boys own paper august 2, 1913

8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper August 2, 1913

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NO. 44, VOLUME XXXV.] S A T U R D A Y , A U G U S T 2 , 1 9 1 3 . Pr i ce O n e Pen n y .[ALL RICHTS RESERVED.]

Land!' he cried joyously; 'land at l a s t ! ' " (Seep. G91.)



690 The "Boy's Otvn Paper.

C H A P T E R X I X . — A D R I F T .

WH A T E V E R was happening, was hap

pening un doub tedl y with speed.

T h e quic k pass ing of untow ard events

wh ip p ed up the lad's s t reng th ; he drew

himself together, prepared to meet his fate

with the rest, but deter mined , so far as in hi m

lay , to see to it tha t his own share was not

increased in the general stress by the cir

cumstan ces under which he had so wron gly

been made a prisoner on board this wretched

craft. Th e capt ain t o o k no further not ice

of him, his attenti on was called to the m ate .

" What in thunder ? " he be gan, and

s to p p ed . The other s taggered towards him

and fell along the berth.

" Th ey Dago s ! " he gasped.

On the ins tant the capta in had s tepped

to his chest and, un loc kin g it, drew out a

r ev o lv er . Wi th no wor d, he rushed fr om

the cabin.

" The y'l l kill ' i m ! " ga sped the mate .

" T hey ' r e mad wi '

a m o n g s t that mo tl ey crew" wh o ha d cas t in

his lo t with the Br itish ers o n the si de of

reason against unrea soning fear.

Al l th e fighting was cen tre d rou nd the

star boar d davit s , where hung the boa t tha t

was the goal of the fear-ridden c r o wd . A

hug e negr o and a dark-ski nned D a g o s t o o d

upright in her, having torn and cut away the

canva s covering which to some extent had

kept her watertight during the recent gale.T h e wallowing vessel rose and fell heavi ly

in the bo ili ng seas, an d to the b o y it was a

fearsome sight to see ho w the dav its with

their freight di ppe d no w int o the green

trou ghs, and w ere no w lifted high ab ov e

th em. He cau ght at stays or riggi ng to

stead y himself, and wond ere d in the confus ion

what wo ul d be his share of the stiff wor k to

be don e, and wha t the en d.

Alread y the capta in, backe d by the

s tout-hearted Swede , had forced his way to

the boat-davits , and was beating off those

w h o would have loosed the ropes .

terror.

H o s taggered up,Hutton helping him.

H e seized a towel,

plunged it into a can

of water, and wring

ing it slightly, wound

it round his head.

" Tha t' s better ! "

he gasped , and, wi th

a draught from a

bot t le s tanding on

the r immed and holed

cab in shelf, pulled

h i m s e l f together

again.

" Come, b o y , " h e

said, " 'tes t h' ol d

man an' y ou an' me,an ' maybe Eriksson,

agin th' lot of 'em."

" What has hap

pene d ? " asked Hut

ton as they passed

up . Whatever i t was ,

he felt thankful tha t

it had c o m e in the

dayl igh t ; and, in

spite of the e vid ent

.seriousness of things,

he experienced a wild

leaping in his heart

towards the freedom

and freshness of the

m o v in g winds on

d eck ." Propel ler gone ! "

was the startling

reply. '" Rud der car

rie d aw ay w ith it !

Old Ma c, th' engi neer , kill ed b y a flyin' bo lt.

T h ' rott en old tub' s leakin' ; an' th ey Da g o s ,

mak in' off wi' th' onl y bo at that ' s a ha 'p 'o r th

o ' good ! "

F e w words , but c onv eyi ng the s tory of a

whole series of untow ard happeni ngs . Up

o n the de ck the noise of struggling a nd curses

rose ab ov e the soun d of the still wrathful

wa te rs. Me n wer e fighting fo r their l ives

with all the sav agery of corn ered beasts, the

fear-stricken pitte d against the unafraid.

" Out o ' that , yo u jellyfish ! " roar ed the

capta in ; and ma ny nam es worse far than

tha t he show ered upo n the m. His anger

was a fearful thin g to see. Ev en as H ut to n

and the mate cam e int o view he had caug ht

on e black-e yed and ear-r inged Portugue se

b y the throat and bumped him into uncon

sciousness against the funnel casing . A

tall, fair-haired fellow stood by his side,

arm ed w ith a piec e of iron tha t fell with

quick and unerring effect, work ing much

h av o c on those who cam e withi n its range.

This was Erikssen, the Swede, the o nly m an

W A R S H I P S O F O L D E N D A Y S .

Model of the " Royal Sovereign," 17th Century.(Royal Naval College, Greenwich.)

For description of this vessel see p. 418 of the present volume, whereelaborately carved stern is given. The above photograph shows the carvingthe prow and at the sides.

" Back , you fools ! " he roar ed. " Wh at

d o you reckon to get , even i f you do have

her tackles loose ? H o w are wo rm s like yo u

going to ke ep her afloat tw o minut es in th em

seas ? A h ! W o u l d you ? "

W i t h c o c k e d pistol he c o v e r e d an ugly

rush, and o ver his head flew a bag of biscuits .

It was caught by the nigger in the boat;

the other creature had enough to do to keep

his ow n shaki ng for m fro m being t hro wn

out at eve ry di p of the dav it arms . Ther e

was a flash—a rep ort —a scr ea m. One

fel low dropp ed g rove l l ing on the dec k ; the

rest fell b a c k .

" L o o k out ! " yel led Hut ton , taking his

part with no further thoug ht of how . He

dar ted forw ard. The seco nd man in the

boa t had m anag ed to rec over himself, an d

had a hand u plifte d, in whic h gle amed the

d ead ly blad e of a knife. Ano th er ins tant ,

and this had undoubtedly been buried in

the capta in 's back. Bu t before Hut ton

reached the latter, in the wild hope of

pushing him aside ere the blow should fall.

the Sw ede himself had struck. Round?

swung the iron bar, and, making startled,,,

ineffectual lunges to save himself, the wretch

aloft fell bac kwa rd with a howl of pain.

A t that moment the Condor dived again,

and when once mor e she had righ ted herself

Hutton realised, with a sinking of heart, that

one man 'was g o n e .

" Pu mp s, yo u shivering louts ! " shout ed

the captain, again staying a rush with a

bullet. '" Pu mp s ! Wh at use wou ld . . ."

His wor ds were cut short. Thr oug h the

air hurtled an iron bolt . It brough t up with

a crash in the face of the stout-hearted

Britisher an d he stagger ed back against

Erikssen. The latter, taken off his balance,

s l ipped up on the uneven deck , and the tw o

went do wn togeth er. Wit h a how l the men

were over them, s tampin g, kicking , s t ruggl ing

fo r the boat .

T h e woun ded mate had rushed forward,

only to rece ive a blow whi ch sent him reeling .

Hutton himself , blood up and afire, had

thr own his arm round

the ne ck of the first

man he could clutch.

To g e th er they reeled

and rolled, the fellow

held close in the arms

of the now maddened

b o y , and clutching in

turn at him. Now

under, now over. ,

anger, despair, new

found energy fast

burning within him,

Hutton hung on to

his arm, one thought

and one onl y upper

most in his mi nd : to

account for this crea

ture at least in the-

wild struggle, andnever give in. •

His very wildnesg

might wel l have been

his ow n undo ing. He

was using his strength

—what there was left

of it, after a ll his

recent vicissitudes—

t o o quic kly. He felt

it passing from him„.

and in the agony

of despair tried to

throttle hi s oppo

nent. Fo r the last,

time they rolled, and

this t ime Hutton was

u n d e r m o s t . T h efierce, black eyes-

looked intohis ,gleam

ing hatred and no

h o p e of mercy ; his

hands relaxed their ho ld ; against his will

he fell awa y from the wild clutc hing. Th e

man raised himself sligh tly, took the b o y ' s

head between his hands, and the next

m o m e n t wou ld hav e dashed it with all the

force of insensate fury against the iron edge

of a hatchway.

It was ove r under the minute. Th e crash

which might have ended the lad's life then

and there was softened into a dull thud ;

the fel low's h e a v y b o d y lay across his,

twitchi ng con vuls ive ly for a few seconds .

Th en he felt it pull ed and r olle d aside, a nd

Chi Ling was looki ng stolidly do wn at hi m,

wiping the while up on his c loak the red-

stai ned b lad e of a long knife wh ich he had

just draw n out of the b o d y already lying

inert in death.

H e rose s lowly , with sense dulle d by the-

shock thro ugh whi ch he had passed.

" Thank s , Ch i ! " he sa id brokenly.

" Y o u ' r e a good s o r t ! "

T h e Asiat ic looked at him stolidly. A ,

sudd en sho ut, how eve r, caused t hem both>

a view of theand gilding on



Under the Edge of the Earth. 691

to turn tow ard s the bo at. Th e fight was

ove r . T h e D agos , with no cour age of m en

in their souls, had won their way by luck and

numbers, and not a little by the help of the

despi sed "n igg er . " The davi t s had been

swu ng outbo ard , and the bo at was f il l ing

with swearing, s t ruggling men. Th en som e

fo o l pulle d at one of the rope s at the w ron g

m o m e n t . There was a cry of terror from a

dozen craven throats, as the heavy craft

strained at the creaking tackle and t ook a

plunge stern first. Men bit and cu rse d,

and caught at each other , as the wallowing

Condor rol led once more to meet an gry

water , and, the up-e nded bo at di ppin g

bene ath the awfu l mass of gree n seas , were

swept away to their death . Wh en the

Condor had again r ighted on ly one poor

wretch clung shivering to the d angli ng

cutter , and with anothe r rol l in quick suc

cession he , too , was gone.

Th e mat e stagger ed t o his feet and sat

heavi ly up on the hatche s near the funnel .

Hut to n went towards h im.

" C o m e , b o y , " h e s a id , " c a n we s a v e

it ? "

H e poin ted to the disabled craft hang ing

as it w ere by a thread, the rope of theloosened tackle fastened to her bows.

" 'Tes our o nly chan ce ," he cont in ued :

" th ' other 's smashed in long sence. An '

us wi ' no screw, no rudder, an' no b oat !

Come, b o y ! "

Even as they turned to attempt the

dangerous and, indeed, hopeless task

another h eavy sea broke against the stagger

ing vessel , dr iving the boa t against h er side

with irresistible force. Th ey heard the

crash of the tortured timb ers and saw the

pull on the straining rope . Ther e was a

sharp jerk followed by a snap, and their

last hop e of safety was gone.

Th e mate fell back again with a groan.

" I was feared o' that. 'T es yo u an' me

an' ole Chi , now , agin they three. "He nodded in the direct ion of three scowl

ing Lati ns, all wh o were left alive from the

mot ley crew, and wh o were there o n l y

because they had been too late to scramble

into the doom ed cutter . Of these, one ,

being the man first han dle d by the r edo ubt

able capta in and kno cked t emporar i ly

silly, was lookin g no w no t part icularly

l ively . Hut ton turned to where tho captai n

lay, and Erikssen—Eriksse n, bra ve of

heart and strong of l im b. Th e latter was

crushed and ba t te red bey ond recogni t ion .

Th e lad felt sick with h orr or and pity , and

turned towards the str icken capta in. He

thought he saw movem ent , and s too ped

quickly to him, shoutin g to Chi Ling.

" He 's alive ! " he said ; " let 's g et himdown below ; he'll come r o u n d . "

Th e mate stepped across and m ad e a

snatch at something near the unconsc ious

man 's head.

" J u s t as well to have i t han dy, " he

muttered, drawing out from under a coil

of rope the pistol which had sl ipped from

the captain' s hand. The re were still three

charges lef t , and he made ostenta t ious

show of it as he ord ered the mut inee rs to

lift the captain up. T o Chi Li ng ho gav e

direct ions to prepare the berth b e l o w ;

t o them, com mands to car ry d ow n the

injured man, whose leg was broke n.

Th e Condor, rudderless and with no means

of propulsion, already some hundreds of

miles out of her course , wall owe d in thel i f t ing seas. Wit h the carrying aw ay of

the propel ler there had been slow but steady

leakage through the stern shaft ing, increased

in one or two places by cre vices in the

straine d plates of her iron sides . It was,

therefore, the mate's first care, once th e

captain was berthed, to see to it that th e

three worthless cravens bent themselves

to the pu mp s, after a signal of distres s h ad

been run up to the masthead. The n he went

off to summ on Hut ton f rom below.

" W e ' v e a-got to make ready for th ' warst ,"

he said. " No t ow er much hope of help,

an' no ne to o certai n t h' ole tu b '11 be afloat

more ' n another few days . 'Twi l l be a

matter o' bu ckl in ' to, b oy ! "

Hi s plan wa s to lash toge the r all th e

m o v a b l e and f loatable spars and t imbers .

Th e smaller they managed to col lect wi t h

much exert ion, and made fast to each other

with the aid of nai ls and rop es. Fo r the

larger i t had been necessary no w and again

to call for the assist ance of the men at th e

pu mp s; but , one way and another , spent

and wear y as the y were, they had man age d

er e thirty hours had passed to piece together

a suff icient ly buo yan t frame upo n barrels ,

and with a centr a! platfo rm raised a foo t o r

so abo ve the f rame.

Tow ard s the end of the seco nd da y the

mate came down for a last visit to his"chief

in the ca bin.

" Th ' Atlan t ic ' s win nin g," he said gruff ly.

" T h e y three j e l lybags can ' t keep un ou t ,

an' there's no steam for th ' pu mp . Po or

ol e M a c ' s gone, an' he 'v e a-carr ied his

knowledge o' th ' engine s with ' im. W e' l l

may hap hold out another twel ve hour or so ,

but I 'm for takin ' no r isk."

A n d he pro mpt ly had the bat ter ed captain

carr ied up on dec k, where, lashed to a short

spar , s tepped as mast on to the raft, a n d

cove red with warm co ats and rugs t ied over

him, he lay in readiness for the last even

tualities to the poor Condor. Tinned meat s ,

biscuits, two large kegs of water, and a few-

o d d s and ends, not

forget t ing canvas for

sai l and sweep for

propel ler , had also

been lashed aboard.

Th e night was clear

a n d starlight, th eseas had sun k to

their normal state

of unrest. T w o o f t h c

hands had thrown

themselves in utter

weariness upo n the

lower deck. The

third, with Chi Ling,

was at the pum p.

A t th e first p ee p of

dawn the mate

roused Hut ton .

" I ' m goin ' below,

fo r m o r e v i c t u a l s , "

he sa id , "a n ' to

rouse th ' rest. W e

me d be washed off any t ime now; she 'm

settli n' ! "

Hut ton s tood up

beside the o pen ing

in the bulwarks be

tween the empty

d a v i t s , t h r o u g h

which they proposed

to l aunch their craft .

H e not iced wi th a

shudder how close

the sea was creeping

to the lower deck .

Lif t ing suddenly

his fascinated eyes

f rom the shuddering

sight, he saw, faraway on the hor izon ,

a huge dark mass

uprisen from the sea.

" L a n d ! " h e c r ie d

joyously ; " lan d at

l a s t ! "

Y e t , as he looked, EXAMINER: "Have you

he realised at once TOMKIXS (who has made

that they wer e nearing the upl if te d r idge with

startling s u d d e n n e s s : then again, that the

great mas s was nearing them ; then again—

W i t h a cry of fear he rushed back tow ards

the comp ani on way leading to the capta in ' s

quarters.

" Q u i c k ! " he shouted dow n. " Q u i c k ,

on deck ! "

There was no reph" from below ; surely

the mat e mus t hav e gon e forw ard. In an

a g o n y of fear he turned to make his way back

along the de ck and a scream of terror

assailed his ears . H e looked towards the lower

deck be yo nd the brid ge. Chi Lin g and the

other hand were rushing towar ds him, their

terr i f ied eyes upo n the bulwar ks ab ov e them.

It was to o late. Alr ead y the sore str icken

Condor had begun to fou nd er ; a l ready the

tower ing mass was upon them. Hu t to n was

c lose to the raf t. Ins tin cti vel y he flung hims elf

upo n i t , cl inging with al l the p ow er that com es

of fear to the central spar, as the hu ge tida l

wave spum ed abo ve the c r ippled sh ip . The

bu oy an t frame l i fted free, just scra ping

roughly at the bulwarks as it tore past in

the grip of the water . Sub mer ged , gaspi ng,

choking, he held o n for une ndi ng ages, as it

seemed, till at last the l ight once m o r e

struck his eyebal ls , and the cold water

streame d aw ay from him. St i l l cl ingi ng an d

choking he drew in quic k con vul siv e breaths.

A loud repor t behind him, and a spo utin g

of waters into the air as he turned, b r o u g h t

t o him the real isat ion of things. Go ne !

A n d go ne with al l the remaining hands, sav e

on ly himself , and the gasping, splut ter ing,

helpless cap tain at his side !

(To he continued.) •

Hopeful !

sat for this exam, before, Tonikius ? "

a hash of it ) : " JJo, sir, but I shall again, sir."



692 The \Boy r s Obvn Taper.

A R O M A N ' S H O N O U R .

I S a Carthaginian dungeon,

Dark and cold, beneath the ground,

Laden with the cruel fetters,

Rome's great Regains lies bound.

Gone is all his mighty army I

Gone is all that made him great!And alone, in bitter silence,

He prepares to meet his fate.

Up above, within the city,

All is terror, wrath and fear.

For the arms of Rome have triumphed;

Once again their troops are near.

Now the council is assembled,

And the chiefs deliberate

How to save the threatened city

From the foemen at the gate.

Then out speaks the crafty Hanno,

" Terms of peace we must obtain.

Let us send another envoy,

Who an audience shall gain.

Let us send the Roman captive,

Once a Consul of their State,

They will yield to his persuasion

And will save him from his fate."

From the dungeon they have brought him,

And before them now he stands:

Tet his glance is still undaunted,

Though the fetters chain his hands.

Then speaks Hanno : " Tell us, Roman,

Thou art honoured in thy home,

Wilt thou therefore be our envoy

And convey our terms to Rome ?

" But, before thou hast the password

Which shall take thee safely home,

And before I bid the soldiers

Set thee on thy way to Rome,

Thou shalt swear by the Immortals,

By the Gods that gave thee breath,

To return, if thou dost fail us,

Baok to torture and to death."

By W. J. HAWKES, M.A.

" Hear me, now, ye men of Carthag e!'

Quoth the Roman, clear and loud,

And his voice rang true and fearless

As he gazed upon the crowd.

" Let no name of the Immortals

In this mattar now be heard.For what Roman soldier ever

Hath gone back upon his word ?

" If ye send me as your envoy,

Whether good or ill my fate,

I will carry back your message

To the Fathers of my State;

And an answer I will bring you

From the people of my land,

And that answer I will give you

In the place where now I stand."

" Haughty Roman," answered Hanno,

" By thy promise thou art bound ;

And we know that we shall see tiiee

Once again upon this ground.

So we bid thee do thine utmost,

All thy mightiest effort make

To obtain-fpr-us-a treaty,For thy life—it is the stake! "

Now at Rome within the Senate

All the Senators have met,

And before them with his message

Is the captive-envoy set.

Not a word has he of greeting

For the friends who wish him well,

But he bids them all keep silence,

For he has a tale to tell.

Then he tells the tale of Carthage,

How the chieftains sue for peace,

How they seek to make a treaty,

How they wish the war to cease.

And before the Roman Senate

Can give answer to his word,

Boldly urging and advising

Once again his voice is heard.

" Now ye hear, O Conscript Fathers,

What our foemen doth request,

But I bid you lirst remember

What shall suit our city best.

For ye would not spare a serpent

Which but once had bit your heel ISurely Carthage, our destroyer,

Shall our Roman vengeance feel ? "

Now with one accord the Senate

Have assented to the war,

And the Consul rises quickly,

Quickly speaks as once before :

" Mighty Regulus, we bid thee

Once again a welcome home;

Many a Roman heart rejoices

Thus to see thee here in Rome." .

Answered Regulus, " M y Father,

h'or no welcome may I stay,

Back again to death and torment

I must go this very day.

But, indeed, my heart rejoices

That the Gods have helped the State;

Nowthe Romans

oncemore triumph,Oladly will I meet my fate ! "

"lis in vain they seek to stay him,

"Tis in vain they bid him hold;

None can turn him from his purpose,

None can change a mind so bold.

Tears and sighs are unavailing,

Wife and child he passes by—•

Regulus, for love of Honour,

Has returned alone to die I

And men say that there in Carthage,

Underneath a summer sky,

Bravely Regulus has shown thera

How a Roman ought to die.

And at Rome there is no soldier,

No, nor slave, who has not heard

Of tins greatest of all heroes—

" lie who died to keep his word."

H I N T S O N S I N G I N G .

W h a t m a t ; be d o ne bj j B o ^ s in -this D i r e c t i o n .

O M E wee ks ago (see

No s . 17 and 35, pp.

261, 547) we sp oke

about the import

ance of every boy

learning to play at

least one music al in

s t rument . W e g a v e

the name s of all the

instruments wh i c h

were worth y of at

tent ion, with one

. e x c e p t i o n . Strange

1 to say the instru-

1 ment to which we

allude is in every

b o d y ' s possession

and is carr ied abo ut

with him wherever

he goes . It is a

m o r e wonder fu l ly made instrument than

any we have ment ioned. Fun ny ta lk this

ma y s eem to be, but it is quit e true. In

the throat of eve ry human b eing is place da marvel lou sly const ructed organ, which

i s k n o wn a s t h e " L a r y n x " ( that is, the

" v o i c e - b o x " ) .

This organ is the producer of all tone of

any sort , whether in singing or speaking.

As a rule its use and action are only im

perfect ly understood by voice-trainers.

Special ists , here and there, possess a laryn go-

B y F R E D E R I C K J A M E S , M U S . B A C , L . R . A . M .

scope— an apparatus by which it is possible

to obse rve the m ov eme nts of anyo ne's

laryn x when singing or speaking. By

this means defects of tone can often be

traced to the true causes.

T h o u g h the pow er to emit voca l sounds

is c o m m o n to all huma n being s (for all of

us possess a laryn x) it is a pit y tha t , c o m

parat iv ely speaking, few people make any

serious at tempts to sing prope rly. Training

and practice in the voca l art are never even

drea med of by the majori ty of peopl e. Th ey

are content to use their voices in any sort of

way tha t occu rs to them—of ten v ery dis

cor dan tly— and yet , eve n these discordant

voices could be put rig ht b y ve ry simple

means .

I t is remarkab le tha t several matters

w hich are of consider able impo rtanc e in

singing are done better and more naturally

b y babies and even by animals, than b y

boys , girls, an d adults. A ba by (or an

animal—the horse, for instance) breathes

in a correct and natural manner. Wh en i tmakes a sound i t opens its month wide and

th e tongue lies flat —not cur led up at the

t ip or the root . As peop le leave infancy

behi nd them the y general ly go wro ng on

th e three matters ment ioned abo ve . These

must be earnest ly tackled by people who

wish t o b e c o m e g o o d singers. A little

instruct ion is necessary at this point , but

surely it is now ada ys g ive n in all singing-

classes and choirs.

Class-singing is (at last) a part of the curri

cu lum of al l schools—prima ry and second ary,

but we are not sure that all boys appreciate

i t , especial ly the " dr ie r" parts, such as

voca l exercise s an d singing-at-sight. This

often arises from a somewhat prevalent idea

tha t ability to be really g o o d singers is

granted by Nature only to the few. We

must dismiss ideas of this sort . We may

sta te with confidence that those who can

talk, can (if the y wi sh) also sing—or, in

other wor ds, the pow er to talk carries

with it the pow er to sing, tho ugh the latter

needs, in the case of some persons, more

deve lop ing than the former.

I s not this the case with the study of

math emat ics, th e art of draw ing, the

learning to swi m ? So me boys do these

things m ore easi ly than others and yet

eve ry one can be rewa rded wi th tolerable

success in all these things if efforts are

hones t ly made . Reme mber tha t singingwill rema in as a con stan t pleasure through

out our l ives.

F or many years the writer of this article

has, from time to time, heard Old Boys

talk in this wa y : /

" I am sorry tha t I did not try my best

in your singing classes when I was at

school . I really did as little as possible, for



Hints on Singing". 693

I thought that sing ing was not at all ' in m y

line.' Sinc e I left school I have c onsta nt ly

wished that I could sing decen tly, and read

musi c at sight. I realise no w that I made

a mistak e, an d I feel myse lf to be to o old

to reme dy i t . "

On the other hand some Old B oys will

speak as follows : " D o I sing * Of cou rse

I do . I am a membe r of a chora l soci ety

and a choir , and I woul d not on any acco untmiss the pleasure the y giv e me wee k b y

week. I also do so me song- singin g and

have many enjoyable t imes as a result."

Confessions of this sort carry a lesson with

them whic h we need not t rouble to point o ut .

What should be done by a boy (whose

voice has not ye t brok en) in order to

deve lop his singin g po we rs ? Th e first

thing is to observe carefully all that th e

singing-master tells you at schoo l . H e

will give you hints on the best way to take

breath, an d where t o take i t . These matters

are of great imp ortan ce espec ial ly i f a bo y

wishes to go in for solo-singing. Then

again, the singing-master wil l draw attention

to another ve ry impo rtant fact , viz . , that

al l boys hav e at least two qual i t ies of v o i c e —

one, a noisy one (akin to " shouti ng ") a nd

the other one , a smooth er and purer voice .

T h e latter sometimes is diff icul t to

acquire, and needs a teacher 's help . T o

explain i t by words is impossible, though

we can give a general hint which wi l l assist

a little (perhaps a good dea l). It is this—

never force y o u r voice to mak e a great

soun d. Sing soft ly. This wil l kee p yo ur

noi sy voice in subjec t ion , and wi l l dev elo p

that par t of your voice whic h wi l l u l t imate ly

lead to clear , pure tone.

Som e b o y s have acqui red this qual i ty

of tone by trying to imitate a wo m a n ' s

voice (a sweet v o i c e of course i s unders tood) .

T o anyone in real earnest to be a solo-

singer we recommend him to get a b o o k o f

voca l exercises and to pract ise them acco rd

ing to the instruct ions give n. In such cases,

howeve r, the help of a teacher is need ed.

Fol low up your singing-class work by

go ing ove r i t al l again wh en at ho me , with

and wi thout p ianofor te accompaniment .

Y o u can also get col lec t ions of su i table

songs, vary ing from sixpe nce to half a

c row n in price. A n y g o o d music dealer

will give yo u informat ion on this matter.

B o o k s of nat iona l melo dies, folkson gs (ve ry

interest ing), etc. , can be got at little c o s t .

Songs of the ord inar y type such as Sull iva n's

" Orphe us and his Lu te " ma y be stu died.

Th e quest ion is often asked, " Shou ld a

b o y use his v o i c e wh en i t is ' br eak ing ' ? "

This has never been properly set t led,

becau se number s of singers (some in theforemo st rank) wil l tel l yo u that they never

have stopped singing for even a day since

th ey first began to sing as you ngs ter s.

Certainly to rest th e voice during the

" breaking-sta ge " wil l do no harm, and we

ar e sure that i t is dang erou s to con tinue

singing at this stage if the result is a hu sk y

tone, or i f any physical inconvenience (un

comfortable feel ing in the throat) is fel t .

Man y of the harsh voices we meet wi th ,

bot h in singing and speaking, are due t o

carelessness in the " break ing-st age." (B y-

the-by, how rare it is to hear a really

musical speaking voice. Some of our

celebrated speakers and preachers are

s imply horrid in this respec t . )

I t * . * .

" S O U T H W A R D H O ! " T O T H E P O L E :

A n t a r c t i c a , o r t h e L a n d o T t h e S n o w Q u e e n *

B y W . J . G O R D O N .

1909. Shackle ton 's

A M E S R o s s h a d

l o c a t e d t h e

Magnet ic South

Pole in 1841,

so had Sco tt in1902, and to

Da v i d s was left

the hono ur of

standing on the

exact spot , as

show n by the

d i p - c i r c l e , o n

J a n u a r y 1 6 ,

journ ey to the

south was delay ed by terr ible weath er

and s topped by shor tage of pro vi s ion s ;

and his return was a starva t ion mar ch

ending in two of the par ty falling ill when

stores were exhausted, their deaths being

on ly averted by a magnif icent effort for

relief by the leader and a comp an ion , whi ch

was fortunately successful .Th o u g h m u c h g o o d work was done i t

was felt that Antarc t i ca mus t be furthe-r

explored and the pol e reach ed, and that

Captain Sco tt was the man to do i t ; and

so a new expe dit io n under his leadership

was decid ed upon . Whi le i t was in p repar

a t ion Capta in Roal d Amu ndse n was obta in ing

funds for fitting ou t ano the r expe dit ion

ostensibly for the Arc t ic seas by wa y of the

Pacific and Bering Stra it . Proceeding to

Funchal on this v o y a g e h e there i n f o r m e d

his crew that he had cha nge d his plans

a n d that hi s real dest inat io n wa s the south ;

and he sailed straight for Antarc t i c a w i th

the sole intent ion of reaching th e Sou th

Pole before Captain Sco tt .

The story of his well- manag ed dash intothe A ntarc t ic wil l be fou nd on pag e 281 of

this vol ume and need not detain us here.

Landing as near his go al as poss ibl e, he

we n t straight for it as soon as he cou ld ,

and, favoured wi th g o o d weather and g o o d

fortune, reached the central plain on D ecem

ber 14, 191 1. The re he set up a tent a n d

hoi sted his natio nal flag, w hic h he left

in token of his visit, returning to meet

[his

S H A C K L E T O NF A R T H E S T S O O T H

CAP" S C O T TR E A C H E D P O L E ~\p

t J f l N . i a . 1 9 1 2 . .SOUTH

POLE

A M O N D 5 E N

R E A C H E D P O L E

D E C . 1 4 . 1 9 11 .

Ho w Scott and Amundsen reached the South Pole.



THE "TERR A NOVA."

Captain Scott's famous vessel in the Antarctic Ice.



" Southward Ho!" to the Pole. 695

Ms ship, the famo us Fram, which on

Febru ary 1 quitte d Antarc tica , on whic h

he had landed just a year before .

Captain Scott left England in the Terra

Nova on his last v o y a g e in June 1910, and

he reached the South Pole on Janua ry

18, 1912. Half a mile f rom it ho found

Amundsen ' s tent with the Norwegian flag

still fiying. Prob ably Amu nds en had been

ove r the very spot, but he fixed his position

with a sextant, while Scot t used a the odolit e,

an d at l ow angles there is no question as to

which instr ument is mor e like ly to be

correct . With Scott were Dr. Wilson,

Captai n L. E. G. Oate s of the Innis killing

Dragoons , Lieut . H. R. Bowe rs of the

R oya l Indian Marine, and Pet ty Officer

Edga r Eva ns of the R o y a l N a v y .

Th e loss of his ponie s in Mar ch 1911 obl iged

Scot t to start later than he intend ed an d

to trav el with a lighter loa d. Th e weather

throughout the outward journey, and

especially a long gale in 83° Sout h, d ela yed

him. The soft snow in the lower reaches

of the glacier again reduced the pace, and

the provi sion reserves suffered, t hough

•every detail of their food supplies, clothing,

and depots made on the interior ice-sheet

and on that long stre tch of 7 00 miles to the

Pole and bac k, worke d out to perfection .

Th e advanc e party would have returned

to the glacier in fine fo rm and with a surplus

of food but for the astonishing failure of

the man who was least expected to fall.

Evan s was thoug ht to be the strong man

of the party and the Beardmore Glacier

is not difficult in fine weath er, bu t on the

return they did not get a single fine day,

an d this with a sick companion enormously

increased the difficulties. They got into

fr ightful ly rough ice, and E vans received

a conc ussi on of the brain. He died a natura l

death, but left the m a shaken party with

the season unduly advanced.

This was, howe ver , nothi ng to the surprise

which awai ted them on the Barrier. On the

sum mit in lat. 85° to 86° the y had a te m

perature of minu s 20° to minus 30° . On t he

Barri er in lat. 82°, ten thous and feet lo wer ,

the y had minu s 30° in the da y, an d minu s

47 ° at night pretty regularly, with a continu

ou s head wind during their day marches. In

Sc o t t ' s diary it is written :—

" I do not think hum an b eings ever

c a m e through such a month as we have

com e thro ugh, and we should have got

thr oug h it in spite of the wea the r but for

the s ickening of a sec ond com pan ion , Captain

Oates , and a short age of fuel in our de pot s

fo r whi ch I ca nno t ac co un t, an d finally

but for the st orm wh ic h has fallen on us

within eleven miles of this depot , at which

we ho pe d to secure the final su pplie s.

Surely misfortune cou ld scarcely have

exceeded this last b l o w . We arrived

within eleven miles of our old One Ton

C a m p with fuel for one hot meal and food .

fo r two days. For four days we have

been unable to leave the tent , a gale blowing

ab ou t us. W e are weak, writi ng is difficult,

but for my own sake I do not regret this

j ourney whic h has sho wn us that Englishmen

ca n endure hardship, help one another,

and meet death with as great a fortitude

as ever in the past ."

Quiet, strong, and true to the end, w ith

no false not e to mar the nobl e sto ry that

sent a thrill of admira tion th roug h the

world, Scott and his companions met their

fate as men who are really men should do.

Ne v e r was higher courage shown , neve r a

better guide for those wh o wou ld b e really

w o r t h y of their race. The y gave their lives

to the enterprise, they t ook risks and k ne w

they t o o k them , the y did their best to the

last, an d their countr ymen understand the m

and will not let their memory fade.

The first to mee t dea th wa s Capt ain Oate s.

He slept through the night of March 16

h o p i n g not to wake, but he awok e in t he

m o r n i n g . It was blow ing a blizza rd. He

said " I am just goi ng outsi de, and I ma y

be so me tim e " ; and h e wen t out int o the

bl izzard to die. " We knew ," wrote Scott ,

" tha t he was wal king to his dea th, but

thou gh we tried to dissuade him, we knew

it was the act of a brave ma n. "

Th e relief part y fou nd the bod ies of

Sc o t t , W ilson and B owe rs in their tent

on Nov em ber 12, and apparently Scot t died

last. " Ha d we li ved ," he had written, ." I

should have a tale to tell of the hardiho od,

endurance and cou rage of my com panio ns

which would have stirred th e heart of every

Engl ish man" —as indeed i t does in the

brief record he left.

Th e b o d y of Captain Oates was not found,

but to his memory was raised a simple

mon ume nt bearing an epit aph whic h will

no t be forgotten :

L A W R E N C E E D W A R D G R A C E O A T E S ,

Captain.

H E R E A B O U T S

D I E D A V E R Y G A L L A N T

G E N T L E M A N .

^0

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

Or , La r i Khan of th e Di am on d Sta r .

B y J . C L A V E R D O N W O O D ,

Author of " Sinclair of the Scouts,"" Jeffrey of the White Wolf Trail," etc.

AKBflR KHAN

BOB ca me to the

c o n c l u s i o n ,

after much cogi

t a t i o n , t h a t n o

better plan for the

concea lment of his

wealth cou ld be

a d o p t e d than that

o f t h e M u l l a h .

H e cou ld not be

sure that it would

no t bo interfered

with if hidden in

th e T ow er , so he

determined to sink

it in the Lak e, after

making some im

provements upon the plan of A b d u l .

He secreted a quantity of gold in the

strong room of the Tower , taking enough

fo r any immediate need. Wit hou t making

a n y o n e acquainted with his design, he

sa nk the box with the remainde r in the

dep ths of the Lake, not far f rom the island,and carried the twine, fastened to an iron

peg, to the land, where he drove the peg

into a rock beneath the surface of the water.

He knew well that Amran would never

sail past a floating p ie ce of w o o d without

lifting it out of the water to see if a cord

were fastened to it.

He next t o o k steps to get the Ghilzais

t o settle on his land, clear it of the d ebris ,

CHAPTER XXX . BOB GOES TO KABUL.

and bring it once more into a sta te of culti

vation . He determine d to erect a village

at no distant date, which should once

m o r e carry the name of Ghari Ghilzai.

In the S pring of 1841 he had just con clu ded

an arran gement with a numb er of Ghilzai

cattle breeders and farmers, when a message

reached him f rom Akba r Kha n. It had been

sent f rom a village near Ka bul , and the

Prince reque sted him to go to the city and

take a lodging not far f rom the Bala Hissar.

" Y o u are a Feringhee, Lari Kha n,"

the messa ge ran, " and ma y be of service

to you r countrym en. The toils are

tightening aro und them, and dangers

multipl y. A wise head and a tong ue well

versed in the sp eech of the Af gha n are

needed at the British Mission. Besides,

I want to see thee on a mat te r connected

with Afzul Ali. I hav e ma de friends with

the dog , and he fawns upon me . Come

with, at least, twenty horsemen well armed.

I will arrange for a lod gin g for thee, an d will

station a man at the Lahore Gate to guidethee to it. Enter the city abo ut dusk. Th y

friend, Mahomed Akbar."

"What doesth ismean, Amran?" said Bob.

"Mischief , my l o rd ; there will always

be mischief where Akb ar Kha n is. Wilt

thou go ? "

" Of course, Amr an , and thou wilt

a c c o m p a n y m e . "

' " T h o u art a rich man, m y lord , an d so

am I. R i c h men love pea ce and seek no

strife. Is it wise to thrust thyself into

danger ? "

" " Pea ce,' said the eagle when he carried

the lamb away , but he gre w hungry again,

Amran . "

" But n ot I, m y lo rd ; warfare has n oattraction for me, no w. "

" Stay with the wom en , Amr an, and

sing songs under t he trees, and dr eam that

thou wert once a man. Th ou art now a

s h a d o w of the man I kne w, an d art fett ered

in golden chains. Well , peac e be with

thee, it is something to know that thou

wert once a man, an d I will thi nk of th e

Amran I used to know."

" Thy tongue outs like a whip, my lord,"

replied Amran, with a rueful face, " an d I

wish th e gold had never com e m y May.

Wh at c an I do with it ? It haunts m y

dreams by night and troubles mo by day.

I d are no t lea ve it out of m y sight lest so me

thief carr y it aw ay. I woul d that it were

at the bo tt om of the Lak e aga in."" Choose so me of the finest st ones an d

se w the m into th y belt, Amr an , and find

som e hidde n spot, where thou canst bury

th e rest until quiet falls again upon Afghan

istan. Or if yo u prefer it, take to the road

again and begin to tra de."

" The Passes are b locked , Lari Khan, by

the most bloodthirsty thieves in Asia, as

well thou knowest . N o kafda cou ld ge t



696 The "Boy's Obun Taper.

thro ugh with out paying toll, and not with

a prop ort ion mere ly but with all. Plague

fall upon the go ld , say I ! "

B o b knew well that Amr an and T alib

w ould never dre am of being left behind at

th e T ow er if he rode to Ka bu l. He suggested

once mor e the plan of secreting the gold

and jewels , and for the ne xt few hours the

three me n m o v e d about in mysterious

lonel iness, and after nightfall returned with

satisfied looks upon their faces . They had

hidden their wealth in the rocks of which

the island was c o m p o s e d .

It was a glorious June day when, with

twenty stalwart Ghilzai horsemen, Bo b

and his tw o lieutenants rode t o Ka bu l.

Eac h man was splendidly moun ted and

armed, and wore on his " lu ng hi " (Afghan

hat) a small silver seven-pointed star. Th ey

were in the highest spirits, and the magnifi

c e n t sunshine and invigor ating air ma de

the horses curvet and prance with delight.

T h e y passed numerous parties of Shah

Shii jah's troops.

W h e n the y emerge d up on the plain in

front of Kabul, they saw the cantonm ents

in which the Brit ish force had assembled.

T h e y were on the o ther side of the Ka bu l

river and close to the canal. On the Kohist an

R o a d , between Bey mar oo vil lage and the

K i n g ' s Garde n, the British Mission had its

residences and offices ; then came a splendid

orchard, in which the magazine was placed,

and b ey on d it were the huts and tents of

the soldiers, with gardens and orcha rds on

e a c h side.

B o b noticed, with a start of surprise, that

the cantonme nts were com man de d on every

side by forts and walle d garden s, and that

the orcha rds and pla ntations offered

abunda nt opportunit ie s for attack. On

the right were the Be ym ar oo Height s,

c r o wn i n g the village of that name, and on

the left the heights of Seeah Sung. Ev ent o his eyes it seem ed as thoug h it would

have be en impossibl e to hav e chosen a more

dangerous position for a force likel y to be

o p p o s e d by enemies f rom Ka bul and the

country around.

" The Feringhees seem to know no fear,"

said Am ra n Ali, as he reined his horse in,

and gazed quietly o v e r the busy scene.

" Wh at is the ga me the y are plav ing in

the fields there ? "

" C r i c k e t , " replied B o b ; "i t is our

nationa l game, Amra n, and, I believ e, a

v e r y fine on e. Th e ma n at the end is

defending his wickets f rom the ball which

will be thr own against the m by tha t man

w h o is running. It trains hand and eye to

be quick at de fence . "" B y Al la h! " said Amran scornful ly ,

" y o u r soldiers oug ht to practis e it every

d a y , the y certainty nee d to kn ow somethin g

about defence. W h a t foo l chose this place

for the enc ampm ent of an a rmy ? A n

Af g h a n child woul d have know n better.

E v e r y ya rd of it is cove red by forts or walls,

behind which marksme n ma y be placed,

and h ow do you exp ect you r horsemen to

charge in country like that ? "

" Bu t it is well supplied with wate r,"

said Bo b, wh o did not wish the Afg han t o

not ice his ow n fears, " a n d it is near to

K a b u l . "

" Wa te r freezes in winter, Lar i Kha n,

and Kabul may be filled with enemies whose

on ly desire is the destru ction of the ar mywh i c h is thus closed in between hills and

garde ns. An d all the while, there is the

Bala Hissar, sitting on its heights a nd

defended f rom eve ry att ack by strong walls

and gates. Veril y, the Feringhe es are fools

or heroes . Fo r thy sake, Lari Kha n, I do

not say which."

T h e y rode up to the Lahore gate, where

they were joined by a richly-dressed officer

of Akb ar Kha n. He saluted Bo b and led

the wa y thro ugh the Char Chou k or Gra nd

Bazaar of Kabul, to where a street on the

left hand le d to the Kuzz ilba sh or Pe rsian

quarter. They passed two large houses, at

the do ors of whic h a British guard was

stationed, and, turning into a court yard

wh i c h bel onge d to an extensi ve residence,

th e officer dismounted and w elcom ed B o b

on his arrival at the place set apart for him

b y Akbar Khan.

B o b learned that the house near was

occup ied by Sir Alexander Burnes, and that

the plac e oppo sit e to it was the Treasury,

under the guardia nship of Captain John son.

H e dismisse d the servants wh o had be en

left to keep the house unti l his arrival,

sending them away with substantial gifts,

and Amran went to the Bazaar and picked

up some Ghilzais who, with their families,

ha d com e into the city.

T h e y seemed quiet men, likely to be

faithful, and Amr an, whose experi ences in

horse-dealin g had made him an exper t

in reading character, was sure that they

would give no trouble. The courtya rd was

defended with a strong gate, and the househad on ly narro w win dow s facing the street.

In the evening Akba r Khan , at tended

b y some five Barukzye Sirdars, came to

se e Bo b. It was manifest that he had

important news to commun icat e. For

several hours he had a private interview

with Bob.

K a b u l at this time was c r o w d e d with

armed Afghans, drawn f rom every part

of the country, tr ibesmen f rom the hills,

refugees f rom places taken by the British,

and soldiers of eve ry clan in the neighbour

h o o d of the city. The place was seething

with rebellion against Shah Shujah and

with hatred of the British. Unde rgro und

trea chery wa s hatc hing its plots , and, th ough

on the surface ever ythin g seem ed tranquil,it was really like an active vo lcano , rumbling

and tossing with forces, which, once le t

loose, wou ld bring death upo n multitud es.

S o m e of the cleve rest and most wily brains

in Afghan istan we re wea ving plots, and

A k b a r Kh an was taking a leading par t in

al l that was goin g on. He was havi ng

secret interviews with the chiefs, and,

hidi ng fo r a tim e his bitter enmity with

Afzul Ali, had ente red int o a workin g

agreement with the Afreedee ruffian.

T h e great divisions of the Ba ruk zye and

S u d d o z y e were at bit ter enmity with each

other, b ut it was necessary for the su ccess

o f Ak b ar Kh an tha t the Kuzzil bashes, a race

of Persian des cent long settled in Afghanis tan

and ma inly soldiers, shoul d be drawn ove rt o his side. Afzul Ali wou ld mak e a suitable

go-between, as there were friendships

b e t we e n him and several of the Kuz zilb ash

leaders. In additi on, the city was full of

Mullahs and Ghazees, who were constantly

inflaming the minds of the peo ple against

the infidels , an d prea chi ng a war of religi on,

which wou ld end in drivin g the hated

Feringh ee out of Afghani stan, an d punish

ing the false ruler who was kept upon the

thron e by infidel mo ne y and ba yone ts.

Afzul Ali hated Ak bar Khan, and kn ew

tha t this feeling of enmity was more than

rec iproca ted by the youn g leader, but he

had his eye s upo n the rich Treas ury which

was unde r the charge of Captain John son,

fo r he knew that it was sto red with Br itishgold. A s a matter of fact, it was costing

the Indian Government more than a million

and a half pounds sterling every year

t o mainta in Shah Shujah in Ka bu l, and

m o r e chiefs than Afzul Ali were keepin g a

sharp eye upon the chance of one day

loot ing the Treasury.

A k b a r Khan was a curious mixture of

g o o d and bad. Genial in dispositi on, and

faithful in his friendshi ps, and in ma ny w ay s

good- natur ed and kind-hearted, he was,,

nevertheless, swaye d by ungoverna ble bursts

of passion, which for the time being trans

formed him into a cruel, reckless tyrant.

Hi s hatred towards Shah Shujah was of:

the col des t and mo st relentless description.,

and he detested him, in his character of

chief representative of the Barukzye clan

and of all whol e-s oule d patr iots. In his

eyes the Shah was not only a cowardly

traitor, who had open ly leagued himself

wit h the infidel enem ies of Afgha nista n, but

also a man w ho had vow ed destruction upon

the family and tribe of Dos t Moh am me d.

Al t h o u g h Akbar hated the British as a.

people , he had a profou nd respect for man y

of them as individuals, and woul d willingty

be in a posit ion to afford the m a mea sure

of pro tec tio n, if it lay in his pow er . •

F o r this reason he had sent for Bob, and

desired Lari Khan to be in Kabul with a

sufficient numbe r of men, so that in case of

disturbance British prisoners or hostages-

mig ht be assured o f fair t rea tment. As he-

detailed his ideas, Bo b saw that his coming

t o the ci ty might be of immens e servi cet o his fell ow-co untry men. He therefore

assented to the propos itions of Akba r, and,

dete rmine d to mak e his hous e a strongh old

in which the British might find a refuge

if circumstances demanded.

Hi s first dut y was to find out how his

men would stand b y hi m. On the first-

oppo rtun ity he called Amr an Ali an d

Tal ib , and bade the m s ummo n all the m en.

W h e n the y gathered in the court yard

the gates were closed, and B ob , in the quiet

of the evening, explained what was in his

mind. He prom ised to pay double wages

t o the me n while th ey were with him, a nd

at the end of their service undertook to

give each one a farm at Ghari Ghilzai by

which they would becom e independentowners of land.

" I know," he said, " t h a t as patriotic-

Afghans you dislike the presence of a

Feringh ee army in you r counfa y, but I

want yo u to remember that the British

have com e here becaus e they wan t Afghanis

tan to be indepe ndent of Russia and Persia.

A t present the pe ople are broke n up i nto

warring factions, and this makes it easy for

a strong, united ene my to invade t he

coun try. Spies are consta ntly bribing the

chiefs, and thus there iscontinual unrest. N o

man knows what another may be plotting,

and while suspicio n reigns united actio n is

imposs ib le . The British are under the

impression that Afghanis tan wants Shah

Shujah. W e know tha t they are mistaken,but they ha ve prom ised to leave the coun try

wh e n it is united. The sooner this is

attained the soon er will be their departure.

" Now , my men, you know that I a m

British, altho ugh I am with yo u as a brother

and a leader. I kn ow the power of Britain,

the multit ude o f her soldiers and the exte nt

of her wealt h. The Afgha ns ma y destro y

e v e r y British soldier in this count ry, but it

will ma ke n o differenc e so far as the result

is conc erne d. Fo r eve ry regimen t destr oyed,

ten will take its place , and t he me n who will

com e will not b e Indians f rom the hot plains,,

but Britons f rom the great Empi re bey ond

the bl ac k wa ter s. Th e y are fighting-men

of immense strength and unyielding courage.

I saw som e of the m at the taki ng of Ghuz nee ,and I can tell you that nothing can keep

th em bac k. Th ey are lions in the fight,

and the y have men enou gh to hold!

Afghanistan against the world."

A mur mur of incredul ity arose f rom the

m e n , and ma ny of the m gripped their

weapons , while a fierce battle light shone in

their ej'es. B o b went on cal mly : ' ' Kab ul

is full of plot ters , and the Gha zee s are do in g

•



Through Afghan Snotas. 697

V E R Y M I X E D B A T H IN G .

A possible result of the next heat wave at the Zoo.

all they c an to fom ent rebel lion against

Shah Shujah. The Kuzz ilba shes are being

worked up to att ack the British. The army

is in a lamentable position, cooped in on

eve ry side on a plain which is commanded

all round . The Afghans in and aro und

K a b u l could over whel m it without any

great difficulty, if they determined to at tack.

It may bo that a rebellion will bre ak ou t in

this city, and then, as you know, the rage of

the excited popula ce will over leap e very

bound, and the British will be mass acre d

without mercy . Now , mark me well, forevery

Briton killed, Ka bu l will hav e to pa y a

hundredfoldsooner or later. I have promised

Akbar Khan to protect my countrymen,

and to give them a shelter in this house

as long as I can keep them f rom the. mob .

I am going to do it beca use I am a B rit on,

and becaus e it will be best for Afg hani sta n.

1 cann ot do it witho ut the hel p of a faith

fu l force, and I want you , my ow n peopl e

of Ghari Ghilzai, to s tand by the friend of

A'bdul the Mullah. I promi se yo u liberal

pay and a rich reward, and further, revenge

upon Afzul Ali. I give y o u until to-morrow

morning to decide what course you will

take. May Allah guide yo u to a wise

decision ! "

Late that night Amran and Talib desired

to speak with him. The y anno unce d that

out of the twenty-two men five on ly were

inclined to waver in their allegiance, the

rest had dec ided to fol low Lari Khan in

everything he did, and were ready to take

an oath upo n the Kor an in evi den ce of their

fidelity. As for themselves, they had never

fo r one mome nt drea med of separating

themselves f rom the purposes of their

loader.

" D i s m i s s the unwil ling ones , an d let

them go where they will, Amran," said

Bob, as he pressed their hand s in grat itud e ;

" give the m a present, and p ay th em for a

mon th in adva nce . I do not want waverers

with me. Th e business will pr oba bl y be

of such a character that your fidelity will

be tested to the uttermost —a wavere r m i g b ^

become a t ra i tor ."

Th e next morni ng Bob was aroused at

daybr eak by the sentry stationed at his

door . Five men stood outside looking as

miserable as men could look .

" You have c o m e to say farewell," he

said with a chee ry smile ; " go in peace , my

men, I ow e yo u no ill will. Amran Ali

has orders to see that you do not go with

empty hands."

" N a y , my lord ," said Ahm ed , the eldest

of th e five, " we bo broken-he arted because

of our weakness. We hav e eaten thy salt,

and thou hast trusted us. W e hav e thought

th e matter over through the night hours, and

our love for thee will not let us desert thee .

W e are thy servants to the end, if thou

wilt fo rg ive . W e desire not to lea ve thee ,

an d are read y to die , if ne ed be, fighting

by thy side if thou wilt accept us."

" I cannot, Ah me d; first thought s are

of ten true thoughts, and ye were sure last

night."

"' Hear us, my lord. Th ou hast promised

each ma n a farm at t he end of our servic e.

If thou wilt keep us with thee, we will not

ask for any reward of this kind. We are

willing to be punished in this way for out

waver ing , and, be sides, thou needest not

increase our pay."

B o b could not have asked for a g reate r

proof of their sorrow ; the Afg han loves his

land on ly second to his money, and this

frank offer showed that the men were

genuine. He went back into his r o o m an d

waited for some ten minute s and then

rejoined his men.

' ' Say no mor e, Ah me d, the past is

forgiven and forgott en. As yo u desire,

so shall it be. Y o u r wavering shall not

be reme mbe red against yo u. I shall no te

h o w you behave, and if I think well, at the

end of the service yo u shall receive a suita ble

gift of land. Go bac k to you r comr ade s,

and I will tell them that we are once

more a band of brothers, whose aim is

o n e . "

Tears rolled d o w n their cheeks as th ey

turned away, and Bo b knew that no mat te r

what difficulties mig ht arise in the future,,

he had at least five faithful men in his-

ranks.

" I knew tha t they would c o m e ro u n d . "

said Amr an afterwards. " Th ey sat b y

themselves all night and I cou ld hear them

groaning in their mise ry. It is g o o d for

them that they changed their minds, for,

b y Alla h ! if the y ha d left us th ey wou ld

not have got out of Ka bu l in safety. Talib'

and I wou ld ha ve seen to that. My knife

has been rattling in its sheath, and m y

hand itched to punish them, the d o g s . "

T h e fierce look upon his face sufficiently

indicate d his feelings, and Bo b felt that hi-

w ould have carried out his threat against

his wavering comrades.

" Say no more about it, Amran, the past

is pas t . Th ey will be all the mo re steadfast

in the futu re. "

" They will be wise, my lord," was the

reply of the truculent Khyb ere e.



698

6

C H A P T E R X X X I .

THE LULL BEFORE THE STORM.

r~\ L L that da y

fif'r~\ /^k ; i n d for many

%£A Ota / s u c c e e d i n g

•MSr / days , Bo b

Jf wo rk ed hard

at the defence

STFJ SI '[ 'he walls were

- ? " < r ^d , ^^^^BL^^i) thick and strong.

" f W ' * some s tou t t imber

JV^ '^^k ^ o r * n e narrow

windows, a nd

K som e baulks for

gt |L JP"^ * n e g a t eway .

W i t h these he

mad e an inner barric ade of great strength,

l o o p h o l e d for muske try and defen ded at the

t o p with sharp sp ikes . L o o p h o l e s were made

in the walls look ing on to the street, a nd

shelters erected in the flat roof.

T h e men were sent to the Bazaars to

b u y provis ions, and quietly a large store

•of ammuni t ion was purchased , and s to red

in the basement. The well in the cou rty ard

was cleaned out, and the spring which

supplie d i t seen to . Ak ba r Kh an had a

•brass field piec e at his ca mp am ong the

hills. This being taken from its carriage

an d plac ed in a ho l low log, was successfully

brought into the courtyard, secreted in

a load of firewood. It was mou nte d in

•the stables and made ready to be wheeled

in to the gate way when requi red . Ten men

were set apart, under the leadership of

Tal ib , to be t rained to se rv er s gunners .

Thu s quietly, and wit hout atft-acting the

at te n t ion of sp ies and neighbours , Bob

man age d t o mak e his house a very respect

ab le strongho ld, sufficiently well equ ipp ed to

b e defe nded successfully by a num ber of resolut e men, and we ll able to resist any

outbrea k of a mob .

But , as ma y be easily unde rsto od, his

o c c u p a n c y of a wel l -known house, belonging

to Ak bar Kha n , had no t been al low ed to

pass unnot iced by man y v ig i lan t eyes . The

Kuzz ilba sh Quarter, in which i t was situated,

was a hot-bed of sedition , and s pies were

constan t l y on the lookou t fo r anyth in g ne w.

T h e emblem of the star worn in the turbans

of his men was not unc om mo n, but the

general smartness of the fo r ce did no t

pass wi thout comme nt , and Afzul Ali had

•set his spie s t o wo rk in or de r to find ou t

what Akb ar Kh an had on foo t .

T h e wily chief himself had sounded

A k b a r Kha n, bu t wi thout success . Interviews were now of almo st daily occ urre nce

betwe en the Baruk zye Si rdar and the

Afreedee, an d each tried to find ou t w ha t

was going on behind the vei l of out war d

fr iendsh ip . The Afreede e Chief h ad taken

up his abode in a strong fort , si tuated close

t o the hil ls behin d the to wn , whic h was ad

mir abl y adapt ed alike for defe nce or retreat.

Passages were const ructed th rough which

the garr i son cou ld ascend to the hil ls, and

thus i t was easy for the Af reed ee and his

(followers to leave the city.

On o n e occasion a secret interview had

'been arranged , and a numerous comp any

l a d as sem b led . Ak b ar Kh an , att ired in a

magnificent dress, had com e early, and had

b e e n left by himself in the audience chamberwhi le Afzul Al i pu t th e finishing t ou ch es

to h is ow n cost ume. Akb ar Kha n no t iced

a rich c loak in an anter oom , upo n the

breast of which several decorations gli t tered.

S o m e were Brit ish medals which had been

t aken fro:n plundered c o n v o y s and dead

•officers. Among the m the q uic k eyes of Ak

bar notic ed the Af gha n order of chiva lry—

ifcwo d iam o n d stars.

H e rec ognis ed one as the forme r pr oper ty

of Dos t Moh amm ed, and the o ther as the

star belonging to Bo b. Wit hou t a mome nt 's

hesitation he t o o k his knife and, ripping

the m from the clo ak, put th em into his

girdle, and bundling the garment up, flung

it out of the wi n d o w to the soldiers of his

escor t . As an officer looked up, he waved

his hand, and in an instant th e c loak was

snatched up and conc ealed , and tw o t roopers

trott ed ou t of the cour tyar d with i t .

W i t h unchange d countenanc e Akb ar Kha n

went b ac k to the audienc e cha mber , and

entered into an animated conversation with

the chiefs wh o were assemb ling. Presently"

Afzul Ali ca me in, clad in a splendid costu me,

blazing with jewels, but wi thout his cloa k.

H e won der ed where the garment had got to,

bu t thought that his servants ha d neglected

to put i t out for him. Tha t night Akb ar

Khan sent the stars to Bob , and told him to

take bet ter ca re of his pro pe rty in fut ure.

" I should have been better pleas ed,"

he wro te , " i f I cou ld have sent Afzul ' s

ears with them, but we must be cont ent t o

take a sto p at a tim e. D o no t wea r these

in publ ic, for the Afr eedee will learn thathi s c loak has disappe ared, and inquiries

will b e m ad e . "

Ear ly in Octo ber B ob put himself in

the way of some of the officers who were in

at tendance upon Si r Alex ander Burnes .

T h e y were a l i t t le inclined to patronise

the yo un g Afg han Sirdar who strolled near

them, and , no t knowi ng that he knew

English, passed various crit icisms upon him

in his hea ring.

Burnes at this t ime had not very much

to do , a l though he was e xpect i ng that

the appro ach ing retire ment of Sir Will iam

Macnaghte n , who had been made Governor

of Bo mb ay , woul d adva nce h im to the

pos i t ion of Br i t i sh En vo y, and thus place

him in the highest rank among the polit icalofficers of the Br i t i sh Govern ment in Kabul .

H e spo ke the A fgh an tongu e with a fair

am oun t of fluency, and was glad of an

oppor tun i t y of making the acquain tance of

an Af ghan of posit i on, such as he deeme d

B o b to be.

H e started with ama zem ent whe n he learned

that the you ng Sirdar was an Englishm an.

A t first he rese nted wha t he con sid ere d

to be B o b ' s faithlessness to his country,

and expressed himself somewhat freely.

His brother , Capta in Burnes, was present

wi th h im, and Bob cou ld se e tha t both men

were inclined to be severe in their cr i t ic i sms.

H e himsel f would have fel t uncomfor tab le

had he no t known that he was in a position

t o render great ser vice to the Brit ish,without in any way playing the spy upon

the Afgha n Sirdar wh o t rusted h im .

A m o n g the Brit ish he woul d onl y be an

unat tached follower, probably in some

inferior posit ion. His counsels wou ld be

neither aske d for nor appre ciate d, and it

was not l ikely tha t General Elph instone or

Brigad ier Shel ton would attach the slightest

impo rta nce to his presenc e or opini on. On

the other hand, as one t rusted b y Ak b ar

Khan, and established in a stronghold in

K a b u l , with ampl e provi sion and a strong

b o d y of trai ned men , he mig ht be of the

greatest service to Brit ish refugees or to

officers wh o might be handed ov er to the

Af g h a n s as hostages .

Gradu ally the ic y rece ption beca me of a more cordial characte r, and in the end

B o b fou nd himself chatti ng merrily wi th

Burnes and his broth er. He did not conc eal

his thoug hts on the dangero us situation

of the can tonments ou ts ide Kabul .

" I t i s abso lu te madne ss ," he said , " an d

if there is a disturbanc e and a n attack y o u

will see the re sult of the fol ly very speedi ly .

Not hin g will save the army if the Afgha ns

make an attack in force. The Bala Hissar

is the only safe place in Kabul, and there is

ab u n d an t r o o m withi n its walls for all th e

Brit ish. The wome n and children ought

to be in a secure positi on. Th e farmers

ar e flocking to the cantonme nt Ba zaar

to sell their provisio ns, and an imme nse

store might be purchased in Kabul itself.

Ag e n t s ought to be instructed to buy up

f o o d and forage as quietly as possible, andto store i t . The ammuniti on should be

p a c k e d in carts, in readiness for a rapid

m o v e m e n t . Arrangements should be made

to seize the gate s of the Ba la Hissar b efore

dayl igh t , and then the entire force, assembled

under arms through the night, should march

rap idl y to the La hor e Gate and so into the

fortress, before the Afgha ns have t ime to

realise what is happeni ng. It ough t to

have been done when the market -was

c r o wd e d with prod uce after the harvest,

e v e n no w it is not to o la te. "

Burnes sat back in his seat, and smiled

as Bo b eagerly explai ned his views. " Yo u

are doubtless a veteran diplomati st and

soldier , Lari Khan, and your ideas are bold

and v igorously expressed . Hav e youthought about what Shah Shujah might

have to say on the matter ? "

" I d o not care what he wou ld think or

say, Sir Al ex an de r; to me the first conc ern

would be the se curit y of the British arm y,

an d the lives of wo me n and child ren. Shah

Shujah woul d probab ly oppose such a

m o v e m e n t with all his might, but tha t

would onl y mak e me the more determined

to carry it out . Bu t if I were General

Elphins tone an d Sir William, I should

consult n o b o d y until my troops were all

in the Ba la Hissar , and once there, the

Afghans wou ld be compell ed to mak e the

best of it. Th ey are no less hostile when

y o u are on the plain than they would be

if yo u were in the citad el. In fact, theexposed position of the cantonments i s j j ^

const ant tempt atio n to them, and when thW

time is ripe they will attack the British

force as surely as I am speaking to you at

this m o m e n t . "

" W h a t e v e r their desires may be, their

power to carr y them out is l imited. The

c i ty is much quieter than it has been for

many months past. Our presence means

trade and abun danc e of read y mon ey, and

the Afgh ans kno w it . Th ey have accepted

the situation, and in a short time the British

force will be able to retire, a nd the coun try •

will be comparat ively tranquil under the

rule of Shujah."

" I do not think so, Sir Ale xan de r. Quiet

in Afghanis tan usually means preparationfo r disturbanc e. Ka bul , as yo u know , is

full of chiefs with their arm ed followers.

A k b a r Kh an is dai ly in the ci ty, and Afzul

Al i is dwelling in the Ku zzilb ash Quartet.

T h e y are no longer at e nmity w ith each

other, and this to me is significant."

" I have mad e short w ork of that Afreedee

s c o u n d r e l , " said Burnes hotly. " He came

to me some tim e ago and I ha d a quarrel

with him. He threatene d me , and I swore

that I w ould horse whip him out of the

courtyard if he did not curb his speech,

an d men d his wa ys. He wen t off like a

frightened cur, and since then he has kept

a civi l dis tance between us ."

" He ma y have crept awa y like a cur,

but n ot as a frightened one, Sir Alexander.T h e villain has plen ty of courag e, and

would not tolerate a threat unless he knew

that by biding his time he could exact a

weigh tier rev eng e. He has his spies ever y

where, and I e xpe ct that every movement

on y o u r part is watched and reported to

him. Y o u live to o near to the Treasury

to be safe, and some night Afzul will have

per fec ted his plans, and then he will try to

The Boy's Otvn Taper.



Through Afghan Snotas. 699

accomplish his revenge and satisfy his greed

at the same time. Y ou ma y not fear him

very muc h, but if ever you require a shelter

I want you to remember that my house

o v e r there," he pointed up the street, " is

well defended by faithful men, and is barri

caded and prep ared fo r a stiff defence. If

y o u will take this whistle and b l o w a shrill

blast upon it, like this "•—here Bo b pro duc ed

a loud screaming noise by a full breath in

th e i ns t rument—"the gates will be re ady

fo r your admission, and m y men will

k n o w that yo u are in danger . This is

•a whistle which is used in t he mou nta ins

o f Thibet, and the sound carries a long

dis tance."

" I har dly think it will be re qui re d,"

said Burnes, as he dropped the whistle

carelessly into his poc ket . " I am not

l ikely to be atta cked , for I am not a militar y

man, and have always foun d that soft words

are best. I am respec ted by the Afgh ans ,

and if I ha ve an opp ort uni ty to address

the m it will be all r igh t."

" Not if Afzul Ali is behind the c r o w d , "

replied Bob . " Wo rd s will be useless when

he decides that the time has c o m e for b l o w s .

M y men will be on the lo ok- out , da y a nd

night, and if y ou t ake my advi ce, Sir

Alexa nder, yo u will try to reac h my hous e

the moment the a t t ack begins ."

" G o o d - b y e , Lari Khan, I am glad to

hav e me t you, and to have heard yo ur view s

on the si tuation. Yo u won 't mind my

{To be continued.)

giving you a hint on the gene ral posit ion of

affairs. If I wer e yo u, I shou ld leave

diplom atist s and soldiers to deal with an

international situation, and al low older heads

than yo ur ow n to dec ide what is best. Y o u

mean well, I k n o w , but these matters ru n

in a peculiar channel, and require fully

qualified men . By the way, early nex t year

1 migh t be able to d o somethi ng for you if

y o u w ould like to ente r our ser vic e. I shall

probably be Envoy in a few weeks, and

your knowle dge of the la nguage w ould

ma ke yo u useful. Thi nk it ove r , and c o m e

t o see me about New Year 's Day. G o o d

b y e ; how quiet the city is, yo u won 't need an

escort to take yo u a few yar ds. I never

knew Kabul to be so tranquil."

^0C H A N G I N G T H E : C O L O U R o r F L O W E R S .

S o m e R e m a r k a b l e C h e m i c a l E x p e r i m e n t s .

1"^ L O W E E S , as we receive the m f rom th e; hand of Nat ure, are so beaut iful that

it is inde ed waste of tim e to try " t o

paint the l i l y . " No ne the less, the

curious experime nts with which the writer

is abou t to de al ma y not be wi tho ut

interest. The se have been sel ected as the

most remar kable of a num be r of way s of

chang ing the co lours of real flowers wThich

have recently c o m e under notice. The

results of the met hod s mentio ned are so

singular that no apo logy is requ ired f or

introducing them to the readers of the

" B . O . P . "

In th e first pla ce stress should be laid

upon the fact that in all these expert-

B y S. L E O N A R D B A S T I N .

ments it is essential that the f lowers ally, it ma y be ment ione d that ordinaryshould be fresh ly gath ered . Seein g that a re d ink is a g o o d aniline solution, and

good many of the methods depend largely this will give excellent results when any

upon a free flow of sap,

it is important that the

plan should be carried

ou t whilst there is a

g o o d movement up

an d d o w n the stem.

This will o n l y con

tinue in its mo st

active form for a few

hours after gathering,

so that it is obv ious ly

a wise plan not to

gather our specimens

Purple Flowers exposed to the fumes ot strong ammonia turn mostextraordinary tints, varying in the different blossoms.

The White Carnations with long stems are stood in aniline dye (green orblue) and the colour is absorbed into the petals.

until we have all the

other requisites ready.

T he first series of

experiments involve

the use of aniline dyes.

These are readily

obtain ed in powd er

form from any chemist,

and may be dissolved

in water. Incide nt-

shades of pin k are required. Some of the

simplest kinds of flowers to treat with

aniline dy es are those wit h succu lent stems,

such as lilies of the val ley, Christmas roses ,

hyacinths, etc.

T h e s t rength of the solution of the dye

wil l , of course, depend upon the l ight

ness or otherwise of the co lou r which i s

wa nt ed in th e finished flower. A s a

general rule it will be fou nd that the



7C0 The "Boy's Oban Taper.

Many Sweet Peas held over the fumes of a gas burner change theircolour to an extraordinary extent.

t int in the flower is not so deep as the

l i q u i d in whi ch the stalks are immersed

appea rs to be when held up to the l ight .

T h e rapid abs orpti on of the c olours will

be muc h aide d if , befor e plac ing the s tems

iu the sol ution, they are sli t upw ar ds wit h

a sharp knif e for abo ut half an inch .

Af t e r th e pla ci ng of th e flowers in t he

mixture, i t is a g o o d pla n to put t he m m

a dark c upb oa rd, and it wi ll be found

that at the e nd of an hou r or so ev er y

petal is bri ghtl y t inted wit h the dy e.

B y the use of aniline dy es ma ny ver y

singular results can be secur ed with wh ite

carna tions, o r " pin ks. " Some years ago

the floral wo rl d wa s star t led by the intro

d u c t i o n of the gree n carna tion, and for a

short t im e big prices wer e paid for the se

novel t i es . Th e produce rs abso lu tely re

fused t o part with any cuttings of the

plant, and this, perha ps, mad e some

people inquis i t ive. A n y h o w , before long

the fact leaked out that the b lossoms had

been t rea ted wit h dye, by a met hod so

s imple that anyo ne wou ld be able to

secure a similar result.

In the different kind s of carna tions and

pinks some very remarkable o u tcom es may

be secured . Qui te o f ten whi te fo r ms

wil l , af t e r t rea tment, appear wi th

coloured stripes on the ir petals , whi ls tagain t hey may be t inte d in the same wa y

all over . Of cours e, if one cares to do

so , i t is easy to dye coloured carnations,

espec ia l ly if these are very delicately

t in ted . Thus , pale p ink forms , t rea ted

with a green dye, will com e out a most

singular shade be twe en a blue and a

m au v e .

T h e appl icat ion of ammonia fumes wi l l

so met im es b r i n g

about very strange

changes in thecolours

of flowers. Here,

there is a very inter

esting field f orexperi-

ment, as there seem

to be a good m an y

flowers which are notaffected in some way

or another by this

treatment. The best

method of applying

the fumes is shown

in an acco mpany ing

i l l u s t r a t i o n . An

ordinary saucer is

secured, and, as well,

a small vase holding

wate r in which the

flowers to be treated

ca n be placed. No w

half fill the saucer

with water, and into

this put a few drops

of strong ammonia.

T h e n p l a c e t h e

vase containin g the

flowers in the centre

of the saucer, and

cover the who le wit h

a glass shade. If

the v ase is small , a n

ordinary jam-jar will

answer the purpose

admirably. Under

this treatm ent m an y

k i n d s o f v i o l e t

flowers will turn a

m o s t v iv id green. Whi te petals will change

to yellow, carmi ne to black, and bright red

to a strong green.

B y exper iment i ng wi th many d i f ferent

kin ds of flowers some ver y singu lar results

can be sec ured ; n ot a f ew of these w ou ld

p r o b a b l y be more striking than the

changes ind icated . Seeing that the

flowers so treated wil l retain their altered

colours for man y hours, i t is possible to

p r o d u c e som eth ing of a sensa tion at the

local flower show by making an exhibit

of these no vel tie s. I t is an i nteres ting

sight to see a c row d of the local exper t

gardeners d iscussing the " n e w fo r ms " of

flowers wi th wh ic h, of course, the y arequite unfamiliar.

In concl usion, tw o more way s of alter

ing the c ol our s of flowers m ay be men

tione d. One of these requires the use of

a we ak so luti on of nitri c aci d. In its

pure state the acid is, of course, dan

gerous to handle, but it can be used in an

ext remely d i lu te fo rm , and it is bes t pur

chased from the chemist in this way .

There i s then no harm in handli ng the

stuff.

T h e com m on vio let asters are the best

sub jects fo r treating, and their petals

should be just moistened with the nitric

acid so lu t ion . Th ey wi l l then becom e

red, and in addi tion the blossom s will

acquir e a ver y agreeable odour. W hy , i t

is not so easy to say. It is kn ow n that

man y of the colo urs of our mode rn sweet

peas are of rather a fleeting character, but

f e w peop le realise ho w strangely the t ints

will alter if the blooms are held ov er a

gas burner. Th e fumes will bring about

some startling changes, and these wil l , o f

course , depend upon the composi t i on of

the origina l shade.

A e a last word, one would emphasise-

again the great importance in all these

exper iments o f seeing that the flowers

w h i c h are sele cted are quite fresh.

Otherwise the results of the treatment-

wil l onl y be partially satisfactory..

W E reduce life to the pettiness of our

dai ly livin g ; we shoul d exalt our livi ng to

the gran deur o f life.— Phillips Brooks.

7 * - 1

Many white-petalled flowers will absorb through their stems the colours of aniline dyes.Thick-stemmed flowers before being placed in the dye are slightly cut in the stem. Red inkis an aniline dye.



701

r i iHE scene is on the Sundhari, a big Indian

L river, and in one of her more des olate

reaches. At a spot where the bed prop er

exceeds a mile in wid th is the ha mle t of

Hathighaut, close dow n by the water 's

edge ; while domi nati ng it, on a project ing

bluff of the cliff-like southern shore, perches

an abandoned but still habitable, travellers'

bungalow or rest-house. Her e, and for some

leagues east and west, bot h banks are high

and precipi tous, and not far ab ov e Hathi

ghaut they c onve rge so muc h as to form a

gorge, dow n which the water, eve n when

low, races with dangerous veloci ty .A few paces to the right of the bun gal ow

t ho high bank is cut by a ramp, co mme nci ng

from the level grou nd at the rear and end

ing at the river itself, for. until the coming

of railways , nil travellers by the Grand

Trunk ro ad crosse d the Sundhar i at Hath i

ghaut by a ferry. Like ma ny othe r Indi an

rivers, the Sundhari divi ded inhab ited from

uninhabi ted cou ntr y, for while the southe rn

shore was thinly spr inkled wit h villages ,

the northern ba nk for miles arou nd w as

clothed with heavy jungle, totally devo id

of human beings.

Th e incident abou t to be related occ urre d

during the hot season, whe n the Sundhari,

dwindled to perhap s a hundr ed ya rds in

breadth, hugged the south ba nk, leaving theremainder of her bed a dry, sandy waste ,

dotted with boulders. In spite of this

shrinking, the stream remained navigable

fo r native boats, as the water naturally

kept to the deepest part of the bed.

Away some six miles up river, and bey on d

the gorge allude d to, lay the interesting

ruins of an ancient Hindu templ e na med

B oodhdeyvu l , but wh ich, from its in

accessibility, was barred to the a vera ge

globe-trotter . This temp le dul y figured in

the guid e-bo oks ; still, as the rail way di d not

touch it by thirty miles, and no made r oads

reached the place from anywhere, B oodh

d e y v u l was seldom visited by the sightseer.

Soon after my transfer from the Pu njaub

t o Bungi pore in Central India I heard of

B oodhdeyvu l , and, being keen on collect ing

photo grap hs of antiquities, I obtain ed a

fortnight's leave at tho close of the wor kin g

season, and. taking a camera amongst my

other kit, I went by nativ e boat to Hathi

ghaut, the nearest point to Boo dhd ey vul

that boasted of a bungalow, which I would

consti tute my headquarters, and thence

purposed makingadayexcursion to the ruins.

CHAPTER I.

After a week 's incessant to wing against

the current I reached Hathighaut, climbed

to the eyrie-like bungalow, made myself

comfortable, breakfasted, and slept till

three o ' c lock , whe n I had tea. By no w the

great heat of the da y had pa ssed , so I

strolled out into the open , an d while loo king

abo ut me I saw, poise d on a boul der in the

dry part of the river bed , a large eart henwa re

hundi or globular pot, apparently left there

by some forgetful bather. I adjudged the

object to be ab out eight hundre d yar ds off,

and, being fond of shoo ting at a mark, I

fetched my Snider rifle, lay do wn on thecliff-verge, and co mme nc ed blazing awa y at

the pot. I made four miss es; I bec ame

angry ; I altered the sigh t, sla mme d in a

fifth cartridge and was about pulling trigger

when a voice behind me said, " Let me try

this time, sir."

I screwed my neck, and beheld a seedy-

looking white man standing at my fee t; he

wore a grin on his face, and I had an unc om

fortable suspicion that his amusement was the

result of witness ing my ba d m arks mans hip.

" Hallo a ! " I excla imed, scra mbling to

m y legs and staring daze dly at the appari

tion, " who the dickens are you ? "

" I ain't much, mister," he replied, speak

ing with a strong accent, " any how , my name

is Abe Riley. But it 's just itching, I am, tok n o c k that there ove r, " pointin g to the

pot . " I' ve use d a Snider af ore no w, so

give me a go , and I' ll palaver as muc h as

y o u l ike afterwards."

Invo lunt ari ly I han ded him my rifle and

stood aside. Clutching the piece with

avid ity he dr op pe d on one knee , shifted

the s ight, clap ped the we ap on to his left

shoulder and pulled trigger ; the pot flew to

smithereens !

" Good shot, and left-ha nded to o ! " I

ejaculated admiringly, no w looki ng him

ove r with more atte ntion. He was a man

of perhaps a little over thirty, with a pleas

ing expression, keen brown eyes, well set-up

figure, and an alert manner. He spoke

nicely though not very retinedly, and in

spite of his ragge d, travel- staine d cl othes .-

his grimy face and hands, there was some

thing about the fellow that attracted

rather than repelled.

" Oh, I ought to be, mister," he said, in

reply to m y remark ; " cons ider ing I'm a

T e x a n and have passed nearly all my born

days on the prairies and in the woods. I ' d

give some to be back there," he conc lude d,

with a sigh.

" An Ame ric an ? " I echoed .

" What on earth are you doing

in this out-of- the-w ay corner of

India ? "" G u e s s I 'm tramping, sir ," he answered,

smiling sadly . " I ca me out to this co u n t ry

thinki ng to fall eas y int o some snug bert h as

handy ma n wi th one of your —you r—

rajahs as I 've heard Brit ishers over there

tell on ; so I half wor ke d my passag e slick

across f rom N ' Y o r k to Bo mb ay ; I 've been

trying to get a jo b tw o mont hs no w, but

none of 'em wants a chap who can't do no

more than shoot straight, stick on to the

wildest broncho as was ever foaled, and

some more tricks of the same kind. Y o u

see, I ain't a scholar; I can write my name,

that 's abo ut a ll; whe reas , so far as I can see,

they l ike fellows as can re ad, quill-dri ve,

and rig out spruce, and I can't do one or

t'oth er. Wi sh I was ba ck ! " Aga in sighing.

I l istened wonder ingly. " An d what are

y o u going to do now ? " I de mand ed, when

lie ceased speaking.

" I p lumped down my last rupee in railing

to some township four days ahint of this,

where I was told a rajah hung out as might

take me on in his stable ; but the old case

didn' t wa nt me , so, finding myself cleared

out, and nothing else to sell, I turned W e a r y

Willie, we nt to the minister of the garris on

and asked him wha t I had better do. He

gave me a mea l of vittl es and ad vis ed me to

streak for Calcutta, where the Am urc an

Consul wou ld see after m e ; so I ' m just

foot ing i t to Calcutta, beggin g my w ay

of the niggers I am. for the whites ain't

plentiful, n o h o w . "

" Y o u are not very far fro m the railw ayn o w , " I observed .

" Couldn ' t take the cars, mister; ain't

go t tho mo ne y, not to bu y a four-ce nt slip,

unless yo u help me ."

" W e' l l see abou t that by and by . What 's

that coil slung a cross y ou r shoul der ? " I

inquired, regarding him curiously.

" A lass o, we ca ll it ; the on ly fixing I' ve

left ; all the others, t icker , bowie, six-shooter,

have go ne for keepin g b o d y and soul together.

L o o k here, mister," he suddenly resumed.

" though you see me in this poor state, I

hope yo u think me honest Inju n ? "

" Qu it e! " I answered readily, for by

n o w he had favourably impressed me.

There wa s nothing hang -dog abo ut him ;

lie spoke out, and looked me frankl y in theface.

" G o o d ! Then. sir. if you'll give me

some thin g to eat and let me rest here a bit

I shall ay bully for yo u. "

I han ded him ove r to the tende r mercies

of my head servant, w ith instructions to

put the vag ran t int o the othe r wing of the

bungalow, let him hav e a bat h, furnish him

with some spare clothes of mine, his own



<02 The "Boy's Otvn Taper.

bein g filthy, and gi ve hi m a g o o d meal.

Riley tha nke d me and went off. I saw no

m ore of him for the remain der of the da y :

he must h ave been dea d beat, for m y servan t

repor ted tha t no sooner had he devou red his

food than th e p o o r chap tumbled off to

sleep.

Tha t even ing , after I had din ed in my

room and the t r amp in his, I sent for him

and propo sed a saunter along the r iverbank, when he c o u l d tell me something of his

history. There was a bright m o o n shedding

a silve ry radi ance o n all thing s, and no t a

leaf stirred. I carried my Snider, and

listened with interest to my companion 's

graphic yarns of his life " out We st ." As

w e strolled on we turned a bend, when, to

m y prof ound astonishm ent , I heard excl ama

tion s in Englis h floating up fro m be low,

and for a while l o o k e d in vain for the

speakers.

" There they are, s i r ," murmured Riley,

poin t ing out two na t ive boat s moore d some

w a y down on the farther side of the wate r.

'' Guess they' re goi ng to du mp out on th e

sand for the nigh t ."

I had failed to dist inguis h the din gy,mast less craft , but tho sharp-eyed Te xa n

had spotted them at once !

" Lo t ' s hurry o n, " I said. " and I' ll as k

them to the bungalow . If they accept , yo u

must shift into one of the outh ouse s.

R i l ey . "

" Under the stars, if need be, sir ; no call

fo r me to be squeami sh."

W e stepped out , and, on approa ching

closer, my astonishment was increased by

hearing a woman's musical accents mingling

with the roug her tones of men . In the m o o n

light several natives were unloading a tent,

while the figures of three Europe ans, o ne of

them a lady, stood on the little fore-deck of

th e nearest boat . Wishi ng to reconnoitre

th e strangers before invi t ing them t o the

bunga low , I led the way a little to inland,

continued on, and when abreast of the

boats we dropped on al l fours, and, creeping

back to the verge of the cliff, looked d o w n

o n the party. Prese ntly on e of the whites

left his comp anio ns, dive d under the arched

cover ing of the bo at, emer ged on to the stern-

deck , and, hopping ashore, started a wa y

across the sand in the dire ctio n of the nor th

bank. He had cov ered some distance ere

the others b ec ame aware of his abse nce, a nd

the lady, in a shrill alto, called, " Father !

wher e are yo u goi ng ? "

" To pick up sticks for the c o o k , m ydear ! " ca me th e che ery respon se ; " he'll

req uire the m wh en he finishes hel pin g with

th e tent, and w e wa nt o ur dinner ! " sayin g

which the man conti nued on towar ds a dark

(To be concluded.)

line, formed by drift wood, evidently lef t

b y th e Sundhari when subsiding from her

last freshet. I resol ved to say noth ing till

the wood-gatherer 's return, as he was no

do ub t the leader of the party ; so I continued

m y wat ch in silence. The lady and t he

second gent lema n also landed, and assisted

th e servants to the accompaniment of much

talking and merriment; addressing each

other as " Kitty " and " T o b y . " But now,

while listening with all my ears, I was

abruptl y nudge d by Riley , who, point ing

across the water, whispe red ene rgetically,

" L o o k , sir ! "

I o b e y e d , but not iced nothing more than

that he whom the lady called " Father " had

reach ed the fringe of drift wood, and was

m oving along it, probably in quest of big

pieces. I said so to the tram p.

" Ther e's a varm int sneakin g after hi m,

as sure as • Shoo t ! " he no w loud ly

ejacul ated, " or there'll "

I interrupted him by mutely thrusting m y

l oaded Snider into his hands, for I cou ld

see no " var min t." In a mo me nt he had

judged the range, adjusted the sight, and

ful l-cocked the rifle ; in the ne xt he a ime d,again from the left shoulder, and pulled

trigger. Th e lou d repor t rev erbera ted

among the cliffs, re-echoed from the oppo si te

shore, and died away in sullen mutter ings.

T h e S o n o f a n A n a r c h i s tA ' Ta le o f S t r a n g e M y s t e r y a n d W i l d A d v e n t u r e .

B y W. A. B. C L E M E N T S O N , M.A. ,

Author of ACoitple of Scamps," etc.

HUS ended, so far

as Paolo antl his

fr iends wete con

cerned, their adven

t u r e s w i t h t h e

anarchists .

I t would not be true

to say tha t they Jived

hap pil y eve r after, as

they do in fairy tales ;

but henceforward their

l ives bec ame more l ike those of ordinary

people , equal ly interesting and exci t ing tothemselv es no dou bt , bu t less so to m y

readers, s ince there are no mo re thrilling

adventures to record.

Pao lo d id not b e c o m e a great viol inist ,

though he st i l l amused himself with the old

'" Cremon a." Wh at he d id b e c o m e wh e n

he grew up, I leave my readers to guess for

themselves .

T h e terr ible experienc es, from whic h he

h ad c o m e forth so t r iumphant ly with a

reputat ion for coura ge, whic h he had we ll

earned , had giv en him a training, wh i c h

liad fitted h im for th e bat t le of life far

better than hi s parents ' kind indulgence

cou ld ever have do ne ; and Paolo , thoug hno t wi tho ut his faults (of wh ich one was an

impe tuou s and f iery te mper) was a bo y

w h o m any on e might be gla d to call his f riend .

R o n a l d , B o b b i e and he formed a trio of

chum s, who were alway s together , in the

holidays at least , in every interesting piece

of mischief , and every heal thy amuse ment

CHAPTER XXVII. THE DAY OF RECKONING.

k n o w n to count ry boys . The y were the

life and sou l of the 1st Dash ford T ro op of

B o y Scou ts, the busiest and m ost cheerful

members of every camping expedi t ion ,

and no one c o u l d be dull for long when

they were anyw here a bou t .

Madame Costa sang no more in public,

but Luigi st i l l conti nued to paint and Sir

Samuel fou nd him work of a l ight character

b y which he c o u l d add to his inc ome .

T h e family t oo k a small house in Dashfor d.

where th ey l ive d till it was nece ssar y for

them to return to Lon don , owing to Luigi ' sgrow ing reputa t ion as a portrait-painter.

Before our friends were able to settle d o w n

to a quiet and peaceful life, the secret society

w hich had trou bled them was brou ght to an

end in a most drama tic manner.

T h e informat ion which Paolo had obta ined

f rom the lips of the dying anarchist proved,

invaluable to the pol ice . Paol o had no t

even waited till he returned t o Lo n d o n ,

but go t the Briti sh Con sul to sen d the

particulars to Scot land Yard by cable .

Insp ecto r Rivers was del ighted ; the facts

thus pla ced in his possessi on were just wha t

he needed to complete his plan for des

troying the anarchist organisat ion. K eeping the matter a dead secret, he caused a

vigi lant wa tch to be ke pt on all the places

mentio ned by Bardi and on the different

suspected persons as they arr ived in London.

A c c o r d i n g to Bardi 's information a great

meet ing of the leaders of the " Son s of

Glor ious Lib ert v " h ad been arrang ed for a

particular day in January, and, unless tho

anarchists changed their plans, Inspector

Rive rs hop ed to have them in a t rap frot;i

which there was no escape. I t is prob ablo

tha t Bard i had ex agge rate d his own import -

anco in con nec t ion with the socie ty, for his

death seemed to make little or no difference

to the plans of the com mitt ee. The Italian

pol ice had been careful to keep Pao lo's

story secret , so there was no reason for tho

anarchists to fear t r eachery.

F o r some days before the t ime fixed fo r

the me etin g a large band of dete ctiv es werewatching the house in the East End, where

it was to be held. Th e police also took tho

precau tion of occ upy ing the houses on ei ther

side of it, whi ch happe ned to be emp ty, as

well as taking rooms in the bui ldings imme di

atel y in front and behin d the an archist s'

headquarters. The men who occup ied

these houses were disgui sed as o rdina ry

eastenders and prete nded to have noth ing

to do with e ach ot her ; so no one, least of all

the anarchists , suspected tha t a siege was

actual ly being begun.

On the evening of the day appointe d the

police in the hou se opp osi te had the satisfac

tion of seeing the anarchists arrive one byo n e and unobt rus ive ly enter the meeting

place . Only two or three at most appeared

to be missing, wjien the besiegers closed

th e t rap by bringing up a large b o d y of

armed constables to block the ends of the

surrounding streets.

It was nearly midn ight w hen a polic eman



The Son o_f an Anarchist. 703

in unifo rm presented himself at the front

door and kn ock ed loud ly. A dark face

appeared at an upper wi ndo w for a mo men t

an d then the sou nd of a pistol shot rang

out in the stillness of the night. Th e pol ice

man had fortunately stepped aside sharply

an d taken cover in a door wa y, so he was no t

hi t ; in another minute he made a bol t dow n

th e street to seek shelter before the rest of th e anarchists should be aroused.

Presently there was a burst of firing at the

back of the house. The anarchists , t rying

to escape by the back door , were met by

a volley from the roof of one of the houses

behind, which the police ha d occupied.

A n at tempt wa s then made to escape by the

front , which was effectually stoppe d by the

police opposi te ki l l ing an anarchist and

wounding two others.

The part i t ion between the anarchists '

house and the on e next to it w as onl y lath and

plaster, so the police n e x t d o o r set to work

t o force an entrance with axes. Hearing

the at tacking party hackin g awa y at thewalls, th e anarchists realised tha t they were

caught l ike rats in a t rap and tha t there was

no escap e ; but, b eing all desp erate an d law

less men, th ey dec ide d to fight to the deat h.

Th e police workin g at the breach could

hear th e harsh voice of the dwarf e xho rtin g

his men to fight bra vel y. Sud denl y, h o w

ever, they heard a wo rd mentio ned, which

made them pause in their work and gaze

at one another in blank alarm— " dyna mite ."

" Save yourselves," cr ied the officer in

c o m m a n d of the at tacking party. " They

are goi ng to blow up the house ."

D o w n th e stairs and into the street rushed

the men, heedless of the shots tha t fol lowed

them from the anarchists ' windo ws. One

man braver than th e rest ran across to warn

his comrades in the house on the other side

of the anarchists' den, lest the y should beove rw he lm ed in the ruins.

Either tho anarchists did not not ice the

flight of the police from the adjoining houses,

or it was too late for them to change their

plans, for sudd enly , with a deafen ing roar,

which shoo k the who le place and broke

eve ry pane of glass in the neighb ourh ood,

the explosion to ok place. The walls of the

anarchists' house seemed to bulge o utwa rds

while a blaze of yellow fire shot forth in all

dire ct io ns; and high into the air were

hurled masses of mason ry, burn ing wood,

t i les and chimney-pots which rained down

on the surrounding streets with a terrific

clatter.

Th e n fol lowed for som e minu tes a de ad

silence, as if the senses of ev ery one had bee n

nu mbe d by the noise ; and then arose from

th e crowd, tha t had been at t racted by the

firing, shrieks of terror ; me n rushed hither

an d thither aw ay fr om the scene of the

disaster, open- mouth ed and with fr ightened

e y e s ; wo men fainted and chi ldren screamed,

while the police and ambulance men went

quiet ly about their d u t y attending to those

' The anarchists being: all desperate and lawless men, decided to fight to the death.

wh o had been w oun ded by falling stones or

bits of glass.

In anot her minu te up ca me the fire-brigade

with their gleaming engines to ext inguish

the fire tha t leapt from the smoking ruins ;

and the besieging force came out of their

hiding-places to lend their aid in searching

fo r wo u n d e d anarchists or keeping bac k the

exci ted crowd.Th e battle had been short and sha rp:

but it was all over now . N ot a ma n wh o

had at tended tha t last fatal meeting of the

" Sons of Glorious Libe rty " remained al ive.

L uck i ly none of the pol ice or of the c r o w d

ha d been kill ed eith er b y the firing or th e

explos ion, thoug h not a few were wou nde d ;

so Inspector Rivers was ent i t led to al l

the glo ry he received for freeing Lon do n

and th e wor ld of the crue l gan g, wh o in t he

sacred name of " Libe rty " had comm itt ed

so many cr imes .

But the real hero of the war, tho ugh be

was at this moment sleeping safely in his

ow n bed at Dashford, was young Paolo,wh o by his splendid pluck had not only saved

his father fro m the anarchists, b ut ev en

helped to bring about their final downfall.

W h e n the next morning a long t r iumphant

telegram ca me from Inspecto r Rivers for

Luigi , the Costa family learnt with deep

thankfulness that their enemies would t rouble

them no more.

" Father, ho w gran d it will be that w o

need fear them no long er," said Paol o. " We

are free from them at last, real ly

free."

'* Ye s, " said Luigi , embra cing

his son with a thankful heart.

" Free at l a s t ! "

But tho true and brave can

neve r be ens lave d b y fear o-r

favour , for they are always free.

[ T H E E N D . ]

HIS OPPORTUNITY.

O N E of the largest fo rtun es eve r

r eco rded at Somerset House was-

made by the ra i lway k ing , Tho ma s

Bra sse y. In his early life he

earned his l iving as a w orkin g

engineer, and when the Liv erp ool

and Manches ter Rai lway was in

process of cons truct i on, he applied

f o r work in tha t d e p a r t m e n t .

Th rou gh a blund er of the f ore man

of a gang, he was set to work

as a labou rer . H o said noth ing

at the t ime, deeming i t useless,

but set to shovell ing with the rest..

He was at o n c e impressed with

the terr ible was te invo lve d in.

let t ing out the work of construc

t ion to a whol e host of sm all

contr actors . One man , or a t

least two or three, he reflected,

cou ld do the wo rk bet ter , cheaper ,

and more expedit iously. Then-

c a m e th e startling thought , " Why

sho uld not the o ne man be me f "

A few years passed by , and T om

Bra sse y was at the hea d of a gr eatl abour a rmy , compr i s ing dozens

of battal ions, and engaged in

building the rai lways, not only

of Eng land and Scot land , but of

France , Germany, and Belgium

as well; and all because a fore

man mistook a skilled for an

unski l l ed workman.



704 The "Boy's Otetn Taper.

Our Rote Book.

A F A M O U S O A R S M A N .

THE LATE E. B. ETHERINGTON-SMITH.

By \V. LIVINGSTONE IRWTN.

THE tragically sudden death of Mr. R. B. Etherington-Smith, M.B., F.R.C.S. , towards the end of April-came as a great shock to rowing men. A few daysbefore his death he performed an operation on a caseof gangrene of the lung, and it is thought that he musthave been infected, for the next day he was seriouslyill with peritonitis. An operation was performed,but the patient became exhausted and passed away.

His death removes one of the most popular, as wellas one of the most famous, of University oarsmen.He was a son of Mr. J. H. Etherington-Smith, a Bencher•of the Inner Temple, and was educated at Repton,afterwards going up to Trinity, Cambridge. Laterhe became assistant-surgeon at St . Bartholomew'sHospital and was Warden of the College. His fatherhad narrowly missed his Blue at Oxford, and " Ethel,"as R. B. Etherington-Smith was popularly called, wasa member of the London Rowing Club before he wentup to Cambridge, making his first appearance atHenley in 189-5, when he rowed No. 5 in the LondonR.C. Thames Cup crew.

From that year until 1908 he rowed in practically-every Henley regatta. In 1896 he rowed in the

First Trinity boat which was defeated by Leander inthe Grand Challenge Cup. In 1897 he again rowed'for London in the Grand and also competed in theStewards' crew. In the same year he won the Col-quhoun Sculls at Cambridge, and the following seasonstroked the First Trinity eight which was beaten byLeander in the final of the Grand. He also strokedhis college crew in the Ladies' Plate, being defeated byEton in the Final. In 1898, in partnership with•O. J. D. Goldie, he won the Lowe Double Sculls atCambridge and also the University Pair-oars, andrepeated both performances in the following year,when he was partnered in the Sculls by R. H. Sandersonand in the Pairs by W. Dudley Ward.

[1'noto. Elliott <£• Fry.

Mr. R. B. Etherington-Smith.

Etherington-Smith • won his Blue in 1898, rowingNo . 6 against Oxford, who won easily. In the fol-

: lowing year he rowed at No. 5, and Cambridge, strokedby J. II. Gibbon, won for the first time in ten years.In the summer of that year he rowed No. 4 hi thecombined Trinity College crew which lost to Leanderin the Grand, and also stroked the Trinity Stewards'four which was deteated by Magdalen. In 1900Etherington-Smith again rowed No. 5 in the winningCambridge crew. In this race he had the uniqueexperience of rowing against his brother " T. B. ,"who was at No. 7 in the Oxford boat. At Henley herowed in the Trinity crew which lost again to Leanderin the Grand, and was at No. 2 in the Trinity Stewards'four which was also defeated by Leander. He alsorowed, with W. Dudley Ward, for the Goblets, but

'this pair was beaten.In 1901 this great oarsman stroked the Leander crew

which beat Pennsylvania University in the final forthe Grand after a great struggle, and also rowed No. 2in the Leander Stewards' four. In the following yearhe competed for the Diamond Sculls nt Henley, losingthe final to P. S. Kelly, of Oxford, and also for theWingfield Sculls, the amateur championship of theThames.

In 1903 he was elected captain of Leander, whichpost he also held in 1905 and 1906. In 1903 he rowedNo. 4 in the Leander crew which beat Third Trinityin the final of the Grand. He did not row in 1004,but in 1905 he was in the Leander crew which won theGrand and was also in the Leander four which carriedoff the Stewards' Cup. Leander did not send in aneight for the Grand in the following year, but " Ethel "Smith was in the four which again won the Stewards*Cup. His last race at Henley was in the OlympicRegatta of 1908, when 'ie was captain of the Leandercrew which won the Eights.

As a coach Etherington-Smith had made his namefamous in the annals of the sport. He coached theCambridge crews in 1910 and 1911 after they went

to Putney, aud also officiated as umpire at manyregattas. He was umpire when Barry defeated Arnstand Durnan in the races for the Championship of the World.

Etherington-Smith was considered one of the mostbrilliant young surgeons in the country, and it is sadthat such a promising career should have been cutshort so suddenly. As Mr. W. B. Woodgate wrote onthe day when the death occurred : " The personalityof ' Ethel' will survive hi memory with all who everknew him. There is always strong fraternity amongBlues, rivals and colleagues alike; but, searchingback through memory and personal reminiscences

of brother oarsmen for more than half a century, Ican recall none who so thoroughly won the aifectiouof aquatic friends and ' foes' alike as him for whomwe now hang flag half-mast."

Another life has been laid down in the cause of science and duty, and surely there could be no linerepitaph over the grave of R. B. Etherington-Smith thanthe old familiar words: " Greater love hatli no man thanthis, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

r. .TONES. —Write to the India Office for information.The appointments would be made in India, not inthis country.

ARCHIE.—1. It is a common ailment with dogs; donot be alarmed unnecessarily. 2. A little breadand milk, but not meat.

COINER.—1. A farthing by its name signifies " thefourth part " of a penny. The old Saxon word was" feorthung." 2. Send a rubbing of the coin youfound and perhaps we shall be able to identify it.3. Value not more than half a crown.

F. L. P.—The Spanish ball game, " Jai alai," wasdescribed in the December part, p. 112. This is-till in print.

G. F. LKEl'ER (Melbourne).—For a ten-year-olddraughts problem composer your little coup isvery well set, and it has also the merit of naturalness.We shall be pleased to show it in due course.

ENTHUSIAST.—See " Autograph Collecting," by H. T.Scott, M.D., L.R.C.P. (Upcott Gill, 5s.). Thisbook will advise you on the collecting and arranging

of autographs and the detection of forgeries, togetherwith the present-day market prices.

A NEW READER.—Tour stamps are Swiss and Hungarian. Helvetia (Switzerland) preserves the nameof the Helvetii, ,a powerful Celtic tribe who dweltin that country.

T. C. BKLLOT.—There is no objection to your copyingthe song in question in an autograph album. If itwere a case of republication then permission wouldhave to be obtained.

H . S. JONES.—We are sorry that the mistake shouldhave occurred. A. Lee, the football player referredto, lost an arm and not a leg. The author of thearticle was misinformed.

FRED HALES.—We have already given a colouredplate of Bird's Eggs. Possibly this may be doneagain and in this case due announcement will bemade.

I. K. L.—Oat or wheat straw makes the best beddingfor a dog. Hay tends to encourage parasites, andpine shavings are not to be recommended. Takegreat care to keep the bedding clean. Each week the kennel should be brushed out and dusted with adisinfectant. It is a good plan to whitewash thekennel at intervals of about three months.

WHITACH.—Your drawing is not good enough toreproduce, but it certainly shows promise. Thefigure is freely drawn and the composition is good.

We should advise you to attend art classes and studytechnique. The Press Art School (37 Dacres Road.Forest Hill, S.E.) tuition by correspondence, might

be of use to you.

Cl'RIOUS.—Mazeppa wr

as an actual historical character.Ho was a " hetman " of the Cossacks, and belongedto a noble Polish family. At the time of his famousride, lashed to the bare back of a horse, he wasa page in the Court of Jan Casimir, King of Poland.Byron makes Mazeppa tell his tale to Charles XII.after the battle of Pultowa.

W. B. (Derby).—1. "The Wire and the Wave, orCable-laying in the Coral Seas," by J. Munro.appeared in our 12th volume. This has been out of print for several years. 2. Your " favourite artist "will be represented in the next volume.

C. A. SWANN.—We must have further particularsbefore we can advise as to the value of the coin.A present-day 50-cent piece, of course, would beworth only its face value. If the coin in questionis an old one its value will depend on its age andconsequent rarity. .

AN OLD READER (Hadileld).—The writer to whom yourefer has prepared several articles and these willappear in our pages from time to time. See " Howto Build a Glider " in the June part.

A.TAX.—We have replied to the same question manytimes before, and the answer has always been thesame. The cure is in your own hands. Take plentyof exercise, interest yourself in some particularhobby or pursuit, and seek people's society ratherthan try to avoid it. You have to conquer yournervousness by will-power; medicine will not affordrelief.

H. J. LEACH.—The elephant lias been made serviceablein war for many centuries. It can draw a loadequal to that of sixteen bullocks, and can subsist onsimpler food. When horses and bullocks areutilised large amounts of fodder have to be carriedfor their sustenance. Elephants—whose fiat, cushionlike feet are well adapted for progress in mountainousdistricts, in ascending or descending steep anddifficult places—can transport mountain-guns intoregions that are otherwise inaccessible to artillery.

A . S. WARD.—In archery bowmen usually draw withthree fingers, and the glove is made with threestalls accordingly; many archers, however, findtwo fingers sufficient. The arrow should be heldbetween the ends and the first joints of the first andsecond fingers. The bow-arm must be held quitefirmly at the moment of loosing the shaft, otherwisethe flight of the latter cannot be steady. Consulta standard book on Archery for general hints onstanding, " nocking," drawing, etc.

boys own paper august 2, 1913

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