but y ou will

understand what happens . In r iding, yo u

have been slipping dow n on to the peak,

becau se the peak was set to o lo w. B y raisin gthe peak a little , you keep yourself back on

the broad part , or cantl e, as it is cal led, of

the saddle, and thus are occ up yin g the scat

in the man ner for whic h it was intended,

and you wall then be qu i te comfor tab le .

Natur ally enough , yo u must not go to

the other extreme, and set the peak too

high, or else, besides other troubles , you

will be spending all your time when awheel

in clinging on to the handlebars , tryi ng

to draw yourself forwa rd over the pedals .

A v e r y little adjus tment mak es all the

difference in the mat te r of saddle comfor t ,

and saddle comfor t is so imp ort ant to the

cycl i s t t ha t he is well advi sed in spendi ng

any amo unt of time and trouble in attain ing

it . Speaki ng for myself as quite a veteran

at the game, I know that , ehanging about

f rom the o ld high b icyc le to the " safety,"

to the " Kangaroo " pat tern, to the tr icycle,

to th e p n e u ma t i c " o r d i n a r y " a n d to

the air-shod rear driver of to- day, I ha ve

sometimes been pos i t ive ly months before

I c o u l d get my saddle

prope rly adjusted. So

keep on exper iment ing

unti l you are as cosy

as on a cushion ; every

fellow has just one

saddle angle t ha t

e x a c t l y suits him, and

he has got to find it.

N o doubt you wil l

k n o w t ha t the height

of the saddle should be

such t h a t the r ider 's

legs ma y remai n s till

s lightly bent even

when the pedal is at

its lowest point. Anot her wa y of pu t t ing

this is to say t ha t , when the saddle is

adjust ed to its corr ect height, the r ider

can comf ort abl y p ' .aee his heel on the

pedal at its lowest point, and wit hout

shif ting in the sa do b. Wh en in any dou bt

on the subject, bear in mind t ha t it is much

better to sit low rather than high. Most

bicycles , as the y are now made, have a

fair ly long wheel base, and, as a general

rule, most riders are suited when the saddle

peak is nearly ver tic al over the crank

axle , and with the peak fixed so as to be,say, half an inch higher than the saddle

cantle . Ther e is , how ever , no absol ute

rule. Ea ch one, to gain full com for t,

should experiment for himself .

A quite astonishing eccentr icity of some

cycl i s t s is how they persis tently r ide to

the same places , instead of usir g their

b icyc le s for , as I may say, exploring a

c o u n t y . For instance, I last year questioned

one you th, wh o, up to the time he wen t

holid aying in Aug ust, had put in twen ty

Saturday af te rnoon t r ips awheel . I n those

t w e n t y tr ips he had vis ited only five different

places , going straight along the main roa d

to each and ba ck again, week- end af ter

we e k - e n d , without change .

Explor in g a county , the county yo ul ive in, or else one neai to it, is half the

j oy of cycl ing ! Even Middlesex , t ha t

has enormous London tak ing up so great

a part of it , has doze ns of beaut y spots

if the cycli st will onl y go an d find th em .

A n d on e of the best plans for finding bea ut y

spots is to go lane r iding .

V e r y likely there is some main road near

y o u , which you, as a cyclis t, by now know

v e r y well indee d. Tha t be ing so, the

nex t time yo u go out, just g et on to t ha t

same old road, but, keeping your eyes open,

turn do wn the f irs t inviti ng-lo oking lane

t ha t y o u c o me to , and fo l low it . So doing ,y o u will disc over yourself to be penetrat ing

deeper and deeper

into the real c o u n ty

the farther y o u

wheel a long . Lanes ,

not cut up by con

tinuous traff ic , only

here and there

p l o u g h e d in to ruts

b y farm carts , of ten

afford sp lendid

g o i n g ; there are more trees and flowers

and more birds to see there t han on the

o p e n road , more quaint bits and noo ks, and

little streams and watersplashes to cross ,

m o r e odd ancient cottages and tucked-aw ay,

rambling, picturesque, old farms.

It was when I myself was once explor ing

a quiet English lane, t ha t—I nearl y f ell off

m y b icyc le !—I su dde nly saw, just in front

of me, a zebra calml y looki ng ove r a hedge.

I t was a tam e one, kept as a pet. I c ann ot

reasonably promi se you any numbe r of

surprises like t ha t if yo u go lane ridin g,

but I can, and do, assert t ha t you will

e n j o y a b l y see much t ha t other r iders

miss .

A piece of s tou t ca rdboard hav ing a

semi-c i rc le cut ou t of its ed ge, is v er y

c o n v e n i e n t for r emov ing mud f rom tyres

when cleanin g the ma chin e.

Cycle tyres are made of pre t ty t o u g h

mater ial, but, for all t ha t , they have their

peculiar itie s . Th ey should never be need

lessly exposed to h e a t ; so avo id keepi ng

the bi ke in a pla ce whe re the dir ect rays

of the sun will fall upon th o tyres , or ,

equally important, where the fumes of

burnt gas can reach them, both of which

ten d to per ish the tyres .

If, at a cyc le depot or elsewhere, you

hav e the curios ity to use a pressure-gauge

when inf lating your tyres , you will see

t ha t , when proper ly pum ped up , the ty res

s h o w a pressure of f rom twen ty-f ive t o

thi r ty pou nds to the square inch. T o get

the best result out o f your b icyc le wh e n

riding it , have the front tyre pumped not

quite so hard as the back ty re . Wi tho ut

a pressur e gau ge, the be st way to test

degree of inf lation is to press your two

thumbs on the t r ead of the tyre whilegras ping the rim wit h the fingers. W he n

y o u r thu mbs mak e only a s light depression

in the tyre, the

inf lation is abo ut

r i g h t . T y r e s

pum ped " board

hard " destroy all

s m o o t h and easy

running of the

ma c h in e ; i f wo r n

at all, too, they

m a y then burst

when exposed to

the heat of the sun.

W h e n yo u are seated in the saddle, y ou r

b a c k tyre, as view ed by anoth er cycl is t

r iding behin d you , should be onl y to the

v e r y least ext ent flattened out up on the

road . I f it flattens m o r e than that , it is

t o o soft. An d, besides increased liability

to punc ture , the obj ect ion to sof t t yres

is that , used in t ha t s tate, the rubb er and

fabr ic soon separate from each other and

so the tyre quickl y wears out. Wh en yo n

http://se.it/

http://se.it/



542 The "Boy's Obvn Taper.

are in the saddle, and l ook d o wn , y o u r

back tyro should appear bulged out jus t

a l i t t le where it touc hes the ground . I f

it does so tha t mu ch an d n o mor e it is

a b o u t right.

I t is general ly some whe re abou t this

time of the year tha t I

s o me y o u t h

who, get-

d e c e n t f o r mon hi s b icy -

f ancies tha t

m a k e a

man if he

branch of

My confi

dential hint to any fe l low who finds himself

hankering after the path game, is to go to

a cycle r ac ing t rack , take a training ticket

fo r one evening , and see how he shapes

when r iding with th ose cyclis ts wh o are

training on the track there. The exper iment

is , as a rule, sufficient to take the conceit

out of the too ambitious novice , and he

goes back to the good old road all the better

fo r havi ng ma de it .

Cycle path racing is und oub ted ly a very

fine f o r m of sport. I have kno wn personally

dozens of splendid athletes who have been

prom inent at it . One of these mo n th s ,

may be, I will te ll you some g o o d stor ies

of their prowess, including a tale of howit took me two days to put into position,

ready for phot ogra phin g them , all the

prizes w on by one well -kno wn amateur.

But to the ord inary everyday rider, m y

a d v i c e is : s tick to the road. I f your

misplaced yearning happens to be tha t y o u

want to bec ome a pot-hunter and spend

all your spare m o m e n t s training hard in

ord er to win pla ted butter -dish es, fish-

carvers , jam-jars , and all tha t sort of thing,

well, of course, tha t is yo ur own affair.

B u t , take it f rom me, that everlasting

churning round and round a special cycle

t rack is a ve ry dull way of enj oyi ng you rself.

I had a little chat the other day with

Mr. Ya ug ht on , of the firm of Messrs.

V a u g M o n Ltd . of Bir mingh am, the famous

m e d a l l i s t s

makers . Mr.

formed m e

time of the

f irm a r eturning out

badges, and

kindly let me

specimens of

r eproduc t ion

As you will

much variety

and badge

Vaughtonin-

that at this

y e a r h i s

always busycycl ing c lub

h e v e r y

have a few

t h e s e f o r

in our pages ,

see, there is

in their de

sign, and som e of the m are truly picturesque

in appearance. Besides badges for British

clubs , Messrs . Vaughton supply quantities;

of badges to cycli ng clubs overseas, quite

a large numbe r goi ng to South Af rica.

1*&

U n d e rA Story

th e E d g e of th e E ar tho f T h r e e C h u m s a n d a S t a r t l i n g Q u e s t .

By F. H. BOLTON,

Author of " In the Heart of the Silent Sea," etc.

R A W I N G u p a

chair , Hector

Brant sat at

his lonely

table, hisbreakfast be

fore him. At

the side of

hi s plate wa s

a circular

and an un

o p e n e d let

ter. It was

c h a r a c t e r

istic of the

man tha t the circular received attention first.

" Y ou someti mes dr op on the very thing

y ou are looking for ," he woul d say, anent

this former class of postal c ommu nica tio n,

add ing wit h a whim sica l smile, " and oftener

you d o n ' t ! " Wh e th e r this was one of the

rarer occasions when he had dropped uponwhat he wanted m ay be open to d ou bt ;

but the circul ar certa inly set him thin king.

He stopped with a piece of ba con half-way

to his mouth, and casting a sidelong glance

at the paper began a low solilo quy.

" Half of the m are frauds, wre tche d

frauds "—the particular document under

consideration painted in glowing terms th e

chances lying in wait for those who were

l u c k y enough to obtain shares in the Chu-

quitawa Copper Mines about t o be prospec ted

in one of the South Ame rica n Rep ubl ics —

" you pay your money and—there ' s an end

of it, s o far as you're c o n c e r n e d . "

The baco n got an upwa rd lif t and reached

its destinat ion. A gul p fro m a cup of

coffee, and he began again." Perhaps—perhaps "—his eyes lit up —

" some day / shall reach the goal. Som e

d a y ma y b e I shall be out in tho full light.

I believe I ' m winning through pretty

q u i c k l y now. An d once my little plans are

perfected, no mor e mine investments in the

dark ! I t ' l l be g o o d b y e to all hum bug in

such prospectuses."

C H A P T E R I X . P L E A S E C O M E !

He crumpled up the paper in question

and flung it in to a was te- pap er ba sket in the

corner of the room.

" You may be all right, my fr iend," he

mused ; " but anyw ay, I ' m n ot looking forshares. I 've someth ing pretty big of my

own under wa y and I fan cy I ' m not so very-

far off success, either. Still, it's got to be

wary walking, and no crowing too loud, or

to o ear ly ."

I n these last-muttered words lay the ex

planation of muc h of the man's apparent

secretiveness. That easy, off- handed w ay of

his of making statements which startled,

and ye't were backed up by no proofs or

apologies, might well be a natural an d

ingenious met hod of letting off s team without

disclosing too much the source of his power

or know ledg e. As thou gh having relieved

his mind of a strain that threatened to be

to o great, he poo h-pooh ed the matter , an d

treated it henceforth as of no acco unt.He turned now to the letter by his hand.

The handwriting upon the envelope was

eviden tly unfamiliar , but he tore the cover

open with out undue sh ow of interest. H e

had hardlj' begun to read the letter, how ever,

ere his bro ws con tr act ed angrily and he

uttered an impatie nt excla matio n.

" I 'm a babbling idiot, after all, it seems ! "

he gro wle d to himself. " I ' ve gone as close

t o letting the cat out of the bag as it's

possible to go without allowing it to get

off altogether . I 'v e done jus t what any

excitabl e child might ha ve been expec ted

to do . W hy on earth coul dn' t I have kept

m y silly tongu e betw een m y teeth ! W h y

on earth "

He threw the letter on the ta ble in hisdisgust, and placing both elbow s upon the

clo th leaned his face upon his hands, giving

himself up to deep thoug ht.

" I 'm getting garrulous," he said at last,

aloud, " beco min g a ver itable chatter ing

m a g p i e ! Go o d gracious, what'11 I be

saying next, I wond er ! I expec t I ' ve been

to o much absorbed, and weakened my own

control over that silly babbling member

that gets most of us into more trouble than

enou gh. I want a chang e of tho ught fo r a

bit, a to tal chang e of thou ght, o r it ' ll end in

m y not being res ponsible f or m y owntongue ! "

He did not by any means look th e

chattering creature he affected to consider

himself. The strong bro w and firm chin

would giv e no such impres sion to any

discerning stranger. B u t Brant put a

higher standard of reserve before himself

than most men are accus tom ed to do. He

picked up the letter once more, and read it

impatiently in a low mutter ing tone, inter

spersed with his own comm ents :—

" ' I 've heard about that little touch of

yours : yo u can' t s top these things getting

abou t, can yo u ? . . . H o w muc h of it was

guess-work ? '—mighty little , you impertinent

hou nd !— ' Ther e's a fortu ne in it as a news

paper cha p.' . . . H 'm ! Is there ? I 'mnot looki ng out for fortunes as a newsp aper

chap, thank goodn ess !— ' If yo u can only

play the tr ick when yo u like —'. . . 'Po n

m y word, the fellow, whoever he is, doesn't

want for nerv e ! . . . ' Wh at do you say

to joining me in a venture ? I could work

th e printing and publishing part of the show,

and y ou could do this fireworks trick with

news that no bo dy had half a noti on of. ' . . .

Could I, my friend ? I ' d like to have yo u

here for five lively minutes . I 'd teach you

to talk ab ou t tri cks and fireworks ! "

In a sudden fury he tore the offending

epistle into fragments and flung them from

him.

" All this," he grow led savagel y, " because

I must needs make that childish exhibitionto the boys last term , I suppose . I might

have known that s tatement about the

Ameri can railway smash either wouldn ' t

wash, or else would wash till all the co lours

ran and made it l ook mi ght y curious in the

eyes of most folk. An d no w, here 's this

impuden t and unknow n idiot. Bah ! Yo u

want a chang e, my boy —a week or two in



Under the Edge of the Earth. 543the Pyrenees, or a jaunt in North Africa

amon gst the M oors— just to jerk you out of

yourself and br ush all the sill}- cobwebs

awa y from yo ur t ired brain."

He made a hasty finish to his bachelor

breakfast and rang for his housek eeper.

" I ' m going away, Mrs. Post lewi t ," h e

remarke d, as the worth}- lady bustled in

in response to his summons.

" Thi s ve ry mo rnin g, sir ? " was herstartled query .

She tried hard not to be astonished. She

was, indeed, always trying, a nd nev er with

any success.

" Yo u can' t ever tell what 's com ing next

with the master," she would tell her intimates

in confid ence over a social cu p in her own

room, " it takes me all m y time to k eep

up with him."

T h e y expressed a natural sympathy wi th

th e good soul, sayin g to her that they were

sure i t must—say ing to each other, later,

that they knew she never really di d ke ep up

with him but was always some consid erable

distance in the rear of his erratic mo v e

ments. Therefore her question, " This ver y

morn ing , sir ? " was conveyed in a dist inctlyastonished tone of voice .

Mr , Brant smiled.

" N o ," he said, " I'll give you a da y or so

to get over i t . I 'v e some wor k I want to

finish, a nd I'll d o that first: and then I ' l l

take three weeks or so fro m the da y after

to-morrow. Yo u can go to friends if yo u

wish, either to-night or to- mo rro w mo rning .

I'll see to my own wants for the few re

maining hours."

Mrs. Postlewit made a little bow, and

" thanked h im kindly , " conv eying both

her determination to avail herself of the

proffered holid ay, an d her relief at bein g

released before her master himself was gone.

According to her own account she never

could bide being alone over- night in the

place, it " give her the fair cre eps ."

Whatever i t gave the amiable Mrs. Postle

wit , i t certainly gav e unlimite d delight to the

lads who were favou red w ith an invita tion

from Brant to visit him in his own quarters,

and it is safe to say not one of them would

ever have thought twic e if asked to mak e

himself free of the pla ce, eve n if alon e thro ugh

a whole night. Bu t the master was too

jealous of his possessions to allow such

untrammelled licence.

The radiometer, which had lately been

added to his curios of science, never failed

to interest them , although to the house

keeper the thing was " wish t," or unc anny .

Sh e could not be made to understand h o w

the t iny discs should rev olve by the mere

actio n of light, and w as no t back wa rd inattributing their movements to agency the

reverse of celestial . No r could she see

" a bit o' good " in the rack of emulsion-

covered plates set upon his sidebo ard, and

used in connection with a series of experi

ments upon l ight waves. And she con

sidered it " fair ma d " to ad orn the sam e

useful piece of furniture with a glass dome

which acted upon occasion as cove r t o

var ious ly s ized soap-bubbles , employed by

her mast er—th ough she herself kn ew it

not—for the study of colour p h e n o me n a .

• " Ho w them bubbles lasts so long is

past my powers of tel l ing," she remark ed

more than once, knowin g nothing of the

advantage s of soap and glycerine for this,

when properl y mixe d. Inde ed, the presenoe

of " them bubbly th i ngs " was a lways a

" worri t " to th e poor lady, for Brant h ad

urged extreme carefulness in movement

whenever he had occasion to place them

there ; an d under such care he had at time s

pres erved the gracef ul, filmy glo bes for a

week or more before they vanish ed.

The room, too , held odd groups of pre served

sk in s; cases of butterflies and mo ths —

not wor ked into fantastic and unnatural

patterns, but with each insect poised in

i t s r ight fu l sur roun dings ; and occas ional

b i rds ' nests with their eggs, under glass

covering s to keep the m from the disfiguring

dust. But all these, in spite of their

departure f rom ugly or tho dox y of se t t ing ,

called for no comments from the house

keeper . Her greatest horror was reservedfo r the l iving inmates of the house and

garden.

Perhaps the large aquarium, containing

specimens from the pond s and ditche s ro unu

Lunech ester, foun d no activ e disfavou r in

her eye s. Afte r all, an aqu ari um is a fairly

common ob jec t of interest, albeit perhaps

not one so well stoc ked as Mr. Brant 's . Bu t

the herbariu m w ith i ts bri l l iantly colo ured

grass-snakes crawlin g in and out b etwe en

the stones and grasses, and its little l izards

darting disqui etingly to and fro, or standing

motionle ss in tho sunlight, prot rudin g n ow

and again a t iny forked tongue to catch the

unwa ry an d w ell-nigh invisib le fly, was mo re

than sh e cou ld " abi de." In her opi nion ,

good soul, i t " wasn' t Christ ian t o clutter

yourself with ali them creepy-crawly beasts."

But when her mast** brought back from one

of his country rambles, one afternoon, a

coup le of wee, soft-furred bats, and pro pose d

to give the m the run of the attic , in the

strange hop e of even some da y taming the

cur ious little creatur es, she set her foot

down,—and it was not a fairy foot.

" Bless yo u, sir , they're unl uck y ! " was

her horrified excl ama tion . " I dursen' t bide

in the house with them thing s."

She- was so evi de ntl y in earnest that

Brant relucta ntly g ave in to her unreason ing

prejudice, and al lowe d the wee, winged

mites to flit on their noiseless way in the

open. Afte r all , he had a hedg eho g in the

garden which would come e v e r y mo r n i n g

fo r its saucer of bread and milk, and there

was in one corner of the little plot of ground

a p lush-coated , burrowing mole, whose

digging proclivit ies were confined to a

l imi ted area ; a nd, all things c onsid ered, he

had plenty and to spare of interests both in

natural history and in scie nce ; so the bats

might go .

He had neve r b efor e left the pl ace for so

long as he no w prop osed . There were the

living denizens to attend to, and the

thought struck him that p e r h a p s K e n n e d y

would give an eye to bot h tho house an d

the l ive sto ck during his abse nce. He

k n e w the l ad to be grea tly inte reste d in

a ll t h i ng s p e r

taining to natural

his tory—more sothan in things

scientific. Ken

nedy had often

been a favoured

visitor when a

p u p i l a t t h e

school, an d Brant

was no t the ma n

to lose touch

with a lad simp ly

because that b o y

m i g h t b e n o

longer und er his

care as teach er.

H e r e m e m -

bered that t o

m or ro w b e i n g

Wednesday the

bank would close

early. He wou ld

r u n d o w n t o

K e n n e d y ' s h o m e

this evening and

invite him to

take a stroll on

t he fol lowing afternoon, when they m ight

hav e a pleasant chat. Wh en evenin g cam e,

however , he had remained a bsor bed in his

work t i l l somewhat late before he remem

bered what he had in tende d to do . He

was even then abo ut to sally forth just as

a sharp knock sounded a t the door . T h e

sum mon s was answered b y Mrs. Postlewit ,

and the next mom en t he heard her agitated

footsteps in the passage, and her own quick k n o c k at the door of his r o o m.

" A te legram, s i r ! " she je rked out .

Telegrams were prac t ica l ly unknown in

this house, and the arrival of this particular

one frig hten ed the easily flustered old soul

pretty nearl y out of her wi ts.

Brant too k tho buff -coloured envelop e wi th

an air of indiffer ence that astou nded his house

keeper b ey on d words, but as he read the

mes sage his non cha lan ce vanish ed in a flash.

" G o o d graci ous ! " he exclai med.

H e read it again : then began once mo r e

in the u nderto ne so often used b y the man

who spends much t ime in h is own com pan y.

" T o o full , as usual, of my ow n conc erns ,

and hard ly finding t ime to give a thou ght

to the t roub les of my friends . . ."" Not bad news, sir , I sincerely hope and

trust ? " panted Mrs . Pos t lewi t . " Yo u

haven ' t heard anything about that poor

y o u n g Mr. Hu tto n ? D on ' t tell me he's

dea d, sir ; oh, do n' t tell me he's de ad ! "

Brant shook his head a little impat ient ly .

Mrs. Pos t lewi t , good soul, was apt to be

mo r e than a little incoherent at t imes, and

t o irritate him . H e ans wer ed at first with

something of annoyance .

" I ' m no t goin g to tell yo u he's dead, so

please bo quiet . If he were dead, thoug h,

1 don' t see how my not tel l ing you would

make i t any better ."

Then, seeing that his words were hurting

the loquac ious but kindl y creature, h e

changed his tone.

" I beg you r pardo n: I spoke more

sharply than I oug ht to hav e don e. But

it ' s a sad business, and I really don' t know

what to mak e of things. I ma y have t o

chan ge my plans ; I c an' t q uite tel l yet .

A t all events, I wo n' t interfere with

yours , Mrs. Postle wit . No ! There's nothi ng

further k n o wn a b o u t y o u n g H u t t o n , I ' m

sor ry to say. It ' s a sad business, a sad

business for all concerned."

Fo r the message was the wild appeal of

Leon ard Morr i s :

" W e want yo u badly at Gr ay b Hal l .

Den nis still mis sing : no clu e. Pl ease

c o me . "

(To be continued.')




Our Rote Book and Open Column.

A F I N G E R - P O S T F O B A I B M E N .

PROBABLY the mo at cur iou s finger-post in the wo rl d

has just been erected near Lond on at Mas on' s Hill ,

Brom le y , K e n t . I t i s e i ghte e n feet h igh and has b ig

p a in t ed m od e ls o f a m ot or cyc le an d m on op lan e , a n don the top is a mo de l of a bipl ane in full flight. On

the finger poi nti ng to Se ve no ak s is the inscr iptio n

"H a s t i n gs an d P ar i s " ; on t h e on e p o in t in g in t h e

op p os i t e d irec t ion " To Lo n d on an d Joh n o ' G roat s ,"

while the th ird reads " Cro ydo n an d Lan d's End ."

U S E Y O U R E Y E S .

CAPTAIN TOWSE, V. C. , pres id ing at a Lectur e onM

Bird s " g iven b y t h e H on . N . C . Rot h s ch i ld a t Clayes -

m ore S ch ool , P an gb ou rn e , re f err in g t o Cap t a in S cot t

an d t h e An t arc t i c Exp ed i t ion , s a id : —

" W h e n we arriv e at a certain age we all kno w, or

shoul d kno w, wha t it is to under go har dship , b ut the

hardshi p in conseque nce of the tena city of purpo se

of the se explor ers mus t hav e been trul y awful . I t is

a sad thing, b ut it is a thing th at has left a less on for

t h e wh ole cou n t ry . I t s h ou ld t each you , t h e you n ger

genera t ion, to do yo ur best , as yo u can now for you r

School , and for you r cou ntry whe n you gro w older.

Th e great t h in g t o rem em b er i s t h at l i t t le wor d of fourle tters o n l y , D U T Y . Thi s is a word tha t all boy s

shoul d hav e ever before the m. Y o u are all called upon

to do so me dut y even no w, and so it will be in later

life . Som et i mes it will be a self - i mposed duty , but

m o r e often it will be a duty tha t will be put up on

y o u . F ai t h f u l ad h eren ce t o th i s dut y will carry yo u

thro ugh whatev er walk of l ife yo u ad op t; it will carry

you thro ugh everythi ng, and it will carr y you thr ough

cleanly, which is the great th ing in th i s l i f e ."

Referr ing to the value of Nat ure Stu dy as a train

ing in the dev el opm ent of the ment al powers of observa

t ion , Cap t a in To ws e con t in u ed : —

" As a boy at schoo l I used to b ird's-nest , but I

di d n ot rob n e s t s ; I was bro ugh t up in a differ ent wa y.

I used to take ou t one egg at a t ime , in the hop e th at

the b ird was no t such a fool as I was, and would not

miss it. I of ten fou nd on returni ng to the nest tha t

the b ird had laid anot her egg, which I immedi ate ly

purloi ned also. I learnt a certain amo un t of kno w

ledge, and I learnt how to obse rve, part icular ly ho w

to obs erve na ture ; and a t a certain t im e of my life ,

a b o u t t wen t y- f ive years ago , th i s ob s ervat ion was

really the mea ns of savi ng my life . I was out b ig-

ga me shoot in g in India , and I came up to an ele phant ,

which I shot . Thi s elep hant had fallen leani ng up

agai nst a huge tree, with one of h is legs s lop in g d own .

Th o cust om was, and I daresa y is now , when yo u

hav e shot an elepha nt to cut of f h is tail , which show ed

that the eleph ant belonged to you.

" In those days I was stat i oned at a p lace wh ere

was an off icer who collec ted orchids , and he alw ays

asked me to collect a few orchids for h im whe n I we nt

ou t s h oot in g . A f t e r I had shot my el ephant , I sa w

s om e orch id s an d I co l l ec t ed t h em . Th e Com m an d er

was a ma n who collected th ings als o—I fancy he called

t h e m lepidnptera—and he asked me to get h im som e.

I h ad a lread y got s om e s p ec im en s o f t wo- win ged

flies, b ut I never got the righ t sort . H e wanted one

k in d p ar t icu lar ly , an d this da y I hap pene d to see a

two- wing ed f ly which 1 had never seen before. I got

a b o u t a dozen of the se ; then, arme d with my orchids ,

m y bott le and the elephant 's tail , I turned hom ewa rd.

" S u d d en ly wh at we ca l l a m on s oo n b rok e an d

obliter ated all the tracks . I wande red about , and

absol utely go t fogged ; I then bega n cutt ing trees ,

an d after cut t ing along for som e t ime I ca me across

m y former cuts , which showe d that I had been go ing

familiar. I knew that the se birds were 'going to the

tan k to fee d, so I se t to wor k to follo w as far as I

could in their d irect ion. To my i n te nse joy, af ter

travell ing for about an hour and a half, I saw the tank

an d found m y way home , pret t y t ired , and terrib ly

hungry, but alive to the fact that ha d I not know n

a b o u t the se birds and observ ed their habits , I migh t

still be in the jungle ."

T h e rema rks of Captain Tows e, who, it will be re

member ed, lost h is eyes ig ht and gained t he Victoria

Cross for h is gallant cond uct in the South African

w a r , were war ml y received by the membe rs of the

S ch ool .

T H E W I G H T B E F O R E .

* * A F i n g e r - P o s t f o r A i r m e n . "

round in a circle . I shoute d, but it was no go od at all .

I t beg an to ge t dark and to rain in torr ents, and I

thou ght I should have to f ind som e shelter, so I looked

abou t and found a holl ow tree. I got into th is , but

discove red the traces of a bear which had been ther e

ove rni ght ; so I thou ght I had bet ter get out , an d

I found another rest ing-pla ce. I was up before day

break, and I then saw some ducks, a peculiar kind of

duck which I k new fed at a tank m an y miles from

the stat ion , with t he neigh bourh ood of which I was

A S upon his couch he i

xV Br ea ms of marks , both gains and losses ,

Flit across h is troubl ed mi nd ;

W i l l he to some abstra ct quest ion

M a k e an adeq uate suggest ion,

Or his swift quietus find ?

Here' s a son in the a scendan t .

W h o m u s t b e qu i t e in d ep e n d en t —

G o n e the crib and gone the cra m;

H e mus t f ight the bat t le lonely,

There is none can help h im, only

H e , himself , at the exa m.

Sundry points that he mus t set t le:

H e igh t o f P op ocat ap e t l ,

L o n g i t u d e o f T i m b u c t o o ;

W h e n geo gra phy is done with ,

N e x t , he knows, he'l l hav e some fun with

Euclid 's probl ems not a few.

W i t h his brain a hopeless tangle,

H e mus t tackle the triangle,

Equilateral, a cute ;

The y are certain to perplex h im,

A n d P rop . F or t y- S even vex h im ,

Or a rider leav e h im mut e.

St il l , m y noble lad , while dream ing

Of tha t dread exa m., and scheming

W h a t ' s the best tha t you can do,

I dou bt not that on the mor rowF r o m the sunlight you will borrow

H o p e and cou rage to w in thro ugh I

F. J. COX.

M R . B A T :

Bal l I "

M R . BALL

heal th I "

' Y o u ' r e in for a war m time this season, Mr.

1

M a y b e ; b u t you don 't look in the best of

A n I r r e g u l a r V e r b .

TH E H E A D : " So you really mea n to tell me , Parkin son, that you cannot give me the

Lat in for ' I conquer ' ? W h y , you oug ht to kno w I "

P A R K I N S O N ( c o n f i d e n t l y ) : " U - A u t o - n o , U - A u t o - n a s , U - A u t o - n o t ; U - A u t o - n a m u s . .

THE H E A D (in an awful voi ce) : " Th at will do, sir ! . . . "

( W e draw a veil . )

boys own paper may 24, 1913

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