boys own paper may 17, 1913
TRANSCRIPT
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NO. 33, VOLUME XXXV.] S A T U R D A Y , M A Y 17, 1 91 3. Price One Penny.[ A L L B I G H T S R E S E R V E D . ]
T H E K I N G - M A K E R ' S O A T H. (See p. 521.)
The Earl of Wa rw ic k at the Battle of Ferrybridge.
(Drawn for the "Boy's Own Paper" by E D G A K A . H O L L O W A T . )
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514 The "Boy's Otern Taper.
T h e S o n o f a n A n a r c h i s tA T a le o f S t r a ng e M y s t e r y and Wild Adventure .
By W. A. B. CLEMENTSON, M.A.,
Author of " A Couple of Scamps" etc.
H A T evening,
a f t e r t e a ,
R ona l d and
B o b b i e
strolled out
of the inn , an d, finding
a ha ys ta ck in a field,
belonging to a f armer
w hom they knew, they
lay do wn against it
and tried to get so me
sleep ; for they kne w
that they w ould be
ve r y tired before the
night was over unless
they rested now . The y
lay against the hay
stack dozin g til l some
time after sunset, when
a co ld wind sprang up
and they dec ided to m o v e on in order to keep
war m. Th ey tho ugh t it woul d be wise to
reach the ruin at ab out e leven, so as to be
able to con cea l thems elves effectually befo re
the mysterious s tranger arrived . As the
ruin was about an hour and a half's walk
away, it wou ld, therefore, be necessary to
leave Roc kl ei gh at half-pas t nine. Till then
they amused themselves by walking about
the village and talk ing to the inhabitan ts .
E ver yone was curio us to kn ow what the
t w o scouts were doing in Roc klei gh so la te in
the evenin g ; but, wit hou t actuall y sayi ng as
m uch , they gav e the impression that they
were on their way to visit a neighbouring
c a m p , where they wer e goi ng to spend the
night.
Lea vin g the village at half-past nin e, th ey
had a long moonl ight walk through the
wo o d s and b y the river side, whic h, if the y
had not felt so exc ite d abo ut the adve ntur e
that lay before them, would have b een
most enjoyable. At las t they reach ed the
ruin. It was quite deserted and l o o k e d most
dreary and mourn ful in the moon lig ht, its
grey ivy -cr own ed walls mirro red in the water
of a large pond , which lay on one side of t he
bui ldi ng, half filled wit h water-l ilies . Th er e
was not a sound to be heard save now and
then the splash of a water- rat plunging back
into the pond or the hiss of the young owls
in their home among the ivy.
After walking round the ruin several t imes,
both inside and out, the b o y s selected for
their hiding-place a deep recess in the wall
inside the building, overg rown with ivy ,
f rom which they could see the whol e of t he
open spac e in the centre o f the ruin and also,
through a small windo w over looki ng the
pond , th e p a th by which they had c o m e f rom
Rockle igh. Concealing themselves amo ng
the ivy in this recess, they waited patie ntly
fo r the appoi nted hour.
A church c lock in the distance was just
striking half-past eleven, when tw o dark
figures cre pt sil entl y up the pa th wa y a nd
vanis hed as if by magi c into the s had ow of
the building ; five minutes la ter came another
C H A P T E R X I X . A M I D N I G H T M E E T I N G .
two and yet two more . The anarchists wereevidentl y mustering in force ; and Ron ald
began to feel rather alarmed . Thes e six
man were not all, for presently the boys
heard faint foots teps at t he oth er side of
th e ruin an d then five men ente red the en
closure and conce aled themsel ves in different
places among the shadows.
R ona l d was beginning to wonder whether
he had done right in bringing so yo ung a boy
as Bo b b i e into such a dangerous place,
when , to his horro r, he saw o ne of the me n,
who had just c o m e , making s traight for their
hiding-place. Wha t wo uld happen if the} '
were discov ered Ronald dared not imagine.
Bo b b i e , too, saw their dange r, but, being alittle " bri ck, " he bit his lips and kept quite
still, while Ro na ld too k out his revol ver and
examined the charges, signing to Bo b b i e
to do the same. Th e man walked s traight
up to the hidden recess, and, pul ling aside
the ivy , stepped i nto it close beside them.
Then he tu rned round and looked out into
the open , as if waiting for so me one. Th ou gh
the two trembling b o y s were hidd en bare ly
a yar d from where be was stand ing, he ha d
no idea they were there ; it was a mar vel
that he did not hear them breathing.
The tw o scouts knew their only chance of
safety was in keepi ng abso lute ly still. Their
legs and arms began to ache with their
cram ped position, but neither bo y dared to
m o v e by even a hair 's breadth. It seemed
a long time to wait, but at last the church
c lock struck t welve and they knew that th e
fatal hour had c o m e at l a s t ; but they c o u l d
not help wonderi ng where they wou ld be
when the next hour stru ck.
Th e echoes of the bell had barely di ed
away, when they heard the sound of foot
steps outside the ruin and presently a little
man d ressed in bla ck entered the enclosur e.
It was Luigi Costa.
He peered nervous ly round the building,
and, seeing no one, was evid entl y beginni ng
to get impa tien t, wh en anot her figure
appe ared be hind him. It was that of the
dwarf with the white hair .
Th e latter appro ached Luigi and, raising
his hat pol itel y, said " Bro ther Luigi Cos ta,
it is a long time since yo u hav e favo ure d us
w i th you r c ompa ny ."
" I came to the conclu sio n," said Luigi,
" when y ou wer e so kind as t o bring me that
le t ter in red ink, that yo u did not desire it."
" Yo u were mistaken, Broth er Co sta, "
snar led the dwar f. " W e desir e it at p resen t
more than anyt hing else in the wor ld. "
" Then you r advertiseme nt was only a
device to capture me. Yo u have nothing to
tell me abo ut the safety of my so n. "
" Yo u are quite wron g again. I have
this to tell yo u, Brother, that unless you
surrender yourself absolutely and entirely
into our hands , yo ur bo y, Paolo , will die a
m os t horrible d ea th before the sun rises."
The awful villainy of the plot burst upon
R ona l d like a clap of thunder . The anarch
ists, unabl e to find Lui gi, had capt ure dPaoloin order to d e c o y his father to his death.
Like most of us, Luigi was by nature t imid;
but, again like the rest of us, he had w ithin
himself the c apac ity of becom ing a hero ;
and at this critical mome nt, althoug h he
knew what s ort of a fate awaite d him, he
rose to the occas ion like a m an.
" I f I surrender to you," he said calmly,
" what guarantee have I that you will not
harm m y s on ? "
" Yo u hav e the wor d of the Valiant
Dic tat or, " said the dwarf. " Yo u shall
see me write the letter , which orders him to
be set at libe rty. "
"Ye s, but will it be deliver ed ? "
" Yo u shall see the messenger start with
i t ."
" But ho w am I to kn ow that he has
reached his destination ? "
" You are hard to satisfy. But see ho w
gener ous we are ! I will meet yo u eve n there.
On e of us here has a tel esco pe ; and in the
morning, if you surrender, you shall throu gh
that telescop e see you r bo y standing free
and alone on yonder hill."
" Ma y I not see him to s ay farewell ? "
Luigi asked.
" It is impossibl e."
" What wi l l you do with m e ! "
" Y o u must die the death appointed.
Y o u have failed in your task , you have
betrayed your trust, yo u have revealed our
secrets."
" I hav e do ne non e of these things. I
protest against your t r ea tmen t of me and
m y family . I am innoc ent. I have broken
no vows ; but I have been dece ived by you .
Y o u are not the sor t of peo ple I believe d
y o u to be. I protest against your syst em
of cruelty and violence . Yo u profess to
fight on behalf of libert y, while you are your
selves worse tyrants than the most selfish
capitalists. You rs is not a soci ety to reform
the worl d, yo u are nothing but a pac k of
unscru pulous crimina ls, a sec ond Camorra.
I woul d sooner die your vic tim than l ive
your ally. Yes, add one more to you r long
list of crim es by killing me, the man yo u have
basely de c e ive d ."
" Brother Luigi Costa," said the dwarf
with a moc kin g smile. " Yo u are wander
ing from the poin t. Are yo u goin g to
surrender and save you r son, or "
" I surrender ," said Lu igi, folding his
arms.
If Ronald had ever despised Luigi, he
di d so no longer now. But he felt wild
that he was so powerless to help him. Wha t
could he do ? He m igh t sh oot the dwarf
and the man w ho was hidi ng close by, but
there were abo ut a doze n others t o reckon
with ; and if any of them e scap ed to tell
the tale, Paol o woul d pro bab ly be put to
death . Yet how could he stand there and
see Luigi carried away a prisoner by the
anarchists, c ond emn ed to som e horrible
punish ment, wi thou t doin g anythi ng to save
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The Son ojf an Anarchist. 515
him ? He could just see Bob bie 's pale face
amon g the ivy, and that reminded him that
if he interfered he would not only endanger
his own life and Paolo 's , but Bobbie 's also.
Bobbie , who had been listening int ently,
understood almost as well as Ronald what
was happening, and it was like his i mpet uous
nature to wish to rush out and try to rescue
Luigi, whatever the r i sk ; but he did not
realise what it might mean to Paolo .
Ronald waswondering whether it would
not be wise to let Luigi remain a prisoner
till the dwarf had taken measures for Paolo's
release, and then to try and rescue the poor
m a n ; but he doubted whether the dwarf
really intended to carry out his promise,
since Luigi was in any case at his mercy.
However , the decision was taken out of
Ronald 's hands by Bo b b i e in a most startling
manner.
Bo b b i e was full of pluck, but his nerve was
on the point of giving way and he felt he
must d o something. The leering face of
the dwarf maddened him, and, hardly
know i ng what he was doing, he levelled
his pistol at the Valiant Dictator and looked
along the barrel.
" So no w yo u are ours at last, Luigi
Costa,'' cried the dwarf with a hideous grin.
" N o w we will teach you not to tell talcs."
B a n g !
Bo b b i e had pulled the trigger and the
bullet passed through the dwarf's car, but
did him no further harm. Nevertheless he
leapt into the air with a yell and c lapped
his hand to the wounded place.
The man who was hiding within a few
feet of Bobbie 's pistol sprang out into the
open with a shout , not knowing who wa s
his ene my. Th e sho ck was as great for him
(To be continued.)
as for the dwarf, for the bullet had passed
close to his head and his face had been
actua lly scor ched by the flash fr om the pistol.
In an instant the enclosure wa s alive
with black figures, which seemed to spring
out of nothing ; Bobb ie ' s shot had evident ly
caused a panic and each man seemed to
regard the others as his foes, for, to the great
astonishment of the two b o y s , a wild fight
com m enced in the centre of the ruin.
Bang ! Bang ! Ban g ! w ent an automat ic
pistol, followed by an answering fusillade.
R ona l d was about to rush out to help
Luigi , who was still standing in the centre
looking dazed and bewildered with the
tu mu l t , when several of the me n star ted
running towards the recess where the b o y s
were, an d a vol ley of shots came patter ing
against the i vy and chipping the stone
work.
^0 ^0 ^0How TO BECOME A " WIRELESS "
OPERATOR.
A P r o f e s s i o n t h a t O f f e r s M a n y A t t r a c t i o n s .
WH A T is the most wonderful discovery
of modern times ? The answer to
that question is probably " Wireless Tele
graphy." Certainly no modern invention
has done more to revo lu
tionise science than the
on e that is so promi
nently associ ated with
t h e n a m e o f M r .
Marconi,
" I'll put a girdle
round the earth in for ty
minut es," said Shake
speare's Puck. But Puck
was no mere mort al, and
he possessed power s that
are not given to men or
women. Mr. Marconi,
however, has indeed
almost succeeded in
putt ing a girdle round
th e earth in for ty
minutes. He has girdled
th e earth with a chain
of wireless messages.
"Wire less " >s still in
its infancy, bu t it has
already achieved some
notable triumphs. B y
its agency a criminal
flying from justice was
tracked in mid-ocean,
to be arrested on his
arrival in Canada. I t
has saved many vessels
from Bhipwreck, and
there is no l imit to the
bereficent acts which it
may yet accomplish.
Before the invention
of Mr. Marconi 's system
of wireless telegraphy
it was only poss ible for
snips to communicate with each other, or
with the shore, b y means of flag signals
during the day and the Morse signal l amp
at night. No w it is confidently expected
that, within a few years, no ship will ever
By T. MICHAEL POPE.
P A R T I .
put out to sea that is not equipped with a
wireless installation.
This wonderful dis cove ry has resulted in
the rise of a new profession. I t has produced
are necessary ? W ha t is the nature of the
work ? W h a t is the scale of remuneration ?
Those and similar questions are being asked
on every hand.
Lecture and Class Room in the Liverpool School.
the Marconi opera tor, and, as th e system of
wireless telegrap hy dev elop s, so, necessarily,
will the dema nd for opera tors incr ease.
H o w , then , is on e to b e c o me a Marconi
operator ? Wh at particular qualifications
Well , in the first place, there is an age-
limit. Applic ants for service on the Marconi
opera ting staff should be between 19 and 25
years of age. A preference is generally
given to those who have been previous ly
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516 The 'Boy's Otern Taper,
em pl oyed in inland or cabl e telegrap hy,
though this rule is by no mean s universal ,
an d s tudents who have been privatel y
t rained will be admi tte d, if they are able to
pupils in the s c h o o l , " writes the author ,
" seated at s loping desks, beneat h eac h of
which was a receptacle for the apparatus
used for sending and receiv ing ' pract ice '
recognised by the Compa ny by a discr imina
tion in pay. The ordinary learner receives
5s. Od. per week whilst in school , but the
railw ay telegraphist is allow ed 17.S. 6d."
Nex t wee k we will proc eed to conside r
some of the dutie s of the Marc oni opera tor
on board ship.
(To be continued.')
Portion of Instrument R o o m , sho win g three different Receiv ing Set s.
satisfy their examiners with regard to certain
tes ts .
A knowl edge of magnetis m and electricity
is essential, a nd equa lly essential is an
abili ty to send and receive words at a
mi nim um of 25 per minu te on the Mors e key
and sounder. The Com pan y also require acertificate of physi cal fitness from a do cto r.
Finally, the candidat e who has some know
ledge of foreign languages will probably
receive more favoura ble consideratio n.
There are th ree classes in the op erat ing
staff : (a) learners, (6) telegra phists , and
(c ) senior telegraphists.
If accepted, the learner is sent to the
Marconi school at Liv erpo ol for a course of
practical instruction. He has subsequently
to undergo an examin ation b y the Post
master- General, wh o issues the Gover n
ment' s certificates of com pet enc y.
While at school the learner is t rained in
the w ork of tak ing charge of a full set of
Marconi ins truments on board ship.
The fo l lowing is the syllabus of instruction at the Marconi s c h o o l :
(A) Elementa ry electricity and magnetism.
(15) Fun dame nta l prin ciples of wireless
te legraphy.
(C) Transmitting by practice buzzer sets
and rece iving by telephones as
used in wireless.
(D ) The variou s pieces and ty pes of appara
tus used, and diagrams of electrical
connections thereof.
( E) The connecting up of various parts
comprising comple te sets ; ho w to
trace and remo ve faults an d repair
breakdowns.
Rules and regulations laid dow n
b y the Radiotelegraph Convention
fo r the com merc ial working of wireless telegraphy.
(G) Clerical work in connec tion with
telegraphic account s and returns.
( H ) General routine and discipline on
board ship.
There is an in teres t ing acco unt of the
school in an article contributed to a recent
num ber of the " Rail way Clerk," and s igned
" A Morseman. " "T he re were about 25
messages. The school is fitted up with a
complete wireless ' se t ' of the app rov ed
s tandard type exactly as used on board
ship. Faul ts l ikely to o c c u r at sea are
arranged artificially, and then repaired in
the presence of the pupil . Ind eed, eve ry
facility is provided to enable the learnerto gain an intelligent gr asp of the entire
business.
" I was assured that a railway telegraphis t
of aver age intelli gence woul d require but
th ree or four weeks in the school to qualify
fo r examination, and then if i uceessf ul would
receive appoi ntme nt as second operator on
boar d ship. This special ap t i tu d e which
exper ience in railway tele graph y give s is
5n»
P U L L A T Y O U R P L U C K !
A Song: for Cricketers.
BY D. L. A. JKF1IS0N.
" Y \ rE L L
' w u a t is the matter with y o u to-day ?
* ' Why , you look like a frozen fro? !
Were y o u diddled ou t when you tried to stay ?
AVere y o u bowled when you tried to slog ?
Di d yo u miss a ' sitter ' at e xtra slip ?
Di d y o u drop one out in the ' deep ' ?
Well I whatever you've done, you've got the pip,
That's a very bau tiling to keep ! "
" Take a pull at your pluck, Sonnie!
Don' t lie down an d give up the game.
Never grouse at your luck, Sonnie !
You'll get there, my bo y, just the same 1"
" Well, what is the matter with yo u to-day ?
Di d yo u bowl suclt a rotten lengtli ?
Di d yo u plug too fast in your old, old way ?
Wa s th e pace to o much for your strength ?
No 1 you'd lost the ' devil'—you'd lost th e whip,
And th e slackers were all asleep ?
Well—whatever went wrong you've got the pip.
That's a very bad thing to keep."
" Take a pull at your pluck, Sonnie!
Don' t lie down an d give up the game.
Never grouse at your luck, Sonnie I
You'll get there, my b oy, all the same."
" Well, whatever's the matter any day,
When yo u feel like a frozen frog,
An d there's never a sun to make your hay
An d your life is a yellow fog.
When your only light is a farthing dip,
As away to your bed you creep,
Well—it's easy to see you've got the pip,
That's a very bad thing to keep 1 "
" Take a pull at your pluck, Sonnie 1
Don' t lie down an d give up the game.
Never grouse at your luck, Sonnie!
You'll get there, my bo y, just the same."
(F )
Portion of Instrument Room showing Complete l i - K . W .
Transmitting Set.
Set and 10-in. Coil
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517
T h r o u g h A f g h a n
TH E A I -
ghan
threw a
r a p i d
j g l a n c e
i upon the
t a l l ,
black-bearded figure.
A look of amazement
passed over his face,
but when he heard
the greeting in the
Pusht oo tongue his
momentary hesi ta
tion gav e way to a
joyous confidence, and he cast himself down
on the ground at Bo b ' s feet and plac ed his
forehead in the dust .
" It is my lord," he cried, as he rose and
kissed Bob ' s han d, " it is m y lord, the sa me
brave Lari Kh an w ho led me thro ugh the
mountai n passes and alway s poin ted the way
to victo ry. Praise be to Allah , it will be a
joyous day among the Ghilzais when Abdul
the Mullah learns that his friend has returned
from the gates of death . Amr an, thou liar,
thou saidst it was his son . It is Lari K ha n
himsel f—no son , but him self, the friend of
Dost Moh amme d and Akb ar Kha n, who has
come once mo re to lead us by the ligh t of the
Diamond Star."
Al l this while Bo b s tood unm oved . He
was assured that Amra n Ali was playin g the
fool in some way , but how or for what
purpose he cou ld not divine . Maho med
Hassan appeare d to have his senses abou t
him, a l though Bo b thought that he was
acting in a rather absur d fashion. B ot h
men were clearly very much in earnest, and
Amr an Ali , as well as his friend, se eme d to
be overw helme d with delight .
The ment ion of the Dia mo nd Star m ade
B o b suspicious that the horse-dealer had
been spying up on him, and ha vin g seen th e
valuable t r inket concealed on his perso n h ad
mentioned the matter to Hassan. If that
were s o, the stranger was a splendid actor,
fo r the sentence had slipped from him in them os t natural manner .
" What mean you by the l ight of the
D i am ond Star ? " Bob said to Amran Ali .
" Lari Kh an al way s wore it in his tu rb an , "
was the answe r. "S ha h Shujah gav e it to
him in Kab ul, when Ab du l and Lari Kh an
had re turned with a sacred b o o k from Mecca .
D o s t M o h a m m e d
sworebrotherhood
t o Lari Khan upon
it , an d for years
t he t r i b e s m e n
l ooked upon them
selves as soldiers
of th e Star."
Al l th is was a
co m p le t e m ys t e r y
to B o b , for , as we
know, he had been
l e f t i n e n t i r e
ignorance of his
f a t h e r ' s e a r l i er
career, and hadnot the remot est
idea that he had
. . . been con nec ted
with Afghanistan.
But he kne w that he had a diamond star
on his own person at that moment . Cas t ing
aside his robe, he unfastened th e Star, and
held it for a mo me nt in his han d. The n
with deft fingers he pi nn ed it sec ure ly to
hi s tu rb an .
If Bo b had thought that the men were
ma d before this, he migh t have assured
himself that it was so by the i r behav i our
when they saw the Star. They danced, and
laughed, and che ered, and B o b saw that t hey
considered that the y had mad e a wonderfu l
d iscovery . Th ey were almost besid e them
selves wi th jo y. He took off his false be ard
an d flung it on the gr ou nd . His clean
shaven face s how ed that he was a lad no t
ye t out of his teen s.
" Stil l , i t is r ight , " shout ed Hassan ; "f o r
the mom en t the beard made me think i t was
m y old leader, but n ow I see that it is his
son . Ke ep the bear d, Amra n Ali , he m ust
wear it as we ride throu gh th e passes, and the
news will speed among the Ghilzais that Lari
Khan has re turned. T h e y will learn after
wards that it is his son, but the i r j o y will be
equally great , for then they will k n o w that
they must aven ge the father 's injury and at
the same t ime serve the son."
A n d no w it is tim e to ma ke the matter
clear. Ab du l the Mullah, who dwel t in the
hill fortress, had ne ver ceased to mou rn the
untim ely fate of Lari Khan , his wife and his
son . For years he thought that the Khan
had escap ed, and h ad sent messengers to al l
the tribe s, int o Ind ia, an d ev en so far as
China. To the Ghilzai merch ants and kafda,
or carav an, leaders, he had promis ed a great
reward for n ews of Lari Kh an o r of
his son.
During al l th is t ime a keen loo k-ou t had
been kept b y these men, and Amr an Ali ,
whose wander ings t o o k him far afield, hail
been dilig ent in his inqui ries. He had bee n
struck by the familiar something about B o b ' s
face which reminded him of the Kh an, and
the Pushtoo speech coming from one who
was evidently a st ranger in India, ma de a
dee p impr essi on on hi m. At first hedetermin ed to captur e the lad and carry h im
off to the North, but the many difficulties
which presented themselve s mad e him try to
gain him over into a partnership which
would finally lead him to Afgh ani sta n. He
had told Maho med Hassan the whole s tory
of the lad's wonderfu l l ikeness to Lari Kha n,
Or , Lari K h a n of the Diamond S t a r .
By J. CLAVERDON WOOD,
Author of " Sinclair of the Scouts," " Jeffrey of the White Wolf Trail" etc,
C H A P T E R VI I I . T H E D I A M O N D S T A R N E W S F R O M H E R A T .
and Hassan su ggested the simple dev ice of
the black beard.
" Let me see him , dressed and bearde d like
his fath er," said Hass an, " and I will soon
tell yo u if yo u need take an y further t rouble
with the lad. Get him to put this on when
I come . "
Amran Ali had ad ded the w ords , often
used by Lari Kha n to Ma hom ed Hassa n, the
effect of which had bee n to mak e the Ghilzai
think that the veri table Khan stood before
him, for as Bob prono unced them it seemed
as tho ugh the w ell-k nown soldier were
speaking. Tile Diam ond Star finished the
matter , for the emblem of Afghan chivalry
was so well known that it was recognised onthe instant, and among the Ghilzais every
man had seen it thou sand s of times. It
represented an Orde r o,f Afgh an chivalr y, and
was a token revered by the rough t ribesm en
everywhere.
The men explained as much as they knew
of his fathe r's st ory to B o b , and finally
suggested to him a departure on the morrow
to the hill fortress of the L or d Abdul . B ut
B o b had ma ny questions t o ask, the chief of
which was the att i tude of Abdul the Mullah
towar ds the British.
" I s he likely to be a friend or an en emy ? "
he inquire d. " Hera t is being besieged, and
the British are on the poin t of marchin g t o
its relief. I am an Engl ish lad, and mus t
serve the flag of my coun try . If the y marc h
to-morrow thro ugh the Bol an Pass I shall
voluntee r to go with them, and Abd ul the
Mullah must wai t."
Amr an Ali and Hassan had not men tioned
th e matter of the b ig reward , and this
resolve did not altogether fall in with their
desires.
" L e t the morro w bring forth the duties
of the morr ow, " said Hassan ; " much may
hap pen in a da y. If Hera t does not fall, the
great army will return to Indi a "
Wha t Mahom ed Hassan would have said
was rudely interrupted b y a c rowd of Sikh
soldiers, wh o ca me marchin g along the crest
of the nullah. A lou d voice shouted to the
men seated roun d the camp-fire to scatter,
and before Amran Ali could reply, his horses'
pickets were torn up, his camels forced totheir feet, and the fire trampled out by the
Sikhs. Am ra n Ali dre w his pistols, bu t
before he cou ld fire they were kn oc ked ou t
of his hands , and half a do ze n soldi ers flung
themse lves upo n him and held him fast.
The others were seized before they could
offer resistance.
" Dogs of the hills," shou ted a richly
dressed officer, " who gave you permission to
cam p in this place ? K n o w ye not that in
two day s a Durbar is to be held here betwee n
the Maharaj ah D hul eep Singh and t he
Governor-General , the Lord Auckla nd ? Out
with you , ye dogs, and make your kennels
farther afield ! "
He gav e so me orders to his men, an d
Amr an Ali and the rest were bundled off without ce remo ny. The Afghan was
furious, but he was obliged to submit .
T w o days later Bo b saw one of those
brilliant gathering s for whic h India has lon g
been famous. Lord Auck land , the Brit ish
Govern or-Gene ral, had arranged a t reaty with
the depose d Shah of Kab ul, Shujah-ool-
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518 The 'Boy's Otvn Paper.
Moolk, who had long been a pensioner of the
British at L ood hia na, and Runj eet Singh,
Maharaja h of the Punj aub. B y this it had
been agreed to enforco a t reaty made in
1832, whic h was inte nded " to ope n the
Indu s river for navig atio n, to facilitate the
exte nsion of com me rce , and to gain for the
British nation in Central Asia that legitimate
influence which an interchange of benefits
would naturally produ ce." But a sudden,
and, it was said, unprovoked attack upon thePunjaub by Afghan troops under Dos t
Mohammed Kha n, who had succeed ed Shah
Shujah as ruler of Kabu l, had compell ed the
British to interfere. Ad de d to this, the
confederacy of Russia, Persia, and Af ghan
istan against the ruler of Herat ha d forced
the British Gov ern men t and its ally, R unje et
Singh, to take up arms to relieve the besieged
ci ty .
Lord Auckland and his advisers had come
to the conclusion that Dost Mohammed Khan
and his brothers, the chiefs of Kan daha r,
were unfitted a nd disincli ned to become
allies with Britain, and that they were
not in any way calculated to favour its
authority and interest in the importan t
cou ntr y whic h act ed as a buffer Statebetween it and the encroaching Russian
Emp ire . Th e welfare of British possessions
in the East , it was asserted, requi red upo n
the western frontier of Hindostan an ally
who was intere sted in resisting aggre ssion
and establ ishing t ranqui llit y, in the place
of tu rbulent chiefs who ranged themselve s
in subservience to a hostile Power, and
sought to promo te schemes of conqu est and
aggrandisement .
Runj eet Singh promise d to aid the enter
prise on condition that he was guaran
teed in his presen t possession s, and it was
in tended t ha t Shah Shuja h shoul d enter
Afghanistan surrounded by his own troops,
and supported against foreign interference
and factious oppositi on by the British army .
T he Governor-General confidently expectedt ha t Shah Shuja h w ould be speedi ly repl aced
upo n the throne of Ka bu l by his ow n subject s
and adherent s, a nd it was agree d t ha t so soon
as he was secured in po wer , and the inde
pendence and integrity of Afghanistan
established, the British army should be
withdrawn.
This policy calle d forth strong cri ticism
when its terms beca me kno wn to the British
people, and many able men, in India and in
Britain, predicted an awful failure if its
provisions were enforced . I t w as felt t ha t
Kandahar and Kabul could quick ly be
taken by the strong arms of Britis h soldiers ,
but to maintain a weak Shah upo n the thro ne
of a cold, strong, remote country, cro wde d
with a fierce, turbulent, and warlike peopl e,
was recogn ised by far-seeing state smen to
be an exceed ingl y difficult task. But Lord
Auckland ' s po l i cy was pushed forward by his
adviser s in India , and at the D urba r,
summo ned at Feroze pore, it was intende d to
pla ce the final seal up on it b y the Maha raja hs
an d rulers interested.
Runj eet Singh's ca mp was on the other s ide
of the river from that chosen for the Durbar .
A great multitude of tents blazing with
cr imson an d gold , and with innumer able
banners and streamers wavin g from them ,
had been pitch ed. With in them the Sikh
Sirdars and their magnif icently att ired
retainers were gathe red. All the wealth of
Lah ore , and indee d of the Sikh nation, had
been call ed upo n to furnish the Maharajah
with the outward dignity to which he considered himself enti tled . Th e Sirdars wore
their scarlet and yellow robes, blazing with
jewels, and embroidered with pearls, rubies,
and all kinds of preci ous stone s. Th e
soldiers were in dazzling white costumes,
wit h steel ca sques and shini ng cor selets of
beautifully worked chain armour. Their
horses were cove red with gorgeous housings
of silk and preci ous metal s.
This moving show of colour was rendered
even more effectiv e by the Oriental setting,
the cloud less blue sky, the stretches of red
sand, the white minarets and dome s of
Ferozepor e, and the innu merab le came ls and
elephants with their r ich embroidered
saddles and massive gilt and jewelled
howdahs .
Th e Maharaja h, an old, decrep it man, was
array ed in splendi d robes of crim son, and in
hi s tu rban there blazed the almost matchless
diam ond, the Koh -i- Noo r. He had founde d
b y his own cunning, statecraft, and pitiless
feroc i ty in battle, a vast Empire upon the
r iver Indus, and although now almost
b e y o n d any activ e physica l work, his brain
was still as stron g as eve r. Wi th a cour tly
grace he exchanged greetings with Lord
Auc kla nd, and, aided by his servant s,
desce nded from his eleph ant and entered the
huge ten t where the magnificen t gifts
presented by Britain awaited hi m.
Here were pictu res, jewe ls, horses,
elephants, and, in one apar tment, a great
stack of guns, ba yone ts, and swo rds of British manufacture. Beside them were
some field ca nn on and piles of shell . As the
ol d Maharaja h, wh o was blind in one eye,
came near them, by some mischance he
stumbl ed over the shells , and although man y
hands were stretched out to save him, he fell
prostrate before the Briti sh guns. Swift
glances were excha nged among the Sirdars,
fo r the omen was noticed by their super
stitious min ds, and man y recalled the scene
when, a few years afterw ards at Guj arat, on
the Chenab river, the Sikh army was swept
away and utterly defeated.
Amra n Ali and Mahom ed Hassan had
spent a busy morning among the Sikhs,
striving to pick up inform ation abou t t he
date of the probable advance to Herat .
A mounted messenger had come dashinginto the camp from the direction of Lahore.
He was travel-stained and wearied. He was
taken at once to the tent of the chief Sirdar.
" News from Herat ," said Amran in a
whisp er ; " we shall soon kn ow what has
happe ned. Go amo ng the soldiers of Shah
Shujah and disco ver what you can, Hassan.
Meet me at the cam p before nightfall. If
the city has fallen, Dost Mohammed will
soon be marching d own the Khy ber to
attack Peshawar and Lahore. If the city
still holds out, this arm y will march t o its
relief. Whi le if, which Allah forbid , the
army has retreated from Herat, the British
will soon be hurrying throu gh the passes to
attack Kab ul . It is time we were awa y."
Mahomed Hassan strolled away, and
Am ran Ali began to make inquiries amo ng
the soldiers gathered r ound the principal
tents. He soon beard news that made him
determine to leave Ferozepore that very
night.
The army besieging Herat had been unable
to subdue the city and had retreated. Dost
Moh amm ed Kh an and his brothers had
withdrawn all their tr ibesmen to Kabul
and Kandahar, and it was whispered that
the British army was now to be divided,
and th e main p ort ion to set off at once
along the Scinde frontier, by Shikarpore
and Dadur, to the mouth of the Bolan Pass,
thence to Quettah, and by the Kh oj ac k
Pass to Kandahar , f rom that city to
Gbuz nee, and finally to Ka bu l, where S hah
Shujah would once more be placed upon thethrone.
Piece by piece Amra n Ali and Mah omed
Hassan put their cunningly obtained
information together, and at nightfall
Bo b was told that the British army was
about to retire. He had also been m aking
inquiries among the British soldiers, and
was amused at the disgust shown by some
men of the Kent ish regiment (the 3rd Buffs),
when they had been told privately that th e
division of which they formed a part was to
retire from Ferozepore.
" Well, blow me ! " said one to his comra de,
" if this isn't a fine go ! Aft er tra mpi ng
from one end to the other of this beastly
blazing country, to be told that all the fun is
over an d that there will be no fighting !
I ' m dy ing to ha ve a go at these Pathans
among their mountai ns, and now we are to
be sent back . Th e old man is in a towering
rage, and vows that he'll chuck the Service
altogether ."
" Wha t' s up ? " said Bo b, goin g up to the
soldier.
" Hello, are you English 1 I thought you
were a nigger, with that yellow face "and
the white togge ry. Wha t's that thing in
your turban ? " He poi nte d to the
Diamond Star.
" I ' m Engli sh, right enou gh," said Bo b,
" and meant t o volunte er for the Highlanders,
if there was going to be an adva nce up on
Herat ."
" Advance be blowed ! It's goi ng to bea retreat, back to cantonments in Bengal or
some blazing dry hole. Herat is all right,
and the Persians and Russians have chucked
up the sp onge, so there's nothing for us to
do . Beastly hard lines, I call it ; you take
my advic e, sonn y, keep out of the army,
it's n othi ng but drill, drill, drill, and never a
cha nce of a bit of a scra p. Fo r two pins
I' d turn nig ger, and d o a bit of fighting o n
my o wn hook, over there in Afghanistan.
Wh at are yo u in ? "
" I ' m a horse-de aler," said B ob with a
smile ; " I 'm in partnership with an Afghan
named Amr an Ali. We sell anything, f rom
camels to br ick tea. D o yo u want anything
in m y line ? "
" I 'll desert the Buffs if you'll take me on
as a par tner in the firm. The re' s mor e to be
go t in your business than there is in ours,
and mor e chan ce of fighting. Say the word,
sonny , and yo u shall have a cou ple of the
smartest horse-stealers in India. Isn ' t
that so, Bill y ? " He h it his com rad e a
hea vy smack on the ba ck, and sh owed his
teeth in a lau gh.
Bo b nod ded and left th em. " Tha t settles
it," he thought, as he made his way through
the crowds back to his little cam p. " I t 's
n o use joi ning the Arm y no w. I ma y as
well go on with Am ran Al i and Hassan to
see Abd ul the Mulla h."
C H A P T E R I X .
BELOOCHEES OF THE BOLAN PASS.
B O B told his compa nion s what he had
lear ned fr om the me n of the 3rd Buffs.
Amran knew t ha t he had only heard part
of the move ment s of the Arm y, the retreat,
and not of the immediate advance . I t
suited them to let him remain in ignorance
of the very imp ort ant ent erprise which was
int ende d to place Shah Shujah on the t hrone
of Kabul , and thus Bo b agreed to leave
Ferozepore t ha t very night.
Amr an Ali and Maho med Hassan had
sold al l their camel s, and purchased a large
store of amm uni ti on, wh ich they had packe d
in square cases, to be slung upon the backs
of som e Persian mules —big, wiry animals,
that , if well fed wi th good barley, prove to
be of the ut mos t servi ce as draught animals .They had also bought a splendid English
rifle, which had probably been stolen from
the ten t of some officer. It bore the impri nt
of a well- known firm in Lo nd on , and was a
weapon whic h must have cost nearly a
hund red pou nds . It was sighted up to
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Through Afghan Snobvs. 519
eight hundred ya rds, and appe ared to be of
excellent quali ty.
Amran Ali had bo ught i t without troubling
to ask many questions from the Bengalee who
sold it. He pac ked it carefully amo ng the
baggage, howeve r, for he thought i t would
be wiser not to show it until he got a few
hundre d miles from Fero zep ore. In this he
showed his wis dom . He meant to give it to
Bob , so tha t the lad might be well arme d.
They made a rapid journey to Shikarporc,
travelling chiefly by night, and resting and
sleepin g duri ng the hot hours ,
when the sun made the
cou ntry like a furnace. The y
rested a day
o r t w o i n
Gundava, and
then plunged
i n t o t h e
desert, which
stretched from
that place to
the mouth of the sixty-mile-long Bolan
Pass cou ld be seen. At its highest poi nt
the road was more than five thousand feet
a b o v e the sea level. It wo un d its way
thro ugh terrific gorges and ravines, for the
road was really the bed of the moun tain
torrent whic h roare d thro ugh it during the
winters, and swept the rocks aside, cleav ing
fo r itself a passage.
In some places the Pass was a mile wide,
but most frequen tly it crept throu gh gorge s
of perpendicular and most precipitous cliffs.
" H e cast himself down on the ground at Bob's feet an d placed his forehead in the dust."
(See p. 517.)
the Bola n river. It was a wilderness of
the mos t sterile desc ripti on. A few
wild-caper bushes and wit hered shrubs
formed the sole veget ation , and water
could only be procured from one or two
tiny wells. Amra n Ali knew where theseweils were situated, otherwise Bob would
have sworn that there was not a drop of
\ ater to be foun d an3'where.
After toiling for a day and a night they
reach ed Dad ur. Here the y were in sight
of the frownin g range of roug h m ount ains
wh ' c h bar the wa y to the Shawl Valley, an d
Entr ance to these gor ges was by a na rrow,
natural gatewa y, which could easily be
blocked by a boulder , and de fend ed by
half a dozen determined men. Whe n the
wind was high it swept do wn the funnel-like
ravine with a noise like thunder , and was
piercingly cold, and usually brought with
it torrents of rain. The snow, melting in
the higher ranges, for med dan ger ous
avalanches, which a strong push would hurl
down into the gorges beneath.
Narr ow sheep-paths threaded their way
along almost inaccessib le ridges, kno wn to the
tribesmen and robb ers who infested the
Pass and levied t r ibute from all kafilus
which cam e along, but unk now n to anyo ne
else. Bo b thou ght he had neve r seen so
forb idd ing a place in all his life, and more
than once he looked at Amra n Ali , and
wondered if some treachery were intende d
against himself.
It was now bitterly cold . Amran Al i
had provided himself with a heavy cloak
of Herat felt, and clot hes mad e of a clot h
manufactured in Herat called " barak."
It was warm and rain-resisting. On his
head he had a peaked head-cover drawn
over a close ca p, fitting well ov er the ears,
and ending in two thick loose ends to
wrap round his throat and chin. Hangi ng
from cor ds aro und his neck he had a pair of
huge thickly-padded gloves , into which hia
hands were thrust, but from which he
could withdraw them, in an instant, if he
want ed to use a weapo n. He wore big
Tur kom an t op- boo ts, l ined with long felt
socks. Th ey ca me nearly to the thigh, and
had long pointed heels shod with iron.
B o b and Maho med Hassan were equi pped
in the same way, and thus the fierce cold of the nights was well resisted.
Amr an Ali calculated tha t i t would take
them four da3-
s t o traverse the Pass, if
the y were no t interfered with, but he feared
tha t some of the wild Beloochees , who
infested the gorges, would have som ething
to say upon this matter.
On the sec ond night th ey ca me to a glen
which lay beneath some terraces of rock .
The river brawled along its rough bed and
leaped over the huge boulders which lay
in its cou rse . A little bac k from the road
th e cliffs were h oll owe d by a fall of several
tons of rock, and, beh ind the boulde rs,Amra n
Al i discovered a first-rate cainping-place.
It had been used very frequently, for a
large quanti ty of dried thistle stalks and
other material for making a fire was
found.
Unfor tunately, there wa s little shelter
fo r the mules and baggag e. The anima ls
had to be picketed outside, and the baggage
was piled up near the entrance to the hol low
space. It formed a barrier against the
wind, and made the circle more cosy . But
it dem and ed a consta nt supervision. A
roaring fire was soo n light ed, and cop iou s
supplie s of tea, and Afghan nanb read
war med on an iron plate, restor ed the
wayfarers to something l ike comfort .
As the darkness gr ew thicke r Bo b felt
the eeriness of the plac e, for the roari ng of
the stream, the sighing and screaming of the
wind, and the distant rumbling of dislod ged
rocks, seemed to accentua te the deso lationof the Pass. Maho med Hassan had placed
two servants on guard near the mules, but
Bo b felt sure that something out of the
ord ina ry was maki ng the animal s rest ive.
Several times he fancied that he saw a light
mo v in g abo ut amon g the rocks abo ve the
c a mp .
Amran Ali , Hassan, and Bob were
recl inin g rou nd the fire, when the y hear d
one of their sentries shout out a challenge.
Voices answered him, and i mmediat ely
afterwar ds six me n emer ged from th e
darkness and drew near to the fire. Th ey
were heavily armed, and looked as villainous
a co mpa ny as could be found any where.
Thick felt beehive hats came low down
over their faces, and they were wra ppe din cloaks of felt.
Their leader was a huge Beloo ehee,
standing some six feet three in height.
Wit ho ut a wor d he strode into the circle of
the firelight an d sat dow n op po si te Ma ho me d
Hassan. His followers would have crossed
to where Amra n Ali and B ob were seated ,
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520 The Boy's Otvn Taper.
but Bo b waved them back, and poi nted to
vacant places near the ir leader.
" Kilah Ersar i greets his bro thers,"
growled the giant, as he flung back his cloak.
" It is a wild night, and trav elling is hard .
W e seek the shelter of a friend's ca mp , an d
the war mt h of his fire. M y bro the rs a re
well pro vid ed and will not grudg e us food
and rest ."
" We are t raders ," replied Hassan, " with
packs laden with poor goods , though heavy.
W e t rave l to H e ra t . Whence c o m e our
brethren ? "
" W e be men of the hill s," said Ki lah
Ersar i , whose black eyes were roving over
the packs, and glancing cov etou sly at the
weapons carrie d by B o b and his friends.
" Tha t is a gun wort hy to be born e by a
Kha n. Givu it to me that I may examine
i t . "
H e stretched ou t his hand towar ds Bob ,
whose English rifle had caught his eye.
" Nay, Ki lah," repl ied Bob, turning th e
weapon so that i t cove red the man, and
playi ng carelessly with the trig ger, " th y
brother, th oug h yo un g, is no child . He
keeps his wea pon s in his ow n han d."
"
Turn the muzzle fro m me ," laug hed thegi an t; " we be men of pea ce, and dare no t
look down the barrel of a gun like tha t . "
But his hand stole quietly to the bu t t of
his pistol . A shrill whistle sou nde d from
the oppo sit e side of the river, and almo st
before it had died aw ay anothe r whistle was
heard c lose at hand . The nex t i n s t a n t th e
c a m p bec ame the scene of a trag edy. Th e
bi g Boloochee snatc hed a pistol from his belt,
and shot Maho med Hassan dead. He fell
fo rward , his hands clutching wildly, and
sca tte red the fire.
B o b heard bullets whistling ab ou t his
ears, and saw Amr an Ali fire rap idl y at the
Beloochees and then spring up and run i nto
the darkness in the ho l low of the cliff. B o b
fo l lowed him without a moment 's delay, and
kneelin g do wn behind a roc k, fired upo n theBeloochees . Kilah Ersar i jumped high in
the air, and then lay still. The Englis h
rifle had stopped his murderous exploits
fo r ever.
B o b saw two of the Bclooehces dart ing
a w a y . He heard the servants shrieking, and
the trampling of hoofs . Shouts came from
the rock s all aro und th em, and spurts of
flame darted ou t of the darkness, and bullets
flat tened themsel ves behind him. Bo b
sho uted to Amr an to lie do wn in the shelter
of the rocks. A groan answered him.
" Are yo u hit , Amran ? " he whispered.
" B y All ah ! " was the reply , deliv ered
close at han d, " I have three bullets in my
left arm; may the curse of Shai tan light on
these false Beloochees . Ho w is it with y ou ,
Lari Kh an '! "
" I am all right, but it was a narrow sha ve.
I thought that I was chipped all over, by
the sound of the bullets in my ears. Lie
c lose , Amr an, and be ready t o resist a charge.
T h ey hav e carr ied off the mu les, and will be
trying to drag the pack s awa y nex t. Can yo u
creep out with mo, nearer to the goods , so
that we can def end the stuff ? Wh er e are
the r upee s ? "
" In the box near th e fire," sai d Am ra n ;
" I was sitting on it w he n that villain fired at
M ah o m ed Has san . Ho ld '. do no t fire!
it is the ser van ts; t hey have man age d to
escap e . "
B o b wa s on th e poi nt of firing as three
men dashed swiftly past the embers of the
lire, and darted into the shelter of the roc ks.
T h ey had slip ped fro m the Beloochees in
the darkness, and no w threw themselves
down beside Amra n and Bo b. There was
silence for a while, but the fall of rocks,
o n the oppo site side, sho wed that the i r
enemies were on the alert.
"A mr an ," sa id Bob, " w e must not li e
here. Whe n dayli ght c o m e s they will be
abl e to pic k us off if we ca nn ot find shelt er.
W e must drag the packs nearer, and build
up a barricade t hroug h whi ch we can sho ot.
N o w is the t ime, the fire is nea rly ou t.
W h e n it is absolutely dark we shall be ab le
to mana ge. W e are five, and, if wo work
quietly, can build an effective shelter.
Ha ve we plen ty of water ? "
" We have none. "
" T h e n we must ge t some or shift our
cam]) nearer the r iver."
" That would mean death for all," replied
Am ra n ; " we sho uld be betwe en two fires.
Her e we are sheltered fr om the bull ets and
rocks of those ab ov e us. Th ey can not fire
into the ho l low from over our head s, but
they can pick us off from the other side. By
Allah, we are like rats in a t rap ! "
" W e must have water, A mra n ; co l lec t
the b ucke ts, and we will slip do wn to the
river and fill them. Stop that groaning,
y o u frightened begga rs, and follow m e .
Amr an Ali will guard the c am p while we
are away."
The servants had been unne rved b y the
exper iences of the night, an d were shiveringwith fear and co ld . They were Pathans,
bu t their natural courage had given way for
a time. Bo b ' s assured ton es restored their
confidence somewhat, and they followed
him to the river, where they filled all the
buck ets with water. Then , work ing rapidl y,
they dragged the packs to the hollow" an d
made a breastwork, leaving loop holes for
the rifles. Th e boxes of ammunit i on were
placed close to their hands, the lids being
prised open.
" It is worth its weight in g o l d , " groaned
Amr an . as he saw the amm uni tion , " and
would hav e sol d like jewels in the fort of
Abdul the Mull ah. Oh, ma y curses light
u p o n these Beloochee villains. W h y must
we kill the m with prec iou s thing s ? "
" Be thankful you have it to kill them
wit h," said B ob with a laugh ; " life is worth
more than go ld or ammunit ion , Amra n."
Slowly th e dark hours wore away and
morning dawned, bringing with it mist and
rain. It was a bleak ou tlo ok . On eve ry
side were barren, harsh rocks , and a strong
torrent was swirling throu gh the river-bed.
W h en the wind rose the mists were s lowly
dissipated, and the besieged men were able
to take stock of their posit ion.
Then columns of smoke showed that
the Beloochees were in consid erable nu mbers.
T h ey arose in a wide circle, and men could
be seen sta ndi ng aro und the fires. Signals
were exc han ged from each side of the river,
and presen tly som e great bo ulder s rolled
from tho hills abo ve the camp , and crashed
down where the baggag e had been former ly.
" Luc ky for us ," said Bo b, " that wc
bro ug ht the stuff int o the ho l low. If we
had tried to def end it, w hen it was out there,
we should have been crushed to death in a
very few minutes. B o l l away, my b o y s ,y o u are only maki ng o ur defenc e better.
Y o u ' l l tire of that game before v e do . "
Th e servants had m ad e a fire, and prepa red
a meal . Amr an' s injuries were fortunately
all flesh wo un ds , the bu llets hav ing gon e
through without striking a bone . B o b
washed them carefully, and banda ged them ,
and Amran seemed quite comfortable with
his arm in a sling.
" Have a good meal, b o y s , " said Bob
with a cheerful smile ; " yo u will be b usy in
a short time, for the Beloochees will try a
rush when the sun gets higher."
{To be continued.)
THE OPENING OF THE CRICKET SEASON.
1. " What on earth is the good of putting me on to
bowl against a defence like this! " muses the Bowler.
2. " Wha t mortal batsman can stand against tail sort of attack 1 " thinks the Hatsman.
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The "Boy's Otvn Club 'Room. 521
" None from his fellow starts,
But slaying manly parts,
I H A V E been dipping into a most inter
esting book of late, and something
that I saw therein answers very appropriately
a question that has been put t o mo by a
memb er of the Leagu e of Friend ship. In
a letter he asks : " Do yo u advise the ke eping
of a diary ? Is one likely to reap any benefit
from it in after years ? " Of course , a
diar y, if it is mad e a rec ord o f really useful
and varied happenings, has a distinct value,
but if it is to be me rely a su mma ry of un
important events—the " petty dust " which
each day brings, as Matthew Ar no ld puts
it—then it is quest ionab le whether a d iary
is to be rec omm end ed. There is mu ch to be
said in favour of keeping a diary if you are
constantly meeting distinguished peo ple, or
if you have opportunities for making obser
vations that will prove of interest and value
to other peopl e. But to my corre sponde nt,
" Scribbler," I would say—jud ging from
what he tells me in his very frank letter—
give up the idea and form instead a
" Commonplace Bo o k . " Listen to what
Mr. Dav id Williamson says in " Fr om
Boyhood to Manh ood , or Some Aid s to True
Success " (the book to which I have just
referred).
" Dr. Randall David son, Archb isho p of
Canterbury, once told an audience of 3'oung
people that when he was at school his master
gave each scholar a book of blank pages.
They were instructed to jot down in the
book anything they heard, read, or saw,
which they did not understand. Then they
ha d to look up the matter , and thus add to
their general knowl edge. T he Arch bis hop
Baid he had found the system an excellent
one, and it might surprise his audience to
know that he still carried such a notebook.
He advised the you ng people to ado pt the
same plan, as they wo ul d disc ove r it woul d
be a great help to the m.
* * *
" Let me emphasise the wise suggestion
given by the Archbish op," continues Mr.
Williamson.c
" The on ly way in which y ou
can beco me a well-in formed man is in solving
the puzzles which arise eve ry day in the shape
of some fact or name or word of which you
are ignorant. Unless yo u make a note of it
' t h e re an d then, ' as we say, it will escape
your memor y, and yo u will fail to learn
anything ab out it. But by writin g it in
your notebook and taking th e earliest
opport unity of consulting a dictionary,
atlas, or some other means of in formation,
And like true English heartsStock close together."
(Michael Drayton,"Agincourt.")
yo u will acquire gradua lly a large a moun t
of know ledg e . . . Once you start a
Commonplace B o o k yo u will be surprised
how interesting and indispensable it bec omes .
An y book which is worth reading will yield
yo u some quota tion for j 'our book. It does
no t matter ho w varied are the content s of
the book . On one page you may write four
lines of poe try ; a qu ota tio n fr om a trade
journal ; an amus ing an ecd ote of the Shah
of Persia ; and the date of the year when
inc ome -ta x was first levi ed. If these items
are index ed properly, y ou will be able t o
refer to any of the m with n o tro ubl e at all.
Of course, there is pro ba bly one subject in
which you are specially interested. I t may
be advisab le, in so me cases, to ke ep a note
book fo r that alone."
* * *
Here, then, is a suggestion for " Scrib bler, "
and many others in the same quan dary , totake to heart. I know plenty of people who
have kept Commonplace Bo o k s for years,
and who have got immens e satisfaction out
of them . If yo u read what Mr. Willi amso n
has to say further on the subject (his book
has just been re-issued by the Religious
Tract S ocie ty at one shilling) you will under
stand still more why I urge his excellent
advice.
* * *
This month's part of the " B. O. P. " sees
ou r annual Cricket Competi t ion s begin.
I hope that all member s of the L.O.F .,
and other s of my readers, are entering fo r
some, if not all, of the several compe titio ns.
They hav e been framed t o suit all classes
an d tastes. And while on this point, let
me draw particular attention to the novel
post card com pet iti on in whi ch the first
prize is a splen did Crick et Bat be aring the
autographs of no fewer than fifty of our
leading players. The luck y winner of this
bat will secure a treasure that he will prize
all his day s. The details of this Competi
tion are given on page 527.
Our coloured presentation plate this
mont h is a reprodu ctio n of a painting by
Mr. Arthur Twidle, showing some of the
beautiful Bird -Wi ng Butterflies of the t ropical
forests. This pla te will be vot ed, undo ubt
edly, on e of the finest e ve r issued wit h this
maga zine . In a specia l articl e in this
part th e artist gives a descriptio n of the
various butterflies and moths depicted.
I would like to mention here that th e cove r
of the next Monthly Part—that fo r Ju ly—
will give a perfect representation in colours
of some equally brilliant butterflies of the
Amazon . No one of my readers, havin g
seen this month's splendid plate, will, I
am sure, miss the opportunity of securing
this second compa nion picture.
* * *
R E S U L T O F " A N I D E A L
F R I E N D S H I P " C O M P E T I T I O N .
The very large number of essays sent in
by competi tors showed that the subject
chosen was a popu lar one . After a close
examina tion of the papers I have awarded
the Prize of Half a Guinea to
H A K R Y S H E P H A R D , 526A Kings land Ro a d ,
D al st on , N . E .
for his essay on " Th e Friend ship of John
Halifax and Phineas Fletcher," taken from
" John Halifax, Gentleman." Consolat ion
Prizes have been awarded to the fol lowing : —
T . R. S. A D A M S , Ros e Villa, The Grange,
Beccles ; A L A N H . C L E U G , 8 D u r h a m
Street, Albert Roa d, Halifax ; W. E D W A R D
G R O N O W , Upland House, Ystradow en,
Cwmllynfell, Swansea Valley, S. Wa le s;J A N E T E . A T K I N S O N , Dr a y t o n Re c t o r y ,
Ta mwo r t h , Staffs. ; F O R B E S T A Y L O R , 1 6
Armour Street, Kilmarnock, Ayrshi re ;
E R N E S T A. H I T C I I M A N , 24 3 Ba n b u r y Ro a d ,
Oxford ; E L E A N O R P O C O O K , 3 St. Stephen 's
R o ad , Ealing, W. ; R. H. J. S A R R E , N e w l y n s ,
Ro h a i s , Guernsey, C I . ; D O N A L D N E T I I E R -
W O O D , Marl Park Studio, Victoria Drive,
near C o n w a y ; C H A R L E S N E V I L L E , 1 3
Maclean St., Partick, Glasgow.
* * *
THE League of Friendship was founded last
year with a view to its forming a bond of
union between
" B.O.P." the
ideals 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. Its
of 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.
T H E O L D B O Y .
T H E K I N G - M A K E R ' S O A T H .
(See drawing on page 513.)
AT the batt le of Ferryb ridg e, in the Wars of the Roses
(1461), Lord Clifford led the vanguar d of the Lancas
trians and was opposed by Lord Fitzwalter with the
Yorkists . In the fight Fitzwalter was killed and Lord
Falconbridge was sent to replace him, but instead of
attacking Clifford's strong po sitio n in front, he held
them in play while he himself took a force across the
river Aire, some miles above Ferrybridge, and fell on
the rear of Clifford unexpect edly, routed his force andkilled Clifford. The Yorkists poured over the bridge,
took the town and advanced on Towton . Meanwhile,
the Bar] of Warwick, who was in command of the
Yorkist army, and who was stili excited by the tem
porary repulse at the bri dge in which Fitzwalter was
killed, called for bis horse, and in the sight of his army
killed it with his sword. Then , kissing the hilt of his
sword, he swore that he would fight on foot, and
share all the fatigue and disadvantages of the-soldiers
of th e lowest rank.
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522 The "Boy's Oban Taper.
CHAPTER II. AN ARTFUL CUSTOMER.
riiHE fire was ou t ; Farm er Dy s o n and the
X zealous constable had stalked off to collar
the cul pri t; the whole line of spectators had
prompt l y followed in orde r to witnes s th e
capt ure ; and now the scouts , to o fagged to
go on with their scouti ng progra mme, had
also departe d, though two still li ngered—
Ashley and Burton.
Stuart Ashl ey had grown strangely quiet.
" Wha t' s up ? " aske d his ch um with a
puzzled air. " Wh at are yo u wait ing for ?
Come on , ma n ! "Stuart did not mo v e .
" Do yo u real ly think Ke mps te r fired that
stack ? " he sudden ly voiced .
" Well , it looks remarkab ly like it. Ever y
thing is against the ch ap . Ye s ; I shou ld
say he did it."
" W o u ld you ? I'm not so sure."
" W h y ? " querie d Bur ton in surprise.
" Don't quite see, for one thing, how he
could hav e lit the ri ck prope rly and cut off
without our spotting him," was the answer.
" There's practi cally no cover nearer than
the woodla nd yonde r, yet he coul dn't have
got into Kn o c k W o o d s ' fore we came in
sight."
" Hard ly," agreed Burt on. " But that
would apply to an yon e! A nd we saw
n o b o d y at all! "
" Yes , but wa it a second. Anot her
reason, I don' t believe Kemp st er would do
such a dirty trick. Temper he has, a
beas tly bad one if you will, but I'v e an idea
he'd draw the line at stack-firing. An y h o w, "
Ashley went on, " as there is a doubt, slight
though it ma y be, don' t you think we ought,
as scouts, to investigate;—to hunt round for
any ' si gn ' whic h might hel p matters ? "
A minute ago Harr y Burto n would have
laughe d at the idea, but after wha t he
had just heard, a sha dow of dou bt began to
cross his mind. To all appear ance Geo rge
Kempster was guilty, and yet there had been
cases where strong circumstantial evidence,
sufficient to hang a man, had upon close
examination been found to hold no water.
" Hardly think there's need for it, " he
confessed after reflecti on. " But we'll have
a shot, if you like," he added, more to satisfy
Ashley than with a thought of discove ring
anything.
I do like ! " was the pro mpt response.
" So c o me on ! "
Thus it happened tha t a long, systematic
hunt took place over th e burnt patch.
T he drought made it useless to look fo r
footpr ints , ev en th e fire-party had left no
very definite trace on the hard ground, and
it quic kly becam e increasingly evident, to
the searchers as they waded up and down an d
poked into the ashes that they had engaged
on a queerly hopeless task. Ye t, in the end,
diligence and pati ence were rewar ded, for
Ashley, steadil y focussing attention upon
the spo t wher e the fire had first be en obs er ve d,suddenly had cause to utter a sharp exclama
tion.
" Here's somethi ng, any how ," he gave
forth joyfully.
Burto n, striding ov er, found him on bended
knee examin ing a coupl e of blackened
twisted wires.
" What do you make of that , Harry ? "
he asked, turning again to the ashes.
" Looks like a roughly-made pron g,"
was the reply . " One wire's still
fixed on the other, and there's enough to
show that the upper ends once formed a
fork, thou gh I ca n't see what, "
" Exa ct ly, " cut in Ashley, holding out
his hand. " Bu t here's somet hing else,
ol d chap. See tha t ? "
"Gl as s , " muttered the other —"littl e
bits of thick glass. H ' m ! " feeling a
larger piece, "be vell ed glass, t oo ; and
roun ded, just like By gum ! " as Ash
ley ' s own con cl usi on flashed on him, " t h i s
must have been a magni fyin g lens—a burning
glass ! Faste n it to that fork arrangement,
put some mat ches and tinde r-dry grass at
the proper angle to catch the sun—and there
you are ! Wh y , at n oon on a baki ng d ay
l ike this that 'd fire an y rick ! Jo ve , Stuart,
this gets exc iti ng ! "
" It's plain enough h ow it was done ,"
said Ashley, glanci ng at the sun's posi 'io n,
" but we're not much further on. W e can
figure out n ow how the ch ap got aw ay
without being seen ; we've pre' ty well
cleared Kemps ter , I fanc y, for he's hardl y
cute enough for this—but we don't know
who did the thing. Look here, we can't
let it rest at this. Let's have another look
round ; w e may chanc e on someth ing else."
Accord ing ly the search was cont inue d and
presently Burton, as keen now as his com
panion, burst out tha t he had found some
thing. This , despi te its batte red and burnt
condit ion , was not difficult t o recognise as a
metal cuff-link, which, after scrutiny and a
rub-up, was declared to be made of gold.
A gold cuff-link found close to the other
o b je c t s ! The connection was evident.
Whoever had dropped that fastening had
fired the stac k ! Obv io usl y this disposed of
Kemps ter, for farm-labourers don' t wear
gold cuff-li nks ! So far all was plai nsai lin g,
but wh o was the culprit ? Presu mably a
well-dressed fellow, the indications pointedt o that , but why shoul d any one posing as a
gentleman at tempt to fire Mr. Dyson's
stac k-yar d ? More ove r, had not the farmer
himself insisted that Kempster had com
mitted t he deed, denoti ng from his very
manner that to no one else did he attach
the slightest suspi cion ?
" It's a regular c or ke r! " declared
Bur ton. " I can 't think of any cha p like ly
to fit into the picture. We ' v e got a clue,
but I don't see how we're to follow i t . "
Bu t if Bur ton was at a loss his leade r
wasn't. To the latter's quic k brain the
whole thing swif tly resol ved itself into a
single ques tio n : wh ich way had the ri ek-
firer gone ? Whe re woul d he make for ?
There could only be one answer—Knock
Woods , whic h lay at the.bac k of Mr. Dyson 's
farm and stretched away on both sides for a
considerable distance. Cle arly, to visit
these woods was the next move.
" But which part shall we steer for ? "
queried Burton.
" Main path," was the prompt reply.
" Wh y ? " came the next question.
" Why don't you go for this bit nearer t he
ricks ? "
" 'Co s the other road' s the quickes t cut
through the W o o d . Come on ! "
T h e y were soon among the trees, running
speedily alon g the chosen pa' h. All was
quiet and there wasn't a soul to be seen.
For a while they went thus, then of a sudden
Ashley pulled up abrupt ly. Musing upon
the cuff-link had convinced hi m that they
had t o deal wi th a visit or, not a resi dent ;
for, as Burto n had well obser ved, there was
no person living in the neighbourhood to
whom their find could point. Hence such
an one would most likely arrive by train—
he dismissed a mot or-car as i mpracti cable,
chiefly owing to the nature of the sur-
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"Just a Cuff-LinK!" 523
rounding country—and, having accomplished
his purpose, head back to the stati on wh ich
wa s situated on the other side of the woods.
There were but few trains in the aft ernoon ,
an d there was just a possibility of cutt ing
off hi s retreat. Also, he mig ht have go t
lost in the deeper recesses of the woods, as
a stranger could easily do. But now
cam e a difficulty. T he y had reach ed a
spot where the path forked—one way being
a short cut to the railway, the other, a much
wider track, leading through to a lane and
so round to the station. Whi ch way had
the man gon e ?
" Straight on," was Burton's opinion.
" Yes—unless he kno ws the plac e.
Look here," said Ashley with qu ick deci sion ,
" yo u keep on. I 'll tackle this one. It gives
more cover and he may ha ve taken it for
safety's sake, even if he wasn't aware of its
being a short cut."
So saying he plunged in amon g the bushes,
but ere he had gone fa- a sudde n " Kr ee ee !
Kreeee ! " f rom Burton sent hi m boundi ng
back, presently to come upon the latter
(who, hearing a sound while running on, had
been led to take quite another direction)bend ing over the fallen figure of a yo un g
man who was evide ntly in severe pa in.
" I t 's his ankl e," explai ned Burton.
" One of these rabbit-holes—came down an
awful wha ck, he says. He's pretty well
fainted. We must do someth ing qui ck. "
" Yes ," sa id Stuart Ashle y, gr iml y eyeing
beneath the coat- slee ve a green, soft,
c rumpled , linkless sh ir t -cuff , " w e mu s t ! "
Mr. Dyson's was the nearest habi ta t ion
to the scene of the ac cid ent , and thither th e
wounded one was carr ied, to be immed iat ely
recognised by the farmer as his own nephew.
" I t 's most extraord inary," Mr. Dys on
told the scout s afterwar ds, " ho w that s c a mp
deceived me. Do yo u kn ow he eame dow n
here one night last week just as I was goi ng
off to bed and demand ed mon ey ? I hadn ' t
set eyes on hi m for years. He 'd alw ays
been rather wil d—fo nd of dress , betting and
al l that—but I saw then that he'd gone
from bad t o worse , and t hou gh I had he lped
him in the past I let him understand I could
get hi m out of no mor e troubl es. At whic h
he grew violent, high words followed, and—
well, he we nt ! Tw o days ago he wrote
expressing regret and asking my forgiveness
fo r his conduct, and saying that he wassailing for Canada the next day with a pal
of his wh o' d adv anc ed the necessar y funds.
[ T H E E N D . ]
I kn ew he' d often talked of Canada and—
well, I swallowed that letter ent i r e ly ; i t
read true—so much like the chap he was
once. Ins tead of whi ch it was a pure blin d.
Yo u r earnest effort, and what he has since
confessed, prove that he returned here in
desper atio n (he was in a pretty tight
corner) , f ired my r iek—you know how—to
emp ty the place so that he could enter th e
house while we were all at the tire an d take
what I had refused to gi ve him. Bu t a false
alarm, and a rabbit warren, resulted in a
broken ankle, and kept him from completing
his evil design."
Little more remains to bo added. Ke mp
ster was duly released, while the real culprit
received the due reward of his deeds. Re
garding the latter, it may be stated that
punishment is apparently exercis ing a
salutary effect in this quarter; fo r there ar e
those who consider that his uncle seems
disposed to give this y o u n g fellow a fresh
start when he is free again, which says a
good deal for Farmer D yso n.
As for the scouts—w ell, you ask George
Kemps te r , now reins tated in his old placeat an increased salary, what he th inks of
them !
^0 ^0
THE CANADIAN BEARS.
T h e Black , th e Br ow n, and th e Gr i zz l y in th e ir Hau nts .
IO N C E heard three Englishmen a rgu ing
in a Lo ndo n club as to wheth er " the
bear " was a dange rous c ust ome r when m etin his native haunts. The argument promise d
to be amus ing fro m the first, and after the
three combatants had worked themselves
into a condi tion of gent lem anl y fury it
transpired that not one of the m was aware
that Canada contains three distinct species
of bears, each as different from the other as
the mild-eyed gazelle and the hump -back ed
dromedary.
The mos t c o mmo n bear in Cana da is, of
course, the black bear, whos e range ext ends
entirely over the Dom ini on, exce pt for t he
barren heights of the R o c k y Mounta ins .
The black bear is, by nature, a vegetable
eater, bi s chief food consist ing of root s and
berries. As autumn comes on, and the
blueberry harvest ripens, the bears proceed
to put on flesh, and as soon as the cold comes
they are in a fit condition to stow themselves
away for their winter s leep.
' The black bear is very seldom dangerous
to man, and there are few authentic instances
on record of these animal s ope nin g a t tack
through sheer feroc ity . Suc h thin gs ha ve
been known, however , and I know of tw o
instances, one in Sask atch ewan and the
other in Ontario, where black bears actually
went out of their way in order to attack
woodsmen.
From m y own experience I should judg e
the bla ck bear as one of the mo st tim id
creatures in the Canadian forests. I have
seen little Indian boys run after a mother
and deliberately steal her cubs , while t he
terrified creature herself made no a t temp twhatever to interfere in the matter .
Duri ng the summer of 1911, after the
terrific forest fires that swept through
North ern Ontario , the bears were perh aps
as dangero us as at any tim e on r eco rd.
Every green thing in the woods had, of course,
been des tro yed by the flames, whil t mo st of
the smaller game had either perishec 1 in the
By H. MORTIMER BATTEN.
holocaust or had been driven out of the
country . The ants, too , were gone, and
thus a famine broke out among the few wildcreatures that r emained .
Direc t ly follow ing the fire, I was out on a
prospec t ing t r ip which lasted five weeks,
and during that per iod we were in the mi dst
of a country where bears were as c o m m o nas anywh ere. Al mos t every night we could
hear the hungry creatures round our tent,
nosing for scraps of meat . Some time s one
of us would waken and shout l oudly , where
upo n silence wo ul d fall for a min ute or so
when the animals wou ld start rummaging
a b o u t once more . On one occas ion , when
we left some fragme nts of fish near to our
temp orary ca mpin g groun d, I should th ink
at least a dozen of the ani mals paid us a
visit, and kept us awake by their loudgrunting and snorting.
On another occas ion I was called upo n t o
fetch some wate r from the spring near b y ,
after the fall of darkne ss, an d goin g ou t I
saw, as my ejr
es bec ame accu stom ed to thedarkness, that a bear was standi ng st ock
still under a cedar tree near by . H e re
maine d mot ionl ess while I passed h im, and
on m y return he was still there in exactly
the same at t i tude. A s soon as I entered the
tent, howe ver , he s tole awa y, evi dentl y
thin king I had not seen him.
On the same t r ip two bears followed our
The Grizzly Bear.
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524 The "Boy's Olxtn Taper.
canoe fo r over a mile as we skir ted the lake
margin, as though reluctant to lose sight
of the good things we were takin g with us.
On ou r return to Porcupine City we asked
on e or two prospectors, wh o m we kno w had
been out in the bush, ho w they had f oun d
the bears. " Bla med hun gry ," was the
general reply . " H a d to keep a sharp look
out, or the y' d have been at the grub pac ks
pre t ty quick ."During their wanderings, prospectors and
forest rangers are constantly coming face
t o face with bla ck bears, but these me n take
no mor e noti ce of the ti mid creatures than
they wo uld of a rabbit—unless it happens
t o be a mothe r bear wi th her cub s, when
it is just as well to give her a wide berth.
Of cours e, a good deal depends upon the t ime
of the yea r: bears are far more likely to be
dangerous in the spring, just after they have
wakened , hungry and moros e, f rom their
winter sleep, than they are when fit and
well-fed in the au tu mn .
In countries where bears are plentif ul,
their runways come in very useful to the
woodsman, as these run ways invar iably
lead by the best and shortest ways rou nd
the hillsides. Th e bear is the mo st res tless
t r amp in all the woods (except, perhaps,
the timber w o l f ) , and what these ani mals
do not know abo ut the district s they p atrol
is likely to be of little practical val ue. In
following a bear path , however , there is
always the danger of encou nter ing a bear
trap—or , worse still, a bear snare—wh ich
will hoist one off one' s feet into mid-air
without any warning.
A very different animal from the black
bear is the griz zly of the mountain heights.
A fierce an d ter ri ble fighter, h e could by
no means be descr ibed as timi d, tho ugh
sorrowful experience has reduced him to aretiring, nocturnal hunter , cautious of man
through wisdom rather than fear. A tr oph y
of which any sportsman might be prou d, his
hunting grounds arc limited to the slopes
of th e R o c k y Mountai ns, and it is o n l y in
far-off mountain fastnesses that one now sees
the gr izz ly in his true l ight. Should you
meet him on the track it is quite likely you
will have to give up the right -of- way to hi m,
while the burn of a rifle bulle t, if it be no t
deadly ,may land the mar ksm an in dire straits.
In spite of his immense size and weight the
grizzly is capable of considerable speed,
and it has many times proved fortunate
t ha t he is not able to c l i mb trees like his
cousin, the black bear.
Closely related to the grizzl y is the co
lossal bro wn bear of the far nort h. Strange
t o note , this animal has never been classified
b y naturalists. Tho ugh far superior to the
grizzly in size and weig ht, he posses ses few
of th e la t ter ' s noble traits of characte r, and
is at heart no t only a murderer and a thief,
but also a cannib al. There are abu ndant
cases on rec ord of these large bears attac king
and killing the females of their kind in order
t o devour her cubs at their leisure.
T he ho me of the b row n bear is limited
almo st entirely to Alas ka. Here he is to
be found along the coastline, for his chief
food is fish. Very often, however, he
penetrates far inland, following the creeks,an d thus Alaska n prospec tors are constan tly
meetin g him. He is apt to flee in abject
terr or upo n feeling the sting of a rifie bullet.
T he Cin nam on is mer ely a species of black
bear, and the Sil ver-t ip a species of griz zly.
T he black bear, the grizzly and the brown
bear are the only three distinct species found
in Canada, though the animals vary in colour
in different latitudes.
Occasionally it happens that an old male
bear, b ecom ing restless and moros e, does
not hole up for the winte r. He pace s the
deserted hills through t he long months of
desolation, while his brothers and sisters
are peacefully sleeping. Should the gentle
man in quest ion be a grizzl y, the wood sma n
wh o stumbles across his trail is almost as
likely as not to wish himself out of it—and
no amo unt of persuasion will induce the
Indians to fol low th e trail of a winter grizzly,
wh o m they r egard as the s ymb ol of ferocious
hungriness.
JSP J5T*
Un d e r t h e E d g e o f
t h e E a r t h :A St or y of Th re e Ch um s and a
Star t l i ng Ques t :
By F. H. BOLTON,
Author of " In the Heart of
the Silent Sea" etc.
E C A U S E
i t w a s
W e d n e s
da y after
noon th e
L u n e -
Chester Bank
ha d closed
early, a cus
t o m which
found favour
in several
e y e s , n o t
least t hose of
Hubert Ken
nedy . But
on this par
ticular Wed-
< « ^ f ^ ' nesday there was no holiday
look upon his face, as, stick
in hand, he set fort h after dinner fo r a
stroll. It was mor e than " du mps " whic h
weighed hi m d o wn , depression sat heavy
on his hea r t : it was as th oug h his inner
life were weighted and confined.
H e mad e his way out of the t own on to
the green meads whic h skirt ed the river side.
His was the poor est of com pan y to-day—j ust
himself, and a saddened self at that . Where
the grass-land .widened above the nois y
weir he threw himself down upon the sward,
near the water's edge, and idly tappe d the
ground with his stick, his eyes rovin g uptowards the mighty aqueduct that spanned
the river not far f rom where he w-as sitting.
" Poor old Hut t ! " he mutt ered , " poor
ol d H u t t ! "
He ha d voiced almost unconsciously the
cause of his present de press ion. It was
C H A P T E R V I I T . — A S L E N D E R H O P E .
to -day no mer e selfish listlessness broug ht
on by the sense of his own uncoloured life,
and the bright er lives of his friends. It was
genuine sorrow and concern for the merry,
good-humoured lad, wh o had alw ays a
laugh and a smile for eve ryb ody , and wh o m
Ke n n e d y loved, as occasionally boys do
love each other.
H e rose after a short time of restless
cogitation. Save for a couple of you ng
fellows who had just passed him on the way
t o the boathouse hard by , there was no one
in sight, and the solitude suited his sober
mood.
" A y ! " he said, with a heavy sigh as hestrolled slowly forward, " poor ol d Hut t !
What can have become of him ? I' d give
all I have to be able to get at the bottom
of things. And poor old Morris, to o !
Wh at a selfish pig I am ! I'll warrant he's
feeling it a lot worse than I do. He didn' t
say much when he wrot e, but / k now .
Ol d Len isn't the sort to get over this kind
of thing lightly, even if he does keep his
fretting to himself, without letting folks
see too much of it."
H e wand ered aimlessly past the boat-
house and ca me to the little gate where the
railway was crossed by those who wished
t o make their way to the level of the ston e
bridge now towerin g abo ve him. Here he
turned sharply aside from the river and
crossed the shining rails. Th e cl imb upt o the canal was steep and he set himself to
it with quick earnestness. For the moment ,
at least, the action took away the listless
feeling and made his heart beat with more
energy. Bu t once out upon the towing path
and his listlessness returned upon him,
returned mor e sharply too, as, having
reached the middl e of the aque duct , he
leaned his arm up on the stone balustrade
an d looked down upon the river towards
the castle- crowned town. Only a few
weeks back they had stood there—the
loyal t r i o : only a few weeks back the
others had joked him upon his pessimistic
att i tude.
" We' l l take a vo w against the hum-
dru mmy scare, eh, Kenn edy ? "
H e seemed to hear Morris's voice even now
in his ear, followed by the light laugh of
Hut ton , wh o surely had ne ver neede d to take
upon himself any such vow. Ah, we l l !
For all three of them, humdrumminess was
being scared awa y with a vengea nce. The
pact itself had been followed on the instant
by an event which seemed a sharp satire on
the discontent toward a smoothly-running
life, so easily might it have ended in trage dy.
And again, for him had come, not a fortnight
ago, that jolly break in his days, bef ore even
the actual mon oto ny of a clerk's routine
existence had fulfilled his anti cip ati ons ;
that happy break amongst them all at
Grayle Hall, a never-to-be-forgotten holiday
which
He gulped just here, gulped hard. What
ha d come of the lad to wh o m he owed that
bright me mo ry ? The re might be worse
things than an every-day, untroubled
routi ne ! E ve n hum dr um was to be preferredt o this last terrible event . Wh at was
happen ing behi nd the veil of my st ery ?
Hut to n migh t be in direst straits. He
migh t even be dead . If only they could
know !
He looked down idly at the river and the
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Under the Edge of the Earth. 525
coping on the other side of the balustrade.
Just under that coping, opposi te the very
spot where he sto od, the y had s crat ched
their names in token of the league. Th e
bridge was deserted as he stood there, an d
there was no one in sight on the river or
upon its banks. He climb ed ove r on to
the cop ing and lay again at full lengt h
thereon. More gingerly, though, this time :
the nerve which excite ment and com pan ygave on the former occasi on was wanti ng
to day , and in the loneliness and depressio n
of his' situation the height seemed more
formidable than before. Bu t as he lay aslant
the coping confidence gradually returned,
and he craned over the edge to look again
upon the eccentri cally place d initials. His
own " H. K." was the weakest of the three
sets, and he drew ou t his long -bla ded knife
to scrape the letters more deeply. Then a
revulsion of feeling came over hi m.
" No," he muttered, " I'll let it be.
That's how it was when we were all toge ther,
an d that's how it shall s top till we can
all be together agai n."
He gazed with rather misty eyes down
the course of the singing river." If wo ever a re ! " he added, wi th a
catch in his whispered sol iloqu y. " I 'd
stick the humdrum my, to have old Hu t t
safe back again."
He lay there in that curious position a
few moments longer : there were voices on
the tow-path, and he had no wish to be
observed. The place and position were alike
out of the ordi nary and he was in no m o o d
to court com men t or impertinent inquiry.
After a few mome nts, ho wever, the passers-
by had gone without di scovering him through
the open stonew ork, and he prepared to
rise. Just as he was about to raise his
head above the edge of the parapet he
started and drew back. The cl ick of a
horse's hoof upon the hard path had caught
his ear. He smiled to himself, but it was
in a bitter, half-mournful way.
" Better keep back ," he thoug ht. " /
don' t want to frighten a barge-horse, and
have Hutt ' s experience repeated."
In which frame of mind he crouched upon
the br oad stones out of sight of the anim al.
Wh e n at length he could hear that th e
creature wa s past he raised his head again
slightly and peered through the opening in
the sto newo rk. It was quite a cas ual
act io n: he had no though t of showing
himself till the barge was well awa y. Bu t
what he saw set him thinking suddenly and
wildly. For at the moment at which he
looked the man at the barge tiller came into
view,and Ken ned y recognised him instantlyas the same fellow with wh om he and the
others had come into such unpleasant contact
on the previous visit to this place.
" W e l l ! " he muttered excitedly, " that 's
a r um my coinc idence if yo u like ! "
Yet even this coinc idence , " rummy"
as he euphoniously termed it, would not have
made a tithe of the subsequent impression,
but for the man's further action . As the
vessel passed, the fellow sang out roughly to
his horse to stop, and after one or two in
effectual calls he succ eed ed in induc ing the
animal to come t o a halt. Kennedy had
not been discovere d and curi osity led him
to follow in a crouchi ng position along the
edge of the co ping some few yards behind
the barge, wh ich was now gliding gently
towards the bank at the farther end of the
bridge.
He waited a short t ime and then raised
a wary head ab ov e the t op of the parapet,
prepared to draw back on the instant if
need be. The boat had come t o a standstill
in the b roader w ater outsi de the channel of
the aqueduc t, and Kenn edy saw the man
walking, with one or tw o cautio us backw ard
glances, along the coam ing from stern to
stem, and carrying what lo oked to the boy
to be a plate of victuals in his hand.
" Somet hing' s doing, or I 'll eat my hat ! "
he muttered. " Victuals aren ' t wanted that
end, or should n't be . An d the beggar
doesn't seem over keen on being seen taking
them down there, either," he added, as theman step ped do wn over his cargo into the
well of the vessel after a final glance round,
as if to make sure of there being no one
within sight.
He slapped his leg in his excit ement .
" Thun der ! " he exclai med. " I 'll bet
it i s: I'll find out , to o ! My hat, wh at a
thing, if it did turn ou t t rumps ! "
On the instant his outlo ok had chang ed ;
the wor ld again appe ared before his eyes
in its natural col our s; for the time, at all
events , gloom was banished and the wild
zest of excitement had taken its place.
Some little distance a way, the canal took
a sharp bend before entering upon the last
stage of its channel into Lunechester tow n,
and Kennedy waited with what patience he
could c o mma n d until the barge had oncemore started upon its journey and he judged
it must be round the turning, or close to it.
Suddenly it occurred to him that th e
horse had had no driver, being guided in
its move men ts by directions growled at it
from the deck of the barge, nor had he seen
sign of any person upon the boat bey ond
the man himself. This would accou nt for
the delay whilst the latter was absent from
th e tiller. At length, after weary waiting,
and one or two cautious surveys, he saw
t he vessel was again unde r wa y; a nd a short
t ime later, b y peerin g over the to p of the
stonework, was enabled to catch sight of her
negoti ating the bend. No w was the time
fo r action.
The towing path, so far as it lay in t he
range of his vision, was deserted as he
cl imbed over the balustrade, and he was soon
free to resume his normal walking pace,
following in the wake of the vessel, which
had by this tim e passed out of his sight.
" If it sh ould onl y be ! " he solil oquise d,
excit ement gleaming in his ey e. " My
stars ! What a lucky thing I happened
to come along this way ! Poo r old H u t t ! "
Th e ide a lai d firmer h ol d on him t he
more he gave it thought, till by the time he
ha d turned the ben d he was as certain that
his friend was prisoner, " crib b'd , cabined
and confin ed," upon the boat ah ead of him
as if he had already set eyes upon his
pinioned body .
" Only, I 'm b othere d if I can see why,"
he thou ght; " there doesn' t seem enough t obe got out of it for the risk, in spit e of t he
bi g reward. An d surely no fellow could be
such a blither ing ass as to do a da ngero us
trick of this sort just because of that little
accid ent we had. Old Hu t t didn't frighten
his fool of a horse on purpo se, and it was
the silly idiot's own fault that he pitched
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526 The IBoy's Otan Taper.
int o the water , a nd he surely does n't think
he's go ing to hol d hi m up to rans om and
get the pric e run u p int o thousands like a
Turkish brigand ? Besides, ho w could he
have got him there ? Well , it 's past me !
But , after all, the chief thing is that there
yott are, H u t t , my son, and it 's this child's
going to get you out of it. Ho w about
humd rummi ness no w, eh ? "
Of a cer ta in ty any slight doubts he might
possibly have had at the first as to thecorrectness of his conjectur e were quite
dissolved.
The barge made its way steadily along
past the first outskirts of the town, where
mills poured their hot and used-up waters
into the canal, dra win g therefr om a fresh,
if not over-pure, supply . Under bridges and
past large coal and timber yards , and more
mills, it kept its untiring course, and
Kennedy , now that the towing -path was no
longer deserte d, felt he cou ld come to closer
quarters without incurring suspicion. His
plan, s o far as he had an y, was to mak e sure
of the destin ation of the vessel, and then
keep an eye on her. Bey on d that, he would
seize his cha nce as bes t he cou ld. The
question that rose uppermost in his mind
was whethe r a halt wou ld bo mad e in the
vicinity of the tow n, or wheth er the barge
would pass on throug h Lunechester withou t
stopping.
" Hardhy that, I imagine," he ruminated .
" She's loaded with stone, and I bet she's
bound for Picke rton' s Yar d. Besides, that
chap isn't goin g to have to o easy a time
here. H' m ! I thoug ht as muc h."
He gave vent to the last expression under
his breath as the man in charge of the barge
hailed a loafer on the path near a bridge
unde r which the vessel was ab out to pass,
and m ad e a call upo n his aid in guid ing his
horse whilst the traffic alongsid e the wharv es
was negotiated.
" A ' m put t ing in at Pickerton's," Ke nned y
heard him call out, and straightway madehis own plans.
Nothing could be done in the full day
light, and certainly not whilst people were
abou t in any number. He woul d go hom e,
make his where abouts know n, in case of
being compell ed to be away lon ger in the
evening than he anticipa ted, and woul d
return when things were quieter to spy ou t
the land. The ques tion of assistanc e cam e
into his min d. It wa s, how eve r, he felt,
on e thing to be co nvi nce d for himself that
he had struck th e trail of his missing f riend,
but quite another—and he readil y realised
this—to be able to con vinc e an indepe ndent
party of the soundness of his conv icti ons.
He kn ew perfectly well, from' Morris's letters,
that th e police had definitely decided that
there was no justifi cation for acti on in the
case of the very man against whom his
suspicions were so strong ly roused.
" I wish old Morris were here now," he
thoug ht. " The level-heade d beggar would
be worth his weight in go ld to-n>'ght. I
wonder, is it good enough to telegraph to
Gray le Hall ? "
He threw the notion quickly aside,
however . It would never do to raise falso
h o p e s : the thought reminded him again
most po werfu lly ho w difficult his s tor y
might be to make believable to another .
" Both er it ! " he muttered , as he turned
from the canal pa th and made for the town.
" I'll see if Rob ins on' s at hom e, he's the man
fo r this jo b. An d if I can't lay hands on him.
well, I'm on for the game alone, that 's all ."But on calling at the house he found that
Robinson, a fellow-clerk with wh om he had
struck up a frien dship, was awa y for the
aftern oon, a nd the hour of his return was
quite unkn own. He thereupo n definitely
decided to act alone : after all, in a matter
requiring delicate and careful stepping, the
fewer to muddle things the better.
Braced with this philosophical reflection,
he found himself later leaning over the para
pet of the bridge near to which Picke rton's
Yard was situated. The barge was moored
against th e wharf, a plank acting as gang
wa y fro m the deck to the edge of the qua y.
Kennedy placed his arms upon the w all and
gazed idly in front of him . To all a ppe aran ce
he had stopped for a short time in the courseof an ordinary e vening stroll, and there wa s
no indicatio n of the excit ed state of his mind
to the casual passer-by.
The yard was deserted, and it soon
became evident that upon the barge itself
there were no signs of life. Undoubtedly
th e fellow in charge had taken himself off,
probab ly to an evening bout in some public-
house.
" And if he happens to come back while
I 'm on the prowl, " muttered the lad,
" the re ' l l be Old H a rry to pa}- , and no
mista ke. I' ve got to step like a cat on h ot
bricks over this little bus i nes s ! "
Thinkin g which, he forthwith p repared to
step. Twil ight was drawi ng on an d he
slippe d ove r the edg e of the wall whi ch
divided Pickerto n's Ya rd from the road,
making a direct but cautious way tow ard
the ba rge . It was only in the first act , the
slipping ove r the wall, that he was shy of
public a t tent ion ; once in the jard there
would be no one amo ngs t the casual way
farers who would be likely to pay any
attention to him—no one, unless by .an
untowar d chance the bargee himself came
upon the scene, which, thoug ht Kenn edy,
" the fates forb id ! "
On the vessel all was quiet as he walke d
with apparent carelessness towards it, and
choosing a suitable moment he boldly
slipped ove r the plank gangwa y and drop ped
into the open hold upon the cargo of stones.
Uncalled-for.
" Quite a good photo. Who is it ? "
•' My brother."
" O h , no, old chap I There must be some mistake 1
good-looking fellow I "
A t the stem there was sufficient space for
free move me nt fairly well out of sight, and
he turned eager steps to the low doorway
leading into the compar tment which, in
vessels of this kind, forms a store-room, and
sometimes even temporary stabling accom
modat ion.
A s he had anticipated, there was a padlock
fastened o n the door . He took hold of it.
but was not surprised that it did not yield
to his touch ; of course the place would beunder lock and key, and he had prepared
himself with a screw-driver against this
certa inty . He had reck oned also upo n the
possibility of his own bunch containing a
ke y which might at a pinch let him in, but
here he was disa ppoi nted : the lock wa s
ol d and clumsy, and moreover somewhat
stiff, an d non e of his keys were of the slighte st
use. He therefore turned all his though ts
to unscrewing the hasp, being all the mo re
anx ious as the light was not likely to ava il
him for long.
After a little effort he found that the first
screw was easily rem ova ble , and with
this sign of success his spirits rose. There
were four to move , and the second came
away also with compa rati ve ease. But the
third was more firmly b edd ed into the wood
work and for a lon g time resisted his strug
gles, an d w hen ho came at last to the fo urth
he began t o fear he shou ld be frustrated.
Only one screw betw een him and an ope n
door , but, with the innate contrariness of
things, a most unconv incibl e and obstinate
brute of a screw ! He wo uld have g ive n a
good deal to be free to take a large p iec e of
limest one fro m the heap behind him an d
batter the whole thing in. It was onl y the
necessity for working as quietly as possible
which kept him from dealing some well-
deserved kicks upon the door.
Te n precious minutes did that rusty bu t
loyal screw cost him. At last he stopped,
perspiration standing ou t
upo n his heate d fo rehead,and listened lest in his ex
citement he might have
failed to hear the man of
the barge returning. There
was no so und, ho wever, of
footstep or voice, and he
placed his ear to the door
itself, hoping as he rested for
a few seconds to hear some
slight sign of life within .
" H u t t ! " he whispered
hoarsely. " H u t t ! It's me,
K e n n e d y ; I 'm c oming in !"
Ther e was no answer, nor
any suspicion of movem ent,
an d he ren ewe d his fight
with that last screw, suc
ceeding at length (after a
good deal of wrench ing
with his driver to and fro)
in forcing the thing out of
the wood . Th e hasp gave,
and the door was open
to his will. He pulled it
behind him as he hastily
passed in.
" H u t t ! " he whispered
again, and his heart beat
quickly in the black dark
ness as he listened in vain
fo r any answering move
ment.
He l ighte d a p iece of
candle which he had
brou ght . Ther e were a fewpieces of wood , a rough
box , some odd lengths of
rope ; but the light of the
candle, showing him these
things gradually, had shown
at once that nowhere inThis is quite a
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Under Ihe Edge of the Earth. 527
that pla ce was the lad for wh om he had run
th e risk of forc ing his way in. It was no
go : he had made a fool of himself for his
pains : and a jolly good jo b he had to ld no
on e beforehand, and raised no false hop es !
What a si l ly—
Hel lo !
The candle showed him, as he was about
t o blow it out and retire, a pile of straw in
th e farther corner of the cabin, just behindthe r ough bo x which held som e blocks of
wood . He might have passed this b y —
there was no room for anyone to bo behind
tho bo x withou t being seen—but he notic ed
that it had been pressed as thou gh s ome
on e had lain upon it lately.
He pushed across the small com par tme nt :
al l thought of wary walking and watchful
ness, lest his retreat should be cut off, was
gone . He forgot everyth ing but the obj ect
of his search for the mom ent . Ho held up
the l ight and took stock. Undo ubte dly
there had been some one or s ometh ing
ly ing there. He stooped to make further
search.
Then his blood ran cold. Behind him
was the sound of heavy footsteps. Som e
on e was crossing the ston es—w as alr ead y inthe hold—was at the d oor !
The re was a fumb ling a t the l atch : a
startled exclamation, as though the broken
lock had been discov ered. He had barely
time to rise an d blow out the light as the
door was pulled open. In the oute r twi light
he saw the man whose return he had f eared .
(To be continued.)
B I C Y C L E P R O V E R B S .
A SOFT saddle tu rneth a wa y wrath.
The novice and his saddl e are soo n
parted.
It ' s a poor cycl omete r that w o n ' t measure
double up-hill.
It's an ill wind that blows out of a
puncture in you r tyr e.
The bumped child dreads the scorcher.
It ' s the man without a cycl omet er t ha t
has ridden the greatest distance of all.
GET R E A D Y , B O Y S !
By D . L. A. JEPHSOX.
NOW is the time to get ready, boys !
To tarn out the old brown bag,To wipe down the face of your favourite bat,
With an oleaginous rag.
No w is the time to get ready, boys ITo " bianc o " the d usty pads ,
To ram in the nails in the buckskin boots,
Get ready, get ready, my lads!
No w is the time to get ready, boys !To rig up the practice net,
To roll down the lumps in the grass-grown pitch,An d pe g down the " m a t " for the wet.
No w is the time to get ready, boys 1
To practise and so improve,
To plug at new strokes with you r well-k nown " pAn d get out of the old, old groove.
No w is the time to get ready, boys !To loosen your arm once more,
To vary the flight, the pace and the spin,
With the same good length as before.
No w is the time to get ready, boys!To field with a bran new ball,
To gather it clean, though I know, full well,
It's as hard as a red-brick wall 1
No w is the time, are you ready, boys ?The curtain's about to rise
On the finest game in the whole wide world,
In whose heart real fellowship lies!
EJf j j f jJASpEClAr^
]m~{ ~ i "t-t fat*
% • '• iJ Kit,
m
SPECIAL AUTOGRAPHED
CRICKET BAT
COMPETITION.
A BAT FOR A POSTCARD.
ON this page is giv en a phot ogra ph of a
cricket bat bearing the autographs
of fifty leading players, past an d present.This remarkable souvenir, which any fol
lower of the gam e woul d be proud to possess,
we are offering as a prize in a simple post
card competit ion, open to all readers of the
" B. O. P. " Fro m the fifty names inscribed
on the ba t (see the list below) select those of
th e S I X T E E N players whom you think would
constitute the best team t o represent
England against an y Australian team that
migh t be opp ose d to it. I h e sixteen players
selected are to be put down in order of merit,
that is , E L E V E N players to form the actual
team an d F I V E reserve men.
This competit i on will be decid ed am ong
ou r readers themselves by voti ng. T he
S I X T E E N players chos en will be those wh o
receive the highest num ber of vot es acco rde d
them by competitors. The P R I Z E B A T willbe awarde d to the com peti tor whos e post
card contains the list of sixte en names thus
selected, in the order in which they rank
according to the voting.
C O N D I T I O N S .
1. Each list of sixteen names only must be
written clearly on a postcard, and the compe
titor's name and address must be given th ereon.
2. The names must be placed one under theother in the order c hosen, the last five namesto be those of " reserve " men .
3 . Any player on tho list, such as Mr. F.Stanley Jackson, who is not actually taking partin present-day first-class c ric ket , is elig ible .
4. The surname only of a player n eed be given,except in the case of two players bea ring thesame name (e.g. Gunn), when the initial mustbe included.
5. One postcard list only may be sent in byeach competitor, and no list may comprise morethan sixteen names.
6. Should there be two or more postcardscontaining the winning list, the ballot will beresorted t o in making the award.
7. The Edito r's deci sion, as usual, must beregarded as final, and no correspondence can beentered into. An y infringemen t of the rules will
result in disqualification.
8. This com petiti on closes on J U L Y 14, 1913.No postcard arriving after that date can beconsidered.
A numb er of Consolatio n Prizes and " B . O . P . "certificates will be awarded to those whose listscome nearest to that of the Prize-winner.
Competitors are reminded that what is to be
aimed at is tlie best representative team selected
from the names belo w. Such a side should,
of course, include a wicket- keeper and chang e
bowlers in addition to crack batsmen and crack
bowlers.
Remember the closing day for send ingin postcards is MONDAY, JULY 14, 1913.
LIST OF rLA YER S WHOSE
P. P. Warner.E. G. Wynyar d. '
Hawke.
E. J. Radcliffe.
F. Stanley Jackson.A. H. Hornby.J. Sharp.J. T. Tyldesley.
A. C. Maclaren.Walter Brearley.H. Dean.H. D. G. Leveson-Gower.
M. 0. Bird.J. B. Hobbs.
Ernest G. Hayes.H. Strudwick.J. W. Hitch.N. A . Knox.
C. Blythe.E. W . Dillon.
P. E. Wool ley .Jas. Seymour.E. M. Sprot.0. P. Mead.J. A. Newma n.
NAMES ARE ON THE BAT.
Gilbert L. Jessop.0. B. Pry.J. W. Hearne.W . Rhodes.
D. Denton.P. It. Foster.S. P. Kin neir .
E. J. Smith.A. O. Jones.J. Irenionger.Geo. Gunn.John Gunn.H. P. Chaplin.J. Vine.
C. McGahey.
J. W. H. T. Douglas.
F. H. Gillingham.P. L. Pane.C. P. Buckenham.Len. C. Braund.John Daniell.Vernon T. Hill.S. F. Ba rnes.W. G. Quaife.S. Santall.
8/8/2019 Boys Own Paper May 17, 1913
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528 The "Boy's Oban Taper.
Our Rote Book.
A W H I T - S U N D A Y C U S T O M .
A T Shennington, a small village near Edgehill, Whit-
Sunday is popularl y known as Hay Su nday from a
curious custom which obtains there of strewing
the nav e and aisle of the ch urch wit h freshly-
mown grass on this day, to commemorat e the time
when the church was consecr ated, and by the bishop' sorders was strewn with rushes for the ceremony,
as it was not then paved .
T H E B O Y ' S D A Y IN" J A P A N .
IN Japan there is one day which is the b o y ' s own.
All ove r the cou ntry on May 5, fathers, mot hers and
Bisters decorate the house, bake sweet rice cakes
and prepare gifts—all for the boy . It is called 0
Sekku, or the b o y s ' festival. It has been handed
down as a custom for hundreds of years.
A stranger in Japan can always know when the
0 Sekku comes round because on that day the air is
full of flying-fish m ade of pap er to resem ble ca rp,
one of the co mmo nes t fish in the Mikadu' s empire.
Little b am bo o hoo ps keep the mout hs of these fishes
open, so that when the wind blows it fills the paper
bodies, and causes them to squirm and twist in lively
and lifelike fashion.
Every household that numbers a boy among
the children displays the paper fish on its flagpole,
on e fish for each son. The younge st son is representedby the biggest fish, and the paper carp are graded
according to the age of the b o y s in that household.
It is a pro ud father w ho on th e day of O Sekku can
look abo ve his ridgepole and see seven or eight paper
iish swim ming against the wi nd.
Th e Japanese sa y that the carp swims up the
rapids and over waterfalls, and that therefore it
represents strength and enduranc e. So the carp
stands for all that th e Japanese parent hopes for in
his sons.
A " S P R I N G B O K S " S O U V E N IR
ATJ, readers of the " B. O. P. " who are footballers
—and, no doubt, many others—will welcome th e
'* Souvenir of the Great Springboks' Tour, 1912-13,"
which has been issue d by The African Worlds 1,
Gresh am Buildings, Basinghall Street, E.G. The
booklet contains 32 clever cartoon portraits in colour
of membe rs of the team an d their supporters, drawn
by H. H. Playford. The cartoons have the merit
of being bot h life-like and hum orous , and the y makea c apital picture gallery of a notable collection of
footballers.
T O C O L O U R P H O T O G R A P H S .
A C C O R D IN G to a Canadian photographic journal,
prints m a y be considerably improve d, especially
portrai ts, by a judici ous application of co l o u r ; even
in the case of prints from fiat and under-exposed neg
atives a little colour will , like charity, " hide a multi
tude of sins." No knowledge of printing or drawing is
requisite, onl y a stea dy hand ; an d althou gh it is really
a process of smudging, the effect when view ed in the
natural wa y as a finished print, leaves no trace of the
" prentice hand."
Th e materials required are—two brushes, one fine
and one coarser, for using the colour as a wash ; a fe w
penny packets of aniline dyes—water-colours will not
do in this process , as they wil l not stain th e film as th e
aniline series do. The range of colo urs is rather limited,
but as the object is rather t o tint than to colour, a
smaller range will do.Magenta, pinks, and similar shades are but a question
of dilution. Viole t , blue, are the principal, then green,
brown ; the last two are not good colours, and require
mixing with other colours, or the result will be
unnatural. For medi um you will require aceti c acid
and methylated spirit. Mix a small quant i ty of each
with a crystal or two of the desired colour.
An inverted plate makes a good palette . Let it be
one shade deeper than yo u wish the finished ton e to be
when dry. Take a portrai t for instance. First, alum
all prints, not only to harden film, but it will tend to
eliminate the hypo. Squeegee the print on to glass in
th e usual manner, on to a negative glass, and while only
partially dry give th e face a wash of colour. Do not
at tempt to pick out the high lights, but give th e face
a bold stroke with a comparatively moist brush.
To avoi d patchiness, pre serve the outline as far as
possible, then do the hands. The cuffs, collar, and
frilling may be put in a harmonious colour, or left alone,
if a light dress or blouse, say mau ve (violet an d
magent a), or pale blue, and p ick out the decoration s
(if pro noun ced ) with another soft colour. When you
have made your brown to taste, touc h up the hair ;leave the furniture alone. Flowers may have the
slightest possible tints. The idea is to brighten up only
those parts that strike the eye.
When dry, if too faint, repeat process ; this generally
applies only to the face and hands. If too deep, sunning
will take it down , or moiste n with met hylat ed spirit
and soak up on blotti ng paper. Practi se on a few old
prints first. Wh en strip ped off the glass the colour
will be very soft. Mou nt in the usual manner for
glazed prints.
A . P E A R C L . — T h e halfpennies of George the Third
are worth quite a shilling each. The particulars
of the othe r coins are not enough for identification,
but surely you know that Gulielmus means Willi am?
P. B A T C H E L O R . — A Georg e the Thi rd half- crown of
1817 sells at from three to four shillings, as does alion shilling of Georg e the Fourt h.
A . JO H N S TO N . — If you cannot make the ribs yourself,
the only thing you can do is to make a working
drawing and have them done for you by some local
boat-builder or carpenter.
CIN EMA . — If you will glance at the indexes of your old
volumes you will find that we have had articles on
every subject you suggest. Y o u r queries require
much longer answers than we can give here, and you
should refer to any of the recent shilling manuals
which you can probably get where you bought the
plates.
V . BA CK ES . — Th e Ban k of England dollar of 1804 is
worth half a sovereign when in such good preserva
tion as yours appears to be. Ther e are also Bank
of England silver tokens for three shillings and
eighteenpence.
M. BLACKLOCK:.—There is no need to worry yourself;
your measurements seem about the average. Dumb
bell exercise eve ry mor ning, with light bells, will
help to devel op your chest. Re
member to do theexercises slowly
and even ly ; it is a mistake to
dash at them an d swing the arms
furiously. The " grip dumb
bells " are recommen ded
because they make the user
clench his hands t ight an d
so tauten the muscles.
J. It. S.—Wri te to our Cycling
Editor, who will give y ou
all the information you
require. The machin e re
ferred to will answer your purpo ses
admirabl y. Wale s is a hilly
count ry for touring on whee l; y ou
would find a motor -cycle better.
A L E C D U N BA R. — S e e our twelfth
volume for Gor don Stables' s tory,
" Our Hom e in the Silver West. "(* The Wire and the Wave, or
Cable-Layi ng in the Coral Seas,"
by J . Munro, is in the same
volume.
CANUCK:.—Such a description, if
short, will be very a ccept able.
Send a photo graph wi th it.
Montreal means " Mount B o y a l . "
IN Q U IRER. — If y o u must have a pet
of som e kind, why not g o in for
rabbits or squirrels ? A snake is
far less intere sting, for it is
doubtful whether any amount of
personal attention will ever really
tame one. Certain varieties of
South American and Wes t Indian
snakes to be met wi th in the
shops of dealers are very beauti
fully marke d. Snakes cost very
little to feed.
L . J . HOSE.—Your drawing is
of a 2-ore coin of Denmark.
" O.H.M.S."surchargedon Indian
stamps simpl y means " On his
Majesty 's Service." Stamps so
surcharged are not cashable at
government post-offices, hence
they are of no value to pe tty
thieves. Officers b uy these
stamps at the same rates for
ordinary stamps, but only officers of certa in grades
are allowe d to use them, and when using them they
have to write their names and official designations
in the l ower left corner of the envel opes and " On
H.M.S ." or " On Governmen t S erv ice " at the
to p of the envelope. Native states such as Mysore
have ah their official stamps carried free within thestate and no stamps are required. The y use the
" On H.M.S ." stamps only for official letters which
are to go outside the state.
W. J. V. SEARLE.—Write for list of books to F/pcott
Gill and Sons, Bazaar Buildings, D rury Lane , W.O .
B. A . K E M P T O N . — Th e recitati on entitled " Ze Bugbe e
Fee tba ll" was on page 90 of our twenty-ninth
volume.
D. MANSFIELD.—We hav e h ad quit e a doz en .seriea
of articl es on signalli ng o f all kind s and given the
Morse code in every one of them.
M. A . J.—See a doctor about your trouble and pay no
attention to so-called " certain cures ." Yo u have
to learn that nature will not be trifled with. Let
it be a lesson to you not to be so foolish again.
FRED B A N K E S . — W e have al ways been advocates of
th e " c o l d tub*' in the morning, but in your case
you must use discretion. Leav e it off while you
suffer from neuralgia.
H U R R A H !