boys own paper july 26, 1913

8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper July 26, 1913

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Story.Unde r th e E d g e of the E a r th :

A S t o r y o f Th r e e C h u m s a n d a S ta r t l in g Q u e s t .

By F. H. BOLTON,

A utlutr of " Jn the Heart of

the Silent Sea," etc.

" Th e Captain f lung the ca bin d o o ro p e n . You 'r e free ! ' he said. . . .

Y o u ' l l have y our chan ce l ike th ' r e s ton us. ' " (Seep. 675.)

C H A P T E R X V I I I . — O N T H E CONDOR.

TH E

steamship Condor, free lance on thet rade

routes,

bound for the South American port of Buenos Ayres,

with cargo of make-up woollens, cottons, and linoleum

goods, screwed her slow way down th e Irish Sea towards

the w ide-rolling Atla ntic . She was not a mod el of luxu ry

— y o u r t r amp cargo-boat runs for what little profits it can

gather in, and not for animal comfor t s—

even in her palm iest da ys ; and the steam

ship Condor of Lo nm ou th had seen her

palm iest day s som e ti me ago , and had left

the m far behind her . Exc ept her toug h

engineer , who was Sco tch , her equally tough

master , who was of the Engl ish Nort h

Count ry, and the mate, who hailed from

D e v o n , there were no Britishers aboar d.

The cre w was a mixt ure , a sort of stew

composed of a Swede, some Dagos , and a

'" nigg er " or t wo , which la t te r te rm com

prises anythi ng not wh ite enoug h to lay

c la im to Europ ean o rigin, and is not a title

of respe ct in the mo ut h of the free-bor n

Britisher .

There were no other Britishers aboard, it

has been said ; but a further and notable

excep t ion mus t be ma de . In a bun k rigg ed

up on the floor of the captai n 's cabi n lay

Denni s Hutto n, an unwilling passenger , and

the mo st miserable soul aboar d t ha t bruised

an d bat tered vessel. He lay to all appear

ance on ly half alive, his b o d y racked with

pa in from the bruises and bitings of the

bands t ha t had so cruelly held him while

on the canal barge.

True, all these fetters were now mercifully

r e m o v e d , but his cramped sinews antlbruised bo nes and flesh had no t yet regai ned

the ir normal heal th. Hi s

mout h, to o, was swollen and

disfigured, sickening sores

and ulcers ma kin g lips and

palate one throbbing furnace

of pain, the w ork of that

foul an d fiendish ga g. H e

la y lim p and dazed, too

worn out for sp eech or

m o v e m e n t , exce pt when the

roll or p itch of the lum ber

ing ve ssel creat ed i n him a

nausea t ha t compe l led a

spasm. Hap pil y the spell of

sea-sickness was passing oil

already; it had not tor

mented h im long, otherwise, coupl ed with his

t e m p or a r y w e a k n e s s , i t

might well have been t ha t

th e poor lad would have

g iven his evil capt ors the

I



674 The "Boy's Obvn Taper.

T h e A n g l e r ' s D r e a m .

slip, and left onl y his we ary b o d y in their

hands .

So wo r n d o w n , indeed , was he wi th

physical pain and wan t of prop er f o o d , t ha t

the ment al anguish, whic h during the d ays

of his capt ivi ty had been tempered in part b y

h o p e of discovery, was now utterly dul led .

He knew in a dazed sort of way that h o p e

was futile at present a nd for so me little tim e

to c o m e , as things wore. In confused fashion

his mind w ande red now and again to those

at home, but he had becom e too weak to more

than just won der in a vague way what wou ld

happen t o them and him, and in the v ery

wondering let the mat t e r slip fro m his

weary brain.

Of ho w he had passed from boa t to shiponly a mis ty me mo ry remained . He had

promised not to s t ru ggl e; but , indee d,

with out any such prom ise the men wh o

were mo vi ng him wo uld hav e been equal ly

safe. There was l i t t le s t ruggling power

l e f t ; he was bro ken for the t im e. He had

realised in a half -awa ke sort of fash ion that

he was being carried in the darkness of a

c loudy and rainy night do wn a deserted

by- way for a short distanc e, and t ha t after

a t ime he had been plac ed in the bo t t om of

a small cutter, and cove r ed with a tarpaulin,

left ope n at the ends for air . He foun d

himself guessing t ha t this must be Kernbank,

a small town where sea and canal come close

to each oth er .

How close to rescue he had been duringthat shor t m o v e he never kn ew ; nor .

p r o b a b l y , were his captors aware t ha t they

had t inn ed a corner of the roa d only a few

mom ent s before the night cons table came

along . One brief min ute was all that had

lain betw een him and disc ove ry ; but that

fateful sp ace of tim e was as all-sufficient as

a day for the purpose s of the men . Safely

s towed in the cutt er, he had felt the little

vessel being prepar ed t o get under wa y.

" I com e topside s, mi nd yo u ! "

" A y ! A y ! S' long as t ' cub 's parted,

an t ' ow d un has to s tu mp up a t id y bi t ,

I 'm n one axing for muc h myse l ' . Go o '

nee t ! "

T h e wor ds mean t no thin g to him ; he

heard them in a vag ue way , and rep rod uce d

them to himself l ater f rom an under t ow of

me mo r y , when in the l ight of subsequent

knowledge the y mea nt mo re. He heard the

lo w grow ls of the t wo , and then felt the

cut ter plunge forw ard ; a nd s o, after an

awful tossing, he had been bro ugh t to the

side of the ship on wh ich he no w foun d

himself . Here , in the calmer wate r of the

river mo uth , his bonds had been loosed, an d

he had been escorte d, or , indeed, half

carr ied up the ston e steps of the dock side

in the dark, and acros s the gang wa y to the

tram p, n o soul being met on the way, an d

he to o cra mp ed and weary to t ry to break

a wa y . No r could he have cr ied out , had

he so wished, for as yet the horrid gag was

st i l l upon him, albei t reduced in s ize.

Once safely lodged in t ha t close and stuffy

cabin his bon ds had again bee n place d upon

his sore wrists an d ankles, but these and the

gag itself had been remo ve d whe n the ship

had cast off, a day later. Bound whither ' !

In his dull despair he had asked himself this

quest i on the f irst few hours, but no w.

nei ther t ha t nor any ot her had interest fo rh im, unt i l his normal heal thiness of mind

should return to h im.

The cabin door open ed—he had been

locked in—a nd the capta in entered. He

was the same man wh o had br oug ht h im

f rom the Pretty Poll. H e looked a t Hut ton

closely for a f ew mom ents . The boy con

tinu ed to lie still , giv ing no w and again a

feeble groan, as of ut ter despair .

" Bit off colour , my hearty ? " he grow led,

after a shor t scr utin y. " Well , my lad ,

y o u ' v e been through s to rmy weather , you

have ! 'T wo n' t do to let yo u drif t , you' l l

'ave to be t o o k in to w. A y ! A y ! W e' l l

have a cabl e out . and mak e fast ." He

went to the door . " He re. Chi Li ng ! " he

cal led.A soft footfal l could be he ard, a nd a

Chinaman sl id up in answer to the summons.

He spok e neve r a word, al ternately eyeing

the captain and the groaning lad at his feet.

" Go t to makee h im al lee Iightee, savv y '!

P o o r boy, ge t t ee hurtee ! Eh, olil son o'

si n V "

The Oriental nodd ed and d isappe ared.

" 'Ti sn ' t a 'osp i t a l , nor ye t adoc tor ' s shop,"

grunted the capt a in ; "b ut o ld Chi Ling

'11 do the t hin g for yo u, m y lad. if it 's t o b e

done . Y o u wo n't f ind him say much, seeing

he' s as d um b as a dea d fish, but it isn' t

muc h in the chat ter in g l ine you 'l l be feel ing

yourse l f . "

Certainly under the silent but effective a d

ministra t ion of the alm ond -eye d one Hut -

ton gra dualh ' began to regain his strength,

but with renewed heal th came renewed

act ivi ty of mind . Th e long and weary day s

were filled wi th una nsw ered que stio ns.

W h e r e was he ? W hit her bo un d ? Un

der what condi t io ns ? Wi th wha t hope

of escap e ? Wh at c hance s of a fr iend o n

boar d ? U p to now he had seen onl y three

faces : those of the ca ptain

an d Chi Lin g, and of a third

man, w ho m he r ight ly con

jectur ed to be the mat e. He

must act with caut ion. I t

would never do to precipi tate

mat ters by an at tempt at

escape that might f a i l :

such a thing mean t only

increa sed rigour of cap tivit y,and just no w his cond it ion

was being considerably bet

tered.

True, he was locked i n ;

never for a moment did an

open door offer him the

sl ightest hope , but beyo nd

that things were compa ra

t ively c omfo rtabl e now that

the physical aches and pains

had subsided. He was

sufficiently.if not luxuriously,

f e d ; he had the full light

which streamed through the

port-hole, and fr om this latter

could see occasional passing

vessels, but neve r a glimpse

of land. No , he must act

warily . So lon g as the sh ip was at sea. so

long mus t he lie low . B ut wait till she

c a me to shore !

W h i c h show ed the hopeful , courageous

H u t t o n slowly com ing to himself again.

So he realised the need for wary walking,

tho ugh little else was kn ow n to him . How

many were aboard t ha t rol l ing sh ip ; to

how ma ny of them his presence was kno wn ;

nay . eve n what d egree of hostili ty towards

him exist ed in the min d of the three wh o

did know, he could not tell. H e had been

on the ship ten day s or a fortn ight by no w.

and was in a great m easu re feeling himself

aga in . Wi th returning appet i te he had

picked up w onderful ly , both in body an d

mind. He determined, therefore, to addto his know ledg e by direct met hod, if

possible ; an d when one mo rni ng the capta in

rol led out of his berth. Hu tto n, wh o wa>

sitting up with his hands in his pockets, and

his ba ck against th e side of the ca bin, opene d

conversa t ion .

" I say ! " he bega n, with a return of his

fasc ina t ing and good-h umou red smi le. " Y o u

might tell a fellow what the game is. and

how y o u wi n . "

The captain drew the loose end of one

of his brace s ov er his shoulde r, and mad e

it fast. Th en he looked at his prisone r-guest .

" Tell ing's know ing ! " he said short ly.

Hu t t o n n o d d e d .

" Ye s, but I wa nt kn owi ng to be telling.

Le t's have the thin g fair ! ] hav en' t done you any harm, at al l events ."

" Oh ! Hav en' t you ? Do n't y ou be so

sure of that , you ng shaver ! Wh at if that

chap on th ' Pretty Pol! happened to be my

broth er, eh ? "

He had tried to work himself into a passion,

but the boy was cute enough to see that hi s

anger was, af ter al l , onl y assumed . Hut ton

leaned back against the cabin side. He was

fully dressed, having changed the rough

night- gear w hic h had be en lent him, for the

clothes he had wo rn at the ti me of his c aptu re.

" I never had a brother," he said, half

closing his eye s, and spea king in a far

a wa y tone of vo ice . " Bu t even if I had, I

do ub t if I shou ld be willing to risk the chan ce

of priso n, just for the sake of taki ng u p his

shad3 r quarrels ."

" You keep a civil tongu e atween them

t eeth o ' yourn , " growled the capta in .

" Pm boss o ' this floating pal ace , mi nd !

A n d what I ' ve done, and why , don 't concern

you , ' cep t where you come in on your own

accou nt . An d just where that is , you'l l

be told all in good t i me . "



Under the Edge o_f the Earth.

Well, any way ," urged Hut to n, see ing

that he had mad e a mistake , and at last

roused the anger of the man who und oub ted ly

had the powe r to make things hot for h im ;

" anyway, you might let me have a turn

up on de ok. I wa nt a breath of g o o d

air badly enough, and if I am to go

over the world I 'd l ike to see some thin g

of it ! "

" My orders is, keep below ! A nd don ' tyou go making any mistake there, my lad.

If yo u wants air , try the port hol e, an d

thank your l ucky stars y o u ain ' t trussed up .

l ike yo u will be if there 's any more o ' wa nt in '

to go on deck."

With these words and a menac ing look

the capta in , having comp leted a not to o

finicky toilet , lumbe red out , lockin g the

door behin d him as usual.

Hnlto n resolved to try Chi Lin g. He

needed to proceed wi th ext reme caut ion,

but at any rate he mig ht make friends w ith

the du mb Asiatic. Ex ce pt for the loss of a

few loose coins in h is movem ents and

struggles on the barge, the mon ey which he

had in his pockets when abducted was sti l l

there. Evi den tly his cap tors had sums in

their minds' eyes that made the contempl a

tio n of an y trifles of whi ch he mig ht b e

in immediate possession unworthy of the ir

aim.

His first offer of a two-shill ing piece for

some slight service was unders too d by the

Chinaman with a quickness which augured

well for success in the a t t empt to get rid of

his mone y, if in noth ing else ; and. later,

a half-crown tip served to c o n v e y to Chi

Ling the impression of good things to be

go t f rom this strangely arriv ed Engli sh

boy. By a series of questio ns carefully

put. Hu tto n was enab led to gain the

informat ion t ha t the vessel was pro bab ly

likely to be altogether some three and a

half to four wee ks at sea, bef ore th ey

called in at a ny po rt, and t ha t she wasbound for somewh ere on the .South Ameri can

coas t .

The informat ion was slowly acqu i r ed .

Chi Ling's replies being confined to a head-

shako or a nod, and his kno wle dge of Eng lish

having its l imits : but Hu tto n w as in hope s

of gradua lly elicit ing muc h mor e from h im

and of maki ng some arrang ement by whic h,

in the even t of a port being reach ed, he

could smuggle a le t te r out to the post by

the help of the silent, but pr oba bly will i ng.

Chi Ling.

Vain hope , that migh t yet have been

justified, sav e for the forc es at w ork against

both capto r and captured. The wal lowing

ol d tub , belyin g her nam e, which surely

should suggest free motion and power to

battle successfully with win d and weathe r,

had screw ed her sulk y wa y thr oug h the

varying moods of the bluff Atlant ic seas

fo r o v e r three weeks . To the u nt ravel led

Hu tt on it seemed an endless voyage . H e

had beg un whimsically' to ask himself whet her

they were not ploug hing the uneasy watersin a circl e, and wou ld be likely to keep

on for ever , a second Pha nto m Dut chm an.

The longing for hom e grew ap ac e; he

would have given all he had to be once

more on firm land, and regain the freedom

to t u rn his face tow ard s his own fair

coun t r y .

A n d t hen ca me the great storm, beatin g

the sulky, worn-out vessel, striking her fore

and aft with swing ing seas, moun tain s of

dark and dangerous waters . For a t ime

the wearied engine s struggl ed against

s t renuous floods and blustering winds, and

then slowly yie lded to the migh ty forces

risen against her. Fo r three days and three

nights, filled to the full with anxiety for

all those who se lives dep end ed upon the

strength of her storm-stra ined plates and

frame, she flew before the gale, her weak ened

machinery power less to resist the angry,

screaming hurr icane .

Hu t ton m igh t then, had h e so desired,

have dragged himself up to her sloping deck,

without hindrance ; but the storm had laid

him by the heels and made him as surely

prisoner, in helpless, groa ning miser y, as

any lock s and bolts migh t do . No r during

al l this tim e di d he see any ot her be side th e

a lm ond- eyed c o o k ; neither captain nor

mate ever once appeared, the dema nd upo n

their t im e and energies was bein g ma de t o

the full.

But after the th i rd day, when for a whole

life-ti me it had seem ed to the terrified lad

that the worl d i tself was tossing helplesshither and thi ther in spac e, the driv ing wi nds

gathere d thems elves together , and fled from

the face of the angr y waters. Whe reu pon ,

whilst yet the great seas -lifted and fell in

their unstil led wrath, the Scotch engineer

t o o k heart of grace, and forced his fires

ane w. Dur ing the temp est his heart had

been trou bled, nor had his speech bee n of

softened refinement. He had not yiel ded to

the su perior powe r of the wind s ove r his

weary engines wi thout much impotent

and useless anger. At last, howeve r ,

there seem ed hop e of his com ing into his

ow n again .

In the small and il l-smelling cabi n Hu tt on

felt a new throbbing of life. The screw

which for so long a t ime ha d giv en no sign

to him of an y mot ion , began now once m or e

to make itself felt . Fo r a while the t rem b

l ings and groanings of the mo vin g machin ery

increased througho ut the vesse l , not icea ble

above all the shaking and shivering w hich

the baffled waters sent through her bat tered

f rame. The Condor was beginning againto assert her right to her own way.

Then , with no warn ing, a huge mou nta in

of green waters hu rled itself at the

ill-starred vessel as she s lowly and painful ly

t u rned upon her course. A shiver ran

th rou gh all her leng th, fiercer an d mo re

terrible t han any she had yet exper ienced.

Hutton sat upright in his bunk, in wild

te rror , as he felt the awful blow, fol lowed

b y the dread shudder and the raging fever

of m ach ine r y running am uck , coup l ed wi th

frighte ned s houts a nd scurry ing to and fro

of men abo ve his head.

He rose to make his wa y on deck ; he

felt he must kn ow what had happe ned.

As he open ed the doo r , s tagger ing under

legs not yet acc ust om ed to the rough usage

of rude seas, and weak by reason of his

repeat ed spells of sickness, Chi Lin g entered

and mot io ned him back.

" Acci dent ? " he gasped.

The impass ive Chinaman nodded .

" Anyone ki l led ? "

H e he ld up tw o fingers.

" Is the shi p safe ? "

He spread out hands indicat ive of want

of knowl edge, and s igned to the bo y to k eep

where he was. Fo r som e little t im e Hu t ton

waite d, his who le frame a-qu iver with

suspense : then he heard hoarse growl ings .

and the cap tai n flung th e ca bi n d o o r

open.

" Y o u ' r e f r e e! " he sa id , wi th staring

eyes and forget t ing probably that the door-

had been recen tly unloc ked ; " but if yo u'r easked ques t ions , you ' re my nep hew, mind :

and been sick abo ard up to now ! But

you' l l have your chance like th' rest on us ;

it ' s n ot going to be murde r, wh atev er else i t

is ! So I 'm giv ing yo u yo ur chan ce w ith

the m as are left . There 's Mack int osh to ok ,

and o ne o' th ' Da go s wash ed off to D av y

Jon es' lock er, and . . ."

Ther e was the sou nd of wild rushing,

fol lowed by a loud sho ut. Th en a

s l ipping and s tumbl ing dow n the c o m

pani on wa y, and the mate staggere d i nto

the cabin , blood flowing f ro m a cu t up on

his forehead.

.TO BE .

. CONTINUED

tourney



676 The"Boy's Obvn Paper.

m H E con t i nen t of Anta r c t i c a is un-

X doubtedly smal ler than i t was. A t

some not very remote per iod it occup ied

m u c h of th e space acco r ded t o it on t he

earlier maps ; and its climate was different

from wha t it is no w. Stretch ing all rou nd the

sout h of the globe i t jo ine d No w Zealand to

South Ame rica on the east, and to Australia,

Kergue len Is land, Maur i t ius , Madagas car ,

Africa and the island of Tris tan D ' A c u n h a

on the wes t .

The P atagon ian foss i l marsupia ls closely

allied to the kanga r oos of Aus t r a l i a ; the

dis t r ibut ion of the flightless birds, such

as the ost r ich , emeu and rhea, and the ir

fossil al l ies ; the lo ngicorn beet les of N e w

Zealand, Aust ra l ia and S o u t h A m e r i c a ;

the Ne w Zeala nd ear th worm m ost closely

re la ted t o the species in Pa tagon i a , Sou th

Georg ia an d the F a l k l a n d s ; an d o the r

curiosit ies of distri bution, present an d pas t ,can only b e exp l a ined b y a con t i nuous

land ridge such as is i nd i ca t ed b y the

soundings . Tha t land surface must h ave

been cove r ed , at least in pa r t , by ex t ens ive

forests, for, in wha t is left of it, coal ha s

been found as in the Arc t ic , and many other

t races of life, as for ins tance , the fossil

leaves which are the rem ains of a l uxur i an t

vege t a t i on . W i th in it s shores l ie the k ej '

t o as many myster ies as are hidden round

a b o u t the Nor th Po l e , an d m a n is not

l ikely to leave it alone.

T he nineteenth century ended wi th the

voyage of the Be.lgica, t he first vessel

to winter so far south , caught in the ice

at sea in 7 1 ° 3 0 ' in 1 8 9 8 , and t ha t of the

Southern Cross, whose crew wintered in

7 1 ° 1 5 ' a t Cape Adare in 1 8 9 9 , being the

first to sp en d the long winter night o n

land within the Antarc t ic Circ le . The

twent ie th century open ed wi th the great

v o y a g e of the Discovery, under Capta in

R o b e r t Falcon Scot t , dur ing the years

1 9 0 1 - 1 9 0 4 .

Thi s par t icular Discovery—for there have

been m a n y of the n a m e — w a s t he first

vessel built in England for scientific explor

atio n. She was mad e entirely of w o o d ,

because i t was thought t ha t a w o o d e n

vessel would be be t t e r able t o deal with

the dangers of the ice t h a n a n y other .

Oak nine feet thick, scarfed toget her fro m

several trees, was used for her stem, and

o a k tw o feet thic k for her sid es ; the inner

lining was of Riga fir , the inner skin, accord

in g t o pos i t i on , of pi tch pine , mahogany

or oa k ; whil st th e out er s kin was of elm

or greenhear t . Eno rmo us beams and bulk

heads were stret ched acros s ; and th e same

sol id work was put in to every part , so t ha t

she was one of the strongest vessels know n.

A n d her e q u i p m e n t and crew were as

g o o d as the s hip.

The expedi t i on reached what was to

be the winter quarters in F e b r u a r y 1 9 0 2 ,

and early in Sep tem ber t he long sledge

journeys began, on e of which ex t ended

t o 8 2 ° 1 7 ' , t ha t is 3 8 0 mi les awa y f rom the

ship, r ising from the sea level t o heights

of 1 0 , 0 0 0 fee t and more , qui te Alpine c l imbi ng

e v e r y now and t hen ; toil ing on in te mpera

tures d o w n t o 6 8 ° b e l o w zero, often amid

stor m and blizzard with deep crevasses in thepa th cove r ed wi th th in layers of snow so

as to be invis ib le . The longes t journe y

lasted three m onths . T h e dogs were

useless and the weather bad. In the

last effort Sco t t and Wi lson had t o pull

By W. J. GORDON.

P A R T I I .

the sledges alone , for Shack l e ton had

br oken down and o n l y his i ndom i t ab l e

will kept him walking so as no t t o burden

h i s com pan io ns .

There were other journeys ca l l ing for

similar pluck and e n e r g y ; and valuable

collect ions of geolog i ca l and na tu ra l his tory

specimens were made, and magnet ic and

other physica l observ at ions were cont inued

d a y an d night wi thout in termiss ion.

Another winter was passed in the ice with

more s ledging an d col lec t ing, an d finally

the Discovery's icy prison had t o be blown

up to set her free. No exp edi tio n did bet ter

[Photo. Maull ,{ Fox.

C a p t a i n R . F . S c o t t , R . N .

work and none achiev ed more impor tant

results.

The days were no t all g l o o m y . Ther e

were days with abso lute ly cloudle ss skies

an d d ays on w hic h wisps of st ratus c louds

hung high about the m igh ty peaks or

t ravel led swif t ly overhe ad. The explorers

c a m e back with stories and pictures, mostty

b y Dr . W i l son , of scenes with a cha r mal l the ir o w n but wi th n o in tens i ty of

co lour , n o great depth of blue in se a or

sky , even the sunset hues being subdued

and owing the ir beauty s imply t o pur i t y

and del ic acy. On the barrier the ice-crys ta ls

(To be concluded.'}

fell and rested like thistledown on the

crusted surface, their form always a six-

po in t ed star, the radiants j o ined b y

innumerable feathery branches, the whole

fo rming a disc varying in size t o half an

inch across , the sunlight turning them

into pr ismat ic gems. Occas ional ly the

whole arch of the hea vens wou ld be gleam

ing with circles and l ines of white or

prismatic l ight, and bright d oub le halos

about the sun touche d or intersected b y

ra inbow-hued c i rc les of different altitudes.

A n d in those days it was the fairyland

of ice t ha t many had dreamt i t always

was .

A s a contrast let us take this. A terrific

gale was blowing, the snow falling like

p o w d e r , the air filled wi th blin din g dri ft.

" T h e surface was now bec omi ng like glass,

and a l though it was m idday w e could

on ly se e a few inches ahead through theice-drift . All mem ber s of th e party were

wearing fur boo ts . One ran into the tent

t o t ake off his fur b oo ts an d put o n leather

ones with which he cou ld obta in a bet ter

foo tho ld . W e were about a hundred yards

from the tent . A s he did not return we

fo rmed ourselves into a chain in order to

g o back and l ook for him. No t a trace of

h im cou ld we find. Every moment the

surface bec ame mor e slippery. Presently

one of the pa r ty slipped on a slope and at

once disappe ared from sight. Ano ther

m an s tar ted down the s lope t o his rescue.

He also disappeared, and was fol lowed

b y a th i rd .

" There were only five of us left. W o had

not the slightest idea ho w far our comp an

ions had fa l len. The only mem ber of thepa r ty who had spikes on his boots now

descended the slo pe for ab ou t fifty yar ds,

bu t he re turned without having seen the

miss ing men. We made another at tempt

to reach the vessel. W e were proce eding

warily along the slope when we suddenly

came on to an ice-patch and then fell like

nine-pins. One man wh o had been slipping

about all the t im e was clut ching hold of

another , b ut sudden ly let go , and with

increasing velo cit y slipped into the darkness

below. We were fol lowing helplessly a fe w

yard s behin d. Sud denl y we saw him throw

up his a rms and disappear over a sharp edge.

W e e x p e c t e d t o follow, but fortunately

we were s topped by a bank o f soft snow .

W e felt t ha t our comp anio n had gone for

ever. After we had pulled ourselves to

gether we cauti ously c rept t o the place where

he had last been seen, and in a m om en t ' s

interval while the drift cleared we found

t o our horror t ha t we were on an

ove r hang ing cliff, with the sea about two

hundred feet b e l o w . "

Fol lowing Scot t went Shackle ton in th e

Nimrod in 1 9 0 8 , the s tory of whoseex pedi t ion

appears in the B O Y ' S O W N P A P E R in the

t h i r t y - s econd vo lum e . Th e South Pole

was not reached, his farthest south being

8 8 ° 2 3 ' , t ha t is within 1 1 1 statu te miles of

it ; bu t one of the partie s, the first to start

from Cape R o y d s , consisting of Professor

T. W . Davids , Dr . Forbes Mackay and

D o u g l a s Mawson, reached the Magnetic

South Pole , which at the t im e of theirarrival was in 7 2 ° 2 5 ' so u th . 1 5 5 ° 1 6 ' east,

tha t i s 1 1 0 0 milesf rom the SouthGeographica I

Pole, fo r it mov es about wi thin a l imited

range as do es the co rrespo nding pole of tho

nor th .

" SOUTHWARD HOI" TO THE POLE :

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



677

T h r o u g h

A f g h a n

S n o w s ;

O r , Lari Khan of the D i a m o n dS t a r .

By J. CLAVERDON WOOD,

A lUfior of " Sinclair of the Scouts" " Jeffrey of the White Wolf Trail" etc.

I~1ARLY in Ma y of the year 1840 a force

'j of some iifteen hundr ed British was

at tacked by Ghilzais , numberi ng between

two and three thousand, at a place called

Jazee. The Afghan cavalry dashed at

full gal lop across the plain and hurled them

selves upon th e gunners. They almost

succeeded in capturing the guns , but being

checked b y a sharp musketry lire, t u rned

upon the British square and nearly broke it .

Despite the heavy fire and the bayonet s ,

the horsemen flung themselves, again and

again, upon the British, and it was only

after several hours t ha t the Ghilzais were

compel led to withdraw.

General Nott then sent a force t o o c c u p y

the strong fortress of Khelat- i -Ghilzai , and

fo r a t ime the communica t ions be tweenKandahar and Ka bul were mad e more

secure. Later on the Brit ish Resident

at Kabul bribed a number of the chiefs to

accept a yearly subsidy, and thus procured

a kind of peace .

Meanwhile, Do s t M o h a mme d and his son

Akbar Khan fought running battles with the

forces sent against them. N o w on the

Hindoo Khoosh range, no w on Kohis tan ,

and again among the Ghilzais , the Ba r u k z y e

Ameer appeared with his hastily recruited

levies. Generals Sale, Nott, and the other

British leaders fol lowed him f rom one

fastness t o another , dislodging him and

hurrying him from place to place, yet never

getting him into the ir clutches.

One day in J u ly , Bo b and Amr a n , wh owere out watching the mountain road to

Kabul , sa w some me n hurrying across a

plateau a few miles awa y. The y were on

foot an d looked as though they were dropping

with fatigue. Th ey seem ed to be making

fo r Ghari Ghilzai . Amra n could not concea l

his jo y when he beheld th e party , for he

felt sure the y were Afreed ees wh o had been

in some conflict and were n o w seeking

safety with Afzul Ali . He la y in his c o v e r t

an d pat ted his musket with fondling hands.

" We shall ge t them al l ," B o b heard him

sa y to himself in fierce delight. " I can

count them and there ar e only ten." Then

raising his voice he said, " As they enter

th e dip there, Lari Khan, they will come

within range of your rifle. We need not

send fo r assistance to the To we r . Th e ywill suspect nothing until they hear the guns ,

and then it will be too late. May Allah

grant t ha t Afzul Ali is among them ! "

In the far distance some horsemen were

n ow seen, evident ly spurring on the ir j aded

cat t le in pursui t of the first pa r ty . B o b

cou ld not ma k e out what they were, but

Amr a n wa s sure t ha t the pursuinghorsemen were Ghilzais . Th e

t w o men adjusted the ir sights ,

and put their a mmu n i t i o n on the

turf beside them.

" I shall fire at t he man in

front , Amran, said Bob, " and do

you cover the man immedia te ly

behind him. He appears to be

th e chief of the gang. I d o n ' t

t h ink it is Afzul Al i, but he is

pr obab ly on e of his Khans . Br ing him

d o w n as s o o n as he is well within range,

an d then pick off the others ."

H e fixed his eyes upon th e distant horse

men. The y were com ing up at a fast rate,

and B ob saw t ha t they were leading a number

of riderless horses.

" T h e y ar e Ghi lza i s , " he exc la imed,

exci tedly . " I c an make them out in the

clear air. They have captured the horses

of the fugi t ives somehow, and are now o n

the t rack of the ir owners . L o o k out ,

Amr a n , the Afreedees wil l be in range in a

fe w minutes ."

Present ly Amran's weapon went off, an d

th e man who was leading jumped into th e

ai r and rol led over upon the road . B o b

was glancing along his rifle when he suddenly

sprang up, knocking Amran 's muzz le to

one side.

" G o o d h e a ve n s, Amr a n ! " he yel led. " W e

are firing upon the Ame e r . It is D o s t

M o h a m m e d himself. I can see hi m clearly.

D o not fire again . W e mus t run out to meet

him before the horsemen c o m e u p . "H e shouted and wa v e d his arms . T h e

men on the road had dived into shel ter and

were looking about for the unseen at tackers .

W h e n B o b show ed himself they op ened

fire with their jezails, and the slugs began

to fly round his ears. But, unheeding th e

danger , he wa v e d his turban, and shout ing

o u t his name dashed headlong towards

the Ameer. It was a miracle t ha t he was

n o t hit. Several t imes he heard th e

singing of the bullets pas t his ears and had

to dive into shelter. A t length he c a me

within hailing distance.

" H a v e no fear, m y lo rd , it is I, Lar i Khan

of the D i a m o n d Star . W e fired in mistake,

thinking t ha t you be longed to the Afreedees

who hold Ghari Ghilzai . May we d r a w

near ? "

The Ameer waved his hand and cal led

out some order , and he and his pa r ty ra n

up to Bo b . Do s t M o h a mm e d was the least

fat igued of the c o m p a n y and welcomed

B o b with outstretc hed hands. " The guide

is dead," he said.

" It was a mis take , m y lo rd , we c o u l d

not make out your features unti l after th e

shot wa s fired. T h e horsemen wh o are in

pursui t will be up with yo u in less t han a

quarter of an hour . W e mu s t t ake to the

hills again. I see they have captured y our

horses ."

" N a y , not ours," said the Ameer , wi th a

re l ieved expression on his f a c e ; " i t must

be Ak b a r Khan, who left us yes te rday to

tr y t o obtain horses for us f rom th e Ghilzais .H e is fol lowing hard after us. Are yo u sure

they are so near ? "

" Pos i t ive , m y lo rd . If we can reach the

r idge up there, y o u will be able t o see fo r

yourself ."

T h e y hurried th rough some trees and

gained th e r idge, whence a v iew of th e road

C H A P T E R X X V I I I . T H E T R E A S U R E OF A B D U L T H E M U L L A H .

was obtained. The horsemen were n owwell within sight and the Ameer recogni sed

hi s son Ak b a r Kh a n . In a few minutes

they put the ir horses to the slope and t ro t t ed

up to the r idge.

A m r a n had slunk away, for he feared that

B o b had let it be k n o wn wh o had fired the

shot t ha t killed the guide , but the A m e e r

an d his people had a lmos t forgot t en that

such a th ing had happened, and Bob t o o k

care to mainta in silence on the mat t e r .

Dos t M o h a m m e d and Ak b a r Kh a n had

been repulsed b y General Sale, and had

barely escaped with a handful of men . The y

had been forced to a b a n d o n the ir horses

when they came to the mounta ins , and had

ma d e the ir wa y from point t o poin t , over

a rugged c ountr y, which was so prec ip i tous

t ha t pursui t was o ut of the ques t ion . When

they reache d level gro und again, Ak bar

K h a n and some twenty men had g o n e t o

a Ghilzai village t o obtain horses, and were

gal loping after the Ameer when Bob caught

sight of t h e m. The led horses were fo r

Dos t M o h a m m e d and his Sirdars . The

gu ide was a Ghilzai shepherd, wh om they

had p icked up a m o n g th e hills.

A per iod of rest was necessary for the

Am eer , and Bob immediately proffered the

hospi t a l i ty of the Lake Towe r . Amra n

g lad ly went on to prepare for the ir c o mi n g .

After a careful approach to the lake, and

on ly after B ob was assured t ha t no Afreedee

spy was a b o u t , the p a r t y signal led for the

b o a t . Th e horses were left in the charge

of some men, who took them to a dismant ledfarmhouse a few miles away, and present ly

the Ameer wa s safe within the strong walls

of the La k e To we r .

H e rested there in absolute securi ty for

a month , and thoroughly en joyed the quie t

of the place. Ak bar Kh an, alwa ys rest less ,

left the Tower dur ing the second week in

order to mo v e a b o u t a mo n g the Ghilzai

t r ibesmen. He had learned the facts about

Ghari Ghilzai for the first time, and agreed

wi th B o b t ha t something should be d o n e

to avenge the dea th of A b d u l the Mul lah .

" I shall return s o o n , " said Akbar, in

his decisive way, " with a thousand Ghilzais .

I will prom ise them t ha t the town shal l be

given o v e r to plunder , and then des t royed .

Te n thousand me n will volunteer when Itell them what they ar e likely to get, but

on e thousand determined men will do. I

have a long score t o p ay off as well as y o u ,

Lari Khan, and am as anxious to lay my

hands on Afzul Ali as yo u are. Y o u will

se e me in the course of a week or s o, if I

a m not captured by the Feringhees. Afzul

Al i ha s buil t up a high posi t ion for himself

a t Kabul by his scheming and flattery of

Shah Shujah, but it woul d have been wiser

ha d he s tayed among the rocks of the

K h y b e r with hi s d o g s of t r ibesmen. H e

has seized a fortress and a jagheer ( terr i tory)

near Je l l a l abad ."

" I k n o w it, m y l o r d , " in terrupted B o b .

" I wa s a prisoner there for six mo n t h s ,

and while I wa s in his dungeon he a t t acked

the Mullah and kil led him."

" W a i t a little, Lari Khan, his day is

no t fa r distant . I am too mu c h e mp l o y e d

in holding my own with the Sirdars around

K a b u l to give Afzul Ali the at tent ion he

needs, but the Feringhees under t ha t sloth

Elphin stone wil l soon be dr iven away.

Zemaun Khan is serving Shujah and the



678 The "Boy's Obvn Paper.

Feringhee s, and tr ying to keep the peace,

but his son is on m y side. I ha ve a lmo st

wo n him ove r, and when I ha ve succ eede d

the days of Shah Shuja h will be shor t.

Expec t m y return within fourteen day s

with the Ghilz ais, an d be rea dy at t ha t

t ime to fol low me and drive out these

Afreedee dogs f rom the old tow n."

The next morning Akbar Khan , wi th

a few horsem en, rod e ove r the hills, and the

Lake Tow er resumed i t s wonted quie t .

B o b post ed watche rs on the hills ar ound,

in order t ha t warnin g migh t be give n of

any Afreedee peasant approaching. He

sailed regularly up and dow n the Lak e,

taking the A me er with him. Dos t

Mohammed was a shrewd, genial man, who

kne w how to throw off the bu rden of his

pos i t ion when c i rcumstances favoure d, and

he had gro wn to l ike the you ng Feringhee,

Lar i K h a n .

One day B ob had la nded on the main land

near the spot where he had taken the

Mullah on boar d the boa t for his first sail

o n the Lak e. As he walked along he

hap pen ed to glan ce at a flat piece of roc k.

He s tar ted as he noticed a rude drawing

of a star upo n it. I t had eviden tly beendraw n by some sharp ins trument , pr obab ly

an Afgh an knife , an d lay flat with tw o.

points forming an obt use angle tow ard the

Lake.

As Bo b s tood he not iced that , by drawing

a poin t from the a pe x of the star through

the a ngle, the Tow er wou ld s tand exac t l y

oppos i t e , while the pr odu ced lines of each

side of the angle w oul d mak e tw o long

t racks across the Lak e. Ins tant ly there

flashed into his min d the drawi ng u pon the

strip of parchme nt which the Mullah had

co mm and ed shou ld be plac ed in his han ds.

It was a star drawn like th is rude c o p y o n

the rock. He to ok out the parchm ent and

lai d it on the figure, an d fou nd t ha t the lines

of the angles were the same.

B o b dr ov e a stic k int o the cleft of the

rock as near as possib le to the a pe x of th e

angle. Jum pin g into his boat he pad dle d

across the Lake unt i l he co ul d no longe r

see the stick. T hen he slow ly pad dle d

the boat ba ck to the land, carefully keep ing

on the l ine of the angle, and exam inin g

the water on each side. He saw nothin g.

Then he did the same with the other line

of the anofle, this t ime paddl ing down the

Lake .

A s he re turned he noti ced a piece of

wood, ly ing part ly submerged, in the t r a ck

of the boat. He lifted it very care fully,

and discovered t ha t underneath it there

was fast ened a piec e of stout twine . He

lifte d it on t he end of his finger, a nd fo un d

t ha t i t was he avy . Slo wly he dre w it upand s oon had a lon g leng th of the c or d in

his bo at. A t last he saw t ha t i t was fastened

to a s t ou t rope. The two were knot te d

together with several very firm knots.

B o b hauled in the rope unt i l i t would

c o m e no farther. He tugged, but f ound

t ha t som e hea vy weigh t was on the e nd.

Sta ndi ng firmly in th e bo at he ex ert ed all

hi s s t rength, and t hen felt t ha t he was

lift ing something which was of considerable

weigh t. Lett ing the rope slide bac k into

the water, he made sure t ha t the knots

which fastened it to the twine were secure,

and that the twine itself was soun d, and

then sailed back to the rock and covered

the star drawing with earth , and re turned

to the Towe r .

He thought t ha t he had solved the

difficulty of the s t r ip of parchmen t , and

the schem e of Ab du l the Mullah be cam e

clear to his mind. Th e old man h ad lon g

been expect ing an a t t ack from some of

his num erous en emies, and had arranged

his riches in such a way t ha t they could

be easily carried off by himself and secr eted

in some safe place.

Afgha nistan had ma ny hiding-pl aces for

treasure, and usually caves , wells, or holes

in the earth were chose n. The boa t had

suggested wh at seem ed to the Mullah an

excellen t plan. He had placed his preciou s

stones and jewels in tw o heav y, ir on-b ound

boxes, wrapped in thick Hera t felt coverings.

Rou nd the box es he had passed a strong

rope . Taki ng the boat he had padd led

out, upon a l ine drawn from the angle of

the star he had cut upon the rock, and

sunk the first bo x. A t the end of the ro pe,

whe n the first b ox was sunk, he tied the

oth er, and low ere d it up on the first by mea ns

of a strong rope, to which he had a t t ached

a length of s tout twine .

The ropes sank to the bot to m, but the

twi ne was held to the surface of the water

b y me an s of the float of w o o d . This was

not large enough to a t t r ac t at tent ion, an d

the Mullah had also fastened a stone to it, so

that i t would be part ly submerged. He then

gave the s t r ip of parchment, on which he

had dr awn th e facsimile of the star, to his

faithful fol lower Sadat , with instructions

t ha t he was to place it in the hands of LariKha n, and none other. He kne w then

that what ever happ ened the jewels were

safe from the enemy, and he left it to the

ingenui ty of Bo b to disc over the hiding-

p lace .

B o b ' s first impulse was to raise th e

treasure, if treasure it was, at the earliest

mom ent , but he decided to consul t Am ran

Al i on the mat te r . He did not forget the

partnership which exis ted between the m,

nor the fact t ha t m or e than five hundred

rupees were due to the Hig hlan d serg eant,

MacClure, and also that , owi ng to th e

dis turbed state of the countr y, nothi ng ve ry

considerable in the way of profit had c o m e

to them.

Afzul Ali had swept their possessions aw ay,

and B o b had nothi ng but an old visit ing

card an d a cr own piece left to call his own .

Even his stars were adorning the treasure

caske t of the Afreede e ruffian. Bo b thoug ht

t ha t i t was only fair to consu lt Amra n Ali

before he made known to the Ameer and

Akba r Khan t ha t the wealt h of the Mullah

lay within his gras p.

The next morning a horseman ann ounced

t ha t Akbar Khan had been fortunate enough

to secure, in less than twenty-four hours ,

the sup port of one of the mos t influential

of the Ghilzai chiefs, and t ha t in a few hou rs

he would be in the nei ghb our hoo d of the

Tower with a strong force of horse men and

f o o t m e n .

T h a t evening Akb ar Khan ar r ived, and

with his accustomed impetuosity decider 1to a t t ack Ghari Ghilzai before da ybre ak,

and put ev ery man within i t to death. He

sent wor d to Bo b to jo in him among the

hills. Am ra n Ali and Tali b were despatch ed

to mee t him, with instructions fr om Dost

Mohammed, to say t ha t Lar i Khan was

staying to guard the A mee r, but that they,

Amr an and Ta lib, woul d be glad to lead

th e assault.

As day was breaking the Afreedee sentinels

were surpri sed an d sile nced , and the Ghil zais

rushed to the a t t ack with furious zeal.

They broke into the town and began to

smite the astonish ed garrison.

B y midda y everything was over . Horse

men pursued the fugitives and cut them

to pieces, and Ak bar 's men gather ed all

the animals, and having collected thevaluables , then set fire to the to wn . Th e

blaze of the conflagration coul d be seen for

miles aroun d, an d a huge black colum n of

smoke hung like a pall of death over the

d o o m e d place . The vine yards and orchards

were then destr oyed, and the banks of the

cana l cut , an d one of the fairest an d m ost

fruitful districts of Afghanistan was made

a desolate vraste.

More than six tho usa nd h orses were seized,

and t hus Akb ar Kha n was able to mou nt

and equip the cavalry force which after

wards w rough t such mischief on the British

army which retreated from Kab ul. He and

his men re turned in great t r iumph to the

Tower , and with quiet humo ur the Amee r

conferred th e Jagheer of Ghari Ghilzai

upon Lar i Khan .

" B y All ah ! " sai d Am ra n, " it went to

m y heart to set fire to the town of Abdul

the Mulla h; I loved it alm ost as well as my

own zuna (dwellin g) in the Khy ber , but

it had been poll ute d by the do gs of Afzul.

It was a fight after m y own heart, and I

exact ed a heav y pa}'m ent for my six m onths

in t ha t accursed dungeon, and yet, L ar i

Kh an , I am not satisfied. N or shall I

be until I meet Afzul face to face."

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

D O S T M O H A M M E D S U R R E N D E R S — S H A R I N G

T H E T R E A S U R E .

H E summer passed

away, and until

October Dost Mo

ham med lay in the

secure shelter of

the Tow er. Akba r

Khan had moved

nearer Kabul wi th

hi s forces, and Sir

Robert Sale was

vainly trying to

allure him into a

pi tched battle.

Bu t the wily

Barukzye knew his

ow n game , and pla yed it with consu mmate

skill . He was in hourly communi cati on with

the chiefs in and around Kab ul.

Shah Shujah ha d openly sworn that he

would hang the do g Dos t Moham med , if

he could lay hands upon him, and news

cam e t ha t a price had bee n set on the head

of the fugi t ive Ameer . Dos tMo ham med had

now gr own tired of inaction, and determined

to leave the Tow er in order to get to the

Nigrow hills, where a body of sturdy-

mountaine ers and Ghaze es were waiting

to give him a welcome. He com m anded

B o b and A mra n Ali to at tend him, and, as

a special honour, entrusted to the Khyb eree

the blue s tandard which always marked- the

positio n of the Am eer .

Bo b had no wish to be drawn into a

fight with the Brit ish, b ut he saw that it

was imposs ible to refuse to go with theAmeer . They were received with un

b o u n d e d enthusiasm by the Nig row tribes

men, and a large force of horsemen gathered

around the blue banner-.

Early in No ve mb er the army was posted

in a rich val ley be twee n the Ni gro w hills.

F or t s were scattered abo ut, and the

neighbouring village of Purwandurrah wa s

strong ly held. Bo b had taken the precau

tion to renew the stain upon his face and

body , and w as, to all appearan ce, a rather

handsome and striking young Sirdar of

the Afghan force. He rode beside, the

A m e e r and Amran Al i .

It was a glorious au tumn day and the

sun sho ne brillian tly. Th e air was crisp

and invigorating, and the foliage, just

clothe d in the gold en red beauty which

comes before winter, made a perfect setting

t o a stirring scen e. On eve ry ridge the

Afghan jezail men were crouching , and on

a piece of elevat ed groun d Dost Moha mme d

t o o k up his position with his horsemen.

The blue s tandard wav ed behind him.

[The



E N T E R P R I S E .

LADY: "O h C a r l o! i l y darling Carlo ! Save Mm ! Save him I"

STRANGER: " T o o late, m a d a m ! Allow me to present my card—'Jo nes , Ta x idermis t . ' "

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



680 The Boy's Ottrn Taper.

T h e Brit ish fo rce , ma in ly c o m p o s e d of

Sepoys and nat ive levies , belongi ng to

Shah Shujah's arm y, came into position,

and suddenly their cavalry was launched

against th e flank of the Ame er' s gua rd.

Captains Fraser and Ponso nby, with

Lieutenant s Broad foo t and Crispin, led t he

British a t t ack . A shot came singing f rom

a conc ealed hiding-pl ace, and Dr. Lor d

tumbled out of his saddle, and was after

wards cut to pieces. The Ameer waved

hi s t u rban in the direct ion of the charging

hors eme n, an d poin ted to his flag.

" In the name of Allah, m y brothe rs ,"

he shou ted t o his Sirdars, " charg e, or we are

l o s t ! Fol low me ! "

H e set spur s to his horse, and a ye ll of

encouragement greeted his words. The

Afghan horsemen dashed at the British

force, while the guns an d jezails made sore

h a v o c a m o n g their in fan trymen. The Sepoy

cava l r y hesitated, their ga l lop became

(i t rot , then a walk, and the nex t ins tant

the Afghan s were amo ng the m. The British

leaders were swe pt asi de.

B r o a d f o o t and Crispin were dismounted

and cut to pieces by the Afgh an sabres,

while Fraser an d Po ns on by , fighting likeheroes , ende avour ed to rally the terror-

str icken Sepoys . It w as in vain, and D os t

Mo h a m m e d , reining in his horse, watched,

with a smile, the re t rea t of the first port io n

of the British line.

H e had more t han vindicated his courage

and powe r, and for the mo men t it seemed

as if he wou ld issue orders for an imm edi ate

advance upon K abul . Then h is face

c louded and he turned his charge r's head .

" Att end me, Lari Khan , the gam e is up ,"

he said as he rod e aw ay, and wit hou t

another w ord he quitte d the field, leav ing

th e t r iumphan t Afghans to gather in what

spoil t h e y could.

T h e Ame er gall oped along the valley and

struck out in the direction of Kab ul . Fo r

several hours he rode without drawing rein,

until it became necessary to give the horses

a breathing space. After a short hal t

they rode on throug h the night, reaching

the rough country outside Kabul in the

after noon. Th e roa d was a narr ow one

thro ugh a gor ge leadi ng to the vill age of

Kil la -Kazee . S o o n they came in sight of

thick grove s of mulbe rry trees, and, over a

fertile plain, B o b saw the tow ers and walls

of Kab ul . He saw also a c r o w d of Indian

Lancers attend ing an English gentleman,

wh o was dressed in civilian clothing.

The Ameer commanded h is fol lowers

to hal t , and sent B ob forward to inquire

the nam e of the leade r of the Lanc ers.

Fr om a peasant B ob learned t ha t it was the

British Envo y, Sir Will iam Macnaghte n,

wh o was taking his evening ride in the out

skirts of Kabu l . He repor ted th is to Dos t

M o h a m m e d .

" Go forward , Lari Khan ," said the Amee r.

" and tell t ha t man t ha t Do s t Mo h a mme d

is fol lowing thee ."

B o b rod e forward, and saluting the En vo y

announced t ha t the Amee r was at hand.

" Wh at Ame er ? "sai d Sir Wil lia m, reining

in his horse, in surprise.

" D o s t Mo h a mme d Kh a n , my lo r d , "

replied Bo b, and the next mom ent the

A m e e r rode up, and dismounting, offered

his sword to Sir William.

" I c o m e to claim the prot ecti on of the

British," he sai d; " here is my swor d."

T he troope rs gathered around him, but

the Envoy bade them keep back, andreturning the sword , he asked the Am eer

t o remount and accom pany h im to Kab ul .

In the midst of the escort Dos t Mo ha mm ed

and B o b rode to the bui lding s of the Britis h

Mission, situated o n the plain outside Ka bul ,

and a tent was assigned the ch ieftain.

W o r d of his surrender soon ran through

K a b u l and presently t he aged mothe r of

the Ame er cam e ou t to greet her son. He

was entirely overcome as the old lady

em br aced him . The greatest courtesy was

shown to the fallen Am ee r by all the Briti sh

officers, and a strong guard was placed

arou nd h im to prev ent his assassination

b y the fol lowers of Shah Shuj ah.

On Nove mber 1 2 , a European reg iment

with Captain Garbet t 's tro op of Horse

Artillery, form ed up to escort him t o Jellala-

bad , and from there Sir Wil lough by Cotton

t o o k charge, and the Ame er was taken t o

India, where a considerable pension was

a l lowed him. Bo b was permit ted to at tend

h im as far as Jell alab ad, a nd there he bade

farewell to the fallen monar ch.

" T h o u has t d o n e well , Lar i Khan ,"

he said, and the tears stood in his eyes at

parting, " an d I can never t hank thee

enough for th y faithfulness. It grieves

m e t ha t I did not tell the Envoy that

th ou art a Feri nghe e of his ow n race . It

might have been better for thee, for the

c louds have not passed from the sky, and

Shah Shuj ah has not won the game yet .

I see t ha t I cannot strive with successagainst the British and the Sikhs, but

A k b a r Khan is 3T

oung and able , he will

fight t o the last, and will set the cou ntry

in a blaze from end to end before the

S u d d o z y e conque rs . I would have raised

thee to a high posit ion had m y fate been

different, but, at least, thou knowest that

I estee m thee as a friend. Fare wel l, Am ra n

Ali, t h o u has t bor ne my bann er. If the

t ide turns , th ou and thy sons after thee

shall be known as the s tandard bearers of

the Ameer . Allah keep thee ! "

T h e escort woun d its way towa rds the

dark recesses of the Kh yb er Pass, and

B o b and Am ran Al i wat ched it, in sadness,

unt i l it disappeared from view and the

bugle reminded them t ha t the fo rce which

they were to acc om pan y throug h the

K h o o r d Ka bu l Pass was already on the

march, and that the} ' mus t hurry to jo in

it .

Three weeks later the y were again in the

shelter of the La ke Tower , and Talib and

Sad at we re rejoi cing in their return. T h e

first thin g B o b did on the mo rnin g following

was to take Am ran and Tali b into his

confidence respecting the recov ery of

A b d u l ' s treasure. As he had foreseen Amra n

was all eagerness to begi n, and w oul d have

ruined everythi ng in his precipitate haste.

A n old " sea dog ."

B o b knew t ha t his eager hands would

break t he twi ne if he were all owed to tou ch

it .

" Nay , Amra n," said Bo b, laying a

restraining hand upon him, "th ou ar t too

eager for wealth, to o fast is oftenti mes to o

s low. I have not told thee all; and with out

m e yo u can not find where the treasure is

concealed. Is it mine or thine ? "

" Thine, Lari Khan, if the desire of the

Mullah is to be respected."

" I am glad you say so. Now, hear

m e ; whe n we rec ove r the bo x, it shall be

carried into the Tower . The secret must

be kept between us. Yo u, Amran , and you ,

Ta l ib and Sa dat, shall receive fair shares,

bu t in the first plac e, I mus t exam in e the

b o x and its cont ent s myself, and mak e

the divisi on as I thin k best. Wh at I retain

fo r myself will be my ow n conc ern, and

each ma n must p romi se to be satisfied w ith

that whi ch he receiv es, and he ma y keep

the kno wle dge of its am oun t to himself.

D o yo u agree '! "

It wa s amusi ng to wat ch the pla y upon

the features of the Afgh ans . A vari ce is

a prevailing vice, but especiall y is it so

am ong the native s of Afghani stan, a ndB o b could see that it t o o k hi s followers

some time to adjust their thoughts to the

pos i t ion . Bu t they were fair-mi nded men,

and recognised that B o b was right. On the

K o r a n they swore that his will should be

fol lowed out to the smallest detail, and

B o b t o o k their hands and accepted their

word with entire cordiality.

Sending the other men awa y on various

errands, they entered the boat and rowed

t o the middle of the Lake. Bo b found the

float wit hout difficult y, and presently he

held the twine in his hands.

" By All ah !" grunted Amran , with

dismay, " tho u ma kest mo re fuss over the

treasure than the weight warrants, if that

th in cord is going to lift it from the bo t tom

of the lak e. I will sell m y share for a

hundred rupees and consider t ha t I have

made a g o o d barga in ."

" As the fool thinks , the bell clinks,

Am ran ," Bo b replied, hauling the tw ine ;

" I ' ll buy thy share from thee for a hundr ed

rupees, and think myself l u c k y . "

' ' Nay , Lari Khan , on second thoughts

I will not afflict thee wit h my ill-luck. The

cord is a slight one, but it is a wise saying1

Jud ge no t of men or things at first sight. '

I alone will bear the loss that is comi ng on

m e . "

Slowly B ob pulled the twine into the

boa t , and presen tly the rope cam e into

sight. He t o o k a firm grip an d beg an t o

haul.

" Come along, Amran, and lend a hand.Y o u can feel the weight now ."

Amran was on ly too willing to test it

and so satisfy himself. Th ey hauled steadily

and a square iron-bou nd box , covered with

felt, was seen a little below the surface of

the water. Th ey lifted it into the boa t.

I t was bound with ropes, and B ob saw that

another rope went down to the dept hs.

" Hel lo ! Am ra n, " he said, " we have n6t

c o m e to the end yet; there is another b ox

t o be dragged up. Stead y, we must not

lose it by carelessness. Up with it, perhap s

there is yet anoth er fastened to i t."

Am ra n pulled steadil y and a box , similar

to the first, was haul ed to the surfac e. The re

was no rope hanging from it , so Bob gave

the order to return to the Tower . Th e

weighty chests were carried to the u pperroom and B ob procee ded to exami ne them.

It w as plain that Amr an Ali would have

preferred to remain, but B o b smiled and

po in t ed to the door .

" D o not keep us waiting long, for Allah' i

sake," said Amran as he went out.



Through Afghan Snobvs. 681

B o b lifted u p the lid of the first bo x, and

was amazed t o see the amount of treasure

it cont aine d. Th ere were mo re than a

dozen rows of gold coins, closely packed

together , and B ob saw t ha t at least half

were Englis h soverei gns. Th e other s were

Persian, Afghan, and Ind ian gold coins.

Much English gold had been brought into

the count ry since the adva nce of the British

army, and Abdu l the Mullah had stipu late dfo r it when he sold his supplies to the Kabul

merchants w ho supplied the cam ps.

Th e rest of the bo x was filled with valuable

articles of jewellery, and a great number

of precious stones, which had been t aken

out of their setting. The secon d bo x also

contained a very large amount of coin, and

three leather bags. The y contai ned diamonds

and emeralds to an almost fabulous amount.

A b d u l the Mullah, though living in a

comparatively p o o r country, had for nearly

th i r ty years occupied a favourable position

fo r the amassing o f wealth. His drove s

of horses had numbered many thousand s,

and he had for years supplied the cava lry

mo u n ts to the Ameer , and the Khans of

Ka n d a h a r and Hera t . H e had been a

shrewd bargainer, and t o o k every oppor

t un i t y of purchasing valuable emeralds and

diamonds .

B o b had no idea of the amou nt conta inedin the chests, but he saw a t once that th e

precious stones would realise a huge sum.

He very carefully set aside three divisions

and place d enou gh gold and jewels to make

even an Afghan Sirdar a very r ich man. H e

pack ed one chest with what he had res erved

fo r himself an d pu t it aside. Then he

cal led Amr an Ali into the r o o m . Poin t ing

to the div isio ns he said, " No w Amran , you

ca n t ake y o u r choi ce of any one of these

d iv i s ions ."

(To be continued.}

Amr an was speechless with astonishm ent.

H e l o o k e d at t he gold and let the shining

stones tr ickle through hi s fingers. T h e

perspiration s tar ted on his forehead and

rol led d o w n hi s face .

" B y A l l a h ! " he gasped , " a m I

dreaming ? "

" Take thy share, Amran, and tell m e

if th ou art satisfi ed."

" Satisfied, m y lord ! I a m amazed .I never dreamed t o se e so much wealth,

and cannot believe that tho u art in earnest."

Before Talib and Sadat entered he ha d

gathered the glitter ing store into an amm u

nition ease, and dragged it into his quarters

like a m a n in a dream. " I a m a c o wa r d

after this, m y lord ," he said as he went ou t.

I dare not expose mysel f in bat t le n o w I

am so rich a ma n . "

Wh i c h shows that Amran thought t ha t

fighting me n we re p o o r .

Pi ELD EVENTS AND

WIN THEM.

ow TO

By F. A. M. WEBSTER, L.A.C.

(English Amateur Javelin-throwing Champion, 1 9 1 1 ; Hon. Secretary, Amateur Field Events Association.)

VI . T H E P O L E J U MP , S T E E P L E CH A S E , A N D H O P , S T E P A N D J U MP .

T H E P O L E J U M P .

rilHOSE of my readers wh o hav e carefully

_|_ studied the instructions given for High

an d L o n g Jump ing will f ind them v ery help

fu l in taking up the Pole Jum p. This is

T h e P o l e J u m p .

I . The jumper will clear the upper part of the

body over the bar b y pushing the pole hard away

from him.

not an event in whi ch prof i c i ency is easily-

acqui red ; any amo unt of plu ck and p ati ence

is required, for the beginn er will t ake s o me

nasty tumbles, and i t is cer tainly a case of

" if at first you don' t succee d, et c. "

Sufficient emphasis cannot be laid o n

getting the take-off accurately, and in

planting the pole right, for if the athlete

does not get used to planting his pole with

precis ion, it will necessitate his wat chi ng it

unt i l the last second and so his mind will

be distracted f rom getting his b o d y proper ly

in to the air.

The Pol e Vaulter s tands in front of the

bar he hopes to jum p, th epol ehe l d inh is hand

perfectly upright , t he e nd ' resting on the

ground . Wi th his eye he judg es the sp ot

at wh ich the pole touc hes the cross bar ;

he t hen steps back, letting the pole falltowards him and catching it as it falls

at t he poin t at which he judges it was

level wit h the cr oss bar, he then walks back

the distanc e of his run. whi ch, togeth er with

the ten an d fifteen pace marks, he has

a lready fixed by the methods described in

the Running L o n g J u m p .

H e then takes a sha rp dash forward, the

speed and cont rol being just as described in

the Running L o n g Jum p. As he pl an t s hi s

pole he springs into the air, pulling hard on

the pole with his arm s to raise himself, and

at once the feet should be the hig hest po int

of t he b o d y , having b een swung up. Jus t

as in the Running High Jum p, a t u rn i ng

mo v e me n t has been initiated.

A s the legs rise to the bar t he lower hand

is slipped up unt i l i t touch es the upper one,

which is no t a l lowed to be m o v e d , a n d

the athlete crosses the bar face d o wn wa r d s

t o all in tents and purposes, at the same

time shov ing the pole hard a wa y f r o m h im.

The legs are swung d o w n , an d the arms

thro wn up and aside to clear the upp er part

of the b o d y o v e r the bar .

One other point is of importance, t ha t is ,

the w ay in which the han ds grasp the pole ,

an d it suffices to say t ha t the left is usually

the lo wer , and t he little finger is the lo west

one on each hand.

T H E S T E E P L E C H A S E .

F o r th is race the athlete must time his

running to the dis tance , and must rely

largely upon his own experi ence and j udg

men t. He should learn to t ake his obstacles

with the smallest possible expend iture of

energy .

For instance, if a hurdle o r l o w fence

intervenes, too high t o j u mp wi th o u t an

effort, vault it; if sufficiently low, t ake it in

y o u r stride. As regard s w or k o v e r a hedge

into the water , t ake your hedge with an

easy jump that will land you comfor tab ly

in to the water without any added effort.

T h e P o l e J u m p .

II . Crossing the bar. The jum per is nicely

stretched out, but if the lowe r hand had been slid

up the pole another foot in height would have been

obtained.

I t is a mis take t o put tremendous energy

into the jump, and so land yourself well on

in the w ater with the possibilit y of s tumb ling

and so delaying yourself quite considerably.

Such obs tac les as low ( 3 feet) hurdles on the

flat y o u should learn to t ake in you r s tr ide.

It is alw ays as well to kee p a bit in han d,

so t ha t when t he final burs t on the flat

c o m e s yo u have enou gh stamina lef t t o



682 The Boy's Otetn Taper.

race the other man for the hon ours ; and,

a b o v e al l , remember t ha t a l t hough y o u ' v e

had a gruell ing, and are feeling just a bo ut

" beat to the w o r l d , " the other man is

probab l y feeling a jo l ly sight worse !

T H E HOP, STEP AND JUMP.

I n this eve nt all the wo rk up to the take-

of f is exact ly the same as for the Runni ng

L o n g J u m p . H a v i n g t aken off f rom the

board , the athle te l ands on the same leg

as t ha t f rom which he has t aken off, springs

again, land s on the opp osit e leg, and then

makes his ordinary long jump.

This is a mos t fascinating sport when

th e a th le te has a t t a ined proficiency. The

finest jump ers of the kin d Grea t Brit ain has

ever pro du ced are the brother s Dan and T. J.

A h e a r n e ; the former holds the wor l d ' s

r eco r d , and the l at ter wo n this event for us

at the O l y m p i c G a m e s of L ondon , 1908 .

F o r all the field events the athle te must

bui ld up the muscles of th e b o d y , and for

[ T H E E N D . ]

this purpose I do not think I can do better

than r e c o m m e n d to my readers Lieut.

Midler 's splendid b o o k enti t led " M y

S ys t em."

If these art icles have add ed one inch to

anyone ' s j ump or throw, or have lessened

his time for the hurdles, or have brought

new adherents to the sports I love so well ,

m y l abour in comp iling those instructions

will be well repa id ; and if I can help any of

m y readers with further adv i ce , a letter to

m e, c/o the Edi to r , B O Y ' S O W N P A P E R , will

ahvays meet with a speedy answer.

A TEST

MATCH

Mar ty n - S my th

A C o m p l e t e C r i c k e t

S t o r y .

TH E glass was h igh, the sky cloudless ,

the wicket hard. Three days '

cricket was a practic al certai nty and, per

haps , in v iew of the fa ct t ha t this, the fifth

test match, was to be played to a finish,though not more t han six days were to be

dedicated t o it, it might extend o v e r the

fourth and fifth, even t o the sixth day. A

surfeit of cr icket , you suggest—not , I ca n

assure y o u , t o Martyn-Smyth, who passed

through the turns t i les at the Oval , no t

merely wi thout a care, bu t with a hear t

filled with j o y o u s ant ic ipat ion.

H e wished, however , t ha t he had a pa l

with him ; two can en joy a cricket matc h so

much bet ter t han one, but, unfortunately ,

L o n d o n in Aug ust is no t al together fashion

able , and Smyth 's s c h o o l friends he k n e w

w o u l d be at the seaside, or, as he put it to

himself, rott in g abo ut the cou ntr y generally.

He entered b y theVauxha l l Ga t e , and

al though the hour was ear ly—he was

determined to get as g o o d a seat as an

ordinary mor tal c o u l d aspire to wi t hou t

having resource t o the s tands—found t ha t

there were plenty of signs of act ivi ty, in

cluding a number of the players engaged

in the match practising at the nets.

F o r a m o m e n t or t wo M ar t yn-S myt h ,

swinging his l i t t le paper bag of sandwiches

on his finger, co nte mp lat ed the scene with

in teres t , and wondered if he had bet ter

secure his seat s t ra ight away or if he cou ld

spare ten minutes or so for watching the

men wh o were loosening the ir shoulders.

A minute or so later he was standing at

point t o one of the finest batsmen in

England , and he laughed to himself when he

thou ght of the effect it w o u l d create when

he casually remarked t o th e fel lows in theSixth Form r o o m , " Y e s , I s t ood at point to

W y l d e s l e y — q u i t e close i n , " and h o w he

w o u l d have to d o the " hundred " up

schoo l in record t ime when it came out t ha t

he had a net between him and the Al l

England man.

It do es not require a Sher lock Holmes to

I l i a i L -

• (H fl|fl| |H Bl flj H Jtf'

OVERS

1 4 . 3

CHRONICLE.BUNS WKTS.

1 6 8

By HAROLD MACFARLANE.

deduce f rom the data given t ha t Martyn-

Smy th was standing at t he net far thes t

from the ga someters, and t ha t the nearest

route to the seats t ha t en joy a little shade

from the vicini ty of the scoring box wasin front of the nets. I t therefore fol lowed in

qui te the natural order of events , when

W y l d e s l e y sent a short pitched 1 all soaring

over the heads of the bowlers amid a general

shout of " H e a d s , " t ha t Smyth should look

round a nd seeing the ball c o m i n g s t ra ight to

him make an effort to catch it.

The ball stuck, and the feel of the leather

after a few weeks' holi day during whic h he

had not play ed cricke t was to Mart yn- Smyt h

one of the mo st pleasan t sensation s he had

exper ienced for some t ime.

A th in fringe of spectators prevented

S m y t h re turning the ball thew a y t ha t it

cam e , and put t ing his sandwiches in his

pocke t he tossed the leather from hand to

hand as he strolled towards the net, and

alm ost bef ore ho wa s aware o f the fac t one

of the groundsmen who was sl inging in balls

of a character t ha t Smyth recognised as

having a distinctly grinding effect if they

d id ge t y o u on the fingers, had sa id " Y o u

g o next , sir ," and was standing o n one side.

Mart yn- Smy th's first impression was to

d i savow any intention of bowl ing , and then

like a flash it came to him t ha t it w o u l d be

rather a j o k e to tell the other fellows how he

bowled t o the famou s Lancas trian an d how

— but t ha t remained to be seen.

It wa s glorious to hol d a ball again, to get

his fingers in posi t ion and —my word ! he

would have a shot, he didn't care a hang if

i t did bounce three t imes en route to the

wicke t . People might take him for the

Googlie K i n g !

M ar t yn-S myt h was a left-hander of

about medium pace. H e took a shor t

run and deliv ered the ball . . .

There was a short interval while the

famous ba t set the leg-pe g upri ght an d hit

the ball up from the ba ck of the net, and

Martyn-Smyth t r ied t o l ook as though up

rooting a cha mpio n batsman' s wicket was

an eve ryd ay affair with him.

" A g o o d ball, sir. I should like another

of t ha t sor t . "

Commendat ion from England's greatestbatsman ! Mar tyn-Smyth 's heart beat fast

with exultation.

The slinger sent d o w n his finger-grinding

ball , a groundsman despatched a curly slow

an d then went into the country to recover

the ball b y easy stages, and once more

M ar t yn-S myt h bowled , and as the world-

renowned batsman restored hisoff stump

to theperpendicular he heard a spectator

say to a compani on , " I tell ye rh e' s wearing

th e East A b b e y colours . I 've seen him over

the rail ings many a t ime, but he 's bowling

different to what he did—more like ' A i g h . "

Mart yn- Smyt h himself recognised that

he was bowling differently from what he

usually did. S o m e h o w he had got into a

posi t ion that made everything appear com

fortable and bowling the easiest of tasks.

He wondered why on earth he had no t

always bowled in t ha t easy natural fashion.

He felt he cou ld go on bowlin g for weeks

like that , and t ha t he cou ld make the ball

do anyth ing barring si t up and talk.

The great batsman stopped practising in

order to speak to two other members of the

team, both amateurs and one England's

Captain, who had evidently been looking

on thou gh Smy th had not noticed them

before.

" B o s h ! " said the Captain, laughing.

" Y o u ' r e right as rain. I bet you'l l make

a century."

The professional batsman murmured

something about " c o n f i d e n c e . "

" R a t s ! y o u ' r e n o t going to play him,

in an y case - -but if that ' s all you want, here

g o e s . "

England's Captain came straight up to

M ar t yn-S myt h .

" W i l l y o u g ive me a f e w b a l l s ? " he

asked.

" Y e s ! " said Martyn-Smyth laconically,



A. Test Match Chronicle. 683

no t quite knowing whether he was

on his head or his heels.

When the most famous amateur

bat of the (l ay gre w wea ry of

fielding balls he co uld n't play from

behind the wi cket , restoring the

stumps to their customary upright

position and making a considerable

num ber of mos t ineffec tual efforts

to hit the cover off the ball t ha t

performed a sufficiency of tricks to

almost justify the belief that th e

man behind it possessed the in

genu ity of a Maskelyne and a

Devant amalgamat ed into one

person, he bore d o w n upon the

bowler and remark ed, " Y o u ' v e g o t

to play for Middlesex before you

are a week older."

" But I was born in Manches

ter," gasped Martyn-Smyth.

" Thank Heaven ! " said in

unison the eminent professional

and the other amateur, th e lat ter a

lightning bowler , each o f w h o m

wore a red rose embroidered on

his ca p. The England Captain,

placing on e gloved hand on Martyn-Smyth's shoulder, conducted him

gently towards the pavil ion. "I ' l l

find yo u a seat ," said he with a

laugh, " though m embers cann ot

introduce visi tors. Er—hav e yo u

resided in Middles ex tw o yea rs ? "

" Hands off—no poaching," said

the famous bowler with m o c k

severity. " Thi nk of yo ur n ativ e

coun ty , sir', a n d — " he end ed

disconnectedly as a telegraph boy

thrust a message into the Capta in's

hands—"don' t say that something

has happe ned to ("hive ! I hate

the sight of a telegram until th e

match is under way. I ' m twice

the bowl er 1 usually a m if I'v e

Chive at the other end."

Th e English Captain g lanc ed at

the flimsy piece of paper and

remarked, " Are yo u often g iven to

premoni t ions , Wearley ? Chive's

been dished in a taxi accident—

sprained his wrist and cannot

play. "

" Help ! " ejac ulat ed the fast

bowler . " Yo u are goin g into the

field with on ly four bowlers . I can

see i t in your eye."

" It doesn't rest with me—

there 's the selection comm itte e

with power to co-op t one or more

members of the team. By-the -

way, youngster, you are wearing

East A b b e y colours , aren ' t you ?I don't remember your face an d

y£ t I pla yed for M.C.C. against

y o u . "

" I missed the M.C.C. match," explained

Martv n-Smy th. " 1 had an ex am, on at

O x f o r d . "

- Pass ? "

Scraped t liroug h," was the mod est re ply.

" Um ! " com men ted the international.

" Well, sit here for the present, I'll get you

a better place in a few minut es. B y the

way, what' s you r na me ? "

He was under the awning in front of the

pavilion. He had been brought th i ther

by the Captain of the English side. He ha d

been practically invited to play for two

count ies . Smyth pinched his packet of

sandwi ches to mak e certain of the reality

of things.

" — W h y , Arch ie himself pla yed for his

coun ty less than a month after he left

Har row . A. G. Steel never bowled better

than during his last term at Marlborough.

L o o k at Charlie T o w n s e n d —g o o d enough

(L ) PERC1VAL J.

GROGGANCOTHER

WISE 'GROGGY'!)

HAD DETERMINEDTO TAKE UPCRICKET A N DTO EXCEL AT

SCHOOL AS A

SCIENTIFIC

BATSMAN TOTHAT END HEBOUGHT A

PONDEROUSVOLUME. ON

THE SUBJECT

AND STUDIED

IT W I TH

CARE

09 IN THE OUIET

OF HIS BEDROOM

HE ASSIDUOUSLY

PRACTISED THE

STROKES ACCORDING

TO THE

PRINTED

INSTRUC

T I O N S

HE DROV E -

(6) A N D LA TE-CUT A NIMAGINARYCRICKET

BALL DAYAFTER

DAY.

(?) ANDWHEN HE.CONSIDEREDHIMSELFPERFECT. HESPENT TIME

AND CAREIN CH003INGA COMPLETE &.BECOMING OUTFIT

. BUTTHE VERYFIRST BALLOF HISVERY FIRSTINNIN GS GOT UPAWKWARDLY. THROWINGSCIENCE TO THE WINDSHE STRUCK WILDLY, MISSO

THE SAIL 8e C U T ALUDICR.OU5 FIGURE !

HE HAS SINCEDECIDED TO STICKTO STAWP-COLLECnNr.

' G r o g g y ' s " D e b u t a s a B a t s m a n .

fo r England when still at Clifton, and there 's

.1. N. too , playing for Surrey and R ep to n the

same year. Wh y, Chive himself was

absolutel y unkno wn at the beginning of

this season, and if Sm yt h isn't gather ing in

bushels of wick ets at Ol d Trafford ne xt

week he will be at Lord's."

Th e voice that was wafted throug h the

open window was the Captain's, but what

di d it mean ? W h y were the y talkin g

abo ut him ?

An hour later when Smyt h, wearing a

spare pair of B. D . Stew' s bo ot s unt i l his own

c a m e a l o n g , a n d c l a d in divers other borrowed

g irments, entered the field with the five other

amateurs of the England Eleven, a v ery

com ple t e answer was forth comin g to b oth

ques tions , tho ugh it gave rise to t h i r ty

thousand of his Majesty's liege subjects

asking " Wh o on earth is this Martyn-Smyth

wh o is playing instead of Chive or the

official twelfth man ? " and t o a nu mbe r

of ridic ulous sugge stion s, of whi ch the most

far - fe tched was the assertion t ha t Martyn-

Smy th was the pseu don ym ado pted by a

f am ous Indian cricketer to hoodwink the

India Office t ha t had refused to give him

leave t o come back to England to play

cr icket for the sake of his health.

Th e Englis h Captai n ha d the courag e of

his conv icti ons. He recognised in Martyn-

Smyth a natural , heaven-sent bo wler, and

he inte nded to mak e use of him just as

tho ugh lie had Chive .

Mar tyn-Smyth t o o k the first over.

H a v e yo u ever, when p laying golf or any

other ga me, aba ndo ned a certain strok e,

tho ug h you can play it well eno ugh in

pr ac t i ce , because you had a match on and

the importance of the occasion made you

afraid of runnin g the slightest risk ? Tha t is

what .Martyn-Smyth felt like when he



684 The Hoy's Otarn Taper.

del ivered his first ball, and t ha t is why

his initial deliveries, bowled as he would

have bowled them on South ey Fields, were

t rea ted so severely by the world-renowned

batsman opposed to him.

Th e first shot, a delightfully easy stroke

past mid-off, yielded a brace. The secon d

was among the c r o w d on the leg boundar y

almo st before the y realised t ha t it had

been delivered. The th i rd tried to force

an exit through the Vauxh all Gate—thebats man was a left-hander. The fourt h

y ie lded a coup le , notwithstanding a gallant

effort on the part of Way war d at point ,

and the fifth evo lved muc h laughter whe n

the helm et of the po li ce ma n fielding it fell

in the process.

H a v e you , when playing golf or any other

gam e , after a series of heart-b reakin g

failures, " gone f o r " the ball an d e very

thing else ut ter ly regardless of wha t h appen s

next, with the result t h a t yo u hav e fluked

an absolutely paralysing shot 1 W h e n

Martyn-Smyth bowled the s ixt h ball of his

over he didn't care what happened to it—

all he required was a nice appropriate

ear thquake t ha t wou ld provid e him with

the means of sinkin g into the g rou nd .

H e bowled the ball he had bowled at the

nets. A strange my sti c sort of del iver y that

appeared—I on ly say "a pp ea re d" —to float

in the air, to hang ba ck , an d ye t that

invariably arrived sooner t han was expecte d.

It was an unc anny ball . Eve n the expert

in the p avil ion recognised t ha t it was

different f rom othe r balls. Ther e was some

thing depressing about it, but the c r o w d

when it realised t ha t the great batsm an was

out were very far f rom being depressed.

The eerie effect of the ba ll, so far as the

masses were conce rne d,co uld best be realised

from the met ho ds of dismissa l put forwa rd

by t hem. " L . b . w . " cr ied some . " H i t

w i c k e t , " said other s. " He snick ed the ball

and Wil ley caugh t him, " asserted a th i rd .

" He was right out of his grou nd—s tump ed, "a fourth had t ime to declare. An d then

the Umpire having made forty-five very

delibe rate strides picke d up a bail. " Wel l ,

I' m jigge red ! " s aid the c rowd.

Martyn-Smyth took up his s tand at mid-

on in a drea m. He had taken a wicket in

a test mat ch. In all the tables relating to

test matches f rom henceforwa rd the nam e

of Marty n-Sm yth woul d have to appear as

having taken a wicket. He didn't care

what happen ed now— he had taken a wicket .

H e was going to en joy the match hence

forward—he had taken a wicke t. Her e

was a verit able cann on ball—wh at did it

mat te r ?—he had taken a wicket.

" Fielded ! Wel l fielded ! "

T h e y were cheering him, the man who

ha d taken a w i cke t !

T h e y wo ul d try and run shor t singles

against him, woul d the y! The man who had

taken a wick et woul d take another—biff !

"H e' s broken a s tump—two for s ixteen.

Hurrah ! "

H e had bowled out a Ran sfo rd and run

out a Clement Hill—he didn't ca re w hat

happened next. W h o o p ! over y o u g o !

Bu t he's hung on to it from the mome nt of

the first wild s c o o p with his left hand, and

through the subsequent somersault . Maund ,

a speci alist i n th e slips, tells him that it

is as g o o d a catch as ever he had the privi

lege of seeing, and Marty n-Smy th adroit ly

regrets t ha t mirrors are not part of the

furniture of a cricket field, the effervescing

W ear l ey the whil e shaking his hand and telling him that he's just the man for Manchester.

Three for sixteen.

Martyn-Smyth bowls once more. A

field of triers has had all its doubts removed

and every man goes to his place with

absolute confidence in the bowler.

There's a faint cl ick. The men in the

slips cal mly wa tch the ball bum p on the

pavi l ion rails. Th e new ly arrived b atsm an

pulls himself together and retires swinging

a glove and wondering.

Maiden over after maiden o v e r does

Martyn-Smyth bowl , and wicket after

wicke t falls to his wondrous dexterity, while

the score mount s slowly by the aid of an

occasionally lucky snick off Wearley, whose

marvellous pace provides a splendid contrast

t o Martyn -Smyth 's strenuous dexteri t ies.

Seven wickets for sixteen runs—that ' s

something l ike a bowling record. People

in the pavi lion are talking in whispers of

t ha t awful afternoon in '82 whe n Spofforth

carried all before him, when the pride of

England was lowered by seven runs an d

strong men fainted.

Martyn -Smyth can almost hear them

speaking, can almost hear them sigh as his

first t w o balls miss the stum ps by ab ou t

the thickness of a co at of varnish, can

almo st see the m holdi ng their breath when

th e last c o m e r mak es a wil d miss- hit at his

th i rd ball and is well cau ght b y famo us

George Wirst at cover point .

T h e team cr owds round him, pats him onthe bac k and shakes his hand . Ove r their

heads he sees a mass of spec tator s running

t o offer i ts congratulations. T o carry him,

may hap , back to the pavil ion. He hates

fusses and takes to his heels and run s—

and runs—and runs. Bu t the c rowd runs

t oo . He feels it shaking the gr oun d behin d

him. Th e roar of the mul tit ude fills his

ears. He can not run fast enou gh in Stew's

boo ts . The y have caught him. The y have got

h im by the shoulders. Th ey lift him up—

u p — u p !

* * * *" Wa ke up, England ! se cond bell goes in

five minutes ."

It's the voice of " Old Mack "—it is " Old

M a c k " ! He is still at school . He has

y e t to play for Engl and.

" Gee-w hillik ens! it 's the day of the

D e e d m a n o r M a t c h . "H e leaped out of bed.

" Give me that cake of soap, old cha p."

Martyn-Smyth bowled an imaginary ball;

the ca ke of so ap floated t hro ugh th e air.

" I 'v e got i t ," said Martyn-Smy th.

" Wh at ? " inqui red the ancient Maek.

" Beans for Deedmanor," responded

Martyn-Smyth.

Later in the day three men strolled up

t o Martyn- Smyth. He knew them at o n c e

and knew what they would say.

" Eigh t for sixteen—th at's hot stuff,

Smy th, " said the Middlesex man. " Yo u

must play for the County on our Western

tour in August ."

" Bu t I wa s born in Manch ester ," re

sponded the hero of East A b b e y .

" Tha nk Hea ve n ! " said the other twoin unison. " W e wan t you bad ly enou gh at

Ol d Trafford."

" Ah ! Sm yt h, " said the Hea d, wh o came

up at that moment . " Your bowling to

da y was quite a revelatio n—a veritable

inspiration."

" It was to me, " responded Martyn-

Smyth.

T he quarte t te were vastly amused at this

m odes t rejoinder.

IN DORMITORY 8.

B y F L U X L E I G H .

11H0UGH the serials are splendid

- In our dear old " B.O. P. ,"

There are times when printed pages

Ar e a thin g y ou ca nno t Bee ;

An d it's then that Thompson's useful,

F o r at stories he is great,

After l ights have been extinguished,

In Dormitory 8.

Though his plots may be confusing,

As to " actio n " h e is fine.

(There are more than twenty shootings

In h is " Phant om of the Min e ! " )

An d the places that he stops at

Leave one longing, I may state,

F or to-mor row night 's instalment,

In Dormitory 8.

He ' s suprem e, we all consider,

A t detective tales, becaus e

T o u can never tell for certain

W h o ' s the breaker of the laws.

I t may be the Hero's Cousin,

N o t the Villain TJp-to-Date,

W h o ha s filched the '* Rajah's Hub y,"

In Dormitory 8.

He 's a dab at " noisome dungeons,"

An d a new chap, it's been said,

Ca n feel rats (and also spiders)

Creeping all about his bed,

When in tones both low and thrilling

Thompson chooses to relate

His exciting " Claude the Capt ive,"

In Dormitory 8.

There's a legend that old Thompson

Once held seven masters glued

T o th e oilcloth in the passage,

Till his story should conclude—

There he held them, scarcely breathing,

While he made Hal Headlong skate

Down " the frozen-over Ganges, "

In Dormitory 8.

That 's a bit too thin, I fancy,

But the solid fact we know

That his narratives pursue us

When to sleep at last we go.

I, myself, have jumped up yelling,

As a nightmare cleared the gate,

After Thom pso n has been yarning,

In Dormitory 8.



The "Boy's Obvn Club "Room. 685

count myself in nothing

else so happy.

RE A D I N G of John Nicholson in J. Claverdon

W o o d ' s splendid serial, " T hrough

Afghan Snows," has set mo wonder ingh o w

many " B.O.P ."- i tes know the story of this

great soldier's life. T o those wh o know

little more than that Nicholson fought in

the Indian Mutiny and lost his life in theassault on Delhi, I would say : read th e full

account of his career from subaltorn to

brigadier-general and you will understand

what a truly remarkable man he was.

Nicholson 's personali ty ha s always impressed

me most strongly. H o was, first and last, a

born leader of men. His physique was

extraordinary, hi s courage of the highest

order, an d among th e native tribes of the

Punjaub, wh o reverenced th e strong arm

an d th e strong mind, he was regarded as

superhuman. His Sikh followers even went

so far as to elevate him to the posit ion of

a god , forming themselves into a " Nikalsain"

sect. They used to squat outside hi s t en t ,

paying him silent homa ge , until he came o u t

and threw boo ts at them ! Nicholson had to

forbid them, under severe penalties, or they

would have ope nly worshipped him.

* * *W ith hi s other great qualities Jo hn

Nicholson wa s a man of deep religious feel

ing. Ho held to the simple and strong faith

which has actuated all the world's truly

great men. It was this, p erhaps, whic h

acted in making hi m such an impressive

personality. I like best to remember , of

all th e incidents in his dramatic career, th e

s tory of h ow his would-be Sikh " disciples "

were influenced by his example. After

their hero's death at Delhi they met together

to consider what t hey should do. " There

is nothing more left to live for," said one ,

and, having du g his grave, he killed himself

forthwith. The others, ho weve r, felt t ha tNicholson would not have approved of this

course, an d when one of their number said

that " Nikalsain's " God must be a great

God, an d that their leader would have

wished them to worship H i m , they all

agreed. The whole sect then embr aced

Christianity. It was a splendid t r ibute

to a great man.

* * *

Personality, an d a b o v e all, a Christian

personality, is what every bo y and man

should aim at. Ye t another striking

instance of this recurs to my mind. Thring,

the great Head Master of Uppi ngham,was

one who stamped th e impress of his ow n

individuali ty on the mind of the boys w h o

passed under his hands. One Uppinghamboy , some years after leaving school , was

in a foreign country with a few friends, and

a question arose as to travelling on a Sunday.

Th o old Uppingham b o y opposed th e

sugges t i on ; Thring would not have l iked

hi m to d o it, he said. " But Thring isn't

here," said a compani on , " and he isn't

As in a soul remembering

my good friends."

(Shakespeare.)

likely to k n o w about it ." " Ma y b e n o t , "

wa s th e answer, " bu t I can ' t d o it. It

would bo breaking faith with Thring, and I

should never forgive myself if I did. Yo u

fellows must go on without me if y o u go at

a l l . " And, l ike th e true man that he was.

he stuck to his guns. There is somethingin this fo r all of us to take to heart. E very

life t ha t we touch, day by day, gains or

loses by the impress of our personali ty.

Should we not fly our colours boldly an d

t ry to make our influence felt—and felt

fo r good ?

* * *L .O .F . members and other " B . O . P . "

readers ar e reminded that our now P H O T O -

G R A P H I C C O M P E T I T I O N is still open. As an-

nounced last month, I a m offering a Prize of

HALF A GUINEA

fo r the best original pho tog rap h entitled

" A STUDY IN ANIMAL LIFE."

This competit ion affords a wide scope ,

an d I look forward to seeing a great varietyof subjects. Competitors ar e requested

t o s ta te their names, addresses and ages in

sending in their efforts, and to certify t ha t

their work is original. Envelo pes should

bo marked " Photographic Compet i t ion "

on the top left-hand corner. Th e closing

date for sending in photographs is

W E D N E S D A Y , A U G US T 6. A s in prev ious

compet i t ions , if the standard of quali ty is

sufficiently high, a number of Consolation

Prizes will be awarded.

THE league of Friendship was founded last

year with a view to its forming a bond of

union between

" B.O.P." theideals are those

which for so

stood for all that

purest and best

out binding its

definite vows

on its supporters

manly, Christian

workers for good

to be slackers or

lookers-on. On

each member

bearinghis name

the League regis -

who desire some

tion badges have

in the shape of

or coat, watch-and tie - pins,

sale at 7d . each post free.

readers of the

world over. Itsof the paper

many years has

is highest and

in life. With-

members to any

the League calls

to lead a clean,

life, to be active

in the world, not

merely passive

being enrolled,

receives a card

and number on

ter. For those

form of recogni-

been prepared

brooches for cap

chain pendants,these being on

Applications for

membership and for badges should be ad

dressed to the Editor, " B.O.P.," 4 Bouverie

Street, London, E.C., and envelopes should be

clearly marked " L.O.F." on the top left-hand

corner.

Colonial and foreign boys w h o wish to

join the League ar e often in difficulty, I

find, as to the best method of forwarding

the money for the Club badges. Stamps

other than English ones are no t acceptable ,

and it will be best fo r would-be members

in this posit ion to obtain an International

Coupon for the necessary amount from th o

Post Office in their town. Wil l al l League

correspondents , also, kindly remember t omark their envelopes " L . O . F . " on the

to p left-hand corner ? This will greatly

facilitate replies.

T H E O L D B O Y .

Correspondence.F. W . C H A P M A N . — " H o w to build a r u n t " was in

our S econd Volume , which lias been out of pr int for

years. You r best plan would be to get a list of

books published by Upcott Gill and So n at the

Bazaar Press, Drury Lane, or see a c o p y of

Exchange and Mart.

DISPUTE.—News papers are not allowed to insertadvertisements of astrologers, palmists, or other

fortune-tellers.

L. G. CARPENTER.—Certainly " a steam-engine could

be made and have its water boiled by electricity,

an d at the same time make some of the electricity

lo r boiling the water " ; but it would be a very little

some. A steam-engine would no t work in a vacuum,

bu t a wheel from the engine could be driven in a

vacuum if yo u worked a connecting ro d through an

air-tight valve .

N A T U R A L I S T . — T h e y are found in many localities.

Argynnis paphia,in the southern counties ;

A. adippe from the Clyde to the Channel; A. latkonia,

from Peterborough southwards; A. selene, from

Scarborough southwards; A. euphrosyne, from

Glasgow sou thwards ; and so on. There are se \cn

native species, th e popular names of those given

being (in order), th e silver-washed, th e high-brown,

the Queen of Spain, th e small pearl-bordered, and

the pearl-bordered. The other two are A. aglaia,

the dark-green, an d A. dia, Weaver ' s .

J IM .— A gold noble of Henry V. in a good state of

preservation is worth qui te th ir ty shillings ; but

tiiere is a rare variety which is worth more than six

guineas.

J. W. C.—There are no copper pennies of George the

Second . Y ou have either mistaken th e date, or

picked up a fraud.

R. ASHTON.—Ring-shaped jugs were fairly common

in th e seventeenth century, mainly as decorative

objects. Yours are probably Flemish pottery, bu t

that yo u can see by t he marks on the base. They

are commemorative of Carl Gaspar, Archbishop

of Treves, th e oldest archbishopric in Germany.

The Archbishop was a man of importance, Arch-

chancellor of th e old German Empire, in the

second rank of the Electors, and he it was who gave

th e first vote at the election of the Emperors. Treves

is th e same place as Trier. It is in Rhenish Prussia

an d is named after Caesar's friends, the Treviri.

AHCY.—The s tandard work is Neal 's " History of

th e Puri tans ." There are also Brook's " Lives of

th e Puri tans ," Campbell 's " Puritans in Holland,

England an d America ," an d works b y Marsden,Tulloch, and Stowell and Wilson. The most recent

is Dexter 's (190<o). Probab ly an article in Chambers 's

" Encyclopaedia woul d sufficiently suit your

purpose.

J. CARTEK and C. E. L.—I. There have been seven,!

articles on canoe-building. Perhaps th e best and

safest fo r you would be the series called " A Portable

H o m e , or H ow to make a Travell ing Canoe," in

ou r Eighteenth Volume. These were written from

da y to day as the canoe was built and the plans

and sections are those actually used during th e

construct ion. A small sail can be, and was, added.

2. Only museum appointme nts, an d they are very

few. Y o u should at tend a course of lectures on

zoology.

W . H . B.—The rubbings are too obscure for

identification. The coins with a square hole in

them are Chinese " cash."

II . L U M S D E N . — T h e State of Kentucky is named after

its principal river. In the Shawnoe (Indian)

tongue the Kentucky is the " head " or " long "

river. Yes. it pays t o l ook up the meanings of place

names ; each of them has a story to tell.

D O U B T F U L . — Y o u r position is an unenviable one, but

without doubt there is only on e course open to you .

Yo u must disregard the " ties of friendship " and

break off relations with him. From what you say

his influence is likely to be Jar evil . Have no two

thoughts on the m a t t e r ; it is too serious to delay.



686 The "Boy's Obvn Taper.

Th e S o n of anA n a r c h i s t :

A T a l e o f S t r a n g e / ^ v s t e r y a n dWild A d v e n t u r e .

C H A P T E R x x v i . (continued)—PAOLO'S E E V B N O E .

By W. A. B. CLEME NTSO N,

M.A.,

Author of

" A Couple of Scamps" etc.

A N o v e l S u m m e r S h e l t e r .

Th e First Stage : three children 's hoo ps—alarge on e, a midd le-siz ed one , and a small one—

form the working basis.

WH I L E searching for Ant oni o amo ng the

ruins, Paolo found near the window,

under a table, Giu seppe 's viol in in its case ;

and, s t range to say, it had not been injured,

fo r the tabl e had sheltered it. Bard i saw

P a o l o bringi ng it out from under the ruins

and gave a l i t t le cry of recognition.

" A h . my old Cremon a! " he exclaim ed.

" I shall never play it again, keep it for your

self , Paolo."

Layi ng down the case, Paol o knelt beside

iiim, and said gent ly, " Is there anything I

can do for you t ""W at er , " sa id the dy ing man, " I want

water ."

So Paolo climbed down otf the ruins and.after loo ki ng roun d for a few minut es, foun d

a trou gh full of wate r by the roads ide.

Picking up a broken ea r t henware jug which

s o m e one had left there , he filled it and

carried it back to Bardi, who drank t i l l lie

c o u l d drink no mor e. The n he lo ok ed up at

P a o l o with a s t range expression.

" I have t r ea t ed yo u bad ly, " he said, " ami

yet you bear me no ill-will."

" What is the g o o d no w ? " said Pa ol o,

feeling quit e sorry for the man . " If this

h a d n ' t happen ed I ' m afraid I should h ave

ha t ed yo u bad ly en oug h ; but I don' t feel

angry with you now, some how. "

" W i l l you forgive me, then ? "

" Ye s, " said Paol o. " Isn ' t there any

thing else I ca n do for y ou ? "

" Ye s, yo u can pl ay to me on my old

v i o l i n . "

P e o p l e when they are dying sometimes

make s t range requests ; one wishes to tas te

fo r th e last tim e som e favouri te dish, another

to be all owed to perform s ome special act or

to see a par t icular person ; and for som e

reason or other Bar di had a great longing to

hear Pao lo play the viol in onc e more before

he died.

It is usual t o t h i nk of criminal s and evil-

min ded men as alway s occ upi ed with evi l

thoughts , but in real life it is not so ; ma ny

of th em ha ve a place in thei r hearts for the

mo r e innocent pleasures of l ife. I t would

hav e been well for the m if the y had put the

inn oce nt pleasu res first of all. Giu sepp e

Bard i ha d all his life been ver y fond of

mus ic ; n o dou bt it was a remnant of the

days when he was you ng and inno cent . It

is a s t range thoug ht, fo r the man was about


Th e Second Stage : showing how the la ths an d

upright pieces of wood are placed in posi t ion.

as bad as be cou ld b e ; pro bab ly be was t he

mo r e to blame because his l o v e of music had

not made him a bet ter man.

As Pao lo did not at onee reply, the dying

man repeated his request, ad ding . " Pla y me

that piece you played the last night we met at

Kensingto n. Yo u kno w the one I mean—

' Souvenir . ' "

'" Anything but that," exclaimed Paolo

with a shud der, as he tho ugh t of the past .

' ' I would ra ther do anything t han play the

viol in jus t now. Is there nothing else I

can d o ? "

" N o , there is nothing else. T ha t is all

I want—to hear yo u play ' Souveni r. ' "

P a o l o sh owe d by his face how^ distast eful

the idea was to him . He had forgiven Bar di.

he wou ld do what he coul d to help him ;

but he coul d never again regard him as a

friend or play to him as he had done in the

ol d days. Yet the man was dy in g; was it

kind to refuse him such a simple thing, which

mig ht ease the p ain of his last moments ?

W a s this no t rather a splendid chance to

add to his forgiveness a kind act that .would

cost him something ? Y es, whatever it

cos t him, he would play !

" V e r y well," he said. " I f there is

nothing else I can do, I will do as you ask."

" There is no reason why you should,

if yo u don' t want t o, " said Bardi, seeing the

struggle that was going on in the b o y ' s

min d. " The re is no reason why yo u should

do everything for me and I nothing for you.

Sup pos e we ma ke a bargai n '! I will tell

j o u all the secrets of the Sons of Glorious

Libert y, those you do not yet kno w, which

will leave them at the mercy of the pol ice,

and you—you shall play me the ' Sou veni r. ' "

Seeing a chan ce of freeing his father once

and for all from his cruel enemies and put t ing

an end to their horrible deeds, Paolo agreed

to this suggestion.

" Yes , tell me all y ou kn ow ," he said,

" an d then I will pl ay. " 'Then, t aking out a

n o t e - b o o k and penci l, he bega n to mak e care

ful notes of what Bardi told him. Th e latter

g a v e him the addresses of all the Society'ssecret meeting-places in Lo ndo n and else

where, the name s of the comm it te e and plac es

fixed fo r meetings in the near future an d

man y other facts, known only to the " inner

ci rcle," which were bound to be of the

greatest use to the pol ice.


Th e Third Sta ge: brown paper is fastened

with paste on the frame-work.



The Son o_f an Anarchist. 687

Bard i hav ing fultilled liis side of the

bargain, P aolo determined t o perform his

part as well as he could.

" Be quick ! " cried the dying man, as the

bo y took the violin from it s case and beg an to

tune it. " I fear I shall no t live to hear

it. Oh, be quick ! "

At last Paolo was ready and, drawing

the bo w lightly across the strings of the ol d"Cremona," commenced the sweet melody

for which Bardi had asked. Th e suffering

man closed his eyes. Wh at were his thoughts

as Paolo played we cannot know; let us

hope he repented of his evil life and l ooked

away to the only Saviour of sinners.

As for Paolo, he played like one inspired.

Never had a fiddler fiddled in such weird

surroundings or to an audience so strangely

situated. Without a false note, and with a

(To hi t

sweet m ello w tone tha t rang out clearly

among the ruins, he played the piece through

to it s melodious end ; and when he ceased to

play, Giuseppe Bardi was dead.

It was well for Paolo tha t at this moment

hi s father arrived with the t w o b o y s and the

pol i ce officers ; for, as s o o n as the need for

action was over, he began t o feel the effects

of the strain he had undergone. For someminutes he was almost hysterical, feeling

an inclination t o laugh and cry by turns ;

bu t hi s father s oon calmed him with a few

quiet words and led him away from th e

scene of the disaster.

I t was with feelings of deep thankfulness

that Luigi and the three b o y s returned to the

ship, Paolo carrying with him in its case the

o ld "Cremona" viol in, a last gift fro m Giusepp e

Bardi to the boy he ha d so cruelly wronged.

mditded.)

ISb l ife 18b

A NOVEL SUMMER SHELTER,A ND H O W T O M A K E I T .

By S. LEONARD BASTIN.

"jy.iWADAYS, when there is an increasing tendency

i i lor people to spend a great deal of their t ime

ou t of doors, all kinds of shelters are an important

feature in the garden. There ha s recently come

under the notice of the writer a very simple scheme,

whereby it is possible to make a highly useful, portable

summer-house. This article is so light that it can be

moved from on e part of the garden to another with

the greatest ease and yet, if well made on the lines

indicated, it will be found to be of a very durable

nature.

' i i ie principal items in the construction of the shelter

are three ordinary wooden hoops. These should

measure about four, three, an d twT> feet in diameter.

As well, it is needful to secure about forty feet of cheap

match-hoarding—the thinner this is the better . Also

i bundle of laths will he necessary, an d a number of

sheets of brow n paper. To com plet e the j ob a pound or

so of paint will be required, as in this way the appear

ance of the summer shelter can he very much

improved.

B y the use of a little paint the shelter will be made of a much more durable nature. Of course w e shall

need a few ordinary tools such as a hammer, saw, an d

a serewdriver. Also it is a good plan to buy a penny

worth of inch wire nails, an d a few screws of the

same length. Th e total outlay for the making of the

shelter need not be more than from three and six to

tour shillings.

All is now ready for the making of the shelter, an d

the first thing to do is to s aw ofE four strips of match-

hoard each six feet in length. Nex t bore four holes in

each of the hoops ; these should be an equal distance

apart. The largest hoop is now placed on the ground.

It is a convenience at this stage to have someone to hold

the middle-sized hoop about three feet above th e

L'round, just over the larger one. The four pieces of

match-boarding are now fastened with screws on to

the outside of the two hoops.

No w take the smallest hoop of all. and tack the top

end of the match-boarding round th e outside of

this. 111 this wa y we shall have constructed tlieframe-work of the shelter. The intervening spaces

between th e match-boarding is filled up with the

laths placed about three inches apart. In the photo

graphs illustrating this article, the shelter is shown

with the lower part formed entirely of match-board

ing. This is no t at all necessary, an d only adds to

the weight of the whole structure.

Across the top of the shelter, which is of course

formed by the small hoop , it is well to fasten some

strips formed of laths. On to this fasten a piece of

wood which ca n form a little platform that would

support a pole , such as a bit of an old broomstick, about

tw o feet in length. The manner of finishing off the

to p of the shelter is indicated in the illustration

below. I t will be seen that short laths are

sloped from th e outside of the small hoop to a point

about nine inches be low th e summit of the pole . Jit

order that there may be room for the laths at the top,

it is a good plan to enclose the lower por t ion of the pole

in a wooden box. The nature of this is plainly seen iu

the photograph.

In order to make th e upper part of the shelter reason

ab ly shower-proof some protection for the part where

the ends of the laths rest should be devised. The

writer found that for this a good thing was th e bo t t om

half of an empty fruit-tin with a hole bored in the centre.

This fitted exactly over th e pole , an d cover ing in the

ends of the laths prevented the settlement of any

water.

Th e Fourth Stage: showing ho w the top of

the summer shelter is finished.

Th e next step is to proceed to cover ou r shelter

with brown paper. Fo r sticking, us e good strongpaste made of flour in th e usual manne r. The paper

should be put on in big sheets, an d must be thoroughly

well soaked with paste so that it will hold well. Make

th e join as neatly as possible, and to do this a little care

will be needed in cutting th e paper so as to get a good

fit.

Th e whole structure is completely enveloped

in the paper, and after this has been finished th e

shelter must be allowed to become quite dry. At this

po in t th e coating of paint may be applied, an d if we

wish to make a very good j o b i t is not a ba d plan to

give th e paper two coats.

When comple ted the shelter will be found to be

mos t useful. I t will beable to withstand a few summer

showers of rain if it has had the coatings of paint.

Th e Filth Stage : the painted bro wn paper (i tshould have 3 coats) will stand a good deal of rain. The shelter is very light and can be movedeasily from place to place as mav be desired.

During a spell of very we t weather it would be wise

to store it away in some shed until th e suns!liny days

come round again an d it ma y be re-erected. As afinishing ornament it is a good plan to bu y a little

flag to fasten to the summit of the pole at the top of

the shelter.

¥ ¥ ¥

'T IS COMING—JUST IN T I M E .

T SAY, you chaps, although you think me hearty,

Hale and robust, and all that sort of thing ;

I am , in truth, a melancholy party

With pluck an d spirit swiftly taking wing.

This term ha s been a burden past endurance,

Although my patience touches th e sublime.

An d when vacation comes , take my assurance.

'Twill scarcely come in t ime .

My brow has donned a wrinkle,—very nearly ;

My locks are on the po i n t of turning grey.

'Tis strange that wisdom should be bought so de;i RLV

An d ac t in this objec t ionable way.

F or my poor brains are wedg ed with Latin grammar ,

His tor ic dates, and scraps of classic rhyme ;

An d when Minerva drops he r horrid hammer

'Twill hardly be in t ime.

Daily, 1 own, ti ie prospect seems to brighten,

Fo r only half a week must now be past

Er e th e vacation will ou r burden lighten,

And from ou r souls th e galling fetters cast.

Then shall we fly to scenes of summer pleasure,

In Free-and-easy's fair romantic c l i m e , -

Th e happy owners of a hard-won leisure

Accorded—just in t ime .

T O D D M I . V O M



688 The *Boy*s Obvn Taper.

A N O T H E R C O N V E R T :

A Tal e of a T assel .

I .

O u r H ead d i d n ' t b e l i e v e i n " t h o se n ew -

f a sh io n ed fo u n t a i n p en s , " b u t —

* * * *

OF T H E T W O .

A CERTAIN island in the Wes t Indi es is liable to the

periodical advent of earthquakes. One year, before

the season of these disturbances, an English resident,

wh o lived in the danger zone, sent his two sons to the

h o m e of a brother in En gland, t o secure them from the

impending havoc .

Evident ly the quiet of the staid English house

hold was disturbed by the irruption of the two West

Indians, for the returning mail steamer carried amessage to their father, brief but em phati c—

" Take back your boys : send me the e arthq uake."

E X P L A I N E D .

" MR . D I C K S O N , are you not a memb er of th e' Friend

of Ma n Society '. ? "" Not dis year, sah."

" And why not ? "

" Well , sah, I jined dat sassiety in good faith.

I giv ten dollars beside my subscription de first year,

an' de members ah call me * Brudder Dickson. ' De

secon' year my business was not so good, an' I only gi v

five dollars. Dat ye ar de membe rs call me ' Mistah

Dickson. ' Well , sah, de third year I feel very poor,

sickness in de fambly, an' I don't giv nuflin to de sass

iety. Arte r dat dey called me ' ole nigger Dickson, '

an' I le f 'em: "

A N S W E R E D .

A CLERGYMAN visiting a local school, and wishingto illustrate the meaning of the word " conscience,"said : " Sup posi ng one of yo u stole a piece of sugar andput it in you r mouth, a nd someo ne came in, whatwould happen ? "

" I' d get a thrashing, sir," pipe d a small voice.

" Yes, but your face would become red, wouldn't it ?What would make it do that ? "

" Tryin g to swallow the sugar quic k, sir," came theprompt answer.

OD D S E E = S A W S .

I SAW a cow-hide in the grass,

A rush-light on the f l oo r ;

I saw a candle-stick in mud,

An d a bell-pull on the door,

I saw a horse-fly up the creek,

A cat-nip at her food ;

I heard a chestnut-burr, whereat

A dog-rose in the wood .

I saw a jack-plane off a boa rd

A car-spr ing off the t rac k ;

I saw a saw-dus t off the floor,

An d then a carpet-tack.

I saw a monke y-wr ench a hatFr o m a fair lady' s pa te ;

I saw a rattle-snake a bird,An d hogs-head on a plate.

I saw a wheel-wright on a card,

I saw the butt er-fl y,

I heard the corns-talk in the field,

An d a foot-ball out " no try."

F R O M I R E L A N D .

" F R I E N D S , " said an agitator, at a meeting of IrishH o m e Ruler s, " the cu p of our troub les is runningover , and it is not yet full." Delightfully Hibernianas tha t is, the following are closely related to it.

An Irish poacher , up before a magistrate, madethis defence : " Indade, you r worshi ps, the only birdI shot was a ra bbi t; and I knocked that down witha stick."

At a meeting where a commit tee was being condemned for its managem ent, th e speaker said, " Perhapsy ou think that in our commi ttee half do the work,and the other half do nothi ng. As a matter of fact,gentlemen, the reverse is the case."

*' NOW, Har old ," said the teacher, " if there wereeleven sheep in a field, and six jumped the fence,ho w many would there be left ? "

" No n e , " replied Harold." Bu t there wo u l d , " said the t eacher.

" No, sir, there wouldn't , " persisted Harold. " Yo uma y know arithmetic, but you don't know sheep."

W I T H A N E W T W I S T .

W I T H the adv ent of the cric ket season the old joke about the mortality of grandmothers comes round.Here is a new version :

" My grandm o ," began the office boy." Oh, no ," said the manager, sternly.

* ' . . . . Died before I was born," the boy went on,

" and I ain ' t never had an excuse for going to theopening match ."

OF T H E S A M E O P I N I O N .

T H E following stor y is told of a now well-kno wnKing 's Counsel. Some years ago, when he was less inthe public eye, he was at a provincial court when heoverh eard a man w ho was charged with stealing r abbitssay that he would plead guilty. The prisoner havingno legal aid, the young lawyer asked to be allowed todefend him.

Hi s offer was accepte d. The only reward he askedfor, in the event of securing an acquittal, was therabbit s. He was successful in getting his client discharged, and then asked for the rabbits.

" Rabbit s ? " the man replied. " Babbits ? Why,after y our s peech, I d on' t belie ve I ev er had any 1I'm of the same opinion now as the jury. "

A N O T H E R C O N V E R T :

A Tale of a Ta ssel.

h e d o e s n o w !

boys own paper july 26, 1913

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