boys own paper july 26, 1913
Post on 10-Apr-2018
222 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper July 26, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-july-26-1913 1/16
Serial
Story.Unde r th e E d g e of the E a r th :
A S t o r y o f Th r e e C h u m s a n d a S ta r t l in g Q u e s t .
By F. H. BOLTON,
A utlutr of " Jn the Heart of
the Silent Sea," etc.
" Th e Captain f lung the ca bin d o o ro p e n . You 'r e free ! ' he said. . . .
Y o u ' l l have y our chan ce l ike th ' r e s ton us. ' " (Seep. 675.)
C H A P T E R X V I I I . — O N T H E CONDOR.
TH E
steamship Condor, free lance on thet rade
routes,
bound for the South American port of Buenos Ayres,
with cargo of make-up woollens, cottons, and linoleum
goods, screwed her slow way down th e Irish Sea towards
the w ide-rolling Atla ntic . She was not a mod el of luxu ry
— y o u r t r amp cargo-boat runs for what little profits it can
gather in, and not for animal comfor t s—
even in her palm iest da ys ; and the steam
ship Condor of Lo nm ou th had seen her
palm iest day s som e ti me ago , and had left
the m far behind her . Exc ept her toug h
engineer , who was Sco tch , her equally tough
master , who was of the Engl ish Nort h
Count ry, and the mate, who hailed from
D e v o n , there were no Britishers aboar d.
The cre w was a mixt ure , a sort of stew
composed of a Swede, some Dagos , and a
'" nigg er " or t wo , which la t te r te rm com
prises anythi ng not wh ite enoug h to lay
c la im to Europ ean o rigin, and is not a title
of respe ct in the mo ut h of the free-bor n
Britisher .
There were no other Britishers aboard, it
has been said ; but a further and notable
excep t ion mus t be ma de . In a bun k rigg ed
up on the floor of the captai n 's cabi n lay
Denni s Hutto n, an unwilling passenger , and
the mo st miserable soul aboar d t ha t bruised
an d bat tered vessel. He lay to all appear
ance on ly half alive, his b o d y racked with
pa in from the bruises and bitings of the
bands t ha t had so cruelly held him while
on the canal barge.
True, all these fetters were now mercifully
r e m o v e d , but his cramped sinews antlbruised bo nes and flesh had no t yet regai ned
the ir normal heal th. Hi s
mout h, to o, was swollen and
disfigured, sickening sores
and ulcers ma kin g lips and
palate one throbbing furnace
of pain, the w ork of that
foul an d fiendish ga g. H e
la y lim p and dazed, too
worn out for sp eech or
m o v e m e n t , exce pt when the
roll or p itch of the lum ber
ing ve ssel creat ed i n him a
nausea t ha t compe l led a
spasm. Hap pil y the spell of
sea-sickness was passing oil
already; it had not tor
mented h im long, otherwise, coupl ed with his
t e m p or a r y w e a k n e s s , i t
might well have been t ha t
th e poor lad would have
g iven his evil capt ors the
I
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper July 26, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-july-26-1913 2/16
674 The "Boy's Obvn Taper.
T h e A n g l e r ' s D r e a m .
slip, and left onl y his we ary b o d y in their
hands .
So wo r n d o w n , indeed , was he wi th
physical pain and wan t of prop er f o o d , t ha t
the ment al anguish, whic h during the d ays
of his capt ivi ty had been tempered in part b y
h o p e of discovery, was now utterly dul led .
He knew in a dazed sort of way that h o p e
was futile at present a nd for so me little tim e
to c o m e , as things wore. In confused fashion
his mind w ande red now and again to those
at home, but he had becom e too weak to more
than just won der in a vague way what wou ld
happen t o them and him, and in the v ery
wondering let the mat t e r slip fro m his
weary brain.
Of ho w he had passed from boa t to shiponly a mis ty me mo ry remained . He had
promised not to s t ru ggl e; but , indee d,
with out any such prom ise the men wh o
were mo vi ng him wo uld hav e been equal ly
safe. There was l i t t le s t ruggling power
l e f t ; he was bro ken for the t im e. He had
realised in a half -awa ke sort of fash ion that
he was being carried in the darkness of a
c loudy and rainy night do wn a deserted
by- way for a short distanc e, and t ha t after
a t ime he had been plac ed in the bo t t om of
a small cutter, and cove r ed with a tarpaulin,
left ope n at the ends for air . He foun d
himself guessing t ha t this must be Kernbank,
a small town where sea and canal come close
to each oth er .
How close to rescue he had been duringthat shor t m o v e he never kn ew ; nor .
p r o b a b l y , were his captors aware t ha t they
had t inn ed a corner of the roa d only a few
mom ent s before the night cons table came
along . One brief min ute was all that had
lain betw een him and disc ove ry ; but that
fateful sp ace of tim e was as all-sufficient as
a day for the purpose s of the men . Safely
s towed in the cutt er, he had felt the little
vessel being prepar ed t o get under wa y.
" I com e topside s, mi nd yo u ! "
" A y ! A y ! S' long as t ' cub 's parted,
an t ' ow d un has to s tu mp up a t id y bi t ,
I 'm n one axing for muc h myse l ' . Go o '
nee t ! "
T h e wor ds mean t no thin g to him ; he
heard them in a vag ue way , and rep rod uce d
them to himself l ater f rom an under t ow of
me mo r y , when in the l ight of subsequent
knowledge the y mea nt mo re. He heard the
lo w grow ls of the t wo , and then felt the
cut ter plunge forw ard ; a nd s o, after an
awful tossing, he had been bro ugh t to the
side of the ship on wh ich he no w foun d
himself . Here , in the calmer wate r of the
river mo uth , his bonds had been loosed, an d
he had been escorte d, or , indeed, half
carr ied up the ston e steps of the dock side
in the dark, and acros s the gang wa y to the
tram p, n o soul being met on the way, an d
he to o cra mp ed and weary to t ry to break
a wa y . No r could he have cr ied out , had
he so wished, for as yet the horrid gag was
st i l l upon him, albei t reduced in s ize.
Once safely lodged in t ha t close and stuffy
cabin his bon ds had again bee n place d upon
his sore wrists an d ankles, but these and the
gag itself had been remo ve d whe n the ship
had cast off, a day later. Bound whither ' !
In his dull despair he had asked himself this
quest i on the f irst few hours, but no w.
nei ther t ha t nor any ot her had interest fo rh im, unt i l his normal heal thiness of mind
should return to h im.
The cabin door open ed—he had been
locked in—a nd the capta in entered. He
was the same man wh o had br oug ht h im
f rom the Pretty Poll. H e looked a t Hut ton
closely for a f ew mom ents . The boy con
tinu ed to lie still , giv ing no w and again a
feeble groan, as of ut ter despair .
" Bit off colour , my hearty ? " he grow led,
after a shor t scr utin y. " Well , my lad ,
y o u ' v e been through s to rmy weather , you
have ! 'T wo n' t do to let yo u drif t , you' l l
'ave to be t o o k in to w. A y ! A y ! W e' l l
have a cabl e out . and mak e fast ." He
went to the door . " He re. Chi Li ng ! " he
cal led.A soft footfal l could be he ard, a nd a
Chinaman sl id up in answer to the summons.
He spok e neve r a word, al ternately eyeing
the captain and the groaning lad at his feet.
" Go t to makee h im al lee Iightee, savv y '!
P o o r boy, ge t t ee hurtee ! Eh, olil son o'
si n V "
The Oriental nodd ed and d isappe ared.
" 'Ti sn ' t a 'osp i t a l , nor ye t adoc tor ' s shop,"
grunted the capt a in ; "b ut o ld Chi Ling
'11 do the t hin g for yo u, m y lad. if it 's t o b e
done . Y o u wo n't f ind him say much, seeing
he' s as d um b as a dea d fish, but it isn' t
muc h in the chat ter in g l ine you 'l l be feel ing
yourse l f . "
Certainly under the silent but effective a d
ministra t ion of the alm ond -eye d one Hut -
ton gra dualh ' began to regain his strength,
but with renewed heal th came renewed
act ivi ty of mind . Th e long and weary day s
were filled wi th una nsw ered que stio ns.
W h e r e was he ? W hit her bo un d ? Un
der what condi t io ns ? Wi th wha t hope
of escap e ? Wh at c hance s of a fr iend o n
boar d ? U p to now he had seen onl y three
faces : those of the ca ptain
an d Chi Lin g, and of a third
man, w ho m he r ight ly con
jectur ed to be the mat e. He
must act with caut ion. I t
would never do to precipi tate
mat ters by an at tempt at
escape that might f a i l :
such a thing mean t only
increa sed rigour of cap tivit y,and just no w his cond it ion
was being considerably bet
tered.
True, he was locked i n ;
never for a moment did an
open door offer him the
sl ightest hope , but beyo nd
that things were compa ra
t ively c omfo rtabl e now that
the physical aches and pains
had subsided. He was
sufficiently.if not luxuriously,
f e d ; he had the full light
which streamed through the
port-hole, and fr om this latter
could see occasional passing
vessels, but neve r a glimpse
of land. No , he must act
warily . So lon g as the sh ip was at sea. so
long mus t he lie low . B ut wait till she
c a me to shore !
W h i c h show ed the hopeful , courageous
H u t t o n slowly com ing to himself again.
So he realised the need for wary walking,
tho ugh little else was kn ow n to him . How
many were aboard t ha t rol l ing sh ip ; to
how ma ny of them his presence was kno wn ;
nay . eve n what d egree of hostili ty towards
him exist ed in the min d of the three wh o
did know, he could not tell. H e had been
on the ship ten day s or a fortn ight by no w.
and was in a great m easu re feeling himself
aga in . Wi th returning appet i te he had
picked up w onderful ly , both in body an d
mind. He determined, therefore, to addto his know ledg e by direct met hod, if
possible ; an d when one mo rni ng the capta in
rol led out of his berth. Hu tto n, wh o wa>
sitting up with his hands in his pockets, and
his ba ck against th e side of the ca bin, opene d
conversa t ion .
" I say ! " he bega n, with a return of his
fasc ina t ing and good-h umou red smi le. " Y o u
might tell a fellow what the game is. and
how y o u wi n . "
The captain drew the loose end of one
of his brace s ov er his shoulde r, and mad e
it fast. Th en he looked at his prisone r-guest .
" Tell ing's know ing ! " he said short ly.
Hu t t o n n o d d e d .
" Ye s, but I wa nt kn owi ng to be telling.
Le t's have the thin g fair ! ] hav en' t done you any harm, at al l events ."
" Oh ! Hav en' t you ? Do n't y ou be so
sure of that , you ng shaver ! Wh at if that
chap on th ' Pretty Pol! happened to be my
broth er, eh ? "
He had tried to work himself into a passion,
but the boy was cute enough to see that hi s
anger was, af ter al l , onl y assumed . Hut ton
leaned back against the cabin side. He was
fully dressed, having changed the rough
night- gear w hic h had be en lent him, for the
clothes he had wo rn at the ti me of his c aptu re.
" I never had a brother," he said, half
closing his eye s, and spea king in a far
a wa y tone of vo ice . " Bu t even if I had, I
do ub t if I shou ld be willing to risk the chan ce
of priso n, just for the sake of taki ng u p his
shad3 r quarrels ."
" You keep a civil tongu e atween them
t eeth o ' yourn , " growled the capta in .
" Pm boss o ' this floating pal ace , mi nd !
A n d what I ' ve done, and why , don 't concern
you , ' cep t where you come in on your own
accou nt . An d just where that is , you'l l
be told all in good t i me . "
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper July 26, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-july-26-1913 3/16
Under the Edge o_f the Earth.
Well, any way ," urged Hut to n, see ing
that he had mad e a mistake , and at last
roused the anger of the man who und oub ted ly
had the powe r to make things hot for h im ;
" anyway, you might let me have a turn
up on de ok. I wa nt a breath of g o o d
air badly enough, and if I am to go
over the world I 'd l ike to see some thin g
of it ! "
" My orders is, keep below ! A nd don ' tyou go making any mistake there, my lad.
If yo u wants air , try the port hol e, an d
thank your l ucky stars y o u ain ' t trussed up .
l ike yo u will be if there 's any more o ' wa nt in '
to go on deck."
With these words and a menac ing look
the capta in , having comp leted a not to o
finicky toilet , lumbe red out , lockin g the
door behin d him as usual.
Hnlto n resolved to try Chi Lin g. He
needed to proceed wi th ext reme caut ion,
but at any rate he mig ht make friends w ith
the du mb Asiatic. Ex ce pt for the loss of a
few loose coins in h is movem ents and
struggles on the barge, the mon ey which he
had in his pockets when abducted was sti l l
there. Evi den tly his cap tors had sums in
their minds' eyes that made the contempl a
tio n of an y trifles of whi ch he mig ht b e
in immediate possession unworthy of the ir
aim.
His first offer of a two-shill ing piece for
some slight service was unders too d by the
Chinaman with a quickness which augured
well for success in the a t t empt to get rid of
his mone y, if in noth ing else ; and. later,
a half-crown tip served to c o n v e y to Chi
Ling the impression of good things to be
go t f rom this strangely arriv ed Engli sh
boy. By a series of questio ns carefully
put. Hu tto n was enab led to gain the
informat ion t ha t the vessel was pro bab ly
likely to be altogether some three and a
half to four wee ks at sea, bef ore th ey
called in at a ny po rt, and t ha t she wasbound for somewh ere on the .South Ameri can
coas t .
The informat ion was slowly acqu i r ed .
Chi Ling's replies being confined to a head-
shako or a nod, and his kno wle dge of Eng lish
having its l imits : but Hu tto n w as in hope s
of gradua lly elicit ing muc h mor e from h im
and of maki ng some arrang ement by whic h,
in the even t of a port being reach ed, he
could smuggle a le t te r out to the post by
the help of the silent, but pr oba bly will i ng.
Chi Ling.
Vain hope , that migh t yet have been
justified, sav e for the forc es at w ork against
both capto r and captured. The wal lowing
ol d tub , belyin g her nam e, which surely
should suggest free motion and power to
battle successfully with win d and weathe r,
had screw ed her sulk y wa y thr oug h the
varying moods of the bluff Atlant ic seas
fo r o v e r three weeks . To the u nt ravel led
Hu tt on it seemed an endless voyage . H e
had beg un whimsically' to ask himself whet her
they were not ploug hing the uneasy watersin a circl e, and wou ld be likely to keep
on for ever , a second Pha nto m Dut chm an.
The longing for hom e grew ap ac e; he
would have given all he had to be once
more on firm land, and regain the freedom
to t u rn his face tow ard s his own fair
coun t r y .
A n d t hen ca me the great storm, beatin g
the sulky, worn-out vessel, striking her fore
and aft with swing ing seas, moun tain s of
dark and dangerous waters . For a t ime
the wearied engine s struggl ed against
s t renuous floods and blustering winds, and
then slowly yie lded to the migh ty forces
risen against her. Fo r three days and three
nights, filled to the full with anxiety for
all those who se lives dep end ed upon the
strength of her storm-stra ined plates and
frame, she flew before the gale, her weak ened
machinery power less to resist the angry,
screaming hurr icane .
Hu t ton m igh t then, had h e so desired,
have dragged himself up to her sloping deck,
without hindrance ; but the storm had laid
him by the heels and made him as surely
prisoner, in helpless, groa ning miser y, as
any lock s and bolts migh t do . No r during
al l this tim e di d he see any ot her be side th e
a lm ond- eyed c o o k ; neither captain nor
mate ever once appeared, the dema nd upo n
their t im e and energies was bein g ma de t o
the full.
But after the th i rd day, when for a whole
life-ti me it had seem ed to the terrified lad
that the worl d i tself was tossing helplesshither and thi ther in spac e, the driv ing wi nds
gathere d thems elves together , and fled from
the face of the angr y waters. Whe reu pon ,
whilst yet the great seas -lifted and fell in
their unstil led wrath, the Scotch engineer
t o o k heart of grace, and forced his fires
ane w. Dur ing the temp est his heart had
been trou bled, nor had his speech bee n of
softened refinement. He had not yiel ded to
the su perior powe r of the wind s ove r his
weary engines wi thout much impotent
and useless anger. At last, howeve r ,
there seem ed hop e of his com ing into his
ow n again .
In the small and il l-smelling cabi n Hu tt on
felt a new throbbing of life. The screw
which for so long a t ime ha d giv en no sign
to him of an y mot ion , began now once m or e
to make itself felt . Fo r a while the t rem b
l ings and groanings of the mo vin g machin ery
increased througho ut the vesse l , not icea ble
above all the shaking and shivering w hich
the baffled waters sent through her bat tered
f rame. The Condor was beginning againto assert her right to her own way.
Then , with no warn ing, a huge mou nta in
of green waters hu rled itself at the
ill-starred vessel as she s lowly and painful ly
t u rned upon her course. A shiver ran
th rou gh all her leng th, fiercer an d mo re
terrible t han any she had yet exper ienced.
Hutton sat upright in his bunk, in wild
te rror , as he felt the awful blow, fol lowed
b y the dread shudder and the raging fever
of m ach ine r y running am uck , coup l ed wi th
frighte ned s houts a nd scurry ing to and fro
of men abo ve his head.
He rose to make his wa y on deck ; he
felt he must kn ow what had happe ned.
As he open ed the doo r , s tagger ing under
legs not yet acc ust om ed to the rough usage
of rude seas, and weak by reason of his
repeat ed spells of sickness, Chi Lin g entered
and mot io ned him back.
" Acci dent ? " he gasped.
The impass ive Chinaman nodded .
" Anyone ki l led ? "
H e he ld up tw o fingers.
" Is the shi p safe ? "
He spread out hands indicat ive of want
of knowl edge, and s igned to the bo y to k eep
where he was. Fo r som e little t im e Hu t ton
waite d, his who le frame a-qu iver with
suspense : then he heard hoarse growl ings .
and the cap tai n flung th e ca bi n d o o r
open.
" Y o u ' r e f r e e! " he sa id , wi th staring
eyes and forget t ing probably that the door-
had been recen tly unloc ked ; " but if yo u'r easked ques t ions , you ' re my nep hew, mind :
and been sick abo ard up to now ! But
you' l l have your chance like th' rest on us ;
it ' s n ot going to be murde r, wh atev er else i t
is ! So I 'm giv ing yo u yo ur chan ce w ith
the m as are left . There 's Mack int osh to ok ,
and o ne o' th ' Da go s wash ed off to D av y
Jon es' lock er, and . . ."
Ther e was the sou nd of wild rushing,
fol lowed by a loud sho ut. Th en a
s l ipping and s tumbl ing dow n the c o m
pani on wa y, and the mate staggere d i nto
the cabin , blood flowing f ro m a cu t up on
his forehead.
.TO BE .
. CONTINUED
tourney
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper July 26, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-july-26-1913 4/16
676 The"Boy's Obvn Paper.
m H E con t i nen t of Anta r c t i c a is un-
X doubtedly smal ler than i t was. A t
some not very remote per iod it occup ied
m u c h of th e space acco r ded t o it on t he
earlier maps ; and its climate was different
from wha t it is no w. Stretch ing all rou nd the
sout h of the globe i t jo ine d No w Zealand to
South Ame rica on the east, and to Australia,
Kergue len Is land, Maur i t ius , Madagas car ,
Africa and the island of Tris tan D ' A c u n h a
on the wes t .
The P atagon ian foss i l marsupia ls closely
allied to the kanga r oos of Aus t r a l i a ; the
dis t r ibut ion of the flightless birds, such
as the ost r ich , emeu and rhea, and the ir
fossil al l ies ; the lo ngicorn beet les of N e w
Zealand, Aust ra l ia and S o u t h A m e r i c a ;
the Ne w Zeala nd ear th worm m ost closely
re la ted t o the species in Pa tagon i a , Sou th
Georg ia an d the F a l k l a n d s ; an d o the r
curiosit ies of distri bution, present an d pas t ,can only b e exp l a ined b y a con t i nuous
land ridge such as is i nd i ca t ed b y the
soundings . Tha t land surface must h ave
been cove r ed , at least in pa r t , by ex t ens ive
forests, for, in wha t is left of it, coal ha s
been found as in the Arc t ic , and many other
t races of life, as for ins tance , the fossil
leaves which are the rem ains of a l uxur i an t
vege t a t i on . W i th in it s shores l ie the k ej '
t o as many myster ies as are hidden round
a b o u t the Nor th Po l e , an d m a n is not
l ikely to leave it alone.
T he nineteenth century ended wi th the
voyage of the Be.lgica, t he first vessel
to winter so far south , caught in the ice
at sea in 7 1 ° 3 0 ' in 1 8 9 8 , and t ha t of the
Southern Cross, whose crew wintered in
7 1 ° 1 5 ' a t Cape Adare in 1 8 9 9 , being the
first to sp en d the long winter night o n
land within the Antarc t ic Circ le . The
twent ie th century open ed wi th the great
v o y a g e of the Discovery, under Capta in
R o b e r t Falcon Scot t , dur ing the years
1 9 0 1 - 1 9 0 4 .
Thi s par t icular Discovery—for there have
been m a n y of the n a m e — w a s t he first
vessel built in England for scientific explor
atio n. She was mad e entirely of w o o d ,
because i t was thought t ha t a w o o d e n
vessel would be be t t e r able t o deal with
the dangers of the ice t h a n a n y other .
Oak nine feet thick, scarfed toget her fro m
several trees, was used for her stem, and
o a k tw o feet thic k for her sid es ; the inner
lining was of Riga fir , the inner skin, accord
in g t o pos i t i on , of pi tch pine , mahogany
or oa k ; whil st th e out er s kin was of elm
or greenhear t . Eno rmo us beams and bulk
heads were stret ched acros s ; and th e same
sol id work was put in to every part , so t ha t
she was one of the strongest vessels know n.
A n d her e q u i p m e n t and crew were as
g o o d as the s hip.
The expedi t i on reached what was to
be the winter quarters in F e b r u a r y 1 9 0 2 ,
and early in Sep tem ber t he long sledge
journeys began, on e of which ex t ended
t o 8 2 ° 1 7 ' , t ha t is 3 8 0 mi les awa y f rom the
ship, r ising from the sea level t o heights
of 1 0 , 0 0 0 fee t and more , qui te Alpine c l imbi ng
e v e r y now and t hen ; toil ing on in te mpera
tures d o w n t o 6 8 ° b e l o w zero, often amid
stor m and blizzard with deep crevasses in thepa th cove r ed wi th th in layers of snow so
as to be invis ib le . The longes t journe y
lasted three m onths . T h e dogs were
useless and the weather bad. In the
last effort Sco t t and Wi lson had t o pull
By W. J. GORDON.
P A R T I I .
the sledges alone , for Shack l e ton had
br oken down and o n l y his i ndom i t ab l e
will kept him walking so as no t t o burden
h i s com pan io ns .
There were other journeys ca l l ing for
similar pluck and e n e r g y ; and valuable
collect ions of geolog i ca l and na tu ra l his tory
specimens were made, and magnet ic and
other physica l observ at ions were cont inued
d a y an d night wi thout in termiss ion.
Another winter was passed in the ice with
more s ledging an d col lec t ing, an d finally
the Discovery's icy prison had t o be blown
up to set her free. No exp edi tio n did bet ter
[Photo. Maull ,{ Fox.
C a p t a i n R . F . S c o t t , R . N .
work and none achiev ed more impor tant
results.
The days were no t all g l o o m y . Ther e
were days with abso lute ly cloudle ss skies
an d d ays on w hic h wisps of st ratus c louds
hung high about the m igh ty peaks or
t ravel led swif t ly overhe ad. The explorers
c a m e back with stories and pictures, mostty
b y Dr . W i l son , of scenes with a cha r mal l the ir o w n but wi th n o in tens i ty of
co lour , n o great depth of blue in se a or
sky , even the sunset hues being subdued
and owing the ir beauty s imply t o pur i t y
and del ic acy. On the barrier the ice-crys ta ls
(To be concluded.'}
fell and rested like thistledown on the
crusted surface, their form always a six-
po in t ed star, the radiants j o ined b y
innumerable feathery branches, the whole
fo rming a disc varying in size t o half an
inch across , the sunlight turning them
into pr ismat ic gems. Occas ional ly the
whole arch of the hea vens wou ld be gleam
ing with circles and l ines of white or
prismatic l ight, and bright d oub le halos
about the sun touche d or intersected b y
ra inbow-hued c i rc les of different altitudes.
A n d in those days it was the fairyland
of ice t ha t many had dreamt i t always
was .
A s a contrast let us take this. A terrific
gale was blowing, the snow falling like
p o w d e r , the air filled wi th blin din g dri ft.
" T h e surface was now bec omi ng like glass,
and a l though it was m idday w e could
on ly se e a few inches ahead through theice-drift . All mem ber s of th e party were
wearing fur boo ts . One ran into the tent
t o t ake off his fur b oo ts an d put o n leather
ones with which he cou ld obta in a bet ter
foo tho ld . W e were about a hundred yards
from the tent . A s he did not return we
fo rmed ourselves into a chain in order to
g o back and l ook for him. No t a trace of
h im cou ld we find. Every moment the
surface bec ame mor e slippery. Presently
one of the pa r ty slipped on a slope and at
once disappe ared from sight. Ano ther
m an s tar ted down the s lope t o his rescue.
He also disappeared, and was fol lowed
b y a th i rd .
" There were only five of us left. W o had
not the slightest idea ho w far our comp an
ions had fa l len. The only mem ber of thepa r ty who had spikes on his boots now
descended the slo pe for ab ou t fifty yar ds,
bu t he re turned without having seen the
miss ing men. We made another at tempt
to reach the vessel. W e were proce eding
warily along the slope when we suddenly
came on to an ice-patch and then fell like
nine-pins. One man wh o had been slipping
about all the t im e was clut ching hold of
another , b ut sudden ly let go , and with
increasing velo cit y slipped into the darkness
below. We were fol lowing helplessly a fe w
yard s behin d. Sud denl y we saw him throw
up his a rms and disappear over a sharp edge.
W e e x p e c t e d t o follow, but fortunately
we were s topped by a bank o f soft snow .
W e felt t ha t our comp anio n had gone for
ever. After we had pulled ourselves to
gether we cauti ously c rept t o the place where
he had last been seen, and in a m om en t ' s
interval while the drift cleared we found
t o our horror t ha t we were on an
ove r hang ing cliff, with the sea about two
hundred feet b e l o w . "
Fol lowing Scot t went Shackle ton in th e
Nimrod in 1 9 0 8 , the s tory of whoseex pedi t ion
appears in the B O Y ' S O W N P A P E R in the
t h i r t y - s econd vo lum e . Th e South Pole
was not reached, his farthest south being
8 8 ° 2 3 ' , t ha t is within 1 1 1 statu te miles of
it ; bu t one of the partie s, the first to start
from Cape R o y d s , consisting of Professor
T. W . Davids , Dr . Forbes Mackay and
D o u g l a s Mawson, reached the Magnetic
South Pole , which at the t im e of theirarrival was in 7 2 ° 2 5 ' so u th . 1 5 5 ° 1 6 ' east,
tha t i s 1 1 0 0 milesf rom the SouthGeographica I
Pole, fo r it mov es about wi thin a l imited
range as do es the co rrespo nding pole of tho
nor th .
" SOUTHWARD HOI" TO THE POLE :
A n t a r c t i c a , o r t h e L a n d o f t h e S n o w Q u e e n .
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper July 26, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-july-26-1913 5/16
677
T h r o u g h
A f g h a n
S n o w s ;
O r , Lari Khan of the D i a m o n dS t a r .
By J. CLAVERDON WOOD,
A lUfior of " Sinclair of the Scouts" " Jeffrey of the White Wolf Trail" etc.
I~1ARLY in Ma y of the year 1840 a force
'j of some iifteen hundr ed British was
at tacked by Ghilzais , numberi ng between
two and three thousand, at a place called
Jazee. The Afghan cavalry dashed at
full gal lop across the plain and hurled them
selves upon th e gunners. They almost
succeeded in capturing the guns , but being
checked b y a sharp musketry lire, t u rned
upon the British square and nearly broke it .
Despite the heavy fire and the bayonet s ,
the horsemen flung themselves, again and
again, upon the British, and it was only
after several hours t ha t the Ghilzais were
compel led to withdraw.
General Nott then sent a force t o o c c u p y
the strong fortress of Khelat- i -Ghilzai , and
fo r a t ime the communica t ions be tweenKandahar and Ka bul were mad e more
secure. Later on the Brit ish Resident
at Kabul bribed a number of the chiefs to
accept a yearly subsidy, and thus procured
a kind of peace .
Meanwhile, Do s t M o h a mme d and his son
Akbar Khan fought running battles with the
forces sent against them. N o w on the
Hindoo Khoosh range, no w on Kohis tan ,
and again among the Ghilzais , the Ba r u k z y e
Ameer appeared with his hastily recruited
levies. Generals Sale, Nott, and the other
British leaders fol lowed him f rom one
fastness t o another , dislodging him and
hurrying him from place to place, yet never
getting him into the ir clutches.
One day in J u ly , Bo b and Amr a n , wh owere out watching the mountain road to
Kabul , sa w some me n hurrying across a
plateau a few miles awa y. The y were on
foot an d looked as though they were dropping
with fatigue. Th ey seem ed to be making
fo r Ghari Ghilzai . Amra n could not concea l
his jo y when he beheld th e party , for he
felt sure the y were Afreed ees wh o had been
in some conflict and were n o w seeking
safety with Afzul Ali . He la y in his c o v e r t
an d pat ted his musket with fondling hands.
" We shall ge t them al l ," B o b heard him
sa y to himself in fierce delight. " I can
count them and there ar e only ten." Then
raising his voice he said, " As they enter
th e dip there, Lari Khan, they will come
within range of your rifle. We need not
send fo r assistance to the To we r . Th e ywill suspect nothing until they hear the guns ,
and then it will be too late. May Allah
grant t ha t Afzul Ali is among them ! "
In the far distance some horsemen were
n ow seen, evident ly spurring on the ir j aded
cat t le in pursui t of the first pa r ty . B o b
cou ld not ma k e out what they were, but
Amr a n wa s sure t ha t the pursuinghorsemen were Ghilzais . Th e
t w o men adjusted the ir sights ,
and put their a mmu n i t i o n on the
turf beside them.
" I shall fire at t he man in
front , Amran, said Bob, " and do
you cover the man immedia te ly
behind him. He appears to be
th e chief of the gang. I d o n ' t
t h ink it is Afzul Al i, but he is
pr obab ly on e of his Khans . Br ing him
d o w n as s o o n as he is well within range,
an d then pick off the others ."
H e fixed his eyes upon th e distant horse
men. The y were com ing up at a fast rate,
and B ob saw t ha t they were leading a number
of riderless horses.
" T h e y ar e Ghi lza i s , " he exc la imed,
exci tedly . " I c an make them out in the
clear air. They have captured the horses
of the fugi t ives somehow, and are now o n
the t rack of the ir owners . L o o k out ,
Amr a n , the Afreedees wil l be in range in a
fe w minutes ."
Present ly Amran's weapon went off, an d
th e man who was leading jumped into th e
ai r and rol led over upon the road . B o b
was glancing along his rifle when he suddenly
sprang up, knocking Amran 's muzz le to
one side.
" G o o d h e a ve n s, Amr a n ! " he yel led. " W e
are firing upon the Ame e r . It is D o s t
M o h a m m e d himself. I can see hi m clearly.
D o not fire again . W e mus t run out to meet
him before the horsemen c o m e u p . "H e shouted and wa v e d his arms . T h e
men on the road had dived into shel ter and
were looking about for the unseen at tackers .
W h e n B o b show ed himself they op ened
fire with their jezails, and the slugs began
to fly round his ears. But, unheeding th e
danger , he wa v e d his turban, and shout ing
o u t his name dashed headlong towards
the Ameer. It was a miracle t ha t he was
n o t hit. Several t imes he heard th e
singing of the bullets pas t his ears and had
to dive into shelter. A t length he c a me
within hailing distance.
" H a v e no fear, m y lo rd , it is I, Lar i Khan
of the D i a m o n d Star . W e fired in mistake,
thinking t ha t you be longed to the Afreedees
who hold Ghari Ghilzai . May we d r a w
near ? "
The Ameer waved his hand and cal led
out some order , and he and his pa r ty ra n
up to Bo b . Do s t M o h a mm e d was the least
fat igued of the c o m p a n y and welcomed
B o b with outstretc hed hands. " The guide
is dead," he said.
" It was a mis take , m y lo rd , we c o u l d
not make out your features unti l after th e
shot wa s fired. T h e horsemen wh o are in
pursui t will be up with yo u in less t han a
quarter of an hour . W e mu s t t ake to the
hills again. I see they have captured y our
horses ."
" N a y , not ours," said the Ameer , wi th a
re l ieved expression on his f a c e ; " i t must
be Ak b a r Khan, who left us yes te rday to
tr y t o obtain horses for us f rom th e Ghilzais .H e is fol lowing hard after us. Are yo u sure
they are so near ? "
" Pos i t ive , m y lo rd . If we can reach the
r idge up there, y o u will be able t o see fo r
yourself ."
T h e y hurried th rough some trees and
gained th e r idge, whence a v iew of th e road
C H A P T E R X X V I I I . T H E T R E A S U R E OF A B D U L T H E M U L L A H .
was obtained. The horsemen were n owwell within sight and the Ameer recogni sed
hi s son Ak b a r Kh a n . In a few minutes
they put the ir horses to the slope and t ro t t ed
up to the r idge.
A m r a n had slunk away, for he feared that
B o b had let it be k n o wn wh o had fired the
shot t ha t killed the guide , but the A m e e r
an d his people had a lmos t forgot t en that
such a th ing had happened, and Bob t o o k
care to mainta in silence on the mat t e r .
Dos t M o h a m m e d and Ak b a r Kh a n had
been repulsed b y General Sale, and had
barely escaped with a handful of men . The y
had been forced to a b a n d o n the ir horses
when they came to the mounta ins , and had
ma d e the ir wa y from point t o poin t , over
a rugged c ountr y, which was so prec ip i tous
t ha t pursui t was o ut of the ques t ion . When
they reache d level gro und again, Ak bar
K h a n and some twenty men had g o n e t o
a Ghilzai village t o obtain horses, and were
gal loping after the Ameer when Bob caught
sight of t h e m. The led horses were fo r
Dos t M o h a m m e d and his Sirdars . The
gu ide was a Ghilzai shepherd, wh om they
had p icked up a m o n g th e hills.
A per iod of rest was necessary for the
Am eer , and Bob immediately proffered the
hospi t a l i ty of the Lake Towe r . Amra n
g lad ly went on to prepare for the ir c o mi n g .
After a careful approach to the lake, and
on ly after B ob was assured t ha t no Afreedee
spy was a b o u t , the p a r t y signal led for the
b o a t . Th e horses were left in the charge
of some men, who took them to a dismant ledfarmhouse a few miles away, and present ly
the Ameer wa s safe within the strong walls
of the La k e To we r .
H e rested there in absolute securi ty for
a month , and thoroughly en joyed the quie t
of the place. Ak bar Kh an, alwa ys rest less ,
left the Tower dur ing the second week in
order to mo v e a b o u t a mo n g the Ghilzai
t r ibesmen. He had learned the facts about
Ghari Ghilzai for the first time, and agreed
wi th B o b t ha t something should be d o n e
to avenge the dea th of A b d u l the Mul lah .
" I shall return s o o n , " said Akbar, in
his decisive way, " with a thousand Ghilzais .
I will prom ise them t ha t the town shal l be
given o v e r to plunder , and then des t royed .
Te n thousand me n will volunteer when Itell them what they ar e likely to get, but
on e thousand determined men will do. I
have a long score t o p ay off as well as y o u ,
Lari Khan, and am as anxious to lay my
hands on Afzul Ali as yo u are. Y o u will
se e me in the course of a week or s o, if I
a m not captured by the Feringhees. Afzul
Al i ha s buil t up a high posi t ion for himself
a t Kabul by his scheming and flattery of
Shah Shujah, but it woul d have been wiser
ha d he s tayed among the rocks of the
K h y b e r with hi s d o g s of t r ibesmen. H e
has seized a fortress and a jagheer ( terr i tory)
near Je l l a l abad ."
" I k n o w it, m y l o r d , " in terrupted B o b .
" I wa s a prisoner there for six mo n t h s ,
and while I wa s in his dungeon he a t t acked
the Mullah and kil led him."
" W a i t a little, Lari Khan, his day is
no t fa r distant . I am too mu c h e mp l o y e d
in holding my own with the Sirdars around
K a b u l to give Afzul Ali the at tent ion he
needs, but the Feringhees under t ha t sloth
Elphin stone wil l soon be dr iven away.
Zemaun Khan is serving Shujah and the
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper July 26, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-july-26-1913 6/16
678 The "Boy's Obvn Paper.
Feringhee s, and tr ying to keep the peace,
but his son is on m y side. I ha ve a lmo st
wo n him ove r, and when I ha ve succ eede d
the days of Shah Shuja h will be shor t.
Expec t m y return within fourteen day s
with the Ghilz ais, an d be rea dy at t ha t
t ime to fol low me and drive out these
Afreedee dogs f rom the old tow n."
The next morning Akbar Khan , wi th
a few horsem en, rod e ove r the hills, and the
Lake Tow er resumed i t s wonted quie t .
B o b post ed watche rs on the hills ar ound,
in order t ha t warnin g migh t be give n of
any Afreedee peasant approaching. He
sailed regularly up and dow n the Lak e,
taking the A me er with him. Dos t
Mohammed was a shrewd, genial man, who
kne w how to throw off the bu rden of his
pos i t ion when c i rcumstances favoure d, and
he had gro wn to l ike the you ng Feringhee,
Lar i K h a n .
One day B ob had la nded on the main land
near the spot where he had taken the
Mullah on boar d the boa t for his first sail
o n the Lak e. As he walked along he
hap pen ed to glan ce at a flat piece of roc k.
He s tar ted as he noticed a rude drawing
of a star upo n it. I t had eviden tly beendraw n by some sharp ins trument , pr obab ly
an Afgh an knife , an d lay flat with tw o.
points forming an obt use angle tow ard the
Lake.
As Bo b s tood he not iced that , by drawing
a poin t from the a pe x of the star through
the a ngle, the Tow er wou ld s tand exac t l y
oppos i t e , while the pr odu ced lines of each
side of the angle w oul d mak e tw o long
t racks across the Lak e. Ins tant ly there
flashed into his min d the drawi ng u pon the
strip of parchme nt which the Mullah had
co mm and ed shou ld be plac ed in his han ds.
It was a star drawn like th is rude c o p y o n
the rock. He to ok out the parchm ent and
lai d it on the figure, an d fou nd t ha t the lines
of the angles were the same.
B o b dr ov e a stic k int o the cleft of the
rock as near as possib le to the a pe x of th e
angle. Jum pin g into his boat he pad dle d
across the Lake unt i l he co ul d no longe r
see the stick. T hen he slow ly pad dle d
the boat ba ck to the land, carefully keep ing
on the l ine of the angle, and exam inin g
the water on each side. He saw nothin g.
Then he did the same with the other line
of the anofle, this t ime paddl ing down the
Lake .
A s he re turned he noti ced a piece of
wood, ly ing part ly submerged, in the t r a ck
of the boat. He lifted it very care fully,
and discovered t ha t underneath it there
was fast ened a piec e of stout twine . He
lifte d it on t he end of his finger, a nd fo un d
t ha t i t was he avy . Slo wly he dre w it upand s oon had a lon g leng th of the c or d in
his bo at. A t last he saw t ha t i t was fastened
to a s t ou t rope. The two were knot te d
together with several very firm knots.
B o b hauled in the rope unt i l i t would
c o m e no farther. He tugged, but f ound
t ha t som e hea vy weigh t was on the e nd.
Sta ndi ng firmly in th e bo at he ex ert ed all
hi s s t rength, and t hen felt t ha t he was
lift ing something which was of considerable
weigh t. Lett ing the rope slide bac k into
the water, he made sure t ha t the knots
which fastened it to the twine were secure,
and that the twine itself was soun d, and
then sailed back to the rock and covered
the star drawing with earth , and re turned
to the Towe r .
He thought t ha t he had solved the
difficulty of the s t r ip of parchmen t , and
the schem e of Ab du l the Mullah be cam e
clear to his mind. Th e old man h ad lon g
been expect ing an a t t ack from some of
his num erous en emies, and had arranged
his riches in such a way t ha t they could
be easily carried off by himself and secr eted
in some safe place.
Afgha nistan had ma ny hiding-pl aces for
treasure, and usually caves , wells, or holes
in the earth were chose n. The boa t had
suggested wh at seem ed to the Mullah an
excellen t plan. He had placed his preciou s
stones and jewels in tw o heav y, ir on-b ound
boxes, wrapped in thick Hera t felt coverings.
Rou nd the box es he had passed a strong
rope . Taki ng the boat he had padd led
out, upon a l ine drawn from the angle of
the star he had cut upon the rock, and
sunk the first bo x. A t the end of the ro pe,
whe n the first b ox was sunk, he tied the
oth er, and low ere d it up on the first by mea ns
of a strong rope, to which he had a t t ached
a length of s tout twine .
The ropes sank to the bot to m, but the
twi ne was held to the surface of the water
b y me an s of the float of w o o d . This was
not large enough to a t t r ac t at tent ion, an d
the Mullah had also fastened a stone to it, so
that i t would be part ly submerged. He then
gave the s t r ip of parchment, on which he
had dr awn th e facsimile of the star, to his
faithful fol lower Sadat , with instructions
t ha t he was to place it in the hands of LariKha n, and none other. He kne w then
that what ever happ ened the jewels were
safe from the enemy, and he left it to the
ingenui ty of Bo b to disc over the hiding-
p lace .
B o b ' s first impulse was to raise th e
treasure, if treasure it was, at the earliest
mom ent , but he decided to consul t Am ran
Al i on the mat te r . He did not forget the
partnership which exis ted between the m,
nor the fact t ha t m or e than five hundred
rupees were due to the Hig hlan d serg eant,
MacClure, and also that , owi ng to th e
dis turbed state of the countr y, nothi ng ve ry
considerable in the way of profit had c o m e
to them.
Afzul Ali had swept their possessions aw ay,
and B o b had nothi ng but an old visit ing
card an d a cr own piece left to call his own .
Even his stars were adorning the treasure
caske t of the Afreede e ruffian. Bo b thoug ht
t ha t i t was only fair to consu lt Amra n Ali
before he made known to the Ameer and
Akba r Khan t ha t the wealt h of the Mullah
lay within his gras p.
The next morning a horseman ann ounced
t ha t Akbar Khan had been fortunate enough
to secure, in less than twenty-four hours ,
the sup port of one of the mos t influential
of the Ghilzai chiefs, and t ha t in a few hou rs
he would be in the nei ghb our hoo d of the
Tower with a strong force of horse men and
f o o t m e n .
T h a t evening Akb ar Khan ar r ived, and
with his accustomed impetuosity decider 1to a t t ack Ghari Ghilzai before da ybre ak,
and put ev ery man within i t to death. He
sent wor d to Bo b to jo in him among the
hills. Am ra n Ali and Tali b were despatch ed
to mee t him, with instructions fr om Dost
Mohammed, to say t ha t Lar i Khan was
staying to guard the A mee r, but that they,
Amr an and Ta lib, woul d be glad to lead
th e assault.
As day was breaking the Afreedee sentinels
were surpri sed an d sile nced , and the Ghil zais
rushed to the a t t ack with furious zeal.
They broke into the town and began to
smite the astonish ed garrison.
B y midda y everything was over . Horse
men pursued the fugitives and cut them
to pieces, and Ak bar 's men gather ed all
the animals, and having collected thevaluables , then set fire to the to wn . Th e
blaze of the conflagration coul d be seen for
miles aroun d, an d a huge black colum n of
smoke hung like a pall of death over the
d o o m e d place . The vine yards and orchards
were then destr oyed, and the banks of the
cana l cut , an d one of the fairest an d m ost
fruitful districts of Afghanistan was made
a desolate vraste.
More than six tho usa nd h orses were seized,
and t hus Akb ar Kha n was able to mou nt
and equip the cavalry force which after
wards w rough t such mischief on the British
army which retreated from Kab ul. He and
his men re turned in great t r iumph to the
Tower , and with quiet humo ur the Amee r
conferred th e Jagheer of Ghari Ghilzai
upon Lar i Khan .
" B y All ah ! " sai d Am ra n, " it went to
m y heart to set fire to the town of Abdul
the Mulla h; I loved it alm ost as well as my
own zuna (dwellin g) in the Khy ber , but
it had been poll ute d by the do gs of Afzul.
It was a fight after m y own heart, and I
exact ed a heav y pa}'m ent for my six m onths
in t ha t accursed dungeon, and yet, L ar i
Kh an , I am not satisfied. N or shall I
be until I meet Afzul face to face."
C H A P T E R X X I X .
D O S T M O H A M M E D S U R R E N D E R S — S H A R I N G
T H E T R E A S U R E .
H E summer passed
away, and until
October Dost Mo
ham med lay in the
secure shelter of
the Tow er. Akba r
Khan had moved
nearer Kabul wi th
hi s forces, and Sir
Robert Sale was
vainly trying to
allure him into a
pi tched battle.
Bu t the wily
Barukzye knew his
ow n game , and pla yed it with consu mmate
skill . He was in hourly communi cati on with
the chiefs in and around Kab ul.
Shah Shujah ha d openly sworn that he
would hang the do g Dos t Moham med , if
he could lay hands upon him, and news
cam e t ha t a price had bee n set on the head
of the fugi t ive Ameer . Dos tMo ham med had
now gr own tired of inaction, and determined
to leave the Tow er in order to get to the
Nigrow hills, where a body of sturdy-
mountaine ers and Ghaze es were waiting
to give him a welcome. He com m anded
B o b and A mra n Ali to at tend him, and, as
a special honour, entrusted to the Khyb eree
the blue s tandard which always marked- the
positio n of the Am eer .
Bo b had no wish to be drawn into a
fight with the Brit ish, b ut he saw that it
was imposs ible to refuse to go with theAmeer . They were received with un
b o u n d e d enthusiasm by the Nig row tribes
men, and a large force of horsemen gathered
around the blue banner-.
Early in No ve mb er the army was posted
in a rich val ley be twee n the Ni gro w hills.
F or t s were scattered abo ut, and the
neighbouring village of Purwandurrah wa s
strong ly held. Bo b had taken the precau
tion to renew the stain upon his face and
body , and w as, to all appearan ce, a rather
handsome and striking young Sirdar of
the Afghan force. He rode beside, the
A m e e r and Amran Al i .
It was a glorious au tumn day and the
sun sho ne brillian tly. Th e air was crisp
and invigorating, and the foliage, just
clothe d in the gold en red beauty which
comes before winter, made a perfect setting
t o a stirring scen e. On eve ry ridge the
Afghan jezail men were crouching , and on
a piece of elevat ed groun d Dost Moha mme d
t o o k up his position with his horsemen.
The blue s tandard wav ed behind him.
[The
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper July 26, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-july-26-1913 7/16
E N T E R P R I S E .
LADY: "O h C a r l o! i l y darling Carlo ! Save Mm ! Save him I"
STRANGER: " T o o late, m a d a m ! Allow me to present my card—'Jo nes , Ta x idermis t . ' "
(Drawn /or the " Boy's Own Paper" by ARTHUR GILL. )
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper July 26, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-july-26-1913 8/16
680 The Boy's Ottrn Taper.
T h e Brit ish fo rce , ma in ly c o m p o s e d of
Sepoys and nat ive levies , belongi ng to
Shah Shujah's arm y, came into position,
and suddenly their cavalry was launched
against th e flank of the Ame er' s gua rd.
Captains Fraser and Ponso nby, with
Lieutenant s Broad foo t and Crispin, led t he
British a t t ack . A shot came singing f rom
a conc ealed hiding-pl ace, and Dr. Lor d
tumbled out of his saddle, and was after
wards cut to pieces. The Ameer waved
hi s t u rban in the direct ion of the charging
hors eme n, an d poin ted to his flag.
" In the name of Allah, m y brothe rs ,"
he shou ted t o his Sirdars, " charg e, or we are
l o s t ! Fol low me ! "
H e set spur s to his horse, and a ye ll of
encouragement greeted his words. The
Afghan horsemen dashed at the British
force, while the guns an d jezails made sore
h a v o c a m o n g their in fan trymen. The Sepoy
cava l r y hesitated, their ga l lop became
(i t rot , then a walk, and the nex t ins tant
the Afghan s were amo ng the m. The British
leaders were swe pt asi de.
B r o a d f o o t and Crispin were dismounted
and cut to pieces by the Afgh an sabres,
while Fraser an d Po ns on by , fighting likeheroes , ende avour ed to rally the terror-
str icken Sepoys . It w as in vain, and D os t
Mo h a m m e d , reining in his horse, watched,
with a smile, the re t rea t of the first port io n
of the British line.
H e had more t han vindicated his courage
and powe r, and for the mo men t it seemed
as if he wou ld issue orders for an imm edi ate
advance upon K abul . Then h is face
c louded and he turned his charge r's head .
" Att end me, Lari Khan , the gam e is up ,"
he said as he rod e aw ay, and wit hou t
another w ord he quitte d the field, leav ing
th e t r iumphan t Afghans to gather in what
spoil t h e y could.
T h e Ame er gall oped along the valley and
struck out in the direction of Kab ul . Fo r
several hours he rode without drawing rein,
until it became necessary to give the horses
a breathing space. After a short hal t
they rode on throug h the night, reaching
the rough country outside Kabul in the
after noon. Th e roa d was a narr ow one
thro ugh a gor ge leadi ng to the vill age of
Kil la -Kazee . S o o n they came in sight of
thick grove s of mulbe rry trees, and, over a
fertile plain, B o b saw the tow ers and walls
of Kab ul . He saw also a c r o w d of Indian
Lancers attend ing an English gentleman,
wh o was dressed in civilian clothing.
The Ameer commanded h is fol lowers
to hal t , and sent B ob forward to inquire
the nam e of the leade r of the Lanc ers.
Fr om a peasant B ob learned t ha t it was the
British Envo y, Sir Will iam Macnaghte n,
wh o was taking his evening ride in the out
skirts of Kabu l . He repor ted th is to Dos t
M o h a m m e d .
" Go forward , Lari Khan ," said the Amee r.
" and tell t ha t man t ha t Do s t Mo h a mme d
is fol lowing thee ."
B o b rod e forward, and saluting the En vo y
announced t ha t the Amee r was at hand.
" Wh at Ame er ? "sai d Sir Wil lia m, reining
in his horse, in surprise.
" D o s t Mo h a mme d Kh a n , my lo r d , "
replied Bo b, and the next mom ent the
A m e e r rode up, and dismounting, offered
his sword to Sir William.
" I c o m e to claim the prot ecti on of the
British," he sai d; " here is my swor d."
T he troope rs gathered around him, but
the Envoy bade them keep back, andreturning the sword , he asked the Am eer
t o remount and accom pany h im to Kab ul .
In the midst of the escort Dos t Mo ha mm ed
and B o b rode to the bui lding s of the Britis h
Mission, situated o n the plain outside Ka bul ,
and a tent was assigned the ch ieftain.
W o r d of his surrender soon ran through
K a b u l and presently t he aged mothe r of
the Ame er cam e ou t to greet her son. He
was entirely overcome as the old lady
em br aced him . The greatest courtesy was
shown to the fallen Am ee r by all the Briti sh
officers, and a strong guard was placed
arou nd h im to prev ent his assassination
b y the fol lowers of Shah Shuj ah.
On Nove mber 1 2 , a European reg iment
with Captain Garbet t 's tro op of Horse
Artillery, form ed up to escort him t o Jellala-
bad , and from there Sir Wil lough by Cotton
t o o k charge, and the Ame er was taken t o
India, where a considerable pension was
a l lowed him. Bo b was permit ted to at tend
h im as far as Jell alab ad, a nd there he bade
farewell to the fallen monar ch.
" T h o u has t d o n e well , Lar i Khan ,"
he said, and the tears stood in his eyes at
parting, " an d I can never t hank thee
enough for th y faithfulness. It grieves
m e t ha t I did not tell the Envoy that
th ou art a Feri nghe e of his ow n race . It
might have been better for thee, for the
c louds have not passed from the sky, and
Shah Shuj ah has not won the game yet .
I see t ha t I cannot strive with successagainst the British and the Sikhs, but
A k b a r Khan is 3T
oung and able , he will
fight t o the last, and will set the cou ntry
in a blaze from end to end before the
S u d d o z y e conque rs . I would have raised
thee to a high posit ion had m y fate been
different, but, at least, thou knowest that
I estee m thee as a friend. Fare wel l, Am ra n
Ali, t h o u has t bor ne my bann er. If the
t ide turns , th ou and thy sons after thee
shall be known as the s tandard bearers of
the Ameer . Allah keep thee ! "
T h e escort woun d its way towa rds the
dark recesses of the Kh yb er Pass, and
B o b and Am ran Al i wat ched it, in sadness,
unt i l it disappeared from view and the
bugle reminded them t ha t the fo rce which
they were to acc om pan y throug h the
K h o o r d Ka bu l Pass was already on the
march, and that the} ' mus t hurry to jo in
it .
Three weeks later the y were again in the
shelter of the La ke Tower , and Talib and
Sad at we re rejoi cing in their return. T h e
first thin g B o b did on the mo rnin g following
was to take Am ran and Tali b into his
confidence respecting the recov ery of
A b d u l ' s treasure. As he had foreseen Amra n
was all eagerness to begi n, and w oul d have
ruined everythi ng in his precipitate haste.
A n old " sea dog ."
B o b knew t ha t his eager hands would
break t he twi ne if he were all owed to tou ch
it .
" Nay , Amra n," said Bo b, laying a
restraining hand upon him, "th ou ar t too
eager for wealth, to o fast is oftenti mes to o
s low. I have not told thee all; and with out
m e yo u can not find where the treasure is
concealed. Is it mine or thine ? "
" Thine, Lari Khan, if the desire of the
Mullah is to be respected."
" I am glad you say so. Now, hear
m e ; whe n we rec ove r the bo x, it shall be
carried into the Tower . The secret must
be kept between us. Yo u, Amran , and you ,
Ta l ib and Sa dat, shall receive fair shares,
bu t in the first plac e, I mus t exam in e the
b o x and its cont ent s myself, and mak e
the divisi on as I thin k best. Wh at I retain
fo r myself will be my ow n conc ern, and
each ma n must p romi se to be satisfied w ith
that whi ch he receiv es, and he ma y keep
the kno wle dge of its am oun t to himself.
D o yo u agree '! "
It wa s amusi ng to wat ch the pla y upon
the features of the Afgh ans . A vari ce is
a prevailing vice, but especiall y is it so
am ong the native s of Afghani stan, a ndB o b could see that it t o o k hi s followers
some time to adjust their thoughts to the
pos i t ion . Bu t they were fair-mi nded men,
and recognised that B o b was right. On the
K o r a n they swore that his will should be
fol lowed out to the smallest detail, and
B o b t o o k their hands and accepted their
word with entire cordiality.
Sending the other men awa y on various
errands, they entered the boat and rowed
t o the middle of the Lake. Bo b found the
float wit hout difficult y, and presently he
held the twine in his hands.
" By All ah !" grunted Amran , with
dismay, " tho u ma kest mo re fuss over the
treasure than the weight warrants, if that
th in cord is going to lift it from the bo t tom
of the lak e. I will sell m y share for a
hundred rupees and consider t ha t I have
made a g o o d barga in ."
" As the fool thinks , the bell clinks,
Am ran ," Bo b replied, hauling the tw ine ;
" I ' ll buy thy share from thee for a hundr ed
rupees, and think myself l u c k y . "
' ' Nay , Lari Khan , on second thoughts
I will not afflict thee wit h my ill-luck. The
cord is a slight one, but it is a wise saying1
Jud ge no t of men or things at first sight. '
I alone will bear the loss that is comi ng on
m e . "
Slowly B ob pulled the twine into the
boa t , and presen tly the rope cam e into
sight. He t o o k a firm grip an d beg an t o
haul.
" Come along, Amran, and lend a hand.Y o u can feel the weight now ."
Amran was on ly too willing to test it
and so satisfy himself. Th ey hauled steadily
and a square iron-bou nd box , covered with
felt, was seen a little below the surface of
the water. Th ey lifted it into the boa t.
I t was bound with ropes, and B ob saw that
another rope went down to the dept hs.
" Hel lo ! Am ra n, " he said, " we have n6t
c o m e to the end yet; there is another b ox
t o be dragged up. Stead y, we must not
lose it by carelessness. Up with it, perhap s
there is yet anoth er fastened to i t."
Am ra n pulled steadil y and a box , similar
to the first, was haul ed to the surfac e. The re
was no rope hanging from it , so Bob gave
the order to return to the Tower . Th e
weighty chests were carried to the u pperroom and B ob procee ded to exami ne them.
It w as plain that Amr an Ali would have
preferred to remain, but B o b smiled and
po in t ed to the door .
" D o not keep us waiting long, for Allah' i
sake," said Amran as he went out.
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper July 26, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-july-26-1913 9/16
Through Afghan Snobvs. 681
B o b lifted u p the lid of the first bo x, and
was amazed t o see the amount of treasure
it cont aine d. Th ere were mo re than a
dozen rows of gold coins, closely packed
together , and B ob saw t ha t at least half
were Englis h soverei gns. Th e other s were
Persian, Afghan, and Ind ian gold coins.
Much English gold had been brought into
the count ry since the adva nce of the British
army, and Abdu l the Mullah had stipu late dfo r it when he sold his supplies to the Kabul
merchants w ho supplied the cam ps.
Th e rest of the bo x was filled with valuable
articles of jewellery, and a great number
of precious stones, which had been t aken
out of their setting. The secon d bo x also
contained a very large amount of coin, and
three leather bags. The y contai ned diamonds
and emeralds to an almost fabulous amount.
A b d u l the Mullah, though living in a
comparatively p o o r country, had for nearly
th i r ty years occupied a favourable position
fo r the amassing o f wealth. His drove s
of horses had numbered many thousand s,
and he had for years supplied the cava lry
mo u n ts to the Ameer , and the Khans of
Ka n d a h a r and Hera t . H e had been a
shrewd bargainer, and t o o k every oppor
t un i t y of purchasing valuable emeralds and
diamonds .
B o b had no idea of the amou nt conta inedin the chests, but he saw a t once that th e
precious stones would realise a huge sum.
He very carefully set aside three divisions
and place d enou gh gold and jewels to make
even an Afghan Sirdar a very r ich man. H e
pack ed one chest with what he had res erved
fo r himself an d pu t it aside. Then he
cal led Amr an Ali into the r o o m . Poin t ing
to the div isio ns he said, " No w Amran , you
ca n t ake y o u r choi ce of any one of these
d iv i s ions ."
(To be continued.}
Amr an was speechless with astonishm ent.
H e l o o k e d at t he gold and let the shining
stones tr ickle through hi s fingers. T h e
perspiration s tar ted on his forehead and
rol led d o w n hi s face .
" B y A l l a h ! " he gasped , " a m I
dreaming ? "
" Take thy share, Amran, and tell m e
if th ou art satisfi ed."
" Satisfied, m y lord ! I a m amazed .I never dreamed t o se e so much wealth,
and cannot believe that tho u art in earnest."
Before Talib and Sadat entered he ha d
gathered the glitter ing store into an amm u
nition ease, and dragged it into his quarters
like a m a n in a dream. " I a m a c o wa r d
after this, m y lord ," he said as he went ou t.
I dare not expose mysel f in bat t le n o w I
am so rich a ma n . "
Wh i c h shows that Amran thought t ha t
fighting me n we re p o o r .
Pi ELD EVENTS AND
WIN THEM.
ow TO
By F. A. M. WEBSTER, L.A.C.
(English Amateur Javelin-throwing Champion, 1 9 1 1 ; Hon. Secretary, Amateur Field Events Association.)
VI . T H E P O L E J U MP , S T E E P L E CH A S E , A N D H O P , S T E P A N D J U MP .
T H E P O L E J U M P .
rilHOSE of my readers wh o hav e carefully
_|_ studied the instructions given for High
an d L o n g Jump ing will f ind them v ery help
fu l in taking up the Pole Jum p. This is
T h e P o l e J u m p .
I . The jumper will clear the upper part of the
body over the bar b y pushing the pole hard away
from him.
not an event in whi ch prof i c i ency is easily-
acqui red ; any amo unt of plu ck and p ati ence
is required, for the beginn er will t ake s o me
nasty tumbles, and i t is cer tainly a case of
" if at first you don' t succee d, et c. "
Sufficient emphasis cannot be laid o n
getting the take-off accurately, and in
planting the pole right, for if the athlete
does not get used to planting his pole with
precis ion, it will necessitate his wat chi ng it
unt i l the last second and so his mind will
be distracted f rom getting his b o d y proper ly
in to the air.
The Pol e Vaulter s tands in front of the
bar he hopes to jum p, th epol ehe l d inh is hand
perfectly upright , t he e nd ' resting on the
ground . Wi th his eye he judg es the sp ot
at wh ich the pole touc hes the cross bar ;
he t hen steps back, letting the pole falltowards him and catching it as it falls
at t he poin t at which he judges it was
level wit h the cr oss bar, he then walks back
the distanc e of his run. whi ch, togeth er with
the ten an d fifteen pace marks, he has
a lready fixed by the methods described in
the Running L o n g J u m p .
H e then takes a sha rp dash forward, the
speed and cont rol being just as described in
the Running L o n g Jum p. As he pl an t s hi s
pole he springs into the air, pulling hard on
the pole with his arm s to raise himself, and
at once the feet should be the hig hest po int
of t he b o d y , having b een swung up. Jus t
as in the Running High Jum p, a t u rn i ng
mo v e me n t has been initiated.
A s the legs rise to the bar t he lower hand
is slipped up unt i l i t touch es the upper one,
which is no t a l lowed to be m o v e d , a n d
the athlete crosses the bar face d o wn wa r d s
t o all in tents and purposes, at the same
time shov ing the pole hard a wa y f r o m h im.
The legs are swung d o w n , an d the arms
thro wn up and aside to clear the upp er part
of the b o d y o v e r the bar .
One other point is of importance, t ha t is ,
the w ay in which the han ds grasp the pole ,
an d it suffices to say t ha t the left is usually
the lo wer , and t he little finger is the lo west
one on each hand.
T H E S T E E P L E C H A S E .
F o r th is race the athlete must time his
running to the dis tance , and must rely
largely upon his own experi ence and j udg
men t. He should learn to t ake his obstacles
with the smallest possible expend iture of
energy .
For instance, if a hurdle o r l o w fence
intervenes, too high t o j u mp wi th o u t an
effort, vault it; if sufficiently low, t ake it in
y o u r stride. As regard s w or k o v e r a hedge
into the water , t ake your hedge with an
easy jump that will land you comfor tab ly
in to the water without any added effort.
T h e P o l e J u m p .
II . Crossing the bar. The jum per is nicely
stretched out, but if the lowe r hand had been slid
up the pole another foot in height would have been
obtained.
I t is a mis take t o put tremendous energy
into the jump, and so land yourself well on
in the w ater with the possibilit y of s tumb ling
and so delaying yourself quite considerably.
Such obs tac les as low ( 3 feet) hurdles on the
flat y o u should learn to t ake in you r s tr ide.
It is alw ays as well to kee p a bit in han d,
so t ha t when t he final burs t on the flat
c o m e s yo u have enou gh stamina lef t t o
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper July 26, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-july-26-1913 10/16
682 The Boy's Otetn Taper.
race the other man for the hon ours ; and,
a b o v e al l , remember t ha t a l t hough y o u ' v e
had a gruell ing, and are feeling just a bo ut
" beat to the w o r l d , " the other man is
probab l y feeling a jo l ly sight worse !
T H E HOP, STEP AND JUMP.
I n this eve nt all the wo rk up to the take-
of f is exact ly the same as for the Runni ng
L o n g J u m p . H a v i n g t aken off f rom the
board , the athle te l ands on the same leg
as t ha t f rom which he has t aken off, springs
again, land s on the opp osit e leg, and then
makes his ordinary long jump.
This is a mos t fascinating sport when
th e a th le te has a t t a ined proficiency. The
finest jump ers of the kin d Grea t Brit ain has
ever pro du ced are the brother s Dan and T. J.
A h e a r n e ; the former holds the wor l d ' s
r eco r d , and the l at ter wo n this event for us
at the O l y m p i c G a m e s of L ondon , 1908 .
F o r all the field events the athle te must
bui ld up the muscles of th e b o d y , and for
[ T H E E N D . ]
this purpose I do not think I can do better
than r e c o m m e n d to my readers Lieut.
Midler 's splendid b o o k enti t led " M y
S ys t em."
If these art icles have add ed one inch to
anyone ' s j ump or throw, or have lessened
his time for the hurdles, or have brought
new adherents to the sports I love so well ,
m y l abour in comp iling those instructions
will be well repa id ; and if I can help any of
m y readers with further adv i ce , a letter to
m e, c/o the Edi to r , B O Y ' S O W N P A P E R , will
ahvays meet with a speedy answer.
A TEST
MATCH
Mar ty n - S my th
A C o m p l e t e C r i c k e t
S t o r y .
TH E glass was h igh, the sky cloudless ,
the wicket hard. Three days '
cricket was a practic al certai nty and, per
haps , in v iew of the fa ct t ha t this, the fifth
test match, was to be played to a finish,though not more t han six days were to be
dedicated t o it, it might extend o v e r the
fourth and fifth, even t o the sixth day. A
surfeit of cr icket , you suggest—not , I ca n
assure y o u , t o Martyn-Smyth, who passed
through the turns t i les at the Oval , no t
merely wi thout a care, bu t with a hear t
filled with j o y o u s ant ic ipat ion.
H e wished, however , t ha t he had a pa l
with him ; two can en joy a cricket matc h so
much bet ter t han one, but, unfortunately ,
L o n d o n in Aug ust is no t al together fashion
able , and Smyth 's s c h o o l friends he k n e w
w o u l d be at the seaside, or, as he put it to
himself, rott in g abo ut the cou ntr y generally.
He entered b y theVauxha l l Ga t e , and
al though the hour was ear ly—he was
determined to get as g o o d a seat as an
ordinary mor tal c o u l d aspire to wi t hou t
having resource t o the s tands—found t ha t
there were plenty of signs of act ivi ty, in
cluding a number of the players engaged
in the match practising at the nets.
F o r a m o m e n t or t wo M ar t yn-S myt h ,
swinging his l i t t le paper bag of sandwiches
on his finger, co nte mp lat ed the scene with
in teres t , and wondered if he had bet ter
secure his seat s t ra ight away or if he cou ld
spare ten minutes or so for watching the
men wh o were loosening the ir shoulders.
A minute or so later he was standing at
point t o one of the finest batsmen in
England , and he laughed to himself when he
thou ght of the effect it w o u l d create when
he casually remarked t o th e fel lows in theSixth Form r o o m , " Y e s , I s t ood at point to
W y l d e s l e y — q u i t e close i n , " and h o w he
w o u l d have to d o the " hundred " up
schoo l in record t ime when it came out t ha t
he had a net between him and the Al l
England man.
It do es not require a Sher lock Holmes to
I l i a i L -
• (H fl|fl| |H Bl flj H Jtf'
OVERS
1 4 . 3
CHRONICLE.BUNS WKTS.
1 6 8
By HAROLD MACFARLANE.
deduce f rom the data given t ha t Martyn-
Smy th was standing at t he net far thes t
from the ga someters, and t ha t the nearest
route to the seats t ha t en joy a little shade
from the vicini ty of the scoring box wasin front of the nets. I t therefore fol lowed in
qui te the natural order of events , when
W y l d e s l e y sent a short pitched 1 all soaring
over the heads of the bowlers amid a general
shout of " H e a d s , " t ha t Smyth should look
round a nd seeing the ball c o m i n g s t ra ight to
him make an effort to catch it.
The ball stuck, and the feel of the leather
after a few weeks' holi day during whic h he
had not play ed cricke t was to Mart yn- Smyt h
one of the mo st pleasan t sensation s he had
exper ienced for some t ime.
A th in fringe of spectators prevented
S m y t h re turning the ball thew a y t ha t it
cam e , and put t ing his sandwiches in his
pocke t he tossed the leather from hand to
hand as he strolled towards the net, and
alm ost bef ore ho wa s aware o f the fac t one
of the groundsmen who was sl inging in balls
of a character t ha t Smyth recognised as
having a distinctly grinding effect if they
d id ge t y o u on the fingers, had sa id " Y o u
g o next , sir ," and was standing o n one side.
Mart yn- Smy th's first impression was to
d i savow any intention of bowl ing , and then
like a flash it came to him t ha t it w o u l d be
rather a j o k e to tell the other fellows how he
bowled t o the famou s Lancas trian an d how
— but t ha t remained to be seen.
It wa s glorious to hol d a ball again, to get
his fingers in posi t ion and —my word ! he
would have a shot, he didn't care a hang if
i t did bounce three t imes en route to the
wicke t . People might take him for the
Googlie K i n g !
M ar t yn-S myt h was a left-hander of
about medium pace. H e took a shor t
run and deliv ered the ball . . .
There was a short interval while the
famous ba t set the leg-pe g upri ght an d hit
the ball up from the ba ck of the net, and
Martyn-Smyth t r ied t o l ook as though up
rooting a cha mpio n batsman' s wicket was
an eve ryd ay affair with him.
" A g o o d ball, sir. I should like another
of t ha t sor t . "
Commendat ion from England's greatestbatsman ! Mar tyn-Smyth 's heart beat fast
with exultation.
The slinger sent d o w n his finger-grinding
ball , a groundsman despatched a curly slow
an d then went into the country to recover
the ball b y easy stages, and once more
M ar t yn-S myt h bowled , and as the world-
renowned batsman restored hisoff stump
to theperpendicular he heard a spectator
say to a compani on , " I tell ye rh e' s wearing
th e East A b b e y colours . I 've seen him over
the rail ings many a t ime, but he 's bowling
different to what he did—more like ' A i g h . "
Mart yn- Smyt h himself recognised that
he was bowling differently from what he
usually did. S o m e h o w he had got into a
posi t ion that made everything appear com
fortable and bowling the easiest of tasks.
He wondered why on earth he had no t
always bowled in t ha t easy natural fashion.
He felt he cou ld go on bowlin g for weeks
like that , and t ha t he cou ld make the ball
do anyth ing barring si t up and talk.
The great batsman stopped practising in
order to speak to two other members of the
team, both amateurs and one England's
Captain, who had evidently been looking
on thou gh Smy th had not noticed them
before.
" B o s h ! " said the Captain, laughing.
" Y o u ' r e right as rain. I bet you'l l make
a century."
The professional batsman murmured
something about " c o n f i d e n c e . "
" R a t s ! y o u ' r e n o t going to play him,
in an y case - -but if that ' s all you want, here
g o e s . "
England's Captain came straight up to
M ar t yn-S myt h .
" W i l l y o u g ive me a f e w b a l l s ? " he
asked.
" Y e s ! " said Martyn-Smyth laconically,
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper July 26, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-july-26-1913 11/16
A. Test Match Chronicle. 683
no t quite knowing whether he was
on his head or his heels.
When the most famous amateur
bat of the (l ay gre w wea ry of
fielding balls he co uld n't play from
behind the wi cket , restoring the
stumps to their customary upright
position and making a considerable
num ber of mos t ineffec tual efforts
to hit the cover off the ball t ha t
performed a sufficiency of tricks to
almost justify the belief that th e
man behind it possessed the in
genu ity of a Maskelyne and a
Devant amalgamat ed into one
person, he bore d o w n upon the
bowler and remark ed, " Y o u ' v e g o t
to play for Middlesex before you
are a week older."
" But I was born in Manches
ter," gasped Martyn-Smyth.
" Thank Heaven ! " said in
unison the eminent professional
and the other amateur, th e lat ter a
lightning bowler , each o f w h o m
wore a red rose embroidered on
his ca p. The England Captain,
placing on e gloved hand on Martyn-Smyth's shoulder, conducted him
gently towards the pavil ion. "I ' l l
find yo u a seat ," said he with a
laugh, " though m embers cann ot
introduce visi tors. Er—hav e yo u
resided in Middles ex tw o yea rs ? "
" Hands off—no poaching," said
the famous bowler with m o c k
severity. " Thi nk of yo ur n ativ e
coun ty , sir', a n d — " he end ed
disconnectedly as a telegraph boy
thrust a message into the Capta in's
hands—"don' t say that something
has happe ned to ("hive ! I hate
the sight of a telegram until th e
match is under way. I ' m twice
the bowl er 1 usually a m if I'v e
Chive at the other end."
Th e English Captain g lanc ed at
the flimsy piece of paper and
remarked, " Are yo u often g iven to
premoni t ions , Wearley ? Chive's
been dished in a taxi accident—
sprained his wrist and cannot
play. "
" Help ! " ejac ulat ed the fast
bowler . " Yo u are goin g into the
field with on ly four bowlers . I can
see i t in your eye."
" It doesn't rest with me—
there 's the selection comm itte e
with power to co-op t one or more
members of the team. By-the -
way, youngster, you are wearing
East A b b e y colours , aren ' t you ?I don't remember your face an d
y£ t I pla yed for M.C.C. against
y o u . "
" I missed the M.C.C. match," explained
Martv n-Smy th. " 1 had an ex am, on at
O x f o r d . "
- Pass ? "
Scraped t liroug h," was the mod est re ply.
" Um ! " com men ted the international.
" Well, sit here for the present, I'll get you
a better place in a few minut es. B y the
way, what' s you r na me ? "
He was under the awning in front of the
pavilion. He had been brought th i ther
by the Captain of the English side. He ha d
been practically invited to play for two
count ies . Smyth pinched his packet of
sandwi ches to mak e certain of the reality
of things.
" — W h y , Arch ie himself pla yed for his
coun ty less than a month after he left
Har row . A. G. Steel never bowled better
than during his last term at Marlborough.
L o o k at Charlie T o w n s e n d —g o o d enough
(L ) PERC1VAL J.
GROGGANCOTHER
WISE 'GROGGY'!)
HAD DETERMINEDTO TAKE UPCRICKET A N DTO EXCEL AT
SCHOOL AS A
SCIENTIFIC
BATSMAN TOTHAT END HEBOUGHT A
PONDEROUSVOLUME. ON
THE SUBJECT
AND STUDIED
IT W I TH
CARE
09 IN THE OUIET
OF HIS BEDROOM
HE ASSIDUOUSLY
PRACTISED THE
STROKES ACCORDING
TO THE
PRINTED
INSTRUC
T I O N S
HE DROV E -
(6) A N D LA TE-CUT A NIMAGINARYCRICKET
BALL DAYAFTER
DAY.
(?) ANDWHEN HE.CONSIDEREDHIMSELFPERFECT. HESPENT TIME
AND CAREIN CH003INGA COMPLETE &.BECOMING OUTFIT
. BUTTHE VERYFIRST BALLOF HISVERY FIRSTINNIN GS GOT UPAWKWARDLY. THROWINGSCIENCE TO THE WINDSHE STRUCK WILDLY, MISSO
THE SAIL 8e C U T ALUDICR.OU5 FIGURE !
HE HAS SINCEDECIDED TO STICKTO STAWP-COLLECnNr.
' G r o g g y ' s " D e b u t a s a B a t s m a n .
fo r England when still at Clifton, and there 's
.1. N. too , playing for Surrey and R ep to n the
same year. Wh y, Chive himself was
absolutel y unkno wn at the beginning of
this season, and if Sm yt h isn't gather ing in
bushels of wick ets at Ol d Trafford ne xt
week he will be at Lord's."
Th e voice that was wafted throug h the
open window was the Captain's, but what
di d it mean ? W h y were the y talkin g
abo ut him ?
An hour later when Smyt h, wearing a
spare pair of B. D . Stew' s bo ot s unt i l his own
c a m e a l o n g , a n d c l a d in divers other borrowed
g irments, entered the field with the five other
amateurs of the England Eleven, a v ery
com ple t e answer was forth comin g to b oth
ques tions , tho ugh it gave rise to t h i r ty
thousand of his Majesty's liege subjects
asking " Wh o on earth is this Martyn-Smyth
wh o is playing instead of Chive or the
official twelfth man ? " and t o a nu mbe r
of ridic ulous sugge stion s, of whi ch the most
far - fe tched was the assertion t ha t Martyn-
Smy th was the pseu don ym ado pted by a
f am ous Indian cricketer to hoodwink the
India Office t ha t had refused to give him
leave t o come back to England to play
cr icket for the sake of his health.
Th e Englis h Captai n ha d the courag e of
his conv icti ons. He recognised in Martyn-
Smyth a natural , heaven-sent bo wler, and
he inte nded to mak e use of him just as
tho ugh lie had Chive .
Mar tyn-Smyth t o o k the first over.
H a v e yo u ever, when p laying golf or any
other ga me, aba ndo ned a certain strok e,
tho ug h you can play it well eno ugh in
pr ac t i ce , because you had a match on and
the importance of the occasion made you
afraid of runnin g the slightest risk ? Tha t is
what .Martyn-Smyth felt like when he
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper July 26, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-july-26-1913 12/16
684 The Hoy's Otarn Taper.
del ivered his first ball, and t ha t is why
his initial deliveries, bowled as he would
have bowled them on South ey Fields, were
t rea ted so severely by the world-renowned
batsman opposed to him.
Th e first shot, a delightfully easy stroke
past mid-off, yielded a brace. The secon d
was among the c r o w d on the leg boundar y
almo st before the y realised t ha t it had
been delivered. The th i rd tried to force
an exit through the Vauxh all Gate—thebats man was a left-hander. The fourt h
y ie lded a coup le , notwithstanding a gallant
effort on the part of Way war d at point ,
and the fifth evo lved muc h laughter whe n
the helm et of the po li ce ma n fielding it fell
in the process.
H a v e you , when playing golf or any other
gam e , after a series of heart-b reakin g
failures, " gone f o r " the ball an d e very
thing else ut ter ly regardless of wha t h appen s
next, with the result t h a t yo u hav e fluked
an absolutely paralysing shot 1 W h e n
Martyn-Smyth bowled the s ixt h ball of his
over he didn't care what happened to it—
all he required was a nice appropriate
ear thquake t ha t wou ld provid e him with
the means of sinkin g into the g rou nd .
H e bowled the ball he had bowled at the
nets. A strange my sti c sort of del iver y that
appeared—I on ly say "a pp ea re d" —to float
in the air, to hang ba ck , an d ye t that
invariably arrived sooner t han was expecte d.
It was an unc anny ball . Eve n the expert
in the p avil ion recognised t ha t it was
different f rom othe r balls. Ther e was some
thing depressing about it, but the c r o w d
when it realised t ha t the great batsm an was
out were very far f rom being depressed.
The eerie effect of the ba ll, so far as the
masses were conce rne d,co uld best be realised
from the met ho ds of dismissa l put forwa rd
by t hem. " L . b . w . " cr ied some . " H i t
w i c k e t , " said other s. " He snick ed the ball
and Wil ley caugh t him, " asserted a th i rd .
" He was right out of his grou nd—s tump ed, "a fourth had t ime to declare. An d then
the Umpire having made forty-five very
delibe rate strides picke d up a bail. " Wel l ,
I' m jigge red ! " s aid the c rowd.
Martyn-Smyth took up his s tand at mid-
on in a drea m. He had taken a wicket in
a test mat ch. In all the tables relating to
test matches f rom henceforwa rd the nam e
of Marty n-Sm yth woul d have to appear as
having taken a wicket. He didn't care
what happen ed now— he had taken a wicket .
H e was going to en joy the match hence
forward—he had taken a wicke t. Her e
was a verit able cann on ball—wh at did it
mat te r ?—he had taken a wicket.
" Fielded ! Wel l fielded ! "
T h e y were cheering him, the man who
ha d taken a w i cke t !
T h e y wo ul d try and run shor t singles
against him, woul d the y! The man who had
taken a wick et woul d take another—biff !
"H e' s broken a s tump—two for s ixteen.
Hurrah ! "
H e had bowled out a Ran sfo rd and run
out a Clement Hill—he didn't ca re w hat
happened next. W h o o p ! over y o u g o !
Bu t he's hung on to it from the mome nt of
the first wild s c o o p with his left hand, and
through the subsequent somersault . Maund ,
a speci alist i n th e slips, tells him that it
is as g o o d a catch as ever he had the privi
lege of seeing, and Marty n-Smy th adroit ly
regrets t ha t mirrors are not part of the
furniture of a cricket field, the effervescing
W ear l ey the whil e shaking his hand and telling him that he's just the man for Manchester.
Three for sixteen.
Martyn-Smyth bowls once more. A
field of triers has had all its doubts removed
and every man goes to his place with
absolute confidence in the bowler.
There's a faint cl ick. The men in the
slips cal mly wa tch the ball bum p on the
pavi l ion rails. Th e new ly arrived b atsm an
pulls himself together and retires swinging
a glove and wondering.
Maiden over after maiden o v e r does
Martyn-Smyth bowl , and wicket after
wicke t falls to his wondrous dexterity, while
the score mount s slowly by the aid of an
occasionally lucky snick off Wearley, whose
marvellous pace provides a splendid contrast
t o Martyn -Smyth 's strenuous dexteri t ies.
Seven wickets for sixteen runs—that ' s
something l ike a bowling record. People
in the pavi lion are talking in whispers of
t ha t awful afternoon in '82 whe n Spofforth
carried all before him, when the pride of
England was lowered by seven runs an d
strong men fainted.
Martyn -Smyth can almost hear them
speaking, can almost hear them sigh as his
first t w o balls miss the stum ps by ab ou t
the thickness of a co at of varnish, can
almo st see the m holdi ng their breath when
th e last c o m e r mak es a wil d miss- hit at his
th i rd ball and is well cau ght b y famo us
George Wirst at cover point .
T h e team cr owds round him, pats him onthe bac k and shakes his hand . Ove r their
heads he sees a mass of spec tator s running
t o offer i ts congratulations. T o carry him,
may hap , back to the pavil ion. He hates
fusses and takes to his heels and run s—
and runs—and runs. Bu t the c rowd runs
t oo . He feels it shaking the gr oun d behin d
him. Th e roar of the mul tit ude fills his
ears. He can not run fast enou gh in Stew's
boo ts . The y have caught him. The y have got
h im by the shoulders. Th ey lift him up—
u p — u p !
* * * *" Wa ke up, England ! se cond bell goes in
five minutes ."
It's the voice of " Old Mack "—it is " Old
M a c k " ! He is still at school . He has
y e t to play for Engl and.
" Gee-w hillik ens! it 's the day of the
D e e d m a n o r M a t c h . "H e leaped out of bed.
" Give me that cake of soap, old cha p."
Martyn-Smyth bowled an imaginary ball;
the ca ke of so ap floated t hro ugh th e air.
" I 'v e got i t ," said Martyn-Smy th.
" Wh at ? " inqui red the ancient Maek.
" Beans for Deedmanor," responded
Martyn-Smyth.
Later in the day three men strolled up
t o Martyn- Smyth. He knew them at o n c e
and knew what they would say.
" Eigh t for sixteen—th at's hot stuff,
Smy th, " said the Middlesex man. " Yo u
must play for the County on our Western
tour in August ."
" Bu t I wa s born in Manch ester ," re
sponded the hero of East A b b e y .
" Tha nk Hea ve n ! " said the other twoin unison. " W e wan t you bad ly enou gh at
Ol d Trafford."
" Ah ! Sm yt h, " said the Hea d, wh o came
up at that moment . " Your bowling to
da y was quite a revelatio n—a veritable
inspiration."
" It was to me, " responded Martyn-
Smyth.
T he quarte t te were vastly amused at this
m odes t rejoinder.
IN DORMITORY 8.
B y F L U X L E I G H .
11H0UGH the serials are splendid
- In our dear old " B.O. P. ,"
There are times when printed pages
Ar e a thin g y ou ca nno t Bee ;
An d it's then that Thompson's useful,
F o r at stories he is great,
After l ights have been extinguished,
In Dormitory 8.
Though his plots may be confusing,
As to " actio n " h e is fine.
(There are more than twenty shootings
In h is " Phant om of the Min e ! " )
An d the places that he stops at
Leave one longing, I may state,
F or to-mor row night 's instalment,
In Dormitory 8.
He ' s suprem e, we all consider,
A t detective tales, becaus e
T o u can never tell for certain
W h o ' s the breaker of the laws.
I t may be the Hero's Cousin,
N o t the Villain TJp-to-Date,
W h o ha s filched the '* Rajah's Hub y,"
In Dormitory 8.
He 's a dab at " noisome dungeons,"
An d a new chap, it's been said,
Ca n feel rats (and also spiders)
Creeping all about his bed,
When in tones both low and thrilling
Thompson chooses to relate
His exciting " Claude the Capt ive,"
In Dormitory 8.
There's a legend that old Thompson
Once held seven masters glued
T o th e oilcloth in the passage,
Till his story should conclude—
There he held them, scarcely breathing,
While he made Hal Headlong skate
Down " the frozen-over Ganges, "
In Dormitory 8.
That 's a bit too thin, I fancy,
But the solid fact we know
That his narratives pursue us
When to sleep at last we go.
I, myself, have jumped up yelling,
As a nightmare cleared the gate,
After Thom pso n has been yarning,
In Dormitory 8.
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper July 26, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-july-26-1913 13/16
The "Boy's Obvn Club "Room. 685
count myself in nothing
else so happy.
RE A D I N G of John Nicholson in J. Claverdon
W o o d ' s splendid serial, " T hrough
Afghan Snows," has set mo wonder ingh o w
many " B.O.P ."- i tes know the story of this
great soldier's life. T o those wh o know
little more than that Nicholson fought in
the Indian Mutiny and lost his life in theassault on Delhi, I would say : read th e full
account of his career from subaltorn to
brigadier-general and you will understand
what a truly remarkable man he was.
Nicholson 's personali ty ha s always impressed
me most strongly. H o was, first and last, a
born leader of men. His physique was
extraordinary, hi s courage of the highest
order, an d among th e native tribes of the
Punjaub, wh o reverenced th e strong arm
an d th e strong mind, he was regarded as
superhuman. His Sikh followers even went
so far as to elevate him to the posit ion of
a god , forming themselves into a " Nikalsain"
sect. They used to squat outside hi s t en t ,
paying him silent homa ge , until he came o u t
and threw boo ts at them ! Nicholson had to
forbid them, under severe penalties, or they
would have ope nly worshipped him.
* * *W ith hi s other great qualities Jo hn
Nicholson wa s a man of deep religious feel
ing. Ho held to the simple and strong faith
which has actuated all the world's truly
great men. It was this, p erhaps, whic h
acted in making hi m such an impressive
personality. I like best to remember , of
all th e incidents in his dramatic career, th e
s tory of h ow his would-be Sikh " disciples "
were influenced by his example. After
their hero's death at Delhi they met together
to consider what t hey should do. " There
is nothing more left to live for," said one ,
and, having du g his grave, he killed himself
forthwith. The others, ho weve r, felt t ha tNicholson would not have approved of this
course, an d when one of their number said
that " Nikalsain's " God must be a great
God, an d that their leader would have
wished them to worship H i m , they all
agreed. The whole sect then embr aced
Christianity. It was a splendid t r ibute
to a great man.
* * *
Personality, an d a b o v e all, a Christian
personality, is what every bo y and man
should aim at. Ye t another striking
instance of this recurs to my mind. Thring,
the great Head Master of Uppi ngham,was
one who stamped th e impress of his ow n
individuali ty on the mind of the boys w h o
passed under his hands. One Uppinghamboy , some years after leaving school , was
in a foreign country with a few friends, and
a question arose as to travelling on a Sunday.
Th o old Uppingham b o y opposed th e
sugges t i on ; Thring would not have l iked
hi m to d o it, he said. " But Thring isn't
here," said a compani on , " and he isn't
As in a soul remembering
my good friends."
(Shakespeare.)
likely to k n o w about it ." " Ma y b e n o t , "
wa s th e answer, " bu t I can ' t d o it. It
would bo breaking faith with Thring, and I
should never forgive myself if I did. Yo u
fellows must go on without me if y o u go at
a l l . " And, l ike th e true man that he was.
he stuck to his guns. There is somethingin this fo r all of us to take to heart. E very
life t ha t we touch, day by day, gains or
loses by the impress of our personali ty.
Should we not fly our colours boldly an d
t ry to make our influence felt—and felt
fo r good ?
* * *L .O .F . members and other " B . O . P . "
readers ar e reminded that our now P H O T O -
G R A P H I C C O M P E T I T I O N is still open. As an-
nounced last month, I a m offering a Prize of
HALF A GUINEA
fo r the best original pho tog rap h entitled
" A STUDY IN ANIMAL LIFE."
This competit ion affords a wide scope ,
an d I look forward to seeing a great varietyof subjects. Competitors ar e requested
t o s ta te their names, addresses and ages in
sending in their efforts, and to certify t ha t
their work is original. Envelo pes should
bo marked " Photographic Compet i t ion "
on the top left-hand corner. Th e closing
date for sending in photographs is
W E D N E S D A Y , A U G US T 6. A s in prev ious
compet i t ions , if the standard of quali ty is
sufficiently high, a number of Consolation
Prizes will be awarded.
THE league of Friendship was founded last
year with a view to its forming a bond of
union between
" B.O.P." theideals are those
which for so
stood for all that
purest and best
out binding its
definite vows
on its supporters
manly, Christian
workers for good
to be slackers or
lookers-on. On
each member
bearinghis name
the League regis -
who desire some
tion badges have
in the shape of
or coat, watch-and tie - pins,
sale at 7d . each post free.
readers of the
world over. Itsof the paper
many years has
is highest and
in life. With-
members to any
the League calls
to lead a clean,
life, to be active
in the world, not
merely passive
being enrolled,
receives a card
and number on
ter. For those
form of recogni-
been prepared
brooches for cap
chain pendants,these being on
Applications for
membership and for badges should be ad
dressed to the Editor, " B.O.P.," 4 Bouverie
Street, London, E.C., and envelopes should be
clearly marked " L.O.F." on the top left-hand
corner.
Colonial and foreign boys w h o wish to
join the League ar e often in difficulty, I
find, as to the best method of forwarding
the money for the Club badges. Stamps
other than English ones are no t acceptable ,
and it will be best fo r would-be members
in this posit ion to obtain an International
Coupon for the necessary amount from th o
Post Office in their town. Wil l al l League
correspondents , also, kindly remember t omark their envelopes " L . O . F . " on the
to p left-hand corner ? This will greatly
facilitate replies.
T H E O L D B O Y .
Correspondence.F. W . C H A P M A N . — " H o w to build a r u n t " was in
our S econd Volume , which lias been out of pr int for
years. You r best plan would be to get a list of
books published by Upcott Gill and So n at the
Bazaar Press, Drury Lane, or see a c o p y of
Exchange and Mart.
DISPUTE.—News papers are not allowed to insertadvertisements of astrologers, palmists, or other
fortune-tellers.
L. G. CARPENTER.—Certainly " a steam-engine could
be made and have its water boiled by electricity,
an d at the same time make some of the electricity
lo r boiling the water " ; but it would be a very little
some. A steam-engine would no t work in a vacuum,
bu t a wheel from the engine could be driven in a
vacuum if yo u worked a connecting ro d through an
air-tight valve .
N A T U R A L I S T . — T h e y are found in many localities.
Argynnis paphia,in the southern counties ;
A. adippe from the Clyde to the Channel; A. latkonia,
from Peterborough southwards; A. selene, from
Scarborough southwards; A. euphrosyne, from
Glasgow sou thwards ; and so on. There are se \cn
native species, th e popular names of those given
being (in order), th e silver-washed, th e high-brown,
the Queen of Spain, th e small pearl-bordered, and
the pearl-bordered. The other two are A. aglaia,
the dark-green, an d A. dia, Weaver ' s .
J IM .— A gold noble of Henry V. in a good state of
preservation is worth qui te th ir ty shillings ; but
tiiere is a rare variety which is worth more than six
guineas.
J. W. C.—There are no copper pennies of George the
Second . Y ou have either mistaken th e date, or
picked up a fraud.
R. ASHTON.—Ring-shaped jugs were fairly common
in th e seventeenth century, mainly as decorative
objects. Yours are probably Flemish pottery, bu t
that yo u can see by t he marks on the base. They
are commemorative of Carl Gaspar, Archbishop
of Treves, th e oldest archbishopric in Germany.
The Archbishop was a man of importance, Arch-
chancellor of th e old German Empire, in the
second rank of the Electors, and he it was who gave
th e first vote at the election of the Emperors. Treves
is th e same place as Trier. It is in Rhenish Prussia
an d is named after Caesar's friends, the Treviri.
AHCY.—The s tandard work is Neal 's " History of
th e Puri tans ." There are also Brook's " Lives of
th e Puri tans ," Campbell 's " Puritans in Holland,
England an d America ," an d works b y Marsden,Tulloch, and Stowell and Wilson. The most recent
is Dexter 's (190<o). Probab ly an article in Chambers 's
" Encyclopaedia woul d sufficiently suit your
purpose.
J. CARTEK and C. E. L.—I. There have been seven,!
articles on canoe-building. Perhaps th e best and
safest fo r you would be the series called " A Portable
H o m e , or H ow to make a Travell ing Canoe," in
ou r Eighteenth Volume. These were written from
da y to day as the canoe was built and the plans
and sections are those actually used during th e
construct ion. A small sail can be, and was, added.
2. Only museum appointme nts, an d they are very
few. Y o u should at tend a course of lectures on
zoology.
W . H . B.—The rubbings are too obscure for
identification. The coins with a square hole in
them are Chinese " cash."
II . L U M S D E N . — T h e State of Kentucky is named after
its principal river. In the Shawnoe (Indian)
tongue the Kentucky is the " head " or " long "
river. Yes. it pays t o l ook up the meanings of place
names ; each of them has a story to tell.
D O U B T F U L . — Y o u r position is an unenviable one, but
without doubt there is only on e course open to you .
Yo u must disregard the " ties of friendship " and
break off relations with him. From what you say
his influence is likely to be Jar evil . Have no two
thoughts on the m a t t e r ; it is too serious to delay.
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper July 26, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-july-26-1913 14/16
686 The "Boy's Obvn Taper.
Th e S o n of anA n a r c h i s t :
A T a l e o f S t r a n g e / ^ v s t e r y a n dWild A d v e n t u r e .
C H A P T E R x x v i . (continued)—PAOLO'S E E V B N O E .
By W. A. B. CLEME NTSO N,
M.A.,
Author of
" A Couple of Scamps" etc.
A N o v e l S u m m e r S h e l t e r .
Th e First Stage : three children 's hoo ps—alarge on e, a midd le-siz ed one , and a small one—
form the working basis.
WH I L E searching for Ant oni o amo ng the
ruins, Paolo found near the window,
under a table, Giu seppe 's viol in in its case ;
and, s t range to say, it had not been injured,
fo r the tabl e had sheltered it. Bard i saw
P a o l o bringi ng it out from under the ruins
and gave a l i t t le cry of recognition.
" A h . my old Cremon a! " he exclaim ed.
" I shall never play it again, keep it for your
self , Paolo."
Layi ng down the case, Paol o knelt beside
iiim, and said gent ly, " Is there anything I
can do for you t ""W at er , " sa id the dy ing man, " I want
water ."
So Paolo climbed down otf the ruins and.after loo ki ng roun d for a few minut es, foun d
a trou gh full of wate r by the roads ide.
Picking up a broken ea r t henware jug which
s o m e one had left there , he filled it and
carried it back to Bardi, who drank t i l l lie
c o u l d drink no mor e. The n he lo ok ed up at
P a o l o with a s t range expression.
" I have t r ea t ed yo u bad ly, " he said, " ami
yet you bear me no ill-will."
" What is the g o o d no w ? " said Pa ol o,
feeling quit e sorry for the man . " If this
h a d n ' t happen ed I ' m afraid I should h ave
ha t ed yo u bad ly en oug h ; but I don' t feel
angry with you now, some how. "
" W i l l you forgive me, then ? "
" Ye s, " said Paol o. " Isn ' t there any
thing else I ca n do for y ou ? "
" Ye s, yo u can pl ay to me on my old
v i o l i n . "
P e o p l e when they are dying sometimes
make s t range requests ; one wishes to tas te
fo r th e last tim e som e favouri te dish, another
to be all owed to perform s ome special act or
to see a par t icular person ; and for som e
reason or other Bar di had a great longing to
hear Pao lo play the viol in onc e more before
he died.
It is usual t o t h i nk of criminal s and evil-
min ded men as alway s occ upi ed with evi l
thoughts , but in real life it is not so ; ma ny
of th em ha ve a place in thei r hearts for the
mo r e innocent pleasures of l ife. I t would
hav e been well for the m if the y had put the
inn oce nt pleasu res first of all. Giu sepp e
Bard i ha d all his life been ver y fond of
mus ic ; n o dou bt it was a remnant of the
days when he was you ng and inno cent . It
is a s t range thoug ht, fo r the man was about
A N o v e l S u m m e r S h e l t e r .
Th e Second Stage : showing how the la ths an d
upright pieces of wood are placed in posi t ion.
as bad as be cou ld b e ; pro bab ly be was t he
mo r e to blame because his l o v e of music had
not made him a bet ter man.
As Pao lo did not at onee reply, the dying
man repeated his request, ad ding . " Pla y me
that piece you played the last night we met at
Kensingto n. Yo u kno w the one I mean—
' Souvenir . ' "
'" Anything but that," exclaimed Paolo
with a shud der, as he tho ugh t of the past .
' ' I would ra ther do anything t han play the
viol in jus t now. Is there nothing else I
can d o ? "
" N o , there is nothing else. T ha t is all
I want—to hear yo u play ' Souveni r. ' "
P a o l o sh owe d by his face how^ distast eful
the idea was to him . He had forgiven Bar di.
he wou ld do what he coul d to help him ;
but he coul d never again regard him as a
friend or play to him as he had done in the
ol d days. Yet the man was dy in g; was it
kind to refuse him such a simple thing, which
mig ht ease the p ain of his last moments ?
W a s this no t rather a splendid chance to
add to his forgiveness a kind act that .would
cost him something ? Y es, whatever it
cos t him, he would play !
" V e r y well," he said. " I f there is
nothing else I can do, I will do as you ask."
" There is no reason why you should,
if yo u don' t want t o, " said Bardi, seeing the
struggle that was going on in the b o y ' s
min d. " The re is no reason why yo u should
do everything for me and I nothing for you.
Sup pos e we ma ke a bargai n '! I will tell
j o u all the secrets of the Sons of Glorious
Libert y, those you do not yet kno w, which
will leave them at the mercy of the pol ice,
and you—you shall play me the ' Sou veni r. ' "
Seeing a chan ce of freeing his father once
and for all from his cruel enemies and put t ing
an end to their horrible deeds, Paolo agreed
to this suggestion.
" Yes , tell me all y ou kn ow ," he said,
" an d then I will pl ay. " 'Then, t aking out a
n o t e - b o o k and penci l, he bega n to mak e care
ful notes of what Bardi told him. Th e latter
g a v e him the addresses of all the Society'ssecret meeting-places in Lo ndo n and else
where, the name s of the comm it te e and plac es
fixed fo r meetings in the near future an d
man y other facts, known only to the " inner
ci rcle," which were bound to be of the
greatest use to the pol ice.
A N o v e l S u m m e r S h e l t e r .
Th e Third Sta ge: brown paper is fastened
with paste on the frame-work.
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper July 26, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-july-26-1913 15/16
The Son o_f an Anarchist. 687
Bard i hav ing fultilled liis side of the
bargain, P aolo determined t o perform his
part as well as he could.
" Be quick ! " cried the dying man, as the
bo y took the violin from it s case and beg an to
tune it. " I fear I shall no t live to hear
it. Oh, be quick ! "
At last Paolo was ready and, drawing
the bo w lightly across the strings of the ol d"Cremona," commenced the sweet melody
for which Bardi had asked. Th e suffering
man closed his eyes. Wh at were his thoughts
as Paolo played we cannot know; let us
hope he repented of his evil life and l ooked
away to the only Saviour of sinners.
As for Paolo, he played like one inspired.
Never had a fiddler fiddled in such weird
surroundings or to an audience so strangely
situated. Without a false note, and with a
(To hi t
sweet m ello w tone tha t rang out clearly
among the ruins, he played the piece through
to it s melodious end ; and when he ceased to
play, Giuseppe Bardi was dead.
It was well for Paolo tha t at this moment
hi s father arrived with the t w o b o y s and the
pol i ce officers ; for, as s o o n as the need for
action was over, he began t o feel the effects
of the strain he had undergone. For someminutes he was almost hysterical, feeling
an inclination t o laugh and cry by turns ;
bu t hi s father s oon calmed him with a few
quiet words and led him away from th e
scene of the disaster.
I t was with feelings of deep thankfulness
that Luigi and the three b o y s returned to the
ship, Paolo carrying with him in its case the
o ld "Cremona" viol in, a last gift fro m Giusepp e
Bardi to the boy he ha d so cruelly wronged.
mditded.)
ISb l ife 18b
A NOVEL SUMMER SHELTER,A ND H O W T O M A K E I T .
By S. LEONARD BASTIN.
"jy.iWADAYS, when there is an increasing tendency
i i lor people to spend a great deal of their t ime
ou t of doors, all kinds of shelters are an important
feature in the garden. There ha s recently come
under the notice of the writer a very simple scheme,
whereby it is possible to make a highly useful, portable
summer-house. This article is so light that it can be
moved from on e part of the garden to another with
the greatest ease and yet, if well made on the lines
indicated, it will be found to be of a very durable
nature.
' i i ie principal items in the construction of the shelter
are three ordinary wooden hoops. These should
measure about four, three, an d twT> feet in diameter.
As well, it is needful to secure about forty feet of cheap
match-hoarding—the thinner this is the better . Also
i bundle of laths will he necessary, an d a number of
sheets of brow n paper. To com plet e the j ob a pound or
so of paint will be required, as in this way the appear
ance of the summer shelter can he very much
improved.
B y the use of a little paint the shelter will be made of a much more durable nature. Of course w e shall
need a few ordinary tools such as a hammer, saw, an d
a serewdriver. Also it is a good plan to buy a penny
worth of inch wire nails, an d a few screws of the
same length. Th e total outlay for the making of the
shelter need not be more than from three and six to
tour shillings.
All is now ready for the making of the shelter, an d
the first thing to do is to s aw ofE four strips of match-
hoard each six feet in length. Nex t bore four holes in
each of the hoops ; these should be an equal distance
apart. The largest hoop is now placed on the ground.
It is a convenience at this stage to have someone to hold
the middle-sized hoop about three feet above th e
L'round, just over the larger one. The four pieces of
match-boarding are now fastened with screws on to
the outside of the two hoops.
No w take the smallest hoop of all. and tack the top
end of the match-boarding round th e outside of
this. 111 this wa y we shall have constructed tlieframe-work of the shelter. The intervening spaces
between th e match-boarding is filled up with the
laths placed about three inches apart. In the photo
graphs illustrating this article, the shelter is shown
with the lower part formed entirely of match-board
ing. This is no t at all necessary, an d only adds to
the weight of the whole structure.
Across the top of the shelter, which is of course
formed by the small hoop , it is well to fasten some
strips formed of laths. On to this fasten a piece of
wood which ca n form a little platform that would
support a pole , such as a bit of an old broomstick, about
tw o feet in length. The manner of finishing off the
to p of the shelter is indicated in the illustration
below. I t will be seen that short laths are
sloped from th e outside of the small hoop to a point
about nine inches be low th e summit of the pole . Jit
order that there may be room for the laths at the top,
it is a good plan to enclose the lower por t ion of the pole
in a wooden box. The nature of this is plainly seen iu
the photograph.
In order to make th e upper part of the shelter reason
ab ly shower-proof some protection for the part where
the ends of the laths rest should be devised. The
writer found that for this a good thing was th e bo t t om
half of an empty fruit-tin with a hole bored in the centre.
This fitted exactly over th e pole , an d cover ing in the
ends of the laths prevented the settlement of any
water.
Th e Fourth Stage: showing ho w the top of
the summer shelter is finished.
Th e next step is to proceed to cover ou r shelter
with brown paper. Fo r sticking, us e good strongpaste made of flour in th e usual manne r. The paper
should be put on in big sheets, an d must be thoroughly
well soaked with paste so that it will hold well. Make
th e join as neatly as possible, and to do this a little care
will be needed in cutting th e paper so as to get a good
fit.
Th e whole structure is completely enveloped
in the paper, and after this has been finished th e
shelter must be allowed to become quite dry. At this
po in t th e coating of paint may be applied, an d if we
wish to make a very good j o b i t is not a ba d plan to
give th e paper two coats.
When comple ted the shelter will be found to be
mos t useful. I t will beable to withstand a few summer
showers of rain if it has had the coatings of paint.
Th e Filth Stage : the painted bro wn paper (i tshould have 3 coats) will stand a good deal of rain. The shelter is very light and can be movedeasily from place to place as mav be desired.
During a spell of very we t weather it would be wise
to store it away in some shed until th e suns!liny days
come round again an d it ma y be re-erected. As afinishing ornament it is a good plan to bu y a little
flag to fasten to the summit of the pole at the top of
the shelter.
¥ ¥ ¥
'T IS COMING—JUST IN T I M E .
T SAY, you chaps, although you think me hearty,
Hale and robust, and all that sort of thing ;
I am , in truth, a melancholy party
With pluck an d spirit swiftly taking wing.
This term ha s been a burden past endurance,
Although my patience touches th e sublime.
An d when vacation comes , take my assurance.
'Twill scarcely come in t ime .
My brow has donned a wrinkle,—very nearly ;
My locks are on the po i n t of turning grey.
'Tis strange that wisdom should be bought so de;i RLV
An d ac t in this objec t ionable way.
F or my poor brains are wedg ed with Latin grammar ,
His tor ic dates, and scraps of classic rhyme ;
An d when Minerva drops he r horrid hammer
'Twill hardly be in t ime.
Daily, 1 own, ti ie prospect seems to brighten,
Fo r only half a week must now be past
Er e th e vacation will ou r burden lighten,
And from ou r souls th e galling fetters cast.
Then shall we fly to scenes of summer pleasure,
In Free-and-easy's fair romantic c l i m e , -
Th e happy owners of a hard-won leisure
Accorded—just in t ime .
T O D D M I . V O M
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper July 26, 1913
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/boys-own-paper-july-26-1913 16/16
688 The *Boy*s Obvn Taper.
A N O T H E R C O N V E R T :
A Tal e of a T assel .
I .
O u r H ead d i d n ' t b e l i e v e i n " t h o se n ew -
f a sh io n ed fo u n t a i n p en s , " b u t —
* * * *
OF T H E T W O .
A CERTAIN island in the Wes t Indi es is liable to the
periodical advent of earthquakes. One year, before
the season of these disturbances, an English resident,
wh o lived in the danger zone, sent his two sons to the
h o m e of a brother in En gland, t o secure them from the
impending havoc .
Evident ly the quiet of the staid English house
hold was disturbed by the irruption of the two West
Indians, for the returning mail steamer carried amessage to their father, brief but em phati c—
" Take back your boys : send me the e arthq uake."
E X P L A I N E D .
" MR . D I C K S O N , are you not a memb er of th e' Friend
of Ma n Society '. ? "" Not dis year, sah."
" And why not ? "
" Well , sah, I jined dat sassiety in good faith.
I giv ten dollars beside my subscription de first year,
an' de members ah call me * Brudder Dickson. ' De
secon' year my business was not so good, an' I only gi v
five dollars. Dat ye ar de membe rs call me ' Mistah
Dickson. ' Well , sah, de third year I feel very poor,
sickness in de fambly, an' I don't giv nuflin to de sass
iety. Arte r dat dey called me ' ole nigger Dickson, '
an' I le f 'em: "
A N S W E R E D .
A CLERGYMAN visiting a local school, and wishingto illustrate the meaning of the word " conscience,"said : " Sup posi ng one of yo u stole a piece of sugar andput it in you r mouth, a nd someo ne came in, whatwould happen ? "
" I' d get a thrashing, sir," pipe d a small voice.
" Yes, but your face would become red, wouldn't it ?What would make it do that ? "
" Tryin g to swallow the sugar quic k, sir," came theprompt answer.
OD D S E E = S A W S .
I SAW a cow-hide in the grass,
A rush-light on the f l oo r ;
I saw a candle-stick in mud,
An d a bell-pull on the door,
I saw a horse-fly up the creek,
A cat-nip at her food ;
I heard a chestnut-burr, whereat
A dog-rose in the wood .
I saw a jack-plane off a boa rd
A car-spr ing off the t rac k ;
I saw a saw-dus t off the floor,
An d then a carpet-tack.
I saw a monke y-wr ench a hatFr o m a fair lady' s pa te ;
I saw a rattle-snake a bird,An d hogs-head on a plate.
I saw a wheel-wright on a card,
I saw the butt er-fl y,
I heard the corns-talk in the field,
An d a foot-ball out " no try."
F R O M I R E L A N D .
" F R I E N D S , " said an agitator, at a meeting of IrishH o m e Ruler s, " the cu p of our troub les is runningover , and it is not yet full." Delightfully Hibernianas tha t is, the following are closely related to it.
An Irish poacher , up before a magistrate, madethis defence : " Indade, you r worshi ps, the only birdI shot was a ra bbi t; and I knocked that down witha stick."
At a meeting where a commit tee was being condemned for its managem ent, th e speaker said, " Perhapsy ou think that in our commi ttee half do the work,and the other half do nothi ng. As a matter of fact,gentlemen, the reverse is the case."
*' NOW, Har old ," said the teacher, " if there wereeleven sheep in a field, and six jumped the fence,ho w many would there be left ? "
" No n e , " replied Harold." Bu t there wo u l d , " said the t eacher.
" No, sir, there wouldn't , " persisted Harold. " Yo uma y know arithmetic, but you don't know sheep."
W I T H A N E W T W I S T .
W I T H the adv ent of the cric ket season the old joke about the mortality of grandmothers comes round.Here is a new version :
" My grandm o ," began the office boy." Oh, no ," said the manager, sternly.
* ' . . . . Died before I was born," the boy went on,
" and I ain ' t never had an excuse for going to theopening match ."
OF T H E S A M E O P I N I O N .
T H E following stor y is told of a now well-kno wnKing 's Counsel. Some years ago, when he was less inthe public eye, he was at a provincial court when heoverh eard a man w ho was charged with stealing r abbitssay that he would plead guilty. The prisoner havingno legal aid, the young lawyer asked to be allowed todefend him.
Hi s offer was accepte d. The only reward he askedfor, in the event of securing an acquittal, was therabbit s. He was successful in getting his client discharged, and then asked for the rabbits.
" Rabbit s ? " the man replied. " Babbits ? Why,after y our s peech, I d on' t belie ve I ev er had any 1I'm of the same opinion now as the jury. "
A N O T H E R C O N V E R T :
A Tale of a Ta ssel.
h e d o e s n o w !
top related